42: 1st Class (2)

The first class for the first-year students of Heavenly Martial Arts Academy was an in-depth introduction to internal energy.

Within the academy there were over 435 students in the first year alone.

In fact, there were so many people they needed to be divided into eight groups because not all of them could fit into the lecture hall.

There were 54 students that were placed into group C.

Among them were Mumu, Jin-hyuk and Mo Il-hwa.

“Ah! I’m looking forward to this!”

“Wouldn’t one of them be teaching it?”

“Right. Right.”

“What kind of person will it be?”

The teacher hadn’t arrived yet, and the students were excited.

The reason for this was simple: it was because the teacher who would be instructing the class was very special!

“I am curious to know if they are one of the founders of the Academy.”

Even Mo Il-hwa, who wasn’t familiar with Murim, knew about it.

The six stars of the six pillars which illuminate the Academy.

They were known to be very outstanding.

They oversaw the audit and the special department.

Those so-called special department teachers only taught students who had excellent grades and were in the second year. There was only one teacher who oversaw the first-year class, and that teacher was one of the elites.

Contrary to everyone’s excitement, Mumu was yawning and clearly sleepy.

“Achhhh!”

Unlike everyone, Mumu was tired because of the nagging from Kang Seo-ryang.

Mo Il-hwa clicked her tongue,

“Aren’t you going to fall asleep during the class?”

“Ahhhhh!”

“You’ll sleep. You’ll sleep. You’ll sleep next to Jin-hyuk…”

Mo Il-hwa shook her head and gazed to the side, Jin-hyuk seemed to be looking at someone.

It was Hong Hye-ryung.

‘He’s completely gone.’

She had noticed it to some extent.

It seemed like he had fallen in love at first sight.

However, in the eyes of Mo Il-hwa, it wasn’t Hong Hye-ryung.

‘She is someone I am interested in. but they aren’t the fantasies you are thinking of.’

Was what he said.

Jin-hyuk would come up with all sorts of arguments.

‘Ewww, it isn’t like that.’

From the first class itself, it felt like she was getting bored, don’t bother, it doesn’t matter if he likes her or not.

‘Because I have Yu Jin-sung.’

Mo Il-hwa was all for Yu Jin-sung.

And as she thought about it, her lips turned into a smile.

It was then.

Kiiik!

The door opened and someone appeared.

With that, they saw a white uniform.

A person who came in with silver shining hair which softly moved and shined under the sun.

If there was a legend about a woman in the snow, would this be how she would look?

At the beauty, everyone exclaimed.

“Wow.”

She was Dan Baek-yeon, a teacher in charge of In-depth introduction to internal energy.

With each step she took, a cold wind blew around her.

And because of that, her hair looked like it had snowflakes around her.

‘Ah…’

Even Jin-hyuk, who was only conscious of Hong Hye-ryung, turned away.

She was extremely beautiful.

Looking at her appearance, even compared to all the students in the academy, she didn’t appear to be that much older.

‘She looks so young.’

‘Is it because she has strong internal energy?’

‘Oh my! Dan Baek-yeon.’

Both men and women liked her.

And that was why her name spread throughout.

Tak!

Standing in front of the class, she opened her mouth,

“I am Dan Baek-yeon. From the North Sea ice palace, 35 and still single.”

She was the one who introduced herself.

Those who heard her age were shocked.

They thought she was going to be young, but looking at the face, they all thought she would be around 19 or something.

There were no blemishes on her skin either

‘Single…’

That word which drew all their attention.

A woman with such beauty was still single?

‘… Hmm.’

At Dan Baek-yeon’s words, Mo Il-hwa raised her chin.

After all, if this woman missed the age of marriage, then she was nothing but mere beauty.

Hong Hae-ryung shared similar thoughts.

At that time, Dan Baek-yeong opened three fingers.

“Three warnings in advance. Gossip and other things won’t be tolerated in this class. Second, during the classes don’t go back and forth1. And third, during the class, never say things like marriage and lover…”

‘!?’

How did the third rule have anything to do with this class?

Everyone thought so, but no one mentioned it…

“You live life alone. So, let’s just focus on the class…”

And everyone focused on her words.

After all, it was the first class, so it would be a brief introduction, right?

All eyes lit up in such anticipation.

But,

“I will give an overview of the class; explain what direction the classes will go in and things about internal energy and finish with simple practice.”

‘….’

The eyes of the students were filled with disappointment.

And the class didn’t seem like it would end soon.

“Energy occurring in nature is dispersed in the air we breathe. Depending on how we refine the energy and receive it and operate it…”

Even after half an hour since the class started.

‘Ugh.’

Mumu’s eyes were gradually closing.

This class was an in-depth introduction to internal energy.

In other words, it was an in-depth class for those who used internal energy.

On the other hand, Mumu didn’t even have that, and as a result, this class meant nothing to him.

Pak!

Jin-hyuk hit Mumu with his elbow.

He made sure Mumu opened his eyes.

‘… he’s losing it.’

Jin-hyuk was irritated.

He didn’t even remember how many times he had to wake Mumu up.

’30 times?’

This one was falling asleep halfway through the class.

Of course, it was quite worthless for a guy who didn’t even know of internal energy to be here, but shouldn’t he at least listen?

Seeing how he was acting from the first class; he knew what the next ones would be like.

No, he was more worried about himself.

He didn’t listen to the third of the class because he kept waking up Mumu.

‘I can’t do this.’

He would have to ask Mo Il-hwa to handle Mumu.

The seating was Jin-hyuk, Mumu and Mo Il-hwa.

So, Jin-hyuk looked to Mo Il-hwa

Nod!

It looked like she was sleeping too!

‘…’

No, she was supposed to take over keeping Mumu awake, not fall asleep with him!

In a moment of confusion.

Tak!

“Ack!”

Mo Il-hwa, who was dozing off, was hit by something.

What was on the desk was a piece of chalk.

“No sleeping.”

It was none other than the Master Dan Baek-yeon.

The students giggled.

‘Ackk!’

Mo Il-hwa covered her face.

Shaking her head, she tried to continue teaching her class.

And then she noticed someone else.

The kid next to the sleeping girl was also falling asleep.

Dan Baek-yeon did the same again.

Wop! Put!

“Kuak! Kuak!”

“Huh? Are you fine?”

‘Ah…’

She aimed properly, but as Mumu was dozing off, it entered Mumu’s nostrils.

“Don’t sleep.”

She felt bad, but at least the kid won’t sleep now.

And then she narrowed her eyes.

Mumu must be the kid that Baek Woo-gi was talking about.

‘Did he say that this one was the first kid to pass the entrance without learning any martial arts?’

Everyone was shocked at it, even she was surprised.

It was the first time that such a thing happened.

But that wasn’t all.

It was his talent that allowed him to pass the entrance exam, but this is when the competition started.

If his grades weren’t properly maintained, then he will not move up within the academy.

‘And he has been like this from the first day.’

His future was visible.

If the kid didn’t double, triple or quadruple the work, there was no hope.

He was a kid who knew nothing about martial arts.

Tatatak!

Hong Hye-ryung came out and tried to work the Blood points on Master Dan Baek-yeon who was laying down.

The technique was too immobile the opponent.

There was no specific place, blocking the blood points on the back or the shoulder blade was enough to paralyze the body.

Tutut!

There was the sound of something happening coming from Dan Baek-yeon’s body.

The sound was coming from the blood points.

The students were counting.

‘8, 9, 10.’

And the moment they counted it,

Shh!

Baek-yeon’s body was raised up normally.

Everyone clapped at that.

It was to show the secret technique to releasing the sealed blood points by using a small amount of energy floating through the body and holding them above the blood points in advance.

It could be called a truly groundbreaking method.

“Have you seen this? If you can handle and move the energy this way, you can easily be released from sealed blood points.”

‘Easily?’

This wasn’t easy.

One a body is paralyzed it would be difficult to feel energy in the body. It would be strange to feel it in such a situation, and even stranger to be able to manipulate the energy.

“Now that we have seen the demonstration, let’s pair up with the people sitting next you to practice. And the seal needs to be released before a 100 count.”

Almost ten times.

In that way, the students were paired with those who were next to them.

There were a couple male students ready to pair up with Hong Hye-ryung, but the woman had refused them.

Hong Hye-ryung approached Jin-hyuk who was sitting in the back.

“Shall we compete and see who can solve this first?”

The only existence in the world who can be called as her rival.

She thought that was Jin-hyuk.

Therefore, she was convinced that only competing with Jin-hyuk would make her stand out.

On the other hand, Jin-hyuk was still considering,

‘She wants to pair up… with me?’

His heart trembled when she told him to join her and not someone else.

He wasn’t sure but maybe it was an opportunity to get to know her.

“If you sa…”

Grab!

At that moment, someone held Jin-hyuk’s arm.

Surprised, Jin-hyuk turned his head.

Mo Il-hwa was smiling.

“Il-hwa?”

“Hohoho. What is it? Jin-hyuk was supposed to pair up with me.”

Jin-hyuk couldn’t hide his shock at those words.

Didn’t she just say that she wouldn’t pair with him, why now?

“Il-hwa…”

Grab!

“Right? Jin-hyuk?”

The strength she was putting on his arm was no joke.

And if he refused now, he was going to be a dead meat.

Jin-hyuk had no choice but to agree.

“T-that is right.”

At Jin-hyuk’s words, Hong Hye-ryung’s brows raised high.

Mo Il-hwa felt satisfied with that.

It was absolutely unacceptable to let someone take away her people.

‘Puahahaha. Get lost quickly.’

She asked her to go away with happy eyes.

Looking at her, Hong Hye-ryung bit her lower lip.

She didn’t like Mo Il-hwa’s expression of dissatisfaction each time they crossed the paths.

Tak!

Holding someone’s wrist she said.

“You. Do it with me.”

“Me?”

‘Huh?’

Mo Il-hwa’s expression changed when the target changed to Mumu.

She thought Hong Hye-ryung would retreat, but she went for Mumu instead.

And now Mo Il-hwa couldn’t move.

‘Are you trying to play it this way?’

‘Don’t know why, but you need to pay the price for interrupting me.’

Mo Il-hwa and Hong Hye-ryung looked at each other with sparks flashing.

In that way, a rivalry formed.

Mumu scratched his head at the stinging gazes around him.

He couldn’t know their intent, but still felt the anger of the male students nonetheless, probably because he was with a famous student.

“Phew.”

On the other hand, Hong Hye-ryung sighed.

She had chosen Mumu out of curiosity, but he seemed bland.

Since she decided to compete with Jin-hyuk, her skills would have to stand out more and attract him.

‘I don’t feel internal energy from him.’

During the first years, the rumors about Mumu were widespread.

A student who passed the entrance with plain physical skills.

And that was amazing.

However, the problem was that the muscle strength mattered nothing where internal energy was needed.

“… Mumu, was it?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know how to seal?”

“I don’t know.”

It didn’t seem like something to be proud of, and…

Hong Hye-ryung shook her head and raised her hand to ask help from Dan Baek-yeon.

Baek-yeon was already paying attention to the fact that Mumu wasn’t suitable for this test, so she went to help.

Tatatak!

Dan Baek-yeon sealed Hong Hye-ryung’s blood points.

Hong Hye-ryung, closed her eyes and began to feel her body, and soon found some internal energy.

‘She is calm.’

Baek-yeong praised the child.

No matter how intentional and known this practice was, the body would end up feeling tensed the moment the blood points got sealed.

And she could tell by looking at the students.

“Yah. Yah. Concentrate.”

“Be conscious.”

With their senses paralyzed they were unable to concentrate.

On the other hand, this child, Hong Hye-ryung, was able to calm herself.

Maybe it was because she was the descendant of someone famous.

‘The key to this is how calmly you contemplate the situation and yourself.’

So, Baek-yeong started to count.

’15, 16, 17….’

Flinch!

At that time, Hong Hye-ryung’s finger moved.

And then she counted to 20.

“Haaa!”

She exhaled as she lifted her upper body to a sitting position.

Those who were watching all exclaimed.

So far, among those who started to practice, no one was able to release themselves.

Which meant that she was the first one who managed to do it.

“Great!”

Compliments flowed from Baek-yeon’s mouth.

When she first developed this method, she too had seen many trials and errors.

However, it was amazing that this girl could get herself up at 20.

‘Ahh. Nice.’

A compliment from the special master. And she looked around.

All those gathered around her were looking and that made her heart flutter.

“Hm. And she seems to quite like a lot of attention.”

Baek-yeon managed to know about Hong Hye-ryung’s hidden desire.

However, she thought that kids of this age were naturally attention seekers, so she didn’t care about it much.

“I’ll give you one extra point because you did it the fastest.”

Everyone was envious at those words from Baek-yeon.

Since she received one extra point, it meant that Hong Hye-ryung was currently on the top.

“Ah…”

And Jin-hyuk released the seal on blood points at the count of 34.

That too was quick.

However, when he knew that Hong Hye-ryung did it earlier than him, he began to think.

It seemed like the walls differentiating them and the descendants of the Four Great Masters was quite thick.

At that time, Hong Hye-ryung was trying to seal Mumu’s blood points.

‘Is this going to be fine?’

Mumu hadn’t learned internal energy.

No matter how strong the body was, internal energy was a different beast entirely.

Hong Hye-ryung exhaled lightly.

“You don’t have to force it.”

“It is fine.”

She didn’t quite understand how, but seeing that Mumu wanted to try it, she didn’t back down.

Hong Hye-ryung snorted at Mumu’s bright appearance.

There were a lot of things which couldn’t be done with physical strength.

Tatatak!

Without hesitation, Hong Hye-ryung sealed the blood points of Mumu.

Mumu opened his eyes and flinched.

Again, it seemed like he couldn’t move.

‘Well then.’

Jin-hyuk and Baek-yeon were both watching this from afar and both shook their heads.

It was common sense to know this test couldn’t be done with the absence of internal energy.

Twitch!

It was that moment, when Mumu’s facial muscles twitched, and his body trembled.

At the same time, the upper body no, his entire body’s muscles swelled up.

‘What?’

A strange thing.

Everyone was puzzled, but then they heard a breaking sound all over Mumu.

Crack! Crack!

The sound of bones breaking within.

Everyone was confused, was something was going wrong?

But then Mumu jumped to his feet!

“Phew!”

‘!?’

Hong Hye-ryung’s eyes widened at the sight, and it wasn’t just her but all the students around.

‘… No way.’

‘But doesn’t that bastard not have any internal energy?’

‘So how?’

What was thought to be impossible by common sense happened.

Dan Baek-yeon was quite surprised too, her lips parted and at a loss of words.

‘He did it with only his physical strength…?’

It was the first time she saw a seal being released like this.

Then someone shouted.

“W-wait. That one opened the seals on the blood points at the count of 8!”

‘!!!’

It was shorter than the record of their Master, Dan Baek-yeon.