Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Chapter 13 Midterm Exam (2)
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Moyong So-hye was right.
The instructor was already sitting under the tent reserved for instructors below the sparring platform, his face sullen.
It was the look of someone dragged out against his will.
'He really looks like he has zero motivation, not even a grain of sand's worth.'
If Instructor Yeo Mae-hong hadn't been tugging at his sleeve or slapping his elbow to rouse him, he probably would have flopped right down and fallen asleep.
The gazes of the men watching disapprovingly from nearby—especially the unmarried instructors—were intimidating.
"Urk. Uuurgk. That chest monster..."
Baek Ri-seol gnawed at his sleeve.
What to do with her as she seemed ready to charge over at any moment? But then the instructor spotted them, his head popping up with a pung.
Soon, he came trudging over.
"You're here already?"
His expression lacked motivation, and so did his voice.
"Seeing Instructor's cool figure makes me dizzy, ah!"
He dodged Baek Ri-seol as she spun around trying to throw herself into his arms and flicked her forehead with a ttak-kong.
"Ow."
In the midst of this unchanged routine, Nangong Yun-ho cupped his fists and bowed his head.
"We've just arrived."
"Today's strategy is exactly seven straight wins. Got it? Don't win more and make it annoying. Hall Master keeps nagging me to take on more students."
He was still the same lazybones.
Of course, he seemed utterly uninterested in the fact that achieving those seven straight wins required beating the Silver Hall student.
It was full of laziness, but perhaps that stemmed from trust as well?
Nangong Yun-ho smiled and cupped his fists neatly.
"I'll win and return."
Chu Un-hwi replied to him.
"You'd better."
The sun rises and it gets bright.
The sun sets and it gets dark.
It was like stating an obvious law of nature, with not a shred of doubt in his voice.
Dung-dung-dung-dung.
The drum resounded.
Today's midterm exam had a different atmosphere from before.
"Look over there! It's White-Clothed Judge, the Chief Supervisor!"
"Flame Light Blade Demon is here too!"
The students buzzed excitedly upon seeing the famous figures from Divine Martial Academy in the specially prepared viewing stands.
Names of other renowned figures from the martial world followed.
Not just the Nine Great Sects, but even executives from the Five Great Families.
Among them was a familiar face from the Nangong Family.
'Uncle.'
His image, laughing and greeting the dignitaries gathered on the special platform without noticing them, seared coldly into his mind.
He felt a bit depressed.
"Well, what I need isn't other people's gazes."
Just one person's watchfulness is enough.
He glanced back over his shoulder at the shabby viewing area.
There was the instructor, grabbed by the nape by Instructor Yeo Mae-hong and being shaken like a wooden doll.
He felt even more depressed.
"Next combatants. Student Nangong Yun-ho, number 128, step forward!"
Flutter!
As the flag rose, Nangong Yun-ho smack! slapped his cheeks with both hands.
His mind sharpened instantly.
"Nangong Yun-ho, number 128. Heading up!"
Flutter!
Nangong Yun-ho advanced, his training uniform billowing.
Flutter!
"Nangong Yun-ho! Victory!"
As the flag rose, the students watching the sparring platform erupted in cheers all at once.
"That's the Ghost of Bronze Hall?"
"He's insanely strong! It's like they're in completely different leagues from the start?"
"Five straight wins already, and without even resting!"
The opponent wasn't weak either.
"Asan of Iron Sword Sect is pretty high up in the rankings..."
"Couldn't even block three forms."
"Wow. I can't believe it."
From the drum signal starting the match to the lightning-quick conclusion, it was over before you could cook beans in a lightning flash.
It wasn't just the students who were shocked watching the outcome.
"Student Nangong's skills have improved tremendously."
"For such talent to be called Ghost of Bronze Hall and left to rot... what a pity."
"His sword tip is alive. Means his basics are solid. The future looks even more promising."
The Bronze Hall instructors all turned to Chu Un-hwi at once.
Feeling the gazes converging on him, Chu Un-hwi puffed out his chest.
"It was all possible because I'm that great."
"How could a lacking guy train alone?"
"From morning till late night, I was stuck guiding him and nearly died."
"So, give me some vacation."
Chu Un-hwi had disciples who turned every praise into contempt the moment he opened his mouth.
Yeo Mae-hong scolded him from the side.
"At times like this, act humbly for once. Look, Hall Master Chung-hyun is staring at you like a bug from over there."
"He's far away. It's fine if he looks like a bug, just give me vacation."
"Sigh."
Unlike those brushing it off lightly, some showed even greater interest in Nangong Yun-ho.
They were the Murim Alliance executives in the special viewing area.
The first to feel curiosity was Flame Light Blade Demon Ma Gil-sang.
"Hoo...?"
Ma Gil-sang, famous for rarely showing emotional fluctuations, watched the sparring ground with gleaming eyes.
"What is it, Chief Instructor?"
"Look over there. Twelfth sparring platform."
Bronze Hall had nearly five thousand students. Thus, multiple sparring platforms were set up in the grand training ground to conduct matches simultaneously.
Ma Gil-sang had pointed out one of them.
"For you to take interest, that's a rare event."
Seon In-hyeok, who had been chuckling heartily, turned his head. Like Ma Gil-sang, he let out an exclamation.
"Heh! Impressive."
Awe colored Seon In-hyeok's tone.
"His understanding of Divine Martial Swordsmanship is remarkable! What incredible insight."
The subsequent matches were the same.
They weren't flashy. Just variations on those three forms, after all.
But experts saw something different.
"Heh. Beyond understanding the forms, he's interpreting them in his own way."
"Executing the form perfectly even from that stance?"
"Ahh. That's... Heh. Indeed. A transformation of the form I hadn't even considered myself..."
Experts' eyes are different.
They discerned countless changes and possibilities infused in the sword beyond the simple forms.
"Heh. Truly."
Seon In-hyeok swallowed his regret at the matches ending in an instant.
As the usually solemn man who rarely praised continued exclaiming, a Taoist from Geomchang Sect beside him asked.
His expression clearly showed shock at grasping the depth in that sword.
"Chief Supervisor. I've never seen anyone comprehend the depths of Divine Martial Swordsmanship like that. Who is the child?"
"Well, number 128..."
As Ma Gil-sang checked the student roster, a deep voice rang out.
"Student Nangong Yun-ho."
The eyes of the dignitaries in the special viewing stands turned to the one-eyed swordsman seated in the corner.
"He's the student taught by Junior Instructor Chu Un-hwi."
"Wait. Chu Un-hwi?"
A strangely familiar name.
"The instructor recommended by Elder Beggar of the Beggars' Sect."
So it wasn't entirely mediocre after all? Self-reproach for his past disinterest welled up as Seon In-hyeok asked.
"Bronze Hall Chief Instructor Dugok Ryul. What kind of person is this junior instructor?"
"From what I've observed..."
Dugok Ryul recalled for a moment before answering.
"He may seem a bit frivolous and reckless on the surface, but he appears to be an extraordinary talent with real substance."
"That impressive?"
One-Eyed Divine Sword Dugok Ryul.
Seon In-hyeok was startled by the words of the man hailed as the strongest divine in the current martial world.
The executives from the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families in the special viewing stands had never seen this great hero praise someone so highly.
Naturally, attention focused.
Dugok Ryul continued.
"At first, his conduct obscured it from me. But the more I watched, the more his strengths emerged. Sharper than anyone at piercing through a student's potential."
"How has such a person gone unnoticed?"
When an old beggar from the Beggars' Sect asked, Dugok Ryul replied.
"His teaching skills far exceed his own prowess. He's stubborn and hard to handle. Hard for a martial artist to achieve great fame, but as an instructor, he's peerless."
"Heh. Hard to succeed as a martial artist, but destined to excel as an instructor. A priceless asset for Divine Martial Academy. Isn't that right, Bronze Hall Master?"
The Bronze Hall Master, listening nearby, wore a puzzled expression.
'That junior instructor is that great? Really?'
But with the Murim Alliance dignitaries' eyes upon him, he couldn't openly contradict the One-Eyed Divine Sword.
"Yes. That's how I see it too."
As he nodded along appropriately, Dugok Ryul continued.
"The student he's mentoring will keep advancing, so just watch. But one thing. His strength lies solely in spotting talent. He selects students by his own unique standards others can't grasp. Their achievements bloom from talents he didn't even know and their sweat and effort, so no misunderstandings."
Seon In-hyeok burst into laughter.
"Haha. In the end, Student Nangong's achievements are the result of his own efforts. Wonderful. Midheaven First Sword."
At this, Midheaven First Sword Nangong Il-jun, who had been listening, secretly frowned.
For him, this sudden interest in Nangong Yun-ho was unwelcome.
'Why Yun-ho all of a sudden.'
His bewilderment was natural.
A nephew with no talent, forgotten by the family. He hadn't expected such attention on a child who could be considered a blemish.
Yet he couldn't expose the family's shame before everyone.
Forcing a smile as if pleased, he said.
"Haha. The kid worked really hard."
As he awkwardly glossed over it.
"Next students are coming up. Students Jegal Tan and Baek Ri-seol. Students of the junior instructor again."
Sure enough, the two swiftly overpowered their opponents and leisurely called the next.
A Qingseong Sect Taoist watching slapped his knee.
"Heh! The pinnacle of phantom sword!"
"Such a watertight form. The opponent must have lost without knowing how."
"Remarkable talent."
This time, gazes turned to Jegal Yang-so, the observer from the Jegal Family.
"Exceptional aptitude. The Jegal Family's fortune."
Unlike Nangong Il-jun earlier, Jegal Yang-so seemed genuinely moved by Jegal Tan's performance.
"Heh. I heard he was quite lost, but now he's found his path."
"The day the Jegal Family makes its name as a sword family isn't far. With his younger brother, they'll be the two pillars guarding the Jegal Family."
"Thank you. Thank you."
In the warm atmosphere, Baek Ri-seol's match continued.
A Huashan Sect elder, Un Gye-sang, slapped his knee at her dance-like, flashy movements sending her opponent's sword flying.
"The sword marquise of the next generation is right there!"
Sword Marquise.
Queen of Swords.
A title of reverence given only to women acknowledged supreme in the world through the sword alone.
Baek Ri-seol's match was impressive enough to understand why an elder from Huashan Sect—the undisputed second-to-none in flashiness—would speak of a sword marquise.
Clang clang!
Dung-dung-dung-dung.
The opponent trapped in her dance-like, dazzling sword dance couldn't even lift a hand properly.
Un Gye-sang, a master of Huashan Sect's famed Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Swordsmanship, shouted excitedly.
"The Baek Family is truly fortunate. Having such talent in the family."
He seemed oblivious to Song Hee-jeong, the prized genius of the secular Plum Blossom Sword Sect under Huashan, having been eliminated.
Baek Ri-seon-ho couldn't keep quiet at this.
In truth, he hadn't even planned to attend.
He had been busy at the Murim Alliance settling Infinite Pavilion matters, finding new trading partners to replace the severed Dragon Caravan, and tracking demonic traces.
If not for the request from One-Eyed Divine Sword—the most spotlighted divine in the current martial world—he'd be buried in work right now.
'What luck.'
To witness such a rare sight on this troublesome trip.
As a Baek Family expert deeply versed in White Dragon Swordsmanship, Baek Ri-seon-ho pierced through Baek Ri-seol's talent, just like Huashan elder Un Gye-sang.
'As Elder Un said. Seol-i's talent surpasses even her father's.'
No need to compare to his lacking nephew Baek Ri-man-ho.
Even Baek Ri-jeong-sun, famed as White Dragon Swordsman, would be a firefly before the sun compared to her aptitude.
"Haha. It's wonderful that the child's talent is finally blooming."
Baek Ri-seon-ho's weary mouth split into a grin.
He was truly grateful to the One-Eyed Divine Sword for arranging this opportunity.
'The Baek Family owes a great debt to the One-Eyed Divine Sword.'