TL: FoodieMonster007

As the last two groups walked out, a murmur rippled through the gathered students.

"He's finally making an appearance."

"This is my first time seeing Wiji Cheon fight. Is he really as strong as the rumors say?"

"Boy, are you in for a shock. That kid turns into a demon the second he picks up a sword."

"But his opponents are no pushovers, either. Yoo Yiran and the girl from the Five Young Azure Dragons are in the same group!"

"Yeo Min? She's nothing special."

Now that their mock battles were over, everyone could finally enjoy the final match. They were particularly focused on Wiji Cheon, the genius swordsman who had burst onto the scene like a comet during the entrance exam by fighting on par with the Student Council President, Dokgo Jun.

At that time, Wiji Cheon had taken the top spot by unanimous decision. Since then, alongside the Azure Dragon Hero, Baek Suryong, he had cut down the masters of the Scarlet Tiger Gang and the Valley of Evil, and also won an official duel against Yoo Yiran. More recently, he defeated several prominent wandering swordsmen, earning the pretentious title of 'Sword Wonder.'

"Don't they say that all challengers must defeat the Five Young Azure Dragons before they can duel Mr. Baek Suryong?"

"Yeah, and I hear it's especially hard for swordsmen to challenge Mr. Baek because their opponent is Wiji Cheon."

"So he's the strongest of the Five Young Azure Dragons."

"Think he's stronger than Hyonwon Kang? I got some serious goosebumps just now."

The students looked at Wiji Cheon with a mixture of wariness, admiration, and jealousy. Despite being the youngest freshman at the academy, his martial arts skills rivaled the best in the school.

Nonetheless, Wiji Cheon was normally a shy and timid boy.

"…L-Let's… do our best together…" Wiji Cheon stammered nervously. Despite his reluctance, his teammates had nominated him as the group leader.

Although he had improved slightly after interacting with the SRS students, he was still very shy around strangers.

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He smiled awkwardly. "You all remember the formation we planned earlier, right? T-Then, shall we get into formation?"

Before the mock battle began, the two groups took their positions. However, unlike Group Eight, which assembled in an instant, Group Ten took forever to get into formation.

"Hahaha! What's there to worry about when we have the Sword Wonder on our side? We'll win for sure!" a fourth-year senior laughed, putting pressure on Wiji Cheon.

"Tsk. No matter how much I think about it, this doesn't seem right," a third-year senior complained. He had criticized the strategy throughout the earlier meeting, but offered no solutions of his own. It was clear that he had no interest in cooperating.

A freshman scratched his head. "How are we supposed to do this again?

"Am I standing in the right place?" a sophomore asked, looking confused.

Baek Suryong shook his head and sighed. Group Ten was more disorganized and lost than any of the previous groups. "That's a random mob, not a team…"

Wiji Cheon forced a smile as he watched his group members. "It's okay. Please take your time. I'm sure the seniors on the other team will wait…"

"FOOLS!" Baek Suryong roared, eyes flashing. He was not going to wait patiently for dawdling students. "Do you think your enemies on the battlefield will wait for you to get ready?! Ten points from Group Ten!"

Wiji Cheon and the Group Ten students flinched.

""S-Sorry!""

Group Ten scrambled around for a moment before barely managing to get into formation.

SHING!

Wiji Cheon drew his sword and aimed it at the opposing group, who had finished preparing long ago. In an instant, his innocent eyes turned steely.

"Ooh…!"

"Indeed…!"

The audience immediately took notice of Wiji Cheon's change in demeanor. Only the Five Young Azure Dragons, who knew Wiji Cheon well, tilted their heads in puzzlement.

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"Hey, isn't Cheon acting a bit strangely?

"He can't focus."

"Why is he so distracted?"

None of them knew what was going through Wiji Cheon's mind.

Only Wiji Cheon knew that he was panicking.

This is a group battle. I can't afford to make the same mistake as Senior Wonkang.We have to work together!

He whispered to his group, "Remember, we must stick together until the end. I'll block all the dangerous attacks for you."

"……"

However, shortly after the mock battle began, Wiji Cheon realized how complacent he was being.

"Who said we'd let you stick together?"

The two Group Eight girls who knew Wiji Cheon best moved simultaneously.

WHOOSH!

As expected of the fastest movement arts expert in the Azure Dragon Academy, Yeo Min's figure seemed to stretch out, leaving an afterimage as she made full use of her mobility to circled around the training ground and position herself behind Group Ten.

"Watch your backs! Senior Yeo Min uses Ice Arts!" Wiji Cheon warned.

"Do you have time to worry about that?" Yoo Yiran taunted as she spearheaded an attack on Group Ten with her teammates.

CLANG! CLANG!

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Wiji Cheon wanted to continue giving orders to his teammates, but he couldn't take his eyes off Yoo Yiran's sword.

Yoo Yiran smirked. She knew her junior's skills well, so there was no need to waste time sizing each other up. She went all out right from the start, the ever-changing forms of the Soaring Stream Sword Technique enveloping her opponent.

"Attack!"

"Uwaaaah!"

The other students collided head-on. Since their skills were similar, the fight was neck and neck. If anything, Group Eight, which was down one member due to Yeo Min's absence, began to fall behind.

To make things worse, Wiji Cheon gradually pushing back Yoo Yiran, giving him some leeway to monitor the battle. "Maintain the formation! I'll block Senior Yiran, so you seniors, be careful…"

"How dare you look away in front of me?" Yoo Yiran snapped, furious.

CLANG! CLANG! SCREECH!

Two swords scraped against each other, sending sparks flying. For a brief moment, the two swordsmen pressed their swords against each other.

Yoo Yiran's eyes flashed. "I'll make you focus completely on me."

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"Keuk…!" Wiji Cheon groaned. At any other time, he would have gladly accepted her challenge, but he couldn't focus right now.

I have to pay attention to my group members. We have to fight together to win!

Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, a northern blizzard began to howl from behind Group Ten.

WHOOOOOSH!

Suddenly, a fierce, sharp gale swept through the area, causing the thinly clad students to shiver as the temperature dropped sharply.

"I-Ice Arts?"

"What kind of Ice Arts is strong enough to freeze the entire battlefield?

The students turned to look at Yeo Min, only to find her cloaked in an aura of pure white frigid energy. To their disbelief, she was targeting their rear all by herself.

FWOOSH!

Yeo Min brandished her folding fan, her eyes glowing with a soft white luster. Each time she swung it, a pure white current of energy rode the wind and shot out like bolts of lightning.

CRACKLE!

Small ice particles formed in the air and rained down on Group Ten, each one as sharp as a throwing knife.

"I-I can't move…"

"Kuaaak!"

Dulled by the plummeting temperature and the hail of ice particles bearing down on them, Group Ten, which had enjoyed a brief advantage, was quickly cornered.

"Attack!"

Group Eight pounced on the opportunity. Previously pushed onto the defensive due to having one less person, they now shifted to the offensive.

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Wiji Cheon turned pale. Even as he dealt with Yoo Yiran, he blocked some of the attacks aimed at his teammates. Glancing at three of his seniors, he called out urgently, "Seniors, please hold off Senior Yeo Min!"

"But then the others will be pushed back…"

"I'll buy you some time! Hurry!"

The three of them nodded in unison and charged at Yeo Min, but she deftly employed her exceptional mobility and made effective use of the training ground, dancing circles around her three opponents and defeating them one by one.

"Was Yeo Min that strong?"

"I thought she was the weakest of the Five Young Azure Dragons."

"How can you say that after seeing this?"

The onlookers couldn't help but admire Yeo Min's stellar performance, which all but decided the match.

Meanwhile, things were looking worse and worse for Wiji Cheon.

CLANG! CLANG!

As the members of Group Ten were eliminated, the burden on him increased. He couldn't help but fall into a disadvantage against Yoo Yiran if he had to take care of his teammates while simultaneously fighting her.

As time passed, the number of cuts on his clothes increased.

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RIP!

The sound of his sleeve being cut rang out distinctly, and blood streamed from his grazed shoulder.

Startled, Yoo Yiran paused her attack. "Surrender! The match was decided long ago."

"……" Gritting his teeth, Wiji Cheon looked around. Unable to withstand the simultaneous offensive from the front and back, most of his teammates were either knocked out or had surrendered.

"I-I surrender!"

"Damn it! We were completely blindsided."

"Can't be helped. They were too strong!"

Wiji Cheon's blood boiled. Did you really do your best? What gives you the right to complain when you don't follow instructions and give up as soon as the going gets tough?

The students in Group Ten were nothing like his seniors at White Dragon Manor.

Why are they so pathetic?

He couldn't understand them at all. How could they be so incompetent? Not only did they fail to do the simplest tasks properly, they didn't even think to mount a counterattack while he was defending them.

They're no help at all.

Until now, the only people Wiji Cheon had been close to were the White Dragon Manor seniors, Yoo Yiran, and Dokgo Jun. Like him, all of them were the most talented of the Azure Dragon Academy students. When he fought alongside them, they never dragged him down like this.

Group Ten, however, was different. They weren't just out of sync with him and each other. They were a hindrance, an outright burden! No matter how hard he tried to be considerate and help them…

Finally, he snapped and blurted out his true feelings.

"…Just get out of my way."

The Group Ten student fighting beside him flinched. Suddenly, Wiji Cheon wasn't shielding him anymore, leaving him exposed to the concentrated attacks of Group Eight.

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CLANG!

"I-I surrender!"

In the end, Wiji Cheon was the only surviving member of Group Ten.

Everyone in Group Eight surrounded Wiji Cheon.

"You have no intention of surrendering, do you?" Yeo Min sighed softly. "It's obvious what you're thinking. You're thinking of taking on all of us by yourself, aren't you?"

Wiji Cheon nodded calmly. "…That would be more effective."

Yeo Min tensed. If anyone else had said such a thing, she would have snorted, but this was Wiji Cheon. Even now, she could feel a sharp energy radiating from his sword, enough to make her skin tingle.

"Now he's back to the Wiji Cheon we know."

"Ten against one? That kid is more than capable of beating the odds."

"That little brat's got a real competitive streak."

The Five Young Azure Dragons shook their heads as they looked at Wiji Cheon, who exuded an aura so powerful that he overwhelmed ten people by himself.

"As expected…" Yoo Yiran muttered, looking strangely excited. "He looks his best when he holds a sword with those arrogant eyes."

"Such an eyesore, really…" Yeo Min groaned. "Everyone, stay on your toes. If we're careless, we'll lose."

All of Group Eight tensed.

Off to the side, Baek Suryong was dumbfounded. This match had turned out very differently from what he had expected, mainly due to Group Ten's lackadaisical attitude. Still, he didn't feel the need to intervene just yet.

"That kid Cheon…"

Wiji Cheon was different from Hyonwon Kang. Unlike Hyonwon Kang, who couldn't control his martial arts, the current Wiji Cheon could now suppress the Killing Sword and use sword qi.

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"Well, there are always exceptions."

On the battlefield, the existence of an extraordinary master could sometimes overturn all common sense.

It shouldn't hurt to show these students what that feels like once.

"Okay, show me what you're capable of, Wiji Cheon."

As if he could hear his teacher's voice, Wiji Cheon moved.

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Translator's Note: I just heard that my granduncle passed peacefully in his sleep this morning, at the ripe old age of 96. This might be the last chapter this week as I will be travelling abroad to accompany my grandmother.