He was out of breath.

Regardless of the emotions he felt behind the scenes, everyone knew how much was at stake in this battle.

‘Now that it’s like this, all the past spars felt like they were just entertainment.’

On one side was Heo Gong, an elder of Wudang.

And on the other was Chung Myung, possibly the best warrior and the finest sword of Mount Hua.

Regardless of whether the opponent was worthy, there was no denying this was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

The result of this spar would cause more upheaval in the entire world than anything Mount Hua had done since stepping out the gate.

“Sahyung.”

Baek Sang called with a bit of a trembling voice.

“Can he win?”

“Hmm.”

Baek Cheon couldn’t easily open his mouth and then tried to say.

“… it will be difficult, as usual.”

“Right?”

“….”

Even in Baek Sang’s eyes, Chung Myung was a monster.

Even Baek Cheon and Yu Yiseol, who were far beyond mere geniuses for Mount Hua, were but children in front of Chung Myung.

But…

‘No matter what, if the other person is an elder of Wudang….’

Then, it was clear that the mind was telling them there was no chance.

This was the common thought of not just Baek Sang but also the other disciples of Mount Hua.

“Chung Myung should not be hurt.”

A normal third-class disciple wouldn’t have his pride hurt by losing to a Wudang elder. But since that boy was so self-reliant, it felt like he could get hurt then.

A sad voice passed through Baek Sang’s lips as he looked at Chung Myung worriedly.

“So… it is common sense, but.”

“… Uh?”

A strange glow appeared on Baek Cheon’s face.

“There should be people with common sense.”

At Baek Cheon’s words, the others of the Five Swords nodded their heads.

“I cannot imagine him losing.”

“Will that Elder Heo Gong make it out alive?”

“… Hmm. Looking at it like this, I can no longer be sure of it.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Me too.”

Baek Sang’s face, upon hearing them, twisted in shock.

“You are all in your right minds, right? The other person is a Wudang elder.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. No…”

Baek Cheon shook his head as if he was taken aback by the words.

“Right, the opponent is an elder of Wudang, so it shouldn’t make sense…”

Then, he sighed deeply.

“What can I do? I just can’t imagine Chung Myung losing.”

“… you must be kidding, right?”

“I wish I was.”

Baek Sang gave Baek Cheon an incredulous look. No matter how he looked, his sahyung wasn’t joking.

As Baek Sang looked around in confusion, he spotted someone who might view the situation more objectively.

“M-monk. Monk Hae Yeon, please, say something.”

“… Amitabha.”

Hae Yeon embodied the essence of a monk as he spoke in a very solemn tone.

“The swordsmanship of Wudang is indeed formidable. Moreover, it is safe to say that the elders of Wudang have reached the pinnacle with their swords.”

“R-right.”

“So, it could be a good match.”

“…”

Baek Sang was stunned.

‘Are they all insane? For real?’

The opponent was a person from Wudang and an elder at that.

No matter how amazing Chung Myung was for his age, this seemed nonsensical.

“What is… this…”

Baek Cheon looked at Baek Sang, who was beside himself and speaking nonsense.

Now that he thought about it, these people really hadn’t seen Chung Myung give his all since the tournament.

Even during the fierce battle against the Ten Thousand People Clan, Chung Myung fought in a place no one could see, and they didn’t follow him to the North Sea either.

They did catch glimpses of him during the bandit subjugation, but they might not have noticed much due to the constant fog around them.

Moreover, there was a gap between the bandit leader and the elder of Wudang. The pride that they held was a lot different.

‘So, this reaction would be natural.’

In his head, he must have evaluated Chung Muung’s skills as the highest among the disciples. At most, they had to be better than Hae Yeon’s.

“Tsk.”

Baek Cheon frowned, clicking his tongue, and spoke as though he hated to.

“Everyone, keep an eye on him.”

“… Uh?”

“Although his attitude is different.”

The Five Swords added as if they were waiting for this moment.

“Yacha!”

“He is like a beast.”

“Apologize to the beast now, sahyung!”

“…”

Baek Cheon cleared his throat softly and continued speaking.

“That guy is now the best version of our Mount Hua sword in name and reality. Take a good look at the sword you must chase behind.”

At those words, the disciples of Mount Hua stopped chatting and focused on Chung Myung, who was on the stage. There was a strange look and excitement in their eyes.

‘Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon.’

Meanwhile, Mu Jin bit his lip, looking at Chung Myung onstage.

It felt like he was slowly growing taller and stronger, but his relaxed expression and lazy walk didn’t change.

Nothing had changed compared to when he suffered that crushing defeat. Although people don’t change, Chung Myung’s constant nature was shocking. He was called the best back then and now, but the meaning held in that word cannot be the same.

So, had the past defeat that Mu Jin accepted now turned lighter on his heart?

Not at all.

As he looked at Chung Myung, there was a deep need for victory and passion.

“Calm down.”

“Ah…”

As Mu Jin clenched his fists, a calm voice came from behind him.

“There will be plenty of chances for you to get revenge, even if it isn’t just this time.”

“… right.”

“The priority here is to bring back the honor of our sect.”

Mu Jin nodded quietly.

He also had no intention of going out of his way to take his place as a contestant. The situation had gotten to the point where he could do nothing.

It was a pity that the person who would prove that Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon was weak would not be him.

“That child is definitely a great one. Not only did he defeat you, but he actually defeated Shaolin’s best warrior, and it is said that he cut down a bandit leader’s head, too.”

“… Right.”

Mu Jin stared at Heo Sanja with questioning eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“I have seen countless talents vanish, too.”

“….”

“It isn’t the strong who survive, but those who survive are strong. A genius is bound to lose his shine with one defeat. I don’t know if that kid will be able to gulp down the defeat and rise again.”

Heo Sanja narrowed his eyes.

‘Mount Hua is dangerous.’

He had known this since he came here, but after witnessing everything with his eyes, Mount Hua confirmed that the rumors were all true.

He was almost afraid of how much stronger they would get if they were left alone.

‘The mistake I made was not finding the proper source.’

He found it when Heo Gong went on stage.

Who did Mount Hua look to when they came face to face with someone they could not handle?

Even from an opponent’s point of view, the Five Swords, whose growth he couldn’t help but admire, unconsciously all turned to Chung Myung.

‘That kid is leading them.’

He heard the rumors but couldn’t believe them unless he saw them. Although Mount Hua had fallen, it was once the most prestigious sect. Who would believe that a child, the youngest too, was running the sect?

Anyone with common sense would laugh at them.

Therefore, he thought of the rumor of him being the core and leading them up, even though he might be expected to carry the sect’s future due to his talent and ability.

But, the latter, not the former, was true.

Now, everything else felt clear.

Heo Gong’s judgment was right. To break the momentum of Mount Hua, one had to break Chung Myung.

Even if Wudang achieved a pure win, the momentum of Mount Hua would not stop until Chung Myung was defeated. Similarly, even if Wudang was completely defeated, Mount Hua would feel lost if Chung Myung also fell.

‘So.’

‘That kid has to be taken down.’

‘Even if we have to step out of the way and some unhappy things happen.’

And if anyone knew this fact well, it was Heo Gong. Wasn’t that why Venerable Heo Do selected him?

‘Amitabha.’

As someone who called himself a Taoist, this wasn’t something he should be thinking about. Still, the future of his monastical life was far more important than Taoism.

‘At this place today, we cut down the roots of Mount Hua.’

The eyes of Heo Sanja turned cold.

Heo Gong made an odd look as he saw Chung Myung face him. It was an awkward situation.

Had he ever expected, even once, that he would have to clash with someone as low as a third-class disciple?

It was truly awkward, but people could not live only by seeing good things.

The role of an elder in Wudang was to ensure that the assigned tasks were completed in exchange for their usual indulgence.

Heo Gong looked at Chung Myung with serious eyes.

“It isn’t that difficult to spar once.”

“Well, I am not always free to do this.”

Heo Gong nodded.

“Right, true. You are an expensive one, a very precious man, too.”

“Oh? You know that?”

“I do.”

An empty look on Heo Gong.

And the voice that came in return was so small that no one could probably listen.

“In order to clash swords with you, Wudang had to admit their defeat, and didn’t the sect leader specifically tell me?”

“…”

“I paid a pretty big price, but seeing you face to face like this makes me feel like the price I paid wasn’t a waste.”

Such sincerity.

He thought it was a bluff he could dust off. But this one, the child called Chung Myung, was in front of him.

‘If things continue like this, how much he will grow is scary.’

Heo Gong thought.

He didn’t agree with the ways of the sect leader, and Heo Sanja was lazy, but all of that was done to establish the Wudang Sect.

If this child was absolutely to be an obstacle to Wudang, then he had to remove them.

“I will teach you a lesson. My discipline is harsh, so you should be careful.”

Shhh.

Heo Gong slowly drew his sword.

But even though the other person took his stance, Chung Myung didn’t look even the least nervous.

“Well, this guy, that guy.”

“…What did you say?”

Chung Myung chuckled. There was a subtle presence of killing intent in the gently expanding force of qi.

“Well, you are the old bastards of the sect, so I can understand it.”

Heo Gong frowned as Chung Myung spoke odd things.

But those doubts vanished.

Grrrng.

Chung Myung slowly pulled out his sword.

“I have been teaching so far, so it isn’t a waste.”

“…”

“I don’t get it when someone from Wudang talks about seeing things from Mount Hua’s view.”

A bitter smile appeared on the lips of Chung Myung.

“That pride of yours, I will make sure it will be shattered.”

Both were at their temper’s end.