Three Years of Blacksmithing, Achieving Divine Martial Arts - Chapter 7

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 7. Eulgeup Haawi Grade
The first to emerge from within Yeonmudang was an old man with a neatly groomed white beard.
His pace was slow, but the moment he appeared, nearly two hundred apprentices fell silent in unison. The two who followed him were equally striking.
One wore a black martial robe and was built like a fortress—with just a glimpse of his thick neck and broad shoulders, you’d think he’d break a man before he’d break a hammer.
Fagunjang’s master, Wang San.
The other came closer to a craftsman. His rolled-up sleeves in their gray work clothes bore layers of old burn marks and small scars. His knuckles were thick, his palms rough even from a distance.
Master of the Jangsingang.

Son Cheol-sim.
The white-bearded elder seated in the center was Bang-ju Yang Jeong-cheon.

‘So it’s these three.’

So Cheol

steadied his breathing.
In the Outer Gate, these were men whose names alone made people lower their voices. But seeing them in person now, the three carried entirely different presences.
Yang Jeong-cheon was quiet. Without any obvious pressure, yet each time his gaze swept past, the apprentices’ shoulders tensed of their own accord.
Wang San made no effort to conceal his sharpness. As his eyes traced the line, one boy in front instinctively drew back his chin.
Son Cheol-sim, meanwhile, had barely taken his seat before his attention dropped to the training hall floor. He must have noticed one of the blue stones slightly raised, for he tilted his chin toward the disciple standing behind him.
So Cheol’s gaze lingered for a moment.

‘That man is truly a craftsman.’

His eyes read the floor before he read people.
Yang Jeong-cheon slowly surveyed the apprentices.

“A lot of new faces this year.”

Wang San answered quietly.

“The numbers are high. The question is how many of them are worth working with.”

Worry colored his tone more than hope.

“Jowunbang obtained one Gapgeup Grade last year. We had a Gapgeup come through some years back too, but he never secured a place in the Sword Master Selection. If this keeps up, the gap between us widens.”

Son Cheol-sim folded his arms.

“If a gang crumbles because one man slipped through our fingers, it wasn’t worth much to begin with.”

Wang San glanced to the side.

“Which is why the Jangsingang Master’s mind is always at ease.”
“It’s not ease—it’s seeing steel. If there’s no good steel, you work with what you have and beat it into shape.”
“So you see men as lumps of metal?”
“At least I don’t beat them with words the way you do.”

A few elders nearby looked away.
Yang Jeong-cheon stroked his beard.

“We have an audience of children.”

It was a brief remark.
Son Cheol-sim closed his mouth, and Wang San said nothing more.
Even that brief exchange made clear the three were no monolith. Within the Iron Smith Gang’s broad umbrella, when duties differed, so did their vision. Fagunjang counted men and strength; Jangsingang weighed steel and craft; and above them, the Bang-ju bound the two together.

For So Cheol, who had known only a single smithy in the Outer Gate, it was new knowledge. Stepping into the Inner Gate meant more than learning one more martial technique—it meant setting foot in this tangle of interests.
So Cheol smiled to himself.

The relationship between the three men became clear. Wang San weighed the gang’s future prospects and the balance of power, while Son Cheol-sim trusted his own hands to nurture and build more than such calculations.
Who was right remained uncertain.
But So Cheol’s gaze lingered a moment longer on Son Cheol-sim.
It was because he was a man who worked with steel.
Yang Jeong-cheon rose from his seat.

“These children have endured three years. I won’t waste time with lengthy words.”

His voice resonated evenly through Yeonmudang.

“Today I will examine your Bone Structure, and those deemed suitable will be admitted to the Inner Gate. For those who fall short, I will not forget the three years you’ve labored at the Iron Smith Gang.”

Someone in the back swallowed hard.

“Come forward, one at a time.”

The examination began.
The first boy stepped forward.
Yang Jeong-cheon pressed along the wrist and elbow, then traced his fingers across the shoulders and spine. His movements were swift and precise as he tested the tendons and assessed the thickness of bone.
It took hardly ten breaths.

“High Byeonggeup Grade.”

The boy’s face hardened.
The Inner Gate required Eulgeup Grade or higher.
He was one rank short.

“Continue at the Outer Gate for three more years. When your body is fully grown, things may change.”

Yang Jeong-cheon spoke with cold precision, yet he had not closed the door entirely.
Still, the boy’s steps were heavy as he departed.
Then Wang San spoke.

“Lift your head.”

The boy flinched.

“Every apprentice who comes this far today receives one liang of silver, regardless of the outcome. Your three years haven’t vanished, so don’t lose your spirit over one judgment. If you do, even martial training won’t carry you far.”

The mention of one liang stirred murmurs from the back.
Some faces showed they were already calculating the money before the Inner Gate advancement.
So Cheol understood.
One liang was far from a trivial sum for a poor household. It also meant they wouldn’t send the rejected away empty-handed.
The examination continued.
Jeonggeup Grade.
Mid Byeonggeup Grade.
High Byeonggeup Grade.
When the occasional Eulgeup Haawi appeared, gasps erupted from the crowd. The successful candidate was immediately placed in a separate line toward the Inner Gate.
Yet such cases were rare.
Among a hundred or so apprentices, only a handful switched lines.
The faces of those who fell short and those still waiting continued to change. Some forced smiles at the thought of one liang, while others bit their lips until they went pale. Three years of sweat before the furnace was being divided by a few words today.
So Cheol could not view it as someone else’s affair. Without the Bronze Cauldron, he could not have known which side of that line he would stand on.
So Cheol’s turn drew near.
Jin Sabu spoke softly beside him.

“Breathe.”
“I am breathing.”
“I don’t hear it.”

So Cheol finally exhaled slowly.
It would have been a lie to say he wasn’t nervous.
As he fitted the worn Apprentice Hammer into the Bronze Cauldron, even a portion of Jin Sabu’s Bone Structure was added to his own. Since Jin Sabu himself had said his was Eulgeup Haawi, the chances of crossing the Inner Gate threshold were high.
The problem came after that.
So Cheol didn’t know how strong his original Bone Structure was.

“So Cheol.”

His name was called.
So Cheol stepped forward.
When he stood before Yang Jeong-cheon, far more eyes fell on him than he’d expected. The story about the crocodile had spread through the Outer Gate days ago, and it seemed Jin Sabu had already reported news of the Manwusang to those above.
Yang Jeong-cheon grasped his wrist.

“Relax.”
“Yes.”

Fingers traced along the knuckles of his bones, moving upward.
Wrist.
Elbow.
Shoulder.
Back and spine.
With each point of pressure, a subtle force probed deeper. It wasn’t simply touching bone—he was reading the response of muscle and sinew as well.
So Cheol made no attempt to hide his Qi and Blood.
If he’d tried to control it carelessly, it might have looked suspicious instead. He simply stood there like a novice undergoing his first examination.
Yang Jeong-cheon’s hand stilled.

“Eulgeup Haawi.”

So Cheol forgot how to speak for a moment.
He could enter the Inner Gate.
It was a good result.
But his mind was already running a different calculation.

‘Eulgeup… Haawi?’

Jin Sabu’s Bone Structure was also Eulgeup Haawi.
The Bronze Cauldron added to him the talent and memory embedded in the objects he equipped.
Which meant that even after adding Jin Sabu’s portion, he still measured as the same Eulgeup Haawi.
That could only mean his body’s original Bone Structure was far weaker than he’d thought.
So Cheol’s lips tightened almost imperceptibly.

‘That was close.’

Without the Bronze Cauldron, he likely wouldn’t have even crossed this threshold today, let alone been capable of learning martial arts.
In that moment, Yang Jeong-cheon raised his eyebrows.

“But then…….”

The old man’s hand pressed against So Cheol’s shoulder again.

“Take a deep breath and exhale for me.”

So Cheol breathed.
Whoooosh.
A thick breath flowed out long and steady.
Yang Jeong-cheon’s eyes changed.

“Manwusang.”

A murmur spread through the crowd behind him.
Son Cheol-sim leaned forward with interest.
His gaze swept over So Cheol from feet to shoulders in a single motion.

“Eulgeup Haawi, and you’ve already grasped Manwusang?”

It was the first time he’d shown direct interest in So Cheol.
Yang Jeong-cheon examined his arms and shoulders again.

“Strange. Looking at your frame alone, your compatibility with the Hammer Technique line is far from ordinary, yet your Bone Structure barely reaches Eulgeup Grade.”

After a moment’s thought, he questioned So Cheol.

“Have you trained in martial arts elsewhere?”

So Cheol’s heart beat hard once.

“No, sir.”

He kept the lie brief.
Yang Jeong-cheon glanced toward Jin Sabu.
Jin Sabu immediately bowed.

“I have not provided any instruction outside the regulations. It is true that his strength and breathing have improved noticeably of late.”
“Hmm.”

Yang Jeong-cheon regarded So Cheol for a moment, then withdrew his hand.

“The human body isn’t as clear-cut as a book. My hands don’t catch every nuance of the Bone Structure either.”

He wrote something on the assessment sheet.

“So Cheol, Inner Gate—passed.”

Jin Sabu’s rigid expression softened.
So Cheol bowed respectfully as well.

“Thank you.”

Son Cheol-sim tossed out a remark from beside him.

“Don’t get too happy about entering the Inner Gate. Whether that frame of yours is actually any good will show the moment you pick up a hammer.”

His words were harsh, but calculation was already churning behind his eyes.
So Cheol remembered that look.
* * *
By the time the examinations ended, roughly ten of the hundred-odd apprentices had passed into the Inner Gate.
And at the last, a name rang out that completely shifted the atmosphere of the Yeonmudang.

“Yeo-ui.”

A boy stepped forward from the line.
So Cheol remembered him.
The cold-faced boy whose presence had caused Wang San’s gaze to pause just moments before—quieter than his peers, keeping his mouth closed even when the other apprentices chattered away.
Yang Jeong-cheon’s hands swept across Yeo-ui’s arms and back.
This time, the examination took a little longer.
Moments later, a clear smile appeared on the old man’s face for the first time.

“Gapgeup Grade.”

The Yeonmudang fell silent.
A moment later, gasps erupted.

“Gapgeup Grade?”
“Really? He achieved it?”

Satisfaction flickered across Wang San’s face as well. Son Cheol-sim, arms folded, studied Yeo-ui once more.
Yang Jeong-cheon nodded after several more confirmations.

“It’s difficult to determine the precise substage yet. Still, there’s no doubt he’s reached Gapgeup Grade.”

Yeo-ui bowed at the waist.

“Thank you.”

His voice was measured.
But the moment he turned, his eyes swept across the other successful candidates in a fleeting glance. He was not unaware that he had received the highest evaluation among them all.
His gaze met So Cheol’s.
Neither looked away first.
It was only a brief moment.
Yeo-ui returned to his place first.
So Cheol attached no particular significance to it.
Gapgeup Grade was certainly remarkable talent. But that didn’t mean the bone structure of a peer he’d just met would determine his own path forward.
His attention lay elsewhere.
He himself was Eulgeup Haawi, and yet Manwusang had appeared.
Even Yang Jeong-cheon had found that combination unusual.
If better equipment were installed in the Bronze Cauldron going forward, there was a strong likelihood his bone structure would continue to transform.

‘This evaluation isn’t the end, then.’

That fact alone was enough.
Beside him, Jin Sabu was exhaling slowly. He seemed far more tense than So Cheol, though it wasn’t even his own examination. When their eyes met, Jin Sabu immediately turned away with a small cough.
So Cheol pretended not to notice. Instead, as he moved to stand with the Inner Gate successful candidates, he bowed his head very slightly. Jin Sabu, without a word, lifted his chin once in acknowledgment.
Yang Jeong-cheon positioned roughly ten successful candidates before him.

“Bone Structure merely makes the path easier to walk. It does not walk for you.”

His gaze flickered to Yeo-ui for a moment, then moved to the other youths.

“Those graded Eulgeup do not win every match forever, nor do those graded Gapgeup grow strong of their own accord.”

At that, Son Cheol-sim suddenly rose from his seat.

“Enough intimidating them with words. Now let’s see what their bodies can do.”

Wang San’s eyes narrowed.

“You’re saying the Master of Jangsingang will oversee this test?”
“Why? You object?”

Son Cheol-sim did not wait for a reply. He clapped his hands once.
Disciples of Jangsingang filed in through the side entrance of the Yeonmudang, lined up in formation.
Each carried a heavy hammer in hand.

Thud!

The first hammer was placed on the ground.

Thud! Thud!

Blue stone rang out in succession.
So Cheol’s eyes fixed on the hammers.
It was a different size entirely from what the apprentices usually used.
Son Cheol-sim broke into a grin, showing his yellowed teeth.

“Did you think you were done once your Bone Structure was set?”

He nudged a hammer with the tip of his foot.

“Today I’m going to show you the Hammer Technique for one Shichen.”

The faces of those who had passed grew tense.

“And you’ll replicate it exactly with this.”

Son Cheol-sim lifted the hammer’s shaft with one hand.

“Fifteen catties.”

The Yeonmudang fell silent again.
So Cheol blinked once this time.
It was a different world from the eight-catty Apprentice Hammer.
But the reason he was startled was somewhat different from the others.
They were being asked to learn and replicate it all within one Shichen.
So Cheol already carried the memory of the Hammer Technique he’d received from Jin Sabu.

‘This test…’

The corner of his mouth lifted just slightly.

‘It’s far too much in my favor.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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