So This Is Where You Were Hiding
So this is where you were hiding.
The morning of the quarterfinals dawned.
As always, Kang Hyun and Lee Se-ah claimed the prime seats in the professors' section — the ones with the best view of the stage.
"Yaaawn."
Lee Se-ah clamped a hand over her mouth and poured out a massive yawn.
"You're going to split your face open this early in the morning."
"Ugh, sorry… I barely slept last night."
"They're the ones who should be losing sleep. Why you?"
On the stage, the cadets who'd made the quarterfinals were swinging wooden swords or loosening up — and among them, Yoon Hyun-jong, his left arm immobilized, stood out more than anyone.
"Ah, I don't know."
Rustle, rustle.
Lee Se-ah pulled out some jerky and chattered on.
"I can't help getting more nervous than they are. This morning I grabbed Tae-ho the second I saw him and told him not to let his guard down."
"You're meddling."
"I know, right? I was worried he'd get cocky after winning yesterday, but his eyes were deadly serious. He said he'd finish it quick and clean."
Lee Se-ah was just as desperate as they were. Keeping Black firmly attached to the Academy — if that counted as her mission as an agent, then so be it.
"By the way, we should start calling Hyun-jong 'Yoon the Venomous' from now on. I never would have stepped into that match if I were him."
"Without that venom, he never would have made the quarterfinals."
And he never would have kept up with Kang Hyun's dawn training either. A few days of showing up, then quietly stopping — that would have been the natural end of it.
Just as they were going on like that—
"Haha, Professor Kang. Mind if we sit here?"
Someone approached with a good-natured voice.
Kang Hyun glanced over. Two professors stood there wearing awkward smiles. They looked familiar — two of the ten who'd barged into the dean's office not long ago.
Look at these guys.
He could guess why they'd come. Yesterday's round of sixteen had shifted student opinion. Whatever else they thought, they had to acknowledge Professor Kang Hyun's teaching ability at least.
Wasn't that the most important virtue of a professor to begin with?
They're just trying to keep a foot in the door.
Kang Hyun didn't stop professors from coming. More precisely, he felt nothing particular toward them at all.
"It's not like I bought these seats. Don't ask permission — just sit."
"Ahaha! Thank you."
"We're sorry about last time. The atmosphere was that we all had to stick together on the public opinion."
As Kang Hyun took it in stride, Lee Se-ah chimed in.
"Have you professors had breakfast? Have some of this while you watch."
"Oh my, is that jerky?"
"Haha, don't mind if we do."
And watching that scene, Park Gwang-woo trembled with rage.
"Th-th-those…! Traitors!"
Professor Kim ground his teeth as well.
"Just yesterday they were complaining about the smell of booze, and now they're sitting there taking jerky from him. Even a bat would cry and leave!"
"Settle down, both of you."
Jin Myeong-hoon scowled hard.
Getting this worked up over a few bats peeling off?
Their behavior was so pathetic he felt embarrassed just being associated with them. Stuck with people of such low caliber, he felt his own standing dropping by the second.
"Han Tae-ho will be cleaned up by Do Jeong-hyeok anyway."
"Ah."
At the mention of Do Jeong-hyeok's name, color returned to Park Gwang-woo's face.
"The top-ranked entrant of the 21st batch!"
"He's only just arrived as a rookie, but already the big guild scouts are all salivating over him — a premium prospect. Han Tae-ho's momentum is impressive, but against Do Jeong-hyeok, he doesn't stand a chance."
Cadet Han Tae-ho, Cadet Do Jeong-hyeok! Please come up to the stage!
"Ooooh!"
"Whoa! Finally!"
The most anticipated match among the 21st batch bracket was about to begin.
One was the top-ranked student. The other was the youngest of the Five under the currently hottest contract professor.
"Looking forward to a good match."
Han Tae-ho lowered his wooden sword first and offered the greeting.
He knew his opponent was skilled. Even in regular classes, this was the guy who monopolized the professors' praise. Word was that even before enrollment, he'd gone through famous private tutoring in Gangnam, mastered good secret manuals, and completed advanced prep — a pure elite…
"…Yeah."
Do Jeong-hyeok replied indifferently.
"This is the first time we've actually talked, right?"
"You're so far ahead of everyone, I never had a chance to strike up a conversation."
When Han Tae-ho laughed sheepishly, Do Jeong-hyeok's eyes narrowed.
"Aren't you the one who's actually doing well?"
"What?"
"You're training with Senior Cha Yu-sik, the Academy's biggest power player."
"Mm."
When you put it that way, he wasn't wrong. And there was Mad Dog Senior Kwak Do-jin on top of that. It had been overwhelming at first, but now they were a pretty solid backing.
"Let me ask you one thing."
Do Jeong-hyeok adjusted his grip on his wooden spear and asked.
"What the hell does your professor actually teach? I know you do dawn training, but… you can't climb this high on the Three Talents Sword Style alone."
"Horse stance, Three Talents Sword Style, mountain climbing."
"…"
"That's all he makes us do. Those three."
"That's it?"
"Yeah. That's really all of it."
Do Jeong-hyeok's brow furrowed hard.
"Are you messing with me?"
"I'm not."
"And Senior Seo Hae-in got that strong from just that?"
Honestly, that part baffled Han Tae-ho too. Senior Seo Hae-in had supposedly been a permanent last-place student, after all. Of course there was hidden training as well — taking Cheongbodan pills, circulating energy with mysterious formulas — but that wasn't something to blab about here.
Bweeep!
Fortunately, the teaching assistant's whistle signaled the end of the conversation.
"If you're curious, enroll next semester!"
Thud!
The moment the words left his mouth, Han Tae-ho kicked off the floor and charged.
I have to finish this in one blow.
No more of the acting he'd put on in the round of sixteen!
Whoosh!
His body sprang up like a coil, and his wooden sword tore roughly through the air.
The first of the Three Talents — Heaven.
KRAAAANG!
"Hup!"
Do Jeong-hyeok raised his spear shaft with both hands to block and sucked in a sharp breath.
What the hell is this insane weight?
The force crushing down from above was so brutally crude that the sparring floor beneath his feet cracked open with a sharp snap. An ordinary cadet would have had their grip torn open and their guts twisted by that single blow.
But.
He was different from ordinary cadets.
Gritting his teeth, Do Jeong-hyeok twisted his spear and aimed for Han Tae-ho's side.
Shuuuuk!
The spear tip shot out like a snake, ripping a vacuum through the air.
CLANG!
Han Tae-ho didn't flinch.
Earth.
Hold.
Then he exploded off his back foot — Man.
Thrust.
BOOM! CLANG!
Do Jeong-hyeok didn't just take it either. With flashy footwork and spear techniques, he swept it aside.
And so began a ferocious exchange!
BOOM! CLANG! CRACK! KRAANG!
As exchange after exchange flew back and forth, Do Jeong-hyeok was genuinely stunned.
My spear is actually being blocked by the Three Talents Sword Style?
Not just blocked. Every impact left his wrists tingling, going numb.
Han Tae-ho, for his part, was getting impatient.
I promised the seniors.
To finish as fast as possible. He wanted to win overwhelmingly like Senior Seo Hae-in and bask in the roaring applause.
Unfortunately, their skills were evenly matched. Three minutes passed with the exchange still going, and the sparring hall's atmosphere heated up.
"Whoa!"
"This is a real masterpiece of a match!"
"No way — he's taking that like that?"
"What's scarier is that he keeps batting it away with the same Three Talents Sword Style!"
"And that guy is our batchmate?"
They knew because they'd stood on that stage themselves in the preliminaries. Because they'd tried to hold out against Do Jeong-hyeok, and against Han Tae-ho.
BOOM! KRAANG!
The cadets watched with even deeper immersion, and the tide was gradually tipping toward Han Tae-ho.
I can win.
The moment Han Tae-ho felt certainty, Do Jeong-hyeok's feet tangled. He misstepped, and his body lurched.
"Oh!"
"Ah!"
"Aah!"
Gasps erupted from all around. To make matters worse, he even dropped his spear.
It was a mistake no martial artist should ever make — but for Han Tae-ho, it was the most desperately needed opening he'd ever seen.
Now!
There was no room for reason to intervene. How delicious that fully exposed neck looked!
He launched his wooden sword straight at it.
Three Talents Sword Style — Man!
SHWIIIP!
The instant he heard the sound of air being shredded, goosebumps raced down Han Tae-ho's spine.
Did I put too much force into it?
This was a spar, not a real fight. That was why they used wooden swords instead of live steel, wasn't it?
What if he dies from this?
If his neck broke and he died on the spot? He'd become a murderer right then and there.
"Hup!"
The moment Han Tae-ho tried to pull back his force, Do Jeong-hyeok began doing something incomprehensible. Far from dodging or defending — he thrust his neck straight toward the tip of Han Tae-ho's sword.
"Ah!"
"No!"
The teaching assistant at the referee's seat lunged forward, and the professors shot to their feet in horror. Lee Se-ah screamed too — but only Kang Hyun wore a look of puzzled curiosity.
He deliberately set up this situation?
Kang Hyun knew. The tangled footwork, the dropped spear — both had been intentional on Do Jeong-hyeok's part. But even he couldn't understand the act of thrusting his neck forward itself.
Damn it.
Han Tae-ho squeezed his eyes shut. Even trying to pull back the force, the power he'd already committed made it difficult — and then the tip of the sword touched the neck.
And then—
KRAAAANG!
"…?"
A strange sound rang out. Not the sound of bone breaking… but a vibrating ring like striking metal.
At the same time.
"I'll acknowledge you. Making me use my fists."
Do Jeong-hyeok's hook slammed precisely into the right jaw of the stunned Han Tae-ho.
CRAAACK!
Even as his face spun, Han Tae-ho couldn't properly process what had just happened.
What? What just happened? Why did Do Jeong-hyeok use fist techniques? No, before that… what was that metal-striking sound?
He was curious, but he couldn't continue the thought. His body spun halfway around, and the concussion to his brain knocked him clean out.
"Wh-what?"
"What the hell was that just now?"
The spectator seats buzzed, and even the teaching assistant refereeing had frozen solid.
"…!"
Kang Hyun also shot up from his seat. But he was shocked for a different reason.
Geumgangche!
Do Jeong-hyeok hadn't drawn up any qi to protect his neck. He'd simply blocked the wooden sword with his natural bone structure.
There was only one constitution in this world capable of that. The Geumgangche — the Vajra Body.
Not quite the Indestructible Vajra Body, but a physique hard enough to approach it — a constitution with extraordinary talent for external martial arts!
The Iron Mountain Old Monster who had deployed the Golden Key Formation had possessed exactly this constitution.
A sharp thrill ran through Kang Hyun's entire body.
So this is where you were hiding!
No wonder holding a spear that didn't suit him had looked so awkward…
Just as the Heavenly Pulse Eye came with photographic memory, the Vajra Body came with innate fists. The title the Iron Mountain Old Monster had been known by in the martial world was none other than Fist God.
Truthfully, Kang Hyun had been ready to give up. He'd scoured all of yesterday's round of sixteen and found no matching constitution. He'd been wondering if he needed to dig through other countries' academies — and then, a Vajra Body!
Waiting paid off.
"Chick."
"Y-yes…?"
"Do me a favor and look into Do Jeong-hyeok."
Lee Se-ah read the excitement hanging in Black's eyes.
Why is he like this?
Honestly, she was gloomy. If Han Tae-ho lost here and ended up eighth or worse, what then? He'd be dismissed for sure, wouldn't he?
But Black genuinely didn't seem worried about that in the slightest. He even stood up as if he'd already seen everything he needed to see.
"Huh? Aren't you going to watch the other matches?"
"There's nothing more to see."
"What?"
"Why watch a match when you already know the result? Boring."
"…?"
Which meant… he hadn't known the result of Han Tae-ho and Do Jeong-hyeok's match.
"About the match results… w-wait? Hang on, where are you going right now?"
"The infirmary."
The infirmary… Ah, because of Han Tae-ho?
"I-I'll come with you! Mr. Kang Hyun!"
Flustered by Black walking away, Lee Se-ah hurriedly gathered their things and chased after Kang Hyun.
In the seats beside them, only the two professors who'd approached earlier remained, glancing around with awkward expressions.