"Students get to choose their instructors? What nonsense is this?" I stared at the recruitment notice for new instructors at the Blue Dragon Academy, trying to make sense of it.
It was said to be a new rule starting this year.
- Applicants who pass the document review, interview, and practical exam will be hired as temporary instructors for three months.
- Temporary instructors will be evaluated monthly by existing instructors and students, and the final successful candidates will be announced based on the final evaluations and student votes.
- The final successful candidates will sign a three-year contract as regular instructors at the academy.
Just reading this far, I felt the unmistakable vibe of a greedy organization that pays a pittance while demanding a lot of work.
"…Temporary instructors for three months? They better pay properly for that."
"Surprisingly, everything else is detailed, but that part is missing."
"These sneaky bastards…"
Well, fine.
The Blue Dragon Academy is one of the five great academies of the martial world, so I suppose it's acceptable that they are the absolute authority and we are the absolute subordinates.
But the fact that students will evaluate their instructors every month? Are those who should be learning from me going to judge me?
"Are they telling me to teach while constantly watching the students’ reactions?"
"Why not? I think it would be fun."
Akyunho chuckled, seemingly unfazed.
I looked at him in disbelief.
"What’s fun about that? I won’t be able to teach properly while worrying about the students’ reactions… What do these academy folks think martial arts is?"
"Hyung, you like to play with the kids, right?"
"…How did you know?"
"My father always said that when he taught me martial arts."
"Thanks to that, you’ve become a peak master, haven’t you?"
"Thanks to that, I haven’t even been in a relationship at this age."
"…Tsk."
"Don’t look at me like that!"
Anyway, I found myself in quite a predicament.
As someone from the Blood Sect, I tend to teach martial arts quite forcefully.
I’m not the type to resort to violence or insults right away, but using pressure and fear at the right moments helps bring out hidden potential.
"After all, martial arts is learned to beat others up, right?" Those who want to learn comfortably are just thieves at heart.
My belief is that the more one gets beaten and scolded, the stronger they become.
"Wow. A real old-timer…"
Akyunho’s jaw dropped as he listened to my teaching philosophy.
Regardless, I glared at the recruitment notice with a displeased expression.
But suddenly, I remembered something and asked,
"But isn’t it vacation right now? I thought they were hiring new instructors before the new semester starts."
"Oh, that’s the thing."
According to Akyunho, the Blue Dragon Academy has two vacations a year, but about half of the students stay in the dorms even during breaks.
"Well, it doesn’t matter if there are students or not right now. First, we need to pass the documents, interview, and first exam."
"True. That’s also true."
"We need to make a good impression from the start. The students will be watching us from the moment we enter the Blue Dragon Academy in a few days."
"Hmm…"
I rested my chin on my hand, lost in thought.
Being a righteous martial arts academy, I thought I could just stand there with my hands behind my back, reciting some Confucian sayings mixed with martial arts principles.
"But this competition is fiercer than I expected."
Suddenly, my competitive spirit surged.
I was someone who survived the fierce survival competition of the Blood Sect.
Compared to that, teaching kids at a righteous academy seemed like nothing, but it didn’t look as easy as I thought.
"How many applicants are there?"
"They’re selecting five in total, but I heard over a hundred have already applied."
"Five out of a hundred… So, I just need to take out eighty-five before the interview in three days?"
"…You’re joking, right?"
Of course, it was a joke.
I couldn’t do things the way I did in the Blood Sect.
The Martial Alliance has its own rules, and I respect those rules.
A bit of improvisation is essential, though.
"Hyung, you’re not thinking of giving up because it’s hard, are you?"
As I fell silent in thought for a while, Akyunho asked with a slightly anxious expression.
"…Give up? Me?"
The corners of my mouth twisted into a slow smile.
I was the top martial arts instructor of the Blood Sect.
Teaching martial arts was what I did best, and I was confident that my skills were unmatched, regardless of the sect.
"I’ve never given up in my life."
I lived a life where giving up meant death.
I was determined to pass all the stages of document review, interview, and first exam at the Blue Dragon Academy.
I would also show those existing instructors who dared to evaluate me.
"I’ll pass with flying colors."
"…That sounds cheesy, but it’s better than being scared."
Three days remained until the interview.
The practical exam would take place a week after the interview results were announced.
In other words, I had to prepare as much as I could within that time.
"I’ve been steadily training the Green Forest Eighteen Techniques, so external skills shouldn’t be a problem. It would be good to raise the Reverse Heaven Technique to the second level…"
If Bok Man-chun could bring me the elixir within ten days, the exam would be much easier, but I had to prepare as if he wouldn’t bring it.
At that moment, Akyunho said with a serious expression, "Whether it’s martial arts or the interview, practicing for a day or two won’t change the outcome much. We need to strategically approach other aspects instead."
"Oh, you’re actually saying something sensible?"
"…What did you think of me usually?"
A martial artist who is strong but clueless about worldly matters? Anyway, Akyunho was born and raised in a prestigious family, so he naturally had more information about the Blue Dragon Academy than I did.
I listened closely to what he had to say.
"You need to prepare, Hyung. I’ve thought so since the first time I saw you…"
Akyunho looked me up and down and clicked his tongue lightly.
"Geez. With such a good weapon, why can’t you utilize it…?"
"A good weapon?" I’m not even carrying a weapon right now.
I looked at him with a puzzled expression, and Akyunho reached out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me along.
"This won’t do. We need to prepare right away."
"Prepare for what? Where are we going?"
I blinked in confusion as Akyunho, looking exasperated, slapped his chest.
"Where else? Of course, we need to buy some clothes first!"
"Clothes? Why clothes…?"
"Are you going to wear that drab black robe to the interview?"
I turned my body to look at the mirror in the room.
In it, a tall young man resembling my father, known as the Jade-faced Scholar in his youth, was wearing a black robe.
Of course, the inner martial outfit was also black.
I had never cared about clothes in my life.
"…But the black robe is comfortable."
That’s why I said it.
Akyunho shook his head vigorously at my words and pulled my wrist firmly.
"Stop talking nonsense and follow me quickly!"
"Uh? Uh…."
I was dragged along, dumbfounded by Akyunho’s enthusiasm.
"While we’re at it, let’s do your hair! Trim your eyebrows! These days, even guys are putting in effort to look good! No matter how handsome you are, if you don’t take care of your face, you’ll end up looking old later!"
"…My eardrums are going to burst."
Akyunho spent the whole day taking me around the marketplace, buying clothes, shoes, belts, and even stopping at shops usually frequented by women to get my hair cut, trim my eyebrows, and buy cosmetics.
Three days later, at the Blue Dragon Academy.
Kugugugung!
With a heavy sound, the massive main gate opened wide.
As the two blue dragons guarding the gate parted, the vast training grounds and buildings unfolded before us.
An elderly man with a sharp appearance stood in the center of the training ground and shouted, "New instructor interview candidates, please enter!"
The applicants waiting outside lined up to enter.
They were applicants from various regions who had come after seeing the recruitment notice for the Blue Dragon Academy.
Most of them were renowned martial artists or masters from their respective areas, but upon seeing the scale of the Blue Dragon Academy, they felt intimidated.
Although its recent influence had diminished compared to other academies, the reputation of being one of the five great academies of the martial world was not something easily earned.
"Please wait!"
The loud-voiced elder shouted again.
He distributed numbers to the applicants who arrived first and allowed only a set number to enter.
"We will conduct interviews in groups of five. Please maintain silence within the academy."
The applicants, who had been murmuring for a moment, fell silent, glancing at the elder.
The martial artists remained expressionless, as if it were only natural.
And there were those watching them from afar.
"Tsk."
On the roof of the first dormitory of the Blue Dragon Academy, a young man with thick eyebrows and a strong appearance clicked his tongue.
"There are quite a lot of them."
The young man’s name was Dokgo Jun.
This year, he was the president of the student council at the Blue Dragon Academy, regarded as the best talent in the last decade.
"There are too many riffraff. Even after eliminating half in the document review, there are still this many."
Beside him, a woman with sharp eyes spoke.
She was Dang So-so, the vice president of the student council at the Blue Dragon Academy.
The two were conversing as they watched the applicants entering the academy.
"This is proof that the Blue Dragon Academy’s reputation isn’t what it used to be. Most of them aren’t even first-rate."
"Those who are less skilled than the students should be eliminated."
The two were among the very few who had reached the first-rate level within the Blue Dragon Academy.
They had a strong sense of pride in their martial arts and a strong desire to become even stronger, as well as a competitive spirit against the other four great academies.
"This year’s Heavenly Martial Arts Festival will be different."
"It better be."
The Blue Dragon Academy had faced humiliation at the Heavenly Martial Arts Festival every year.
Last year, the seniors were helplessly defeated by other academies, and Dokgo Jun gritted his teeth as he watched them.
He vowed to change the Blue Dragon Academy with his own strength.
Thus, the student council was formed this year.
"This year will be different!"
He persuaded the academy head to add new regulations to the recruitment notice for new instructors.
Now, students would directly see and evaluate the instructors with their own eyes.
"There will be no more recommendations based on connections, relationships, or blood ties."
They would eliminate instructors who lacked skills and only keep those with real talent.
That’s why he was here, to keep an eye on the promising instructors.
But to his disappointment, it was more disappointing than expected.
"…There are hardly any masters."
"I agree. It seems like half of them have come in…"
Just as their expressions began to darken with disappointment, suddenly, Dang So-so’s eyes widened.
"Ah…!"
"So-so? What’s wrong?"
"……."
"So-so!!"
"Ah…."
Dang So-so, who had been staring blankly with her mouth agape, finally raised a finger and pointed in one direction.
"Over there…"
Her voice, known as the Cold-Blooded Viper, trembled.
Moreover, her heart was pounding so hard that even Dokgo Jun could hear it.
Her face flushed as if she had a fever, and her breathing grew increasingly ragged.
"So-so! Why are you suddenly like this!"
"It’s unbelievable…"
"What do you mean it’s unbelievable?"
"……It’s them."
"What? What are you talking about?"
Dokgo Jun turned his head in the direction Dang So-so’s pale finger was pointing.
Two young men were walking toward them.
One was tall, dressed in blue martial attire, and the other was of average height, dressed in red martial attire.
They walked side by side into the Blue Dragon Academy.
It was like a painting.
It seemed as if more sunlight gathered around the two.
The wind blew, tousling their hair, and petals caught in a whirlwind danced around them.
"Ah…"
"Wow…"
As people’s gazes naturally turned to the two, Dang So-so finally managed to say what she hadn’t said earlier.
"They passed…"
"What? What are you talking about?"
The Cold-Blooded Viper, Dang So-so, shouted, her face flushed.
"They passed! I’m going to learn martial arts from those two!"
"What…?"
She was still just a seventeen-year-old girl who couldn’t help herself.