Star Instructor, Master Baek

Chapter 481: The Worst Duo

Tang Soso, the Vice President of the Azure Dragon Academy Student Council, was known as the Cold-Blooded Poisoner because of her cool-headed judgment and ruthless nature, befitting a direct descendant of the Sichuan Tang Clan.

She only showed a different side of herself around Baek Suryong. Because of this, she was the only person in the Azure Dragon Academy that he truly feared.

And currently, that Tang Soso was looking very guilty.

Unfortunately, this belief could not have been further from the truth.

"Tang Soso? Why are you here?"

"Everyone..." A resolute determination filled Tang Soso's eyes. Stepping forward, she shouted to her Paparazzi comrades, "Escape through the window! I'll buy time somehow!"

Sixteen hidden weapons shot out from each of her sleeves and shot toward Baek Suryong. Given who her opponent was, she had to go all out right from the start.

"Would you look at this?" Baek Suryong stared at the hidden weapons flying toward him in disbelief. The sound of them tearing through the air was fearsome, yet not a single one was aimed at his face.

This scene was purely a product of imagination, depicting him lying half-naked on the grass in a shabby martial arts uniform.

Regardless, the gap in their abilities was too great. With a single wave of his sleeve, Baek Suryong transformed the deadly hailstorm into a dance of fallen leaves caught in a gust of wind."Does Dokgo Jun know about this? Does he know that not only are his Student Council members involved in other clubs, but they're also satisfying their impure desires in this way?".

"Everyone, stay where you are," Baek Suryong warned the students trying to escape through the window.

"I'll find out starting now.

BOOM!

He stomped his foot, sending a wave of inner qi rippling across the floor and walls. The students hanging from the window frames flinched and retreated, and then suddenly went stiff like wooden statues.

"Uh, when did...!"

"We're done for...!"

Before they knew it, Baek Suryong had taken control of Tang Soso's hidden weapons and used them to seal all of their paralysis acupoints. Still, even though they had been attacked by sharp weapons, none of the students had so much as a scratch on their skin.

"Running away? This just makes you more suspicious."

"Would you look at this? Using sacred club funds to satisfy selfish desires?".

Baek Suryong surveyed the immobilized and dismayed students, then turned to Tang Soso.

"Ugh!" Tang Soso froze, caught red-handed trying to take poison out of her pocket.

Baek Suryong was a member of the Discipline Committee and the grandson of Headmaster Mae Geuklyom.

"Tang Soso and Paparazzi Club members, you're all under arrest for falsification of club activity information."

"What did we do wrong?"

"I'll find out starting now. Why would you try to run away unless you did something you shouldn't have?"

Baek Suryong grinned and released the students' paralysis acupoints. A few attempted to escape through the windows again, but it was futile.

TATATATA!

As the Black Dragon Pointer created a bump on each student's head, the last vestiges of rebellion were quelled.

Shortly after, the Paparazzi Club members knelt in a row and raised their hands above their heads.

Baek Suryong tapped his palm with the Black Dragon Pointer and demanded, "Did you guys draw all these wanted posters?"

"That's too much..."

"Those aren't wanted posters， they're portraits."

The number of wanted posters—no, portraits—hanging inside the clubroom was staggering. Each one even had an extremely detailed description attached.

"This level of detail... Did you kids stalk someone all day just to draw them?"

Baek Suryong couldn't help but marvel at his portraits depicting his daily life. There were drawings of him eating in the cafeteria, lecturing, strolling down the street with his colleagues, and even smacking Hyonwon Kang.

"There are quite a few portraits of others besides me, too."

There were almost as many portraits of Namgung Su as himself. Occasionally, the figures of Ak Yeonho or Jaegal Soyeong could be seen.

Apart from the teachers, there were also portraits of Dokgo Jun, Wiji Cheon, Yoo Yiran, and Yeo Min. One or two of Hyonwon Kang, Ya Suhyeok, and Geo Sangwoong.

Although Baek Suryong and Tang Soso might not have been the strongest duo at the Azure Dragon Academy, there was no doubt that they were the worst.

Holy shit, how did they know about the mole on the back of my hand!?

The detailed and precise description of appearance and physical characteristics reminded him of the wanted posters the Blood Cult used to create when researching their enemies. In fact, that was the reason he had briefly suspected this place might be a Blood Cult secret base.

However, judging by the students' reactions, including Tang Soso's, this place could not be farther removed from that.

"To think we got caught by Mr. Baek of all people..."

"I want to die..."

"Aren't you staring too intently?"

Baek Suryong sighed. No matter how I think about it, this is...

"Did you guys run away because you were embarrassed to be caught by me with this?" he asked.

The students' faces flushed bright red with shame.

Baek Suryong smirked.Bingo.

Tang Soso stood up and declared confidently, "If you'll overlook this matter just once, Mr. Baek, I'll actively cooperate with your efforts.".

Nevertheless, Tang Soso held her head up proudly.

"We're a pure creative arts club. Personally, I don't mind being scolded, but strictly speaking, you can't persecute us for this even if you're a teacher. We haven't done anything illegal or against school rules."

"To think we got caught by Mr. Baek of all people..."

"Who was the one who threw hidden weapons at me without warning? I believe that counts as assault... Wait a minute. Aren't you brats also from the Student Council?"

Baek Suryong narrowed his eyes. He thought some of the students looked familiar, and indeed, he eventually recalled seeing several of them run around diligently during the Azure Games.

"Haha! As you can see from the report, we've engaged in club activities more diligently than anyone else for the past year!".

""Gasp...!!"" The Student Council members held their breaths and hurriedly bowed their heads.

"Oho." Baek Suryong's lips twisted into a crooked smirk like a back-alley hoodlum who had discovered an opponent's weakness. "Does Dokgo Jun know about this? Does he know that not only are his Student Council members involved in other clubs, but they're also satisfying their impure desires in this way?"

"You're here for the club audit, right.

"W-What impure desires?!"

"Please keep it a secret! I-If the Prez finds out, we're all..."

"I'll die of embarrassment!"

Baek Suryong grinned triumphantly. Judging by how restless and flushed the students were, he had hit the nail on the head.

Come to think of it...

Ever since the beginning of the school year, he had sensed fiery gazes trailing him everywhere he went. He generally left them alone because they didn't contain any killing intent, but it seemed that those individuals were the ones who drew the portraits here.

"Well, it's not as good as the real thing, but it's not bad," he complimented.

The fidgety students' mouths fell open.

"R-Really?"

"I thought you'd get angry..."

Tang Soso bit her lower lip, looking somewhat resentful. She glanced over her shoulder.

"I thought you'd tear them all up."

Everyone stared at Baek Suryong in a mixture of surprise and relief.

Of course, he wasn't quite finished speaking yet. "However, this is far from the wholesome club activities written down here."

He quickly flipped through Paparazzi's Club Activity Report, which clearly stated that its members cultivated their minds and bodies through landscape and portrait painting. The portraits in their clubroom, on the other hand, only blatantly revealed their impure desires and individual tastes.

"Who on earth drew this?" he asked, pointing to a portrait of himself lying leisurely on the grass taking a nap. This scene was purely a product of imagination, depicting him lying half-naked on the grass in a shabby martial arts uniform.

"......" Everyone's eyes turned to Tang Soso.

"I only checked Mr. Namgung Su's calendar.

Tang Soso's eyes widened in shock at her trusted colleagues' betrayal. "These traitors..."

"I'm not even surprised. As expected, you were the ringleader all along, Tang Soso."

Baek Suryong sighed. At this point, questions were bound to arise about the integrity of Paparazzi's club activities. If he submitted the audit report honestly, the club's future activities would inevitably be restricted significantly.

Tang Soso bit her lip slightly, then cautiously said, "Mr. Baek. I, the Club President of Paparazzi, propose we make a deal. Won't you listen to me for a moment?"

"...You're even the President of this club?"

His shadow stretched long behind him.

"Is that trivial matter important now?"

Baek Suryong was skeptical, but he eventually nodded, thinking that it wouldn't hurt to at least hear her out.

Tang Soso stood up and declared confidently, "If you'll overlook this matter just once, Mr. Baek, I'll actively cooperate with your efforts."

"Do you know why I came here?"

"You're here for the club audit, right? We're in the middle of that period right now..."

"You knew that and still hung up things like that in the clubroom? What were you going to do if Namgung Su caught you?"

Tang Soso sighed and admitted she had let her guard down. "I only checked Mr. Namgung Su's calendar. He was definitely scheduled to visit here for the club audit in two days. I planned to smuggle all the items out before then, but who would've thought he'd arrange for the Azure Dragon Hero to ambush us instead?"

Apart from the teachers, there were also portraits of Dokgo Jun, Wiji Cheon, Yoo Yiran, and Yeo Min.

Baek Suryong stared at Tang Soso in exasperation. "Anyone listening to you talk would think you were carrying out a top-secret mission."

Tang Soso bit her lower lip, looking somewhat resentful. "It can't be helped. To silence you, Mr. Baek... I have no choice but to propose a deal."

"A deal?" Baek Suryong raised an eyebrow, indicating his interest was piqued.

Tang Soso nodded solemnly. "Starting tomorrow, I'll move into the White Dragon Manor and take charge of your meals and housekeeping. I'll pack my bags tonight and..."

SMACK!

Baek Suryong flicked Tang Soso's forehead and clicked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk. I can't believe you're still trying to satisfy your own selfish desires in this situation. You get an additional penalty for being cheeky."

"...I'm sorry, I was just kidding. I have a much better proposal." Tang Soso pouted and pointed at the folder in Baek Suryong's arms. "That's the club activity reports, right? You're trying to verify that the contents are accurate."

"I assure you that no one knows the inner workings of each Azure Dragon Academy club better than I do. If we work together, you can thoroughly investigate any club without difficulty. " Tang Soso straightened her shoulders and confidently placed both hands on her waist. "I need to know their weaknesses so I can keep them in check whenever necessary, so I've been collecting intelligence on all of them since Peng Sahyuk was Club Union President."

"Hmm..." Baek Suryong stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Honestly, it's not a bad proposal... With her help, I'll finish much faster than if I went around alone, and I'll be able to round up all the problematic clubs all at once. Namgung Su said three days, but if things go well, I might be able to finish it within two.

Of course, he would have to turn a blind eye to Paparazzi's misdeeds, but he could just think of it as letting one fish go to catch a whole school.

"...It's a decent deal," he said.

"Are you accepting the proposal?"

"I'll accept it on one condition."

Tang Soso's expression stiffened briefly when she heard Baek Suryong's condition, but she eventually nodded in resignation. "Fine. I'm not keen on it, but I'll do it."

Just like that, Baek Suryong and Tang Soso struck a secret deal.

Lunch had not even come around yet when a disturbing rumor began to circulate throughout the Club Union building. According to the story, Baek Suryong and Tang Soso had teamed up to raid the clubrooms, wreaking havoc and leaving no blade of grass left untouched.

"N-No way...!"

"Why's Baek Suryong suddenly doing this?"

In fact, that was the reason he had briefly suspected this place might be a Blood Cult secret base.

"The club audit? Wasn't Namgung Su in charge of that?"

Not many students believed the rumor until they experienced it for themselves. Even when Baek Suryong actually visited them, most club presidents remained calm. They even thought that Baek Suryong, who was sly and unconventional, was better than Namgung Su, who was famous for being meticulous and impeccable.

Unfortunately, this belief could not have been further from the truth. Baek Suryong was a member of the Discipline Committee and the grandson of Headmaster Mae Geuklyom. He was every bit the perfectionist that Namgung Su was, but quicker on the uptake and better at catching misbehaving students.

"Oi, you little punks. How dare you hide alcohol inside the sacred clubroom?"

"H-How did you...?!"

Even worse, unlike Namgung Su, Baek Suryong had no qualms about using force against students. The Black Dragon Pointer breathed fire from his very first day back at school.

"Haha! As you can see from the report, we've engaged in club activities more diligently than anyone else for the past year!"

Of course, some clubs had written up a plausible activity report to avoid being busted.

"Oh my, really?"

Sadly, the Azure Dragon Academy's greatest schemer was on Baek Suryong's side.

"Close Combat Club President. Your birthday was last month, correct? Coincidentally, there are traces of club funds being used on the same day for a dinner with all the members... Shall we contact the inn in question to verify this?"

"T-That's..."

"Would you look at this? Using sacred club funds to satisfy selfish desires?"

"Hieeeek!"

The students who witnessed the two people stirring up the Club Union building all shared a revelation that day. Although Baek Suryong and Tang Soso might not have been the strongest duo at the Azure Dragon Academy, there was no doubt that they were the worst.

Tang Soso had the club presidents in the palm of her hand. As the information she had collected to keep the Club Union in check began to surface, their faces paled.

"Swift Sword Club President. The activity report says that your club did public service activities last month. Coincidentally, our student council also did volunteer work nearby on the same day. What are the odds of that? Why didn't we see you guys there?"

"No, that's..."

"Do you want to get hit moderately and confess? Or do you want to get hit severely and confess?"

"I'm sorry!"

The students who witnessed the two people stirring up the Club Union building all shared a revelation that day. Although Baek Suryong and Tang Soso might not have been the strongest duo at the Azure Dragon Academy, there was no doubt that they were the worst.