3
1
9.
Every time the sword clashes mockingly, a tingling shock is transmitted to my hand.
Eunho shouted out of a sense of injustice.
I’ve reached my limit!
Then his senior brother spoke sarcastically.
So what? You’ve reached your limit, so do you want to die?
Squeak
The red light sword grazes the collar and slices through the hem.
“Seeing the slight sting, it is clear they deliberately cut a little deeper. ‘Damn human!’ I consumed two spirit pills during my rest period and reached the level of mastery in my martial arts, but there is always a limit.”
As if knowing all too well where the limit was, Jin So-woon pushed them to the brink of complete exhaustion through careful control of the pace.
“Haa, haa── haa.”
“Damn it.”
It was clearly revealed that not only Sa-ryeon and Sa-mae, but also Geum-pyo and Dong-ryong were pushed to their absolute limits.
“Again, are you planning to run away?”
The color of the black surface changes to red when lightly lifted.
Aaaaaaaah—along with a scream of unsettling energy originating from unknown places, I feel as if my soul is leaving my body as the killing intent tightens around me.
Even though this alone is enough to make one die, Jin So-un swings his sword without hesitation.
With a whooshing sound, dozens of sword blades filled with murderous intent spread out and tightened their grip on the four people’s entire bodies.
They know very well that their senior disciple will not kill them, but their bodies instinctively feel the fear of death.
“Ughhhh!”
Eunho shot forward, scattering his sword as if screaming at the top of his lungs.
I realized it in countless duels.
Running away was never the answer.
Moving forward when you are most afraid.
That was the correct answer in the end.
As Senior Brother always did.
Scratch the dantian vigorously to perform the exercise.
Since the amount of internal energy available is so small to begin with, the Great Heaven Sword Technique cannot even be attempted.
He uses only the Socheon Sword Technique, specifically the simplest form among them. ‘Anyway… … I can’t block everything.’ Therefore, he avoids only the most critical wounds with minimal movement.
Give your flesh and bones to the enemy, and take their heart.
That is the only way to survive in the current situation.
Swoosh—the moment he thought he had finally dodged the Red Light Sword and touched Jin So-un’s body.
“What are you going to do coming here all alone like this?”
Jin So-un suddenly lifted his foot and kicked Eun-ho as if he had been waiting for this moment.
puck!
Chaaak
Eunho, having been thrown three paces, crashed into the ground. ‘Please, let the others…’ He earnestly pleaded with the remaining three, but…
Pow! Pow!
– Chaaak
– *Screech* – ‘I haven’t even finished saying my last words yet…’ The three people also followed closely behind Eunho.
“Tsk tsk, to give up after doing just this much… Do you think you have the luxury to do this on the battlefield? If you don’t have internal energy, you just fight with physical strength, and if you don’t even have physical strength, then you fight with sheer willpower.”
What are you talking about? Anyone listening would think you’ve been rolling around on a battlefield for decades.
He is full of complaints inside, but he doesn’t utter a word.
That’s right, I tried venting my frustration two hours ago, but that crazy… no, Senior Brother, just continued the duel thinking, ‘I still have strength left.’
I also learned the realization that it is better to stay quiet even if I have something to say.
“Tsk, I’m going to restore this, Lee Gak.”
Jin So-un had already entered the palace before anyone realized it.
Eunho and the other disciples of Taeeulmun did not get up from their seats even though Jin So-un had left.
“ha…….”
“M-kill me.”
Because I was completely paralyzed.
In any case, the cloud work cannot be finished within two hours.
“I have no choice but to rest a little while practicing my martial arts.” “Haa… what on earth am I doing?” Feeling a sense of shame while practicing his martial arts while lying on the ground, Eunho turned his eyes to look at Saren.
“Sister, do you happen to know why Senior Brother is acting like that?”
I could tell by watching Sa-ryeon, whose face had been stiff all day yesterday and today.
Something happened between the two of them.
However, seeing Saryeon with a stern expression who wouldn’t utter a single word, he said he couldn’t bring himself to ask.
But now it is different.
If I continue like this for just a few more days, I might become the first student to die during training at the academy.
“…….”
I cannot become a vengeful ghost who died without even setting foot in front of the Murim Alliance.
Eunho urged Saryeon on once again.
“Sister, at this rate, we might all die together. No, actually, I am already dead. I am struggling like this just to save Geumpyo and Dongryong at least…”
“Senior Brother is…….”
Eventually, Saryeon spoke up at Eunho’s groan.
“……
It seems like they are worried about us.
What on earth are you worried about when you’re pushing someone to the brink of death like this?
“I was afraid that you wouldn’t be able to protect us when you weren’t there.”
Eunho’s deeply furrowed brow instantly relaxed.
Geumpyo and Dongryong, who had been staring blankly, opened their eyes wide and glared at Saren.
“I was afraid that the people who hate Senior Brother would hate and torment us instead of him.”
Saryeon raised her head and looked at the young priests.
For some reason, sadness emanated from Saryeon’s stiff face.
It seems like you’re worried about that.
I was sure I had run out of energy.
I thought I didn’t even have the strength to breathe anymore.
Crunch.
Strong tension builds in the jaw, and teeth grind.
The anger that had been directed at Senior Brother until now has turned into hostility and is directed at myself. ‘Have I become a burden again?’ Whether it was when I returned from the Iron Sword Sect, or when I heard the news about the regular examination.
I felt sorry and apologetic for him carrying so much on his own, so I tried to lighten his burden even a little.
However, no matter how much I tried to help, the burden on his shoulders did not lighten.
No, he fell into a sense of shame when he realized that he, too, was carrying that burden on his shoulders before he knew it.
I thought I had grown a little by coming this far, but I… …and my brothers hadn’t grown at all.
It must be because of the matter with the instructors.
Saryeon nodded slightly at Eunho’s voice, which had suddenly settled down coldly.
Eunho growled.
It doesn’t matter to us. Whether we get low scores or face discrimination, we don’t care about such things.
Saryeon looked at Eunho with a still sad expression.
“What if it doesn’t end at the school building?”
“What if this continues even after you join the Murim Alliance? What if we get scattered? What if the time comes when you have to obey your superiors’ orders? Will you still be able to remain unaffected then?”
The sorrowfully spat-out words deeply pierce the hearts of the Gold, Silver, and Bronze brothers.
If they can form a team and work together, they have nothing to fear, but in terms of individual skill, they are only about average within the academy.
If you go to the Murim Alliance, the gap will be even greater.
Without the protective shield of a clan, how much can they truly protect themselves?
“Damn it…… Damn it, damn it, damn it!”
The person likely to be most troubled right now was the senior disciple, who had fallen out with the instructor.
In the midst of all this, what he is most worried about is. [Don’t worry]
It was not themselves, but themselves.
That ignited Eunho’s anger like an active volcano.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
The bare fist struck the marble floor and quickly became covered in blood.
Just like themselves, who are utterly frail.
Although he was deeply wounded, no one easily tried to stop him.
Because they must all feel the same way as Eunho.
at that time.
Thump, thump, thump.
A group of people entered the training ground.
Saryeon stood up from his seat.
“huh?”
This place is strictly Jin So-un’s private training ground.
It was not a place where other people could enter.
Saren, having risen from his seat, let out a small groan as he looked at the faces of those entering.
Hmm.
They were none other than the newly appointed instructors and bridge heads.
At the very front of them, a pale-faced man was glaring.
“I heard Jin So-un is here?”
While Saryeon hesitated at the instructor’s question.
Eunho, without even properly wiping the blood flowing from his hand, got up from his seat and stepped forward in front of Saryeon.
“This is the student center representative’s private training ground. Please leave.”
Who are you?
The instructor furrowed his brow at Eunho’s words.
As if asking why someone like you is blocking my way.
Eunho was even more desperately furious at the fact that he was no threat to them.
If you would like to speak with the student center representative, please schedule a separate appointment and meet in the representative’s office. This is the representative’s private dormitory.
“I’m sure I asked who it was… And the dormitory is also an academic facility. What kind of academic facility is there that an instructor can’t access?”
The fact that I could not force the other person to do even the most obvious things, and the reality that I could not make them feel even the slightest threat, felt sorrowful.
So I spoke with even more intensity in my eyes.
“No matter how much of an instructor they are, they do not have the right to enter a student’s private living space at will. This is even more true when it comes to a sensitive facility like the training ground.”
Displeasure spread across the instructors’ faces at Eunho’s cold, retorting attitude.
“I asked three times who you were. Do you intend not to answer the instructor’s question? Do you want to get kicked out too?”
You bastard…
do?
My heart sank.
Clearly, Senior Brother did nothing wrong.
So, there will be no reason to be dismissed.
Nevertheless, my heart suddenly trembled at those words, which seemed to imply that Jin So-un’s retirement was already decided. ‘This must be exactly what Senior Brother was worried about…’ Such frailty, easily swayed by a single word and shaken by the slightest movement.
Eunho forced a sneer onto his lips.
A fake expression mimicking someone you have always seen.
But I felt like I would run away if I didn’t do this.
He spoke in a sarcastic tone, acting completely at ease just as that person had done.
“Expulsion for not answering a question… I suppose some dormitory regulations I wasn’t aware of were introduced during the last break?”
I could see a small crack forming on the other person’s face.
I merely imitated it, but somehow that alone seemed to be effective.
“Is this something the Education Office agreed to? Are you saying it is acceptable to just kick out the regular recruits we worked so hard to select like this? Or is this a regulation the instructors made up on the spot?”
The small crack grows larger and larger, and through it, emotions that have been kept tightly hidden until now surge up.
“How dare you act so arrogant in front of me!”
“Ah, did I say something wrong? Or…”
It was a strange thing. As the other person unleashed fiery rage, Eunho was actually able to maintain his composure colder than ever before.
“Are you getting worked up because I hit the nail on the head? Hmm… It seems you still haven’t come to your senses, even after suffering that fate for acting recklessly against our Senior Brother?”
“……!”
The other person couldn’t think of a reply and kept their mouth tightly shut.
I was fumbling my way through the sensations right in front of me, but luckily I touched a raw nerve.
While Eunho was intoxicated by a sense of victory and cheering quietly to himself.
The opponent’s eyes lit up.
Crunch.
When I noticed something was off and looked up, the instructor had already drawn his sword.
“How dare mere disciples of a third-rate sect… disrespect me in pairs?”
Not comparable to Jin So-un, but sufficiently sharp killing intent.
And sticky energy waves constricting the entire body.
His colleagues try to stop the instructor, who is acting as if he has lost his reason, but…
“Look here…….”
“Let go!! If I don’t cut off that bastard’s head today, I’m going to die instantly.”
He began to approach with genuine sincerity, as if he had nothing left to lose. ‘Damn it…’ If I had at least some internal energy, I might have been able to try running away, but right now I was barely holding on, struggling even to stand.
Moreover, it was already too late for Saryeon or the brothers standing behind to help.
Although there is a degree of difference compared to the Black Way, ultimately, the White Way is still a martial artist.
If I cannot control my anger, I end up resorting to physical force like this.
Eunho tried to raise his sword to fight back somehow, but the prediction that he would at least suffer serious injuries crossed his mind.
And then.
“Stop it. Clan Leader Noh Jin-ha. Aren’t you ashamed of the name of the Cheongseong Sect?”
At the relaxed tone of voice, the instructor, who had been lunging forward as if his eyes had rolled back, stopped abruptly.
What crazy bastard dares to mention Cheongseong… …!
Noh Jin-ha’s voice, which was about to scream, cut off abruptly.
From the end of his gaze.
“Anyway… so ridiculously loud.”
A man dressed as a scholar was walking slowly with his hands clasped behind his back.
Eunho tilted his head. ‘Who is this?’ Untidy hair and a gaunt appearance. Even the way he acted showed absolutely no sign of internal energy.
A man with an appearance completely out of place in the Murim Academy slowly approached the tip of No Jin-ha’s sword.
“Aren’t you going to clean this up?”
“Looks like this is going to stab you. Huh?”
Oh, no.
Noh Jin-ha, who had been foaming at the mouth like a mad dog just moments ago, tucked his tail between his legs and stepped back.
Who on earth is that man?
“Was the reason the Lord of the Eight Sects of Baekhogak went out of his way to come all the way to the academy to kill a student?”
It is none of your business, Manager.
“Oh, what a hurtful thing to say… I was the one who stamped your transfer request in the end, after all…”
It is a strange thing.
Having never learned a single martial art.
No, at the words of a man who looked frailer than the average man, No Jin-ha turned pale and changed his expression.
“Seeing as he was transferred here for such personal reasons…….”
The man, who had been leisurely looking around, smiles brightly as he looks at No Jin-ha.
I suppose you should say you have no more lingering attachment to Paldang, right?
“Th-what the heck!!!”
“Did you think you could kill a student and return to Paldang? Do you think I would allow something like that?”
It’s not… it’s not like that.
No Jin-ha answered with heightened determination.
“What do you mean ‘no’? Just looking at you, you don’t seem to have any lingering attachment to the Murim Alliance anymore. Weren’t you acting that way just moments ago?”
“Absolutely not.”
Are you sure it’s not true?
That is correct.
The bachelor nodded and waved his hand dismissively as if swatting away a fly.
Then you can go.
that.”
Then, he put his arm around Eunho’s shoulder in a friendly manner.
“He’s right, so why? After all, isn’t this the student council representative’s private training ground? It is a place where instructors cannot and should not trespass.”
No Jin-ha’s eyes shook violently.
It seems like they are experiencing internal conflict in a situation where they can neither just turn back nor do anything more.
Then, he finally managed to utter a single word.
I would like to speak with Jin So-un.
However, the bachelor cuts him off with a single stroke, as if he didn’t even need to hear it.
“We can settle that separately later. In any case, we didn’t make plans for today, did we?”
Noh Jin-ha and the instructors standing behind him also had a somewhat lukewarm reaction.
As if the man was someone they were afraid of, but who could not physically exert force against them.
“No matter who you are, Manager, you have no authority to tell us what to do.……”
“Come to think of it, the head of Baekhogak was throwing a tantrum asking for a budget increase… I was already thinking of conducting an inspection because I heard Baekhogak has been spending funds recklessly lately…”
I will return for now.
I will schedule another appointment later.
You think it’s going to go this easily? After all that fuss?
Eunho was dumbfounded by the unfolding situation.
The bachelor waved his hand again as if annoyed.
“Right, that’s a good idea. Go!”
No Jin-ha, who had bowed respectfully to the man, glared at Eun-ho as if to kill him, then abruptly turned his body.
As the instructors left, the man called the manager took his hand off Eunho’s shoulder and asked.
“Is Soun inside?”
Eunho, who had been staring blankly at the manager, asked cautiously.
Who are you?
“Huh? I’m someone who can meet Soun without an appointment.”
“No, what I’m curious about is…… I’m asking what kind of work you do…… that allows you to boss those people around like that.”
The man, who had been widening his eyes at Eunho’s question, soon burst into laughter.
“Huh? Ah! Hahaha. I was wondering what you were curious about, was that it?”
“If it is not too much trouble, what is your nickname…….”
Eunho unconsciously swallowed dry saliva.
Because I couldn’t sense even a shred of inner strength from the man.
Could it be that I simply didn’t feel he was a master?
however.
I haven’t mastered martial arts.
The answer I heard from the man was unexpected.
“What? Then why are they… Are you perhaps from a powerful sect or family?”
If you are the head of the Cheongseong Sect and the White Tiger Pavilion, you are in a position where you can bring down even a flying bird.
To think that someone like him would suppress his own emotions and turn back at a few words from someone who hasn’t even mastered martial arts.
It was simply hard to believe.
The man smiles faintly as he looks at Eunho’s face, which is filled with bewilderment.
Of course, since I am Meng Ju-won, the head of the General Affairs Department.
“Mantongbu…… Department Head…….”
Eunho, who had been mulling over the man’s position in his mouth, raises his head and looks straight at him.
“If I go to that place… will I gain such power even without martial arts?”
“Hehe…… In life, background and brute force aren’t the only forms of power, are they?”
After saying that, the manager patted Eunho on the shoulder and went inside.
Eunho thought as he watched Maeng Juwon’s retreating figure enter the building. ‘Damn…’ ‘Maybe the answer I’m looking for lies with that person.’ ‘He’s cool.’
