The Beggar Young Master of the Namgung Clan

Namgung Il was moving somewhere, following Cha Yul-ryeong.

'What on earth is he up to?'

Looking at Cha Yul-ryeong walking in front of him, Namgung Il had such a question.

Cha Yul-ryeong, who had suddenly appeared in front of him just as he was about to leave after failing the final exam.

Namgung Il still hadn't heard the reason why he had come to see him.

'Somehow... it doesn't seem like something to talk about in front of people.'

So wasn't it because he hadn't stated his business right there and had brought him to a place like this?

Now that there was almost no human presence around, Cha Yul-ryeong finally stopped walking.

"This should be enough."

Muttering, Cha Yul-ryeong turned around.

"Namgung Il."

"..."

"Do you want to enter the Flying Dragon Academy?"

When Cha Yul-ryeong suddenly asked, Namgung Il couldn't help but be flustered for a moment.

Why was he asking him such a question when he had failed the final exam?

Namgung Il immediately answered that question with a look of displeasure.

"Are you making fun of me?"

"No, I'm asking seriously."

"..."

"If I give you another chance, what will you do?"

A chance...?

Although Namgung Il couldn't understand those words for a moment, as he was looking at Cha Yul-ryeong, who was smiling meaningfully at him, a guess suddenly came to mind.

"Are you perhaps saying that you'll give me another chance to take the entrance exam?"

"Something like that."

"..."

"To be precise, I will give you a chance to enter immediately without even having to take the exam."

Hearing those words, Namgung Il couldn't help but be surprised.

Not even a re-exam, but to let him enter immediately.

Namgung Il looked at Cha Yul-ryeong with a suspicious gaze.

'What on earth is he up to?'

Of course, from Namgung Il's point of view, there was no reason to refuse those words.

But the sweeter the words, the more there was always an unseen scheme within them.

Especially since the person saying those words was none other than Cha Yul-ryeong, Namgung Il did not let his guard down.

"Your reaction is quite lukewarm."

"..."

"Isn't it a good opportunity? I thought you would be much happier than now."

"What on earth is your scheme?"

When Namgung Il asked, a low exclamation flowed from Cha Yul-ryeong's mouth.

"A scheme... why do you think so?"

"Because you hate me."

"..."

"If a person who even put a strange condition on the first exam suddenly says he'll let me pass, wouldn't it be natural to be suspicious first?"

Namgung Il clearly remembered what had happened in the first exam.

At that time, Cha Yul-ryeong had said that he would fail him if he couldn't guess the exact number of beads in the wooden box.

For such a person to now say that he would let him pass, it was natural to think that there was some kind of scheme.

"...Your head spins faster than I thought."

"..."

"Why did such a person get only one problem right on the written exam?"

O-one problem?

To think that he had really only gotten that much right.

Namgung Il's face momentarily turned red with embarrassment.

"Th-that's... it doesn't matter now, does it!"

"Well, yes. It certainly doesn't matter."

"..."

"Also, that written exam has nothing to do with measuring a martial artist's capabilities."

Cha Yul-ryeong added.

At that moment, Namgung Il's expression was filled with puzzlement.

For the entrance exam that he himself had supervised to have nothing to do with measuring a martial artist's capabilities... that was the same as denying his own work.

"That statement... I don't think it's something a supervisor of an entrance exam should say."

"Is that so? Then please forget what I just said."

"..."

"Anyway, I have no other intentions. I'm just giving you another chance because I don't want to miss out on an excellent student. If you don't want it, you can refuse."

Cha Yul-ryeong said and had a relaxed smile on his lips.

Namgung Il, who was silently watching him for a while.

Although it was too early to judge rashly, Namgung Il did not feel that those words were a lie now.

'Yes, there's no need to miss this opportunity now.'

Namgung Il wanted to enter the Flying Dragon Academy if possible.

If so, not only would he be able to get two hundred thousand gold, but he would also be able to live close to Jong Seo-eon.

Especially, it was most important for Namgung Il now to train Jong Seo-eon and make him continue the lineage of the Beggar's Staff Style.

"I understand."

"..."

"I will accept that opportunity."

When Namgung Il answered, a meaningful smile appeared on Cha Yul-ryeong's lips.

"A good thought. Then..."

"Wait!"

It was then.

A voice that was heard from somewhere cut off Cha Yul-ryeong's words.

"Were you pulling a dirty trick behind my back?"

The person asking Cha Yul-ryeong was none other than Ho Jeong-won.

At that moment, the smile disappeared from his lips, and Cha Yul-ryeong's expression slightly distorted.

Since he had thought something like this might happen, he had come to a deserted place... Cha Yul-ryeong looked at Ho Jeong-won with a cold gaze.

"A dirty trick? What on earth do you mean by that?"

"You lied to me and the other brats that number ten thousand had failed, and you're doing something like this secretly behind our backs. If that's not a dirty trick, then what on earth is it?"

"..."

When Ho Jeong-won asked, Cha Yul-ryeong could not answer.

Silence would mean affirmation.

Ho Jeong-won clicked his tongue and moved his gaze to Namgung Il.

"Number ten thousand."

"...?"

"That brat must have told you that he would let you enter the Flying Dragon Academy, right?"

Ho Jeong-won asked, as if he had heard all of the conversation just now.

Namgung Il glanced at Cha Yul-ryeong and then turned his head back to its original position and answered that question.

"Yes, he said so."

"As expected. Well, it's obvious what that brat would do."

"..."

"And then? Didn't he tell you to join his class as a condition for admission?"

A condition?

Hearing Ho Jeong-won's words, Namgung Il roughly guessed what Cha Yul-ryeong's inner thoughts were.

'Was his purpose to draw me into his class?'

Cha Yul-ryeong must be the head of the Azure Dragon class.

And Ho Jeong-won, this person had said he was the head of the Vermilion Bird class.

Somehow, looking at the situation so far, it seemed that there were factions within the academy depending on the class.

"No, he didn't say that."

"Then I must have come before that."

Ho Jeong-won said and glared at Cha Yul-ryeong again.

"Cha Yul-ryeong, don't be too greedy."

"..."

"Your class is already overflowing with talented kids. Do you really have to go this far and snatch him in the middle?"

"...I don't know what you're talking about."

A cold smile.

Although his mouth was smiling, Cha Yul-ryeong's eyes were still coldly directed at Ho Jeong-won.

"Didn't you also say that you didn't want number ten thousand to be eliminated like this?"

"Don't change the subject. What's annoying me now is your rat-like behavior."

Ho Jeong-won knew well about the person named Cha Yul-ryeong.

So he had come here just in case, and as expected, wasn't the situation flowing as he had expected?

If he hadn't come here, Cha Yul-ryeong would surely have offered Namgung Il the condition of joining the Azure Dragon class by now.

"Alright."

"..."

"Then let's ask him directly here. You wouldn't have any complaints about that, would you?"

"Yes, I would accept that."

The two, who were having a conversation of unknown meaning. And the gazes of the two were simultaneously directed at Namgung Il.

"...?"

What on earth is this uncomfortable gaze?

Although he didn't know the detailed circumstances, Namgung Il could at least tell that those two were now fighting over him.

"Namgung Il."

"Yes?"

"You surely answered that you would enter the Flying Dragon Academy earlier, right?"

Cha Yul-ryeong suddenly asked.

Why was he confirming that fact with him again?

When Namgung Il lightly nodded his head instead of answering, Cha Yul-ryeong continued to speak.

"In another place now, the passers are choosing the class they will be in."

"...?"

"After the first choice, you cannot change your class. In other words, you will be a member of that class forever until you graduate."

If one becomes a member of that class for the first time, one cannot move to another class afterwards.

Although this was the same in the past, the method of choosing the class oneself at the time of admission was a different point from the past.

"You will also have to choose the class you want to enter from the four classes here."

"...Here?"

"Yes, originally, the choice is made in order of grades, but your admission is different from the other eighty people."

"..."

"As an exception, I will give you the opportunity to choose all four classes."

Hearing those words, Namgung Il tilted his head.

Why was he saying that being able to choose from the four classes was like doing him a favor?

Just then, as if he had read Namgung Il's expression, Cha Yul-ryeong continued to speak.

"Having four choices is a huge privilege."

"...Why is that a privilege?"

"Because the number of people who can enter one class is limited."

Only then did Namgung Il understand the reason why Cha Yul-ryeong had told him that this situation was a privilege.

'He said they choose the class in order of grades. Then the choices for those at the back will be...'

It would inevitably be reduced.

Because the classes that were already full from the front would disappear from the choices as one went to the back.

That meant that the people at the end of the grade order might have their class decided without even getting to choose.

"Especially, the Azure Dragon class can only accommodate a maximum of five people."

"...?"

"Because twenty of the twenty-five have already been filled through recommended admission."

Recommended admission.

Come to think of it, there were also such brats among the new students of the Flying Dragon Academy.

'Are all the brats who came here through recommended admission going to the Azure Dragon class?'

If so, it would be inevitable that the Azure Dragon class would have a higher average level of students among the four classes.

Since they had entered the Flying Dragon Academy through recommended admission, they would all have come from places called prestigious families.

As if to prove that, a considerable amount of confidence was being revealed on Cha Yul-ryeong's face from a while ago.

"So usually, the Azure Dragon class is full with the first five people."

"..."

"Birds of a feather flock together. A genius shines among geniuses."

Cha Yul-ryeong said and held out his hand to Namgung Il.

"Namgung Il, don't you want to come to the Azure Dragon class and hone that talent even more?"

"..."

"If you go to a rotten place, no matter how talented you are, you will just rot along with it. Yes, for example, a place like the Vermilion Bird class is such a place."

"Cha Yul-ryeong!"

To insult the Vermilion Bird class so confidently in front of the head of the Vermilion Bird class.

Of course, an angry shout erupted from Ho Jeong-won's mouth.

"What are you doing now? Are you acting like a rat again?"

"A rat? I was just explaining."

"What...?"

"Was there anything wrong with what I said? If there is, then tell me."

When Cha Yul-ryeong said that, Ho Jeong-won clenched his fists.

But that was all.

Although his expression was on the verge of chewing up Cha Yul-ryeong, his mouth was firmly shut.

'It seems that what he said is true.'

So wasn't it because Ho Jeong-won couldn't refute it?

Although there might be parts that Cha Yul-ryeong had exaggerated, it seemed to be true that the reputation of the Vermilion Bird class was the worst among the four classes.

"If you have nothing to say, let's continue."

"..."

"Now, Namgung Il. Choose."

Grin—

"Which class do you want to enter?"

Cha Yul-ryeong asked Namgung Il with a victorious smile.

As if he were sure that Namgung Il would choose the Azure Dragon class.

Namgung Il maintained his silence for a moment and finally raised his head and opened his mouth.

"I've decided."

"Well, there's no need to listen, of course..."

"I will enter the Vermilion Bird class."

At that answer, the smile disappeared from Cha Yul-ryeong's lips.

The Beggar Young Master of the Namgung Clan