Chapter 44
Guest Instructor for a Day (1)
The following day, Baek So-cheon arrived at the special mechanism training ground.
One only had to see the place to understand why the word special had been attached to its name. At the same time, it offered clear proof of just how advanced the Murim Alliance’s mechanism and formation techniques had become.
The mechanisms themselves were exceptionally well constructed, but what truly made this training ground special was that the difficulty could be adjusted.
Because of that, everyone could train here, from warriors of the Water Purification Corps and Reinforcement Corps, whose martial arts were comparatively weak, to the elite warriors of the Secret Pavilion and the Iron Sword Corps.
This was a practical combat training ground.
Nothing was held back.
Attacks even more dangerous than those encountered in actual combat came flying at the trainees, and it was entirely possible to be injured or killed here.
In fact, several people died during training every year.
There were five difficulty levels:
Low, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate, High, and Extreme.
The intermediate level alone was divided into two because the largest number of martial artists fell within that range of ability.
Iron Sword Corps warriors usually trained at High difficulty, while Secret Pavilion warriors trained at Extreme difficulty.
They took great pride in being able to train at those levels.
Of the Iron Sword Corps’ seven units, two were currently away on missions.
The remaining five units had all gathered here today.
The moment Baek So-cheon appeared, everyone’s attention turned toward him.
He paused and looked over the assembled warriors.
First Unit Leader Hwang Il-bi was there, as was Third Squad Leader No Ung.
Most of the others were familiar faces as well.
Baek So-cheon had served in the Iron Sword Corps, moved up to the Secret Pavilion, and then returned to the Iron Sword Corps again.
Of all the organizations he had belonged to during his time in the Murim Alliance, he had spent the longest here.
“Have you all been well?”
“Yes, sir!”
A thunderous reply rang out.
The atmosphere was not bad.
Everyone had their own opinion of Baek So-cheon, but none of them harbored any serious resentment or grudge against him.
Baek So-cheon had caused many incidents, but most had involved disobeying orders or expressing dissatisfaction with his superiors.
He had never once tormented his subordinates.
Of course, some among them disapproved of how he had wandered from his path.
Yet they had once respected him and regarded him as a hero.
After all those conflicting feelings had been added and subtracted, their emotions had settled at a reasonable middle ground.
“Commander Chung has given his permission, so I’ll be serving as your instructor for the day.”
“Welcome, sir!”
Another powerful response erupted.
“All right. Let’s begin.”
Mechanism training consisted of two stages: the first was horizontal training, and the second was vertical training.
The horizontal course required trainees to pass through a corridor filled with flying hidden weapons.
They had to advance while avoiding projectiles launched from the front, rear, left, and right.
The vertical course required them to climb upward while hidden weapons rained down upon them.
It was more difficult than the first course, but surprisingly, this type of situation occurred more often in real combat.
Enemies usually concealed themselves on higher ground and attacked from above.
Baek So-cheon suddenly made an unexpected declaration.
“I’ll demonstrate first.”
Everyone was startled.
No one had imagined that Baek So-cheon would personally demonstrate the course.
They believed it was impossible to pass this training ground without internal energy.
Hwang Il-bi immediately stepped forward.
“You cannot!”
Since Chung Yang constantly accused him of taking Baek So-cheon’s side, Hwang Il-bi had intended not to interfere unless absolutely necessary.
This matter, however, directly concerned Baek So-cheon’s life.
Even Hwang Il-bi himself could die in this training if he lost focus.
“Why? Are you worried I’ll die in there?”
Hwang Il-bi could not bring himself to answer yes.
“It cannot be passed without internal energy.”
“It can.”
Baek So-cheon addressed the warrior responsible for operating the mechanisms.
“Prepare the course.”
“What difficulty would you like?”
“Set it to the usual level.”
“The Iron Sword Corps normally trains at High difficulty. Will that be all right?”
The operator asked worriedly.
He also knew that Baek So-cheon had lost his internal energy.
“It will be fine.”
At that exact moment, someone spoke.
“Since you have come all this way, why not demonstrate at Extreme difficulty?”
The speaker was Sixth Unit Leader Cheon su .
Baek So-cheon looked at him.
Cheon su was trying his best to appear composed, but his expression seemed strangely stiff.
Baek So-cheon had never formed an especially close relationship with him.
Cheon su had always been taciturn, but Baek So-cheon remembered him following orders faithfully.
He had often been the first to move when Baek So-cheon issued a command, and a single word of praise would bring an awkward smile to that normally expressionless face.
If so, the reason he had stepped forward was simple.
Chung Yang must have ordered him to do it.
“Very well.”
When Baek So-cheon accepted without hesitation, the assembled warriors grew restless.
Extreme difficulty was a level even they could not complete.
It was so dangerous that even Secret Pavilion warriors skipped training if they were not in perfect condition that day.
“Unit Leader Cheon!”
Hwang Il-bi shouted angrily at him.
Cheon su had joined the organization two years after Hwang Il-bi.
“What kind of reckless suggestion is that to make to someone who has not yet fully recovered from his injuries?”
Hwang Il-bi had intended to stop Baek So-cheon from demonstrating even at High difficulty.
Extreme difficulty was practically the same as asking him to die.
“I merely made a suggestion.”
“You should think before making one.”
“If Instructor Baek believed it was impossible, he would have refused.”
“You bastard! What do you think you’re doing?”
“Watch your words!”
The two men glared fiercely at one another.
Baek So-cheon stepped between them and spoke gently.
“I’m fine. Unit Leader Cheon is right. If I cannot do it, then I should be the one to say so.”
Hwang Il-bi asked anxiously,
“Are you truly certain?”
Everyone else looked at Baek So-cheon with similar concern.
“Do you know why I accepted the role of guest instructor today?”
“No, sir.”
“I didn’t come merely to see familiar faces or to show everyone that I’m still capable.”
“Then why did you come?”
“Because I wanted to help you as an instructor.”
Everyone was surprised once again.
They had all assumed that today’s event was merely another part of the political conflict between Baek So-cheon and Chung Yang.
No one had expected Baek So-cheon to come with the genuine intention of teaching them.
Baek So-cheon spoke seriously, making it clear that he meant every word.
“As you have already experienced, when war breaks out, you will be the ones assigned the most dangerous and important battles. I hope today’s training will help even slightly in keeping you alive when that time comes. In that sense, seeing how Extreme difficulty should be handled might indeed prove useful.”
Baek So-cheon turned to the mechanism operator.
“Set the difficulty to Extreme.”
“Understood.”
Amid the tense atmosphere, the mechanisms were adjusted to Extreme difficulty.
Baek So-cheon selected a practice sword and several training daggers from a nearby rack, then stood at the entrance to the course.
From his days in the Iron Sword Corps through his time in the Secret Pavilion, Baek So-cheon had trained here countless times.
There had once been a time when he could pass through it with his eyes closed.
He was still confident.
If the physical strength he had painstakingly built and the wondrous movement techniques of the Nine Fists That Overturn Heaven could compensate for the absence of internal energy, he would be able to do it.
“Beginning the course!”
At the operator’s shout, Baek So-cheon launched himself inside without hesitation.
Swish! Swish!
Hidden weapons flew from both sides.
Despite being the first attack, they were not gentle.
They came fast and viciously, aimed directly at the vital points of whoever entered.
Even the warriors watching nearby flinched.
Clang! Clang!
Baek So-cheon deflected the hidden weapons and stepped forward.
Brief exclamations escaped from the spectators.
It was not merely because he had knocked the weapons aside.
His movements seemed to demonstrate the correct method for handling two projectiles approaching from opposite sides at identical speeds.
Baek So-cheon shifted his body to the left, effectively causing the weapon from that side to reach him first.
He then deflected the left and right projectiles in succession.
Clang! Clang!
The next three daggers were handled in much the same way.
His method clearly demonstrated how dealing with three weapons differed from dealing with two.
He avoided one and deflected the other two.
From the seamless flow of his movements, it was easy to understand which one should be avoided and why.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
The types of hidden weapons became increasingly varied, while their numbers continued to grow.
Baek So-cheon moved as though he still possessed internal energy.
He was swift, precise, and disciplined.
More importantly, he was performing the role of instructor exceptionally well.
Unlike other organizations, the instructors of the Iron Sword Corps were usually squad leaders and unit leaders who took turns overseeing training.
Yet Baek So-cheon’s demonstration surpassed that of every one of them.
At times, he knocked weapons away with his sword.
At others, he avoided them with footwork.
He also threw daggers to intercept incoming attacks before they could reach him.
The warrior operating the mechanisms suddenly had a thought.
If there were some way to preserve this sight, he would want to show it to every martial artist who trained here.
He would present it as the perfect example of how to pass through this course.
The final attack consisted of nine hidden weapons.
Swishswishswishswishswishswishswishswishswish!
They came pouring down like rain.
It was the sort of attack that filled one with despair—the kind where a person might manage to deflect three or four, only to be forced to take the rest with their own body.
Baek So-cheon moved with incredible speed.
He deflected some with his sword.
He threw daggers with his other hand.
He avoided those he could not block.
He even used one deflected hidden weapon to strike another out of the air.
It was a complete defense incorporating every possible method.
The first thought that arose in everyone’s mind was:
So that really is possible.
That amazement was quickly followed by a burning desire to accomplish the same thing themselves.
After dealing with all nine hidden weapons, Baek So-cheon passed safely through the gate.
Everyone stared at him in stunned silence, unable to find the words to speak.
Hwang Il-bi was the first to break the silence.
“Are you certain you truly lost your internal energy?”
“Actually, I didn’t. I’ve been deceiving all of you.”
At those words, everyone swallowed hard.
“I wish I could say that.”
It should have been a moment that drew at least a few chuckles.
Instead, the training ground remained silent.
The thought had genuinely crossed their minds that he might have been deceiving them.
“Judging from your reactions, it seems my training was not wasted. You may not know this, but over the past three years, I truly worked myself to death. When my situation became unbearable, I found myself wishing circumstances would change. But things only grew worse. They never improved. So I decided to change myself instead. I was afraid people would see the miserable sight of me trying and failing, so every night, I trained somewhere no one could see.”
Baek So-cheon made no attempt to hide his abilities or boast before the Iron Sword Corps warriors.
He simply spoke honestly.
Just as he still held meaning for them, they held meaning for him.
They had once been subordinates he valued as much as his own life.
“Never get injured. Every day of my recovery was absolute hell.”
They all understood how much effort was required to move the way he had.
This was not something he had accomplished simply because he had once been the greatest under heaven.
It was purely the result of relentless physical training.
Everyone silently stared at Baek So-cheon.
Even those who had disliked him felt respect, at least in that moment, for the effort he had made.
“Now that the demonstration is over, we begin training.”
Baek So-cheon lowered the difficulty to High.
He did not engage in the childish revenge of ordering Cheon su to attempt Extreme difficulty merely because he had suggested it.
Nor did he give the visibly uncomfortable man any meaningful look.
Baek So-cheon had already guessed that Cheon su had acted under Chung Yang’s orders, so he understood.
Why would Cheon su have wanted to do such a thing?
He had merely followed the command he had been given.
These were warriors of the Iron Sword Corps who had survived countless hardships.
Baek So-cheon trusted that each of them had their own thoughts and judgment.
“First Unit, First Squad will begin. Lose focus for even a moment, and you will die! Start!”
The warriors of the First Unit began passing through the mechanism course.
Baek So-cheon encouraged them with the booming voice of a true instructor.
“Stay focused!”
“Watch the hidden weapons properly!”
“Your hands and feet are too slow! Move faster!”
With so many trainees, mistakes were inevitable.
“Careful!”
Just as a hidden weapon was about to strike an Iron Sword Corps warrior, a training dagger thrown by Baek So-cheon knocked it aside.
“Focus!”
The warrior had no time even to offer thanks.
He deflected the remaining hidden weapons and continued forward.
In this way, all the warriors passed through the first mechanism course.
There were several close calls, and whenever a truly dangerous moment arose, Baek So-cheon intervened to prevent injury.
Once the first horizontal course had ended, Baek So-cheon stood before them.
“You all did well.”
At least within this training ground, it felt as though the Baek So-cheon of his prime had returned.
It was not the overwhelming presence created by internal energy or force of spirit.
Nor was it simply because of the astonishing demonstration he had shown earlier.
The heat beginning to fill the training ground came from change.
It came from seeing Baek So-cheon, who had once wandered aimlessly and caused countless incidents, return with a serious and focused demeanor.
Chung Yang had intended to use today’s training to prove that Baek So-cheon was a washed-up relic.
Instead, events were unfolding in the exact opposite direction.
Baek So-cheon spoke to the warrior responsible for the mechanisms.
“Let’s proceed to the second, vertical course.”
The operator activated the mechanisms.
Rumble!
The surrounding walls rose high into the air, and the training ground began to transform.