Chapter 276

Chapter 276
## Chapter 276. Those Who Break Walls (2)

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The Red Army… indeed, every single disciple within the Academy was presently incapable of returning to reality.

A solitary clash does not command a massive sway over a grand strategy. This was the foundational doctrine they had internalized at the Academy. Truly, it was not restricted to the Academy; they had mastered the discipline of warfare in the exact same fashion within their respective clans and lineages. A grand strategy shifts the entire state of the board. Consequently, those destined to eventually ascend to the ranks of commanders or high-ranking officials had always been instructed to observe the macro rather than the micro. To concentrate on securing the advantages of a grand strategy instead of obsessing over the triumph or failure of a minor engagement. That was the wisdom they had absorbed and what they were anticipated to ponder in the days ahead.

When evaluated from that angle, it was undeniably accurate that the Red Army was bound to fail. Every Academy disciple had been depleted of their internal energy, and they clashed in small and medium-sized units. Though it was designated a strategy and tactics evaluation, if one viewed it as a miniature conflict where three forces monitored and engaged one another, it was a foregone conclusion that the White and Red Armies would clash and dismantle each other while the Blue Army emerged triumphant, precisely as Sun-jik-Cheol had calculated when he formulated the grand strategy to overcome So-un-Jin.

Yet, observing this current chaos…

“Aigoo, my entire frame is aching.”

…Would not even Sun Tzu, the architect of The Art of War, leap from his final resting place and bellow, “Cease uttering such nonsense”?

The Red Army had vanquished the White Army while relinquishing everything. And then there was the ambush unit of the Red Army, which struck the rear of the Blue Army that had advanced to seize those very Red Army elements. The progression, wherein not a single step forward could be anticipated, ultimately yielded an astonishing outcome.

‘What manner of person undergoes an examination like this?’

‘Who under the heavens wages war in this fashion?’

‘Regardless, these uncultivated bastards are…’

The phrase “They underwent the examination like absolute garbage” welled up to their throats, yet there was no one who could readily voice those words aloud.

“What are you staring at, you rascals? Keep your gazes lowered.”

Naturally, the alert from their instincts that they must not antagonize this erratic… no, this Academy Representative, who rendered all of this plausible, was the dominant element.

“…….”

The White Army had been shattered by the Red Army despite the latter enduring a severe handicap, and within the Red Army, there were many who had turncoated against the collective and now faced only the prospect of retribution. At the very least, the Blue Army was afforded the right to declare “They underwent the examination like absolute garbage,” but the Blue Army, largely populated by disciples from the Nine Sects and One Gang, was experiencing a profound sense of humiliation over the reality that they had ultimately succumbed to the Red Army.

“Just what were you performing!”

“You proved unable to halt those ten individuals and ended up defeated?”

“What were you doing rather than protecting the stronghold!”

The forces who had scaled Baek-san unleashed torrential condemnation, but those who had remained near the stronghold also had counterarguments to present.

“Are you unfamiliar with that Yayul-geuk fellow? If you are snared by that malicious bastard even once, your skeleton will shatter!”

“Is Eun-ho-Lee any different? He is the one entrusted with the intellect among the Three Dragons of the Iron Wall!”

“If you possessed that much certainty, you should have simply crushed the White or Red Army sooner!”

While mutual recrimination was being traded, it was not merely the Academy disciples who were creating a din. Innumerable words were also shared among the instructors and chief instructors who had to conclude the practical assessment and deliver verdicts.

“I cannot validate this. From the outset, this is not the manner an examination is meant to be executed.”

“What do you intend by that? In any scenario, did the Red Army not triumph?”

“This is a strategy and tactics evaluation. It is not merely a brawl where individuals thoughtlessly exchange strikes.”

“Are you unaware that the realization or collapse of a grand strategy ultimately demands the accumulation of triumphs in minor skirmishes?”

Amid the fiercely split sentiments—one faction contending that the ultimate triumph of the Red Army must be recognized, and the opposing faction maintaining that an examination executed in such an absurd manner must not be validated.

“Everyone, cease.”

In the end, Won-pyeong-Buk advanced to resolve the dispute.

“Discerning the adversary’s vulnerability and exploiting it is likewise an incredibly vital matter in a genuine conflict. From the beginning, we did not establish a restriction that one must only engage using conventional tactics, and since we authorized the coalition between the White and Blue Armies, we cannot discern any issue with the Red Army’s triumph.”

At Won-pyeong-Buk’s declarations, the instructors all fell silent. This was because the partial ruling they had rendered to authorize the initial coalition was now obstructing them.

“The end-of-term strategy and tactics evaluation is… past all doubt, a triumph for the Red Army.”

With Won-pyeong-Buk’s pronouncement, the instructors and chief instructors simultaneously finalized the remaining assessment sheets. Observing that arena, Won-pyeong-Buk shifted his attention toward Baek-san. Across there…

“Ahem…”

…he witnessed So-un-Jin mocking Il-gak, who held his head dipped low with teeth indentations on his crown.

‘He truly is… a fellow who cannot be anticipated.’

Won-pyeong-Buk offered a soft laugh as he observed his junior brother, who was acting remarkably irreverent.

The end-of-term assessments were entirely concluded. By the time the Gun-ja Pills absorbed during the concluding practical examination were thoroughly processed and the Academy disciples began to readjust to their physical forms once more, the roster of those who had failed out was published.

“Ugh…”

“This is unacceptable!”

“Please! I beg of you!”

The Academy disciples who verified their identities collapsed into despair and misery as though the firmament were fracturing. Granting they were a minor count of fewer than ten individuals, considering the clans linked with each of them, their failure out was not a trivial affair. The companions of the disqualified disciples wept alongside them in agonizing sorrow and distress, yet that did not signify the verdicts would be altered.

“This defies logic! This, this is a falsehood!!!”

Among them, the failure who provoked the grandest shockwave was none other than Ju-pyeong-Ak. As an offspring of the Shandong Ak Family, which held a place within the Five Great Families, and as an individual who had been anticipated to be a prodigy within the Ak Family, Ju-pyeong-Ak’s removal was something alternative Academy disciples had not foreseen, hence the astonishment was even more profound. Naturally, the soul who endured the greatest blow was Ju-pyeong-Ak himself.

“That is correct! This, this is a plot! It is a plot! Are you aware of who I am? Huh?! I am Ju-pyeong-Ak of the Shandong Ak Family! I shall speak to my uncle in the Inspectorate Hall to probe this absurd occurrence and unearth the reality!”

Ju-pyeong-Ak forfeited his rationality and created a disturbance, shattering appointments in the instructors’ quarters. He elevated his voice, asserting there was a plot, but since the Education Hall was also an establishment directly beneath the Man-tong Bureau, there was no path for dishonesty to exist in the vetting. Ju-pyeong-Ak’s conduct ultimately prompted the Execution Hall to intervene.

“Uncle…! Summon my uncle! My uncle is the Hall Master of the Third Hall!”

He wailed frantically as he was removed by the Execution Hall, but in the end, no soul from the Inspectorate Hall stepped forward. After the probe into Ju-pyeong-Ak commenced in the Execution Hall, Ju-pyeong-Ak, realizing he could not obtain assistance from Byeong-bi-Ak, eventually clutched an agent of the Execution Hall and voiced his grievance of injustice.

“There is transparently a plot! How could an offspring of the Shandong Ak Family like myself possibly fail out!”

The Execution Hall examiner, who was reviewing the probe records, knit his brow.

“Five ‘Mu’ marks? You obtained this and dub it a mark?”

“…Th-that was entirely owing to the intimidation by that fellow named Yayul-geuk…”

“Presently as I examine it, there is also an account that you established a rogue collective within the Academy and deliberately intimidated a disciple.”

Ju-pyeong-Ak’s countenance turned ghostly.

“Th-that cannot be! I, I!”

The examiner struck the desk and bellowed.

“This is the probe record compiled by your uncle, the Master of the Third Hall of the Inspectorate Hall. Are you remaining insistent this is a falsehood?”

“What?!!!”

“Byeong-bi-Ak… he truly is quite a figure. To sever a member of his own clan so unfeelingly. Shall I state it genuinely matches the standing of the Master of the Third Hall?”

“Wh-what does that…”

The edges of the examiner’s lips curved upward.

“You can look forward to it. When the Inspectorate Hall is this collaborative, it makes us in the Execution Hall feel inspired to labor.”

Ju-pyeong-Ak perceived as though he had plunged into perdition.

After the disqualified individuals gathered their belongings and departed the Academy first, the Academy, which had been somewhat somber, began to reclaim its animation. For the winter recess, a span twice as extensive as the summer recess is granted. Even the Academy disciples who could not journey back during the summer recess because the distance was too vast journeyed back to their clans or regions with the backing of the Academy.

“I am so thrilled.”

Seol-ran-Eun spoke with an animated tone. It was an expected response since she was now capable of returning to her region, which she had been unable to see during the previous summer recess.

“I gathered the North Sea is frozen. It is chilly here as well, but isn’t it even harsher there?”

As Mo-ran-Seong canted her head, Seol-ran-Eun countered with a grin.

“It is not that chilly! The vistas are so grand in the winter season. Everywhere is pale, and you can perceive the horizon endlessly. Ah! How about traveling together this recess? The figures of our Palace will appreciate it too.”

Seol-ran-Eun offered, but Mo-ran-Seong shuddered.

“I am not even intending to journey back to my region this instance. I am going to practice intensely in the tranquil Academy.”

“Why are you uttering that while staring at me?”

Mo-ran-Seong snapped at So-un-Jin as though she were aggrieved.

“Just what under heaven did Young Master Jin consume to be that potent?”

“Heh, good heavens! Consume, you state? I have simply developed each day through iterated practice every single day.”

“If only you could not articulate so flawlessly!”

At So-un-Jin, who aligned his palms as if he were possessed by Il-gak, Mo-ran-Seong scoffed.

“Hmph, but I gathered that besides what I yielded to you, you’ve been gathering and consuming a great deal of items here and there?”

“Ahem. I am unaware of what you are referencing.”

In the end, Seol-ran-Eun stepped forward to arbitrate.

“Ayu…! Cease disputing, and what regarding the rest? This instance, journey with me to the Ice Palace…!”

“It appears we’ll have to journey to our clan together this instance.”

The figures of the Tae-eul-mun, including So-un-Jin, likewise turned down Seol-ran-Eun’s overture. However, Jae-hwa-Moyong pondered for a lengthy span before releasing a breath.

“I am regretful. Miss Seol-ran, my patriarch declared I must absolutely return this instance…”

Even though Seol-ran-Eun, who presented the overture, was perfectly fine, Jae-hwa-Moyong observed her with eyes packed with enduring remorse.

“The brute… no, the dictates of your patriarch…”

As anticipated, an individual stirs more matching the dictates of someone who strikes their entire frame rather than someone who merely strikes their spirit. While the bulk of the forces were making arrangements to return to their regions for the recess or remain and practice like Mo-ran-Seong.

“Sun-jik-a, are you not intending to journey to the clan?”

Sun-jik-Cheol was persisting in brandishing his freshly acquired blade. It was freezing climate where pale condensation billowed out with every respiration, but Sun-jik-Cheol’s entire frame was drenched with perspiration as though he had been trapped in a downpour. Hyeon-jik-Cheol, who observed him with sorrow, heavily parted his lips.

“Everyone is awaiting you.”

“…I am still deficient.”

He did not articulate elaborately, but his Hyung, Hyeon-jik-Cheol, comprehended best what Sun-jik-Cheol was targeting. He retreated a stride and consoled his younger sibling.

“Yes. I comprehend. But won’t it require a lengthy span? Let us journey and present our countenances to our guardians gradually.”

“I do not desire to do that.”

“We have already tarried three hundred years. Even if it becomes later, would it be any alternative?”

A flash of stillness. Sun-jik-Cheol, who was solely fixated on the point of his blade, exhaled a scorching breath.

“…It is too mortifying to display to them my current self, Hyung-nim.”

“Our guardians would be joyful merely to perceive your countenance.”

“…….”

Only stillness enveloped the training arena once more. Whether remaining at the Academy or journeying back, each disciple arrived to shoulder a massive weight. This recess was a critical span that would dictate whether they would convert that weight into their own power or into fetters. Nonetheless, the recess also delivered another variety of anticipation. Particularly for the pupils of the Tae-eul-mun.

The pupils of the Tae-eul-mun, who had bypassed the summer recess where they could have returned home in glory (geum-ui-hwan-hyang) and been indulged as “magnificent offspring,” awaited this winter recess longer and more fervently than anyone else. Furthermore, it was a year where they had solely sprinted without pause since the standard examinations. Wasn’t it the period when they could finally embrace a legitimate intermission?

While So-un-Jin was occupied turning his attention to devise how to occupy the long-anticipated intermission.

“Great Senior Brother (Dae-sa-hyeong), this is the itinerary for traveling to Hebei.”

“Hmm?”

So-un-Jin accepted the itinerary delivered to him by Eun-ho-Lee.

“It’s an itinerary where we catch a coach from the Yu-han Escort Bureau traveling to Zhejiang, and then transition to the Seong-hyeon Escort Bureau in Anhui. It states the Escort Bureau will arrange all lodging and meals across the trek.”

A standard collective transit arrangement. It was additionally a strategy frequently employed by Academy disciples journeying back to their regions. Prior to all, it was an incredibly sought-after option because there was no requirement to switch mounts and bivouac every time. Although it was challenging to secure a booking owing to relentless depletion of slots as the Academy recess neared, Eun-ho-Lee had finalized the arrangements in advance.

So-un-Jin dipped his brows and struck Eun-ho-Lee’s upper arm softly.

“I am apologetic regarding this, it must have been challenging to secure a booking.”

At the Great Senior Brother’s validation, Eun-ho-Lee massaged his mustache line with his digit.

“Aey, do not mention it. This scale is something I, as your junior brother (saje), ought to arrange…”

“Hmm? No, my stating I’m apologetic was in a alternative context.”

“Yes?”

Ripppp.

At the Great Senior Brother’s action of shredding the booking voucher along with the itinerary, the pupils of the Tae-eul-mun could not mask their dread.

“Wh-what!”

So-un-Jin smirked as he casually swung the shredded booking voucher.

“I am apologetic, but we possess tasks to execute, so we cannot utilize this.”

“…….”

At the Great Senior Brother’s malevolent smirk, which resembled Yama, the pupils could utter nothing and merely parted and shut their mouths like pond fish.