Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Chapter 9: Jegal Tan (4)
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Having stopped by the equipment room to pick up the certification from the manager, Chu Un-hwi went to find Bronze Hall Master Chung-hyun.
Chung-hyun eyed him with half-lidded eyes and gruffly spoke up.
"So, how many did you repair?"
"A total of one hundred and twenty scarecrows. One hundred and twenty in all."
"You put in quite the effort."
"The scarecrows looked bored, so I added eyes for some aesthetic appeal."
"Did you? Well done."
He erased the deduction entries from the ledger with a quick scribble, jotted down the points, and asked again.
"If you don't show up late and pull all-nighters instead of clocking out on time, you wouldn't rack up this many deductions."
"Leave the scarecrows to me from now on. I've got this."
"You're not even promising not to be late."
"Have faith in me!"
"Tch."
Clicking his tongue, Chung-hyun closed the ledger.
Then he pulled out a single appointment certificate from the back of the drawer, tied with a golden cord.
"You're an official instructor as of today."
"Really?"
"You've been through a lot, regardless of the back-and-forth. Take care of things going forward, Instructor Chu."
Hooray! Hooray!
It was the official hiring for a permanent position that had been indefinitely postponed due to deductions.
Chu Un-hwi rubbed his cheeks against the official instructor badge he'd finally received.
'No more contract work.'
A permanent employee was different from a contractor.
You weren't easily fired unless you caused a major incident.
'Meaning I can slack off properly without getting the boot.'
Now he could focus on finding a lover with full commitment.
As he danced a little shoulder shimmy, Yeom Gwang, who was nearby, furrowed his brow.
His expression screamed, "Damn, I could've gotten rid of him."
After scowling for a moment, he spoke up.
"Instructor Chu."
"Yeah?"
"Is Student Jegal Tan doing well?"
"Jegal Tan? Well..."
Recalling that Jegal Tan hadn't been seen for several days, Chu Un-hwi answered.
"I haven't seen him at all lately..."
"Is that so? Excellent."
Watching him beam with a bright smile, Chu Un-hwi scratched his chin.
What was that?
Something felt off...
"Good work."
As he hung his official instructor badge in one corner of the room, a voice came from beyond the wall.
Knock knock knock.
Pulling back the cloth at the cautious sound revealed Yeo Mae-hong smiling prettily through the hole.
"Here, a gift."
"What's this?"
"It's a sword ornament."
What came over from beyond the wall was a red accessory.
A small jade hung in the center, quite eye-catching.
"It'll look nice on the hilt."
Yeo Mae-hong tapped the hilt of her own sword demonstratively from beyond the wall.
"Why give me something like this..."
"Congratulations on becoming an official instructor."
Receiving his first gift ever, Chu Un-hwi was deeply touched.
'What can I give in return?'
He barely recalled the secret liquor bottle hidden under his bed and reached for it.
"Can't have a day like this without some drinks."
Glug glug glug.
He filled a small cup and pushed it through to the other side, and Yeo Mae-hong's laughter rang out.
"Sharing a drink like this has its own charm."
"It won't last long, though. I've already fixed enough scarecrows from side gigs to buy ironwood."
"Bittersweet."
A soft voice came from beyond the wall.
Her voice sounded even closer now.
"It hasn't been that long, but so much has happened."
"Tell me about it."
Leaning back against the wall as usual, Chu Un-hwi replied.
Soon, the two were chatting amiably about recent events.
From the time a foot suddenly poked through the wall and startled him, to the hardships of teaching the students.
By the time the moon had tilted, Yeo Mae-hong's voice was thick with intoxication.
Inevitable, really.
This liquor might seem ordinary, but it wasn't.
"One more cup, please."
"You've had plenty already."
"Pleeease~ Just one more!"
"Exactly one more, got it?"
Glug glug glug.
As he poured, the cup vanished swiftly.
Lick lick.
The sound of her licking the cup came with her voice.
"Hey, Instructorrr~. How's the exam prep goinggg?"
"Of course. Heh heh. I'll dominate the sparring match."
"Looking forward to the sparringgg. But I'm talking about the midterms, sillyyy."
Midterms?
Was there another exam besides the monthly sparring?
"Sparring is individual martial arts, righttt? Midterms have group events toooo."
"Group events? What do you mean?!"
Pressing against the wall to demand an answer, Yeo Mae-hong rubbed her eyes and explained.
"Divine Martial Academy aims to train experts, but it also teaches acting as a unit for the Murim Alliance, y'knowww. Mmm."
To sum it up:
Monthly sparring checked individual martial arts, while occasional group exams tested organizational strength.
Organization emphasized cooperation over individual skill, so evaluations differed.
"Like the Four Directions Sword Formation?"
Four Directions Sword Formation?
Where had he heard that?
"It's the first formation you learn after entering the hallll. Forgot alreadyyy?"
Suddenly, he recalled Yeom Gwang using sneaky-looking students to practice a formation.
"You mean the one four people perform?"
"Exactly. You really forgot."
He had.
Completely forgotten.
'Four form a small sword formation. Five groups of twenty make a grand formation, or something?'
As he refreshed his memory, a strange foreboding arose.
"Don't tell me the formation exam requires full teams from each instructor?"
"Yes, exactly."
A despairing answer came.
"If you're not interested in promotion, it doesn't matter. But I..."
Yeo Mae-hong's voice trailed like taffy.
"I wanted to promote with you, Instructor Chu, and go to Silver Hall together..."
She seemed to mumble something after, but Chu Un-hwi was too shocked by the unexpected turn to hear.
'When I said Jegal Tan was missing, Yeom Gwang looked thrilled...'
Looks like he planned to sabotage promotions and keep tormenting him from above.
"Damn. Nothing goes right."
At least Yeo Mae-hong had tipped him off just in time again?
"Thanks, Instructor Yeo."
Snore.
Instead of a reply came an adorable snoring sound.
"Sleep well."
Smiling, Chu Un-hwi carefully lay down on his bed.
It was a bright moonlit night.
The next day.
Before heading to the training grounds, Chu Un-hwi stopped by the instructors' room.
He called out to Chung-hyun, who was watering orchids first thing in the morning.
"Hall Master."
"What's with showing up this early? Decided to trade point deductions for morning roll call?"
Unfortunately, no.
Chu Un-hwi cut straight to it.
"Is there a group event in the midterms?"
"Of course."
"Why'd you remove my name from the group event?"
It was a crucial issue.
He was wrapping up his scouting in Bronze Hall.
No sign of his lover yet, so he was thinking of promoting to Silver Hall soon.
But Chung-hyun sounded incredulous.
"Have you got a conscience?"
His eyes sharpened instantly.
"No one aiming for promotion skips the instructors' room, right?"
"Skipping roll call is routine!"
"When I tried assigning you work before, you bolted saying you were busy!"
"Even your students. Think three can pull off Four Directions Sword Formation?"
"And you want to promote? Pfft."
Pent-up grudges showed; Chung-hyun's face held no mercy.
"If you wanted promotion, you should've done better ages ago!"
But that was Chung-hyun's side.
He wasn't close with conscience anyway, and a man in love was single-minded.
"Not listening. Not listening. I'm joining the group event. I'm promoting!"
"Then stop being late!"
"Just fix the scarecrows!"
"Stop being late first!"
"Fine. I'll fix twice as many as before."
After bickering, Chu Un-hwi barely got permission for the midterm group event.
With the condition of finding a fourth student.
Permission granted was good, but problems arose.
"What about the Four Directions Sword Formation?"
Flip flip.
Reviewing the manual, learning it wasn't hard.
He who pierced even the Heaven's Net formed by righteous and demonic experts combined.
Simple formations were understood and dismantled on sight.
The students were the issue.
Headache thinking how to teach guys clueless about formations.
"Ah, just charge in and smash them all."
Even countermeasures were hard to teach.
Most "countermeasures" relied on overwhelming force.
Beyond current student level.
"Damn. Short on people too."
Even smallest small sword formation needed four.
"Shouldn't have let that Jegal guy go..."
Deep regret.
But arriving at the training grounds, Chu Un-hwi witnessed an unexpected sight.
"Greetings again, Instructor."
There stood Jegal Tan, face pale and gaunt.
Wearing shabby Bronze Hall uniform instead of neat silk robes, gripping a worn sword.
Jegal Tan quietly bowed.
"Ho?"
His aura was different.
What was it?
If the old him seemed a drunken young master, now he was like a swordsman with sharpened resolve.
"It may not satisfy you, but..."
Shing.
Drawing his sword and cradling the blade in both hands, he said.
"I've found my own path."
Whoosh.
The swordsmanship that followed was familiar Divine Martial Swordsmanship.
Swish. Swish.
Flawless, rigidly orthodox forms.
But Chu Un-hwi noted the haze wavering at the blade's tip.
'Forms are the same. But...'
Different qi infusion rhythm.
Forms demanded a breath's worth of a dozen strikes at full power.
Sip. Sip.
Yet Jegal Tan breathed in and out, pouring full power into only four forms amid the dozen strikes.
Footwork changed.
Standing in place before, now he stepped erratically, thrusting in odd rhythms, modulating qi.
Chu Un-hwi's lips curved up.
'Ha! Thought it was bland soup.'
Chuckling, he beckoned with a finger.
Jegal Tan, mid-swing, looked shocked.
"Don't stop the sword."
"Y-yes, sir!"
As Chu Un-hwi's gripping hand in air slowly moved, Jegal Tan's sword began moving strangely.
"What the—?"
"The young master Jegal is following Instructor's hand gestures."
"What technique is that...?"
Ignoring the whispers, Chu Un-hwi scrutinized the sword.
'Using sword qi afterimages to form an array with swordsmanship.'
Different from sword formations.
Formations were multi-person efficient strike-and-retreat tactics.
This used sword qi as medium for illusions.
'Far superior to formations.'
Even more advanced than typical arrays?
Swish.
Watching the trajectory, Chu Un-hwi asked.
"Illusory Bewitching Formation?"
"Yes."
Illusory Bewitching Formation.
An array planting formations in eight directions to disorient entrants' sense of direction.
Infused into swordsmanship, afterimages scattered in eight directions, warping space subtly.
'Not perfect yet.'
Just grasped the basics?
Might need a nudge.
"I know Illusory Bewitching Formation too."
Grind.
As his fingers moved, Jegal Tan's trajectory shifted.
Swish swish swish.
"Gasp!"
Despite shock, the sword path accelerated.
As if threads on fingers puppeted it.
'Pulling internal energy like threads to bind?'
Shocked but focused, Jegal Tan tracked his changing path and qi flow.
Swish swish swish swish!
Narrower, faster.
Chaotic, yet sharp.
At peak speed, eerie will-o'-wisps bloomed around him.
Deep blue sword qi afterimages.
"Impossible!"
The three onlookers gaped.
The floating wisps began weaving bizarre illusions.
Sssshhhh—!
A low voice followed.
"Illusory Bewitching Formation disrupts distance perception."
A chilling wind blew; sword lights lengthened and faded repeatedly.
"Infused in swordsmanship, it can deceive blade length."
One light split into dozens.
"And erase trajectories."
Wisps flashed, filling with illusions of long and short sword lights innumerable.
"Remember this feeling well."
With that, Jegal Tan's form shuddered violently.
"Cough!"
He staggered back five steps and collapsed.
"Cough. Cough."
Qi depleted.
"You've found a good path."
Looking down at the slumped Jegal Tan, Chu Un-hwi said.
Come to think of it.
'Jegal Family's final day had a strange formation expert.'
Burning Jegal manor, last survivor in the final hall unleashing eerie illusions with swordsmanship in a desperate stand.
"Ugh! Thank you for the lesson."
The youthful Jegal Tan overlapped with that cooling figure.
'Like a person seeking a person, swordsmanship seeks its wielder?'
Fate was ever mysterious.
Shaking his head, Chu Un-hwi warmly addressed Jegal Tan, who knelt despite blood dripping from his mouth.
"Well done. You're my fourth student."