Chapter 217
Chapter 217
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Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Visit to Infinite Pavilion (4)
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After parting with Baek Ri-seol and strolling through the garden, it happened.
Was it because autumn was coming?
The leaves falling one by one were no different in the Baek Family.
"The cold wind is starting to blow."
Autumn was deepening steadily.
"This feels like the first autumn scent I've caught since coming here."
He had wanted to spend the blooming and withering seasons at the academy with courtesans.
His heart ached.
'The Seven Thousand Apostles and the Blood Cult.'
The recent Eight Thousand Apostles' blood tribulation had left enormous scars on the martial world.
Several small and medium sects had vanished, and even renowned masters had lost their lives in the flames.
Some were calling it a bloodbath unprecedented in the last decade.
However, Chu Un-hwi knew.
'If the real Mangcheon Society steps forward, the Eight Thousand Apostles' bloodshed would be mere child's play.'
With a heavy sigh, Chu Un-hwi muttered.
"I'll wipe out the Seven Thousand Apostles and the Blood Cult before winter ends."
It was the kind of statement that would make anyone who heard it gasp in shock, but Chu Un-hwi just muttered it hollowly.
"This winter will be especially harsh."
As he muttered, a shadow suddenly fell over the garden from beyond.
"Instructor Chu Un-hwi."
The one who appeared was Infinite Pavilion Master Baek Ri-jeong-sun.
With a faint pallor on his face but a small smile, he approached and spoke.
"Thank you for your consideration."
"Consideration?"
"Ri-seol called me father."
"......"
"Though it's awkward and uncomfortable, she called this worthless man father again."
Unable to find words, Chu Un-hwi could roughly guess the situation.
'Baek Ri-seol must have mustered her courage.'
Impressive action indeed.
Knowing well how hard forgiveness was, Chu Un-hwi felt inwardly proud.
"It's all thanks to Instructor Chu. Because of you, I realized my mistakes and got a chance, however small, to correct them. I don't know how to repay this."
Seeing him bow his head, Chu Un-hwi replied coldly.
"You seem to be misunderstanding something."
"......"
"I have no intention of forgiving you."
He still held them in contempt.
"I'm not generous enough to accept the apology from a family that tried to abandon you."
"What happened before..."
"Don't make excuses about falling for mind-control hypnosis. It's certainly an impressive evil art that manipulates people through hypnosis, but it only targets the weak parts of the mind. You wouldn't have fallen for it without your own greed."
To be precise, the Soul-Stealing Portrait was a powerful hypnosis technique that even he, the Blood Cult's leader, knew well.
But no evil art in the world could create emotions in someone who had none.
That was the point he was making.
"Even so, Baek Ri-seol forgave you. Fully understanding the truth and choosing forgiveness—that was her strength alone."
"......"
After a brief silence, Baek Ri-jeong-sun opened his closed eyes again.
"I plan to atone and apologize for the rest of my life."
"Just do it yourself. No need to tell me."
When he cut him off firmly, Baek Ri-jeong-sun let out a hollow laugh.
"Haha. The child who was always so timid is showing such cold resolve, and I wondered who she takes after."
"?"
"Well, this is a complete defeat. One person has taken both my past and future, so there's nothing I can do."
What was this guy talking about?
Puzzled, but Baek Ri-jeong-sun, having said it to himself and convinced himself, was already walking far away.
"You said she's a child who shines like a jewel more than anyone?"
Something like that, maybe.
"That you'd cherish and protect her like gold and jade?"
No, he hadn't said that.
"That you'd keep her in your arms for life—turns out you're more romantic than you look."
Hey, wait. Hold on there.
'What did I even say?'
He tried to stop him, but Baek Ri-jeong-sun continued as if he could never win against this, fully convinced on his own.
"You said you need a place for training?"
"...Yeah."
"If you follow the strolling path behind the Divine Martial Academy, you'll reach a mountain ridge. Beyond that is a beautiful mountain waterfall and a massive valley. It seems perfect for quiet training."
"A waterfall and mountain lake..."
It sounded familiar, like the path he had once climbed following Nangong Yun-ho.
But that place.
"It was blocked off from people."
He recalled many martial artists guarding it with scary faces.
"That makes sense."
But Baek Ri-jeong-sun spoke as if it were no big deal.
"The entire back mountain belongs to the Baek Family."
"What?"
"I bought a few mountains because I needed a place for occasional strolls."
Baek Ri-jeong-sun added one more thing.
"It's like a family vacation spot, but since you're going to get it someday, handing it over early isn't bad."
No, what do you mean handing it over early?
He wanted to ask, but the feeling of words failing him was truly rare.
That evening.
They stopped by a grill house on Palmi-ro for a cozy gathering after a long time.
However, there was an unexpected attendee.
Yang Dae-cheol, the Bronze Hall Squad Leader.
This usually taciturn instructor, who had been moping about his lover, had come to the grill house lightheartedly, only to see the very person who ruined his relationship with his lover, and just blinked in surprise.
"...This is the first time we're meeting like this outside of official business."
"Haha. Even for me, drinking with fellow instructors isn't common."
Neung Pung-un, unaware of the situation, joked around, but the Squad Leader Yang's eyes grew even scarier.
'Please overlook my pathetic jealous look.'
As he prayed inwardly, Moyong Seon-ya clapped her hands to liven up the mood.
"Come on, stop the staring contest and sit down."
Today's gathering was hosted by Moyong Seon-ya.
"Cheers to giving those Academic Affairs Office bastards a piece of our mind!"
Clink!
After clinking glasses, she downed her drink in one go and propped one arm on the table boldly.
"Now I can finally breathe."
"Did everything wrap up well?"
"Apparently, the Academic Affairs Office is in chaos. Budgets they never expected are pouring in."
"The New Year's retreat group was the most opposed. They proposed a massive retreat for harmony, so this must be awkward for them."
"The friction between new and existing instructors is infamous."
As they chatted about this and that, Yeo Mae-hong suddenly spoke up.
"By the way, Sister. Have you heard about our promotion exams?"
"Yeah, a bit."
She glanced at the others' faces and nodded slightly.
"The official notice hasn't gone out yet, huh?"
"Is it really true we're going out into the martial world ourselves?"
Normally, Divine Martial Academy promotion exams were held within the academy.
But this time was different.
"Yeah. The sects sponsoring the academy aren't happy at all."
Just as he had heard from Dokgo Yul.
Typically, to honor sponsors, they would visit and handle requests.
But this time, the Eight Apostles' appearance disrupted the martial world trips, leaving requests unfulfilled and displeasing the sponsors.
"It's also to appease the sponsors, but the higher-ups seem to want to select more combat-ready talent going forward."
"Beyond combat-ready students, they're looking for combat-ready instructors?"
"Exactly."
Moyong Seon-ya agreed immediately to Neung Pung-un's point.
"They judged that more efficient handling of this incident could have greatly reduced the damage."
"But Instructor Moyong, the opponents weren't ordinary foes using heterodox internal energy?"
"I know it's unusual."
While partially agreeing with Squad Leader Yang, Moyong Seon-ya continued her view.
"But the higher-ups think instructors must be prepared for any situation."
"...That's sound logic."
"We don't know how deeply they've infiltrated the martial world or how many there are. In that sense, emphasizing real combat is inevitable for the future."
The Murim Alliance was definitely changing.
Unlike his previous life, where they helplessly suffered defeat after defeat to the Mangcheon Society, they were now actively confronting it.
In that regard, this decision was just the beginning.
"It's not just this promotion exam. They're even talking about opening Divine Hall."
"Even Divine Hall?"
"Heh. Their resolve is firmer than I thought."
Unlike the astonished Yeo Mae-hong and Squad Leader Yang, Neung Pung-un smirked.
"The Divine Hall students would cheer if they heard. Locked in the instructor room all day researching martial arts."
People chuckled at Neung Pung-un's self-deprecating remark.
"Well, given the situation, it's time for change."
"It's a good opportunity too. With the Nine Great Sects' talents joining, we can use valuable forces cheaply."
"Hoho. As expected, Instructor Neung knows all about it."
The conversation was growing lively.
Gulp. Gulp.
With ears open, emptying plates nonstop, Yeo Mae-hong suddenly poked his side.
"Why?"
Drip.
Wiping sauce from his mouth with his sleeve, Moyong Seon-ya's cold voice flew at him.
"In-struc-tor. Chu."
Turning his head, Moyong Seon-ya was glaring at him with a terrifying face.
Hard to believe it was the same person who had been laughing moments ago—her face was full of resentment.
"What?"
"Are you asking because you don't know?"
"They say old maids have wild mood swings."
"That's too much!"
Bam!
Moyong Seon-ya slammed the table and yelled.
"How can you just sit there munching away while we're talking! You have to join the conversation! The conversation!"
"My ears are open."
"Conversation isn't just listening—it's exchanging words!"
"I'll keep that in mind."
Just keep it in mind.
Munch. Munch.
Not backing down and emptying plates, Moyong Seon-ya let out a deep sigh.
She looked quite pitiful, but Chu Un-hwi felt inwardly wronged.
'I was being considerate in my own way.'
He had specifically invited Neung Pung-un today.
Letting the two create a good atmosphere quietly, but this reaction.
'My good intentions are being doubted.'
He couldn't help feeling aggrieved.
As the gathering ended and they were leaving, Neung Pung-un slyly approached.
"Friend. I have something to say."
Turning at the subtle tone, Neung Pung-un walked shoulder-to-shoulder and spoke.
"It seems this promotion exam is because of me."
"What do you mean?"
"I got contact recently. They found traces of the Apostles."
He had looked unusually down today, and this was why.
"It's unofficial, but they'll give a suitable pretext to send me out."
"......"
"Looks like the time for me to find my deathbed is coming sooner than I thought."
At those words, he suddenly spoke.
"The Yangtze River Waterway Stronghold?"
"!"
Neung Pung-un's eyes widened briefly in surprise before asking flustered.
"H-how did you know?"
"I'm good at noticing things."
In truth, he knew from Dokgo Yul, but Neung Pung-un seemed to accept his own reasoning.
"Ugh. Well, I did leave too many clues."
True enough.
Asking out of the blue if he knew the Yangtze River Waterway Stronghold.
"Wait. Come to think of it, didn't you go to the Baek Family? And borrowing the valley for underwater training—don't tell me it's to prepare for a battle with the Yangtze River Waterway Stronghold..."
Sharp guy as expected.
But he couldn't confess straightforwardly.
"Heh. You're overthinking. But, you know."
Explaining that he negotiated with the Baek Family to borrow the entire valley would only make him suspicious of the source.
"But anyway."
Chu Un-hwi said vaguely.
"If you're ever curious about underwater combat, come find me."
He figured he'd offer a little help to a useful guy.