“Finals.”

“Fuck. It is the finals.”

“…no. If you think about it, this is quite expected.”

The disciples of Mount Hua shook their heads when they looked at Chung Myung dozing off in the corner.

“He is really not a human.”

If one thought about it, all those who were expected to win this competition had been knocked out.

Namgung Dowi was smashed by the hands of Chung Myung, and even Jin Geum-Ryong of the Southern Edge was smashed down by Baek Cheon.

Only Wudang was able to get good results. But, in the end, they couldn’t cross the quarter-finals, and even the Hebei Peng Family was defeated by Yu Yiseol.

In general, all martial arts competitions were like this.

If those who were evaluated to have been the strongest climb up and win the contest, where is the fun in that?

The martial arts competitions were always accompanied by surprises and newly found warriors.

This was why men were most passionate about such things.

In the end, what remained at the end was Chung Myung, who was from an underrated sect, and Hae Yeon, who was nothing more than an enigma even before the competition began.

Who the hell could have even thought about this?

“He is a monster, for real.”

“I wonder if that guy is even human.”

The disciples of Mount Hua were groaning, but their faces were full of pride.

Why wouldn’t they be?

The monster of Mount Hua was turning into the monster of the world.

“Everyone in the world has to suffer once in a while.”

“That way, they will know how we felt.”

Baek Cheon, who heard their conversation, grinned. But his heart wasn’t much different.

‘So this is happening for real.’

It was surprisingly not easy to do something which was taken for granted.

However, until this moment, Chung Myung had done everything without creating trouble, and soon the finals were upon them.

How much had changed during this time?

Mount Hua was treated as a fallen sect until it came to Shaolin. Even with the track record of beating the Southern Edge sect, they were given just a gold letter.

Even after coming to Shaolin, until the competition started, no one expected anything from them.

But now, all the sects were focusing on Mount Hua.

Even at this moment, gifts were piled up in their residence, and as they walked down the streets, people would recognize them from their uniforms.

There were times when they felt a bit embarrassed by the gazes, which they weren’t used to, but they indeed liked it.

‘The fact that we managed to gain some fame makes a huge difference.’

It seemed that he could understand why strong men would fight with swords for the sake of fame.

In Kangho, fame wasn’t something you just felt proud of. Fame gives you a voice, and that leads to victory and power.

Just as how Shaolin dictated everything here, now the people who saw Mount Hua would feel the same pressure from the name of Mount Hua.

“Samae. Are you fine?”

At Baek Cheon’s question, Yu Yiseol nodded her head,

“I am fine.”

There was a bandage wrapped around her waist and ankle, but Yu Yiseol answered calmly that it wasn’t much.

However, Tang Soso didn’t seem to like it,

“You are fine? The infirmary head said you need to rest for one month!”

“He is a quack.”

“He is the medicine hall head of Shaolin!”

“Hairless quack.”

“…”

Uh….

By any chance…sago, did you end up giving birth to ill feelings of Shaolin after the spar with Hae Yeon?

While Tang Soso was looking at her, Baek Cheon shook his head.

“If you are fine, then I am glad, but do not overdo yourself. If you decide to strain your body when you just need a short rest, then the repercussions will be long. And that isn’t something you will enjoy.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Okay.”

With that, Baek Cheon got up from his seat.

“Everyone, one moment.”

Everyone raised their heads and looked at him. As they all focused on him, he said,

“Every one of you has been through a lot.”

It was soft with a powerful voice.

“This may be something that should be told after the finals. But whether we win or not, it would be better to say it in advance. Everyone has worked really hard.”

“Not at all, sahyung.”

“Sasuk, too, worked hard!”

“Right.”

Baek Cheon smiled lightly and continued talking,

“We have gained a lot by coming here. The final is the last thing left, and the result of the final isn’t so important. What is important is what we learned from the competition. And if we can do that, Mount Hua can truly return to the glory of the past.”

“Yes!”

The disciples of Mount Hua nodded their heads with determination.

At that moment, Hyun Jong and the elders who were coming downstairs stopped. Then they whispered,

“It looks like we don’t need to talk.”

“I see.”

Hyun Jong smiled brightly.

‘They have grown so much.’

Of course, in the past, the disciples of Mount Hua were also ambitious. But it didn’t feel like they were walking on the path they were supposed to.

A gust of wind blew inside Hyun Jong’s chest.

Through this competition, they grew further. Now, without him trying to drag them, they could walk independently.

And he looked to the side.

‘There will be no free time.’

Now they had proven their worth.

If the ancestors of Mount Hua were watching from the sky, wouldn’t they smile and say they did a good job?

So now, with a happy heart…

“What?”

At that moment, a voice spoke.

“…”

The elders, who had been happy with this, suddenly trembled as they looked,

“What? Whether we win or not? You mean we cannot?”

As soon as the voice of Chung Myung rose, the elders all looked at each other with warm smiles.

“… now that I think about it, I had some paperwork left.”

“Ah, I had some work to do.”

“Um. Come to think of it, me too.”

After exchanging glances, Hyun Jong and the elders slowly moved away from the stairs and went back to their own rooms.

‘I am sorry, my children.’

Hyun Jong’s eyes were filled with regret as he retreated back to his room with swift movements.

Downstairs, Chung Myung just woke up,

“What nonsense are you talking from the bottom of your heart?! If we have come this far, we need to win at all costs! Do you have nothing to give me but this bullshit?”

Baek Cheon looked at Chung Myung and smiled.

Much of Mount Hua changed in this competition. And it was no exaggeration to say that almost everything had changed about them from when they first arrived here.

‘But that personality of his hasn’t changed!’

At this point, it could be said that he was like an old tree rooted to the ground. The problem was that he was consistently swaying in the wrong direction.

“Chung Myung.”

“What?”

“I do not doubt that you would win, but what I want to say is that even if we do not win, we don’t have to be hung up on it. Wasn’t the runner-up also a good achievement for us? We do not want to burden you…”

“Again, with the nonsensical words?”

“… Uh?”

Chung Myung was getting angry,

“The world doesn’t remember things like who won second place! Rather, it only remembers the first place! Have you forgotten what happened to Southern Edge, which came second in our conference with them?”

“… they were called second place?”

There were just two participants.

“Anyway, second place doesn’t mean anything! If we are going to move ahead, we need an unconditional victory. People in the world think that second place is no less than last place!”

Heo Do Jinin, the sect leader of Wudang, was put in second place amongst the sects, but this had always been overlooked.

“And!”

“More?”

“When those bastards win, they will say stuff like ‘You were great,’ and I cannot see that with my eyes.”

Baek Cheon looked at the sajaes.

You did that too.

‘Everyone, right?’

He smiled at Chung Myung.

Baek Cheon coughed lowly, opened his mouth, and looked at Chung Myung.

“Then I will ask.”

“Uh?”

“Are you confident that you will win?”

“…”

Chung Myung frowned,

“Excuse me, sasuk.”

“Uh?”

“It looks like you are misunderstanding something…”

He ruffled his messy hair,

“Winning doesn’t mean we have accomplished something great, right?”

“…”

“This is literally a competition for those who do martial arts. The true power of the sect and its disciples are being shown. Even if we win here, it will bring name to us, but we haven’t yet heard a word from those Nine Sects.”

Baek Cheon went silent.

Chung Myung’s words brought him back to reality.

“The winner is the strongest? It is possible that those sects will become stronger in the future, but that also doesn’t mean that the set future will happen. It is a process. Who will get ridiculed in the future if the sasuk and sajaes don’t get stronger after this competition?”

It felt like a leash was being tightened around their neck.

“This competition is the starting point of Mount Hua. I don’t miss anything, so I will take everything and move higher.”

“… right. You don’t even miss an alcohol bottle under the table either.”

“Hehe. Such praises are a bit embarrassing.”

“That isn’t a compliment, you brat.”

At the sight of Chung Myung genuinely being shy, Baek Cheon shook his head.

“Right. This is just a passing point.”

There is plenty more work to be done.

Their wish was to make Mount Hua the best sect in the world. Then, this was the right point.

‘However…’

Baek Cheon couldn’t ease the anxiety in his heart.

‘Can Chung Myung really beat Hae Yeon?’

Had it been before, he wouldn’t have had such doubts because Chung Myung was a monster.

However, after seeing Hae Yeon’s ability to fight back, this question arose more strongly.

‘Can we really go against the best techniques of Shaolin with only our Mount Hua’s martial arts?’

This was a separate issue from human strength.

Let’s say one person held a long sword and the other a short sword. Then victory or defeat was fixed regardless of skills.

No matter how strong Chung Myung was, if the martial arts of Shaolin were better than Mount Hua, then he was bound to be defeated by Hae Yeon.

In Baek Cheon’s mind, the sight of Yu Yiseol’s petals melting down like snow in front of Hae Yeon came to his mind.

“Chung Myung, this…”

It was then.

Clack!

The door opened, and Baek Sang came running in. He looked around as if he had lost his soul, and when he saw Baek Cheon, he shouted,

“S-sahyung!”

Realizing something had happened, Baek Cheon went silent.

“What is happening?”

“G-Guest, we have a guest!”

“Uh?”

Baek Cheon tilted his head.

Baek Sang had smashed the door in and looked as if he had seen a ghost instead of a guest, so who had come? Who was this guest who was making him have such a fuss?

“Who is it?”

“T-that…”

At that moment, two people entered through the opened door.

Checking their faces, Baek Cheon was shocked.

“A-abbot?”

If his eyes weren’t wrong, the one who came in was the abbot of Shaolin.

And…

“Hae Yeon?”

The person next to him was definitely Hae Yeon.

Chung Myung also looked a bit shocked.

Uh?

Why are they here?

Uh?