Chapter 25 : Recommended Admission (1)
Thud— Thud—.
Someone was walking out from inside the cave with somewhat weak footsteps.
Disheveled hair and worn-out clothes.
At a glance, one might think that some beggar was coming out of the cave, but the man walking out now was none other than Namgung Hae.
"..."
It had been a really long time.
To be locked up alone in a place where the sunlight didn't even reach properly for half a year, swinging a sword every day, was something that required tremendous patience.
Training, sleep, training, sleep.
As he endured day after day, repeating only that, he couldn't even tell how time was passing.
'It was really... a hard time.'
For the first ten days, he felt like he was going to lose his mind.
Should I just give up and leave the closed-door training cave?
Although such a desire filled his inner self, Namgung Hae endured and endured, silently swinging his sword.
And.
'I finally did it.'
Namgung Hae was so proud of himself for having endured the closed-door training for half a year.
In a way, someone might say, what's the big deal about just half a year, but that person had surely never experienced closed-door training.
Because a day in there felt longer than three days outside.
In fact, most of the martial artists who entered closed-door training couldn't endure the first ten days and came out.
"..."
There was a person Namgung Hae thought of in his mind whenever a moment of crisis came.
His parents' faces? No.
Recalling the face of Namgung Il, who had a relaxed smile in front of him, Namgung Hae was able to endure that hellish time.
'Now, I'm confident that I won't lose to that brat.'
He could assert that his current self was incomparably different from his self of half a year ago.
Because during that time of endurance, he had tempered himself every day like steel heated in a fire.
On the other hand, Namgung Il would have been living very comfortably, eating what he wanted to eat and washing when he wanted to wash.
So there was no way he would lose to that brat, not even in a million years.
Due to the closed-door training, Namgung Hae's confidence was now piercing the sky.
Thud— Thud—.
Light was visible from ahead.
Ah, how long has it been since I've properly seen the sunlight?
Even that sunlight now felt as if it were blessing him.
"You've worked hard."
"...Mother."
As soon as he went out of the cave, Suseonghwa was waiting for Namgung Hae there.
His mother's face, which he hadn't seen in half a year.
At first, he had resented his mother for putting him in the closed-door training cave, but now he was rather grateful.
Because thanks to that, he had become stronger.
Just then, Suseonghwa approached Namgung Hae and said.
"Was there any result from your training?"
"...Yes, there was a satisfactory result."
"That's a relief."
"..."
"The recommended admission to the Flying Dragon Academy will be soon."
When Suseonghwa said that, Namgung Hae's gaze changed.
The Flying Dragon Academy.
The reason he had finished his closed-door training at this time was all for that.
"By now, the recommended admission letter must have arrived at the Namgung Clan."
The Flying Dragon Academy, which could be called the best academy in the martial world.
If one could just graduate from there safely, it was safe to think that the rest of that person's life would be a smooth road.
Just by graduating from there, one would be recognized as a martial artist, and if one wished, one could enter the Martial Alliance and take on a key position.
Since it was an unparalleled opportunity for a martial artist, any young martial artist hoped to enter the Flying Dragon Academy.
"..."
Because of that situation, people naturally flocked to the Flying Dragon Academy.
Last year alone, the admission competition rate for the Flying Dragon Academy was two hundred to one.
It was by no means an easy task to get into the Flying Dragon Academy, breaking through a competition rate that seemed narrower than a needle's eye.
However.
There was a way to easily enter the Flying Dragon Academy, ignoring that fierce competition rate, and that was recommended admission.
"This time, the recommended admission from the Namgung Clan will be you."
"..."
"No, it must be so."
The Flying Dragon Academy sends a recommended admission letter to prestigious sects like the Namgung Clan every year.
Since it was a reality that most of the talented rising stars came from such prestigious families, they were giving benefits for admission in advance.
Namgung Cheon and Namgung Yeon, who were currently at the Flying Dragon Academy, had also entered there through recommended admission.
And in order, it was Namgung Hae's turn to enter the Flying Dragon Academy this time... but an unexpected variable had occurred last year.
Namgung Il.
The worry that the turn might go to that brat instead of him was also one of the driving forces that had allowed Namgung Hae to endure the closed-door training until now.
"Don't worry, Mother."
"..."
"The one entering the Flying Dragon Academy is me."
Namgung Hae said with a confident expression and voice.
Seeing that, Suseonghwa finally smiled.
Just then, Namgung Hae looked around and asked with a puzzled expression.
"By the way, where is that brat, Namgung Ji?"
He had finished his closed-door training and come out, but he hadn't even come to greet him.
Namgung Hae felt a little resentful and asked Suseonghwa.
"Ji-ah is also in the closed-door training cave now."
"Pardon?"
"A few days after you entered the closed-door training cave, he said he wanted to do closed-door training himself."
"...He said that?"
"He probably got some motivation from seeing you."
There's no way that brat would do that.
Knowing what kind of brat his younger brother was, Namgung Hae couldn't believe those words.
'All sorts of strange things happen when you're locked up for a long time.'
For that Namgung Ji to volunteer for closed-door training.
Namgung Hae let out a small laugh in disbelief, but soon his expression became serious, and he called for Suseonghwa.
"Mother."
"...?"
"I'm going to see Father now."
Strike while the iron is hot.
The one going to the Flying Dragon Academy through recommended admission is me, not Namgung Il.
If he met Namgung Cheong, he would be able to find out that fact for sure.
* * *
"...What did you just say?"
Namgung Hae asked Namgung Cheong with a bewildered face.
Was what he had just heard really true?
Namgung Hae's expression seemed to be saying that now.
"I said I would decide after hearing Il-ah's story."
Namgung Cheong said once more with an expressionless face.
At that moment, Namgung Hae's face contorted, unable to hide his emotions.
Accordingly, his voice also couldn't help but become louder than before.
"Wasn't it my turn for the recommended admission this time? So why do you need to hear Namgung Il's story?"
"In terms of age, that would be correct."
"...!"
"But I think it's right for the person who is thought to be able to raise the honor of the Namgung Clan more to enter the Flying Dragon Academy this year."
Hearing those words, Namgung Hae was momentarily at a loss for words.
The person who can raise the honor of the Namgung Clan more.
Didn't Namgung Cheong's words sound as if he were saying that person was Namgung Il, not him?
Although he had lost to Namgung Il in the spar back then... his skills were no longer the same as then.
"...I have honed my skills through closed-door training for the past half a year."
"..."
"I don't think I will lose to Namgung Il like last time."
Namgung Hae said with a gaze full of determination.
Namgung Cheong watched him in silence for a while.
Just by watching like this, Namgung Cheong could tell that Namgung Hae had achieved something.
However.
"As I said earlier, I plan to hear both of your stories first."
"..."
"Hae, you seem to want to enter the Flying Dragon Academy... I haven't asked Il-ah about this yet."
As his words ended, Namgung Cheong got up from his seat.
And he slowly walked forward.
When Namgung Cheong suddenly walked towards him, Namgung Hae was slightly surprised and flinched.
"Follow me."
Namgung Cheong said and walked past Namgung Hae.
Why was he suddenly going somewhere in the middle of talking to him?
Namgung Hae looked at Namgung Cheong's back with a puzzled gaze for a moment and then started walking.
Thud— Thud—.
The two left the clan head's residence and walked side by side, one in front of the other.
Unlike his expectation, the travel time was quite long.
In the end, Namgung Hae couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked Namgung Cheong.
"Where on earth are you going?"
"I'm going to where Il-ah is."
"...Pardon?"
Namgung Hae couldn't help but feel puzzled by those words again.
No, why was he personally moving to go and see Namgung Il?
With just one word from Namgung Cheong, Namgung Il could be immediately summoned to the clan head's residence, so Namgung Hae couldn't understand why Namgung Cheong was going to such trouble.
'I can't read my father's thoughts at all.'
Still, he didn't think that Namgung Cheong would go to such trouble without any reason.
In the end, Namgung Hae silently followed behind Namgung Cheong.
Just then, Namgung Hae was able to realize where he was heading now.
'This is... where the personal training ground is, isn't it?'
Unlike the Lesser Heaven Training Ground or the Middle Heaven Training Ground, it was a place where one could train alone.
Of course, it was smaller in scale compared to those places, but it had the advantage of being able to train one's own martial arts away from the eyes of others, so Namgung Hae had also used this place often.
'Is Namgung Il here?'
Thinking that, Namgung Hae couldn't help but feel strange again.
Why was that brat in the personal training ground at this time?
As he had said earlier, the personal training ground was often used to avoid the eyes of others, that is, when one wanted to train something in secret.
Yes, for example, when training a martial art that couldn't be easily performed in front of others, like the advanced sword style of the Namgung Clan.
'...I don't know.'
Even though his thoughts had reached that far, Namgung Hae still couldn't even guess the reason why Namgung Il was there.
Thud—
Just then, Namgung Cheong stopped walking in front of the training ground entrance.
"You go in first."
"...?"
Why wasn't he going in first and yielding to him?
Although Namgung Hae had that thought for a moment, he didn't pay much attention and approached the entrance.
"..."
Namgung Il is in here.
The person who was the cause of him entering the closed-door training cave and who had made him endure for half a year in there.
Thinking that he would see Namgung Il's face after a long time, a strange smile appeared on Namgung Hae's lips.
'I wonder what kind of expression he'll make when he finds out that I've become unbelievably strong... I'm looking forward to it.'
With a chuckle, Namgung Hae opened the door.
And.
With a thunderous roar that filled the training ground, Namgung Hae's vision was temporarily blinded by a white light.
Thud—
Namgung Hae had fallen to the ground with his legs trembling like an aspen tree.
At the same time, his face turned pale.
With his pupils widened immensely, Namgung Hae was staring at the ground right in front of him.
'Wh-what happened?'
The ground was cracked as if a thunderbolt had struck.
If he had walked a little further, what would have been cracked would have been his body, not the ground.
At that thought, Namgung Hae couldn't stop his body from trembling.
"Oh, when did you come out?"
"...?"
Just then, a voice was heard from the front.
A somewhat familiar voice.
Namgung Hae slowly raised his head from the cracked ground and looked at the person who had just spoken to him.
Crackle—
The remnants of the energy still on the blade.
With a sword shining blue in one hand, Namgung Il was looking down at him.