Number Four doubted his own eyes. Am I really seeing what I'm seeing?
He suspected he'd been caught in some kind of illusion sorcery. However, even after awakening all his senses and raising his qi sensitivity to its absolute limit, he felt no unusual signs.
That could only mean one thing—this unbelievable scene in front of him was, in fact, reality.
"Mr. Baek! Please carry this too!"
Why are Number Four's eyes sparkling with such intense curiosity?
Baek Suryong carried a mountain of luggage the students had piled onto him, his brow furrowed in annoyance. The towering heap was nearly as tall as him, but the peerless master's balance was unshakable. He lifted the bundle with ease, even finding the leisure to use movement arts.
The problem was the students. Normally, they would have marveled at his incredible sense of balance, but today, they were instead mischievously testing the limits of their teacher's patience.
"Mr. Baek! Please carry this too!"
They had to check if any students had fallen behind or gone missing, and if anyone was injured or feeling unwell.
A bundle came flying from somewhere and landed in front of Baek Suryong. He glanced at it indifferently, then flicked it up with the tip of his foot. As if by some miracle, it landed precisely on top of the pile.
He suspected he'd been caught in some kind of illusion sorcery. However, even after awakening all his senses and raising his qi sensitivity to its absolute limit, he felt no unusual signs.
"Oooooh!"
"As expected of the Ten Supremes!"
Unfortunately, that was only the beginning. Lunch boxes, water flasks, toiletries, and snacks all rained down upon Baek Suryong like hidden weapons.
"You little brats..." Baek Suryong growled, arching an eyebrow.
Nonetheless, he caught every projectile with his feet, displaying movements bordering on the divine. Each item that touched the tip of his foot was kicked upward and stacked neatly on top of the pile. Before long, the stack of luggage surpassed Baek Suryong's height.
"He's unrelenting, absolutely unrelenting..."
"How is he doing it?"
"Let's see this through to the end! He must have a limit somewhere!"
The students' competitive spirits were ignited. To ruffle Baek Suryong, they kept pitching their belongings at him, but he effortlessly snagged each piece as if to prove his superiority. Eventually, he even used telekinesis to hold the luggage firmly in place, like a moving tower.
Finally, frustration set in for the students. ...This isn't how it's supposed to go!
Baek Suryong offered them a relaxed smile. "Weren't you going to boss me around? Is this all you've got?"
Number Four slowly clenched his fists, indicating he wanted to join the fun.
"Ugh! So annoying!"
"Solving everything with martial arts is cheating!"
Some students moved on to Myeong Il'oh, Jaegal Soyeong, or Kwak Duyong, deciding torturing Baek Suryong was no longer fun. The other new instructors' panicked responses were much more normal and amusing.
Still, quite a few students couldn't resist the challenge posed by Baek Suryong, the most difficult target of all. Foremost among them was, of course, Hyonwon Kang.
Hyonwon Kang casually approached Baek Suryong, matching his teacher's pace with movement arts. Grinning widely, he teased, "Mr. Suryong, you won't get mad if we play some pranks today, right?"
"You little brats..." Baek Suryong growled, arching an eyebrow.
"...Mr. Suryong? Wonkang, your tongue seems quite short today. Shall I pull on it to stretch it out for you?"
Chills ran down Hyonwon Kang's spine at the friendly words spoken with a smile, but he forced himself to ignore his unease and smacked his teacher's back repeatedly. "Hey! Don't sweat over the small stuff on such a nice day, our dear Mr. Suryong ! You're not some old boomer who'd hold a grudge over something like this, are you?"
As soon as Baek Suryong set down the luggage, a flood of trivial requests poured in. "You're not little children anymore... Don't you all know what a huge waste of manpower this is?" he grumbled, laughing hollowly.
A vein bulged on Baek Suryong's forehead at Hyonwon Kang's provocation, which teetered precariously between informal and formal speech.
Patience, patience.
Recalling Noh Goonsang's parting advice to have fun and Mae Geuklyom's suggestion to loosen up a little, Baek Suryong carved the character for 'patience' in his mind several times and forced a bright smile.
"Fine, I'll let most pranks slide during our fun school trip. So, what have you prepared?"
"Please eat it while it's still warm. I'm not great at cooking, so it'll probably taste better that way."
"Fufufu! Please look forward to it."
Hyonwon Kang walked away with a sly grin. After that, nothing much happened until they stopped for a short breather.
"Once each group has finished their roll call, we'll have lunch. Instructors, please check on your students and report back to me!" Vice Principal Kwak Cheolwoo barked.
The instructors moved about busily. They had to check if any students had fallen behind or gone missing, and if anyone was injured or feeling unwell.
Meanwhile, the students, excited to finally dig into their lunch boxes, continued to boss their poor teacher around.
Finally, frustration set in for the students. ...This isn't how it's supposed to go!
"Mr. Baek! I'm hot from running all this time. Could you cool this area down with your ice arts?"
Mok Hyungwoo approached him hesitantly and offered him a lunch box. Looking embarrassed, he scratched his rough beard and said, "Um, Mr. Baek, please take this... It's not much, but I made it myself. Thank you for always guiding me."
"Please make some ice!"
"Can you kill all the bugs with your sword qi?"
T-They must harbor a grudge even worse than ours!*
As soon as Baek Suryong set down the luggage, a flood of trivial requests poured in. "You're not little children anymore... Don't you all know what a huge waste of manpower this is?" he grumbled, laughing hollowly.
Recalling Noh Goonsang's parting advice to have fun and Mae Geuklyom's suggestion to loosen up a little, Baek Suryong carved the character for 'patience' in his mind several times and forced a bright smile.
The Azure Dragon Academy students completely ignored the complaints from the peerless master revered as one of the Ten Supremes.
Thankfully, not everyone was hell-bent on tormenting Baek Suryong.
Baek Suryong let out a sigh of relief and led Number Four to where the Five Young Azure Dragons were gathered.
Mok Hyungwoo approached him hesitantly and offered him a lunch box. Looking embarrassed, he scratched his rough beard and said, "Um, Mr. Baek, please take this... It's not much, but I made it myself. Thank you for always guiding me."
...Phew! There's at least one decent student!
"Once each group has finished their roll call, we'll have lunch. Instructors, please check on your students and report back to me!" Vice Principal Kwak Cheolwoo barked.
Feeling touched, Baek Suryong smiled warmly and accepted Mok Hyungwoo's lunch box. "Thank you. I'll eat it later."
"Please eat it while it's still warm. I'm not great at cooking, so it'll probably taste better that way."
Opening the box, Baek Suryong found a few crudely shaped rice balls inside. He picked one up and took a bite. "Mm. It's not bad."
"Really?" Mok Hyungwoo's eye twitched. Oddly, his expression seemed to say, 'This isn't how things were supposed to go.'
Only when Baek Suryong heard Mok Hyungwoo muttering to himself as he returned to his seat did he understand why.
"Tsk, that was supposed to be revenge for the Beggars' Gang's elixir... Does he not have any taste buds?"
"...This little punk?"
Halfway through lunch, the Paparazzi members came to find Baek Suryong. With eyes that sparkled like stars, they asked for permission to draw his portrait.