No Regrets Teaching Students Like You
Yeop Hyeon led his sword intent downward. He could sense small pebbles, the energy of the earth, and the gentle stream flowing toward them.
As time passed, what he perceived grew ever more numerous and vivid. He could even sense more than if he were seeing with his own eyes.
Yeop Hyeon found himself increasingly immersed in this strange sensation.
He wanted to venture even farther. In that instant, his sword intent stretched out in all directions. When it extended about ten zhang from his body, he began to feel extreme fatigue.
Within ten zhang, he could sense everything clearly, but beyond that was impossible.
To clearly perceive his surroundings, he had to disperse his sword intent in multiple directions. Doing so would undoubtedly weaken the sword intent he needed for combat.
If I can master Sword Eyes, this inconvenience will vanish!
Yeop Hyeon recalled the scattered sword intent from all directions.
In an instant, it coalesced back into his body. At that moment, he felt a pain like his body was being sliced by a blade.
It hurts like hell—enough to kill!
The immense agony nearly made Yeop Hyeon scream, but he gritted his teeth and made no sound. If he couldn't endure this much pain, could he even call himself a man?
I'm a man, Yeop Hyeon—no blade to the throat will make me cry out...
“Aaaargh!”
At that moment, Yeop Hyeon's entire body trembled as he let out a full-throated scream with all his might.
Aaaaaaargh—!
The sword intent gathered in his body surged toward his eyes like a streak of lightning.
Mingled within it was sword haze.
As sword intent and sword haze concentrated in his eyes, an unimaginable torment assaulted Yeop Hyeon.
He wanted to abandon Sword Eyes and everything else.
But now, that was impossible. There was no escaping it.
The sword intent and sword haze around his eyes grew denser. Bloodshot veins filled Yeop Hyeon's face.
Just looking at it was enough to gauge the depth of his suffering.
While Yeop Hyeon struggled desperately to master Sword Eyes, Mu Yun Qi and the others were gritting their teeth through their own training.
The clash with Changmok Academy had ultimately ended in their victory.
Yet the image of Dean Ji Yuan Zhang dying miserably to protect them lingered in their minds, unerasable.
Powerlessness. Despair!
That night under the moonlight, as the dean fell, they had felt it with every fiber of their being.
Mu Yun Qi, Bai Ze, and Ji An Zhi—none of them wanted to taste that helplessness and despair again.
Changmok Academy had lost Dean Ji Yuan Zhang. Even Yeop Hyeon was blind. In such circumstances, the pressure on the remaining three was immense.
Training! That was all they could do.
Even Mu Yun Qi, who had been lazier than anyone in Jiang Kingdom, now bound his body top to bottom with heavy iron orbs and ran the mountains daily. His training began before dawn and ended long after sunset. Soaked in sweat, he returned to his quarters only to head back to the mountains before the sun rose again the next day.
Bai Ze no longer trained under the waterfall. Instead, he began slamming his body against unyielding rocks.
His physique, different from ordinary humans, grew tougher with each powerful impact. At the same time, it stimulated the demon race bloodline within him.
The process was excruciating.
Crashing into solid rock day after day left Bai Ze's body perpetually covered in wounds.
Each time those wounds tore open against the stone, agonized screams escaped his lips.
Heroic Spirits Hall.
This grand hall had been the first structure built when rebuilding Canglan Academy. Inside stood spirit tablets for the fallen. Dean Ji Yuan Zhang's, of course, occupied the most prominent spot.
Ji An Zhi lit incense and slowly knelt before them.
At that moment, Yeop Hyeon entered the hall.
His steps were unsteady.
Ji An Zhi paid it no mind, staring blankly at the tablets.
Finally reaching her side, Yeop Hyeon collapsed before the tablets.
“You've been kneeling here all day.”
Ji An Zhi made no reply.
“Someday, I'll take you all to the main branch in Jungto Sinju.”
She turned to him. “You mean it?”
Yeop Hyeon nodded. “Of course I do.”
With a nod, Ji An Zhi rose and headed for the door. She paused, turning back to the tablets.
“Grandpa always used to say he had no regrets teaching students like you...”
Even after she left, Yeop Hyeon remained seated there for a long time.
How much time passed? He opened Dean Ji Yuan Zhang's gourd and took a swig.
Whew... it burns.
But... not bad.
As if taking another sip, his face suddenly flushed red.
He had never drunk alcohol before. To him, it was the root of all mishaps.
But now, it seemed better than expected.
Downing gulp after gulp, Yeop Hyeon knelt before the dean's tablet, clutching his face. Without pupils, he couldn't shed tears. He could only wail inwardly.
How could he forget the dean's final moments? He dreamed of that nightmare every night!
A while later, Yeop Hyeon slowly rose. As he moved to leave, he stopped at the entrance and turned back.
“Old man, rest easy. Whether it's Changmok Academy or the Dark Realm, if they touch us, they won't get away with it. I'll pay a visit to your master in Jungto Sinju soon. As our grandmaster, it's only right I pay my respects.”
Night had deepened outside Heroic Spirits Hall. A bright moon bathed the earth in silver light.
Yeop Hyeon walked toward somewhere. His gait strangely resembled the drunken dean's.
Moments later, he reached the back mountain. Mu Yun Qi, who had been training, ran toward him and stopped short.
“Yeop gangdo, you drunk or what?”
Yeop Hyeon shook his head. “Who the hell's drunk! I'm not drunk!”
At that moment, Spirit Water Sword floated above his palm. He thrust it toward Mu Yun Qi.
“Mu Yun Qi, come at me! Let's spar!”
“Yeop gangdo, hey! Where'd you get the booze to start this crap... Whoa!”
Mu Yun Qi's face paled as he backpedaled frantically. The spot where he'd stood was gouged deep by sword light. Yeop Hyeon pursued him like lightning.
Mu Yun Qi fled in panic, yelling, “Yeop gangdo! If you're gonna get drunk, do it properly! Stop this now! You wanna get beat?!”
Meanwhile, Bai Ze had finished training and lay sprawled on the ground, panting. Suddenly, Mu Yun Qi bolted past in desperation, chased by Yeop Hyeon. Bai Ze yelled in confusion, “Mu Yun Qi! What'd you screw up this time?”
Mu Yun Qi glared back. “Screw up? That bastard got plastered somewhere and came at me outta nowhere—!”
He suddenly rolled aside. A streak of sword light flashed past where he'd been.
Yeop Hyeon's sword veered toward Bai Ze.
Seeing Spirit Water Sword embedded at his feet, Bai Ze plopped down on his butt.
No matter how tough his body, it was a mid-grade spirit sword of razor sharpness.
Yeop Hyeon staggered toward Mu Yun Qi, face beet red. Gourd in one hand, he swigged constantly.
Mu Yun Qi cried out in despair. “Yeop gangdo, you bastard, please...”
Yeop Hyeon raised the returning Spirit Water Sword and bellowed angrily, “Who the hell are you?! Daring to invade our great Canglan Academy!”
He launched at Mu Yun Qi, unleashing his ultimate technique!
One Sword Determines Life and Death!
Mu Yun Qi went ghost-white and bolted.
F-bombs poured from his mouth nonstop.
Bai Ze, head buried in the dirt, motionless, muttered softly, “Please just pass by, please...”
One Sword Determines Life and Death!
Yeop Hyeon's strongest technique!
Mu Yun Qi knew its power better than anyone. He didn't even dream of facing it before it fully formed and just ran.
Bai Ze didn't dare intervene, playing dead.
A fully drunk Yeop Hyeon wouldn't listen anyway.
Best to dodge the blade first...
Right then, Spirit Water Sword slipped from his hand. Almost simultaneously, Yeop Hyeon face-planted.
Mu Yun Qi, fleeing, saw him collapse and halted with a sigh of relief.
Under the moonlight, three men lay side by side.
Yeop Hyeon, head on a small stone, gazed at the sky.
Mu Yun Qi and Bai Ze lay beside him, quietly keeping watch.
After a long silence, Yeop Hyeon spoke. “Protecting Canglan Academy and avenging Dean Ji... it's hard and dangerous. You two...”
“Stop!”
Mu Yun Qi cut him off. “Yeop gangdo, you telling us to run?”
Yeop Hyeon said nothing.
Avenge the dean? No easy task. He didn't know exactly how strong Qingzhou's Changmok Academy or the Dark Realm were, but they were far beyond what they could challenge now.
Even if they stayed put, those forces wouldn't leave Canglan Academy alone.
Visiting the Jungto Sinju main branch wouldn't be simple either.
The world ran on power. Without it, who would listen?
Both goals were daunting, no doubt.
Mu Yun Qi said, “Yeop gangdo, we know it'll be tough. But sending you alone on that path? That's even harder.”
He propped himself up halfway, staring at the sky. “Future's uncertain, but let's go together. Win, we stick together. Lose, we die together. I'm scared of dying too. But being a coward? That's worse. The dean's sacrifice wasn't just for you. His revenge, his wishes—we fulfill them together!”
Bai Ze nodded. “He's right. No one sits it out!”