It’s finally over…

Woon-seong looked down at his body, gritting his teeth through the pain.

My clothing was pure white at the start. Now it’s more red than white…

It wasn’t blood. After all, the arrows were too blunt to tear skin. The red marks left on his body were from dye, which had been applied to the tips of the arrows. 

A cloth drenched with red dye instead of an arrow head… this is a real clever method of training. 

Woon-seong slowly tilted his head up, breathing in rough breaths. “Huff, huff.”

“Your body must feel heavy. However, you must endure.”

Woon-seong could hear the Heavenly Demon’s voice emanating through the training room. It was possible that this room had been reserved, or maybe it had been set up specially for Woon-seong.

“This is the ‘First Gate’, the ‘Gate of the Darkroom’.”

It was literally a dark room.

When Woon-seong moved, he could not see even a single point of light. Thus, when the machine-controlled arrows flew, he had to dodge by instinct. 

“It’s a training program in which you avoid numerous arrows launched by machine devices. Based on the color of your clothing, you can easily review and reflect on your performance. Remember, when your inner strength reaches its limit, the only thing you can trust is your will to not let go of your weapon and the training you have gone through!”

Chun Hwi talked to Woon-seong from somewhere above. Woon-seong nodded and went to the corner of the room. In this corner, there was a pile of white clothes, which had not yet been worn. 

Woon-seong picked up one of them and changed out of his current outfit.

“I’m ready.”

Woon-seong had returned to the center of the area with his fresh clothes.

The Heavenly Demon smiled slightly, then nodded, gesturing with his hands.

Whee!

A wind blew and all the lights went out, welcoming back the darkness. 

It was time to go back to training. 

It was only the First Gate, but it wasn’t easy at all. 

If those arrows all had proper tips… Woon-seong felt a chill up his spine. I would be a hedgehog. 

He shook his head as he gasped for breath, sweat pouring down his face. 

I thought I trained intensively everyday, but this denies my confidence in that statement…

Woon-seong slowly closed his eyes. 

An experience that pushes me beyond my limit. I would love to collapse right about now, but I need to review even if I’m exhausted. Because if I don’t do it today, I’ll make the same mistakes again tomorrow 

So this is it…! If those who were titled the ‘Heavenly Demon’ were born only after going through dreadful training like this… then I shall face it too! I’ll push through this if it’s what it takes to achieve my master’s revenge!

Woon-seong grit his teeth in determination. 

The young man heard a small sound and when he opened his eyes, he found Chun Hwi standing before him.

“It looks like you have surely improved.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Chun Hwi’s gaze was on Woon-seong’s clothing, which was mostly white. It’s been exactly 15 days since he started his training at the First Gate. His dress, which was completely soaked in red on the first day, has only been grazed in a few places. The number of hits has drastically decreased.

I am constantly surprised by his attitude and spirit, how he approaches the training. I can feel the value of teaching him. 

Of course, Chun Hwi also fleetingly wondered if Woon-seong was satisfied with his own improvement.

Chun Hwi sat down next to the collapsed Woon-seong. “You’re moving dynamically without the help of your qi. It’s only obvious that your muscles are strained.” He placed a palm on the other’s back. “Let me help you with that.”

Oooo-

A turbulent force rushed from the Heavenly Demon’s body into Woon-seong’s. It flowed through Woon-seong’s muscles, relaxing and repairing them as it went. 

Chun Hwi let his energy circulate a few times before retrieving it. He threw a small pellet at Woon-seong, like usual. “Eat this.”

He said that this stabilizes my body and rejuvenates my energy, Woon-seong thought, eating it. I would’ve collapsed by now if it wasn’t for this. 

“It’s time to take out the needles too.” 

Chun Hwi waved his hand and the silver needles drifted out of Woon-seong’s body, carried by the wind. 

Once the needles were removed, Woon-seong’s body immediately felt lighter than before. The qi restriction is gone! I feel much stronger than before. 

Chun Hwi’s voice broke through Woon-seong’s momentary ecstasy. 

“It’s about time to move on to the next step.”

It had been about two weeks since the start of the training at the First Gate, which focused on honing the senses. It seemed Woon-seong was ready to move on to the second. 

“This doesn’t mean your training in the First Gate is over. As before, we’ll continue the training of the First Gate every day. Your skill level is only just good enough to enter the Second Gate. You haven’t even mastered the First Gate yet.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Also! Considering your rapid pace of improvement, we will increase the difficulty of training.”

It was only natural that the intensity of the training matched with the speed of improvement. Not only did the number of arrows flying at Woon-seong increase, their speed also increased. 

“Ugh!” Woon-seong groaned as he stumbled, an arrow hitting him on the thigh. 

“The moment you sit down, you’ll only become a target of more arrows! Get up!”

Seriously. He doesn’t give me a chance to get used to the training at all. 

Of course, Woon-seong could only endure. 

Besides, training in the Second Gate was much more painful.

Ugh.

Woon-seong gripped his spear, searching his surroundings. 

The Leader should be hiding somewhere in this maze. Did he hide his presence? 

No. He’s not hiding. He’s simply existing. It’s just that I can’t sense him. 

Just then, Woon-seong felt a tingling sensation and unconsciously twisted away from the source. 

Shhhhh!

Something sharp sliced through the air, tearing the fabric at his waist. 

I would’ve had a hole in my waist if I reacted any slower. Though there was no blood, Woon-seong’s hair stood on end. That was dangerous. 

Woon-seong turned to look at the man who had attacked him, cold sweat still dripping down his neck. 

It was the Cult Leader, of course, who was playing with something flashing silver some distance away. 

It was a knife. It’s a knife the size of a finger, but I was barely able to react. 

As soon as Chun Hwi realized that Woon-seong was looking at the knife in his hand, he acted once more. 

Woon-seong instinctively raised his spear in front of him.

Ding-!

A small spark rose from where the knife had hit the shaft of the spear. 

Woon-seong had no time to react before the knife was once more directed towards his neck. He acted on pure reflex. 

“Ack!”

This time, several strands of Woon-seong’s hair were cut off as he ducked. 

Everything seemed to move slowly, time oozing like thick honey.

Another close call. 

Chun Hwi gave him a split-second to rest before moving once again. A hellish attack followed. Woon-seong reacted with the White Night Spear in his hand, but was unable to touch Chun Hwi at all. 

Just as Woon-seong was beginning to seriously struggle… He disappeared!

“I’m here.”

Woon-seong looked up to see Chun Hwi, who was standing some distance away on the wall. 

I didn’t know there was this big of a gap between us. I’m sure he’s not giving his best, but I can’t even catch his shadow.

Woon-seong was angry, though he wasn’t sure at who or what. 

Chun Hwi’s voice lightly floated into the boy’s ears, “If you’re angry, be angry. Try harder to catch up to me.”

The Leader’s voice sounded mocking and the smile on his face was goading. 

With a small sound, Chun Hwi vanished from his spot on the wall once more. 

The labyrinth walls were part of the Second Gate. When Chun Hwi attacked Woon-seong, he freely went back and forth around the maze. 

Woon-seong, who was in such a hurry to dodge and parry the oncoming attacks, had yet to make a single proper counterattack. 

I would’ve destroyed the walls of the maze if I had enough qi. But I was restricted to 10 years worth of qi before the start of this training, so that’s not an option… 

“Huff, huff.”

Woon-seong searched the area, breathing heavily. Where did he go?

Let’s think about it. There must be a reason this training takes place after the First Gate. Focus. Use the sense you trained during the First Gate!

From his position above Woon-seong, Chun Hwi let himself smile. He’s already starting to realize his sixth sense and use qi detection!

It was then that the Heavenly Demon’s voice echoed through the maze, coming from all directions at once. 

“Don’t let your guard down just because you can’t see the enemy! They are always aiming for you!”

Something whistled through the air towards Woon-seong but was met by the White Night Spear. Without pause, numerous knives came raining down. Woon-seong twisted his body, barely avoiding them. He had no choice but to be continuously pushed back.

“You’ve gotten pretty good,” praised Chun Hwi.

A compliment… Woon-seong chuckled self-deprecatingly. I’m only barely keeping up here. 

But I’m starting to see his movement little by little, he comforted himself. I know he’s not giving me his best… but this is still exciting!

My senses are reacting before my eyes can catch up. There are always signs before a human’s movement. I just need to read them!

Within Woon-seong’s eyes, the figure of the Cult Leader could be seen clearly. He stared intently at the other’s movements. 

I can see the Leader’s muscles twitching. A sign of attack. 

Woon-seong lifted his spear and the knife was blocked with a sharp sound. 

Clang!

The Heavenly Demon seemed a little surprised. He’s predicting my movements through my muscles?

“Oh-ho,” Chun Hwi almost laughed to himself, then sped up his movements.

Shit! He’s speeding up! He’s only engaging with 10 years worth of qi too, but he’s faster than a peak level martial artist! Extremely swift movements like there is no limit. 

Woon-seong’s head was spinning fiercely.

I need to think! How do I react to attacks that come from all directions? Do I retreat? Woon-seong thought about it, but shook his head. No… my path of retreat is also within his attack range. In cases like this, I must advance. Building the habit of retreating will only result in my death!

“Uahh!”

Woon-seong pressed forward, attacking wildly with his spear. His muscles twitched and energy gathered in the spear, which Woon-seong released in an all out offensive. 

And then Chun Hwi used the knife to swipe at the boy.

Just one, smooth movement. 

Guagua-!

There was a flash of bright light and Woon-seong was swept into the air, slamming into the opposite wall. 

“Cough!”

Fortunately, there were no heavy injuries on Woon-seong’s body. 

Just before he had hit Woon-seong, Chun Hwi had flicked his wrist to the side, changing the knife’s trajectory. 

Still, Woon-seong could not help but be shocked. He and his all-out offensive, albeit an exhausted one, had just been swatted out of the air like a fly. 

“That will be all.”

Woon-seong, who had been clutching at his chest, took this as permission to collapse. He stretched out on the floor, unable to get up. Fatigue had piled up in his body and finally spilled over his limit, so he let himself pass out. 

That was the first day of training in the Second Gate. 

It was one hell of a day.

I think I’m going to die…