Star Instructor, Master Baek

Chapter 218: Show Me Everything You've Got

TL: FoodieMonster007

The Erudite Sage's face turned pale with shock, and his hands trembled as he confirmed the seventh erroneous passage that Baek Suryong had pointed out.

"H-How did you…" he stammered.

Baek Suryong scratched his head awkwardly. Judging from the Erudite Sage's shocked expression, it seemed he genuinely didn't know about the seventh flaw.

He felt somewhat disappointed in the Erudite Sage. I thought he knew everything and only told me six on purpose, but was that not the case? He missed that and still calls himself the world's best theorist?

Even so, the Erudite Sage wasn't the only one taken aback. The Blue Sky Sword King, the assistant instructors, and the other new instructors were all gaping.

Baek Suryong humbly clasped his hands together. "It was just luck," he said.

"Are you telling me that you found something which even the Erudite Sage missed, by pure luck at that? Hoho, that's hard to believe," the Blue Sky Sword King remarked, eyeing Baek Suryong with a sharp gaze that bordered on suspicion.

If I fail to give him an acceptable answer now, he'll interrogate me, Baek Suryong thought. Fortunately, he had an appropriate excuse ready.

"I once investigated demonic arts practitioners at the Murim Alliance's request. The traces of demonic arts I pursued back then were similar to this one, so I could solve it easily."

Ak Yeonho raised his hand. "I can vouch for that! I was with him then!"

Before joining the Azure Dragon Academy, he and Baek Suryong had investigated the case of Old Man Heo, a loan shark who died from demonic arts, at the Murim Alliance's request.

"If you were there too, why could you only solve that much?" Myeong Il'oh sneered, glancing at Ak Yeonho's secret manual, which he hadn't even read half of yet.

Annoyed, Ak Yeonho snapped, "Shut up."

Ignoring his bickering friends, Baek Suryong added, "I also currently teach Defense Against the Unorthodox Arts at the Azure Dragon Academy. My research on demonic arts while preparing for my lessons helped me a lot in this test."

"Hmm, is that so…?"

Although not all doubts were cleared, the Blue Sky Sword King nodded reluctantly. It seemed that Baek Suryong's prepared excuse was somewhat convincing.

"Even so, that's impressive. Isn't that right, Erudite Sage?"

"Hmm… Actually, I just skimmed through it. If I'd read carefully, I could have noticed it, but I was busy and seem to have missed the last part." The Erudite Sage, who had finally regained his composure, mumbled as he nodded.

It sounded like a lame excuse, but no one dared comment on it.

His face slightly flushed, the Erudite Sage said to Baek Suryong, "Anyway, you got a perfect score. As a reward, I'll give you the right to ask me two questions during the next theory class."

Baek Suryong grumbled inwardly, I prefer money or miracle herbs as a reward, thank you very much.

Outwardly though, he bowed humbly. While he was free to cause some chaos with the other new instructors, he had to manage his image carefully in front of those judging his performance, especially the Blue Sky Sword King, the Erudite Sage, and the teaching assistants.

Ignoring the disdainful gazes of his peers, Baek Suryong plastered a fake smile on his face. "Thank you," he said.

The Erudite Sage asked sullenly, "Now that you've finished, what are you going to do? You're free until the practical lesson in the afternoon."

"May I return to my seat and wait?"

"Suit yourself, but know that if you try to use telepathy to share your answers to others, you'll be punished," the Erudite Sage warned.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Baek Suryong replied, returning to his seat.

Turning back to the other new instructors, the Erudite Sage exclaimed, "Well! Seeing how relaxed you all are, the problems must be easy for everyone!"

Many of the new instructors were staring at Baek Suryong with various expressions, but the moment the Erudite Sage scolded them, they returned their focus to deciphering the secret manual.

Baek Suryong looked around leisurely. Sama Yeong was gritting her teeth as she deciphered the text, Jaegal Soyeong almost pressed her nose into it, and Ak Yeonho and Myeong Il'oh were also concentrating hard. Only Kwak Duyong looked flustered and was sweating profusely.

He sank into deep thought.

Who would've thought they'd use the Blood Cult's demonic arts as a test question?

He was telling the truth when he said that he had lucked out. After all, the Erudite Sage had literally just asked a former Blood Cult instructor to decipher a Blood Cult martial arts manual. In reality, it hadn't even taken him a minute to interpret and comment on it, but he had deliberately waited an hour before handing it in to avoid arousing suspicion.

Still, while he was happy that he had easily demonstrated his skills in the first test, one thing bothered him.

How does the Erudite Sage know the Blood Cult's martial arts?

Although the Erudite Sage was reputed to be so knowledgeable that there was no martial art in the world he didn't know, it was hard to believe he knew the demonic arts of the Blood Cult, which was destroyed fifty years ago.

There's no way I can ask him directly…

Since the Erudite Sage hadn't mentioned that this martial art came from the Blood Cult, Baek Suryong couldn't be the one to bring it up first.

I heard that the Erudite Sage has been staying as a guest of the Namgung Clan for quite a long time. Then, it's likely that the Namgung Clan also knows this fact…

Suddenly, a name Baek Suryong had forgotten for a while surfaced in his mind.

Cho Maksaeng!

Cho Maksaeng was a boy whom Namgung Su had tried to enroll in the Azure Dragon Academy. Sadly, he lost a duel against Gongson Su, couldn't accept the result, tried to harm Gongson Su, had his arm cut off by Wiji Cheon, and was then expelled.

Most importantly, when Baek Suryong had confronted the boy after that, he went mad and turned into a mindless ghoul, forcing Baek Suryong to kill him.

It turned out that when he was very young, he had been forcibly subjected to a vile and sinister technique known as Soul Alteration. This wicked art implanted demonic techniques into his mind, causing him to unknowingly learn them.

"Cough! I really don't know, I don't know anything! B-Blood Cult? I'm an orphan… Cough! Martial arts, I learned them at the orphanage, then… Cough! From the Namgung Clan…"

Cho Maksaeng grew up in an orphanage sponsored by the Namgung Clan, where he learned the basics of martial arts and eventually caught Namgung Su's eye.

Baek Suryong's brows furrowed slightly.

At that time, I suspected Namgung Su, but now I'm absolutely sure that Namgung Su has nothing to do with the Blood Cult.

Baek Suryong trusted his ability to read people. Namgung Su was most definitely innocent.

But…

Baek Suryong looked up and gazed at the vast Namgung Clan Estate around him.

But what about the Namgung Clan? Could the leaders of the clan have something to do with the Blood Cult?

Naturally, Baek Suryong's gaze turned to the Blue Sky Sword King, the man who had elevated the current Namgung Clan from merely one of the Five Great Clans to the world's strongest martial family.

Coincidentally, at that moment, the Blue Sky Sword King also turned to look at Baek Suryong.

"……"

"……"

Their gazes met, creating a strange atmosphere, but fortunately it didn't last long. Sama Yeong and Jaegal Soyeong stood up at the same time, blocking their line of sight.

"I'm done!"

"I've finished!"

Both women briefly made eye contact, but in the end, Jaegal Soyeong, the junior, bowed her head slightly, yielding to Sama Yeong.

"Bring them here," the Erudite Sage said. As he reviewed their answers, his expression changed ever so slightly. "…This year's newbies are quite something. Both of you pass."

"…Thank you," Sama Yeong said, though her expression crumpled. Even though she was the second to pass after Baek Suryong, the Erudite Sage had only told her that she had passed, not that she had received a perfect score.

Next, a woman with a gloomy appearance, the only participant from the Black Tortoise Academy, also stood up and submitted her answer.

She too passed.

Within two hours, three people had passed one after the other. After that, it took quite some time for more to pass.

"These newcomers this year… hmm… they're really something…" the Erudite Sage groaned, sounding discontented.

Finding it amusing, the Blue Sky Sword King burst out laughing, "Hahaha! Today, the great Erudite Sage is humiliated!"

"Humiliated, my ass," the Erudite Sage grumbled.

Meanwhile, Baek Suryong folded his arms and closed his eyes.

The Namgung Clan, huh. I'll just keep observing them for now.

Not counting today, there were still six days left in the new instructor training course. If there was something related to the Blood Cult here, that was more than enough time for him to investigate.

The four-hour theory test finally ended. The Erudite Sage scolded the instructors who had done poorly, but thankfully, he didn't send anyone home.

"Phew. That was close…" Kwak Duyong, the only one from Azure Dragon Academy who failed the test, sighed in relief.

"Hmph. See you tomorrow, you brats." With an unreadable expression that gave no hint as to whether he was pleased or displeased, the Erudite Sage gathered up all the test papers and left.

The Blue Sky Sword King stepped forward and spoke to the exhausted new instructors gently, "Good work, everyone. Let's reconvene after lunch. There will be a basic practical evaluation in the afternoon, so make sure you eat a hearty meal."

"Yes, sir!" the instructors replied energetically.

The instructors gathered in groups by academy and chatted enthusiastically.

"Phew! I thought my head was going to explode."

"At least it's practicals in the afternoon, so it'll be better."

"I feel like I need to move my body."

Perhaps this comment annoyed him, because the Blue Sky Sword King suddenly added, "Actually, let me correct myself. It would be better if everyone had a light lunch."

"Huh?"

"Why…?"

The smiles vanished from the faces of the more quick-witted new instructors.

"Because you might end up vomiting it all out," the Blue Sky Sword King replied with a grin, resting his hand on the sword at his waist.

"……" Realizing their mistake, the new instructors who had spoken carelessly paled.

After lunch, the new instructors, now wearing light martial arts uniforms, gathered again at the grand training hall. Lined up by academy, there were a total of thirty-one people.

Fifteen from the Vermilion Phoenix Academy.

Ten from the White Tiger Academy.

Five from the Azure Dragon Academy.

One from the Black Tortoise Academy.

In front of the instructors, dressed in martial arts uniforms symbolizing their respective academies, the Blue Sky Sword King appeared with light steps, wearing a pure white martial arts uniform.

"Good, everyone's here," he said cheerfully.

At the thought of receiving instruction from a master who might be the strongest in the world, everyone couldn't help but feel excited. After all, they were all martial artists before they were instructors.

However, the first thing the Blue Sky Sword King talked about wasn't martial arts.

"Do you know what kind of criticism the martial artists who graduated from the Five Great Academies have received lately?" he asked.

It was a vague question, but Sama Yeong immediately raised her hand and answered confidently, "They are criticized for having high-level martial arts for their age, but lack the ability to tackle real-world combat situations."

The Blue Sky Sword King nodded. "That's correct. Even though half of the graduates from the Five Great Academies are employed in large trading companies, escort agencies, the royal palace, and so on, most of them haven't experienced real combat, so they end up struggling when they enter the jianghu."

"Yes. This is why the Vermilion Phoenix Academy has decided to increase the amount of off-site practical training starting this year," Sama Yeong added.

The Blue Sky Sword King nodded at Sama Yeong's exemplary answer. "While I think that's an excellent approach, from what I see, your idea of real combat is severely lacking. Aren't you guys just fighting backyard thugs and subduing bandits at best?"

"That's…" Sama Yeong looked like she wanted to refute.

However, the Blue Sky Sword King cut her off, saying, "This isn't an era when unorthodox sects like the Blood Cult are rampaging. The murim is peaceful, and most of the unorthodox sects are in hiding. It's hard for even adults to experience real combat. How many of you have traveled around the jianghu? How many have the experience of cutting down more than ten people?"

No one raised their hand. The atmosphere just didn't feel right for it.

The Blue Sky Sword King continued in a serious tone, "With so few instructors who have truly experienced real combat, inevitably, there will be limits to what you can teach your students."

"What exactly do you mean by 'real combat'?" Tang Baekho of the White Tiger Academy raised his hand and asked, looking somewhat defiant.

The Blue Sky Sword King burst into hearty laughter. "For example, in real combat, one-on-one duels are rare. Most of them are chaotic free-for-alls. You always have to watch out for traps, be wary of poison, and you never know when hidden weapons might come flying at your back. That's real combat."

"……"

Although he appeared young due to rejuvenation, the Blue Sky Sword King was an eighty-year-old ultimate martial master who had participated in the war against the Blood Cult fifty years ago. If he said that someone didn't have enough combat experience, those words meant a lot.

"I've said a lot of things, but in the end, what I want to say is that you can only teach real combat if you've experienced it. Since we can't just kill each other, though, we've instead created an environment as close to real combat as possible."

GULP!

Realizing the situation, the new instructors swallowed nervously. Those who had thought that practical training would be better than the eccentric Erudite Sage's theory classes were now realizing how wrong they had been.

"I'm only going to explain this once, so listen carefully." The Blue Sky Sword King's tone changed, and an icy aura emanated from his body. "Starting today, for seven days, you will receive training similar to real combat, using Mount Tianzhu over there as your stage."

He raised his sword and pointed to the mountain visible behind the training hall.

"Different scenarios are given. For example, you may be assigned roles such as bandits, escorts, or assassins. Today's enemy may be tomorrow's ally. If you want to survive, you will have to give it your all."

Under the pressure of the peerless master's aura, the new instructors gritted their teeth.

"Simply put, this is survival training. I and the Azure Sky Sword Brigade will try to 'kill' you every day. You must survive."

The Blue Sky Sword King's sharp eyes bored through each of them.

"Ugh…"

"Gasp…"

As everyone struggled to stay upright, pale faces and trembling knees were everywhere.

"The instructor who 'dies' the least during the training period will receive bonus points and a fitting reward."

Some of the instructors gritted their teeth and glared at the Blue Sky Sword King.

The Blue Sky Sword King smiled, pleased by their fighting spirit. "It won't be easy. After all, I intend to take this very seriously myself…"

His gaze swept over the instructors, eventually settling on Baek Suryong. "…So you'd better show me everything you've got."

"……"