Star Instructor, Master Baek

Chapter 123: Defense Against the Unorthodox Arts (2)

TL: FoodieMonster007

Baek Suryong tore through the classroom like a gust of wind, closing in on Dokgo Jun with lightning speed. With a quick flick of his wrist, the Black Dragon Pointer appeared in his grasp, and he swung downward with enough force to split Dokgo Jun’s skull in two.

CLANG!

Just in time, Dokgo Jun unsheathed his sword and blocked the strike. Looking at Baek Suryong with a mixture of shock and anger, he groaned, “…Fighting outside the dueling arena is against Academy rules.”

“You’re seriously talking about school rules right now?” Baek Suryong spat, withdrawing the Black Dragon Pointer and thrusting his left palm straight at Dokgo Jun’s chest.

Dokgo Jun reacted instantly, meeting the sudden attack with his own palm strike.

BOOM!

The impact reverberated through the room like a thunderclap. Dokgo Jun stumbled back, struggling to regain his balance, but Baek Suryong pressed on relentlessly, his Black Dragon Pointer whistling through the air while his left hand, shaped like a hawk’s talon, shot toward Dokgo Jun’s eyes.

“Coward!” Dokgo Jun shouted, his voice thick with righteous fury. Going for the eyes was a big taboo in the orthodox sects.

Disgusted, he summoned his inner qi. Immediately, his martial arts uniform whipped around him and his wavering stance stabilized. His sword swings became sharper and more purposeful.

So that’s the Nine Swords of Dokgo… Baek Suryong noted, recognizing the fearsome sword technique of the Dokgo Clan, known for its brutal and heavy strikes.

As Dokgo Jun channeled his intent into his blade, a storm of wind swirled around them, whipping their hair into wild tangles.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

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As Baek Suryong met the Nine Swords of Dokgo head-on, he analyzed Dokgo Jun’s form in his mind. His foundations are solid… and his physical fitness and martial arts skills are definitely worthy of the Azure Dragon Academy’s finest. However, martial arts prowess isn’t just about the basics.

Without warning, Baek Suryong aimed a kick at Dokgo Jun’s groin.

“What the—!” Dokgo Jun yelped, recoiling just in time to avoid the strike.

Seeing Dokgo Jun’s upper body falter, Baek Suryong seized the moment and grabbed a handful of Dokgo Jun’s hair.

“Argh!” Dokgo Jun cried out, caught off guard by the sudden unexpected move.

Baek Suryong yanked hard, slamming Dokgo Jun’s head onto a nearby desk. The impact left Dokgo Jun dazed, his vision swimming.

Baek Suryong towered over him, clicking his tongue in disapproval. “Is this all you’ve got? Hmm? Mr. Student Council President?”

“Damn…” Dokgo Jun growled, wiping the blood from his nose with the back of his hand. His pride stung, and his eyes blazed with fury. Eye gouging, groin kicks, hair pulling… these were without a doubt the dirtiest, most dishonorable tactics Dokgo Jun had ever faced.

“How can you act so smug after fighting dirty like this?” he snapped.

Baek Suryong chuckled, “Isn’t this class called Defense Against the Unorthodox Arts?”

“That doesn’t justify your actions…”

“Then what did you expect? A dull lecture on the history of unorthodox sects, their branches, and martial arts? Maybe a discussion on the side effects?”

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Of course, Baek Suryong could talk about such things, but that wasn’t what he wanted to teach in his class.

He hardened his expression, his voice firm and commanding. “Listen up, kids. I’m here to teach you how those unorthodox bastards really fight—dirty, filthy, and underhanded—and more importantly, how to fight back. That’s what this whole course is about.”

What he said didn’t only apply to Dokgo Jun. After watching the brutal spectacle, all of the other students were now directing their attention at him.

Baek Suryong’s gaze swept over them. “If you don’t have the stomach for this, leave now. I’ll give you one minute. Don’t come back crying later.”

Then, turning back to Dokgo Jun, he said, “Now, where were we? Shall we continue?”

“Mr. Baek, please refrain from further damaging school property,” a voice suddenly interrupted.

Baek Suryong paused, turning to see who had spoken. It was the infamous twin enforcers of the Student Council, the Azure Dragon Twins. One wielded a six-sided baton, the other a restraining rope, both ready to strike.

Baek Suryong scratched his chin as he sized them up. “Let me guess, the one with the baton is the older brother, and the one with the rope is the younger, right? Sorry, but you two are so forgettable I couldn’t bother learning your names.”

“……” The twins remained silent, but their tightened grips and the shift in their stance made it clear they were furious.

Baek Suryong spun his Black Dragon Pointer provocatively, taunting both Dokgo Jun and the Azure Dragon Twins, “Come on, then, Student Council geeks.”

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Dokgo Jun charged from the front while the twins attacked from behind. The four of them clashed in the center of the classroom.

Despite facing three opponents at once, Baek Suryong moved with ease, weaving through the classroom like he was playing a game.

“…As for the rest of you, don’t just stand there gawking. Join in if you don’t want to regret it later,” he warned. After all, he wasn’t doing this because he wanted to show off his martial arts, but because this was a class, and he had more to teach.

“Ptooey!”

“You spat on my face! And you call yourself a martial artist?!” Dokgo Jun yelled, his usual calm demeanor completely shattered.

“Y-You touched me inappropriately…”

“I’m reporting you to the academy.”

The Azure Dragon Twins’ faces turned beet red, feeling humiliated after being smacked on the rear by Baek Suryong.

Unfortunately, this was just the beginning. Baek Suryong unleashed a barrage of vulgar taunts, deceitful tricks, lies, and even tossed sand at the students—tactics that would make all but the worst of the unorthodox sects cringe.

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“Coward!”

“That’s dirty!”

“Don’t you have any honor?”

Without resorting to any sophisticated martial arts, Baek Suryong left the students dazed and confused, both mentally and physically. In a matter of moments, every student who had challenged him, not only Dokgo Jun and the Azure Dragon Twins, but also the others who had signed up out of curiosity, lay scattered around him, moaning in pain after being beaten and bruised.

“Hey, you orthodox sect brats. Is this really all you’ve got? I’m getting bored,” he scoffed, before turning to face the students from the White Dragon Manor, who had been lurking on the sidelines this whole time.

Seeing their eyes gleaming like predators waiting for the right moment to strike though, he remarked, “Hey… Why aren’t you guys attacking? It’s like you’re plotting something sneaky.”

Hyonwon Kang grinned as he drew his sword and released his aura. In a tone that could only have belonged to a juvenile delinquent, he explained, “We wanted to let the weaklings tire you out first. Also, there’s only so many of us that can gang up on you at once.”

“I’ve been throwing hidden weapons at you the whole time, but you dodged every single one,” Yeo Min grumbled.

Geo Sangwoong chuckled, shaking his head, “No, you stopped throwing them after a while because you kept hitting the others.”

“I was just warming up while watching you fight,” Ya Suhyeok added, busy stretching and getting ready to face Baek Suryong’s antics.

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To Baek Suryong’s surprise, the problem students from the Remedial Class formed a circle around him and began closing in from different directions.

“Wow, look at this. You even set up a formation? I didn’t even tell you what we were going to do in today’s lesson!”

“It’s obvious. There’s no fucking way you’d let us off easy without some kind of practical training,” Hyonwon Kang replied, slinging his sword over his shoulder and swaggering forward.

Then, launching himself at Baek Suryong, he shouted, “Now! Get that motherfucker!”

Baek Suryong clicked his tongue in disdain. “Seriously? How can you call yourself the son of a prestigious orthodox clan when you talk like a street thug?”

“Kill him! We have to kill that man!”

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“Only then can we escape this hell!”

“Wooaahh!”

Following Hyonwon Kang, Yeo Min, Geo Sangwoong, and Ya Suhyeok joined in shouting their war cries, their killing intent almost tangible. It seemed that they had all built up quite a bit of resentment during their time at White Dragon Manor.

“Tsk tsk,” Baek Suryong shook his head. These problem children, filled with murderous intent just because I pushed them a little… At least, little Wiji Cheon is still somewhat sane…

However, when Baek Suryong turned to look at Wiji Cheon, he immediately changed his mind.

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“Hehe…” Wiji Cheon giggled sinisterly, hiding behind Hyonwon Kang like an assassin, his eyes glittering darkly.

…Has he lost his mind too? Baek Suryong gulped and adjusted his stance. Although he couldn’t possibly lose, with these five coming at him with full force, he couldn’t risk getting careless.

If anything, their determination delighted him. “You think you can take me down? You’re a thousand years too early, you orthodox sect brats,” he laughed.

Before long, the six found themselves embroiled in a chaotic melee. Weapons clashed fiercely, blows were aimed recklessly at vital points, and the classroom was filled with flying debris as the battle raged on. The intensity of the brawl reached a new level, forcing the students who had already lost to Baek Suryong to back up against the walls, terrified out of their wits.

“What kind of fight is this…?” Dokgo Jun muttered in a daze.

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“Ugh…”

“Please… spare me…”

Groans of pain echoed from all sides as the five students who had brazenly ganged up on Baek Suryong now lay on the ground, utterly defeated and covered in bruises.

“Phew, that was refreshing!” Baek Suryong exclaimed energetically, almost as if he’d just finished a light workout.

Monster… Even after fighting all of us, he hasn’t broken a sweat…

Why does it feel like he keeps getting stronger?

How did no one land a single hit on him?

The students were shocked speechless. More than ten of them had attacked Baek Suryong, but not a single one of them had managed to land a blow. They were completely outmatched.

Baek Suryong calmly explained, “As you saw, I didn’t use any proper techniques, only basic swordplay and the sort of moves you’d expect from a street thug. Eye gouging, groin kicking, hair pulling, crude barbs, spitting and sand throwing—all these are tactics that you orthodox kids consider dirty and underhanded.”

And yet he toyed with us… the students thought, despair settling in.

Looking around at the fallen students, Baek Suryong added in a serious tone, “So what if it’s unscrupulous? You got flustered by simple tricks like these and exposed a ridiculous number of openings. If you’d handled them properly, you might’ve at least landed a hit.”

Stung by the comment, one of the students couldn’t help but argue, “Isn’t that because your fundamentals are solid, Mr. Baek? Unorthodox sect members don’t train as hard as you do.”

A few others nodded in agreement.

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“What?” Baek Suryong burst out laughing, incredulous at their naivety. Where did these kids get such ridiculous ideas? That unorthodox sect practitioners are lazy and don’t train? What, are they supposed to just drink and rob people all day? Do they seriously believe the masters from the unorthodox sects only got strong because they practiced demonic arts?

“I said, they don’t train as hard…” the student’s voice faded away, only now recognizing the absurdity of what he had just claimed.

“If you want to fight unorthodox sect members, you need to understand them. If you pampered little garden flowers step into the real murim, you’ll be cut down by someone far beneath you in no time.”

“……” None of the students could muster a response. Even though they felt a surge of defiance, they couldn’t deny the truth in Baek Suryong’s words.

I guess that’s enough lecturing for now. Baek Suryong glanced around at the deflated students. He already had a plan to turn these fragile flowers into tough weeds.

“We still have some class time left, so let me introduce you to the assistant instructor who will be helping me teach you about the unorthodox sects.”

“…Assistant instructor?”

True enough, the students now sensed someone waiting outside the door.

Baek Suryong called out, “Come in.”

The classroom door swung open, revealing a man in a neatly pressed official uniform. His expression was stern and unreadable as he scanned the room before bowing formally. “I am Constable Cheong Cheon. At Baek Suryong’s request, I’ll be assisting with your classes for the semester.”

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“…Huh?”

“A constable?”

The students looked bewildered at the sudden appearance of a government official, but what Cheong Cheon said next left them even more stunned.

“Starting today, you will all be appointed as honorary constables, and we will be patrolling areas prone to violent crime on a weekly basis,” Cheong Cheon continued, his monotonous tone unwavering.

"”What?!””

Baek Suryong smirked. Balancing classroom instruction with real-world experience was the best teaching method he knew.