Chapter 41
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Grand General
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This was a transformation on the level of shedding one's mortal frame and being reborn.
But as Jo Gi-myeong gazed at the Imperial Palace Martial Academy, now sparkling like something brand new, his own heart festered and rotted in stark contrast.
He had already turned the entire student body against him.
Jo Gi-myeong decided he couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
He revealed his true identity and sought out the academy head, hoping to halt the chaos even at this late hour.
The academy head was beneath the VIP reception tent, overseeing the academy's beautification efforts with a grim expression that rivaled a battlefield command.
He had gathered the combat instructors and was deep in discussion about forming a martial demonstration team.
"Put that Tae-seong cadet and Yang Cho-gun cadet front and center..."
Jo Gi-myeong approached the academy head and spoke up.
"Excuse me, Academy Head. I have something important to tell you."
Spotting Jo Gi-myeong, the academy head's face twisted like he'd just bitten into a sour plum.
"And what are you doing, going off on your own like this?"
"N-no, it's not that—it's something important..."
"Do you even grasp the gravity of this situation and still act independently?"
"Academy Head! Intelligence reports the Grand General has reached the outskirts!"
"That's not—"
"I don't want to hear it! Weren't you just saying we were short-handed for cleaning the VIP restrooms? Take this one with you. Quartermaster! How's the banquet coming along? The full-course feast is prepared, right?"
"W-well, putting together a banquet of that scale on such short notice is realistically..."
"I don't want to hear it! Make it happen somehow! No—I'd better go whip the kitchen staff myself! Follow me!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Ah, wait..."
With that, the academy head vanished, leaving Jo Gi-myeong alone to be dragged off by an officer to scrub the VIP restrooms.
An hour later.
A massive four-horse carriage pulled up to the main gate of the Imperial Palace Martial Academy.
Surrounding it stood four generals clad in ornate armor, gripping razor-sharp fang-tian halberds as they stood guard.
All of them were at least peak first-rate experts.
By murim standards, they were formidable masters.
And they had brought along a hundred elite infantrymen to boot.
As the realm's highest military officer, the Grand General could never travel lightly.
The academy head rushed out barefoot to greet him.
"Oh my goodness! For the Grand General himself to grace us with a visit all the way out here—what an unparalleled honor for the Imperial Palace Martial Academy!"
He bowed repeatedly, his forehead nearly scraping the dirt.
But the Grand General's gaze upon him was ice-cold.
The words that left his mouth held no warmth.
"What is all this?"
"Pardon?"
"Why have you assembled every last cadet on a holiday like today?"
"W-well, we received word that you were coming, Grand General..."
"I sent no such notice about visiting this place. How did you know?"
"W-well, you see..."
The academy head shot a glance at the intelligence officer, who had gone pale as a ghost and promptly spilled the beans.
"One of my classmates from back in the day is posted as gate guard at the outer capital fortifications. He spotted the Grand General's carriage and sent a courier horse to tip me off."
"Is that right? You've got yourself a fine classmate there. Information that swift—both of you are talents wasted in a place like this."
"Th-thank you, sir!"
Brushing past the grinning intelligence officer, the academy head stepped forward and ushered the Grand General inside.
"P-please, come in first."
"Very well."
A lavish banquet, the sort only seen in the imperial palace, had been laid out within.
But contrary to expectations, the Grand General's assessment was scathing.
"Overdone."
"Hahaha. It's a special occasion hosting you, Grand General, so I took some extra pains..."
The academy head broke out in a cold sweat.
An awkward silence stretched on.
Desperate to shift the mood, the academy head addressed the Grand General at the head seat with utmost deference.
"To think you would set aside your day of rest and personally inspect this remote outpost—today, this humble servant has truly come to understand the meaning of leading by example! You, Grand General, are the very model for every official and general in the land!"
"Model indeed!"
"Hoho, model? That's too much. This old man merely came to catch a glimpse of his grandson."
Grandson? The academy head's eyes bulged.
"Y-your grandson, sir?"
"Yes. Enrolled this year."
"This humble one hadn't heard..."
If the grandson had enrolled, there was no way he wouldn't know.
To suddenly bring up a grandson out of nowhere left the academy head utterly baffled.
Not that the Grand General could be losing his marbles, of course.
"Might I ask your grandson's name..."
"Pyo Gi-myeong."
"Pyo Gi-myeong? Among the new cadets, I don't recall any Pyo surname..."
At that moment, a beautiful middle-aged woman at his side spoke up.
"Oh, Father. Gi-myeong wanted to get in on his own merits, without leaning on the family prestige, so he hid his surname when he enrolled."
"Oh, right! That's it? Hohoho, that boy. Who does he take after, being so considerate and upright?"
"Th-then, your grandson's name is..."
"He changed it to Jo, I believe? So, Jo Gi-myeong."
His words hit the academy head like a hammer to the skull.
"Yes. Where is my grandson right now?"
"W-wait just a moment! Protocol officer! Where is Jo Gi-myeong—no, Cadet Pyo Gi-myeong at the moment?"
"Th-that's... he's cleaning the restrooms right now..."
"What? Restrooms? Who ordered restroom duty?"
"W-well, that was you, Academy Head, just earlier..."
"Me?"
"My grandson... scrubbing restrooms? On a weekend, no less?"
"Hahaha. Well..."
In that instant, the academy head glimpsed his bleak future: retiring to his hometown to till rice paddies for the rest of his days.
Once the uproar died down, everyone stared at Jo Gi-myeong in astonishment.
"To think you were the Grand General's grandson—what a shock."
"Caught me off guard too."
"Guess we'll have to call you Pyo Gi-myeong from now on, not Jo."
"How'd you fool everyone so thoroughly?"
"If I hadn't, the gossip would never stop. I was dead set on topping the entrance exams fair and square. But if word got out I was the Grand General's grandson? Everyone'd say I coasted on Grandpa's name."
"Hmm, fair point."
After that, the academy head set his sights on Pyo Gi-myeong instead of Tae-seong and Yang Cho-gun.
Thanks to it, Tae-seong enjoyed a far more relaxed life at the academy.
After the day Jo Gi-myeong became Pyo Gi-myeong.
Peace returned to the academy.
Those who'd picked fights with me vanished entirely, as did those scheming to exploit me.
It was the perfect setup for undivided focus on training.
'The Muscle Heart Method has taken decent shape now. Time to train linking it with my demonic arts and the Dark Emperor Supreme Heaven Art.'
I intended to incorporate other training regimens as well.
But starting yesterday, an irritating presence kept nagging at my senses.
'Someone's gunning for me.'
My assassin instincts were crystal clear: I was being targeted.
'Can't even mask their killing intent properly. Amateur hour for an assassin.'
The intruder's incompetence left me unfazed.
I mulled over how to handle it.
Amusing as the tailing was, I couldn't tolerate it indefinitely.
First things first: capture and extract the puppet master.
A few suspects came to mind already.
To lure him out, I trained until the dead of night.
The physical training hall stood empty, everyone long abed.
"Time to hit the sack, maybe?"
I headed to the well to rinse my sweat with cold water.
Stripped off my upper garments and washed up.
Gulp—
A swallow. Faint, but in the still night, my heightened senses caught it plain as day.
'What the...? Why the sudden gulp?'
Something felt off, but I didn't dwell.
It had pinpointed his position for me.
I rocketed toward his hiding spot.
My speed made "bow-string shadow leap" sound sluggish.
"Gasp!"
The assassin perched in the tree saw his target hurtling at impossible speed. Panicking, he sprayed poison smoke in a desperate bid to flee.
But I knew all their tricks.
I seized the hand dipping into his pouch, sealed his acupoints, then pried his jaws open to fish out the poison pellet.
"Mmph! Mmmph!!"
With his meridian and mute points locked, real resistance was impossible.
I slung the neutralized assassin over my shoulder and bolted for the wooded hills behind the academy.
The wall loomed high, but to me, it was nothing.
Even burdened, my lightness skill propelled us at breakneck speed. Despair crept into the assassin's eyes.
His gaze held a touch of grievance, too.
Reaching a secluded spot, I hurled him to the ground.
Crash!
"Urgh!! Krghh!!"
Whiny sort—groaning over that minor jolt.
I released his mute point, and a scream ripped out.
"Kyaaah! Rock! Rock!!"
Evidently, a jagged stone jutted where he'd landed.
But something was off.
The voice was far too shrill for a man.
And he'd felt suspiciously light to carry.
For a split second, I wondered: child assassin?
I'd heard some outfits used kids to drop guards.
But the figure before me wasn't a child.
The assassin was unmistakably a woman.
Her face was swathed in black cloth, but her curves betrayed no man.
I unwrapped the cloth to reveal her face.
The sight made me snort with laughter despite myself.
"Pfft-hah!"
"......"
She'd smeared charcoal around her eyes—the bits not covered by cloth. Unveiled, she looked like a panda sprung to life.
The absurdity cracked me up.
She glared daggers, humiliated by my mirth, but with her life in my hands, she could only seethe in silence.