Chapter 427: Chapter 427

Father and son examined Mae Yakbing's student records, which they had found in the dusty archives.

Baek Suryong smiled. As he listened to his father's joy and laughter as he reminisced about the past, he could easily imagine what Mae Yakbing was like as a student.

"Haha! I see her homeroom teacher wrote this quite thoroughly."

"It looks to me like he held a bit of a grudge, don't you think?"

"Actually, this is written very positively. Your mother was such a tomboy that..." Baek Muheun laughed hollowly as he recalled Mae Yakbing from their school days. "She couldn't stand the slightest injustice, so it was common for her to confront seniors and teachers alike. She was so curious that she joined several clubs, and when that wasn't enough, she even created her own..."

"Mom started a club?"

"Yes, and it still exists today. It's called the Swordsmanship Research Society. Yakbing was its first president."

"What?" Baek Suryong's eyes widened as he examined the student records more closely.

Seriously? My mom was the one who founded the SRS?

"This is the first I'm hearing that she was a skilled swordswoman."

"She's your grandfather's daughter! How could she be bad with a sword?"

It would be stranger if Mae Geuklyom's daughter wasn't good with a sword.

"There was another swordsmanship club at the time, but they were obnoxious and discriminatory when it came to choosing their members. They didn't accept people based on their swordsmanship skills, but rather on their family, wealth, and looks. What do you think your mother did?"

In the past, Baek Suryong might have shook his head cluelessly, but now, he could roughly guess his mother's reaction. "She must have stormed in and turned the place upside down, right?"

"If that was all, I wouldn't even bring this up. She made the president of the swordsmanship club go bald. They made a bet on a duel, and she shaved his head clean in front of all the students."

Baek Suryong's jaw dropped. "Wow, not even that punk Wonkang would dare pull a stunt like that..."

Baek Muheun declared proudly, "Of course, this old man lent a hand back then."

"I'm sure you did..."

"You think that was all? When I was with Yakbing, I could never feel time passing. Her eyes would sparkle so much when she was planning a prank, and I was always curious about what she would do next. It was impossible not to fall for her."

"Dad, I'll never get used to that expression on your face," Baek Suryong sighed, scratching the goosebumps on his arms.

Baek Muheun chuckled, then slowly traced his finger over Mae Yakbing's name on the record. "I was nineteen then, and now I'm fifty. Your mother, though, is forever frozen in that time..."

I can't help but think it's unfair. I keep getting older, yet I will always remember you at your most beautiful.

Baek Muheun silently swallowed the words that lingered on his lips. He knew his son sitting next to him would surely find it cheesy. He simply laughed and said, "When I see Yakbing again, I'll tease her endlessly about what I saw today."

After gently stroking the student record one last time, Baek Muheun placed it in a chest where other records were neatly stacked by year.

"You can look at it some more. I'll find your student record, Dad," Baek Suryong offered.

Baek Muheun shook his head. "That's enough reminiscing for today. Memories should remain as memories. We've organized most of the mess, so let's quickly find my student record and go back."

As time passed, the two of them organized the archives' records more and more efficiently.

If someone had seen them organizing the warehouse with telekinesis, they would have been shocked by such an absurd waste of high-level human resources.

Finally, just as they were about to finish organizing, Baek Suryong found his father's student record in a dusty corner. He pulled it closer to him with telekinesis and flipped it open.

"I think I found it. Let's see..."

Before he could read a word, Baek Muheun slyly covered it with his hand.

"Uh, Suryong? Now that you've found it, shouldn't we just take it straight to the administration office?" he asked, laughing awkwardly as he tried to snatch the document away.

Unfortunately for him, the paper slipped to the side as if it were alive and zoomed into Baek Suryong's hands.

Grinning victoriously, he waved it back and forth. "What are you talking about? I have to check if there are any reasons you might be denied your diploma."

"You...!" Baek Muheun looked on nervously.

Damn it! This is why I tried so hard to find it first...

Forcing a smile, he tried to persuade his son. "Haha, isn't that something for the staff at the administration office to decide?"

"You're okay with showing me Mom's student record, but you won't show me yours?"

"You brat! Yakbing isn't here, so she won't be embarrassed in front of her son, but it's not the same for me!"

Baek Suryong nodded in understanding. "Then I'll just pretend you're invisible, Dad."

"No! Give it here right now!"

A brief scuffle ensued as father and son grappled with each other over the document, but Baek Muheun was ultimately defeated. The Ten Supremes was just too high a wall to overcome.

"The old saying is right! Raising a son is nothing but a waste of time! Now that you've gotten stronger, you're using force against your own father!"

Baek Suryong let his father's resentful words go in one ear and out the other as he flipped through the student record. "Let's see. Underage drinking. Disruptive behavior. Violent assault. Arrested by the authorities twelve times? Caught engaging in improper relationships with the opposite sex thirty times...?"

He lifted his gaze and stared blankly at his father, dumbfounded.

The legendary delinquent of the Azure Dragon Academy subtly avoided his son's judgmental gaze. "Ahem! All of those relationships occurred before I met Yakbing."

"Didn't you say you met Mom in your third year? It says here that you started acting this way in your first year, so... you did all this in only two years?"

"It's amazing Grandpa hasn't murdered you after all this, Dad."

Baek Suryong's gaze shifted to the ❬Behavioral Characteristics and Overall Opinion❭ section. There, written in familiar, emotionally charged handwriting, were the following words:

Baek Muheun is extremely fond of drinking and partying. Incidents and accidents follow him wherever he goes, raising concerns that he may die an unfortunate death after entering the jianghu.

He possesses outstanding swordsmanship talent, but is lazy by nature and dislikes hardship, showing a tendency to train only when he feels like it.

He requires intensive rehabilitation and discipline prior to graduation. Furthermore, as his stealth and escape skills improve by the day, there is a chance that he may become a 'Rooftop Gentleman' in the future.

As long as his behavioral problems are corrected, there is no doubt that he is a student with a very promising future.

- Homeroom Teacher: Mae Geuklyom

Baek Muheun, who had read the contents over his son's shoulder, covered his face in shame and sighed. "Fuck... He really wrote that!?"

Picturing his father running away and his grandfather chasing after him, Baek Suryong giggled so hard that tears welled up in his eyes.

"There shouldn't be any problem issuing the diploma," the secretary in the administrative office concluded.

Father and son breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. The deeds written in Baek Muheun's student record were so colorful that they were worried he could not graduate.

The staff member added that confirming that part did indeed take quite some time. "Actually, he had so many demerits it was iffy. .. Fortunately, most of the demerits were offset by the merit points he received for reaching the semifinals of the Heavenly Martial Festival's Dragon and Phoenix Tournament in his third year. Please wait a moment."

"Haha! If I had known, I would have just won the whole thing. The administration staff would have had less trouble," Baek Muheun remarked casually.

Baek Suryong smirked wickedly. "Don't worry. You'll soon have a chance to put that regret behind you."

"Hm? What do you mean by that?"

"You're making me nervous again..."

Shortly after, another receptionist brought a diploma in the form of a scroll. The official seal of the Azure Dragon Academy was stamped at the bottom.

"Once you receive the principal's signature next to the seal, this will be officially recognized as an Azure Dragon Academy diploma."

"Thank you." Baek Muheun accepted the scroll, his emotions running high. If his son hadn't tugged at his sleeve, he would have stood there staring dumbly at it for a long time.

"Dad, while we're at it, let's go see the principal right away."

The pair left the administrative office and headed straight for the principal's office.

Baek Suryong knocked on the door. "Principal! It's Baek Suryong."

Noh Goonsang's voice came from inside a moment later. "Come in."

The two entered the principal's office together, only to discover that Noh Goonsang was not alone. Sitting across from Noh Goonsang at the reception table and drinking tea was another guest who had arrived earlier.

"You... scoundrel of a son-in-law?"

Baek Muheun narrowed his eyes and glared at Mae Geuklyom. The comments written on his student record in the archives came to mind. "Yes, your scoundrel of a son-in-law has arrived. The lazy fellow who hated training and whom you worried would become a Rooftop Gentleman is here."

"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

"Come to think of it, I did end up kidnapping your daughter and eloping with her, so I suppose your worries came true..."

"Have you lost your mind, you damn punk?"

Sighing, Baek Suryong nudged his father and said, "It seems you two are in the middle of a conversation, so we'll come back later." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NoveI~Fire.net

"Hoho! No worries," Noh Goonsang laughed, beckoning them closer. "We just finished the most important part of our discussion. Although, I'm in a bit of a bind since the Sword Addict keeps refusing..."

"It's because you insist on making impossible requests, Principal..." Mae Geuklyom said, looking troubled. Then, as if wanting to change the subject, he asked his son-in-law and grandson. "What brings the two of you here?"

"We came to ask the Principal for his signature on a graduation diploma."

Noh Goonsang tilted his head in confusion. "...A diploma? Whose?"

Baek Suryong approached, showed Noh Goonsang his father's diploma from the administration office, and explained the situation. After hearing the story, Noh Goonsang looked at Baek Muheun with interest, while Mae Geuklyom stared at his son-in-law with a look that said, 'How shameless can you get?'

"Ahem..." Baek Muheun cleared his throat and looked away in embarrassment.

Mae Geuklyom scoffed. "It seems even you know what shame is."

"I didn't expect you to be here, Father-in-law. Also, it wasn't my idea to get the diploma, but Suryong's..."

"Are you angry?" Baek Muheun stared at the tea instead, trying hard not to meet his father-in-law's eyes.

"What's there to be angry about? If you're qualified, then you should receive the diploma. I know better than anyone that you attended the Azure Dragon Academy for four years."

" Tsk. Don't look at me like that. How could a middle-aged man so shamelessly pretend to be a rain-soaked puppy..." Mae Geuklyom clicked his tongue in disapproval, then sharply averted his gaze from Baek Muheun and looked out the window.

Noh Goonsang watched the two of them with a happy smile, then held out a hand at Baek Suryong. "Hand that to me, will you?"

Picking up a brush, he signed the diploma with a single, fluid stroke. With his inner arts, he then summoned a breeze to dry the ink.

"This is good. A sample just got delivered, too. Mr. Baek, would you mind going to my desk and opening the top left drawer? You'll know what to bring as soon as you see it."

Noh Goonsang walked toward Baek Muheun, his gentle demeanor naturally exuding the dignity of a principal. "Student Baek Muheun."

"Although I wasn't able to watch over you during your school days, I'm delighted that you've grown into such a fine martial artist. Furthermore, on behalf of everyone, I thank you for risking your life to protect the Azure Dragon Academy from the threat of Deathshroud."

"It was my duty to step forward," Baek Muheun replied solemnly. Even if his son hadn't asked, even if his father-in-law hadn't been in danger, he would have gladly taken up his sword for the Azure Dragon Academy.

"I, the Principal, hereby announce that Student Baek Muheun has faithfully completed the four-year curriculum at the Azure Dragon Academy." Noh Goonsang met Baek Muheun's gaze. Smiling broadly, he handed the signed diploma to the new graduate. "Congratulations."

Baek Muheun respectfully accepted the diploma with both hands. "...Thank you."

"Congratulations on your graduation, Dad." Baek Suryong handed him a blue silk purse from the side. A dragon embroidered with golden thread sat in the center of the purse.

"It's this year's graduation gift," Noh Goonsang explained. "You're the first one to receive it."

Baek Muheun examined the purse with a bewildered expression. "I'm not sure if I should accept this..."

Noh Goonsang firmly pressed the wallet into Baek Muheun's hesitant hand and smiled gently. "Never forget that you're a graduate of the Azure Dragon Academy, no matter where you are."

Baek Muheun nodded and carefully tucked the diploma and graduation gift into his robes. "I have never forgotten it, not even once, and I never will."

"...Hmph," Mae Geuklyom grunted. "Better late than never, I guess."

Throughout the signing and handover, he hadn't even glanced at his son-in-law, keeping his gaze fixed out the window.

However, all three people in the room knew. Despite the old man's words, there was no mistaking the smile playing across his lips.