No one from the Minor Orthodox Unit had ever been anywhere near the Murim Academy.

To those guys who barely managed to scrape by on their monthly wages with flawed martial arts, the Murim Academy was essentially an unapproachable different world.

The only thing those guys—for whom even yearning was a luxury—could do was fiercely hate the Murim Academy graduates.

Among them, Yayul Jae was particularly bad.

A guy who usually didn't say much would completely flip his lid whenever he saw a Murim Academy graduate.

He would pick fights like that, and if the opponent casually used their hands, he would counterattack with his half-baked martial arts.

Of course, the conclusion of those disputes always ended with Yayul Jae collapsing on the ground and suffering humiliation.

As if he never got sick of it, Yayul Jae picked fights with Murim Academy graduates every single time and was beaten to death every single time.

That was definitely the case.

It seemed absolutely impossible for there to be any connection between him and the Murim Academy...

'Just what is up with him?'

Yayul Jae had never mentioned that someone from his sect had entered the Murim Academy.

From the start, the martial arts of the Flowing Cloud Sect were not the kind to possess a one-hit kill technique.

It was not a sect favored by those dreaming of becoming martial artists.

On top of that, because their martial arts were incomplete, he had said his sect always suffered from financial hardship.

He had said that he himself joined the Murim Alliance after spending his entire life as a wandering warrior to complete the half-baked martial arts of his sect.

For a sect with no power and no money to take the standard exam was almost an impossible task at this point...

"Hey, you sons of bitches! Come at me all at once!"

I looked forward at the sharp, ringing voice that unwittingly woke me from my thoughts.

The small-framed academy student who had slammed the big guy down shouted for the next guy to step up, but none of the onlookers made a move.

'As expected, it's still only half-baked.'

The big guy who had been slammed from behind stood up as if nothing happened, grabbed the small-framed academy student by the shoulder, and casually kicked his leg.

THUD.

The academy student's posture collapsed powerlessly.

SMACK.

Following that, the big guy's kick planted into the academy student's face, and the academy student's face was quickly covered in blood.

'I shouldn't just stand here.'

I circulated my internal energy and lightly shot out my killing intent.

"!!"

Those who were leisurely watching from the surroundings opened their eyes wide and leaped to their feet.

I slowly took a step forward and warned them.

"Why don't you stop?"

The big guy could no longer move his body either and glared at me.

I beamed a bright smile at him.

"It's just that I'm in a good mood today."

"...?"

That expression of not knowing what I was talking about.

Well, it wasn't something I meant for him to understand in the first place.

I waved my hand in his face as if shooing away a fly.

"Could you get lost?"

GRIND.

The vicious sound of grinding teeth could be heard as his face aggressively crumpled.

"Your words are harsh, Jin Sowoon."

At that moment, one of the onlookers wearing the clothes of the Shandong Ak Clan opened his mouth.

I think his name was Ak Jupyeong or something.

"This is a matter of personal grudges. Don't interfere and just leave."

Oh ho, looks like that guy is the leader.

"Hmm, you don't happen to not know what the word 'personal' means, do you? Just look at how many of you there are."

I tilted my head while looking at him, then soon exaggeratedly slapped my forehead with a smack.

"Ah! They did say the Ak Clan doesn't teach academics!"

A vein bulged on his forehead.

"How dare you insult my clan!"

"Now there's a personal grudge between you and me too. Right?"

"..."

"As the academy representative, I can't just overlook a sight like this."

I beckoned at him with my finger.

"If you're confident, come in and let's go a round, or else get lost."

He let out a smirk at my words.

"Do you still think you're the academy representative?"

Look at this punk. He just keeps buzzing away.

This is why you shouldn't try to reason with idiots.

I picked my ear and raised my momentum.

"Ah, just get lost, you punks!"

As soon as I blasted my killing intent, they hastily stepped back.

"... Urgh!"

As if belatedly realizing they had stepped back, their faces flushed bright red.

Ak Jupyeong, who was viciously chewing on his lip, abruptly turned around.

"Let's go."

When their stupid boss cowardly took a step back, the guys hovering around also glared at me once each before following him to the other side.

"Tsk. Anyway, they just don't listen when spoken to nicely."

Clicking my tongue, I approached the guy who had been getting beaten up this whole time.

'It's a face I've never seen before...'

I observed him to see if he might be someone related to Yayul Jae, but his impression was completely different from his.

The only similarity was that the sect symbol engraved on their clothes was exactly the same.

"Hey, are you okay?"

When I shook his shoulder, the academy student who was curled up protecting his head suddenly shot his eyes open.

Then he leaped to his feet.

"C-Come at me! Come at me, you sons of bitcheees!"

He then immediately took up a combat stance.

He sure was born with guts, that's for sure.

"They're gone. Stop it."

"... They're gone?"

Only then did the academy student look around.

I nodded to him and was about to ask what I was curious about.

"You, from the Flowing Cloud Sect..."

"Where did those bastards go!"

"..."

However, the excited guy glared at me with bulging eyes.

"I chased them away. So you can relax now..."

"You chased them away?"

The small-framed academy student trembled.

"Who are you to chase those bastards away! Just a little more and I could have taught them a real lesson!"

"..."

But really, it seems neither this guy nor those guys have studied academics at all.

He's using the phrase 'real lesson' really weirdly, isn't he?

"Bring those bastards back right now! Bring them back!"

No, how am I supposed to bring back the guys I chased away.

"Then you take a beating in their place!"

The small-framed brat grabbed my hand and tried to execute the Flowing Cloud Divine Art's Snowflake.

If Lotus was a counterattack technique, Snowflake was an attack technique.

Since one couldn't use the opponent's power, maximizing one's own energy was the profound principle, yet the small-framed brat forcibly tried to twist my hand as if he didn't even know that much.

'This brat...'

He's crossing the line, isn't he?

With my patience completely depleted, I lightly circulated my internal energy and lifted him entirely off the ground.

Then I slammed him into the floor.

CRASH!

"Urgh!"

The impact was so great that the brat threw up what he had eaten.

Maybe now he'll listen to reason.

"Now, calm down and let's talk..."

But before my words could finish, the brat leaped up and started running away.

"J-Just you wait! Jin Sowoon! I'll definitely get my revenge! Watch your back!"

After saying that, he hobbled away at a not-so-fast pace.

"Hah!"

I let out a scoff at the absurd situation.

In the end, I didn't manage to get any of the information I wanted, but there was still one thing I knew for sure.

That guy was definitely related to Yayul Jae somehow.

No, it was obvious they were probably brothers.

'Having that exact same shitty personality would be impossible if not for the power of bloodlines.'

An inexplicable feeling of nostalgia bloomed in my chest.

* * *

I visited the dormitory and sought out Jang Ujae.

I figured that Jang Ujae, the focal point for those without affiliations, might know about him.

"Ah... Are you talking about that fiercely stubborn guy?"

Sure enough, even though I only explained his appearance a little, Jang Ujae recognized him right away.

"Flowing Precept Sect? Flowing Cloud Sect? Anyway, I remember his sect being something like that."

"He's really from the Flowing Cloud Sect?"

"Do you happen to know where that is? It was a name I'd heard for the first time, so I didn't remember it well."

"Ah, I've just heard of it before."

Jang Ujae nodded a couple of times.

"Anyway, he's a rather peculiar fellow. He never hangs out with anyone, and I've never seen him go out drinking or leave for personal reasons. He seems to carve out time to train every day, but it doesn't seem like his skills improve all that much either."

"Is he being alienated by the others?"

Jang Ujae scratched his cheek with his finger.

"Well, the White Path Council, the Orthodox Council, and the Twelve Peaks and Castles don't even treat us like human beings to begin with. So we tend to stick together well among ourselves."

"But then why?"

"The thing is... that guy usually speaks so little."

"... Then what was that about him being fiercely stubborn earlier?"

Jang Ujae rolled his eyes as if searching his memory.

"Well, there was a time recently when he got into a dispute with a member of the White Path Council. It wasn't a big deal, really. He demanded an apology, but the White Path Council member just ignored him and walked past."

"And so?"

After pausing for a moment, Jang Ujae raised both hands in the air and replied.

"At that time, he used a rock to hit the White Path Council member's head..."

Hah, crazy...

Even his actions were exactly the same as a certain someone.

"After that, the White Path Council took group revenge on him. But then he went to find them one by one to retaliate again... That's been going on for three months now."

"What a sight."

"Furthermore, if someone tries to help him, he attacks them too... So we're in a situation where we can't do anything about it."

"As expected, he's even crazier than I thought..."

"Pardon?"

"Ah, no. I was just thinking out loud. By the way..."

I tilted my head as I looked at Jang Ujae.

"Why do you keep using honorifics?"

"Ah, haha. It's just that this is comfortable for me."

"..."

"Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"No, not really."

Jang Ujae's eyes sparkled like a puppy wagging its tail while looking at its owner.

"Then I can keep speaking like this from now on, right?"

"Well, if you're comfortable with it..."

Just as I was about to wrap up my conversation with Jang Ujae and turn around.

I remembered a question I hadn't asked yet.

"Come to think of it, what was his name?"

"His name? ... Ah! I remembered it because it was an unusual name."

"Unusual?"

Jang Ujae nodded vigorously.

"Yes. He said it was Yayul Geuk."

"..."

See, I told you I was right.

That guy whose head was filled with bravado instead of a brain was definitely Yayul Jae's blood relative.

* * *

At this point, a question arises.

Why hadn't Yayul Jae ever talked about his younger brother?

Although he was a man of few words, he wasn't the type to completely hide his own story either.

A penniless sect, half-baked martial arts.

Yayul Jae had said that in his youth, he lived as a wandering warrior to resolve those two issues.

Just as the fastest secret to perfecting one's exclusive martial arts is going through many real battles, Yayul Jae had intended to complete the Flowing Cloud Divine Art while sending money back to his poor sect.

But a fairy-tale story of successfully finishing a solitary Jianghu journey and ultimately completing one's martial arts was something only possible for special existences like Hyuk Mugang.

Just as the seniors of my sect had done, Yayul Jae also ultimately failed to complete his half-baked martial arts.

The place he drifted to after all that was the Murim Alliance's Minor Orthodox Unit.

Paradoxically, Yayul Jae finally completed the Flowing Cloud Divine Art only when he had given up on everything, but that was long after the Orthodox-Demonic Great War had occurred.

It was seven years after the Flowing Cloud Sect had been uprooted entirely.

["Damn it, to think it finally got completed."]

As if he didn't quite like himself for having completed his martial arts, Yayul Jae suffered and drank even more alcohol than usual.

'Just what was the story behind it? Was the relationship between those two not that good?'

Anyway, I sought out Yayul Geuk, wanting to hear the story from him directly.

If things went according to my past life, Yayul Jae would have finally recognized his limits by now, abandoned his life as a wandering warrior, and been living like a broken man.

If I could pass the completed Flowing Cloud Divine Art to Yayul Jae through Yayul Geuk, wouldn't his current life change at least a little?

However, he was nowhere to be seen in the academy's classrooms or the eight-person dormitory room he was staying in.

'Is he getting beaten up by those White Path Council guys again?'

Just as I was about to give up searching for him and turn back.

I felt something flying at me from behind.

I slightly turned my head to dodge while simultaneously catching the flying object with my hand.

'A... A rock?'

In my hand, I held a rock with jagged, sharp edges all around.

"Hah..."

Being too dumbfounded, I turned my head toward the direction the rock came from.

"That bastard!"

Yayul Geuk, with a panicked expression, frantically turned his body and was running away.

Even as he ran, he kept his mouth running.

"J-Jin Sowoon! Watch your back at night!"

Since he chucked a rock at me after telling me to watch my back last time, is he saying he'll ambush me at night this time?

"As expected of Yayul Jae's blood relative."

The reason Yayul Jae never spoke about his younger brother was clearly because their relationship was extremely poor.

Don't they say that people with inherently foul personalities hate those with the same personality the most?

Is it called some sort of self-loathing?

"Man, even if I try to help, it'll just end up being a headache."

It seemed like it wasn't the time to talk to him just yet.

I gave up on chasing him and returned to my dormitory.

* * *

"Huff, huff, huff."

Yayul Geuk, who had run for a long time and entered behind a building, peeked his head out to see if Jin Sowoon was chasing him.

Fortunately, he didn't feel any presence pursuing him.

"Hmph! See that! Now he won't even be able to sleep because he's afraid of my ambush!"

Yayul Geuk, who had been laughing like that for a while, gradually stopped.

"Geuk, just what are you doing?"

Yayul Geuk shook his head in a sense of shame.

Jin Sowoon was a legendary existence.

Although he was part of the 108 Peaks, he was from a sect that was entirely insignificant even when compared to the Flowing Cloud Sect.

In such a situation, he brought only his junior disciples to take the standard exam and seized the position of top student.

On the other hand, although he had made it to the academy using his brothers' sacrifices as a stepping stone, far from thinking about completing his martial arts, he was only repeating brawls every day.

'That's why I said I wouldn't come.'

His eldest brother, who had set out into Jianghu early on to complete their half-baked martial arts, ultimately failed.

Then, saying that he could do it, he put him into the academy.

While taking the standard exam, his second brother died and his third brother became crippled.

His eldest brother told him not to worry at all and just focus on his studies, but was that really as easy as it sounded?

Still, as a result of trying desperately to live up to his brothers' expectations, there was one truth he came to realize.

'... I can't do it.'

Every time he went to bed after passing the day, he would think.

That he wished he could just close his eyes for good.

That he wished he would never see tomorrow's rising sun again.

That was why he hated Jin Sowoon.

Because he shined too brightly.

Because he looked too huge.

The sight of him standing confidently before the strong.

The sight of him moving forward without wavering no matter what problems arose.

It was all so contemptible.

But soon, the arrow of contempt changed direction and flew back at him.

'No... The one who's contemptible is myself.'

But coming to this point, there was nothing he could do.

Behind him lay the death of his second brother and the severed arm of his third brother, and ahead of him stood a solid, insurmountable high wall blocking his path.

"When will I be able to go see my second brother..."

For some reason today, he remembered his second brother who used to smile so gently.

He brushed off his thoughts and took a step.

Since he needed to sleep even a little bit now in order to ambush at night.

At that moment.

"So you were here."

He snapped his head up at the unpleasant voice coming from behind him.

Ak Jupyeong.

The guy who was the start of this ill-fated relationship.

Around him, the White Path Council guys who always trailed after him stood in a line.

There were three times more of them than usual.

"Fucking bastards. Playing dirty..."

"Don't worry. You'll be taking us on one by one."

"Fuck off!"

Flipping them the bird, Yayul Geuk started running with all his might in the opposite direction from where they appeared.

But he hadn't even taken a few steps before his body was sent flying by a kick that popped out from the alley.

CRASH.

"Urgh."

His insides churned from how hard the kick was.

Ak Jupyeong approached with slow steps and crouched down.

"What is your relationship with Jin Sowoon?"

The crouching Ak Jupyeong stared at him intently.

So that guy was afraid of Jin Sowoon too?

"Why are you curious about that?"

"Because there's something we're preparing. If you have a relationship with Jin Sowoon, we'll postpone your punishment for a bit."

Was he saying he could overcome this crisis if he sold out Jin Sowoon's name?

"Pfft."

"Are you laughing?"

Yayul Geuk swallowed back the scoff that was on the verge of bursting out.

Had he become so ugly that he needed to sell out the name of the guy he despised?

"Why would I have a relationship with a guy like Jin Sowoon?"

"..."

Yayul Geuk's eyes flashed like a wildcat's.

A smile formed on Ak Jupyeong's lips.

"That's a relief. It'd feel completely awful for me to postpone trampling you too."

Without wiping away his smile, Ak Jupyeong slowly stood up.

It was a smile entirely opposite to his second brother's.