The gates of the Jeongmu Academy which had been closed to all but a select few swung open wide.
From early morning, merchants who had arrived with carts full of goods began to set up their wares at their designated stalls. The students, who had been so absorbed in their training that they had forgotten how to enjoy themselves, poured out all at once and began to roam around.
Now, all that was left for them was to receive a good bracket at the eve festival starting at dusk.
“Young Master Baek.”
Baek Woo Jin who had spent the night training and drinking after a long while was awakened by the gloomy voice of Jegal Yeon Ji coming from below his window.
“Ah…”
The sun had not even reached its zenith yet. it was still early morning.
He had probably slept for just one or two hours.
When he looked at himself in the mirror hanging on the dormitory wall, he saw his eyes were bloodshot.
“You-Young master Baek…!”
At the sound of a voice that seemed to muster some effort, Baek Woo Jin couldn’t help but smile faintly before he opened the window and looked down.
“Go-Good morning.”
When he looked at her faintly smiling face, a strange feeling of wanting to tease her began to grow in his heart.
“No. You woke me up.”
“Ah, th-that’s…”
Startled by his sharp gaze, she began to fumble nervously.
Timing was always important when teasing her.
If he teased her for too long, she would soon start crying sorrowfully, so he had to pull back before that happened.
“Just kidding.”
“Aww…!”
Her face flushed red as she pouted, looking like a baby bird crying out to its mother.
“Just wait a little bit. I’ll come down soon.”
“Okay…”
Leaving her slightly sulky reply behind, he quickly got ready, tidied up his clothes, and left the dormitory. Before that, he didn’t forget to rinse his mouth with some alcohol.
As soon as he stepped outside, he was taken aback by the sight of the massive crowd.
“So many people.”
He knew the Eve Festival was as good as the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering itself, but he never imagined so many people would gather.
“It might get packed.”
Seeing the long line stretching beyond the entrance gate, it didn’t seem impossible.
He approached Jegal Yeon Ji who was standing under a large tree and trying her best to stay out of people’s sight.
“Why did you call me here so early in the morning?”
“That’s… I wanted to walk with young master Baek …”
Baek Woo Jin started to see her as a harmful creature.
At this rate, I’m really going to get hooked.
The thought that he might be falling for her tricks kept lingering in his mind.
No matter how much he built a wall of vigilance, seeing her naturally cross it like this made him wonder if she had another side to her.
But so what.
As long as she was tasty… no, as long as she was cute, it was fine.
Perhaps because he spent so much time with her, it became incredibly easy to read her emotions from her expression. Even though more than half of her face was hidden by her bangs.
She seemed to be filled with excitement for the Dragon and Phoenix Martial Arts Tournament.
“So what do you want to do?”
“A-Anything is fine….”
He began to walk aimlessly at her words that everything was fine.
There were so many attractions that simply walking around was quite fun.
When they got hungry, they stopped by a street vendor and bought some snacks. He wanted to drink while eating, but her worried gaze made him take only a sip. This left him with a slight feeling of regret.
Around noon, a familiar voice struck Baek Woo Jin’s ears.
“Woo Jin-ah!”
It was Shin Ye Hwa.
He felt a headache coming on. Why did she have to find him even on a day like this?
“Where’s my brother that you’re looking for me?”
“I’m more curious. Why are you here?”
Baek Woo Jin frowned slightly at her answering a question with a question.
“What are you talking about?”
“The Baek clan head is here. Shouldn’t you go see him too?”
The day had finally come.
The day to meet ‘Baek Woo Jin’s’ family had arrived.
They weren’t people he particularly wanted to see. From the beginning, he wasn’t treated well in the family and he didn’t feel the need to visit them.
They give me a meager sum for allowance anyway.
The allowance from the family that was delivered to him once a month was just barely enough to get by with a frugal lifestyle.
Feelings toward a family that made him so poor he couldn’t even afford proper snacks? How could they be good?
“If they want to, they will call me themselves.”
He had no obligation to go and greet them first.
He was the kind of person who only felt satisfied when he paid back what he had suffered.
“Is that so…?”
As she pondered whether he should at least greet them first, she snapped out of her thoughts when Baek Woo Jin walked ahead without her and she quickly followed after him.
Shin Ye Hwa who received a sullen look from Jegal Yeon Ji on the opposite side smiled brightly.
“Miss Jegal, why are you looking at me like that?”
“I-It’s nothing…”
Jegal Yeon Ji was unable to say the reason because she was in front of Baek Woo Jin, and so she had to quietly avert her gaze.
The same routine was repeated. They walked around the place, Baek Woo Jin secretly savored a sip of alcohol and enjoyed the small pleasures.
However, the fun ended there.
A voice he didn’t want to hear shattered the pleasant atmosphere.
“Well, if it isn’t the great Dragon Face.”
It was Namgong Soo and his gang.
Following the word “Dragon Face”, the passersby turned their attention to Baek Woo Jin.
“He’s really handsome…”
“Which noble clan does he belong to?”
Seeing a face he didn’t want to see brought back his sour mood.
Baek Woo Jin waved cheerfully at the approaching figure.
“Hello, Gong Soo-ah!”
The smiling face approaching him quickly twisted.
The surname Namgong was a source of his pride and self-esteem. To touch it was like touching his reverse scale.
“You’d better watch your mouth if you don’t want to die without anyone knowing.”
Despite the other party’s voice that was full of anger, Baek Woo Jin’s mockery didn’t stop.
“Are you here to pick a fight, or just to get angry?”
Namgong Soo was at a loss for words.
He had come to upset the other party, but instead, he ended up feeling upset himself.
Realizing he couldn’t win with words, Namgong Soo bit his lip and spat out with an angry tone.
“Start praying now, so you don’t end up in the same group as me.”
He brought his face close and his expression was fierce.
“The moment you stand on the martial arts arena with me, you will never walk down from it.”
That was a promise he made.
After saying his piece, he turned away abruptly while Baek Woo Jin waved his head and laughed again.
“Sure, Gong Soo-ah! See you on the martial arts arena!”
I’ll make sure you can’t walk down!
Namgong Soo gave Baek Woo Jin a cold glance before walking away.
The heavy atmosphere gradually began to lift.
Shin Ye Hwa, who had been watching their intense exchange in a daze, opened her mouth with worry.
“Are you really okay with provoking Namgong Soo like that?”
She knew well that Baek Woo Jin had changed. After finding the safe hidden under the bed of the leader of the White Snake Bandits, the sight of Baek Woo Jin fighting those bandits in a relaxed manner that she had secretly observed was truly shocking.
It’s true that Woo Jin has become incredibly strong.
He had become so strong that she could hardly remember what he was like before he disappeared, but his opponent here was Namgong Soo.
He was the heir of the Namgong clan, one of the greatest of the Five Great Clans. But his strength and influence were not something he achieved by his noble bloodline alone.
Being born as the son of the Namgong clan’s head didn’t grant him everything. His martial strength and achievements were more than enough to make him the future head of the Namgong clan.
Whatever the reason was, it was clear that Namgong Soo disliked Baek Woo Jin. Shin Ye Hwa was extremely afraid that he might harbor ill intentions and actually harm Baek Woo Jin.
Facing her eyes which were full of worry and concern, Baek Woo Jin wore a troubled expression before lightly tapping the tip of her nose with his index finger.
“Aah!”
“Stop worrying about unnecessary things.”
“That hurts!”
“Shall we go get some chicken skewers?”
“Ah, I want some too!”
“Me too…”
She was very weak when it came to food.
As the sun began to set, lanterns were hung on the long row of street stalls.
The eve festival was about to begin. Crowds scattered throughout the academy started gathering around the Grand Martial Arts Arena.
When the sun slowly set and the sky turned red, a familiar face appeared on the martial arts stage at the center of the Grand Martial Arts Arena.
It was Eon Jin Seop, the Vice Headmaster of the Jeongmu Academy.
“In place of the Headmaster who is away, I, Eon Jin Seop, greet the martial artists.”
When he cupped his hands in salute, the spectators also returned the gesture.
His voice was amplified by his profound internal energy. And so, it reached the distant spectators clearly.
Baek Woo-jin watched him speak with a humble and serious demeanor but he did not particularly like what he saw.
A pretentious man.
He acted like a gentleman on the outside but was entirely different inside.
He was a ruthless and cold-blooded man. Baek Woo-jin could never forget the look in his eyes when they first met.
It was a gaze that looked at him not as another human but as something worthless like a roadside pebble. A look that almost surprised Baek Woo-jin who had seen countless human faces.
Baek Woo-jin knew people like him well. It was a common look among those in power; they treated those who didn’t meet their standards as less than human and only valued those who fell within their criteria.
“Now, I will reveal the match list for the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering, which everyone has been eagerly waiting for.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a huge banner rolled out behind him.
The fluttering cloth was filled with the names of countless people.
Group 1, Group 2, Group 3, Group 4.
Out of a total of 200 participants, 192 were assigned to each group with 48 each, leaving out eight who could not participate due to injuries or other reasons.
“We have set up four martial arts stages around the central martial arts arena, each in the east, west, south, and north.”
The 48 members of each group would compete there. The opponent could be any student who was assigned to the same group. Climbing the martial arts stage and achieving three victories first would qualify one for the finals. The competition would end when each group had sixteen finalists.
“All students should remember, it is not important how far you go. What matters is what kind of martial arts you practice and what you learn from it. And so—”
“—I hope you do not ruin things out of momentary greed and leave lifelong regrets.”
“Waaah!”
With those words, Eon Jin Seop disappeared below the martial arts stage to the students’ cheers.
The official start of the Dragon and Phoenix Martial Arts Tournament was approaching.
(TN: Changed Principal to Headmaster. Sounds more fitting.)
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