Chapter 25

## Chapter 25. Shall We Prove It?

Fortunately for Gwak Doo-yong, as the commotion grew out of control, the student advisor finally intervened.

"Enough—!"

The student advisor barked at the dormitory.

"From now on, anyone who throws anything will receive a penalty!"

The moment his sharp voice echoed, the flying objects disappeared as if by magic.

'How much must he have cracked down on the students like catching mice.'

This was a clear indication of how much the students feared the student advisor.

The student advisor's piercing gaze then turned to us.

"You guys too! If you cause any more trouble, I'll kick you out, interview or not!"

At that moment, I and Aek Yeon-ho put on an extremely aggrieved expression as if we had made a pact.

"What? We didn't do anything."

"We were just standing there when they suddenly—"

Since we were indeed just standing there (only Gwak Doo-yong heard our whispers), the student advisor's fierce gaze immediately turned to Gwak Doo-yong.

"Go back now that the interview is over!"

"But—!"

"Should I forcibly remove you?"

Gwak Doo-yong, who had been grumbling, flinched at the old man's stern gaze and hurriedly left.

I watched Gwak Doo-yong flee with my hands behind my back.

Without saying a word, and without even using my inner strength, I had driven the enemy away.

I had seen many masters in my life, but this was the first time I had seen such a thing.

Enlightenment came unexpectedly.

"...So that's what it is."

From this morning until just now, through a series of events, I had a significant realization.

"Haha..."

When I smiled softly like an enlightened monk, Aek Yeon-ho looked at me with wide eyes and asked.

"What? What is it?"

I willingly shared my enlightenment with him.

"Exciting. New. Being handsome is the best."

"...?"

At that moment, Aek Yeon-ho looked at me with a bizarre expression that was hard to describe.

"Didn't you say earlier that looks were superficial?"

"That's just an excuse for those who are no good. What can you do about how you were born? From now on, I will humbly accept my true self."

I laughed hollowly, and Aek Yeon-ho sighed deeply for some reason.

"I hoped you would gain self-awareness, but I didn't expect this much..."

A moment later, it was finally our turn to enter the interview room.

* * *

"Definitely looks familiar..."

Student Advisor Mae Geuk-yeom narrowed his eyes and watched the backs of the two young men entering the interview room.

Although he didn't particularly like how both of them looked as refined as courtesans, Mae Geuk-yeom was not the type to form prejudices based on appearance.

He only evaluated whether they had the ability to teach students well.

Therefore, he didn't take the recent commotion to heart.

'When people gather, various conflicts are bound to arise.'

But why...

The face of the taller of the two young men who just entered the interview room kept lingering in his mind.

"Is he the child of a graduate?"

Mae Geuk-yeom recalled the memorable graduates.

He had been a lecturer at the Blue Dragon Academy for over several decades.

But at least in the past twenty years, there was no graduate who resembled the young man who just entered.

'Handsome young men were many...'

But none were so outstanding that they caused such a commotion among the female students and dressed so well.

Mae Geuk-yeom traced his memory further back.

Suddenly, the face he least wanted to remember appeared.

"Could it be..."

Although not as loud as today, this young man had kept many female students awake since the moment he enrolled.

He was always under surveillance, the number one suspect for causing moral corruption in the dormitory.

Famous not only in the academy but throughout the city as a man of elegance.

And above all, the scoundrel who stole his only daughter and ran away.

The one who ultimately caused him to disown his only daughter!

The Jade-Faced Scholar, Baek Mu-hyeon!

"He looks similar..."

Suddenly, Mae Geuk-yeom became extremely curious about the name of the young man who just entered.

* * *

The interview room was simple.

In the spacious room, only tables and chairs were placed on both sides, with three interviewers sitting in a row on the inside.

I took my seat and observed them.

'The one in the middle is Thousand-Armed Guanyin, the one on the left is Flame Dao, and the one on the right is Three-Section Sword, right?'

On the opposite side of the table, five applicants, including me and Aek Yeon-ho, sat in a row.

"Let's begin the sixteenth group interview."

The middle-aged man with a rough appearance on the left spoke with a tired expression.

Judging by the sword next to his seat, he was the deputy head of the Blue Dragon Academy, Flame Dao Gwak Chul-woo.

"Please introduce yourselves briefly, one by one."

At Gwak Chul-woo's words, the short and stocky man on the far left stood up and began his introduction.

"Hello! I am from the Mingjia Hall in Shandong..."

The introductions continued one by one, and it was Aek Yeon-ho's turn.

Aek Yeon-ho, befitting his background from a prestigious family, formally bowed and said,

"I am Aek Yeon-ho from the Aek family in Shandong. I greet the seniors. Due to the good connection with the Blue Dragon Academy, I have applied for the position of spear instructor."

Indeed, the mention of the Aek family from Shandong changed the expressions of Gwak Chul-woo and Nam Gung-su.

Gwak Chul-woo asked, and most of the questions were directed at him.

"How are you related to the Spear King?"

"...He is my fifth cousin."

"Have you seen him recently?"

"Before I left, for a short while..."

Aek Yeon-ho received several times more questions than the other applicants, and the atmosphere was warm.

But it was different for me.

"I am Baek Su-dragon from Huichang. I have no nickname. I taught martial arts to children for ten years at the martial arts school run by my father. I have applied for the position of external martial arts instructor."

"Ahem."

At my unremarkable introduction, Gwak Chul-woo cleared his throat. He read the recommendation letter in front of him and said,

"Recommended by Pi Ying-ke. He is a well-respected person. He helped solve a civilian murder case recently... Could you tell us more about that case?"

"Old Hu was a notorious loan shark..."

As I began my story, I observed the interviewers' expressions.

Gwak Chul-woo pretended to listen attentively, while Nam Gung-su showed obvious disinterest.

The most surprising was that the head of the Blue Dragon Academy, sitting in the middle, started listening to my story with great interest.

"Hehe. An interesting story indeed."

Old Jun-shang spoke for the first time, smiling benevolently like a bodhisattva.

For a moment, I doubted my eyes.

'Is this old man Thousand-Armed Guanyin?'

The Thousand-Armed Guanyin I knew was a man as fierce as a demon.

With a temperament as rough as a lion, he never stopped fighting until one side was dead or crippled.

He was quite famous as a madman even within the orthodox martial arts community...

'Now he looks like a kind old man from the neighborhood.'

There are usually two reasons for a martial artist's personality to change drastically.

Either they achieved enlightenment and greatly advanced in their realm, or they failed and gave up.

I couldn't tell which state Old Jun-shang was in just by looking.

"Mr. Head, time is short, so let's hear the next person's story."

"Ah, right. I was being silly. Please continue with the questions."

At Gwak Chul-woo's words, Old Jun-shang nodded and slightly moved his body away from me.

...And that was the end of my turn.

After all the introductions were over, Gwak Chul-woo tried to lighten the mood.

"From now on, we can ask questions freely."

Although he said that, most of the questions still came from Gwak Chul-woo, and most of them were directed at Aek Yeon-ho.

"Does the Spear King have any plans to visit the Blue Dragon Academy?"

"Ah, well..."

It was so obvious that Aek Yeon-ho was looking at me and the other applicants for their reactions.

'This is not good.'

I had nothing to boast about in terms of background or martial arts.

The interviewers showed no interest in me.

If this continued, I would likely fail the interview without a chance to show anything.

While I was thinking of a way to turn things around,

"Mr. Baek Su-dragon."

Just as Gwak Chul-woo's affectionate questioning of Aek Yeon-ho paused, Three-Section Sword Nam Gung-su, who had been mostly silent during the interview, spoke to me.

"Yes."

I answered with a gentle smile that had charmed the female students.

But the response was quite cold.

"Why did you apply for the position of external martial arts instructor?"

Nam Gung-su was a tall, intellectual-looking man with a lean build.

But his gaze towards me was quite hostile.

'What's his