-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Midterms Are Coming (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Time, you know.
When you're living through it, it feels slow, but looking back, it flies by incredibly fast.
It feels like just yesterday Ruri was stumbling through her congratulatory speech at the entrance ceremony, her voice barely a whisper, timid and hunched.
[Ruri: Bring me some candy sticks when you come.]
Now, she's practically got me wrapped around her little finger, twisting me however she pleases.
As I was buying a whole bag full of candy sticks in Baekhwa City, I suddenly felt like crying.
Just the other day, I tried to subtly resist, but...
"You don't want to?"
She casually swayed her smartphone, a slight smirk playing on her lips.
It was as if she was implying she'd expose the precious collection in my gallery, so I had no choice but to back down...
Unable to suppress my curiosity, I asked how she'd managed to unlock my pattern.
"I saw it."
Wasn't she just brazenly confessing to the heinous act of peeking into someone else's smartphone?
I could only conclude that these Demonic Cult members are truly not to be trifled with.
Still, it was a small comfort that I was now on informal terms with this kid who was almost too young to even be called a 'young lady'.
Honestly, speaking formally to Ruri always felt a bit awkward and unnatural.
[Baekhwa Academy Gallery]
[Anonymous / Introducing the 5-Day Warrior Exam Study Method from the Western Regions (17)]
[Anonymous / Shocking) They say there are no plum blossoms on Mount Hua? Then why is it called Plum Blossom Sword Art? Is it a scam? (8)]
[DepressedPrincess / Princess-chanㅠㅠㅠMidterms are so awfulㅠㅜㅠㅠReally awfullllㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ (7)]
[2ndYearVeteran / Anyone have the 'Understanding Ascending Sword Arts' cheat sheet in PDF???? Pleaseㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ (0)]
[Anonymous / Namgoong Sang << Is this guy really from the Namgoong Clan? Why is he such an idiot? (2)]
[NightEmperor / Sharing a story about stabbing an older sister's dantian with sword qi (Pics Included) (37)]
Grinning, I watched the Baekhwa Gallery, where today, too, mental breakdowns, character assassinations, fishing for attention, and peace flowed freely.
As the fully bloomed plum blossoms scattered their petals everywhere, I took it all in and headed towards our meeting spot.
"Young Master! Over here! Hehe."
Today, too, she was 100% generous, 100% refreshing, and 100%... well, ample-chested.
Narang Sojeo, who could make anyone feel warm and fuzzy just by looking at her, greeted me brightly like a spring breeze.
"Candy sticks."
Ruri, who had been sprawled out at the desk with a bored expression, glided over like an autumn chill, eyeing my bag of candy sticks.
"Here."
I took out a candy stick and handed it to her.
She bit into it and began to suck on it.
She's kind of cute when she's eating.
"Hehe. It seems Ruri really looks up to Young Master! You two look just like siblings, it's so nice to see!"
"Haha, do we?"
I deliberately ignored the slight frown forming on Ruri's brow as I agreed with Narang Sojeo.
Now that I think about it, she really reminds me of a brazen younger sister who's always trying to get one over on me.
Sigh... Why did I end up with a spiteful younger sister instead of a kind and gentle older sister...?
Still, it's a relief she doesn't act like a tyrant in front of Narang Sojeo.
I guess she's trying to maintain her image as a roommate.
The group originally started as a training session for the Heavenly Spirit Reversal Art, but...
Lately, with midterms approaching, it had also become a study group.
I could be a beacon of light for the ladies gathered here.
Namely, the cheat sheets!
Yunhak, despite being from one of the Nine Great Sects, had been scurrying around, gathering written exam cheat sheets, which I generously shared with Ruri and Narang Sojeo.
Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.
Demonic Heavenly Cult.
Myriad Gold Treasury.
Let's Go.
Looking at it this way, this group really has no common ground...
"Hmm, what was this stance called again?"
"Ah. That's the Paired Wings Stance. It's easy to confuse with the Crane Wings Stance, but you can distinguish them by remembering that the Paired Wings Stance has the arms extended, while the Crane Wings Stance has them folded."
"Aha!"
Actually, Yunhak would be better at teaching than me, but...
He also has that phobia of women, and lately, I've been practicing social distancing with Yunhak.
"Haha. Geum-hyung! How does it feel to reach the pinnacle?"
"I, too, wish to reach the pinnacle soon!"
"Haah, what must it feel like to reach the pinnacle..."
"Today, I shall definitely reach the pinnacle! Energyyyyyy!"
That bastard.
His expressions are utterly f*ck... no, strange.
Every time I heard him, his excessive obsession with the 'pinnacle' sent shivers down my spine.
So, I've just been channeling a Buddha, muttering a few plausible phrases like, 'Wield it, for it is already within you,' and then ignoring him.
Moyong Taek?
That bastard is obsessed with mahjong.
"Ha, the dream of a 'one-pass' I couldn't achieve yesterday is still vivid in my mind, so I have no choice but to go to the Peerless National Mahjong Tournament again today!"
"Even before arriving, the tiles are particularly vivid in my mind today, so I must be lucky today, I'm sure I'll be lucky today!"
For the written exam, you just need to memorize the cheat sheets.
He's been spouting nonsense like 'for the practical exam, just do well on your own' and wandering around like a carefree loafer.
It felt like he'd lose an arm soon enough.
Still.
If I just stood by and watched my friend go astray, I wouldn't be a true friend.
So, every time Moyong Taek lingered around the Peerless National Mahjong Tournament, I'd bang the parent's complaint drum!
I'd report it directly to Sister Seol.
And I talked down the 'Chicken Dad' who had the scam-coin-seller idea of skipping the written exam entirely, making him prepare for the highest-difficulty written exam.
...I couldn't bring myself to tell Narang Sojeo, though.
When I whispered to Ruri that it was a 'prank' instead of 'bread,' I remember her lips curling upwards on both sides for the first time.
Indeed, like a wicked Demonic Cult descendant, she seemed to be the type to revel in others' misfortune.
Of course, I grinned along with her.
The greatest truth of all time.
As long as it's not me.
"Give me more."
"Your teeth will rot."
"Give me more."
"Young Master? Please give me the candy stick bag. Now, Ruri. Let's eat candy sticks after you memorize this, okay?"
"Ugh..."
Unable to bear watching my pitiful self being robbed of my candy sticks right before her eyes, Narang Sojeo initiated her 'knowledge-based auto-grinding' session.
Truly a reliable 'bag of virtues'!
Filling the romance of campus life that I couldn't complete in my previous life like this...
What is happiness, really?
This is happiness.
From now on, too.
I hope this peaceful daily life continues without any incidents or accidents.
* * *
As the students slowly succumbed to the creeping dread of midterms.
There were others who were tightening their belts of tension just as much as the students.
"Amitabha, it's about time we decided on the format for the midterms."
In the conference room where all the instructors were gathered.
The academy head, sitting at the head of the table──
Grandmaster Wolsong, the academy head, declared 'Buddha' and posed the question.
A heavy silence settled over the room.
Baekhwa Academy's midterms usually consisted of two types.
A written exam to assess their understanding of martial arts, and...
A practical exam to see if they could apply what they knew, were conducted together.
While the written exam was simple enough to prepare for based on their respective course subjects, the practical exam was an entirely different matter.
Objectively assessing the students' martial arts proficiency was a challenge in itself, but conflicts also frequently arose during the process.
"Let each of you speak your mind."
The gazes of all the seated instructors momentarily crisscrossed the room.
And, according to history and tradition, a seniority-based order was established.
"...For the foundational sword arts course, evaluation will be done through sparring with an instructor."
The lowest-ranking, youngest instructor.
Moyong Seol's voice was the first to break the silence.
It would have been fortunate if merely stating her position was the end of it, but...
The reason everyone held their tongues──
"Amitabha. What, how, through what process, and by what metric will this sparring be evaluated?"
Grandmaster Wolsong's 'old-timer' power exploded without restraint.
There was only one reason why Moyong Seol was specifically chosen as the scapegoat.
It was so that while one person was thoroughly grilled, everyone else could figure out what kind of nitpicks would be made and prepare accordingly.
Moyong Seol was well aware of this.
That's why she really didn't want to speak up.
She had hoped to submit the draft she'd worked on all night as a document for evaluation.
But what could she do?
If she didn't like it, she should've gained more seniority.
With Moyong Seol being 'threshed' by Grandmaster Wolsong in real-time as background music, Seo Dohui fell into deep thought.
Originally, she had planned to call in a few bandit chiefs, just throw them in, and...
...let these righteous sect youngsters get a taste of the Green Forest's might as a trial run.
But look at her proud disciple.
Hadn't he achieved the 'pinnacle' at a young age just by diligently following her teaching philosophy, and he wasn't even from a prestigious sect?
Indeed, real combat is the best.
Therefore, the practical midterm exam for the 'Understanding Demonic Martial Arts' course should also be prepared in a practical, real-combat manner.
Although it's not entirely reliable, she could still exploit that Tang Family guy like a slave.
If she mobilized the entire Medicinal Hall, they would surely be able to treat anyone who happened to be hit by a stray blade.
A master whom the disciples couldn't handle,
nor the instructors, nor even I, could handle?
Why would such a formidable being wander aimlessly around the Central Plains?
They'd probably be shouting 'Long Live the Cult Leader!' in the Heavenly Mountains or the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
Or they'd be cackling wildly, splattering blood everywhere.
No matter how insane those Blood Cultists are, they wouldn't easily set foot in Shaanxi, where the Jongnam, Mount Hua, and Baekhwa Academy stand firm.
A moment later.
Just as a pale-faced Moyong Seol was finally freed from the 'old-timer octopus head'.
"The midterm for the 'Understanding Demonic Martial Arts' course will be a field practical to Mount Taebaek. We've received intelligence that some bandit remnants are holed up there, plotting something. We'll sweep them out together."
Seo Dohui detonated a bombshell in the meeting room, which had become significantly lax due to Moyong Seol's sacrifice.
* * *
"Shaanxi, at last."
Strange fellows not seen in Gansu.
The Sword Demon immediately realized it as soon as he saw the bandits chanting a slogan he'd never heard before, 'We prepare the way,' which had only appeared a few years prior.
Since he had already freely cut down the demonic bandits,
there was no need to kill these guys who would let him pass if he just paid.
Shimmering.
By infusing sword qi into his blade, the Sword Demon, who had effectively won free passage, smiled faintly and leisurely passed through the toll road for free.
To commemorate setting foot on Shaanxi soil for the first time since the Righteous-Demonic War,
the Sword Demon decided to see if there were truly any individuals with proper intellect here and took out his smartphone.
[Shaanxi Gallery]
[Author: SwordDrunkNightWalker]
[Title: Is.there.anyone.who.wants.to.talk.about.the.Three.Kingdoms.with.me.?]
[Honestly.I.think.the.Romance.of.the.Three.Kingdoms.ends.at.Wuzhang.Plains...If.you.disagree.you're.a.Wei.spy.or.a.Shu.fan.lol.ㅎㅎ.]
"Heh heh."
After posting a message containing nothing but clear historical truth, the Sword Demon let out a satisfied smile.
Now that he thought about it.
Zhuge Liang, that great star bestowed by heaven.
Wasn't Shaanxi precisely where that great strategist, whose brilliance was beyond measure, lay sleeping?
He rarely came to the Central Plains anyway, so perhaps he should go take a look.
The Sword Demon spontaneously decided on his next destination.
To Wuzhang Plains, at the edge of Mount Taebaek, where the star had fallen.