Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Phoenix of Fist
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I spent the night digging through the Murim Gallery and still wasn't all that tired on my way to school.
'Is this what youth feels like?'
I hadn't quite reached the peak of physical condition yet, but that made this surging vitality feel even more alive.
I could really feel the difference in the quality of my vital energy compared to the old days, when I'd wipe away accumulated fatigue with breath control and meditation.
The problem was that the moment I started listening to class after arriving at school, drowsiness came crashing down on me like a ghost—just like when I was a kid.
With the mindset that I couldn't doze off starting from the second day of the semester, I pinched my thighs and endured.
"In Murim history, when is the start of the modern era?"
During the Murim Modern History lecture, the teacher asked while continuing to write on the blackboard with chalk.
"Some historians from the Ming Dynasty consider the establishment of the Later Ming— that is, the first year of the Reign of Heaven—as the beginning of modern Murim. But most people use the outbreak or end of the two World Wars as the dividing line between modern Murim and what came before."
She turned to face the students and continued her explanation.
"Among those, the most widely accepted view is that modern Murim began on August 9, 1945, the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki."
For some reason, the top students of Class 1, including Son Ha-rin who was sitting next to me again today, had their notebooks or textbooks open and were quickly jotting down the teacher's explanation. Of course, there were exceptions like Veronica Lionheart.
I didn't have eyes in the back of my head, and there was no need to publicly extend my senses during class to draw attention from Son Ha-rin sitting beside me, so I couldn't tell what Veronica was doing in the back row. But I could clearly guess it wasn't note-taking.
"But isn't it strange? Why August 9, neither the first real-world use of an atomic bomb on August 6, 1945, in Hiroshima, nor August 15, the end of World War II when Japan surrendered and Korea gained liberation?"
The teacher looked around at the students and opened the attendance book.
"It's the 4th today, so attendance number 4, speak up. Let me see, who's number 4..."
It had been over ten years since I graduated, but this roll-call method still sent chills down my spine.
Still, it was a question I could easily answer, so I raised my hand and spoke.
"Kim Hoon here. Because it's the standard used in Murim history, not general history?"
"Right, Hoon. Well said. To be more specific, unlike Hiroshima, in Nagasaki, Osujima Shunroku—an S-rank master from the Imperial Japanese Army dispatched to counter the bombing—died instantly at Ground Zero from the atomic bomb. It confirmed that even Manifestation Realm experts could be killed by thermal weapons. The absolute invincibility of supreme masters, long revered as gods of Murim, was shattered."
As I listened to the teacher's explanation, my mind wandered elsewhere.
If the killing of an S-rank master by a bomb marked such a historical turning point, it meant that most S-rankers weren't threatened by ordinary high-explosive bombs. That was common knowledge to me.
However, if a 'typical' S-rank could defend against conventional bombs with an Aura Shield, could Baek Kang-mu, the man closest to the ideal of the world's strongest external arts and indestructible like diamond, survive even at Ground Zero...?
"S-rank masters remain powerful beings. They possess Aura Shields effective against most conventional weapons from bullets to high explosives, and as asymmetric weapons, a single one can still rival legions in tactical and strategic impact."
Of course, it was impossible. Surviving a nuke wouldn't make you human.
"The fact that they too are humans made of flesh and blood. Just recognizing that closes the psychological gap considerably."
The teacher smiled faintly, picked up a piece of chalk, infused it with qi, and threw it.
"Ack!"
The bullet-like chalk hit Veronica Lionheart right on the forehead. As expected of Hanmu Academy—even the history teacher was proficient in hidden weapons.
"So pay attention in class, everyone!"
The teacher left the classroom with a laugh after class ended.
During break, Son Ha-rin, who was on duty, came forward and started erasing the densely written blackboard with the eraser.
"Hm."
Son Ha-rin, who unlike most Murim folk had a smaller build than her peers, seemed to struggle reaching the high marks on the board.
"I'll help."
"...Thanks."
I quietly stepped forward to erase the board, glancing sideways at her as she unleashed a palm wind to shake the dust off the eraser.
Son Ha-rin herself seemed unaware of whatever deal her future self had made with me, but she had definitely handed me the Return Bead and asked for something. I just couldn't remember the details because I was dying at the time.
To uncover that request, sticking close to Son Ha-rin was definitely necessary for now.
"Homeroom teacher says next class is outdoors! Everyone to Training Ground 1!"
As we were almost done erasing, a female student flung open the door and shouted.
"Outdoor class?"
"Ugh, I was already stiff from just sitting through lectures!"
Perhaps because they were Martial Science students used to physical activity, they stretched dramatically at the news of outdoor class, grabbed their gear, and quickly filed out.
Even Veronica Lionheart, who had been fidgeting bored throughout the theory lesson, grinned, slung her greatsword on her back, and dashed out. Baek Chan slowly rose his massive frame.
The classroom was left with just me and Son Ha-rin. She stood there holding the now water-cleaned eraser, watching me before tilting her head.
"Not going?"
"You?"
"I am. Now."
With that, Son Ha-rin hopped onto the windowsill railing where the erasers were hung.
As if she'd forgotten to mention something, she added an "Oh,"
"This way."
"...Our classroom's on the 6th floor?"
"I know."
Son Ha-rin extended her hand, and the golf bag she carried every day floated up on its own, flying through the air to land neatly in her grip.
I gaped.
I knew what that was. Anyone in the Murim world wouldn't make a fuss calling it a superpower.
It just wasn't a technique you'd expect from a seventeen-year-old student.
"Object Manipulation?"
"Not Object Manipulation."
Son Ha-rin muttered so softly it was hard to make out.
'Then what is it?'
Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she turned to me and spoke.
It wasn't a reply to my internal mutter.
"Thanks for helping with cleaning. See you below."
With that, Son Ha-rin plunged downward. Startled, I looked out the window to find she'd already vanished.
Damn, she was always so willful, both in my past life and now.
Alone in the empty classroom, I muttered to myself.
"If I'd known she could use Object Manipulation, I wouldn't have bothered helping..."
I grabbed my cost-effective brand-name sword made of special steel from my locker and leaped out the window like Son Ha-rin.
Unlike Son Ha-rin who vanished like the wind, my landing on the ground went thud, cratering the pavement block. My knees throbbed from the impact, but for a male high schooler, this was everyday stuff.
'Break's almost over.'
I quickly unleashed lightness skill and started running.
Was it thanks to the liquor infused with Amrita boosting my internal energy exponentially? Unfolding lightness skill, I didn't run out of qi midway.
Thanks to that, I crossed the improbably vast Hanmu Academy grounds—hard to believe it was a high school—before break ended, arriving at Training Ground 1.
The students who arrived first stood in perfect military formation on the sparring ground. A female teacher spoke up in front of the wheeled whiteboard.
"Everyone here?"
She wore digital camo martial pants and a sleeveless top for mobility.
Her sharp ponytail swayed once as she surveyed the students crisply. Some boys gawked with mouths agape.
She was that beautiful. Objectively speaking.
Though her actual age was surely higher, she looked just over twenty because she was a master who had undergone marrow cleansing and bone transformation.
In fact, to me, she felt less like a teacher and more like a famous celebrity.
Even in my past life, when I attended school as a pure high schooler body and soul, she was a Hanmu teacher—but I'd seen her face more on nine o'clock news and front-page newspapers than in class.
Lee Soo-young.
Former lieutenant in the World Murim Alliance Peacekeeping Demon Subjugation Army.
The female master renowned as the previous Phoenix of Fist, now homeroom teacher for Class 1.
- Korea under attack!
- Unprecedented terror by demon cultists... President Kim issues emergency statement
- Korean Martial Arts Genius Academy teacher Lee Soo-young (29) killed... Mourning procession continues
She was also the sole casualty in my memory of the Hanmu Academy raid that would happen in a few months.