When Cheon Yeo Woon vomited large amounts of blood out of his mouth and had to be carried to the academy's dispensary in the main building, the program was put on hold temporary. The reason was that every single one of the injured contestants on the field had to go into rehabilitative meditation.
Elder Oh Hang So Yoon had showed the potency of her sound wave attack, which was strong enough to deal a serious trauma to the internal organs of almost all one thousand of the new cadets who were present.
-Hmm.-
Although thanks to Cheon Yeo Woon's mind-blowing, bloody-fountain display all attention in the arena, including West Grand Lord Yi Hwa Myeong's, was unanimously cast on him for a brief moment, Yi Hwa Myeong's eyes were set elsewhere now.
-The two Grand Master candidates Cheon Moo Yeon of Hyeon Ma clan and Cheon Yoo Cheon of Do Ma clan who were respectively first and fifth in line to the Grand Master both were impervious to the powerful sound waves of Elder Oh… Well, not really, but these guys are quite formidable.-
To truly be impervious to the 50% full output-level sound waves of Elder Oh Hang So Yoo, one would have had to train at least sixty years to develop enough inner power.
-Ha, these kids have transcended the level of mere cadets.-
Their power levels were already at a point of eclipsing that of elite masters. Yi Hwa Myeong realized that the rumors were true that this year's "Battle for the Princeship" would likely revolve around the fierce showdown between Hyeon Ma clan and Do Ma clan. Of course, the other four were forces to be reckoned with in their own rights, but there was no question who the two dominant figures were.
-I am impressed.-
However, it wasn't only the six Grand Prince candidates who managed to stave off internal trauma.
The six offspring of the Grand Master certainly put up a good fight, but besides these there were also eight others in the crowd who belonged to one of the elite warrior clans who withstood the sound waves without serious injury.
-I expected the show to be boring, but maybe I was wrong. Keke.-
He had a feeling that they would be able to produce quite the handful of competent masters out of this year's cohort. Of course, one couldn't be too sure until all was said and done, but the true victors will have come into the spotlight after the four years were through.
In the history of the academy, only a very small minority who got a good start were able to hold on to their lead until the very end.
The total number of contestants were qualified to stage two was four hundred fifteen. There were about two hundred less contestants who moved on to stage two compared to the previous year.
Unlike last year, the intensity of the test in the first round was much higher this year thanks to Cheon Yeo Woon. Although it wasn't apparent to everyone in the arena, those who like Cheon Moo Geum turned around and saw what was transpiring in the back of the field knew that this madness was all the result of Cheon Yeo Woon. In a way, he earned himself one ally at the risk of attracting a dozen enemies. But there was no doubt that the one ally he had earned was worth his weight in gold.
Unfortunately, all those who fainted from the sound waves were accordingly disqualified and expelled from the academy.
"Wait! I didn't faint!"
"Why am I disqualified? I had foam in my mouth, but that doesn't mean I fainted!"
Unsurprisingly, there were those who refused to accept defeat. Within the Ma faction, there were many rebellious spirits who were the product of the cut-throat system where only the strong survive.
"So, you won't accept defeat, huh?
"Think about it, would you like to live selling firewood or farming vegetables for the rest of your life?!"
In the Ma faction where everything revolved around the fighting order to live as a merchant, farmer or a tradesman was to be treated less than even a commoner for the entirety of one's life.
The academy instructors languished at the mass rebellion of the disgruntled contestants who lost their chance at making something of themselves.
"It seems like you're just going to be sore losers."
"That's right."
"Then we have no choice but to force you out."
As the instructors warned, all those who were rowdily protesting once again were knocked out and dragged outside the academy by their feet. The host of this year's program West Grand Lord Yi Hwa Myeong, or otherwise known as the Lord of Underworld, didn't even have to lift a finger. The corps of thirty-six academy training instructors, who collectively measured up to the skill level of the Grand Master were not fighters the disqualified contestants can touch.
-Having good luck is considered a skill, and having no luck is just a part of your fate.-
West Grand Lord Yi Hwa Myeong looked on with cold indifference.
Finally, the threshing floor was cleared as the chaff was cast out and the wheat, the four hundred fifteen qualified cadets, were gathered into the academy. With their official induction, they all received a copper medal with the Chinese character "three" engraved on them, which signified that they have become low-level common masters.
"It's finally begun, huh?"
"I will climb this thing to the very top!"
Of these cadets, there were inevitably many who were full of high morale. They've just added their first of six notches on their belt. They were no doubt hyped.
As soon as they were given their bronze medals for the master classification, the group numbers were given out. The training instructors and West Grand Lord Yi Hwa Myeong grouped contestants based on both the information written down on the application they had submitted prior to coming into the academy and their overall performance in the first round.
With the exception of one group that had twenty members, the four hundred fifteen cadets were neatly put into twenty groups of twenty-one.
"You're probably curious why we've created twenty groups, no?"
"Fighting Ma!!!"
At Yi Hwa Myeong's question all the cadets in one voice shouted those two words. The reason for their unusual rebuttal lay in the fact that they were specifically instructed to answer all "yes" and "no" questions with the phrase 'fighting Ma,' and all other questions by positively or negatively repeating what is being asked. In the end, Host Yi Hwa Myeong's words always had the final authority within the academy.
"The two remaining tests for the common masters qualifying rounds with be held on the same day and same time for all cadets."
As impressive and important the Ma Fighting Academy was for the future of the Ma faction, they couldn't afford to be wasteful with their resources especially considering the sheer number of cadets that were being managed and the long duration of the program.
Within the Ma faction, low-level common masters typically were employed as guards or worked other similar menial tasks, which didn't require much inner power. This meant that it sufficed for them to possess only the most basic fighting skill. Accordingly, the academy's program was run in a way that further filtered out these individuals early on. However, if one wanted to effectively be a mid-level common master, it was imperative to learn the basic techniques and tactics that are used when fighting against formidable enemies like the fighting orders of the Jeong faction and Sa faction.
"The number of days required for you to learn the techniques and tactics of a mid-level common master is exactly twenty-one days (three weeks)."
"What, only twenty-one days?"
There was a look of concern in the faces of the cadets who were all standing in perfect formation on the main training field. It was hard trying to keep up with the academy's ever-changing, fast paced atmosphere.
"After three weeks, all of you who will have acquired the basic techniques and tactics will go head to head with each other. Only the ten groups who come out victorious will move on to the next round."
The fact that only ten groups will advance meant that half of all current cadets, roughly about two hundred of them, would be eliminated in the next round.
"This will be the first and last test that will require cooperation within your group, so, if you want to act independently and be belligerently divisive, then you can cordially put your arms around each other's shoulders and exit the academy together after your elimination."
Yi Hwa Myeong truly mastered the art of blindsiding you with his sarcasm.
Those who were most elated by the announcement were those who were grouped with many cadets from the elite warrior clans. Although the groups were divided evenly for the most part, there were definitely groups that were unintentionally disadvantaged with lower numbers of cadets from the elite clans. Naturally, there were some who were not very happy campers.
"With that, we will wrap up the day. You may go to your designated dorms, which are based on your group numbers. Tomorrow morning when you come out this field, the training instructors in front of you will begin to teach you the basic fighting techniques and tactics I talked about it in a very friendly manner."
The training instructors were expressionlessly standing "at ease" before the cadets who were themselves standing in formation among their groups.
-A friendly manner?-
-What a joke.-
Everyone saw how those "friendly" instructors mercilessly beat the crap out of the contestants who were disqualified after the first round with the black baton that are strapped on their side of their hips.
"We will break with this: 'Disperse!'"
"Disperse!!!"
With the energetic shout of the cadets, each one hurriedly made their way to their designated dorms.
Everyone's face was covered with looks of exhaustion from the first-round test. But among the crowd there was one cadet who was still standing in the same place while everyone was dispersing.
It was Cheon Moo Geum of Buk Ma clan, third in line to the Grand Master. He was waiting to make a special request from his training instructor.