Chapter 22
The next day, Baek Mu-Gun visited Baek Cheon-Sang after breakfast. He then spent two hours teaching Cheon-Sang the Heavenly Sea Goliath Cultivation, which was enough for the latter to completely memorize its scriptures and cultivation method. His level of understanding genuinely surprised Mu-Gun.
Memorizing the Heavenly Sea Goliath Cultivation’s scriptures aside, he needed to have a certain level of understanding to comprehend its cultivation method. Even if Mu-Gun explained it as easily as he could, it still wouldn’t be easy to comprehend due to how profound and complicated it was. However, Cheon-Sang managed to understand and memorize it in just two hours.
Of course, actually putting it into practice was a different problem altogether, but the fact that his father understood it alone was enough to prove that he had an extraordinary level of understanding. Objectively speaking, his martial talent and level of understanding were quite outstanding. In fact, it wasn’t far-fetched to say that Mu-Gun inherited his talent from his father.
The only reason why Cheon-Sang was stuck at his current level was his failure to encounter a martial art great enough to contain his talent. Just having exceptional talent wasn’t all that was required to become a master. Remarkable martial arts that could accommodate said talent was also needed.
Unfortunately, the Baek Sword Sect’s martial arts weren’t remarkable enough for his talents to blossom. Of course, there existed geniuses in murim who rose to the realm of masters through talent alone, but Cheon-Sang wasn’t that talented. Nevertheless, Cheon-Sang had the qualities required to become a master. He just needed an outstanding martial art to pair those qualities with.
And now, he had finally come across a martial art great enough to allow his talents to flourish. To top it all off, he even had the Golden Sea Turtle’s beast core to accelerate his development. It was only a matter of time before Cheon-Sang became a master.
Mu-Gun left after teaching him the Heavenly Sea Goliath Cultivation and discussing the Baek Sword Corps’ assessment procedure. Then, from the next day onward, he began to teach Cheon-Sang the Celestial Moonlight Sword Art.
Mu-Gun still didn’t have sufficient cultivation to teach Cheon-Sang the entire Heavenly Sea Waves Saber Art. He had memorized all of its scriptures and techniques but teaching it was a whole different matter since Mu-Gun couldn't impart martial arts that he himself could not execute. Hence, he decided to learn it himself first before passing it to Cheon-Sang.
Since he had to teach his father the Celestial Moonlight Sword Art anyway, he had ample time to practice it. As previously mentioned, Cheon-Sang’s martial talent was quite outstanding. However, the Celestial Moonlight Sword Art was a sword art of the greatest height. Even with Cheon-Sang’s talent, mastering it wouldn’t be easy. Being taught the Celestial Moonlight Sword Art made Cheon-Sang acknowledge Mu-Gun’s capabilities once more.
Considering that sword art’s level, he needed at least fifteen days to learn it. Cheon-Sang didn’t rush the process. After all, doing so wouldn’t help him attain it. That applied to Mu-Gun too. He didn’t find the need to rush things since he planned to stay at the Baek Sword Sect until he had finished reforming the Baek Sword Corps anyway.
Meanwhile, Cheon-Sang officially announced Mu-Gun’s appointment as the Baek Sword Sect’s young patriarch. As they had expected, no one was against it. Mu-Gun’s achievements during their war against the Sea Dragon Gang alone were enough to convince everyone that he was fully qualified to be the young patriarch. Along with Mu-Gun’s new position, Cheon-Sang also announced the Baek Sword Corps’ reformation.
Among the five squad leaders of the Baek Sword Corps, White Dragon Squad Leader Baek Cheon-Gi, White Leopard Squad Leader Baek Soo-Kwang, and White Bear Squad Leader Baek Jin-Won objected, but they couldn’t do anything when Cheon-Sang strongly pushed ahead with it.
The integral key to the Baek Sword Corps’ reformation was the test that would assess its members' capabilities.
The qualification verification process was as followed:
First, through a basic physical assessment test, the participants would be evaluated whether they were qualified to be a Baek Sword Corps martial artist. This test measured one’s brute strength, agility, and endurance through five trials. Those who failed to exceed the benchmark score would be expelled from the Baek Sword Corps.
Upon passing it, however, the members would then undergo a martial arts test to determine their rank—Special, Advanced, Intermediate, or Low—and be treated accordingly.
When that information was announced, the Baek Sword Corps were in an uproar. Some of the members protested intensely against the Baek Sword Sect. They had put their life on the line for Baek Sword Sect all this while, so they found it unreasonable to conduct an assessment test now that they had come this far. Some members even refused to participate and expressed their intention to leave the corps on their own accord.
The sight made Cheon-Sang feel concerned.
“Their reaction is worse than I had expected. Are you sure it’ll be alright to keep proceeding down this path?”
“A martial artist should not hesitate to prove their martial prowess. The Baek Sword Sect has no need for those who are not confident in their worth. If they wish to leave, let them.”
“Some people will likely point their fingers at the Baek Sword Sect for being cold-hearted.”
“There is no need to listen to the words of those who like to talk behind the back of others. After reforming the Baek Sword Corps and as we strive to become the best, our members will start accumulating achievements. At that moment, people will commend our sect’s determination as if they never spoke ill of us. The Baek Sword Corps members will also be rewarded according to their capabilities. If that is made known, capable warriors from all around the world would come knocking on our sect’s doors. The immediate backlash or criticism we’ll be facing is nothing compared to what we’ll reap in the future,” Mu-Gun replied firmly.
“You’re right. I’ll give you full authority on the assessment test, so proceed as planned.”
“Understood.”
Completely persuaded by Mu-Gun, Cheon-Sang gave Mu-Gun full authority.
The moment Cheon-Sang did, Mu-Gun executed his first course of action: mercilessly expel the twenty-three members who refused to take the assessment test and threatened to leave the Baek Sword Sect if it insisted on proceeding with the reform. Afterward, he made it clear that he had no intention to retract the assessment test, even if all of the Baek Sword Corps members decided to leave. When Mu-Gun took a firm stand, the remaining members no longer dared protest.
With those out of the way, he finally started the basic physical assessment test, which analyzed the participants’ brute strength, agility, and endurance through five trials.
The first trial revolved around brute strength. It required participants to lift a stone weighing more than sixty kilograms above their waist. The heavier the stone was, the higher their score would be, but the minimum benchmark was sixty kilograms. Failure to lift the lightest stone would result in elimination.
The second trial also revolved around brute strength. It measured the number of squats the participants could do within ninety seconds while carrying a log weighing thirty kilograms. The more squats they could do, the higher their score would be. The minimum was sixty. Like the first trial, failing to exceed the barest minimum would also result in elimination.
The third trial was an agility test. It measured how quickly the participants could cross a distance of seven hundred feet while avoiding various obstacles installed along the course. The shorter the time taken, the higher the score. If they took more than thirty seconds, they would be eliminated.
The fourth trial was also an agility test. In this test, the participants were given ninety seconds to run back and forth between two points, covering a distance of approximately twenty-five meters each way. The more runs they could do, the higher their score. Doing less than twenty runs would result in elimination.
The fifth and last trial was an endurance test. It measured how long the participants would take to run a distance of four kilometers. The shorter the time taken, the higher the score. If they took longer than five minutes, they would be eliminated.
The general public would find such standards too high, but martial artists shouldn’t have trouble meeting them. Those who’d fail to pass these tests were simply unqualified to be martial artists.
The White Dragon Squad was the first to take the basic physical assessment test. Befitting the Baek Sword Corps’ finest, the majority of its members passed. More than ten of them failed and were expelled, though. Meanwhile, the White Tiger Squad lost more than forty people. Nevertheless, they still yielded satisfactory results.
Unlike the first two, however, the White Leopard Squad and White Bear Squad’s results were disastrous. More than three-quarters of their members failed the test and were dismissed from the sect.
As for the White Wolf Squad, which had returned from the Maritime Defense Base, forty-one of its members passed. More than half failed and were discharged from the corps. The six individuals that swore allegiance to him got top scores in all trials.
Mu-Gun was satisfied with the results. A total of two hundred and forty-five people passed the basic physical assessment test, which meant more than half of the Baek Sword Corps had been kicked out.
His determination shocked those who failed the basic physical assessment test when he kicked them out without any hesitation. They didn’t think he’d actually do it. Interestingly enough, nearly none of those that passed the basic physical assessment test denied or criticized the test itself. The massive expulsion likely shocked them as well, but they didn’t show much dissatisfaction. Moreover, they also fundamentally agreed with Mu-Gun that the Baek Sword Corps needed to pursue elitism. In fact, they already even had expectations of how they’d be treated according to the rank they’d obtain through this assessment test.
Mu-Gun immediately put the remaining members through the next phase—a martial arts test. During this test, he’d spar against them to gauge their martial prowess. Having set martial arts level requirements for each of the ranks, Mu-Gun leveled himself with those requirements throughout the sessions.
He began by sparring against the participants while restraining himself at the Low-rank’s martial prowess requirement. If they could withstand it for fifteen minutes, he would then unleash power equal to the requirements of the Intermediate-rank. If they could hold out for another fifteen minutes, Mu-Gun would then raise the difficulty to Advanced and Special standards. From there, the participants would be ranked according to the martial arts level they could withstand within the fifteen-minute mark.
Even Mu-Gun found it hard to deal with all of the two hundred and forty-five people that passed the basic physical assessment test. However, he didn’t mind the strenuous task. He personally assessed their martial arts rank through sparring matches, applying the same standards to every member to avoid any future complaints.
It wasn’t that bad anyway, considering Mu-Gun could build a bond with all the members and make his martial prowess stand out among the rest through this test. He divided the members into twenty-people groups and sparred with one group per day. It took thirteen days for the test to accommodate everyone.
The test results were as followed: two Special-rank members, eleven Advanced-rank members, ninety-seven Intermediate-rank members, and one hundred and thirty-five Low-rank members. Those ranked Special were already in the upper intermediate first-rate realm, while those ranked Advanced were in the lower intermediate first-rate realm. Meanwhile, the Intermediate-rank members were in the upper intermediate second-rate realm, and the Low-rank members were in the lower intermediate second-rate realm.
According to that standard, they had thirteen martial artists in the First-rate realm, which made the Baek Sword Corps a decent combat force. However, it was far short compared to the Seven Great Clans’ forces, which had around forty to fifty Peak Realm masters and over two hundred first-rate martial artists.
Mu-Gun intended to develop the Baek Sword Sect to the level of the Seven Great Clans. No, he aimed to make it even greater. It likely seemed like an impossible feat right now, but it was definitely achievable as long as they took all the right steps. Even the Seven Great Clans didn’t start with such a powerful force.
After assessing the capabilities of the Baek Sword Corps members and assigning them a rank, Mu-Gun taught the Soaring Luna Sword Art to members of Advanced-rank and above as promised.
Those ranked Advanced and above were the strongest members in their respective squads. They had been taught the 19 Clear Moon Blades and up to the twelfth technique of the 36 Phantom Moon Blades.
Cheon-Sang was well aware of how difficult it was to break through the first-rate realm with only the 19 Clear Moon Blades. Therefore, he also taught the talented people of each squad the first half of the 36 Phantom Moon Blades. Thanks to him, these thirteen people were able to advance into the first-rate realm. With the Soaring Luna Sword Art, they would further bloom to greater heights.
When Mu-Gun personally taught them the Soaring Luna Sword Art, the thirteen members immediately realized how remarkable it was. Witnessing it in action made them harbor hope that it would allow them to reach the Peak Realm. In turn, that hope would make their passion burn anew, encourage them to spare no effort, and push them through any hardship they’d encounter.
In the name of reaching the Peak Realm through the Soaring Luna Sword Art, the thirteen members would gladly train their guts out. Of course, not everyone could pour in blood and sweat to reach that league.
Mu-Gun didn’t expect everyone to be able to commit to it. Even if only five out of ten people were to put in the painstaking effort and break through to attain the Peak Realm, he would be satisfied.
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