Star Instructor, Master Baek

Once upon a time, Hyonwon Kang and Peng Sa-Hyuk were the best of friends.

“How are you…?”

“Hi!”

Not only were the two boys the same age, they were also fellow sons of Clan Heads who had been playing with wooden blades since they could walk.

“Would you like to play with me?”

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“Yes!”

Back in those days, Hyonwon Kang’s father often visited the Peng Clan, and young Hyonwon Kang was thrilled to have a friend his age. However, he remained oblivious to the secrets surrounding the relationship between the Hyonwon Clan and the Hebei Peng Clan. He didn’t understand why his father frequently visited the Peng Clan and why he sighed deeply every time they went there.

“Sa-Hyuk! I’m here!”

Hyonwon Kang was happy just to see, play and spar with his friend.

“Ahaha! I won again!”

“Damn it! I’ll win next time!”

Their duels consistently ended in Hyonwon Kang’s favor. Peng Sa-Hyuk would clench his teeth after each loss, vowing to win next time, but Hyonwon Kang could easily see through his friend’s attacks.

“I’ll come back next time! Let’s play again then!”

“Make it soon!”

“Okay!”

However, as they grew older, Hyonwon Kang began to sense that something was amiss. The members of the Peng Clan wore finer clothes and enjoyed better food and wine than the Hyonwon Clan, but at his young age, he couldn’t quite grasp the significance of these differences.

That ended one day, when they were both eleven years old.

“Kang! Let’s duel! I’ll win this time!”

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“Okay, go for it!”

Their duel after almost half a year was particularly intense. By then, Peng Sa-Hyuk had begun to learn the family’s specialty, the Five Tiger Demolition Blade, and his inner qi had increased severalfold. Hyonwon Kang had also begun to practice the Earth Shattering Blade, but because it was incomplete, his skill and qi were no match for the Five Tiger Demolition Blade.

Even so, I won’t lose!

Despite the shortcomings of his technique, Hyonwon Kang’s inborn talent more than made up for it. Dodging dangerous attacks and improvising moves, he targeted a weakness in Peng Sa-Hyuk’s defense and swung his blade with determination.

However, Peng Sa-Hyuk wasn’t going to give up that easily. He skillfully evaded the attack and launched his own counterattack, determined to defeat Hyonwon Kang.

As their blades clashed and their attacks intermingled…

“OWW!”

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Hyonwon Kang’s blade accidentally struck Peng Sa-Hyuk’s head. Blood flowed from the wound as Peng Sa-Hyuk lost consciousness, causing the Peng Clan’s vassals to rush to the scene in a panic.

“Young Master!”

“Young Master!”

Both boys were novices in martial arts, so minor injuries were commonplace. However, seeing their Young Master bleeding from the head, the Peng Clan’s vassals were infuriated.

“How dare you use a lethal technique on Young Master!?”

“Have you no mercy?”

“If anything happens to Young Master, your life is forfeit!”

“Hyonwon! It’s them again!”

“Hurry, get Young Master to the physician!”

In the face of the martial artists’ overwhelming anger, Hyonwon Kang was left speechless and trembling. The injured Peng Sa-Hyuk was rushed to the clinic, and the Clan Heads of the Hebei Peng Clan and the Hyonwon Clan were alerted.

“…Did you use a lethal technique on my son?” the Peng Clan Head asked in a low voice.

In spite of his calm demeanor, Hyonwon Kang found the head of the Peng clan to be far more terrifying than the previous vassals.

“I-I…” Young Hyonwon Kang trembled in sheer terror, as if facing a colossal tiger. One wrong word, and he feared he’d be torn apart.

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At that moment…

“Clan Head!” Hyonwon Kang’s father squeezed between him and the Peng Clan Head, and knelt down without hesitation. “I apologize on behalf of my son. Please forgive him just this once. My son did this without knowing anything.”

The Peng Clan Head was taken aback. He hadn’t expected a head of a family to get down on his knees for the sake of his son.

“Clan Head, you know these two children have been close since childhood.”

“…Just because I let them play together, you think my son is the same as yours?”

“No, of course not. They’re not the same. It’s all my son’s fault.”

The Clan Head of the Peng Clan clicked his tongue. Just then, a messenger brought them news that Peng Sa-Hyuk was safe. However, the Peng Clan’s Clan Head remained displeased with the situation.

“Leave. I’ll forgive you just this once.”

“Thank you very much. The mercy of the Peng Clan is greatly appreciated.”

“Don’t bring him here again.”

“Yes. I won’t let him near the Young Master again.”

That day, on their way home, Hyonwon Kang noticed that his father’s face seemed to have aged a decade.

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“Dad…”

“Don’t say anything. I want to rest today.”

“…Okay.”

From then on, Hyonwon Kang never visited the Hebei Peng Clan again. Although he received many letters from Peng Sa-Hyuk, he never answered any of them and tore them up.

The next time they met, they were both fifteen years old and had just enrolled in the Azure Dragon Academy.

“Is that all?” Peng Sa-Hyuk regarded Hyonwon Kang with disappointment.

Before him, Hyonwon Kang knelt on the ground, his clothes torn, lips bleeding, and his body battered. In stark contrast, Peng Sa-Hyuk’s sleeve was only slightly torn, and he wasn’t even out of breath.

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Onlookers gasped at this lopsided outcome.

“That Hyonwon Kang was beaten to a pulp…”

“Peng Sa-Hyuk is that powerful?”

“That’s one of the Five Great Clans’ Young Masters for you! He’s in a league of his own.”

“Then why isn’t he participating in the Heavenly Martial Festival…?”

“Shut up!” Peng Sa-Hyuk silenced the chattering students. He was in no mood to celebrate. Although he had defeated Hyonwon Kang for the first time, it didn’t bring him any joy.

CRUNCH, CRUNCH.

Peng Sa-Hyuk ground his teeth and shot Hyonwon Kang a piercing look. “Did you really think it would be the same as when we were kids?” he asked.

“……”

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“While you were drowning in alcohol, I was training relentlessly. While you wallowed in self-pity, I pushed myself to the limit to get stronger.”

“Hahaha… Of course,” Hyonwon Kang chuckled, his eyes burning with sarcasm. “I’m sure you’ve been guzzling those expensive elixirs your clan provides, learning from the best instructors, and mastering secret martial arts passed down through generations. If you’re still weaker than me after all that, then you’re truly a worthless good-for-nothing.”

Peng Sa-Hyuk’s eyes flared with anger, but he merely snorted in response. “Did you spend your entire life honing your tongue instead of your martial arts?”

“Well, I don’t need elixirs, secret techniques, or a prestigious family to sharpen my tongue.”

“So what if you don’t have those?”

“…What?”

Peng Sa-Hyuk regarded Hyonwon Kang with a pitiable expression. “What does my family background have to do with you?”

“Are you seriously saying that…!” Hyonwon Kang tried to rise, but at that very moment, Peng Sa-Hyuk delivered a swift kick to his abdomen.

THWACK!

“Fuck you!” Hyonwon Kang grunted, clutching his stomach.

Standing above him, Peng Sa-Hyuk leaned in closer. “Let me ask you something.”

“Go to hell, you motherf…”

“Do you honestly believe that if you surpassed me in strength, I would use my clan’s influence to oppress the Hyonwon Clan?”

“……” Hyonwon Kang couldn’t respond.

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“Do I seem like that kind of person to you?”

“……” Hyonwon Kang had never shared this story with anyone, but he remembered the humiliation and grief his father endured at the Peng Clan on that fateful day. The scornful looks of the Hebei Peng Clan vassals and the cold indifference of the Clan Head. Over time, he had come to expect Peng Sa-Hyuk to be no different from them.

“Answer me. You’ve got nowhere to run,” Peng Sa-Hyuk growled, reaching out and grabbing a handful of Hyonwon Kang’s disheveled hair.

They were so close that Hyonwon Kang could feel Peng Sa-Hyuk’s breath on his skin.

“Do I really look like the kind of asshole who would do that?!”

“…You never know.”

SLAP!

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Hyonwon Kang’s body recoiled from the blow to his face.

“Listen up, Hyonwon Kang. As an old friend, I’ll give you one last piece of advice.” Peng Sa-Hyuk’s eyes blazed with rage. For a moment, when Hyonwon Kang had asked him for a duel, he’d actually hoped that they could repair their relationship.

Oh how wrong he was. Hyonwon Kang’s inferiority complex was likely the worst in the school.

“Don’t ever cross paths with me again. If you spot me from a hundred paces away, steer clear, because if I ever see your face again… I’ll crush you like an insect,” Peng Sa-Hyuk threatened.

“……”

“Pathetic wretch.” Peng Sa-Hyuk spat on the ground, spun on his heel, and stomped out of the training grounds.

One by one, the watching students departed as well. Hyonwon Kang was left alone, sprawled on the floor.

“Damn it…”

He had lost. Well, he never expected to win. As Peng Sa-Hyuk had said, while he was idling away his time, Peng Sa-Hyuk had worked tirelessly to be worthy of being the heir of one of the Five Great Clans.

Why did he even come to the Azure Dragon Academy?

All the other heirs of the Five Great Clans were training at the Heavenly Martial Academy, yet Peng Sa-Hyuk had opted for the Azure Dragon Academy. That choice had turned heads, enough that nobody cared that the heir of the fallen Hyonwon Clan had also enrolled.

“Hyonwon Kang! Long time no see!”

Suddenly, he recalled the freshman welcome ceremony three years ago. Before the event commenced, Peng Sa-Hyuk had spotted him from afar and approached him.

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“What have you been up to all these years? I sent you numerous letters, did you receive them? I wanted to visit your house, but my father wouldn’t allow it…”

“…Get lost.”

“…What?”

“Fuck off, I said.”

He turned and walked away, ignoring Peng Sa-Hyuk… then avoided him like the plague for the next three years.

Gradually, Peng Sa-Hyuk attitude toward him changed.

“Oi, Hyonwon. What crap have you been drinking today? You reek of alcohol.”

“…Mind your own business.”

“Pathetic loser. Are you going to live like this forever?”

While Hyonwon Kang spiraled into delinquency, Peng Sa-Hyuk rose to prominence, seizing power within the Club Union. Alongside Student Council President Dokgo Jun, he quickly became one of Azure Dragon Academy’s most prodigious students.

The only difference was that, unlike Dokgo Jun, who participated in the Heavenly Martial Festival every year, Peng Sa-Hyuk had never taken part in it.

Why doesn’t he participate? Is he scared of losing?

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If he enters the Heavenly Martial Festival, his incompetence will be revealed.

Here, he’s a king. In the Heavenly Martial Festival, he might not even make it past the first round of the Dragon Pheonix Tournament.

Students gossiped behind Peng Sa-Hyuk’s back, criticizing him for abstaining from the Heavenly Martial Festival. They viewed him as someone who had chosen to be a big fish in a small pond rather than face the competitive environment of the Heavenly Martial Academy.

However, Hyonwon Kang thought differently. That can’t be true. There’s no way he enrolled in the Azure Dragon Academy just to avoid competition. Even as a child, he constantly challenged himself, saying he would win one day even if he lost every time. With such a competitive spirit, he couldn’t have chosen the Azure Dragon Academy over the Heavenly Martial Academy out of fear. So why… why did Peng Sa-Hyuk come here?

Suddenly, a thought struck him.

“Do I seem like that kind of person to you?”

Was it because of me? That’s absurd. He followed me to Azure Dragon Academy because of a fleeting childhood friendship?

“Do I really look like the kind of asshole who would do that?!”

Impossible.

“Hah, that’s ridiculous…” Hyonwon Kang gazed at the overcast sky with a dazed expression.

PITTER-PATTER…

Raindrops began to fall, gradually intensifying into a downpour.

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SHWAAA…

“It’s just one misfortune after another. Is this what they call ‘getting beaten to a pulp in the rain’? Fuck… This is turning out to be one shitty day.” Hyonwon Kang grumbled, using his arm to shield his face from the pouring rain. The rain seeped into his wounds, causing a burning sensation, but he didn’t feel like getting up.

“Hi!”

“Do you want to fight me?”

“Damn it! I’ll win next time!”

“Bring it on!”

“OWW!”

Standing in the rain, memories of their childhood resurfaced. Hyonwon Kang wished they could all be washed away by the rain, dissolving into oblivion.

Suddenly, the rain ceased falling on his face.

SHWAAA…

He could still hear the rain, but the raindrops no longer reached him.

“What are you doing here?” a familiar voice asked.

Hyonwon Kang lowered the arm that covered his face. A man with an umbrella stood over him, peering down.