“I have come to see the Head Instructor.”
Yi Gwak visited the Head Instructor’s office at the White Martial Academy.
It was a building that had been completed not long ago, so it was clean without a speck of dust and had a grand feeling.
‘The effort of spending a lot of budget has paid off…’
Although Yi Gwak was a first-class official of the Martial Alliance, the annex where the Head Instructor of the White Martial Academy stayed was so splendid that it could not be compared to his own residence.
‘I’m envious…’
As Yi Gwak was tasting the bitterness, the manager who had gone into the inner quarters rushed out and spoke.
“Please come in. Great Hero Yi!”
“Thank you.”
***
Namgung Won.
While being the head of the Namgung Family, he was also appointed as the general head instructor of the White Martial Academy.
Originally, it was common for the head of a family not to hold a concurrent position, so this was a rather unusual case.
Therefore, Namgung Won’s influence was truly unrivaled.
It was only natural that the head instructor of the White Martial Academy, who was in charge of the hundred-year plan, had a greater say and status than other officials of the Martial Alliance.
Therefore, when Yi Gwak faced Namgung Won, he took a polite attitude as if he were facing the Alliance Leader.
“Head Instructor. Have you been well?”
“Oh! Great Hero Yi. Please come in.”
Namgung Won guided Yi Gwak to his seat.
A little later, after a servant brought warm tea, Yi Gwak brought up the main topic.
“Head Instructor. The reason I have come is to deliver the Alliance Leader’s order and message.”
Yi Gwak said, emphasizing the word “order.”
Although the organizational structure of the Martial Alliance was vertical, emphasizing the word “order” to the head instructor could be seen as rude.
But this was based on Yi Gwak’s thorough calculation.
‘The head instructor will surely oppose it. I need to make him aware that it is the Alliance Leader’s order.’
Fortunately, Namgung Won asked Yi Gwak without any particular expression.
“What did the Alliance Leader say?”
“I understand that the position of the chief instructor of the White Martial Academy is currently vacant.”
“That’s right. The first instructor, Master Bido of the Jeomchang Sect, retired due to family matters, so it is currently vacant. But the second instructor, Great Hero Jong Jin-do of the Haenam Sect, will take that position, so you don’t have to worry about that part.”
Yi Gwak felt a contradiction in Namgung Won’s words and felt bitter inside.
To interpret it, it meant that since he was not an official of the White Martial Academy, he should not even think about intervening.
‘Is he planning to privatize the White Martial Academy…’
But Yi Gwak did not show it and continued to speak in a gentle voice.
“Head Instructor. That is why I have visited. The Alliance Leader has already appointed the chief instructor of the White Martial Academy.”
“An appointee?”
“That is correct.”
Namgung Won’s eyes widened.
“Who is it?”
“It is Young Master Jin So-ah.”
“Jin… So-ah?”
For a moment, Namgung Won was lost in thought and racked his brain.
Then, as if he had remembered something, he spoke.
“Jin So-ah… are you perhaps talking about the boy who became the first external disciple of the Moyong Family about three or four years ago?”
Namgung Won had not forgotten So-ah.
[Father! Someday, I will flatten the nose of that external disciple of the Moyong Family!]
He had remembered the words his son, Namgung Mun, who was praised as a once-in-a-millennium prodigy of the Jianghu and had become the number one new master of the Jianghu by both himself and others, had once said.
“Yes. It is that very Young Master Jin.”
“Look here, Great Hero Yi. I heard that the child named Jin So-ah is younger than my son. Is that not so?”
“As far as I know, he has turned nineteen this year…”
“Hoho. Are you joking with me now? You’re appointing a nineteen-year-old boy as an instructor of the White Martial Academy? And not just an instructor, but a chief instructor?”
Namgung Won’s attitude changed abruptly.
He treated Yi Gwak as if he were a subordinate. Yi Gwak was furious but suppressed it and spoke again.
“Head Instructor. This is the Alliance Leader’s will.”
“Even if it is the Alliance Leader… this is something that is not possible in common sense! The White Martial Academy is not simply a subordinate organization of the Martial Alliance. It is a training institution that educates the rising generation of the Orthodox Faction. Therefore, it must always be fair and upright… If he becomes the chief instructor, who among the students will accept him?”
Namgung Won’s words also had a point.
But Yi Gwak did not back down and took out three letters from his bosom.
Then he handed the letters to Namgung Won.
“What is this, Great Hero Yi.”
“It is a letter of recommendation recommending Young Master Jin as the chief instructor of the White Martial Academy.”
Namgung Won took the letter of recommendation.
There was no need to read the content.
Any words would sound like nonsense.
Namgung Won was just curious about who had written this crazy letter of recommendation.
And after reading the letter of recommendation, Namgung Won’s face was distorted with astonishment.
—Seal of the Head of the Great Emei Sect, Sword Empress, Hong-ryeon.
—Seal of the Grand Elder of the Great Kunlun Sect, current Martial Alliance Leader Ha Won-sang.
—Seal of the Dragon Head of the Great Beggars’ Sect, Hong In-geol.
‘This is crazy…!’
Namgung Won almost cursed.
***
“What on earth is that…?”
“Are you crazy?”
“Good heavens, are you in your right mind?”
People began to frown and curse.
So-ah also had ears, so he couldn’t help but hear.
‘I expected it, but was it too much…’
It was certainly a reckless move.
Unless one was a half-mad bandit of the Green Forest or a crazy person of the Unorthodox Faction, there would be no human who would walk on the main road with a tiger.
“Keo-heung!”
To make matters worse, Huin-dung-i, who had felt the people’s murmuring, even let out a roar.
“Oh my!”
“Good heavens!”
“Look here! Tie that tiger up tightly!”
People began to run away one by one, letting out grumbles with astonished faces.
“Sigh… Huin-dung-i. It seems we are destined not to be able to walk the main road comfortably.”
So-ah, who had said that, suddenly picked up Huin-dung-i.
Although So-ah had also grown a magnificent frame recently and was dignified, when he carried Huin-dung-i, a ridiculous sight unfolded.
“Keung…”
But Huin-dung-i, as if he liked it, snorted and licked So-ah’s face.
“Hoo…”
So-ah let out a low sigh and then powerfully flew into the air.
It was the release of the Swift Whale Steps.
The sight of him performing a lightness skill while carrying a great tiger was truly like a single whale soaring into the sky, befitting the name Swift Whale.
***
Liaoning.
Moyong Family.
‘It’s been a while…’
Seeing the Moyong family’s signboard written in a stylish script, So-ah’s heart pounded.
Four years.
So-ah had visited the Moyong Family again.
After his grandfather passed away, So-ah had lived like a person who had lost his purpose.
Of course, his internal energy had risen dramatically because he had practiced the Great Whale Heart Law like a madman in the meantime. But if the So-ah when his grandfather was alive was a progressive human who rushed headlong towards the goal of martial arts, then after that, he had spent his days like a shipwreck that had lost its direction.
‘I’m going to be reborn again now!’
So-ah had decided.
If he hadn’t had such a resolution, he would not have left the Samryun Peak estate in the first place.
So-ah, who had entered the second act of his new life, knocked on the door of the Moyong Family with a swelling heart.
***
“So-ah!”
The moment he saw So-ah, Moyong Baek’s eyes widened.
Then he immediately approached So-ah and grabbed his hand.
“Uncle…”
“You came, you came. Thank you. Thank you so much!”
So-ah was bewildered.
His uncle was a heavy man who never acted rashly.
But the moment he saw him, he greeted him with such an excessive joy that it was an uproar like no other.
But soon, after hearing various stories from Moyong Baek, So-ah came to understand his uncle’s behavior.
“Did petitions denouncing the Moyong Family really pour into the Martial Alliance?”
“That’s right. That’s how people’s hearts are. Our family has tended to rely on my father alone. That’s why they started to bite at our family, not missing the opportunity of my father’s death. Perhaps, if more time passes, there will be more martial families and minor sects that will officially request a duel with our family.”
“Uncle…”
So-ah was furious.
How long had it been since his grandfather had passed away, yet the people of the Orthodox Faction were showing such behavior.
Only then did he agree with Gu-yang Seon’s words not to trust the Orthodox people.
‘The martial world is truly a harsh place.’
But he was not frustrated or depressed.
Why?
Because he was now going to raise the prestige of the family and teach the world that the Moyong Family was still strong, and that the Moyong Family was not a family that anyone could look down on.
“So-ah. But thanks to my father’s fame, there are still many prominent figures in the Jianghu who think of our family. A person from the Martial Alliance came by a while ago. The Alliance Leader also understood the situation of the Moyong Family and came up with a plan. I want to follow it.”
“Uncle, what is it?”
“It is for you to come to the forefront.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Uncle. I will do anything I can. At the very least, I can’t stand by and watch my grandfather’s family, this Moyong Family, become a laughingstock.”
“Thank you…”
“What should I do?”
“The legends of the martial world have recommended you as the chief instructor of the White Martial Academy.”
***
Before they knew it, the key figures of the Moyong Family had gathered one by one.
Not only the mistress of the Moyong family, Yeon So-so, but also the younger generation, including Moyong Hwa, had gathered in the family head’s room and began to chat with So-ah.
“So-ah. We have high expectations for you.”
“For you to become an instructor of the White Martial Academy at your age is truly beyond common sense. Everyone will be checking you, so be careful in your conduct.”
“So-ah. I believe you will do well!”
The elders of the family spoke to So-ah in a firm voice.
Every time, So-ah nodded his head with determined eyes.
“I will do my best. Now that I know the situation of the Moyong Family is not good, I will never avoid it. My grandfather passed down the Ten-Second Invincible Arts to me, who is not even related by blood. Now, this Ten-Second Invincible Arts will be used for the Moyong Family. The favor that my grandfather and my uncle have shown me, which is as vast as the sea, I will repay it.”
At So-ah’s words, a strange light appeared in Moyong Baek’s eyes.
Not only that, but a look of satisfaction appeared on the faces of all the members of the Moyong Family.
They had been worried about the decline of the family after the death of the God of War.
But now that the second God of War, So-ah, had returned, they believed that they could soar once again.
‘Father. Thank you for raising So-ah! Now this child will lead our family!’
Moyong Baek muttered to his father in his heart.
***
The day grew dark…
So-ah, who was staying at the Moyong Family residence for the first time in a long time, recalled the past for a moment.
His journey through the Jianghu with the Tang siblings.
The time he had punished the trio of Paeng Seong-un, Seok Won, and Eon Yeong-je.
The time he had beaten the Ghost Demon Jiangshi.
And even the fearful incident where he was almost killed by the Right Heavenly Demon Sword, No Yeong-myeong.
As those memories flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern, a longing suddenly filled a corner of his heart.
‘Grandpa…’
He looked up at the night sky.
The faint full moon seemed to resemble his grandfather’s hearty laugh.
‘Grandpa. I will protect the Moyong Family.’
So-ah was certain that that was the only way to repay his grandfather’s favor.
Just then.
“Senior Brother So-ah!”
Moyong Hwa approached So-ah’s side.
“Oh, Junior Sister. You’re not asleep yet?”
“Yeah. I can’t sleep. We have to leave for the Martial Alliance tomorrow…”
Moyong Hwa’s words trailed off.
Although she had a sharp personality, the thought of living and working with her peers for the first time in her life seemed to be a great worry.
At that, So-ah gently patted Moyong Hwa’s shoulder and spoke softly.
“Junior Sister.”
“Senior Brother…”
“Don’t worry about anything. We are by no means weak.”
“Senior Brother…”
In this moment, Moyong Hwa felt that her Senior Brother was more reliable than a thousand troops and ten thousand horses.
(End of Chapter)