Chapter 220
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 220
Chapter Title: Those Guys?
As if he could glimpse the realm beyond.
The sword moved.
Like a grand river flowing majestically.
Like a raging typhoon.
Like a lightning bolt striking down.
"Hoo."
The middle-aged man who lowered his sword let out a deep breath.
His face was covered in scars from sword wounds.
Left-handed swordsman.
He held the sword in his left hand.
Where his right arm should have been, only an empty sleeve fluttered.
His gaze turned westward.
A dense forest in the distance.
A massive great wall came into view.
The jiangshi that had once appeared frequently around here vanished after that wall was built.
No—once all the roaming ones were dealt with, no more jiangshi could be seen.
From then on, this area alone was no longer called the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest, but simply the Mountain-Crossing Mountains.
An elderly man approached the middle-aged man.
"Even those monster bastards are trapped behind that great wall now and don't show up anymore. And yet you're still so diligent. Heh heh."
"The path of the sword has no end, Village Head."
The man replied curtly.
"Well, what would an old villager like me know."
The man gave a faint smile at the village head's words.
Savior of his life.
That was why he had spent nearly twenty years in the village head's village.
He had to repay the grace of being saved.
"So, you're finally planning to leave."
The village head nodded as if he understood the man's heart.
"Thank you so much for everything."
"No, we're the ones who should thank you. How many villagers saved their lives thanks to you?"
"You all saved my life. It was only right."
The two men gazed at each other with smiles.
"Truth be told, once that great wall went up, you really had no reason to stay here anymore."
"To be honest, I couldn't bring myself to trust that great wall."
"Hah? It was built by the Righteous Heaven Alliance, one of the martial world's giant factions."
"That's exactly why. It's a place full of people I can't trust."
The man stared at the Mountain-Crossing Great Wall with complicated eyes.
The village head simply nodded silently.
He still didn't know the man's full story.
"So, where are you headed now?"
"There are people I need to find. I'm not sure if time has passed so much that I'll even recognize them."
His eyes held a wistful light.
"And after that?"
The village head asked.
"Who knows. The ones I'm looking for might not hand them over easily. If we can be together safely..."
The man paused for a moment and turned his gaze.
In that direction lay the village where he had spent nearly twenty years.
"I'll have to come back. Together or alone."
"Huh?"
The village head blinked in surprise at the unexpected answer.
"This place is my home now. I'd like to show it to those kids too."
The village head broke into a bright smile at the man's words, filled with poignant emotion.
"Of course. That's right. Come back anytime."
With the village head's farewell, the man left the village.
The villagers deliberately didn't watch him go. After all, it was a home he would return to anyway.
Now I have confidence.
Confidence that I can win for sure.
So now, I need to find them.
The things I lost because I lacked strength.
The man's steps led toward Anhui Province.
Toward that land where a colossal force he couldn't face alone was entrenched.
Time flew by swiftly.
A month had passed in the blink of an eye.
The Fierce Dragon Corps instructors finally completed their training.
And were immediately assigned to oversee the cadets' training.
Was it because they had been put through the wringer by Han Seol-bing?
They showed no mercy in training the cadets.
"Phew. Finally, I can get some rest."
Confirming the scene, Ha Mu-baek grinned and sprawled out on a large rock under a majestic tree at the edge of the grand training ground.
It wasn't a rock that had been there before, but one that appeared out of nowhere one day.
Ha Mu-baek had hauled it over from somewhere.
Everyone thought it suited the tree well and didn't think much of it.
Who would have guessed it was for lounging on.
Flames sparked in the eyes of both cadets and instructors alike.
Here they were suffering because of him.
Such resentful glares.
Ha Mu-baek sat up and looked at the instructors and cadets.
"Why'd you suddenly stop? And I'm not making you train for my sake. It's for yours."
With that, he lay back down.
Soon, the instructors' commands resumed.
Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul watched the scene from the window of the pavilion lord's office.
"Tch. Instructor Ha is Instructor Ha, alright."
Pang Do-yul clucked his tongue with a faint smile.
He had wondered if Ha Mu-baek was actually working hard for that one month, but no—in the end, he was back to this.
That month of hard work had all been for this.
Ki Yu-chan stood behind him.
"Still, the Fierce Dragon Corps training is progressing smoothly. Instructor Jegal said the instructors' skills have improved by leaps and bounds."
"If that guy says so, then it must be true. In just one month, no less."
Pang Do-yul smiled in satisfaction.
"Moreover, at this rate, by year's end, the Fierce Dragon Corps cadets will surpass the instructors' achievements."
Pang Do-yul's eyes widened at that.
"What do you mean...?"
"It's a matter of internal energy, apparently."
It wasn't easy for him to understand.
The Fierce Dragon Corps instructors might be second- or third-rate, but they had their own internal energy cultivation.
And their own heart methods.
Yet the cadets would surpass them by year's end?
In truth, the instructors hadn't trained their internal energy at all, focusing solely on sword techniques, formations, and shield arts—stances and forms.
Exactly as Ha Mu-baek and Han Seol-bing had intended.
They had trained only what was essential for their instructor roles.
"Aren't the cadets learning the Three Talents Heart Method?"
Pang Do-yul tilted his head.
"It's harmonious, they say. The sword techniques, shield arts, formations, and internal energy method all blend seamlessly. That's why its power will be doubled."
At Ki Yu-chan's explanation, Pang Do-yul looked back at the training cadets.
Ha Mu-baek.
Amazed once more at that man's greatness.
"By the way, what about that Un Do-heon fellow?"
"Temporarily assigned to Wa Dragon Corps Squad One. We'll move him when a spot opens up."
It had taken him half a month to recover after what Ha Mu-baek did to him.
After recovering, he requested a transfer to the Wa Dragon Corps.
There was an obscure old clause in the pavilion rules allowing squad changes if one's origin sect and abilities supported it.
Un Do-heon met the criteria, so they had no choice but to approve.
It was practically a dead letter clause.
Who knew it would be invoked.
"What about those guys?"
"Seems they're preparing for the Summer Combat Festival."
Pang Do-yul turned from the window and headed to his desk.
Ki Yu-chan followed.
"They'll pull the same cheap tricks next year too, right?"
"No reason for them not to."
Ki Yu-chan answered promptly, knowing exactly what "cheap tricks" meant.
"What a headache. Can't handle this at my level."
"It's the New Eight Sects pulling strings. They haven't broken any major rules, and it's not causing real harm."
The Dragon Training Pavilion's lord and deputy were both from the Five Great Clans.
Affiliated with the Orthodox Alliance.
They clashed with the New Eight Sects at every turn, which actually weakened their leverage here.
The sects could just ignore them.
And the key was in Ki Yu-chan's words.
They hadn't broken any major rules.
The rules stated all cadets were equal.
No cadet could treat another as a servant.
But if the exploited cadet claimed they helped voluntarily, punishment was impossible.
They knew and still had to endure it.
"Tightening the rules just to block this nonsense would be ridiculous."
Pang Do-yul tapped his desk with a finger.
"We'll need someone with strong influence over the New Eight Sects."
Ki Yu-chan spoke as if the answer was obvious.
Gazing at Pang Do-yul as if to say, You know that too, Lord.
"Tch. Yeah. I need to report this straight to the Alliance Leader."
Pang Do-yul made his decision.
"By the way, what do you think the bet's outcome will be?"
Pang Do-yul's expression changed.
Pure curiosity filled it.
The bet had spread through the pavilion within two days of being made.
It reached Pang Do-yul and Ki Yu-chan naturally.
They had been watching Wa Dragon Corps Squads One and Twenty anyway.
They knew right away.
The situation was too delicate to intervene, so they just observed.
"What would a mere clerk like me know?"
Pang Do-yul looked disappointed at Ki Yu-chan's response.
"However."
His interest piqued again at the follow-up.
"Instructor Jegal said the Jegal Clan's martial arts are strong enough."
Pang Do-yul smiled faintly.
Indeed.
Flowing Dragon Sword Method, Flowing Dragon Fist Method, Flowing Dragon Divine Method, Flowing Dragon Sword Formation.
Martial arts provided by the Jegal Clan.
At the Righteous Heaven Alliance's request, the clan's geniuses had pooled their knowledge to create arts perfectly suited for the Dragon Training Pavilion.
But due to circumstances, the Hidden Dragon Corps, Wa Dragon Corps, and Fierce Dragon Corps cadets hadn't learned them.
Hidden and Wa Dragon cadets were too busy with their origin sects' arts.
Fierce Dragon cadets lacked the ability to grasp them even in class.
Above all, they lacked a heart method.
The Jegal Clan claimed they were highly versatile, workable with any decent heart method.
But would martial artists buy that?
Thus, excellent arts were forgotten.
The pavilion's founding purpose faded with them.
It became merely a rite of passage to join the Alliance's forces.
Perhaps this Summer Combat Festival would bring change.
Like last year.
Wa Dragon Corps Squad Twenty's training ground.
Thunder Citadel's Eun Hwa-ryang, Iron Weapon Clan's Na Jung-cheon, Great Sea Gate's Yeong Hu-in, Ice Heaven Palace's Im Dae-chi, Heavenly Sword Sect's Sim Cheol-san.
These five swung their swords without rest.
Flowing Dragon Sword Method.
Learned in class, practiced in training time.
And after dinner, deep into the night, they trained with Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven.
That had been their routine for the past month.
Muk Hae-jin watched the cadets calmly.
His assigned cadets.
But he had little to teach them.
They were handling it themselves so diligently.
The bet.
He had heard the rumors too.
Muk Hae-jin's gaze shifted to Na Jung-cheon.
He couldn't help it.
The kid was from his own sect.
He couldn't face him.
Perhaps because of that.
Muk Hae-jin watched the five even more closely.
Determined to teach them his best.
He had even revisited the Flowing Dragon Arts manual.
"Yeong Hu-in. Your sword tip is off by an inch."
Muk Hae-jin spoke heavily.
"Yes. Thank you."
Yeong Hu-in immediately corrected his sword path.
That was why he could offer such help.
These days, Muk Hae-jin delved into the Flowing Dragon Arts manual.
The more he did, the more amazed he was.
He had glanced at it when first assigned as instructor.
Back then, he hadn't thought much of it.
No classes assigned to him, so he hadn't looked further.
The reason was simple.
No cadets to train.
But the more he learned, the more outstanding it proved.
Those kids. I just can't figure them out.
Muk Hae-jin's thoughts extended to Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven cadets.
He had first seen them at last year's Summer Combat Festival.
Yet now his own squad was tangled up in it with them.
Still.
Deep down, he was rooting for Fierce Dragon Squad Seven and grateful to them.
On the academy rooftop.
Han Seol-bing watched Wa Dragon Corps Squad Twenty's training ground from there.
Im Dae-chi, was it...?
The child sent from Ice Heaven Palace to the pavilion.
Tenderness filled Han Seol-bing's eyes.
The North Sea is barren land.
Thus sparsely populated. Yet orphans were plentiful.
Ice Heaven Palace, as the North Sea's hegemon, had cared for them.
Hiring bright ones as palace workers, taking the exceptional as disciples.
They had nurtured them that way.
Yet now, one was sent here as a servant?
How shocked she had been upon learning that.
Too far to rush over and demand answers.
Seemed the palace power balance had shifted while she was away.
The reply to her angry messenger bird confirmed it.
Her gaze turned to Wa Dragon Corps Squad One's training ground.
Her eyes were sharp and cold as icicles.
Tak Mu-jeon. Damn Tak Clan.
Currently the loudest voice in Ice Heaven Palace.
They had absorbed many clans under them, even the palace lord couldn't ignore them.
The reply said the orphans' treatment stemmed from the Tak Clan's intentions.
Her blood boiled.
Exploiting children the North Sea hegemon should protect.
"Guess I need to lend a hand."
After steadily observing both sides for a month, Han Seol-bing made her decision.