WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 17: Episode 3: Great Exorcist Order Entrance Exam (10)

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“The examination is over. You four may leave the barrier.”

Perhaps those at a higher realm possessed composure of an entirely different caliber. Even while everyone else stood frozen in stunned silence, Kang I-tae steadily carried out his duties.

Of course, to his eyes, it probably looked no different from a baby that had only just learned to roll over, throwing both hands into the air and roaring in triumph.

The four walked out of the barrier.

Hae Unchan looked disappointed that, despite having several chances, he had not been able to finish the demon himself.

Pi Garam remained as expressionless as ever, without much reaction.

Ise strode out with the enemy commander’s head in hand, his chest held high.

And Seolryeong...

“What is wrong with him...?”

She could only stare at Ise in shock, unable to understand why he had acted that way.

* * *

The sixth day was a chance to catch their breath.

That morning, they took a written examination on the Great Exorcist Order Basic Handbook they had studied so far.

There were one hundred questions in total.

Ise finished it without much difficulty.

In the early afternoon, an examiner conducted a spiritual-root assessment.

It seemed to be a process for determining whether a person had awakened a spiritual root, what kind of spiritual root they possessed, and their current realm.

The examiner grasped Ise’s realm the moment they saw him.

“You’ve already reached the Second Star.”

Could they really see that?

They could not have judged it by the amount of spiritual energy alone.

Ise, on the other hand, found it difficult to gauge the examiner’s realm. Still, the examiner’s spiritual energy did not flow through their body like veins. It had gathered in one place, as though contained in a vessel, rippling within.

That was enough for Ise to guess that the examiner was a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.

“Leave the spiritual-root type blank... Is it a special constitution?”

“Yes.”

The examiner’s gaze turned back toward Ise’s body. Yet even after looking closely, they seemed unable to determine much, only narrowing their eyes.

Curiosity and scholarly interest rose within the examiner as a cultivator, but they quickly put those feelings aside.

Excessive greed invited disaster. If they had been instructed not to take an interest, it was best to comply.

“You may go.”

Ise gave a small bow and moved on to the next stage.

The third place he visited was the Medicine Hall.

They carefully checked whether the applicants had been injured or poisoned during previous examinations, then treated any problems they found.

Seeing how much better they were being treated now, Ise felt they had passed well beyond the seventy-percent mark of the examination.

Once the day’s schedule ended, the team gathered around a bonfire in the garden beyond the training ground for an afterparty.

Ise, Hae Unchan, and Pi Garam all wondered why they needed to do this, but Seolryeong was firm.

“Once an event is over, you have to enjoy music and dancing, then perform the Burning Garment Rite before it can truly be called finished! We’ll send off the gods after the ritual and have a little fun too!”

“What are you talking about?”

At Ise’s question, Hae Unchan could only shake his head.

Ise decided that shamans probably just liked celebrating whenever something ended.

While Seolryeong busied herself preparing something near the fire, Hae Unchan returned with food and a bottle of rice wine from somewhere.

His bundle was packed full of delicious-looking jerky. Ise licked his lips.

If they roasted it over the fire, the golden-brown jerky would surely melt in his mouth with a rich, savory flavor.

“Where did you get that?”

“This? It’s my emergency ration.”

“The jerky is one thing, but can cultivators drink alcohol? Especially rice wine?”

“Can’t we?”

Hae Unchan and Ise fell into deep thought.

The Great Exorcist Order Basic Handbook said they should avoid impure foods.

The problem was that it did not explain exactly what counted as impure food.

At the very least, rice wine certainly seemed impure.

After putting their heads together over the matter, Hae Unchan and Ise finally set the alcohol aside.

“All right, everyone, take your clothes off!”

Seolryeong had apparently finished her own preparations. Smiling brightly, she spoke to the three of them.

For a moment, the three stared blankly, unable to understand what she meant.

“What are you doing? I said take them off already.”

“...Could you explain instead of leaving out all the context?”

Only after Hae Unchan asked did Seolryeong smile awkwardly, as though she had made a mistake.

“After fighting wicked creatures like demons, you get exposed to demonic qi and splattered with blood. If you don’t properly cleanse yourselves afterward, bad things will stick to you. So we’re going to burn the clothes we wore in battle and perform a simple rite.”

As though that explained everything, Seolryeong placed one hand on her hip and beckoned with the other. She clearly meant for them to strip at once.

“I understand the reason, but here?”

“Yes, here! You’re not little children, so why are you acting so embarrassed?”

No matter how many times Seolryeong insisted, the three kept hesitating. Finally, she grabbed Hae Unchan’s outer robe and jacket, then pulled them right off him.

She might have been small, but she was strong.

“Now take off your pants too.”

“Are you really in your right mind...?”

The three looked at her as though she were some shameless thug. Seolryeong sighed and handed them the robes she had brought.

“Fine, wear these, then take off your pants underneath. I don’t know why grown adults are so shy around each other.”

“We’re shy because we are grown adults...”

Hae Unchan muttered, but Seolryeong only shook her head in exasperation.

A little later, the fire popped. Sparks flew from the logs, while smoke and ash rose into the air.

Moving as though she were dancing, Seolryeong performed a brief rite with a strange sequence of gestures. Then, perhaps because she was hungry, she grabbed a handful of Hae Unchan’s jerky and began eating.

Jerky roasted over embers tasted heavenly.

More logs were added to the flames.

Ise watched the fire come alive again and asked, “They performed spirit-sending rites for all the demon corpses at the examination grounds yesterday. Do we really need to do this too?”

“That sent the demons’ souls to the Bottomless Abyss. This is to get rid of the evil energy clinging to us.”

“Do we have to go through this troublesome process every time we go demon hunting?”

“It would be better if you did, but you should at least do it after going demon hunting for the first time. It helps build resistance.”

Ise nodded as though he had gained another useful piece of knowledge. Still, there was one problem.

“It works the same even if this wasn’t my first time demon hunting?”

“What?”

Seolryeong stared at Ise. Hae Unchan and Pi Garam also looked over at him.

“You went demon hunting before joining Great Exorcist Order? When?”

“When I was ten.”

“...? You’re joking, right? Then what you said earlier, about killing a demon when you were ten, was true?”

Ise only shrugged.

“It’s best to do it early even if it isn’t your first time demon hunting, but why were you going demon hunting at that age? What kind of demon was it...?”

“Don’t ask any further.”

Seolryeong had leaned close to Ise as she questioned him, but Pi Garam reached out to stop her.

Seolryeong fell silent at Pi Garam’s serious tone.

“You noble children who grew up sheltered might not know this, but there’s usually nothing good to learn by prying into how someone became involved with demons as a child.”

Only then did Seolryeong realize that asking further might dig up painful memories. She drew back.

Even if Ise had brought it up first, teammates needed to know where to draw the line.

Ise neither confirmed nor denied it. In his seventeen years of life, he had learned that in situations like this, silence usually meant the answer was close to yes.

“By the way, Ise. Why did you push yourself so hard against the Eye-Light Demon yesterday?”

Pi Garam smoothly changed the subject and asked what had been on his mind for a while.

Ise readily admitted that he had overdone it.

“I’m sorry I didn’t discuss it with you beforehand.”

“I wasn’t looking for an apology. It’s not as though there was anything bad about passing the examination easily. I was simply curious about the reason. You seemed like the cautious type.”

“Even if I had to push myself...”

Seolryeong, who had quietly taken a sip of rice wine, flinched.

“I needed to catch the examiners’ attention.”

“Why?”

“Because of my special constitution. I need the privilege given to the top scorer and runner-up, one-on-one instruction from a Hall Master.”

The three remembered the disturbance on the second day. Ise clearly had some secret that he could not reveal, one serious enough to summon even the Hall Masters of Great Exorcist Order.

At last, they seemed to understand.

“I see. Just in case, it would be best to keep that constitution secret from others.”

“That’s why I didn’t tell you either.”

It was already an open secret among a few people, but he kept quiet about it anyway.

“I see.”

Ise smiled faintly, while Pi Garam folded his arms.

By then, Hae Unchan and Seolryeong were passing the rice wine back and forth in a cut gourd, their faces growing red with drink.

The Great Exorcist Order’s future seemed a little bleak, but that was a minor problem.

* * *

The final day of the Great Exorcist Order entrance examination had arrived.

The night before, Seolryeong had explained, “If you made it to the final day, you’ve practically passed already. Think of the last examination as something closer to a ranking match!”

It made sense. Only around sixty people remained.

Considering how many disciples died in their first year after entering the Order, they could not afford to eliminate too many more people here.

Among the remaining applicants, there were eight ordinary people without spiritual roots.

They would enter as external affiliates, gather information as their main duty, and live comfortably for the rest of their lives.

Unlike inner disciples, they did not have a high death rate. Even if Great Exorcist Order accepted around ten each year, they would have more than enough people.

As the applicants stood in formation and waited, nine men and women appeared on the platform at the front. They greeted Kang I-tae and one another.

Ise recognized three of them.

They were the Core Formation Realm great cultivators, the core strength of Great Exorcist Order and the very force that upheld it.

The Hall Masters of the Eleven Inner Halls had arrived.

Ten people in total. It seemed every Hall Master was present except Haeil, the Azure Dragon Hall Master, who was said to be away on business.

“Have this many Hall Masters ever observed the examination before...?”

An applicant named Wang Soin muttered under his breath. They had approached Ise before, boasting that this was their fourth examination.

It seemed they had gathered after hearing rumors that this year’s applicants possessed unusual talent.

“We will now begin the seventh examination.”

Once the restless atmosphere had settled somewhat, Kang I-tae stepped onto the platform as usual and announced the start of the examination.

“The test is simple. The two applicants whose names are called will face each other one-on-one. A match ends when one side surrenders or loses consciousness. Every means and method is permitted. The order will proceed in reverse, beginning with those lowest in the cumulative rankings.”

A direct contest between cultivators.

Ise understood why the final examination, which did not even determine whether applicants passed or failed, produced the most casualties.

This was a stage.

Unlike the previous examinations, where attention had been divided among many people, all eyes would now focus on just two people fighting to prove which was stronger.

The ones watching were Core Formation Realm great cultivators, figures worthy of respect. It was the perfect situation for applicants to get carried away in hopes of catching a Hall Master’s eye. Their pride would not let them surrender easily, either.

And their opponent would be the competitor directly above or below them in the rankings.

Fights between people of similar skill were always the fiercest.

The examination began with matches between the ordinary people.

They had already achieved all their goals simply by getting this far, so their matches felt more like light entertainment to warm up the crowd.

Once the eight ordinary people had finished, the cultivators’ true battles began.

They were all-out fights, with contestants pouring every bit of their trained martial arts and prepared spirit artifacts into battle.

The Hall Masters chatted casually among themselves, but now and then, they looked toward the examination grounds to see whether any worthwhile talents had appeared.

The arena quickly grew heated. Even though no one used even ordinary spell arts, the higher-ranked applicants displayed increasingly fierce and impressive sparring matches.

“Next. Seolryeong, Cho Jeongjin.”

Seolryeong was currently ranked eleventh overall. At first, her fight against the twelfth-ranked applicant seemed evenly matched. Then she expended a large number of the spirit artifacts she had kept hidden and overwhelmed her opponent with sheer firepower.

Pi Garam was ranked seventh. The eighth-ranked applicant was one of the preselected candidates at the Second Star of the Qi Condensation Realm. Even against someone who could wield spiritual energy, Pi Garam gave up no ground. He used archery and formations to keep his opponent under difficult control, then defeated them with a sudden close-range assault.

The two of them had been overshadowed by Ise’s almost excessive performance, but they had proven that they deserved to stand among the top-ranked applicants.

Near the end of the examination, two more people from their group were called.

Ise and Hae Unchan met each other’s eyes.

Neither of them had been called.

As the top scorer and runner-up, they would decide the final match.

“I expected it, but... it really turned out this way. I don’t plan to go easy on you.”

Hae Unchan’s voice was calm, but his face was full of competitive spirit and excitement.

Footnotes:

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