Cheol Sunjik and his lackeys(?) made faces like they had just tasted shit.

Normally, I tend to welcome new proposals.

Even if I know all the information in the Mantong Bureau, the Manseogo, and the Murim Alliance, there are bound to be things I still don't know, and sometimes others offer superior insights.

For example, I immediately accepted Jang Ujae's opinion that the representatives' work should be divided.

The opinion that, regarding the operation of the representatives, we should pursue long-term stability over immediate efficiency.

When it comes to actually handling the work, it's true that I, already knowing the answers, can process it much faster than them.

The documents I draft would be passed immediately without the need for the process of exchanging paperwork with the academy, the Education Pavilion, and the Mantong Bureau.

However, the reason I divided the work instead of seeking extreme efficiency is that I hope the representatives will run well even when I'm not here.

And just as Jang Ujae said, the representatives are now being perfected in a direction where they can operate stably even without me.

Even though I am open like this, I absolutely despise those who roll their heads purely for their own gain.

'In the end, the fundamental reason the Murim Alliance collapsed in my past life was because of the disgusting selfishness of thinking only of one's own survival.'

Because the ones who always suffered the sorrow of being pushed aside in the power struggles of the Nine Sects and One Gang, the Five Great Noble Clans, and the Twelve Peaks and Castles was none other than our Minor Orthodox Unit of the White Wolf Pavilion.

I leaned my body toward Cheol Sunjik.

"Do you know why martial factions and merchant groups maintain a system of absolute obedience to superiors?"

"..."

"Because sometimes an unjust command creates profit for the entire group. If the people of a sect don't listen to the Sect Leader, that sect will quickly disappear, and if the servants of a merchant group act however they please, the merchant group will not be maintained."

"... The Murim Academy is different."

Cheol Sunjik tried to push his argument using 'plausible' words to the very end.

"Of course it's different. But it is fundamentally the same. Are you going to express the opinion that a 'Council of Councilors is necessary' even after you graduate from the academy and are assigned to the Murim Alliance?"

"..."

The reason Cheol Sunjik could concoct such a plot was likely because I seemed like an easy target.

If the Shaolin Sect's Ilgak or the Zhuge Clan's Zhuge Jeonggi had become the academy representative, he wouldn't have dared scheme such a thing.

Because they have more than enough power to strike back.

Because their support base is solid.

The reason he can shove a story that wouldn't even work right under my chin is because he thinks my foundation is weak.

A human who thoroughly distinguishes between the strong and the weak, prolonging his life through the cowardice of only picking fights he can win.

And the best way to crush that kind of human is.

"If you are assigned to the Murim Alliance, you will probably take on a position of at least a group leader or a Vice Hall Leader wherever you go. What will you do then if your subordinate refuses your command, Cheol Sunjik, claiming it is unjust?"

"..."

"What if gathering the opinions of the organization's members leads to the conclusion that it's more beneficial not to fight the enemy?"

Precisely, making him fully aware of the fact that I am 'an opponent he cannot beat.'

I looked around once and then asked Cheol Sunjik a question.

"Are you going to run away with the enemy right in front of you?"

He wouldn't be able to answer easily.

No matter what answer he gave, he would eventually be tripped up by the words he had just spewed out.

"You were speaking so eloquently just a moment ago, so why have you become a mute who ate honey?"

People of Jianghu often think that the conversations of the Underworld are rougher than those of the Orthodox faction.

But my thoughts are different after having toured the Underworld Alliance.

Sometimes, the speech of Underworld figures is even more careful.

Of course, a bastard who charges in without a second thought will start by hurling curses, but the others speak surprisingly cautiously.

Why is that, you ask?

Because those in the Underworld always carry the risk of getting their heads smashed in.

They watch their mouths because a bloody fight could break out at any moment.

On the other hand, the Orthodox faction faces relatively no risk of getting their heads smashed in.

No matter how much they sarcastically mock and ridicule their opponent, unless it is a direct insult, it doesn't even serve as a justification to draw a sword.

That is why I made a decision.

I will instill in Cheol Sunjik the fear that his head could be smashed in right here today.

I will make him realize the repercussions his words and actions will bring.

So that when he opens his mouth again, he can be careful.

So that the next time he rolls his head, he won't carelessly make me his scapegoat.

I loosened my wrists.

"If so, then you and the others gathered here have no need to graduate from the academy. Everyone can just go home, form that Council of Councilors or whatever it is, and debate until you die."

"..."

"I will draft a document regarding the reason you are all quitting the academy and send it to each of your sects. So that the wonderful system you have thought up can be immediately applied in each sect."

At my words, the eyes of the people flared up with anger.

"What kind of disrespectful nonsense is that!"

"Do you think you can do something like that no matter if you are the academy representative!"

"I will not sit idly by...!"

BANG!

"Stop."

CRACK!

The table I had lightly struck snapped in two.

The stacks of documents piled on top of it scattered to the floor in a shower.

"W-What the...!"

At my monstrous strength, the eyes of the self-proclaimed representative councilors, including Cheol Sunjik, wavered violently.

Why do humans never reflect on the disrespect they themselves commit?

The answer to my longstanding curiosity appeared through them.

From the very beginning, they didn't consider what they had done to be disrespectful.

A hypocritical audacity where they believed it was fine for them to do it, but unacceptable if it was done to them.

"Did you just say 'something like that'?"

"..."

You have to grab them by the hair and shove their mistakes right in front of their eyes for them to come to their senses.

Only when you make them realize what kind of thing they were trying to do will they attempt to 'think' from then on.

"Every sect will be shocked. Since it's no different from saying you'll challenge the authority of the Sect Leader. On a small scale, it's insubordination, and on a larger scale, it's tantamount to the act of deceiving one's master and destroying the ancestors."

"..."

Just like how they only watch their mouths from then on after having their heads smashed at least once.

When I raised my hand, they all simultaneously flinched, shrinking their necks like turtles and taking a defensive stance.

"Fuck, but you just told me to introduce that kind of shitty idea?"

I spat out profanities, but not a single person pushed back against it.

They were certainly indignant out of shame, but they had ultimately suffered that insult because of their own wrongdoings to begin with.

I leaned back languidly against the backrest of my chair.

"If you understand now, get lost. As you can see, I am busy with work."

A heavy silence blanketed the room.

Even the representatives who had been working were staring with their mouths agape, as if their souls had been sucked out by my harsh words.

The first to move was a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect.

Then, the people, including a disciple of the Zhuge Clan, moved one after another.

Cheol Sunjik was the one who remained until the end.

"What? Ah, do you want to end up like that table?"

When I pointed at the table snapped in two with my chin, he also shook his head and walked toward the door.

Cheol Sunjik will probably console those who came with him using his unique eloquence after leaving the representatives' office.

And he'll continue to use them as chess pieces for his own disposal.

I'm not a human cultivated enough in character to just sit back and watch something like this happen, am I?

"If you move without thinking, you'll be dragged along by a swindler like him, and not only your own honor but the honor of your sects will plummet to the rock bottom. Look at it even now. This entire plan may have been initiated by Cheol Sunjik, but you are all taking the blame alongside him. Remember today."

At my words, those who were leaving looked at Cheol Sunjik one by one, then sharply turned their bodies and exited the office.

Left entirely alone standing in front of the door, Cheol Sunjik glared at me as if he wanted to kill me.

"Representative Jin, do you think you have won the war just because you won a single battle?"

I snorted.

"Did you think of this place as a battleground from the very beginning?"

"..."

"I can see just how trivially you viewed me."

"... You will definitely regret what happened today."

I nodded my head.

"If it comes to regrets, there is probably no one who has experienced as many as I have. I am not as soft as you think, so please don't worry unnecessarily."

"..."

As if realizing that words couldn't get through to me, Cheol Sunjik abruptly spun around and left.

"Eldest Senior Brother, will this be okay? Insulting him like this..."

Eunho, who knew Cheol Sunjik's schemes, asked worriedly.

I tossed my words out toward him.

"If it isn't okay, what are you going to do about it?"

"Pardon?"

"Didn't I tell you? As long as we keep moving forward, bastards who try to hold us back like that will appear endlessly. Do you want to stop in your tracks because of scumbags like that?"

"No."

I lightly patted Eunho's shoulder.

"Then don't worry too much about it either. If there is anyone who attacks, we just have to smash their heads in anytime."

"... Eldest Senior Brother. No, Representative."

"Yeah?"

"Even so, openly saying you'll smash their heads in where people are present..."

"..."

When I subtly turned my gaze, the eyes that had previously been full of goodwill had vanished without a trace, replaced entirely by cold, judgmental stares.

I looked once at the split table and then at the door Cheol Sunjik had exited through.

He really is an unhelpful human being in every way.

* * *

As the end of the term approached, the Manseogo emptied out.

The academy students, who no longer needed to prepare for written exams, were gearing up for the final practical exam: the practical strategy and tactics evaluation.

Those who received a Gap evaluation trained roughly once every five days.

Those who received an Eul evaluation trained roughly once every three days.

Those who received a Byeong evaluation, once every two days.

Those who received a Jeong evaluation trained at least once a day.

Then, what about those who received a Mu evaluation?

They visited the training ground more than twice a day, desperately swinging their weapons like their lives depended on it.

'I, who have three Mu evaluations, have no right to rest.'

A certain Geumpyo spent all his time at the training ground, except for meal times.

Even though it was a winter chill that turned his breath white, his entire body was drenched in sweat so he didn't feel the cold, and if he rested even for a moment, anxiety would hit him so hard he couldn't bear it.

And at the training ground, academy students in the same situation as Geumpyo could often be seen.

The first dropout would likely emerge from among them.

Dropouts who would have to walk out of the academy they had worked so hard to enter on their own two feet.

Even though it was only a tiny fraction of the personnel, no one wanted to end up among them.

Because dropping out of the Murim Academy would inflict a humiliation far worse than not being admitted in the first place.

'This is driving me crazy.'

Seong Moran, who had been training with him these past few days, gained some sort of enlightenment in the Mountain-Shattering Sword Technique and moved to a private training ground.

If she could organize that enlightenment well and apply it to her martial arts before the practical evaluation, there would be no way Seong Moran would end up among the dropouts.

That was why Geumpyo felt even more anxious.

"Pant! Pant!"

He swung his sword again and again until his breath caught in his throat and his bladder felt like it was going to burst.

But a stroke of serendipity like Seong Moran's did not come.

Rather than the anxiety of leaving his two younger brothers and his senior and junior martial brothers behind at the Murim Academy, the sheer impatience of being unable to catch up with them was slowly gnawing away at Geumpyo's heart.

"Yo, Sir Geumpyo!"

That detestable Eldest Senior Brother had been calling him 'Sir Geumpyo' for the past few days.

Something about how someone who receives a Mu evaluation and drops out of the academy is no disciple of the Taiyi Sect.

"Huu..."

"Sir Geumpyo. It seems you have many worries?"

"What is it?"

"Ah, my bad. Did I interrupt a 'stranger's' training?"

Is he only satisfied if he pisses someone off that much?

How could someone with that kind of personality hold the position of academy representative...

"Huu..."

Geumpyo muttered softly, not even thinking of wiping away the droplets of sweat that had frozen like frost.

"... Eldest Senior Brother."

"Eh? Why are you calling me Eldest Senior Brother?"

"If you're going to bother me, please leave. I'm not in the mood."

"Tsk, tsk. A grown man drooping like that just because he got a few Mu evaluations."

THUMP.

Jin Sowoon suddenly laid down something blunt as a seat and sat on the ground.

Was he planning to fully settle down and tease him now?

All the sorrow Geumpyo had built up until now burst out and poured forth.

"Haven't you been making fun of me like the world had collapsed just because I received Mu evaluations!"

"Of course you deserve to be made fun of. Only a turtle head would get scores like that."

"..."

Geumpyo felt something welling up inside his chest.

He couldn't bring himself to expect it from his younger brothers and senior sisters, but couldn't his Eldest Senior Brother at least comfort him a little?

And yet, yet that bastard of an Eldest Senior Brother was...!

"Do you think I'm being too harsh?"

"...!"

The burden and disappointment he had accumulated struck his throat, and moisture began to gather at the corners of his eyes.

Out of embarrassment, Geumpyo clenched his teeth and desperately tried to hide the wetness flowing down his eyes.

"I don't want to drop out from here either. I want to walk the same path as you, Eldest Senior Brother. But..."

He had tried desperately, over and over again.

After realizing that he lacked talent compared to his younger brothers, he had worked even harder.

He sacrificed sleep and cut down on eating time, devoting himself entirely to his training.

But the result was ultimately a dropout.

Geumpyo didn't have the luck Seong Moran possessed, nor the talent his younger brothers possessed. He had none of it.

And an ordinary person was bound to deeply realize their own darkness and despair when standing before a brilliantly shining genius.

"But... I just can't catch up. I want to catch up, but... I'm scared I'll be the only one left behind."

The tears he had barely held back finally fell in heavy drops.

With the floodgates open, the tear tracks poured down endlessly like small streams.

"Hic... I don't want to be left alone. I want to go sniff together with you all too."

"Tsk, tsk. Because you swing your sword with such an anxious mind, your head isn't working properly."

"Hic... What?"

Jin Sowoon clicked his tongue with a 'tsk' and asked.

"What is our final practical evaluation?"

"... The strategy and tactics evaluation."

"And how does it work?"

"Three Armies are divided into platoons to seize each other's flags and capture bases."

"Then what does receiving a good evaluation in it mean?"

"It means the platoon survives, grows its forces, and secures a base."

"Do you still not get it?"

"Get what?"

Jin Sowoon sighed and shook his head.

"Do you think your younger brothers or your senior and junior martial brothers won't include you in their platoon?"

"..."

Geumpyo stared blankly with his mouth agape, not even thinking of wiping his tear stains.

"Look at the bigger picture. If you're trapped in such a narrow-minded perspective, do you think you could grasp any passing enlightenment even if it came?"

"B-But... wouldn't I just be a burden if I joined?"

Jin Sowoon clicked his tongue once again.

"Tsk. Let me ask you one thing. Why do you think your swordsmanship isn't as sharp as Dongryong's?"

"Well, that's because Dongryong was born with natural talent."

"Then when the four of you, including Saryeon, form the White Tiger Sword Array, why is Eunho the core of the array?"

"Because Eunho is good at seeing the big picture."

"And what do you do during that time?"

"M-Me, I swing my sword at the very front..."

Jin Sowoon nodded.

"That's it."

"Huh?"

"The reason your sword isn't aggressive, the reason why defensive and passive movements are ingrained in your body."

The voice of the Eldest Senior Brother flew toward Geumpyo, who was wearing a puzzled expression.

"It's because you instinctively protect your brothers and the sword array."

"...!"

Jin Sowoon stood up and drew the Black Dragon Sword.

"Normally, when disciples of the Taiyi Sect execute the Lesser Heaven Sword Technique, they swing their swords with the feeling of piercing straight through the opponent's spine."

SWISH.

"This is what we call a One Flash. But you instinctively stop near the solar plexus. You think it would take too long to push into the spine and come back, so you pull back quickly out of an anxiousness to execute the next move."

Geumpyo's face turned completely white.

How terrifying was a 'habit' to a martial artist?

Once formed incorrectly, fixing it was incredibly grueling.

As it was, he already had a long way to catch up, but to think he had even picked up a wrong habit...

Geumpyo felt as if his world was collapsing.

"A-Am I doomed?"

"What?"

"My skills aren't even good enough... and I also have to change a bad habit, don't I?"

Jin Sowoon let out a sigh of genuine exasperation.

"Why would you fix it? Even compared to Dongryong, you won't be able to step in more boldly anyway. As long as you are with Dongryong, your swordsmanship will never become more aggressive."

"..."

Was there anyone who could be happy hearing that they had zero potential for further development?

Geumpyo's complexion only grew darker.

Just as his chest was being pierced deeply by his detestable Eldest Senior Brother's words, pouring blood everywhere.

"Instead."

The Eldest Senior Brother continued.

"You just have to develop it further."

"Pardon?"

Jin Sowoon pulled out the object he had been sitting on and handed it out.

"What is this?"

"It's an item that will make your wrong habit no longer wrong."

Geumpyo blankly stared down at the object Jin Sowoon held out.

"... A shield?"

Jin Sowoon nodded.

"If protecting someone inside the sword array has become ingrained in your body anyway, then take on the role of blocking in earnest."

"..."

"Do you still feel aversion toward shields?"

Geumpyo vehemently shook his head.

Had it not been for the shield his Eldest Senior Brother gave him during the last standard exam, wouldn't he have nearly lost his life several times?

Since then, regardless of how others viewed it, his aversion to shields had completely vanished.

Jin Sowoon stood up.

"If you're going to hold a shield anyway, hold it properly. A shield that protects your brothers and your fellow disciples."

Then, he pressed the shield firmly into Geumpyo's hands.

"Furthermore, become the strongest shield that protects the Taiyi Sect."

"...!"

Every single word from his Eldest Senior Brother made his chest throb.

Jin Sowoon's unwavering gaze rested on Geumpyo's face.

"From behind your sturdy shield, your brothers will swing their swords for you as much as they want."

The despair that he would end up being left behind lifted in an instant.

The face of his Eldest Senior Brother, shining brilliantly with genius, and the faces of his younger brothers and comrades no longer felt distant.

He didn't need to wield a sword as well as Dongryong, nor did he need to be as smart as Eunho.

Because while I protected them, my brothers would eliminate the enemies.

It felt as though he had finally found his role, his place.

He looked again at the shield his Eldest Senior Brother had handed him.

Wiping away the thick layer of accumulated dust, a vivid image of a dokkaebi was drawn on it.

From the object he had merely thought was an old antique, he felt an elegant, archaic beauty.

As Geumpyo was engrossed in the dokkaebi painting, his Eldest Senior Brother's voice reached his ears.

"The Vajra Shield. A divine artifact said to block all malice."

His voice caused a gentle ripple within Geumpyo's chest.

"A shield... that blocks all malice..."

Geumpyo muttered those same words continuously, as if it were his life's mission.

The chest that had been pounding with anxiety settled down, becoming heavy and solid.

"A shield to protect everyone..."

Geumpyo's voice rang out quietly and heavily.