Star Instructor, Master Baek

TL: FoodieMonster007

The courtyard doors swung open to reveal a scene of chaos. A man and a woman were locked in combat in the central training ground, while over a dozen instructors from two different academies stood on either side.

"Wow. These guys sure make it easy to tell which academy is which," Baek Suryong muttered.

Everyone nodded in agreement. The instructors on the left wore bright crimson martial arts uniforms, while those on the right wore white uniforms with black stripes across their shoulders. It was obvious that a conflict had broken out between the Vermilion Phoenix Academy and the White Tiger Academy.

"I'll tear your mouth open!" the White Tiger instructor roared, his voice rough and gravelly. He had tanned skin, a well-built physique, and his sleeveless martial arts uniform revealed his rippling muscles with every move.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The sound of his fists rending the air echoed sharply. His footwork was simple, lacking any fancy techniques, but it was incredibly fast and powerful.

"How crude," the Vermilion Phoenix instructor scoffed.

She was a stunning cat-eyed beauty, and in stark contrast to her opponent's simplistic brute force tactics, her movements were as light as a feather as she effortlessly deflected her opponent's punches with a folding fan.

The impact of the bare fists against the bamboo fan produced a metallic clang, demonstrating both combatants' skill in manipulating their inner qi.

Soon, the battle reached a stalemate, with neither side giving an inch. It was the White Tiger instructor's direct and aggressive movements against the Vermilion Phoenix instructor's clever use of space with her elegant and swift footwork.

As the two fought, a whirlwind of dust and debris erupted from the ground, trailing their every move.

"Miss Sama! Teach that ill-mannered stray cat some manners!"

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"Smash that arrogant chick's mouth, Mr. Tang!"

The instructors from both academies cheered excitedly, their voices growing louder and louder, seemingly oblivious to the arrival of the Azure Dragon instructors. A few of them glanced over, but that was all.

Baek Suryong turned to Namgung Myeongjin. "Deputy Commander, do you know who those two are?"

"Of course I do," Namgung Myeongjin replied. A quick glance at the two fighters was enough for him to recognize them. "The woman from the Vermilion Phoenix Academy is Miss Sama Yeong. Not only is she the most outstanding among this year's new instructors, she's also the granddaughter of the Fire King, the Principal of the Vermilion Phoenix Academy."

"What? She's the Fire King's granddaughter?" Ak Yeonho gasped in surprise.

The Fire King was a retired legendary martial artist of the previous generation whose martial prowess was comparable to the current Ten Supremes.

Come to think of it, I can see flames flickering around her folding fan, Baek Suryong mused. As expected of the granddaughter of the Fire King, who claims to be the world's best in the art of manipulating fire qi.

"The man from the White Tiger Academy is Mr. Tang Baekho. Although he's a descendant of the Tang Clan, he's the only person among them who's mastered external arts instead of poison and hidden weapons."

This time, it was Jaegal Soyeong's turn to gasp in surprise. "The Sichuan Tang Clan?"

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The Sichuan Tang Clan was known for their expertise in poison and hidden weapons, so they generally tended to dislike close combat… Tang Baekho was most certainly an exception.

Baek Suryong carefully observed the two fighters' movements. Both of them are quite skilled. They stand out even among the gathered instructors.

"Arrogant chick!"

"Ill-mannered stray cat!"

A sly grin crept onto his face.

To think that they're openly hurling insults at each other. The rivalry between the Five Great Academies is much more intense than I thought.

He had been worried that the training course would be like a school, where everyone would sit around politely and focus only on learning. Fortunately, that didn't seem to be the case. He hadn't even done anything, and it was already chaotic.

"…I'm already liking this training course very much," he mumbled, grinning evilly.

The three new Azure Dragon instructors, except for Kwak Duyong, shuddered.

Namgung Su frowned. "What are the supervising instructors doing? Not a single one of them has come out to see what all the commotion is about."

Namgung Myeongjin chuckled. "I guess they don't think this is serious enough to warrant their intervention. It's only natural for young people to have a hard time controlling their tempers when they gather, and there have already been several similar confrontations in the past few days."

"What if they get carried away and something happens?"

"If they lack that much restraint, how can they possibly teach at the Five Great Academies?"

Namgung Su nodded. Even now, Sama Yeong and Tang Baekho didn't seem to be fighting at full strength. It was more like a pre-training scouting session.

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"Don't worry too much, Third Young Master. The clan's warriors are keeping an eye on things to make sure these duels don't get out of hand."

"Hmm…" Namgung Su turned to the new instructors. "I see. In that case, I'm going to greet the Patriarch. Unpack your belongings and go rest in your rooms."

"Yes."

"Understood."

Namgung Su was a direct descendant of the Namgung Clan. Now that he had returned to the clan, it was only proper for him to greet the Patriarch first.

Before heading out, Namgung Su sent a telepathic message to Baek Suryong.

[It's the first day, so take it easy.]

After Namgung Su left, Namgung Myeongjin excused himself as well. "I'll be leaving now. If you have any concerns, you can ask the servants."

Namgung Myeongjin left, leaving only the new instructors of the Azure Dragon Academy at the scene.

Myeong Il'oh looked around, cleared his throat, and said loudly, "Ahem! By the way, they didn't even look at us when we arrived. They must know who we are, right?"

Unfortunately, even though they must have heard him, the instructors from the Vermilion Phoenix Academy and the White Tiger Academy remained engrossed in watching the fight. At this point, it was clear that they were deliberately ignoring the Azure Dragon instructors.

"Are they trying to bully us just because they arrived a few days early?"

"What should we do? Should we just go straight to our rooms?"

"This is ridiculous. Despite the competition between the academies, they're going too far."

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Ak Yeonho, Jaegal Soyeong, and Kwak Duyong grumbled in displeasure. They had expected some level of bullying, but they hadn't expected to be completely ignored.

"I wonder how determined they are to treat us as if we don't exist?" Baek Suryong chuckled, stepping forward.

A few of the instructors flinched, but no one turned around except for a woman with a gloomy aura who was sitting far in the back, staring intently at Baek Suryong. Judging by her simple navy blue martial arts uniform, she didn't seem to belong to either the Vermilion Phoenix Academy or the White Tiger Academy.

Who is she? Is she from the Black Tortoise Academy?

Baek Suryong tried to get a better look at her, but sensing his gaze, she quickly activated her stealth arts and melted into the shadows.

"…Somehow, it seems like there aren't many normal people here either," he sighed.

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He turned his focus back to Sama Yeong and Tang Baekho. All eyes were on them now, but he knew exactly how to steal the spotlight.

"Shall I make a grand entrance?"

Grinning from ear to ear, Baek Suryong stomped his foot.

BOOOOOOM!

The resulting shockwave rippled outward, shaking the very ground beneath the two sparring instructors. It was a move perfectly timed to disrupt both of their rhythms.

"Gasp!"

"Huff!"

Startled, both fighters paused to regain their balance and turned to stare at Baek Suryong, their eyes wide with shock.

He stomped his foot and disrupted our rhythm in that split second?

This crazy guy…

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This was a technique that could only be executed by perfectly reading both their breathing and movements. If Baek Suryong had launched an attack immediately after the stomp, they would have been in trouble.

They had heard that the Azure Dragon Hero was strong, but they never imagined that he would be this strong.

Baek Suryong grinned at the two instructors who were staring at him as if he were a monster. "Hi there!" he greeted cheerfully.

Twenty-five pairs of surprised eyes immediately focused on him. No one could ignore him anymore.

Baek Suryong exaggeratedly clasped his hands in greeting. "I am Baek Suryong, a new instructor at the Azure Dragon Academy, and these are my four fellow instructors. Let's all get along with each other during this training period!"

The other Azure Dragon Academy instructors quickly formed a line beside Baek Suryong.

"What do you mean, 'and these are my four fellow instructors'? Are we just an afterthought?"

"Hyung-nim, we'll introduce ourselves."

"N-Nice to meet you…"

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"Ahem! Greetings, I am Kwak Duyong. Although I'm currently working at the Azure Dragon Academy, I graduated from the Vermilion Phoenix Academy…"

The new instructors of Azure Dragon Academy put on stern faces and puffed out their chests, trying their best not to appear weak or intimidated.

Baek Suryong was the only one among them who didn't care about appearances at all. To him, even if they were instructors from the Five Great Academies, all of these people were just rookies.

Most importantly, he hadn't come to the Namgung Clan to compete with them in the first place. He was here to crush them.

I'm not going to be intimidated by these youngsters when they're not even Star Instructors of the Five Great Academies. 'It's the first day, so take it easy'? To these guys who are trying to ignore and ostracize us right from the get go? Hell no.

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

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Did they deliberately arrange a fight between their strongest instructors just as we arrived? If that's the case, then that spar was a calculated show of strength and a way to observe how we would react.

How pathetic.

Baek Suryong laughed, "I am truly surprised and grateful that all of you made a special effort to come and greet us upon our arrival. We are overwhelmed by your hospitality."

"W-What?"

"How absurd…"

With just a few words, Baek Suryong had turned the situation around so that it seemed as if the Vermilion Phoenix Academy and the White Tiger Academy were eagerly waiting to greet the Azure Dragon Academy, but no one dared to retort.

"Am I wrong? Surely you didn't all gather here just to pretend that we don't exist, right? There's no way elite instructors at the Five Great Academies would do something so childish, right?"

"……" Intimidated by Baek Suryong's unexpected actions and his predatory gaze, no one dared to speak up. His eyes seemed to invite a fight, and some of the more timid instructors even averted their gaze.

"…Let's go back." For a moment, Tang Baekho glared at Baek Suryong with murderous intent, but he quickly turned away and marched back toward the White Tiger quarters.

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Baek Suryong watched him go, feeling slightly disappointed that his provocation hadn't worked. He seemed hotheaded, but I guess he's not totally reckless.

As opposed to the hostile Tang Baekho, Sama Yeong folded her fan and walked towards Baek Suryong, her eyes flickering with curiosity. Even outside of battle, her steps were incredibly light, suggesting that she had mastered some special movement art.

"Greetings, Mr. Baek Suryong, I am Sama Yeong of the Vermilion Phoenix Academy. It seems you are an even more skilled martial artist than I expected," she greeted politely, a far cry from her earlier exchange of insults with Tang Baekho. "I heard that some fools from our academy caused you trouble on your way here. Please accept my apologies on their behalf."

Baek Suryong immediately recalled the two Vermilion Phoenix instructors he had met at the Tianzhu Inn. "Fools, you say…?"

Sama Yeong smiled. "I am, of course, referring to Kang Sochi and Yang Jagi. Not only were they the last to arrive, they have also tarnished the reputation of the Vermilion Phoenix Academy in front of an audience. They deserve to be called fools."

"Come to think of it, I don't see them here. Haven't they arrived yet? One of them was pretty badly injured…" Baek Suryong mocked brazenly, despite being the one who had inflicted those injuries.

Surprisingly, Sama Yeong simply laughed. "They rode tirelessly, traveling day and night, just to arrive here two hours ago and tell me everything that happened at the Tianzhu Inn."

"Then you must have a lot to say to me." Baek Suryong smirked.

Sama Yeong shook her head. "No, not really. I fired both of them on the spot."

"……" This time, even Baek Suryong was a little surprised. He had heard from Namgung Myeongjin that those two would be sent home, but he hadn't expected them to be outright fired.

Sama Yeong continued without batting an eyelid, "Don't worry, fools like them would have been dismissed at the end of their probation anyway. Rather, I was able to weed them out early because of you, so thank you, Mr. Baek Suryong."

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The other new instructors stared at Sama Yeong with stunned expressions, all thinking the same thing: Damn, she's not an easy woman to deal with.

It wasn't a matter of martial arts, but of character.

"I've heard that you're the granddaughter of the Vermilion Phoenix Academy Principal, but do you already have that kind of authority?" Baek Suryong asked, looking surprised.

Sama Yeong smiled. She was an ambitious woman and always took the initiative to achieve her goals. If there was something she wanted, she would stop at nothing to get it.

Like now.

"Yes, I do. After all, in twenty years, I will be the principal of the Vermilion Phoenix Academy. That's why… I want you to come and work for me," she replied.

Baek Suryong blinked in bewilderment. "…Huh?"

His fellow instructors reacted even more vehemently than he did.

"What?"

"Don't even think about it!"

"No way!"

Sama Yeong stared intently into Baek Suryong's eyes, ignoring the noisy mob. "I'll pay you five, no, ten times your current salary."

"Well, this is quite the unexpected offer." Baek Suryong folded his arms and frowned, feigning contemplation.

Sama Yeong took a step closer to him. A pleasant scent wafted from her and tickled Baek Suryong's nose.

"I heard you declared that you would lead your students to victory at this year's Heavenly Martial Festival, but… does it have to be with the Azure Dragon Academy?" she asked.

"……"

Sama Yeong took another step toward Baek Suryong. Now, they were so close that their faces were almost touching.

"How about achieving that goal with the Vermilion Phoenix Academy instead? Together, you and I… we'll definitely succeed!"

Translator's Note: Honestly, all these teachers are more chaotic than their students…

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