Chung Myung, who came down the stage, went to his sahyungs and extended his arms.

"Haha. What is with those faces? Who am I… uh?"

His sahyungs slowly stepped back as they saw him approaching.

"What is it?"

"N-No."

Baek Cheon smiled awkwardly. Cold sweat formed on his forehead.

"Um?"

Chung Myung frowned at their strange reactions.

"No…"

And then suddenly moved.

Step.

"…"

As he approached, Chung Myung saw his sahyungs retreating.

'Retreating?'

Besides, the expressions didn't seem good. Even a blind person could feel their emotions.

"Shit, why are you acting like I have some disease?! Why are you avoiding a person who worked so hard!"

"Yah! Brat! Think a little before you approach people! You have poison all over your body, and you keep getting close to us as if there is nothing wrong with you! We will all die if that much poison even touches us!"

"Uh?"

'That sounds right?'

Chung Myung looked down at his body.

Of course, the poison didn't affect him, but it was still on his body. Chung Myung could clear it, but his sahyungs couldn't, and they would probably meet the King of the Underworld if he went any closer.

'That damned sajae went close and poisoned them by accident.'

Absurd statements would go around if something like that happened.

Chung Myung scratched his head and looked around.

"Ugh!"

Come to think of it, it wasn't just his sahyungs. Even the other people watching him were slowly moving back. No, no matter what! They should be treating him like a god!

'Uh?'

"Tang family Lord?"

"…"

'Why are you so far away?'

'The person called the Lord of Tang family?'

"Ahem."

Tang Gunak coughed and slowly, very slowly approached Chung Myung. But when Chung Myung stepped forward, he stepped back twice.

"B-Be still!"

"…"

'Uh…'

'Why did this seem familiar?'

Thinking back, in the past, his sahyungs and sajaes would act like this at anything he did.

'What kind of life have I been living?'

Realizing how much of the Plum Blossom Sword Saint Chung Myung was acting as, he looked up.

'Sorry, my sajaes!'

'Sahyungs, I did wrong.'

While Chung Myung sighed and repented, Tang Gunak received a dozen small bottles from someone behind him. And began to generously throw it at Chung Myung.

"E-Eh!"

"Stand! Stand still! Don't even cough!"

'No! You bastards!'

Tang Gunak had a subtle expression on his face as he looked at Chung Myung, wondering if the poison had still stayed despite pouring out a dozen antidotes.

"Do you feel any poison qi?"

"…"

"For now, let's quarantine you for a week. So please cooperate…

"Ugh! Damn it!"

At that moment, Chung Myung's whole body was covered in flames.

"Oh?"

The poison qi around his body began to burn up. And Chung Myung sat down on the very spot and mumbled…

"Oh, it really eats up so much of my internal qi."

A small fire on his fingertips didn't need much internal qi. However, covering his entire body with the fire wasn't an easy feat. What's more, during that fierce battle, Chung Myung had drained around half of his internal qi, so there was nothing he could do but gulp down the fact that it was running out.

"Oh my. Now do your work."

Tang Gunak nodded his head and slowly climbed up the stage.

"Elder Tang Woe, listen."

Tang Woe raised his head very lightly. As though he had no more strength, he stayed still after that.

Tang Gunak used internal qi and spoke, making his voice boom.

"Do you understand what sins you have committed?"

Tang Woe's eyes were red.

"… I-I! What sins have I committed!?"

Although Tang Woe had had his dantian shattered and had no qi inside him, the poison in his eyes remained. It felt like the man would go running for Tang Gunak's throat any moment just looking at the way he was shouting.

"If it is a sin to lose to that monster, then it is a sin!"

Seeing Tang Woe speak despite coughing blood, Tang Gunak shook his head.

"Winning or losing is never a sin. I am talking about another sin."

"…"

"Take him!"

Tang Gunak's eyes directed to one side. Naturally, the eyes of all the people who were listening to him, turned to that side.

"That…"

"Successor?"

"Why is he?"

Tang Pae, who was the successor of the Tang family, grabbed a man and dragged him into the stage.

All eyes were focused on him. However, only one person looked at the individual who was being dragged up with recognition in his eyes.

"H-How…"

Tang Pae threw the person he was dragging onto the stage.

"I brought him, my lord."

"Good."

Tang Gunak slowly said.

"Tang Hwa!"

"L-Lord…"

The person called Tang Hwa fell flat on the ground.

"If you confess your sins, I will spare your life."

Hearing that, Tang Hwa bit his lip.

'It is all over.

Tang Woe was already devoid of strength, and all he could do was just lie there in that form. Even if he kept his loyalty here, all that would await him was a horrible death or a life in a dungeon.

What would a person choose then?

"I, I…"

"Tang Hwa! What are you trying to say!"

Tang Woe shouted at him, but Tang Hwa kept speaking as if he couldn't hear Tang Woe.

"Tang Woe… under the order of this elder, I put poison into the food and alcohol that was served to Mount Hua's Divine Dragon."

Everyone around them started whispering.

Using poison for a spar?

This was bad.

And against the guests of the Lord?

That was even more horrible.

But.

Even putting them all together, it was nothing compared to the sin of trying to poison someone who had the potential to create a huge name in the world and was the guest of the family. This was an act that shook the very fundamentals of the Tang family.

As a Tang family member who used poison, the one thing they shouldn't do at all was this.

"H-How can he do such a thing!"

"Wait! If the man was affected by it, then how did he fight?"

"If the Ghost King's Spirit doesn't work on him, then why would a simple blockage poison work?"

"…true."

All the people now looked at Chung Myung with bright eyes. It was only now that they realized how monstrous this Divine Dragon truly was.

Waiting for everyone to calm down, Tang Gunak spoke coldly.

"It was clearly the orders of elder Tang Woe?"

"Yes."

And Tang Gunak's eyes moved to Tang Woe.

"Do you have anything to say?"

"…"

Tang Woe shut his eyes tightly.

'It is over.'

Everything was over.

From now on, he wouldn't be treated as an elder ever again. And just because he went ahead and bet against his opponent, all the elders of the family would now lose the power they had and would have to head into their rooms to live like old men for the rest of their lives.

With this one incident, Tang Gunak had gained absolute power and could now run the family according to his will.

"Lord… I really did this for the family…"

"The results don't seem like you did this for the family."

Tang Gunak spoke with an emotionless voice.

"To have a heart for the family is something that can be judged when the right path is taken. Don't talk about this anymore. It's too dirty to fall on my ears."

"…"

Tang Gunak, who took his eyes off Tang Woe, looked at the other family members.

"I, as the Lord of the Sichuan Tang family, give the order!"

"Yes!"

All the members of the Tang family knelt on the spot.

"Tang Woe, who has committed a horrific crime, will be abolished from the position of elder and sent to prison. Until the investigation is over, the elder is absolved from his role, and the other elders shall not leave their rooms or this home! Until then, I order all the family members to be careful of their actions!"

"We obey the Lord's orders!"

"And!"

Tang Gunak turned his head and looked at Chun Myung.

"Mount Hua's Divine Dragon, Chung Myung!"

"Yes!"

This time, Chung Myung looked straight at him and straightened his body.

"Thanks to your hard work and dedication. I was given a wonderful chance to know and correct the terrible things which were going on in the Tang family. As the head of the Sichuan Tang family, I express my official gratitude to you, your sahyungs, and to the Mount Hua sect!"

Tang Gunak clasped his hands and leaned forward, bowing to Chung Myung.

It was to show respect.

It was one of the highest forms of respect that usually only the Lord got to see. But now, the Lord was doing it for someone else. And the others in the family also did the same.

"We thank the Mount Hua sect!"

"We thank Mount Hua's Divine Dragon!"

"We thank the disciples of Mount Hua!"

Everyone bowed their heads in unison and spoke out loud.

The disciples of Mount Hua, who were greeted by that, felt their faces turn red.

'We are acknowledged by the Tang family.'

Mount Hua, a sect that was kicked out from its former glory, was recognized by the Tang family, the overlord of the Sichuan region.

Who would have imagined that such a day would come?

And Chung Myung took a step ahead.

"Mount Hua's third-class disciple, Chung Myung, represents Mount Hua and thanks the Sichuan Tang family."

Chung Myung spoke to Tang Gunak.

"And… uh…"

And then, bowing, he took a step back.

"Sasuk."

"Uh?"

"Sasuk, you should do it too."

"…"

"What?"

"Ahem."

Baek Cheon coughed and stepped ahead. And then he spoke to Tang Gunak.

"On behalf of Mount Hua, Baek Cheon, the second-class disciple, expresses his gratitude to the Tang family. I hope that through this, the friendship between the two sects will deepen and allow us to share a sincere friendship."

"Of course!"

Tang Gunak smiled.

"Of course, we will!"

"Woahhhhh!"

"Long live the Sichuan Tang family!"

"Long live Mount Hua!"

As soon as he finished speaking, cheers erupted from all sides. It was at this moment that Tang Gunak defeated the elders and held absolute power. At the same time, the alliance with Mount Hua was also formally announced.

And the fight between Tang Woe and Chung Myung. It was difficult for everyone to fully understand what had exactly happened. But, looking at the attitude of Tang Gunak and the disciples of Mount Hua, everyone knew this would benefit the Tang family.

And so, they cheered.

In the midst of that, Chung Myung shrugged his shoulders.

"What amazing thing was done? The cheers are too much."

"Chung Myung."

Baek Cheon looked at Chung Myung. And spoke with a serious voice.

"Uh?"

"You did an amazing job."

"Hehe. Of course, I…"

"But!"

"Uh?"

Baek Cheon's face was full of anger as he glared at Chung Myung.

"If you are going to do something like this next time, tell us!"

"No, do I really have…"

"Certainly!"

"…"

Chung Myung, who was about to say something, looked at the eyes of Baek Cheon and flinched. It was rare for the man to be this angry.

"You brat! You might not have been hurt with the poison, but we thought you were dead, idiot!"

Yoon Jong spoke from behind him.

"…honestly, it is not to that extent."

"Right."

Baek Cheon quickly looked at him, but Yoon Jong and Jo Gul turned back to the crowd. Baek Cheon, who looked at Chung Myung again, continued.

"Remember what I said. Next time, if you do something like this again, I will not sit back."

Chung Myung, who tried to say something, shut his lips right away.

Chung Myung sighed.

"Okay, fine. I will speak to you in the future."

"Idiot."

Baek Cheon sighed, shaking his head.

"For now, turn back!"

"Uh?"

Baek Cheon grabbed Chung Myung by the shoulders and turned him around. And the sight of the Tang family members cheering for him could be seen.

"They are cheering for you."

"…"

Chung Myung watched the cheers with shocked eyes.

'Have I ever received such cheers outside of Mount Hua?'

Well.

In the past, when he was the Plum Blossom Sword Saint, he had done countless things more amazing than this, but he had never received such cheers.

"Wave your hand."

Chung Myung smiled.

Well.

This works fine too!

"Oh my! Thank you! Oh my! I didn't do such a great thing. Hahahah! Yes, yes! Thank you."

Seeing Chung Myung all cheerful, the disciples of Mount Hua burst into laughter.

"Wow… so cool."

Tang Zhan looked at Chung Myung in admiration.

'I was trying to fight with that person?'

He was fortunate to have his neck still attached to his body.

"Noona, isn't he great?"

"…sure he is."

"Mount Hua's Divine Dragon is really the Best in the World. It is so wonderful."

"Not that."

"Uh?"

Tang Zhan looked at his sister with puzzled eyes. Tang Soso's eyes were fixed on one place. Tang Zhan, who followed that gaze, came upon an unexpected person.

"Yu Yiseol?"

"Zhan."

"Yes, Noona."

"I have decided."

"About?"

Unable to take her eyes off Yu Yiseol, she said.

"I…"

Biting her lip, she said firmly.

"…am going to join Mount Hua."