Chapter 6
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: A Dog Won't Quit Eating Shit
Three stormy days had passed.
The Dragon Training Pavilion was in an uproar over the incident at the Devouring Dragon South Pavilion.
Investigations were launched into every Devouring Dragon Pavilion branch, and suspects were being summoned left and right without pause.
The truth that emerged left Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul stunned beyond belief.
"You've arrived?"
Pang Do-yul gestured for Ha Mu-baek to take a seat as the man entered the Pavilion Lord's office.
"Is the investigation already over?"
"More or less."
"What took us years to uncover took just three days. Tsk."
Pang Do-yul had no retort to Ha Mu-baek's tongue-clicking. It was the plain truth.
"It started with the users of the east, west, south, and north Devouring Dragon Pavilions being mostly fixed. Then customs formed unnoticed. When members of the Fierce Dragon Corps, beaten down by the Hidden Dragon and Wa Dragon Corps, started gathering in the south, that's when they got their wicked ideas."
"They sniffed out the weak ones like ghosts."
"Exactly. Odd jobs workers and Fierce Dragon Corps members—no baggage there, they figured. So they started skimping on the food quality at the south pavilion, bit by bit. Nothing happened, so their boldness grew. The real problem? All four pavilion lords—east, west, south, and north—were in on it together."
"Rotten to the core."
"They'd been at it for years, raking it in. Especially them—they led the charge in funneling Fierce Dragon Corps members south. Any who wandered to other pavilions? They weren't even let inside; straight sent south. And they greased plenty of palms up the chain. That's how they got away with it for so long."
"Fucking bastards."
The curse slipped from Ha Mu-baek's lips.
Each uniform of the Hidden Dragon Corps, Wa Dragon Corps, and Fierce Dragon Corps bore distinct emblems. That's how the pavilion workers could pick out the Fierce Dragon Corps members.
"That won't happen anymore."
Pang Do-yul spoke calmly.
"A dog won't quit eating shit. They've tasted it once—how could they stop?"
Ha Mu-baek's face showed clear disbelief.
"As long as I'm Pavilion Lord, they won't pull that crap. From now on, I'll be taking all three meals at the Devouring Dragon Pavilions—whichever one my feet take me to, east, west, south, or north."
Ha Mu-baek's eyes went wide. His surprise was plain as day.
"Don't look at me like that. You're right—we're scraping by on one meal a day, living tough. They can't mess with our food."
Ha Mu-baek broke into a grin at that.
"And we're not the kind of bastards you think we are."
"Well, we'll see about that."
Ha Mu-baek left those words behind as he departed the office.
He headed for Squad Seven's training ground.
It was his responsibility, after all, so he'd been showing his face there steadily. He'd only given self-study orders so far, though.
As he approached the training ground, Ha Mu-baek tilted his head.
There were six presences he could sense.
And the extra one? Someone he'd met before.
'Why's that guy here...?'
He'd find out soon enough.
Ha Mu-baek's stride didn't falter. As he drew near the training ground, the other man seemed to sense him too.
Ha Mu-baek stepped into view, and the man cupped his fists in greeting, bowing at the waist.
"Greetings, Instructor Ha."
"What brings Instructor Jegal all the way out here?"
Ha Mu-baek returned the salute, his face etched with curiosity.
"I came to offer my thanks."
"Pardon?"
"You were right—I was a greenhorn. I never imagined something like that going on at the Devouring Dragon Pavilion. Using customs to pull off corruption like that... and with the food meant for warriors and workers, no less."
It was an unexpected reaction.
At least, not from the people of the Five Great Clans that Ha Mu-baek knew. They always acted like they were the law and truth itself.
"It's embarrassing to admit, but I only kept an eye on the east pavilion where the Hidden Dragon Corps eats. The others? I didn't bother. I just assumed north and east were all the same."
That alone was impressive, truth be told.
Instructors took their meals at the north pavilion. Even the Fierce Dragon Corps instructors did.
The other pavilions? No one gave a damn.
That's how such absurd corruption could fester.
The Fierce Dragon Corps cadets knew their place, so they never properly complained about the food either.
Squad Seven's members standing out as oddly un-Fierce-Dragon-Corps-like made sense now.
Most cadets were like Dan Mok Un-roe.
Until Ha Mu-baek dragged his squad to the south pavilion, not a single instructor or official in the Dragon Training Pavilion had cared about the food there.
Hell, instructors didn't care about cadets' meals period.
So Jegal Myeong keeping tabs on the east pavilion was noteworthy.
"And yet, I stood by while the head instructor pressured Fierce Dragon Corps cadets heading to the east for meals to go south instead, all under the guise of 'customs.' Shameful."
Jegal Myeong bowed again.
"Well, ignorance happens."
Ha Mu-baek brushed it off. Only then did Jegal Myeong crack a faint smile and glance around the training ground.
"You're still leaving the cadets to their own devices, I see."
A hint of bitterness colored Jegal Myeong's voice.
"......"
Ha Mu-baek said nothing.
"Speaking of which, it's this afternoon. I teach the entire Fierce Dragon Corps on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th of every month. If you're free, I'd appreciate you observing. It starts at mi-si hour in the grand training ground."
Jegal Myeong bowed once more and left.
Ha Mu-baek watched his retreating figure with surprise. A Hidden Dragon Corps instructor teaching the Fierce Dragon Corps?
His curiosity was piqued.
Come to think of it, today was the 7th, just like he said.
Lunchtime was approaching fast.
He'd head to the grand training ground with the kids afterward.
Among the five who had been sneaking glances at the two men's conversation, Dan Mok Un-roe's face lit up with strange excitement.
He knew from the schedule about the four monthly full Fierce Dragon Corps training sessions.
But Jegal Myeong as the instructor? That was a shock.
For Dan Mok Un-roe, who hadn't learned a scrap of martial arts, expectations were sky-high.
The grand training ground was the largest in the Dragon Training Pavilion.
Spacious enough to hold every cadet from the Hidden Dragon, Wa Dragon, and Fierce Dragon Corps with room to spare.
Under the blazing sun, all two hundred Fierce Dragon Corps cadets stood in perfect ranks on the grand training ground.
Jegal Myeong stood on the central platform, looking down at them.
Ha Mu-baek leaned against a tree in one corner's shade, watching.
"First group training today—how'd you know to come?"
Pang Do-yul had appeared behind Ha Mu-baek without a sound.
"Pavilion Lord. You tailing me or what?"
Ha Mu-baek scowled.
"As if. Coincidence, pure coincidence. I came to check on the Fierce Dragon Corps' first group training of the month and spotted you. This training bumps their survival rate up to five out of ten, at least."
Ha Mu-baek's gaze shifted to Pang Do-yul.
"Before Instructor Jegal started, their survival rate barely hit one out of ten. The Fierce Dragon Corps takes in kids without a drop of inner energy, and five out of ten make it back alive from that cursed place? That's a miracle."
Ha Mu-baek nodded slightly. He agreed.
"Instructor Jegal's a man bursting with pride in his Jegal Clan. And that pride drives him to fulfill his duties as one of the Five Great Clans. This group training? It's born from that sense of responsibility."
Pang Do-yul droned on about things Ha Mu-baek couldn't care less about.
"Looks like it's starting."
Just then, Dragon Training Pavilion workers hauled a bunch of gear into the grand training ground.
"Shields?"
Ha Mu-baek's eyes widened slightly at the sight.
Something he hadn't expected.
Shield users were rarer than hen's teeth in the martial world. Practically nonexistent.
Shields at the Dragon Training Pavilion? Who'd have thought.
"From today, I'll teach you shield techniques. Some in the martial world might scorn shields as lowly, but they are superb weapons. They've saved my life countless times. For cadets heading to the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest, they're vital weapons, armor, and lifelines."
Jegal Myeong's inner-energy-infused voice drilled straight into the ears of all two hundred cadets.
Just then, some passing cadets near the grand training ground snickered.
"Warriors learning shield techniques? Pathetic."
"Are those even warriors?"
Judging by their uniforms, Wa Dragon Corps cadets.
They might've thought they were whispering, but Ha Mu-baek heard every word crystal clear.
His face soured on reflex.
Foolish drivel from greenhorns who'd never seen war.
"Not greenhorns, apparently..."
Ha Mu-baek muttered under his breath. Pang Do-yul grinned.
"You look like you just took a hit. Priceless."
Pang Do-yul clearly enjoyed Ha Mu-baek's reaction.
Whatever Pang Do-yul said, Ha Mu-baek's eyes stayed glued to the training ground.
The shields were huge.
About four chi tall (roughly 1.2 meters), three chi wide (0.9 meters), and at least half a chi thick.
A small hole for visibility, but big enough to block the whole front.
Heavy as hell, no doubt.
Sure enough, plenty of cadets could barely hold them without trembling.
"Watch my demonstration closely and master every move. This will be your lifeline."
With that, Jegal Myeong picked up a shield and slowly demonstrated each form.
It was shield work Ha Mu-baek had never seen.
Just four simple forms. But each one was surprisingly efficient.
"What do you think?"
Pang Do-yul asked slyly.
"Not bad."
Ha Mu-baek's gruff reply.
"As you know, proper shield martial arts are rare in this world. What Instructor Jegal teaches is pure external technique. We never had anything like it here."
True enough.
"He saw the Fierce Dragon Corps' reality with his own eyes and made it himself. Drew from military shield arts and the Eighteen Military Arts, trial and error all the way."
"Impressive."
A note of admiration crept into Ha Mu-baek's voice.
"The guy's a genius, after all."
Ha Mu-baek had to nod at that.
It might look like crude military drill, unworthy of true martial arts, but the principles woven in were anything but trivial.
Ha Mu-baek could almost see the agony and deliberation Jegal Myeong poured into creating it.
"Most Fierce Dragon Corps cadets head out familiar with this after their training year. Some master it. The five out of ten who survive? They're from that bunch."
Ha Mu-baek stared at the training ground at Pang Do-yul's words.
There was Dan Mok Un-roe, sweat pouring, arms shaking as he maneuvered the shield.
His body might be suffering, but his face beamed with vibrant joy.
"Why's a Hidden Dragon Corps instructor going this far?"
"I asked him the same when he was crafting it—said it was extra duty. 'Because I'm a Dragon Training Pavilion instructor. Fierce Dragon Corps are part of it too.'"
"Right. And they fed us garbage not even fit for trash."
"Urgh. That's over now—drop it."
On the Devouring Dragon South Pavilion mess, even ten mouths wouldn't suffice for Pang Do-yul's defense.
"The group training was his idea too. No reason a Hidden Dragon instructor had to run it. Drew flak from the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans, especially Chief Instructor Sado Gwang. But Jegal's stubbornness won out—four times a month. Not some clueless punk."
"Got it."
Ha Mu-baek replied curtly. Pang Do-yul just chuckled.
'Don't abandon them to die—get them into that five-out-of-ten survival slot...'
Ha Mu-baek eyed Jegal Myeong with newfound depth.