CLS-Chapter 173

Chapter 173

The Righteous Martial Alliance was experiencing an unexpected epidemic. Divine Martial Investigation Officer Cho Hyeon had taken to his bed.

It was uncommon for a martial artist to fall ill and take to bed. Considering Divine Martial Investigation Officer Cho Hyeon’s age, this was not something to be taken lightly. Anxiety spread that the Divine Martial Investigation Officer might never rise again.

Though the Righteous Martial Alliance had countless people, there was no one who could replace Divine Martial Investigation Officer Cho Hyeon. That’s how enormous the footprint this giant had left on the Righteous Martial Alliance.

When rumors spread that Cho Hyeon would occasionally mutter nonsense while bedridden, staring into space and saying things like “that damn bastard,” public opinion reached a point of no return.

There was another strange incident.

When Gong Mu-jin heard that Cho Hyeon had fallen ill and went to visit him, he came out with his face covered and then secluded himself in his quarters. When people went to Gong Mu-jin’s residence wondering what had happened, he had locked himself in tight and absolutely refused to open the door.

With such ominous events continuing to occur, the Righteous Martial Alliance fell into a state of tension for the first time in a long while.

But the slacker who had caused all this trouble was…

“Ah.”

Wei Yan-ho quietly opened his mouth.

Then a sweet confection slipped right into his mouth.

“Hmm.”

Chewing the confection, Wei Yan-ho gazed up at the sky.

‘This has its own charm too.’

While it was nice to spend time wrapped in warm blankets inside a room, there was definitely something appealing about lounging on a bed outdoors like this.

“This is good.”

Moreover, with Lee Seol-hwa right beside him, putting confections in his mouth whenever he opened it, it couldn’t get any better.

‘I should have come here sooner.’

How long had it been since he’d had such a comfortable time?

Right after coming out of the cave, he’d stayed in a beggar’s den, then when he finally went to the martial world, there was a woman who was desperate to devour him. Right after escaping from there, he’d gone to a failing clinic and suffered terribly.

And even while being carried here in a carriage, there had been so many storms.

Now he finally felt like he was being compensated for all that suffering.

“So this is why people keep saying ‘Righteous Martial Alliance, Righteous Martial Alliance.’ When my brother suggested I enter the Dormant Dragon Academy, I should have come right away!”

If he’d known it was such a comfortable place, he wouldn’t have refused. If he’d made up his mind a little sooner back then and set off, he wouldn’t have gone to that hellish cave.

He was beginning to understand why they say life is about choices.

‘I took the long way around, but I’ve finally arrived.’

Today the sky was especially clear and bright, so Wei Yan-ho pulled his blanket close and closed his eyes.

“…Isn’t this going too far?”

But unfortunately, the students Wei Yan-ho was supposed to teach were not looking at him with kind eyes.

“We’ve been patient because the Military Officer vouched for you as an instructor. But what have we learned after seven days and nights!”

“You look young too, but I’ve been trying to be patient!”

Eon Hyo sighed as he watched the unfavorable public opinion developing.

‘They have a point.’

Humans always long for rest and play. It’s not easy to feel joy throughout an entire class. Everyone has probably felt the desire to skip class and rest while attending lessons.

But that’s only for a day or two.

Where is this place?

The Dormant Dragon Academy.

It’s not a place that forcibly captures people. And it’s not a place that forces people to train.

Even if parents force their children in, those who attend classes without enthusiasm are quickly weeded out – that’s exactly what the Dormant Dragon Academy is.

Among the Dormant Dragon Academy, these were the students carefully selected for being outstanding.

For such people to waste seven days and nights was unthinkable. While they were lounging around here, others taking different classes would be gaining new experiences and improving their skills.

At first, they’d been enjoying the complete freedom they hadn’t felt in years, playing as if the world was ending… But as three days passed, then four days, anxiety began to fill their hearts.

But then…

“Snore…”

The instructor had been sleeping on a bed for seven days and nights straight.

They thought he’d stop eventually.

They thought a person who had nothing else to do besides this class couldn’t keep playing around forever.

But that was a complete miscalculation. The human known as Wei Yan-ho was truly someone who could spend all 365 days of the year just sleeping.

‘Even the Military Officer came to visit, and he’s still doing this.’

Others might not guess, but he and Peng Do-hyung could understand why the Military Officer had fallen ill.

‘It’s frustration sickness, obviously.’

The price of getting entangled where one shouldn’t was steep.

“And who are those people who’ve been bothering us since earlier?”

Eon Hyo sighed deeply.

‘Miss Lee Seol-hwa, disciple of Plum Blossom Sword Ghost Gong Mu-jin, and Musan, disciple of Shaolin’s Master Gong Ryeong.’

He wanted to say it!

He wanted to say it so badly.

But right now it was better not to let on that he knew.

The more he looked at them, the stronger his conviction became that one shouldn’t get entangled with Wei Yan-ho. When he first saw her, Miss Lee Seol-hwa had been full of shyness, but now she was shoving confections into Wei Yan-ho’s mouth with an expressionless face.

As if she didn’t care at all that so many people were watching.

And Musan…

Swoooosh.

It was a beautiful sound.

A crisp and pleasing sound, like cutting silk with a sharp blade.

Everyone would be impressed if they knew it was the sound of unfolding lightness skill. And they’d be even more impressed if they knew that lightness skill was the Vajra Immovable Divine Method, called the world’s greatest lightness skill, though not yet perfected.

But…

“Here it is.”

Musan, who had landed cleanly on the ground, handed the confection in his hand to Lee Seol-hwa.

“Thank you for your trouble.”

“Think nothing of it. Amitabha.”

If they knew that the Vajra Immovable Divine Method was being used for nothing other than quickly fetching confections, no one would be impressed.

‘They’d despair.’

When he first saw him, Musan was a monk pure beyond compare, but now he’d become a supply officer who procured fresh confections anytime, anywhere.

“Haah…”

Eon Hyo shook his head as he watched this scene.

Those two people were of sufficient status to be well-received wherever they went, and were among the pillars who would lead the future of the martial world… How had they ended up like this?

While Musan had been stuck by Wei Yan-ho’s side from the beginning, he couldn’t understand why Lee Seol-hwa was here when Gong Mu-jin was keeping his eyes wide open watching.

‘Ah, Master Gong is in seclusion, isn’t he?’

Judging by the fact that he’d gone into seclusion after visiting Cho Hyeon, it was obvious what had happened even without seeing it.

Though Eon Hyo could guess the entire situation, like a mute suffering from heartburn, he could only keep it to himself. Even if he spoke up, no one would believe him.

“Damn it, I need to have a word with him.”

So he couldn’t stop such moths from causing trouble.

Even if Eon Hyo honestly said “Listen here, fellow. You’re about to lose your Kang Naeng. If you lose your Kang Naeng, you’ll be lucky. Shangguan Hong might end up with his lineage cut off,” who would even pretend to listen?

They’d be lucky if they didn’t call him crazy.

“What are you going to accomplish by having a word with him?”

“Damn it! This has gone on for more than just a day or two! I didn’t come here to play! If you’re not going to teach, at least transfer us to another class! Don’t try to stop me!”

Eon Hyo clicked his tongue.

He’d thought all the people here had relatively gentle personalities, but when you gather such people together, apparently someone with an impatient personality still emerges.

The man who stepped forward was Hwangbo Jung-geol of the Hwangbo family.

Since ancient times, the Hwangbo family had been known for their impatient temperament alongside the Peng family.

To be precise, the Hebei Peng family had impatient personalities, while the Hwangbo family had rough personalities.

Still, seeing that he’d passed the examination, he usually seemed to have a quiet personality, but in the end he couldn’t overcome his hot blood and became excited.

‘You have to experience it to know.’

Eon Hyo mentally mourned as he watched Hwangbo Jung-geol approaching Wei Yan-ho while fuming.

“Hey there! Instructor!”

Not calling him “instructor bastard” was the maximum courtesy Hwangbo Jung-geol could manage, and not calling him “instructor sir” was his minimum self-respect.

But Wei Yan-ho didn’t wake up from just that much.

Jung-geol’s face twisted as he shouted loudly.

“Stop sleeping during class time!”

At that thunderous sound, Lee Seol-hwa covered both ears, Musan frowned, and Wei Yan-ho jumped up about a foot from where he lay.

“What, what is it! Is it war?”

Wei Yan-ho looked at Hwangbo Jung-geol with bewildered eyes. The moment their eyes met, Hwangbo Jung-geol shouted in a rough voice.

“Instructor!”

“Yes?”

“When exactly are you going to teach class?”

Wei Yan-ho tilted his head.

“I’m teaching now.”

“This is teaching?”

“Yes. Self-study is also a type of class. I got permission too.”

Wei Yan-ho smiled brightly as if to say don’t worry, but Hwangbo Jung-geol’s face showed he was completely unconvinced.

“We didn’t enter this class to do self-study! While we’re doing this, other students are getting stronger! What’s the point of taking this class if this is how it’s going to be!”

Wei Yan-ho looked at Hwangbo Jung-geol with shocked eyes.

“You, you don’t like self-study?”

“That’s right!”

“Then are you saying you want to receive lessons from me right now?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“…This is so shocking.”

How could humans voluntarily desire labor? How could such a thing happen?

“I won’t waste words. Either give us a class that can convince us, or transfer us to another class. Because of this class, we can’t even attend other classes at this time.”

When Wei Yan-ho reached out his hand, Lee Seol-hwa quickly handed him a water pitcher. After gulping down the water in the pitcher, Wei Yan-ho finally seemed to calm down as he looked at Hwangbo Jung-geol.

“…Do you really want to take a class?”

“That’s right!”

“Do the rest of you feel the same way?”

Everyone was silent, but their eyes were generally affirmative. And at this moment, Eon Hyo was caught in a terrible dilemma.

‘Should I say no?’

Though he’d applied for this class with the resolve to not refuse even hell in order to become stronger, he had an ominous feeling that hell would be more comfortable.

“It’s unbelievable, but I should respect human diversity. Good heavens, I never knew there were people who would buy suffering for themselves.”

Wei Yan-ho sighed and then called Musan over to whisper something to him.

Musan nodded and then deployed the Vajra Immovable Divine Method, rushing off somewhere like a beam of light.

“…I agreed not to be interfered with regarding teaching methods, but your opinions can hardly be called interference. Hmm, I didn’t expect this…”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

Wei Yan-ho sat up from where he’d been lying and stretched.

“Since you want to take a class, I’ll have to teach you. But unfortunately, I’ve never taught anyone before, so I can only teach the way I was taught.”

“The way you were taught?”

At that moment, Musan returned from far away at a tremendous speed. A large bundle that hadn’t been there when he left was now strapped to his back.

Thud thud thud.

When the arrived Musan untied the bundle, stones the size of fists came pouring out.

Wei Yan-ho smiled and said.

“The first thing I learned from my master was… well, that is to say…”

Wei Yan-ho kicked up one of the stones on the ground and caught it with his hand.

“‘Stones hurt more than fists.'”

“Huh?”

“Be careful.”

“Huh?”

In an instant, the stone Wei Yan-ho threw flew at tremendous speed and struck Hwangbo Jung-geol squarely in the forehead.

Crack!