The applicants for this second test could roughly be divided into a few categories.

First, there were the bamboo enthusiasts.
Among the test items to be destroyed, the difficulty increased in the order of bamboo, wood boards, iron rods, stone slabs, thin iron plaques, and large stone plaques. The ones who chose bamboo were either those who opted for items below their actual skill level because they were told they must succeed if they challenged something or those who pursued the so-called "safe route," as people back in Cheong's hometown might call it. Or, perhaps, they were simply people …