Book 3 Chapter 18

Returning

Bilyeon was on his way back after just finishing class. It was a normal day, just like any other, without any special events.

Except for the incident this morning where the experimental mechanical puppet exploded during Master Dang Pyeong's 'Applied Memorization Class' at Cheonsu Talhon, and three guards were injured by the shrapnel.

Cheonsu Talhon's Master Dang Pyeong seemed to have a bad habit of only being interested in strange and dangerous objects. Lately, Master Dang Pyeong had been engrossed in developing mechanical puppets that used both springs and gunpowder, and he often showed irresponsibility by entrusting the testing of these new products to students. As a result, accidents were frequent.

Lately, one thing had been bothering Bilyeon. For some reason, flies were constantly buzzing around him. It wasn't as if he was exuding a rotten smell that attracted flies, so he couldn't understand why they were circling him so annoyingly. However, he couldn't stand ignoring them, as it felt unsettling. Therefore, his recent worry had been how to effectively eliminate the pests that were bothering him. Since he lacked the patience to ponder over a problem for a long time, he was planning to deal with it quickly.

On a refreshing afternoon with a high blue sky and pleasant sunshine, the main gate of Cheonmu Academy suddenly became noisy. People started gathering in small groups and soon formed a crowd, murmuring. What was stimulating their interest? The number of people flocking to the scene kept increasing.

"What's going on?"

Bilyeon, who was on his way back after severely taxing his brain with formation class, asked Hyoryong. His mind was still suffering from the theories of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, the Eight Trigrams, and arithmetic calculations needed for formation setup.

"Who knows?"

Hyoryong shook his head. There was no reason for the main gate to be so noisy at this hour. He hadn't heard any announcements about an event at the main gate at this time.

"Shall we go take a look?"

"Sounds good."

Bilyeon, who was known for his insatiable curiosity and intellectual drive, believing that harboring questions for too long led to illness, wouldn't refuse.

The main gate was wide open. However, due to the large crowd, it required considerable patience and effort to break through the human barrier and see inside. After barely managing to push through the human barrier and sticking his neck out at the final line of resistance, he saw dozens of guards welcoming a group of people. Judging by their appearance, they were clearly people who had been away from Cheongwan for many days. Their tattered shoes and old martial arts uniforms, covered in dust, were clear indicators of this.

"Who are they?"

Bilyeon grabbed a guard who was enthusiastically cheering and welcoming them and asked.

"You must be a newcomer."

One of the cheering guards looked at Bilyeon and said. Bilyeon nodded. Did they really need to confirm something they already knew so clearly? What benefit could come from such wasted effort? It was beyond his comprehension.

"Take a good look."

The person's finger pointed towards the group. Of course, Bilyeon looked closely. However, no matter how intently he stared, his brain couldn't conjure information out of thin air.

"I am looking carefully."

The guard gave him a look of pity.

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

Why did they have to speak in such a roundabout way when they could just tell him directly? Even though he was still dissatisfied, he looked again more closely.

"There are 16 people."

After looking at them once more, Bilyeon discovered a new fact: they were a mixed group of men and women, with 9 men and 7 women.

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

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

He clicked his tongue and said.

"People like you are called 'blind with eyes open'."

It wasn't a compliment that Bilyeon particularly liked. The guard's index finger was pointing towards the chests of the group. It was a silent protest, asking what he saw.

Bilyeon, who could read a whole poem written on a rapidly rotating bead, was told he was blind with eyes open. If he were blind, no one in this world would be able to see. To have his eyesight doubted was truly unfair.

"Those are the famous 3rd-year Cheongryong Unit! They are the top talents of Cheongwan!"

Come to think of it, they had the number of Chilgeomryong embroidered on their left chests. Even possessing the skill of Sam or Sa Geomryong was considered superior to regular disciples of ordinary sects, so Chilgeomryong was beyond any need for further praise.

"Ah, I see! So that's it."

Only then did Bilyeon nod as if he understood. He seemed to grasp the situation a little better now.

"Waaaaaaah!"

Suddenly, the cheers grew louder. The crowd's attention was no longer on the Cheongryong Unit but on the main gate, which was still wide open behind them.

"What is it this time?"

Bilyeon, looking around nervously, flitted about. The Cheongryong Unit also turned their gaze behind them. They too were curious as to why the crowd's cheers had suddenly intensified.

The smiles on the faces of the Cheongryong Unit, which had been beaming like winners, disappeared. They were watching a group of people crossing the moat and entering the main gate of Cheonmu Academy. The faces of the Cheongryong Unit were now as hardened as granite weathered by wind and rain.

"No!"

Bilyeon's eyes widened in shock. The 16 individuals entering the main gate were people that even he, who knew next to nothing about the state of the martial world and Cheonmu Academy, was very familiar with. Bilyeon's relationship with them was no ordinary one. They were bound by the ties of brotherhood, which was thicker than blood and harder than diamond. The identity of those who had orchestrated this unbelievable miracle was…

"It's the Jujak Unit!"

The guards gathered to Bilyeon's right shouted in unison. Indeed, they were his beloved and missed disciples whom Bilyeon had constantly ordered around and exploited last summer.

"I looked for you everywhere, but you were outside. That's why I couldn't find you no matter how hard I searched…"

Bilyeon said in a tone of exhaustion. One of the main reasons he had forced his way into Cheonmu Academy was their existence. He had entered Cheongwan unable to forget them, who had thoroughly sacrificed and served(?) him. He had absolutely no intention of exploiting them again. Perhaps…

"The Jujak Unit has returned at the same time as the Cheongryong Unit."

Some of the people looked clearly disbelieving. What were they finding so hard to believe?

"Then how is the match decided?"

A man in black martial arts attire with a large physique asked the gaunt man in yellow beside him. The contrast between the two was reminiscent of a fat person and a skinny person.

"Isn't it naturally a victory for the Cheongryong Unit, who arrived half a chopstick earlier?"

The skinny man snapped at the fat man, as if asking an obvious question.

"No. Even though the Cheongryong Unit stepped through the academy gate first, how can it be said that the match was decided by half a chopstick?"

The fat man shook his head, showing a skeptical reaction.

"Why not? A match is a match."

"Surely you don't have the foolish idea that they are superior martial artists just because they can walk half a chopstick faster than others, do you?"

"I'm not saying anything wrong. In any case, the rule for this evaluation is who completes the task first and returns to the academy quickly. And by that condition, no matter who says what, it's the Cheongryong Unit."

The skinny young man replied without backing down. His gaunt physique made his face look even more irritable.

"Thank you."

The big man's sudden words surprised the skinny young man. His expression clearly indicated, 'What is this guy rambling about?'

"What? Is it because I helped improve your pathetic comprehension? Don't worry about that."

The skinny man shook his head at the big man's words. He looked as if he had completely misunderstood.

"No, hearing your words made me feel like I can forgive myself for calling you an idiot. Thank you."

The skinny young man's eyes narrowed like a snake's. It was like being hit on the back of the head.

"Shouldn't I be grateful for you easing my guilt? Consider it a great good deed."

"……"

The skinny young man was speechless at the big man's glib remarks. He firmly resolved never to associate with this person again. It seemed the argument had ended with the skinny young man's decisive defeat.

The crowd's arguments were growing more intense. The Jujak Unit, who had almost disappeared during the summer camp training last summer, had returned completely changed. It was as if their spirits and bodies had been tempered, exuding a sense of determination and wildness. That chilling aura made even a renowned sword seem insignificant.

Before leaving for the summer camp training, they had been at the bottom of the four units – Cheongryong, Baekho, Hyeonmu, and Jujak. However, the Jujak Unit that returned from Amisan was no longer the same one known to Cheongwan. Their martial prowess displayed in the year-end evaluation test that year was astonishing. They easily defeated the Baekho and Hyeonmu Units, leaving an indelible mental shock, and quickly became the hottest topic in Cheongwan. Now, the only obstacle in their path was the haughty Cheongryong Unit, composed of the best talents of the 3rd year.

The result was unexpected. Even though the Cheongryong Unit, who had trained for three months on Mudangsan and dedicated themselves to martial arts, had started with overflowing confidence, they were satisfied with a draw after a desperate effort and hard work.

Thus, the situation ended. It was a result that no one had predicted. They could never have imagined that the Jujak Unit, formerly the lowest ranked among the four units, would achieve a draw against the Cheongryong Unit, known as the best. A draw was impossible in the martial world. To bring an end to the unfinished outcome, the Cheongryong Unit and the Jujak Unit decided to compete once more.

The next evaluation was not a match between individuals but a group versus group competition. The key to victory was who would solve the task presented by Cheongwan first and safely return to Cheonmu Academy.

Originally, leaving the premises to intervene in martial world affairs by performing tasks was something only awarded to 3rd-year students and above, but this was recognized as a special exception.

It took longer than expected. The two distinct tasks, carefully selected after rigorous review – but judged to be of equal difficulty by the review – consumed an unexpected amount of time, leading to three months of effort.

However, as you can see, the results were poor compared to the time invested. This evaluation failed to determine the difference in skill between the two groups, which was its primary objective. Both sides' dreams of ascending to the position of the top talents of Cheongwan's 3rd-year students were dashed by this evaluation.

"Aha! So that's what happened."

Bilyeon, who had a touching reunion amidst the crowd and heard the full story from Im Seongjin, finally understood what had happened. Meeting him was indeed fortunate.

"Crack!"

"What was that sound?"

Im Seongjin expressed his surprise at the sudden cracking sound from Bilyeon's finger joints.

"It's finger joint exercises. A kind of warm-up, you could say."

"Are you going to beat someone up? That's a pretty fierce warm-up."

Bilyeon said with a slight smile and a jest.

"Don't worry. It's not you I have business with."

"Then who?"

"It's my disciples, whom I cherish and love dearly."

"……?"

Im Seongjin couldn't understand what he meant.

'My disciples, who are supposed to be so capable, couldn't even win against those guys and ended up with a draw? It's all my fault. It's not too late yet, so I will make them be reborn through thorough mental education and rigorous training.'

With a firm resolve filled with affection for his disciples, Bilyeon's lips curled into a faint smile.