"Kill him!"
At the single shout barked out in rage, the water bandits stormed aboard with their falchions, swarming in a pack.
Not only the six water bandits who had already climbed onto the boat, but from the rear as well, people who looked to number well over a dozen were crossing over by clinging to chains.
Yet Cheon Woojin felt a sense of unease.
'Are they really trying to kill me?'
They said they would kill him, but the momentum felt completely different from when Master Cheokno killed someone.
Of course, this was not a matter of difference in martial prowess.
When Cheokno revealed killing intent toward someone, his resolve to kill the opponent no matter what was so palpable that even Cheon Woojin, standing beside him, could feel it clearly.
'Of course, the one receiving that killing intent would be the most terrified…'
In any case, from that perspective, the killing intent the water bandits displayed was truly shabby.
It looked like the mindset of people who thought it would be fine if they killed him, and if not, then so be it.
Soon, when the water bandits had closed in to right before his eyes.
Cheon Woojin reached to draw the Crescent Moon Staff hanging on his back, then hesitated.
If he swung it carelessly, it felt like not only the water bandits' boat, but even the boat he was riding on would be completely smashed to pieces.
Since he could not very well turn the boatman who had shown him kindness into a pauper, Cheon Woojin withdrew his hand from the staff and instead took out the Crane Feather Fan.
Cha-reureuk—!
The three white cranes painted on the fan revealed themselves.
For a moment, a trace of doubt crossed the water bandits' minds.
'A fan, for a young brat like this?'
Fans were usually weapons favored by veteran masters of the martial world or by Daoists.
As Cheon Woojin gently waved the Crane Feather Fan, a faint breeze swirled around them.
He planned to first sever at least the wrists of the frenzied water bandits, and then talk.
Of course, contrary to Cheon Woojin's thoughts, it was doubtful whether conversation would be possible with water bandits whose wrists had been cut.
Just as the Crane Feather Fan was about to be swung in a lofty, dignified arc.
"W-wait, hold on!"
At the boatman's sudden shout, everyone standing on the boat froze in place.
The boatman—his nape still flushed red from where he had been grabbed by the water bandits—hurried over and continued in a desperate voice.
"I–I'll pay more. I'll give you plenty, more than enough, even to cover the medical expenses of anyone who's been hurt, so let's end this. Yes? It's not like we've only known each other for a day or two—please, I beg you, stop this."
The boatman bowed his head as though he were begging outright.
The water bandits exchanged glances among themselves.
Watching their reactions, the boatman hurriedly went on.
"Heroes, I have a duty to protect the people who board my boat. I've lived with that conviction for thirty years—how could I possibly stand by and watch this young man be cut down and killed on my boat?"
That was when—
"Ah, seriously, I just can't take this anymore."
From among the later-generation disciples, one man suddenly sprang to his feet.
Everyone's gaze converged on him.
The man, handsome as if painted, drew the blade at his waist and walked toward Cheon Woojin as he spoke.
"Young Hero is a champion of righteousness, and the person here is a boatman with truly rare principles..."
Letting out a long sigh, Song Iyeon pointed his blade at the water bandits.
"If I keep sitting around doing nothing, I'll feel like absolute trash."
Perhaps those words became the fuse.
"Ha, I really have to pass this exam… seriously…"
"You think I want to waste all my strength before we even arrive?"
Three more later-generation disciples stood up, grumbling as they did.
Amid them, one man gestured toward Cheon Woojin and muttered,
"Young Hero, you're really reckless too. Look at how many of them there are—how can you step in so carelessly?"
Cheon Woojin merely shrugged.
In truth, whether they were here or not wouldn't change the outcome.
The water bandits exchanged looks.
At most, the opposition amounted to five clueless youngsters who barely knew the ways of the martial world.
But if the other later-generation disciples were swept up by the mood and started stepping in, the situation would be different.
No matter how young they were, they had properly trained in martial arts, and by the looks of it, their numbers alone easily approached thirty.
But backing down now would make it look as though they were frightened and fleeing from a mere five people.
As the water bandits hesitated, watching one another—
"So, are you going to fight, or are you going to talk?"
At the icy-cold, thin voice, everyone's gaze snapped toward her.
Her already cold impression was made even sharper by the furrow in her brow.
She looked at the water bandits with an expression of utter disdain and spoke.
"If you're not going to fight, then run away right now."
"...."
Watching this, Song Iyeon pointed at her and said,
"By any chance, aren't you from the Zhuge Clan?"
"... No, I'm not."
She flinched and denied it a half beat too late.
Song Iyeon's eyes narrowed.
"I know someone from the Zhuge Clan quite well, and you look awfully similar. Are you really not?"
"I said I'm not, didn't I?"
Song Iyeon didn't actually care whether she was from the Zhuge Clan or not.
He simply wanted to saddle the water bandits with a sense of risk.
"Seems like Zhuge Clan to me..."
"I said no!"
"Huh. Well, if you say so."
Song Iyeon shrugged.
She glared at him, then spoke.
"Whether I'm from the Zhuge Clan or not, I don't plan on stepping in anyway. I don't particularly want to cross blades with water bandits, and I hate wasting any more time. Aside from those five, is anyone else planning to step up?"
With that, the woman swept her gaze around.
But everyone simply averted their eyes.
If they had intended to step in, they would have done so long ago.
Confirming this, she spoke in a voice tinged with something like a sigh.
"No one, huh. Alright then—your turn to choose. Are you going to fight, or are you going to run?"
The water bandits bared their yellowed teeth and grinned broadly.
It was a grin that suited their wild, unkempt hair all too well.
"A pretty young lady with a refreshingly bold personality. Fine—let's not waste any more time. We'll beat to death the five of you here, along with the boatman, and then we'll personally steer the boat to its destination."
Of course, they intended to plunder everything—both the ship and all its cargo—except for the later-generation disciples' personal belongings.
Now that they had confirmed no one else would step forward, there was no reason to hesitate.
The water bandits' momentum shifted in an instant.
Before long, even the bandits from the other boat had crossed over, leaving nearly twenty water bandits crowding the deck.
The four later-generation disciples, excluding Cheon Woojin, swallowed hard.
The thought that they might die from sheer bad luck in this fight filled each of their minds.
In the next moment, the water bandits exchanged glances and charged all at once.
At the same time, Song Iyeon shot forward like an arrow, swinging his long blade, and three of the later-generation disciples followed close behind.
Cha-cha-cha-chaeng—!
In an instant, the blades of the later-generation disciples and the water bandits tangled chaotically in midair.
"...."
Surprisingly, Cheon Woojin simply watched.
"Y–Young Hero?"
Blocking a water bandit's falchion, Song Iyeon called out to Cheon Woojin in agitation.
From afar, the boatman and the later-generation disciples observing the fight thought Cheon Woojin had finally been seized by fear.
That was how real combat usually went.
No matter how diligently one trained, when first confronted with a battle filled with blades and blood, the body was bound to stiffen.
But that wasn't why Cheon Woojin was standing still.
He alternated his gaze between Song Iyeon, the cold-looking woman, and the boatman, then tilted his head slightly.
Something felt off about all of them.
First of all, Song Iyeon wasn't displaying his full ability.
With his level of martial skill, he should have already killed three or four water bandits by now—yet not a single one had fallen.
A water bandit who noticed Cheon Woojin standing still shouted,
"That bastard stirred up a fight and then hid behind everyone else! Kill him first!"
A few water bandits, only just noticing Cheon Woojin, rushed at him with irritated expressions.
In that instant, Song Iyeon's movements became incomparably faster than before.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Song Iyeon moved to block the water bandits charging at Cheon Woojin.
Now that the fight had actually broken out, it was absurd for him to be hanging back, but regardless, he couldn't just let him die.
However, the difference in numbers was far too overwhelming.
Between the three water bandits Song Iyeon was holding back, two of them forced their way through and rushed straight at Cheon Woojin.
"Woojin, Young Hero! Get out of the way!"
"Die!"
A jagged falchion—its chipped teeth making it feel all the more chilling—came crashing down toward Cheon Woojin's head.
"Young Hero!!"
Even at Song Iyeon's desperate shout, Cheon Woojin did not budge an inch.
At this moment, he almost resented the ones loitering behind, merely watching.
Of course, a few later-generation disciples stirred, apparently unable to bear witnessing death—but by then, it was far too late.
In the next instant, blood shot up like a fountain above Cheon Woojin's head.
Some of the later-generation disciples even shut their eyes and turned their heads away.
But the screams that followed were not Cheon Woojin's.
"U–Uaaagh!"
"Ghk!"
Two wrists, still gripping their falchions, dropped to the deck.
The water bandits collapsed, clutching their severed wrists with their remaining hands.
He could have cut off their heads in a single stroke, but choosing to sever only their wrists was Cheon Woojin's way of showing mercy.
Cheon Woojin walked up to the water bandits writhing on the floor in pain and spoke in a low voice.
"Now that your wrists are like this, you can't wield weapons anymore. Since you have this chance, why not try living an upright life?"
In that moment, goosebumps ran up the spines of everyone aboard the boat—Song Iyeon, the water bandits, the boatman, all of them.
Cheon Woojin's tone was not mocking.
He genuinely wanted the water bandits to live that way.
There was something oddly alien about his way of thinking, different from that of ordinary people.
'Is that really something you should say after cutting them?'
Song Iyeon thought it inwardly, unable to voice it aloud.
Everyone on the boat stopped moving and stared at Cheon Woojin alone.
Only then did Cheon Woojin finally look around, his eyes widening.
"Why is everyone like this?"
"Y–You bastard…!"
Perhaps his innocent, guileless expression further provoked the vengeful fury of the water bandits whose wrists had been severed.
Several of them charged straight at Cheon Woojin.
Cha-reureuk—!
At the same time, Cheon Woojin's Crane Feather Fan unfurled once more.
The water bandits instinctively froze in their tracks.
Cheon Woojin looked at them and fell briefly into thought.
'What would my masters have done?'
If it were Master Cheokno, he would have killed them all.
If it were Master Baekno, he would likely have tried to persuade them with words first.
"Hmm."
No matter how much he thought about it, Cheon Woojin couldn't reach an easy conclusion, so he asked the cold-looking woman.
"What should we do?"
At that unexpected question, everyone's gaze turned toward her.
She locked eyes with Cheon Woojin for a moment, then let out a deep sigh and rose from her seat.
"I am Jegal Rin, Vice Commander of the Black Tortoise Division of the Murim Alliance."
"W–What does that…?"
The water bandits blinked, their entire bodies stiff.
In the midst of it, Song Iyeon let out an exclamation.
"Damn, I was just guessing."
"...."
Jegal Rin shot Song Iyeon an annoyed look, then walked toward where the fight had been raging and spoke.
"You water bandits who have worked so hard—get lost now.
The ones who have passed the first-stage exam are the five who stepped forward just now.
As for the rest, I'm sorry to say this, but the doors of the Murim Alliance do not open to those who turn a blind eye to injustice."
The water bandits—and even the later-generation disciples—could only stare at Jegal Rin with blank, stunned expressions.
"Hey, you idiot—what are you standing there gaping at?"
In an instant, everyone's head snapped around.
The boatman who had been bullied by the water bandits was swinging his fist.
The problem was that the huge fist was moving so fast it was hard to track with the naked eye—only its outline was barely visible.
"I told you to get lost, didn't I?"
Kwaaang—!
A fist the size of a pot lid smashed into a water bandit's face.
The bandit went flying, slammed thud! into a rock on the opposite riverbank, then splashed into the water.
Watching this with satisfaction, the boatman brushed off his hands and said,
"He's a water bandit, after all—shouldn't drown, at least."
Gurgle—
For an unconscious water bandit, though, that was another matter.
"Well, if he does, he does."
The boatman burst into hearty laughter.
An awkward silence settled once more.
Unbothered, the boatman naturally stepped up beside Jegal Rin and declared to everyone,
"I am Cheol Ji-ak, Commander of the Black Tortoise Division of the Murim Alliance. Looks like today's the day I finally quit this damn boatman job. As for you water bandit bastards—if you don't clear out by the count of three, I'll consider it a challenge to the Murim Alliance and proceed with entirely legitimate, if somewhat rough, measures. However—"
Before he could even finish speaking, the water bandits were already scrambling back along the chains to flee.
Those in too much of a hurry even threw themselves straight into the water.
Watching them with clear satisfaction, Cheol Ji-ak's expression turned serious as he approached Cheon Woojin and asked,
"You—since when did you know we were from the Murim Alliance? Answer properly."
The Murim Alliance's entrance examination was prepared under strict secrecy.
This was to prevent positions from being secured through connections or money in an organization that prized fairness.
Because of that, Cheon Woojin's answer was extremely important.
If the contents of this exam had been leaked outside in advance—
"I only found out just now as well."
"Huh?"
Cheon Woojin pointed at Jegal Rin and said,
"She was talking to herself."
Jegal Rin's jaw fell slightly open.