Nano Machine c 11 to 20

 Chapter 11 Chapter 11: Kid, you are now my apprentice (1) The fifth elder, Hang Soyou, didn’t look all that excited as she watched Chun Yeowun being carried away. The amount of blood he threw out was proof that he had taken heavy damage. Lee Hameng soon walked up to her. “You went too far.” “W-what are you talking about?” “You almost killed him.” After she acquired the musical wave skill, she had never seen a person take that much damage. It almost made her think that her attack skill had increased in damage. She became embarrassed at Hameng’s words and asked, “He… did he really not have any internal energy?” She felt much better as she knew that her attack worked, but it was impossible to withstand her attack for so long without internal energy, which she couldn’t believe. Hameng shook his head. “No. None.” “What?” “He has no internal energy. He kept his oath.” “That can’t be… how can one withstand my attack without any internal energy?” Only about thirty students withstood her attack, and even some of those were down on their knees or vomiting from enduring so much. Moreover, those students had internal energy. “He should’ve passed out a long time ago.” “He already had taken internal damage for quite some time. It was his will that kept him standing.” “His will? You think that makes sense?” “…It is beyond our imagination.” It almost made Hameng want to take him in as his apprentice if he wasn’t a bastard son of the Lord. However, Hameng was a realist. He had no intention of taking on such a controversial individual as his own apprentice. “HAHA! That’s interesting. He just endured it, huh?” Right Guardian Submeng spoke amicably although he usually paid no interest in other matters. Hameng answered annoyingly, “It’s none of your business. Go away and drink all you want.” “Bah, I was going anyway without you speaking to me, redhead.” “Drunkard.” “Puny girl.” Submeng spat and walked away from the stage. They were both guardians, but they didn’t get along very well. “Well, either way, he did not have any internal energy and there is no problem. And for what you did… it will be reported to the Lord.” “…Understood.” Hang Soyu was still unconvinced, but she couldn’t say anything further because of the warning she had received already. ‘The Left Guardian will never side with that lowly peasant.’ She then walked away and Hameng turned to the students crawling on the training ground. “Ugh… what should I do now?” He couldn’t continue onto the next step with this situation. Behind the training ground was the main building of the academy. On the second floor was the first aid room, and Baek Jongmeng, the apprentice of the Baek Jongwu, was here. He had just gotten into the office from the orders of his teacher last night. He was excited to see as many patients as possible within the academy to gain more experience. That’s when someone began banging on the door. “Doctor! Patients!” “Already? Come in!” He had not seen that many patients recently since all the giant Wulin forces were busy training their former warriors and they were in times of peace. ‘This academy is great!’ He was eager at the thought of seeing many patients. As the door opened, two academy staff came in with the patient. It was Chun Yeowun who was drenched in blood. “What! What kind of test puts a man in such a state?!” This much blood could only come from fatal sword injuries. The staff members shook their heads and answered, “He has taken serious internal damage. He does not have any internal energy so Left Guardian has asked for you to take special care of him.” “THIS is from internal damage?” It had been ten years since he was the apprentice of the famous doctor of the Demonic Cult. He had seen many patients, but he had never seen that much blood from a patient with internal injuries. “Well, he’s all yours now. We’ll be on our way.” “Oh, okay.” The staff knew that they had things to do and that they were needed so they quickly came out of the room. However, one of the staff members stopped curiously. Another staff, who was his superior, scolded him on the spot. “We’re busy! Come on!” “Uh, hm. It’s nothing.” He felt that Chun Yeowun looked much better when he put him down on the bed, but he shook his thoughts away. After the staff was gone, Baek Jongmeng sat next to Yeowun and began checking on him. “Hmm…” Yeowun then opened his eyes slightly and looked at Jongmeng. It felt so painful when he was at the training ground, but the self-healing had healed him enough to allow him to get back up. ‘I didn’t think of this..’ He realized this as he was being carried up to the medical room, so he ordered Nano to stop healing him. He just focused on healing his painful throat and neck and decided to let everything stay as is until the doctor worked on him. “Irregular and fast heartbeat… he must have taken a huge amount of internal damage.” Jongmeng made the conclusion after checking Yeowun. However, it was still weird to have let out so much blood. “Not even biting a tongue can do this.” Jongmeng then walked over to his desk to get some needles when someone burst into his office. “Oh! My!” Jongmeng was shocked that he fell to the ground on his butt. He turned to the man who had walked in. It was a middle-aged man with a red nose and a bottle of liquor. “Right Guardian?” “Huh? Why are you here?” “And why are YOU here? I thought you should be at the ceremony?” “Hah, so are you the doctor of the academy this time?” Submeng didn’t respond to Jongmeng and just kept asking his own questions. Jongmeng sighed as he knew Submeng was this kind of man. “A little one came to the big league then, eh?” “Ugh. So, why are you here? I hope it isn’t YOU who got hurt?” “…Oh, is that sarcasm?” “Hahaha, of course not.” Submeng then looked away from Jongmeng and turned to the bed. He then smiled with interest. “Oh? Look at this brat. Interesting kid.” “W-what? What’s going on?” Submeng then walked up to Chun Yeowun who was on the bed. Yeowun became frustrated. ‘W-what? Why is he here all of a sudden?’ He felt panicked that the Right Guardian himself had come up to the office, thinking that he might have noticed that he was acting all along. ‘…Dammit.’ The terrible stench of alcohol and breath bothered him. “Why are you pretending to be asleep?” Yeowun felt his heart sink and flinched. Then, an unknown force pulled him up from the bed. He couldn’t move as he hadn’t been healed yet, but the internal energy sent by Submeng pinned him straight up. “If you keep pretending, I’ll smack you.” Yeowun had to wake up. He then saw the drunk man who had been on the stage. Yeowun frowned and retorted, “How did you know?” Submeng laughed, flashing his yellowed teeth. “Hahahaha! Aren’t you an interesting one?” Submeng laughed for quite a bit and continued, “Any experienced warrior can see through you if you are awake or not just by listening to your breath, kid.” Chapter 12 Chapter 12: Kid, you are now my apprentice (2) ‘By the sound of my breathing?’ Yeowun became shocked, and Nano spoke to him. [The average breathing count for a fifteen to twenty-year-old human male is about sixteen per minute. Your breathing just now was about eight times in one minute, showing your effort to hide your nervous state.] ‘…I don’t need an explanation.’ Yeowun never imagined a mere person could sense such things. Submeng laughed, “Hahaha. I didn’t think kids these days had guts like you.” ‘Huh?’ He thought Submeng was here because he noticed Yeowun faked his damage, but it seems like that wasn’t the case. Instead, he seemed to be pleased. “Kids these days have no endurance. They always pick the easy way!” Yeowun felt bad. He didn’t endure anything at all. He just stood there because Nano had cut off all the sound. “So, what I mean is that you have the guts that no other kid has these days.” Yeowun didn’t feel comfortable listening to all the compliments that he didn’t deserve. He was going to heal himself after fooling Jongmeng, but listening to all this made him feel his pain again. His face began to go pale. “Guardian, our patient is not in good condition. We should tend to him first.” “Ah, yes.” Submeng then noticed the discoloration on Yeowun’s face. He then let go of his internal energy and allowed Yeowun to lie down on the bed again. “Let me cut to the chase, kid. I’ll take you in as my apprentice.” Yeowun’s eyes grew wide, and so did Jongmeng’s. Submeng the Crazy Blade was one of the top ten most powerful warriors in the Demonic Cult. He was also famous throughout all of Wulin. “What are you talking about?” Yeowun wasn’t convinced as he had lived a lifetime in banishment and danger. Yet, Submeng looked very serious, if not considering the smell of alcohol. “I am talking about taking you in as my student.” “…Guardian. Do you not know who I am?” Everyone knew about Yeowun in the cult. “Is there someone who doesn’t know about you?” “The six clans will not be happy if you take me in.” Submeng didn’t seem to care. He spoke as if it was nothing. “Hah, what will those women do? With or without you, they have to compete against themselves anyway.” Unlike Hameng, Submeng always did what he wanted. The one he feared and followed was the Lord of the Cult. Yeowun became tempted by the offer. ‘But what if this is a trap?’ Yeowun had gone through too many threats so he was suspicious. Jongmeng, who was looking at him from the side, also became interested. ‘So, this is the famous prince.’ He then made a conclusion about Yeowun’s internal energy. ‘So that’s why… they went too far then.’ He couldn’t understand the reason for the amount of blood at first, but if the six clans involved in this, it didn’t seem all that impossible. And Baek Jongmeng’s conclusion was fortunate for Yeowun. “I don’t know what to say to that offer, especially since I’ll have a teacher in the academy.” “Ugh, this sounds like I’m begging you to be my apprentice!” Submeng then chugged his bottle. ‘He’s still not convinced.’ He had never taken any apprentices until now, but seeing Yeowun enduring the sound energy tempted him to take Yeowun as his apprentice. Yet, Yeowun didn’t seem so eager. “Okay. If you are still unconvinced, I will offer you something you can’t put down.” He then took out some wrinkled old paper and it placed down on the bed. However, Yeowun couldn’t move so he couldn’t check what it was. “Heh, are you curious about what this is?” “What is it?” “It is what you need most if you are to survive here.” “What?” “You took internal damage on your first day at the academy. Don’t you think you will be left behind?” The Academy Chief was Hameng, but Submeng also had experience as a student in the academy. The academy progressed differently each time, but everything worked in similar ways. “You can take the first test through sheer will, but you can’t pass the second step with that.” “Th-that’s…” “And you are already behind. Are you still going to be stuck inside the medical room for two weeks? That will push you back even further.” Submeng’s words were correct. Yeowun had ways to heal in hours if needed, but that would cause the six clans to be suspicious, so he had to stay here for a few more days. “Do you know why the redhead sent you here?” “Redhead? You mean the Left Guardian?” “Yeah.” “Is it because I took internal damage?” Yeowun asked awkwardly. “Of course, but isn’t it weird? There are other kids who took internal damage, but why aren’t they here?” ‘Huh? That’s true!’ As Submeng said, more than half of the students fell and most of them had taken internal damage during the first test. Yet none of them had been brought here. “Most people of Wulin can heal themselves from internal damage through meditating. Moreover, they heal faster with help from a doctor or medicine.” “Meaning?” “Yes. The other kids didn’t need to be sent here because they can heal themselves.” “Oh.” Yeowun then realized what he meant. It meant Hameng verified that Yeowun did not have any internal energy, meaning he couldn’t heal himself and had to be sent down here. ‘Let’s finish it then.’ Submeng then decided to put an end to his offer. “Do you think a boy who can’t even meditate can heal in a few days?” ‘…Yes.’ He could heal in a day thanks to Nano, but that was top secret. ‘Yes, he is right. If I’m to move forward onto the next step, I will need internal energy and… oh!’ He then thought of something he had forgotten up until now. “I forgot. I heard that if I pass the first test, I will be given the medicine ball and access to the first floor of the academy’s library.” There were various books on the first floor of the library that would be pretty helpful. “Hahahahaha!” Submeng then burst out in laughter and Yeowun was startled. “I would do that too, but it seems like the redhead skipped real important one there.” “What? What did he skip?” “It doesn’t mean that you are always allowed to enter the library. You can only enter once after every test.” “What?” That was far from having full access to it. “All those important books are in there. Do you think you will be able to freely access such a place?” Submeng was amused by Yeowun’s shocked reaction and continued, “You can only stay on the first floor for two hours. And as you move higher up, you will be given more time because the books on those floors are complicated, but you still don’t have enough time.” “So, there’s a time limit too? How exciting.” “Not to mention, you cannot copy any of the content down. It’d be good if you could memorize maybe one book or two. Most use all the time available trying to find the book they want.” This was vital information that Hameng did not share. If people entered the library without knowing this, they’d frantically waste their time until it was over. ‘But I have Nano.’ Yeowun then realized he had the Nano Machine, which could scan a book in seconds. ‘This actually works better for me!’ Two hours was probably enough for him to even scan hundreds of books. The information Submeng gave to Yeowun so that he would feel discouraged actually worked in the opposite way. Submeng did not know this, so he thought it was about the right time. “So, a kid like you has a limit to how far you can go without any help.” Most students who entered the academy were trained in their family martial arts at least. Yeowun thought for a second and asked, “The paper… is it the Breath of Internal Energy?” ‘I threw the bait, and you bit it!’ He was glad that Yeowun had caught on, but he acted like he wasn’t excited. “Heh, so you are not all that dumb.” “Why are you…” “If you become my apprentice, I will teach you the Breath of Internal Energy for the first lesson.” Yeowun was tempted. He had longed for it, but he couldn’t learn it because of the oath. Submeng then knew his offer had worked. ‘Does this man really want me as his apprentice?’ Yeowun looked at Submeng. He looked like a drunkard, but he was still a Right Guardian. Yeowun also felt that he really wanted to help him out. ‘Then I should make him on my side.’ He knew how helpful it was to have one ally when everyone else was an enemy. He then barely got up with a pale face and got down from the bed. “Oh?” Submeng looked at him intriguingly and Yeowun bowed deeply to the ground. “I accept Right Guardian as my teacher. Please take my bow.” Yeowun bowed, shivering from the pain. Submeng became satisfied. Yeowun tried to continue bowing, when suddenly he was pulled up by internal energy. “Stop. The blood of Chun does not bow to anyone other than the Lord himself.” That was the law of the cult. “Heh, my apprentice.” Submeng then felt embarrassed for saying such words and he held up Yeowun with his internal energy to put him back on the bed. “You will need to rest today. So until I come back, look through that note and learn.” Submeng then grinned and walked out. It was unexpected, but it was fortunate that Yeowun had gotten such an ally in the academy. And at the training ground, squad forming was taking place. And when it was almost over, Chun Mukeum of the Loyal Clan grinned ominously. ‘We are in the same squad, you peasant. Hehehehe…’ Chapter 13 Chapter 13: Too fast private lesson (1) After Chun Yeowun was taken to the medical room, the ceremony came to a halt as all the students needed to meditate to heal. ‘Hmmm.’ People were curious as to what would happen to Yeowun who vomited blood out from his mouth, but Left Guardian Lee Hameng’s attention was elsewhere. The first rank to the heir, Chun Muyeon of the Wise Clan, and fifth rank Yuchan of the Blade Clan had endured the first test as if it were nothing. ‘They are beyond expectations.’ Not taking any damage from Hang Soyou’s half-powered attack would require at least hundreds of internal energy. ‘They are beyond the level of students.’ They were already at the level of powerful warriors. It obvious why the rumor of the Wise and Blade Clans taking the throne was spread. However, they weren’t the only ones who had withstood it without taking any damage. The other members of the six clans endured without much trouble and there were also eight other students who also endured it. ‘I thought they were all weaklings, but this is interesting.’ It felt like there might be powerful warriors in this year’s academy. All in all, that was going to be decided after four years when it was all over. A total of 415 students passed the first test. It was 200 less than the first test from ten years ago as the test had been more difficult due to Chun Yeowun. Not everyone knew it, but some of the students who looked back like Mukeum were angry to see the intensity of the test because of Yeowun. After dragging out the failed students, all the remaining students were officially appointed as cadets and they each were given a bronze tag with the number 3, symbolizing that they were now low-ranked warriors of the Demonic Cult. “Is this the beginning now?!” “I will go up to the top!” Then the students began dividing themselves into groups. Hameng grouped them based on their personal information and the result of the test. Other than the five groups of 20, the other remaining groups had 21 people. “Do you know why there are twenty groups?” “Mado!” Cadets answered ‘mado’ to Hameng’s question. This was due to the instructions on answering with ‘mado’ for any answer that required a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’. No other answers were allowed. “Until you pass the third test, all of you will be tested on the same day and same time.” The academy had no intention to waste money on training up to the third step which was for high-ranked warriors. Therefore, they had a set amount of time allocated for each of the tests. “The amount you need to learn the ways of a middle-rank warrior is three weeks.” ‘Only three weeks?’ The cadets were frustrated. They were shocked by the unexpectedly quick pace. “After three weeks, the twenty groups will battle. Ten groups will be allowed to move onto the next step.” This meant that two hundred people were going to fail. “This is the only and last test where you will need to work together, so if you want to compete against yourself within the group, you can happily fail the test and leave.” Most groups were equally formed, but there were some groups with a fewer number of students from the powerful clans. Thus, they weren’t all that excited. “This ends today’s schedule. You can return to your dorms according to your groups and rest. Starting tomorrow, you will be taught nicely by the staff that are standing in front of you right now.” The students then turned to their instructors who were standing there expressionlessly. When they saw the staff members dragging the failed students out by clubbing them with their black clubs hanging on their waists, the students shivered. “You are dismissed!” “DISMISSED!” Students then returned to their assigned dorms. However, one of the students stood in place while everyone left with exhausted expressions. It was Chun Mukeum of the Loyal Clan. Instructor Impeng, who was assigned to Mukeum’s 8th group, walked up to him, “3rd cadet. Why are you still standing there?” Until the students passed the fourth test, they were called upon by their numbers. “I have a question to ask, Instructor.” “You know I won’t answer questions that are not related to training.” “Yes, sir.” Instructors did not know all of their students’ names and faces, but they at least knew about the princes of the six clans since they were going to be the future leaders of the cult. “Good. What is the question?” “I am sure that I will be the leader of my group.” ‘Hmm.’ This wasn’t announced as it was going to be decided tomorrow, but Mukeum already knew that they were going to have group leaders. ‘They don’t care about the rules.’ He knew the six clans would not keep secrets from their princes regarding the academy, but it was rather disappointing to see it in reality. “One of my group’s cadets, the 7th cadet, is in the medical room.” “And?” “I do not want one of our cadets to be left out or missing so that our entire group fails.” “What is it that you are proposing?” “I want to let him know what we had heard today while he was gone so that he will not be left out.” He thought all of the six princes did not like Yeowun, but it seemed like Mukeum was different. Impeng became pleased and nodded, “Good. I applaud you for your sincerity, and you seem to know about the importance of this second test. So, I will take your advice and go to the 7th cadet and give him the information myself.” “Huh? N-no, that won’t be necessary. I can go myself…” “The main building is off-limits to cadets except under special circumstances.” Chun Mukeum became frustrated. ‘Goddammit! This is bullshit!’ His purpose was to go to Chun Yeowun and break his leg or something, but he didn’t think he wouldn’t be allowed to enter the building at all. He tried to imply that he was the heir of one of the six clans, but he realized his background didn’t apply in this academy and gave up. “Understood, Instructor. Oh, and can you tell me when the 7th cadet will be returning to us?” He then needed to wait until Yeowun returned. Around dinner time, Instructor Impeng went to Chun Yeowun’s medical room as promised. Yeowun was in self-healing mode and was asleep. Impeng couldn’t wake Yeowun who was badly injured and asked Baek Jongmeng on how long it would take for the boy to wake up. “Hmm. He will need at least two weeks in bed.” “Two weeks? That will be too long for him to move up to the second step. Can’t he wake up earlier?” Impeng didn’t like the idea of letting his group fail due to one student. It was survival for the students, but it was a competition for the instructors. “Well, he doesn’t have any internal energy so it takes time.” Impeng then had to leave knowing that it would take two weeks for Chun Yeowun to heal. ‘Well, he’s out of luck.’ He thought Chun Yeowun was unlucky, but he later learned that it was not true. The next day, someone walked into the medical room before dawn. It was Submeng the Crazy Blade. “Heh heh… apprentice. It’s your teacher.” He came back too fast. Chapter 14 Chapter 14: Too fast private lesson (2) A day ago, Baek Jongmeng had to quickly work on Yeowun. He tried to put needles in Yeowun so he could heal up. ‘Will it be suspicious if I get better so fast?’ If Yeowun was to heal with the Nano Machine, he’d be fully healed within a day. He then became concerned. Making himself heal fast would be suspicious, but he couldn’t dare to waste time and risk being left behind. ‘Would it be better I just fill the time needed without becoming suspicious? Let’s ask the doctor how long it will take me to heal and choose.’ Yeowun then turned to Baek Jongmeng who was preparing his needles. “Doctor.” “I’m Baek Jongmeng.” “Huh?” “Call me with my last name too,” Jongmeng grinned. “Doctor Baek. How bad is it?” Chun Yeowun knew his body was damaged due to Nano, but he became curious as to how the doctor saw it. He looked at Yeowun’s pale face and sighed. “Well, it will take you about two weeks to return to the academy.” “What?” Yeowun was shocked. He knew it might take a long time, but that was too long. “Don’t be too disappointed.” “But if it takes that long…” “I don’t know what you think of this, but I will keep your secret about learning from the Right Guardian.” “Oh…” Jongmeng had witnessed the Right Guardian taking Yeowun as his apprentice. This was not allowed in the academy and Jongmeng had every right to report it to the Chief, but he didn’t. Jongmeng also had a hard time in his younger days as he too was born to peasants and he faced hardships until he was accepted as a doctor for the Demonic Cult. That’s why he felt sympathetic toward Chun Yeowun. “…Thank you. I will not forget this debt,” Yeowun thanked the doctor. “It’s alright. Don’t mention it.” The doctor didn’t think much of it anyway because he thought that Yeowun had no other chances after becoming Submeng’s apprentice. It would give him a good chance to learn, but he was already way too behind. “Okay, lie down then. I will put the needle in you.” Yeowun then lay back down on the bed. [Sensing attack on the body due to the iron needle. Activating selfdefense…] ‘No, don’t. This is a medical procedure done by a doctor.’ [Stopping self-defense mode.] ‘Can’t you determine if it’s a medical procedure or not?’ Yeowun asked Nano. [If you do not warn me prior to the medical procedure, any act of damaging your body will be considered as an attack.] ‘Okay. From now on, don’t react to those that I take accept willingly.’ [Understood.] As Yeowun ordered Nano, Jongmeng began putting needles into Yeowun’s body. [Analyzing the needle-based acupunctural procedure. The needle placed over the spot is enhancing regeneration in the damaged stomach area.] ‘Oh.’ Yeowun had no interest in medical procedures, but it was fascinating to see it work. “Take a nap while I work on this.” Jongmeng offered Yeowun to take a nap. Yeowun then came up with an idea. ‘Nano, can you heal me and pretend that I still have wounds internally to fool others like the doctor?’ [I do not understand your request, Master.] ‘I mean, if I am healed, then it will be suspicious. So, can you fool the doctor so he won’t know that I’m healed?’ [Positive. It is possible to change the pulse temporarily while the doctor is checking it.] If that was possible, then he could heal himself. If he could fool the doctor for two weeks, this might be the best chance for him to learn about internal energy from Submeng. ‘Good. Then heal me and fool the doctor whenever he checks on me.’ [Yes, Master. Activating self-healing mode.] After the Nano Machine began working on him, he was healed under thirty minutes. Yeowun was able to get a good night’s sleep, until an unwanted guest intruded to the room before dawn. Submeng’s stench of alcohol permeated the air around the room. Yeowun looked at him with a shocked written on his face. “T…teacher?” “Hmm? Is that a formal greeting?” Yeowun was surprised as to why he had come so early in the morning. “Good morning, Teacher.” Yeowun then got up and bowed. Submeng replied, “Good. So did you do my homework?” “Huh?” Yeowun, who was still not fully awake yet, was baffled. He then asked, “Wait… do you mean what you told me about the internal energy and how I should read it?” “Yes. Didn’t I tell you to memorize it all before I came back?” Yeowun was dumbfounded. Nano had healed him, but he should have been sick in the bed without it and Submeng should’ve known this. ‘…He is quick-tempered.’ Submeng looked at Yeowun with a suspicious glance, asking if Yeowun had not memorized it yet and Yeowun sighed. “Of course… I memorized it.” He didn’t memorize it of course as the Nano Machine had just scanned it for him. Submeng became intrigued. ‘Oh? He memorized it while he was sick in bed?’ Submeng knew that he was being absurd. He was only here so that Yeowun could memorize it, but it was surprising to hear that Yeowun really did it. “G-great. It is nice to hear that you are listening to your teacher.” “Thank you. But aren’t you too early?” The sun hadn’t even risen yet. “Why? You don’t like it?” “…No, sir.” Chun Yeowun always woke up early since he had to be awake for any assassination attempts. He just asked if there was a need to visit him so early in the morning. “Good. Let me tell you a vital piece of information then.” Submeng dragged a chair next to the bed and continued, “I have only two weeks to teach you.” “Huh?” “I can meet you here in this medical room, but once you return to the dorm, I can’t contact you.” Learning martial arts by anyone else other than the assigned instructor was forbidden in the academy. Submeng was already breaking the rules. “I couldn’t think of that, sorry.” “Yes, well you just joined the academy yesterday. So that’s why I had to come early so that no one will know.” “Huh?” “If I stay here in bright daylight, do you think people will not become suspicious?” Submeng did whatever he wanted, but he knew what he could and could not do. And he wanted to train Yeowun more than ever. “I have to report to the Lord in the afternoon, so I can only come before dawn to teach you.” He had wanted to come earlier, but he had to wait until the guards and staff members loosened their patrols before dawn. He only was able to come here because the guard was dozing off. “Thank you, Teacher.” Chun Yeowun became thankful for Submeng doing things to this extent to teach him. “Good. Then let’s get started.” “Now?” “Didn’t you just hear that I don’t have much time?” Yeowun then got up from the bed. “Sit down on the ground.” “…Yes, sir.” “Come on!” Yeowun sat down on the ground while Submeng sat behind him and placed his hand on Yeowun’s back. “It’s good that you memorized my Breathing of Thousand Martials.” “What are you doing?” “We don’t have time, so I’ll rummage the breathing into you.” “Rummage..? what?” “It is what my teacher created. You don’t have to fill the qi. I will do the rest.” “Uh, Teacher?” “Hang on. Don’t scream.” And before Yeowun could speak, powerful internal energy flew into Yeowun. A jolt of pain spread throughout his body. “NNNGH!!” “Shut up!” It almost made him scream in pain. The internal energy then flowed through the entire body. Yeowun did not notice this, but Nano who always activated self-defense mode did not work on this pain. Chapter 15 Chapter 15: Too fast private lesson (3) The Nano Machine was programmed to activate whenever the user was in danger. Nano considered Submeng’s act of sending internal energy was not dangerous as Yeowun had ordered to Nano, but it quickly began analyzing the effects. [Detected incoming formless energy into the body. Analyzing energy. Found energy to be called qi or chakra. Proceeding to analyze the effect on the user’s body.] Yeowun did not know this was happening as he was busy enduring the pain. However, Nano’s analysis would later will bring him a great fortune. ‘Did he really not learn anything?’ Submeng became curious. Yeowun’s body had no problems or dirty particles that blocked the flow of internal energy. ‘…Is it the work of the Lord?’ This was due to the fact that the Nano Machine had extracted all the dirty particles from the body, but Submeng did not know this so he only could guess of Yeowun’s father. ‘So, he did love Lady Hwa then.’ He was a guardian, so he had seen a lot of things aside from the Lord. The Lord never loved any of the ladies from the six clans aside from Lady Hwa. Submeng then took off his hand. He felt exhausted from stirring the heavy internal energy and swept his sweat, “Ha… ha… so, did you memorize the flow?” “Yes, I did!” Submeng was taught with this reckless method by his teacher, and it worked best for students who did not know anything about internal energy. “I’m sure that was painful, but it is the perfect method to teach those like you who have no internal energy.” Submeng was pleased to see Yeowun endure the pain. “The goal is to finish this in seven days. You will need to get the internal energy in you within that time frame. You got it?” That was a bold goal for most people, but Submeng really wanted to accomplish this. ‘If I can get the internal energy in a week, I can take this pain.’ “I will make it happen, Teacher.” “Good. This will be the end of today’s lesson then.” Submeng then walked out of the medical treatment room. The morning came and all cadets gathered at the training ground. The instructors also looked at their group members. ‘As expected.’ Instructors exchanged glances with each other as they saw bruises on many of the students. This was due to the fact that the students fought against each other overnight to set the ranks between themselves. The reason why instructors weren’t there overnight was to let this happen on its own. ‘So, are they the leaders?’ Without having to appoint a leader, the ones that stood on top of the rank stood in front of each group’s line. As expected, most of the heirs of the six clans were the leader of their respected groups. However, only one group had an unexpected outcome. ‘Did he defeat the 4th cadet?’ The 4th cadet was the heir of Poison clan, Chun Jongsum, and the boy in the front of the line was the 18th cadet. He had a long scar on his right eye and had heavy bruises on his face, hinting of a brutal overnight fight. ‘This is interesting.’ Lee Hameng became intrigued as he looked at everyone. Most cadets didn’t dare to attack princes who might become a Lord in the future, but the 18th cadet seemed to have the guts and power to do so. ‘Fool.’ ‘Did he lose to a low clan boy?’ Other heirs looked disgustingly at Chun Jongsum, but he couldn’t raise his head up from embarrassment. “You are all here, and we will begin.” “MADO!” And the training began. “We’ll move onto auditorium. From the first group, go!” “Forward!” The training was divided into the morning and afternoon sessions. In the morning, they all gathered in the auditorium to learn about basic war tactics and they were sent to the training ground in the afternoon to practice formations. And they were given free time before dinner so they could train on their own. In the dormitory of the 8th group on the first day— “AAAARGH! Dammit!” Chun Mukeum was angered by what he heard from Instructor Impeng earlier. The other cadets were silent and afraid of Mukeum. “How can he be in the hospital for two weeks?!” “I don’t think the doctor’s call is a lie or mistake.” There was only one boy who spoke calmly with the annoyed Chun Mukeum. It was 80th cadet who had short hair and a protruding chin. He was Jahyun, one of the members of the Loyal Clan. His mother and Mukeum’s mother were related and he had sworn his allegiance to Mukeum since very young. “No way. I’m sure he’s faking it.” Mukeum was annoyed that he wouldn’t get a chance to attack Yeowun for another two weeks. “That damn dirty peasant lying in bed comfortably? It gets on my nerves.” No one knew why, but Mukeum’s anger toward Yeowun was beyond that of the other heirs. “Dammit!” He kicked the furniture inside the dorm and Jahyun reassured him. “Prince, calm down. Why don’t we do this?” “Huh?” Jahyun then began to whisper, and Mukeum listened, his face turned to a smile. Five days passed and it was about time for afternoon training. They had trained with wooden swords and shields until now, but they were now given real swords and iron shields for the last day of formation practice. Jahyun looked at the 23rd cadet and asked, “Are you ready?” The cadet nodded. “Let’s begin the formation training! Keep your distance to each other! Form!” With Instructor Impeng’s words, a red flag was brought up and the cadets began moving quickly to move into formation. Then suddenly… “AAARGH!” Someone screamed before they had even gotten into formation. “What’s going on?!” Impeng quickly ran up and saw the 23rd cadet in pain from a sword stab him. “You fools! I told you to keep your distance!” Impeng spoke angrily and pushed Jahyun again who was responsible for bumping into the other cadet. Impeng then decided that the cadet needed medical attention and carried him into the building. Mukeum grinned as he watched. “Ooh?!” Jongmeng was dozing off on his desk when Impeng burst in, startling him “What’s going on?” Jongmeng had been bored since he didn’t have any patients other than Yeowun until now. ‘Finally a patient!’ He hid his excitement and asked, “What happened to him?” “He was hurt while training with real swords. I couldn’t pull out the sword since it might make him lose too much blood.” Impeng was panting since he ran over here. “Oh, let’s move him to the bed over here.” Jongmeng then guided them to an empty bed and got his tools ready. “Will he be okay?” “It’s good that you didn’t pull out the sword. Hold it here.” Jongmeng then ripped the cadet’s clothes and pulled out the sword. Blood began to pour out but Jongmeng quickly cleaned off the wound and stopped the bleeding. “It missed the vital part. He’s lucky.” Impeng then sat down on the chair and sighed with relief. “Whew, so you do care about your students?” “Yeah, they are under my care.” Every instructor was responsible for any accidents until the second test. Two of his cadets were already under medical care, which meant he needed to draft up an explanation report. “Well, he will need to stay here for a while. I need to sew his wound up.” “Oh wow.” The cadet needed at least three days in the medical room. And it was after Jongmeng left the office that someone got up from the bed carefully. It was the 23rd cadet who was asleep after being sewed. He glanced around to check if anyone was out there and returned to the doctor’s tool cabinet to take out a knife. “Whew.” He then crept up to the bed near the window that was covered with a curtain and pulled it open. There was a boy lying down on the bed. He was asleep. The 23rd cadet mumbled, “Don’t blame me. I’m only doing this to save myself.” He then placed the knife at Yeowun’s foot muscle. He was going to cut it so that Yeowun couldn’t walk. When he placed the knife on Yeowun’s leg, Nano spoke to Yeowun. [Sensing hostile action on the user’s leg muscle. Activating self-defense mode.] “W-what?! Nnngaaaaaargh!” The 23rd cadet screamed from the powerful electric shock that came through the knife and fell down with all of his hair burnt. Chun Yeowun then opened his eyes and murmured as he looked down at the cadet. “As I expected.” Chapter 16 Chapter 16: He lied to everyone (1) In the hospital room in the main building of the Demonic Academy, near midnight… “Nngh…” The 23rd cadet woke up after fainting from the electric shock. His body shivered from the aftermath, and all he remembered was that he had been stunned by an unknown force while trying to cut Chun Yeowun’s leg. ‘W-why did I pass out?’ He looked around, but he was still in the medical room. ‘What is going on?’ He glanced around and felt that it was weird. The cadet normally could feel the hair that touched his shoulder, but when he moved around, he couldn’t feel any. “…No. It can’t be.” He couldn’t feel any of his hair. The cadet then got up and tried to find a mirror, but before he could get up, a powerful force pushed him back down on the bed. “Ugh!” There was no damage to his muscles, but his wounds were sewed with a needle, so the pain still lingered. He then looked down at his body. There was a rope that tied him down to the bed. He couldn’t get out of it no matter how hard he tried. “W-who tied me down here?!” “Me.” The curtain was pulled and someone appeared. It was Chun Yeowun. The 23rd cadet became shocked and gasped”H-how did you?!” “How? You passed out, so I put you back in bed.” “Passed out?!” So what he thought was correct. He then became concerned about the whole situation. Chun Yeowun, who should be in bed due to his internal injuries, was walking around just fine. Not to mention, he had tied him down to the bed. And of course, there was his hair too. “W-where’s my hair?!” “Oh, yeah. You’re bald now.” Yeowun grinned and the 23rd cadet writhed, trying to scream. “No- NO!! I can’t be- NO! Me? Bald?! NO!” “Shut up.” The 23rd cadet tried to scream but Chun Yeowun struck him down with his fist, making him pass out again. “He’s too noisy. I should put have him bite on a rag or something,” Yeowun mumbled. It didn’t take long for the 23rd cadet to be awake again. He tried to yell again this time, but he realized he had a rag in his mouth that stopped him from making sounds. Yeowun then sat down on the chair next to the bed. The 23rd cadet came back to his senses. He now knew what the situation was like for him. “!!!!!” “You have a rag in your mouth. I wouldn’t try to say anything I were you.” Yeowun’s cold voice made the 23rd cadet’s eyes shake. He thought Yeowun was a foolish prince who did not know anything, but it turns out it wasn’t. ‘Was he like this on that day too?’ Yeowun glared at him with a cold expression. The 23rd cadet then realized that his life was in danger. “Hey, do you know how I survived until today?’ Yeowun asked. “Can you even guess how many assassins like you come to kill or poison me?” Yeowun’s voice had a deep hatred in it. His life was like a storm. “What is this?” Yeowun flashed something on his hand to the 23rd cadet. It was the knife that the 23rd cadet had stolen to cut Yeowun’s leg muscle. Yeowun then pressed the knife against the 23rd cadet’s neck and threatened him, “You tried to play with me, so you must know how painful it is to get stabbed with this? Oh, it might kill you too.” The 23rd cadet became fear-stricken. Yeowun looked terrifying. “Well, you better talk then.” The 23rd cadet swallowed his empty throat. “Who sent you?” The 23rd cadet thought hundreds of ways to get out of this situation and came up with an idea. As he tried to talk, Yeowun took out the rag out from his mouth. “Talk.” “Hah… hah..” The cadet panted heavily before he began to talk. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” “Huh?” “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Besides, do you think you’ll walk out fine if you kill me in a medical room inside the academy?” The 23rd cadet remembered of the rules of the academy. It was forbidden for students to hurt each other outside training or official duels. ‘You think you can hurt me?’ The 23rd cadet became instantly relieved and arrogant. Yeowun then frowned. “Hmm. So, it didn’t work then.” “Don’t even think about it. And even if you torture me, I won’t open my mouth.” Yeowun then gave the 23rd cadet a weird look. “Well then. Should I try it whether you open your mouth or not?” “Huh?” Yeowun then placed the rag back into his mouth and went to the cabinet to take out some long needles. The 23rd cadet’s eyes grew wide with shock. ‘W-what is he trying to do with that?!’ “You know, my place didn’t have these kinds of things. But this place is full of it.” The 23rd cadet felt sweat running down his forehead. Yeowun then grabbed his left wrist. Cadet clenched his fist quickly, but Yeowun grabbed it and opened it forcefully. ‘Ho-how is he so strong?!’ Everyone knew that Yeowun did not learn any martial arts, but he was too strong right now. ‘Please!!’ As his fingers were stretched, Yeowun cracked an evil smile. “This will hurt.” He poked the giant needle between the cadet’s finger and nail. “NNNNNNNNNNNGHHHH!” The pain made the 23rd cadet cry. It was so painful that veins popped up on his neck. Yeowun did not care about the sight and took another finger to poke the nail down. “NGNGNGGHGHHHRHHHH!” It was only two needles, but it was too much pain for the boy to endure. He writhed in pain and Yeowun spoke to him for the last time. “Well, you told me you won’t spill through torture, so just consider it as my way of getting revenge.” The 23rd cadet then shuddered and tried to speak, but there was no use. It was the start of terrible torture. Soon, all of the fingers on his left hand had needles stuck underneath the nails. He had passed out two times due to the pain already. Yeowun then got up and dragged the chair to the right side of the bed. The 23rd cadet knew what this meant so he shed his tears in fear. He tried to speak as hard as he could, trying to spit out the rag in the process. “NGH! NGH!” Yeowun smiled, “You want to speak then? You should’ve told me earlier.” He grinned and took the rag out of the cadet’s mouth. He had bitten on it so hard that white rag had bloodstains on it. He then panted for a second and tried to say something, but Yeowun spoke first. “Chun Mukeum, right?” “H-how did you…?” Yeowun had guessed correctly. He didn’t seem to know who was behind the plot, but it was enough to make 23rd cadet surprised. “You’re in my group right? The 8th group.” “…Y-yes sir.” The 23rd cadet answered politely, still fear-stricken from being tortured. However, he was curious as to how Chun Yeowun knew that he was in the 8th group and knew that even the 23rd cadet himself was in that same group. “Well, your tag is here.” Yeowun pointed at the 23rd cadet’s number tag. “But how did you know..” “Well, thanks to our group leader, our instructor comes to me every morning to teach me what I’m missing.” This was what Chun Mukeum had not even thought about. Since the morning session was done in the auditorium, each instructor had nothing to do so Impeng used this opportunity to visit Chun Yeowun to teach him basic martial arts techniques. It was his effort to not allow his group to fail, and Chun Yeowun was able to find out who was in his group and what his group number was. “Well, I already guessed it, but I just wanted to hear it from your mouth.” The 23rd cadet couldn’t believe that this boy was the foolish prince that Mukeum and Jahyun had told him about. ‘He is definitely not just some foolish kid!’ He was a monster in hiding actually. It was terrifying to guess how fearful he would be if he acquired such power. “I still got good information from you, so let’s finish it here.” “R-really?!” The 23rd cadet became hopeful at the words. “Yeah. And don’t let other people know what happened here, okay?” He almost wanted to get up and bow in obedience, but his body was bound so he couldn’t do that. Yeowun grinned and placed his finger on the blood point of the 23rd cadet’s body. “Huh?!” The 23rd cadet then began falling asleep. Sending power over to the blood point required some amount of internal energy, but he knew Chun Yeowun had none. ‘He was lying to everyone!’ And the 23rd cadet’s first day in the medical room ended just like that. Chapter 17 Chapter 17: He lied to everyone (2) A few hours after the incident in the medical room, Submeng visited the medical room as usual. However, he was more excited than his visit a few days ago since Chun Yeowun had finally achieved gaining internal energy within his stomach yesterday. ‘This one is real.’ Submeng was truly astounded. The one week he first spoke of was actually much shorter than what he expected it to be. His teacher’s way of teaching how to acquire internal energy usually required at least two to three weeks, even months. Yet Yeowun had achieved it within five days. ‘Hehe… I can move on with the next steps then.’ He now realized why his colleagues told him to take an apprentice. If the apprentice was talented, it gave the teacher more satisfaction in teaching. “Apprentice Chun Yeowun. Good morning, Teacher.” “Yes, my apprentice.” And he was very polite too. Aside from the first day when he came in unannounced in the morning, Yeowun always woke up early and waited for Submeng to arrive to kneel in front of him. Submeng asked, “Where is it?” “I have it under my bed.” Chun Yeowun then went to the bed near the window and brought out a small wooden chest. As it was opened, the thick smell of medicinal herbs filled the area. It was the Black Dragon Ball given to students who had passed the first test. This was the medicinal ball that the Demonic Cult created to allow one to acquire twenty years worth of internal energy after consuming it. Submeng looked at it with satisfaction and drank from his liquor bottle. If he instructed Yeowun to eat this while he was teaching him, Yeowun would safely acquire twenty years worth of internal energy without much loss. ‘That will put him at the start line at least.’ If it happened, that would be a great feat. “Heh. Oh, but who is that kid?” “Oh.” Submeng pointed at the bed in the middle of the room that was hidden by a curtain. He never heard the other’s breathing since he started coming here. The boy’s breathing was shallow, as if he had been put to sleep from a blood point. Submeng got up and pulled the curtain to see a bald boy with linen bandages wrapped around on top of his body. He was put to sleep from the blood point as expected. “Oh? You poked his blood point?” He had never taught Yeowun about any blood points, but it seemed that Yeowun had acquired this before. “He attacked me after Doctor Baek went home.” “He attacked you?” Submeng frowned. This meant that the bald boy did not fear being kicked out of the academy. If that was the case, someone was watching his back. Submeng asked, “Who is it?” “It’s a kid from the Loyal Clan in my group.” “Hah! Loyal Clan? They are full of fools!” The Loyal Clan had a history of having people causing trouble, perhaps due to the characteristics of their martial art. “Well, you sure do have a tough life.” “…That is alright. I’m used to it.” Yeowun was really used to such things, but Submeng didn’t feel good about the fact that a young boy like Yeowun was used to being attacked. “Huh?” Submeng then pressed the blood point of the 23rd cadet again and gave Yeowun some advice. “If you poke it with a year’s worth or less amount of internal energy, it wears off after a few hours. If you want it to be perfect, then you need at least ten years. Got it?” “Yes, Teacher,” Yeowun answered. With Submeng working on the blood point, there was no need to worry about the 23rd cadet waking up. He couldn’t let anyone know that he was being taught by Right Guardian Submeng. “Take out the ball and consume it.” “Do I swallow it?” “No. You have to chew it before swallowing it so that you can absorb all the energy.” If Submeng did not give him such advice, Yeowun would have only acquired half of the energy. He was lucky to have Submeng. As he chewed on the ball, a bitter taste filled his mouth and made him feel disgusted. After barely chewing it down and swallowing it, Yeowun sat down on the floor with his feet crossed. “If you start using the Breathing of Thousand Martials, I will help you absorb the Black Dragon Ball’s energy better.” “Understood. Thank you.” “Now, start.” Chun Yeowun then began breathing using the skill, and Submeng placed both of his hands on Yeowun’s back to press internal energy into Yeowun. As the ball began spreading itself in Yeowun’s body, Nano’s voice could be heard. [A substance which aids powerful energy activation has been consumed. It is reproducing by reacting to the energy that flows within the user’s fourteen veins. Will you accept its absorption by quickening the body cycle?] Yeowun couldn’t understand most of what Nano was saying, but it seemed like it was going to help with absorbing the ball, so Yeowun gave a short answer. ‘Yes.’ [Activating.] And with that, the Nano Machine inside his body quickly began activating his body functions and cycle to absorb the ball. “Whew.” Yeowun felt hot energy below his stomach. This was very lucky for Yeowun as Submeng was helping from the outside and the Nano Machine was helping him from the inside. He could probably only absorb maybe 70% of the energy from the ball, but now he was absorbing 100% of it. Yeowun’s body began to sweat. ‘What! Was he born with the body of a war god?’ Submeng was beyond shocked. If this was going well, Yeowun was going to absorb all of the energy. Submeng began to focus so that none of it would go to waste and two hours passed by. “Ha… ha… it’s done.” Submeng swept the sweat on his forehead and drank the entire bottle. Unlike his prior concern, Yeowun succeeded in absorbing entire energy from the Black Dragon Ball. “Good work!” “It’s all thanks to you, Teacher.” ‘And thanks Nano.’ [I am programmed to aid you in the best way that I can, Master.] Yeowun now felt heavy energy under his belly, proving that he had successfully absorbed the energy. “Well, you are a lucky one. You have gotten thirty years worth of internal energy.” “Huh? Thirty?” “Yes, that is a rough estimate. The other students will barely be able to acquire maybe half the energy from the ball because they will be absorbing it alone.” “Oh!! Thank you, Teacher.” Yeowun bowed once more. Like Submeng said, those who acquired at least twenty years worth of energy were the heirs from the six clans, or a few of the members from the high-ranked clans. Most would barely receive ten years worth of internal energy. “Oh, look at the time.” Submeng then saw the sun rising outside the window and got up. As he was walking out, Yeowun called out to him. “Teacher.” What is it?” “Can you teach me your Blade Skill Formation?” “Heh, of course. You have little time on your hands, so be ready.” That’s what Submeng had planned from the beginning, but he was glad to hear it from Yeowun himself. Submeng then walked out and before Baek Jongmeng came, Yeowun woke the 23rd cadet up. He couldn’t say anything to Yeowun out of fear. Jongmeng saw the bald 23rd cadet and burst out in laughter. “Hahaha!” ‘Dammit…’ The 23rd cadet had to hold back his anger. He couldn’t dare to act out since Yeowun might not like it. “Oh, I’m sorry.” Jongmeng apologized for laughing and covered the bed with a curtain. He figured something might have happened overnight as the cadet couldn’t even say anything when he laughed, but he didn’t mention it. As a doctor in the academy, he couldn’t really ask questions about anything. “What a great morning!” At the training ground for morning training, Chun Mukeum stood there brightly with a smile on his face. Thanks to Jahyun’s plans of sending the 23rd cadet to the hospital, it had probably solved his problem. Thanks to that, the cadets of the 8th group were able to enjoy peaceful nights for two days at least. Chapter 18 Chapter 18: He lied to everyone (3) Two days passed. At dinner time after the afternoon training, the 23rd cadet that Chun Mukeum had waited so long for finally returned. His head was wrapped with some small cloths. Mukeum’s face crumpled terribly. ‘If he won’t come to us, we’ll send someone to him.’ It was what Jahyun had planned, and therefore the 23rd cadet was sent to the medical room. The 23rd cadet was a member of a weak clan within the Demonic Cult. Mukeum promised to help his family if 23rd cadet succeeded. “Interesting. Why didn’t you get expelled?” Mukeum glared coldly at the 23rd cadet. The 23rd cadet was on his knees as he answered carefully, “I tried to cut his leg muscle, but his internal damage was so bad that the doctor stayed in the medical room to look after him.” “Huh? Doesn’t he sleep? Don’t tell me you didn’t have any time to do that.” “I-I tried to wake up at midnight to do it, but the doctor woke up every time I moved.” The 23rd cadet wasn’t sure if his lies would work, but he had no choice other than using the excuse that Yeowun had told him to use. “You couldn’t even get past a doctor?!” “UGH!” Mukeum kicked the 23rd cadet’s stomach, knocking him back. “Damn idiot! You can’t even do that right?!” Mukeum kept on kicking him, but the 23rd cadet couldn’t do anything. Jahyun stopped Mukuem. “Prince, stop.” “What? What do you want?” “Do you know the doctor’s name?” Jahyun asked the 23rd cadet and he answered while panting heavily. “Ugh… it’s… Baek Jongmeng…” “Baek Jongmeng… Baek… OH.” Jahyun had asked for a reason. He had learned and studied many things about the Demonic Cult to better assist Chun Mukeum. “What? Do you know him?” “He must be an apprentice of the Demon Doctor Baek Jongwu.” “Really?” Mukeum then became surprised and stopped. Baek Jongwu was a member of the Poison Clan who was interested in medical skills and became a doctor to the Lord himself. He was a doctor, but he was also a warrior within the top thirty ranks of the Demonic Cult. “If he is the apprentice of the Demon Doctor, then he might have learned martial arts.” This was just a guess, and they didn’t know that vague knowledge was inaccurate sometimes. Baek Jongwu did not teach martial arts to his medical apprentices. “Dammit. Then there was no point in sending this bastard!” Mukeum was angry that his plan had failed and Yeowun was still fine. He then started kicking the 23rd cadet again to unleash his anger. “Ugh!” “Bastard! Don’t even think about getting assistance for your clan!” As Mukeum kept kicking him, the 23rd cadet thought to himself. ‘Yeah, you do that. Let’s see if you can do that when he comes back!’ If Mukeum and Jahyun rewarded him and kept their promises, the 23rd cadet would have spilled everything he found out, but he didn’t want to do that anymore. ‘You will feel just how dangerous that Chun Yeowun can be!’ It was just three days, but the 23rd cadet had witnessed Chun Yeowun’s true nature. He wasn’t just some foolish prince who didn’t know anything. “Huh? What’s with this rag on top of your head anyway?” Mukeum asked and the 23rd cadet took off the cloth off his head. It showed his bald head and Mukeum smirked at it. “Hah, you think I will forgive you if you shave your hair?” Mukeum then kicked him again, but it now was much weaker. The 23rd cadet screamed to himself on the inside after he revealed his baldness. ‘Mukeum… Yeowun… go to hell, all of you!’ And the 8th group descended into chaos once again. Seven more days passed, and soon it was the day of Chun Yeowun’s return to the group. In the morning, Right Guardian Submeng visited the medical room as usual. The only difference was that his right hand held a sword in a cow leather scabbard. “You’re here, Teacher.” Chun Yeowun greeted Submeng. “I have a lot to teach you, but it’s already the last day.” Submeng’s expression showed that he really wanted to keep on teaching Yeowun. However, since Yeowun was attending the academy, they needed to follow the rules. “What is that?” “Heh heh. This is my present to you.” This was actually due to Chun Yeowun’s request. Chun Yeowun asked Submeng if he could watch Submeng use his blade skill and Submeng came to do just that. Submeng pulled out the blade with his right hand. It was not a large blade, but the phrase, Light-Dance had been carved onto the sharp blade. “Hold it.” Submeng threw it to Yeowun. It was light. “Isn’t it light?” “It’s not as heavy as I thought.” “Most blades that martial artists use are heavier than that. But the LightDance Blade from our family is half the usual weight.” “Is it because of the blade skill that you use?” “Yes. You are very smart indeed.” Submeng’s blade skill, Butterfly Blade Dance, was a quick and swift blade skill that looked like a butterfly flying in from multiple directions which required lightweight blades. “It doesn’t mean the sword is weak though. Give it back to me.” “Here you go.” Yeowun handed over the blade to Submeng who grabbed it and swung the blade at the corner of the bed. It was just a simple movement, but the sharp attack had cut off a wooden piece from the corner. Yeowun then picked the piece up and placed in the corner. He should’ve stopped Submeng from doing this. ‘Oh well.’ Baek Jongmeng liked to keep his room clean, and he probably wouldn’t like to see his bed cut down. “…It is sharp.” “Well, that’s why it’s a treasured blade.” Submeng didn’t go into the details, but his blade was one of the most famous blades within the Demonic Cult. “Let’s go over what you’ve learned then.” “Okay.” Yeowun had learned the basic steps and formations. He quickly stepped through and flawlessly performed the movements. ‘He is a genius!’ Submeng was astonished. He only showed Yeowun a few times and fixed his form, but with this rate, it would be no problem for Yeowun to absorb all of it at once. Yeowun actually had perfectly acquired the forms as Nano scanned and memorized Submeng’s movements. ‘But I can’t be too perfect from the beginning.’ That was why Yeowun was taking it slow. “Now, onto the formation!” The Butterfly Blade Dance was comprised of twenty-four forms. There were three minor sub-forms within each form, but Yeowun only learned about the sub-forms until now. “Ohoh…” Submeng sighed. With such talent, he would’ve taught him the basic forms if he had a month at least. It was a shame that he couldn’t teach him any further than that. “Good. You have learned well.” “Thank you, Teacher.” Submeng complimented Yeowun. He then took out a crumpled piece of paper. The writing was bad, but it was full of basic information about the Butterfly Blade Dance and how to use the internal energy connected to it. “I want to teach you it thoroughly, but we don’t have time. I’m sure you can handle it on your own. I will check on you when we meet again, so don’t be lazy.” “…Thank you, Teacher.” Yeowun was touched by his teacher who looked out for him. “So, that being said, I’ll show you what you wanted to see. Stand back.” Yeowun backed away and Submeng readied his blade. He had never let Yeowun watch him move with his sword until now. Submeng became serious as he was about to use the core of his blade skill. Yeowun then spoke within himself. ‘Nano, get ready to scan him.’ [Activating scan of the target specified: Submeng] Chapter 19 Chapter 19: You brought it on yourself (1) The sky began to brighten up and the heavy fog came down on the training ground. One person was sprinting across the ground with their running skill: it was Submeng the Crazy Blade. He had jumped out from the medical room from the main building and was escaping the premise. His martial arts skill was so high that the staff or guards couldn’t sense him if he tried to hide. However, there were ones who were watching them from the roof. It was a middle-aged man with long red hair and a man with a weird mask on his face. It was Left Guardian Lee Hameng and the Great Guardian Marakim. “That rat… I mean, the Right Guardian is leaving.” “Good work for letting him be.” “Well, it’s an order. At least I won’t have to see him sneaking around under my nose anymore.” They knew that Submeng had snuck into the medical room all along, but they allowed him to continue. “I guess I’ll have to put guards on the second floor again.” The second floor was also loosely guarded because of this. It was done on purpose so that Submeng could freely enter and train Yeowun. “I’ll be on my way then.” Marakim tried to leave and Hameng asked, “Why is he looking after the 7th prince like this?” Allowing Submeng to teach Yeowun meant that Lee Hameng had broken the rules of the academy himself when he was the Chief. If it wasn’t for the order directly from the Lord, he would have declined to do it. Marakim stopped and answered shortly. “It is to be fair.” “Heh, so I guess every child is dear to him?” Hameng shook his head. “Don’t question his will.” Marakim then disappeared from the roof. “Hah. I can’t even catch him if he really doesn’t want me to.” Marakim, whose nickname was Wind God, had a fast running skill where even Lee Hameng couldn’t keep up with him. He frowned and mumbled, “It was only fourteen days… will there even be a difference?” Even if Yeowun had learned from Submeng, it was only two weeks. As the morning session started, Yeowun was still in bed. “Hmm?” Baek Jongmeng looked at him weirdly. Yeowun always woke up earlier even before he came to work, but he was still asleep. ‘Well, it’s his last day to get a good rest.’ From what he heard, Jongmeng knew that Yeowun’s group had Chun Mukeum, another heir from the Loyal Clan. This meant that Yeowun would have a hard time immediately if he returned. Jongmeng thought Yeowun would need at least a moment of peace and covered his bed with the curtain and returned to his desk. Unlike Jongmeng’s thoughts, however, Yeowun’s body was going through heavy reconstruction. [Estimated time needed for completion: 1 hour. Current progress – 80% muscle restructure complete, 75% joint reform complete.] Millions of nanomachines inside Chun Yeowun worked to change his body shape to allow him to perform the Butterfly Blade Dance skill. He had started right after Submeng left, but it still wasn’t done yet. ‘Six hours? That takes too long!’ [It is the estimated time required to change the user’s body to fit target Submeng’s movement.] Chun Yeowun was shocked, but it was understandable. And that’s why Yeowun had to stay in bed the entire morning. One more hour passed. [Process complete.] Yeowun then woke up from his anesthesia and got up, but he immediately vomited on the ground. “UUUUUUGHHH!” His entire body shuddered as it was overloaded from going through the heavy change and anesthesia. It was normal to have an adverse reaction from reforming his body to that of a well-experienced warrior. “W-what’s going on?!” Baek Jongmeng was nodding off on his desk but he got up and came running. He patted Yeowun’s back and got him back into bed. When Yeowun fell asleep this time, Jongmeng checked his pulse and he was shocked. ‘What’s going on? His pulse is as if he went through some heavy exercise.’ This heart rate hard to believe, especially for someone who had been sleeping. And as Yeowun was asleep, the Nano Machine was moving onto the next step to calm Yeowun’s state. [Stabilizing user’s reaction to the body change.] Soon after Jongmeng began feeling the pulse, it calmed down. Yeowun was now sleeping peacefully. “What is going on?” Jongmeng couldn’t understand what had happened. And after an hour, a little bit before lunch was over, Yeowun opened his eyes. He got up with excitement and clenched his fist. He knew that the power he can put into his fist was very different. This showed how much training Submeng had gone through. If Submeng realizes that Yeowun had acquired his body in just six hours, he would be shocked. “Doctor Baek?” He didn’t sense anyone inside the room, but just called out to check. The doctor was out on lunch, so Yeowun got up and readied himself to practice the blade skill. He didn’t have a blade, but pretended his hand was the blade. His body moved quickly and his hand slashed through the air. It was so quick that he was as fast as Submeng himself. “Good!” Yeowun became excited and tried to move onto the second formation, but he heard someone walking down the corridor and stopped. ‘Oh.’ He didn’t realize this, but his senses had also gotten more sensitive with his body. He mumbled as he looked at his palm, “I’m prepared.” “Huh? Prepared for what? When did you wake up?” The doctor came in and spoke to Yeowun who was standing in the middle of the room. Yeowun became embarrassed and replied, “…I mean, prepared to go back to the academy.” Doctor checked Yeowun’s pulse again and declared that he was now healed and was free to leave. Yeowun then clothed himself with the martial arts uniform and took the tag with the red number 7 on it. Baek Jongmeng sighed, “I’ll be so bored without you.” Unlike his expectation of seeing many patients, his room was empty. Yeowun smiled, “You’ll get a lot soon.” There was an underlying meaning behind that, but Jongmeng just figured it would be good if he received more patients and answered, “Yeah? I hope so. No, I guess it’s better if there are no patients.” “Thank you, Doctor.” “Yeah. Good luck.” If the doctor didn’t let it slide that Submeng was teaching Yeowun, it would have been troublesome. Yeowun was very thankful for the doctor and decided to send him some patients. At the training ground, all the students were gathered in a group. Everyone in the 8th group turned to one direction. It was Chun Yeowun who finally came back after two weeks. ‘Finally here.’ The group leader, Chun Mukeum, cracked an evil smile. Chun Yeowun found Instructor Impeng and walked up to him. “You’re here.” “Yes, Instructor.” “Are you all fine now?” “Yes, sir.” “That is good… I taught you already, but I’m sure you know where your place is?” Impeng didn’t really seem all that excited to see Yeowun back. The formation battle required every individual to not fail for it to work well, and while Yeowun’s spot was the least important, it still was concerning. “Yes, sir.” “Good. Then go take your place.” Impeng pointed to the location. Yeowun knew that he wouldn’t be welcomed for missing two weeks already, so he quickly took up the sword and shield and got to his location. Today was the real sword practice day that only came once a week. Mukeum tried to growl at Yeowun who was running toward him. “You finally here? You cowardly chicken bas…” But Yeowun ignored him and simply ran past him. Mukeum became dumbfounded, but something was off. Yeowun didn’t seem to fear him at all. ‘What is it? His look… it doesn’t…’ Instead, it looked like Yeowun’s eyes were telling Mukeum to challenge him to a fight. Chapter 20 Chapter 20: You brought it on yourself (2) “Let’s begin! Keep your distance! If there are any more accidents, I’ll expel you from the academy!” “MADO!” The training began. Impeng, however, was only focused on one person. The other students had two weeks of training together, but Chun Yeowun did not have any. It was apparent he would make mistakes. And the problem regarding today’s practice was that they were using real swords. There was an accident in the last sword practice, so Impeng was nervous. ‘Dammit! Why am I stuck with him?!’ No one wanted to take Chun Yeowun since he was taken to the medical room, and Impeng offered to take the lottery. Unfortunately, he ended up taking the boy into his group. ‘Please don’t make any mistakes. You don’t have much to do anyway.’ At least Yeowun’s spot required the least amount of work. Impeng then flashed the red flag that called for the first formation change. Students quickly took the proper steps to move into place. The ones who needed to move the most were in the front row while the group leader in the middle needed to lead the others nicely. “Good!” Impeng shouted. Everyone did it perfectly without any mistakes. Mukeum was arrogant and violent, but he managed his group well and made them follow his orders. And as for Chun Yeowun… ‘Huh?’ He was doing quite well. Unlike the other students who had a hard time following the formation in the beginning, Chun Yeowun was following along quite nicely. ‘Is he following what the others are doing?’ Impeng was curious, but he just figured Yeowun was copying the others well. The problem with this formation was that the students had to maintain the formation without moving. “Keep the formation!” Students had to hold up their swords and shields and stand still for quite some time. This required muscle strength. Everyone was holding on, but the weaker students’ arms began to shake. If the shield shook and clashed with another shield, there would a sound. It wasn’t that loud when it was between wooden shields, but the clang between the iron shields was very clear. “Get it together! Don’t even think about beating other groups with such endurance!” Impeng shouted and the students gritted their teeth. Impeng was angry that there were still students who still couldn’t keep up even after two weeks. Chun Yeowun, who was known to have zero internal energy, probably wouldn’t be able to hold up. Impeng turned to him. ‘…What? Why is he still okay?’ Chun Yeowun was looking ahead without any sign of exhaustion. His sword and shield did not move an inch. ‘Did he really just return from the medical room?’ Impeng had seen that himself, so that was obvious. It was astonishing to see Yeowun keeping up with the group so well. Impeng’s view of Yeowun began to change. And when half of the students began to quiver, Impeng flashed the yellow flag. The students then moved around to change formations. The second formation was a semi-circle around the target so that the enemy to have nowhere to flee. “Yes! Slowly!” The students took a step forward to pressure the enemy. No one made any mistakes and they closed in without failure. “Good! Very Good!” Impeng shouted and Mukeum became surprised. This wasn’t what he expected. ‘How come he isn’t making any mistakes at all?’ Yeowun should have made some mistakes already, yet Impeng didn’t seem to raise any questions. Instead, he was applauding the group for the good formation, which meant that no one had made any mistakes. Yeowun was in the back so Mukeum couldn’t see him in the first formation, but now he could see him. ‘What?’ Yeowun looked fine. This formation was harder to maintain since they had to keep swinging the sword from top to bottom, but Yeowun didn’t even look tired. ‘Did he really not learn any martial arts?’ Jahyun stood close to Yeowun but even his right arm was shaking. It was hard to believe, especially when Jahyun was from one of the high-ranking clans. ‘Damn peasant. I won’t let you take all the glory.’ He then thought he should make Yeowun take the shame. Mukeum sent a telepathic message to Jahyun. [If you hear me, nod.] Jahyun became surprised, but he kept his cool and nodded slightly. Sending messages required at least thirty years of internal energy or more. [At the third formation, move on my command.] Mukeum sent the words to Jahyun who smiled and nodded in response. After a while, Impeng flashed the blue flag for the third formation. This was the hardest one as the shields had to be stacked together and the swords were thrust in between them to create a sturdy defensive line. ‘This is easy.’ Yeowun had learned all kinds of formations through Nano’s simulations, so following it was easy. The other students were careful about pushing the sword through to not stab the person in front. “Be careful, but also be quick! Do it!” The formation change became slower and Impeng shouted angrily. But soon, the formation was complete. Chun Yeowun was in the middle of the shields, but the student who had to put the sword through from behind was Jahyun. All that was left for them to do now was to hold their positions. ‘I see your butt.’ Jahyun smiled and raised his leg. He then focused internal energy to kick Yeowun to make him fall. ‘Peasants are suited for crawling on the ground!’ He couldn’t make a sound, so he placed his foot on Yeowun’s butt. Yeowun then looked back at the feeling of the shoes on his butt and he moved his eyes up to see Jahyun. ‘What? How dare you!’ Jahyun didn’t like Yeowun glaring at him coldly, so it made him angrily send more powerful internal energy to kick him. Suddenly— “UGH!” Yeowun’s butt was covered with a barrier, throwing Jahyun toward the back. Jahyun rolled on the ground and slumped down. He couldn’t understand what just happened. ‘It was internal energy from his butt…!’ It was much stronger than his energy. As he was on the ground, someone came up to him and frowned angrily. “You again?” It was Impeng. He knew him since Jahyun was the one who stabbed the 23rd cadet. He was shocked and tried to get up. However, pain shot up from his foot and he couldn’t stand. It was the aftermath of being thrown off from the internal energy reaction. Jahyun could barely stand and he saw Chun Yeowun smirking behind Impeng. He bit his lips in rage, but Impeng got even angrier and reached for his black club on his waist. “Biting your lip? Oh, so are you angry at your instructor now? Huh?!” “N-no! It’s not that, I was just… his butt…” “Butt? You must be going mad!” “UGH!’ Impeng quickly took out his club and plunged it into Jahyun’s stomach. Jahyun grabbed his stomach and fell to the ground. Impeng whispered to him, “You will lose free time for three days. Until you sleep, you will have special training with myself, personally.” “N-no… Instructor..” Jahyun tried to explain and Impeng gestured on swinging his club again. Jahyun quickly answered, “Mado!” Students of the 8th group grinned. Jahyun was Mukeum’s crony and they were glad that he was being punished. After all, he had done some bad things to the group. Then they heard someone grinding his teeth. Chun Mukeum was furious about his failed plan. ‘Chun… Yeo… wun….!