Yeon Gaesomun
Later, Yang Manchun gives him a recommendation, but when Dae Jo-yeong returns to Pyongyang and gives the recommendation to Yeon Gaesomun, Yeon Gaesomun angrily rips it up and says that no one can stop Dae Joyeong from entering the contest now except for him. Dae Jo-yeong is flogged and returns to being a slave. On the day of the contest, he desperately tries to sneak in one last time, but gets caught and thrown into a barn.