Chapter 76: Martial Arts Competition (1)

The day of the martial arts competition had arrived.

Il-mok woke up and sighed faintly.

"Damn it. It's today already."

Il-mok had absolutely no interest in the martial arts competition or the Hall Master’s teachings.

‘I need to seriously screw over that damn homo instructor...’

Settling the score with that wretched man was the only thing Il-mok gave a damn these days.

Absorbed with such petty thoughts, Il-mok finished his bath and breakfast, and before he knew it, he had arrived at the training grounds where the martial arts competition was scheduled to be held.

"Check today's match order," said Chu Il-hwan, Il-mok's target, as he posted a notice on the wall.

Everyone swarmed the notice board to check their turn and find out who their opponent was. Slipping away from the cadets, Chu Il-hwan flashed a mischievous grin at Il-mok.

'I'll get you back.'

With no suitable plan in mind, Il-mok silently vowed revenge as he headed toward the notice.

Checking the various names written there, Il-mok hummed thoughtfully.

'So it’s skill-based matchmaking.'

Il-mok's turn was last. Right before him was Dokgo Pae, while Ju Seo-yeon was scheduled to go first.

Roughly grasping the situation, Il-mok was about to go on his way when Dokgo Pae approached him.

"Young Master Il-mok. Have you checked who your opponent is?"

"I've seen it."

Il-mok didn't want to get involved with a mad dog, so he kept his words short, but Dokgo Pae continued to talk.

“Then you must know. Your opponent is none other than that good-for-nothing from the Baek Family.”

"...He didn't seem that way to me."

Aren't you the good-for-nothing? Il-mok hid his inner thoughts as he replied.

“Hmph. He may act like he has come to his senses ever since coming to the Hall of the Demonic Way, but he was quite infamous before enrolling here. Even now, he must be struggling to maintain his act of having turned over a new leaf."

Il-mok let Dokgo Pae's slander go in one ear and out the other.

He already knew from Jin Hayeon, during his preparation to enter the Hall, that the Baek Family and the Dokgo Family weren't on good terms.

"So, what exactly do you want to tell me?"

When Il-mok asked this to stop the pointless gossip, Dokgo Pae answered with a serious face.

“Ideally, I’d have liked to crush that good-for-nothing's arrogance myself, but since you ended up matched with him, I’ll tell you about his martial arts.”

"You mean Baek Cheon's martial arts?"

"Yes. That good-for-nothing is still a direct descendant of the Baek Family, so he is skilled in using hidden weapons."

As expected.

Il-mok nodded.

The Baek Family’s moniker was the Hundred Shadows Baek Family. Meaning, they carry numerous hidden weapons throughout their body. They are a family famous for their hidden weapon techniques.

“You are saying he will constantly throw shurikens or hidden weapons during the match, right?”

“That’s right. And to think they had the gall to call themselves a martial artist of the cult; they are despicable.”

Dokgo Pae's statement perfectly demonstrated why the Dokgo Family and the Hundred Shadows Baek Family were enemies.

But Il-mok had no interest in the affairs between the Baek Family and the Dokgo Family. Instead, his attention was drawn elsewhere.

'Wait, if I use this well...?'

A plan for petty revenge against Chu Ilhwan formed in Il-mok’s mind, and he smiled.

“Thanks for the tip.”

Dokgo Pae’s lips twitched into a matching smile.

"I'm counting on Young Master Il-mok."

Dokgo Pae.

His reason for sharing this information with Il-mok wasn't simply because he disliked Baek Cheon.

‘The Eighth Young Master already had a run-in with that senior, Mak Ho-yeol or whatever his name was. The seniors must already be familiar with the Young Master's martial arts. It's an unfair fight!’

This was his surface reason.

As the eldest grandson of the dignified and righteous Dokgo clan, he couldn't stand by and watch such an unfair fight...

In truth, that was just an excuse.

‘For now, the Eighth Young Master is a step above me. But, if the Youngest Master beats that good-for-nothing, and then I beat the Eighth Young Master, it ultimately means I'm superior to that Baek Family’s good-for-nothing!’

This was the perfect plan he had come up with after racking his simple brain.

Especially since Baek Cheon was one year ahead and would graduate from the Hall earlier.

He reached the astounding conclusion that even after Baek Cheon graduated, as long as he himself eventually defeated the Young Master, it would count as having beaten Baek Cheon.

"Hahaha."

"Hehehehehe."

Thus, the two young men laughed deviously while harboring completely different dreams.

***

Soon after Il-mok got some useful information from Dokgo Pae, the instructors gathered, followed by the Hall Master and Vice Hall Master.

On the opposite side, the senior disciples had already gathered and, like Il-mok's class, were checking their match order.

Once everyone had assembled, the martial arts competition soon began.

As Il-mok had confirmed earlier, Ju Seo-yeon was scheduled to go first.

"Begin!"

As soon as the instructor who acted as a referee gave the signal, Ju Seo-yeon and the senior disciple began to move.

Clang!

Ju Seo-yeon couldn’t even last ten exchanges before her spear was forced upward.

Pat!

The senior disciple broke through her faltering stance and sealed her acupoint with a finger technique, causing her to freeze in place.

'Hmm. She seemed to have improved quite a bit recently, but I guess the gap between juniors and seniors is still significant.'

That was Il-mok's simple assessment as he watched the match.

The competition continued after that. As Il-mok had expected, the matches seemed to be arranged by skill level, with all the lower-ranked disciples going first.

Il-mok didn't pay much attention to his peers since he didn’t know most of their names, but a few did catch his eye.

'Smart, but his martial arts are somewhat lacking.'

The bookish-looking disciple who had been on Dokgo Pae's team during the last test left early and was defeated instantly.

Next, Jeong Hyeon stepped into the center of the training ground.

Considering the decent performance he had shown in the last exam, it was an unusual order. Especially considering that he had performed much better than Choi Woong, who was in the Upper Class on the last test.

But Il-mok, who had examined the previous martial arts matches, was able to grasp the situation in his own way.

'Did they arrange it in order of pure martial arts skill rather than simple grades?'

Jeong Hyeon's archery and other skills were much more useful in actual combat than in this kind of simple head-on confrontation.

“P-Please take care of me.”

Stepping into the center of the training ground, Jeong Hyeon made a fist-and-palm salute while trembling and spoke in a voice as quiet as an ant crawling.

After taking his position about six meters away from the senior disciple, Jeong Hyeon raised his bow.

"Begin!"

As soon as the instructor's command fell, the senior disciple lunged toward Jeong Hyeon.

Swoosh!

Jeong Hyeon fired the arrow he had already nocked and then—

Pat!

He immediately used his footwork to create distance between himself and the senior.

But arrows shot openly from the front without any cover were bound to lose much of their effectiveness.

Clang!

The senior disciple calmly dodged the arrows Jeong Hyeon fired while gradually closing in on him.

"Eek!?"

Finally, when the distance between them narrowed to about three meters, Jeong Hyeon let out a strange gasp and froze completely.

Pat!

Not missing the opening created by Jeong Hyeon's hesitation, the senior quickly moved in and held his sword right in front of Jeong Hyeon's face before stopping.

Right after the spar ended.

Unpleasant comments circulated among those watching.

"Tsk. Pathetic."

"How can someone who is called a warrior of the Divine Cult be so weak?"

"I guess archery has its limits."

"There's still a lot of time left in the Hall of the Demonic Way, so I think it would be better for him to learn new martial arts."

Some of these comments came from Il-mok's classmates, while others came from the senior disciples.

Naturally, Il-mok's brow furrowed.

'Stupid bastards.'

He wasn't angry just because they were belittling Jeong Hyeon, though that did irritate him.

‘'Is there nothing in their heads but head-on fights?'

Rather, he frowned because they genuinely seemed too stupid.

Honestly, among all the martial arts of the disciples present, Il-mok feared Jeong Hyeon's archery the most.

He was confident he could handle the others' martial arts to some extent since they were all meant to be used openly.

Of course, this newfound courage was all thanks to Heavenly Demon's teachings.

Thanks to countless sparring sessions with Heavenly Demon, the greatest master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, Il-mok had become unfazed by most attacks.

But what about an arrow flying unexpectedly from an unseen location during a chaotic battle?

No. Even if it wasn't in the middle of a chaotic battle, what if someone sniped him with a bow from far away while he was sleeping?

Furthermore.

‘There's no need to fight head-on, sweating buckets, right? I can just hide and laze around, and when the target comes, I can snipe them. Bang! Haa… Maybe I should have learned archery too.’

To Il-mok, who valued rest and efficiency, archery was the best martial art.

While Il-mok was lost in such thoughts, Jeong Hyeon, having finished his match, was returning to his peers with his shoulders hunched.

Il-mok, who had been watching the matches with an indifferent face from a corner until now, moved toward Jeong Hyeon.

"Don't take it too hard. I know your true value, Disciple Jeong."

"My, my t-true v-value, you say?"

For some reason, Jeong-hyeon’s shoulders became even more hunched at Il-mok’s support. On top of that, he lowered his head, looking completely intimidated.

'...Did I say something unnecessary?'

Feeling somewhat awkward, Il-mok left one more word of praise before shifting his gaze back to where the matches were taking place.

"Ahem. I'm sure others will recognize it someday too."

***

The matches continued after Jeong Hyeon's.

Once the Lower Class disciples were done, it was time for the spars of the Upper Class disciples like Il-mok.

"Ohohoho!"

Even while being pushed back by a senior disciple, Bang Mi-hwa burst into strange laughter, trying her best to appear composed before eventually losing.

And in Dokgo Pae's case.

"Try to block this too, senior!"

"Wahahahaha! Excellent!"

As it happened, he ended up in a spirited fight with someone of similar temperament named Mak Ho-yeol.

They took turns showcasing their best techniques, clashing their sword and saber relentlessly.

There was no yielding, no retreating, and they did not try to avoid each other's techniques.

Dokgo Pae relentlessly demonstrated the Dokgo Nine Swords, famous for its strong swordplay and aggressive attacks, while Mak Ho-yeol parried them all with his swift saber techniques.

"If you block even this, I'll admit defeat!"

"Bring it on!"

Finally, Dokgo Pae displayed his most powerful technique.

Massive internal energy flowed through his great sword, forming a heavy Sword Qi.

"Excellent!!"

Mak Ho-yeol's eyes gleamed as he swung his saber in response, striking Dokgo Pae's great sword repeatedly.

Watching their intense match, Il-mok thought, 'What happened to their footwork?'

Moreover, blood was now trickling from the corner of Dokgo Pae's mouth as he performed his final technique.

It meant he was continuing to face his opponent head-on despite accumulating internal injuries.

'Ugh, ignorant bastards.'

Il-mok simply couldn't comprehend their 'romance-filled' battle.

Meanwhile, Mak Ho-yeol's saber continued to strike Dokgo Pae's great sword repeatedly.

"Kuk."

Finally, the greatsword lost its power and stopped. Dokgo Pae, suffering internal injuries, let out a faint groan.

Even so, Dokgo Pae stood firm, retrieved his sword and made a fist-and-palm salute to Mak Ho-yeol, showing his respect.

"I admit my defeat. Senior."

“Hahaha! I never knew we had such an excellent junior. Thanks to you, I feel like my eyes have been greatly opened!”

The atmosphere was as if they had found long-lost brothers.

Il-mok felt dizzy at the thought that those two might soon become sworn brothers.

'Damn it. Are they going to come together now?'

As Il-mok shuddered at the dreadful thought, his nearby peers wore tense expressions.

'Could he be disappointed?'

‘Well... knowing the Young Master, that might be it.’

‘Yeah. Based on what the seniors said back then, Young Master had even won against that Senior Mak Ho-yeol.’

The reason for their thoughts was simple.

So far, nineteen matches had been fought, and their record was a complete defeat.

Though they had expected the seniors to be better, such a one-sided result was bound to be shocking.

At that moment, as Mak Ho-yeol and Dokgo Pae stepped back, the instructor called the next pair of disciples.

"Disciple Il-mok and Disciple Baek Cheon, come forward!"

With that instruction, Il-mok, who had been shaking his head, clicked his tongue with an unpleasant expression before stepping forward.

Looking at Il-mok’s back as he walked toward the center of the training grounds, his classmates thought.

'Yes! If it's the Young Master, he might win!'

'We all lost, but the grand battle will be different!'

Having reached this strange conclusion, the classmates called out to Il-mok.

"Young Master Il-mok, you can do it!"

"Young Master Il-mok is the pride of our class!"

"You can win if it's you!"

Suddenly, Il-mok had become the sole hope of his classmates.