Chapter 75

"I couldn't find them even when I looked for them, so they were outside. That's why I couldn't find their whereabouts no matter how much I searched..."

Bi Ryu-yeon said in a dejected tone. Their existence was one of the biggest reasons why he had forced his way into this Cheonmu Academy. He had entered the academy because he couldn't forget them, who had thoroughly sacrificed and served him(?). He had absolutely not come in to exploit or work them again. Maybe...

"The Vermilion Bird Squad has returned at the same time as the Azure Dragon Squad."

Some groups showed a clear look of disbelief. What were they disbelieving?

"Then what happens to the match?"

A man in a black martial robe with a huge build asked the skinny man in yellow next to him. The contrast between the two was reminiscent of a fatso and a skinny person.

"Isn't it the natural victory of the Azure Dragon Squad, who came in 7.5 minutes earlier?"

The skinny man snapped at the fatso, as if telling him not to ask something so obvious.

"No. Although the Azure Dragon Squad stepped on the academy's main gate first, how can you say the match was decided by a 7.5-minute difference?"

The fatso shook his head and showed a skeptical reaction.

"Why not? A match is a match."

"Surely you don't have the foolish thought that they are the owners of superior martial arts just because their steps are 7.5 minutes faster than others?"

"I didn't say anything wrong. Anyway, the rule of this evaluation is who can perform the task first and return to the academy quickly. And the one who meets that condition is, no matter what anyone says, the Azure Dragon Squad."

The skinny young man also answered, not losing. Because of his skinny physique, his face looked even more irritable.

"Thank you."

At the big man's sudden words, the skinny young man was puzzled. It was a clear look of 'what on earth is this punk spouting?'.

"For what? Is it because I helped improve your miserable understanding? If it's about that, don't worry about it."

At the skinny man's words, the big man shook his head. It was an attitude that he had been completely wrong.

"No, because after hearing your words, I felt like I could forgive myself for calling you a fool. Thank you."

The skinny young man's eyes narrowed like a snake's. It was as if he had been hit on the back of the head.

"Shouldn't you be grateful since you've relieved my guilt? Just think of it as having done a great good deed."

"..."

At the sly big man's words, the skinny man was at a loss for words. And he firmly resolved never to associate with that human again. It seemed that the verbal fight had ended with the skinny young man's decision loss.

The arguments of the crowd were getting more and more intense. The Vermilion Bird Squad, who had returned from the summer joint training where they had been almost missing last summer, had changed so much. Their minds and bodies had been forged to the point where it even gave the illusion that their tenacity and wildness were shining together. That eerie edge was enough to make a world-famous sword pale.

Before they had left for the summer joint training, they, the Vermilion Bird Squad, had been at the bottom of the four squads: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, and Vermilion Bird, but after returning from Mount Emei, they were no longer the people they had known in the academy. The martial power they had shown in the year-end evaluation test was amazing. They, who had lightly suppressed the White Tiger Squad and the Black Tortoise Squad and had given them an indelible mental shock, had emerged as the biggest topic of the academy. Now, the only thing blocking their way was the high-nosed Azure Dragon Squad, which was said to be composed only of the best talents of the third year.

The result was unexpected.

The Azure Dragon Squad, which had been training for 3 months at Mount Wudang and had devoted themselves to martial arts, had to be satisfied with ending the match in a draw after a desperate resolve and effort, unlike their overflowing confidence at the beginning.

Thus, the situation was concluded for the time being. It was a result that no one had predicted. They had not imagined that the Vermilion Bird Squad, which had been the lowest rank among the four squads, would achieve a draw with the Azure Dragon Squad, which was called the best. There could be no draw in the matches of the Jianghu Murim. In order to create an end to the unfinished conclusion, the Azure Dragon Squad and the Vermilion Bird Squad decided to have a match once again.

The content of the next evaluation was not a match between individuals, but a match between groups. The key to the match was which side would solve the task presented by the academy first and return safely to the Cheonmu Academy again.

Originally, leaving the academy to intervene in the affairs of the Jianghu by performing a task was something that was only applicable to and given to third-year students and above, but this matter was recognized as a special case.

It took longer than expected. The two different tasks selected after a strict screening—but judged to be of the same difficulty by the screening—had taken an unexpected amount of time, making them spend 3 months.

But as you can see, the result was poor compared to the time spent. They had failed to determine the superiority of the skills of the two groups, which was the biggest purpose of this evaluation. The dream of both sides to become the best skilled person of the third year of the academy through this evaluation had become a bubble.

"Aha! So that's what happened."

Bi Ryu-yeon, who had heard the whole story from Im Seong-jin, who had had a moving encounter in the sea of people, finally understood how things had turned out. It was a very fortunate thing that he had met him.

Crack!

"What's that sound?"

Im Seong-jin expressed his puzzlement at the sudden sound that had occurred from the joints of Bi Ryu-yeon's fingers.

"It's the sound of my finger joint exercises. Shall we say it's a kind of warm-up?"

"Is there someone to beat up? You're warming up quite brutally."

Bi Ryu-yeon smiled slightly and joked.

"Don't worry about it. The one I have business with is not you, senior."

"Then who is it?"

"My disciples, whom I cherish and love dearly."

"...?"

Im Seong-jin could not understand what he was saying.

'Punks who are my disciples couldn't even win against those punks and ended in a draw. Everything is my fault. It's not too late now, so I will make them be reborn again with a thorough mental education and a thorough training.'

A thin smile hung on the lips of Bi Ryu-yeon, who was firmly strengthening his heart with a firm resolve full of affection(?) for his disciples.