I Became the Genius Mage of the Martial Academy

Namgung Dohyeok, who was sitting alone in the Namgung Faction's private room, raised his teacup.

"It's peaceful."

Just as he was enjoying the leisure of a lazy morning and drinking his tea, the door burst open with an urgent presence.

"Excuse me, Professor, I've brought the Great Mage!"

"What?"

At the sudden news, Namgung Dohyeok put down his teacup and frowned.

The one who had been brought by the enthusiastic advanced student of the Namgung Faction was Zhuge Cheonwu.

The biggest troublemaker in the Martial Academy, who could cause a major incident at any time. He was a guy to be wary of, as wars and conflicts broke out wherever he went.

Moreover, he was an even more troublesome student, as he was getting stronger at a suspiciously fast pace and seemed to have some kind of connection with the academy head.

“It’s been a while.”

“What brings you here?”

“I’ve come to receive the professor’s seal regarding the matter of advanced student graduation. Let’s have a match.”

A sudden declaration of a duel. While the advanced student was gasping in astonishment, Namgung Dohyeok closed his two eyes.

***

Namgung Dohyeok looked at me and frowned.

So when I greeted him, his expression hardened even more.

‘Is my favorability at rock bottom?’

He was a person who had no sense of gratitude for fighting alongside me against the Blood Cult.

Since it wasn't a friendly atmosphere, I just briefly brought up the main point.

And this was the result.

“Did you just say you want to fight now?”

In the somehow more murderous atmosphere, Namgung Dohyeok stood up from his seat.

“If you don’t want to, you can just stamp your seal. On the advanced graduation token.”

As I said, taking out the wooden token, Namgung Dohyeok curled the corners of his mouth.

It seemed he was happy that I had chosen non-violence. A pacifist-like side.

‘That’s a lie.’

A killing intent emanated from Namgung Dohyeok's whole body.

“Follow me to the training ground. I’ll at least spare your life.”

Just as I was about to follow the professor who had left the door first, the student who had brought me raised his voice with a stunned face from the side.

“Are you crazy? A challenge to the professor?!”

It must have seemed reckless to the guy.

Because a professor-level person was a master who reigned as a strong person wherever he went in the Central Plains, not just in the Martial Academy.

“I needed a witness anyway, so follow me.”

But now I had to be able to defeat a professor-level person.

Because as Cheon Mu-jin had said, I had to become strong enough to be able to face a friendly law of the Demonic Cult in the future.

When we arrived at the training ground, Namgung Dohyeok muttered with a murderous intent.

“To think a brat who was just a kid when he enrolled has grown so much.”

And then he spread out daggers in both his hands. The daggers that spread out in a semi-circular shape in layers like a card trick.

“Isn’t it a case of the student surpassing the master?”

“A guy who hasn’t even won yet is bluffing.”

In an instant, the daggers disappeared from Namgung Dohyeok's hands. With that, the daggers that had floated in the air flew, filling my vision.

A trajectory and number that seemed impossible to dodge.

But this much was as expected.

‘It’s rather a good thing. It’s a chance to test this on a super-master who uses a flying dagger style.’

At that moment, three blades popped out from my sleeve and then formed a triangular formation in front of my eyes.

The Flame Lightning Three-Blade Formation had been activated.

‘I’ll deflect all of them with this.’

A flash flickered, and a deafening roar burst out.

The Flame Lightning Three-Blade Spear was shot in three directions and then spread out, spiraling as if to sweep the area.

“How is it? My flying dagger art.”

I asked from beyond the daggers that were scattering in the air. I had blown away all the daggers in the diagonal line.

Not only that, but even the daggers that were trying to attack with a time difference were all blown away and scattered.

“…That’s not a flying dagger style.”

It was still a picky reaction.

Namgung Dohyeok took out daggers from his sleeve again.

Just as I was about to unfold an additional Flame Lightning Three-Blade Formation, I heard Namgung Dohyeok's voice.

“Not yet.”

At the cold sensation I felt from above my head for a moment, I kicked off the ground.

With that, the daggers that poured down.

‘Did he aim for the blind spot above my head?’

The advantage of a dagger is its stealth. The daggers he had flown earlier had been flying in a trajectory that was out of sight and were now aiming for me.

Since I couldn't dodge all of them, I deflected them with the Demon-Slaying Sword. Since they were blades imbued with a powerful qi, each one was quite sharp.

In the meantime, Namgung Dohyeok began to fly additional daggers. A barrage of daggers shot from the front and back.

This was the scary part of a person who used a flying dagger style.

‘It’ll be hard with just one sword.’

I deflected the additional daggers that were flying in by operating the Flame Lightning Three-Blade Formation.

Since the number the other side was flying was greater, there was no answer with just defense.

I deflected the daggers with the Demon-Slaying Sword and then rushed at Namgung Dohyeok.

Then Namgung Dohyeok, who quickly dodged backward. It was an excellent lightness technique worthy of a master who used daggers.

But compared to Cheong Ah-hyun, it was at the level of a joke.

After immediately locating the opponent, I shot a Flame Lightning Three-Blade Spear.

Three flashes of light that flew with a flash of light aimed for Namgung Dohyeok.

An unavoidable speed and trajectory. It was the method of utilizing daggers that he had taught me in the battle with the Blood Cult.

Soon, with a deafening roar that was hard to believe had come from a fan rib, a flame lightning burst out.

A scorching wind blew for a while, and at the center of it was Namgung Dohyeok.

‘He dodged that?’

Although there were several pierced wounds, he had withstood the decisive attack that this side had flown in that situation.

‘Did he throw a dagger at the last moment and twist the trajectory?’

I saw blood flowing from the tip of the opponent's hand and then rushed at him.

The skill of accurately hitting the weakness of the Flame Lightning Three-Blade Spear and adjusting its direction in that short time was amazing.

But the consumption of internal energy due to that must also be considerable.

‘Then I just have to go into close combat.’

After immediately rushing at him, I thrust the Demon-Slaying Sword.

Kaang!

Namgung Dohyeok, who had drawn a dagger, was pushed back by the impact. Following that, a Flame Lightning Three-Blade Spear that extended from my sleeve.

‘I’ll drive a wedge with this.’

But Namgung Dohyeok's dagger was faster.

Namgung Dohyeok, who ran away further while I was deflecting the dagger with the Demon-Slaying Sword.

‘I was planning to immediately fly a Flame Lightning Three-Blade Spear if he came close to change the situation.’

As expected of his cautious personality. Soon, Namgung Dohyeok spoke in a tired tone.

“It seems it wasn’t a bluff.”

Although a dagger was fast, long-range, and had stealth, it was a weapon that had to consume a lot of internal energy to produce great power.

Because he had to throw it with a large amount of powerful qi.

In effect, it was like scattering a high-density powerful qi.

Since it seemed he was trying to buy time, I decided to finish the short question and answer.

“Because I’m in my growth period. If I win, I’ll take the seal.”

“As you wish. Then I’ll show you my all.”

Daggers spread out from Namgung Dohyeok's fingertips like cards in the air.

“That’s a lot. If you just jump, won’t you make a clanging sound?”

“Shut up.”

With an irritated voice, Namgung Dohyeok's fingertips blurred.

Simultaneously, the daggers that were shot and the Demon-Slaying Sword that deflected them.

But this time, something was different. The dagger that should have been deflected by the Demon-Slaying Sword slid and rotated, brushing past my neck.

Of course, since its power was reduced, it wasn't a big threat, but the fact that I had to raise my protective qi separately was tricky.

Above all, dozens of daggers with such a peculiar trajectory were pouring down.

While the swords are clashing, a dagger additionally jumps up as if a diffuse reflection is occurring. Like a living creature.

The Demon-Slaying Sword that was swung reflexively flashed. Even though I was accurately pinpointing and deflecting the flying trajectory, speed, and center of gravity, the daggers were still being shot at me.

‘What is this?’

Based on the sense of disharmony I felt at the tip of my sword, I noticed the anomaly.

‘This is rotational force!’

The moment I deflected the dagger, the blade reacted to the impact and rotated half a turn, falling inwards like a curveball.

With a collision sound, the powerful qi of the Demon-Slaying Sword is chipped away. In an instant, I could see the powerful qi rotating inside the dagger that was flying towards this side.

‘Don’t tell me? A double structure?!’

He had layered two powerful qi on top of the dagger and had flown it.

One was a blade-side powerful qi that added rotational force for penetration, and the other was giving propulsion and an irregular rotational force to the back of the dagger.

‘Is he a monster?’

To think he was flying dozens of them, which required an incredibly delicate operation. As I recognized this, I could see how systematic and profound a move it was.

To the point where the flying daggers looked like a work of art.

‘It’s like being in the middle of a shower of plum blossoms.’

I recalled the time when Namgung Dohyeok had given me the test of deflecting maple leaves in the intermediate student promotion exam in the past.

At that time, it was difficult to cut down just one maple fruit, but to think the day would come when I would face his full-powered daggers.

My feelings were new.

With a deep breath, I operated the Zixia Divine Art.

I had to be more delicate and faster. Just like Cheong Ah-hyun. The tip of my sword gently draws an afterimage. I began to deflect the daggers as if handling flower petals scattered by the wind.

While offsetting even the powerful qi inside it.

“What?!”

Namgung Dohyeok's expression changes rapidly.

I moved forward in the barrage of daggers that were naturally splitting around me.

Although Namgung Dohyeok threw additional daggers and tried to retreat and keep his distance, his offensive had already been broken.

Namgung Dohyeok gritted his teeth, seeing me who had started to rush in while deflecting the daggers.

At that moment.

Swish-!

A dagger flew in from behind my back. Although I deflected the attack that was aiming for my vitals by operating the Flame Lightning Three-Blade Formation, I almost got a dagger stuck in my leg, so I dodged to the side.

Thanks to that, I missed the fleeing Namgung Dohyeok.

‘What is this?’

To think a dagger had flown from behind my back. Had he turned and attacked from a blind spot? I hadn't felt such an airflow at all.

As I stopped my steps, only then could I see the thin threads that were held in Namgung Dohyeok's one hand from beyond.

‘Metal threads?’

A steel thread was attached to the dagger he had flown. He had strengthened the thread with a powerful qi and had aimed for the back of my head.

It was an unexpected blow.

“How colorful.”

If it was flying from the front, I could just cut it, but it was difficult to block a dagger that was deliberately hidden behind my back.

While I was wary of the move just now, Namgung Dohyeok emitted his internal energy with his whole body's prayer and held a large number of daggers in his grasp.

“…I’ll end this with this.”

“That is?”

Namgung Dohyeok, who was looking at this side in a low posture, with his body twisted diagonally like a top.

I knew that posture.

A shower of ten thousand flowers.

“I refuse.”

I immediately flew a Flame Lightning Three-Blade Spear. There was bound to be a gap before using such a big technique. If the shower of ten thousand flowers was activated, it would be the end. The chance was now.

“Too late!”

Simultaneously, Namgung Dohyeok's two arms created a gust of wind, and a huge amount of daggers were shot.

The Flame Lightning Three-Blade Spear broke through the daggers of the shower of ten thousand flowers and was shot.

But in the meantime, the remaining hundreds of daggers rushed over my head.

‘I’ll deflect them.’

I raised the Demon-Slaying Sword and swung it like crazy.

Daggers that poured down endlessly like rain. As if that wasn't enough, the blades also bent backward and flew in. It was as if daggers were flying from all directions, up, down, left, and right.

Although it seemed to be a half-assed version because he hadn't reached the Transformation Realm, it was an incredible technique.

Soon, the sound of steel rain echoed in the training ground, and the rain of blades broke the stone floor and turned it into a pulp.

In the middle of a scene that was like a scene from the apocalypse.

Dozens of purple sword qi that were flickering and blooming draw afterimages like flower buds in the rain and deflect the shower of ten thousand flowers.

A dagger pierces through the powerful qi and cuts my thigh, and gets stuck in my shoulder. While I was becoming covered in blood in the downpour of blades that were eating away at my whole body, I swung my sword.

If I stopped for even a single moment, I would die.

“Aaaaaargh!!”

In the midst of the crazy sword strikes, I could feel the blood in my whole body boiling. Even though blood was bursting from dozens of wounds, the sword was light.

In the midst of the pouring steel stems, the sword path became more free.

The sword qi of the Zixia Divine Art gradually became denser, and everything I had learned so far mixed.

In the midst of a life-and-death crisis, my talent finally crossed another wall.

The pinnacle of the super-peak level.

I had finally reached the realm that Baek Hasin had reached on the day he was abducted by the friendly law.

“I did it.”

I raised my head, feeling the afterglow of the sword.

Before I knew it, the shower of ten thousand flowers had stopped, and only a clear sky was spread out.

“…You’re a monster.”

At the low voice I suddenly heard, when I lowered my gaze, at the end of it was Namgung Dohyeok, who had collapsed with his two shoulders and legs pierced.

“No matter how incomplete it was, to think you’d block a shower of ten thousand flowers, you’re right. The student has surpassed the master.”

“You should get treatment first.”

I said, approaching him.

Since he hadn't been additionally injured by the flame lightning, the wound was pierced quite cleanly. If he received treatment from Go Won-tae like this, he would be able to recover without any problems.

Soon, as I was supporting Namgung Dohyeok, I heard a mumble.

“I never thought that cocky kid from the entrance exam would become this strong.”

“Are you still talking about that? It’s a growth period, a growth period.”

He was a teacher with a long grudge. Rather, as this side grumbled, Namgung Dohyeok smiled faintly.

And then he fumbled in his bosom with a hand that was trembling from the wound and then took out his professor's seal.

“It’s a complete defeat. I acknowledge you.”

And then he stamped his seal on the wooden token that this side had taken out.

With this, one. Now there were two professors left.

“So who are you going to find next?”

At Namgung Dohyeok's question, I contemplated for a moment and then thought of a person.

A type that was tricky for me to face now, and a master who would be a practice partner ahead of the battle with the Demonic Cult.

“It’s Professor Woo Hee-ryeong.”

“…You’ve chosen a difficult opponent. Don’t be careless.”

In fact, there was one more reason why I had chosen her.

‘I hope my prediction is wrong, but…’

Woo Hee-ryeong had a high probability of being a spy for the Demonic Cult.

(End of Chapter)