The time given for cadets to train for the third test quickly passed by, and many things happened during that time period. It started with Chun Jongsum, the prince of the Poison Clan who left the academy with an injury, and it ended with Chun Yuchan, one of two likely heirs to the throne, who lost the fight for a yellow tag and had his arm cut off. There were other minor incidents, but all the important incidents were related to Chun Yeowun.
In the early morning, just before the beginning of the third test, there was a guest in the Chief's office. The guest was a man wearing a mask with weird symbols on it. It was the Great Guardian, Marakim the Dark King. There were documents in the hands of the Left Guardian and Chief of the Academy, Lee Hameng. But he didn't look pleased while glancing through the documents. After going through every page, he put them down on the desk and asked, "Is this really approved?"
"Yes. It was decided from the top, and the Lord approved it yesterday."
If the Lord approved it, then there was no choice.
"I know the reason for the change, but no one would be happy to hear about the change on the day of the test."
"..."
The Great Guardian didn't like talking much, so he stayed silent. The document that Marakim brought over had a change in how the third test would be held.
'The test seems to be too easy.'
That was the reason for the change. The test at the Demonic Academy was always chosen by the Chief and instructors, excluding the first test that was held on the first day. The test proposal would then be sent to the Elders and the Lord for approval. There were always cases where the test had problems and needed change, but this was the first time where a change was requested on the day of the test.
'...This is going too far.'
It was hard to understand. It was strange that the Lord, who was currently trying to put down the six clans, had approved this. Lee Hameng didn't seem to accept it and Marakim took out something from his pocket and gave it to Hameng. It was a letter.
Hameng began reading it. He then scowled and burned the letter, mumbling at the ashes.
"As you wish, my Lord."
And hours passed after that. All the cadets gathered at the training ground for the test. With all groups now used to being in their groups, they naturally lined up according to their groups. The eleven members of Yeowun's group were confident. They had perfected the Sword Demon formation after enduring the hard training and lessons from Yeowun. The other members from Yeowun's other groups were in a similar spot too.
'This is weird.'
Yeowun was looking at the third group left on his left. Behind the third group's leader was Chun Yuchan, the prince of the Sword Clan. He was missing his right arm and was on the team as a regular member, not a group leader. He might have given up if he was a regular cadet, but it seemed like he hadn't given up all hope yet.
'Well, I see what they are thinking though.'
Most of the third group's members were Yuchan's servants. It seemed like they had no way to get a yellow tag anymore, so they beat up one of the group leaders and exchanged every member with their own.
'...I should've done more than cut his arm off.'
Yeowun thought he had to do far more. It had been quite a while since the cadets had gathered, but they waited a while longer than expected. The instructors who always were up on the stage before the cadets even started to gather still had not come out from the main building.
"Oh! There they are!"
That's when Lee Hameng and other instructors began to walk down from the building. Hameng went up on the stage and sat on the chair. However, the instructors also brought with them people tied up tightly with ropes onto the stage. Their heads were covered with black rags.
"Walk straight!"
"This way, you fool!"
The instructors treated them as if they were criminals.
'What is it?'
All the cadets became silent and watched awkwardly. All those tied up people were put up at the front of the stage, and there were exactly sixteen of them. Hameng then got up from the chair and spoke.
"Have you done a good amount of training for the third test?"
"Mado!"
The cadets shouted loudly in unison. But unlike their eager voices, their faces were filled with nervousness.
"Before we move onto the test, I will announce one small change in the details."
The cadets began to mumble, concerned about unexpected change. They now realized that the change had something to do with those tied up people at the front of the stage.
"The original test was going to involve fighting instructors with the Sword Demon formation. But there will be a slight change to this."
Hameng then snapped his fingers and the instructors brought up three large wooden boxes. They opened them up and many swords poured out from within. Those were real swords.
'Real swords?'
'I thought we were going to use wooden swords for the test?'
The cadets became confused and Hameng kept going.
"The test will not change. You will use the Sword Demon formation to defeat the enemy."
'Enemy?'
Yeowun frowned. And the words that came out of Hameng's mouth shocked all cadets instantly.
"But- you don't just defeat them. You have to kill your enemy."
The cadets began to panic. They were shocked to hear that they had to kill the enemy. Hameng then shouted by forcing his internal energy out.
"SILENCE!!"
"Ugh!"
They all turned silent at once. Hameng glared and continued, "Do you see these people in front of you?"
"Mado!"
"They are criminals from Forces of Justice, and Evil."
All the cadets were shocked. They thought something was weird when these people were brought up, but they didn't think they were real criminals. They were more like war prisoners, but for the Demonic Cult, they were criminals.
"You will pass the test if you kill them with the Sword Demon formation. This will be your first official battle."
The test was not a practice session anymore. It was a real fight against a real enemy and they needed to kill them. Most of the cadets only stayed within the Ten Thousand Mountains, so they never had never seen any enemies until now.
"These criminals will be let go if they defeat you, so they will try hard. Don't be sympathetic to your enemies, or else you will die instead."
Lee Hameng warned them. The cadets all turned grim. Of course, the thirty-six instructors were ready to jump if there was any threatening potential danger, but they didn't tell the cadets. Otherwise, they would forget their fear.
"I- I don't want to die..."
Jin Guuk paled because of the fear. But it wasn't only Jin Guuk. Now the test wasn't about if they were going to pass the test or not. It was whether they would survive or die.
"Now, we will proceed with the test. I will start with the 700th cadet, Sama Chak's group. Come forward and retrieve your swords."
"Mado!"
The first group to take this test was Sama Chak's group. He had been the first person to register to be a group leader, and although he was happy when he did it back then, he and his group weren't happy about going first.
"Go up!"
Instructors dragged up one of the tied up criminals to the middle of the training ground. Then they took off the black rag and a man with a tangled beard and pale face was revealed. There were many signs of torture on his face.
"Ah... argh..."
He too seemed to be very nervous. He had heard about the test already and he knew what he had to do if he were to survive. However, he was still shocked to see the cadets in front of him.
'They're just children!'
He volunteered since he was told that he would be freed if he could win against the sword formation, but he wasn't told that he'd be fighting teenagers. The instructors scoffed at the man from behind.
'This group is lucky to fight the foolish Force of Justice.'
It seemed it wasn't likely that something would go terribly wrong. Lots of members from the Force of Justice valued justice or ethics, and thus they were sympathetic. It seemed this man was probably like that.
Instructors untied the man and released the pressure on the blood point, freeing him to use his martial arts. Sama Chak's group circled around the man and Hameng shouted, "Begin!"
With the order, twelve cadets all formed the Seven Demon sword stance.
'Ah...'
The man then became serious. He realized that if he wasn't serious, he might die. Then his sword wielded clear white sword qi. He was an experienced master-level warrior. The twelve cadets became concerned. The only master warrior they had was Sama Chak, but he too was only an entry-level master warrior. If they made any mistakes in the formation, then they might die.
'We have no choice.'
Sama Chak took a deep breath and shouted, "Third formation! Gol!"
The twelve cadets then began to unleash sword movement at the bearded man. With each pair of students doing the same sword movement, a total of six sword movements were unleashed by all the pairs, inducing an amazing effect.
"What!"
The ordinary Seven Demon Sword had become a sword movement unleashed like that of a master warrior.
'They learned it well.'
Yeowun nodded. The written explanation about the Sword Demon formation in the book was too simple, and there the possibility of misunderstanding it would lead a group to attack with the same formation. However, Sama Chak and his group were doing it the correct way.
The bearded man was shocked, but he quickly defended himself against all the sword movement. He was attacked from all sides, but he had enough experience to fight back.
"Ugh!"
However, he couldn't defend everything since he had been tied up for a long time. His muscles were stiff and his shoulder and chest were cut slightly.
"Second formation! Go!"
Sama Chak then shouted at his members as the bearded man shook from the damage. The second formation was unleashed, but there was a problem. A few cadets collided against each other while trying to complete it too quickly, thus shaking up the formation.
"N-no!"
'Now is the chance!'
The bearded man then took the change to put his sword into one of the cadet's chests. When the cadet flinched and closed his eyes, the bearded man hesitated.
'Dammit!!!'
He couldn't bear to kill a teenage boy. And that hesitation brought him his demise.
"AAAAAAARGH!"
Many swords pierced into him from the back. A sword passed through his organs and through his heart, killing him. Some cadets slumped down to the ground after their first kill. Leader Sama Chak looked at the dead man and bit his lips.
'Dammit. This doesn't make me feel any better.'
Regardless of his feelings, the cadets shouted in joy for the first victory.
"Whoaaaa!"
It seemed like they gained courage by seeing a fight that seemed to end easily. Two instructors then came up to haul the body out.
"You were lucky," the instructor said. Sama Chak and his members frowned. Like he said, if the man was cold-hearted, they would have been killed. Lee Hameng then got up from the chair and shouted loudly, "I congratulate the victory of Sama Chak!"
Regardless of the progress, Sama Chak's group brightened up since they had passed the test. However, it didn't last long.
"The 700th cadet leader, 93rd cadet, 147th cadet, 217th cadet, 803rd cadet, 922nd cadet, and 983rd cadet. These seven cadets have passed the third test."
"S-seven?"
"W...what does that mean?"
The five cadets who were not called out became shocked. These were the ones who collided against each other during the formation. They had made a mistake, but they thought they would pass the test since they had won the fight. However, it wasn't what they expected.
Yeowun frowned. So the test would be carried out as a group, but the actual result relied on each individual. Any mistake, and that person would fail.
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