Ch 15

“Hah! The Five Great Academies just aren’t what they used to be, especially the Azure Dragon Academy, that doesn’t even deserve to remain on the list anymore. Don’t you agree?” a random fatass with extremely hairy arms blustered. Next to him lay a dao so large that ordinary people wouldn’t be able to swing it even using both hands.

“Yeah, the Azure Dragon Academy is obsolete.”

“Didn’t they come in last at the Heavenly Martial Tournament last year? It was the same two years ago, too.”

Next to the fatass sat two other slightly less fat men.

I’m going to just name them Fat, Fatter, and Fattest for convenience’s sake.

Although it was still daytime, the three fatsos were already dead drunk, their faces as red as jujubes.

Mr Fattest caressed his giant dao’s scabbard and laughed, “Anyway, out of the Five Great Academies, the Vermillion Phoenix Academy has the best facilities and instructors. Also, did I tell you this before? Twenty years ago, I was a student in the Vermillion Phoenix Academy…”

“Wow, that’s awesome!”

“No matter how many times I hear your story, Hyung-nim, I can’t get enough of it.”

I guess this makes Fat and Fatter a bootlicker and a flatterer.

The three men talked loudly and laughed merrily as they drank. Honestly, to the other inn patrons, they were a total nuisance. However, because everyone could hear them mentioning the ‘Vermillion Phoenix Academy’ of the Five Great Academies, no one dared to speak up against them.

It’s been twenty years, but judging by these guys’ strength, the Vermillion Phoenix Academy really isn’t anything worth mentioning.

A short distance away from the fatsos, I sat alone at a table, enjoying a bowl of dumpling noodles. When I first heard the three talking about the Five Great Academies, my interest was piqued for a bit, but after estimating their strengths, I quickly lost all interest in them.

Mr Fattest barely qualifies as first-rate, and the other two are at best second-rate martial artists…

Most importantly, these three goons were people whose strength depended entirely on their natural born muscles and physique. Those muscles of theirs were big, but they weren’t properly balanced for martial arts. Also, every time they laughed…those jiggling fat bellies were just… Ahem, there was also their irregular breathing and jujube red, alcohol-poisoned faces. 1

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In other words, these three should just climb up a mountain and start a business there. I can already imagine what would happen if Master Maeng had run into them during his active days…

They would have immediately gotten into a brawl, with Master Maeng yelling, “It’s because of guys like you that people have a bad impression of us bandits!”

Mr Fatter thumped his chest and declared, “I know, right? But, what can Hyung-nim do when the Azure Dragon Academy is begging him, the one and only Kwak Du-Yong, to become one of their instructors?”

When they heard that shocking line, the inn’s patrons, who had been looking down on the three, widened their eyes in disbelief.

Mr Fattest immediately grinned proudly, prompting the two other fatsos to continue flattering him.

“As expected of Du-Yong hyung-nim. I’m sure you’ll soon become the Azure Dragon Academy’s shining new light of hope!”

“Fortune has befallen upon the current batch of students at the Azure Dragon Academy. I’m already looking forward to next year’s Heavenly Martial Tournament!”

“Hyung-nim, please don’t forget about us even after you make it big at the Azure Dragon Academy.”

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“Hyung-nim!”

As if embarrassed by the fatass duo’s adulation, Mr Fattest slammed his hand on the table repeatedly and laughed boisterously, “Hahaha, how could I ever forget about my little brothers! Don’t worry, when I become a star instructor at the Azure Dragon Academy, I’ll definitely get in touch with you guys. So, about today’s alcohol bill…”

“…Fucking retards,” said a pleasant-sounding voice, although the contents of their statement were anything but nice.

Startled, the three fatsos and the other patrons all turned to stare at the speaker.

It was a frowning, handsome young man. He was rather short and skinny, but he had a small head and long limbs, so his bodily proportions were pretty good…

Okay, that is so not the point. The point is…this guy is a peak-level master! And one who uses short spears,2 too.

The moment I saw the young man, out of habit, I carefully observed his footsteps and physical musculature, using them to predict the kind of martial art he practiced, and how good he was at it.

“A pig who drinks in broad daylight was invited to be an instructor? The Azure Dragon Academy may be lacking in talented personnel, but this is too much.”

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Enraged, Mr Fat sprung up from his seat and hollered, “Have you gone crazy? You don’t even know who my hyung-nim is…”

“A-Alright, that’s enough, little brother.” Mr Fattest rolled up his sleeves and held back Mr Fat, who was about to pounce on the young man. The fear on his face when he looked at the young man was clear for all to see.

I smirked.

Well, he’s a first-class expert after all. I’m sure he can sense this dude’s strength.

The handsome young man shot a death glare at Mr Fattest.

“What’s wrong? You were just enjoying all those compliments, surely you can’t be chickening out now?”

“…Gulp.”

Mr Fattest was completely overwhelmed by the young man’s aura even without a fight. He felt as if those eyes were warning him, “If you annoy me any more, you will die.”

I slurped on my noodles and watched the unfolding drama with interest.

Has Mr Fattest never met a peak-level master before, or are there other reasons…?

The young man appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He was either a true martial arts genius, or a person with a powerful background.

It’s probably both. Well, it has nothing to do with me. It’d be nice if those two got into a fight though, I’d like to see that young man’s skills for myself.

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Unfortunately, things didn’t go the way I wished.

Mr Fattest hurriedly rose from his seat and replied, “Hahaha, it seems that I’ve made a fool of myself while I was drunk. Thank you for bringing me to my senses before it was too late, young warrior.”

“…Huh?”

“It seems that fate has led us to meet today, so how about I treat you to drinks and let’s have a good chat together? As fellow murim warriors, we should become friends.”

Oh? What’s this? Was Mr Fattest actually that smart?

Orthodox martial artists valued their reputations very highly, so as long as one was willing to bow down their head to them, chances are, the problem would not escalate into a fight. Now that Mr Fattest has apologized and admitted his mistake, not even that young man will be able to duel him without good reason.

Mr Fattest poured a glass of wine for the young man so politely that I suspected him of being a totally different person from before. He then asked, “I’m not very knowledgeable about the famous people in the gangho, so would you mind telling me your name and the school you studied at…”

“I have no name to give to a cowardly pig,” the young man interrupted disdainfully.

…Whoa hey, wasn’t this guy supposed to be from the orthodox sects?

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Mr Fattest’s face immediately turned red from rage. Fortunately for him though, the young man did not seem to want to pick a fight with him inside the inn.

The young man subsequently looked around the crowded inn and loudly said, “There aren’t any available seats left, but my feet hurt and I don’t want to go elsewhere. Is anyone who has finished eating willing to give me their seat?”

Basically, he was telling the three fatsos to ‘get out of his sight’.

With disgruntled expressions, the three fatsos hurriedly stood up and offered up their seats, saying, “…We were just about to leave anyway, so please feel free to take our seats.”

With that, the three fatsos literally ran out of the inn with their tails tucked between their legs.

However, as Mr Fattest brushed past me, I heard him mutter under his breath, “Just you wait and see…”

“Booooo!”

The inn patrons booed the three fatsos as they left, then cheerfully applauded the handsome young hero who had gotten rid of the annoyances.

That was all good, but what happened next was not.

“He didn’t even think for a moment about standing up to me. How could someone like that become an instructor at the Azure Dragon Academy? Don’t you agree?”

The young man naturally pulled out a chair and sat down opposite me.

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I stared at him, bewildered.

“What?”

“Let’s sit together.”

“What about that big table those guys just offered you?”

“But I’m interested in you…”

A terrible chill ran down my spine. What the hell!? Does he swing that way?

To tell the truth, psychos with unusual preferences were kind of common in the gangho.

I decided to pick my words carefully when talking to this guy, asking, “What do you want from me?”

The young man smiled in a way that would make most women in the world fall in love with him and replied, “I just wanted to talk to you. It’s not often I meet a man as handsome as me~”

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I was right!!! I tightened my grip on my chopsticks.

“…Just joking! I’m not interested in men.”

“Then WHY?”

“…Would you mind putting down those chopsticks first?”

I discreetly placed the chopsticks back on the table.

The young man smiled a lot more naturally than before, then spoke in a low voice, “You were the first person to notice me when I entered this inn, and you immediately prepared yourself to react to any unforeseen circumstances. You…have really good eyes, don’t you?”

I just paid you a little more attention than normal since you were the first peak-level master I met after transmigrating to this body!

Honestly though, I didn’t think he’d see through me. Was I that obvious? That, or he’s a lot more capable than I initially thought.

“I’ll apologize if what I did bothered you.”

“Nah, I’m the one who should apologize. I was the one who exuded killing intent first, and all you did was react to that. How about I atone by treating you to a drink?”

“Wow, this is unexpected.”

“What do you mean?”

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“Based on how you were talking to the fatty, I thought that you were quite arrogant.”

The young man beamed, causing the girls sitting at the next table to squeal excitedly.

“I don’t like idiots who brag when they don’t have the strength to back it up. Assholes like that are the reason why people have a bad impression of us murim warriors.”

This guy would get along very well with Master Maeng for sure.

Anyway, although he seemed to be an unexpectedly friendly and nice young man, I still had no desire to get involved with him.

“I’m sorry, but my mind is kind of preoccupied right now, so it would be difficult for us to…”

“I’ll pay for all the food and drinks.”

“What kind of drinks?”

Shocked by my sudden change of attitude, the young man gave me a dumbfounded look, but little did he know that it was because Dad, that stingy old miser, did not give me enough pocket money.

Damn it, Dad, did you stuff all the money into your own luggage since you thought you were coming with me…?

Yeah, I’m sure it was like that. If I knew this would happen, I would definitely have begged him for more pocket money before I left.

At any rate, since both of us have agreed to share a table, it was time for introductions.

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“My name is Ak Yeon-Ho. It’s my first time entering the gangho, so I don’t have a title yet.”

There were many murim sects and clans that specialized in the spear, but among those, the Ak Clan (樂家), the Jo Clan (趙家), and the Yang Clan (楊家) were considered the best three respectively.

In particular, the current head of the Shandong Ak Clan, the “King of Spears” Ak Bi, was one of the current murim’s Ten Great Masters.

If I add the fact that the Ak Clan itself is a faction on par with the Five Great Clans… As expected, he’s a young master with a powerful background. It might be worth getting to know him after all.

Still, I’ve never heard of the name Ak Yeon-Ho before.

Since I was applying for a job at the Azure Dragon Academy, I researched the names and abilities of my potential competitors, but I didn’t recall seeing the name Ak Yeon-Ho anywhere.

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I was a little suspicious, but I introduced myself to Ak Yeon-Ho anyway.

“I’m Baek Su-Ryong. It’s also my first time entering the gangho, so I don’t have a title either.”

“By the way… How old are you?”

“I’m twenty-seven.”

For some unknown reason, after hearing my age, Ak Yeon-Ho’s face instantly brightened up.

“That makes you two years older than me! In that case, is it okay if I call you Hyung-nim?”

…Dude, we just met. Why are you calling a person you just met “Hyung-nim”? The more I talk to this guy, the more I feel like he’s one hell of a troublesome person…

Still, I did not want to make Ak Yeon-Ho misunderstand, so I politely asked, “Then, Dongsaeng3, what drinks shall we order?”

I should take full advantage of this rich kid.

Apologies, I must have been sleeping when I tl’d the previous chapter, I added a page from the raw of this chapter into c14 halfway through tl-ing it and didn’t realize it. No wonder it was kinda out of place… That mistake has been fixed now. ↩

Short spears: The literal translation is “one-handed spear”. ↩

Dongsaeng: Younger sibling. Not sure if you guys prefer that I keep this or translate it to “little brother”. ↩