Chapter 134 - The Black Flame Dragon Who Proves Himself (4)

Namgung Seonhwa had been spending her days incredibly busy lately.

It was the period when the first evaluations since entering the academy began, and she was frantic trying to adapt because the methods were completely different from the studies she learned at the noble clan.

The academy's evaluations were largely divided into two categories: written exams and practical exams.

The written exams mainly evaluated common martial arts theoretical foundations, qi circulation methods, and acupoint techniques, while the practical exams were conducted by directly testing what was learned based on the written material.

The educational methods of the Namgung Clan, which had produced many academy graduates, were not vastly different from the academy's, but even so, she often thought she wished she had two bodies since she had to juggle the academy's representative delegation activities and exam studies.

If there was any silver lining, perhaps it was that the practical exam had been decided as a sparring match this time.

If she had been required to take a practical exam on emergency first aid or acupoint relief methods, Namgung Seonhwa might have had to send a lengthy letter to the noble clan making excuses for why her grades were so dismal this time.

"It would be nice to at least have an excuse. Why is he so needlessly flawless?"

As the exams approached, Jin Sowoon had the academy officers reduce the academy's representative delegation work and began taking on most of the tasks himself.

Even with the heavy workload increasing two or three times over, he did not show much of a change.

Still, when she told him he should prepare for the written exam, he said...

"I have a good memory, you know. I've already memorized everything."

It was clearly a wonderful attitude showing consideration for her, and even though he said it cheerfully, she somehow found it annoying.

"I'm a little disappointed."

Once she passed the standard exam and entered the academy, she had imagined they would stay up all night studying together during exam periods, fully enjoy the academy atmosphere, and sometimes get drunk and talk until dawn...

"Ugh! Pull yourself together! Namgung Seonhwa!"

Falling into rosy dreams, Namgung Seonhwa shook her head.

Her situation had clearly improved in many ways.

Her grandfather had ultimately completed the Cangqiong Unwi Sword Technique, and after moving the Cangqiong Merchant Group inside the noble clan, the branch line's power was gradually weakening.

The support sent from the noble clan was steadily increasing, and her parents had even sent a letter telling her she didn't need to worry about anything now that the clan was stable.

But on the contrary, there were aspects of Jin Sowoon's situation that had worsened.

He had begun to be at odds with the Orthodox Council, and the elders were displeased with him.

Many bad rumors about him were circulating within the Murim Alliance.

In the worst-case scenario, it wouldn't stop at losing his position as representative; he might end up making many enemies within the Murim Alliance.

Despite shouldering so much—his junior martial siblings and even her group—in such a perilous situation, he never lost his relaxed demeanor and confident smile.

He was truly an incredible man.

"Ugh... I can't use the academy's representative delegation activities as an excuse for my grades dropping, after all."

Thinking she needed to become someone who wouldn't be an embarrassment to him, Namgung Seonhwa quickly shook off her distracting thoughts and headed for Manseogo.

Manseogo, which was normally empty, was currently bustling with academy students who had come to study for the exam period.

Namgung Seonhwa wandered between the bookshelves looking for a book that Jin Sowoon had told her would contain expected questions, only to quickly turn her head away after locking eyes with someone.

She tried hard to pretend not to notice and went back to looking for the book, but she heard his voice from behind.

"Sister Seonhwa."

A deep furrow shaped like the character 'river' (川) formed on Namgung Seonhwa's brow as she was about to turn away.

"Did you come to study?"

Namgung Seonhwa got goosebumps when this man, who had looked at her group with utter disdain back when they entered the academy, approached her acting friendly.

Perhaps realizing his own awkwardness, he scratched the back of his head, but he couldn't quite hide his resentful expression.

'I heard the noble clan was flipped upside down after the Cangqiong Unwi Sword Technique came out.'

The members of the branch line, who hadn't been particularly tense at the news of the creation of a sword technique passed down only to the direct line, realized that things were going terribly wrong after seeing Namgung San suppress the Cangqiong Boundless Sword Technique in just ten moves with a 7-star Cangqiong Unwi Sword Technique, but it was already too late.

While the Cangqiong Boundless Sword Technique would still be kept as the main sword technique of the Namgung Clan, the branch line who learned the Cangqiong Boundless Sword Technique ended up wearing a leash called the Cangqiong Unwi Sword Technique.

She knew the reason why Namgung Gipyo was acting like this, but just because she knew didn't mean her discomfort disappeared; that was another story entirely.

"What is it?"

"... Haha, are we really in a relationship where we need a reason to talk?"

"I heard you went around saying, 'It won't be long before the branch line rules the direct line. Everything is already prepared.'"

"..."

Namgung Gipyo let out a sigh and flashed a sharp look.

"The sword technique the Patriarch created is an act that denies the noble clan's foundation."

"Stagnant water is bound to rot. No one calls continuous development a denial of foundation."

The Cangqiong Unwi Sword Technique inherited the Cangqiong Boundless Sword Technique, possessing an even sharper profundity.

No matter who in Jianghu looked at it, they wouldn't think it was a sword technique made to destroy the Cangqiong Boundless Sword Technique.

"If you're going to play these mind games, may I leave now? Every moment is precious while I prepare for the exam."

The moment Namgung Seonhwa was about to turn and leave him,

"... Sigh, if only it weren't for my father. Are you... planning to keep leaving that arrogant bastard alone?"

She had no choice but to stop at Namgung Gipyo's subsequent words.

Namgung Seonhwa could easily tell who the 'arrogant bastard' Namgung Gipyo was talking about was.

"What are you talking about?"

"It seems you like that guy. If you plan to bring him into the noble clan..."

"What are you saying?!"

Thanks to Namgung Seonhwa shrieking, the glares of the people gathered in Manseogo were not kind.

"Don't you know you're supposed to be quiet in Manseogo?"

"Look who's talking..."

Whether Namgung Seonhwa made a dumbfounded expression or not, Namgung Gipyo continued his words.

"I also know the conflict with the Orthodox Council is deepening. But he can't face the Orthodox Council alone. Shouldn't you... ahem, anyway, shouldn't you make him have the White Path Council at his back?"

"..."

It wasn't that Namgung Seonhwa hadn't thought about it beforehand.

However, Jin Sowoon harbored a sense of rebellion not only against the Nine Sects and One Gang, but also against the Five Great Noble Clans and the Twelve Peaks and Castles.

"It hasn't been just a day or two, so what is the reason you're suddenly bringing this up?"

"Because it's better for him."

"I know the White Path Council dislikes Young Master Jin just as much as the Orthodox Council does."

"To be exact, the thought is that it's better for us to take him in rather than let him be broken."

"Be broken?"

Namgung Seonhwa's delicate brow furrowed.

"The Orthodox Council has begun to move in earnest."

"..."

"It's not just at the level of bullying within the academy. For some reason, it seems people inside the Alliance are unhappy with Jin Sowoon. Pressure will probably start from all directions."

Namgung Seonhwa thought she roughly knew what the 'reason' Namgung Gipyo mentioned was.

"If the atmosphere itself turns hostile and tries to tear him down, even he won't be able to hold out. Just looking at the drill instructors within the academy right now, how many are there who aren't influenced by the Alliance?"

"..."

"Rather than letting him become a mess and be thrown away, the White Path Council is thinking they would rather take him in. You wouldn't want Young Master Jin to be ruined either, right?"

Namgung Seonhwa said nothing, and Namgung Gipyo left her behind as he stood up first and spoke.

"Think carefully. Once his utility value disappears, even the few who seek him out now will all vanish."

* * *

The written exam ended, and the results were posted on the academy's notice board.

The exam result sheet, which announced the rankings from first to last place, made many academy students laugh and cry, but no one complained about it.

Because the exam scores assigned to them were exactly the standard by which their value was evaluated.

Accepting this valuation based on exam results might have been the product of an education that taught them to compete from childhood and obediently accept the results.

However.

"This is a scam!"

"Does this even make sense? A perfect score!"

"Even Yong So-ah, the most outstanding in history, never got a perfect score!!"

"There's some kind of conspiracy!"

The fact that Jin Sowoon was in first place for the written exam results could be accepted.

They had the thought that since he entered as the top student, he must possess that level of excellence.

However, no academy student easily accepted the result that his score was perfect.

Because it was impossible for him to even answer the questions correctly that the drill instructors had deliberately designed to be answered incorrectly for a thorough valuation.

"Moreover, he also holds the position of academy representative. Is that work even something that can be handled by just five people?"

Jin Sowoon hadn't even been able to form a proper delegation, nor was he receiving help from anyone else.

No matter how outstanding a talent he was, getting a perfect score while having to split his time into fractions was a far-fetched feat.

Due to the results of this written exam, not only the academy students but also the drill instructors and the academy itself went into a state of emergency.

As Jin Sowoon, who was already looked upon unfavorably by the elders, got a perfect score, an order came down to strictly investigate whether there was any cheating during the exam.

"Academy student Jin Sowoon, if you speak honestly, we will take it into consideration and wrap this up with you stepping down from the representative position."

"I don't understand what you mean. Are you saying an academy student who received excellent grades must step down from the representative position?"

In front of the drill instructors and the Murim Academy Director, Jin Sowoon remained confident.

"Are you saying you achieved this score with your own skill, not through cheating?"

"Since no one scored higher than me, how could I have cheated?"

"..."

"Or are you saying I secretly sneaked into where the test papers were kept and smuggled them out?"

Since it was a space where talents with outstanding martial arts gathered, it wasn't as if no student had ever thought of trying to steal the test papers.

However, it was completely impossible for a mere academy student to breach the academy's inner safe, which boasted security comparable to the Simhyeon Pavilion, the Murim Alliance's top-secret storage facility.

Taking that into consideration, there was only one way to measure his actual skill again.

"In that case, you wouldn't mind taking a retest, would you?"

It was completely obvious logic.

All the gathered drill instructors nodded, but Jin Sowoon tilted his head.

"I cannot accept this. Do I have to take a retest simply because I received a good score?"

"..."

The drill instructor who had spoken faltered as such common-sense reasoning was thrown back at him.

"... It's clearly a suspicious situation."

And as if realizing this, a sneer escaped from Jin Sowoon's lips.

"Isn't it actually because I am from the Taiyi Sect?"

"What?"

"If I were from the Wudang Sect or the Shaolin Sect, an absurd suspicion like this wouldn't have arisen in the first place. As expected, the Murim Academy is no different; it's an entity that fawns over the established powers."

SLAM!

"Watch your mouth!"

One drill instructor roared, exuding fighting spirit.

The drill instructor's face flushed red with humiliation as if he had been personally insulted, but confronted by Sowoon's remarkably nonchalant attitude, he couldn't move any further, wondering instead if he had done something wrong.

"..."

The Academy Director, who had been quietly observing until now, rested his chin on his clasped hands with cold, sunken eyes.

"... I don't think you're a greenhorn acting rashly out of youthful bravado. Most of your actions so far have been prepared under meticulous planning."

After the Soul-Extinguishing Array incident, the Academy Director had completely changed his view of Jin Sowoon as a lucky greenhorn.

Because too many things had happened that couldn't be explained otherwise.

"You provoked the tempers of me and the drill instructors because you want something from me, right?"

The drill instructors wore dumbfounded expressions at the current turn of events.

From the academy's perspective, wasn't it obvious that they could make a suspicious academy student retake the exam?

At a loss for words, the drill instructors kept their mouths tightly shut and stared at Jin Sowoon.

And sure enough, Jin Sowoon began to speak with a smile on his lips, not looking the least bit flustered.

"I heard the Director's martial arts are quite unique, and I'd like to learn them."

"..."

"..."

The air in the room cooled sharply, as if cold water had been thrown over it.

The Academy Director wasn't some petty wanderer who sold his martial arts, yet he wanted to learn them.

Moreover, the Academy Director's martial arts were so uniquely special that they could not be compared to other Daoist martial arts, and were treated as the most precious even within the Alliance.

"Are you saying you want to inherit the true inheritance of the Three Purities Formless Sword?"

"What are you saying? I am already a disciple of the Taiyi Sect."

"..."

It was a supreme martial art that pursued the essence of the Three Purities, to the extent that there was a saying: if the Buddhists have Bodhidharma's Muscle-Changing Classic, the Daoists have the Three Purities Formless Sword.

At Jin Sowoon's remark that he wanted to learn it by putting it up as a mere bet, the drill instructors swallowed hard, thinking that things were about to go horribly wrong.

"So, would you care to make a bet with me? If you don't want to, then I won't take any retests."