Episode 214: Return of the Demon Instructor
“He’s a monster! That guy’s a monster!”
Bang-gak swallowed hard, looking up at Sa Bi-gang perched effortlessly on the iron bar.
Unlike Yu Song-ryeong, who was drenched in sweat, Sa Bi-gang looked as fresh as if he were somewhere else entirely.
His ominous prediction had come true.
The way Sa Bi-gang had corrected his posture wasn’t just a fluke.
He had the skill to back it up.
“Damn it, does this mean I’m stuck learning from that orthodox instructor?”
It was a strange feeling.
Being taught by someone that strong was undoubtedly an opportunity.
But why did it have to be an orthodox martial artist?
Many who walk the dark path don’t hesitate to steal techniques from the orthodox.
After all, those on the dark path often use any means necessary to become stronger.
But there’s a world of difference between stealing techniques and formally acknowledging someone as a master.
His pride wouldn’t allow it.
Meanwhile, Jeok Mu-rin, watching from below, noticed something change.
Yu Song-ryeong’s eyes had shifted.
Had he finally accepted it?
Sure enough, Yu Song-ryeong relaxed his tense expression and slowly adjusted his stance.
“I think I understand now, without needing to fight any longer.”
”…?”
Sa Bi-gang narrowed his eyes as Yu Song-ryeong slung her sword over her back.
“I lost. I admit defeat.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, the crowd erupted in jeers.
“What? You’re backing down in front of an orthodox nobody? You should have gone down fighting!”
“You proposed a life-or-death duel and now you’re afraid to die? What a disgrace to the dark path!”
“Is she already smitten with him or something? Ha!”
Despite the taunts, Yu Song-ryeong didn’t flinch.
Only then did Sa Bi-gang relax his stance and chuckle softly.
“Looks like you’re finally ready to learn. Then…”
At that moment,
“Ah!”
“She’s falling!”
The martial artists shouted in alarm.
In a split second, Yu Song-ryeong had leapt off the iron bar.
“Ready to learn? Ha! Don’t make me laugh. I’m satisfied just having fooled you.”
Memories flashed through Yu Song-ryeong’s mind like a lantern show.
The first was of her father’s last day.
That day, her father had knelt before an orthodox martial artist.
It had started as a trivial argument.
But the man she thought was the strongest in the world had lost.
“Dad! Don’t kneel! Why are you kneeling to them? You did nothing wrong!”
But her father had said that acknowledging defeat was another form of courage for a martial artist.
Though it was a life-or-death duel, he had admitted defeat early for the sake of his family.
She could never forget the expression of the orthodox martial artist.
The sneer as he beheaded her father, calling it the price for dabbling in forbidden arts.
Two years ago, she had found him, but he was already dead.
From then on, no, even before that, she had vowed.
She would never kneel, even if it meant death.
“Looking back, I’ve lived so fiercely.”
But to die like this?
She felt a pang of regret, but at least she had managed to embarrass the orthodox instructor.
The Blood Sect would surely take action since an instructor had killed a student.
“Serves him right!”
Just as she was about to close her eyes,
“Huh?”
Yu Song-ryeong doubted her own eyes.
The moment of her fall felt incredibly long in her mind.
But then…
“What? Why are you falling with me?”
To her astonishment, Sa Bi-gang had leapt after her, covering her with his body.
He had pushed off the iron bar right after she jumped.
Whoosh!
Sa Bi-gang wrapped around her, twisting in mid-air.
His back was now facing the ground.
“Is he crazy? Does he want to die with me? Why do something so pointless?”
In that instant, a transparent energy burst from Sa Bi-gang’s body.
A shield.
Simultaneously,
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Spikes shot up from the metal floor with terrifying speed.
Bang!
The sound of metal clashing echoed.
Amazingly, Sa Bi-gang’s body bounced off the spikes instead of being impaled.
As the shield shattered, Sa Bi-gang cast a flight spell.
Whoosh!
He hovered just above the heated spikes, then safely landed outside the metal floor.
The entire sequence of events happened in a flash.
Even witnessing it, people couldn’t believe their eyes.
“What kind of movement technique was that?”
“How is that even possible?”
Questions filled everyone’s minds.
Choo-ryang simply watched in awe, eyes shining.
“As expected of Master!”
Sa Bi-gang gently set Yu Song-ryeong down.
“That was unnecessary.”
”…”
Yu Song-ryeong could only stare at him, still in shock.
“Who is this man, really?”
This wasn’t part of her plan.
By now, she should have been impaled and burned to death.
And Sa Bi-gang should have been sweating, busy explaining himself to the onlookers.
But instead…
“He jumped down with me? From up there?”
In the next moment,
Slap!
Yu Song-ryeong’s head snapped to the side.
She touched her cheek, bewildered.
Sa Bi-gang glared at her with a cold expression.
“You’re hopeless. First, you recklessly throw away your sword, and now you throw away your life?”
“You…”
“What?”
“Who do you think you are?”
“What are you saying? Is that how you talk to the person who saved your life?”
“Who asked you to save me? I’m not afraid of death!”
Sa Bi-gang narrowed his eyes, staring at her intently.
Then a cold smile played on his lips.
“You’re sorely mistaken.”
“What?”
“Do you think not fearing death makes you strong?”
“What are you talking about…?”
“The truly strong don’t fear death; they don’t fear despair.”
”…!”
“Don’t equate death with despair. Death is just an escape from despair. I wouldn’t call that courage.”
Sa Bi-gang turned and walked away.
Yu Song-ryeong felt as if she’d been struck by a hammer.
Death and despair.
Yes.
She had always equated the two.
She had thought that not fearing death was the greatest courage.
But it wasn’t.
An escape from despair.
That’s all death was.
Sa Bi-gang spoke over his shoulder.
“Anyway, since you admitted defeat, make sure you attend class from tomorrow.”
”…”
Yu Song-ryeong couldn’t say a word.
Her legs gave out, and she nearly collapsed.
But,
Thud.
Seok Tan-gang, who had approached unnoticed, supported her.
Sa Bi-gang headed straight for the exit.
But then…
Rustle.
The martial artists surrounded him, exuding a menacing aura.
Sa Bi-gang glanced around.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Hey, Instructor. The outcome of a bet should be fair, right?”
“And?”
“You can’t say you won. You fell off the bar too.”
“You heard Yu Song-ryeong admit defeat, didn’t you?”
“Of course. But you fell off the bar too, so it’s a draw. Heh.”
They were twisting the facts.
Sa Bi-gang’s eyes turned icy.
“Until a moment ago, I wasn’t in a bad mood. But now I’m not feeling great. So maybe I should teach you all a lesson…”
Just then,
Swoosh.
Unexpectedly, Jeok Mu-rin stepped forward.
He surveyed the crowd with sharp eyes and spoke quietly.
“Stand down. This is nonsense.”
“What? Are you siding with him now? So the great Jeok Mu-rin is just a lackey for the orthodox?”
Swish! Clang!
In an instant, a flash of light appeared and vanished.
A flawless draw of the sword!
Jeok Mu-rin had unsheathed his sword and sliced off two fingers of the man who had spoken.
The man, now missing two fingers, belatedly screamed in agony.
“Aaah! My fingers!”
“This is a warning. Next time, it won’t just be your fingers.”
Jeok Mu-rin’s voice was cold.
The injured man, eyes wide, shouted.
“That bastard attacked me! What are you all doing? Kill him! He’s in league with the orthodox!”
“Hey, Jeok Mu-rin! Are you a traitor?”
The dark path martial artists bared their teeth, growling.
Their killing intent thickened.
A tense standoff.
Jeok Mu-rin scoffed.
“Your rotten mindset is what gives the dark path a bad name.”
“What?”
As one martial artist prepared to charge,
“Enough. Stop it.”
A clear voice interrupted.
It was Yu Song-ryeong, supported by Seok Tan-gang.
She shrugged her shoulders and spoke.
“He’s right. I admitted defeat first. I lost this duel.”
With the participant acknowledging her loss, the other martial artists had nothing more to say.
Some of the group grumbled about Yusongryeong, but a cold glare from Seoktangang quickly silenced them.
Yusongryeong stared intently at Sabigang.
“A bet’s a bet. I’ll start attending from tomorrow. You win.”
“It’s not ‘you,’ it’s ‘Instructor.’ And if you speak informally again, you’ll be in trouble.”
Yusongryeong looked at Sabigang with a bewildered expression.
What a strange person.
Her perception of orthodox martial artists was completely shaken.
She chuckled softly and replied, “Alright, Instructor.”
“Good, see you tomorrow then.”
Sabigang nodded and walked away, followed by Churyang and Jeokmurin.
“I heard Yusongryeong and Seoktangang are joining his class,” said Jin Joyeong, a man with a long scar across his face, in a gruff voice. He stood with his arms crossed, looking rather displeased.
“Heh, that woman never had much backbone. Maybe the guy’s got a decent face?” chuckled an old man with liver spots, cradling a long spear. He was Maeng Gasuk, known as the “Nine-Fold Ghost Spear,” the oldest among the gathered group.
“Seems like he’s getting a bit too full of himself. Should we teach him a lesson?” suggested Dobi Cheon, a specialist in flying blade techniques, in a relatively light tone.
Maeng Gasuk’s eyes gleamed with interest. “Oh, that sounds fun. But how?”
“Well, we’ll have to think about that. We need to make sure he knows exactly where he is.”
“Heh heh heh. Just when things were getting dull, something interesting comes up.”
“Let’s make him beg for mercy. He needs to pay for treating us like students.”
“I’m in favor,” Maeng Gasuk said, grinning widely.
Jin Joyeong added in his usual blunt tone, “I agree.”
Several other martial artists in the group nodded in agreement.
Maeng Gasuk’s grin widened. “Alright, let’s set the stage to deal with that orthodox fellow.”
Early in the morning, Dokgojin strolled with his hands behind his back, asking in a stern voice, “How is Sabigang doing? I bet he’s wallowing in despair, wasting his days away.”
“Well…” Banjo hesitated, trying to gauge Dokgojin’s reaction.
Dokgojin furrowed his brows. “What is it? Is there a problem?”
“It’s not exactly a problem, but three students have decided to join his class.”
“What? How did that happen?”
Banjo summarized the recent events involving Sabigang. Dokgojin’s expression shifted several times as he listened.
When the story concluded, Dokgojin narrowed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. “Hmm. I knew he wasn’t ordinary when we met, but…”
He’s stronger and more unpredictable than expected.
Banjo quickly added, “But don’t worry too much. It seems Maeng Gasuk’s group is planning to step in.”
“Maeng Gasuk, that old man?”
“Yes, and he’s sure to use some underhanded tactics.”
Dokgojin’s expression brightened. “Ha ha ha! I should have known when Maeng Gasuk volunteered to be a student. This was his plan all along. Ha ha!”
He laughed heartily.
But then…
“Could you move aside, please?”
A voice interrupted from behind, breaking the pleasant moment. Dokgojin turned, eyes widening in surprise.
“What on earth is this?”