Chapter 124
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: The Winter Combat Festival Begins!
The day I first arrived at the Dragon Training Pavilion.
Those were Hocheon Corps Leader Ha Mu-baek's words in response to Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul's request to stay quiet.
I'd always kept quiet, but my opponents were always the noisy ones.
And honestly, that was spot on.
This time was no different. My opponents had been noisy as ever.
Yeon Baek-ryang had been that way, and so had the Demonic Cult.
There really hadn't been a single quiet day.
"You managed to extricate yourself from your clan, I see?"
Ha Mu-baek's question.
Pang Do-yul simply nodded silently in response.
"We're sealing the gates. It'll probably last about ten years."
Sealing the gates.
The term for when a clan or sect halts all external activities and closes its doors.
Once sealed, they engage only in the bare minimum to preserve their lineage, effectively withdrawing from the martial world and lying low.
In other words, the Five Great Families would become the Four Great Families.
Or, during the ten years the Pang Family was sealed, a new family might rise to take their place, restoring the Five Great Families.
"Then shouldn't you, as Pavilion Lord, return to the Pang Family too?"
Sealing the gates meant ceasing all external activities, so even those from the Pang Family in the Righteous Heaven Alliance had to return.
Pang Do-yul would surely be no exception.
But he shook his head.
"I've decided to stay at the Dragon Training Pavilion."
"Is that even possible?"
Ha Mu-baek tilted his head quizzically.
"Strictly speaking, no, it's not."
"Did they perhaps expel you...?"
Ha Mu-baek immediately shook his head.
Having activated his Infinite Bright Wheel Eye to check, the Pang Family's internal energy still filled his dantian.
"Let's just call it an exception. In preparation for when the seal is lifted. Besides, I prefer this Dragon Training Pavilion over the main house. It's where I've devoted everything, so I suppose I have an attachment to it."
His eyes, gazing north toward the Pang Family lands, were filled with poignant longing.
"So, what do you think about tomorrow?"
Pang Do-yul changed the subject, turning to Ha Mu-baek.
"About what?"
"The Winter Combat Festival. Think there'll be an upset like at the Summer Combat Festival?"
Ha Mu-baek smirked at the question.
"You already proved it back then, and now you're calling this an upset too?"
"I don't see it that way, but others will still chalk up last time's results to luck."
"And you know this after being away from the Pavilion for two months?"
Pang Do-yul just smiled at Ha Mu-baek's jab.
"See for yourself with those eyes of yours."
Ha Mu-baek turned and headed to his quarters, clearly signaling it was time to rest for real.
Come to think of it, darkness had already settled in quite deeply.
The eastern sky reddened as the sun rose.
The Pavilion's cadets had already awakened before dawn's darkness fully lifted and finished their preparations.
Today marked the end of the second semester and the culmination of the year's achievements.
The Winter Combat Festival.
The day that wrapped up the Dragon Training Pavilion's year.
A sparring tournament where all cadets entered a lottery for random matchups.
While the Summer Combat Festival had been limited to first-years, the Winter Combat Festival pitted cadets of all years against each other on the stages.
Traditionally, it favored fourth-years, given their greater experience.
But not this year.
Among the first-years of Hidden Dragon Corps and Wa Dragon Corps, there were some truly exceptional talents.
Namgung Ji-hu of the Namgung Clan, Mok Cheong-san of Heavenly Sword Sect, and Joo Woo-myeong of Wudang Sect.
They were the rising stars of Hidden Dragon Corps, Wa Dragon Corps, and Fierce Dragon Corps, respectively.
Cadets began gathering around the sparring stage, completed just yesterday after preparations that started a fortnight ago.
Eight regular stages encircled the massive central stage.
The vast group training field was packed with stages and spectator stands. No group training had occurred here for the past fortnight as a result.
On this chilly morning where breath hung in the air,
the instructors took their places on the elevated platform overlooking all the stages.
Dragon Training Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul sat in the center seat, flanked by Vice Pavilion Lord Yeon Baek-jin and the various corps leaders.
"Corps Leader Sang. The Winter Combat Festival you've been looking forward to is finally here. What do you think?"
Wa Dragon Corps Leader Sang Gyeong-mun replied matter-of-factly to Pang Do-yul's question.
"One of our third-years will take the win. Obvious as day."
"Namgung Ji-hu, Mok Cheong-san, or Joo Woo-myeong?"
"Naturally. Disciples of prestigious houses, peerless in skill, and their dedication to training is unmatched. No one else even comes to mind."
"And among those three, who do you favor?"
Pang Do-yul pressed further.
"It's hard to say without seeing them clash, but in my personal view... probably Mok Cheong-san."
This evaluation carried a hint of personal bias, unlike his initial statement.
As Wa Dragon Corps Leader from Thunder Citadel—one of the Eight New Sects—Sang Gyeong-mun's arm naturally bent inward.
"Corps Leader Neung. Your thoughts?"
"Namgung Ji-hu. He's changed beyond recognition since that incident at the Summer Combat Festival."
Neung U-dam, a lay disciple of Huashan Sect, backed Namgung Ji-hu from the same Orthodox Alliance faction.
Pang Do-yul's gaze now shifted to Moyong Jin-ho at their responses.
Fierce Dragon Corps Leader.
He was the one most likely seething over Ha Mu-baek, yet he'd wisely kept his distance, avoiding any involvement in Ha Mu-baek's affairs.
He merely paid a bit of attention to his movements.
"No idea."
Moyong Jin-ho gave the curtest reply.
Sang Gyeong-mun and Neung U-dam smirked at that.
A laugh implying he was content lingering as Fierce Dragon Corps Leader.
But Moyong Jin-ho truly had no clue.
He knew Ha Mu-baek's true identity—something Sang Gyeong-mun and Neung U-dam didn't.
Pang Do-yul had told him when it was decided Ha Mu-baek would be assigned under him.
And Ha Mu-baek's actions since had utterly defied his expectations.
So he couldn't predict the Winter Combat Festival either.
He'd heard that Namgung Ji-hu, Joo Woo-myeong, and even Squad Seven's cadets had sought out Ha Mu-baek.
After the upsets they'd shown at the Summer Combat Festival, there was no way they wouldn't shine here too.
Thus, the Winter Combat Festival, drawing everyone's attention, was about to begin.
As the sunlight's warmth began to thaw the stages.
"The Winter Combat Festival begins!"
With Pang Do-yul's declaration, spars erupted simultaneously across the eight stages.
The central stage was reserved for the quarterfinals and left empty for now.
Instructors rotated as judges.
For matches between Wa Dragon and Hidden Dragon cadets, a Fierce Dragon instructor judged, and so on.
However, since Fierce Dragon instructors' skills were relatively lacking, adjustments were made so Wa Dragon and Hidden Dragon instructors served as assistant judges.
This was because some standout Hidden Dragon or Wa Dragon cadets could surpass Fierce Dragon instructors.
Spars progressed swiftly across the stages.
As with the Summer Combat Festival, Fierce Dragon cadets barely participated.
Unlike the others, their training period was only two years, and most had begun martial arts after entering the Pavilion.
The only Fierce Dragon participants in the Summer Festival had been Squad Seven and Squad Twenty's seven cadets.
That alone marked a change from last year.
Until then, both festivals had been Hidden Dragon and Wa Dragon exclusives.
Ha Mu-baek watched from the roof of a nearby building.
"All middling at best."
No one stood out.
Not even the fourth-years. Squad Seven's Fierce Dragon cadets were stronger.
Still, if those kids aimed to win, there were a few obstacles in sight.
He didn't need to watch the spars closely; Ha Mu-baek could tell at a glance.
"That one, that one, that one."
He noted them one by one.
Mostly first-year cadets from Wa Dragon and Hidden Dragon Squad One. Only one was unfamiliar.
"Hm?"
Then someone caught Ha Mu-baek's eye.
Clearly a Wa Dragon first-year, but unrecognizable from his first-semester appearance.
"Not bad..."
He wondered if that one might even...
Just then, a voice called for Ha Mu-baek.
It was his turn to judge.
"Hm?"
A glint entered Ha Mu-baek's eyes as he ascended the stage.
A familiar instructor had come up as assistant judge—Muk Hae-jin from Iron Flag Guild.
The Hidden Dragon instructor was a stranger.
The combatants were third-year cadets from Hidden Dragon and Wa Dragon.
Their skills seemed evenly matched.
"Begin!"
The spar started at Ha Mu-baek's call.
As expected, middling skills.
Some might call it a fierce deadlock, but to Ha Mu-baek, it was kids playing at fighting.
In his eyes, they tussled for ages.
Growing bored enough for a yawn,
Ha Mu-baek's eyes flashed.
He darted between them, seizing the Hidden Dragon cadet's left wrist.
"Wha— Huh?!"
Meanwhile, the attacking Wa Dragon cadet couldn't halt his sword in time, thrusting straight at Ha Mu-baek.
But.
Whoosh. Swish.
With a casual flick, the Wa Dragon cadet sprawled flat on the stage.
Thud.
"Instructor Ha, what's going on?"
Muk Hae-jin approached from the stage's edge, where he'd been observing.
The Hidden Dragon instructor rushed over too.
"Hey! What the hell?!"
His face burned with rage, likely because Ha Mu-baek had intervened for the Hidden Dragon cadet.
"How can an instructor interfere in a match?!"
The Hidden Dragon instructor immediately scolded Ha Mu-baek upon arrival.
Ha Mu-baek ignored him completely.
"This guy's disqualified."
Short and to the point.
The Hidden Dragon instructor's face flushed purple.
"Even as judge, barging in like this—what kind of nonsense is this?!"
He acted like the Hidden Dragon cadet's mouthpiece.
Ha Mu-baek frowned at the display.
Then he rolled up the sleeve of the wrist he held.
A black wristband encircled it.
"What does that have to do with anything?!"
The Hidden Dragon instructor kept ranting.
Ha Mu-baek snapped off the band and thrust it under the instructor's nose.
The Hidden Dragon cadet's face drained of color.
'Something's up.'
Muk Hae-jin, watching silently, sensed foul play.
"What does this have to... Huh...?"
The Hidden Dragon instructor, about to retort, froze mid-sentence.
He whipped his head around to glare at his cadet.
He'd realized it too.
"A very subtle dose of paralyzing powder. Enough for a fleeting dizziness. The victim wouldn't even notice."
Ha Mu-baek stared coldly at the Hidden Dragon cadet as he spoke.
"......"
The cadet lowered his eyes, trembling.
He'd thought it impossible to get caught, but here it was.
What the hell was this instructor?
"No wonder a few matches felt off."
Ha Mu-baek chuckled dryly.
"Pulling stunts like this. Sichuan Tang Clan's handiwork, I presume?"
The cadet offered no reply.
The other seven matches halted as well.
All eyes converged on Ha Mu-baek's stage.
Meanwhile, Ha Mu-baek scanned the crowd.
To find the culprit behind this cheap trick.
His Infinite Bright Wheel Eye probed the internal energy sources of the masses.
Spotting the one trained in Tang Clan arts.
"That one's it."
Ha Mu-baek locked eyes on his target.