“That’s it!”

Elder Chil sighed deeply, realizing that Na Rin had deliberately provoked him.

Even he thought it was pathetic to lose his composure over such wordplay.

‘No. That’s not the issue.’

At first, he thought it was just one troublemaker causing problems.

He believed a single loach had brought in a bad culture that muddied the waters of the school.

But that wasn’t it.

The manner of speaking that Elder Chil could never understand or know how to handle, no matter how hard he tried, instantly became popular among all the children.

‘I’ve become too old to understand children now.’

Elder Chil loved children deeply.

More precisely, he greatly loved their sparkling potential.

He believed that bringing out children’s innate talents, equipping them with solid skills through education, and sending them out into society was a noble task that bore more fruit than any farming.

But since “Eojjeol Singong” became popular at the school, Elder Chil couldn’t love the children anymore.

He tried punishing them out of uncontrollable anger or banning “Eojjeol Singong”, but it didn’t solve the fundamental problem.

In the end, Elder Chil had to accept it.

That it wasn’t the children who needed to change, but himself.

“It’s truly a divine skill. There’s no way to break it.”

Elder Chil sat in the pavilion, gazing at the moon.

Just as that moon would wane, so too had his time come to decline. He comforted himself with this thought.

“What about this?”

Elder Chil’s gaze shifted from the moon to Na Rin.

“…You say there’s a way to break it?”

“I’ll tell you. But in exchange.”

Na Rin held up two chubby fingers.

“I have two conditions.”

Would anyone accept such a clumsy proposal?

Could I be so foolish?

This was a child he’d never seen before, so young, who appeared in such a suspicious manner, and who claimed to offer exactly what he needed – how could he not be suspicious?

‘But it’s clear this girl is a master of “Eojjeol Singong”.’

In truth, if he stopped here and closed the school, no one would blame him.

He had continuously strived and proven himself throughout his life.

Elder Oh Hyeon Hak had lived a life worthy of respect.

However, if he could make one more leap forward…

‘This is the greed of old age.’

After much deliberation, Elder Chil stood before Na Rin and said:

“My knees aren’t good, so can we skip the nine bows ceremony?”

Na Rin answered with a bright smile:

“Of course!”

And so began a master-disciple relationship with the roles of old and young reversed.

[This is the timeline separator]

The next day.

Elder Chil Oh Hyeon Hak had Chief Jang gather all the children attending the school in the square.

Students ranging from as young as five to as old as fifteen gathered in the square, whispering curiously about why they had been summoned.

Their groundless speculations had no chance of being correct, but the general direction was strikingly similar:

It couldn’t possibly be for anything good.

“Are they really closing the school?”

“Ugh, I hope it lasts until I graduate at least.”

“My father even moved us to Chilseong-ga so I could attend Daeseong School.”

Reflecting the recent ominous atmosphere, the children’s mood was noticeably gloomy.

“Elder Chil has arrived!”

Amid Chief Jang’s booming voice, Elder Chil Oh Hyeon Hak appeared on the platform.

With his long beard flowing down to his chest, his appearance seemed both mystical and intimidating to the young students, like a mountain spirit.

“Today, I have an announcement to make to you all.”

The students held their breath and listened intently to Elder Chil’s words, which could potentially turn their lives upside down.

“The ban on ‘Eojjeol Singong’ is lifted.”

“Really?!”

“Why?”

A great commotion swept through like a wave.

The children’s reaction was enormous.

This was because there wasn’t a single child who didn’t know how much Elder Chil hated “Eojjeol Singong”.

“Silence!”

The children’s murmuring barely subsided at Chief Jang’s shout.

Elder Chil laughed heartily and said:

“I understand your surprise, but let me just say that I too have had a realization. In that spirit, I thought we might hold a small competition. I’ve prepared some nice prizes, so I hope you’ll all participate enthusiastically.”

A table with a large board and a box with holes in it was brought up onto the platform, as if on cue.

The children’s eyes widened like saucers.

How could such a thing happen?

They had been anxious about the school closing, and suddenly a competition was being held. And not just any competition, but…

“An ‘Eojjeol Singong’ martial arts competition…?”

The surprise at the nonsensical words written on the board was short-lived, as the martial arts competition began as quickly as beans popping in a fire.

Elder Chil drew the children’s names from the box with holes and quickly completed the match-up table.

The children, still unable to grasp the situation, were pushed into groups and began the competition.

“Here I come! Eojjeol Taegeukkum Technique!”

“Oh, Jeojjeol Taegeukhye Sword~ Want some rising martial arts with that?”

At first, the children looked bewildered, but once they adapted to the situation, they enjoyed the martial arts competition with enthusiasm.

Children around five years old who knew few martial arts techniques and those over thirteen who thought the “Eojjeol Singong” trend was childish didn’t perform well, so the top ranks were mostly filled with Jae Min’s peers around ten years old.

“Congratulations on winning the martial arts competition.”

The face of the usual troublemaker beamed brightly.

It was the first time he had been praised for doing something well since attending the school.

Elder Chil presented the winner with the prepared prize of 72 assorted sweets.

“From here on, it’s a friendly match, but…”

Elder Chil cleared his throat with an “ahem”.

“How about it, winner? Would you like to have a match with me?”

“‘Eojjeol Singong’ with you, Elder?”

“Yes. If you win, I’ll give you an even bigger prize.”

The child winner was surprised at first, but soon grinned mischievously.

He remembered how Elder Chil had struggled with “Eojjeol Singong”, turning red and blue in frustration.

“Alright! But Elder, you can give up anytime. We wouldn’t want to harm your health.”

“How thoughtful of you to consider my well-being. However, I won’t go down easily.”

Elder Chil’s eyes flashed provocatively.

The eyes of the children watching the competition also sparkled with interest.

After all, it was a match between the winner of the “Eojjeol Singong” martial arts competition and the great Elder Chil of the demonic sect.

It was truly a battle between the new and the old.

“I’ll let you have the first move.”

“I gratefully accept.”

Elder Chil took a deep breath, tightened his abdominal muscles, and exhaled forcefully.

“Eojjeol Sosu Demonic Technique!”

“…! Th-that’s not fair!”

It wasn’t unreasonable for the winner to be greatly shaken.

What Elder Chil had demonstrated was the ultimate taboo of “Eojjeol Singong”.

‘Using demonic techniques in Eojjeol Singong!’

The reason the school children could play around comparing the compatibility and superiority of martial arts was because they were only dealing with righteous sect techniques.

For children of the demonic sect, it was an unimaginable blasphemy to treat the precious and great demonic techniques as if they were righteous sect techniques for play.

Elder Chil knew this situation well but pretended not to.

“What do you mean there’s no such thing as Sosu Demonic Technique? Is that something a member of the demonic sect should say?”

“If you say that, I can’t hold back either. I’m going to use Eojjeol Demonic Technique!”

Elder Chil chuckled indulgently at the child winner’s spirited words.

“Well, go ahead and try. It must be an unfamiliar move, so I’ll let you have the first attack.”

“Ugh…! Eojjeol Black Kill Demonic Palm!”

Elder Chil launched his attack as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“Oh, deflecting with Jeojjeol Purple Lightning Energy Ball and immediately following up with Eojjeol Star-Sucking Great Technique! Slurp! Sucking up your inner energy~ Oh! Your dantian is empty now, isn’t it?”

“Ugh…! Eojjeol Heaven-Descending Blood Dragon Sword!”

“Hmm~ Nope~. You have no inner energy left, so you’re just cutting grass with your sword? Can’t do anything, can you?”

The face of the child winner turned red and blue.

How could there be such unfairness!

But he couldn’t complain about it being unfair.

The Star-Sucking Great Technique that absorbs the opponent’s inner energy was a legitimate demonic sect technique, after all.

“Ugh…! Eojjeol…! Eo…jjeol…”

After pondering this way and that, the child winner closed his mouth with a frustrated expression.

“I… admit defeat…”

“You’ve learned a lot.”

Elder Chil’s elegant cupped-hand salute was strange to see, a far cry from his earlier mischievous attitude.

Elder Chil gave plenty of gifts to the winner who had won but ended up feeling upset, so as not to leave him feeling disappointed. Then he gathered the school children and said:

“Do you know what you’ve just done?”

“Wasn’t it an Eojjeol Singong martial arts competition?”

“Yes. In other words, it’s called ‘sword discussion’. Or in this case, we should call it ‘martial arts discussion’.”

Sword discussion? Martial arts discussion? The children whispered among themselves.

“There are countless factors that determine the superiority of martial arts. Simply put, the amount of inner energy, the compatibility and superiority between martial arts, how skilled the martial artist is in using the techniques. Furthermore, those accustomed to sparring and those accustomed to life-and-death battles. None of these can be neglected.”

“…”

“Eojjeol Singong turns out to be an excellent study method for learning about the compatibility and superiority between martial arts.”

How could this be! To think that what I’ve been doing was studying!

The children’s expressions were filled with shock, as if struck by lightning.

Elder Chil declared powerfully, as if to drive home the point:

“From today onward, the use of Eojjeol Singong is highly encouraged at Daeseong School, and we will occasionally hold martial arts competitions that will be reflected in your grades, so everyone should strive to improve!”

With a clearing of his throat, Elder Chil descended from the platform, leaving the children dumbfounded as they watched his retreating figure.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Didn’t you do quite well?”

A lively flush rose to Elder Chil’s face.

Na Rin nodded repeatedly with a smiling face, praising him.

Although Na Rin had made the plan, if she had known he would learn so well in just one day, there would have been no need for all that trouble.

“I too have learned a great deal from this incident. I failed to see that from a different perspective, even Eojjeol Singong could become an excellent study method. I’m simply proud of the children who found their own way of learning. I’m curious to see how Eojjeol Singong will develop from now on.”

“Hmm. Well…”

Na Rin tilted her head with a skeptical expression.

“It’ll probably go out of fashion soon. If adults tell them to do it, it won’t be fun anymore.”

“Ho ho. Is that so? Yes, that could happen too.”

“More importantly…”

Na Rin tapped the table twice with two fingers.

It meant it was time to fulfill the conditions.

“I’ve already completed the procedures for your first condition, joining the sect.”

Elder Chil handed Na Rin the prepared sect membership certificate and continued speaking.

“And this is a bonus.”

The documents he gave as a bonus had words like ‘Full Scholarship Certificate’ and ‘Unlimited Dormitory Use Permit’ written on them.

In short, it meant that not only tuition but also living expenses were completely waived.

“Thank you.”

“It’s hardly enough as a reward for the enlightenment you’ve given me.”

“Then why don’t you give me more?”

“Ho ho.”

Elder Chil just laughed with a “ho ho”, but didn’t offer any more conditions. How disappointing.

“And about the second condition. Are you sure this is enough?”

The ‘Reinstatement Permit’ that Na Rin took with a smiling face had the name ‘Ma Jae Min’ written on it.

“It’s more than enough.”