novelraw Chapter 172 : Preparing for Graduation (2)
Chapter 172 : Preparing for Graduation (2)
There is a spy from the Demonic Cult in this academy.
It had been a long time since the Martial Academy became the Demonic Cult's biggest rival after the previous Heavenly Demon was killed by the Heaven-Shattering Demon, so it was not strange that there were one or two spies.
However, although the concept of a spy existed in the original story, the time I truly realized their existence was when Baek Hasin's secret was revealed this time.
‘The abduction at this time was a development that was not in the original story.’
It was bound to be suspicious that the Black Dragon Unit had come when Baek Hasin had just returned to his family after realizing his origin.
Considering the distance from the Demonic Cult, it meant that they had been grasping Baek Hasin's news from before.
‘The only one who can suspect his identity and track his movements in real time is a spy from the Martial Academy.’
Especially since unless one knew about the event where Baek Hasin discovered the Heavenly Demon's token by imbuing his mother's keepsake, the sword handle, with powerful qi, there was no way for another person to be sure of the guy's origin.
‘Presumably, Baek Hasin realized his birth in the Martial Academy.’
The condition was to learn the demonic art and implement a powerful qi.
After reaching the super-peak level, Baek Hasin had performed the rest of his daily routine at the Martial Academy, except for the time he had been active with me.
So he must have realized the secret of his bloodline at the academy as well.
‘If that fact was discovered, the sudden dispatch of the Black Dragon Unit is also understandable.’
But Baek Hasin was strictly a super-peak level master. There was no way he wouldn't have noticed the presence of a monitor.
He wouldn't have carelessly confirmed the token in front of others either.
‘But the fact that the secret was still revealed means only one thing. The opponent is a master who can avoid Baek Hasin's qi sense.’
Within the academy, only a professor-level person had that much skill.
So I had investigated all the professors in the academy with Go Du-gyeong, but I couldn't see any clear peculiarities.
However, there was one person who was suspicious.
‘Woo Hee-ryeong.’
If she was skilled in assassination, she could avoid Baek Hasin's qi sense and monitor him.
Because after the battle with the Blood Cult, it was impossible to deceive Baek Hasin, who had reached the super-peak level, with the stealth techniques of a decent professor.
‘The problem is how to find and prove the relationship between Woo Hee-ryeong and the Demonic Cult.’
Since it was difficult to make her blood points run wild with the Great Blood Art like with the Blood Cult, I had no choice but to worry.
However, there was one restraint that a spy from the Demonic Cult would have.
A solitary poison.
There must be a weakness planted to prevent betrayal, just like in Ji Bok-hyeon's case.
Especially for an important person like a professor-level spy, they would have paid even more attention.
‘If it’s a simple poisoning, it can be detoxified or is easy to be discovered, so they must have put a restraint with a solitary poison.’
Because in a decent case, a solitary poison would not be discovered.
And I know one way to draw out a solitary poison. A method that only I can do.
‘First, I’ll engage in battle.’
And before that, I had to treat the injury I had received from Namgung Dohyeok. I knocked on the door of Go Won-tae's medical office.
***
A week later.
By the time I had fully recovered from my injuries and had even adapted to my body, which had reached the pinnacle of the super-peak level, I went to find Woo Hee-ryeong.
“I need the professor’s seal. I request a duel.”
“I heard you’ve been on a roll lately. I didn’t know it was this much?”
Woo Hee-ryeong turned her head and looked at me stealthily, then curled the corners of her mouth.
It seemed she didn't know my true skills yet. Although that might be an act.
“I heard you won in a duel with Professor Namgung Dohyeok. But I won’t be easy.”
“I’ve prepared a place.”
I headed to the training ground with the instructor who had attended as a notary.
“Huh?”
Woo Hee-ryeong, who was standing in the middle of the training ground, tilted her head for a moment. I said, taking out a Flame Lightning Three-Blade Formation at her.
“Let’s start soon.”
“How arrogant, really.”
And then Woo Hee-ryeong held a dagger and then disappeared.
In an instant, the Demon-Slaying Sword and the dagger clashed in the empty air.
She had rushed in based on the stealthy and fast movements characteristic of assassination. She was my opposite, who was advantageous when keeping a distance.
I deflected her approaching dagger with the Demon-Slaying Sword and then flew a Flame Lightning First Blade Spear.
She, who had dodged the flash that was shot at a close range with a strange movement, approached. Although she couldn't dodge it completely, as blood was flowing from her back, it was not a deep wound.
“You’re strong. But can you use it at this close range?”
She, who had dug in, pushed me hard.
A fight between a dagger and a sword. For a moment, I put weight on the Demon-Slaying Sword and blew Woo Hee-ryeong back.
‘She’s fast. I shouldn’t give her any distance.’
A simple head-on fight is advantageous for this side, which has a longer strike range.
In the first place, since assassination is a martial art specialized in stealthy surprise attacks, its endurance and strength are no match for other superior martial arts.
I just have to not let her dig in.
I deflected the dagger that was rushing in again and rather pressed down with the Demon-Slaying Sword.
“Keuk!”
The dagger that began to be gradually pushed back as the sword strikes continued. The swordsmanship, which had reached the pinnacle of the super-peak level, rather pressured Woo Hee-ryeong.
No, it overwhelmed her.
Now, most of the professors were no match for me. It was a result that had been decided from the moment my realm had risen.
From now on, the purpose was not to defeat the opponent.
‘I should try it soon.’
The tip of the Demon-Slaying Sword bent and cut the opponent's forearm. As a stream of blood splattered as the protective qi broke, I immediately hit the wound with a thunderbolt.
The opponent's movements, which became sluggish for a moment. Following that, I flew a Flame Lightning Second Blade Spear and pierced both her legs.
Since I had controlled the power, the Flame Lightning First Blade Spear was stuck deep. In that state, I flew a thunderbolt and sent an electric shock.
“Aaaaaargh!”
Woo Hee-ryeong screams in agony. Soon, I used a stream of water magic and stuck a water arrow into her open mouth.
Gulp!
“What was that just now?”
Simultaneously, the electric shock was cut off, and Woo Hee-ryeong, who had swallowed the stream of water without even realizing it, frowned.
“You’ll know soon.”
I flew a thunderbolt at Woo Hee-ryeong, who was about to vomit. An electric shock that exploded as it was, in a situation where she couldn't use both her legs.
Since the fan ribs were already stuck, her protective qi was also useless. A scream echoed at the direct electric shock to her blood vessels.
The match was already decided. But I didn't stop the electric shock.
Because there was something I had to check.
“It’s done.”
Just then, I heard Go Du-gyeong's voice from behind. I had called him for this moment.
What I had just fed her was a hyperparasite. To put it simply, it was a parasite that parasitized a parasite.
Usually, a solitary poison settles safely in an important organ like the brain or the heart.
That's why it's difficult to determine even if you use an electric shock or poison.
But a hyperparasite is different. When an electric shock is applied, it heads for a safe place.
Right to the place where the solitary poison is.
Soon, the guy who had reached the brain digs into the solitary poison. The solitary poison, which had never been parasitized in its life, struggles like crazy.
“Aaaaaargh!”
Woo Hee-ryeong lets out a scream. A situation where she might die like this if she's not careful.
“Is it far?”
“It’s almost done!”
As Go Du-gyeong focused, sweating, soon something black flows out of her nose.
“It’s out!”
In the end, Go Du-gyeong had done it. It was an amazing bug control.
I looked at the solitary poison wriggling on the floor and asked.
“What do you all think?”
Before I knew it, Cheon Mu-jin, Gu Ja-beom, and Mi Tae-eul, who had come down to the training ground, were watching this whole scene.
Among them, Mi Tae-eul looked at the solitary poison and said.
“This is a Demonic Bell Soul-Chasing Poison. It’s a type of solitary poison used by the Demonic Cult. I know because I’ve killed a lot of Demonic Cult guys.”
“Professor Woo Hee-ryeong. Do you have anything to say?”
At Cheon Mu-jin's question, Woo Hee-ryeong, who had collapsed on the floor, shut her mouth.
It was a clear exercise of the right to remain silent. She must have never imagined that the identity of the solitary poison would be revealed in this way.
“If you won’t answer, I’ll just prioritize the evidence.”
Cheon Mu-jin suppressed her blood points and raised his voice.
“From now on, I will detain Woo Hee-ryeong on suspicion of being a spy for the Demonic Cult.”
And then he took Woo Hee-ryeong with the instructors who had followed him.
I had caught the spy from the Demonic Cult as planned.
“Then what about my seal?”
After Cheon Mu-jin had disappeared, when I asked the professors back, Mi Tae-eul took out a seal from his bosom.
“I’m also a professor, you know.”
Now there was only one professor left.
The next opponent had been decided from the beginning.
“Will you have a duel with me later? Chief Instructor Gu Ja-beom.”
His martial arts level alone had reached the pinnacle of the super-peak level.
He had defeated Namgung Dohyeok and Woo Hee-ryeong, who were top-tier masters even among the professors.
Now I was planning to show Cheon Mu-jin that I was stronger than Gu Ja-beom.
Gu Ja-beom, who had been staring at my side quietly, finally nodded his head.
“Alright. You haven’t forgotten before that, have you?”
“What is it?”
“The friendly exchange match. It’s next month, so take care of your body and prepare. We’ll have the duel after that. Until then, I’m also busy at the beginning of the semester.”
And then he disappeared towards the professor's building.
‘Has it finally been a year?’
My feelings were new. Until last year, I was just being tested, but now I was in the position of testing.
‘To participate in the friendly exchange match, I have to be in the top 5 first.’
For now, it was advantageous to participate in the friendly exchange match, as just participating as a representative would give me credits.
With that thought, I headed for the advanced student building.
On the inner wall where the list of a total of 21 people was written, the members were assigned according to their ranking.
In terms of position, my current ranking was 17th. And that was because there were 4 people, including Bong So, behind me.
I looked at the name of Baek Hasin, which had an X marked on it at the very back. He was in a state of being missing, and his enrollment was on hold.
I turned my eyes from there and looked at the nameplate at the very top.
[Cheon Ga-seong]
[Cho Min-ha]
As much as filling the graduation credits, raising my ranking was also important. Because to get the qualification to challenge for graduation in the judgment of the academy head, I had to be in the top 3.
It was similar for the advanced students. They could raise their ranking by accumulating achievements such as credits or through ranking competitions.
But the difference here was that it was held all year round.
Advanced students were given the right to challenge a higher-ranking student at any time, staking their credits.
Of course, my current credits were 0.
Since I had just started, it couldn't be helped. But soon, an instructor came and hung a wooden token next to my nameplate.
[Top-grade request, secret operation. 10 points]
It was the credit I had obtained for catching Woo Hee-ryeong. Because I could also receive requests from the Martial Academy if needed.
Although the content seemed to be vague in case there was a problem, thanks to that, I had the minimum credits to challenge.
For now, if a lower-ranking person challenged, anyone had to accept.
If they didn't accept the challenge, they had to exercise their right of refusal, which was like giving 1 credit to the challenger.
Of course, the challenger and the target could not challenge more than once a week, and the act of two students formally defending their credits by aiming for each other every week was also prohibited.
Also, all duels had to be realistic, and if it was judged to be unnatural, not only would they receive a penalty, but they would also have to prove their ranking by forcibly dueling with a student of a different rank in the presence of a professor.
‘Other than that, since they are preventing manipulation with detailed rules, there’s nothing to worry about. I just have to fight and win.’
All that was left was to decide on an opponent to challenge.
I raised my head and looked through the nameplates.
‘The first opponent to aim for is clear.’
My gaze stopped at a place where a familiar name was written.
[4th place, Zhuge Pae-gang.]
What's so good about family.
‘I’ll take advantage of my brother at a time like this.’
I wrote a challenge and submitted it to the instructor at the counter.
“I challenge Zhuge Pae-gang.”
(End of Chapter)