Chapter 76: It’s Me

Spring had fully arrived, and a new academic year had begun.

Not much had changed. Baek Woo Jin still only showed up for the mandatory lectures. He would make an appearance before spending the rest of his time alone or calling his group members to the training room to put them through their paces.

If there was any change in his life outside of school, it was that his older brother Baek Mu Hyeok had reached his final year and was dispatched to the Moorim Alliance for practical training.

“Woo Jin-ah, you’ll be fine without me now, right?”

“I never had a problem being on my own in the first place…”

“Good. I trust in how dependable you’ve become!”

It was a one-sided, tearful farewell.

Another difference was the frequent sight of fresh-faced first-year students as he strolled through the academy.

Though there couldn’t have been much of an age gap, they looked so childlike that he almost felt as if he were experiencing a college life here that he had never known on Earth.

“Hello, senior!”

There were some who recognized him and greeted him politely.

“Senior, could you teach me a thing or two?”

Though their words were respectful, there were also those who with an arrogant and insolent attitude as if to say, “Who do you think you are, claiming to be the Divine Dragon?” would suddenly challenge him to a fight.

They were brats who showed potential to become the next Namgong Soo. So, he made sure to turn them into ‘stars’ in the sky early on.

“What is this, this boredom.”

But it was boring. Incredibly so.

Aside from the occasional first-year students who acted out of youthful bravado, there wasn’t a single person in the academy who dared challenge Baek Woo Jin, the one who had become the Divine Dragon after showcasing one of the most legendary martial duels with Myeong Jin.

In the past, there had at least been some thrill in dealing with those who occasionally crawled their way up to him, but now, even that had disappeared. That’s why he felt somewhat hollow.

“Ugh, I might as well head to the meeting room.”

So, he decided to pick up a small hobby. That was decorating the overly spacious meeting room which was too big for four people.

He brought in a few plants that lifted his spirits when he looked at them, tossed out all the worn-out chairs, and replaced them with luxurious ones handcrafted by a craftsman from the Hao Sect.

In the back, he set up bedding to rest comfortably, and he stocked the room with expensive yet incredibly delicious snacks.

After undergoing such a major transformation, Baek Woo Jin ended up spending most of his time there. He found the meeting room, which was now furnished to his liking, far more appealing than the cramped and monotonous dormitory.

“Hmm?”

When he entered the main building where the meeting room was located while wondering what snack to have with his drink today, he noticed an unusually large number of students and felt a sense of curiosity.

“What’s going on? Is something happening?”

Lately, the one thing Baek Woo Jin lacked wasn’t money or alcohol. It was an exciting and stimulating event that could fill his abundant free time with some entertainment.

He began to peer through the crowd of students who were all gathered with faces full of excitement and anticipation.

“Take a look at this.”

“The Sword Phoenix team overtook another group again!”

The place where the crowd was thickest was the bulletin board located in the main building hallway. Here, the requests each of the ten teams in every grade had completed were listed along with their current scores and rankings. What astonished the crowd was the unexpected rise of the second-year Sword Phoenix team.

“They were in third place just two weeks ago, and now they’ve already climbed to second? Incredible…”

“I heard every time they go out, they complete at least three requests before returning.”

“And that’s not all; they plan out the most efficient route to finish requests quickly and execute them flawlessly, I hear.”

Recently, the Sword Phoenix’s movements had been remarkable.

Just two months ago, while other teams were busy tackling requests, the Sword Phoenix team had been idle. But as soon as the weather warmed, they began completing requests at an astonishing pace.

They were once in last place, but the Sword Phoenix team started overtaking teams one by one with each return. This surprised the students as they finally surpassed Namgong Soo’s team, which had been fiercely holding onto second place while trying to catch Baek Woo Jin, and claimed second place for themselves.

“At this rate, won’t they even beat the Divine Dragon team?”

“Come on, they’re still far behind in points compared to them.”

“Still, the Divine Dragon team isn’t doing anything right now. If the Sword Phoenix keeps going like this…”

Now, the only team left above the Sword Phoenix was the Divine Dragon team.

The Divine Dragon team, which had earned an enormous amount of points by defeating a demon that was born from a transformed spirit beast, had not made a single move since that one task, yet they showed no sign of relinquishing first place.

Baek Woo Jin, who was now wearing a gloomy expression due to the event not being as exciting as he had hoped, suddenly recalled the image of Yoo Hwa Yeon that he had seen a few days earlier.

She was on edge.

It had been around the time she and her team members were entering the academy after completing various requests.

By chance, he had passed nearby and seen her. She had returned in an even more disheveled state than the Divine Dragon team, which had fought off a horde of bandits.

Though her appearance had been ragged, he could never forget the sharpness in her gaze which had been as fierce as ever.

She’s growing at an astonishing rate.

Her aura had grown so much that it couldn’t even be compared to the time when she had experienced hyperventilation.

At this rate, he had a feeling she might soon surpass the first-rank and reach the peak master realm.

It’s good that things turned out unexpectedly, but…

Since that encounter, her intense gaze had left him wondering if she might exhibit the obsessive madness he once read in the novel, but his fears had been unfounded. She had shown nothing but complete focus on her life at the academy.

Perhaps after he passed by her coldly that day, she realized that there was no hope, and to forget everything, she was throwing herself even more into her work.

“Hmm, fine.”

There were no heart-pounding, thrilling events, but he enjoyed a brief moment of amusement in his own way.

Baek Woo Jin was hoping that she would continue to be successful and forget about him completely. He then entered the meeting room and wasted time on trivial things like how to fill the remaining space.

***

One day, in the heart of spring.

It was a day like any other, where everyone carried on with their repetitive routine.

Yoo Hwa Yeon, who had spent most of her time outside completing requests rather than staying in the academy, was radiating a sharper gaze than ever before.

“They say she’s as formidable as a legendary warrior.”

“Her beauty even wilts the flowers around her!”

Her once-faded appearance now shone so brightly that it made her past self seem insignificant in comparison. Several men who happened to catch her eye couldn’t bring themselves to speak to her and suffered from lovesickness for days.

However, despite the endless praise and admiration she received from those around her, she didn’t show the slightest hint of joy.

What others say doesn’t matter at all.

The reason she had restored her once-neglected appearance had nothing to do with receiving the usual, meaningless compliments from others.

She ignored the voices around her and walked briskly to her destination.

She was heading to the grand meeting room where the team leaders had once gathered.

The day has finally come.

Standing before the door, she took a short breath before opening it and stepping inside.

A long table and ten chairs filled the room. Five seats were occupied, and five remained empty.

“Oh, the Sword Phoenix who is so famous these days has come.”

Myeong Jin, who had arrived first in the empty meeting room to greet everyone, welcomed the Sword Phoenix as well.

“You flatter me.”

“Haha! Not at all.”

Myeong Jin’s eyes, which were smiling gently as he looked at the Sword Phoenix, held a faint glimmer of competitive spirit.

“We crossed paths before at the Dragon and Phoenix Martial Arts Tournament, didn’t we?”

“Yes, we did.”

The two had once exchanged sword strikes at the Dragon and Phoenix Martial Arts Tournament. However, due to Yoo Hwa Yeon’s severe internal injuries from a previous match, the fight ended rather anticlimacticly.

“I regret that we couldn’t have a proper match back then…”

The eyes that had been laughing moments ago suddenly sharpened.

“And now, I regret it even more.”

Myeong Jin had recognized that Yoo Hwa Yeon had grown significantly stronger since then.

She sat down in an empty chair without responding. It wasn’t the mediocre seat she had taken during the first Dragon and Phoenix Gathering but one placed closest to the seat where Baek Wooj Jn would sit.

Across from her, Myeong Jin could be seen. With a gentle smile, she finally answered his earlier words.

“A light spar sounds fine to me.”

“Haha! I didn’t expect you to accept so readily.”

Myeong Jin laughed heartily as if he was excited by her confident response.

The once-empty seats began to fill one by one. Now, only two chairs remained vacant. Just as the scheduled time was about to run out, Namgong Soo appeared.

“Welcome, Sword Dragon Young Hero.”

“…Good to see you.”

Namgong Soo gave a curt reply to Myeong Jin’s warm greeting and immediately cast his gaze toward Yoo Hwa Yeon.

These days, she was far from her usual self.

What on earth are you thinking, Yoo Hwa Yeon?

She had filled her letters with all kinds of excuses to avoid meeting him, and now she had suddenly thrown herself into requests. Then she managed to take over the second-place position he had been solidifying.

Namgong Soo couldn’t understand what was going through her mind lately, and it frustrated him.

It was while the team leaders, who maintained some degree of friendship, exchanged the customary greetings—

Creak.

Boom.

The door swung open more forcefully than necessary, and the last person, Baek Woo Jin, made his entrance.

“Hey, everyone, how’s it going?”

He waved with a bright smile that always managed to annoy everyone.

It was well past the scheduled time. Peng Ja In who had been glaring at Baek Woo Jin with crossed arms spoke up. Her eyes were filled with irritation.

“Don’t you think you’re a bit too late? Because of you, everyone’s wasted their precious time.”

Baek Woo Jin strode over to Peng Ja In, who had snapped at him, and stopped right in front of her. Peng Ja In grew flustered and quickly stood up from her seat to meet his gaze.

“Wh-What is it?”

When she questioned him, Baek Woo Jin suddenly grinned and took her hand.

“Calm down.”

“L-Let go of my hand…!”

When his thumb gently brushed over the back of her hand, her face which had no tolerance for such gestures turned as red as hot iron.

“J-Just this once, I’ll let it go. Next time… next time, you won’t get away with it.”

“Okay.”

He managed to resolve one issue for the day.

As Baek Woo Jin took his seat at the head of the table after disarming Peng Ja In, Yoo Hwa Yeon shot a sharp look at Peng Ja In, who was now smiling foolishly while clutching her own hand.

That sly fox.

To Yoo Hwa Yeon, Peng Ja In’s behavior just now seemed entirely calculated.

Baek Woo Jin seated himself at the head and glanced at the team leaders, who were now clearly in his line of sight before he asked.

“So what’s today’s meeting about?”

He vaguely remembered the supervising instructor mentioning something, but he had only half-listened so he couldn’t recall it.

The one who answered was Myeong Jin.

“Perhaps the time has come.”

“What time?”

“The Battle for the Divine Dragon position.”

“Ah.”

The position of Dragon and Phoenix wasn’t a comfortable one that could be maintained once claimed. The Dragon and Phoenix had to defend their place by accepting challenges from ordinary students, and the Divine Dragon had to do the same. He had to face off against the surviving Dragon and Phoenix challengers.

Each of them had already defeated at least one challenger who came for their spot. Myeong Jin, a martial artist, had accepted every challenge so far. He fought four opponents and won them all.

“So, someone’s been selected to challenge my position?”

“Yes.”

“Is it you?”

Myeong Jin shook his head again with a regretful expression at Baek Woo Jin’s expected question.

“Unfortunately, no.”

“Then who is it?”

As everyone slowly shook their heads at his question, only one person raised their hand.

“It’s me.”

It was Yoo Hwa Yeon.

Baek Woo Jin turned his head to avoid meeting her eyes with a troubled expression on his face.

The one person he least wanted to be involved with had been chosen as his opponent.

“Aside from the Divine Dragon, I had the highest score. Naturally, that gives me the right to challenge you, Young Master…Baek “

“…I see.”

A sense of foreboding flashed through his mind.

Perhaps everything—her obsessive focus on the requests up until now—had all been for this moment.

She continued speaking.

“I formally challenge you, Divine Dragon Baek Woo Jin.”

Baek Woo Jin’s face fell. She realized there was no way out of the situation.

“I… I accept the challenge.”

And so, the battle for the Divine Dragon position between former lovers was set.

Fu*k.