Chapter 116: Intensive Training Week (1)

The next day, when the events of the Selection Ceremony were shared, Mo Yong So-hye was the first to react with delight.

“Wow! Myojinmun! Did you really draw that, Instructor?”

“Yes, with my golden hand.”

“Instructor, you’re amazing!”

As Mo Yong So-hye hugged him tightly, Baek Ri-seol frowned.

When asked what was wrong, she responded dejectedly.

“Hmm. Cats are cute, but I’m worried. They always run away when I try to pet them.”

“Sister! It’ll be fine!”

Mo Yong So-hye clenched her fist confidently.

“I’ve heard that the cats at Myojinmun are well-trained and very gentle.”

“Really?”

“They’ll surely come and rub against your feet if you stay still.”

“Hehe. Just thinking about it makes me happy.”

“Exactly! We just need to be careful not to die of cuteness overload.”

“Survive! Cuteness overload!”

*Clap. Clap.*

Watching them high-five and jump around happily, Namgung Yun-ho approached.

“Good job, Instructor.”

“It was the goddess of luck who did the work.”

“By the way, the Murim Excursion. I never thought I’d participate as an assistant.”

The former ghost of Dongcheon Hall seemed quite moved.

“It’s all thanks to you, Instructor.”

“That’s only natural.”

While Namgung Yun-ho was filled with emotion, Jegal Tan seemed worried about something else.

“Instructor, it’s fortunate that you have good luck with draws, but there’s something you need to remember.”

Seeing his serious expression, Cho Un-hwi felt uneasy.

‘Whenever he looks like this, trouble is sure to follow.’

As expected.

Jegal Tan brought up a troubling point.

“Did you receive anything after turning in the instructor logs before the draw?”

“I don’t think so… Oh, right.”

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.

It was a document given by Senior Instructor Jang Cheol-sim after he finished the miscellaneous tasks yesterday.

Having stuffed it into his pocket immediately, the paper had become crumpled and rolled into a small ball.

“Sorry, it got a bit crumpled.”

“…I expected as much.”

Jegal Tan, biting his lower lip, knelt and began to smooth out the paper.

Looking over his shoulder, Cho Un-hwi saw an ominous word appear on the slowly flattening paper.

“Oh, damn. No way.”

“That ‘no way’ is true.”

Holding the now tattered paper, Jegal Tan muttered gloomily.

“For the next month. Intensive Training Week before the Murim Excursion.”

It’s a special period to review the training in preparation for the real thing.

To Cho Un-hwi, it sounded like,

‘We’re screwed.’

***

Jegal Tan’s warning became reality immediately.

That night, long after the sun had set and just as he was about to sleep, unexpected visitors arrived.

“Temporary Instructor Cho Un-hwi!”

Throwing on some clothes and rushing out, he found a burly instructor in full uniform, flanked by about ten students.

“What’s the matter?”

“Didn’t you get the notice yesterday? It’s Intensive Training Week until the Murim Excursion.”

“I heard about it.”

I didn’t expect visitors at this hour.

Blinking, the instructor sighed.

“A temporary instructor, indeed…”

“Do I have to explain even the basics?”

“…”

Though he grumbled, it seemed it was Cho Un-hwi’s fault.

Remaining silent, the instructor frowned and tilted his head.

“Since you seem clueless, I’ll explain.”

So, Intensive Training Week is—

In summary, his explanation boiled down to three points.

– During Intensive Training Week, the final review of what was learned before the Murim Excursion is conducted.

– Any shortcomings are addressed, and known skills are applied in practical training.

– The final review ensures that potential accidents are prevented.

Listening, Cho Un-hwi tilted his head.

“Understood. But why train at night?”

Why not use the daytime?

The instructor replied.

“Do you only fight in the daytime?”

“Not really.”

“Exactly. Battles can happen at dawn, morning, evening, or night.”

That’s true.

What’s his point? The instructor answered directly.

“So, we’re going to experience nighttime combat in the swamp.”

“Nighttime combat?”

“And we’ll also try simple camping by the river at dawn.”

“Until dawn?”

Surprised, he received an odd look in return.

“Didn’t you know? This Sichuan East training ground is famous.”

“For what?”

“For survival and living training in various outdoor environments.”

“Ugh?”

I’ve never heard of this.

No one had come here before.

The truth he didn’t want to know followed.

“This place is known for accurately recreating the rugged terrain of Sichuan.”

“It even has the notoriously vicious Sichuan mountain mosquitoes.”

“That’s why people don’t want to come here if they can avoid it.”

“But it’s a popular training ground when the Murim Excursion is near.”

The grim reality made his head spin.

“Alright, let’s start the training. Get ready.”

“Get ready for what?”

“We need to set up and organize the training equipment and clean up afterward, right?”

His vision blurred.

***

Night training was just the beginning.

The next morning, other instructors arrived with their students.

They even argued over who would use the training ground.

“We’re already using this place. Find another one.”

“What? you trained yesterday, so it’s our turn.”

“The training isn’t complete yet.”

“Neither is ours.”

After a heated argument, they compromised by each taking a corner of the swamp for training.

The real problem came next.

By morning, five groups had arrived, and by noon, ten groups were at the entrance.

“What’s this? We were here first.”

“What are you talking about? We were here first!”

Raising voices was the least of it.

“Who’s in charge here?”

“Why is the equipment from the previous group still lying around?”

“You should have cleaned it up in advance!”

Watching people fight over the training ground or cleaning up equipment, Cho Un-hwi was pushed and pulled in all directions.

Instructors and students alike were noisy.

“Tch. I said I didn’t like this place.”

“Should we hide over there and rest?”

“What’s this dirty mat?”

“Look here. There’s even a treehouse.”

“That’s not allowed!”

When he blocked students eyeing his warm nest, they laughed mockingly.

“What? Temporary instructor?”

“Leave him. He looks pitiful, being in a lower-level training ground.”

“Hmm, he seems familiar.”

“Never mind. Is there any water around?”

It wasn’t difficult to fend off the sudden invaders.

But there were too many of them.

“Our turn is next! Ours!”

“What are you talking about? No way!”

In one corner of the swamp, instructors were shouting at each other.

“What is this? Think about the people waiting behind you!”

“The sun will set at this rate! Come on!”

Outside the swamp, new instructors were screaming.

“Oh, it broke.”

“Can’t be helped.”

“The flint is fine. Should we take it for later?”

“Tsk. What’s this? A worm farm? Why is this here? Should we overturn it?”

And then there were the students, poking around the swamp and making faces at each other.

Running around frantically, pulling out students bitten by Sichuan mountain bugs, preventing the worm farm from being destroyed, and stopping the recently acquired fishing rods from breaking, Cho Un-hwi suddenly remembered an old memory.

Long ago, when the Murim Alliance and the Iron Thread Alliance fell, and the masters of the righteous factions united for a final desperate stand.

‘There was a man called the Last Fighting King.’

An indomitable warrior, the last pride of the demonic faction.

A beast-like master whose presence alone made the masters of the Heavenly Destruction Society tremble.

After a long and bloody battle, seeing the approaching masters of the Heavenly Destruction Society, he said,

“They come like a pack of dogs. It’s like seeing my nephews.”

“Why mention nephews now?”

Curious, he asked, and the man replied,

“I have many siblings. My father was a womanizer.”

He had many mothers.

Muttering to himself, he shook his head.

“The Heavenly Destruction Society members are as persistent as my nephews.”

“Or maybe not? At least you can beat these guys.”

At the time, he thought it was a joke.

“Now I get it.”

It’s truly terrible when you can’t even beat them.

***

Arriving at the swamp late, just in time for the instructor’s wake-up time, Namgung Yun-ho was shocked.

“What happened here?”

The once tall grass was trampled.

The golden sandy riverbank was a mess.

The inside of the swamp was no better.

Amidst the chaotic footprints, the instructor sat alone on a tree stump.

Approaching, he found the instructor sitting on a small stump, arms resting on his legs, muttering to himself.

“So, it’s come to this.”

Jegal Tan, who arrived next, was equally surprised.

“Wow. It’s a complete mess. What happened?”

“Is the instructor tired of academy life? An outburst?”

Mo Yong So-hye and Baek Ri-seol were also visibly shocked by the trampled swamp.

“Instructor?”

Namgung Yun-ho asked, and a soulless response came back.

“Why is it like this?”

Instead of an answer, there was a muttering he couldn’t understand.

Jegal Tan seemed to understand the melancholic murmurs.

“It seems it started earlier than expected.”

“Started earlier?”

“The fight for the training ground. Outdoor training grounds are popular, so there’s often a competition for them before the Murim Excursion.”

“I see.”

But something’s strange.

Jegal Tan tilted his head.

“Where did everyone go? They wouldn’t have left already.”

“Maybe they left after seeing the mess.”

Mo Yong So-hye suggested, but Jegal Tan shook his head.

“No way. They wouldn’t give up such valuable survival training.”

For the first time, the instructor’s clear response came.

“They left.”

“Already?”

“I made them leave.”

How?

How could he send away so many instructors and students?

Curious, they waited, but instead of an answer, a question came.

“Jegal. I have a question.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Do we have to do this for a month?”

When he answered yes, the instructor picked up a piece of firewood.

Then, in a grim tone, he muttered,

“Dirty things need to be cleansed with fire.”

“Instructor?”

“Return this place to its original state and declare it a no-entry zone.”

“What are you doing?”

“Arson. To uphold justice!”

*Whoosh.*

As he wielded the burning firewood, Mo Yong So-hye screamed.

“Stop him!”

The four of them rushed at the instructor.

***

Dragging his exhausted body back to the dormitory, Wang Woo greeted him while sweeping the yard.

“You’re back?”

“…Ugh. You’re here? Ugh.”

“You didn’t like staying at the swamp, so why bother?”

“I don’t know. I need to sleep.”

As he sluggishly headed to his room, a meaningful comment came from behind.

“You seem to have had a hard time. Should I take care of it?”

“Take care of what?”

“The training ground issue.”

Hahaha.

Laughing rhythmically, Wang Woo spoke in a tempting voice.

“After all, I’m a recluse who dedicated his dreams to the future of the Jianghu.”

So now.

Just give the order.

“I’ll come up with a small scheme for you, my lord.”