Chapter 50

## Chapter 50. Final Selection Announcement (1)

"Brother! Are you really crazy?"

"It's a surprise."

I thought I would be ambushed by Aekyeonho as soon as I came down from the stage.

Whoosh!

The guy who flew over with his light bodywork seemed to want to grab my collar and shake me, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he leaned his face close to mine and said in a tone that suggested he was about to explode.

"Winning the Tianwu Academy? How can you make a promise you can't keep?"

"Why can't I keep it? I meant it."

At my answer, Aekyeonho's mouth opened wide. It looked like a whole watermelon could fit inside.

"Tsk. Brother, you really are an idiot..."

"Are you not going to the toilet anymore?"

"Actually, I was about to go, but I held it in after hearing you."

"That's a relief."

As I walked along, joking with Aekyeonho, Zhuge Xiaoying approached us with quick steps.

Zhuge Xiaoying, who was approaching me, hesitated for a moment and then stopped.

Her expression was... how to put it.

She seemed to have found an interesting lunatic but thought he was too crazy, and was debating whether to talk to him or not.

"...You said you're going to make the Qinglong Academy win the Tianwu Competition? Surely you can't be serious?"

Finally, curiosity got the better of her, and she approached me and asked.

"Yes. Miss, you said you're from the Tianwu Academy. Can I ask you some questions later?"

"I can teach you, but... you'll regret it."

"Why?"

"...Because you'll bitterly realize that winning the Qinglong Academy in the Tianwu Competition is absolutely impossible."

At her expression, which seemed to be stating an unchangeable fact, I shrugged.

"Really. Why do people say it's impossible without even trying?"

"Brother, look around."

At Aekyeonho's words, I turned my head to look around.

I felt the gazes of many people, specifically directed at me.

"What did you just say?"

"Win the Tianwu Competition?"

"Just a lunatic..."

The faces of the murmuring students were filled with disbelief, mockery, and anger.

'A lunatic...'

The situation is a bit different, but I've heard such words many times in the Blood Sect.

But most of the trainees who called me that a few months later called me by a different name.

'They called me a mad dog.'

...But this time is different.

Unlike when I was a demon instructor in the Blood Sect, this time I've decided to become a one-hit master and a good teacher.

"The instructors are all glaring at us."

"Because they couldn't do what I did."

Especially Namgung Su was glaring at me as if he had met his father's enemy on a log bridge.

'What? Want to fight?'

When I met his gaze without flinching, Nogun Sang naturally stepped in between us.

"You..."

"Master, it won't be easy to be a good teacher."

"Hehe. Is this your answer to my words..."

Nogun Sang, with his hands behind his back, looked up at the students filling the audience seats.

His gaze was filled with pity.

"...The Qinglong Academy has been at the bottom of the Tianwu Competition for the past ten years. Do you know that?"

"Yes."

"And now you say you're going to make it win. It's natural for them to think you're just mocking them."

"Should I go back and take it back?"

"...Are you serious?"

"No way. I've already said everything I meant."

I smiled, and Nogun Sang laughed, as if giving up on me.

Then, he suddenly spoke to me in a serious tone.

"Even if you're serious, your words might have made it difficult for you to get a good score in the student evaluation. The Tianwu Competition is a term that makes the students uncomfortable just to hear."

"That's what I thought."

Considering the hostility and anger I felt from the gazes pouring in, it was a reasonable statement.

I had turned most of the instructors and students into enemies today.

But I don't regret it.

I had expected this from the beginning.

"But what if you fail after boasting like this?"

"I heard you, I plan to set up the Bai Long Academy across the street. Within ten years, my students will beat up the Qinglong Academy kids."

"Wow. I'll have to consider that in your evaluation."

"I'd be grateful if you do."

After a brief exchange of jokes with me, Nogun Sang returned to his seat at the call of Deputy Master Guo Tie Wu.

"Master. You need to give the closing speech."

"...It's a hassle, but I have to go. See you later."

"Yes. See you next time."

Since my sparring match was the last, the closing ceremony followed.

But the students couldn't focus on the closing ceremony.

Most of their gazes were on me, and they kept whispering to each other.

"You guys! Can't you concentrate?"

Normally, the student supervisor Ma Jie Lian would have calmed the chaotic atmosphere, but even Ma Jie Lian couldn't handle the situation now.

"Brother, your face is going to be ruined."

"Get used to it. You'll experience this often from now on. By the way, if I fail, will you still not want to be an instructor at the Bai Long Academy?"

"Why are you grouping us together? You might fail, but I could pass!"

"Tsk tsk. Speak sensibly."

After all the events, I left the Qinglong Academy with Aekyeonho, who seemed more exhausted than I was.

"The results won't be out for a few days, so let's go have a drink. Ah, Miss Zhuge, would you like to join us?"

Since she was nearby, I asked Zhuge Xiaoying, not really expecting her to agree.

She hugged the book in her arms and thought for a moment before nodding slightly.

"...Sure. I don't drink well, though."

At her words, Aekyeonho's tired expression brightened.

"Miss Zhuge. I know all the good restaurants around here. Is there anything you'd like to eat?"

"Ah, yes... I eat anything."

When Aekyeonho spoke to Zhuge Xiaoying in a smooth voice, she looked uncomfortable.

Yeho. You missed again.

"Ah, but what about Il?"

Suddenly, I thought of Ming Yiluo, who was lying in the infirmary, but at that moment, Aekyeonho waved his hand.

"What can a sick person do? We should go drink together."

"But at least we should see him before we go..."

"Seeing him every day, what's the point? If we go late today, there won't be any seats."

"Hmm."

Thinking about it, he was right, so we followed Aekyeonho without a word to go drink.

* * *

A few days later.

In front of the Qinglong Academy's main gate.

Zhanlong Restaurant, known for its affordable and hearty meals, is a favorite among students.

"Have you heard about the weird guy who applied to be a new instructor this year?"

At a time when customers were sparse.

The owner and waiter of Zhanlong Restaurant were having a late lunch, using the rumors they had heard from recent customers as a side dish.

"He said he would make the Qinglong Academy win the Tianwu Competition in front of everyone?"

"Win? It would be a miracle if they don't come in last this year."

"That's true. Last year, the score difference with the Bai Hu Academy was double."

"Indeed. The guys who went out this year with high hopes came back looking like wet, beaten dogs... I heard a few of them were crying."

"I remember. They act all tough around here, but they get beaten up outside."

"Exactly."

Although most of the Qinglong Academy's students contribute to Zhanlong Restaurant's revenue, they felt no guilt in gossiping about them.

The waiter slurped his noodles and asked.

"So, did the weird guy pass?"

"The results will be announced tomorrow... I doubt they'd pass such a liar."

"Who knows? They might pass him just to give him a chance."

"Tsk tsk. If they pick an instructor based on such talk, the Qinglong Academy will really be in trouble."

After finishing his meal, the owner of the restaurant lit a cigarette and exhaled a long puff of smoke.

The waiter, with small eyes, looked at the owner and said.

"But maybe he said that because he was confident in his abilities?"

"Of course, he'd say anything to get in. Being a Qinglong Academy instructor means a good salary... and since the students there aren't very motivated, you can teach them casually."

"O-Older sir..."

"Ah, I'd like to earn money easily too."

The owner of Zhanlong Restaurant exhaled a long puff of smoke towards the ceiling.

Because of this, he didn't see the waiter's pale face.

"Older sir..."

"Frankly, I wonder how much longer the Qinglong Academy will last. I might close this business soon and look for something else... Hmm? Why do you look like that? What? Behind? Look behind?"

The waiter had been pursing his lips and silently shouting "behind! behind!" for a while, but the owner realized it too late.

"We seem to have come at a bad time."

"Ah!"

The moment a cold voice came from behind, the restaurant owner quickly extinguished his cigarette and sprang up to turn around.

There stood the student council members,