Chapter 325: Practical Training. (4)
The time when morning training had ended.
Gathered on one side of the corridor leading to their respective quarters, the hall students stood crowded together.
Amidst the clamor filled with buzzing voices,
everyone’s heads were turned upward.
The reason their gazes were directed toward the giant wooden board was the phrases written upon it.
Lined up on the wooden board were the names of each hall student.
The reason these names were lined up in a row was none other than this:
Two months had passed since they entered the hall.
Accordingly, it showed how each hall student had fared.
A kind of report card indicating whether they had done well in the education and training provided by the Divine Dragon Hall was posted there.
“Chu Hyeong, did you do well?”
“I’m ruined… It’s faster to look from the bottom than the top. My father is going to kill me.”
“I am much the same… I fear I’ll be kicked out of the house for a while when I return.”
There, joy and sorrow intersected.
There were faces stained with frustration and despair,
and there were those who had settled in the upper ranks, embracing relief.
Though there would be several more times they would have to check in the future,
since it was their first time experiencing this, the feeling was new.
As they were late-generation disciples with no experience venturing into the Central Plains,
especially the blood descendants of the great houses rather than those belonging to orthodox sects,
it would be their first time seeing an actual assigned ranking set by someone.
It would likely serve as a standard for them to realize reality.
Though everyone had been chosen for their outstanding talent,
geniuses were bound to exist among them.
*Thud.*
The buzz quieted at a single footstep.
“Hey, hey!”
The hall students who had been looking up at the wooden board shifted their gazes at once.
Their eyes moved to those walking toward them.
*Thud.*
As the footsteps neared their destination, the gathered crowd moved aside on their own to make way.
“Thank you.”
The young man who saw them smiled brightly and expressed his thanks.
“…The Divine Saint!”
The one weaving through the crowd was a famous figure within the Divine Dragon Hall.
Outstanding appearance and excellent talent.
The only son of the current Alliance Leader, said to possess a kind disposition as well.
The Divine Saint, Jang Seon-yeon. It was precisely him.
At a point where merely two months had passed,
the fact that most of the Sword Guard group stayed by his side was something of a sign.
The majority said they had fallen for his character and talent.
From within the crowd, a hall student who appeared to be from the Sword Guard,
carefully spoke to the Divine Saint.
“C-congratulations, Young Master Jang.”
At the trembling congratulatory greeting,
Jang Seon-yeon’s gaze turned.
The one who met his eyes flinched in surprise,
and Jang Seon-yeon grinned in return, reciprocating the courtesy.
“Thank you.”
At that sight, others let out exclamations of admiration.
The reason others offered congratulations to Jang Seon-yeon like this
was because his name was written in the phrase at the very highest position.
The meaning was simple.
Among the hundreds of hall students, it meant he was second.
It was a considerably high position.
They said he had earned considerable points in both the practical and theoretical portions.
There was no one who expressed doubt about this.
Most said that if it were the Divine Saint, such a thing was possible.
That must mean the perception of Jang Seon-yeon was that good.
That this year’s batch was teeming with monsters was known not only to the hall students,
but to everyone in the Central Plains.
Blood descendants of the Four Great Houses,
those born of the famous houses right below them,
the scholars of the Nine Sects and One Faction,
and the rising stars called the Six Dragons and Three Peaks—
in a place crowded with such figures,
being second from the top was a figure worthy of congratulations, yet.
*Click.*
Amidst the congratulations coming from all around, Jang Seon-yeon had to grit his teeth alone.
He also forcibly swallowed the irritation rising from within.
‘…I feel like I’m going to vomit.’
The voices of the students buzzing noisily were nothing but noise.
Irritation and the situation clumped together at once, making him feel like his stomach was flipping.
‘I wish they would all shut their mouths.’
Though he harbored such thoughts, he revealed them neither outwardly nor in his expression.
This was something he had built up.
He couldn’t ruin it over something so trivial.
Jang Seon-yeon put the noise behind him and slowly read the phrases from the bottom up.
Those belonging to the lower ranks were mostly names he didn’t know.
Of course. Those worth remembering had shown their level from the start, so he hadn’t even bothered to commit them to memory.
‘…The Sleeping Dragon and the Sword Dragon have low ranks.’
He saw that this dragon and one peak were written at ranks lower than expected.
He had heard that the Sleeping Dragon mostly slept during training and education or didn’t participate at all,
and that the Sword Dragon was quite weak in the theoretical portion.
Because of that, the ranks turned out that way.
It also felt like they didn’t particularly place meaning on ranks or the Divine Dragon Hall itself.
Recalling that, Jang Seon-yeon clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘How comfortable.’
They were geniuses without greed.
Should he consider that fortunate instead?
Or should he say he disliked how they seemed to live comfortably in the world?
It was an emotion he couldn’t quite express.
‘Rather, it’s a relief.’
That was the conclusion he reached.
Yes, rather, it was a good thing.
If they had set their minds on becoming competitors,
it would have been rather annoying.
Jang Seon-yeon wore a mask resembling a smile.
He continued to move his eyes.
‘Poison Peak… as expected.’
Poison Peak, the weakest among them,
had a poor rank, just as Jang Seon-yeon had expected.
He had heard that recently he was doing something with the daughter of the Peng family,
but it didn’t remain in his mind.
Poison Peak was too weak a martial artist to remain in Jang Seon-yeon’s head.
So he didn’t bother paying attention.
‘Snow Peak…’
Snow Peak, who had been at a similar martial level to Poison Peak,
had a higher rank than expected instead.
Probably because he excelled in the theoretical portion.
At least in that part, he was at the highest level among almost all hall students.
‘Impressive.’
He had known from the start that Snow Peak’s talent lay elsewhere rather than in martial arts,
but he hadn’t known he would be at such an outstanding level.
Of course, even so,
in the end, he wasn’t among those who had taken the highest upper ranks.
Upon reaching the end of the list,
it was full of familiar names.
Among them:
‘Geom Mu-hui is unexpected.’
There was the name Namgung Bi-a.
‘…Keuk.’
Having checked that, Jang Seon-yeon had to hold back his anger inwardly.
Because the memory of facing her in the entrance exam still remained vividly.
The memory of defeat was still unpleasant.
The sight of her handling the brain technique that induced trembling with her fingertips as if nothing
truly brought to mind an overwhelming figure.
‘I didn’t know she was outstanding in theory too.’
Though her theoretical portion was lower than Snow Peak or himself,
it seemed her martial side had helped with the score.
He didn’t like it.
That he had been defeated by one who had once been defeated by him.
“This is no fun.”
Those words she had spat at him—
he hadn’t liked them either.
He shook his head and erased the thought.
‘…What about her?’
He raised his eyes to find the name he wanted.
By now, she was the one he wanted most.
Since he already knew where she was,
there was no need to bother searching.
Third place. Wi Seol-a.
She was right below him.
‘It seems she has been making some effort.’
When he had first seen her,
she had been practically a blank slate when it came to knowledge.
Yet that Wi Seol-a had now filled even her theoretical portion without lacking, sticking close behind.
‘As expected… is it because she is the bloodline of the Sword Lord?’
Her martial arts talent was monstrous.
She was at a level where she didn’t forget what she saw once.
Not to mention her appearance.
Jang Seon-yeon thought further.
‘That is why I must obtain her even more.’
Meaning he had no intention of letting Wi Seol-a slip away.
He recalled the promise with her.
If he took the top seat at the end, she would become his.
That was why no matter how closely she followed at the end,
he had no intention of letting her catch up.
By whatever means necessary.
‘…The problem is.’
*Crunch.*
Within a situation that seemed to be going well,
Jang Seon-yeon, recalling the final problem,
immediately clenched his fist.
This problem was precisely
what was turning his insides upside down now,
and what had been making him be swept up in useless thoughts since a few years ago.
Jang Seon-yeon finally raised his eyes
and looked just above where his name was written.
…Ah.
The moment he saw the name written there, he had to desperately kill the emotion rising from within.
Why was that bastard written there?
It was overwhelming just to look at.
“This time’s top rank is…”
“No matter what, the Divine Saint…”
“Then what about the practical training…”
‘Shut up.’
As if rummaging through complicated insides,
the surrounding voices grew louder.
He wanted to tear all their mouths apart.
Wouldn’t it be quiet if he did that?
‘I can’t do that…’
But he couldn’t.
Not only could he not shed the image he had barely crafted,
but it was right to maintain it more and endure for the future.
Turning such thoughts over and over,
while Jang Seon-yeon secretly straightened the corners of his mouth,
“What’s with all this noise.”
A piercingly cold voice dug through the gaps in the clamor.
*Thud.*
Unlike Jang Seon-yeon’s neat footsteps,
irregular gait with footsteps that sounded annoyed.
“…Tch!”
A hall student who saw him expressed surprise and flinched.
It was a completely different reaction from when Jang Seon-yeon had appeared earlier.
Seeing that, the one who had just appeared frowned.
“Why are they like that? Woo-cheol. What’s going on today?”
“I heard it’s some kind of announcement day. Isn’t that why they’re gathered?”
“Announcement?”
Behind the young man with a small frame,
a man with a huge physique offered an explanation.
Pae Woo-cheol.
He was a late-generation disciple that Jang Seon-yeon had also kept in his head.
After that, a handsome young man who was grinning stupidly as part of the group brought up another story.
“Seems they’ve set some rankings.”
He was the Sleeping Dragon.
The Sleeping Dragon, who had refused with an annoyed face when Jang Seon-yeon tried to approach him, showing no interest,
was standing with a completely different expression.
“They really do all sorts of things. Just doing it moderately would be fine.”
The one who heard the Sleeping Dragon’s words spat them out bluntly as if dumbfounded,
and moved his steps just like that.
The moment the fierce-looking young man approached,
the students gathered around instantly moved aside.
*Gulp.*
Even the sound of someone swallowing dry saliva could be heard from somewhere.
‘…That bastard.’
Jang Seon-yeon, who was watching that, also had to furrow his brow.
Perhaps the young man discovered Jang Seon-yeon from afar.
He grinned.
Setting aside how frightening that smile was,
because Jang Seon-yeon knew it was an obvious sneer,
he had to grind his teeth once more.
“Long time no see?”
“…Nice to see you, Young Master Gu.”
Since he greeted him with a face that was not glad at all, Jang Seon-yeon reciprocated as well,
but it was equally arduous for both.
“Your face looks rotten the moment I see it.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yeah, just keep not knowing.”
His teeth wouldn’t survive at the sneering words.
Conversing with that guy especially felt like his soul was being sucked out.
Perhaps because of the malice that stabbed at him so clearly.
“Oh, Hyung-nim.”
“What.”
“You’re number one.”
“Yeah?”
Perhaps because he was the greatest wall blocking his path.
First place.
Gu Yang-cheon.
The figure seated at the highest rank among all hall students.
The top ranker of the entrance exam,
and even if in a bad sense, the most famous figure in the current Divine Dragon Hall.
‘…True Dragon.’
He was the person Jang Seon-yeon wanted to get rid of the most.
‘…Why?’
He had doubts.
He had known early on that his martial arts were outstanding.
Having suffered like that at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, how could he not know?
That bastard was a monster.
He had to admit it.
The True Dragon is a monster.
He could acknowledge that, but.
‘That he’s outstanding even in the theory portion?’
It was absurd.
He had thought at least that he didn’t feel like someone who would put effort into such things.
Gu Yang-cheon’s theory score was even higher than Snow Peak’s.
‘…Is that something that makes sense?’
How could that be? Could it be some kind of backroom deal with the Hall Master or instructors…
“Hey.”
“…”
“You seem very frustrated?”
At Gu Yang-cheon’s words, Jang Seon-yeon barely came to his senses and shifted his expression.
Seeing that, Gu Yang-cheon scoffed.
“Try harder next time. Though I don’t know if there will be a next time.”
“…Young Master Gu.”
“It’s all because you lack appetite. Make sure you eat your meals.”
He kept irritating nerves with his teasing tone.
Meanwhile, he seemed to have no interest in ranks or such.
Jang Seon-yeon didn’t like that.
‘Is he saying it’s obvious?’
That he climbed to that height.
Did he mean it was obvious?
Jang Seon-yeon didn’t like that.
While he was doing all sorts of things to maintain his position and chase after him,
that guy acted as he pleased, showing all of his true nature.
And yet he didn’t care about others’ gazes.
‘…’
At the faintly rising emotion,
he clenched his fist.
Because the thought that he was envious had flickered by.
That he, the Divine Saint, would envy that guy.
That couldn’t be.
‘I must get rid of him.’
Really, he had to eliminate him.
Before it was too late, blocking his path,
before the wall grew bigger and bigger,
he had to get rid of him for certain.
Jang Seon-yeon’s eyes turned to one of Gu Yang-cheon’s companions.
While all kinds of gazes were directed,
a figure who seemed alone and frightened, hiding behind Pae Woo-cheol’s bulk.
‘Cheol Ji-seon.’
The most important key to this matter.
A human who would be usefully utilized on the path he would walk from now on.
Thinking that, Jang Seon-yeon could endure the current humiliation.
The sneer that Gu Yang-cheon was wearing
would not take long to turn into screams.
“Congratulations, Young Master Gu.”
Because he knew that, Jang Seon-yeon could put on a smile now.
“As expected, you are amazing.”
At Jang Seon-yeon’s congratulatory words, Gu Yang-cheon made an expression as if disgusted.
“Anyway, you’re a creepy bastard… If it were me, I’d be too pissed to laugh. And yet you smile.”
“Haha, how could I be angry at something worth celebrating?”
“Stay any longer and I’ll really lose my appetite. Let’s go.”
Gu Yang-cheon, having left those words, turned his back immediately as if losing interest.
Then the group followed him without hesitation.
Not only Gu Yang-cheon, but those there too
really seemed to have not a single bit of interest.
Jang Seon-yeon had to continuously make an effort.
Even if he slackened just a little,
it felt like killing intent would burst forth.
He forced a smile while looking at Gu Yang-cheon’s back.
And thought.
‘Just you wait.’
I will definitely make you kneel.
He walked toward the dining hall while scratching his back.
‘It’s itchy as hell.’
The killing intent subtly pricking at him was extremely irritating.
So having heightened energy senses wasn’t always a good thing.
He even had to feel such petty killing intent.
‘Ha.’
It was already torture to look at Jang Seon-yeon’s face,
but facing the aura that bastard exuded was even more annoying.
‘If I stayed any longer, I really would have lost my appetite.’
Nothing else decreased his appetite as much as looking at that guy’s face.
While walking diligently, Pae Woo-cheol speaks to me.
“Hyung-nim, you are truly amazing…! Number one.”
“That’s already the third time.”
It was my name that ranked up,
yet I don’t know why he’s more excited than me.
“Where were you?”
At my question, Pae Woo-cheol makes a troubled expression.
“…I think it was somewhere in the middle. I don’t know. I didn’t pay attention.”
“You should have memorized your own instead of mine, you idiot…”
I had seen him nearly dying whenever it was theoretical education,
so I didn’t think he would have scored particularly high.
As expected, it seems he’s in the mid-ranks. I figured as much.
‘Number one in the midst of all this.’
Honestly, since it was the expected result, I didn’t feel much.
What I had worried about slightly was
that I had treated the instructors like dog shit.
I had worried they might deduct points for that,
but fortunately, the instructors didn’t seem to be such blockheaded guys.
‘Or maybe this is the score after they deducted points.’
I said that, but
my theoretical knowledge of demonic beasts is overwhelming.
Having seen how many demons under the command of the Heavenly Demon,
having eaten how many demon stones for bets.
This much was expected.
“Stop with the flattery. Let’s go eat, I’m hungry.”
“I heard there’s meat today.”
“Why do you like that? Aren’t you supposed to be a Taoist?”
“What’s a Taoist? Is it something you eat?”
“…Forget it. Just eat it all yourself.”
I had become somewhat used to the Sleeping Dragon talking nonsense.
The real Sleeping Dragon kept coming by even though our quarters were different.
He probably intended to keep sticking together.
‘And.’
Setting aside the Sleeping Dragon,
I sent my gaze to Cheol Ji-seon, who was following quietly with his mouth shut tight.
‘Are you going to keep doing that?’
“…!”
Since I spoke through voice transmission,
Cheol Ji-seon’s shoulder flinched.
It was so obvious that his expression had been rotten since earlier.
‘I said it’s fine.’
I know what he’s worrying about.
That was why I had to push him forward like this.
‘Don’t worry about it. Just do as the Jang bastard says.’
“Huh?”
Cheol Ji-seon, who had made a sound without realizing it,
soon closed his mouth.
“Sorry… I bit my tongue.”
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah.”
Seeing that, I let out a sigh.
If he can’t do it even when told to, what on earth am I supposed to do?
‘Friend, do you know…?’
At my question, Cheol Ji-seon shakes his head.
Meaning he doesn’t know.
‘Anyway, if you don’t do this, I’ll kill you.’
“…!”
You said you want to live.
At the words spat out clearly filled with killing intent, Cheol Ji-seon’s face turned pale.
I hadn’t wanted to go this far,
but if he kept staying in that state, it would be troublesome for me.
‘So. Let’s do this right?’
At the words spit out with a smile,
Cheol Ji-seon nodded his head repeatedly.
Seeing Jang Seon-yeon’s expression earlier,
fortunately, it didn’t seem like he wouldn’t do it.
What’s important is how well Cheol Ji-seon does.
I could feel it seeing Jang Seon-yeon’s expression and the killing intent stabbing toward me earlier.
That there really wasn’t much time left.
Just in case, I’d prepared other countermeasures.
Now I just had to wait for the right time to come.
Since they were all moving well on their own.
What I hoped for
was that there would be no unexpected variables.
That was the only thing I needed to hope for.
And so,
a few days passed.
“We begin the practical training.”
The time that bastard and I had been waiting for had arrived.