Chapter 9: Rumors spread like wild-fire

"Hey, does that even make sense?"

A first-year cadet from the Hidden Dragon Corps asked his friend as they walked together.

"I can't believe it either."

Recalling what had happened at the Fierce Dragon Corps's training ground two hours ago, he shook his head.

"Aren't Fierce Dragon Corps instructors supposed to be at most second-rate?"

"Except for the head of the Fierce Dragon Corps, most of them are. Sometimes even third-rate ones are mixed in. The Fierce Dragon Corps is known to be a ragtag bunch without even a chief instructor."

The Hidden Dragon Corps.

As the training unit where the future leaders of the Nine Great Clans and Five Great Families were educated, the cadets even looked down on the instructors of the Fierce Dragon Corps.

But an ordinary instructor from the Fierce Dragon Corps had crushed the chief instructor of the Hidden Dragon Corps. And not just any instructor, but the chief instructor in charge of the first-year cadets.

Even though he was the chief instructor for first-year cadets, he was still a master who had reached the peak of first-rate martial arts.

Yet a Fierce Dragon Corps instructor who didn't even use internal energy had defeated him.

"How could a Fierce Dragon Corps instructor possibly defeat the chief instructor?"

"Who is that instructor anyway?"

Such conversations were happening all over the Hidden Dragon Corps.

The rumors spread rapidly, reaching not only the first-year cadets but also the second, third, and even fourth-year cadets.

They even reached beyond the Hidden Dragon Corps to the Crouching Dragon Corps and Fierce Dragon Corps.

***

The rumors spread rapidly, reaching not only the first-year cadets but also the second, third, and even fourth-year cadets.

They even reached beyond the Hidden Dragon Corps to the Crouching Dragon Corps and Fierce Dragon Corps.

"Vice Leader."

The voice was struggling to suppress anger.

"Yes, Leader."

"What the hell is this embarrassing rumor?"

"Well..."

Namgoong Hwain, the leader of the Golden Hall in the Hidden Dragon Hall, was questioning Vice Leader Gok Mooyoung, who was sweating nervously.

Even he couldn't fathom how such a thing had happened.

However, this was no excuse for the hot-tempered leader.

"Was it Ha Mubek?"

"Yes."

"Find out everything about him. Down to the size of his underwear."

His words were laced with irritation.

"Y-yes!"

Gok Mooyoung quickly responded and hurriedly left the leader's office. He had to get out before things exploded.

"Tsk."

Namgoong Hwain clicked his tongue in displeasure.

He already disliked the Fierce Dragon Corps. And now to find out that there was a hidden master as an instructor there?

"Sado Gwang. That guy looks like a bandit and is as stupid as one. Damn it."

Sado Gwang was someone who had been currying favor, hoping to align himself with one of the Five Great Families.

Namgoong Hwain had considered nurturing him slightly due to his dedication, but now he had brought this shame upon him.

How could the chief instructor of the Hidden Dragon Corps be so miserably defeated by an instructor from the so-called trash heap, the Fierce Dragon Corps?

"And he couldn't even win over Jegal Myung..."

Jegal Myung.

He was someone who didn't belong in the Hidden Dragon Hall.

Recognized as a prodigy in the Jegal family, he could have risen to a high position if he had stayed at Heavenly Eyes Pavilion.

Hidden Dragon Hall.

Although it was praised as an educational institution for training the elite of the Murim Alliance, those who came here were actually non-mainstream figures from various clans and families.

No clan or family would send their top prodigies to a common educational institution of the Murim Alliance.

They would hide them away to teach them their secret techniques as quickly as possible.

Thus, the Hidden Dragon Hall became a gathering place for the non-mainstream members of each clan and family.

Within this place, factions formed again, with the Fierce Dragon Corps being the lowest tier, boosting the self-esteem of others.

Rarely did a mainstream disciple end up here.

Namgoong Hwain.

He himself was from a collateral branch.

Although he was a cousin of the head of the Namgoong family, being a cousin was distant enough to make him a collateral.

That's why he was at the Hidden Dragon Hall.

Although he was the head of the Jin Tang Hall, which managed the finances of the Hidden Dragon Hall, this position within the pavilion was of little importance.

It was too insignificant to fulfill Namgoong Hwain's ambitions.

But then Jegal Myung, one of the greatest prodigies of the Jegal family, came to the Hidden Dragon Hall as a Hidden Dragon Corps instructor.

Namgoong Hwain wanted to make him his ally to use as a stepping stone to climb higher, but Jegal Myung chose to be an instructor for first-year cadets, a position not worthy of his talent.

It made no sense.

With his talent, he could have been in charge of the top cadets of the Hidden Dragon Corps, polishing them further.

Although these cadets were non-mainstream, there were still talented ones among them.

Moreover, his talented nephew was currently in the Hidden Dragon Corps.

Namgoong Hwain didn't understand why he was there, but if such talent met another great talent, significant progress could be made.

This would become Namgoong Hwain's achievement and build his power, helping him rise higher.

However, Jegal Myung was rejecting this.

Even when Namgoong Hwain tried to persuade him personally, Jegal Myung wouldn't meet him. Despite being an elder of the Five Great Families, he refused to meet him.

After their first meeting, where Jegal Myung rejected his proposal, he never met him again.

To win over Jegal Myung, Namgoong Hwain had taken in Sado Gwang.

As a fellow instructor teaching first-year cadets, especially as the chief instructor, Jegal Myung couldn't avoid him.

The persuasion had already been frustratingly slow, and now this humiliation had been added.

Namgoong Hwain would never see Sado Gwang again.

"Ah, but I must see him one last time. He must pay for bringing this disgrace upon me."

***

The workday had ended.

The sky was already painted red, and Ha Mubek had disappeared long ago, claiming he was tired from teaching properly for the first time in a while.

Only five members of the Seventh Squad remained.

They were still sitting cross-legged.

At some point, Baek Lipyeong had also joined them in sitting cross-legged. He was practicing the internal techniques of Jongnam.

The other four continued to follow Ha Mubek's instruction, practicing the Samjae Breathing Technique.

Even though they were practicing, all they had done today was breathe.

As instructed, they inhaled, gathered their breath, and then exhaled.

They repeated this cycle.

They couldn't tell if there were any changes in their bodies.

If they hadn't witnessed Ha Mubek crushing Sado Gwang firsthand, they would have doubted it again.

They might have thought he was just pretending to teach them while actually letting them study autonomously.

But considering that a master who had humiliated the chief instructor of the Hidden Dragon Corps without using any internal energy wouldn't waste his time with them, they diligently followed his breathing instructions.

"Uh, Tang Jinsan."

Danmok Unrae timidly addressed Tang Jinsan.

Even though they were in the same squad, there had been little conversation or camaraderie among them.

Despite the considerable amount of time that had passed, this remained the case.

They had been quietly focusing on their own tasks due to continuous autonomous study, influenced by the cadets' personalities as well.

Yunhamin, Baek Lipyeong, and Nak Woojin rarely spoke. Occasionally, Tang Jinsan would grumble, but no one responded.

Among the five, Danmok Unrae felt Tang Jinsan was the easiest to talk to.

Furthermore, only Tang Jinsan and Baek Lipyeong could answer his question.

"What is it?"

Tang Jinsan responded briefly.

"Did the instructor really not use internal energy today?"

That was his biggest curiosity.

Although it was said that he didn't use it, Danmok Unrae had no way to verify if internal energy had been used.

"Sigh."

Tang Jinsan let out a deep sigh at Danmok Unrae's question. His sudden action startled Danmok Unrae, making him nervous.

"Yes. As unbelievable as it is, our instructor defeated a first-rate master without using any internal energy."

"Really?"

"Yes. Really. Truly. Fact. Truth."

Tang Jinsan quickly responded to Danmok Unrae's repeated question.

"Oh, okay. Got it."

"But why are you asking?"

"I just thought our instructor might be someone really amazing..."

"Aha. So, Instructor, I want to become strong?"

"That's not..."

Tang Jinsan mimicked Danmok Unrae's earlier statement playfully, making Danmok Unrae's face turn red.

Seeing this, Tang Jinsan chuckled.

"Well, I want to become strong too."

Danmok Unrae looked at Tang Jinsan with a dazed expression.

"What? Why that face? What martial artist doesn't want to become strong? Let's go eat."

Tang Jinsan stood up, brushing off his seat, and casually slung his arm around Danmok Unrae's shoulder with a laugh.

"Oh, okay."

Tang Jinsan, who was at least talkative, was more comfortable than the other three.

As they headed south to the Damryong Pavilion, there was a somewhat bitter smile on Tang Jinsan's face.

He was thinking of someone in his family and someone in the Hidden Dragon Corps to the east.

‘I will become strong too. Maybe I've encountered a fateful opportunity.’

Tang Jinsan lightly touched his dantian.

Despite learning the Tang family's internal techniques, he had taken up the Samjae Breathing Technique.

Since he hadn't properly mastered poison arts and secret weapons, the Tang family's martial arts were like a peach that looked good but had a bitter taste to him.

It was originally a gamble with a 'whatever happens, happens' attitude.

But after seeing Ha Mubek's skills, he began to hope that he might have drawn the best hand.

Yet, even after breathing as instructed by the instructor all afternoon, he didn't feel anything like internal energy.

What would be the outcome?

It was an exhilarating adventure for Tang Jinsan as well.

***

Ha Mubek sat in his room, tapping the table.

"Interesting."

He genuinely thought so.

The five members of the Seventh Squad were clearly children intentionally gathered by Kwanju. Yet, they all had remarkable talent.

He could tell just from observing their breathing.

Even the troublesome Nak Woojin wasn't an ordinary talent.

How had Peng Kwanju managed to gather such children and entrust them to him? Was it just a coincidence?

He didn't know.

"But it's too late."

One of the five stood out to him.

Danmok Unrae.

He had an ordinary body with no martial arts training.

As a result, his meridians were significantly blocked.

Normally, stagnation starts to settle in the meridians around the age of five, so it was natural for someone of Danmok Unrae's age to have such blockages.

"What should I do?"

That's why Ha Mubek was troubled now.

The boy who had looked at him, expressing a desire to become strong.

That boy's earnest gaze was what troubled Ha Mubek.

"How serious should I be?"

He had moved with the intention of trying because of Jegal Myung's words.

But now that he had started, he wasn't sure how far to go.

The Fierce Dragon Corps of Hidden Dragon Hall.

He had ended up here unintentionally due to the power struggles of the main sect and had planned to stay quietly and leave quietly.

In the meantime, he learned the true purpose behind the founding of the Fierce Dragon Corps and reconfirmed that these people were scoundrels.

Ha Mubek recalled the two versions of the Samjae Breathing Technique he knew.

One was a common version that could be easily bought for a few coins in the marketplace.

The other was one of the secret techniques his master possessed.

The original source of the Samjae Breathing Technique.

The versions circulating in the marketplace had lost much of the profound principles and logic of the original.

The same was true for the internal techniques.

The original internal technique included not only the breathing exercises but also the techniques for gathering internal energy and cleansing the meridians.

The ability to accumulate internal energy and cleanse the meridians were lost due to a few missing characters in the mnemonic.

Should he teach this as well?

It was a dilemma.

He had no choice but to be conflicted.

The Samjae Breathing Technique was the first step toward reaching the pinnacle.

Stopping at the Samjae Breathing Technique would pose no problem. However, if he was drawn by Danmok Unrae's talent and the talents of the other children and led them to the next step?

Then it would surpass the simple relationship of instructor and cadet.

It would diverge completely from Ha Mubek's original intentions for coming to the Hidden Dragon Hall.

But.

“I want to become strong. Please make me strong!”

The earnest and serious look in the eyes of a certain kid that Ha Mubek's master had seen.

Ha Mubek felt like he had seen it too, which shook his resolve.

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