You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 124
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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124
A week had passed since the nights became quiet.
The Instructor’s brow gradually furrowed as he looked down at the Training Ground.
The mornings with their faint scent of blood no longer continued.
Yes, this much was still within acceptable limits.
Out of the original 512, 50 had survived.
Now all that remained was the slow process of weeding them out.
But what bothered him most was the changed attitude of the trainees.
It wasn’t trivial issues like insubordination or disobedience to orders.
If they had eyes, they would have already seen clearly what kind of ending disobedience brought.
After 30 years as an Instructor, wouldn’t he have at least one countermeasure for such things?
But the behavior this batch was showing was a strange phenomenon he had never once experienced in his entire 30 years as an Instructor.
“Cooperation…”
When one seemed about to fall, two or three would rush over to catch them,
supporting the back of a child who seemed ready to collapse.
This was the Demonic Sect.
The Hell Training Hall meant to filter out future Demon Warriors.
They had gathered here to kill each other and eliminate competitors, not to save each other.
Now he was starting to wonder if they were Demon Warriors or disciples of the Orthodox Sects.
The cause was clear.
Number 32.
After the trial of crossing the cliff, that bastard’s behavior had noticeably changed.
When he tried to save Number 128, the Instructor had actually thought to use that as an opportunity.
That with weak thoughts like Number 32’s, one could never become a Martial Artist of the Demonic Sect.
The Instructor’s plan to make them realize this as a clear example crumbled in an instant.
‘To think he would influence all the other kids too.’
In one way, it was impressive.
Though they were children, who exactly were they?
Children raised to become Demon Warriors.
To establish oneself in the hierarchy of such children in just one night was no easy task.
‘Is he truly different because he’s That Person’s bloodline?’
Even if it was only half-blood, That Person’s blood wouldn’t go anywhere.
“At this rate, we’re going to produce the highest number of successful candidates in history.”
The Instructor fell into thought for a moment.
Then, as if he had decided something, he rose from his seat.
“Se-gwang.”
At his call, Lower-ranking Martial Artist Se-gwang entered from outside the door, bowing his head.
“You called for me.”
“Send a report upstairs.”
The Instructor swept his cold gaze over The Kids who were passing through the trials.
“Tell them I will personally conduct the final trial.”
***
The day of the final trial.
The Instructor slowly climbed up onto the Platform.
The Instructor’s eyes, as he looked over the Trainees, twisted with obvious displeasure.
That was understandable.
The kids who should have had eyes filled with killing intent from slaughter battles and high-intensity trials were radiating the complete opposite atmosphere.
The Instructor slowly scanned the trainees and stopped his gaze in front of me.
“Number 32. Come up to the platform.”
I quickly climbed onto the platform as he commanded.
“Turn around and look down at the platform below.”
‘He seems to have some ulterior motive.’
I wasn’t the only one who sensed it.
A subtle tremor ran through The Kids.
“Number 32.”
“Yes.”
“What do you see?”
‘What’s his scheme?’
I couldn’t figure out his purpose.
“I see my classmates who passed through the trials together.”
“Classmates…”
The Instructor slowly approached and placed his hand on my shoulder.
“In my eyes, I only see weak failures.”
He continued speaking slowly.
“There is no place for the weak in the Divine Sect.”
The Instructor turned his head toward the trainees.
“Do you feel wronged being called failures?”
No one answered the Instructor’s question.
“Then prove it.”
The corner of the Instructor’s mouth twisted upward.
“Prove that you are warriors of the Divine Sect worthy of the Law of the Strong. That is the final trial of the Training Cave.”
Through those final words, I could guess the last trial the Instructor had designed.
Among the few laws of the Demonic Sect, the fundamental one was the Law of the Strong.
Reverence for power.
From that, countless essences of the Demonic Sect were derived.
The meaning of the law the Instructor spoke of was simple.
The pathetic behavior you’ve shown until now no longer matters.
If you want to live, if you want to remain as warriors of the Demonic Sect, prove that you are strong.
And the method to prove that was very primitive and simple.
Survival of the Fittest.
It meant to eliminate the weak by any means necessary, whether by killing or weeding them out.
Because that was the competition of living beings under nature’s food chain.
“Kill each other until 20 remain.”
“…”
The air in the cavern instantly became heavy and oppressive.
“Number 32 is excluded.”
When I was called to the platform, I had somewhat expected this.
I had already met the Instructor’s standards.
More precisely, rather than meeting the standards, I was closer to being a disruptive element.
If I were included down there, it would just be another 48-to-1 massacre.
That wasn’t the result the Instructor wanted.
I looked down below the platform.
A hesitant atmosphere spread among The Kids.
“Pathetic.”
The Instructor sighed.
“How can you call yourselves warriors of the Demonic Sect after seeing this?”
At the same time, he drew the sword from his waist and threw it at one of The Kids.
“Kugh!”
With a scream, the flying sword pierced through the Child’s chest.
“If you won’t move even after I’ve given you an opportunity, I’ll kill all of you even if it means facing disciplinary action.”
His voice, filled with Killing Intent, covered the entire Cavern.
One Child who had been watching the situation pulled out the embedded sword and slashed the throat of the Child next to them.
That was the signal.
The area below the platform instantly became a sea of blood.
Screams and the sound of clashing Weapons.
A hellish scene of chaos unfolded before us.
Gradually, Killing Intent began to appear in The Kids’ eyes.
“At least they’re not completely defective products.”
Though he said that, the Instructor’s expression wasn’t entirely satisfied.
‘I have no choice.’
I watched the scene and then stood up from my seat.
The Instructor’s gaze fixed on me.
“Insubordination? No matter how much you’ve inherited That Person’s blood, I won’t overlook it this time.”
“You said the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult has the Law of the Strong.”
At my words, the Instructor’s brow furrowed.
“So?”
“The Training Cave is also part of the Divine Cult’s territory, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. Within the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains—”
“I have no intention of listening to someone weaker than me.”
The Instructor’s expression instantly twisted.
But I paid no mind and raised my finger to point at the children in the battlefield.
“Let’s have a match. With them as the stakes.”
Silence fell.
Soon, the Instructor’s twisted lips slowly curved upward.
“Hehehehehehe!”
He clutched his forehead and burst into loud laughter.
Then he leaped onto the platform and landed in the middle of the battlefield, executing True Step.
Kuwoong—
A massive shockwave erupted, instantly pushing back the blood-soaked children.
That marked the end of the fighting.
All the children’s gazes focused on the Instructor.
“Good.”
I slowly descended from the platform.
“If Number 32 wins, I’ll consider all the trainees who survived to have passed.”
I glanced around briefly, but in that short time, fewer than 30 children had survived.
“But entrusting your life to someone else’s choice is shameful.”
The Instructor added a condition, plotting whatever scheme he had in mind.
“I’ll give you a choice between me and Number 32.”
The Instructor had come up with another way to reduce the number of people in that short time.
“If Number 32 wins, everyone survives. If I win, everyone except those who sided with Number 32 survives.”
A moment of silence.
The first to walk over was Number 128.
“Are you an idiot?”
I looked at Number 128 with an incredulous expression.
Whether I lost or won, considering all possible outcomes, siding with the Instructor was definitely the best way to guarantee survival.
“I don’t know. I was already dead anyway, so why not gamble once more.”
But Number 128 wasn’t the only fool.
Four people including him joined my side.
“It seems the choice has been made.”
The Instructor drew his sword from his waist.
“Then let’s begin.”
A chilling Killing Intent erupted from his body.
It seemed he had no intention of going easy on us.
At the same time, I also began circulating the Ghostly Energy within my body.
‘He’s at least one rank higher than I expected.’
It seemed I had underestimated the Instructor’s power too much.
‘A C-rank Hunter…’
Hoping this frail body would endure my power, I kicked off the ground and charged forward.
***
With a thudding sound, the Instructor looked up at me with an expression of disbelief.
‘That was close.’
I also shook the blood off my sword.
The Instructor’s condition was terrible, but my appearance couldn’t be called good either.
My clothes were torn in various places, and blood was seeping through the gaping wounds.
I didn’t expect him to give his absolute best against a child.
If the Instructor had been just a little stronger, the one who fell would have been me, not him.
‘The absence of Karmic Fire is quite painful.’
I don’t even hope for my original power.
If I had even as much as the Ghostly Energy currently in my lower abdomen, the fight would have ended in an instant.
It was when I turned around with such regretful feelings.
Thud—!
A dull sound filled the entire Cavern.
The Instructor was prostrating himself, pressing his forehead to the ground.
“I acknowledge… my defeat.”
Blood was dripping from his forehead as he slightly raised his head.
I didn’t expect him to go that far…
Setting that aside, this must be his way of survival.
Either engraving defeat in his memory and sharpening the blade of revenge,
or creating a connection in advance with me who succeeded.
Either meaning didn’t sit well with me.
‘Tsk, I need to get out of this damn world quickly.’
I clicked my tongue and continued walking.
***
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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