Chapter 6
The indoor atmosphere had grown heavily somber.
The instructors sitting around the table in the center remained silent.
Among the first-year instructors, they were particularly close to Cheon Se-myeong.
Yeo Un-jin clenched his fist, trembling as he spoke with a groan-like voice.
“How… how could such a bastard… If that guy becomes Head Instructor and participates in all future meetings, couldn’t he disrupt our entire system?”
It sounded nice calling it a system, but it was essentially nothing more than various forms of corruption.
“Perhaps he used some kind of trick?”
The one who cautiously spoke up was Deung Bu-hyeong, another Dao technique Head Instructor.
Several people nodded vigorously at his words.
“That could be possible.”
“Actually, wasn’t he just a weakling until a few days ago? He couldn’t have become that strong overnight.”
“Indeed, thinking back to the actual sparring match. There was no technique or anything, he just pounded away.”
“That’s right. Actually, rather than Instructor Sa’s skills being excellent, it was more that Maeng Son-deok’s skills were too pathetic.”
Eon Byeok, the archery Head Instructor who had been speaking, quickly realized his mistake and glanced at Cheon Se-myeong’s expression.
That incompetent Maeng Son-deok was precisely the one recommended by Cheon Se-myeong.
Eon Byeok coughed awkwardly to cover his slip of the tongue.
“Actually, since the opponent came at him so unexpectedly, Hero Maeng must have been flustered.”
“That’s right. Thinking back to that moment, really…”
The other instructors quickly read Cheon Se-myeong’s mood and agreed.
Nevertheless, Cheon Se-myeong didn’t easily soften his heavily sunken expression.
He was the first-year instructor department head.
Excluding Sang Pil-ji, the Head Sword Instructor, he had the strongest martial arts among the first-year Head Instructors.
Therefore, most Head Instructors had no choice but to read the mood of someone who possessed both power and position.
After being lost in deep thought for a long while, Cheon Se-myeong spoke with a faint voice.
“Could there be someone behind him?”
It was a murmur as if talking to himself.
But the sharp-eared Yeo Un-jin quickly nodded in agreement.
“It must be so. Otherwise, how could that bastard have dealt with Gwiyachae? To begin with, whether that severed head was actually the head of the Gwiyachae leader…”
“Ah, the advisory committee confirmed that.”
“Then?”
“Yes, hard as it may be to believe, they say it’s definitely the severed head of Gwiyachae leader Evil Mouth Sword.”
At Deung Bu-hyeong’s answer, Yeo Un-jin’s expression hardened coldly.
He furrowed his brow deeply and said.
“Then all the more reason there might be backing forces. He might have joined hands with some Evil Faction bastards somewhere.”
“But… Instructor Sa was someone who followed righteousness to the point where you couldn’t reason with him… Surely he wouldn’t join hands with the Evil Faction…”
At Eon Byeok’s words, Yeo Un-jin shouted angrily.
“Whose side is Instructor Eon taking right now?”
Eon Byeok quickly shut his mouth again.
It wasn’t really a matter of taking sides, but as long as Cheon Se-myeong maintained that expression, he had no choice but to bow his head.
Cheon Se-myeong slowly nodded.
“Perhaps it turned out well. If Sa Bigang has joined hands with the Evil Faction, this would be the perfect opportunity to cut off that bastard’s neck.”
“That’s right. Common sense can’t accept it, can it? Someone who just days ago was getting beaten by ruffians and bringing shame to the academy alone suddenly becomes a peak master.”
“Exactly. There’s definitely something there.”
Deung Bu-hyeong reinforced Yeo Un-jin’s words.
All the instructors slowly nodded.
Cheon Se-myeong smiled faintly.
“Then, we’d better attach a shadow after all.”
“Good idea. If we secretly monitor that bastard, we’ll soon be able to expose his backing too.”
“Do you happen to know any good talent suitable for shadowing?”
At Cheon Se-myeong’s question, Deung Bu-hyeong quickly stepped forward to answer.
“I know someone suitable for this kind of work. Please leave that matter to me.”
“Thank you. I’ll trust and entrust it to Instructor Deung.”
“There will definitely be good results.”
A sly smile appeared on Deung Bu-hyeong’s face.
Reading the atmosphere, Eon Byeok cautiously spoke up.
“By the way, if he becomes Head Instructor, he’ll have to take charge of a homeroom class… Currently, all classes have homeroom teachers assigned, don’t they?”
“Ah, there’s no problem with that part.”
This time Yeo Un-jin stepped forward to answer.
He held the position of student department head, managing the first-year students.
The instructors’ gazes focused on Yeo Un-jin.
Yeo Un-jin grinned and pulled out a piece of paper from his jacket, unfolding it.
“This is what I’ll report to the personnel committee. These students will be assigned to the class that Instructor Sa will take charge of.”
“This is…!”
“Whoa!”
The instructors who scanned the roster each let out exclamations.
This time, even Cheon Se-myeong widened his eyes and soon burst into hearty laughter.
“Hahaha! Now I see that Instructor Yeo had thought of such arrangements too.”
“Huhu. When that bastard left to subdue Gwiyachae, I thought of it just in case. I never knew it would be put to such use.”
“Indeed, with this arrangement, even Instructor Sa would want to quit immediately.”
The other instructors also clicked their tongues.
“Instructor Yeo’s arrangement is truly frightening. With this, who would dare to work as an instructor? Hehe.”
“That’s what I’m saying. I just hope Instructor Sa doesn’t commit suicide.”
“If it were me, rather than take charge of those students, I’d run far away.”
“Hehehe.”
Smiles returned to the instructors’ faces after a long while.
Only after a long time did Deung Bu-hyeong quietly speak up.
“Well, that’s something for after the seven-week probationary period passes safely. If the shadow I attach discovers something during that time… Huhu.”
“Indeed, when we gather and put our heads together, good strategies emerge.”
“That’s right. Thinking that an insufferable blockhead like him would become Head Instructor was so horrifying…”
The instructors poured out their words with disgust.
Cheon Se-myeong coughed a couple of times and said,
“Now, now, calm down everyone. This makes it seem like we hate that fellow, doesn’t it? I’m simply worried about his qualifications. I’m concerned that someone unqualified might give wrong teachings to the students.”
“How could we not understand the department head’s intentions? This too is what we must do as instructors.”
The instructors now continued their conversation with smiles.
***
Gwiyeong-bu (Ghost Shadow Bureau).
As long as you pay them enough money, they’ll take on any job.
Assassination, surveillance, kidnapping, theft, information gathering, and so on.
They’re mainly composed of those with excellent stealth and lightness skills, and among them, Hong Yeom is recognized for his most outstanding abilities and is called Il-yeong (First Shadow).
When Hong Yeom first received the bureau chief’s summons and heard about this mission, he thought it was strange.
Monitor an academy instructor?
And specifically find out whether he’s meeting with the Evil Faction?
What was truly ridiculous was that the client who made this request was an instructor from Yongcheon Hall.
In other words, wasn’t the one who commissioned the job already in communication with Gwiyeong-bu, which is Evil Faction?
Yet asking to find out if another instructor is communicating with the Evil Faction.
‘Anyway, I don’t know what’s inside these Righteous Faction bastards’ heads.’
Hong Yeom inwardly sneered as he tailed the target visible in the distance.
‘Sa Bigang, was it? Where the hell is he going?’
Hong Yeom at one moment became a tree, at another moment scattered like leaves, and at yet another moment became the wind.
Thus he soundlessly followed behind the advancing Sa Bigang.
***
Death Dark Valley.
Originally, it was a nameless valley.
However, during the past Righteous-Demonic War, countless martial artists died here.
Now much time has passed since then, and though the traces of that turbulent period cannot be found, it’s undeniably a place that gives an ominous feeling.
After the day that tragedy unfolded, people called this desolate valley ‘Death Dark Valley.’
Sa Bigang walked step by step through the grass that had grown up to his waist.
‘It should be somewhere around here…’
He surveyed the surroundings with sunken eyes.
Three days had already passed during the seven-week probationary period.
Now he had to find it and return.
Most of the items sent from the Demon Realm were distributed to areas where negative energy was concentrated.
This was because the Demon Realm itself originally had stronger negative energy, and it also helped maintain barriers.
However, there were also items that just dropped without any barriers.
What Sa Bigang was looking for now was precisely that.
Something anyone could grasp immediately upon finding it.
The item the Demon King sought first upon crossing over to the Central Plains.
The demonic sword ‘Veritas.’
But it’s indeed difficult to find using ordinary methods.
Death Dark Valley was where thousands fought fiercely and died.
That means it’s vast.
‘I’ll have to use Scan.’
Sa Bigang narrowed his eyes, surveyed the entire Death Dark Valley, then extended his hand.
Whirrrrr.
His fingertips trembled finely.
The next moment, white light seemed to generate from his palm, then immediately a cold energy spread out, sweeping across the entire floor of Death Dark Valley.
A moment later, he could see a faint light gathered about thirty zhang away.
‘There it is.’
Sa Bigang walked toward that spot without hesitation and began digging into the ground, roughly tearing through the undergrowth.
How long had he been digging that hole?
Finally, something caught in his hand.
‘A bone fragment?’
It must be from someone who died during the Righteous-Demonic War.
Sa Bigang threw the bone fragment over his shoulder and continued digging.
And finally…
“Huhuhu. Found it.”
Sa Bigang’s lips curved up in a grin.
A demonic sword with a black handle and golden patterns carved into it.
The end of the handle was carved in the shape of a demon.
Unlike ordinary swords, the blade formed a gentle curve, making it look like a dao at first glance.
But it was definitely a double-edged sword.
‘Veritas!’
Sa Bigang’s pupils dilated.
His heart pounded violently.
Veritas was crying out.
‘Hurry and grasp me! Hold me and offer me blood!’
Sa Bigang suppressed his agitated heart and slowly pulled out Veritas along with its scabbard.
Clatter clatter clatter.
Bone fragments that had been tangled with Veritas fell to the ground.
Probably one of those who had mastered demonic arts to the extreme in the past.
The fact that Veritas was with that corpse was proof.
Veritas, which had dimensionally traveled seeking a corpse full of negative energy, had been waiting for its master like that.
Sa Bigang slowly grasped Veritas’s handle.
Thump!
Instantly, his pupils were dyed blood red.
“Haah!”
Rough breathing burst from his mouth.
A mad craving for blood.
An intense desire to see only blood covered his brain.
‘This is it. This feeling!’
Sa Bigang bit down hard on his molars.
The reason he hadn’t placed any barriers on Veritas was precisely because of this.
The moment anyone takes Veritas, they become a slave to intense desire.
At that moment, they lose their reason and crave blood so much they end up taking their own life.
“Krgh!”
Sa Bigang furrowed his brow and let out a groan.
From the hand gripping the handle, tremendous magical power flowed into his body.
This magical power, which operates mainly on mana principles, is difficult for Central Plains martial artists to handle.
The flow of internal energy learned in the Central Plains and the flow of mana used in the Demon Realm are completely different.
Sa Bigang squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated all his consciousness to feel the flow of magical power.
Veins stood out on his hand, and dark blue blood vessels also bulged out on his forehead and neck.
‘Krgh! It’s strong. As expected…! Was one premium-grade Magic Stone insufficient?’
Magical power swirled within Sa Bigang’s body.
He circulated mana to the maximum and resisted Veritas’s magical power.
The moment he was careless, he could be suppressed by the magical power.
If that happened, he would become a madman.
If he were a martial artist, his internal energy would become tangled and he would fall into Qi deviation.
‘Blood…! Blood…! Blood…!’
Sa Bigang trembled as he gripped Veritas in reverse and aimed it at his own neck.
A situation where he would stab his neck and commit suicide if necessary.
‘Krgh! If you want blood that badly… I’ll give it to you!’
Suddenly, Sa Bigang twisted his arm with all his strength.
Crrrack!
“Krgh!”
Immediately after, he spun his body around.
‘But it won’t be my blood!’
***
“Huh…?”
Hong Yeom stared dumbly at the blade that had pierced his abdomen.
He couldn’t easily comprehend this situation.
He had suddenly moved.
He couldn’t see what kind of lightness technique was used.
He had just blinked, but Sa Bigang was standing right in front of him.
And the sword he held was piercing his abdomen.
Sa Bigang grinned wickedly.
“It’s called ‘Trice.’ Well, it would be hard to understand. Anyway, I’m sorry about this. But I can’t die, can I?”
Sa Bigang was drenched in sweat.
‘T-Trice? What’s that? More importantly, this guy… did he know I was monitoring him? But how…? And this is… what?’
Hong Yeom looked at the sword that had penetrated his belly.
Originally, it had been a blue-black blade. But now it had changed to a dark red color.
The blood flowing along the blade disappeared in an instant.
As if the blade was gulping down his blood.
Like a living creature.
“That’s enough eating now.”
Sa Bigang spoke coldly and pulled out the sword with a swoosh.
The blood that had been on the blade was instantly absorbed and disappeared without a trace.
Thud.
Hong Yeom fell to his knees.
“Ah, you can’t collapse yet.”
Sa Bigang quickly reached out and grabbed Hong Yeom’s jaw.
“Krgh.”
“Now, shall we have a consultation? I’m an instructor, you know.”
Sa Bigang smiled, showing his white teeth.
