Chapter 601: I’m Counting on You

“Haha...” Seok Ilseung laughed dryly as he witnessed the Azure Dragon Academy students dismantle the construct without hesitation. Although he was known for being unflappable, he was now struggling to keep his composure.

He had been told that these students were merely amateur hobbyists. They had never studied engineering professionally nor received systematic training from a prestigious family. One glance was enough to confirm it.

As Jaegal Soyeong had said, they were nothing but a bunch of misfit nerds.

“Be careful! One more step and the exit shifts!”

“It’s different from how it looked on the outside. There’s an illusion formation layered on top to mess with our sense of direction. From here, if we trace the path by the principles of the eight trigrams...”

“What if we change this part?”

Most martial artists looked down on formations and traps. They saw such things as obstacles to be smashed with powerful martial arts and reveled in forcing their way through.

Yet, that was precisely why the yearly attraction of this event had always been the Black Tortoise Academy’s mysterious inventions and the Heavenly Martial Academy’s outstanding display of martial arts to break them.

However, the Azure Dragon Academy’s approach was different.

“Wow! It opened up just like Miss Jaegal Soyeong said it would!”

“If we shift the stone to the north here, yin and yang should reverse, right?”

Unlike the other academies, the Azure Dragon Academy students did not destroy the device with martial arts. They studied the underlying principles, applied their knowledge, and adapted the designs for their own purposes.

Bright-eyed and brimming with curiosity, they interpreted and dismantled the Black Tortoise Academy’s engineering and sorcery on their own terms, faster than any other academy. Above all, they were clearly enjoying themselves.

Jaegal Soyeong puffed up proudly. “They’re still inexperienced, but they’re pretty good, aren’t they?”

Seok Ilseung glanced at his former student. “...They’re just like you.”

He chuckled softly as he recalled Jaegal Soyeong’s school days, which somehow felt like it was just yesterday. While all the other students scrambled for the fiercely competitive martial arts classes, she was the only one who signed up for his unpopular subjects. Moreover, she did that for all four years, right up to graduation.

“...You would benefit more from taking another martial arts class instead of this one.”

“But your class is the most fun, Mr. Seok!”

“What childish nonsense. In the time you spend getting hooked on an unpopular subject like this...”

“ Please, can we just start the class quickly? We’re wasting time talking!”

“......”

Seok Ilseung shook his head. Had Jaegal Soyeong not been the beloved child of the Jaegal Clan, an oddball like her would have had a rough time at the Heavenly Martial Academy.

And now, that geeky little girl had become an instructor, teaching students exactly like herself.

Jaegal Soyeong smiled brightly. “That was a compliment, right? Did you just say you’re proud of me?”

“...You’ve gotten shameless, too. How did you become so cheeky? Who influenced you?”

Seok Ilseung shook his head and scanned the crowd to see how everyone else was reacting. As expected, everyone was astounded.

“Does the Azure Dragon Academy specialize in engineering as well?”

“Hah! I assumed they’d force their way out like the other academies.”

“The Azure Dragon Academy continues to surprise us this year. They’re not letting up for even a single day.”

The spectators weren’t the only ones taken aback. The Black Tortoise Academy students who had built the contraption whispered among themselves, thoroughly flustered.

When the Azure Dragon Academy students finally finished dismantling the structure and filed out, Jongri Mok, the Acting Principal of the Black Tortoise Academy, stood up and clapped admiringly. “Everyone saw that, right? I think we can all easily agree who tackled the Black Tortoise Academy’s challenge most brilliantly. Now, the Black Tortoise Academy shall have to overcome a challenge set by the Azure Dragon Academy.”

The Azure Dragon Academy students joyfully set up their device, and this time, the Black Tortoise Academy had to face the challenge.

In the end, the Black Tortoise Academy claimed victory for the third day of the Heavenly Martial Festival.

Despite this, the Azure Dragon Academy runners-up sported prouder smiles than the winners. Their efforts, once dismissed as eccentric, had finally been rewarded. They had proved that they could stand toe to toe with their most outstanding peers in the field.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

“We’re the runners-up! No way!”

“The Black Tortoise Academy is really on another level!”

At first, the Black Tortoise Academy students were rattled by the Azure Dragon Academy’s unexpected showing. However, the sheer joy radiating from their vanquished competitors put them at ease.

Ultimately, despite their reclusive reputation, the Black Tortoise students approached the Azure Dragon students first to exchange greetings and forge new friendships.

“Wow! You did great, kids!” Jaegal Soyeong screamed, celebrating her students’ achievement as though it were her own.

Seok Ilseung scoffed. “Hmph...as expected of a rookie instructor. I wonder how many years that passion will last...”

His words said one thing, but the warm, gentle gaze he turned on his student said another entirely.

In the end, the Heavenly Martial Academy also failed to defeat the Azure Dragon Academy on the third day. Seok Ilseung was simply the first of their instructors to realize that martial arts were not the reason for today’s loss.

“Ugh... Changing jobs at my age... This is going to be a real pain.”

Chuckling softly, Seok Ilseung turned and walked back toward the Heavenly Martial Academy camp, where a heavy silence hung in place of the Azure Dragon Academy’s festive noise.

Following the third day of events, the academy rankings shifted once again. The Vermilion Phoenix Academy, which had ranked first for two days, dropped to second place. The Heavenly Martial Academy remained in third place, followed by the Black Tortoise and White Tiger Academies.

FLAP!

The moment their banner was hung at the front of the Heavenly Martial Academy building, the Azure Dragon Academy community felt their hearts swell with pride.

“I knew we could do it!”

“Leave the rest to us! We’ll never let them take first place!”

“Celebrating the Azure Dragon Academy’s overall first place!”

The students weren’t the only ones cheering. The instructors also clenched their fists, unable to keep the grins off their faces.

Concerned that the instructors and students might get carried away, Mae Geuklyom put on an indifferent expression and chided them. “It’s only been three days! Don’t forget about the remaining events, especially the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament. Don’t act rashly, and prepare properly for the competitions to come...” ℴ

“Father-in-law~” Baek Muheun chimed in, grinning mischievously. “You speak so sternly, but did you know the corners of your mouth have been twitching this entire time? Perhaps you should work on controlling your own expression first, hehe!”

““HAHAHAHAHA!””

Headmaster Baek’s joke set off a burst of boisterous laughter.

“You rascal...!” Mae Geuklyom’s face flushed red with embarrassment. He moved to smack his middle-aged son-in-law on the head, but lost his composure entirely and broke into laughter himself.

Noh Goonsang smiled benevolently, then turned to the Vice Principal. “Let the students relax and rest, at least for today.”

Vice Principal Kwak Cheolwoo nodded with a smile. “Yes, sir.”