Star Instructor, Master Baek-Chapter 310: Who’s Your Guarantor?

TL: FoodieMonster007

Contrary to Baek Suryong's assumption that he would be interrogated as soon as he entered the Murim Alliance Chairman's office, the Elimination Corps Commander seemed completely at ease.

"Would you like some tea? Or perhaps some alcohol?" she asked casually.

"Tea, please," Baek Suryong replied.

Ryu Seol nodded, then glanced at Moyong Jun, who had followed them in. "You heard him. Go fetch us some booze from the reception hall."

"But I just said that I'd prefer tea…"

"Get us something expensive while you're at it."

"……" Baek Suryong was at a loss for words.

She just ignored me completely!

The Elimination Corps Commander, Ryu Seol, was infamous within the Murim Alliance for her terrible drinking habits. Even now, she shamelessly used her duties as an excuse to indulge herself during the day, licking her lips in anticipation.

"You know the stuff the Chairman keeps exclusively for important guests? The one brewed from three-hundred-year-old tuber fleeceflower? Bring us that," she demanded eagerly.

"…You do realize that the Chairman always checks the liquor supply when he returns, right?" Moyong Jun sighed, his expression indicating that this situation wasn't new to him. Although he usually cursed her like a vulgar sailor, he had to limit himself to polite speech since there was a guest present.

"Did I say I was drinking it alone? We have a guest. I'm just fulfilling my duties as Acting Chairman."

"That's a ridiculous excuse. The Chief Instructor is still part of the Murim Alliance…"

This is a free translation. You should not be seeing ads.

"Then let's call it a celebratory toast for our new Chief Instructor."

"A celebratory toast for someone who broke down the Murim Alliance's main gate and got himself arrested seems a bit…"

BANG!

Ryu Seol slammed the table, glaring fiercely at her Vice Commander with her single remaining eye as if she were ready to kill him. "Keep running your mouth, and you can forget about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to taste that sweet, sweet nectar."

"…Understood."

In the end, Moyong Jun reluctantly left to fetch the alcohol, muttering "Damned drunkard witch…" under his breath.

Baek Suryong immediately glanced at Ryu Seol, but she continued smiling sweetly as if she hadn't heard her own subordinate swear at her. Instead, her single eye sparkled mischievously as she turned back toward him.

"The Chairman recently hid some precious liquor in the reception hall. When else am I going to get a chance to try it, if not now?"

"Then why bother asking me for my opinion? You could've just instructed your subordinate to bring it from the outset."

"Given your whole naughty pretty boy vibe, I thought you were a drinker for sure!"

"Sheesh…"

Ryu Seol leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, "Hey, if the Chairman asks later, just say it was you who wanted a drink, okay? In return, I'll go easy on you for the trouble you caused today. You know what I'm saying?"

She winked her one eye, as if to say this was their little secret.

What a strange woman. Baek Suryong's eye twitched in disbelief. It was difficult to find a supreme martial artist who wasn't eccentric, but the Elimination Corps Commander seemed particularly ill-suited for the disciplined atmosphere of the Murim Alliance.

Now that they were face-to-face, though, Baek Suryong could sense her aura even more clearly.

She's definitely learned some form of demonic art.

This is a non-profit translation. You should not be seeing ads.

It was faint, but he could definitely feel a sinister and sticky energy emanating from Ryu Seol.

I'm not sure exactly which demonic art it is, but…

The Elimination Corps Commander's demonic energy was unusually subtle. Were it not for the Heaven Defying Divine Art and their close proximity, even he, who had studied countless demonic arts in his previous life, would have missed it completely.

In other words, Ryu Seol could easily fool even the other commanders. This fact alone made her an obvious suspect for the Blood Cult's rat.

But… could she deceive the Chairman?

Baek Suryong thought back to when Yayul Hwang instinctively suspected his connection to the Blood Cult.

Maybe for a day or two, but certainly not for over ten years.

Ryu Seol smiled, revealing a row of pristine white teeth. Just like how Baek Suryong was observing her, she was also scrutinizing him carefully with her single eye.

"What are you staring at? You haven't had a sip yet, and you're already drunk on my beauty?"

It was obviously meant as a joke, but Ryu Seol really was attractive. Even the patch covering her left eye gave her an unmistakable charm.

Still, Baek Suryong did not feel the slightest romantic attraction to someone who looked more like a dangerous wildcat than a woman.

Is this playful demeanor her real self, or…

He mentally reviewed her tone, her behavior, and their entire exchange so far. He couldn't confirm anything yet, but one thing was obvious—the Elimination Corps Commander, Ryu Seol, was trying to size him up.

Y aren′t you reading this at northbladetldotcom?

"Not a chance," he replied with an insincere smile, careful not to reveal anything.

Ryu Seol narrowed her eye irritably. "What kind of answer is that? Are you saying I'm not pretty?"

"You're not bad-looking, but you're just not my type."

"Look at this cocky little brat. You think you'll survive in the world talking like that?"

"I doubt you play the social game well yourself."

"You're amusing."

"I hear that a lot."

The two exchanged matching smirks.

Inwardly, Baek Suryong rolled his eyes. Right now, he felt more stressed sitting calmly opposite the Elimination Corps Commander than he had when he confronted the Heavenly Justice Commander.

"…Elimination Corps Commander," he began seriously.

This is a free translation. You should not be seeing ads.

"Just call me Senior."

"Alright. Then, may I ask you something, Senior?"

Ryu Seol leaned back comfortably in her chair and nodded. "Go ahead. Let's chat until the drinks arrive. I was planning to leave the interrogation to my Vice Commander anyway."

Baek Suryong asked boldly, "So… how did you end up learning a demonic art?"

"…!!" Ryu Seol flinched and instantly sprang to her feet, but to Baek Suryong's surprise, she neither attacked nor exuded any killing intent.

Nevertheless, he smiled knowingly. Although Ryu Seol remained silent, her abrupt reaction was enough to confirm his suspicion.

As I suspected, the Chairman already knew about it.

Others might not have noticed, but there was no way that the Chairman, who despised the Blood Cult so much, would overlook a subordinate learning unorthodox martial arts.

In other words, the Chairman is aware that the Elimination Corps Commander knows a demonic art… yet that's just as suspicious.

Looking slightly dazed, Ryu Seol asked cautiously, "Did the old man mention something about me?"

"No. I'm just more sensitive to auras than most."

"That's impossible. Even the Heavenly Justice Commander, who trained in Shaolin martial arts, never noticed anything…"

Baek Suryong remembered what he'd read about the Elimination Corps Commander Ryu Seol in the Beggar's Gang's personnel records.

Some twenty years ago, a young girl had been rescued after the destruction of the unorthodox Mara Sect near the borderlands. The other children rescued with her were reunited with their families, but Ryu Seol and several others whose parents had been killed by the Mara Sect had nowhere else to go. Out of pity, the Chairman personally recruited them into the Murim Alliance.

Among these children, Ryu Seol's talent stood out from the rest. Less than three years into her training, she joined the Elimination Corps, and ten years later, she rose to become its commander.

However, nowhere in the records did it state that the Elimination Corps Commander had learned demonic arts.

Even though such a massive secret had been revealed, Ryu Seol only looked deflated for a moment before laughing at herself. "Yes, I practice demonic arts. A really nasty, terrifying one, too."

If you′re seeing this, you are at the wrong place.

At that moment, Moyong Jun returned and overheard her. "Ryu Seol!" he shouted, slamming the door shut with a horrified expression on his face.

Ryu Seol shrugged nonchalantly. "Calm down. He figured it out on his own."

"Is that true?"

Baek Suryong nodded silently, prompting Moyong Jun to let out a long sigh and plead, "This secret is known only to the Chairman and me. If it gets out…"

"Not only me, but even the old man will be in big trouble, right?" Ryu Seol interrupted.

"You idiot! Don't talk like it's someone else's problem!"

"I'm the one who got caught, so why are you the one freaking out?"

Ryu Seol took the bottle of liquor Moyong Jun had brought and drank straight from it, gobbling it down as if she'd just achieved enlightenment.

Moyong Jun gazed at Baek Suryong anxiously. "Chief Instructor, do you understand the Elimination Corps' status within the Murim Alliance?"

"Roughly."

The Elimination Corps had always been considered the black sheep of the Murim Alliance. Since its inception, it had been composed mainly of martial artists from smaller sects, freelancers, and even defectors from unorthodox sects.

Still, for the Corps Commander herself to have practiced demonic arts was a completely different matter.

If word got out that the Chairman knowingly overlooked this, even his position might be jeopardized.

Although Baek Suryong had inadvertently discovered one of the chairman's weaknesses, not all of his questions had been answered yet. He decided to keep up the pressure on Ryu Seol.

"I'll decide what to do after hearing more details. Elimination Corps Commander, why did you learn demonic arts?"

"What the…" Ryu Seol scratched her head irritably. Somehow, in an instant, interrogator and suspect had switched roles. She sighed deeply, then blurted, "To put it simply, the Mara Sect Leader was my biological father."

"……"

Why aren′t you reading this at northbladetldotcom?

"Twenty years ago, the Chairman killed my father. I also lost my left eye in that battle." Ryu Seol briefly touched the patch covering her eye, then moistened her lips with another sip of alcohol. "At that time, the old man gave me a choice: Either I could die there with my father, or I could follow him to the Murim Alliance. What else was I supposed to do? I wanted to live, so I did as he said.

"……" Baek Suryong was at a loss for words at the simple explanation.

They're both completely insane.

Whether it was Yayul Hwang, who recruited the daughter of a man he killed into the Murim Alliance, or Ryu Seol, who obediently followed her father's murderer—neither of them were normal!

"Couldn't you have purged your demonic qi and abandoned the martial art entirely?"

"No, I couldn't. The demonic art had already taken root in my body. If I wanted to purge it, I'd have to destroy my qi center, and I'd rather die than become a cripple. My only option was to carefully cultivate it alongside orthodox martial arts. Ah, don't misunderstand though, it's not the kind of demonic art you're imagining. I don't drink blood or eat human flesh."

Moyong Jun, who had been listening nervously, smacked his commander on the head. "How can you joke at a time like this?"

"Should I grovel and beg for forgiveness instead?" Ryu Seol scoffed, then winked playfully at Baek Suryong. "There, I've told you everything now. You'll keep it a secret, right?"

"…For now, I understand," Baek Suryong nodded reluctantly. However, his suspicions about the Elimination Corps Commander hadn't completely disappeared.

If she still harbors resentment toward the Chairman for killing her family, that's motive enough to betray the Murim Alliance.

Though the mystery behind her demonic art had been explained, and no direct connection to the Blood Cult had been revealed, Ryu Seol remained a prime suspect in his mind.

"Now that I've talked about myself, let's hear about you, Junior." Ryu Seol put down the bottle, straightened her posture, and asked, "Why did you make such a scene on your first day? Why smash the main gate?"

To draw out the Blood Cult spy hiding within the Murim Alliance… but that's something I can't say aloud.

Baek Suryong recited the excuse he had prepared beforehand, "To wake up the Murim Alliance, which has become complacent during this long period of peace. In addition, it was a good opportunity to evaluate the current state of the martial artists here and identify their weaknesses."

This is a non-profit translation. You should not be seeing ads.

Ryu Seol frowned slightly. "Weaknesses?"

"There were quite a few."

Moyong Jun's eye twitched skeptically. "What weaknesses? Our men reacted quickly and decisively."

Ryu Seol was known for training the Elimination Corps with strict discipline, and the same was true for the Heavenly Justice Corps and the other units. Due to their rigorous and competitive training, the Murim Alliance had arguably reached its strongest state ever. Yet, Baek Suryong was saying that there were problems?

"The response was quick, yes, but the method of rushing in wasn't ideal at all. If an attacker had used poison gas at that moment, dozens would've succumbed immediately," Baek Suryong said, deliberately emphasizing the word "poison".

However, the reaction he was expecting did not occur.

"Poison… I suppose that's plausible," Ryu Seol mumbled, nodding thoughtfully.

"Moreover, the Heavenly Justice Corps and Elimination Corps moved entirely separately," Baek Suryong added.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

"Well, we don't normally conduct joint training."

"Exactly. It seems there's a lot of work ahead of for me, as the Chief Instructor," Baek Suryong sighed dramatically.

Ryu Seol chuckled softly. "In any case, even if your intentions were good, your actions were clearly unacceptable. I'm sorry, but I can't just let this go." She turned to Moyong Jun. "How should we punish him?"

Moyong Jun sighed deeply and looked at Baek Suryong hesitantly. Now that he knew Ryu Seol's secret, it was difficult for him to treat him as casually as he had before. Still, he couldn't stay silent forever.

"I checked the rules… and if someone at the level of Commander or higher causes trouble, a formal disciplinary committee must be convened to decide the punishment," Moyong Jun reported.

"That's what he said."

Convening a disciplinary committee meant summoning all available Murim Alliance lieutenants, a process that would take at least three or four days.

"Three or four days? What happens in the meantime?"

"According to the regulations, you are to be confined to your quarters until a decision is made…" Moyong Jun's voice trailed off uncertainly.

Wait, is confining Baek Suryong even possible?

Ryu Seol nodded, clearly understanding her Vice Commander's concern.

Y aren′t you reading this at northbladetldotcom?

Baek Suryong grinned as if he'd been waiting for this moment. "There's a clause that says if there's a guarantor, the defendant can move freely on the condition that part of his body remains restrained."

"A guarantor? How do you know about that?"

"I studied the rules before I decided to break the gates," Baek Suryong replied nonchalantly. Of course, he'd already familiarized himself with everything before he even broke through the gate of the Murim Alliance.

"A guarantor… Do you even have someone who is willing to vouch for you? And do note that not just anyone will do. Whoever you nominate needs to have enough influence to satisfy even the furious Heavenly Justice Commander."

Ryu Seol couldn't think of a single person in the Alliance who would dare to take such a risk.

I'm certainly not volunteering, either…

However, Ryu Seol didn't have to agonize for long. Baek Suryong already had someone in mind.

Baek Suryong grinned wickedly. "Would a direct descendant of the Namgung Clan be enough?"

"The Namgung Clan?"

"The Lightning Dragon Hero, Namgung Su. He's the third son of the Patriarch, he's recently risen to fame, and he conveniently happens to be nearby," Baek Suryong grinned slyly. Summoning Namgung Su to assist him had been his secondary goal all along.

Miles away at the Jaegal Manor, Namgung Su shivered involuntarily, feeling an inexplicable chill run down his spine.

Translator's Note: I translated this chapter while not very sober, so if you spot any mistakes or typos, please bring it up.

I've also created a discord channel for update notifications, the invite is at the top of the page, in the navbar (desktop) or menu button (mobile).