Star Instructor, Master Baek

TL: FoodieMonster007

It was an ancient sword, perhaps centuries old. Left forgotten in a dusty corner of the vault, whoever stored it here obviously didn’t think much of it.

However, the moment Baek Suryong’s eyes fell on the blade, he couldn’t tear them away. He approached the sword and examined it closely, noting that the scabbard was worn and peeling, and where tassels once hung, there were only faint, charred remnants. Still, despite the damage and the passage of time eroding his memories, he recognized it immediately.

He picked it up, gently brushing away the layers of dust that had settled on it.

“It’s been a while, Soul Sword…”

Soul Sword, the favorite weapon and faithful companion of the Sword Saint, the greatest swordsman in history. As its name implied, it held the unyielding, unbreakable soul of a martial artist… that is, until his son was taken hostage.

Baek Suryong recalled the faraway look in the Sword Saint’s eyes whenever he stroked Soul Sword.

“This sword contains my soul.”

To be honest, Soul Sword was not an exceptional weapon by any standards. In terms of sharpness and durability, it was no better than Moon Shadow, the sword Baek Suryong currently used. Nonetheless, even the most ordinary weapon becomes a treasure in its own right when wielded by a supreme martial artist for decades.

Baek Suryong drew the blade halfway from its scabbard, and it resonated with a clear hum as if responding to him… as if the spirit of the Sword Saint himself was still within it.

“I’ve spent half my life with this little one. Like me, it’s old and worn… but still usable.”

Remembering that rare smile, warmth crept onto Baek Suryong’s face, in stark contrast to the icy expression he’d worn during his battle with the Bloody Ripper.

“Master Sword Saint, I’ll take good care of Soul Sword for you,” he murmured, carefully wrapping the sword in cloth and strapping it across his back. Despite its serviceability, he had no plans to use it in battle, as it didn’t feel like his to wield.

“I wonder if my other three masters’ mementos are here too…”

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Baek Suryong searched the vault, hoping to find the items that once belonged to his other masters. Ever since the Bloody Ripper had mentioned that the legacy of the Blood Cult was hidden here, he’d been wondering if their belongings were hidden here as well.

Unfortunately, nothing else caught his eye.

“I guess I’d better head back. I hope everyone’s safe…” he sighed.

Nearly two hours had passed since he entered the underground vault. Exhausted to the point of collapse, he took five minutes to meditate before getting up. Although he had the Blood Elixir, he intended to consume it later, when he had time and was properly prepared.

Just as he was about to leave, however, a wall suddenly slid down from the ceiling, blocking his exit, and smoke began to pour in from all directions.

Baek Suryong covered his nose with his sleeve, frowning. “Damn it, I knew getting in here was too easy…”

He drew Moon Shadow and prepared to cut through the door with enhanced sword qi, but letters began to appear on the newly exposed wall as the smoke caressed it.

Welcome, visitor. I am the Demonic Strategist, the Second Elder of the Blood Demon Divine Cult.

“The Demonic Strategist!” Baek Suryong exclaimed, a fiery anger igniting in his eyes.

The Demonic Strategist was the bastard who had forced him to steal the martial arts of his four Masters, only to discard him afterward.

If you’ve reached this place, it can only mean one of two things: you are either the rightful heir to the Heaven Defying Divine Art, or a thief who has bypassed every trap to steal our treasure.

“I’m the heir of the Heaven Defying Divine Art and a thief who came here to steal the treasure, damn it!” Baek Suryong hissed, swinging his sword wildly.

BOOM! CRASH!

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His compressed enhanced sword qi shredded the words left by the Demonic Strategist, but the wall was sturdier than he expected. Even with his powerful attack, he couldn’t do much damage.

His expression hardened, and his mind raced. Is the door made of meteor iron? By the time I cut through the door, will I have enough qi left to rescue the kids…?

At that moment, new words appeared on the wall.

Hence, I will administer a test to see if you are qualified.

“A test?” Baek Suryong muttered.

The poisonous smoke filling this vault is deadly to ordinary martial artists, but for one who has mastered the Heaven Defying Divine Art, it is medicine.

Baek Suryong’s eyes widened. “What the hell!?”

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If you are the true heir, consume the Blood Elixir immediately and begin meditating, for you will have a fortuitous encounter today. If you’re a thief seeking treasure, however, you will die vomiting blood.

“Haha… hahaha…” Baek Suryong laughed hollowly. As expected of the Demonic Strategist, he set up a trap even here, where the Blood Cult’s treasure was hidden. Clicking his tongue at the cunning snake’s meticulousness, he couldn’t help but reflect on how messed up fate truly was.

“Sucks to be you, Demonic Strategist! Your treasure has ended up in my hands! I bet even someone as clever as you couldn’t possibly have seen this coming!”

I pray that you are the successor of the Heaven Defying Divine Art, the future Blood Demon who will revive our cult.

“…Pray for something else, you fucking son of a bitch.”

Baek Suryong swallowed the Blood Elixir in one gulp and sat down cross-legged. Although he was worried about the students, now was the time to eliminate all distractions and focus his mind.

“Demonic Strategist, I’ll help myself to all the treasures you left behind. Watch closely from hell, because I won’t hesitate to use them to destroy the Blood Cult.”

With those words, he closed his eyes and began to meditate.

“Huff… huff…” Hyonwon Kang panted heavily. His lungs were on fire and blood from a cut on his forehead kept dripping into his eyes, obscuring his vision. Wiping it away with the back of his hand, he asked his comrades standing back to back with him, “Everyone still alive?”

“Somehow.”

“For now.”

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“I’m okay…”

Ya Suhyeok, Yeo Min, and Wiji Cheon all looked battered as well. Their once pristine martial arts uniforms were stained with blood, and their exposed skin was covered with countless wounds.

Hyonwon Kang, in particular, had a wound on his left thigh so deep that the bone beneath was visible. Even if we survive… I might end up with a limp for the rest of my life, he thought grimly. The idea of being crippled felt surreal.

Raising his blood-stained blade, he chuckled bitterly, “I wonder how many I’ve killed?”

The path behind them was drenched in blood. After slaying more than twenty enemies, they had stopped counting, but they were still surrounded.

“How are these brats so damn tough…” the Demon Doctor groaned, frowning and fingering the antidote in his hands. Since he hadn’t joined the fight, he was still unscathed.

Releasing his killing intent, he threatened, “Just give up and surrender. I’m really starting to want to kill you.”

“Shut up. You’ve been dying to kill us from the beginning,” Hyonwon Kang retorted.

“You little…!” The Demon Doctor grimaced at Hyonwon Kang’s cheeky remark. To tell the truth, he had wanted to kill the students right from the beginning, but the four of them had stubbornly defied the odds.

“I thought they were just kids…”

“Their martial arts are really impressive.”

“They’ve also got some serious guts.”

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Even the surrounding villains were exasperated.

Thanks to Baek Suryong’s rigorous training, the four students’ fundamentals, stamina, and tenacity surpassed that of the average villain in the Valley of Evil. Even so, they were reaching their limits. Their bodies felt heavy, and their qi was almost exhausted.

“Mr. Baek…” Yeo Min murmured wearily, glancing at the Bloody Ripper’s house behind them. She couldn’t sense either Baek Suryong’s or the Bloody Ripper’s qi anymore. “What happened to him? Could he have…”

Hyonwon Kang interrupted her sharply, “How long are you going to keep depending on the teacher? Stop whining and focus on the enemies in front of us.”

“…Okay.” Yeo Min nodded, swallowing her words. Hyonwon Kang was right. Now wasn’t the time to wait for help they weren’t sure would come. As martial artists in their own right, they had to find their own way out.

Gritting his teeth, Hyonwon Kang growled, “If we survive this, let’s train even harder so we never have to face this humiliation again.”

“Agreed.”

“Definitely!”

“Yes…”

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After fighting a life-and-death battle in the Valley of Evil, the four students had once again grown significantly. Still, their survival was essential for that growth to have any value.

“Kill them!” the Demon Doctor commanded, and the villains swarmed toward the students.

Hyonwon Kang stepped forward and took the lead. “Break through them!” he shouted.

Faced with enemies hell-bent on carnage, the students gritted their teeth and fought back. Lost in the heat of battle, even their injuries became an afterthought.

Regardless, even in the midst of the chaos, Hyonwon Kang kept an eye on the poisoned Wiji Cheon. “Wiji Cheon! Are you okay?” he asked worriedly, noticing that the boy was in bad shape.

“Yes…” Wiji Cheon replied stubbornly, though in reality, he could feel the fever burning through him, and his vision had become blurry.

SWISH! SWOOSH!

With each swift swing of his sword, he decapitated the villains who had attacked him, believing he was too sick to fight. Before long, though, he felt his strength slipping away and began to stagger, eventually collapsing to his knees.

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“Wiji Cheon!” Ya Suhyeok shouted, lifting the fallen Wiji Cheon onto his back while Hyonwon Kang swung his blade fiercely to protect the two.

Yeo Min gritted her teeth. “Senior Hyonwon Kang! I have a last resort!” she yelled.

“A last resort?”

“But we might all die. Should I still do it?”

“Do what?”

“No time to explain!”

“Ahh, damn it! Just do it!”

Taking a deep breath, Yeo Min infused her voice with inner qi and shouted, “Everyone stop! If you come any closer, I’ll set off a bomb!”

The charging villains faltered.

“A-A BOMB?”

“What did that bitch just say?”

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“She’s bluffing, right?”

“I’m serious!” Yeo Min added, reaching into her sleeve pocket and pulling out a black orb the size of a fist. “This is a bomb! If I detonate it here, everyone within two hundred feet will die!”

The villains flinched and stepped back nervously.

The Demon Doctor scoffed. “Of course she’s bluffing. How could a little girl like her be carrying something as valuable as a bomb?”

“Don’t believe me? Regret it in the afterlife!” Yeo Min shrieked, throwing the bomb with all her strength.

“Ahhhh!”

“Get back!”

Uncertain whether it was real or fake, the villains instinctively retreated, though they didn’t pull back far enough to break the encirclement.

“Senior!” Yeo Min shouted to Hyonwon Kang.

As if on cue, Hyonwon Kang unleashed a wave of Blade Wind, striking the bomb’s fuse with pinpoint accuracy.

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BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

An earth-shattering explosion ensued. The bomb that Yeo Min had thrown turned out to be real, and the explosion swallowed up or blew away most of the villains in the vicinity.

“Cough! Cough!”

A few moments later, the students, who had thrown themselves to the ground to avoid the force of the blast, scrambled to their feet, coughing. Thanks to Ya Suhyeok, who had shielded them with his sturdy body at the last second, they were relatively unharmed.

Hyonwon Kang looked around dazedly. “Holy shit… It was a real bomb?”

Yeo Min mumbled, “I told you it was real. It’s my only one though…”

“What kind of crazy girl carries around a BOMB?” Hyonwon Kang shouted, aghast.

The aftermath of the explosion was immense. Flames spread everywhere, engulfing buildings. The raging inferno and the dismembered corpses scattered by the blast transformed the Valley of Evil into a scene straight out of hell.

“Let’s hurry and run. We didn’t get them all with the bomb,” Yeo Min urged.

“Yeah… Let’s get out of here,” Hyonwon Kang agreed.

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Ya Suhyeok carried Wiji Cheon on his back, and Yeo Min supported the injured Hyonwon Kang. Taking advantage of the chaos caused by the explosion, they fled from the Valley of Evil.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before they were pursued.

“Don’t let them escape!”

“Catch them and kill them!”

Enraged, the villains chased after them, and before long, they once again found themselves surrounded.

“Fuck…”

“Is this the end?”

“Just our luck…”

“……”

As the students resigned themselves to one last stand, suddenly, a cool wind began to blow.

“I came to see what all the commotion was about, and what do I find? A bunch of kids playing with fire in the middle of the night,” a voice so frosty it sent shivers down their spines said.

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To everyone’s disbelief, the raging flames that engulfed the Valley of Evil quickly began to subside as an icy blizzard summoned by a single individual cooled the inferno that had overtaken the valley.

The villains looked up at the source of the blizzard—a white-haired woman standing in the moonlight.

“T-The Nine Yin Witch…” someone stammered.

The Nine Yin Witch stood atop the ice she had conjured, gazing down upon the martial artists below.

Translator’s Note: And so it is revealed that the Demonic Strategist either survived the events of Chapter 1, or predicted what was going to happen that day. Also, Wonkang is surprisingly turning out to be a natural leader and caring big brother.

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