The shattered Bukshin—the Northern Star.
As the carved Polaris at the center of the constellation broke, the stone wall began to descend slowly.
When the entire wall had sunken, revealing its cross-section, it became clear why no one had been able to break it earlier.
The entire carved section was about a foot thick—nearly thirty centimeters—and nearly half of that was Azure Steel Stone.
With that kind of thickness?
No wonder everyone had failed.
You’d have to strike it with a palm technique or fist technique—just raw strength wouldn’t cut it. And from my perspective, someone trained in palm arts, I could tell: without a serious reservoir of internal energy, there was no way to break it.
And even then, it wasn’t just about power. You had to infuse your energy into the stone at the exact moment of contact and detonate it. With a material this tough and thick, that was no easy task.
Stupidly thick, really.
Anyway, with the wall fully lowered, what appeared next was a rather large entrance.
A perfectly square Azure Steel Stone corridor about two meters tall and wide appeared before us.
The kind of neatly finished passage that must’ve taken dozens of masons weeks to carve.
“How the hell was this even made?”
Looking at the smooth polish of the Azure Steel Stone, I wondered if this had been built like the Terracotta Army’s tomb pits.
Back in ancient times, wasn’t it common to silence all the craftsmen after the tomb was sealed to prevent grave robbing?
But then an unexpected answer came.
[It was carved directly by Hwamu-gyeol himself, Benefactor.]
“This corridor?”
[Yes.]
I had assumed he’d brought in stonemasons, but apparently, it wasn’t done with chisels or hammers. He’d carved it out alone, using a blade.
I turned to the group with a can you believe this? look, but everyone still seemed dazed from earlier.
They hadn’t heard a word of my conversation with Senior Yeoncheon.
The men were just staring at the now-open gate, murmuring in disbelief.
“I-It opened...”
“Y-Yeah...”
Even though they now knew how thick the gate had been, the fact that not one of them had been able to leave a scratch—only for Bini to break it with her teeth—clearly left their pride bruised. They still hadn’t mentally recovered.
I decided to ignore it and motioned them inside.
“Shall we head in?”
“...Yes, young warrior.”
“Ahem.”
As we passed the threshold, even though the tomb had been sealed for three hundred years, there wasn’t much dust—but the men still kept clearing their throats.
I could tell why.
Men, whether boys or grown adults, always want to seem strong.
Among men, that instinct naturally creates hierarchy.
Even among friends, the unspoken question always exists—could I take this guy in a fight? It’s a matter of pride.
That’s the psychology behind sports like boxing or MMA.
So when they’d all been trying to show off by smashing Polaris... and Bini had done it instead?
The women’s giggles from behind were almost painful to hear.
“Pfft...”
“Stop it, Eumbong.”
“I couldn’t help it... So Bini’s the strongest here now, huh?”
With her amused comment, all the uncles turned to stare at Bini.
And Bini, basking in the attention, tilted her head up with a proud “ahem.”
I quickly reached out, patting her head like I was brushing something off, and gently pushed her head back down.
“She only stepped up so her uncles wouldn’t overexert themselves. Ahaha.”
Had to protect their pride.
“Ahem...”
“Mm-hm.”
Just as the uncles awkwardly cleared their throats, another sound came from the entrance.
—Rumble...
Same sound as before—the gate began to close again.
“Hey! It’s closing!”
I started rushing toward it, worried we’d be trapped inside, but Senior Yeoncheon spoke again.
[No need to worry, Benefactor. It can be reopened from the inside.]
“Really?”
[Yes. I may not remember everything, but I do recall that there’s a mechanism inside to open it.]
I looked back at the entrance and, sure enough, spotted a glowing blue switch near where the gate had risen.
When pressed, the gate began to open again.
—Grind...
Good thing too. Being locked inside during the final trial would’ve been disastrous.
Once it shut again, voices began murmuring around me.
“It’s dark now.”
“Let’s take out the firesticks and light the lanterns.”
“Got it.”
“Understood.”
With the entrance closed behind us, the blue flame from Hwayang’s body glowed faintly, blending eerily with the Azure Steel Stone corridor.
But Hwayang’s flame wasn’t strong enough to properly illuminate our surroundings.
Following Ji-ryong’s lead, a few people began unscrewing containers and blowing softly.
—Pop.
“Phew...”
“Fuuh...”
They revived the embers stored inside bamboo firesticks ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) by blowing gently.
Then they lit the lanterns they’d brought.
Soon the hallway was filled with warm light, and we could properly see again.
—Fsss... WHUUMPH.
Time to tackle the Nine-Gate Trial in earnest.
“Alright then! Let’s focus and move forward!”
“Understood, young warrior.”
“Let’s do it, So-ryong.”
After a few shouts of encouragement, we lifted our lanterns and began walking forward.
And not far in, we entered a large chamber.
The ceiling soared overhead—at least ten meters high, though the chamber itself was only a few meters wide.
A few people approached the walls with lanterns, and soon, carvings on the smooth stone revealed themselves.
Letters engraved into the rock, sunken into the surface.
And as we read them, surprised voices erupted around me.
“Ooh! What is this?!”
“This must have been carved by Master Hwamu-gyeol himself!”
“This calligraphy! He carved it by sword, didn’t he!?”
“Incredible handwriting. It’s like watching a dragon ascend.”
Apparently, some had overheard my earlier conversation. They crowded around the wall, marveling at the script.
As others buzzed in confusion, Hwa-eun smiled and quietly explained in my mind:
『When someone is a master of sword or blade arts, you can sense the essence of their technique even in their calligraphy. That’s why they’re so moved.』
“Ah, I see.”
She likely used mind speech to avoid distracting the others.
Among martial artists—especially those who trained in sword, blade, or similar weapons—it’s said you can perceive their mastery through their brushstrokes.
While my brother, sister-in-law, Chang-ryong, and Geombong studied the wall in awe, I took a quiet moment to read the contents.
Everyone else was so focused they looked like they were about to chisel the writing off the wall. I made sure to stay out of their way.
“To those who have uncovered the secret of the Blade Map and come seeking—welcome. You have arrived at the hidden tomb of me, Hwamu-gyeol, who once bore the grandiose title of Blade Sovereign. And you have cleared the First Gate...”
We had come under Senior Yeoncheon’s guidance, but apparently, there was also a separate treasure map called Jangbo-do.
And it seemed that just opening the door itself had been the first trial.
「...Up to the sixth gate, your fundamental qualities will be assessed, and the remaining three will determine if you are qualified to inherit my martial arts...」
Everything after that, we already knew.
Once again, Hwa-eun’s voice echoed in my mind.
『“Looks like this is the second gate.”』
Reading further after her words, I confirmed that this indeed was the second trial.
「You’ve broken through the Star. Now it’s the Sky. Gate of Shattering the Heavens. Smash through the sky and move on to the next gate!」
Smash the sky? I looked up at the ceiling and saw clouds painted across it.
Assuming we were to break the ceiling, I flew upward with Cho.
『“Cho, let’s go.”』
– Tsrururu. (Understood, Dad.)
To avoid disturbing the others, I rose close to the ceiling and tapped on it.
– Thump, thump.
The center of the ceiling felt hollow.
It must have been designed that way to emphasize the height test—fairly thin, it seemed.
I immediately called for Yeondu.
『“Yeondu, come here. Can you break this part?”』
– Shaaa. (Got it, So-ryong.)
Yeondu floated up near me and tapped the ceiling.
She must’ve judged it possible because she dropped slightly, then suddenly shot upward toward it.
That’s when voices rang out from below.
“Oh, is the next challenge breaking the ceiling?”
“This time, I’ll be the one to try first.”
“No way. I’ll—”
– CRASH!
Apparently, they still hadn’t settled the rivalry from before and were trying to resolve it here. But right then, the ceiling shattered, and a new passage was revealed.
‘My apologies, hyungs.’
As a man myself, I could understand the instinct to establish pecking order, and I would’ve let them handle it... but with the Azure Steel Immortal Ant waiting at the end of this path, I couldn’t afford to waste time.
***
The next gate was the Gate of Shattering the Earth.
You had to break the ground and descend below.
That was cleared when Orange stepped up and slammed the floor open.
Following that came the fourth trial—Seven-Star Stone Bridge.
In a round tunnel, one had to leap with lightfoot techniques along the path—starting from the floor, up the wall, to the ceiling, then back down the opposite wall to the floor—making contact with each point.
The goal was to step on the seven stars of the Big Dipper in exact order.
– Beep!
“You want to try?”
Hwayang had volunteered first, but after hopping just a few centimeters, she gave up.
Instead, Changcheon took over and absolutely carried the trial.
Being a spiritual grasshopper, he effortlessly performed a seven-step leap like he was twisting a child’s wrist.
Hu-gae, who’d been brimming with anticipation for a lightfoot challenge, stood there, his excitement completely deflated.
– Chrrr.
“What the—if it’s about lightfoot, then surely the Beggars’ Union should—”
The fifth was the Bright Acupoint Gate.
Strangely, it took place in a dark room. One had to shoot light or wind energy at a glowing point as it emerged.
Hwa-eun showed some interest in this one, but the Yeoncheon senior sitting on her shoulder moved much faster.
“Oh! I’ll give this one a try, So-ryong.”
“Shall you?”
– Pew! Pew pew pew pew!
– Rumble rumble rumble...
The door to the next trial rapidly opened.
“How did you—senior?”
[Well, I couldn’t just sit still either...]
Which prompted some discontent.
“So-ryong?”
“Yes, hyung?”
“Well... This whole place was arranged by the great Hwamu-jin for his juniors. Don’t you think we should at least try each one?”
“Yes, Young Hero So. Skipping them feels a bit... how should I put it... like a missed opportunity?”
Hearing this from the hyungs and the others, I realized they were right.
Even just participating in a three-hundred-year-old master’s test was a lifetime’s bragging right. I’d been too hasty.
I remembered how in my past life, I once traveled to a remote island in Southeast Asia just to search for a newly discovered species. I didn’t even catch it, but just going there became a conversation piece for years.
So I could understand where they were coming from.
“Hm... It seems I was too self-centered. My apologies.”
“Oh, no, So-ryong. No need to apologize.”
“He’s right. We just felt a bit disappointed, that’s all.”
“Then from the next gate onward, let’s have everyone attempt first. If no one succeeds, the children can step in.”
“Agreed, Young Hero So.”
“Sounds good!”
We reached a consensus that satisfied everyone and arrived at the sixth trial.
Everyone looked hopeful—until they read the sign at the entrance and fell silent.
Blind Darkness Gate.
A pitch-black space where nothing was visible. One had to find and activate a mechanical trigger to open the next passage, all while navigating through thick mist.
There was no opportunity to showcase martial arts—a disappointment.
Still, we’d made a promise, so everyone gave it a try.
But no one could find the trigger.
In the end, it was Ranghyang who stepped up. She tapped her antennae twice on the ground, then led me to the device.
Being blind, she naturally navigated by sensing vibrations in the air, and she found it in moments.
“Well done, Ranghyang.”
– Kyuki.
– Rumble rumble rumble...
When I pressed the device she’d led me to, the mist began to get sucked away, and the door to the next trial started opening.
But the moment I saw what was beyond that door, I couldn’t help but freeze in shock.
Unlike all the previous rooms, this one was brightly lit, and the view was clear.
All across the open chamber lay scattered blue forms—
About a hundred corpses of what appeared to be Azure Steel Immortal Ants.
“Gyaaah!”
This time, I was the one who turned sullen—instead of the hyungs or the Dragon Fangs.
