Chapter 74

• Return

Bi Ryu-yeon was just on his way back
after finishing class. Today, like other days,
was an ordinary day that passed
without any particular incident.

Except for the fact that a demonstration mechanism hidden weapon exploded in the 'Hidden Weapon Application Class' of the Soul-Stealing Hand, Old Master Tang Pyeong, in the morning, and three disciples were injured by its fragments.

The Soul-Stealing Hand, Tang Pyeong, seemed to have a bad habit of being interested only in strange and dangerous things. These days, Old Master Tang Pyeong seemed to be enthusiastic about the development of a mechanism hidden weapon that used both a spring and gunpowder, and he often showed the irresponsible side of entrusting the new product experiment to the students. Therefore, accidents were frequent.

These days, there was one thing that kept getting on Bi Ryu-yeon's nerves. For some reason, flies were constantly swarming around him. He wasn't exuding a rotten smell that would attract flies, so it was a mystery why they were circling around him so chaotically, as if there was something to eat. But to pretend not to know was so unsettling that he couldn't stand it. So, how to effectively exterminate the pests swarming around him was a concern that had arisen these days. Since he was a person who did not have the patience to hold on to a concern for a long time, he had planned to deal with it quickly.

On an afternoon when the blue sky was high and the sunlight was even refreshing, the main gate of the Cheonmu Academy suddenly became noisy. People gathered in groups of three and five, and soon became a crowd and began to murmur. What was stimulating their interest? The number of people flocking was only increasing.

"What's going on?"

Bi Ryu-yeon, who was on his way back from severely overworking his brain with a formation class, asked Hyo-ryong. His head was still suffering from the yin-yang and Five Elements theory, the Eight Trigrams, and the mathematical calculations required for setting up a formation.

"Well?"

Hyo-ryong shook his head. Because there was no reason for the main gate to be noisy at this time. He had not heard any story that there would be any event at the main gate at this time today.

"Shall we go and see?"

"Sure."

Bi Ryu-yeon was not one to refuse. He was the owner of a vigorous curiosity and intellectual inquiry who believed that it would make him sick if he held on to something he was curious about for a long time.

The main gate was wide open. But because so many people were gathered, it required considerable patience and effort to break through the human barrier and check inside. As he barely broke through the human barrier and stuck his neck into the final line of resistance, dozens of disciples were welcoming a group of people. Judging from their appearance, they were clearly people who had been away from this academy for several days. Their tattered shoes and the old martial robes covered in dust told that fact well.

"Who are they?"

Bi Ryu-yeon asked, grabbing a disciple who was welcoming them with continuous cheers.

"You must be a newcomer."

A disciple who was cheering looked at Bi Ryu-yeon and said. Bi Ryu-yeon nodded his head. Do they have to confirm it even when they know it well to be satisfied? What benefit does such a vain effort bring? It was something he could not understand.

"Look carefully."

The person's finger pointed to the group. Of course, Bi Ryu-yeon looked carefully. But no matter how closely he stared, his brain would not create and deliver information that was not there.

"I'm looking carefully."

That disciple showed a pitiful expression.

"You haven't seen anything. Look more closely."

Why does he have to beat around the bush when he could just tell me... Although he was still dissatisfied with that fact, he looked more closely once more.

"There are 16 of them."

Looking at them once more, Bi Ryu-yeon could discover the new fact that they were a mixed group of men and women, and that the composition ratio was 9 men and 7 women.

"Tsk tsk, you still haven't seen anything."

"I'm not blind, you know? I looked closely. What more do you want me to see?"

He said, clicking his tongue.

"They call a person like you a blind man with open eyes."

It was not an assessment that Bi Ryu-yeon liked. The disciple's index finger was pointing at the chests of the group. It was a silent protest asking what he saw.

If it was about eyesight, Bi Ryu-yeon could read a poem written densely on a spinning bead. To call such a person a blind man with open eyes... If he was blind, there would be no one in this world who was not blind. To have his eyesight doubted, it was an unfair thing.

"They are the famous third-year Azure Dragon Squad! They are the best talents of the academy."

Come to think of it, the number of the Seven Sword Dragon was embroidered on their left chests. Even if one's skill was at the level of a three or four Sword Dragon, it was said to be superior to that of a direct disciple of an ordinary sect, so if it was a Seven Sword Dragon, there was no need to even tire one's mouth and tongue.

"Aha! I see."

Bi Ryu-yeon nodded his head as if he finally understood. It was a tone that he now understood a little.

"Waaaaah!"

Suddenly, the cheers grew even louder. The crowd's gaze was directed not at the Azure Dragon Squad, but at the main gate, which was still wide open behind them.

"What is it this time?"

Bi Ryu-yeon was constantly looking around and being fidgety. The Azure Dragon Squad's gaze also turned behind them. They were also curious why the crowd's cheers had suddenly grown louder.

The smiles disappeared from the faces of the Azure Dragon Squad, who had been smiling all over like victors. They were now looking at a series of groups that were just crossing the bridge over the moat of the Cheonmu Academy and entering the main gate. Now, the faces of the Azure Dragon Squad were as hard as granite carved by a severe storm.

"No!"

Bi Ryu-yeon's eyes widened in astonishment. Because the 16 people who were just entering the main gate were punks that even he, who was almost a blank slate about the Jianghu situation and the Cheonmu Academy, knew well. The relationship between Bi Ryu-yeon and them was not an ordinary one. It was a relationship bound by the bond of master and disciple, which was said to be thicker than blood and harder than diamond. The identity of them, who had produced this absurd miracle, was none other than...

"It's the Vermilion Bird Squad!"

The disciples who had gathered on Bi Ryu-yeon's right shouted at the same time. As expected, they were his lovely, missed, beloved disciples whom Bi Ryu-yeon had constantly worked and exploited last summer.