Star Instructor, Master Baek-Chapter 385: The Azure Games (4)

"...What the hell?"
"Are you playing around right now?!"
"Is it a meat dumpling?"
"By the way, when do we eat lunch?"
"Wait a minute. That was too fast, I couldn't hear. Please say it again!"
Baek Suryong looked at his students smugly.
Good grief! How could all of them react exactly as I expected? Why did I only gather these kinds of idiots?
"I object to this task," Namgung Su growled, glaring at Baek Suryong. Turning to Dokgo Jun, he added, "This math problem is too difficult for these students. In fact, it's practically impossible for them to solve."
"Hmm..." Dokgo Jun fell into deep thought, seriously considering Namgung Su's words.
Before he could respond, however, Baek Suryong retorted incredulously, "What's so difficult about it? Your
ten-year-old little sister
could probably solve it in seconds."
"That's..." Namgung Su couldn't bring himself to argue back. After all, to claim that Namgung Mi was incapable of solving a straightforward math problem of this caliber was the same as insulting her intelligence.
However, the Five Young Azure Dragons thought differently.
Hyonwon Kang objected, "Namgung Mi is a genius who's had a gifted education since she was young!"
Geo Sangwoong nodded. "Yeah! She's much smarter than we are."
"All ten-year-olds love dumplings!" Ya Suhyeok remarked.
Baek Suryong was rendered speechless by his students' cheerful admission that they were dumber than a ten-year-old. "...What the fuck are you saying?! That's it. Once the Azure Dragon Festival ends, you're all going to have to relearn basic math."
""NOOOOOO...!"" The Five Young Azure Dragons fell into despair.
Meanwhile, the Blue Team had almost reached the halfway point. Namgung Su studied their faces with a troubled expression.
What command should I give them?
It was pointless to give the Blue Team, which included Tang Soso and Bang Baekhyun, an academic problem. On the other hand, he couldn't think of a suitable physical activity that would slow them down significantly, either.
It has to be a task that takes a lot of time, but I can't make them do anything too dangerous...
Ultimately, he had to settle for making them waste some time.
"...Put one end of that stick in the ground and spin around it a hundred times."
""Yes!""
The Blue Team immediately set about finishing Namgung Su's task.
Seeing them, the Five Young Azure Dragons visibly panicked.
Geo Sangwoong calmed his juniors. "Everyone, please calm down and take a seat. Mr. Baek looks down on us way too much. Let's show him that we can solve this!"
"Do we really have to sit down and put our heads together just for a math problem...?"
"Sigh..."
Ignoring Namgung Su's forlorn sigh, the Five Young Azure Dragons seriously began to solve the problem.
"So... what was the question again?"
"The Four Heavenly Kings have 36 dumplings. How many does the Primeval Witch have?"
"You just omitted the entire middle part!"
The Remedial Class dunces with bad memories hit a wall right from the very beginning.
Yeo Min sighed deeply. "I remember it. The sum of the dumplings held by the Cold-Blooded Asura Demon King and the Supreme Demon Spear is equal to the sum of the dumplings held by the Infernal King of Annihilation and the Primeval Witch. The Infernal King of Annihilation has 4 less dumplings than the Supreme Demon Spear. The Cold-Blooded Asura Demon King has 8 dumplings. How many dumplings does the Primeval Witch have?"
""Ooooh..."" The other four dunces opened their eyes wide and clapped.
Following that, they each shared their thoughts with the group.
"Shouldn't each person eat at least 20 dumplings to be full?" Ya Suhyeok asked.
"He said there are 36 in total. What did you even hear?"
The muscle-brained Ya Suhyeok's completely irrelevant opinion was dismissed right away.
"Wouldn't the winner of a fight get to have more? After all, the murim operates according to the survival of the fittest," Wiji Cheon suggested shyly.
Hyonwon Kang nodded. "That sounds reasonable."
"Holy shit... Are there no brains inside your three thick skulls?" Yeo Min shrieked, glaring at the three simpletons.
Hyonwon Kang, Wiji Cheon, and Ya Suhyeok avoided her gaze.
Ugh... These three are no help at all...
Grimacing, Yeo Min turned to the smartest person in the group. "Senior Sangwoong? Do you know the answer?"
Everyone pinned their hopes on Geo Sangwoong, the heir to the Golden Dragon Trading Company and the oldest senior among them.
Geo Sangwoong folded his arms grimly. "Everyone, abandon your preconceptions that merchants are good at math. Ever since I set my heart on martial arts at the age of five, I have never once studied arithmetic seriously."
"That's not something to be proud of, you damn punk..."
FWOOSH!
The Blue Team completed Namgung Su's task and resumed the race.
The Five Young Azure Dragons' hearts sank. They still weren't close to solving Baek Suryong's math problem!
Desperate, Yeo Min took the lead, saying, "Okay, let's try writing it down."
The five of them sat in a circle and began writing numbers on the dirt floor with their fingers.
"Okay. The Cold-Blooded Asura Demon King and the Supreme Demon Spear. The Infernal King of Annihilation and the Primeval Witch. If both pairs have the same number of dumplings, wouldn't that mean each pair has half of 36... 18 dumplings?"
"Why?"
"But the Cold-Blooded Asura Demon King and the Supreme Demon Spear are stronger!"
"In this dog-eat-dog murim, there can be no equality..."
SMACK! WHACK! THWACK!
Yeo Min slapped Ya Suhyeok, Wiji Cheon, and Hyonwon Kang's mouths with the White Ice Divine Palm, freezing them shut.
Technically, using inner arts was forbidden, but Dokgo Jun quietly let it slide as she hadn't used it to gain an advantage in the race.
"From now on, the three of you SHUT YOUR TRAPS," Yeo Min snarled.
""......""
"Since the Cold-Blooded Asura Demon King has 8... then does that mean the Supreme Demon Spear has 10?" Geo Sangwoong muttered.
Although he had distanced himself from math since the age of five, he was at least capable of focusing on the problem at hand, and his academic grades were the best among the Five Young Azure Dragons.
"And since the Infernal King of Annihilation has 4 less than the Supreme Demon Spear..."
"He has 6 dumplings!"
Though it took quite some time, Yeo Min and Geo Sangwoong put their heads together and finally arrived at the answer.
"In that case, the Primeval Witch must have 12 dumplings, right?"
"Correct." Baek Suryong smirked faintly and nodded. Although he gave his students a 'difficult' problem, he didn't think it was so hard that they wouldn't eventually solve it.
"Alright! Let's continue!"
The Five Young Azure Dragons clambered to their feet and quickly completed the remaining half lap.
Unfortunately, a large gap had already formed between them and the Blue Team.
Baek Suryong grinned and looked at Namgung Su. "It seems the scales have tipped quite a bit."
"...It's not over yet," Namgung Su snarled.
It was not yet time to give up. A total of five relay teams would run in succession in the Five-Person Six-Legged Obstacle Relay, and the second team had only just set off.
I can still make a comeback.
Now that he had witnessed Baek Suryong's approach, he would use it as a reference to create an even tougher task.
Nevertheless, Baek Suryong surpassed his imagination for a second time. When the second White Team group arrived, eager to catch up with the leading Blue Team, he cruelly stomped on their hopes and dreams.
"What is the most boring class this semester? State the subject and reason loudly and clearly, and I will let you pass. Oh, be sure to exclude mine and Namgung Su's classes."
"T-That's...!!"
The White Team students looked around in a fluster. Right now, numerous spectators, including the other Azure Dragon Academy instructors, were watching them.
Do we really have to say this in front of the teachers?
He's crazy! Really crazy!
Even Namgung Su's usually calm eyes shook violently. "Baek Suryong, are you a devil?"
Baek Suryong grinned evilly. "I'll become a devil if that's what it takes to win."
Namgung Su's eyelashes trembled. As a scion of a prestigious orthodox sect, he could never have conceived of such vile and petty tactics.
Damn it... I can't beat him in sheer despicableness...
He had no choice but to admit that he was inferior when it came to sheer shamelessness. Even if he could think of an unscrupulous plan, there was no way he could bring himself to say it out loud.
"Did you challenge me without that much resolve? Tsk tsk, is this all a gently raised orthodox young master amounts to?"
"You...!"
In the end, the Blue Team won the second event by a landslide.
Announcer Dokgo Jun declared, "The winner of the second contest, the Five-Person Six-Legged Obstacle Relay, is the Blue Team!"
Cheers and boos erupted at the same time.
"Waaaaah!"
"Boooooo!"
This time, it was the Blue Team students who raised their hands high in victory, while the White Team gnashed their teeth in frustration.
"Namgung Su," Baek Suryong whispered, exercising his right as the victor just as Namgung Su had after the first contest. "Why don't you just go home and drink your milk like a good little boy?"
"......" A hot flame ignited in Namgung Su's cold eyes.
"And the winner of the Tug-of-War is... the White Team!"
"Waaaaah!"
A deafening cheer erupted from the left side of the stands, which had become a sea of white.
"For the Treasure Hunt... Victory goes to the Blue Team!"
"Woooooah!"
The right side was no less riled up. Blue flags fluttered everywhere, accompanied by cheers and shouts.
"Crush those Blue Team bastards!"
"Punish the loathsome White Team!"
Before anyone knew it, the spectators had purchased headbands and flags from enterprising merchants and divided themselves into Blue and White Team supporters.
Dokgo Jun shouted hoarsely, cheered on by spectators from both sides, "Oh, I can see the excitement in the air! The fight is close, and tensions are mounting! We're seeing an increasing number of casualties with light bruises, but no worries! We have plenty of medical supplies prepared! Come on, everyone! Cheer louder! Bring down the house!"
"WAAAAAAAAAH!"
Dokgo Jun proudly surveyed the grand training ground and the spectator stands. With this, he would be remembered in history as the Student Council President who had presided over the greatest Azure Dragon Festival ever.
He clenched his fists, overcome with emotion.
This is it! This electrifying madness!
Baek Suryong and Namgung Su's competitive spirits were contagious, infecting the students, instructors, and spectators alike.
Only a few were not affected by that madness.
"Hoho, everyone's so excited."
"...Don't you think this is a little excessive?"
Two old men, Noh Goonsang and Mae Geuklyom, watched the Azure Games coolly from atop a building, detached from the fervor that had consumed the academy.
Noh Goonsang chuckled heartily. "It may be over the top, but isn't having fun also a privilege of youth?"
"We're the ones in charge of the cleanup, though..."
"Hoho! Let me help out this year as well."
The two of them did not participate in the Azure Games. Officially, it was because they didn't want to get in the way of young peoples' fun. The truth, however, was that they had a much more important job to do.
Suddenly, Noh Goonsang's eyes widened in surprise. "I've known you for over twenty years, but I don't think I've ever seen you smile like this before, Sword Addict."
"...Is that so?" Mae Geuklyom touched his lips awkwardly. Ever since Baek Suryong had gifted him the portrait of Mae Yakbing, his expression had softened considerably, and he found himself smiling more often. "...Must be because my grandson has the look of a mischievous boy having the time of his life."
"Hoho! He's indeed enjoying it more than anyone, isn't he?!"
The two old men's gazes turned to Baek Suryong in the middle of the grand training ground. The current event was Pole Toppling,1 and Baek Suryong was at the forefront, doing battle with the Five Young Azure Dragons.
"Come at me, you ungrateful little brats!"
As he watched the scene, Mae Geuklyom was reminded of the Azure Dragon Academy from thirty years ago. He remembered Mae Yakbing, his daughter and a huge troublemaker, as well as the Handsome Prince Baek Muheun, whose wild exploits fueled countless rumors.
Not to mention the many students who had already graduated.
Even so, the Azure Dragon Academy had never been as vibrant as it was now.
"My grandson was weak and sickly as a child, so he has never gone to school. This kind of event is a first for him, too."
"...I find that hard to imagine. Are you really talking about that Mr. Baek Suryong?"
"Yes, I too didn't know this until I heard it from my son-in-law."
Noh Goonsang chuckled heartily, as if he found the thought of a frail Baek Suryong amusing. "But now, isn't he enjoying the festival more than anyone?"
"...It looks that way to me as well." Mae Geuklyom smiled faintly as he looked at his grandson at the very center of the festival grounds.
"Screw that honor and chivalry bullshit! Throw dirt in his eyes!"
Sometimes using unbelievably vile schemes...
"Step on him so he can't get up again!"
Sometimes being a bit too aggressive...
"Bring it on, Namgung Su! Let's settle this once and for aaaaall!"
In a grandfather's eyes, all of it looked endearing and lovely.
"...He must have dreamed about playing like this for the longest time."
VWOOOOM!
The Divine Azure Dragon Sword, held in Mae Geuklyom's arms, trembled as if it could read the old man's heart.
Noh Goonsang glanced at the sword. "Huh! What a mysterious sword!"
"My grandson left it with me as there is no need to wear a sword during the Azure Dragon Festival," Mae Geuklyom said firmly.
No, it wasn't just the sword he entrusted me with...
Mae Geuklyom took his eyes off his grandson and scanned the entire Azure Dragon Academy.
"I've found one more."
"Hmm, I've just found another one as well."
The two old men scoured the Azure Dragon Academy, which was bursting with excitement, for hidden threats.
Translator's Note:
The next chapter will be released 10-12 hours from now as I need to take my bunnies to the vet for their annual checkup and then get a much-needed haircut.
Pole Toppling: Similar to Capture The Flag but involves knocking over a very big pole buried in the ground (requires the combined weight of dozens of people to tilt it) instead of grabbing a flag. ↩