Nano Machine c 41 to 50

 Chapter 41 Chapter 41: Defeat a instructor (1) Cadets from the high-ranked clans were smiling. They were certain that the third test would be held just like how their family members had told them. Left Guardian Lee Hameng kept on explaining. “For twelve to complete a sword formation, you must have top-class martial arts skill.” People were shocked and began talking amongst themselves even more. ‘Top-class?!’ ‘How many are they trying to drop?’ ‘Dammit!’ As the cadets began get noisy, Hameng shouted, “SILENCE!!” The training ground immediately became silent. Hameng frowned as he continued, “Do you see the books on the table?” “MADO!” “This is the Seven Demon Dragon book, one of the top-class martial arts that will be the foundation to the Sword Demon Formation of our cult.” The cadets then became excited immediately. This was a dream come true for the cadets from weaker clans. It wasn’t common for them to come across a chance to learn a top-class martial art. “If you absorb the Black Dragon Ball given out today and learn this Seven Demon Sword formation, you will be able to have a top-class martial arts skill in no time.” Chun Yeowun nodded. Even if the test was supposed to be harder, they weren’t going to make it way too hard. ‘That sounds easy until now…’ If what Yumpa said was right, then this was only a prerequisite. Lee Hameng grinned as he continued, “The third test will take place exactly four weeks from today.” The students then turned grim. That wasn’t too long. They needed to learn the Seven Demon Sword and group up with others to form a formation, and two weeks was too short for it. However, the real challenge had yet to come. “So, the twelve of you will form a sword formation and you have to defeat the instructor you see up on the stage. Isn’t it simple?” Hameng spoke casually as he pointed to the thirty-six instructors lined up on the stage. ‘S-simple?’ ‘What!’ All of those instructors were those at the level of Squad Leaders who were at least at the masters of martial arts. Some were even at the limit of the master level. This wasn’t an easy test. ‘Dammit!’ ‘I wondered why it was so easy!’ Many cadets turned pale. They weren’t sure if they can defeat such powerful instructors. ‘It is as Yumpa said. What’s left now is to choose the leader.’ As Yumpa had foretold, they were given a goal to overcome. It became harder since they weren’t fighting against each other, but it wasn’t all that impossible either. ‘Total of seven.’ That’s how many people Yeowun now needed. After passing the second test, Yeowun had seven people who were friendly toward him. So, he called them up with Hu Bong last night to share the information about the third test information and offered them to join his team. ‘I’m sorry, if it’s for the test, I won’t join.’ ‘I’m sorry, Prince.’ Yeowun had expected all of them to join him as he had shown strength and leadership in the second test, but four of them refused saying that they wanted to follow different leaders. ‘I still have four.’ It wasn’t too bad anyway. He had gotten four cadets on his team already. Yeowun was thankful for their decision. He knew he had a different start line from the other princes, and since these cadets agreed to follow him, it was proof that they truly trusted Yeowun. “This test is different from the second one. Everything is up to you, cadets. You gather your group members and learn the formation.” The cadets became confused. If the instructors weren’t going to teach them, it meant that the leader would have to play a vital role. “There is a total of 207 of you, so if you are divided into groups of 12, then there will be 17 groups.” ‘Huh?’ ‘What happens to the three leftovers?’ The cadets then realized that three people would be without a team. This meant that they needed to group up quickly or else they would not even be given a chance to take the test. ‘Most of the explanation is done now. Now the leaders…’ Cadets who knew most of the information now turned to their group leaders up in the frontline. From how things went on until now, it was likely that the current group leaders would be chosen to be leaders again. “So, let’s talk about how we will appoint a group leader and I will dismiss you all with the Black Dragon Ball and the book of the Seven Demon Sword.” ‘Huh?!’ Some of the cadets were shocked. What he just said was that the academy was not appointing leaders by themselves. “Do you see instructors with tags?” The cadets turned to the instructors to see their tags. They hadn’t noticed until now, but all of them had different colored tags. From a total of thirtysix cadets, many of them were yellow, and when counted, it came down to a total of seventeen yellow tags. “Whoever takes the yellow tag in one week will become a group leader.” ‘IMPOSSIBLE!’ The cadets grimaced. This was too hard of a challenge. The final test was to defeat the instructor, but needing to take the tag away from them was too much. ‘This means that if there aren’t that many who can take those tags, then we might not even have seventeen groups!’ This had increased the difficulty of the test. Cadets wanted to raise an objection but no one dared to do that. “Don’t think it’s too hard.” Lee Hameng spoke with a laugh. “Instructors with yellow tags will only fight you with the Seven Demon Sword, not their own specialized martial arts. If you can counter their Seven Demon Sword technique, you will get the tag.” Even then, it still wasn’t going to be easy. They were still up against experienced martial artists who had used those skills for a long time. However, there was a hidden factor here, and Chun Yeowun knew this. ‘If a cadet can learn the sword in that short amount of time, it means he or she has greater knowledge about the sword formation. This wasn’t just decided to make the test harder.’ As he thought, if the group leader knew how to counter the Seven Demon Sword technique used by the instructor, it meant that all the cadets would agree to follow the leader in learning the Seven Demon Sword. ‘A week…’ But the time was too short. “Hehehe…” Lee Hameng looked amusingly at the cadets and gave an unexpected offer. “You have a week left, but is there any cadet who wants to issue a challenge right now?” No one had read the book of the Seven Demon Sword right now, but asking if anyone was up for challenge was like asking if there was anyone who was confident enough with their own skills to counter it. The crowd turned silent. No one dared to raise their hands. Most of them were still mediocre, and even those who achieved the level of top-class couldn’t dare to do such a thing. “Hmph. So, no one is that brave? Okay. Then…” Lee Hameng seemed to be disappointed and tried to begin giving out the books and balls, but the crowd turned wild. “OH?!” Hameng was astonished. Three group leaders raised their hands. It was Chun Muyeon of the Wise Clan, Chun Yeowun, and the 18th cadet who defeated Chun Jongsum of the Poison clan to be the leader of his 12th group. ‘This… is interesting.’ Lee Hameng was deeply entertained. He thought Chun Muyeon and Chun Yuchan will volunteer, but his expectation was wrong. Chun Yuchan simply stood back, watching what was happening casually. It was likely that Chun Mukeum would have volunteered also if he wasn’t in the medical room. ‘Bakgi… and Chun Yeowun!’ These two were the cadets who had showed excellence beyond expectation. Lee Hameng brought them forward. “Three group leaders from the second test. Sure, you should have that much of courage in you as a leader. Come to the front of the stage.” The three leaders walked out. As they grouped up, Yeowun turned to Bakgi who walked up on his right. Chun Muyeon was famous, but he had only seen Bakgi guide his formation. He had a long scar on his right eye. “Hahaha! You look eager. So, who among you instructors will fight them?” Lee Hameng laughed as he asked and seven of yellow tagged instructors walked up. It wasn’t intended, but there were instructors from 1st, 8th and 12th group also. Chapter 42 Chapter 42: Defeat a instructor (2) Lee Hameng frowned. He had told the instructors not to be too attached to their cadets, but it seemed they had already done so within three weeks. ‘Whew…’ He couldn’t scold them in front of all the cadets, but there was also an unexpected person within the seven instructors. ‘Oh?’ The instructors who walked up were also surprised. Then three of them then stepped back, deciding to not volunteer anymore. This instructor in his late fifties with a black beard with white hairs hinted here and there was the oldest instructor here. ‘Instructor Hou.’ Hou Jinchang. He was the most experienced instructor at the early stage of the superior master level. He had been an instructor at the academy for a long time and he was also a war veteran. Lee Hameng also respected him accordingly. ‘Oh… if he’s up, then I won’t need to do this.’ Instructor Impeng then looked at him and stood back. He didn’t like Yeowun that much, but he was going to pay him back for helping out with the 8th group to pass the second test by challenging other challengers so that they couldn’t become group leaders. But if Hou Jinchang was here, then there was no need to help. ‘The rest is up to you now, 7th cadet. Whoever’s up here will not go easy on you.’ No one would challenge their own group’s cadet to easily let them become the group leader. They all had similar thoughts as Impeng. As numbers the numbers were matched, Hameng said, “Hmph, we have enough then. So, let’s start with the first cadet. Who will challenge him?” “I…” “I will do it, chief!” Hou Jinchang was trying to volunteer when the 12th group leader Yushun quickly raised his hand to intercept it. ‘He dares?!’ Hou Jinchang frowned. He was interested in Chun Muyeon, who was known to be the closest to being the next Lord. He wanted to check on Muyeon’s talent himself, but he was too slow. ‘I’m sorry, but you would have not gone easy on him.’ Yushun also thought Chun Muyeon was the right individual as the future Lord, and didn’t want him to be embarrassed here. Unlike his interest, Hou Jinchang was not someone who would go easy on them. Hou Jinchang then raised his hand and shouted at Lee Hameng, “Chief! Then I will handle the 18th cadet!” It almost made him laugh, but Hameng held back and agreed. “You do that.” Yushun frowned. He tried to help guide Chun Muyeon away from danger and got his own cadet, Bakgi, in trouble instead. It was the price he paid for angering Hou Jinchang. And as for Chun Yeowun, he was paired with Sang Munyo, the instructor of the first group. He was glad about the outcome since Sang Munyo wanted to fight Chun Yeowun from the beginning. “Two of you may begin first.” Chun Muyeon and Yushun looked at each other, bowed, and readied their stances. As they were preparing, Chun Yeowun’s eyes shook and white lights lingered in them. Chun Muyeon charged first. The Wise Clan specialized in two martial arts techniques: the Wise Demon Sword, and the Flowing Cloud Palm. “GOOD!” Yushun shouted. Even for the martial artists in the cult, it wasn’t common for them to fight against the members of the six clans. He wanted to fight with his own martial arts, but he had to use the Seven Demon Sword, which was a downside. Yushun used the defense formation, or the fifth sword, to defend. Chun Yeowun narrowed his eyes. ‘What?’ The movements were familiar, but he couldn’t counter the formation just once. Chun Muyeon then moved onto his next attack. Yushun was astonished by the level of power. It seemed like he would lose if he underestimated Muyeon. ‘Let’s not consider him as a cadet.’ Chun Muyeon was already at the level of a Squad Leader. Yushun unleashed his two swords and three sword skills at the palms that covered his sight. By attacking with the two sword skills, it defended against the shadowy palms coming in. ‘This is a top-class martial art?’ Chun Muyeon was shocked. He didn’t think his palm attack would be blocked like this. ‘This is…’ Chun Yeowun was able to confirm that even if the formation was different, the sword movement was exactly the same as what was left on the blue pearl stone. The difference was that there were twenty-four sword movements on the stone, but the movement from Seven Demon Sword had fewer moves. There were only about eight of them. And from what could be seen, it looked like the Seven Demon Sword had twelve sword movements in total. ‘If it’s the same movement as what was left on that stone… then.’ Was it the Sword Demon who left the trace? It hadn’t been proven yet, but that was very likely. As Chun Muyeon and Yushun fought for ten formations, Yushun had used all the seven sword formations and shown all of the sword movements. Yet, it was so flexible that Chun Muyeon’s eyes turned cold. They were at a similar level of martial arts, but Yushun had more experience and internal energy that allowed him to defend well. ‘So, he is an instructor after all.’ He couldn’t let it drag on, so Chun Muyeon prepared himself with a different stance. His right hand went back and he pushed his left palm forward. His palm attack then turned in the opposite away as he attacked. Yushun was shocked when he was attacked from another side. It was the same attack, but this time it came from the left hand, which made it hard for him to make the right adjustments. At that moment, Muyeon’s right hand suddenly appeared and struck Yushun’s shoulder. It was the sword qi, wielded by Muyeon’s right hand. “Whoaaaa!” Cadets shouted in astonishment. It was the first group leader who had defeated the instructor and he even showed the sword qi that one would be able to use when they became a master martial artist. ‘He doesn’t disappoint.’ Lee Hameng nodded above the stage. ‘He has learned the martial arts of the First Elder already. He is a genius.’ The First Elder Mu Jinwon of the Wise Clan was known for using his both hands, which placed him as the second most powerful martial artist in the cult. “Great,” Yushun said as he grabbed his right shoulder that was bleeding. “Thank you, sir.” Yushun had confirmed the future Lord’s power and was satisfied. He then gave the yellow tag to Chun Muyeon. “You are now a group leader for the third test.” Chun Muyeon bowed. Cadets shouted again. As they all were busy talking about Chun Muyeon’s power, Chun Yeowun was looking at the yellow tag. ‘Take that tag…’ It didn’t seem simple. ‘Is one person only allowed one tag?’ He was told that he could take the tag, but this seemed a bit weird. While Chun Yeowun was being curious, Lee Hameng got up and shouted, “Let’s move on to the next fight!” ‘Oh, it’s my turn.’ Chun Yeowun got up and stood across Sang Munyo. His question for the yellow tag was set aside. ‘What I do here will decide what will happen next.’ He had to prove himself in front of all the cadets. ‘Hmm?’ Sang Munyo thought it was in interesting to see Chun Yeowun who wasn’t tense at all. ‘I thought he wouldn’t even complete the first test.’ Chun Yeowun exceeded the expectation of every instructor in the academy. His growth shocked everyone. ‘But your journey ends here.’ Sang Munyo couldn’t accept Chun Yeowun as the candidate. The only ones he deemed worthy were Chun Muyeon and Chun Yuchan. ‘I will crush you, kid.’ Chapter 43 Chapter 43: Defeat a instructor (3) Unlike the first fight, the cadets weren’t as interested in the second fight since they all knew the difference of power between the two. ‘He’ll be lucky if he even lasts a few exchanges.’ ‘Just because he got better… I think he’s being too reckless.’ Cadets remembered Chun Yeowun’s power from the second test. He had shown top-quality martial arts and a fine blade skill, but that didn’t seem like it was enough to fight against the instructor. “You may begin!” Both of them bowed. Chun Yeowun then readied his Butterfly Blade Dance. ‘Butterfly Blade Dance,’ Sang Munyo thought. After the second test, Lee Hameng told every instructor that Right Guardian Submeng had taught Chun Yeowun his blade skill. They weren’t sure why Submeng had taught Chun Yeowun, but Submeng was known for being erratic so it didn’t matter. ‘You are lucky to have learned that skill, but that’s not enough.’ “Come. I will allow you to attack first.” Sang Munyo waved at Yeowun who then charged in. ‘He’s a master level warrior. Let’s do my best!’ Yeowun was at the beginning of the master level, but his internal power didn’t equal those experienced master level warriors. “Hah!” ‘Huh?’ Yeowun’s attack was unleashed more powerfully than what Sang Munyo expected. ‘It’s not like a few days ago!’ Munyo flinched and quickly brought his energy up to defend all the way to 70%, which was 20% up from his intended 50%. ‘This will do.’ And Yeowun’s hand struck against him and Munyo was startled. Unlike his guess for Yeowun to have thirty years worth of internal energy, the attack was too strong. Munyo was sent way back, stumbling five steps. He became embarrassed and blushed. ‘What an embarrassment!’ All the cadets were shocked too. They thought Yeowun would lose easily, but even the instructor who fought Muyeon wasn’t pushed back like that. ‘Ugh! Dammit!’ Sang Munyo then decided to do his best to overpower Yeowun with all he had. As Sang Munyo unleashed his all of internal energy, Chun Yeowun was thrown back. Yeowun then took steps back, knowing that his enemy had unleashed all his energy. “You think you can run?!” Sang Munyo then unleashed the fourth and sixth sword movements of the Seven Demon Sword. “Take this!” Cadets gasped in astonishment as they saw the powerful sword skill being unleashed. However, Yeowun wasn’t afraid. ‘I can see it!’ He didn’t have tutorial mode on, but he was able to see the weak point of the sword movement. ‘It’s not perfect yet.’ He had learned the original sword skill multiple times and the counter sword skill. ‘This is nothing compared to the counter sword skill I saw on the stone!’ He could have countered this attack easily if he had used the original sword skill and the counter skill from the stone, but it wasn’t time to show it here. ‘If I’m not wrong..’ Yeowun then charged against the instructor’s sword. Sang Munyo scoffed at the sight. “You are a fool. You cannot defend this with a mere attack.’ He thought he had won, but in the next moment, his eyes shook in shock. Chun Yeowun used his basic blade movement to counter every single sword attack. ‘W-what!’ Chun Yeowun still had taken a bit of internal damage as he lacked internal energy, but this was enough to make everyone, even the cadets, surprised. Even Chun Muyeon couldn’t counter the attack perfectly like this. “Ugh…!” Sang Munyo grimaced. He had now forgotten about the test. ‘Then I will defeat you with internal energy!’ Sang Munyo then attacked with the seventh sword, thinking this was the only way he could defeat Chun Yeowun. However, there was one thing he didn’t expect. It was Nano. [Healing the internal damage taken from the hostile energy damaging the body.] Chun Yeowun’s body was healed instantly moment he took damage. Blood dripped from his mouth, but he wasn’t falling down, which made Sang Munyo pale. ‘Why isn’t he falling?! Why?!’ He had been pushing against Yeowun with all of his power, but Yeowun stood still. This made Sang Munyo panic and that gave Yeowun a chance. Yeowun then unleashed his blade attack against Munyo’s right rib. ‘No! I have to defend this!’ Munyo quickly sent internal energy to make a barrier within himself, but when Chun Yeowun’s hand struck, his rib cage was destroyed and he screamed in pain. “AAAAAAAARGH!” He was able to defend against the internal energy, but he couldn’t do anything about the tremendous amount of physical strength. “Ugh..” He slumped down on the ground and looked below. He saw pieces of his rib bones poking out of his flesh and felt his sight fading away. “You… m-monster…” Sang Munyo gasped and passed out. The cadets shouted with excitement as no one expected Yeowun to win. ‘…So, Yumpa didn’t overestimate him. This is dangerous,’ Chun Yuchan thought as he looked at Yeowun. All of the other princes had the same thought. ‘He countered the sword skill?’ Lee Hameng, who was sitting down originally, was up on his feet as well. It was after he saw Yeowun counter the sword skill. The Seven Demon Sword was made by the legendary Sword Demon, which was hard to counter. ‘…I really should’ve have let that drunkard take him.’ This meant Yeowun was the genius of the century. Hameng became envious of Submeng who took him in as his apprentice. Then someone shouted at Hameng. “Chief! We have to move him to the medical room! His rib cage… its broken and three of his ribs are protruding out of his body!” “Get him to the medical room now.” As Lee Hameng looked at him, he remembered the report given by the instructor who was in charge of the private training room. ‘He destroyed the wall of the private training room. I think the 7th cadet is at the level of a master.’ ‘What?’ He had forgotten to tell this to the instructors who just got back from vacation. If Sang Munyo had heard of this, he would not have been injured that badly. ‘Oh well.’ “Here, I got his tag for you.” “Oh!” Impeng went up to Chun Yeowun who was panting and gave him the yellow tag. Yeowun bowed. “Thank you, sir.” “I didn’t have much expectations for you at first, but seeing you grow makes me have second thoughts. Good luck.” Impeng then returned and Yeowun smiled as he grabbed the yellow tag before returning to his 8th group. “Master! Congratulations!” “Congratulations, Leader!” As he returned, Hu Bong and the three cadets came to congratulate him. There were also the four cadets who rejected his offer that looked sad. ‘Dammit…’ But it was too late for regrets. Chapter 44 Chapter 44: I will ram it in until it works (1) The atmosphere on the training ground was now very different. Instructors were like the symbol of impossible for the cadets. However, they had just witnessed two cases where the impossible had turned possible. The instructors were also shocked. It might be better for the cadets to have hope than despair for the next test, but this was also very embarrassing. “Hmph.” Hou Jinchang shook his head. He didn’t care about embarrassment. Instructors had to be happy if their cadets were talented. ‘IF they have the skills, then they can be stronger than instructors.’ He first thought he wanted to try fighting Muyeon, but after seeing Yeowun, he also became disappointed that he couldn’t fight against him either. “Let’s see the last fight then!” Hou Jinchang and Bakgi got up to the front of the stage. All instructors were saying this with their eyes: ‘Please win!’ But they weren’t that worried either. Hou Jinchang was the best instructor there was. Bakgi gathered his hands politely and bowed, “I will look forward to being taught a lesson, Instructor.” “Let’s do our best.” Hou Jinchang smiled as he liked Bakgi’s politeness. As they readied themselves, Bakgi charged like lightning and threw a kick. ‘Kick skill?’ Yeowun became surprised. He thought Bakgi looked like a blade user, but he was using a kick skill. Yeowun watched the fight with Augmented Reality to analyze what he was seeing. ‘I have more avatars I can fight against now..’ All these fights were great material for Yeowun. Unlike Chun Mukeum, Chun Muyeon had shown all the formations of his palm skill, and they were all scanned. Yeowun was also intrigued by the fact that Muyeon used both hands with different formations. “Watch your leg.” Hou Jinchang warned and pressed on the blood point of the Bakgi’s leg. Bakgi then threw his waist to dodge and spun to kick Hou Jinchang. Jinchang then easily reached the bottom of the foot to press on the blood point. Bakgi gasped and was thrown back. “Ugh!” Bakgi frowned. His foot was turning red. The sharp energy that penetrated his foot was the sword qi. Use of such qi in that short moment meant that the enemy was beyond the level of a master. ‘…Is he at the superior master level?’ Bakgi was able to guess Hou Jinchang’s level as a warrior. He thought Jinchang would be at a similar level as the other instructors, but that wasn’t the case. ‘Do I give up?’ He had lost his leg, so he couldn’t use kick skill anymore. Hou Jinchang asked, “Your right leg is damaged. What will you do now?” It was as if he was asking what steps he would take to overcome the danger. Bakgi nodded and got up again. ‘My foot is injured… I will have to finish it with one formation.’ Bakgi then jumped and attacked Hou Jinchang. His kick came through, and Hou Jinchang tried to defend by using the fifth sword of the Seven Demon Sword technique. That’s when Bakgi’s body dropped below. Hou Jinchang’s sword swung in the air, and Bakgi slid to the bottom and threw himself up from the foot up to kick. Hou Jinchang then saw white light coming from Bakgi’s foot. ‘Qi?’ It was qi. Bakgi was also entering the level of a master warrior. Most cadets didn’t see the light but Chun Yeowun and the other cadets who were over the top-class level saw it. ‘Please!’ That’s when Hou Jinchang used his sword formation to form a durable defense. “That was close.” Hou Jinchang blocked Bakgi’s foot and pressed on the chest blood point. It didn’t have qi so it didn’t penetrate him, but it instead pinned Bakgi onto the ground. “UGH!” Bakgi coughed up blood as the internal energy struck him down. It was a complete loss. Yushun shook his head bitterly. ‘OH… he lost.’ ‘He couldn’t even stand a few formations!’ ‘So the instructors are powerful then.’ ‘The 1st and 7th cadets are monsters!’ “Ugh.. I- I lost.” Bakgi could barely stand up to speak. Hou Jinchang smiled. He had overpowered Bakgi, but he also thought Bakgi was a talented individual. “I will look forward to your growth.” “T-thank you, sir.” Bakgi bowed and returned to his group. He was pale from exhaustion and toward the back, Chun Jongsum smiling at his leader’s loss. Chun Yeowun looked at it weirdly. ‘…Nano, get the 18th cadet’s video ready so I can check on him later.’ [Yes, Master.] There was something that didn’t seem right. So, two group leaders had already been appointed. There was a total of fifteen spots left, but who would dare to take the tag from Hou Jinchang? “Good. We already have two leaders. So, if you don’t want to be left out, get ready!” “Mado!” The cadets shouted. “So, now we’ll bring out what you’ve been waiting for.” Hameng glanced at the instructors and they began bringing out big wooden boxes. ‘It’s the Black Dragon Balls.’ The cadets became excited. There were a lot of boxes coming in, meaning there was more than just the Black Dragon Balls. As instructors opened the boxes, there were smaller wooden boxes that held Black Dragon Balls and wooden swords. “We will supply wooden swords for the third test. There is only one per person, so don’t break it.” “Mado!” They all had to train on their own now, so they had to have a sword. As the students received their own wooden sword, Black Dragon Ball, and the book, the cadets returned to their spot to line up and Lee Hameng dismissed them. “I will see you during the third test. Dismissed!” Cadets then began scattering to go about on their way. Some went to the private training room to take the Black Dragon Ball, while some highranked clan members went to study the book first so they could aim to be a group leader. ‘Let’s take the ball first.’ Yeowun already had the tag, so he was seven days ahead. ‘And I need to check something too.’ He had to check on Bakgi’s video too. As he was walking toward the private training room, many cadets approached him. ‘Huh?’ Chapter 45 Chapter 45: I will ram it in until it works (2) Twenty students surrounded Chun Yeowun. However, they weren’t hostile. Four of them were Hu Bong and three cadets from the 8th group. Hu Bong realized why there were all here. It seemed that these cadets wanted to join as members of Yeowun’s group. Hu Bong glanced at the other three members, and they blocked the way to Chun Yeowun. ‘What?’ ‘He already has four?’ Some cadets looked disappointed. As expected, they were here to ask Yeowun to take them into his group. ‘It’s good that we decided!’ Hu Bong, Machil, Wungchun, Ho Daming were satisfied that they had made the right choice. They were from middle-ranked clans that didn’t have much power because they were not favored by the six clans. They had dreams, but they couldn’t do much since the six clans had cast them out, which led them to despair. After looking at Chun Yeowun’s quick rise to power, they thought they might have a chance at changing their fate. “What business do you have with my master?” Hu Bong asked the cadets. Chun Yeowun almost laughed. Hu Bong was doing a good job as a servant. “I want to talk to the 7th cadet himself, not you.” A big-bodied, muscular cadet spoke grumpily. Hu Bong shook his head and blocked him before he turned to Yeowun. “Master, what would you like to do?” “It’s okay. Let me talk to them.” “Yes, sir.” Hu Bong walked past and the well-built cadet came up to him. He bowed and complimented him, “I saw your valiant fight.” Chun Yeowun also bowed, “Thanks.” “I am the 857th cadet, Ko Wanghur.” “Chun Yeowun.” “Take me into your group.” “Hmm.” Yeowun’s group members became excited. It was better to find group members early so they could get ready for the test. Ko Wanghur then introduced himself further. “I am from the Demon Fist Clan, and I am at the top-class level. I will be a good member to you.” The other cadets surrounding them were surprised. ‘Oh… there goes a spot.’ If they were the leader, there was no way they would turn down Ko Wanghur. But if this was who they were competing with, their chances of getting accepted to group were becoming slim. The cadets then shouted their names and their clans. There were some from high-ranked clans like Ko Wanghur. Out of the sixteen of them, five were from high-ranked clans and eleven of them were from middle to low-ranked clans. As the people turned to Yeowun and waited for his answer, Yeowun calmly said, “I first want to thank you for wanting to be in my group.” Chun Yeowun bowed to them. All sixteen cadets then bowed back, astonished by his politeness and sincere movements. “I want to bring up something first.” They all focused as it seemed like Chun Yeowun was going to say something important. “I am not only looking for members who will complete the third test with me.” ‘Huh?’ What did he mean? Some figured out what Chun Yeowun meant and began to frown. “I am looking for allies who will walk alongside me on the perilous path within the cult.” ‘Wait… is he talking about the competition for the throne?’ They then realized what Chun Yeowun really was talking about. He was aiming to be the heir to the throne and was gathering allies. ‘Hmm.’ ‘What should I do?’ They only wanted to pass the third test, but this was an entirely different issue. If they joined Chun Yeowun for the competition, it also meant that they would be facing the six clans. ‘They are afraid.’ Chun Yeowun also realized this. He spoke to the cadets. “If you are with me, I don’t care where you are from. At the end of the path, the current clan rank or fame will not matter. I will change the basic foundation of our cult.” The cadets were shocked. This was like a declaration of war against the six clans. ‘Is he crazy?’ Chun Yeowun’s path required power, but also formidable forces. It was like a bad gamble to be with Yeowun. Most of them were now thinking of giving up. “Please be my ally and be the root of the new clans to the Demonic Cult. That is my condition.” Chun Yeowun’s voice indicated that he was speaking with sincerity and truthfully. The cadets then began to show their rejection. “I’m sorry, Prince. I just want to pass the third test.” “I’m out.” Most of the cadets then began declining the offer politely. Four of Yeowun’s members became shocked. ‘Oh, no…’ ‘He could’ve just taken them in and told them later…’ But they also understood the risk involved in this. “I’m sorry.” Most of them apologized as they left. Although most of the cadets had left, three were left behind. What was more surprising was that Ko Wanghur hadn’t left. Hu Bong was touched by the three cadets who stayed behind. Ko Wanghur from Demon Fist Clan, Ja Wumin from Golden Door Clan, and Ohjong of the Tiger Sword Clan. These cadets also thought of giving up on joining Yeowun, but they felt the power and charisma in Yeowun’s speech. “Pr…” “Pr…” “Oh, you first.” Both men spoke first, but Ja Wumin told Ko Wanghur to speak first. “Prince Chun. Your path might endanger all those who follow you. They might die as well.” The other two cadets next to Ko Wanghur also nodded. “Honestly, I thought about leaving too.” It was understandable. Ko Wanghur had the power to side with a more reliable candidate. “But as a warrior, I wish for a greater goal. After hearing your dream, I felt tempted to join your cause.” Ko Wanghur then knelt on his knee. “I have a long way to go, but I will never kneel to anyone besides you. Please use me as your first sword.” He shouted as he gathered both hands, “I pledge allegiance to Prince Chun Yeowun!” And here was the First Fist Ko Wanghur of the former Demon God, pledging allegiance to Chun Yeowon. ‘…I’m the first servant.’ All the cadets were astonished, but only Hu Bong was jealous. Chapter 46 Chapter 46: I will ram it in until it works (3) After joining Chun Yeowun’s team, three of them introduced themselves to Hu Bong, Machil, Wungchun, and Ho Daming. Hu Bong then spoke to Ko Wanghur. “I don’t care if you are Sword or Shield of the Master, but his first servant is me.” He wanted to make this clear. Puzzled, Ko Wanghur raised his eyebrow and Yeowun laughed. “Yeah, Hu Bong is my first servant.” “Haha! I see. I guess we have to make things clear!” Ko Wanghur laughed as he agreed and Hu Bong laughed in satisfaction. Yeowun now had seven members, but he still needed four more. ‘Let’s not hurry.’ However, he didn’t have to gather people too fast since Chun Yeowun wanted true allies. “Master, what should we do now?” Hu Bong asked. Their training now relied on the group leader’s instructions. Chun Yeowun ordered, “Everyone, absorb your Black Dragon Ball. We will need to do that first to learn the Seven Demon Sword.” “Yes, sir!” Other than Chun Yeowun and Ko Wanghur, the other five didn’t have topclass internal energy. They had to increase their energy up to thirty years worth so they could learn Seven Demon Sword, and train for the formation. Hu Bong asked, “Master… what should we do with the Seven Dragon Sword? We have never learned any top-class martial arts skills yet.” Ohjong, Machil, Wungchun, and Ho Daming nodded. Unlike Chun Yeowun, they didn’t have the chance to learn powerful martial arts. “They have a point. Learning a top-class martial art isn’t easy.” Ja Wumin also shared the same thought. He had learned the Golden Door Spear skill, which was a top-quality martial art, so he knew how hard it can be to learn it without a teacher. ‘Hmm, nothing is easy then.’ Yeowun had a solution this, however. If he used tutorial mode, he could scan the person’s movements to easily correct any problems or errors. ‘I will have to teach them myself.’ Yeowun smiled, “Then after you absorb your Black Dragon Ball, learn all the movements to the Seven Demon Sword first.” “Movement?” “Starting tomorrow, you will train with me in the morning. I will teach you the formation and the movements. If you can’t do it alone, come.” The cadets became excited. Meanwhile, Chun Yeowun was thinking of a very effective teaching strategy. ‘Well, I can just ram it into their head until it works.’ Yeowun decided to adopt Submeng’s education philosophy. After the plan was set, the cadets left to absorb their Black Dragon Balls. The only one left was Ko Wanghur who wanted to talk some more. “What is it?” “Master, I think it’ll be better for you to have someone with you when you move around.” “Why is that?” “I am concerned about the point where we were told to take the yellow tag from the instructor.” Yeowun became intrigued. He too was concerned about that. The Chief didn’t say that the tag was only limited to one person — the meaning behind the words suggested, ‘The one who has a yellow tag will become a leader.’ ‘Maybe the purpose for the yellow tag wasn’t to defeat the instructor, but to have the cadets fight against each other.’ And that was what Ko Wanghur was worried about. “You have fewer allies with you compared to the 1st cadet, so you have to be careful.” “Thank you for your advice.” “Of course, Master.” “Yeah, then let’s do something about this first.” Chun Yeowun then went to the instructors to ask about how the dorm rooms would be assigned. Fortunately, he was told that the group leaders could ask for a new room with his own members. Thus, Chun Yeowun immediately requested a room. When that was done, he went to the private room to absorb the Black Dragon Ball. Ko Wanghur, who wanted to use the room next to Yeowun, was astonished when he saw that Yeowun was allowed to use the wider room that was not open to the other cadets yet. “I will become more powerful and strive to be in the same building as you, Master!” His eagerness only grew. Yeowun came into the room and opened the wooden box. “Ugh.” A thick foul stench filled the room. Chun Yeowun picked up the ball with a scowl and put it into his mouth. He chewed it down carefully, enduring the bitterness. ‘Ugh… Nano, help me absorb this thing.’ [Yes, Master.] Yeowun then swallowed it and began using the Breathing of Thousand Martials skill. [Sensed substance that provides strong energy activation. Increasing bodily function to absorb the substance.] A while later, Chun Yeowun’s body began letting out steam. It was the phenomenon that happened when one obtained sixty years worth of internal energy. After a while, the steam stopped and Yeowun opened his eyes. “OH!” He was astonished to feel the heavy internal energy below his stomach. His internal energy was now above a little bit over the sixty years. ‘Now I really am at the master level.’ Yeowun thanked Nano. ‘Nano. it’s all thanks to you.’ [Yes, Master. It’s all on me.] ‘….Yeah.’ Nano was a machine, so it did not know to be humble. Yeowun got up awkwardly and began trying using his internal energy. On his hand, the clear shape of qi appeared on his palm. “I got it!” If he could give it will of the blade, then it would allow him to use blade qi like Chun Yuchan. ‘I should get used to using qi.’ Chun Yeowun tried to go into training when he suddenly remembered something. ‘Oh, right. Nano, can you show me the video about Bakgi?’ Yeowun asked. [Playing the video through Augmented Reality.] Chun Yeowun’s eyes moved rapidly began to watch the playback of Bakgi starting to fight against Hou Jinchang. ‘Nano, zoom in on Bakgi.’ [Zooming in.] Yeowun looked closely after Nano zoomed in. What he was looking at were Bakgi’s face and neck. And when Bakgi was thrown back and got up while coughing, Yeowun thought, ‘Nano, zoom in on his face and neck.’ [Zooming in.] As the screen zoomed in to the point where it began to show Bakgi’s skin pores, Yeowun ordered Nano to stop. ‘Stop.’ [Pausing video.] Bakgi’s face was pale and his eyes were red. What was more surprising was the fact that his neck was redder. With the zoomed image, one could see that there were small red dots all over. Yeowun mumbled in anger. “…Poison!” Chapter 47 Chapter 47: I will crush them all (1) The poison killed its target slowly without them knowing. The red dot was the symptom that showed when the person was poisoned. Chun Yeowun bit his lips. ‘Mother…’ His mother, Lady Hwa, was killed by the same poison and Yeowun couldn’t forget the fact. He had learned from the pain of having his loved one die. ‘How can he be poisoned?’ The symptom seemed to be severe. Lady Hwa had those dots a few months before she died, and Bakgi had the same dots. ‘That only appears after long exposure.’ It was weird for Bakgi to have been exposed to the poison for a long time. ‘Chun Jongsum!’ Yeowun then remembered Jongsum who was smiling at Bakgi. That was why Yeowun had to check Bakgi’s video in the first place. Bakgi was the only one who defeated the prince within the group. It was likely that Chun Jongsum was angry and embarrassed. However, as far as Yeowun knew, one needed to be exposed to the poison through years of dosage. ‘He was either poisoned before he entered the academy, or Chun Jongsum used a heavy dose.’ It was likely that the latter was what was happening. The former was also possible but Chun Yeowun leaned toward the latter. ‘Bastard…’ To Yeowun, poison was frowned upon since it killed his mother. He knew he didn’t have to do anything with the problem between Bakgi and Chun Jongsum, but seeing the same poison being used made him furious. ‘He will try to do the same against others with the poison. I can’t say he’s doing anything wrong in the Demonic Cult Academy, but I can’t let him do that.” Chun Yeowun then decided to destroy Chun Jongsum’s evil plans. At the training ground, a duel was going on. One person was a instructor and the other was 5th cadet Chun Yuchan. ‘He’s beyond the level of the other cadets too.’ Instructor Hong Duwi was astonished. The fight was a close match since both of them were at the level of master warriors. ‘I can’t defeat him with the Seven Demon Sword only.’ The Seven Demon Sword was being countered. It wasn’t a perfect counter like what Chun Yeowun did, but it was still being countered. ‘He’s also a genius like those two.’ They didn’t need to duel anymore. Chun Yuchan already had enough power and knowledge regarding the skill. Hong Duwi took a few steps back and raised his hand to stop. Chun Yuchan smiled back. “This is enough.” “Meaning?” “Here’s the tag.” Hong Duwi then took the tag and gave it to Chun Yuchan. “Haha! I’m a group leader now!” “Yes, congratulations. I wish you luck.” “Thank you, Instructor.” Chun Yuchan bowed. After he saw Hong Duwi return to the building, he grinned. “There’s one. Who should I go for next?” It was now close to dinner time. The cafeteria was crowded with cadets who were busy eating. They were all smiling as their internal energy had increased greatly from absorbing the Black Dragon Ball. But those cadets who had not achieved the thirty years worth of energy were gloomy, since having that much was the basic requirement to learn the Seven Demon Sword. That’s when everyone turned to the person walking in. It was the 18th cadet, Bakgi. He was alone, unlike the other group leader worthy cadets. He took a seat in an empty corner and began to eat. Someone then sat down in front of him. Bakgi did not look up. “Hey, 18th cadet.” Bakgi then raised his face. It was Chun Kungwun, the prince from the Sword Clan. “What is it?” “I watched your duel.” Bakgi placed his chopsticks on the bowl and glared at Chun Kungwun. ‘How dare he?’ Chun Kungwun did not like Bakgi’s attitude. Most cadets were always polite toward him since he was still a prince, but Bakgi wasn’t like that. “I am eating. What do you want?” Bakgi was curt. Chun Kungwun became angrier, but he kept his calm. “Hmph. I noticed you were at the master level.” Bakgi was appalled. It seemed like he had seen the qi too. This meant that Chun Kungwun was also a master. “I like your skill. I think you want to be a group leader, but don’t you want to go up higher?” “Ah…” Bakgi sighed as he realized Chun Kungwun’s intentions. He was offering him to join his group. Bakgi then began to eat. Chun Kungwun frowned, but he wasn’t the type to show his anger in front of everyone else. “Well, you think about it.” Chun Kungwun left and Bakgi focused on the food. This was the second time already. When he was on his way to the training room, Chun Yuchan had already come up to him, offering a spot in his group. Bakgi refused since he wasn’t interested in joining the princes’ groups. All he wanted was to become strong. He kept eating while he was irritated, until someone sat in front of him again. “I’m sorry, but can we talk?” ‘Ugh… again?’ Bakgi sighed. If he had known that this would happen, he would not have challenged instructor in front of everyone else. He spat at the cadet. “Not interested. Get lost.” “…Hm.” The cadet moaned. It was Chun Yeowun. Chapter 48 Chapter 48: I will crush them all (2) There were three ways to find other cadets in the academy. One was to hope to meet them by coincidence, but it became much harder after the private training rooms had been opened. The second was to go to their room, but it wasn’t a good way since many of the students would be asleep. The last way was to find them at the cafeteria. Chun Yeowun took the third way and found Bakgi eating alone. Before he got there, someone walked up to him first. ‘Chun Kungwun?’ It was Chun Kungwun, the Prince of the Sword Clan. ‘Nano, cut out all the noise except for the conversation between those two.’ [Yes, Master.] Chun Yeowun then heard Kungwun and Bakgi’s conversation. What was interesting was that Kungwun wanted to recruit Bakgi who was powerful enough to be a group leader. It wasn’t surprising that Kungwun would want a powerful warrior like Bakgi, but there was no way Bakgi would join a group when he himself could be a leader. Chun Yeowun then took a seat. It didn’t matter as he was here to let him know about the poison. Yeowun then looked at Bakgi’s neck. ‘His neck…?’ His neck had regained color and the red dots were gone. Bakgi answered, “Not interested. Get lost.” “…Hm.” Chun Yeowun then began thinking about how should he explain everything. He didn’t know what to tell Bakgi when the red dots were gone. However, he couldn’t let Bakgi die from the poison. “If we don’t talk now, you might die.” “What?” It wasn’t his intention, but Bakgi interpreted this as a threat. He glared at Yeowun. “You are more arrogant than the other princes. Do you think you can get group members like that?” “…You misunderstood.” “What? You just threatened me. I understood you perfectly fine.” Bakgi was almost trying to fight him. Yeowun shook his head. “I’m not saying that. Hear me out. You have been poisoned.” “Poison? What the hell do you mean?” Bakgi became dumbfounded. “I saw your fight and saw the red dots on your neck. Your face also became pale. You have been poisoned with a special kind of poison.” Bakgi frowned. There was no way he would not notice being poisoned when he was a master-level warrior. ‘Poison? That’s impossible.’ He had never found any type of poison while meditating. Ever since he was appointed to the group, he had been wary of Chun Jongsum. He even avoided coming into contact with the prince. ‘And why is he warning me of this?’ Bakgi then became curious about Chun Yeowun’s intentions. “…I’m sorry I misunderstood you, but there is no way that I would’ve missed detecting the poison.” Bakgi apologized for his mistake. It seemed like he was very truthful to his feelings. “What?” Chun Yeowun was also surprised. He and Lady Hwa had no internal energy, so he didn’t know that one could sense poison by meditating. ‘Meditating allows one to detect the poison? But… that symptom was surely because of the poison.’ If what Bakgi said was right, then he wasn’t poisoned. As Chun Yeowun thought, he saw someone entering the cafeteria. It was Baek Jongmeng, the doctor of the academy. ‘Doctor Baek!’ Chun Yeowun then decided to ask the doctor. “Then why don’t we check with the doctor? It’s better to be safe than sorry, right?” “…Yeah.” It was reasonable, but it felt like Yeowun was doing what he wanted. Bakgi returned his dishes and went to Baek Jongmeng along with Yeowun. “Dinner, dinner~” Baek Jongmeng was getting the food while whistling. “Doctor Baek.” “Huh?” Baek Jongmeng turned and saw Chun Yeowun. “Oh, long time no see! Uh, or is it? Anyway. Did you eat?” “No, sir.” “Then let’s eat. I don’t want to eat together though. I want to tell you something too later.” Baek Jongmeng wanted to thank Yeowun. After he left, he had gotten many patients. They weren’t all because of Yeowun, but Jongmeng loved being busy. Yeowun shook his head. “I’m sorry, but can you check up on him before that?” “Huh?” Jongmeng turned to Bakgi who was standing next to Yeowun. “18th cadet, Bakgi. Sir.” “Oh, yeah. Nice to meet you. I’m Baek Jongmeng. Did you get hurt?” Baek Jongmeng had never seen Bakgi. Although his foot was pierced by sword qi, he didn’t go see the doctor. “…I think he’s been poisoned.” “What? Poison?” Jongmeng’s expression turned serious. He didn’t think that he’d have a poisoned patient in the academy. ‘Oh… they are here I guess.’ He then realized that Chun Jongsum and the other members were from the Poison Clan. “I can’t do it here. Let’s go back to the medical room.” Jongmeng then returned the food he had gotten and went back to his medical room. When they reached the second floor, Chun Yeowun was confused by the number of guards. There weren’t that many before. ‘…All these guards were here and Teacher got past all of them?’ That didn’t seem likely. He then realized that none of the instructors including the Chief were curious about his Butterfly Blade Dance. ‘I see… so they must have known.’ Chun Yeowun then followed Jongmeng into the room. Jongmeng let Bakgi have a seat and began checking his various blood points. “Hm… this is strange.” “Is it dangerous?” Bakgi was concerned so he carefully asked his question. “No, your pulse is fine.” “Then am I okay?” Bakgi asked with relief but Jongmeng then said, “Did you try meditating?” “Yes, always. I didn’t sense any poison.” “Hm… I can’t find anything from just feeling the pulse and blood points.” Yeowun then interrupted, “His eyes turned red and his face became pale. His neck also had red dots.” “What?” Bakgi was shocked. ‘How did he see that?’ He was surprised that Yeowun had seen all those details at such a distance. “I think it’s the poison that kills the target slowly.” Yeowun offered his conjecture and Jongmeng exclaimed, “…Right! How did you know that?” Chun Yeowun was right about the poison’s symptoms. Yeowun answered, “…My mother was killed by that poison.” “Oh… I’m sorry.” Jongmeng bowed. He then remembered seeing his teacher taking the medicine to use it as an antidote for that poison a long time ago. ‘…So, that’s why.’ Bakgi also became apologetic. He was suspicious of Yeowun trying to help, but hearing this made him understand. “Well, you can’t find that poison through meditating or just checking the pulse.” “What?” “Hold on.” Jongmeng then went to his cabinet and brought something out. He then began mixing the medicines and fired it up. The smoke began to rise. “Breath with your mouth to take the smoke in.” “Mouth?” “Yeah, a big one.” “Okay.” Bakgi then took in the smoke and began coughing roughly. He began to turn pale and the red dots popped up around his neck. “Ugh!” He fell down on the ground and kept on coughing. Jongmeng put out the fire, and then Bakgi got up with a pale face. “It is the poison.” “W-what… but how..” He couldn’t understand how he had been poisoned. “But I was fine when I meditated and I didn’t make any contact! I always ate alone too!” This was why Bakgi ate alone. It was to defend himself from Chun Jongsum so he couldn’t do anything to him. “Well… this one is a bit different.” “What?” “This one shows the effect when it’s inside your lung or stomach.” “Lung?” “You can consume it through food, but you can also be poisoned by breathing it in while you sleep. And the poison is so little that you won’t notice it when you’re asleep. Do you share a room with someone who might be using the poison?” Bakgi then glared with reddened eyes and shuddered in anger. ‘Chun Jongsum, you bastard…!!!” Chapter 49 Chapter 49: I will crush them all (3) Bakgi was already at the level of a master when he entered the academy. He quickly overpowered Chun Jongsum who threatened the other group members on the first day of the academy. Chun Jongsum warned him when he lost. ‘You enjoy your victory now. The claw of the Poison Clan is like good wine. It gets deeper as time goes on.’ Therefore, Bakgi always watched out for any signs of a poison attack, but he still got poisoned in the end. “Hmph.” Baek Jongmeng brought out more medicine to take out the poison. Chun Yeowun then asked the doctor, “How bad is it for him?” Jongmeng smiled. “He’s okay. Luckily, we detected it early. He’ll heal after a week of antidotes.” “But isn’t it severe if he has the red dots?” He remembered Baek Jongwu’s explanation to him regarding the poison. He said that since the red dots covered her entire body, Lady Hwa had no way to survive. “Oh, that happened because I got it through his lungs.” “Lung?” “Yeah, it’s to check if he’s been poisoned. If he shows the signs of being poisoned without it, then it is too late.” Yeowun then remembered that Hou Jinchang pressed on Bakgi’s chest during the duel. ‘Oh, so that’s what triggered the symptom!’ “So do you need that smoke to check it?” “Not really. If your lungs get damaged, the poison might go into the wound and show the symptoms also.” “Oh… I see. So, that’s why.” Yeowun then realized why Bakgi showed the symptoms earlier. Jongmeng quickly boiled the medicine. Bakgi was still infuriated from the fact that he had been poisoned. “Here, drink up.” “…Thank you.” Bakgi drank the medicine and Jongmeng said, “You must be angry, but aren’t you still lucky?” “Yes?” “Thanks to the 7th cadet, it wasn’t too late. If it was, then you really would have died.” “Oh!” Bakgi realized he had not shown his gratitude to his lifesaver. Bakgi got up and bowed to Chun Yeowun. “I-I’m sorry. Thank you for saving my life. I really am thankful.” Chun Yeowun waved it off. “Don’t thank me too much. I don’t want to see anyone dying from that disgusting poison. And… I was looking for the culprit behind it.” Chun Yeowun’s last words showed that he was furious. It was deep hatred that came from his vengeance. Bakgi was at a loss for words. He had expected it, but Yeowun’s hatred was beyond his imagination. Jongmeng then opened the curtain of the bed and spoke to Bakgi. “How about you rest here in the medical room today?” “Huh?” “You will heal in seven days, but if you go back to your room, you will be targeted by the poison again.” Bakgi frowned. ‘He’ll poison me again?’ If it wasn’t for Baek Jongmeng, Bakgi was going to go to Chun Jongsum and unleash his vengeance. But there was a chance that Chun Jongsum would poison him again when he was asleep. “Dammit!” It was irritating. Chun Yeowun agreed, “Yeah, stay here like the doctor said. I know how you feel, but you must heal first.” “Ugh.” “Leave Chun Jongsum to me.” “What?” Bakgi became shocked. Baek Jongmeng hesitated as he asked Yeowun, “What are you trying to do?” “…I think I need a word with him.” ‘A word?’ However, seeing Yeowun’s eyes filled with hatred didn’t seem like he was just going to exchange some words with the prince. Jongmeng sighed. “I heard rumors that you’ve become strong, but can you handle ones that use poison?” Fighting against poison users wasn’t an easy thing, even for experienced martial artists. Even the leaders of the six clans said the Poison Clan was the hardest to deal with. “Thank you for your concern, but I’ll be okay.” Yeowun then began walking out and stopped. He then spoke to himself before going out. “…If that is true, then I will send him next to your bed.” “What?” It seemed like he was talking to someone. Jongmeng and Bakgi exchanged glances and then heard an irritated person speak up. “Hmph. That damn peasant.” It was Chun Mukeum who was also in the medical room. [Hey, peasant. The one you are looking for should be in the forest across the fifth building of the dorm.] Chun Mukeum sent a telepathic message to Chun Yeowun. It was information about Chun Jongsum’s whereabouts after dinner. He told him this, but it was not for Yeowun or Bakgi. “Heh.’ Chun Jongsum hated Chun Yeowun almost like Chun Mukeum himself. Chun Mukeum also hated the Poison Clan more than any of the other six clans. ‘You or that lunatic… I don’t care who dies.’ He told Yeowun the location, hoping it would kill either of the two, or both of them. The sky had turned dark and the only place that had mountains around it was near the dorms. The building of the fifth dorm was where instructors stayed, so the cadets did not go to the forest across it. However, there was one who went there often. It was Chun Jongsum. “Hehe…” He traveled to the mountain every night, collecting poisonous herbs. Poison of Destruction. To learn this poison attack, one needed to poison himself and heal up countless times. This would allow one become the Poisonous Human, thus yielding hundreds of poisons inside the body, poisons so powerful that one could even melt qi. ‘With the internal energy at the master level, I will be at the fifth level of the Poison of Destruction.’ The Poison of Destruction had a total of nine levels, and the power went up exponentially beginning at the fifth level. Chun Jongsum was embarrassed when he lost to Bakgi and poisoned him in anger. He poisoned him every day and he saw the poison working today. ‘It’s a bit fast, but who will notice it?’ He had given a higher dosage, so the symptoms appeared faster than expected. However, there was no one in the academy who might know about the poison other than him and the members of the Poison Clan. “Hehehe… Bakgi, I will kill you myself before you die to poison.” If he reached the fifth level, there was no need to wait for Bakgi to die to the poison. It made him excited. “What’s so exciting?” “What?” Chun Jongsum became surprised and got up. It was a dark night, so he couldn’t see the face. ‘W-what? That voice doesn’t sound like an instructors.’ Chun Jongsum then uncovered the candle that he had to hide in the darkness. “You…?” He saw the man’s face. It was Chun Yeowun who was glaring fiercely at him. ‘What? Why is he here now?’ Chun Jongsum was shocked. Yeowun spoke to him angrily. “Is it fun playing around with poison?” Chun Jongsum then realized Yeowun was talking about using the poison on Bakgi. However, he wasn’t sure if Yeowun was talking about his mother or Bakgi. But it didn’t matter as Yeowun was certain that he had noticed something. “Hmph. What about it?” “Red dots on Bakgi. Did you think I wouldn’t notice it?” “You? Oh… OHHHH!” Chun Jongsum then began cackling. “Kekekekek! I see! That’s how! Your dirty mother was…” Before he could finish, Yeowun charged in like lightning and crushed Jongsum’s face with his fist. “ARARRRRGH!” He was thrown to the back like a cannonball. It was so powerful that he slammed into a large tree, half destroying it. Chun Jongsum’s chin was turned weirdly to the left and all the teeth on his right side were either pulled or destroyed. “Urrrgh…” Chun Jongsum didn’t pass out from severe pain however and moaned. ‘What? What is going on?!’ He couldn’t understand what was happening. He only remembered being struck in the face. Chun Yeowun then came up with a demon-like face. “It’s only the start.” Chapter 50 Chapter 50: I will crush them all (4) Blood spilled out of Chun Jongsum’s mouth. His chin was twisted weirdly so he couldn’t close his mouth. And based on how Chun Yeowun was approaching him, it seemed like he was here to kill him, not caring about the rules of the academy. ‘He-he must be bluffing!’ Chun Jongsum was afraid, but he denied to accept what he saw. ‘Move! Move!’ He tried to pull himself up from the tree, but he couldn’t move. “You dare to talk about something you should not have. You know what it is?” Yeowun asked coldly while Chun Jongsum struggled to get out of the tree. ‘Please! Move!’ His heart was pounding as Yeowun got closer. He already knew that he couldn’t fight Yeowun with martial arts. And with forced effort, internal energy began to flow into him and his fingers began to move. Yeowun was already upon him. ‘He thinks I can’t move yet. I’ll surprise him.’ Chun Jongsum looked dumbfoundedly at Yeowun intentionally. Yeowun then spoke to Jongsum in front of him. “You made a mistake on talking about Mother with your dirty mouth.” Yeowun then tried to strike down on Jongsum’s head and Jongsum jumped up, throwing his fist at Yeowun’s chest. “Hheeekek! Shuerpriesssed?!” ‘Hehehe! Surprised?’ Chun Jongsum was excited, but he then became shocked. Yeowun had grabbed his wrist. ‘Dammit!’ Yeowun then grabbed the fist and shook his head. “Idiot. You should’ve just stayed down.” “AAAAAAARGH!” Yeowun crushed the fist in his hand, shattering the bones into pieces. Chun Jongsum then thought he couldn’t just stand there. ‘Dammit! I have to k-kill him!’ It felt like he was going to be killed if he didn’t kill him first. Chun Jongsum then moved the poison inside his body. The reason why he didn’t use poison on Bakgi was because it might kill the target, and he couldn’t kill anyone in the academy. The strongest poison he had was the sulfur. It was so strong that it melted the skin and bones. Even the leader of the Poison Clan told him to never use it against the same cultists. ‘I can’t just die!’ “DDIIIIIIIE!” Chun Jongsum then reached out at Yeowun’s face with his left hand. Yeowun then quickly took the proper steps to move back but Chun Jongsum closed in. Yellow smoke came up to his face and chest, burning his skin. “Arrgh!” ‘I got him!’ Chun Jongsum thought it was over. Since the poison was thrown at his face, it was certain that his face was going to melt and that he was going to die. However, something happened that shocked Chun Jongsum beyond reason. [Sensing poisonous substance entering through the face and chest. Activating emergency defense mode. Detoxicating the poison and healing the damaged skin tissue.] With Nano’s voice, Yeowun’s face began healing back. “W-whhat ish thish?!” Chun Jongsum was even terrified. Yeowun’s face that showed even the muscle below the skin was now healing up quickly like a monster. “Y-you a monsshter?!” He had never heard of or seen such regeneration from the poison effect. Chun Yeowun then walked up to him again. Chun Jongsum fell back. “Poison.. poison… damn poison! Yes, you are from the Poison Clan so you must want to use that. But you know what? I can’t let you poison bastards live on.” “Aaaargfhh!” Chun Jongsum began crawling on the ground, trying to run back. Chun Yeowun then ran up and kicked Chun Jongsum’s chin. It made his chin to return to the same place to close his mouth, but the lower part his face was twisted at a weird angle. “AAAARGH!” Chun Jongsum then spat his teeth out. Now, all his teeth were broken. Chun Jongsum sobbed as he looked at his broken teeth. He had never felt such pain and fear in his life. Chun Yeowun didn’t seem to care about rules, so there was only one thing left for Chun Jongsum to do. “P-pleashhh! Do-do-do donts kill meee!” Chun Jongsum banged his head on the floor. He didn’t have any pride. Banging on the ground ripped his forehead apart and blood began to spill out. Chun Yeowun then grabbed his chest and pulled the young man up. “Aaaah!” Chun Jongsum moaned. He hoped that maybe Chun Yeowun would let him live. Chun Yeowun then spoke to him with a dark voice. “…You didn’t let my mother live when she pleaded for her life.” Chun Jongsum then realized that it was a mistake to use the same poison that killed Lady Hwa. Yeowun would never forgive him. Chun Jongsum’s heart began to pound in fear. ‘N-no! I should at least yell!’ However, before Chun Jongsum could yell, Yeowun pressed on his blood point. Jongsum couldn’t even yell and he turned pale from the fear. ‘D-dammit!’ He loved the forest because people rarely came here, and now it was working against him. “Did you use this hand to use that poison?” Yeowun then stepped on Jongsum’s left hand and began crushing it. Jongsum’s left hand got smashed. “Nnnnghhghghghrrghh….!” The pain was beyond what he could bear. Chun Jongsum sobbed from the pain and Yeowun declared, “I won’t kill you today. I don’t want to get expelled for killing trash like you.” ‘Is he letting me live?!’ Chun Jongsum became hopeful, but that was false hope. “Instead, you will beg for me to kill you. Let’s start with the bones, shall we?” And that was the start of Chun Jongsum’s nightmare