Have You Ever Seen a Genius?
As Yeop Hyeon passed by the waterfall, he heard Bai Ze's scream echoing from below.
Yeop Hyeon noticed something odd about Bai Ze. Veins bulged prominently across his entire body, trembling faintly.
Bloodline power?
Yeop Hyeon's curiosity piqued. Those with half-human, half-demon bodies possessed demonic beast bloodlines. If one could stimulate that bloodline, they could awaken demonic power and unleash several times their original strength.
Bai Ze hadn't reached that level yet.
But once he could harness bloodline power, his body would undergo a complete transformation.
He's already so powerful now. How much stronger would he get with demonic power?
Just then, Yeop Hyeon turned his head the other way. A shadowy figure was sprinting madly toward him.
Mu Yun Qi was drenched in sweat, his clothes clinging transparently to his skin. He looked on the verge of collapse.
At that moment, Mu Yun Qi locked eyes with Yeop Hyeon.
"Y-you, huff... huff... you aren't training!?"
"Nah, not doing it."
"Damn it! Why aren't you making me train!? Did you bribe the old man or something? This is too much!"
Yeop Hyeon slowly walked over and patted his shoulder.
"Hey, have you ever seen a genius?"
Mu Yun Qi blinked in confusion, and Yeop Hyeon pointed at himself.
"There you go—you just did. This is what a genius looks like. I'm gonna catch some shut-eye, so take it easy! I believe in you, buddy!"
With that, Yeop Hyeon headed down the mountain.
"Tch, genius? How childish. Just you wait—I'll flatten that nose of yours soon enough..."
Mu Yun Qi turned back and resumed running. Moments later, a beastly wail of agony echoed through the forest, shaking the mountainside.
Back at Canglan Hall, Yeop Hyeon spotted Yeop Ryeong sitting on the stone steps, knees hugged to her chest. She jumped up the instant their eyes met.
Yeop Hyeon approached and gently stroked her hair.
"Why aren't you asleep?"
Yeop Ryeong tugged his arm, pulling him down to sit beside her. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she whispered softly,
"I was waiting for you, big brother!"
"Haha, it's not like I'm running away or anything!"
Yeop Ryeong turned to gaze at him.
"Big brother, if I said I wanted to learn martial arts... would you be against it?"
"Hmm... why would I? If my little Ryeong gets strong, she can beat up anyone who messes with me!"
Yeop Ryeong's eyes sparkled as she beamed at him. She hugged his arm and tilted her head toward the sky. The moon hadn't risen yet, leaving the stars shining vividly.
"Big brother, you said Mom's still alive, right?"
Yeop Hyeon didn't know how to respond.
To him, his mother was now a hazy figure even in his memories.
"It doesn't matter if Mom's alive or not. As long as I have you, big brother, I'm happy!"
Yeop Hyeon pulled her head against his chest.
"As long as you're safe and happy, I'll do anything for you!"
And so the siblings spent a long time leaning on each other.
The next day.
Yeop Hyeon headed to the back mountain at dawn.
Besides mastering his aura, he wanted to perfect sword control. He could already wield it to some extent, but it wasn't flawless yet.
Mu Yun Qi and Bai Ze were already out training.
Though they hadn't said it aloud, the two felt immense pressure. For better or worse, they were now fully part of Canglan Academy.
And they all knew the academy's dire situation. If they didn't grow stronger, Cangmu Academy students could kill them at any moment!
The training they were doing now was purely to stay alive!
A few days later, outside the Imperial City.
Three boys in black robes drove a carriage at breakneck speed, forcing pedestrians to scramble out of the way.
The carriage showed no sign of slowing as it neared the city gates.
"Who the hell do these bastards think they are...?"
A gate guard tried to block them, but he tumbled aside in shock when it didn't slow.
Once through the gates, a squad of soldiers rushed to intercept the carriage. A middle-aged warrior stepped forward and bellowed,
"Carriages are forbidden inside the city! Who the hell are you—"
One of the boys hopped down from the carriage. The moment he landed, the middle-aged warrior's body flew into the air.
The watching soldiers drew their weapons to strike, but an angry voice rang out from nowhere.
"Insolent fools!"
They turned to see an old man glaring furiously. He pushed through them and snapped,
"Are your eyes for show? These are Cangmu Academy students!"
Cangmu Academy!
The soldiers paled and lowered their weapons.
"Where are you from, sirs?"
"Danguk."
The soldiers' faces twisted at the answer.
Wasn't Danguk Jiang Kingdom's sworn enemy!?
"Then come with me to the academy."
"No need. Just tell us where Yeop Hyeon is."
The apparent leader of the boys asked, and the old man hesitated.
"You should discuss this carefully first before acting..."
"Ha! Discuss? Who has time for that? Don't waste our time—tell us where he is. We need to handle this quick and get back home."
"Yeop Hyeon isn't that easy an opponent..."
"He's at Canglan Academy!"
The middle-aged warrior, flung into a corner by the earlier blow, staggered up and shouted.
"He's at Canglan Academy. If you want, I'll guide you."
"Then lead the way!"
The middle-aged man whirled on the soldiers, roaring in fury,
"Gather every brother and head to Canglan Academy within half a shichen! As fellow Jiang Kingdom folk, we must support Canglan! And don't forget to tell any no-shows I'll personally break their legs!"
With that, the middle-aged warrior and the three Danguk Cangmu students set off for Canglan Academy. Behind them trailed not just Jiang soldiers, but curious onlookers too.
The crowd swelled by the moment.
Soon, everyone from the gates was heading to Canglan Academy.
Normally, no one cared much about the war between Canglan and Cangmu. Whoever won didn't matter.
But this was different.
The opponents were from Danguk!
Danguk—Jiang Kingdom's mortal foe under the same sky!
How many Jiang people had died at their hands in past wars!?
Today, their descendants dared enter the Imperial City without fear!
So the crowd united behind Canglan Academy this time.
This wasn't just an academy feud anymore—it was a mini war between nations.
Watching this, the Cangmu elder's face darkened.
Was calling in Danguk Cangmu students a mistake!?
Cangmu folk acted arrogantly in Jiang Kingdom, heedless of others' gazes. They'd stirred this up without a thought for the deep grudges against Danguk.
But unexpectedly, a strange atmosphere had formed at the gates.
The elder backed away uneasily, then hurried off toward Cangmu Academy.
If this wasn't handled right, Cangmu could lose all public support in Jiang Kingdom.
Meanwhile, the middle-aged warrior and the three Cangmu students pressed on toward Canglan.
Their expressions were calm, but their eyes scorned the warrior.
They soon reached the mountain base where Canglan Academy stood and spotted a small girl holding a basket of greens.
It was Yeop Ryeong, out foraging.
She startled at the sight of them but didn't run. Dean Ji had said this place was safe.
The middle-aged man asked,
"Little one, where's Yeop Hyeon right now?"
"What do you want with him?"
Yeop Ryeong blinked innocently, so he pointed at the three.
"These three came from Danguk to duel Yeop Hyeon."
Yeop Ryeong stared at them blankly, then bellowed up the mountain,
"Big brooo! Cangmu Academy jerks are here agaaain!"
Right then, a boy in a green robe appeared, hurtling down at top speed.
It was Yeop Hyeon.
He didn't stop even upon reaching the base.
The middle boy among the three sneered and stepped forward.
"So you're Yeop Hyeon. I'm from Danguk Cangmu Academy, Li—"
In a blink, Yeop Hyeon accelerated. A sword flash gleamed.
Schwick—!
The boy froze mid-sentence, rooted in place.
A gentle breeze stirred the air.
Thud...
His head rolled limply to the ground.
Blood pooled instantly.
The rest stared in stunned silence.
Yeop Hyeon, now from the left, thrust his sword.
Schwick—!
Another Cangmu student's head sailed away.
The last one finally snapped to his senses and bolted in panic.
Yeop Hyeon ignored him, walking to Yeop Ryeong instead. But his Spirit Water Sword pursued relentlessly.
About ten zhang in, the fleeing student...
Pfft—!
The sword pierced his throat.
Bloody mist sprayed mid-air as the Spirit Water Sword returned to Yeop Hyeon's hand.
He took Yeop Ryeong's hand.
"Let's go eat!"
The arriving onlookers gawked at the siblings ascending the mountain.
It's over already?
By the time the crowd recovered, the siblings were gone.
"Sword cultivator... incredible..."
"Cangmu chasing away a monster like that on their own? They're blind!"
"Blind? Looks more like idiots to me... Among Jiang's young warriors, who besides An Guoshi could face Yeop Hyeon?"
"And those two are friends, right? I said before—An Guoshi seems to value him highly. How ordinary could such a guy be? See, I was right."
"Oh yeah? Then who was whining that An Guoshi must've gone blind to hang with trash like Yeop Hyeon?"
"......"