Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Dokgo Jin’s steps stopped as he walked along the corridor. At the end of the path, another iron door had appeared.

Above the iron door, the words “Second Gate” were engraved into the stone.

A strange gleam appeared in Dokgo Jin’s eyes.

‘What kind of test will it be this time......?’

Rather than fear of the unknown, interest and curiosity were greater.

GRRRRIND!

When he opened the door and stepped inside, what rushed over him was a smell.

The smell of old wood, and cool air mixed with the faintly fishy scent of iron.

The interior was submerged in pitch-black darkness, without a single ray of light entering.

THUD!

When the door closed behind him, even the faint light that had been there disappeared.

“......”

Even after a little time passed, no fire was lit this time.

Perfect darkness. Even within it, Dokgo Jin was not particularly shaken.

In the absolute stillness where he could not even see his own palm, a voice rang through the air.

“Welcome to the Second Gate.”

The voice echoed from all directions, making its location impossible to grasp.

“The battlefield is not always bright. Amid night raids and chaos, your eyes will be the first thing to betray you.”

When the voice abruptly cut off, a faint noise, as if someone were moving, sounded within the quiet darkness.

“The rule of the Second Gate is one. Walk out through the exit on the opposite side. Of course, the hidden dangers in the darkness will not leave you be.”

Those words were the signal.

SWISH—!

There was not even the sound of wind.

Only a sharp energy, as if it would tear through skin, brushed past Dokgo Jin’s left cheek.

A strange gleam appeared in his eyes.

‘Sword qi.’

Dokgo Jin tilted his head slightly. A few strands of hair were cut and scattered through the air.

It was a moment when his neck had nearly been cut off by the most minute difference.

But Dokgo Jin was calm.

‘It was an attack meant as a warning.’

Otherwise, he would have moved his body and dodged it.

‘Not bad. To send sword qi this stealthily.’

He could guess the level of the swordsmen hidden in the Second Gate.

Just as Dokgo Jin expected, those hiding here were the “Wind Sword Unit,” a special unit under the “Flying Shadow Flag.”

They were assassination experts who erased their presence, melted into the darkness, and cut off their enemies’ necks.

An ordinary master would have been terrified and swung his sword, or pressed his back against the wall and taken a defensive posture.

But.

‘Interesting.’

The corner of Dokgo Jin’s mouth rose faintly in the darkness.

Darkness.

To some, it would be an object of fear, but to Dokgo Jin, this darkness was no different from home.

‘I wondered if it might be so......’

The Nine Nether Dark Heaven Scripture he had learned was a martial art born in the abyss of the Nine Heavens, in the deepest and darkest place.

HSSSSSS!

Black Flame Qi flowed out from Dokgo Jin’s qi center and wrapped around his entire body.

Then, a strange thing happened. In place of his blocked sight, each and every pore of his skin opened, and he began sensitively reading the surrounding airflow.

‘One, two, three...... ten, is it.’

The sound of heartbeats holding their breath in the darkness, breathing made faintly rough by tension, even the faint waves of air that arose when feet shifted.

Within Dokgo Jin’s senses, the darkness was no longer a curtain. Rather, it was a mirror that transparently illuminated everything.

The ten Wind Sword Unit members scattered throughout the rectangular space were clearly felt.

A faint smile appeared on Dokgo Jin’s lips.

‘I wonder who has the advantage.’

Meanwhile, when he stayed still without the slightest agitation, the Wind Sword Unit felt somewhat puzzled.

‘The sword qi should have startled him enough.’

‘Why isn’t he moving?’

‘He’s calmer than expected.’

‘Let’s attack properly this time.’

WHOOSH!

From the air to Dokgo Jin’s right, killing intent rushed in.

This time, it was a pincer attack by two people aiming at the upper and lower sections simultaneously.

It was a perfect surprise attack without sound or shape, but Dokgo Jin had already moved.

Tap.

His right hand precisely snatched the wrist of the Wind Sword Unit member attacking the upper section as it shot out of the darkness.

“Hup?!”

A breath filled with clear panic burst out in the darkness.

Dokgo Jin whispered lowly.

“I can see everything.”

“......!”

Dokgo Jin pulled the wrist he had grabbed and used the man as a shield to block another blade flying in from the lower section.

CLANG!

At the instant the Wind Sword Unit member whose sword had been blocked by his comrade’s blade faltered, Dokgo Jin’s foot struck his solar plexus.

THUD!

“Gah!”

The two ambushers rolled across the floor.

It was something that had happened in the blink of an eye. The remaining eight Wind Sword Unit members hidden in the darkness were astonished.

‘Impossible. How is he seeing us?’

It was movement impossible without sight. At least, that was how they judged it.

Step, step.

Dokgo Jin deliberately made the sound of his footsteps as he moved. As if to say, I am here, so try attacking me.

Even while doing so, he approached the nearest Wind Sword Unit member.

“......!”

Panicked by the footsteps heading straight toward him, the man could not hold back and swung his sword.

SWISH!

Dokgo Jin flicked away the incoming blade with a finger wrapped in Black Flame Qi.

CLANG!

The recoil from the deflected sword broke the Wind Sword Unit member’s posture. Dokgo Jin’s palm lightly struck his chin upward.

CRACK!

The unconscious Wind Sword Unit member collapsed like a scarecrow.

Thud!

Dokgo Jin moved his steps toward another Wind Sword Unit member.

Step, step, step.

Dokgo Jin’s footsteps echoed like thunder. But the Wind Sword Unit members could not move easily.

The positions of hunter and prey had completely reversed.

The ones hiding in the darkness and aiming for Dokgo Jin had been the Wind Sword Unit members, but now, they had instead become the ones being hunted.

‘What kind of bastard is this......!’

From then on, the inside of the building turned into the scene of a one-sided ravaging.

THUD! BOOM!

CRASH!

Because Dokgo Jin was making the sound of his footsteps, the Wind Sword Unit members gritted their teeth and swung their swords to attack him.

However, Dokgo Jin evaded the offensive as if he were in broad daylight and knocked them down with light counterattacks.

They could not carry out a joint attack either. If they made the slightest mistake, the risk of attacking an ally in the darkness was too great.

The Wind Sword Unit members, who felt that this was hopeless, desperately used the Concealment Art and widened the distance.

Sensing this, the corner of Dokgo Jin’s mouth rose.

‘Try escaping if you can.’

As if invisible strings were attached to them, he quickly tracked them down and subdued them.

THUD!

They were no match for him.

The darkness was entirely on Dokgo Jin’s side.

How long had passed?

There was no longer any sign of anyone still standing and moving.

“Is it over?”

The fallen Wind Sword Unit members were dumbfounded.

‘How can this be......’

Dokgo Jin lightly straightened his clothes and stood in front of the firmly closed door on the opposite wall.

Creak.

When he pushed the door, light poured in. At the sudden light, Dokgo Jin narrowed his eyes.

In front of the exit, the man who had been waiting with his arms crossed stood with his mouth wide open.

It was Jin So, the Vice-Captain of the Wind Sword Unit.

“......You came out already?”

Not even one meal’s time, about thirty minutes, had passed.

Usually, people either crawled out in a complete mess or collapsed from exhaustion in the darkness and failed.

Yet aside from a few strands of hair having been cut, Dokgo Jin was perfectly fine.

Jin So’s gaze turned behind Dokgo Jin, toward the gap in the open door.

At some point, the lights inside the Second Gate had been turned on, and he could see the dozen or so Wind Sword Unit members sprawled across the floor and groaning.

“......Hah!”

Jin So let out a hollow laugh.

He realized that they had not ambushed him in the darkness. Rather, they had been hunted in reverse.

Dokgo Jin calmly asked,

“Does this mean I pass?”

Jin So looked at Dokgo Jin with trembling eyes.

The ability to respond when one’s vision was blocked. That was the “realm of the senses,” separate from whether one’s martial arts were high or low.

This young man’s senses were outside the realm of humanity.

‘The Captain of the Iron Soul Unit brought in a monster!’

Jin So, who had been staring blankly at Dokgo Jin, belatedly realized his own state and opened his mouth.

“Ahem! My apologies. I acknowledge that you have passed the Second Gate as well. You will receive the highest score.”

However, Dokgo Jin had little interest in his praise. After looking around, he felt a question arise.

‘Strange.’

The space where Jin So stood was the end. There was no longer any corridor or iron door in sight.

Dokgo Jin looked at Jin So and asked,

“Where is the Third Gate?”

“It seems you heard that the Dragon-Tiger Hall is composed of three gates. However, the Third Gate is a special evaluation, and it does not matter if you do not take it.”

Dokgo Jin’s eyes flashed.

‘Special evaluation?’

“Regardless of that, you will be able to receive the highest position available for a newcomer. Even so, will you challenge the Third Gate?”

Others did not easily receive even the chance to challenge the Third Gate.

Regardless of whether they passed or failed, only when the supervisors in charge of the First and Second Gates acknowledged them would they finally earn the qualification to challenge the Third Gate.

“Of course.”

“With your skill, you deserve to be confident. But personally, I would like to dissuade you. The Third Gate...... requires you to stake your life.”

Dokgo Jin’s eyes narrowed.

“That makes me even more interested.”

“Heh, you are full of spirit. Very well. Please survive so that we may meet again.”

As he said that, Jin So pressed one part of the left wall.

Click!

GRRRRIND!

With a loud sound, the floor on the right opened, and stairs leading downward revealed themselves.

‘There is a mechanism in a place like this......?’

It looked like a simple device, but a hidden mechanism leading underground required extremely sophisticated and delicate work.

With this, Dokgo Jin obtained another piece of information.

‘There is someone in the Northern Heaven Alliance well versed in mechanism studies.’

Even if not, there was at least such a person among their assistants.

Jin So pointed to the stairs and said,

“If you go down, the person in charge of the Third Gate will be waiting.”

“Understood.”

Dokgo Jin nodded and immediately descended the stairs.

GRRRRIND!

The floor returned to its original state.

Left alone, Jin So muttered,

“To subdue our unit so easily in the darkness...... Isn’t he a talent perfectly suited to our Flying Shadow Flag?”

Unlike the other four Northern Heaven Flags, the Flying Shadow Flag had a strong special-unit nature, handling assassination, intelligence, and rear-area disruption.

It was not unreasonable for Jin So to think this way.

However, Dokgo Jin was a talent personally marked by none other than the Captain of the Iron Soul Unit. Jin So, who was merely the Vice-Captain of the Wind Sword Unit, could not do anything about that.

Of course, that did not mean there was no method.

‘I need to report this to the Flag Master.’

***

When he descended the stairs, a vast stone chamber filled with a cool chill revealed itself.

It was a rough space without a single ornate decoration.

“Snooore! Snooore!”

In the middle of it, an old man lay sleeping on a wooden platform covered with tiger hide.

Dokgo Jin tilted his head.

‘What is this?’

Since Jin So had said this was the Third Gate, there was no way he had come to the wrong place.

Yet there was no one around other than the sleeping old man.

‘That means this old man is the examiner of the Third Gate.’

But what was this sight?

Far from waiting, he was asleep.

Dokgo Jin furrowed his brow.

‘I did not expect the Third Gate to be this sloppy.’

Feeling disappointed in the Northern Heaven Alliance, he approached to wake the old man.

But.

When Dokgo Jin reached thirty feet away, his steps stopped without him realizing it.

“......”

He looked at the old man with renewed eyes.

The old man was clearly sleeping. Yet when Dokgo Jin approached, he could feel the space the old man occupied.

‘If I take even one more step......’

He had the illusion that sharp saber qi would fly at him. Only then did the large great saber lying carelessly beside the old man catch his eye.

It was no ordinary saber.

The hilt alone was three feet long, and the blade was a massive five feet long. It was a huge “Horse-Cleaving Saber,” a size that would be difficult for an ordinary person to swing properly.

Of course, the weapon was not what mattered greatly. No matter the weapon, the person who used it was far more important.

‘A master of the Martial Soul Realm, beyond the peak......’

A strange gleam appeared in Dokgo Jin’s eyes.

‘To think there is such a saber master in the Northern Heaven Alliance.’

He thought through the major masters of the Northern Heaven Alliance, but there was no one with the same appearance and bearing as this old man.

Dokgo Jin inwardly marveled.

‘So this is the underlying strength of the Northern Heaven Alliance......’

In any case, the Third Gate test came first for now.

Instead of approaching, Dokgo Jin sent out a strand of killing intent.

“......!”

As if it were a lie, the old man who had been snoring opened his eyes wide.

“Mm.”

He raised himself up, looked around blankly, then found Dokgo Jin.

“Ah, is the test over?”

“......”

“So, how was he? That fellow named Dokgo Jin?”

Dokgo Jin chuckled and said,

“I am Dokgo Jin.”

“You are Dokgo Jin?”

The old man blinked, then nodded.

“Ah, then you came to challenge the Third Gate.”

“That is right.”

“Hohoho, how rude of me.”

The old man gave an awkward laugh and continued speaking.

“There are very few cases where the Third Gate of the Dragon-Tiger Hall opens, you see. I thought it would be the same this time too......”

“You mean you slept?”

“Good grief, sleep? I was merely meditating for a moment......”

“You were snoring too.”

“......You are a needlessly sharp-eared fellow.”

The old man slowly rose from the wooden platform. That was all he did, yet with that simple motion alone, a sense of pressure seemed to expand until it filled the entire stone chamber.

‘The atmosphere has changed.’

The old man’s eyes were no longer hazy.

They were deep, calm eyes. The eyes of a veteran general who had gone through all manner of hardships, without a trace of playfulness to be found.

“Good to meet you, Dokgo Jin. This old man is Paeng Jin-ak, the Chief Instructor of the Martial Training Hall and the Master of the Dragon-Tiger Hall.”