Book 2 Chapter 25

A labyrinth of bad luck

It was wide. Alas, it was too wide.

The Temple of Heaven was incredibly large.

It's so large that a first-time visitor would get lost, and the

It's easy to get lost in the halls, and the grounds are sprawling.

The forest of buildings, with walls high enough to block the sun and wide enough to block the wind's path, was enough to make anyone trapped in it sick. Moreover, despite the vastness of the building, there was not a single sign posted anywhere in the building, making it even more difficult to get lost. Although the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy was a cradle of learning, it was a strictly martial arts organization. First and foremost, it assumes the existence of enemies and has established countermeasures to deal with them.

In this context, the buildings here were all built according to the intricate rules of the Eight Elements, which means that the layout of the buildings in the Tianmu Academy follows a kind of great law, so that if a stranger visits here, he or she will be lost like a mouse in a maze or a blind crow. The intricate layout of the buildings according to the law of the Eight Elements creates the effect of a great law, which is to say that it is a deliberate construction with the purpose of blinding and disorienting people.

Nevertheless, the Tianmu Academy did not think to give new students a guide. They were expected to find their own way out and find their way back to their beds. The general consensus of the staff was that if the students could barely decipher this simple formula, how could they possibly endure the difficult and grueling classes ahead? Their training had already begun.

There are dozens of communal dormitory buildings named Muhonji (無婚寺), which is a kind of men's dormitory complex, and this is where most of the new kwanjutsu students stayed after entering the Tenno Kakkan (天武学院). Of course, because of its vast size, there are several restaurants and jurus and darus in the building, but they cost a lot of money to use, so most of the kwanjus ate and slept here.

The old man from the hearing earlier was apparently the manager and general manager of Muhonji (the land where the spirit of nothingness lives and breathes). In his intelligent voice, he explained the facilities, geography, and rules of the Muhonji, but Bi Ryuyeon, who was far from following the rules in the first place, paid no attention to such qualitative talk. Hyo-ryong was in a similar situation, which made me realize once again that he was a Yu Yu Sangjong. So now, without knowing the geography of Muhonji, neither Bi Ryuyeon nor Hyo-ryong knew where they were headed, and they were both wandering around.

If I don't get to call this one self-congratulatory, I won't be able to use it for a while. Wandering for half a day? Bi Ryuyeon, who was far from a true student of the Qin Dynasty to begin with, had been wandering around for half an hour and still hadn't found her way. Just as their frustration was about to reach a boiling point, they came across a person, the first person they'd met in all their wandering. It was easy to tell at a glance that he was the same person who had been wandering the halls for so long. The only difference was that he looked far too old to be a new recruit. With a beard that looked like it hadn't been weeded in years, a spiky beard that looked like an unruly weed, and eyes with a thin but wise smile, he could hardly have been in his early twenties. The same could be said for the lazy smile that hung from the corners of his mouth.

No matter how you look at it, his coloring was completely his. He was the first one to notice, and when he saw Bi Ryuyeon and Hyo-ryong, he raised his hand and waved as if he knew them.

"Hello? Do you have……."

Perhaps he had spoken to them in the vague hope that they might know the way, but his hopes were crushed in spectacular fashion.

"I don't know, neither do we."

His words were firm, and he looked disappointed, but he didn't show it.

"This place is as confusing as ever……."

"Yes, what now?"

He was mumbling so faintly that even Bi Ryuyeon and Hyo-ryong, who were standing next to him, couldn't quite make out what he was saying.

"Yeah, no, no, no."

He awkwardly brushed off their questions with a flail. Hmph… They shot him a deep, dark glare of suspicion, and he flashed them an awkward smile before introducing himself in a sweeping gesture.

"My name is Jang Hong! I'm a new recruit this year."

"You're lying!"

They shouted in unison. Lying in front of you was a strong statement of intent to not lie. At first glance, the man who introduced himself as Jang Hong looked puzzled and shrugged his shoulders. Jang Hong's right hand kept scratching the back of his head.

"I swear……."

But his words were never meant to inspire faith in others; the weight of faith in his words was lighter than a fallen leaf.

What use would such a person be in helping them find their way around? And so, even after their encounter with Jang Hong, Bi Ryuyeon and Hyorong continued to wander the halls for a long time. Their gambit of pinning a small amount of hope on the possibility that their keen sixth sense might be wrong ended in complete failure. And finally…….

After an hour and a half of searching the maze, the trio found themselves standing in front of a long, large boulder. The three characters "Muhonji" were brilliantly carved into the rock's surface, standing upright in an egg-shaped formation the size of two pavilions put together. It's a wonderful workmanship, as if the spirits of the warriors could be felt immediately. Behind it was a forested path, and beyond it, dozens of buildings stood in the distance: the Muhonji Mortuary he had been searching for.

It had already been more than an hour since they arrived. Even though they had already traveled two or three hundred steps, they were still staring at the road like statues, unwilling to move. Why were the three of them standing at the entrance, staring at the road, unwilling to enter, even though they had found the destination they had been searching for?

He turned and looked at Bi Ryuyeon. He was asking for her opinion. Bi Ryuyeon's brow furrowed slightly.

"This is not a road I want to walk down!"

Bi Ryuyeon blurted out. At his words, Hyorong nodded. He seemed to have already noticed something.

"Do I look like an asshole?"

"You're such an asshole, it's almost dangerous."

"Seriously, what are they thinking doing road construction like this……."

Bi Ryuyeon nodded her head in agreement. Only Jang Hong stood behind them, glaring at the path leading up to the building. His gaze was a different kind of gaze than the other two's. There was a strange glint in his eyes.

'It's finally happening. The tradition of the Heavenly Martial Academy's New Student Declaration Ceremony. Freshman hazing, the ultimate newcomer harassment!'

Jang Hong probably already knew something, but he didn't speak up and tell his companions what he knew. He was in no position to do so.

"As much as I'd like to say no, the circumstances don't allow it, so I'm going to use……."

Bi Ryuyeon's mouth opened again. The mischievous smile was back on his face.

"What if?"

Hyo-ryong asked.

"Gang row dolpa!"

Bi Ryuyeon spouted off each and every word as if it were a given.

"Gang row dolpa!"

Hyorong and Jang Hong exclaimed in unison. Of course, their gazes were filled with rebuke, "Why don't you at least think about it a little bit, and then act with a plan? But Bi Ryuyeon had already made up his mind, and the look in his eyes showed that he was ready to carry out such an ignorant method for real. As if there was nothing else to do, she took a step forward.

"Bloody hell!"

An arrow flew out of nowhere, aimed straight for her face. It was a surprise attack with no warning or forewarning.

"Eek!"

However, as if she had seen this coming, she dodged the arrow with a simple tilt of her head to the side, then lightly took the next step. The arrow flew into the tree behind her, leaving only a gaping hole in the air. Bi Ryuyeon's complexion didn't change at all, and a look of 'just in case' appeared on the faces of Hyorong and Jang Hong behind her. They had already realized that a trap had been set on the road.

After wandering around for half an hour, they finally found the entrance to their destination and were just about to step inside when they felt a strange sense of discomfort. Their sixth sense warned them with a dire warning. That path is not for the faint of heart……. They were so confident in their senses that it was safe to say their premonitions, honed over many years and a great deal of training, rarely failed them.

Upon closer inspection, Thoreau realized that the path that stretched up to the buildings was suspicious. It was hard to step foot in a place that didn't smell of nature, but rather of artificial manipulation. Not only that, but if you looked closely, you'd find faint bloodstains everywhere. Add to that the fact that the scent of blood hadn't yet dissipated, and it was clear that something sinister was hiding there. Something that threatened their bodies. So they took a chance, and their guesses were right on the money. They'd barely taken a step and it was already working. It's a bit of a rush……. But this was just the beginning.

"Pavabat!"

Two steps later, there were three arrows, a terrifying series of arrows aimed squarely at the top, middle, and bottom, but Bi Ryuyeon rendered them all useless with a simple flick of her body.

But the traps were far from over. More fearsome and more insidious devices continued to lurk, one after the other, revealing themselves at every step. She didn't like the fact that they were so eager to make their presence felt. What kind of a man would want to be approached by these fearsome ladies, who would not take no for an answer and would rush at him with their arms and bodies.

This time they were tiny, invisible needles. This is no joke. The color of the stingers suggests that they are not poisonous, but that doesn't change the fact that dozens of stingers flying at your eyes are extremely dangerous. Normally, these darts would be laced with some sort of poison or drug, since hitting the target is only marginally effective, but luckily, none of them were.

I was looking forward to the rain. The next thing I knew, it was the same rain of arrows I'd experienced before. The only difference was that there were a lot more of them than before. The problem with that difference, however, was that it was a difference that could mean the difference between life and death. The two people watching from behind widened their eyes. It seemed to them that Bi Ryuyeon would not be able to escape the arrows this time.

There seemed to be no way to dodge the rain of cunningly placed and flying arrows. The only way to do so would be to block it with great skill? But Bi Ryuyeon had crushed all such expectations, and his body was shaking.

"That… don't… don't… don't… look like……."

"Yeah, it's like an octopus."

Jang Hong was so stunned that he stuttered and couldn't speak anymore, and Hyorong, who was next to him, felt sorry for him. Jang Hong and Hyorong were truly stunned. Their hearts jumped out of their throats. They couldn't believe what they were seeing with their own eyes. Had their eyesight deteriorated, or had they been negligent in their cultivation? Maybe it was a mistake to stay up all night reading the texts the other night. How is a human body capable of such evasion, and how can it be practiced in broad daylight?

The movements of Bi Ryuyeon's body were astonishing and could not be considered human. Every single one of her movements could not have been human, as her whole body shook and flailed like a mollusk that had sold all the bones in its body.