The World’s Greatest Martial Arts Instructor - Chapter 433

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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 433. You’re Already Here

 

 

Morning had dawned.

The moment to conclude the year at Gyoryong Academy.

The time for cadets to showcase their skills to finish with a flourish.

The Winter Tournament.

If there was anything unusual about this year’s Winter Tournament, it was that many cadets from Maengryong Corps had applied to participate.

Thanks to this, Peng Do-yul changed the Winter Tournament from two days to three days.

That’s how many participants there were.

About twice as many as previous years.

Maengryong Corps’ rapid progress was evident.

It was natural that five from Maengryong Corps’ 7th and 20th Groups advanced to the round of sixteen, excluding Dang Jin-san and Nak U-jin who didn’t participate.

But beyond that, not only Jeok Ga-ye and Ung-cheol, but even Bi Jin-hyeop advanced to the round of sixteen.

Bi Jin-hyeop’s martial arts were truly peculiar.

He would desperately dodge without getting hit, then seize victory with a counterattack at the decisive moment.

Maengryong Corps occupied eight spots in the round of sixteen.

Eight spots went to Jamryong Corps and Waryong Corps.

Jamryong Corps and Waryong Corps combined barely matched Maengryong Corps in numbers.

Even this might have been reduced further if Dang Jin-san and Nak U-jin had participated in the Winter Tournament.

It was a devastating result.

Among the cadets from Jamryong Corps and Waryong Corps going to Bongma Corps, they would be commanding those Maengryong Corps cadets as subordinates.

Yet they might actually be weaker.

After the round of sixteen was decided, Peng Do-yul smiled, while Maengryong Corps Leader Moyong Jin-ho looked bewildered.

And the faces of Jamryong Corps Leader Neung U-dam and Waryong Corps Leader Sang Gyeong-mun turned sour.

This was already the fourth time.

Following last year’s Summer Tournament, Winter Tournament, and this year’s Summer Tournament, now the Winter Tournament too.

‘What on earth happened to Maengryong Corps…’

Neung U-dam gritted his teeth.

He had pressured the Academy Director following the sect’s orders regarding the field training issue for Jamryong Corps and Waryong Corps.

But he even felt doubtful about the meaning of going to field training with skills inferior to Maengryong Corps.

Sang Gyeong-mun felt no different.

Peng Do-yul simply watched the two men’s reactions with amusement.

‘Instructor Ha is exceptional and strange. In truth, you two are the normal ones.’

He only thought this.

He didn’t say it aloud.

After all, weren’t these the two Corps Leaders who had pressured him over the field training issue?

Secretly, he found their reactions quite satisfying.

Thus, on the morning of the second day, the round of sixteen proceeded, and eight winners remained.

Whether it was an upset or not an upset.

Only two cadets from Jamryong Corps and Waryong Corps survived the round of sixteen to advance to the quarterfinals.

Namgung Hu.

The one whose name before changing was Namgung Ji-hu, the legitimate heir of Namgung Sega.

And.

The one who had faced Dan Mok Un-rae in last year’s Winter Tournament quarterfinals.

A disciple of Heavenly Sword Sect, Beom Il-so.

Those two were the only ones.

The remaining six spots belonged to Maengryong Corps’ 7th and 20th Groups.

Having Ung-cheol among them was unexpected, if anything.

Jeok Ga-ye and Bi Jin-hyeop fought hard, but the round of sixteen was their limit.

No, compared to Ung-cheol, should we say they had bad tournament luck?

Jeok Ga-ye faced Yeon Ha-min and gave her all, but her attacks were repeatedly blocked by her opponent’s sword.

No matter how many variations she created, Yeon Ha-min’s sword seemed to know in advance and cut off the flow midway.

She was ultimately defeated.

Bi Jin-hyeop faced last year’s champion, Ju U-myeong.

As usual, he focused frantically on evasion.

He couldn’t even counterattack.

He had no choice.

The match was decided with one sword strike.

Though he moved frantically around the arena, Ju U-myeong didn’t chase him.

He simply stayed in one spot.

And thrust out one sword strike.

After allowing that single attack, Bi Jin-hyeop screamed and surrendered.

Ung-cheol faced a Jamryong Corps cadet and swung his blade with full power, ultimately seizing victory and advancing to the quarterfinals.

As the only advancing participant among regular Maengryong Corps cadets, it was quite an achievement.

Thus the quarterfinals were decided.

The first match was Ung-cheol versus Namgung Hu.

Next was Baek Ri-pyeong versus Beom Il-so.

Third was Ju U-myeong versus Dan Mok Un-rae.

Finally, Yeon Ha-min versus Ha Seol-ran.

Now, the first quarterfinal match was about to begin.

Cho Mu-ha bit his lips as he watched Ung-cheol’s back ascending to the arena.

‘Next year for sure.’

Though he failed to advance to the round of sixteen this time, losing to Beom Il-so, next year would be different.

He made that promise to himself.

 

***

 

A massive fortress wall stretched endlessly.

Sanyue Fortress.

It was quite an unfamiliar sight.

The Sanyue Forest, no, Sanyue in his memory wasn’t like this place.

“This must be your first time coming since the fortress was built.”

Dam Mu-heun spoke quietly, seeing So Hwi-ung’s nostalgic expression.

So Hwi-ung nodded.

“That’s right. After the fortress was built, I couldn’t leave the alliance. You all must have suffered greatly traveling back and forth.”

So Hwi-ung had never visited Sanyue Fortress, but Hotian Dan was different.

Among Jeongcheon Alliance’s military forces, they were the ones who knew Sanyue Forest best.

Especially Ha Mu-baek among them.

‘Well, the person who suffered the most was Dan-ju…’

Dam Mu-heun didn’t voice that thought.

For him, there was only one Dan-ju of Hotian Dan: Ha Mu-baek.

Though he addressed others as Dan-ju, that was merely their rank.

They hadn’t earned the recognition that came from his heart.

That’s why Namgung Hwa-u had disliked Dam Mu-heun.

“Then let’s go in.”

So Hwi-ung said this and leaped over the castle wall in one bound.

They did not head to the Bongma Corps.

They didn’t even inform the Bongma Corps of the Alliance Leader’s departure.

Perhaps Yeon Ja-gyeong might have delivered the news.

So Hwi-ung planned to move independently, leading only the ten Hocheondan members who came with him.

The purpose was, after all, the elimination of the Myeolcheon Gangsi.

Dam Mu-heun and the other nine Hocheondan members also deployed their Vermillion Bird Sky Flight and lightly crossed the castle wall.

The scenery inside the castle wall was indeed the Sanwol Demon Forest.

“It’s been a while. This place too.”

A voice filled with various thoughts.

“Then let’s go.”

Dam Mu-heun took the lead.

Wasn’t he the one with the best tracking and stealth skills in the Hocheondan?

Of course, excluding Ha Mu-baek.

He became the guide and headed toward the center of the Sanwol Demon Forest.

 

“They’ve come.”

Guardian Chu Geum-ryeong suddenly visited Il-no’s office.

“What do you mean?”

“A strong one has come. The supreme master you’ve been longing for.”

If the Guardian said such a thing, it wouldn’t be ordinarily strong.

“How strong are they?”

“It’s hard to assess precisely. If I were to roughly estimate… about as strong as me?”

Il-no’s expression immediately contorted.

Guardian Myeolcheon Gangsi.

The strongest jiangshi in history.

Of course, there was a separate truly strongest jiangshi being secretly manufactured.

But based on the jiangshi completed so far, the Myeolcheon Gangsi was the strongest.

Yet they said someone was about as strong as Guardian Chu Geum-ryeong?

There were few masters in all under heaven with that level of skill.

“Could it be?”

The first person that came to Il-no’s mind.

Ha Mu-baek.

It had to be.

That damned bastard was nothing short of a mortal enemy to the Blood Sect.

“Please wait a little longer. I’ll find out.”

With that, Chu Geum-ryeong left.

Il-no moved busily.

From the Blood Sect’s hideout deep underground, coded signals imitating small animal sounds spread toward the surface.

Those animal sounds soon transformed into the cries of demon beasts scattered throughout the Sanwol Demon Forest and spread deep into the forest.

Since demon beast cries were heard from time to time, no herb gatherer found this strange.

However, the movements of a few herb gatherers subtly changed.

A day later.

Il-no held a secret message in his hands.

It said an unidentified master was leading ten subordinates and slaughtering jiangshi and demon beasts.

And the physical description that came with it.

The moment he saw that portrait.

Il-no remembered Yeon Ja-gyeong’s letter.

‘He said he’d come personally, and he’s already here.’

Right. If it was this person, the Guardian’s assessment made sense.

Wu Niu Chuan Yue, was it?

A saying that an ox suffering from heat pants even at the sight of the moon, meaning one is startled by even similar things.

Il-no had been greatly alarmed, mistaking him for Ha Mu-baek just because he was strong.

Even though Yeon Ja-gyeong had given advance notice about So Hwi-ung’s journey to the Sanwol Demon Forest.

Even though he had prepared for it.

‘That damned Ha Mu-baek bastard.’

His own appearance was ridiculous.

But honestly.

Il-no was more afraid of Ha Mu-baek than Jeongcheon Alliance Leader So Hwi-ung.

‘Anyway, since the Jeongcheon Alliance Leader has entered the Sanwol Demon Forest, we can at least get some small revenge for the Sect Leader.’

A thick murderous intent rose to Il-no’s lips once again.

While he wasn’t sure about Ha Mu-baek, he was confident that So Hwi-ung would never return alive.

Il-no headed somewhere.

 

***

 

“Aren’t you sweeping through too much? At this rate, the jiangshi territories that the Bongma Corps worked hard to map out will get all mixed up again.”

Dam Mu-heun asked while watching So Hwi-ung, who had just simultaneously cut down four Blood Jiangshi and was sheathing his sword.

“You know that some of the cadets from Gyoryong Hall will be coming here soon, right? For field training.”

“Yes.”

The Hocheondan couldn’t not know.

The Hocheondan were always by So Hwi-ung’s side.

What one heard was quickly shared among them all.

All for the sake of information sharing to protect the Alliance Leader.

“Yeon Ja-gyeong. I don’t know what that old man is scheming. But reducing even one more jiangshi here will increase the chances of the cadets coming for field training being safe.”

That’s why he was deliberately making more noise cutting down jiangshi.

‘He should have looked after the Maengryong Corps like that from the start.’

Dam Mu-heun suddenly had such a thought.

In fact, he hadn’t particularly cared about the Maengryong Corps either.

It was only after Dan-ju Ha Mu-baek went as an instructor to the Maengryong Corps that he properly learned about their reality.

Even an Alliance Leader wasn’t a perfect person, so there were inevitably disappointing aspects.

 

***

 

Ha Mu-baek walked through the opened wall.

A vast space spread out before him.

As if there were no more trials.

This was the ancestral shrine of the Infinite Sword Sect.

The memorial tablets of past ancestors scattered on the walls indicated this fact.

Ha Mu-baek went up along the ancestors’ memorial tablets.

The first ancestor of the Infinite Sword Sect.

That is, searching for Gae Pa Jo-sa’s memorial tablet.

While rushing toward the main text.

Master had told him only one thing.

That if he entered the ancestral shrine and obtained what Gae Pa Jo-sa had left behind, it would suffice.

Gae Pa Jo-sa’s memorial tablet was nowhere on the walls.

Master hadn’t told him the location either.

Since he couldn’t find it no matter how much he searched.

Ha Mu-baek spread his energy sense in all directions.

In case there was some mechanism he had failed to find.

There was none.

“Phew.”

Ha Mu-baek let out a deep sigh.

“This is exhausting.”

Words that flowed from Ha Mu-baek’s mouth like a complaint.

It was his honest feeling.

It was thanks to the test he had just taken.

That test that stimulated killing intent and maximized impulses.

That energy of Manhwang.

Overcoming it had not been easy.

The time he spent taking the test wasn’t very long.

It was only a few hours.

However.

Fighting against Manhwang’s energy and the impulses of killing intent while operating the Mugeuk Yeoui Heart Method at full power.

Even for Ha Mu-baek, it was certainly exhausting work.

When he failed to find Gae Pa Jo-sa’s ancestral tablet, the fatigue he had forgotten came rushing back.

“Let me rest a little.”

Didn’t they say the more urgent it is, the more you should take a detour?

Ha Mu-baek’s sense of time was still alive.

It had been about half a day since he entered the Archive Hall.

It was still time before even the first day of the Dongtu Festival had passed.

Since it had taken less than half a day to run here.

There was still time to spare.

That’s what he thought.

He couldn’t know how much time it would take to obtain what Gae Pa Jo-sa had left behind.

But being impatient would only make things that could be done fail.

Ha Mu-baek thought he had time to spare and truly acted leisurely.

To rest.

He closed both eyes and lay down on the ground just like that.

Just as he would do in the Maengryong Corps 7th Group Training Hall.

“Grumble.”

And he really fell asleep.

Even snoring softly.

Being tired and exhausted was also truly a fact.

He could have solved it by doing energy circulation.

But Ha Mu-baek didn’t do that.

To have leisure.

He deliberately sought sleep.

Energy circulation might be able to relieve physical fatigue and restore internal energy.

But it couldn’t perfectly recover even mental fatigue.

So he chose sleep, the best method for resting his mind.

An hour passed like that.

Ha Mu-baek’s eyelids flickered and moved.

His consciousness was awakening and returning from deep, deep sleep.

While lying on the ground.

Ha Mu-baek opened both eyes and came to his senses.

“Found it.”

A small murmur.

Ha Mu-baek was looking at Gae Pa Jo-sa’s ancestral tablet with both eyes.

The ceiling.

Gae Pa Jo-sa’s ancestral tablet was deeply carved there.

It was a trace made by someone with a single sword strike.

How distant that sword art’s level was.

Even Ha Mu-baek couldn’t dare guess that level.

Because he had surpassed his Master’s level and continued to enter new realms.

He had unconsciously come to think that there was no one in all under heaven who could match him.

This was the moment when that thought was mercilessly shattered.

“I still have far to go…”

He murmured with a voice filled with sincerity.

—————
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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