"Ugh! What the heck!"
Startled by my voice, Heonwon Kang quickly backed up against the wall, eyes wide as he stared at me.
I gave him a broad smile and said, "Practicing in secret, huh? Doing something commendable?"
"Baek Su-ryong?"
Only then did he recognize me, and a dumbfounded mumble escaped his lips.
"Crazy... What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to meet the student I'll be in charge of from now on."
Whoosh! I fully opened the half-open dormitory window and entered the room.
As I glanced around, I could roughly guess how Heonwon Kang usually lived.
"Tsk tsk..."
Clothes scattered everywhere.
Leftover food in various places.
Bottles of alcohol hidden but still visible in corners.
The room reeked of a sour sweat smell, as if it hadn't been cleaned in ages.
I pinched my nose and frowned.
"Practicing is good, but why do it in your room when there's a good training hall? If you're going to do it, at least ventilate the place properly."
"... Get out."
Heonwon Kang, having regained his composure, glared at me with eyes that seemed ready to devour me.
But I wasn't one of those young brats at the academy who would be intimidated by his gaze.
"Hmm..."
I scratched my chin, leisurely observing Heonwon Kang's sweaty upper body.
"For someone who drinks every day, you've got a decent body."
"Didn't you hear me? Get out of my room right now!"
When I ignored his words and kept staring at his body, Heonwon Kang hastily covered his chest with clothes and shouted.
"Get out? That's harsh to say to a teacher."
"What kind of teacher sneaks into a dorm room through the window!"
He had a point, but I ignored it and pulled up a chair to sit down.
Then I spoke seriously.
"Won Kang, let's have a talk for the supplementary class. Sit down for a moment."
"Sit? Don't act like this is your room after barging into mine! And my name is Kang, not Won Kang! It's just one character!"
"... Were you always this talkative?"
Heonwon Kang suddenly spewed out a torrent of words, making me wonder if he was always this chatty.
Most of it was curses and insults directed at me, but the more he did, the more a smile formed on my lips.
'He must be embarrassed about being caught practicing.'
People reveal their true selves when they're flustered.
That's why I deliberately surprised Heonwon Kang and provoked him with words.
I wanted to see the real person hidden behind the facade of the Heonwon family's troublemaker.
Thanks to that, I felt like I was getting to know his true personality little by little.
"Hey, chatty boy. Earlier, you screamed like a girl who saw a cockroach and clung to the wall. Are you usually scared?"
"Shut up! When did I scream like that!"
"Was it more like 'Oh my gosh!'?"
Maybe I went too far with the provocation, as Heonwon Kang's eyes began to emit a murderous intent.
As expected from someone of the same bloodline as the Mad Demon, he was about to flip his lid after a little teasing.
"I'll kill you...!"
"Whoa, whoa. I'll stop, so calm down. I just came to talk today."
I raised both hands to show I had no intention of fighting.
Heonwon Kang huffed for a while before finally plopping down across from me.
"Damn it. What's your purpose for coming here?"
"Not sure if you heard, but I've become the homeroom teacher for the supplementary class starting this year."
"So?"
"As the homeroom teacher, I came to see the student. The only failing student in the third year, Heonwon Kang. If you have any difficulties keeping up with the lessons, feel free to speak up."
"There's nothing like that, so get lost."
Heonwon Kang snorted.
I wasn't bothered since I had expected this reaction.
From the start, there was no way he would honestly share his concerns with me.
"Earlier, you tried to imitate my posture and asked why it wasn't working, right?"
"... I never asked. You just barged in and..."
"I'll show you."
I stood up, kicked away the clothes cluttering the space, and took the preparatory stance that Heonwon Kang had failed to imitate.
"Watch closely."
"..."
Though his words were curt, he seemed curious.
Heonwon Kang, who had been grumbling, shut his mouth and watched me.
I demonstrated a few postures based on the Green Forest Eighteen Techniques in front of him.
After the short demonstration, I asked Heonwon Kang, who wore a puzzled expression.
"Do you see the difference between you and me?"
"..."
"The first issue is flexibility. Having a lot of muscles isn't always good. You're lacking the flexibility needed to mimic my movements."
"I do flexibility training regularly."
"That's not enough."
The flexibility needed for martial arts doesn't require bending your back completely or contorting into a small box like an acrobat.
In fact, being overly flexible can harm your body.
If you frequently take extreme postures relying solely on your flexibility, your muscles might tear.
"But in your case, you need to develop more flexibility. Can you do a split?"
"... Sort of."
Though his answer was vague, the fact that Heonwon Kang answered at all was meaningful, so I nodded.
"Did you notice the second difference?"
"... The position of the arms and legs seemed a bit different from what I saw before."
As expected.
This guy had a good 'eye' for martial arts.
"Correct. Just as people have different personalities, the shape and nature of their bodies differ. Even the same posture needs to be adjusted to fit one's body. The posture I just showed was me imitating your attempt to mimic me. Seeing it like this, you can better understand what's awkward, right?"
Heonwon Kang looked at me with a dumbfounded expression at my kind explanation.
"... Is it possible to do that just by watching for a moment?"
"If you have a good eye, it's possible. You can do it with practice."
"..."
In truth, having a good eye alone doesn't allow you to imitate immediately.
The reason I could quickly mimic Heonwon Kang's posture was that I had trained in the Green Forest Eighteen Techniques left by the Green Forest King, Meng Ho-ak.
-Hehe.
Kiddo.
External martial arts involve studying bones, muscles, and internal organs.
It's not just about building muscles mindlessly.
-You talking about mindless muscle growth isn't very convincing.
-Can't you shut that Mad Demon up when I'm talking?
...
Anyway.
Master Meng was a person who reached the pinnacle in handling the body.
He could change the position of bones and muscles at will while sitting still.
He didn't use internal energy techniques like bone manipulation or special medicines, but solely his willpower.
-Hahaha! Did you see that? My thing and both balls disappeared! This is external martial arts!
...
I don't know why such memories pop up, but anyway.
The martial arts Meng created after dedicating decades in prison was the Green Forest Eighteen Techniques.
Master Meng was confident that reaching the pinnacle of the Green Forest Eighteen Techniques would increase the body's self-healing ability by dozens of times, achieve immunity to cold and heat, and make the body as hard as diamond.
'...
But you'd have to train in the Green Forest Eighteen Techniques for decades to achieve that.'
I had no intention of fully teaching Heonwon Kang the Green Forest Eighteen Techniques.
However, for the sake of winning the Heavenly Martial Arts Competition, I was willing to teach him a few movements that would help in learning sword techniques.
With his talent, even teaching him just that much would allow him to soar.
"Now, stand up and follow me. At first, the stride should be like this. Let your arms hang naturally..."
"Like this?"
Heonwon Kang followed my movements as if entranced for a moment, then suddenly frowned and glared at me fiercely.
"Damn it. Why am I following this?"
"Why are you saying that now after learning so well?"
"You taught it on your own. I've already lost interest."
Heonwon Kang chuckled and raised one corner of his mouth crookedly.
"I'm not interested in the cheap martial arts you're teaching."
If it were other instructors, they would have been furious by now.
But I just quietly looked into Heonwon Kang's eyes.
His gaze had been shaking roughly for a while now.
"Why are you lying? You want to learn. You're itching to follow along. Why back off at the crucial moment?"
"... Nonsense. I'm not interested in the martial arts you're teaching."
"Someone not interested in martial arts was training their body so much that the room reeks of sweat. That's quite convincing."
Heonwon Kang's face turned red as he gritted his teeth and glared at me.
"... Whether I learn martial arts or not is none of your business. I'd appreciate it if you'd leave my room now."
"Is it because of the Hebei Peng family?"
At my words, Heonwon Kang's expression hardened.
At the same time, a murderous intent slowly rose.
I continued speaking without caring.
"I've heard the story. The relationship between your Heonwon family and the Hebei Peng family."
The story I heard from Maek Geuk-ryeom before coming here.
Decades ago, a great calamity befell the Heonwon family.
Overnight, the head of the family and their masters were massacred.
After that, the Heonwon family walked the path of decline, and the first to extend a helping hand was the Hebei Peng family.
The two families, who had frequent exchanges as they competed for the top spot in the righteous martial world, were applauded by the entire orthodox martial world when the Hebei Peng family offered massive economic aid and help in restoring lost martial arts to the Heonwon family.
However...
'It was a wrong choice.'
In the martial world, there's no such thing as goodwill without reason.
Now, decades later, the Heonwon family was practically a subordinate of the Hebei Peng family.
And the one bound by those shackles was the genius Heonwon Kang.
"Do you think I can't cut you down just because you're a teacher?"
His low voice was like the growl of a crouching beast.
The murderous intent was on a different level from before.
When I touched on the family's disgrace, Heonwon Kang grabbed a sword from the side and glared at me.
But I didn't stop speaking.
"If you've given up on learning martial arts because you think it's meaningless anyway, or because you think you'll end up as a servant of the Peng family, then you're really stupid."
"What do you know to speak so recklessly...!"
"Heonwon Kang! Your talent isn't just that."
Heonwon Kang, who seemed ready to charge at me, stopped in his tracks.
His gaze shook violently.
I looked him straight in the eye and said, "You're a genius. To the extent that you could enter the Blue Dragon Academy with only the mediocre martial arts of a family that's just a shell. To the extent that you can beat up those who work hard with the martial arts you learned while drinking and lamenting your life. To the extent that you can clumsily imitate my movements after seeing them once. You're a genius."
Carrot and stick.
The simplest yet always effective method.
Heonwon Kang, trying to hide his embarrassment, spoke curtly.
"Do you think you can entice me with such words...?"
"Is it because of Peng Sa-hyeok? Is that why you're not properly learning martial arts?"
"!!"
Caught off guard by my sudden question, Heonwon Kang gasped and widened his eyes.
"What, what nonsense...!"
He denied it belatedly, but his expression had already revealed everything.
'So that's how it is.'
I recalled the look in Peng Sa-hyeok's eyes when he looked at Heonwon Kang.
Hidden within the mockery and disdain was jealousy and wariness.
Considering the relationship between the two families and the fact that the two boys of similar age were often compared, I could guess why Heonwon Kang became a failing student.
And my guess was confirmed by Heonwon Kang's reaction just now.
"If you become much stronger than Peng Sa-hyeok, the Peng family might find you troublesome. Did you not properly learn martial arts because you were worried it would be a burden to your family? Or did Peng Sa-hyeok directly threaten you?"
"Shut up! Who would believe such nonsense...?"
"... I guess it's true. No one seems to have noticed until now. You're unlucky to have been caught by me."
This body survived decades in the Blood Cult with its keen senses.
As I smiled at Heonwon Kang, he growled fiercely again.
"Damn it. Suddenly appearing and spouting nonsense... Stop meddling and get lost!"
"Let me say just one last thing."
My next words became a sharp dagger that pierced Heonwon Kang's heart.
"If you continue living as you do now, always watching Peng Sa-hyeok's reactions, the Heonwon family will continue to live like a dog with a leash tied to the Peng family."
"Shut your mouth!"
My words clearly crossed the line, and at that moment, Heonwon Kang drew his sword and swung it like lightning.
The trajectory was the best I'd seen from him so far, but having anticipated it, I easily blocked the attack with my sword sheath.
Clang!
"But if you come to your senses now and learn martial arts from me..."
"I said shut up!"
Heonwon Kang, having let go of his sword, charged at me.
His movements contained the knack I had just taught him. 'Truly a genius.' But an unripe genius.
We exchanged a few moves in an instant, and I knocked Heonwon Kang to the ground.
Bang!
"Ugh!"
I forcibly lifted the pained Heonwon Kang and looked him straight in the eye.
"If you come to your senses and learn martial arts from me, you might be able to make the Heonwon family the greatest martial family in the world."
You have that level of talent.
The talent to fully inherit the Mad Demon's progress.
"Damn it... What nonsense have you been spouting since earlier...?"
Heonwon Kang, bleeding from his nose, glared at me while panting heavily.
Realizing he couldn't beat me with words or skill, he chose another method.
The method of escape.
"If you won't leave, then I will."
Turning his back, Heonwon Kang slammed the door shut as he left.
Bang! I clicked my tongue as I looked at the firmly closed door.
"Do you think I'll give up just because you closed the door?"
I reopened the door Heonwon Kang had shut.
In the distance, I could see his figure growing smaller in the corridor.
I considered following him to persuade him further, but decided to give him time to think for himself today.
"This should be enough to ignite the spark."