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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Half Jia in a Month
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# Chapter 19
"The qualification for passing the promotion exam is to achieve at least half a jia of internal energy within one month. The training areas are filled with spirit energy everywhere, making them perfect for rapidly building up your internal energy."
The clear voice of the woman in blue robes echoed across the training ground.
But the people just swallowed dryly, at a loss for words.
Half a jia—the equivalent of thirty years of achievement for an average martial artist. They were being told to reach that in just one month.
Even if Chunmu Hall's grounds were advantageous for accumulating energy, it was still an impossible feat.
"No matter how you slice it, how are we supposed to build up half a jia of massive internal energy in a single month? Even if there are places to accumulate it quickly, that's just nonsense!"
"It has to be a realistic standard for the exam to make sense."
Someone shouted in protest.
Others, already certain of their failure, turned red-faced with rage.
The woman in blue offered no response.
She simply stood there with a smile.
"..."
Those who had been yelling soon noticed the eerily calm atmosphere around them and gradually lowered their voices.
Surprisingly, most people weren't joining the outrage.
They sat quietly, chin in hand, lost in deep thought.
Some even wore genuinely puzzled expressions, as if wondering if that was really all it took to pass.
'Ah.'
It hit him late.
This exam wasn't fair to begin with.
If they told everyone here to build half a jia on top of whatever internal energy they already had, sure, everyone would complain.
But the promotion exam's condition ignored how much internal energy you started with.
You just needed to end up with half a jia, period.
'In the end, the poor get poorer and the rich get richer.'
He got it.
They wanted to concentrate Cheonsubakryeonsa's limited resources on the most efficient and promising candidates.
Naturally, that meant those who'd trained systematically since childhood and developed their bodies accordingly.
Those born into privilege would have naturally practiced meditative breathing from the moment they learned to walk, steadily building their internal energy.
'It's like they're openly saying they only want talents raised through systematic training.'
Even the disciples from minor sects were like that, but those from great sects like the Nine Great Sects and One Gang—with their spirit herbs and advanced internal arts—didn't need to be mentioned.
It was bitter.
He was angry at this cold, harsh reality, but there was no room to argue.
This was life.
He'd thought it was an opportunity, but even that opportunity wasn't a real one.
"The predecessors of the martial world once fought bloody battles to claim this place, optimized for building internal energy. In the end, they joined hands and agreed to use it as a shared training ground. That's how Cheonsubakryeonsa began. The higher your skill, the less efficient the terrain becomes, but for those of you still at a low level, you can achieve great results."
The examiners set up a massive hourglass, twice the height of an adult.
At the same time, they wove through the disciples, handing each one a heavy bundle.
"What you've just been given are called Jade Flow Rings. The richer the spirit energy in an area, the stronger the light and vibrations they emit. Once the wearer accumulates half a jia or more, they'll start glowing silver. Bring that as your proof."
Inside the bundles were jade bracelets engraved with intricate patterns.
"Damaging or losing your Jade Flow Ring is also grounds for disqualification, so cherish it. Begin."
The hourglass on the platform flipped.
Sand began to fall.
Anyone could see it.
It marked thirty days.
With a clunk, the large gate leading out of the training ground swung wide open.
"...!"
Everyone's eyes changed.
They all bolted forward at once.
'Damn it.'
He was the only one taking this exam with internal energy close to zero.
Rustle. Rustle rustle.
He passed through the highland and into the forest.
At some point, the Jade Flow Ring on his arm vibrated faintly with a dim blue light, breaking the deathly silence.
'This is it?!'
He stopped.
A waterfall cascaded down.
The closer he got to certain areas, the stronger and weaker the faint light and vibrations from the Jade Flow Ring became in cycles.
Others around him were also tilting their heads, pondering.
'No. This isn't enough.'
Those close to their target or who'd mastered highly efficient internal arts were already sitting cross-legged, meditating.
But he was the worst in both categories.
His internal art was the least efficient for accumulation, and he had to gain nearly the full half jia from scratch.
Staying here and meditating nonstop for a month without sleep wouldn't cut it.
He needed the area with the densest spirit energy possible.
'Tch!'
Cold sweat drenched his body.
He sprinted at full speed.
'Half a jia isn't some dog's name—how in a month...!'
Despair crept into his heart.
It was hopeless.
His vision darkened.
He'd assumed they wouldn't set impossible conditions from the start.
They'd mentioned areas with incomparable spirit energy depending on the terrain.
That passing remark was his only hope.
As he ran deeper into the mountains, the crowds that had filled the surroundings thinned out and scattered.
The spirit energy felt twice as strong as before.
"...!"
It was on another level from the previous vibration.
"Where?!"
He ran like mad toward where the vibrations intensified.
Branches scratched his face, rocks tripped him, but he kept going.
After some distance, the thick underbrush suddenly ended, opening up his view.
It was a small clearing at the edge of a cliff.
Three pine trees stood proudly against the endless sky.
A cool, chilling wind blew.
"..."
The prime spot—barely enough for a handful—was packed with disciples sitting cross-legged in meditation.
'There have to be others.'
He dashed down the slope.
He flailed the Jade Flow Ring around like a madman.
From experience, it seemed to detect spirit energy up to about thirty feet away.
The moment he felt a vibration, he bolted toward it.
"...Again!"
It was crammed with people who'd claimed it first.
Less crowded than before, but still no empty spots.
He bit his lip.
He turned and ran again.
He ignored the despair flooding his heart.
"Please, please!"
Time was endlessly short, and spots were hard to find.
He felt another powerful vibration in a bamboo grove.
Taken again.
A massive cave at the base of the cliff gave a strong vibration.
Taken.
He found a huge plum tree stump at the bottom of a valley.
No people. But compared to the cliff pines where the vibration had been strong, this was only half as intense.
Just in case, he sat cross-legged and tried meditating.
"No good. At this rate, it's impossible."
He hadn't even filled an hour before springing up.
The sun was setting.
He'd been running around like a lunatic for at least half the day, but failure was becoming reality.
Should he scour some remote area untouched by others?
But if he wasted time on nothing, it'd be a disaster.
Wandering blindly without certainty would just burn time.
"What am I supposed to do?"
Only after the sun set and the moon rose did he finally stop.
No one around.
Those who'd secured spots were skipping meals to meditate.
He had the farthest to go.
He hadn't even started.
He had to build half a jia from nearly nothing.
"No, there's gotta be somewhere else. Yeah, there has to be."
He started moving again.
He believed searching more would uncover a spirit-rich spot to turn the tide.
But reality was that the farther he got from the center, the fewer areas with exponentially stronger spirit energy there were, and even those were weakening.
Deep down, he knew.
Spirit-filled sacred mountains and terrains were interconnected, clustered like veins of gold.
Going farther was pointless.
The examiners' intended answers were back where he'd been.
And those were full.
"Haa... haa..."
He collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
He could wait for them to finish their quotas and free up spots.
But time wouldn't allow it.
He racked his brain every way possible, but no answer came.
"In the end, a bottom-feeder life can't escape no matter how hard it struggles."
Tears welled up silently, streaming down his chin.
In his daze, Moomyeong's voice drifted in.
[Comparing the spirit energy of the candidates you've seen so far, the waterfall at the cliff pines is first, the cave second. Hmm... Actually, the cave edges it out by a hair.]
He muttered weakly, head bowed.
"Damn it, even if I go, they're full. What's the point of that difference..."
His breath caught.
"What?"
The cliff pines were at least half a day's run from here.
"You're saying you detected and compared all those places from right here?"
[Of course. Compared to ceaselessly tracking the faint, ever-shifting qi of humans, detecting stationary objects brimming with centuries of accumulated spirit energy is far easier. Of course, sensing this far is something only I can...]
"Damn it!"
He shot to his feet.
Was there an idiot like him?
Even using everything he had, survival was iffy, yet he'd forgotten what he possessed.
"Moomyeong! Can you extend your qi sense to places I haven't reached yet and detect spirit-rich spots?"
[Of course.]
"Uwaaaah—!!"
He clenched his fist and screamed.
It was a miraculous return from the brink, like at the execution block.
He could live.
He could go further.
"Detect the most spirit-overflowing spots right now, based on areas I haven't gone to. Minimum standard: stronger than the cliff pines!"
[Got it.]
Please.
The moment before Moomyeong's next words felt like an eternity.
[Found one.]
"What now?!"
[To be precise, it's not what the host wants.]
"What?"
His insides dried up.
One wrong step, and he'd plummet off a cliff.
[In terms of spirit energy, it dwarfs the cliff and cave by miles. There are three of them. The problem is...]
Moomyeong trailed off.
[It's not the kind of 'terrain' the host was looking for to meditate. From the size and shape... it feels like ginseng or some medicinal herb. Too bad.]
"..."
He closed his eyes.
Opened them.
Forgot to breathe.
A grasshopper flew by.
Dark clouds gathered in the sky.
Rain seemed imminent.
A chilling wind filled the air.
In that moment, he whispered shakily to the remnant of the Heavenly Demon in his mind.
"So... you're saying there's a spirit medicine right in front of us?"
The Heavenly Demon Copies Martial Arts