Star Instructor, Master Baek

I quickly put on my shirt and ran outside.

“Master! Please help me!”

The scream was coming from the direction of Baek Muheun’s room. The voice sounded somewhat familiar, like I had heard it only recently.

Did something happen this late at night?

Something big must have happened for one of the villagers to come running to my dad at a time when most people would be asleep.

When I arrived in front of Dad’s room, I saw a young boy kneeling in front of him, crying.

Hmm? This kid is…

I remember now, his name is Jang Yi. He is the second son of the cloth merchant, and the leader of the sniveling brats in our academy. Just this morning, he was the one who came to me and begged me to teach him martial arts.

Suddenly, I recalled what Dad said to me before I returned to my room.

“Earlier, Mr Jang, the owner of the cloth shop, came to visit. His second son, a disciple at our academy, went home exhausted from doing squats.”

No way… Did the kid come here in the middle of the night to complain to my dad about me?

“You cunning little brat…”

Just as I was about to hurl insults at him, the sniveling brat sniffled and yelled, “Please, save my Hyung-nim!”

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“Master Baek, please save my son!”

Now that I look closely, I noticed that there was another person behind the sniveling brat. It was the cloth merchant, and he was carrying a boy drenched in blood.

“What happened?”

Dad felt the injured boy’s pulse, then suddenly stiffened. He asked the cloth merchant to lay the boy down for a more thorough check.

In order to find a cure for my and my mother’s illness, Dad had traveled all over the world and sought out countless physicians and rare herbs. As a result, he gained a lot of medical knowledge and became even better at first aid than a normal physician. Thus, whenever the villagers got injured, they would go to Dad first.

I quietly walked to Dad’s side and observed the boy.

He was wounded by martial arts.

The person who injured the kid was clumsy, but he definitely knew some kind of martial arts.

“Ugh…”

When Dad touched certain parts of his body, the boy groaned and squirmed in pain.

At this sight, the injured kid’s brother started sobbing and sniffling again, while an anxious look appeared on their dad’s face. The injured boy was the eldest son of the Jang family, and he was five years older than the sniveling brat I taught.

“Please save my son!” the cloth merchant cried.

When he had finished checking up on the boy’s condition, Dad heaved a sigh of relief and poked the boy’s pressure points, putting him to sleep. He then said, “The boy has a few broken bones, but his insides are fine. His life is not in danger. We will give him some emergency first aid, so would it be fine for you to leave him here with us tonight? I will take him to the physician first thing tomorrow.”

“Of course, I’m fine with it! Thank you so much!” The cloth merchant Mr Jang bowed his head repeatedly in gratitude.

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On the other hand, his son Jang Yi grabbed onto Dad’s clothes and looked at us anxiously, asking, “Master, my Hyung-nim won’t die, right? He’ll really be okay soon?”

“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine after resting for a few days.”

Dad gave Jang Yi a hug and patted his head. The little guy sobbed in his arms for a while, but eventually cried himself to sleep.

Dad passed the snoring, snob-covered brat to me, then whispered to Mr Jang in a cold, icy voice, “Who did this to the child?”

My hair stood on end and a shiver ran down my spine. For the first time, I sensed killing intent from Dad.

I kind of expected this, but…

Although Dad always claimed to be “a normal warrior”, I’ve never believed him.

“Er, t-that…” Mr Jang stumbled over his words, as if he was worried that his answer would cause problems.

Dad reassured him, saying, “Don’t worry, I’m just asking because I’m curious.”

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“The boy got hurt while playing with his friends…”

“This might sound strange coming from me, but among the students I’ve taught, Jang Il is one of the strongest in his age group. Moreover, his wounds…weren’t caused by any martial arts I taught the children.”

“About that…” Mr Jang hesitated.

“It’s all because of those guys at the Jin Academy!” shouted the brat in my arms, suddenly waking up. He continued, “They picked a fight with Hyung-nim first! They said that the martial arts of the Baek Academy were trash, and looked down on us!”

“The Jin Academy?”

“The Jin Academy is a new martial arts school that was set up in the neighboring village a few months ago. I’ve heard rumors that it’s actually run by a branch family member of the Namgoong Clan…”

“The rumors must be a lie. There’s no way a branch family member belonging to one of the Five Great Clans would come all the way to a remote village and start up a martial arts school.”

Dad had never expressed any interest in the Jin Academy before. After all, our Baek Academy has already been here for more than twenty years and we’ve already established ourselves as a good school.

However, his indifference to the Jin Academy’s existence ends today. Those guys have crossed the line.

“Hey, did they really insult our martial arts like that?”

Jang Yi nodded furiously, terrified by Dad’s cold expression.

“Yes! They said that the Baek Academy’s martial arts is weak, and that theirs is much stronger!”

“Did they gang up on Jang Il?”

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“No… It was just one person…” Jang Yi mumbled for a bit, then suddenly exclaimed, “But it was still an unfair fight, because Yang Sam has learned our martial arts before!”

“…So, it was Yang Sam who hurt Jang Il.”

Although Dad was poor, he always stood by his belief that martial arts should not be taught to those with cruel hearts. Yang Sam was one of those people. He had once been a kind child, but as he grew older, he turned violent and bad-tempered, resulting in his expulsion from Baek Academy.

Recently though, it seems that Yang Sam has joined the Jin Academy, and is learning martial arts.

“That thug picked a fight with my Hyung-nim! Hyung-nim didn’t want to fight back, but then that bastard insulted Master, me, and even my parents…”

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Oh boy. Not even a saint would be able to endure an insult to their parents.

However, the way I hear it, that boy named Yang Sam seems to bear hatred toward the Baek Academy and its disciples for his expulsion.

Still, there was one thing I absolutely needed to confirm.

“Did Yang Sam do this to Jang Il by himself?”

As I stood next to Dad and observed the boy, I noticed something odd about his wounds.

*Yang Sam used a killing technique on Jang Il. *1

If Yang Sam had used just a little bit more force, Jang Il would have become crippled for the rest of his life. The technique he used isn’t something that should be taught in a village martial arts school.

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“Hmm…” Dad frowned deeply. He might have come to the same conclusion as me.

“It’s just a kids’ fight. As long as my son is okay, I’m satisfied,” added Mr Jang, not wanting to blow things up.

Hmph, what a simple-minded country bumpkin. His own son was beaten to a pulp, and he’s worrying about whether a couple of murim warriors will get into a fight.

Dad mulled things over for a while, then came to a decision. He said, “I will meet with the Director of the Jin Academy tomorrow morning to discuss what happened today. We must make sure that something like this does not happen again.”

“If you do that, tensions will start to escalate…”

Dad smiled at Mr Jang and replied reassuringly, “Don’t worry, I’m just going to give him a warning.”

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“Ah, of course. I trust that Master Baek won’t let things go out of hand…”

“It’s getting late. You should go home and rest. I’ll take care of Jang Il tonight.”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!” exclaimed Mr Jang, bowing his head repeatedly.

The sniveling brat Jang Yi mumbled something about taking revenge for his brother, but Mr Jang grabbed him by the ear and dragged him off.

On behalf of Dad, I escorted the two to the door. However, my mind was elsewhere.

The Jin Academy disciple used a killing technique. **Will everything really end with just a warning?

Dad said that he would solve the issue peacefully, but I had a feeling that things would not work out the way he imagined.

Turns out, my hunch was correct.

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A giant a head taller than Dad condescendingly said, “Yawn… What’s with all the fuss? It’s too early for this…”

This bandit-lookalike is supposed to be a branch family member of the Namgoong Clan?

One glance at the way the giant walked told me everything I needed to know about him: his martial arts, physical constitution, bad fighting habits, how much qi he had.

After all, I was an instructor in the Blood Demon Cult, and not only have I taught a countless number of disciples, I’ve also observed a lot of masters.

My experience told me that this giant was at most a second-class warrior.

However, that was not the biggest problem with this guy…

With a stern look on his face, Dad said, “Last night, a student at our academy was badly injured in a fight with one of your students.”

“It’s just a kids’ fight. Why so serious?” replied the giant, whose name was Namgoong Wook. He then stuck a finger in his ear and began digging out his earwax.

“…The wounds that Jang Il sustained were too severe for it to be a mere kids’ fight.”

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“He’s a guy. When guys fight, it’s only natural to get hurt. Real men don’t squeal like petty little girls and make a fuss about something so minor, do they?” mocked Namgoong Wook.

Oh boy, he’s calling Dad a petty little girl for making a fuss. There’s no way Dad didn’t hear the sarcasm in Namgoong Wook’s voice, but still, there was no change in his expression.

Dad placed his hands behind his back and calmly replied, “I don’t know if you’re teaching children martial arts in order to turn them into ‘real men’, but I teach them martial arts so that they will grow up healthily, and learn to protect themselves from bandits. Most importantly, I never teach my students how to kill people.”

Dad turned to face one of the young men standing behind Namgoong Wook and asked, “Yang Sam, last night, you nearly killed one of your friends. Did you know that?”

The brat named Yang Sam avoided Dad’s gaze and muttered through clenched teeth, “That was a legitimate duel!”

“Is that what you really think?”

“T-That, that…”

“Oi, what are you doing to one of our students?” interrupted Namgoong Wook, moving to stand between Dad and Yang Sam. He glared at Dad and insulted him to his face, “If you think he went overboard, then we’ll punish him accordingly, but we won’t allow you to keep slandering him like that on our school grounds!”

“Slander? That’s terrible.”

“Yeah, I agree. The disciple must have lost because the teacher is bad at martial arts, and yet now they’re making a fuss about it.”

“Huh…”

I hadn’t noticed because I was focused on Dad’s conversation with Namgoong Wook, but at some point, a crowd had gathered around us.

I see, so it was a trap.

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The appearance of an audience made this fact abundantly clear. Namgoong Wook must have ordered Yang Sam to attack Jang Il in order to force Dad into taking action, and when Dad showed up in the Jin Academy, he would provoke and embarrass Dad in front of everyone in the village.

If Dad chooses to back down now, he will be thought of as a coward, and the Baek Academy will lose all its customers.

“Hey uh, Baek Academy Director. Are you planning to turn a kids’ fight into an adults’ fight? If not, go back to wherever you came from. Don’t worry, I’ll tell my students not to pick on the weak from now on.”

The only thing Dad can do in this situation, is beat the crap out of this guy. However, if he does that, then Namgoong Wook will create the impression that Dad is a small-minded man who gets upset just because one of his students lost a duel.

Once things get to that point, it won’t matter whether Dad wins the fight or not. Our reputation will be ruined.

He’s quite clever for a mere bandit… **No. Someone else definitely did the scheming for him.

The Jin Academy was opened only recently, and they don’t have many students yet. Regardless, everyone will soon know what transpired here today. As long as Namgoong Wook succeeds at damaging our reputation, their own reputation will surely increase.

As if sensing his opportunity, a man with a goatee, who had been standing next to Namgoong Wook, suddenly shouted to the audience, “Hmm? It seems that everyone here is still unaware of the facts. I’ll have you all know that this man here is Grandmaster Namgoong Wook, a distant relative of Namgoong Jaehak, the Azure Sky Sword King and Star Instructor at the Heavenly Martial Academy. You’re all looking at a true descendant of the esteemed Namgoong Clan!”

At the sounds of the names “Heavenly Martial Academy” and “Namgoong Clan”, several members of the audience started getting excited. Even in this rural village in the middle of nowhere, the strength of the Five Great Families was common knowledge.

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Namgoong Wook coughed, as if embarrassed. He waved his hand in the air, saying, “Ahem! I’m just a distant relative trying my hardest to make a living without letting down the name of my great clan.”

I’ll bet my grandmother that this fraud’s last name is not Namgoong.

Anyway, Dad has been cornered. No matter what he says now, we won’t be getting out of this unscathed.

…But it’s a different story if I decide to butt in.

“If the director is a descendant of the Namgoong Clan, does that mean that the martial arts you teach at the Jin Academy are also those of the Namgoong Clan?”

“Huh?” Namgoong Wook looked at me with eyes that said ‘where the fuck did a brat like you come from?’

I pretended to shrink back and timidly asked, “I’ve never seen the martial arts of the Five Great Clans before… Is the Jin Academy really teaching the Namgoong Clan’s martial arts?”

I put on my best country bumpkin expression, grinned nervously, and shrugged.

“I mean, that’s exactly what you’re telling us, right? I understand if you’re not teaching the core martial arts of the Namgoong Clan, but at least, you must be teaching the basic moves…?”

When they heard my reasoning, the audience exclaimed, “Oh! Yeah! That’s right!”

The goatee man’s mouth twitched, as if the conversation was being steered in an undesirable direction. However, before he could open his mouth, I continued, “Wow! So that’s how Yang Sam improved so much in just a few months! The Namgoong Clan’s martial arts must be super strong!”

“You…” Dad shot me an odd look, but I shut him up with a wink and shouted, “To think that I, Baek Suryong, would get an opportunity to witness the martial arts of the Five Great Clans with my very own eyes! This is truly a touching moment!”

“Hahaha! You’re sharp! If you want, I’ll teach you, too!”

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SMIRK.

Oops, I failed to stop myself from smirking.

“You will? Can I learn the killing techniques in the Namgoong Clan’s martial arts, too? Jang Il was hurt by a killing intent so strong, I thought that he was attacked with demonic arts!”

“…What?”

Namgoong Wook and the Goatee stiffened, and the smiles on the faces of the Jin Academy students vanished.

Slowly, Namgoong Wook’s face became like that of a demon’s. He growled, “What did you just say? You should watch your words…”

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“I said, ‘I thought that he was attacked with demonic arts.’ Am I wrong? Those who learn demonic arts will improve quickly at first, but in the end, the demonic arts will definitely come back to bite them.”

“S-S-Shut up!”

He’s panicking, and the Goatee standing next to him is trembling with rage. Judging by the surprised look on the audience’s faces, I’m sure even they have noticed these two’s unusual reactions.

The evil grin on my face widened.

“Hey, you guys couldn’t possibly have taught demonic arts while borrowing the name of the Namgoong Clan, right?”

Not all demonic arts are evil and harmful, and some of them are no less profound than orthodox martial arts. However, these facts are not well-known to the general public. To most people, demonic arts are associated with a negative image.

That’s why, I’m going to make full use of public opinion to pressure these guys into revealing themselves.

“Is it okay if I brag about the Namgoong Clan’s amazing martial arts to everyone I meet? I’ll even write a letter to the Murim Alliance recommending your academy.”

The blood drained from Namgoong Wook’s face.

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1. Killing technique: A martial arts technique designed to kill the opponent, e.g. attacking vital points, breaking the neck, strangling etc. These types of techniques are not taught in regular martial arts schools, only in the military, and they are banned in all tournaments.