On my way back from work, I stopped by the market street to pick up a few items that I had pre-ordered. Once I had everything, I headed back to the White Dragon Manor and gathered the students.

“What’s in the bags, Mr. Baek?” Gongson Su asked, eyeing my haul with interest.

Instead of answering, I threw one bag in front of each student.

They stared at me nervously, sensing that something was amiss.

“Students, you have two minutes to change into your new martial arts gear and report back here,” I said, putting some steel in my tone.

“…Huh?”

“The fuck is this all of a sudden?”

“Would you mind explaining…”

I ignored the barrage of questions, instead pulling out a red headband and securing it around my forehead. Emblazoned in the center were the words “Success or Death (必死)”.

Back in the Blood Cult, this red headband was my trademark.“If I win… you’ll clean my room every morning and night.”You ought to read this at northbladetl.com.

Determined to smash Namgoong Su’s stuck up nose, I’d ordered a new red headband.

“I said two minutes, folks. Looks like you all have time to spare.” A smirk danced on my lips as I surveyed the clueless little lambs. “…Do I look like I’m joking?”

“Go! Move it!” Gongson Su, always the quickest on the uptake, darted off to his room with his bag in tow.

Hyonwon Kang and Wiji Cheon followed suit, vanishing into their rooms.

I hollered at the slowpokes, “Anyone who shows up late can kiss dinner goodbye tonight.”

“Oof!”

“You scoundrel!”

“Nooooooo!”

Like mice with their tails on fire, they sprinted to their rooms.

I leaned back, arms crossed, and watched the chaos unfold with lazy amusement.

“One month…”

For one month, I was going to return to being a demon instructor.

“Student Hyonwon Kang. Is that all you can do?”

“I can still… keep going…” Hyonwon Kang wheezed from underneath my butt.

For the past hour, I’d been sitting on Hyonwon Kang’s back, riding him across the training yard while pointing out his every flaw.

“Martial artists have drawn inspiration from animal movements since time immemorial. Tigers, monkeys, wolves, snakes, dogs, and even birds.”

“Ugh…” Hyonwon Kang let out a groan as if he was about to drop dead.

Not surprising, considering I was using inner arts to gradually increase my weight as he crawled.

“Hyonwon Kang. Are you going to do this properly or not?”

“Am I not doing it already… OWW!”

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Hyonwon Kang yelped as I smacked him with my sword’s hilt. His limbs twitched, and sweat streamed down his body.

“How many times do I have to say it? Picture yourself as a tiger and move like a tiger. If you can’t do that, then pretend to be a monkey, a snake, an eagle, or a fish in the water.”

“If only you weren’t on my back…!”

“I never said you couldn’t try to shake me off.”

“AAAHHH!” Hyonwon Kang screamed, thrashing violently, but unfortunately for him, I managed to keep my balance.

“F$&@#%^*!”“Hyonwon Kang. Did you just curse your teacher? Do you have a character defect?”

“No!” Hyonwon Kang screamed, frustrated.

In response, I increased my weight even further.

After a while, Hyonwon Kang crumpled to the ground.

“Haa… I… can’t… go on…”

“That’s apparent.” I dismounted and kneaded his muscles with my sword’s hilt to ease the tension.

Judging by Hyonwon Kang’s glare though, he didn’t share my sentiment.

I squatted down in front of him. “I’ve said it time and again. Ancient martial artists devised techniques mimicking animal movements, then tweaked them for human use.”

“Haah… Ugh… I’ve got a question.”

“Yes?”

“Why do I have to mimic animal movements on all fours? Why not just learn the human-adapted versions?”

Though he looked drained, Hyonwon Kang’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“That’s because as techniques get passed down through subsequent generations, people weed out the tough and painful movements, leaving the easy stuff,” I explained, massaging his muscles as I spoke.

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“Hmm…” Hyonwon Kang seemed to grasp the concept.

That’d do for now.

“Some claim it’s progress, but I beg to differ. Comfortable and easy to learn isn’t bad, but it dilutes the martial arts’ essence.”

“Oh, I see… YOWCH!”

I bonked him on the head. “Don’t pretend to understand what you don’t. Even if you don’t gain any inspiration from it, crawling strengthens muscles you don’t typically use, tones your whole body, and amps up your martial arts prowess. It’ll serve you well in what you’ll learn next.”

“……”

I wasn’t lying, the Eighteen Strikes of the Viridian Forest that I would soon teach him was inspired by the movements of the animals I mentioned earlier. Of course, I only planned to teach him the basics of this martial art and toughen his body to the point where he could safely learn Master Crazy Demon’s Asura Blood Heaven Blade.

“Quit complaining and train hard. This is all so that you can master the Asura Blood Heaven Blade.”

“…Yes, Teacher.” Hyonwon Kang nodded resolutely.

Though not quite Wiji Cheon’s caliber, Hyonwon Kang possessed a keen martial arts intuition. He should grasp my intent.

“Hyonwon Kang is a failure. Do you really think you can win the Heavenly Martial Festival with a guy like that?”

“He is indeed talented, but he’s lazy and weak-willed by nature.”Recalling that jerk ignited my anger once more.

SMACK!

“Ouch! What was that for?”

“Just remembered something that ticked me off.”

“Am I your punching bag…?”

“Hyonwon Kang!” I snapped, pulling the startled boy’s face close to mine.

He flinched under my gaze.

“Namgoong Su called you a failure. He said you’re lazy, weak-willed, and untalented. He said that even if you tried hard all your life, you would never be able to catch up to Peng Sa-Hyuk.”

Why aren′t you reading this at northbladetl.com?

“That bastard…!”

“Are you going to take that lying down?”

“Absolutely not!” The veins on Hyonwon Kang’s forehead bulged as he clenched his teeth tightly.I slung an arm around him, whispering, “Good. Prove him wrong in your midterms, alright?”

“Yeah!”

“From now on, say ‘Yes’, not ‘Yeah’. You need to learn to speak properly.”

“YES!” Hyonwon Kang bellowed.

I grinned, giving his cheek a pat before stepping back. “That’s it for today’s guidance. Train by yourself till the end of the session.”

Leaving Hyonwon Kang grunting and staggering to his feet, I walked over to Wiji Cheon, who was meditating nearby.

“Student Wiji Cheon, are you recovering well?”

Wiji Cheon slowly emerged from meditation, his eyes flickering open. He bowed his head timidly, voice trembling as he replied, “Uhm… I’m not sure…”

“You too must learn to speak properly. Don’t mumble. Answer clearly and with confidence!”

“I-I’m sorry!” Wiji Cheon squeaked, his forehead glistening with sweat.

I observed him closely.

“Hold out your hand, let me examine you,” I requested, reaching out to feel his pulse and assess his physical state with my qi.

While suffering from qi deviation, Wiji Cheon had transformed into a bloodthirsty sword demon. He claimed to have no memory of that time, but traces of it must remain in his subconscious.

“What symptoms do you experience during inner arts training?”

“Cold sweats, trembling, heart palpitations, dizziness…”

“I’m sorry…” Wiji Cheon murmured in a mosquito-like voice, head bowed deeply.

I gently stroked his head. “No apologies needed. I’m sure you’ve given your all.”

“Teacher…”

“Student Wiji Cheon, I trust in your talent and dedication. Let’s find a way to overcome these hurdles together.”

“Teacher…!”

My faith seemed to move him almost to tears.

I offered Wiji Cheon a compassionate smile and patted his head. “No need to feel pressured.”

Read this at northbladetl.com, or else.

“Yes!”

“Should you fail to recover, worst case, I will be humiliated by Namgoong Su and fired from the Azure Dragon Academy.”

“Eh?”

“Without a job, I’ll fall into debt, the White Dragon Manor will have to be sold for a pittance, and I might die hounded by debt collectors…”

“T-Teacher?” Wiji Cheon paled.

Nope, I’m not coercing him. I’m just encouraging him kindly, to make sure he would do his very best.

“So, no pressure, just do your best,” I assured.

Through gritted teeth, Wiji Cheon vowed, “I’ll do my best!”

“I believe you.”

Having strengthened Wiji Cheon’s resolve, I turned toward the real challenge of the day.

I took a deep breath, then asked, “…Student Gongson Su, how are you feeling?”