The light stung so much that he couldn’t open his eyes.

When he slowly opened his half-closed eyes again, he saw the figures of the Five Swords waiting for him.

“…”

Chung Myung looked at them in silence.

Although they probably had a lot of questions, none of them asked Chung Myung anything.

Some greeted him with stern faces, while others smiled at him.

“For now….”

“Let’s head back to Mount Hua.”

Baek Cheon cut off Chung Myung’s words.

“What are you going to do about the guy down in the village? I think if we take him with us, it would be a burden.”

Jo Gul, instead of Chung Myung, responded to Baek Cheon with a pessimistic tone.

“Well, I gave him a brief warning, so there won’t be any major problems, right? If he makes another mistake, we can just catch him and beat him up.”

“… if he can go through something like this and still have another accident, he must be a great person. From then on, I admit it.”

“Uh?”

Jo Gul shook his head at Yoon Jong’s words.

Actually, it wasn’t that big of a deal to them anymore. Fighting with the Golden Sword clan, engaging in life-or-death battles with the Iron Rabbit clan, or encountering the unexpected Ten Thousand People Clan members and cutting off their heads…

Uh…

Looking back, it wasn’t normal, right?

‘Anyway.’

It might not be a big deal to them, but for ordinary warriors, it was an enormous event that they might experience at least once in their lives. If you went through something like that one after another and still had the guts to be a fraud, that should be a talent.

“Let us head back first. I don’t think this is a situation we need to worry about.”

When Tang Soso also agreed and stepped ahead, Baek Cheon nodded.

“Let us not waste time and leave right away.”

Chung Myung watched in silence as the sahyungs agreed and talked in unison.

There were probably countless things they wanted to ask.

But the reason Chung Myung wasn’t given a chance to speak was to ease the burden he carried.

Kuk.

Chung Myung’s hand, which was clutching his clothes, clenched tighter.

‘That is so fucking pathetic of me.’

He thought he had to be strong.

Even if he didn’t want to do it, he believed that punishing someone would be enough.

Looking at these pale-faced young people, he realized how stupid he had been.

“Let’s head back, Chung Myung. I need to report to the sect leader.”

Chung Myung nodded at Baek Cheon’s words.

Now wasn’t the time to be sentimental.

His sajae had been alone in this lonely place for too long. We had to take him to Mount Hua as soon as possible and let him rest.

“Right. Sasuk, let’s start….”

At that moment, Chung Myung suddenly closed his mouth.

His gaze fell on the bushes behind Baek Cheon. Baek Cheon, too, looked back in shock as Chung Myung’s face turned cold.

‘When…?’

Yu Yiseol tightly gripped her sword handle. Only then did the rest of the disciples notice the presence surrounding them.

“Who are you?”

Baek Cheon commanded.

“Come out!”

The bushes shook lightly at his cold voice.

Flutter.

The sound of stepping on grass and wind moving, and soon a group of men in red blood robes and grey robes appeared, surrounding Mount Hua’s disciples.

“…”

Baek Cheon went silent.

‘This won’t be easy.’

There was no sign of threat whatsoever.

But still, the hair on his body stood up. Even before his head could think, his body had sensed their capabilities and warned him.

“Sahyung.”

“… I know.”

Even Yu Yiseol, who didn’t usually speak first, called for him. It was clear that she wasn’t underestimating the opponents.

“Close the gap.”

At Baek Cheon’s soft words, Jo Gul and Yoon Jong gathered together with nervous faces.

Tang Soso naturally shifted her position to stand behind Baek Cheon. She didn’t move to a safe place but to one where she could display her best skills. Having faced many difficult experiences in life, she understood how dangerous this situation was.

Baek Cheon softly said,

“I don’t think they came here with good intentions… I guess you all don’t dare to reveal your identity then.”

“Identity… it isn’t that difficult.”

Baek Cheon’s eyes slowly turned to the voice he heard coming from somewhere.

At the end, between the bloody and grey people, was a man who slowly walked out.

Baek Cheon’s eyes trembled as he saw the man’s face.

‘That man…’

It was him.

The unforgettable face. Because he was the one who stayed by the side of the strongest warrior Baek Cheon had ever seen.

“… The Ten Thousand People clan?”

“It would be meaningless to say it has been a while. How have you been, people of Mount Hua?”

The man wore dignified clothes with his hair slicked back.

Ho Ga-Myung, the military general of the Ten Thousand People clan, looked at the disciples of Mount Hua and bowed.

“I am Ho Ga-Myung of the Ten Thousand People clan.”

“… Baek Cheon of Mount Hua.”

As Baek Cheon responded without letting his guard down, Ho Ga-Myung raised his hands from the offensive stance and moved them to the left and right.

“I guess I should tell you that I am more than happy to see you again.”

“… What do you mean?”

“What do I mean…”

Ho Ga-Myung had a light smile as he took out the strap around his waist. He took out a cigarette wrapper, filled it, and lit it by rubbing his fingertips together.

Flicker.

After taking a couple of puffs, the smoke began to rise.

“You’re asking because you don’t know?”

“…”

“I heard that the Mount Hua people went all the way to Nanchang and kindly cut off the heads of our people…”

Baek Cheon bit his lip. As soon as those words were spoken, it would be wrong to consider the resolution as positive.

Ho Ga-Myung smiled.

“Well, that is true. When people clash together, they fight, and if they fight like that, they kill each other. I am not someone without the brains to understand it. But…”

He blew out another smoke cloud and put the belt over his shoulder.

“Still, those who were eating from the same pot of rice died from screams, and if the people who committed the crime are snooping around the front yard of the place, wouldn’t it be the way of life to at least come and show their faces?”

“What do you intend to say?”

“Look here, Taoists.”

Ho Ga-Myung’s eyes slowly scanned the disciples of Mount Hua. Those who met his gaze were gritting their teeth.

“We are people of the Evil Faction who don’t get along with you. We don’t know agreement or morality. For those people to still live under one name, they need just one thing. Do you know what that is?”

“… I don’t.”

“Order.”

The word “order” pierced the ears of the Five Swords.

“In order to unite people like the bastards who won’t listen to others, the law requires a minimum amount of order. You get what I mean, right?”

“… and what is that rule?”

“Quite a simple one.”

Ho Ga-Myung smiled.

“An eye for an eye.”

As soon as the words came out, the warriors around began to step closer and draw their weapons. The disciples of Mount Hua clenched the handles of their swords and took a clean look around to see the rough-edged swords, which looked like saws.

“Pheww.”

Ho Ga-Myung blew out another smoke cloud and shook his head.

“I am very sad that something like this happened so soon, right after our lord had come to celebrate the opening of the Heavenly Friends Alliance. But… Taoists.”

The smile vanished from the face of Ho Ga-Myung.

“Don’t you think that killing two of our men and then shamelessly walking into our base and trekking through the mountains is a bit over the line?”

“…”

“If I let you leave without doing anything, the world would laugh at me. I am sorry, but we are only dead when we die. We don’t like being laughed at.”

Baek Cheon sighed in frustration.

It wasn’t that he didn’t think about the Ten Thousand People clan.

But he never thought they would lead their troops to the mountains like this.

‘It was my mistake.’

Even though he knew the status of Mount Hua had changed, he still thought and acted like in the past, ignoring it all, and that resulted in this.

“Our side, too, has its own reasons.”

“Reasons, everyone has them.”

“Is this something that cannot be resolved with words?”

“It seems like a question that doesn’t need an answer.”

Baek Cheon was about to speak.

Step.

Chung Myung, who was silently observing the situation, stepped forward without a word.

“Oh, you, Mount Hua’s Divine….”

Ho Ga-Myung was about to greet Chung Myung but went silent. The moment his eyes met Chung Myung’s, it felt like an ice cave had collapsed onto him.

‘… What?’

He, too, had been through hellish situations before reaching his current position. But even he was trembling as if the soul within his body had frozen.

Shhh.

Chung Myung stepped forward and drew his sword without another word.

“Now, I…”

“…”

“I am not interested in talking.”

Ho Ga-Myung was at a loss for words. It was that shocking.

‘Is he the same person?’

Of course, Chung Myung wasn’t all that impressive when they visited Mount Hua before. Even the face he showed when defeating their men and talking to his lord left an impression on Ho Ga-Myung.

But Chung Myung seemed like a different person now.

Even though he just pulled the sword out, it felt like the sword was cutting through his entire body. In the end, he couldn’t handle it and stepped back.

‘Just where did he come from….’

“I would kill you all if I could, but… I do not have the time for that now. Leave quietly. Those who retreat will not be cut down.”

Chung Myung warned them in a very low voice as he looked at everyone.

“If not, you die.”

In response to that threat, a killing intent appeared on the face of Ho Ga-Myung.

Now that they had seen the true face of Chung Myung, there was just one thing he could think of.

Must kill.

The clan leader needed this man, but Ho Ga-Myung had other ideas. Anyone who raised a tiger cub thought they could control it.

Only when the tiger cub turned into a real tiger and sank its fangs into one’s neck would one realize that there were things in the world that could not be achieved through hard work alone.

The clan leader wasn’t an ordinary person, but this boy was no less extraordinary. Ho Ga-Myung had no intention of ignoring the immediate threat in order to achieve greater results.

He had originally planned to leave Chung Myung alive, but at this moment, the plan changed. The others were pretty skillful, but this man had to be dealt with! No matter the sacrifice, he had to kill this man here.

Tak.

The cigarette burning between his lips fell. At the same time, a loud shout came out of Ho Ga-Myung’s mouth.

“Kill him! That one needs to be killed!”

Taking the signal from his words, those surrounding them began to rush in.

“Be prepared then!”

At the sharp shout from Chung Myung, the disciples of Mount Hua gathered around Tang Soso.

The red-robed men who rushed in had blood-like qi at the end of their rapiers, which was terrifying to see.

‘Enhanced qi?’

Chung Myung’s face turned cold.

But then.

Kwaaaang!

A huge explosion happened ahead. The man who was running in front soon turned into a mist of blood and was thrown back.

“…”

Chung Myung, who was about to swing his sword, turned his gaze with a stern look. Mount Hua’s disciples also looked in the same direction, though they didn’t know why.

“Tsk tsk… you did something stupid.”

They heard a familiar voice. A man in clothes that looked familiar but were far from normal walked out leisurely.

“Ga-Myung, Ga-Myung. I told you not to be like this. Tsk tsk. Tsk.”

Hegemony Lord, Jang Ilso.

At that moment, a bright blue qi appeared in Chung Myung’s eyes.