Mount Hua.

Those who had gathered in the room began to report to Hyun Jong, the sect leader.

“Sect Leader, we have news from Xi’an. Huayoung Gate is now completely settled in and is unable to accept any more disciples.”

“Oh. When did the news come in?”

“About two days ago.”

“Hahaha. I see.”

A happy smile spread across the face of Hyun Jong.

‘I thought it wasn’t easy stuff.’

Well.

Where have those kids ever done anything in an easy manner? Aren’t they the kids who solve problems that others wouldn’t even dare touch?

“After moving to Xi’an, it is still difficult to pay the full amount due to their large expenses, but they said that they will be able to send us the full amount of money starting next month.”

“Who would care about money now? It is important for them to take root in the West.”

“Yes.”

Hyun Jong turned his head in the direction of Xi’an. Even though he was inside the room, it felt like there was no wall blocking his vision.

‘Such effort.’

Hyun Young, the disciples, and Huayoung Gate must have all suffered so much. As for Chung Myung…

No, not him

Chung Myung must have had a lot of trouble. Surely… he suffered.

‘Did he really suffer?’

This was something to think about…

“Sect Leader?”

“Ah.”

Hyun Jong cleared his throat and glanced at Hyun Sang.

“Yes, is there something more?”

“I did speak about this before, but it is about the incident with the Ten Thousand People Clan.”

When the Ten Thousand People Clan was mentioned, Hyun Jong’s face hardened.

“Do we have a problem?”

“I asked to be contacted if something felt suspicious, and there have been no such signs yet.”

“Hmm.”

Hyun Jong sighed in relief.

“This… this is too early.”

“But we couldn’t help it at the moment, right?”

“I don’t blame the disciples, it is just that I am worried. I do not think this was an easy thing, nor will we be left alone.”

“It is our children who managed to tackle them, but we will not relax and continue to stay on alert.”

Hyun Jong nodded at his comment.

‘We should stay alert.’

And he turned to Un Geom.

“Un Geom.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Why don’t we send more kids to Xi’an? If they try to target it again, it would be…”

“I don’t agree with that.”

But Un Geom shook his head,

“To be accurate, the children left on Mount Hua are the ones who have lagged behind in their skills compared to those who have gone to Xi’an.”

“Right.”

“So the kids here will have to train each day to do their best and grow further to catch up with those who are ahead. If we make them do something like this and waste their time, they will not be able to grow, and that would cause a split within the sect due to decreased self-confidence.”

“… factions? Mount Hua? Isn’t everyone equal between us?”

“… that is true.”

Un Geom shut his mouth.

While talking about righteousness, wasn’t it against the rules to bring up Chung Myung?

“Anyway, it was hard to concentrate on training in Xi’an. I want to take this chance to help the children here grow.”

Hyun Jong nodded.

‘Such an affectionate person.’

Teachers tended to have more interest in those with higher talents, but Un Geom was paying attention to those who couldn’t achieve the same results as others.

It was because he was equally affectionate with them.

Hyun Jong thought that it was fortunate to have Un Geom here.

Despite the jobs he took on, he never once complained about the kids, nor did he let them stop growing.

It was something an ordinary person wouldn’t do.

“The children in Xi’an are not the ones who will be lost. And that Ten Thousand People Clan has suffered misfortune once before, so shouldn’t they be the ones careful now?”

“Mm, I understand.”

“But just in case, I will tell them to be on alert at all times and to be careful.”

After Un Geom was finished, Un Am, who was watching, spoke up,

“This happened because no one expected them to come to Xi’an. I’d like to ask the Beggars Union to keep an eye on their movements, then wouldn’t it be fine?”

“Oh. That sounds like a good idea.”

Hyun Jong smiled.

‘So many things have changed.’

The meetings in the past were sad.

It was common for them all to gather and agonize over the way the sect was running, unable to find a clear answer.

But now Mount Hua has changed. Everyone was active in thinking and searching for solutions and expressing their opinions too.

All of this would lead Mount Hua to higher ground.

“Listen.”

“Yes, Sect Leader”

“If Huayoung Gate has successfully reestablished itself, then the foundations of Mount Hua are standing solid. This is something we should celebrate, but it is also something we need to be careful about.”

“Yes.”

“In order to create a Mount Hua worthy of the old man, I will need all your help in the future. So everyone, please.”

“Of course we will, Sect Leader!”

“I will definitely do it.”

Hyun Jong nodded his head.

‘This is joy and happiness.’

Of course, there were places for concern even now.

‘The world isn’t an easy place to live in.’

If there was a path, then there were hurdles too. One day, even Mount Hua, which was currently blessed, would have to accommodate curses.

However, Hyun Jong hoped that such time could be delayed by a little.

“Happiness to all.”

To make everyone feel a bit happier.

“Is everyone gathered?”

Asked the cold voice.

A blunt tone, yet no one cared.

“What did you call such a busy person over for?”

“Military Leader is ahead. Do not use that mouth carelessly. At least if you don’t want to lose it.”

At that, a man with a long scar on one side of his mouth turned his head.

“Ooh, it looks like Poison Bloody Hand is having trouble, seeing how desperately he wants to hurt someone.”

“I told you to shut your mouth.”

“Oh?”

The so-called Poison Bloody Hand stood up.

A sense of tension filled the space.

But then…

“Continue.”

The military commander spoke to the people,

“Before you do what the Lord has commanded, I will inform them about the fight you two just had.”

“Ahem.”

“Um.”

When their Lord was mentioned, the men who were ready to fight each other closed their mouths.

Ho Ga-Myung said,

“Son Wol.”

“Yes.”

The Deadly Short Shooter, Son Wol, licked his lips.

“This is the place where the orders of the Lord are conveyed, do not act recklessly.”

“Yes.”

Son Wol raised his hands and gently touched the scar on his mouth. Those present knew that this behavior was something he had developed in the past, so no one pointed it out.

“And Poison Bloody Hand.”

“Yes.”

“This is a mission we are doing together. Do not fight and provoke others.”

“I understand.”

Ho Ga-Myung looked at the two men who had become silent and asked,

“Where is Yado?”

“Seems to be running late.”

Just as that sentence ended, a man entered. Dressed in animal fur draped over robes, the huge blade around his waist was without a sheath.

Ho Ga-Myung looked at him with cold eyes.

“You must have heard the news.”

“Which one? The one where the Red Snake troops went and came back with their leader as a good-for-nothing with his limbs cut off by the Mount Hua brats?”

Son Wol grinned at this.

Despite talking about the fact that their own colleague was injured, there was no sign of pity here.

“Be it them or someone else, ever since that group got a false reputation and began to run wild, I knew this would happen one day.”

Poison Bloody Hand also added to the conversation.

“It isn’t humane to talk like this about a colleague… but I agree with you.”

Yado tilted his head.

“But, when you say Mount Hua do you mean the one which belonged to the Nine Great Sects One Union?”

“Yes.”

“You mean that there is someone from Mount Hua who could deal with the Red Snake Blade?”

Ho Ga-Myung answered this with a blunt question,

“I heard that he was defeated by the second-class disciple Righteous Sword of Mount Hua.”

“… this is shocking in numerous ways.”

All three of them frowned.

It wasn’t like they didn’t already know that their men who went to Xi’an were stronger than those disciples from Mount Hua. They could tell because of the simple difference between those who had experience with the world and those who didn’t. Yeop Pyung was a great example of this.

That didn’t mean that their enemy was nothing, but a kid couldn’t take him down.

“He was careless.”

“Then he has to die.”

Yado smiled.

“This is the problem when dealing with kids. We can never let ourselves get caught off guard.”

Ho Ga-Myung looked cold.

“You can do what you please. But if you are going to be careless, be sure to die. If you come back alive after being careless, you will have to bear the anger of the Lord.”

“… I know.”

When their Lord was mentioned, all three of them shrank back immediately.

Their Lord, Jang Il-So.

To everyone, even among the Evil Faction, he was someone who was nothing short of a fear inducer.

Even those who had endured years of time under him and rose in ranks would shudder at his name.

“Tch. But it seems like the lord is quite angry, considering how he called us.”

“If I were given a little more time, I would have completed my task and come back.”

“Come back any later, and he would have come for your throat.”

Ho Ga-Myung frowned at this.

“Do that later. You will get enough entertainment on the way, and there is one order for you. Lead the troops to Mount Hua and do not leave a single brat there alive. Set the place on fire. Completely erase any trace of Mount Hua.”

“… we have to go that far?” asked Son Wol.

“Mount Hua was expelled out of the Nine Great Sects, but they still are a sect. You want us to erase such a place entirely?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Ho Ga-Myung smiled.

“Those Nine Great Sects do not like Mount Hua. They will show sad faces, but they will not move to avenge Mount Hua.”

“Still, the worldly affairs are…”

“I told you it doesn’t matter.”

He spoke in a calm voice.

“It wouldn’t be too bad if there were people who wanted to fight. It is time to change our level of strength and show it.”

There were no further questions.

“Are you sure this is an order from the Lord?”

“Yes.”

“Then we will follow it.”

Everyone here knew that the reason for this wasn’t an impulsive action but one with a deep meaning.

“Just one thing.”

Poison Bloody Hand, who was silent, spoke.

“To deal with Mount Hua, you want three troops to go? Even if one were….”

“It isn’t three troops. The issue this time is with the Black Claw troops.”

“Of course.”

With those words, a man wrapped in black bandages approached from behind.

“… you.”

All three of them frowned and looked at the one called the Black Jackal.

Even in front of the military commander, this man didn’t seem to care, but there was a subtle fear which could be felt emanating from him.

“Isn’t this too much? Even the Black Claw troops…”

“It is the will of the Lord.”

Ho Ga-Myung immediately intervened.

“No mistakes will be tolerated this time, so do not leave anyone alive on Mount Hua.”

“Yes!”

And soon, the one called Black Jackal turned to leave.

The other three bowed their heads and left.

“It seems like the Lord is quite angry.”

On the way out, Yado asked,

“If we don’t handle this properly, then we might have to see his angry face?”

He scratched his neck.

“There will be no mistakes then.”

Poison Bloody Hand clenched his teeth and said,

“Clear out Mount Hua. There is nothing more to think about.”

“Ahem. I guess we will get to see blood in a bit.”

“Four days to reach Mount Hua. No later.”

“Why? Scared to do it without me?”

“You will end up complaining that there was no one to kill later on.”

“That cannot be accepted.”

The three of them exchanged light words and moved to their own troops. Now they had to head to Shaanxi.

To Mount Hua.

And its’ steep peaks.