Star Instructor, Master Baek

Gongson Su sighed with relief at the duel’s conclusion, and the spectators shared his sentiment. No one anticipated Cho Mak-Saeng’s refusal to accept defeat and his subsequent treacherous attack.

“AHHHHHHH!”

“Ugh!” Gongson Su spun around and quickly raised his sword to block, but Cho Mak-Saeng’s ferocity easily overwhelmed his hastily erected defenses.

CRACK!

Gongson Su’s wooden blade shattered, and he spat out blood as he staggered backwards.

Yet, Cho Mak-Saeng’s assault continued. With bloodshot eyes consumed by irrationality, he drew a dagger he’d hidden in his chest pocket and lunged at the choking Gongson Su. “You crafty old fart! I’ll kill you! Die!”

The spectators screamed in horror.

“What madness!”

“Someone stop them!”

Two figures immediately leapt into the dueling ring, and the one who got there first deflected Cho Mak-Saeng’s blade.

THUNK!

Pushed back, Cho Mak-Saeng faced his new adversary.

Wiji Cheon glared at him. “What do you think you’re doing?” he snapped through clenched teeth.

Cho Mak-Saeng smirked. He could see Wiji Cheon’s sword hand trembling, unmistakably from fear. “Hah, so it’s you. How dare you obstruct me? Step aside or suffer the same fate!”

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With a furious roar, Cho Mak-Saeng charged like a wild beast.

“Unforgivable…” Raising his sword to block, Wiji Cheon gritted his teeth. His hands, which had been trembling a moment before, became steady.

Cho Mak-Saeng’s assumption was wrong. Wiji Cheon was not quivering from fear, but from rage.

SWISH!

Wiji Cheon casually swung his sword once, yet, the impact of that one slash was devastating.

“Keuaaak!” Dozens of gashes mangled Cho Mak-Saeng’s flesh, turning him into a bloody spectacle. His clothes were torn, blood oozing from every wound. However, Cho Mak-Saeng’s wrath only intensified. “Damn you, you son of a bitch!”

Jin Jin and Namgoong Seok exchanged a look of concern. Despite Cho Mak-Saeng’s martial prowess, the boy’s volatile temperament and bullying tendencies often got him into trouble.

“What a lunatic…”

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“In the end, he went back to his old ways.”

Under Namgoong Su’s strict supervision, they’d believed that Cho Mak-Saeng’s troublesome behavior had been corrected. In reality, however, the boy was only suppressing himself out of fear of his teacher.

“Fuck! Both you and the old man! I’ll kill you all!” Cho Mak-Saeng’s eyes blazed with insanity as he instinctively poured qi into his dagger.

SIZZLE!

A greyish aura began to emanate from it.

“Is that s-sword qi?”

“It’s amateurish, but…”

“To think he could do that at such a young age…”

Everyone in the audience was taken aback.

No one, however, was more shocked than Namgoong Su. I never taught that punk to do that…is he a dark horse after all?

When Cho Mak-Saeng ambushed Gongson Su earlier, Namgoong Su had immediately moved to intervene, but Wiji Cheon got there first, causing Namgoong Su to stop in his tracks.

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“Wiji Cheon… Just from that one sword stroke, I can tell how outstanding he is. I think I shall observe him a bit more before stopping the fight,” Namgoong Su muttered to himself, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“Die! Die! Die!” Cho Mak-Saeng roared like a ravenous beast.

In contrast, Wiji Cheon remained composed. A faint smirk graced his typically innocent, somewhat timid visage. “…Are you saying you want to kill me? Hey, have you actually killed anyone before?”

“You’re just a piece of shit… Huh?”

In an instant, Wiji Cheon disappeared from Cho Mak-Saeng’s sight. Cho Mak-Saeng frantically searched his surroundings, but to no avail.

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“If you decide to kill someone, you must be prepared to die,” a cold voice behind him said.

“UAAAAAH!” Taken aback, Cho Mak-Saeng swung his dagger wildly.

SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH!

The sword qi covered dagger sliced through the air, leaving dozens of afterimages in its wake, but Wiji Cheon evaded them all. He then jumped and performed a mid-air somersault, timing it perfectly to meet Cho Mak-Saeng’s eyes while he was upside down.

Smiling innocently, he asked, “Is it my turn now?”

“D-Damn it…” Cho Mak-Saeng swore, seeing his own frightened face reflected in Wiji Cheon’s clear eyes.

WHOOSH!

The metallic stench of blood permeated the air as a crimson streak appeared across Cho Mak-Saeng’s left arm.

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“Aaah! My arm! My aaarm!” Cho Mak-Saeng cried in anguish, realizing that his left arm had been severed.

With slow, deliberate strides, Wiji Cheon approached Cho Mak-Saeng. “I’ve left your right arm intact. You can still fight, right?” he chuckled darkly.

“Gack! H-Hiiiiiiek!” Cho Mak-Saeng wailed. Only now did it occur to him that Wiji Cheon was no pushover.

THUD!

Cho Mak-Saeng fell on his butt, tears and mucus staining his face, his pants drenched with piss.

“……” Despite the pitiful scene, the bystanders remained unmoved, devoid of sympathy for the dishonored bully.

He’s seriously going to kill me. Cho Mak-Saeng’s heart pounded with dread. Paralyzed by fear, he could only bow his head and plead for mercy from the death god in front of him. “Please… spare me…”

“No,” Wiji Cheon instantly dismissed Cho Mak-Saeng’s plea. A voice in his head told to do so.

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‘Kill him.’

Cho Mak-Saeng had harmed someone dear to him. That was enough to justify killing him.

‘Kill him.’

It wasn’t his first time committing murder anyway. His hands were already stained with lots of blood, one more person wouldn’t matter.

‘Kill him.’

Wiji Cheon yielded to the voice’s temptation. “Die,” he declared, delivering the fatal blow with single-minded determination.

“Stop!”

CLANG!

Wiji Cheon recoiled. Someone had intervened and blocked his blade. At the same time, the fog in his mind cleared and he came back to his senses.

“I told you to stop. Did you not hear me?” Namgoong Su scolded, hiding his shock at the force behind Wiji Cheon’s blow. My palms are tingling even though I’m using a real sword… Where on earth did such a monster come from?

A shiver ran down Namgoong Su’s spine. Even though he hadn’t used his full strength to avoid hurting a child, Wiji Cheon had almost made him drop his sword.

Nevertheless, an unpolished jewel was just a rock. Wiji Cheon still needed a lot of guidance before he could truly shine.

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Guidance from a capable teacher.

Alright, I’ve made up my mind, Namgoong Su thought even as he said, “A warrior has lost an arm. Shouldn’t that be sufficient punishment?”

“Huh? Why did I…”

“Who taught you how to use the sword? Would you be interested in joining my cl…”

“Ahh! Elder!”

“……?”

Completely ignoring Namgoong Su, Wiji Cheon ran towards Gongson Su, who was just regaining consciousness. “Elder! Are you alright? Are you in pain?” he asked worriedly.

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Phew, it seems he’s back to his usual self. Grimacing through the pain, Gongson Su forced a smile despite the blood trickling down his lips. “Hoho… I’ll be fine. I also learned a lot from watching you. Cheon, you are… really strong, aren’t you?”

“Please lean on me. Let’s get you to a physician,” Wiji Cheon said, helping Gongson Su up and assisting with his descent from the dueling ring. “Excuse us! Coming through!”

The spectators hastily cleared a path for the duo. After witnessing Wiji Cheon’s astonishing swordplay moments ago, they weren’t about to get in his way now. They only knew that after today, the name Wiji Cheon would be known throughout the Azure Dragon Academy.

“Wiji Cheon…”

“You said his name was Wiji Cheon, right?”

“A guy like that is taking the entrance exam with us?”

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“He’s a monster…”

Lost in thought, Namgoong Su, who was still standing in the ring, murmured, “Wiji Cheon…”

“T-Teacher…” Cho Mak-Saeng cried out to Namgoong Su, clutching his severed arm. “I-I’m sorry. I got carried away and tarnished your reputation…”

SLAP!

Cho Mak-Saeng fell to the ground, a look of disbelief on his face. The loud slap drew the crowd’s attention, but Namgoong Su paid them no mind.

“You’re a disgrace,” Namgoong Su said.

“Ugh…” Trembling, Cho Mak-Saeng lowered his head in shame. No one felt sorry for him. While some looked as if they pitied him for being slapped while missing an arm, most looked at him with colder gazes than Namgoong Su’s.

“You refused to accept the result of the duel and ambushed your opponent. If this happened within the sects, your meridians would be severed and your qi center destroyed.”

” I-I’m sorry!” Cho Mak-Saeng prostrated himself, finally realizing the gravity of his actions.

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However, Namgoong Su’s cold expression did not falter. “Consider yourself lucky that you’re still young and immature. If you were an adult, this wouldn’t have ended with you losing only one arm.”

“Y-Yes…” Cho Mak-Saeng stuttered.

Namgoong Su frowned. Despite Cho Mak-Saeng’s apology, he could still see the flames of rebellion in the boy’s eyes. Sigh, I wanted to nurture him because he seemed talented, but it turns out he’s just another failure…

Losing interest in Cho Mak-Saeng, Namgoong Su turned his attention to Namgoong Seok and Jin Jin. “Take him to the physician. We’ll discuss your punishment later.”

“Yes, Teacher.” Bowing, the two dragged Cho Mak-Saeng away.

“Tsk…” Namgoong Su clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. The image of Wiji Cheon’s swordplay kept flashing in his mind, accompanied by Baek Su-Ryong’s irritating laughing face.

My students are indeed extremely talented, but compared to Wiji Cheon… Damn it, for the first time, I envy Baek Su-Ryong.

“If I win, I’ll substitute for one of your classes this semester.”

“Fuck,” Namgoong Su cursed uncharacteristically as he stormed out of the training ground.