Chapter 236: East, Celestial Academy (1)
Celestial Academy was said to have been built by a god called Celestial God.
Opinions differ as to whether or not a person named Celestial God actually existed.
Some say that it was just a story that needed to be told when building the academy because why would a god be interested in the world, while others argue that Celestial God was real, saying that only a god could have created the floating island in the sky.
In fact, at this point, it doesn’t really matter if it’s real or not since the young people here are not interested in such things.
For many young people from the East who want to improve their martial arts, the Celestial Academy is just another small martial arts center in the sky.
The strong dominate the weak, this is what a martial arts center is like.
A world where only the strong survive, where survival is justice, and where the weak are trampled upon and dismissed as evil.
For the record, I hate Murim.
I didn’t always hate them but I once had a dream to become a master, one whose name alone would make people shudder.
Ever since I was a kid, I’d get compliments from people in my village like, “You have good muscles,” and “You should learn martial arts.”
I thought I was really talented because I was bigger than my peers and gained muscle quickly even with the same training.
After entering the Celestial Academy, all those thoughts disappeared.
I was a frog in a well. Nothing more, nothing less than a strong man in the village.
The men I met here, despite being smaller than me and seemingly lacking in muscle, had the strength to beat me with two fingers and send me flying into the air and crashing into walls when they hit me with a punch.
It’s the difference of early learning.
It turns out that they are the children of a famous family, one of the five great families of Hoguk.
My father sent me to the Celestial Academy despite my mother’s protests. The tuition at the academy was 500 silver coins, which was quite expensive for a farmer from a small village so I couldn’t give up.
“Hey, Zhang Shan. Are you still planning to train today?”
“Well, that’s…”
“Come on, then let me help you.”
The man who was now walking towards me with his sleeves rolled up and an evil smile on his face was Huang Bojin of the Huang Family.
When I first entered the academy, I had called him “Bo Jin,” and ever since then, he’s been one of the guys who’s been beating me to death.
I was puzzled by the similarity of the name to a woman’s genitals, so I called him that too.
Luckily for me, his name was “Jin,” and unfortunately for me.
-Pfft!
His technique hurt like hell.
A solid palm strike to the stomach sent me flying across the training grounds, sprawling on the floor.
Of course, I apologized immediately. It was a sincere apology for calling him by the wrong name.
But it was his palm that flew at me afterward. Just like that.
“Mmph…”
I muttered in excruciating pain as a gaping hole opened up in my abdomen, threatening to spill out all my organs.
“…Here we go again?”
“He’s so… What did he say?”
“I don’t know, he’s a country bumpkin, so he doesn’t know Huang Bojin.”
The academy was a small place and a simple mistake of calling a stranger by the wrong name had led to this.
Zhang Shan was a scoundrel who had dared to disrespect Huang Bojin.
There was even a rumor floating around recently that Huang Bojin’s reason for doing this was to help the weaker Zhang Shan cultivate the external arts.
For the record, I have never practiced the external arts.
When I first entered the academy and chose a martial art for those who were not from a sect or family, a teacher stopped me from choosing the external arts.
His reasoning was that it was not efficient.
I was told that once you reach the pinnacle of external martial arts, you will be unharmed by any attack.
But when one reaches the pinnacle, no martial art, whether internal or external, is stronger. The external arts are much more arduous and difficult, and one is likely to remain in the third or second class rather than reach the pinnacle.
The teacher who stopped me said that he had seen some people whose bodies were split in half because they believed in the strength of the external martial arts.
As I listened to more true stories, the romance of the external martial arts was shattered, and I thought of my family suffering in the heat, so I chose the universal internal martial art that many people choose.
So now, by beating me up, he was not only hindering my physical training, but also my internal art practice.
If I had chosen the external art, it would have hurt a little less and I wouldn’t have felt so resentful.
“Zhang Shan, how untalented are you? It’s been quite a while since I’ve been helping you, and you’ve shown no signs of improvement.”
Huang Bojin looked down at me and sneered.
‘No sign of improvement…’
Since I was unable to cultivate, I naturally fell behind the others, and my grades naturally did not improve.
The academy doesn’t stop at paying tuition fees, but it also punishes students with poor grades.
I was warned yesterday that if I didn’t improve my grades by next month, I would have to leave the academy.
It was unfair.
My dreams were shattered and my family was insulted by one mistake of calling someone by the wrong name.
Still, there was nothing I could do.
In this group, I was the underdog.
“……Bojin.”
I called him that in despair.
“Have you lost your mind…?”
The corners of Huang Bojin’s mouth, which had been curling upward at my insult, instantly contorted into a vicious grimace, and his eyebrows twitched incessantly.
He was right. It wasn’t going to get any better.
My grades were at the bottom of the academy and unlike the other bottom-feeders, I wasn’t the scion of a famous family that could keep me from being expelled, nor was I the scion of a wealthy family with tons of money to donate to the academy.
In order to avoid expulsion, I had to pass a special exam to make up for my grades, but it wasn’t an exam that I could pass because I hadn’t yet broken through the wall of the third class.
In the first place, the special exams are just a stepping stone to the prestige of those at the bottom of the academy’s food chain who have already reached the top at a young age.
For an underdog like me, passing the special exam was a dream come true.
“…I think I’ll be leaving the academy.”
“Hah…Did you think that a lowlife like you would be able to survive in the Celestial Academy?”
After exchanging a few meaningless words, I was kicked by Huang Bojin’s men in the name of physical training, and I lay on the ground, breathing in the dirt.
I couldn’t bear the thought of going back to the village and seeing my father’s face, but I was thinking that at least I was a third-class citizen, so I could make a living doing hard labor.
In the distance, a nameless person ran into the training center, panting.
“…Heh… Everyone, gather in the academy…! The Innocence Academy has arrived!”
The Innocence Academy.
I heard it was similar to the Celestial Academy in the West.
Luckily, Huang Bojin heard the news and the guys who were kicking me to death left the training grounds.
The others in the training center did the same.
I pushed myself up to my feet, my body aching with pain, and stared in disbelief at the now-empty training grounds.
“Tsk…”
I spat out a bloody grain of sand and thought to myself.
Murim really is a shitty place.
***
The first cadets to set foot on the grounds of the Celestial Academy were thrilled to find themselves on a floating island in the sky, but the romance of the island was short-lived.
The Celestial Academy’s relationship with the Innocence Academy was made clear to them by the stern gaze of the greeter who welcomed them.
They were competing to be the leading centers of learning in the West and the East, respectively.
It would be more accurate to say that it was a competition between the West and the East.
Despite Guan Zhu’s sarcastic glare, he dismissed the introduction and led them straight into a hall.
Guan Zhu had suggested a competition on the unlikely pretext that they would get along better if they put fists and swords at each other.
There was no way that Edward, who was speaking to him as a representative of the Innocence Academy, would shy away from such a suggestion.
“A tournament would be great.”
“…But I’m not sure the academy cadets will be able to handle it, given how skilled our students are this time around.”
The fierce-looking man slowly swept his trusting gaze over the students of the Celestial Academy.
“It’s okay, this current generation of our academy is also quite good, we call them the Golden Generation.”
“Hehe, something as precious as gold isn’t something you can just stick anywhere…”
“Haha, it’s never too late to see if it’s gold or not.”
Edward and Guan Zhu laughed and exchanged cryptic words with each other.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the crowd of students at the Celestial Academy, Huang Bojin and his friends were observing and evaluating the faces of the academy cadets.
“…There are quite a few beautiful women in the West.”
“That’s true. In terms of beauty alone, there are women who are on par with the best beauties in the academy.”
At that moment, Huang Bojin chuckled and said,
“As for the platinum-haired woman over there, I’ve marked her down, so don’t touch her.”
Huang Bojin’s eyes were on Aizel Ludwig who had a sour expression.
“How dare we touch your prey. I like her red hair, but…Her eyes are piercing.”
“Then I’ll take the red-haired, big-breasted bitch.”
“Hmm… It’s not all about the size of your breasts…”
“I’ve been saying it for ages, boobs are everything.”
By the time they were done laughing at the offensive jokes, Guan Zhu stepped onto the center stage.
“First, a round of applause for the cadets of the Innocence Academy, who have traveled a long way!”
Guan Zhu spreads his arms and shouts, and the cadets and students on either side burst into thunderous applause and cheers.
“And now, I hereby announce the start of the martial arts tournament between the Celestial Academy and the Innocence Academy!”
“”Oooooooh!!!””
The cheers of the cadets and students who had been clapping at the sound of a tournament become even louder.
“The rules are familiar to the students of the academy: first, no killing, second, winner’s circle.”
The winner’s circle, where the winner of a fight stays in the ring to receive the next challenger.
“Now, here’s your chance to have the honor of kicking off the Tournament!”
Free-for-all.
Anyone who wanted to fight was free to step onto the stage and fight. If they overlapped, they would talk to each other and decide the order.
“I’ll go up.”
Huang Bojin was the first to step up.
He had his eyes set on Aizel, and he was thinking that if he could get on the stage and show her how cool he was, sweeping her off her feet, maybe she would come over on her own.
“Waaaah!!!”
“It’s Huang Bojin!!!”
“Show them the strength of the Celestial Academy!”
Huang Bojin walked confidently into the backstage area.
“I wonder if this is getting a little too advanced from the start. Has the academy decided on a member?”
Guan Zhu, who was looking at Huang Bojin with a smile, turned his head to the direction where the academy cadets were.
Meanwhile, the cadets were talking about this and that.
“A tournament as soon as we arrive…Ugh…”
“That’s why I hate it. Let’s just eat.”
Lucia was frowning, and Crank chimed in.
“Hmph, must be a pretty strong guy, huh?”
“Judging by the lack of weapons, I’d say he’s a martial artist.”
“He’s got a pretty good body.”
Yuri, Kaen, and Amon were observing Huang Bojin, who appeared with a shout.
“…”
Well, Orphele remained silent as always.
Aizel cut to the chase.
“So, who wants to go?”
It was Zetto who stood up at her question.
“Is there a prize for winning?”
“The instructor did say something about a prize…September flowers… Some kind of rare grass.”
“Then may I go?”
His next question is met with a cold response.
“…Zetto already?”
“No, Cadet Zetto, are you going to ruin the tournament?”
Even Edward, who had seen Zetto stand up and walked over, added.
“Do you want me to go?”
But Zetto had no intention of changing his mind.
“Have it your way…”
“I wanted the medicinal materials…”
“Zetto’s a bit stubborn, too.”
“Well, I’m going to take a nap. Wake me up when you’re done.”
Their reactions were inevitable.
According to the rules of the winner’s zone, if Zetto, the member of the academy, didn’t lose, they wouldn’t get a turn.
“Wow, no support at all…”
“Yeah. Zetto. Cheer up, you must win.”
Zetto’s grumbling was followed by Lucia’s tasteless, soulless cheering, and after he smiled at her for her encouragement, they walked offstage.
“What, were there blind people?”
Seeing Zetto coming on the stage, Huang Bojin noticed Zetto’s appearance and asked a question.
“What the hell do you think this Huang Bojin is…?”
The question was followed by anger.
This was because he felt that he was being looked down upon, and by extension, the Huang Family.
Guan Zhu then spoke to Huang Bojin.
“Huang child, this is a blind swordsman, so you can’t kill him. He’s quite famous in the West.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Huang Bojin replied dryly.
Here, Huang Bojin and Guan Zhu made three mistakes.
First, the conversation between Huang Bojin and his friends earlier had been overheard by Zetto.
Second, Huang Bojin walked on the stage.
Third, Guan Zhu picked the wrong person to talk to.
“……”
As Zetto walked offstage in silence, he was thinking how to make Huang Bojin think that it would have been easier if he was allowed to die.