Chapter 68 : The Beauty Chouhui (1)

Chapter 68: The Beauty Chouhui (1)

“First Gate.”

Yong Hwarin spoke calmly.

“Hm, First Gate, you say. For someone as young as the Young Master to challenge the First Gate... it seems your cultivation is not insignificant.”

Though those who brought the gold badge and Chouhui did not show their faces, they exchanged quite a few words.

At the very least, that alone showed a degree of courtesy towards the one who brought the gold badge.

“Do you know what the first trial is?” Chouhui asked.

“Yes, I understand it’s a martial duel against your escort warrior.”

“That’s correct. The First Gate is a duel. Will you accept the challenge?”

There was no choice.

Refusing would mean immediate disqualification.

“I accept.”

“Then I wish you good fortune in battle. The duel will take place in front of the pavilion. Meanwhile, I will play a tune for you, and in celebration of your future victory, I shall pour you a drink.”

At those words, Yong Hwarin let out a faint chuckle.

“Thank you.”

‘She made it so I couldn’t refuse the drink. Who would decline when she pours it herself?’

She poured the wine and handed the cup under the hem of her sleeve.

Yong Hwarin received the cup held in her delicate jade-like hand and emptied it in one gulp.

“It was well received.”

After offering a martial salute, Yong Hwarin stepped into the center of the garden.

“You may use your full internal force.”

Fan Yegok placed a hand on his sword as he spoke.

“Understood.”

Yong Hwarin remained composed throughout.

Surprised by that, Fan Yegok watched him intently.

Normally, someone that age would be thrilled just to catch a glimpse of Chouhui.

And having a conversation with her would only heighten that desire, often causing martial artists to lose their composure.

‘At that age, this is a remarkable achievement.’

Even without witnessing his martial skills, one could gauge his level just by his mental discipline. But Fan Yegok didn’t believe Yong Hwarin surpassed him.

So, he conceded the first move.

“Go ahead.”

Yong Hwarin didn’t refuse the offer.

“Thank you.”

With that, Yong Hwarin shot forward.

As Bamboo Forest Soaring Dragon Steps combined with the Soaring Dragon Ascension Technique unfolded, his body appeared to stretch forward like a long shadow.

Just by observing his movement technique, Fan Yegok could sense his level and drew his sword, startled.

Due to Yong Hwarin’s unexpected offensive, Fan Yegok found himself on the defensive. His attacks were far stronger than anticipated, making it difficult to turn the tide.

‘To be this skilled at his age… is that why he dared to challenge?’

At this level, he wasn’t inferior to Fan Yegok.

‘But still just a greenhorn.’

One reason why late-stage prodigies couldn’t defeat seasoned experts was the lack of applied combat experience and disparity in internal force.

To shift from defense to offense, Fan Yegok mustered his internal force and struck at Yong Hwarin’s sword.

That should’ve made him drop his weapon, ending the duel, even if anticlimactically.

Though he hadn’t overwhelmed Yong Hwarin with technique, he thought this would suffice.

Yong Hwarin, observing Fan Yegok with the Insight Technique, altered his form when he saw Fan Yegok’s right hand channel powerful energy into his sword.

He anticipated that Fan Yegok, driven to the edge, would retaliate with overwhelming power and prepared accordingly.

It was a technique of the Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword called Dragon Coiling Mountain Breaker.

The moment Fan Yegok’s sword struck down at Yong Hwarin’s, Yong Hwarin’s sword coiled around it like a snake, sliding and spiraling.

Dragon Coiling Mountain Breaker was a form where the dragon coils around the mountain to collapse it—an evasive maneuver that avoided clashing head-on with the opponent’s power, instead guiding it aside while pressing inward and then pushing out.

Ziiing!

As Fan Yegok’s force was redirected and his sword pushed outward, he was shocked.

The mysterious technique startled him, and he poured his full internal energy into a counter-thrust at Yong Hwarin.

But having already lost half a beat of rhythm, Fan Yegok realized too late that Yong Hwarin’s body was closing in on his chest.

Utilizing the Soaring Dragon to Heaven strike from Coiling Dragon Fist, Yong Hwarin slammed his shoulder into Fan Yegok’s chest.

The Bamboo Forest Soaring Dragon Steps and Coiling Dragon Fist meshed perfectly, and his shoulder pierced like a sudden dagger.

Puhk!

Having already infused his sword with full power, Fan Yegok had no energy left to defend his body. Struck in that state by a blow infused with inner force, he was sent skidding backward.

Thunk!

He only stopped when his back slammed into a pavilion pillar.

Keuhk!

Shaken from the blow, Fan Yegok coughed up blood on the spot.

Just as the furious Fan Yegok tried to strike again, a clear voice rang from the pavilion like a bird’s song.

“Uncle Fan, that’s enough.”

At those words, Fan Yegok halted as if bewitched and stepped back.

“It’s been a long time since someone managed to do that to Uncle Fan. Young Master, you’ve passed the First Gate.”

Yong Hwarin offered a martial salute and waited for her next words.

“We’ll proceed directly to the Second Gate. Will you accept?”

“Yes.”

Yong Hwarin answered without hesitation, prompting Chouhui to continue.

“My maid will stand three jang away and throw five eggs. Your task is to catch them all with your sword without breaking a single one. That is the test of the Second Gate.”

Yong Hwarin calmly nodded.

Though it sounded simple, it was far from easy.

Without precise control of energy, the eggs would not be caught properly.

Eggs had fragile shells that broke under the slightest impact.

Catching them with a sword—not a hand—required extraordinarily delicate energy control.

If too much energy was channeled into the sword, the eggs would shatter on contact.

This was a test to determine whether one’s sword qi had reached the level of Qi Thread—after progressing through the stages from Qi Light to Qi Sound, and then unraveling like threads.

Even if one had high internal force, without proper refinement or control, they couldn’t reach this stage.

Beyond Qi Thread came Qi Net, then Qi Clump, where qi gathered and hardened upon the sword.

Following Qi Clump was Qi Bloom, the stage where qi began to take form—a final stage of sword qi.

Only after surpassing that could one enter the realm of Hardened Qi, the ultimate boundary for martial artists.

The egg-catching test was used to assess if a martial artist had reached at least the Qi Thread level.

Those who hadn’t surpassed first-class rank or lacked refined energy at the level of one full vessel of qi would fail to catch the eggs.

When this Qi Thread level was drawn through the sword, it manifested as Sword Qi. To unfold that Sword Qi, extremely precise control over internal energy was required.

“Ihwa, throw the eggs.”

A maid who had been standing in a corner of the pavilion came forward, holding a basket, and stood three jang in front of Yong Hwarin.

Since anyone holding a gold badge could challenge the Gate at any time, the eggs were always kept ready.

The maid, Ihwa, threw an egg.

Gently tossed, the egg flew in an arc toward Yong Hwarin.

Yong Hwarin had already drawn out the equivalent of one vessel of internal energy from the Demonic Master's cultivation and was infusing it into his sword to form Sword Qi.

He received the egg midair with the flat of his blade, catching it gently.

At that speed, the egg could have been caught even without Sword Qi.

Seeing him easily succeed, the maid Ihwa now held an egg in each hand.

With swift movements, she threw the egg in her right hand first, then immediately followed with the one in her left.

Yong Hwarin formed a Sword Qi barrier and caught both Soaring eggs on his blade.

Tap! Tap!

Neither egg cracked; they rested side by side atop his blade.

Yong Hwarin gently set them down.

Only then did murmurs of admiration spill out from the pavilion.

“Ah! Remarkable.”

Chouhui hadn’t expected that a young man in his early twenties would be able to form Sword Qi and catch the eggs.

Yet in truth, such late-stage talents did exist.

Now, the maid Ihwa threw two eggs almost simultaneously.

There was clearly internal energy imbued in her movement.

‘She’s no ordinary maid.’

When imbued with internal energy, even the slightest shock would break the eggs.

Even if caught with Sword Qi, they could crack.

However, Yong Hwarin wrapped his blade’s aura—using the Dragon Coiling Mountain Breaker form—around the eggs as they flew toward him, naturally dissolving the energy imbued in them.

Swish!

After a single circular motion with his sword, the two eggs stood side by side once more on his blade.

“Oh!”

Exclamations rang out from within the pavilion.

Even Fan Yegok watched Yong Hwarin with a face full of admiration.

But Yong Hwarin was lost in thought.

‘If the maid’s internal energy had been stronger, I might’ve broken the eggs. No matter how hard I’ve trained, my sword qi remains only at the Qi Thread level. I thought I had reached at least the Qi Net level—but that was wishful thinking.’

Had he been arrogant, he could have failed the Second Gate.

Even just reaching Qi Thread was an extraordinary achievement, yet to Yong Hwarin, it still felt lacking.

One had to reach at least the level of Qi Clump, where the qi wrapped around the sword solidly, to properly face real masters. He had learned this the hard way while fighting the experts of Blood Demon Castle.

‘Stay vigilant.’

Though he had passed the Second Gate, his expression remained serious. Chouhui asked,

“Is something wrong? Your expression doesn’t seem pleased.”

“No. I was just momentarily lost in thought.”

At those words, Chouhui subtly took offense.

For someone who had challenged the Gates to see her, to be distracted while speaking with her—she considered it an insult.

“Is that so? Then let’s see if you can gate the Third Gate as well.”

Her tone had cooled a little, and Yong Hwarin smiled faintly.

As beautiful as Chouhui was, she was still a young woman at heart.

“The Third Gate is this: keep the flames, lit on both of your palms with oil, from extinguishing until the sand in this hourglass runs out.”

At her words, a martial artist brought over an oil lamp.

“Cup your palms.”

Yong Hwarin brought his palms together and turned them upward. Chouhui tilted the lamp, letting oil drip onto his palms.

Then, with a fire-tipped stick, she ignited the oil on his hands.

‘This is madness in a way.’

Manipulating internal energy so the palms wouldn’t burn while also keeping the flames alive was a different level of difficulty compared to catching eggs with a sword.

To prevent his hands from burning, he had to lift the flames slightly off the skin—but to do so, he needed to continuously emit energy from the Laogong Point in his palms.

That required circulating energy from the Upper Dantian down to the Middle Dantian, and from there, out through the Laogong Point. Without a well-developed Middle Dantian, enduring this for more than two hours was impossible.

Even among high-level masters, some failed to develop all three dantian centers. Quite a few had achieved mastery relying solely on the Lower Dantian.

Those who compensated for this lack with physical strength and resilience were not uncommon.

In fact, Yong Hwarin’s Lower Dantian wasn’t fully developed either, but because his body was evenly suffused with the Demonic Master’s internal energy—the power of three full vessels—it wasn’t too difficult for him to continuously release qi through his Laogong Points.