Chapter 35
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: What on Earth Is This?
“Instructor.”
At Dan Mok Un-roe’s call, Ha Mu-baek looked at the five people standing before him with a sullen expression.
This was the East Devouring Dragon Pavilion.
Even outside mealtimes, the place was open, allowing for casual conversations like this.
“So, you’re all staying at the Dragon Training Pavilion to train during this break period?”
Ha Mu-baek’s question drew nods from all five in unison.
“Well, my home is here anyway...”
Dan Mok Un-roe scratched his head under Ha Mu-baek’s gaze.
“Nowhere to go.”
Yeon Ha-min’s curt reply.
“It’d take too long to go all the way to Sichuan anyway. I’d just waste time on the road.”
Dang Jin-san grinned slyly as he answered.
“I don’t really have anywhere to...”
Nak Woo-jin trailed off without finishing.
“I figure it’s better to refine my skills here than take time to visit my sect.”
With Baek Ri-pyeong’s response bringing up the rear, Ha Mu-baek let out a deep sigh.
“Hoo. Alright. Fine. I like the attitude of sticking around to train during the break. But why come to me?”
Ha Mu-baek eyed the five with obvious reluctance.
“To ask for your guidance, obviously.”
Dang Jin-san shot back with a look that said what kind of question is that?
“It’s break time, though?”
“Come on, why make a big deal out of it between us? You don’t have anything going on anyway, right?”
Dang Jin-san wore a brazen expression.
“How would you know my schedule?”
Ha Mu-baek looked utterly incredulous, but Dang Jin-san just kept grinning.
“Seven days. Exactly seven. I’ve got my own stuff to handle.”
Ha Mu-baek said it like there was no helping it.
“Couldn’t you make it a bit longer?”
Dang Jin-san wheedled slyly, but Ha Mu-baek shook his head.
“Take it or leave it.”
As Ha Mu-baek rose from the table, Dang Jin-san hurriedly grabbed his hand.
“No, no! Seven days is plenty. We’ll train on our own for the rest, and you can check on us in the second semester. Right?”
The other four nodded at Dang Jin-san’s frantic words.
“You didn’t slack off on Mokran Mountain, I see.”
Ha Mu-baek chuckled.
“We head to the training ground starting tomorrow?”
Ha Mu-baek nodded at Baek Ri-pyeong’s question.
“Yeah. Same time as always.”
With that, Ha Mu-baek returned to his quarters.
Thanks to these kids, his schedule was running a bit late.
Still, they’d earned their achievements at the Summer Combat Festival, so he could think of this as a reward.
“What’s a few extra days? Nothing’s gonna happen. They’re probably fine.”
This was Ha Mu-baek’s first real vacation in ages.
Even after the war ended, he hadn’t taken proper time off as Hocheon Corps Leader.
Being the Alliance Leader’s personal guard was no small responsibility.
And he couldn’t exactly entrust his subordinates to just anyone.
This leisurely break since arriving at the capital felt like his first real one.
“Should I thank the Elder Hall geezers?”
He muttered it, then laughed at his own absurdity.
The five swung their swords just as before.
It was the Three Talents Sword Method.
Even Baek Ri-pyeong, who’d only practiced his sect’s sword arts before, now wielded the Three Talents Sword Method without a hint of awkwardness.
Ha Mu-baek watched and nodded approvingly.
Nothing beat real combat for training.
These five had improved beyond recognition.
Above all, their talents are exceptional.
Only Ha Mu-baek, who could clearly recognize their potential, could think that.
“Enough.”
At Ha Mu-baek’s curt command, the five halted their swords in unison.
“For the next seven days, keep training as you have been. You all gained insights from the Summer Combat Festival’s real battles. Digest those first.”
“...”
The five stayed silent.
“I don’t have anything specific to teach you right now. You’re all still struggling to internalize what you’ve gained. Toss in something new, and it’ll just overflow and vanish.”
Their eyes trembled faintly.
They could already guess what came next, after he’d laid this groundwork.
It was what Ha Mu-baek had said from their very first meeting.
Dang Jin-san jumped in hastily.
“You’re not saying we train on our own for seven days, are you?”
His voice was desperate.
It would render these seven days they’d begged for meaningless.
Ha Mu-baek grinned at Dang Jin-san.
“Sharp as ever. I like that.”
“But...”
As Dang Jin-san started to protest, Ha Mu-baek raised a hand to silence him and continued.
“Of course, it won’t be just self-training. One hour a day with me in sparring. I’ll check how well you’ve internalized your past experiences.”
Ha Mu-baek grinned again.
But to the five, that smile felt chilling somehow.
From just after dusk until early evening, when the western sky glowed red, they sparred for one hour each day.
Not just group formations with sword arrays, but one-on-one matches for each individual.
Six spars in total, and one hour was more than enough time.
And every session ended the same way: utter exhaustion.
“Haa... I’m gonna die...”
Dang Jin-san collapsed on the training ground, staring blankly at the thick sunset as he muttered weakly.
“...”
The others were too spent even to speak, heaving ragged breaths.
“Why is our instructor even here?”
Once his breathing steadied a bit, Baek Ri-pyeong murmured out of the blue.
Even by his limited experience, their instructor was a monster of terrifying caliber.
Comparing him to the elders or protectors back at his sect—even the sect leader—there was no one who matched.
Dan Mok Un-roe, Nak Woo-jin, and Yeon Ha-min might not sense it, but he and Dang Jin-san, from prestigious sects, definitely did.
“Eh, everyone’s got their backstory. We should be grateful ours connected us to him. It’s basically a heavenly opportunity for us.”
Dang Jin-san gave a wry smile.
Baek Ri-pyeong fell silent at that.
During the Summer Combat Festival, they’d glimpsed a fragment of Dang Jin-san’s own story.
“But seriously, how strong is our instructor?”
After a long quiet stretch, Dan Mok Un-roe asked curiously.
“...”
No one answered.
They could only imagine in their heads.
The seven days flew by like an arrow.
And during that time, the five’s eyes burned even brighter.
Day by day, renewed.
The phrase fit them perfectly.
Yet today, as always, they lay sprawled on the ground.
Perhaps because it was the last day, Ha Mu-baek hadn’t left. He stood watching them intently, looking somehow dissatisfied.
“Huff... huff... It’s not over, is it?”
Dang Jin-san gasped, asking Ha Mu-baek.
“No. It’s done.”
“Then why...”
Dang Jin-san’s eyes quivered with unease.
“Homework.”
Short and to the point.
“Meet me here at dawn tomorrow. I’ll give it to you then.”
With that, Ha Mu-baek returned to his quarters.
His bags were already packed there. He’d planned to leave right away, but changed his mind.
Something nagged at him uncomfortably.
Leaving now or at dawn tomorrow wouldn’t make much difference.
“Internal energy’s the issue, after all.”
Seated at the small desk, Ha Mu-baek propped his chin and tapped the surface as he muttered.
Half his Summer Combat Festival success was luck.
The Hidden Dragon Corps and Wa Dragon Corps kids had different foundations from his own.
In Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven, only Dang Jin-san and Baek Ri-pyeong had any real base.
Internal energy came down to cultivation time.
These Dragon Training Pavilion kids were late teens to early twenties at most, so energy gaps were maybe fifteen years at widest, six or seven at narrowest.
That’s what made their festival results possible.
Dang Jin-san and Baek Ri-pyeong barely had such gaps.
Yet Dan Mok Un-roe, with his glaring weakness, was Squad Seven’s last survivor.
A truly phenomenal talent.
That’s why it bothered him.
For such talent to be held back by mere internal energy.
“The scrutiny will ramp up in the second semester too...”
Their festival exploits succeeded partly because others underestimated Squad Seven.
They’d been caught off guard and struck hard.
“Word about me’s probably reached headquarters by now.”
With such an upset, if no info leaked, the Righteous Heaven Alliance would be doomed.
Nothing kids from an empty squad beating Namgung Ji-hu? Huge news.
“Sigh. That’s why I didn’t wanna get involved, but trouble keeps piling up.”
His deep sigh brimmed with genuine annoyance.
Ha Mu-baek stared at the leather satchel on his bed.
Packed for immediate departure.
“No helping it, huh?”
They’d achieved massive results tied to him, so eyes—known and unknown—would be on them. Plus rivalry from Hidden Dragon and Wa Dragon.
They were progressing fast enough already, but factoring that in, it wasn’t fast enough.
He needed drastic measures.
Ha Mu-baek reached into the satchel for them.
He’d already decided when telling them to meet at dawn, but still hesitated, mulling it over one last time before acting.
Yet the answer was set.
From the satchel, he pulled out crumpled papers stained dark with pills.
“No helping it.”
Muttering again, he wrapped five pills in paper.
The next dawn.
The five eyed the dark pills in their hands with strange expressions.
Sloppily wrapped in paper, they looked grimy. And the smell was off-putting.
There was a faint medicinal scent, but something cloying dominated.
“Uh, Instructor. What is this?”
Dang Jin-san asked, staring at Ha Mu-baek.
“What you need to take now.”
A slight improvement, but still curt as ever.
“Is it safe to eat?”
Dang Jin-san swallowed dryly before asking. Ha Mu-baek just nodded.
Watching, Dan Mok Un-roe popped his into his mouth and chewed.
An indescribable taste.
Charitably, that’s what it was. Honestly, it tasted like nothing.
Dan Mok Un-roe’s face scrunched up.
Seeing that, Dang Jin-san eyed his pill even more warily.
Yeon Ha-min chewed hers without hesitation. Even her refined features twisted.
Baek Ri-pyeong and Nak Woo-jin followed.
All four faces matched.
“Instructor, even good medicine tastes bitter, but... what even is this mystery pill?”
Maybe because he was from the Tang Clan? His attitude toward pills differed from the other four.
He kept glancing at them.
No one showed odd symptoms or changes.
Seemed safe, but why force it if nothing happened?
“Don’t want it? Fine.”
As Ha Mu-baek waved dismissively, Dang Jin-san shoved his in and chewed, grimacing fiercely.
No doubt, weirder than any pill he’d tried from the Tang Clan, and it took serious chewing.
What the hell is this thing...