Chapter 58

## Chapter 58. Asura Blood Heaven Saber (修羅血天刀)

A man with an umbrella was silently looking down at Hyunwon Gang.

"Hyunwon Gang, student. What are you doing here?"

His expression was beyond stoic, devoid of any emotion.

His neatly combed hair and tidy clothes, even on a rainy day, gave him an air of invincibility. This man, who seemed almost impossible to find a flaw in, was the only one-star instructor at the Blue Dragon Academy.

"Namgung Su..."

"Add 'teacher' after my name."

"..."

Namgung Su frowned and narrowed his eyes as he examined the state of the injured Hyunwon Gang.

"You seem to be hurt all over. Did you have a sparring match? There aren't many students who can injure you this badly... Were there multiple opponents?"

"Mind your own business and go on your way."

Hyunwon Gang replied curtly.

Although they now treated each other like strangers, Hyunwon Gang remembered that Namgung Su had paid a lot of attention to him during the early days of his enrollment.

-You have talent. Why don't you train hard?

-Because I don't want to.

-...Why?

-Why would I answer if you ask why I don't want to?

-...

Hyunwon Gang had started to act rebelliously from the very beginning of his enrollment.

Namgung Su, who regretted his wasted talent, tried to persuade Hyunwon Gang several more times, but Hyunwon Gang always avoided him.

In the end, Namgung Su classified Hyunwon Gang as a problem student he couldn't teach and stopped paying attention to him.

There were many other students he needed to teach, after all.

"Just pretend you didn't see me and go on your way. You're busy, so don't bother with someone like me."

Namgung Su frowned and clicked his tongue.

"Hyunwon Gang, student. You're in your third year now, right? You're seventeen."

"..."

"Do you not think that at seventeen, a martial artist should be responsible for their actions and words?"

"..."

"Why did you enroll in the Blue Dragon Academy? Did your parents send you? Do you need a diploma? Did you just follow others because they all came here?"

"Mind your own business and go on your way."

Hyunwon Gang replied coldly.

Namgung Su continued, undeterred by Hyunwon Gang's attitude.

"You've disappointed me and the other instructors for three years. You have talent, yet you don't put in the effort, and you often cause violent incidents. But we've been lenient with you. Do you know why? We thought you would eventually grow up and train hard."

"..."

"But there's a limit to how much leniency we can give."

Namgung Su was shielding Hyunwon Gang from the rain with his umbrella, but his words cut deeper than the rain.

"Just drop out."

"..."

His voice was cold and devoid of emotion.

Namgung Su looked at Hyunwon Gang, who was lying in a mess, with a cold, detached gaze.

"I won't tolerate any more actions that tarnish the Blue Dragon Academy's reputation. If you continue to act like this, I recommend you drop out."

"Who are you to tell me to drop out...!"

"Hyunwon Gang."

Suddenly, Hyunwon Gang felt a suffocating killing intent tightening around his neck.

"Does the world seem so easy to you?"

Namgung Su was just looking down at him quietly, but his eyes were full of disdain for Hyunwon Gang.

"If you want to achieve something, you have to work your ass off. Even then, you might not reach your goal. A guy who lives recklessly and whines after losing a fight can't accomplish anything."

"..."

Namgung Su paused for a moment, then extended his hand as if doing Hyunwon Gang a favor.

"Take it. This is your last chance. Attend my classes from tomorrow. It's your last opportunity to change your life."

Hyunwon Gang clenched his teeth and glared at Namgung Su.

"Unnecessary. I don't need that kind of chance."

Namgung Su's eyes, which looked down on him, reminded him of the head of the Hobei Pang family he had seen in his childhood.

"You're not surprising me at all."

A small sneer formed on Namgung Su's cold face.

"At this moment, I've decided not to give you a diploma."

The only one-star instructor at the Blue Dragon Academy.

Namgung Su's influence in the academy surpassed even that of the academy's head, Luo Junxiang.

If he decided to do something, it was almost impossible for it not to happen at the Blue Dragon Academy.

"Enjoy the rest of your school life until you're expelled."

"..."

"Do as you please."

"Since I'm leaving, I'll leave the umbrella here."

Namgung Su placed the umbrella he was holding next to Hyunwon Gang's face and opened another one he had brought as a backup.

"I always carry two, just in case."

"..."

Hyunwon Gang didn't ask for it, but Namgung Su continued.

* * *

Shivering.

Hyunwon Gang, covered with a blanket on his shoulders, was trembling.

"Ugh..."

It was still a cold season.

Having lain injured in the rain for several hours, it was natural that he would catch a cold.

"Drink this. It will help with the cold."

I handed Hyunwon Gang a warm cup of tea.

He took a few sips with his trembling hands and looked at me with a face flushed from the cold.

At that moment, he suddenly lowered his head and muttered in a voice as small as a mosquito's.

"I'm not a genius."

"…What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

Did this kid get his brain damaged from the beating by Pang Shaxie?

By the time I looked at him with a bewildered expression, the story of how he ended up lying in the training ground had already spread throughout the academy.

"…So I ended up fighting Pang Shaxie… and I couldn't do anything…"

When Hyunwon Gang's incoherent story ended, I clicked my tongue.

This kid was seriously delusional.

"Even if you're a genius, do you think you can become the best in the world without any effort? And is Pang Shaxie a fool? That kid is also a prodigy."

"…"

Even after my explanation, Hyunwon Gang's eyes remained dull, like rotten fish eyes.

He was still in shock from his overwhelming defeat.

I sighed deeply and continued.

"Why did you enroll in the Blue Dragon Academy? Did your parents send you? Do you need a diploma? Did you just follow others because they all came here?"

"There's no path for me here."

Hyunwon Gang looked at me, his expression set with a firm resolve.

The moment I saw that look, I realized from decades of experience that he was about to do something reckless.

Sure enough.

"I'm going to drop out of the Blue Dragon Academy."

I immediately smacked Hyunwon Gang on the head.

Smack!

"Ouch! Why are you hitting me!"

"Because it's deserved."

I sighed deeply.

It was good that he was trying to pull himself together, but why did he have to choose the path of a wandering swordsman?

-...I don't regret it. It was for the sake of perfecting my martial arts.

He was acting just like the Blood Demon, who had the same bloodline.

The Hundred Battles Journey.

The Blood Demon had embarked on a journey to fight a hundred experts to perfect his martial arts.

And he ultimately met the fate I knew.

I sighed and said,

"Stop thinking nonsense and attend the academy properly."

"I've already said there's nothing more I can learn here. To perfect my own martial arts…"

"Just listen to me first."

When I raised my hand, Hyunwon Gang flinched and shut his mouth.

"Your logic about perfecting martial arts through practical combat is flawed. The idea that risking your life in combat is better than a good educational environment and guidance from a skilled teacher is outdated."

Of course, for a martial artist who has already perfected their skills, practical combat can be very helpful, but Hyunwon Gang was still far from that level.

"And you don't need to create your own martial arts. There's something you need to learn first."

"…Something I need to learn?"

I looked at him with a face that seemed to have traveled back decades to the time of my Blood Demon master.

"I'm going to teach you a saber technique. It's a technique from a deceased master, and I'm the only one who knows it in this world. I guarantee it's no less powerful than the True Heaven Saber Technique, or even the Heaven Splitting Saber Technique."

Hyunwon Gang's eyes widened at the mention of teaching him a saber technique.

In the martial world, one never teaches their martial arts to others lightly.

Even at the Blue Dragon Academy and the other five major academies, what is taught is mostly how to apply and handle martial arts, not the martial arts themselves.

Hyunwon Gang asked in a trembling voice,

"Are you going to teach me a saber technique from a deceased master?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

If the owner of this technique were here, they would want me to teach it.

I couldn't say that, so I gave another reason.

"Because you need to win the Heavenly Martial Competition."

Hyunwon Gang burst out laughing in disbelief at my answer, then quickly turned serious.

"Learning a new technique suddenly isn't easy. And mastering it to the point of using it in combat within a year…"

"Are you saying you don't want to learn it?"

"…If it can make me stronger, I'll do anything. No matter how hard it is…"

It seemed he had come to his senses after being defeated by Pang Shaxie.

I smiled and said,

"It will be easier to adapt than you think."

Because the root of the technique I was going to teach him was from the Hyunwon family.

I recalled a conversation I had with my Blood Demon master in the past.

-Blood Demon master, what's the name of the saber technique you created?

-...I named it Asura Blood Heaven Saber.

Asura Blood Heaven Saber (修羅血天刀)

The ultimate martial arts technique created by the Blood Demon, who had synthesized all the techniques of the Hyunwon family and gained enlightenment through the Hundred Battles Journey.

I decided to teach this technique, perfected by the Blood Demon, to Hyunwon Gang, his descendant.

'Hyunwon Gang. I will make you the greatest saber practitioner in the world.'