"……My father?"
"Yes. It's already been thirty years."
Come to think of it, I remembered that when Biyunggaek Go Ju-yeol visited Baekmugwan, he said something similar.
- Among your peers, there was no one in Cheongryong Academy who could match Brother Baek.
Do you think that's all? Once, at the Yongbong Martial Arts Competition held at Cheonmu Academy, your father made it to the top four!
Father...
I thought you only caused trouble during your school days, but it seems I was wrong.
"It was the time when Cheongryong Academy shone the brightest. Talented young martial artists from all over lined up to enroll, and many masters were produced. Even in the Cheonmu Festival, we always ranked high."
Mae Geuk-ryeom's expression, as he reminisced about the glorious past, looked proud.
However, that expression quickly hardened.
"……As you know, it's not like that now. Since then, Cheongryong Academy's performance has slowly declined, and for the past ten years, we've consistently ranked last in the Cheonmu Festival."
"Is there a specific reason for that?"
"Well……."
Mae Geuk-ryeom seemed to ponder my question deeply, then suddenly widened his eyes and looked at me.
"Come to think of it, it started from then. After that scoundrel eloped with my daughter."
"……What?"
Blood slowly filled Mae Geuk-ryeom's eyes, and though there wasn't a breeze, his robe billowed greatly.
"……From that day, a curse descended upon Cheongryong Academy. The heavens and earth were angered by impure relationships and punished us."
"Grandfather?"
"Baek Mu-heun……! It's all your fault……!"
To calm Mae Geuk-ryeom, who saw Baek Mu-heun in my face, I quickly changed my surname.
"Please calm down, Grandfather! I'm not Baek Mu-heun! I'm Maek Su-ryong, the son of Maek Yak-bing! Please don't unleash your sword energy on the chopsticks!"
"Maek Su-ryong……?"
Why does it always end like this?
After a moment, Mae Geuk-ryeom, who had barely calmed down, took a deep breath and spoke.
"Hoo. It's done. What I wanted to say is that Cheongryong Academy is not what it used to be. Your talk of winning was quite reckless."
"……."
The Cheonmu Festival is a grand event held once a year where students from the five major academies gather to compete in martial arts.
Initially, it was meant to foster friendship among the students of the five academies and promote mutual development to protect the peace of the martial world from the threats of the unorthodox sects.
"At some point, it turned into a competition where scores were given, and rankings were determined by those scores, and everyone started risking their lives for it."
In the Cheonmu Festival, various categories such as swordsmanship, spear techniques, fist arts, hidden weapon skills, lightness skills, and group martial arts are contested.
Points are awarded only to those who place in each category, and those points determine the overall ranking of the academies.
And the category with the most points at stake, the highlight of the Cheonmu Festival, is the Yongbong Martial Arts Competition.
'A true martial arts showdown to select the strongest young martial artist among all the students of the five major academies.'
In this competition, where more than hundreds participate each year, the students who make it to the final eight are called 'Yongbong (Dragon and Phoenix).'
"For the past ten years, Cheongryong Academy hasn't produced a single Yongbong."
"I know."
"Don't say you know so easily."
The living witness who had guarded Cheongryong Academy for decades and experienced all the changes looked straight at me.
"What you need to change is the deeply rooted sense of defeat. Can you do it?"
"If I couldn't, I wouldn't have brought it up."
"Hmph."
Mae Geuk-ryeom snorted as if my answer was absurd.
But he didn't seem to be in a bad mood.
"You're just as arrogant."
"……My father?"
"My daughter, I mean."
"……."
What am I supposed to say to that?
"Let's get up if you're done eating."
As we finished our meal and stood up, I felt numerous gazes following us.
Since we hadn't used sound transmission to converse, anyone who paid a little attention could have overheard our conversation.
I chuckled as I watched Mae Geuk-ryeom's back as he walked ahead.
'He brought me to the student cafeteria just to have this conversation.'
The reason Mae Geuk-ryeom deliberately sat in the middle of the student cafeteria, where attention was most easily drawn, was undoubtedly to naturally convey our conversation to the students.
I felt a great sense of gratitude for his silent consideration, but since he didn't seem to like showing it, I pretended not to notice and followed him.
"……No one expects you to win. If you can just beat Baekho Academy at this year's Cheonmu Festival, and if you contribute even a little to that, you'll be recognized by everyone."
There's no need to go that far with insurance, though.
Just before leaving the cafeteria, I spoke clearly for everyone glancing at us to hear.
"No. I intend to make Cheongryong Academy win the Cheonmu Festival no matter what."
"You……."
To Mae Geuk-ryeom, who looked back at me with a surprised expression, I smiled and said.
"Who do you think I take after in this?"
"……I should stop talking."
After leaving the student cafeteria, we headed to Mae Geuk-ryeom's residence, located precisely between the male and female dormitories.
"Sit down."
Mae Geuk-ryeom's room was small and modest, befitting the character of its owner.
After work, Mae Geuk-ryeom would meditate here, practice swordsmanship in the backyard, or keep an eye on the cats trying to sneak over the dormitory walls for impure relationships.
……Truly, a frightening man.
"Right now, it's the seasonal semester, so there are only about a third of the students compared to usual. There's not much to do."
We sat facing each other across a small table.
Mae Geuk-ryeom poured me some tea he had brewed himself and continued speaking.
"But soon, new students will be admitted, and those who went home for the break will return. That's when things will really get busy. Drink."
A rich aroma wafted from the deeply brewed tea leaves.
Though I didn't know much about tea, I could tell that Mae Geuk-ryeom was well-versed in it.
"For the next month, familiarize yourself with the geography of the academy and get to know the various instructors."
"Yes."
"Don't cause any trouble. Especially if you cause a scandal with a female student……."
Sssssst.
In an instant, the room was filled with the killing intent Mae Geuk-ryeom exuded.
I answered, sweating profusely.
"I won't cause any. I have no intention of doing so."
"……I'll trust you this once. Do you have any other questions?"
Fortunately, I had something I wanted to ask.
"Grandfather, do you know much about the supplementary class?"
"The supplementary class……."
Mae Geuk-ryeom stroked his beard and thought for a moment before letting out a small sigh.
"It's a gathering of problem children. Those kids don't listen to me either."
"My goodness……."
I was genuinely surprised.
To think there are kids who defy the great student director Mae Geuk-ryeom.
Do they have multiple lives?
"Why have you kept them alive until now?"
"……Are you picking a fight?"
"Of course not."
Mae Geuk-ryeom's eyebrows twitched greatly, and then he sighed and answered.
"The problem with those kids is that they're failing students in each grade. But I only handle their daily guidance, not their grades. They rarely cause trouble in that regard."
"……."
"Though Hyeonwon Kang occasionally causes trouble…… boys fighting at that age is inevitable, isn't it?"
Drinking alcohol, smoking, and engaging in impure relationships are not allowed at the academy, but beating up others doesn't seem to be much of a concern.
Perhaps because it's an academy that teaches martial arts, Mae Geuk-ryeom is strangely lenient in that regard.
"It's unfortunate for the academy. All three have outstanding talent, but they just don't seem to want to learn."
Having said that, Mae Geuk-ryeom suddenly remembered and asked me.
"By the way, you've been assigned to the supplementary class, haven't you?"
"Yes."
"Hmm. Just gathering those three in one place won't be easy."
Mae Geuk-ryeom informed me that there are currently three students in the supplementary class.
Fourth-year Geosang-ung.
Third-year Hyeonwon Kang.
Second-year Yeomin.
These three are the failing students of Cheongryong Academy and the ones I will be responsible for in the supplementary class.
"Geosang-ung and Yeomin have gone home for the break, so they'll return in about a month, and Hyeonwon Kang is staying in the dormitory."
"Do you remember where all the students live?"
"Not all of them…… but those kids are particularly concerning, so I remember."
Though he says that, I'm sure Mae Geuk-ryeom knows the whereabouts of almost all the students.
"Can you tell me what you know about those three?"
"I don't know much……."
The story that wasn't much took over an hour, and I was able to gather quite a bit of information about the three problem students in the supplementary class.
"……Listening to it, none of them seem easy to handle."
Mae Geuk-ryeom nodded with a dark expression.
"Many instructors have tried to teach them and gave up in frustration. Namgung-su didn't assign you to the supplementary class for no reason."
However, the more Mae Geuk-ryeom spoke like that, the more my enthusiasm burned.
'It's better to have talented kids who don't listen than mediocre ones.'
You can't create talent that doesn't exist, but you can make kids who don't listen start listening.
"Do you have any ideas in mind?"
"I have a few thoughts, but…… I'll have to meet them in person to decide."
I decided to meet the three problem students in the supplementary class one by one.
'First…… it's best to start with a familiar face.'
After quickly deciding on the first target, I asked Mae Geuk-ryeom.
"Grandfather, do you know which dormitory room Hyeonwon Kang is staying in?"
"Ninety-one……."
Hyeonwon Kang was sweating profusely, doing push-ups with one hand, using only one finger.
His arm trembled.
"Ninety-eight……."
The dormitory floor was already soaked with sweat.
He was repeatedly doing push-ups with his upper body bare, his bronze muscular body glistening with sweat.
"Ninety-nine……. One hundred……!"
After finally completing a hundred, Hyeonwon Kang immediately switched arms and continued doing push-ups.
After completing a total of two hundred push-ups, Hyeonwon Kang leaned against the wall and sat down.
"Hoo……. Hoo……."
Steam seemed to rise from his body.
After roughly wiping off his sweat with a towel hanging on the bed, he tossed it aside.
No one wanted to share a room with someone with such a nasty temper, so the dormitory room, originally meant for four, became his private room as soon as the break started.
'Thanks to that, I can train without anyone bothering me.'
Hyeonwon Kang recalled the external martial arts competition he had with Baek Su-ryong a few days ago.
'That damn guy!'
The reason Hyeonwon Kang had been holed up in his room, focusing on external martial arts training lately.
- You all have to use only external martial arts to move me even a step from here.
The pale, annoying smile on his face.
I didn't like him from the moment we first met.
So I thought I'd give him a good hit.
I thought it would be easy to push him out of the circle.
But.
- Yeah.
I thought you'd be the first.
Baek Su-ryong smiled as if he had read my mind, and before I knew what was happening, he slammed me to the ground.
Boom!
The pain was so intense that my mind went blank.
But thinking about how I was toyed with afterward, the pain was nothing.
No matter how much I attacked, I couldn't push Baek Su-ryong out of the circle.
I didn't attack alone, either.
I attacked with that annoying Paeng Sa-hyeok, but we still failed.
Gritting his teeth, Hyeonwon Kang stood up.
He drew an imaginary circle on the floor of the martial arts stage and took a stance, muttering.
"Was it like this……?"
Hyeonwon Kang began to awkwardly mimic the stance Baek Su-ryong had taken within the circle.
Since he was young, he could imitate most martial arts moves after seeing them just once.
'No, this isn't it.'
But the movements he was imitating now didn't feel right.
No matter how many times he adjusted his stance, it felt awkward and uncomfortable.
But Hyeonwon Kang didn't give up easily.
He showed a level of concentration that would surprise the instructors who had taught him.
'That guy.
I'll get him back someday.'
Hyeonwon Kang closed his eyes.
Then, the movements of Baek Su-ryong became clearer in his mind.
Slowly, slowly…….
He moved his body, trying to recreate the way Baek Su-ryong had dodged, blocked, and countered the students' attacks that day.
About an hour later…….
Hyeonwon Kang opened his eyes wide and shouted irritably.
"Damn it! Why can't I get it right!"
He wasn't asking anyone; he was just frustrated.
He never imagined he'd get an answer from behind him.
"Want me to show you?"
"Who said it would help…… huh! What the hell!"
Startled by the sudden voice from behind, Hyeonwon Kang screamed and turned around.
Baek Su-ryong was hanging upside down from the dormitory window, grinning at him.