Wu Jin stood in the courtyard, Blue was dashing through the buildings as Wu Jin had previously instructed. "I need to see your footwork."
Wu Jin looked at his father. "If footwork is the base of martial arts. How is he to learn my sword techniques with a foreign footwork i don't recognize?" Wu Jin watched Blue. "He moves like a Grandmaster, why not teach him Yoryeon's jian techniques?"
"If we knew them we would." Cheng followed Blue with his eyes and sighed. "Yoryeon was a secretive man. There was no one in all of murim who could truly match him. He toyed with the Heavenly Demon for three days. Made the wandering swordsman retreat. Survived assassinations from that boy's master." Cheng pointed at Sa Gwan. "His sword techniques, even his breathing technique are hidden in murim somewhere. That is what Yeol is doing now. Searching. They may be the key to giving us the strength to stop these gates and monsters. And that boy can master them all, hopefully."
Wu Jin looked back at him. "That's a lot of weight to throw on a boy who didn't ask for this."
Cheng smiled. "He will carry it all the same."
"Enough, Blue." Wu Jin barked as Blue appeared in front of him.
Wu Jin tossed him a scroll. "Silent Edge: first form Edge of Dusk. That's what we will focus on today. Can you handle it?"
Blue stared at the scroll.
CRACK
"My question requires a response Blue."
"Yes Sect Leader." Blue snapped to attention.
"Yes, master." Wu Jin snapped. I am your master, unless you have a problem with that."
Blue looked at Cheng. He shrugged his shoulders threw his arms up. "Don't look at me." He turned and walked away.
"No master, no problem here." Blue bowed.
"Good, now pay attention. I will show you the first form."
Wu Jin gathered his qi, black and gray streaks surrounded him. Wu Jin's pressure alone made Blue take a step back. He moved. Blue watched as Wu Jin danced between two dummies. No wasted movement, just streaks of black and gray slicing through the dummies. He stopped and turned to Blue. "Can you handle it?"
Blue couldn't move. "Holy shit, he's strong. And fast. My eyes could barely keep up."
[System Notification]
[New Technique Acquired: Silent Edge - Edge of Dusk]
[Comprehension: 5 %]
Blue looked up at Wu Jin. "I'll try, master."
CRACK.
"Trying isn’t good enough in Murim. Trying only gets you killed. Mastery is the only chance you have to stay alive. Do you understand?"
"Yes, master." Blue yelled.
The three boys trained with their masters during the day, and sparred at night. Some nights even their masters joined in on the spars. On the twelfth day, Wu Jin stepped forward. "You all have mastered at least one technique. Even started to master a second. Let's see if you truly stand a chance at the tournament."
The boys turned and looked at each other confused. Jinhu raised his hand. "Are there people from another sect coming to spar with us?"
Ilho smacked his arm down. "You are going to get us beaten harder. We are fighting him." Ilho pointed at Wu Jin who was placing his rod down and picking up wooden swords.
"Oooohhhhh." Jinhu said. "We're fucked."
The boys started to laugh.
"Jinhu, you're first." Wu Jin stepped onto the training platform. "Ten moves, you have the first attack. Make me bleed or move and you'll have proven yourself."
Jinhu bowed. The moment he stood straight he attacked. His qi flowed through his legs, to his feet. His feet left imprints in the platform floor. He swung, Wu Jin moved his head to the right and smiled. "Too slow." Jinhu dropped and tried to sweep his legs. Wu Jin simply blocked with his sword. Then Jinhu backed off, he flowed through the first form of earthshaker, trying to make the ground too unstable for Wu Jin to maintain balance. He dashed forward again. He swung seven times. Each time he was blocked or missed by just a hair's width.
"Last one, you better show me something." Wu Jin smiled. Jinhu backed off one last time, he smiled at Wu Jin. Anchored his feet, contracted his core, he let the qi flow from the base of the mountain all the way to his fist. He threw his punch, Earth-Splitter.
BOOM.
The qi left his fist, it met Wu Jin with thunderous force. He put his wooden sword up to block. He took one step back to reinforce himself as the wooden sword started to crumble, and he deflected it.
Jinhu laughed and pointed. "You moved, I survived!"
Wu Jin smiled. "Well done, Ilho you're next." Wu Jin looked at Mu Jang and sent a message using his qi. "He's going to be a monster too." Mu Jang laughed loudly.
Ilho patted Jinhu on the back as they passed each other. "If you're going to be dumb, you better be strong." They both laughed.
Ilho stood in front of Wu Jin. Sa Gwan appeared and handed him two wooden butterfly swords, he turned and tossed a new sword to Wu Jin.
They bowed to each other, and the fight began. Ilho disappeared, a moment later he was on Wu Jin's left side, he swung both swords. They were met with equal force from Wu Jin's jian. Ilho jumped and flipped over above Wu Jin, and slashed as he did, each attack blocked or redirected. Ilho landed on Wu Jin's right side. He stepped back and disappeared again. Ilho was moving fast enough even Wu Jin was having a difficult time keeping up, since he couldn't move. Ilhos swords came quick, Wu Jin reacted and blocked. Then ilho dashed around more. Wu Jin's right foot pivoted so he could turn his body to see Ilho's trajectory. Ilho stopped. "Looks like you moved, Sect Leader."
Wu Jin looked down at his right foot. "Okay, you're the brains of you three I see. Well done."
Wu Jin looked at Sa Gwan. Sa Gwan simply nodded and pointed to his own forehead. Wu Jin watched as Ilho walked off. "We may just have a chance."
Blue stepped onto the platform. Wu Jin threw him a jian. "I bet you've been waiting for this opportunity." Wu Jin laughed. "I know what you know, just better. Remember that." Wu Jin took his place.
"That's what you think." Blue whispered to himself.
The night before Blue was behind the barracks going through the second scroll Wu Jin gave him. Whispering gale. Not too unlike the first form, rather just an extension of it. Each strike flowed into the next. With speed and precision that made it hard to block if you didn’t know it was coming.
[System Notification]
[Silent Edge- Whispering Gale Comprehension: 100%]
[Technique Archived]
Blue smiled. "I'll save this for when I need it."
Back on the platform Blue moved. Flowing Steel carried him past Wu Jin's guard, Edge of Dusk carried his jian further. Blue's blade tore through Wu Jin's sleeve just under his bicep. Blue looked up at Wu Jin and smiled, as his sword came down with enough force to crack the foundation. Blue narrowly dodged. "What the hell. He's going all out huh. Guess i can't save it for as long as I wanted." Blue attacked, probing Wu Jin for the right time to go in. Then he noticed, a small opening.
Blue feinted left, came back right. Edge of Dusk pierced Wu Jin's guard. Wu Jin adjusted, as he did he saw it. Whispering Gale. An upward slash that carried the weight of Edge of Dusk. Blue's jian flew past Wu Jin's face as he tried to dodge it. Wu Jin kicked Blue, out of pure reflex, in the stomach and sent him flying. As Blue landed he looked up. Wu Jin was wiping his face. A small cut had appeared on his cheek, as blood ran down.
Wu Jin looked back at Blue. "When did you-?"
"Last night, master." Blue stood.
Cheng approached Wu Jin and laughed. "Still want to underestimate him?" He turned to the boys. "Go eat and rest. Tomorrow is the start of your new paths."
Jinhu looked at Ilho. "Are you smart enough to tell us what the hell he meant by that?"
Blue looked at Ilho. "It's sounded ominous."
Ilho looked back at Cheng. "I have no idea what that meant."
The boys walked away chatting about what they just did to Wu Jin. Unaware of what Yeol had brought from the Tang Vault, or the pain that was about to be inflicted on them tomorrow.