At precisely 12:00 AM, the darkness on the Evernight Gate training ground was pitch black, illuminated only by a few torches whose flames danced wildly in the mountain breeze. Yoe Choin stood upright in the middle of the field, but the sight of him sent shivers down anyone's spine. A pair of heavy stone weights were strapped to his shoulders, while a rough rope wrapped around his back, pulling the additional weight behind him.
Choi smiled slyly, gazing at the row of newly arrived Year 2 students, their faces filled with sleepy, suppressed anger.
"Foreman... are you really going to do this?"
The voice of the real Moen Kang Yo trembled slightly in his inner chamber.
"Seeing you smile like that... you look even more bloodthirsty than I do when slaughtering enemies."
"This isn't about blood, Boss. This is about Murim's K3: Safety, Health, and Strength,"
Choi replied calmly.
"Without a foundation pushed to its limits, they are nothing but fragile structures that will topple in the wind."
The Year 2 students stood frozen as Choin emitted a dense, 3rd-level Structure Realm aura, compressing the air around them until it was hard to breathe.
"Welcome to your first shift!"
Choin shouted, his booming voice shattering the silence of the night.
"Your task is simple: take the pole. Tie a rock to both sides of it. Climb down to the foot of the mountain and back up again. Three times, back and forth!"
"Three times?! That's an insane distance to cover in the middle of the night!"
protested one of the senior students.
"Anything less than three times, and you'll be doing 200 push-ups with weights on your back!"
Choin retorted uncompromisingly.
"The pole is designed to stabilize your lower body. If you wobble, the rock will hit your own feet. Now, WALK!"
All the way up and down, Choin and Moen Kang Yo ran alongside them, carrying much heavier loads. Choin didn't just stand there, he bombarded them with mentally-wrenching words.
"Is this all the 'pillars' of this sect are capable of? You're more like rotting wood just waiting to be discarded!"
Choin mocked as he saw the disciples slowing down.
"Look at your legs! They're shaking like a foundation built on mud! No wonder Elder Gong treats you like slaves, because you have no structural dignity!"
For those who were lazy or tried to cheat, Choin didn't hesitate to use his physical strength to administer "manual correction"—a blow of his Qi-imbued hand that forced them back to their feet.
The atmosphere on the mountainside grew increasingly tense. The sound of the rope scraping against the pole sounded like the crack of bones about to break. The cold night fog pierced the bones, but the disciples' sweat evaporated from their bodies, creating a thin mist of steam that looked eerie under the moonlight.
A well-built disciple, Han-Goo, suddenly stopped. His breath was labored, while his legs were shaking so badly that his pole tilted dangerously.
"Mr. Moen! This is crazy! We are warriors, not craftsmen!"
shouted Han-Goo while throwing the wooden support on the ground. BROKE! The boulder hit the ground, creating a small vibration.
"What kind of training doesn't involve swords at all? I'm not willing to damage my body just to move rocks!"
Choin stopped. He turned slowly, the enormous weight on his back not even seeming to bother him. He walked toward Han-Goo, a faint dark purple aura pulsing in sync with his steady heartbeat.
"Warrior?"
Choin asked, his voice low and cold, more intimidating than the previous shout.
"You call yourself a warrior with legs that look like rotting bamboo?"
"I have sword techniques!"
Han-Goo retorted defensively.
"Your sword techniques are useless if your feet can't withstand the movement of an enemy attack!"
Choin stomped the ground with a small stomp, triggering a vibration frequency that sent Han-Goo crashing to his knees.
"Look at you. You're already falling just by carrying a static load. How are you going to withstand the dynamic load of a high-level master's attack?"
The other students watching could only swallow hard. The atmosphere around them felt like a building site ready to collapse at any moment.
"Master Moen... please... I can't feel my legs anymore."
Another student groaned in the back row, his pale face covered in sweat vapor.
Choi turned sharply.
"Numb? That means your nerves are in emergency shutdown due to prolonged disuse and strenuous training! Stand up! Use your Qi to strengthen your leg muscles, not just for flashy lighting blasts!"
Choi stepped forward, pushing past the exhausted students. Each step left a trail of cracks in the rocky mountain path.
"Listen, you're all defective materials!"
Choi exclaimed, scanning each of them with his Architect's Eye.
"The Evernight Sect is an old building on the verge of collapse because you're rotting pillars! Tonight, I'm going to make a change. I'm going to make you taste death, and then I'm going to revive you with renewed vigor!"
"And you, Han-Goo,"
Choi glanced at the student who had protested.
"Since you've thrown away your training 'material,' take back the wood. Add one more stone on each side as a penalty for delaying the project. If you stop working again, I'll use my sword to 'prune' your unproductive limbs."
Han-Goo looked Choin in the eye. He didn't see the mad Moen Kang Yo; he saw a figure from hell who knew no compromise. With trembling hands, he picked up his loader.
"Your steps are like a snail!"
Choin shouted again as he began to run ahead of them all with the seemingly impossible load.
"Remember, the enemy won't wait for your cement to dry! Move, or be buried as construction waste!"
That night, the slopes of Evernight Gate were filled with the sound of crashing rocks, ragged breathing, and the shadow of a man leading them into a physical frenzy beyond human limits.