Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron (萬年寒鐵).
Before the emergence of supernatural metals, it had been the primary material used in weapons known as divine artifacts.
Unlike other kinds of iron, it possessed overwhelming durability.
It was so hard that, unless one was an ordinary craftsman, one could not even attempt to smelt it.
Several centuries ago.
During the era when the Demon Realm Gates opened and monsters poured forth.
As that period, later called the Age of Despair, began, a problem arose.
Even then, Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron had been exceedingly rare.
But it was an age in which people had to use it if they wished to survive, and so aristocratic clans and sects alike had no choice but to bring out their stores of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron and forge weapons from it.
Why?
Because martial artists of low cultivation had to use even cold iron if they wanted to kill monsters.
And because by the time the number of renowned clans and great sects that had been swept away and destroyed while sparing their precious materials had exceeded double digits.
That was the kind of age it was.
An age in which one had to seize hold of anything at all and struggle with every ounce of one’s strength merely to have a chance at survival.
This was also an anecdote that demonstrated the power of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.
It made martial artists of low cultivation a level stronger.
That was how exceptional and how hard this steel was.
Steel Qi (鋼氣), manifested only upon reaching the pinnacle realm or higher.
Unless one reached that level, one could not even scratch Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.
That was only natural.
Yet—
Rattle-!
“...”
The commander of the Martial Alliance’s unit.
Song Yu, the Nether Bow of the Red Dragon Unit, could not say a word about what had happened.
A fragment of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron fell to the floor.
Looking at it, he turned his gaze toward the pillar beside him.
A pillar of cold iron covered in numerous large and small scratches.
They were traces left behind by the hundred or so martial artists who had tried before.
But among them, something especially conspicuous had appeared.
A mark in the shape of a human hand, left exactly as it was.
It was clear that someone had actually seized hold of the iron and torn it away.
Even after witnessing the mark being made right before his eyes, Song Yu could not believe it.
‘What just happened…?’
That was Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.
It was impossible to break unless one covered oneself in Steel Qi and exerted all one’s strength.
‘No matter how… Even if it was iron mixed with other metals.’
The Blade King, Peng Jeo-u.
A martial artist of the Transformation realm and the head of the prestigious clan that ruled Hebei.
Song Yu looked at the mark left by the Blade King.
It was long and deep.
If one judged solely by the depth of the scratches, that one appeared deeper, but the two could not be compared so simply.
Song Yu had seen him swing with all his strength.
Had that attack struck him head-on, it possessed enough force to leave not even a bone intact.
The Blade King was, from the beginning, an opponent whose chances of victory Song Yu could not know if he fought him with all his might.
He was that powerful, and as a man who wielded tyrannical martial arts, there was nothing strange about him damaging Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron to this extent.
Song Yu, who wielded archery techniques, could never leave behind a mark like this.
And yet.
‘What is this?’
What on earth had happened just now?
Song Yu’s eyes trembled as he stared at the hole punched through the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.
It was much smaller than the mark made by the Blade King, but the sight was far more shocking.
‘Did he… tear it out? That iron?’
Focus one’s breathing and condense one’s energy.
Expand one’s muscles and release everything at a single point.
That was the full force the Blade King had chosen to destroy the iron.
Yet—
‘There was no sign at all.’
Even the expert known as the Blade King had needed to do that.
But just now, there had not even been such a sign.
He had casually extended his hand and touched the cold iron, then simply pushed it inward and tore it away.
There had been no recoil to generate strength, nor any preparatory movement.
To exaggerate, it had looked as though he were crushing a block of tofu.
That iron.
‘Is that even possible?’
A fundamental question arose.
Could one really seize and crush something that could only be broken through the use of Steel Qi?
He thought.
If it were him—
‘Could I have done it?’
Song Yu reached an immediate conclusion.
Impossible.
He could not do it.
Even though he had reached the same Transformation realm, Song Yu was not specialized in external arts.
He could shoot Steel Qi into it and embed it in the surface, but he could not use such a crude method.
Then—
‘What about someone else?’
Could another martial artist do it? Especially someone from the martial combat schools, with tremendous strength in their grip?
He could not be certain.
No matter how he thought about it, he could not understand what had just happened.
‘What method did he use?’
He could not do it.
He did not know whether anyone else could, either.
To stand there, extend one’s hand, and crush cold iron.
What would one have to do for that to be possible?
No—how strong would one have to be?
As Song Yu pondered, a certain figure flashed through his mind.
‘Could the Sword Emperor do it?’
One of the Central Plains’ Ten Great Masters.
One of the Seven Swords and Three Fists, as well as the current greatest swordsman of Henan and the commander of the Guardian Unit.
Perhaps he could do it.
No, once one reached that lord’s level, it would certainly be possible.
‘Then…’
Did that mean the person standing before him had reached that lord’s level as well?
It was absurd.
Perhaps the others knew that too, for the martial artists watching also began to voice the sounds they had been holding back.
“…What just happened?”
“It looks like he tore it out?”
“You tore out Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron? Don’t joke around.”
The quiet silence came to an end.
Song Yu swallowed dryly behind his mask.
Then—
“Excuse me.”
“…!”
Song Yu flinched at the other man’s voice.
The man thrust forward the fragment of cold iron in his hand and asked,
“Am I accepted or not?”
“…That is.”
“I didn’t break the rules.”
“...”
He was right.
He had not broken the rules.
He was granted one opportunity, and the attempt ended once he touched and released it.
But he had pushed into it while maintaining contact, so it did not violate the rules.
There might have been a problem with the rules in a case like this, but—
‘Who would dare object to it?’
If you wish, try doing it yourselves.
Could anyone actually say that?
“Number one hundred and two.”
“Yes.”
Song Yu asked the man in a hesitant voice,
“What is your name?”
“Hmm?”
The young man tilted his head at the sudden question.
Then he answered calmly.
“Guyang Cheon of the Shanxi Gu Clan.”
“…!”
As soon as the young man introduced himself, not only Song Yu but also the martial artists behind him began to murmur.
“Guyang Cheon? If it’s Gu Yangcheon…”
“He’s the Little Yama.”
“The Little Yama?”
“…That young hero from the Divine Dragon Hall? Are you saying he tore out the cold iron?”
Just as everyone was brimming with astonishment at Gu Yangcheon’s identity—
‘So this is the young man.’
Song Yu was astonished for a different reason.
Though it was not on the same level as the Flying Dragon Unit, which served as the Martial Alliance’s intelligence department, the commander of a unit could hear all sorts of information.
He had heard a few things about the Little Yama here.
‘One of the figures the Alliance and Shaolin are watching closely.’
He had been added unexpectedly to the originally scheduled Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes due to an unforeseen incident, and the Alliance was said to be watching him in several respects because of it.
‘That must also be why rumors about him have not spread as far as they should have, considering his skill.’
Not only had he won the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly, he had also made his presence known by preventing the attack on the Divine Dragon Hall afterward.
And yet, the reason rumors and impressions of him had not spread accordingly—
The Alliance had joined hands with the Beggars’ Sect and deliberately suppressed the rumors.
‘Was that really necessary?’
Song Yu wore an uneasy expression regarding the matter.
He did not know what the political circumstances were, but for the Alliance, which claimed to uphold justice and chivalry, to act this way felt profoundly out of place.
The path of a junior who was gradually beginning to shine was being obstructed.
Few things could feel worse than that.
Still—
‘There must be a reason for what the Alliance is doing.’
As the protectors of the Central Plains, they surely had a reason to act as they did.
Song Yu could only persuade himself of that and move on.
‘So this young man is the Little Yama.’
How should he put it?
Song Yu bit his lip as he observed Gu Yangcheon, ignoring the reactions of those around him.
The reason was—
‘I can’t see him.’
He could not see anything from Gu Yangcheon.
He had spent his entire life shooting arrows and striking targets.
Regardless of cultivation, he had always been confident in observing and assessing others.
Yet as he looked at Gu Yangcheon, a sudden sensation forced Song Yu to furrow his brow.
A suffocating tightness around his neck.
A stifling pressure rising from within.
All manner of unpleasant sensations began to dominate Song Yu.
‘This is…’
His toes tingled.
The hairs on his body stood on end, and the instincts of a sniper told Song Yu—
The thing before him was a beast.
A ferocious beast, one baring every last fang.
Chill.
“…!”
At the gooseflesh spreading across his body, Song Yu unconsciously took a step back.
Fortunately, it was only a momentary movement, and he managed to suppress it without revealing anything.
Then—
‘Did he smile?’
Unless Song Yu had been mistaken, Gu Yangcheon, who had been standing before him, seemed to smile at him.
Could he have seen through him?
Song Yu could not utter a word beneath that tingling sensation.
“Examiner. So, what’s the result?”
Gu Yangcheon spoke as though urging him on, and only then did Song Yu come to his senses.
“…You pass.”
When he barely managed to speak, Gu Yangcheon nodded.
Then he looked somewhere and gave a faint chuckle.
“Eek!”
A startled cry came from among those waiting.
Who had he smiled at?
Whoosh.
Before the question could fully arise, he tossed the fragment of cold iron in his hand onto the floor with a light clack, then slowly walked away.
As he moved, the waiting candidates, who had grown noisy for a moment, fell silent again.
Gu Yangcheon seemed to enjoy that silence.
He showed not the slightest tension.
Neither the fact that the Blade King had been standing before him,
nor the fact that he had taken the test in front of all these people,
seemed to interest him in the least as he strolled away.
Watching Gu Yangcheon’s back, a thought suddenly crossed Song Yu’s mind.
‘A gimlet hidden in a pouch.’
The Alliance had tried to hide him, but like a gimlet in a pouch, he was trying to pierce his way out.
In that brief moment.
Even from those light movements alone, Song Yu could tell.
That man was an awl.
An awl so sharp that no matter what one used to block it, it would eventually pierce through.
Song Yu could see it clearly.
‘Does the Alliance truly not know?’
Or were they pretending not to know despite being aware?
That was the thought Song Yu had immediately after Gu Yangcheon disappeared.
A question arose, bringing with it a strange emotion, but Song Yu immediately shook his head and scattered it.
‘Do not doubt the Alliance.’
Cherish justice and chivalry.
That was a vow he had made from the moment he decided to place chivalry at the tip of his arrows.
There was surely a reason for the Alliance, which valued such things, to act as it did. Recalling his vow, Song Yu turned his head.
“Next, number one hundred and three.”
The test had to continue.
Whether it was the Blade King or the Little Yama, he had something he needed to do right now. Thus, he suppressed his emotions.
And yet.
For some reason, the next candidate did not appear.
“Did you not hear me?”
There was no way he had not heard.
It was so quiet that surely no one could have failed to hear Song Yu’s voice, infused with inner energy.
“One hundred and three.”
When Song Yu called the number again, someone finally walked out.
He was a man whose face looked strangely as though he were already half dead.
“…Yes… yes.”
After the Blade King and the Little Yama had left behind such a mess,
all eyes fixed upon the man’s back.
Perhaps this person, too, would show them something.
Those were gazes filled with such anticipation.
“Hraaagh!”
The man swung his sword with all his strength, but—
He failed to leave even the slightest scratch on the cold iron and was eliminated.
******************
Immediately after the first preliminary round ended,
I moved to where the successful candidates were gathered.
It was not very far.
The forest had already been completely cleared, so the place was easy to spot.
‘A building.’
A modest dwelling of medium size, neither large nor small, built of wood. It stood at the end of the road, as though telling us to come there.
As I walked toward the destination, I recalled what had happened moments ago.
‘The Nether Bow…’
Song Yu, the commander of the Red Dragon Unit and the Nether Bow.
He was already a rare martial artist who used a bow.
And among them, he was an unusual figure who had even reached the Transformation realm.
It was my first time meeting him in person.
‘Not bad.’
By my assessment, he was a decent person.
His cultivation was stable, for one thing.
‘His instincts were good, too.’
The Nether Bow had tried to take a quick look at me, but after judging the situation, he had not pressed any further and instead withdrawn.
I had been planning to grab him and give him a scare if he came any closer, but he seemed to have good instincts.
That meant he did not let down his guard.
They called him the Martial Alliance’s greatest sniper, and he was a decent asset, just as they said.
‘It’s not as if I’ll have anything to do with him anyway, since he belongs to the Alliance.’
Other than that—
‘As a display, it seemed to work well enough. But what will happen now?’
I thought about seizing the cold iron and breaking it.
‘I did push myself a little, but judging from their reactions, it went better than expected.’
Originally, I had intended to smash it with all my strength and finish by breaking it to an appropriate degree, but—
The Saber King had made a damn spectacle of himself in front of me, and with the idiot behind me needling me, I’d ended up showing off a little.
As a result, I had to expend a considerable amount of qi.
‘Doing it normally was out of the question.’
No matter how much it had been mixed, it was still ten-thousand-year cold iron.
How was I supposed to break it while standing still, without even using recoil?
‘What do you mean, how? Just drag out your qi and use it brute-force.’
I used enough qi to make it possible.
It was a very simple principle.
The problem was that the amount of qi I could use was half of what I possessed, but since I had succeeded in the end, that was all that mattered.
If there was one thing that stung a little in the process…
‘…They’re using the ten-thousand-year cold iron I sold for something as pathetic as that.’
Had they really bought something that expensive just to use it for this sort of nonsense?
If they were going to use it like that, they should have donated it to me instead.
Damn it.
“Haa.”
I let out the sigh that had escaped me and clicked my tongue briefly.
In any case, there was hardly a single thing about this that I liked.
The test was the same.
‘If the first round was this simple, what are they planning to do in the second?’
They had said there would be two preliminary rounds today alone, hadn’t they?
Seeing how quickly the first round had ended, it seemed doable, but…
‘Which means they prepared something that would end quickly for the second round as well.’
In other words, it wouldn’t be a matter of martial artists trading blows.
It was absurd.
‘What kind of martial contest holds a test like this?’
A martial contest was supposed to be about fighting one another, yet here I was taking some pointless test. I couldn’t make sense of it.
What on earth were they trying to accomplish? It was nothing but a nuisance.
‘What can I do about it? If they tell me to do it, I have to do it.’
I had come here saying I would participate, so I had to do what they told me.
Of course, if I endured it long enough, I might end up breaking something else instead. But that was a matter for later.
I stopped in my tracks.
Perhaps because I had been lost in all sorts of thoughts along the way, I had already arrived at my quarters.
Creeeak.
Without hesitation, I grasped the door in front of me and pulled it open.
At that moment—
Wooooong—!
‘Hmm?’
At the sensation I felt, I moved only my eyes.
I quickly swept my surroundings with my gaze.
‘Mmm.’
Immediately after giving a slight nod, I closed the door and stepped inside.
‘Well, well.’
At the same time, I covered my mouth with one hand and firmly pressed down the corners of my lips.
I barely managed to suppress the laughter threatening to break out.
‘I was wondering what they were planning for the second test.’
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, I had found out what the second preliminary round was.
And moreover—
‘Nice.’
This, too, seemed like the sort of test where I could make a proper mess.
******************
Around the time Gouyang Cheon entered the quarters prepared for him—
Fwoosh—!!
A spark suddenly burst in the air.
It was so far away that even Gouyang Cheon’s senses could not reach it.
The countless sparks that burst forth soon gathered together, slowly beginning to transform into the shape of a human being.
Before long, the flames became a figure and opened its eyes.
The figure hovered in the air and lowered its gaze.
Toward Gouyang Cheon, who had just entered the building.
Red eyes holding flames stared intently at the black-haired young man.
Then the old man opened his wrinkled lips and spoke calmly.
“Yes.”
The old man smiled.
“So it was you.”
At last, he had found him.