Gurgle...
Hearing an unsettling noise, I turned to see Ak Yeonho, his face turning a bright yellow, clutching his stomach in an awkward stance.
"Hyung, I need to go to the restroom..."
"Again?"
"... I'll be back before Il-oh hyung's sparring starts!"
In a peculiar posture, with one hand covering his rear, Ak Yeonho used his lightness skill and disappeared into the crowd.
I clicked my tongue as I watched his figure quickly shrink into the distance.
"Even someone like him is considered a top expert..."
Is it even possible to have diarrhea just because you drank a bit the day before? If alcohol doesn't suit you that much, you shouldn't drink it, but seeing how much he loves it, that guy isn't normal either.
'Anyway, a lot of people have come to watch.'
I turned my head to look at the audience seats around the martial stage, filled with students.
Murmur, murmur.
Since watching fights is the most entertaining thing in the world, a lot of students had gathered.
I heard that the student council prepared the audience seats so that students could evaluate the new instructors up close.
So, all those people over there were essentially judges.
...
Moreover, quite a few gazes were piercing into me, making my face feel prickly.
"Teacher! Please look over here!"
"Here too! Just wave your hand once!"
As I waved my hand roughly, some female students screamed as if they were about to faint.
"Kyaa!"
"It's not like I'm some rare animal..."
Shaking my head, I turned away from the audience and looked around me.
The applicants waiting were either watching the martial stage with tense expressions or trying to relax in their own ways.
"Hoo..."
Among them was Myung Il-oh, who was sitting cross-legged a bit away from us, taking deep breaths since it was his turn next.
'Don't be nervous and just show your skills.'
In fact, among the three of us, Myung Il-oh was the one with the most uncertain chance of passing.
Ak Yeonho, even with a stomachache, easily defeated the existing instructor (in a hurry to get to the restroom, it was truly an incredible attack), and I was confident no matter who came out.
So, I gave Myung Il-oh some advice last night.
'Unless the opponent is a very difficult one, there's a chance to win...'
It was then.
"Ugh! Ugh! Ack!"
"... That ridiculous sparring needs to end quickly."
Hearing the strange sounds coming from the martial stage, I clicked my tongue and looked at the stage.
There, a pitifully one-sided fight was taking place.
"Uncle! Please go easy..."
"You brat! Who's your uncle! Call me Vice Lord!"
Gwak Duyong was sweating profusely, dodging attacks as if running away, while Vice Lord Gwak Cheolwoo chased after him, swinging his sword like a whip.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The speed and power contained in that sword were no joke, so every time he blocked or dodged an attack, Gwak Duyong was practically hovering between life and death.
"Can't you do it properly! You're bringing shame to the family all by yourself!"
"What did I do... I'm trying my best..."
"Shut up!"
...
It was a scene where anyone could see he was being scolded by an elder of the family.
Even I, who had nothing to do with Gwak Duyong, felt sorry for him.
"Sigh. At this rate, someone might get hurt."
"He should take it easy..."
"Thank goodness I didn't get caught by the Vice Lord."
The other applicants seemed to think the same, looking at Gwak Duyong with pitying eyes.
At that moment, I looked at No Gunsang, sitting in the center of the instructor's seat to the left of the martial stage.
'He's a mischievous fellow.'
Vice Lord Gwak Cheolwoo and applicant Gwak Duyong.
They were from the same family.
So, No Gunsang must have paired them as sparring partners.
By having Gwak Cheolwoo, from the same family, push him like that in front of everyone, there would be less noise about the results later on.
Gwak Cheolwoo knew this, so he was relentlessly pushing him.
"If you're not determined, give up immediately! Do you think being an instructor is easy?"
"I really want to do this! I've come to my senses!"
"Will you quit drinking from now on?"
"... I'll try my best!"
At the ambiguous answer, Gwak Cheolwoo's momentum suddenly changed as if he was genuinely angry.
"This brat still hasn't come to his senses!"
Whoosh!
Gwak Cheolwoo's sword was engulfed in flames.
It was his nickname and signature skill, the Flame Sword (火焰刀).
Seeing the flames flickering on the sword, Gwak Duyong's face turned pale.
"Uncle!"
"If you want to teach students here, you must show that level of determination."
"Ugh..."
Even with his legs trembling, Gwak Duyong didn't give up.
In an instant, the two took the same stance and simultaneously charged at each other.
Of course, the result was worlds apart.
Clang!
While Gwak Cheolwoo didn't take a single step back from the collision, Gwak Duyong, who lost his sword, rolled pathetically on the ground.
Blood was flowing from his torn palm.
Gwak Cheolwoo looked at the sitting Gwak Duyong with a disdainful expression.
"Useless brat. Go back home immediately."
"No, I don't want to."
"Still not listening? If you really won't listen until the end..."
"Vice Lord. That's enough."
Before anyone knew it, No Gunsang appeared like a ghost between the two, using his movement technique.
"Is that the Shadow Phantom Technique?"
"I couldn't even see how he moved."
"Truly a grandmaster..."
Amidst the admiration of both instructors and students, No Gunsang helped the fallen Gwak Duyong to his feet.
Then he turned his head and looked at Gwak Cheolwoo with eyes full of authority.
"I've seen enough of applicant Gwak Duyong's skills. Anything more would be excessive."
"Lord! With his skills, he'll only bring disgrace to the Blue Dragon Academy..."
Gwak Cheolwoo closed his mouth at No Gunsang's cold gaze.
"You're not the only one to judge that. How long will you let personal feelings interfere with a fair test?"
"... I'm sorry."
Gwak Cheolwoo bowed his head deeply and stepped back.
Gwak Duyong also staggered off the martial stage.
No Gunsang looked around and calmed the slightly noisy hall.
"After organizing the martial stage, we'll start the next sparring immediately. Applicant Myung Il-oh, please warm up now."
"Hoo..."
Myung Il-oh, who had been sitting cross-legged, stood up and slowly began to warm up.
Confirming that, No Gunsang turned his head to look at the gathered instructors.
"I will designate the instructor to spar with applicant Myung Il-oh."
Myung Il-oh wouldn't easily lose, no matter who the opponent was.
I cheered for him from afar with my eyes.
'Go and show your skills.'
Since the Vice Lord just sparred, he wouldn't be called again, and Maek Geukryeom was managing the students, so he wouldn't participate in today's sparring.
If it was any other instructor, Myung Il-oh had a fair chance.
'But why... do I feel strangely uneasy?'
The source of my unease was soon revealed.
No Gunsang mentioned a name I hadn't considered.
"Teacher Namgung Soo. Please prepare."
As Namgung Soo's name, which hadn't been called until now, was mentioned, the audience began to murmur with anticipation.
Myung Il-oh's expression was tense and stiff.
"Yes."
Namgung Soo, who was short but impressive, stood up and began to warm up.
I looked at No Gunsang with a bewildered expression.
Just then, No Gunsang met my eyes and smiled faintly.
I muttered to myself softly.
"Crafty old man. He said he wouldn't do it to me..."
"Did you mean the Lord?"
"Who else would it be... huh?"
Thinking it was Ak Yeonho who had returned, I answered, but when I turned my head, there was a woman I had never seen before.
'A student?'
She looked so young that I thought she might be a student.
Could she be barely over twenty? She was holding a large book that could be used as a weapon against her chest, and a judge's pen was hanging from her left waist.
Her build was slender.
She looked unstable standing there with the large book.
However, her clothes, gait, and breathing were quite stable.
'A child of a prestigious family.'
The woman frowned, seemingly displeased with my informal speech.
It made her look even more like a child.
"You seem older than me, but still, speaking informally on a first meeting is a bit..."
"Sorry. I thought it was my younger brother who went to the restroom."
"Are you saying my voice sounds like a man's?"
"No. I'm saying my younger brother's voice sounds like a woman's."
"..."
Anyway, she was a courageous woman.
After what I did in the demonstration class yesterday, no one dared to approach me now.
The students' excessive interest and quite a few instructors' disapproving looks were directed at me.
Even now, as the woman approached me, the stares became several times more intense.
However, the woman approached me as if she didn't care about others' gazes.
"... Do you have any business with me?"
"I know it's rude, but I have something I'm curious about. May I ask?"
I thought for a moment and then nodded.
"If it's something I can answer."
At my words, the woman looked delighted and spoke with sparkling eyes.
"The sword technique that split the wind yesterday. Is it by any chance from the Murong family?"
"..."
For a moment, I couldn't answer and my expression hardened.
'Who is this woman?'
The sword technique I used to split the wind yesterday was based on the Infinite Sword's techniques.
And the founder of the Infinite Sword, Sword Master, was from the Murong family.
'But recognizing that trace is nearly impossible...'
"No. I've never even been to the Murong family."
I didn't lie.
I had never actually been near the Murong family.
Also, Sword Master had severed ties with the Murong family, so the Infinite Sword couldn't be called the Murong family's sword technique.
"Really?"
"Yes."
The woman seemed unsatisfied with my answer and tilted her head before asking the next question.
"Then is it the Kunlun Sect's sword technique?"
"..."
By now, I was curious about the woman's identity.
Because Sword Master had a long-standing friendship with the Kunlun Sect's hermit and was greatly influenced by them in completing his sword.
Recognizing that from seeing my sword technique meant her martial arts insight was truly extraordinary.
"... It's not the Kunlun sword either. My sword technique is one I learned from my father and completed myself through various realizations."
This was, of course, a lie.
The woman didn't seem to believe it.
"That's nonsense. You realized a sword technique of that level on your own?"
"I told you, I learned from my father too."
"Is your father the greatest master in the world or something?"
"He runs a small martial arts school in the countryside."
"... If you don't want to answer, just say so. That's better than lying."
To the woman looking at me with a bewildered expression, I sighed lightly and explained.
"As I said, my sword technique is neither from the Murong family nor the Kunlun Sect. In the first place, the nature of those two sword techniques is completely different."
"... How are they different?"
It seemed more like she wanted to test if I knew rather than genuinely asking out of curiosity.
'Look at this?'
As someone who had received countless questions about martial arts throughout my life, I never let a trainee's challenging question slide.
"The Murong family's sword is soft and slow. You've probably heard of 'softness can control hardness' and 'acting after seeing the opponent's move.' Ultimately, using the opponent's strength or moving after seeing the opponent's attack is what the Murong family pursues in their swordsmanship."
At my full-fledged sword theory lecture, the woman's eyes widened slightly.
"On the other hand, the Kunlun sword has been completed through a bloody history with the Heavenly Demon Cult and its successor, the Blood Cult, for hundreds of years. They possess a rough and fierce temperament, unbelievable for Taoists. Cutting off the opponent's breath before they even start attacking, that is the Kunlun swordsmanship. There are several branches here too..."
"..."
Having clashed with the Blood Cult several times and seen many of their secret manuals, I could talk about it all day if I wanted to.
"... Therefore, the Murong and Kunlun swords are almost opposites, and it's impossible to mix them. That's my conclusion. Do you want to refute it?"
In fact, Sword Master had numerous debates and sparring with the Kunlun hermit.
And he managed to combine the two opposing techniques into one, creating the Infinite Sword.
'It's generally impossible, but it's possible because he's a genius.'
Making the impossible possible.
That is the realm of a genius, and Sword Master was one of the greatest geniuses I had ever seen.
"Wait a minute! Let me write it down!"
The woman, who had been listening to me with her mouth slightly open, squatted down and began to write something in the book she was holding on her knee.
'Is she really taking notes?'
It was a rare sight of a true student's attitude, and I nodded approvingly.
"Excuse me, I have a question about what you said earlier..."
That didn't mean I intended to continue the lecture.
The stares from around were becoming burdensome.
"Sorry, but the sword theory lecture ends here. If you want to hear the next class, see me in the lecture room."
"I'm also a new instructor applicant!"
The woman, who seemed upset, looked up at me and exclaimed.
I had a feeling, but...
She looked so young that I thought she might be a student, but it seemed she was indeed a new instructor applicant.
"I thought you were a student because you look young."
"... I did graduate from the academy not long ago."
"The academy, meaning the Blue Dragon Academy here?"
"No, I'm from the Cheonmu Academy. Come to think of it, we haven't introduced ourselves yet."
The woman, who had finished taking notes, stood up and took a martial salute.
"I'm Jegal Soyoung. I applied for the new instructor recruitment this year as an instructor for Mechanism Formation and Martial Arts History."
Jegal Soyoung looked at me with sparkling eyes.