Chapter 416

What were the conditions?

In the past, Do Un-Chan thought fame was needed for a prestigious clan to function.

This was because if the people of the world didn’t acknowledge the existence of that clan, it couldn’t be called such.

But lately, his thoughts had changed a little bit.

No matter how much fame a clan gets, they cannot be called prestigious unless their skills are solid. That was why he was so adamant about making their skills grow.

And that thought turned stronger the moment he climbed Mount Hua.

Didn’t Mount Hua, which was said to be the strongest, have to train so hard? Considering their achievements so far, it might be a little conceited, but the disciples of Mount Hua were training like there was no tomorrow.

See!

Such a beautiful sight!

It felt like he wanted to bring all his disciples from the Ghost Clan and show them this.

But…

There was just one problem.

‘Still, isn’t this a bit harsh from a human point of view?’

Do Un-Chan rubbed his eyes.

“Ugh….”

“Kill… that bastard… I’ll kill you….”

The disciples of Mount Hua, whose bodies were stained in dust, were wriggling on the ground.

All the while, Do Un-Chan was thinking how letting go of their wooden swords was highly commendable, but watching them tremble made tears well up in his eyes.

And the lumps of iron which were put above the disciples’ bodies? Just how careless and terrible their treatment was could not be shown more clearly than this.

“Everyone out.”

The very nice voice of Chung Myung came over the disciples, who were barely breathing.

“After a couple of fights, very unfounded confidence has made its way into you all. Swordsmen shouldn’t skip basic training for the rest of their lives. Are you weak-legged bastards actually doing this?”

Even the appearance of them being nagged was unusual.

“Yes, the sword of Mount Hua is gorgeous. But that is why it is easy to fall and be buried too! If you are a swordsman, you should know how to hold on, even if it is only your fingers moving! You, your core is too heavy! How dare you move that ass? Don’t move!”

‘Who is the one doing that!’

‘I will kill him! I really will!’

Baek Cheon and his party gritted their teeth.

They were delighted to get out of the hellish basic training for the first time in a while and wield their swords. But before they could swing their swords for a few seconds, this devil turned his eyes, and finally, this happened.

“Ugh, what is with you? Why don’t you go down?”

“… again?”

“Again? Again you say? Why? Shall I throw you down myself?”

“…”

The disciples of Mount Hua, who had barely climbed the cliff with iron on them, gazed far away with tears in their eyes.

“Ugh.”

And they started going down again.

“Ah! The stones are cracking here!”

“Sahyung! Hold tight! It really is cracking! There is no one to catch us below!”

“Ahhhh! That bastard!”

Screams and curses were rising from all sides, but Chung Myung just listened as if a dog was barking.

“Well, the kids these days are really so… I wasn’t like this in the past!”

Uh? In the past?

I used to carry house-sized rocks around and even run on the cliffs with them!

Now, they complained about the crumbling of where they set their feet. They had to realize how to use footwork!

“Tch. You grew up without troubles.”

Cold sweat ran down the back of Do Un-Chan’s forehead as he watched this.

For the sake of their training, the Mount Hua disciples were doing this? Yes, it was scary.

Chung Myung being calm? That was also terrifying.

But what terrified him the most was the fact that Chung Myung was riding on the back of someone.

Uh?

Is that weird?

It is!

Because the person lying face down with Chung Myung on his back was none other than a Shaolin disciple.

“Did you not think? Ugh, I guess you think differently since your head is all shiny?”

“… s-stop!”

Hae Yeon was already sweating too much as he lay on his stomach. His face was wet as if he was hit with rain, and even his shiny head was dripping.

The man, the symbol of Shaolin, drenched in sweat, looked as if he wore freshly washed clothes.

“Ugh, your ass is going down?”

“KUAAKK!”

Hae Yeon screamed as he lifted his waist up.

“No. Why are kids like this these days? Yah, isn’t it embarrassing to say things like it hurts when you are a monk of Shaolin?”

“I-I am not using qi, so how can I, how…!”

“Qi? Internal qi?”

“Huhhh!”

In the meantime, Hae Yeon’s hands began to dig deeper into the ground as if Chung Myung had suddenly begun to weigh more.

“This is the problem with Shaolin men! They only train their internal qi, so their entire body looks like this! What? Full qi emanating from such a slender body? Are you proud of that? Proud?”

Chung Myung shouted with his eyes wide open.

“Those who claim to be able to master all are starving as if they haven’t eaten in several days! It is because everything they do depends on their internal qi. What will you do with a body only supported by internal qi? It is your body that uses it! If you are a monk from Shaolin, it is the body you need to train first, just your body!”

“S-Shaolin…”

“Head back to Shaolin then!”

Chung Myung slapped Hae Yeon on his bald head.

“Your ancestors used to have forearms the size of a child’s head! A Shaolin monk with a body like that. It is a shame on you!”

Hae Yeon’s eyes looked wet.

But there were no tears now. Chung Myung was getting heavier and heavier. The body of Hae Yeon was too weak to handle Chung Myung, who continued to increase his weight.

“How dare you secretly use internal qi!”

Slap!

“…”

“We need to start with fixing your habit of using internal qi! Where the head goes, qi follows. In other words, if you want to do something, it will be done without using qi from now on. Don’t go pretending to be a skilled warrior if you cannot even do that on your own!”

Hae Yeon didn’t even answer now.

‘T-This isn’t right.’

What he hoped from coming to Mount Hua was something like a higher level of training.

However, he didn’t think that Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon would go around harassing people.

“You are prohibited from using internal qi for this month. From eating to walking. Relearn how your body moves. Try using your internal qi thinking I won’t see, and I will crush your dantian!”

“…”

At that sight, Do Un-Chan’s face turned pale.

And just then…

“Hmm. This is.”

“…”

Un Geom, who was standing next to Do Un-Chan and observing him, nodded his head broadly as if he had realized something.

“Sword is sword, but first of all, a person who uses a sword should perfect their body. As expected. This makes sense.”

Makes sense?

Did this man actually say that?

Do Un-Chan’s eyes were wide.

That, maybe the eyes of a swordsman saw things differently? Was he saying he could understand this? All I see is a bandit catching people.

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes, Great Sasuk.”

Chung Myung jumped off Hae Yeon’s back and ran for Un Geom.

“I understand how the training is going. But they could fall off the cliff, so isn’t that a bit too dangerous?”

To the side, Do Un-Chan nodded. Since the moment he heard this, it felt like he was hearing someone speak common sense.

“Is there something else?”

“Ah, is that so? But there is none.”

“… Uh.”

“They won’t die. Now that sahyungs have become stronger, they will end up breaking the limbs of others.”

“…”

Do Un-Chan’s eyes were wide again.

“That is all? That is the solution…?”

“I see.”

However, Un Geom just nodded as if he understood.

“Then, how long should this training happen?”

“Uh?”

Chung Myung tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.

“Isn’t this basic training? They cannot be doing this forever.”

“Eh. Basics are the foundations of life. Well… still, until the basics are reduced so their swordsmanship can be increased…”

Chung Myung tilted his head and said,

“Thirty years?”

“…”

“No, maybe more? Forty years.”

“…”

“Shouldn’t a human be able to do that much?”

Un Geom let out a sigh and looked at Chung Myung.

“I do not think that basics are unimportant, but I feel like they have been working too hard.”

“Because this is the hardest thing to do. Anyway, even without me, they can roll around like that.”

“I understand. I am just making sure!”

Do Un-Chan looked away and was lost in thought.

‘Wouldn’t it be okay just to live happily even if the sect wasn’t famous? Wasn’t there nothing more important than happiness in the life of a person?’

It was the moment when Do Un-Chan’s lifelong values were forcibly twisted.

“… I will die.”

“… I don’t have the strength to speak…”

The eyes of those looking at them were all sunken.

The food given to the disciples was amazing.

But now, no matter what went into their mouths, it tasted the same. Eating these mountain and sea delicacies was like chewing sand.

“Why is that bastard doing this?”

“It hasn’t even been a day or two since Chung Myung chose to go crazy, but to do this these days…”

“He is being too severe…”

Baek Cheon was speechless, so he just sighed.

Wasn’t this what they always thought?

Even if it were unfamiliar and difficult, if it were constantly done, they would slowly get the hang of it. And eventually, even this would bring them joy.

But somehow, this bastard’s training got more and more like hell.

-What? Joy? Joy? If learning is joy, then it would be called a game or playtime. Who would give such training?

“He is a different man with a different mindset from ours.”

“… I know.”

Baek Cheon silently answered, biting down on his lips. They say one gets used to the people in their life, then how was Hae Yeon…

“Uh?”

Baek Cheon slightly turned to the side.

Hae Yeon, who was sitting in the corner of the table, had bowed his head with hands covering his face.

“… what is with this monk now?”

“I don’t know.”

After hesitating for a moment, Baek Cheon stood up helplessly and approached Hae Yeon.

“Uh… Monk? Is everything all right? Did something bad happen?”

Then, Hae Yeon removed his hand from his face and raised his gaze.

Tears welled up in his innocent eyes.

“S-Sir…”

“Yes, tell me.”

“I-I cannot stand eating grass.”

“…”

Baek Cheon’s eyes naturally turned to the grass in front of Hae Yeon. He shook his head, clicking his tongue.

‘He is making it tough.’

If the disciples of Mount Hua, who were given meat to eat every meal, were also struggling, then how sad was Hae Yeon’s situation? Someone who had been given grass and empty dumplings to eat?

Baek Cheon called over Yoon Jong.

“Yes, Sasuk.”

“Go to the kitchen and get the monk some hard-boiled eggs.”

“But I don’t think….”

“He has to live.”

“…”

He wondered if it was fine, but Yoon Jong had no choice but to nod. It was up to Hae Yeon to decide whether or not to eat it.

“… how long do we have to be like this?”

“Soon Chung Myung will leave for Sichuan, so we can just wait till then. So just a little…”

“Didn’t Training Master Un Geom say this was interesting?”

“I-I, too, heard that. If this is how…”

Baek Cheon flinched, and goosebumps rose on his arms.

‘Do we have to continue doing this?’

Then it was either one of the two. Die while training, or turn into an iron man by surviving.

The former was more likely.

The disciples went silent, clutching their heads.

“If this is what happens, I would rather follow Chung Myung to Sichuan…”

“How crazy is that? Just how much does the man bother people?”

“But there are no cliffs on the road we run, right?”

“Uh?”

Now that he heard it…

Baek Cheon’s eyes shone.

“Hmm, hm. As if that happens. It is hard to follow Chung Myung to Sichuan. And you cannot be entrusted with such a difficult task.”

“Sahyung. Do not mess around.”

Baek Sang glared at Baek Cheon.

“… to be honest, why does Sahyung always get to go with Chung Myung for work? If you go like that every time, then just yield it to us just for this once!”

“Uh! You are speaking as if I get to choose! Every time the sect leader….!”

“Then this time don’t! We want to try touring around Sichuan!”

In the eyes of the disciples surrounding him, madness began to take birth. Baek Cheon, who noticed this to be a rebellion, spoke with a stiff face,

“I am the Great Sahyung!”

“Haha, Sahyung. You are speaking odd stuff now. Since when has Mount Hua valued that?”

“You!”

The moment Baek Cheon tried to show restraint, the chung disciples, who had been eating quietly, got up.

“Well, from what I hear, it seems like sasuks are all trying to move.”

“Please let it be us. Who in here would not like to go to Sichuan?”

The eyes of the Baek disciples narrowed.

“Kids, stay out of this.”

“Who was the one who said there are no power rankings in Mount Hua?”

The smile shone onto the faces of the chung disciples.

“And you want to do it with your skills? Wouldn’t Chung Myung want to take someone with good skills?”

“… skills?”

Baek Cheon’s head twisted as if snorting.

“Did you say skill just now?”

“Of course, I realize that Baek Cheon Sasuk is strong. But….”

Chung Gong smiled,

“You haven’t had a proper fight lately? Who knows? We can be coming close to you.”

“My strength is no more the same.”

At the voice of the cheeky bastards, Baek Cheon smiled.

‘This doesn’t even surprise me.’

How did these people grow up like this?

“Right. There is no such thing as power rankings or respect in Mount Hua.”

“Huhu. You know…”

“So.”

Clench!

Baek Cheon moved from the table.

“Let’s get it done today right here, you rotten brats!”

He threw the ripped tabletop at the chung disciples and roared at them.

“Step on it!”

“Hit!”

In an instant, the mess turned into a mess, and Hae Yeon was the only one mowing the grass.

“They play so well.”

Chung Myung, who was lying on the roof, clicked his tongue upon hearing this.

It was said that kids grow up fighting, but this was too much. Tch.

He clicked his tongue as he turned to look at the sky. And as if counting the stars, he counted the things to do.

‘There is so much to do.’

The trip to Sichuan wasn’t just for new swords. This was already something else discussed with Hwang Jongi.

‘So meaningless.’

It was clearly revealed what happened with the Ten Thousand People Clan, the bond between the Nine Sects was loosening, and they would not be able to stick together anymore.

If that were the case, then Mount Hua should rebuild the trust of the people surrounding it.

“Tch. So annoying.”

But what can be done? This is all for Mount Hua.

“Ah. I am so bored Sahyung….”

Kwaaang!

Right next to Chung Myung, who was on the roof, something roared high into the sky… a disciple?

“…”

Chung Myung also ended up looking down the newly made hole in the roof.

“D-die, you bastard!”

“What kind of person is a sasuk? Shit! There is no reason to stay still!”

“AHHHH!”

The Chung disciples and Baek disciples were fighting like lumps of paste in their beautifully warm fistful conversation.

“…”

Chung Myung turned back to the sky with a smile.

Sahyung.

Sect Leader Sahyung.

… to be honest, I don’t think I can handle it anymore.

… sorry.

And so, the day to depart for Sichuan was bright.

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