The World’s Greatest Martial Arts Instructor - Chapter 204

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 204. You’re Right

 

 

The same group members looked at Dang Jin-san with surprised faces as well.

To say such words upon first meeting.

Cho Mu-ha stood there dumbfounded for a moment.

And his peers as well.

Soon they realized the meaning of Dang Jin-san’s words and their faces turned red.

“Even if you are our seniors, those words are…”

Just as Cho Mu-ha was about to say something.

“These were the very first words we heard when we first met our instructor.”

Dang Jin-san’s words continued.

Cho Mu-ha’s words stopped.

“Of course, we were also speechless like you are now. Then what he said next was.”

“Did you come to Maengryong Corps because you want to die?”

Dan Mok Un-rae continued.

Of course, Ha Mu-baek had left first in between, and came back to buy them rice.

But if we’re talking about the order of words he conveyed to Maengryong Corps, Dan Mok Un-rae was right.

Go home.

Then next was, do you want to die?

That was the flow.

The faces of the Maengryong Corps 7th Unit cadets relaxed.

They had caught on to Dang Jin-san’s intention.

“Maengryong Corps is different from Jamryong Unit and Waryong Corps. The training period is barely two years. After training ends, you’re immediately deployed to actual combat.”

Dang Jin-san recalled the senior Maengryong Corps cadets he had seen during the break period.

They were different from the juniors before his eyes.

They didn’t particularly approach the seniors, and the seniors didn’t approach them either.

They merely belonged to the same Maengryong Corps, but there was no interaction or rapport between them.

He had thought this year would be the same.

But as soon as they entered Damryong Pavilion and met, a junior approached first calling them senior.

Dang Jin-san couldn’t just stand still at that sight.

Moreover, to say he decided to enter Maengryong Corps after watching Ju U-myeong and Baek Ri-pyeong’s martial duel at the Copper Head Restriction.

It was completely wrong.

Maengryong Corps wasn’t a place you should enter with such feelings.

It was like seeing themselves from a year ago.

They had been lucky.

They met Ha Mu-baek as their instructor.

But this passionate junior wouldn’t have such luck.

So he thought he should tell him.

Suddenly he recalled the image of seniors practicing shield technique for the last time just before actual combat deployment.

Desperate yet resolute, and on one hand, completely terrified and afraid.

That would be the reality of Maengryong Corps.

After experiencing Sanwol Demon Forest and witnessing the final training of upper-year cadets at Gyoryong Hall, he understood even more what kind of place Maengryong Corps was.

It was incomparable to last year when he came just because some old-fashioned person told him to go.

“Survival rate after actual combat deployment: fifty percent. This is the reality of Maengryong Corps. You must approach training with a desperate mind to survive somehow. Not thinking the Copper Head Restriction was cool.”

Dang Jin-san’s words continued.

It was a serious and weighty appearance.

His peers were surprised enough to wonder if Dang Jin-san had always had this side to him.

“Yes, yes. I understand.”

Was Cho Mu-ha also overwhelmed by that weight?

He nodded and answered.

“Thank you for the advice.”

He even bowed his head.

“Right. Enjoy your meal. And come find us if you have any difficulties. It’s only a year anyway.”

Dang Jin-san patted Cho Mu-ha’s shoulder.

“Yes.”

Cho Mu-ha answered with a slightly moved voice.

“There’s one monster instructor in Maengryong Corps. Maybe that person will grab you by the scruff and help you survive.”

Yeon Ha-min, who had been quiet until now, suddenly said that and sat down first.

Everyone looked dumbfounded at her sudden action.

It was behavior unlike her, with expressions unlike her.

“Monster… instructor…?”

Cho Mu-ha tilted his head and asked.

“There is such a person. Except for being lazy. The fact that you can eat rice here like this, and the Copper Head Restriction that moved you. They’re all the monster instructor’s work.”

Dang Jin-san said that much, then turned and sat down.

The Seventh Group party sat down and really began eating.

Cadets from other corps eating at Damryong East Pavilion glanced at them.

It was a sudden small commotion, but no one could say anything to them.

A completely different sight from a year ago.

A year ago, Maengryong Corps cadets couldn’t even enter Damryong East Pavilion, let alone cause such a commotion.

They could only use Damryong South Hall where rice that wasn’t even like rice was served.

Now the quality of meals at all Damryong Pavilions was the same.

‘Come to think of it, this too.’

Was Ha Mu-baek’s doing.

It was the very first incident that turned Gyoryong Hall upside down.

Of course, among the current Jamryong Unit and Waryong Corps cadets, there would be those who found it annoying that Maengryong Corps cadets were acting up at Damryong East Pavilion.

But even they couldn’t say anything.

It was natural.

The winner and runner-up of the last Copper Head Restriction.

The two strongest people currently at Gyoryong Hall were in Maengryong Corps, sitting right there.

This also made them feel the vicissitudes of life.

It was only a year ago that they were humiliated for not being able to handle even one Dang Chu.

To think they could become this strong in that time.

It was reality, but honestly hard to believe.

Baek Ri-pyeong, the runner-up of the Copper Head Restriction, couldn’t defeat even one Dang Chu last spring.

When he remembered that time.

Dang Jin-san chuckled.

“What’s wrong?”

Baek Ri-pyeong asked.

“Ah, I was thinking of this time last year.”

“Ah.”

At Dang Jin-san’s answer, Baek Ri-pyeong nodded and smiled slightly.

Whoosh.

Then something flew toward the Seventh Group cadets.

Thud.

Dang Jin-san lightly caught it. It was a fairly large pouch.

“What’s this?”

He asked while looking toward where the pouch had come from.

There sat Namgung Ji-hu and Namgung Ji-yu.

“Something interesting happening?”

Namgung Ji-hu asked as he sat down beside them.

“Ah, we were just talking about this time last year.”

Baek Ri-pyeong answered his question.

And the gazes of the Seventh Group cadets all turned toward Namgung Ji-hu at once.

A story that Ju U-myeong and Ha Seol-ran didn’t know.

Events from before they entered the Maengryong Corps.

The same memory surfaced in all five people’s minds simultaneously.

And all five smiled at the same time.

At their laughter, Namgung Ji-hu scowled deeply.

“Tch. That’s an embarrassing memory for me. You monsters.”

At Namgung Ji-hu’s reaction, the Seventh Group cadets’ laughter grew even deeper.

A smile also appeared on Namgung Ji-yu’s lips as she sat with them.

Thinking back, it was just as embarrassing for her too.

But that was the first time.

When everyone was clumsy.

Since Namgung Ji-yu believed that people mature by accumulating such experiences, she could smile even at those memories.

“No, but seriously, what is this thing?”

Dang Jin-san asked again.

“You’ll know if you open it. It’s moon cake. A Hefei specialty you can only get in Hefei. It’s a return gift.”

Namgung Ji-hu answered as if it was nothing special.

“Oh ho. The famous moon cake from Anhwasang?”

Dang Jin-san asked with delight.

“Did that rumor spread all the way to the Capital City?”

“Ah, some guy who went to Hefei bragged about it so much.”

Dang Jin-san put down his spoon, took out a moon cake from the pouch, and ate it first.

Everyone chuckled as they watched him.

“The monster isn’t us, but someone else.”

Dan Mok Un-rae said, thinking of someone.

Namgung Ji-hu unconsciously nodded at those words.

Because he knew who that monster was.

The person who had transformed those five beyond recognition.

“But I don’t see that monster instructor today.”

“He said he couldn’t rest properly during the break period, so he needs to rest intensively until today.”

Nak U-jin answered.

“Ah, I heard the news. Muchang was in chaos.”

Namgung Ji-yu said as if remembering.

The Blood Cult. The Soul Sleep Poison.

Could that incident simply be described as chaos?

The seven people who experienced it directly shook their heads.

“It wasn’t chaos, it was pandemonium.”

“It was a scene from hell.”

The cadets each shared their thoughts.

“Well, at least Un-rae found his family martial arts.”

At Dang Jin-san’s words, the Namgung siblings’ gazes turned to Dan Mok Un-rae.

“Family martial arts?”

“That’s right. So Ji-hu, you better be nervous. It won’t be like last year. Un-rae doesn’t just use the Three Talents Sword Technique anymore. He’s also learned the Dan Mok Family’s martial arts.”

Dang Jin-san spoke proudly as if it were his own achievement.

“The Dan Mok Family?!?”

The Namgung siblings exclaimed in unison.

They never imagined he could be a descendant of the Dan Mok Family, the prestigious clan that had been annihilated.

The Five Great Families’ judgment was that there were no survivors from the Dan Mok Family.

“So you were a descendant of a prestigious family.”

At Namgung Ji-yu’s words, Dan Mok Un-rae’s face turned bright red.

He felt embarrassed to hear such words from the eldest daughter of the Namgung Family.

“The Three Talents Sword Technique is also an excellent sword technique.”

Namgung Ji-hu said calmly.

At those words, Baek Ri-pyeong smiled.

“It seems you learned it during the break period.”

The advice Baek Ri-pyeong had given Namgung Ji-hu during the winter competition.

Namgung Ji-hu had put it into practice.

“We really worked hard. Both me and Ji-hu. We only started training the Azure Sky Unhindered Sword at the very end of the break period.”

He swallowed the words that he had practiced the Three Talents Sword Technique while avoiding the eyes of his family members.

He had done so to avoid unnecessarily becoming the subject of family gossip.

“I should have just stayed at Gyoryong Hall during the break too.”

Namgung Ji-hu said with a frown.

Seven pairs of suspicious eyes turned toward Namgung Ji-hu.

“This isn’t the place for such talk, so let’s discuss it later.”

At Namgung Ji-yu’s words, Namgung Ji-hu focused on his meal.

The cadets in Damryong East Pavilion stole glances at those nine people with their own perspectives.

There were gazes of jealousy and envy, as well as gazes of admiration.

Especially Cho Mu-ha’s group was glancing at their seniors with sparkling eyes.

 

***

 

Ha Mu-baek sat on his bed with a deeply furrowed brow.

Because of the visitor across from him.

He had been enjoying a pleasant afternoon nap.

Who would have thought someone would visit unannounced and boldly throw open his door?

“What kind of rudeness is this, Academy Director?”

Ha Mu-baek’s voice was full of anger.

Peng Do-yul, sitting in the chair across from the bed, was just smiling.

“You keep things neat and tidy.”

There wasn’t much to call neat and tidy.

It was a simple room with no particular belongings.

“That’s not what I was talking about.”

“Since you were hiding away and wouldn’t come out, I came to find you myself.”

“I shouldn’t have any work today, right? And even if there was, a certain instructor agreed to handle it all.”

At Ha Mu-baek’s words, Peng Do-yul’s smile deepened.

“Didn’t you dump it on him rather than him agreeing to handle it?”

At the returned question, Ha Mu-baek slightly averted his gaze.

“A year ago, did you call us sons of bitches?”

At Peng Do-yul’s question, Ha Mu-baek searched his memory and nodded.

“Well, I did say that.”

“How about now?”

“Still sons of bitches?”

At Ha Mu-baek’s blunt words, Peng Do-yul gave a bitter smile.

“That’s right.”

A year had passed, but there had been no changes to the Maengryong Corps itself.

It was still exactly the same.

So Gyoryong Hall was still a bunch of bastards.

“That’s why I’m trying to bring some change to Gyoryong Hall, or more precisely, to the Maengryong Corps. They should at least try to be human, shouldn’t they?”

At those words, Ha Mu-baek slightly frowned.

He sensed something ominous in Peng Do-yul’s words.

“I see. You didn’t need to come all the way here just to tell me that, Academy Director. Then I’ll be going…”

As Ha Mu-baek got up from the bed and prepared to leave.

“If you leave now without hearing the rest of my story, you’ll be no different from those bastards at Gyoryong Hall.”

Ha Mu-baek, who had just taken one step, stopped right there.

It was a trap.

He should have realized it when the events from a year ago were brought up.

How did this happen.

He was the one who had criticized both Gyoryong Hall and its Academy Director as bastards after learning about the treatment of the Maengryong Corps.

Now that they were talking about bringing change to that same Maengryong Corps, if he backed out, he would become the same kind of bastard.

Ha Mu-baek had taken the bait that was thrown by mentioning the events from a year ago.

He rarely made such mistakes.

‘Ah. How did this happen. I’ve lost my touch.’

Watching Ha Mu-baek standing still, Peng Do-yul smiled once more and said.

“Why don’t you sit down? Your legs must be getting tired.”

Ha Mu-baek crossed his arms and slumped back down on the bed.

His gaze wasn’t directed toward Peng Do-yul.

“Fine, what are you trying to make me do?”

“First, let me thank you.”

Peng Do-yul got up from his chair and bowed to Ha Mu-baek.

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“Actually, thanks to you, I was able to plan for change.”

Ha Mu-baek still looked puzzled.

“You know the purpose of the Maengryong Corps, but to put it bluntly, they’re meat shields. Their role is to become sacrificial lambs to the jiangshi so that the Demon Suppression Corps can more easily control the jiangshi population in Sanwol Demon Forest.”

At Peng Do-yul’s blunt words, Ha Mu-baek’s face became expressionless.

“The Jeongcheon Alliance doesn’t want to spend budget on such people. They just need to make them capable of holding a sword and standing before jiangshi. Thanks to that, while we accepted a hundred Maengryong Corps cadets, the budget wasn’t properly allocated.”

The more he heard the explanation, the more his anger flared.

Jeongcheon Alliance.

They called themselves an alliance of righteous sects, but looking at their actions, they were worse scoundrels than even the Four Seas Alliance.

“In the end, it’s a budget problem.”

Peng Do-yul continued his explanation with a stern face.

“Fortunately, the head of Gyoryong Hall’s Geumdang is Namgung Hwa-in.”

Ha Mu-baek tried to recall the person named Namgung Hwa-in.

He didn’t leave much of an impression.

“He’s the sixth cousin of the current Namgung Family Head. Thanks to that, he has tremendous pride in being from one of the Five Great Families, has a nasty personality, and great ambition. He was quite angry when you destroyed Instructor Sa Do-gwang.”

“Ah…”

He remembered now.

After he had destroyed Sa Do-gwang, some strange flies had bothered him.

Those guys must have been from Geumdang.

Of course, he had dealt with them quickly. They were pathetic.

“How is having such a guy as the head of Geumdang fortunate?”

“His business acumen was as outstanding as his nasty temper. That fellow’s goal is to build achievements at Gyoryong Hall’s Geumdang, then go to the Jeongcheon Alliance’s Geumhae Pavilion to become its pavilion master. So he worked really hard to maximize his performance here. Thanks to that, Gyoryong Hall’s finances became solid.”

“It seems he secured finances beyond the budget sent down from the Jeongcheon Alliance.”

Peng Do-yul nodded at Ha Mu-baek’s words.

“And within Gyoryong Hall’s budget, there’s a budget that can be used for Academy Director staff. As the finances increased, that budget also grew, and I used it to raise the Maengryong Corps’ monthly salary. That was about the limit of what I could do.”

Ha Mu-baek just listened quietly.

“Then this incident happened.”

Peng Do-yul smiled slyly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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