The joint class was divided into morning and afternoon sessions. During the morning session, students would learn from the other academy's instructors in an exchange class. The Azure Dragon Hero, the most anticipated guest instructor for the Vermilion Phoenix students, stepped forward.
However, none of the Vermilion Phoenix students could have predicated that the Azure Dragon Hero, the most talked-about figure in the murim, would rush at them with a sinister look in his eyes, like an unorthodox sect leader.
"W-What is this, all of a sudden?!"
"Who said you could just... Keuk!"
"Holy shit! He actually hit someone!"
As the Vermilion Phoenix students struggled to wrap their heads around the situation, Baek Suryong brandished Crimson Moon like a club.
SMACK! WHACK! THWACK!
Three students were struck in the stomach and crumpled to the ground before they could resist. Meanwhile, the others stared at Baek Suryong in horror.
Baek Suryong smirked. "Did I sound like I was joking?"
THUD! CRASH!
The students slowly backed away as the seemingly mad Azure Dragon Hero advanced.
Baek Suryong casually slung Crimson Moon over his shoulder and scanned his surroundings. "From now on, anyone who isn't paying attention will end up with broken bones, so be prepared. Same goes for anyone trying to slack off. So all of you..." he deliberately paused for dramatic effect, letting the corners of his mouth curl into a vicious smirk. "Come at me with the resolve to kill me or be killed."
"...!" The students shivered, feeling chills run down their spines from his menacing aura.
Thus began the Azure Dragon Hero's guest lecture, punctuated by the screams of Vermilion Phoenix students echoing across the central training ground.
"Wow..."
"This brings back memories..."
"That was once us..."
"A delinquent, I see."
The Azure Dragon Academy students who had taken Defense Against the Unorthodox Arts last semester nodded with nostalgia as they watched Baek Suryong beat others up in real time. Some students even flinched and trembled as if the places where they had been hit before still ached.
However, some students also voiced their complaints.
"Mr. Baek! Show them the face-spitting and groin-kicking too!"
"Isn't he going too easy on them just because they're from another academy?"
"Eye-poking and dirt-throwing are too basic. Haven't those guys tried that stuff before?"
"He even pulled my hair back then!"
"...Shouldn't there be a little more blood?"
The Five Young Azure Dragons snacked while they watched, cheering on the Vermilion Phoenix students more enthusiastically than anyone else and offering unsolicited advice.
"Go, Vermilion Phoenix Academy!"
"If you call him 'Handsome Playboy,' he'll get flustered and his movements will get bigger! Aim for that moment!"
"...Wonkang, are you trying to get them all killed?"
"Attack him like you're really trying to kill him! It's not like you'll be able to lay a single finger on him anyway, no matter what you do!"
"Wiji Cheon, you really are..."
A vein popped on Baek Suryong's forehead. He couldn't tell whose side his maliciously commentating students were on, but he decided to focus on the Vermilion Phoenix students for now.
I'll deal with you lot later.
The Vermilion Phoenix instructors were just as surprised by Baek Suryong's teaching method. The Azure Dragon Academy instructors seemed accustomed to it, but they were nonetheless flabbergasted, their expressions screaming, How is this allowed? Isn't this child abuse?
"That's... one of the Ten Supremes...?" Sama Yeong stared at Baek Suryong with a dazed expression. To her utter disbelief, the martial master had abruptly rushed into the middle of the student crowd and begun to run amok.
She had expected golden words of advice and demonstrations from a revered, unparalleled master. She had not been prepared for an unorthodox ruffian to appear and start pummeling the students. She never dreamed his methods would be so dirty, like those seen only in back alleys. Baek Suryong threw dirt in the students' eyes, kicked them in the groin, spat in their faces, and waged psychological warfare with vulgar jabs and obscene gestures.
"He was always an unpredictable person, but..."
I thought he might have become a little more dignified after getting famous enough to shake the entire jianghu!
Sama Yeong sighed. No matter what, it seemed that Baek Suryong would always be Baek Suryong.
"Uwahahahaha!" Suddenly, a burst of loud laughter erupted.
The instructors of both academies all stared at the source of the noise.
The Fire King was laughing so heartily that his beard quivered. "I've been training martial artists for decades, but this is the first time I've seen an instructor teach like that!"
The Principal of the Vermilion Phoenix Academy, famous for his stubborn personality, howled with mirth. He didn't seem to care that his own students were getting beaten up. Rather, he couldn't help but be impressed every time a Vermilion Phoenix student was taken down by one of Baek Suryong's underhanded tricks.
"Rumors are usually exaggerated, but the opposite is true for this guy. His martial arts isn't the only incredible skill he has," he commended.
Noh Goonsang grinned smugly, as if he were the one being complimented. "Hyung-nim, doesn't that sight remind you of the old days?"
"Kekeke! Are you trying to bring up ancient history? Well... the murim of the past was certainly much rougher."
Back then, everyone knew him for his fiery temper. He tolerated no injustice and would immediately resort to his fists, causing countless problems even among orthodox masters.
"The unorthodox scum that you finished off in your youth could probably fill a small mountain, Hyung-nim."
"Hey, Goonsang. Why are you saying that as if you were any different?"
In his youth, Noh Goonsang had also possessed a formidable temper. Their relationship had actually begun with a fight, but they discovered that they got along surprisingly well and quickly became close. That bond continued to this day. Life was truly a curious thing.
For the two elders who remembered the murim before the fall of the Blood Cult, Baek Suryong's teaching method was actually quite welcome and refreshing.
The Fire King observed Baek Suryong carefully and nodded in approval. "Despite his overwhelming martial arts prowess, he uses only as much force as is necessary, and does so efficiently at that. Who else would deliberately throw dirt and kick the groin of kids who would fall over from a mere cough?" He grinned devilishly. "And that despicable smirk... Don't you think it's enough to make one question his origins?"
Feeling a pang of guilt, Noh Goonsang laughed awkwardly. "Hoho, question his origins? He may look like that, but he's definitely from the orthodox. He's just going above and beyond for his class, seriously training students to defend against the unorthodox arts."
"Somehow, that sounds like an excuse."
"Hohoho..."
Sama Yeong, who had been quietly eavesdropping on their conversation, stared at her grandfather in shock. "Grandfa... no, Principal. Are you just going to stand by and watch?"
"Of course?"
"Shouldn't we stop him? At this rate, all of our students are going to be thrashed..."
"Just leave them be," the Fire King interrupted, shaking his head. While it looked like Baek Suryong was swinging his blade recklessly, he was actually meticulously controlling his strength. If he hadn't, that deadly blade would have been drenched in blood long ago. "This experience will be precious and unforgettable for the children. Where else would those spoiled brats get to suffer like this?"
"That may be true, but..."
The Fire King silenced his granddaughter with a stern look. To put it nicely, the education offered by the Vermilion Phoenix Academy was stable and systematic. To put it bluntly, the curriculum was highly standardized. He had been aware of this flaw for some time, but it wasn't easy to address the students' lack of practical experience and instill some grit in them.
Perhaps... what we need to defeat the Heavenly Martial Academy isn't high-intensity martial arts training, but realistic combat simulations that foster ambition and drive.