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Chapter 40: I Won't Use Qi
The unexpected arrival of the final new instructor candidate left everyone speechless.
“Sorry I’m late. I’m Baek Su-Ryong,” he said.
His clothes were covered in dust, and his body reeked of gunpowder.
Baek Su-Ryong brushed off the dust, then smiled and asked, “The demonstration lectures aren’t over yet, right?”
A flurry of replies ensued.
“Hyung-nim!”
“Baek-hyung!”
“Y-You damned punk!”
Ak Yeon-Ho, Myeong Il-Oh, and Mae Geuk-Lyom, who had been anxiously waiting for Baek Su-Ryong, shouted at the same time. All three of them looked like they wanted to rush over and reprimand him, but before they could do anything, Kwak Cheol-Woo yelled, “Candidate Baek Su-Ryong, why are you so late?”
“Something important came up, and I was delayed.”
“Then what the hell was with the way you came here?!”
“I was pressed for time, so I borrowed the power of gunpowder… I flew around five hundred feet through the air, and I’m a little dizzy.”
“You used e-explosives?”
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“An acquaintance of mine is an expert in explosives, so asked him for help…”
“Ugh…” Exasperated, Kwak Cheol-Woo buried his head in his hands, feeling a headache coming on.
Beside him, Namgoong Su glared at Baek Su-Ryong coldly. “Is that the attitude a latecomer should have?”
“You asked, so I answered.”
Namgoong Su’s icy gaze clashed with Baek Su-Ryong’s nonchalant expression.
Seeing this, Kwak Cheol-Woo shouted, “There’s no question about it, you’re eliminated…”
“Puhahaha! Damn, you’re funny!” Noh Gun-Sang, the principal of the Azure Dragon Academy roared, cutting off Kwak Cheol-Woo mid-sentence. The old man, well over eighty years old, burst into tears with laughter.
“I haven’t seen such an entertaining sight since becoming the principal of the Azure Dragon Academy. Young Master Baek, are you ready for your lecture?”
“P-Principal, no! We’ve already decided to eliminate him…”
“I am the Principal.”
“……”
Noh Gun-Sang silenced Kwak Cheol-Woo with a reminder of his authority, then looked back at Baek Su-Ryong with childlike eyes. “Young Master Baek, something seems to have changed since the last time I saw you. I presume you have an exciting presentation lined up?”
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“Yeah, I’ll definitely show you something good.” Baek Su-Ryong grinned confidently and surveyed the audience.
About ten students were staring at him with puzzled, curious, or outright hostile expressions.
Oh? I see some familiar faces.
Hyonwon Kang was glaring at him like a ferocious beast, while Peng Sa-Hyuk’s eyes glittered with murderous intent.
…And then there was the girl with the sparkling, passionate gaze.
Wasn’t she the vice president of the student council?
Tang So-So was staring at Baek Su-Ryong just as intensely as the previous two (but somehow felt more dangerous).
Even her…breathing was a little rough.
Err, what’s with her? I’m scared!
Baek Su-Ryong avoided meeting Tang So-So’s eyes and walked over to the students.
“Since this is an Outer Arts class, I’ve prepared a hands-on lesson so that we can have some fun together.”
“……”
As Baek Su-Ryong approached, the students tensed. Despite being the last candidate, Baek Su-Ryong was not intimidated, but rather relaxed and laid back.
STEP, STEP.
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As he walked, not only the students and instructors around the lecture platform, but also the students in the dormitories opened their windows one by one and stuck their heads out to watch him.
MURMUR MURMUR.
“What’s going on? What’s the commotion?”
“A demonstration lecture? They haven’t ended yet? What’s so interesting about that…”
“He’s the last applicant, and he flew in.”
“He…flew in? Are you talking about the legendary martial art, Walking on Air?”
“No, it’s not like that…”
“Eh? That’s the handsome teacher from last time!”
The eyes of the entire school focused on one individual.
Noh Gun-Sang felt a little envious. It that a talent… Or is it intentional?
Baek Su-Ryong smiled gently and said, “Since this is a hands-on class, I should give out prizes to the top participants, right?”
His voice wasn’t very loud. However, his enunciation was clear and easy to understand. His body language was not exaggerated, but every hand gesture and every movement of his eyes piqued the viewer’s interest.
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It was like watching a well-choreographed sword dance.
The more Noh Gun-Sang looked at Baek Su-Ryong, the more he admired the young man.Coming from a small town, he’s probably never been at the receiving end of so much attention before. If so, then why does he look so comfortable, like he’s done this countless times before?
It’s like watching Mr. Namgoong’s class.
Suddenly curious about Namgoong Su’s expression, Noh Gun-Sang turned his head to glance at him, only to find that Namgoong Su’s had stiffened up.
Even the Star Instructor of the Azure Dragon Academy couldn’t take his eyes off of Baek Su-Ryong.
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“Since it’s our first class, I’ve prepared a simple prize to liven things up.”
“A prize?”
Baek Su-Ryong unsheathed his sword and drew a circle with a five-foot radius on the ground around himself. “You have two minutes. Using only outer arts, force me to take one step out of this circle. If you do, I’ll give all of you a hundred silver coins.”
”!!” Everyone’s eyes widened. A hundred silver coins was enough to feed an ordinary family for a year. Even if they were the children of rich murim clans, they could never lay their hands upon such a large sum.
“Eh?”
“Is that true?”
“Then you’re only using outer arts as well?”
Baek Su-Ryong nodded. “Of course. If you make me use inner qi, I will also recognize that as my defeat.”
“……” The students exchanged looks with each other, reluctant to make the first move.
Baek Su-Ryong tapped the floor with his sword sheath and said, “You only have two minutes, so the sooner you start attacking me, the better…”
“Hmph. Sounds interesting.” While everyone was still hesitating, the troublemaker brat from the Hyonwon Clan rushed forward.
WHOOSH!
Baek Su-Ryong grinned as Hyonwon Kang’s fist flew at his face. “I just knew you’d be the first one to charge in!”
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The next moment, Baek Su-Ryong reached out at lightning speed, grabbed Hyonwon Kang by the collar, and slammed him into the ground.
CRASH!
“Keuk…!” Hyonwon Kang landed on his back and bounced once before laying down, motionless.
“Take a short break and come back when you feel better.” Baek Su-Ryong pushed the groaning Hyonwon Kang away with his foot, then looked at the remaining astonished students.
“What? Did you think making money is easy?”
WHAM!
“Keuaaak! Fuck!” After receiving a flick to the forehead, Hyonwon Kang stumbled and fell, but he immediately jumped back to his feet.
“Tsk tsk, this is what happens when you don’t pay attention to your footwork. Remember that feeling when you were counterattacked,” I clicked my tongue even as Peng Sa-Hyuk’s kick came flying in from my side.
BAM!
I swung my sword sheath to block the attack, then kicked Peng Sa-Hyuk to throw him off-balance.
“Ugh!”
I slammed the scabbard into the open side of Peng Sa-Hyuk’s body, knocking him completely off his feet, then lifted the leg I kicked him with and struck his chin with my toes.
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BOOM!
As Peng Sa-Hyuk flew into the air, Tang So-So, who was hiding behind the tall boy, threw her hidden weapons and pounced on me simultaneously, aiming for mutual destruction.
There was a very creepy, crazy look in her eyes.
“Teacher! Please hit me on the forehead too!” she shrieked.
…Is this her idea of advanced psychological warfare?
I swung the scabbard and swept the hidden weapons aside, then took a step to the side to avoid the girl with a strange fervor in her eyes. As she whizzed past me, I smacked her in the back and pushed her far, far away.
WHACK!
As Tang So-So slid off the lecture platform, she turned around and shouted furiously, “Why!? Why did you push me away? Give me a chance, I only need one strand of hair!”
“Why do you want my…hair?”
“To put in my pillow!”
…As expected of a daughter of the Sichuan Tang Clan. She’s known for her vicious temper and persistence… but it seems she also has a knack for psychological warfare. I absolutely can’t let her get near me. Nope, never.
While I was distracted, a boy whose name I didn’t know attacked me from behind.
“Good thinking, but you have too many wasted movements.”
I spun around and swung my scabbard. The punk tried his hardest to dodge, and then…
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THUD!
“Guh!” The student who’d been hit in the wrong place crumpled to the floor, his hands clasped around his groin and his eyes rolled back in his head.
“K-Keok! Why there…”
“…I am so sorry. Rest assured though, I didn’t hit you hard enough to pop it.” I tapped him on the butt with the hilt of my sword, then gently pushed him away.
A few more students lunged at me, but none of them could force me out of the circle.
“Hah… Hah… Huff…”
“Damn, he’s as slippery as a loach…”
“If only I could use my inner qi…”
The brats ground their teeth determinedly, but even so, they couldn’t force me out of the circle.
I’ve practiced this countless times in the Blood Cult, but ever since I developed this drill, I’ve never been pushed out of the circle. At the time, I couldn’t use inner arts at all due to my destroyed qi center, so I was placed in charge of almost all the outer arts classes.
Still, these kids are strong enough that if they work together, it’s not impossible…
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I looked at Hyonwon Kang, Peng Sa-Hyuk, and Tang So-So. All three of them were quite skilled. If they cooperated, they could pose a threat to my current self.
There was only half a minute left.
“Hey, if you want to win, why don’t you fight together?” I suggested.
“I always fight alone.”
“We’d have to be on the same level to work together.”
“I can’t stand the thought of cooperating with these guys…”
I had no idea what their relationship was like, but I could at least conclude that it wasn’t great.
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“Okay, then prepare to get your asses kicked. Again.” I smirked and put my left hand behind me to show that from now on, I would only be using one hand.
“I will not use my left hand for the rest of the game. If that’s not enough, I also won’t move my left foot…”
“Fuck you! Shut up!”
Led by the mad dog Hyonwon Kang, the students lunged at me from all directions, bursting with murderous intent.
“Kill him!”
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“Push him out of there somehow!”
“AHHHH! Shit!”
Unfortunately for them, the ragtag group wasn’t much of a threat.
SMACK! WHAM! BAM!
I leisurely blocked, dodged, and counterattacked even as I maneuvered them into getting in each other’s way. As I familiarized myself with their movements, I even had time to observe the spectators.
“Wow! Whoaaa!”
“Oh my god! That teacher is not kidding!”
“I can’t believe Peng Sa-Hyuk and Hyonwon Kang are being treated like that…”
Cheers of glee and admiration poured in from the dormitory students sticking their heads out of their windows.
Heheh, this is nothing… I chuckled to myself, a little embarrassed.
Finally, I glanced at the instructors’ expressions.
My eyes locked with Namgoong Su’s.
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“……” With a face like he’d just chewed on a piece of shit, he glared daggers at me.
Damn, this dude’s expression is hilarious! It’s like we’re having a snowball fight!
I smirked and glanced at the other instructors. Noh Gun-Sang watched me with interest, while Kwak Cheol-Woo squirmed under Namgoong Su’s furious gaze. The rest of them were either astounded or frustrated.
Hmm? Is that killing intent?
One of the instructors was staring at me with even more hatred than Namgoong Su. He had a large frame and a muscular body that literally screamed, “I’m an outer arts master!”
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I kept my attention focused on this man who wanted to murder me even as I fended off the students’ attacks.
Suddenly, his lips twitched.
Is he using Sound Transmission to communicate with someone?
Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell who he was talking to. He was probably just hurling curses at me, but…
Wait a minute, did he just look away for a moment?
Judging from his frown and clenched teeth, he’d shot a glance at the person he was talking to…
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“DIE!”
“YAAAH!”
At that moment, Hyonwon Kang and Peng Sa-Hyuk attacked me at the same time.
These punks. They said that they didn’t want to work together earlier, but now they’re sneakily doing it.
The wind from their swinging daos flew at me.
Oh? What’s this?
Dao Wind, an indicator of mastery that was one level below Dao Qi, wasn’t a technique that could be used without inner qi.
More importantly, it was a skill that could easily kill a person.
“Pfft!” I failed to stifle a laugh. They’re trying to force me out of the circle somehow, even if it means cheating.
“I’ll show you brats why no one has ever beaten me at this game before,” I muttered, drawing my sword.
Translator’s Note: The first half of the chapter is written in third-person.