Chapter 74: Seniors (3)

The silence didn’t last long.

“...Even so, isn’t this a bit over the top?”

While some couldn't believe Choi Woong's words...

"Hahaha! Well, well, I never imagined someone like that would exist!”

Most of them were pleased.

After all, Mak Ho-yeol, who was counted among the strongest in their class, had been defeated, so dismissing the story as fake is even more ridiculous than that.

And the reason they were pleased was simple.

Their initial silence had merely been shock at the news. There was absolutely no reason for them to be displeased about a skilled junior joining their ranks.

Because...

“By now, that youngest disciple must be holed up in Black Dragon Pavilion, right?”

"Let's go find him right away!"

"Hahaha! A new sparring opponent, how exciting!"

The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult revered martial strength. Except for the peculiar few who practiced Demonic Arts with strange side effects, most of these fanatics enjoyed fighting.

They were tired of fighting amongst themselves after a year of constant sparring, but a new opponent was a different story.

As the excited seniors prepared to rush out, Choi Woong’s flustered voice stopped them.

"A-Are you going to find him right now?"

"Of course!"

"Well… I don't know if the Young Master will accept."

They all looked at him with a look of incomprehension.

“What kind of bullshit is that? How could a warrior of the cult refuse a fight?”

“Yeah! From what you and Ho-yeol said, he sounds incredibly strong. Strong people never back down from a challenge!”

Shouting confidently, the seniors left the Black Tiger Pavilion and headed towards the Black Dragon Pavilion.

“Hahaha! I’ll get in one good rematch too!”

Even Mak Ho-yeol, who had already been defeated, joined them.

Looking at the empty spaces left by the seniors who had vanished in an instant, Choi Woong muttered with a sour expression.

"...The Young Master will definitely hate this."

After a month of observation, Choi Woong had learned something about Il-mok. The Eighth Young Master disliked duels. To be precise, he found them bothersome.

Suddenly, Choi Woong realized something important and his face paled.

‘Fuck. They won’t sell me out, right?’

A horde of seniors demanding a spar… Il-mok would be utterly annoyed.

And what happens if the Eighth Young Master found out this whole mess happened because of him?

‘Heavenly Demon, please have mercy on this poor lamb.’

Choi Woong closed his eyes and prayed to the Heavenly Demon, who was probably busy with work at the main headquarters.

***

While Choi Woong was trembling in fear for his life...

The disciples who had left Black Tiger Pavilion crossed the training grounds using light movement techniques and arrived at Black Dragon Pavilion.

The first-year disciples were startled by the sudden arrival of the seniors.

"Where is Disciple Il-mok?"

"Disciple Il-mok, come out at once!"

As all the senior disciples began looking for Il-mok, his peers all had similar thoughts.

‘Why are they looking for the Young Master?’

Just then, Mak Ho-yeol spotted Il-mok just coming out of the bathhouse after finishing his bath and shouted.

"There he is, that junior!"

All eyes naturally turned to Il-mok.

Fresh from his bath, Il-mok frowned at the sight of them.

‘Great. He dragged his friends here to gang up on me.’

Il-mok thought that Mak Ho-yeol had brought his friends for revenge.

He wasn't afraid of being ganged up on.

‘Fuck. I just finished washing up…’

He just didn’t want to sweat again.

Meanwhile, led by Baek Cheon, the seniors all approached Il-mok, and his peers parted like the Red Sea to make way for him.

Except for a few.

“What brings you seniors here?”

"Swarming like this isn't exactly a pleasant sight."

The ones who stepped forward to block the seniors beside Il-mok were none other than Dokgo Pae and Bang Mi-hwa.

Flustered by her friend's sudden action, Ha Young also belatedly stood beside Bang Mi-hwa.

"As someone who will be the young master's attendant in the future, I cannot stand by!"

Seeing an opportunity to impress Il-mok, Ju Seo-yeon also blocked their path.

And then…

"Huff. Huff."

Jeong Hyeon, breathing heavily from the commotion, also approached Il-mok, although still maintaining a distance.

The atmosphere quickly turned hostile, especially between the two at the forefront.

"As the representative of this year's class, I cannot tolerate your aggressive behavior, seniors.”

Baik Cheon sneered at Dokgo Pae, who kept insisting that he was the representative of his year despite being beaten by Il-mok at every turn.

"The blood of the Dokgo Family really doesn't change. Look at you, you are only second in rank, but insisting that you are the representative.”

Provoked, Dokgo Pae's face contorted as he retorted.

“Better than being a good-for-nothing.”

"It seems the junior wants to die today."

"You think I'm scared of you?"

The tension between the two, fueled by the long-standing rivalry between the Dokgo and Baek Families, escalated to the point where they seemed ready to draw their weapons.

But taut tension snapped quite anticlimactically.

"H-hey, where are you going!"

This was because Il-mok had already turned his back and was heading to his room.

When Park Gi-tae belatedly discovered this and hurriedly shouted, everyone's attention naturally shifted from Dokgo Pae and Baek Cheon to Il-mok.

'Damn. Busted.’

Il-mok clicked his tongue in disappointment and turned around without hiding his annoyed expression.

"Their quarrel has nothing to do with me, so I thought I'd head back in."

Mak Ho-yeol laughed heartily hearing that.

"Hahaha! Their quarrel has nothing to do with us either. We came looking for you, junior."

"For me?"

"That's right."

"For what purpose?"

"We came because we want to fight with you."

"So, why do you want to fight me?"

"Hahaha. You ask something so obvious. Isn’t it only natural you’d want to fight them?”

Il-mok’s face crumpled.

’Why is that natural, you lunatics?’

That reply rose to Il-mok's throat before he swallowed it back.

Surrounded by lunatics, he felt like the normal one was becoming the weirdo.

While contemplating how to send these madmen away, Il-mok came up with a suitable excuse.

"That's not possible."

Mak Ho-yeol, who looked surprised as if he hadn't imagined a refusal, exclaimed.

"Why not?!"

"Unofficial duels between disciples are subject to penalty points."

"...Didn't you just fight with me a little while ago?"

Mak Ho-yeol asked with an incredulous look. But Il-mok had already prepared an excuse.

"That was in a secluded place, and it was just you, senior. But with all of you rushing in and making a scene like this, we're bound to get caught."

"......"

His logic was sound, yet it leaves everyone speechless.

While everyone was flustered by Il-mok's roundabout logic and couldn't retort…

“So, how about this? Tomorrow, let’s find an instructor in the afternoon after our training. That’s all.”

Having said his piece, Il-mok turned around and went back to his room.

"......"

"......"

With their target gone, silence briefly fell over Black Dragon Pavilion.

"Ahem."

And the embarrassed seniors began to turn back one by one and return to Black Tiger Pavilion.

“I’ll deal with you properly another time."

"Hmph. You're welcome anytime."

In the meantime, Baek Cheon and Dokgo Pae continued their battle of nerves.

***

The next day.

A strange tension filled the Hall of the Demonic Way from the morning.

Because of the previous night's events, the disciples kept glancing at Il-mok, anticipating his afternoon showdown with the seniors.

A few even approached him during training.

"It'll be tough to face all those senior guys alone. I'll handle a few of them for you. Especially that Baek Family guy, despite his slippery attitude, he’s no slouch, so he might be too much for you. Leave him to me."

Dokgo Pae suddenly took Il-mok's side, as if they had been close from the beginning.

"Hoho. It seems like a good opportunity for me to cross swords with the seniors as well."

Bang Mi-hwa, pretending to be haughty while volunteering to help Il-mok. She was enchanted by her own coolness in helping a man who admired her.

"Don't worry. I have something in mind."

Of course, Il-mok, finding both their approaches burdensome, tried to brush them off with a vague reply, but…

“Hah! Don't be shy. Even rivals should join forces against a common enemy.”

"That's right, Young Master. There's no need to be embarrassed. I understand your feelings too."

"......"

Il-mok sighed at their nonsense.

He thought it was fortunate that Ju Seo-yeon was in the Lower Class. If she had been here as well, he would have been driven mad.

Seeing him sigh, Dokgo Pae and Bang Mi-hwa nodded knowingly.

“It must be a heavy burden. Don't worry. We’ll be there for you.”

“Just trust me, Young Master.”

"......"

Il-mok squeezed his eyes shut.

‘Maybe I should just quit the Hall altogether...’

Then he pictured his master’s furious face brandishing his blade, and the thought vanished as quickly as it came.

***

After all the training hours had passed.

Without fail, after finishing his bath, Il-mok headed to the dining hall to find about a dozen senior disciples standing at the entrance.

"We've already eaten, so go ahead and have your meal."

“Yeah. You can’t fight on an empty stomach.”

It was unnecessary consideration.

So Il-mok began his meal under the gaze of about a dozen people.

No, they weren't all.

Thanks to those damned seniors, everyone else had gathered to stare at Il-mok too.

It was enough to make anyone lose their appetite, but Il-mok simply shoved food into his mouth with an annoyed expression.

After finishing his meal, Il-mok rose and left the dining hall.

"Well then, let's find an instructor together."

He turned and headed towards the instructors' office, followed by fifteen seniors and a few of his classmates.

And upon entering the office, his expression involuntarily wrinkled.

‘Damn. Of all people, it had to be him.’

The other instructors were nowhere to be seen. Only Chu Il-hwan remained.

Seeing Il-mok suddenly arrive with a crowd of senior disciples pouring in behind him, Chu Il-hwan, for some reason, wore a mischievous grin.

"Hoh. You said you liked 'women', yet you seem surprisingly more popular with men."

Il-mok shuddered at his frivolous joke.

'Damn. Has he still not given up?'

This was why he didn't want to get tangled with that instructor.

With a deep sigh, Il-mok thought, 'Can't be helped.'

He had come this far. There was no turning back.

Of course, Il-mok had no intention of fighting those seniors whatsoever.

The plan he had come up with yesterday was, of course, not just a plan to avoid last night.

With a sigh, Il-mok composed himself and looked at Chu Il-hwan with a solemn expression.

Chu Il-hwan’s smile widened at the sight.

‘Hehehe. This is going to be fun.’

Having been around the candidates, he was aware of the rumors.

He knew Il-mok had come to spar with the seniors.

As Chu Il-hwan and the seniors watched Il-mok with anticipation…

Il-mok put the plan he had conceived into action.

The reason he had deliberately led the seniors to find an instructor was simple.

"Instructor. Since last night, the seniors have been constantly coming to disturb my training and bullying me."

It was to report them for bullying.