Childhood Friend of the Zenith

If someone were to ask about the purpose of the Heavenly Dragon Academy, one might say that it was the greatest military educational institution.

It was created by the core of the Orthodox Sect, the Murim Alliance, and it had maintained that top for centuries.

And considering how most of the attendees were either from the noble clans or from the sects, it was natural for them to form connections in the Academy. Even just sharing a simple conversation was pretty helpful.

Considering how hundreds of Young Prodigies participated in the tournament of Dragons and Phoenixes that only took place once a year just to build connections, it was just as beneficial for them to attend the Heavenly Dragon Academy, as it was just as great.

Although the main purpose of the Academy may have changed for most of the attendees, they did not cut corners when it came to educating the Young Prodigies.

Although it’s not that different from what you learn at your own clan.

Why were the noble clans and Sects considered to be ‘noble’?

It was because they had managed to maintain their ranks for a long time and they kept growing during that time.

And due to that, all of them had records of their own unique training method.

It was difficult to say that the education in the Heavenly Dragon Academy was superior compared to one’s own home.

Everyone knew this as well, but the clans and Sects still insisted on sending their children to the Academy.

Because graduating from the Academy itself was a major achievement.

It had already been a few centuries since the Heavenly Dragon Academy was established.

It was around the time the Blood Demon had disappeared and when the Gate of Demons was still present.

Moreover, since Demons were still thriving at the time, the people of the Orthodox Faction got together to establish a military educational institution.

Obviously, they didn’t teach any martial arts.

Not only had the Young Prodigies already learned their clans and Sects’ martial arts, but it would have been even stranger for the Academy to teach them a completely new martial art, especially when the type of martial art a person learned depended on what they specialized in.

Teaching a new martial art from scratch, my ass!

Not only did the Academy have a different Head and different instructors each time it opened, but the Murim Alliance only used one type of martial art.

And that was meaningless as only the members of the Alliance learned them.

So, what did the Young Prodigies learn here?

Well, they learn how to beat up Demons.

It wasn’t for nothing that they divided people depending on their specialization.

The ranks, types, and individual similarities and differences of different Demons along with the different means of fighting them.

Irrelevant to the subject, but the Unorthodox Faction did the same as well.

They had to learn all of this in just a few years, so I guess I could say that it’s pretty worthwhile.

Be it the clans or Sects, you had an obligation to fight against Demons if you were a martial artist with Qi.

Though we will soon be fighting against other humans instead of Demons.

I was referring to the calamity that would arrive in the near future.

Anyway, this was why I didn’t find it really worthwhile to come here.

Fighting against Demons?

Just how many Demons did I kill and absorb using my Demonic Absorption Arts in my past life?

And if I thought about how I fought against red Demons, which hadn’t even appeared yet in this timeline, in my past life, I would at least be stronger than the instructors here.

And what about building connections with others?

Well, all of that would become pointless once the Heavenly Demon made their appearance, so connections my ass.

Half of the people present here would turn into Demonic Humans.

Either after being caught by the Heavenly Demon, or willing to turn themselves into the Heavenly Demon.

“Woocheol.”

I killed some time while leaning against a chair.

Then, I spoke to the bastard beside me.

“…Y-Yes, brother.”

A martial artist with black hair and a huge physique.

It was Pe Woocheol, my roommate.

He was also the same bastard who fainted after I hit him in the chin yesterday.

Moreover, when he tried fighting me immediately after he regained consciousness, I gave him some beating and he became much nicer after that.

It was very important to communicate.

And physical contact was also a type of communication, right?

I’m sure he received my message.

“We are in the same group huh? I’m very happy.”

“…”

“Woocheol?”

“That’s right. I am happy as well.”

Hehehe.

Pe Woocheol, who had the body of a giant, smiled awkwardly.

It seemed like he was trying to force a smile on his face, but he looked as scary as me, so his smile didn’t look that nice.

There are a total of three groups, huh?

There were three groups for close combat martial artists.

Those who used bows or something unique were divided into other groups.

And it seemed like there were twice as many groups for sword users, showing just how many sword users were there.

And oddly enough, Tang Soyeol somehow ended up in that group as well.

Well, I guess that daggers could be classified as swords…

But even Tang Soyeol seemed clueless as to why she was put into their group.

It looks like I had something to tease her about the next time we saw each other.

As I continued waiting while seated in my chair…

Slide–

The person we were waiting for finally opened the door and stepped in.

It was a middle-aged man wearing a blue band with a physique similar to that of Pe Woocheol and Hwangbo Cheolwi.

This meant that he was an instructor of the Heavenly Dragon Academy.

“It’s nice to meet you all.”

Infused with Qi, his voice that complemented his physique was loud enough to permeate the not-so-small room.

And judging by his strength and control, it seemed like he was a martial artist who managed to go beyond the Peak Realm.

Who is he?

Considering his level, I should have heard about him.

More so if he was a close combat martial artist.

“Ugh…”

“Kegh…”

The Young Prodigies who were unable to endure the pressure exerted by his Qi, started groaning in pain.

It seemed like his plan was to seize the initiative, and it was working out pretty well.

After all, the gazes of the bastards in the room changed.

The instructor glanced around the room while continuing to exert his Qi.

And judging by how he was observing each of us with a fierce gaze…

He’s filtering us.

I was able to figure out that the instructor was getting a read of these bastards’ levels.

I glanced at Pe Woocheol who was beside me.

He was frowning a bit, but it didn’t seem like he was that affected by it.

Oh? This bastard is better than I thought.

He was exceptional.

Considering that it only took a single blow to knock him out, I didn’t think he was anything special, but the guy knew how to hold himself.

And there were a few others besides Pe Woocheol, who managed to endure the Qi or deflected it away.

A total of four guys and one girl, including Pe Woocheol.

I didn’t know any of them, but it seemed like all of them knew how to hold their own.

As the instructor’s gaze passed by each one of them, it finally landed on me.

“…!”As soon as his eyes landed on me, the instructor flinched.

I also saw his pupils grow bigger and quiver.

It was pretty amusing to watch his reaction.

So he noticed it, huh?

I was doing a pretty decent job at hiding my strength, but it seemed like the instructor was at a much higher level than I thought.

Should I reveal a bit more?

I thought about teasing him a little by revealing a bit more of my strength, but I decided to hold back.

I just gave him a smile.

“Ahem.”

After calming himself down, the instructor moved his gaze away from me.

“I am Cheol Hwanho, the Vice Captain of the Blue Dragon Army of the Murim Alliance.”

Oh?

I was surprised to hear his name.

I wondered who he was at first, but I recognized him as soon as I heard his name.

“The Vice Captain…?”

“Cheol Hwanho… the Orthodox Blue Fist…!?”

I began to hear the people around me murmuring.

The Orthodox Blue Fist, Cheol Hwanho.

I guess he was a relatively famous martial artist.

Though he was more famous for being the Vice Captain of the Blue Dragon Army.

Though, Cheol Hwanho felt familiar to me for another reason.

I pondered over it while staring at the instructor with a rather serious look on my face.

The Sword Demon’s underling.

I smirked as soon as I remembered.

The Sword Demon, the bastard who didn’t leave the mountain he lived on just so that he could train in the martial arts his master had left him.

The man of hatred drunk on his madness.

I couldn’t locate him as I didn’t know which mountain he lived on, but he was a bastard who would soon make an appearance in a few years.

And one of the underlings who accompanied that maniac in my past life was Cheol Hwanho.

I was unable to recognize his face as the Sword Demon’s underlings wore masks, but I recognized him as soon as I heard his name.

I did hear that he was a part of the Murim Alliance.

But the Vice Captain of the Blue Dragon Army huh?

That was intriguing.

I was left speechless when I thought about how even the Vice Captain of the Blue Dragon Army turned into a Demonic Human.

“I will be your instructor for half a year.”

Half a year.

If I thought about how our time at the Heavenly Dragon Academy would only last for two years, it was a short but also a long time.

“Any questions?”

He was done with his greeting.

It was the complete opposite of the Qinghai Sword’s greeting.

I liked it.

After he said that, a few people raised their hands.

“I have a question.”

“State your name.”

“I am Cheon Il-Seon from the Cheon Il Clan.”

“I will not answer your question. Only state your name while introducing yourself. I’m sure you were taught that.”

He cut him off immediately

It seemed like he was doing that to show that there were no ranks in the Heavenly Dragon Academy…

…But is that even possible?

I was still skeptical.

“I am Hyo Woonbyuk. May I ask how the Vice Captain of the Blue Dragon Army ended up coming here as an instructor?”

After the instructor cut off the first person, thankfully, the next bastard was smart enough to only state his name and follow up with a question.

It was a pretty direct question.

After thinking for a moment, Cheol Hwanho answered with a smirk.

“I had time to spare, and I was curious to see if there was anyone noteworthy here.”

“…Does that mean that you also plan to recruit new members for the Blue Dragon Army?”

“I will not be answering more questions.”

Cheol Hwanho cut the question off, but his response held a lot of meaning.

He avoided the question without giving too much information.

That made the people here hopeful that they might be recruited into the Blue Dragon Army if they did well.

Because of this, a few people had stars in their eyes.

Personally, I wouldn’t want to be recruited in a mere army of the Murim Alliance, but the Blue Dragon Army was one of the top armies of the Alliance.

It was also the army that the Azure Heavenly Sword, Namgung Jin used to be a Captain.

Only the strongest of the Orthodox Faction were accepted, which made it obviously difficult to get in.

Because of that, the instructor’s reaction held a lot of value.

I probably was the only one who wasn’t that enthralled.

After that, the instructor answered a few more questions.

He told us what we could expect to learn from him, and why he would only teach us for half a year.

He also cut off any personal questions immediately.

Judging by that…

It looks like he purposely wore the blue band of his army.

Whether it was to light a fire in the Young Prodigies gathered here or to recruit a few people from this place, it didn’t matter to me.

“I will stop taking questions now.”

There were still some bastards who had their hands up, but the instructor ended it there.

It seemed like it was time now.

Wow, I never thought I’d get to hear this.

Having failed my exam in my past life, I didn’t have the opportunity to be educated by an Academy instructor.

I could hear the people around me whispering.

It seemed like they had all gotten a bit relaxed while he was answering questions.

However, that relaxed atmosphere then became tense in an instant.

“For your first lesson.”

Cheol Hwanho continued speaking without relaxing his Qi.

“The instructors of the other groups may have started with theory, but I am different.”

Just imagining having to listen to the instructors drone about with explanations, made me feel bored.

“Rather than learning theory, a martial artist must get real experience fighting against Demons.”

Crack.

The sound came from Cheol Hwanho’s arm.

“Unfortunately, I cannot bring in a Demon for our first training.”

He then smiled.

His Combat Qi and complementing expression made him look hostile.

“Because of that, I will personally take the role of a Demon. It’s simple, you just need to deal with the Demon.”

As soon as I heard him, I tilted my head.

This was a pretty fierce start.

So, he planned to fight against a group of almost twenty people all by himself.

I never thought that this would be the first training.

Isn’t this a bit too reckless?

I could understand his intention though.

As soon as he finished speaking, I saw that everyone had the same question on their faces as they remained silent.

-He’s going to take all of us at once?

It was probably something like that.

Even if he was a strong martial artist and was the Vice Captain of the Blue Dragon Army, they were still doubtful as to whether he would be able to take on everyone here and Cheol Hwanho’s plan was to shatter those suspicions.

It wasn’t a bad idea.

After all, they would only work hard after they woke up from their delusions.

Moreover, Cheol Hwanho was strong enough to do something like that.

However, there was one variable he failed to take into consideration.

“Instructor.”

As the others struggled to breathe, someone raised their hand like it was nothing,  and began speaking.

“…!”

Not expecting anyone to raise their hand that easily, the instructor looked pretty shocked.

The person who spoke with ease in such an atmosphere was me.

“I have a question.”

“…I said that I wouldn’t be accepting any more questions if I recall correctly?”

“Even if it’s an important question?”

The instructor furrowed his eyebrows as I asked with a smile.

“Your name?”

“Gu Yangcheon.”

He didn’t show much of a reaction after hearing my name.

It seemed like he already knew who I was.

“What’s your question?”

“It’s not anything special– “

It may have been out of the blue, but it put me in a good mood.

Even though we were required to stay at the Academy for two years, I planned to leave after a year.

And in order to do something like that, I had to go through some rather complicated and troublesome procedures.

That said, the current situation was really ideal for me.

“Can I do it myself?”

“…What?”

The instructor frowned after hearing my words.

It seemed like he had gotten really angry, but it was fine.

Amused by his reaction, I continued speaking with a smile.

“The Demon hunt you spoke of, I’m asking if I can do it by myself.”

Once he understood my words, Cheol Hwanho’s Combat Qi got denser.

It seemed like I hit a nerve.

Of course it would, saying something like that meant that I didn’t need any help and I was more than capable of fighting him by myself.