Even his form of holding his fist and bowing looked like a painting.

Even after the spar, there wasn’t a speck of dust on Baek Cheon’s white robe. This showed how masterfully he had won.

“… he won?”

“Don’t you have eyes? Does that look like a loss to you?”

“No, well, it is ridiculous. It’s at a level of completely overpowering his opponent.”

The audience couldn’t even cheer. So far, they had all praised Jo Gul and applauded Yoon Jong.

But it was closer to cheering for the underdog against Wudang, which was the stronger side.

But the swordsmanship of Baek Cheon they witnessed a moment ago was not weak.

“… Mount Hua can defeat Wudang this easily? And with a second-class disciple?”

“You don’t know! That is the Righteous Sword of Hua, well known in the world. How can you consider him just another second-class disciple?”

“Will the rank change as fame increases? No matter what, a second-class disciple is a second-class disciple!”

“… that is true.”

There was a sense of confusion in the eyes of the audience.

“Is Mount Hua stronger than Wudang?”

“What nonsense is that?”

“Look! Mount Hua has won 3 spars in a row now. No, if you include the first one, which wasn’t part of the spar, it’s a 4-win streak.”

“…”

“We can think of it as a fluke if it was once or twice. But who says winning four times in a row is a fluke? If this is luck, is there anything in the world that isn’t luck?”

Even those who secretly supported Wudang couldn’t refute it.

“And! Other than that, this…”

The person who was speaking went silent, unable to contain the excitement. And after looking at the stage with trembling eyes, he spoke with a heavy tone.

“Isn’t this a clear skill gap we are seeing?”

“…”

Everyone stared at the stage in disbelief. They held their breath without realizing that even the sound of gulping could be heard.

They all came here for entertainment. No one expected that Mount Hua would perform so well against Wudang.

But the scene before them shattered all those expectations.

“I-isn’t Mount Hua actually defeating Wudang then?”

“It seems like it.”

Those watching gulped, but the quick-witted among them had different thoughts.

‘Mount Hua has managed to get to the point where they’ve laid the foundation stone.’

Even if Wudang won the upcoming spars, only the four victories by Mount Hua would be talked about. Because there’s nothing more captivating than a weaker sect overthrowing a stronger one.

If Mount Hua was said to have surpassed Wudang one day, it would all start because of this spar.

The spectators looked on with tense expressions, their faces mixed with joy and sadness.

Mu Ho said nothing and descended from the stage, head bowed.

“…”

Heo Sanja just stared at him with a vacant gaze.

What could he say?

He might have offered some advice or encouraged him to disregard it if it had been a single defeat. If nervousness had prevented showing true skill, he might have scolded them more harshly and offered comfort.

But this wasn’t just a setback or a loss for words. It was a defeat due to being outclassed by the opponent.

And, of course, the one who lost was expected to lose, so what more could he say?

“…”

Heo Sanja couldn’t find the words and just stared blankly at Mu Ho. Mu Jin, watching the scene from behind, sighed and said,

“… you did well.”

“Yes, sahyung.”

“Go in and rest now.”

“… I have no wounds.”

Mu Jin could sense how frustrated Mu Ho felt as he said it. It was more shameful for him that he returned without a single cut than the fact that he lost.

But unfortunately, Heo Sanja, who should have been comforting him, was expending all his energy just trying to come to terms with the situation.

“Go in.”

“… Yes.”

Mu Ho’s shoulders slumped. And seeing that, Mu Jin’s heart began to ache.

“Elder.”

He bit his teeth and quietly said,

“Is this what you really wanted?”

He had lived his entire life under the discipline of Wudang.

He was a person who had never even thought about questioning the higher ones about reason, right, and wrong. But the events that had unfolded were breaking Mu Jin’s patience.

“Our honor has fallen to the ground, and now we have lost the cause. The world will praise Mount Hua and curse Wudang.”

Mu Jin trembled, biting his lips tightly to hold back the boiling anger.

“If I had gone out and lost, there wouldn’t have been much point. Was this crushing defeat the result you wanted?”

“You!”

As if suddenly coming to his senses, Heo Sanja realized.

“How can a person who is a first-class disciple of Wudang speak to an elder with such eyes? Did the sect teach you this?”

Heo Sanja’s eyes were red. However, Mu Jin felt even more disappointed with the reaction. Heo Sanja’s words, scolding him for his attitude before discussing right and wrong, made him even more miserable and gloomy.

“Nothing to get excited about.”

“…”

“It was worse than I thought, but the result was as expected.”

“Elder!”

“You just have to win from now on! Lose 5 times, lose 6 times! What does it matter if one loses 9 times? We just need to win the 10th time! It doesn’t matter how many times we lose!”

“…”

“What is important is the result. All that remains is the last result!”

Mu Jin bit his lips.

Heo Sanja’s words hadn’t changed at all from before. The logic behind those words was also the same as the first time. But that was only when one looked at it from the outside.

Heo Sanja was now immersed in emotions. He wasn’t looking for a conclusion after going through all these talks; he just didn’t want to admit he was wrong.

‘Was it always this shallow?’

His sect was a place filled with noble Taoism.

But it felt like Mu Jin saw the other side of it right now.

‘What is the meaning of being noble within the sect alone?’

What was the point if one could not maintain their form and spirit, and they turned evil the moment one left the sect?

Mu Jin looked at Mount Hua with a miserable look.

‘Rough… frivolous….’

No boundaries.

The root of Taoism was to embrace nature within them and become one. So, wouldn’t that be closer to Taoism than the rules binding him?

Mu Jin tightly shut his eyes.

But he couldn’t block his ears; the cheering voices of Mount Hua disciples were painfully piercing.

“Euk! After all, sasuk!”

“Sahyung! You were amazing!”

“Woah. You can even imitate it!”

These thunderous cheers poured out towards Baek Cheon as he descended the stage. It was quite expected.

Of course, everyone fought hard, but no one showed the overwhelming prowess that Baek Cheon did.

And they pretended not to care all this time, but they could feel Wudang pressing down on their shoulders. But right now, Baek Cheon split the mountain called Wudang with a single slash.

“You were truly so cool.”

“How can sword qi be used like that? Sahyung, teach me too!”

Baek Cheon grinned as he looked at Mount Hua’s disciples crowding around him.

“Don’t be like that. It is embarrassing.”

“Not at all! Isn’t this something to be proud of?”

“Ah, such a shame! Mu Jin should have come!”

“Mu Jin, you bastard! You should call him the great warrior Mu Jin.”

“Ah, right….”

Baek Cheon was truly embarrassed, but he couldn’t stop the smile from getting bigger. As he watched his sajaes cheer and rejoice, his mood changed too.

‘This is what he meant.’

The person who would spread the name of Mount Hua.

This was what it meant to shine at the highest point. That didn’t mean that Baek Cheon was struggling alone.

It meant leading the Mount Hua disciples in a way different from Yoon Jong. Baek Cheon, who fully understood the meaning of Chung Myung’s words, turned and smiled.

‘How is it? Was it perfect…’

But then, Baek Cheon’s face stiffened.

Chung Myung and Jo Gul were exchanging dissatisfied looks, resting their hands on their legs, and… uh?

Yoon Jong? Why was he there? Yoon Jong…

“That…”

Chung Myung spat on the ground and spoke rudely.

“A hero came?”

“What? Sasuk was born to do that?”

“Oh my, my eyes. They are blinded. I might go blind at this rate.”

“…”

Yoon Jong and Jo Gul glared at Baek Cheon with sullen eyes, like kids who had their toys taken away.

“Well, he would have won faster if it hadn’t been so flashy.”

“Why are you doing this now? It’s not the first or second time.”

Those bastards!

Baek Cheon’s eyes shone with displeasure.

“These bastards, for real! Sasuk won and came back; what’s with your reactions?”

“We are celebrating it, right?”

“Oh my! Congratulations, Sasuk! We are so moved by this story that it feels like I want to cry… oh no, wait, don’t pull the sword out!”

Yoon Jong and Jo Gul backed away. Baek Cheon, frowning, gritted his teeth.

‘I truly misjudged them now.’

He should have always kept in mind that Mount Hua’s disciples and those bastards were separate beings.

Baek Cheon glared at Chung Myung, who was still standing there.

“I did as told, and you have complaints, right?”

“Enough, head in now. Are you straining your neck like that just because you did something nice? That will break soon.”

“…truly sickening.”

In the end, harsh words poured out.

He was an idiot for expecting something! He was the idiot!

Baek Cheon sighed as he turned his head and headed back to the place.

The Five Swords were grumpy, but all the disciples of Mount Hua cast envious glances at him.

Even the elders.

“Baek Cheon.”

“Yes, elder.”

“You did a good job.”

Baek Cheon grinned as Hyun Sang tapped his shoulder and said.

“No. I just did what I had to do.”

“Wow, look at what that man is saying!”

“Gul. He heard everything, speak softly.”

Yoon Jong, you bastard…

You should tell him not to say such things. What do you mean, ‘speak softly!’

Baek Cheon sighed deeply.

‘Anyway, these bastards…’

They all had a knack for getting under people’s skin. Baek Cheon immediately laughed and glanced at the Wudang side.

‘It was like that once.’

He certainly had a time when he envied Wudang.

Of course, it would be a lie if he said he never regretted leaving Southern Edge and choosing Mount Hua. Why did he never stay up all night thinking that Southern Edge wouldn’t have humiliated him if he had chosen Wudang instead of Mount Hua?

But now…

‘I am glad I am Mount Hua’s disciple.’

His pride wasn’t something that came from strength alone. Now, Baek Cheon felt proud enough to not care about the other sects.

Of course, it was awkward, noisy, and irritating, but even so, this sect was much warmer than any proud sect.

“…looking at that face, he looks drunk from victory now.”

“Leave him alone. Just a day or two, right?”

“…”

No, forget about that warmth. These rotten idiots…