26: Interest (3)

“Kid. Will you let this uncle take you in as a disciple?”

The deputy head of the Academy, Dan Pil-hoo, liked Mumu.

It was a really great thing for one to train their body so extremely without learning martial arts at all.

Even though it was late for someone of Mumu’s age to start cultivating internal energy, there was still room for overcoming that barrier and growing rapidly.

‘I don’t know about others, but if I, Dan Pil-hoo, teaches him, it would be a different story.’

He had wealth and connections.

Based on that, he had the confidence to make sure Mumu’s missing aspects could be covered.

‘If that can happen, then this child will be an opportunity for me.’

He was the deputy head of the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy,

However, it was because he was recognized for his career and connections.

Unlike the noble upbringing of a few in the Academy who were recognized for their skills, this man was invited to the Academy in recognition of his experience in the Murim Association.

And this was done to strengthen the rules and internal relations of the Academy and the Association.

And he was the one who contributed to this.

But that was all.

[What is this? I am the one who laid the groundwork here. But how is it that the most important position is given to someone other than me?]

This man was the mastermind behind the growth of the Academy.

Thus, he laid the foundation to bring in his contacts and make it the best Academy.

However, he was given the position of deputy headmaster.

And there was only one reason.

It was because the achievements in the first year of administration of the Academy weren’t maintained properly.

The current headmaster Do Jeong-myung , The Hero of Epee, had brought in outstanding talents such as Geum Seo-il and Oh Yoon, who were the best in recent times.

[With your excellent managing skills, take care of the Academy.]

One of the founders of the Academy said that, but this meant that they thought Dan Pil-hoo didn’t have an eye to pick out talented people or recognize talents.

Which made him feel bitter.

He, too was a warrior, and he was confident of being a headmaster, and he was sure that he could solidify the reputation of the Academy.

‘This child will help me do that.’

Even though the child knew nothing about martial arts, he had the best kind of muscles Dan Pil-hoo had ever seen.

It was rare to find such kids.

Originally, only the highest-ranking kids among the non-graduate students who passed in the mid-second year would be eligible to have a dedicated teacher, but if he didn’t ask now, he thought he would lose Mumu.

Which was why he made a proposal.

Deputy Dan Pil-hoo asked with a smile.

“Kid. Opportunities like this don’t come easily.”

At that, Mumu tilted his head.

This was the fourth time already.

Someone asked him to be their disciple again.

‘Why are they doing this?’

It started with the prefect, and then two teachers of Jin-hyuk asked him too.

He couldn’t figure out why they were asking it.

Besides, it wasn’t someone like asked him, ‘Would you like to learn?’, but strangers asking him to go under them and accept them as his masters.

Dan Pil-hoo, who looked at Mumu, spoke.

“Ahh. This is a late introduction. I am Dan Pil-hoo, a deputy head in the academy.”

“Deputy head (below headmaster)?”

“Right. I am a deputy headmaster.”

“Ah, I didn’t know! Hello!”

Mumu, who finally found out his identity, bowed and said hello.

‘Right. Right.’

He did think something was missing, though.

Wouldn’t the kid be interested now that he knew who the man was?

A person of the Academy who was a deputy headmaster was willing to accept him as a disciple, so surely it would be regarded as an honour…

‘This?’

But it was weird.

After greeting, Mumu looked at Kang Seo-ryong, who was on the ground and not Dan Pil-hoo.

It was like he was unbothered.

What was with that weak reaction?

‘Does this kid not know me?’

Dan Pil-hoo frowned.

He, too, was a warrior who had an excellent reputation in Murim, and if not for the current headmaster, he would have been a famous warrior known all throughout entire Murim.

Sky Striking Flash Knives, there was no one who wouldn’t know that title.

Dan Pil-hoo directly asked.

“Kid. Do you not know me?”

“Huh? Are you asking about you being the deputy head?”

“Have you ever heard of the name Sky Striking Flash Knives?”

“No.”

“…”

Mumu’s expression said he was sincere.

‘haa….’

If this kid was a student in the Academy, he should at least know the people in it.

It wasn’t just that he didn’t know martial arts, but it was like the kid knew nothing about Murim.

Dan Pil-hoo had met many test takers and students, but this was his first time encountering such a child.

And then Mumu said,

“Rather than being your disciple, give that one to me.”

‘Look at this guy.’

Dan Pil-hoo raised his eyebrows.

In the midst of all this, Mumu was only focused on his target.

Dan Pil-hoo smiled and asked.

“What are you going to do with this one?”

“He tried to kill Jin-hyuk, my family, so I need to do the same.”

Such honesty.

Normally, in such situations, they would lie.

But here, in front of one of the members of the Academy, Mumu was openly speaking about such stuff.

‘He is an interesting kid.’

Normally, if anyone had said something like this, Dan Pil-hoo would have slapped them right away.

But strangely, he couldn’t feel malice from Mumu.

The voice, the eyes, everything seemed innocent.

The kids brought up in Murim are normally clever at this age, and this guy was far from clever.

To Mumu, Dan Pil-hoo said.

“So, you want to kill him? That will be difficult.”

“Why? He did something wrong.”

“Well, this is an academy which has people of various clans coming in. no matter how wrong one is, they can’t be killed. If you do that, then well, you won’t be much different from him.”

“What if this guy was trying to kill the family of the deputy head?”

“…”

He went speechless.

The kid seriously had a knack for making people shut their mouths.

Dan Pil-hoo looked at Mumu and said.

“… this is fun. Real fun. Let’s be honest. If this happened to the deputy head, then I would quietly make sure the person paid the price without letting anyone know.”

It was an answer which shouldn’t be given to a child by someone in the position of a deputy headmaster.

However, this child seemed different from others.

Therefore, Dan Pil-hoo thought that it would be better to try an honest approach.

“Without letting anyone know?”

“If you are smart, you will know that causing troubles here will not help you in your academic life.”

“…”

“And if you openly seek revenge, things will only turn harder. Even if it wasn’t your fault.”

“And paying the price without anyone knowing?”

At Mumu’s words, Dan Pil-hoo laughed bitterly.

“This is the true wisdom of this world. If no one knows, who will even care about what happened?”

Mumu went silent at that.

He seemed like a naïve kid.

Since he casually spat out the harsh reality, he thought that Mumu would think differently of him.

He wanted to accept a child who was clever rather than stupid.

No matter how talented one was if they can’t keep up with the other’s actions, they are nothing short of useless.

Looking kind, Dan Pil-hoo said.

“Bahahaha. I think I said something too heavy to understand. Forget what I said now. It is better to follow the rules when you are in this place.”

Tak!

Dan Pil-hoo said that while pointing to Kang Seo-ryong who was near him.

“The deputy head, which is me, saw this kid crashing into the room and doing that act, so the price he pays will be high. There will even be a chance of him getting evicted too.”

“Evicted? So you will make him leave?”

“Right. If that happens, you won’t have to worry about this after that. Would you be satisfied with this?”

At that, Mumu nodded with a sullen expression.

As the man said, he couldn’t do something which could cause trouble to Jin-hyuk and to his life in the Academy.

“Good. Then let’s get back to the other talk?”

“What?”

“Becoming a disciple of mine.”

“Disciple?”

“This isn’t a privilege that one can easily get. If you become a disciple of mine, I will make sure that you are at third rank by the end.”

“Third rank?”

“Right. Do you know what that means?”

If one graduated with the first, second, and third rank at the Academy, great honor and wealth would follow.

One could even become an official of the Imperial Palace.

Everyone would want that.

‘How is that? Is this interesting?’

If anyone said such a thing, it was bound to be tempting.

Even a pure guy like Mumu could want it.

Mumu answered.

“This rank… mister… no, deputy head, if I become a disciple of yours, I might be a third ranker?”

‘Caught you!’

He thought that this proposal would make Mumu tempted to accept it.

He smiled and said to Mumu.

“Didn’t I say that this opportunity isn’t easy to come by? If you don’t get high grades by the mid of the second year, you won’t be able to get a dedicated teacher. However, I value your talents which was why I suggested this to you.”

In a word, it was like an honor.

At that, Mumu tilted his head and asked.

“Isn’t this against the rules?”

“Huhuhu, taking that into consideration too, I am willing to accept you. All the responsibility will be borne by me, so don’t worry…”

“Ahh. That’s all right. You don’t have to do that; it is fine.”

“Right. Wh… what?”

Dan Pil-hoo frowned at Mumu’s words.

It was fine?

“My father said that I shouldn’t cause trouble for others for my sake; I don’t think it is nice for the deputy head to be held responsible for me.”

Mumu always kept in mind the things Yu Yeop-kyung said.

At those words, Dan Pil-hoo coughed.

“Cough cough. Didn’t I say that you don’t have to worry? You only need to receive the teachings…”

“That is one reason, but there is also another reason.”

“Another reason?”

“I am already training.”

This was his first-time hearing something like this.

What kind of training would a guy with no knowledge in martial arts even do?

“I heard that you trained yourself, but what kind of training could you even have?”

Mumu smiled and answered brightly.

“Muscle training.”

“…”

And he snorted.

Muscle training.

Refusing the offer was one thing, but it was absurd to use this as an excuse to refuse him.

‘Ha…’

With that, Dan Pil-hoo was wondering if he should push him further or not.

If Mumu was the clever kind who was trying to pull his strings, then Dan Pil-ho would have gotten angry.

But Mumu was really naïve.

‘… it would be better to appease him.’

Finding someone like Mumu within the Academy was rare.

Dan Pil-hoo tried to make a very soft, caring expression and said.

“Muscle training… that is the first I have heard of it. Then can you tell me under whom you studied it?”

“Nobody has taught me muscle training. I myself am the teacher and the disciple.”

“…”

Wasn’t this the same as self-training?

At those words, Dan Pil-hoo was nearing his limit.

This guy was pure, but he was too pure.

However, since the kid had talent, he decided to be patient a little longer.

“Wow, I think it’s amazing and wonderful that you’ve reached this level just by training your muscles. But that has a limit.”

“Limit?”

“Why do you think warriors learn martial arts to kill or subdue the opponent? It is all about getting stronger.”

“Muscle training too…”

“Let’s keep the jokes aside. Simply training the body won’t give you results of that level.”

Shh!

Dan Pil-hoo held out his hand and pointed towards a small tree.

As if a sharp blade cut it, the tree fell down.

Slash!

Mumu was shocked by the falling tree.

“How did you do that?”

Dan Pil-hoo shrugged his shoulders and asked.

“That is sword energy. When you train your internal energy and have a strong understanding of the energy flow, you can use your energy in this way.”

“Amazing.”

“Amazing? This is not so shocking. If you become my disciple, you can learn anything. However, training muscles won’t be enough.”

Once one sees this, they would want to learn it at all costs.

After talking this much and showing this in person, if Mumu still insisted on muscle training or came up with another reason to refuse, then he had to be stupid or just beyond innocence.

Dan Pil-hoo approached Mumu and put his hand on his shoulders.

“If you follow the teachings of mine, you can reach this level too. No, I will make you stronger than the headmaster.”

He thought that he conveyed everything to Mumu.

However, Mumu tilted his head and said something incomprehensible.

“I… have a question.”

“Go on.”

“I hope you don’t feel bad.”

“You think a question will make me feel bad? Ask anything.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Anything.”

“Thank god. I was curious to know why the deputy head kept on asking me to be your disciple even though your muscles are so weak?”

“… what?”

Da Pil-hoo doubted his ears.

He was wondering what Mumu was going to ask, but did he just say that his muscles were weak?

This was beyond absurdity, especially from an idiot who knew nothing about Murim.

“Haa…”

Dan Pil-hoo closed his eyes and placed his hand on his forehead.

Words didn’t seem to work anymore.

Only the body will work for…

Thud!

‘Huh?’

Dan Pil-hoo’s eyes shot open at the sound.

As he looked at the strange scene.

Mumu’s arm muscles expanded first, and then the clothes were torn, and his upper body enlarged.

‘!?’

The bulging muscles on Mumu’s body were squirming as if they were alive.

At those incredibly developed muscles, Dan Pil-hoo was at a loss of words.

He felt the body of Joo Kang-in, a member in the training center, who was known to reach extreme levels in working his body was a dwarf in comparison.

‘How can the body suddenly…’

He had never seen such muscles in his life.

With such muscles, just looking at it was taking away his breath.

At that moment, Mumu pulled back his right arm.

And clenched his fist, ready to punch ahead with the biceps which swelled.

“What are you trying to do?”

Feeling crisis, Dan Pil-hoo opened the distance between them and raised his internal energy.

And then was ready to unleash sword energy at Mumu.

‘How dare he do this to me!’

However,

Chachachacha!

The moment the sword energy was released at Mumu’s chest, it scattered like haze before touching the chest.

Dan Pil-hu’s eyes widened at that.

The kid didn’t learn martial arts, so he couldn’t use internal energy, then was the sword energy offset by mere muscles?

“What the hell…”

It was before he could express his doubt.

Mumu clenched his fist and then made an action of punching Dan Pil-hoo from afar.

“Ugh”

Swoosh!

His eyelids started fluttering at the tremendous wind pressure coming at him, and it was as if a storm had taken birth right in front of him.

Even his ears were hurting at the sound.

“…”

Dan Pil-hoo felt a cold sweat drop down.

He looked at the fist of Mumu.

It was his first time in life that he was gripped with fear that his face could be blown away.

As he gulped, he heard a rumble behind him.

Thud!

Scared, he slowly turned his head.

‘!!!!’

There, bushes, trees, and plants were all uprooted and thrown away.

‘… no!’

This wasn’t power from internal energy but muscles.

Was this all done with the force of a fist?

It was the moment when his common sense had shattered.

Mumu said to him, who was at a loss of words, with a bright and innocent smile.

“Train your muscles. Even the deputy head can do this much.”

‘… this much?’