SNPTYL CH 08

Posted by bed0zx_, Released on July 21, 2026

Chapter 8

His face was expressionless, but there was something cold in his eyes.

What? It’s not like he could read my mind and know I was wondering if he had no friends.

“Tsk. Is that supposed to be a Taoist? He looks more like a street thug.”

At that moment, Maeng Ryeong-ji spoke from beside me.

As Eun-hyeon walked right past us, she deliberately mocked him loudly enough for him to hear.

Oh no.

It’s one thing to think he fought too brutally.

Did she really have to say it to his face?

So it wasn’t Eun-hyeon who looked at us first.

Maeng Ryeong-ji had been glaring at him all along.

“Hyang! Amazing! This father is truly… truly…”

The arena was still noisy with cheers for the successful applicants and people watching the ongoing matches.

I hoped Eun-hyeon either hadn’t heard her or would simply ignore it and keep walking.

Instead…

He stopped in his tracks and turned to face us.

With the same emotionless gaze he had worn while attacking his opponents, Eun-hyeon looked at us…

No, he looked directly at Maeng Ryeong-ji.

…A handsome guy glaring at you feels strangely intimidating.

“What? Why are you staring?”

Maeng Ryeong-ji replied bluntly.

You’re the one who started it!

“So the people beyond the frontier are cowards.”

Eun-hyeon’s voice was cold.

“…?”

Cowards?

I tilted my head, not understanding what he meant.

“Tsk.”

His eyes moved to the tiger skin draped over Maeng Ryeong-ji’s shoulders, and he sneered.

Ah.

So he was mocking where she came from.

For a long time, the martial world of the Central Plains had looked down on people from the lands beyond the frontier.

Some even openly called them barbarians.

Even the “Namman” in Southern Beast Palace carried that meaning.

In short, by calling them cowards, he was insulting the frontier sects for joining the war against the Demonic Cult late after remaining isolated from the Central Plains.

Honestly…

If it were me, I probably would’ve said something much harsher.

So I wasn’t even offended.

“What nonsense…”

“I expected as much.”

His expression was certainly annoying.

“You bastard!”

Maeng Ryeong-ji didn’t seem to understand exactly what he meant.

But she knew she’d been insulted.

She shouted angrily and grabbed Eun-hyeon.

“Let’s see if you can stay so calm when you’re facing my axe!”

She looked ready to pull out her axe at any moment.

Eun-hyeon silently rested his hand on the hilt of his sword.

…Huh? Are they really going to fight?

The atmosphere was becoming stranger by the second.

Was this really worth drawing weapons over?

Sure, Eun-hyeon had been too harsh in his matches.

But he hadn’t actually hurt Maeng Ryeong-ji.

I didn’t understand why she had started insulting him.

Likewise, I couldn’t understand why Eun-hyeon didn’t simply ignore her and walk away.

Why was he willing to fight just before his next match?

Well… I guess they both have their pride.

Then I remembered…

They were only teenagers.

Back in my previous life, boys in middle and high school sometimes fought just like this.

Once proud boys started arguing, neither wanted to back down because they thought it would make them look weak.

Deep down, they usually hoped someone else would step in and stop them.

But if no one did, they’d end up fighting anyway.

Unfortunately…

The instructors only glanced over with interest.

None of them looked interested in stopping the fight.

Sigh… I guess I have no choice.

I had already become friends with Maeng Ryeong-ji.

It wouldn’t help either of us if she caused trouble before even entering the academy.

And I certainly didn’t want Eun-hyeon treating me as his enemy because of her.

Fine. Since we’re friends, I’ll stop this myself.

I stepped between the two of them.

“Both of you, calm down.”

I placed a hand on each of their shoulders and gently pushed them apart.

“…?!”

Seriously?

Why was Eun-hyeon even channeling internal energy into his shoulder?

Fortunately, he hadn’t resisted seriously.

He had only reacted instinctively.

Both of them stumbled back a few steps, clearly surprised.

See? They probably wanted someone to stop them anyway.

Eun-hyeon blinked blankly.

Maeng Ryeong-ji opened and closed her mouth without speaking.

They stopped this easily.

Why were they even trying to fight?

“Ahem.”

Quite a few people were watching us after Maeng Ryeong-ji’s shouting.

How should I calm them down?

If I scolded them too loudly in front of everyone, they’d both be embarrassed.

So I spoke to Maeng Ryeong-ji first.

“That’s enough. You were the one who insulted him first.”

She stared blankly before answering.

“Su-ryeo… uh… wow… what was that? Some secret Ice Palace technique?”

“What are you talking about?”

She waved her hands awkwardly, clearly having nothing to say.

“What secret technique?”

I explained that if she wanted to criticize another martial artist, she should first speak politely.

Starting a fight with someone who hadn’t attacked her or committed any serious wrongdoing was exactly the kind of behavior you’d expect from street thugs.

“…Yeah… you’re right. I wasn’t acting like a proper martial artist.”

She answered absentmindedly.

Good.

Eun-hyeon must have heard that.

It was basically an apology.

Eun-hyeon was still standing there, touching the shoulder where I had pushed him.

I wasn’t trying to become friends with him.

But it would look unfair if I only scolded Maeng Ryeong-ji.

Besides…

Continuing to attack someone already on the ground with internal energy really had been excessive.

“Um… Disciple of Mount Hua?”

“…The Ice Palace…”

“My name is Seol Su-ryeo. We’ll be classmates soon, so you can speak casually if you want.”

“…Do as you wish.”

Huh?

He was speaking politely to me.

Maybe he had only spoken harshly because Maeng Ryeong-ji insulted him first.

Since he had shown me courtesy, I spoke gently.

“Ryeong-ji’s words were rough, weren’t they? But she wasn’t trying to insult your sect.”

“…”

“You heard her just now, right? She admitted she hadn’t acted like a proper martial artist. I’ll apologize too.”

I quietly added an apology of my own while trying to smooth things over.

“…?”

Eun-hyeon’s eyes widened.

It looked as though he had never expected me to apologize.

He took his hand off his sword.

But he still didn’t say anything.

Couldn’t he just say it was fine?

Instead, he only kept glancing between my face and my hand.

“Ryeong-ji only meant that… your attacks were too harsh.”

When I added that…

He looked genuinely confused.

Earlier I’d thought it was strange.

He didn’t seem like someone who enjoyed bullying weaker people.

Maybe he simply didn’t realize how rough he looked.

“I know you didn’t break the rules of the entrance exam. From your point of view, fighting every opponent seriously was probably your way of showing respect. But as you saw, not everyone is as strong as you.”

“…Ah.”

“When the gap in strength is that big, beating them so badly makes people think you’re being cruel.”

Personally, I never believed that Eun-hyeon actually enjoyed making people bleed.

Maybe he simply thought he’d be offended if someone stronger held back against him, so he treated everyone the same way.

“…I understand.”

He didn’t argue.

Instead, he nodded slightly.

Unlike when Maeng Ryeong-ji had picked a fight with him, he understood perfectly once someone explained it calmly.

That should satisfy Maeng Ryeong-ji too.

I winked lightly at the still-blinking Eun-hyeon.

Then I wrapped an arm around Maeng Ryeong-ji’s shoulder.

“Let’s go. Save your match for class later.”