Yang Kyung couldn’t suppress his distaste.

There were numerous reasons for his discomfort.

Firstly, the journey to Mount Hua was much longer than he anticipated. Upon arrival, he found Mount Hua overcrowded, far beyond his expectations.

Consequently, he had to ascend this crowded metal mountain, already drained from the lengthy travel.

Indeed, he could somewhat understand the situation. Mount Hua hadn’t explicitly invited everyone; people might have decided to visit out of curiosity.

However, what infuriated him even more was something else.

“What? No accommodation?”

“I apologize.”

The Ice Palace warrior, jotting down their entries, offered a slightly sorrowful smile.

“With the influx of visitors, those who didn’t receive a letter might have to stay in Hwa-Um village at the base of the mountain.”

“Mountain base?”

Yang Kyung’s face twisted in annoyance.

“You’re suggesting we go down this cursed mountain only to climb it again?”

The North Sea Ice Palace warrior apologized once more, his expression genuinely sympathetic. Even he acknowledged that descending and then re-ascending the mountain was an arduous task.

“I apologize. The lack of sufficient accommodation has led to this situation. We hope for your understanding.”

Yang Kyung’s face reddened with anger, but he attempted to remain calm.

“Then, if I head down to Hwa-Um village, where can I stay? Is there a decent place?”

“For those who arrived early, we allocated the newly constructed pavilions… but now, all those places are occupied, so you might have to opt for guesthouses or tents. However, I can’t guarantee the availability of guesthouses…”

“Tents?”

Yang Kyung stared at the Ice Palace warrior, utterly astonished.

“Does the Heavenly Friends Alliance expect their guests to sleep outdoors in tents?”

“I apologize. The turnout exceeded our expectations.”

“Exceeded expectations?”

Yang Kyung clenched his teeth, his expression turning fierce.

“Doesn’t it mean that Kangho’s warriors have come to congratulate the launch of the Heavenly Friends Alliance? But is this how they treat guests who come to celebrate an occasion with them?”

When he finally shouted, the people around him turned in surprise. Because of the uproar, naturally, the disciples of Mount Hua reacted.

“What is going on?”

Jo Gul looked at Yang Kyung and asked.

“See this.”

“Yes, speak.”

“I am Yang Kyung, the clan leader of Hunan’s Pure White Clan. In Kangho, they call me the Iron Bold Being.”

“I greet Warrior Yang. It is an honor to meet you.”

Jo Gul, who was acting out of his character, gave a polite bow and then asked.

“But…?”

The question was why this man was angry.

Yang Kyung frowned.

“We traveled a long way to come here and celebrate the ceremony of the Heavenly Friends Alliance, but is it right to ask people to sleep in tents because you cannot provide them a place to rest?”

Jo Gul, who could now guess what happened, sighed and looked a bit unsure.

‘Who knew so many would even come here?’

No, even if he had known, it wouldn’t have changed a thing. A building wasn’t something one could construct on the spot because they wanted to. One had to give in a huge level of effort and even all this now was done because of the efforts of the Tang family.

“I truly apologize. I hope the esteemed warrior understands us, too.”

“Understand…”

The eyes of Yang Kyung, who spoke to Jo Gul softly till then, changed.

The moment Jo Gul saw those eyes, he could tell that this man didn’t have good feelings about Mount Hua from the start.

“Isn’t understanding something that can be gotten when both parties make equal effort? Isn’t that right, Taoist?”

“…What are you saying?”

“So, what kind of people will stay in these magnificent pavilions on Mount Hua?”

Jo Gul’s face turned cold at the intention of this question.

“Speak.”

“…people of the Nine Great Sects and Five Families.”

Yang Kyung chuckled at that.

“So… those great people get to stay in that great pavilion, and the nameless like us just sleep in tents like bandits?”

“It wasn’t meant in that way.”

“Then what does it mean? How great is the meaning then?”

Jo Gul bit his lip.

‘He keeps saying nonsense…’

If any other sect in this world held such an event, they would allocate the accommodations similarly. When Shaolin held the tournament, didn’t Shaolin too offer its residence to those participating and famous sects on its premises and have the guests stay outside?

But this man was picking the same thing for a fight now?

Which meant that they decided to start against Mount Hua right from the start.

The problem was that Jo Gul couldn’t respond to such statements. He was asked to handle this peacefully until the event ended. Care must be taken to avoid even the most minor fights.

In the end, Jo Gul pushed down his anger and spoke politely.

“Please understand that our situation isn’t that nice either.”

“Not nice then…”

Yang Kyung grinned.

Mount Hua could have been strong now, but it is still new to all. It wasn’t that difficult to drive them into a corner.

Yang Kyung glanced at the people gathered around him.

Everyone was looking at this verbal fight happening between them as if it was an interesting sight.

Not much, not less; it was just curiosity for them. They didn’t care about Yang Kyung. But, they were curious to see how Mount Hua would respond to this.

“I can understand the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families! I understand the situation of Mount Hua.”

“…”

“But… what about them?”

“Uh?”

Yang Kyung gestured with his eyes to the Ice Palace warrior and the Beast Palace warriors.

“Why are they taking up the space if there’s no space for the guests? The host needs to provide a bed for the guests to come, but with so many of them taking up space, it’s obvious that the guests don’t have enough room to rest!”

Jo Gul thought this was absurd and said,

“Clan leader, these are the Heavenly Friend’s Alliance…”

“When there isn’t enough space, shouldn’t it be alright for them to give up the pavilion?”

“…”

Seeing how Jo Gul didn’t answer, Yang Kyung smiled, confident in his victory.

“Why? It isn’t tough, right? To begin with, the North Sea Ice Palace is in a cold region, so it wouldn’t be that tough for them to sleep anywhere. The Nanman Beast Palace is basically made up of barbarians, so sleeping on the streets shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Jo Gul grew increasingly angry.

What made everything absurd was how the surroundings laughed at Yang Kyung’s words.

‘Laughing?’

They weren’t getting angry after such words but chose to laugh?

Jo Gul’s entire body was now seething with anger.

“Your words are out of line!”

“I am speaking the truth, so what is wrong? In the first place, they are those who live in barren lands, so why hand them such a good pavilion? It is like putting a necklace of pearls around a pig!”

“You…”

As Jo Gul was about to retort, the laughter grew louder.

“Well, he isn’t so wrong.”

“For outsiders, a pavilion or an imperial palace is the same.”

“We can give them the tent since they live in huts.”

Not just Jo Gul but the faces of other Mount Hua disciples began to turn red. Even their lips trembled in anger.

‘This is bad.’

Jo Gul realized it just now.

The Ice Palace and Beast Palace rejected the Central Plains. For them, there was a clear reason for it.

But emotions didn’t care about that.

No matter what reason they had, it was impossible to like those who left you. And especially for those who looked down on them in the past.

Since the past, the Central Plains have ignored outsiders and their people. Wasn’t the reason the Beast Palace held the Plum Blossom Sword Saint in such high regard because he was the only man who fought for Yunnan, unlike any other sect in the Central Plains which ignored them in their time of crisis?

What was more important here wasn’t about the Plum Blossom Sword Saint who fought for the Beast Palace, but that even though the Demonic Sect invaded, the central plains didn’t offer help to any sects outside their own.

Thanks to Yang Kyung, those feelings towards them, which hadn’t been spoken about till now due to the fear of the Tang family and Mount Hua, began to surface.

“Mount Hua and the Tang family should be enough. I don’t get why they called over the Beast Palace and Ice Palace.”

“Is it even possible for a sect of the Central Plains to have ties with those outside? They are outsiders.”

“I don’t know why they are spoiling the air.”

Once people start talking, it cannot be controlled.

Many people who were watching this, not wanting to cause more trouble, began to voice their concerns, and things turned even more heated.

When whispers turned to mumbles and then to questions, Jo Gul, who wanted to be patient, spoke.

“Please refrain from using such words. The Ice Palace and Beast Palace are close friends of Mount Hua. Insulting them is like insulting Mount Hua!”

“Haha. I looked at Mount Hua in a nice light, too.”

Even though Jo Gul was angry, Yang Kyung wasn’t scared; he just had a sly smile.

“What can you do? Kick me out if I insult you more?”

“…”

“Come and try it. Mount Hua is a place where the Central Plains gets subjugated and the outsiders get protected! Hehehe! If I had known this is how Mount Hua is, I wouldn’t have come this far at all!”

Jo Gul was confused. The eyes on him weren’t looking at him kindly. And the words of Yang Kyung, saying they would reject the Central Plains in favor of outsiders, was like the final blow to all of them.

Normally, Jo Gul wouldn’t care and would speak back. He would even shout back. But this was the first time Mount Hua was holding such a huge event, and not wanting to cause trouble for the sect was holding him back.

“That…”

At that moment, someone stepped forward from behind the Ice Palace warrior.

“Don’t pick on others to fight with. If you have a complaint, speak to me directly.”

“What?”

“Are you a coward who cannot question the one in charge and instead raises your voice at young Taoists?”

“This… this barbarian, how dare…!”

“What?”

“Do not let your mouth run!”

“Damn, bastard!”

At the mention of barbarians, the Ice Palace and Beast Palace warriors became enraged and advanced.

The entire atmosphere soured.

“Y-You cannot do this!”

Jo Gul tried to intervene.

“You cannot cause trouble here. Isn’t this a place for the announcement of the Heavenly Friends Alliance?”

“…”

Despite being enraged, the Ice Palace and Beast Palace warriors fell silent. They didn’t want to back down, but after Jo Gul’s reminder, they realized this wasn’t the place for such behavior.

And the words might have made sense to them, but not from Yang Kyung.

“Ah! Look at them trying to use their mouths on us!”

The Beast Palace and Ice Palace warriors, feeling humiliated, grunted.

“…if this wasn’t Mount Hua, your head would have been on the ground. Consider yourself lucky to be here.”

“What?”

Yang Kyung, enraged, rushed forward.

“How dare this disgusting barbarian speak to me!”

And he screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Dirty outsiders, why are you so arrogant? I have nothing to say to you!”

“Dirty outsiders?”

This made the Ice Palace and Beast Palace warriors bite their lips.

They wanted to grab this man and kill him, but they knew that would cause trouble for Mount Hua and the Tang family, so they refrained.

“Stop spoiling the central plains with your disgusting feet and go back to where you belong, you disgusting animals!”

“Clan leader Yang!”

Jo Gul, unable to contain himself, shouted at the man and stepped forward.

“What did this bastard say?”

Flinch.

Jo Gul turned back at this.

‘Ah, no!’

Chung Myung was walking out, cracking his neck.

And the gaze of Chung Myung looked to the left and right before settling on Yang Kyung.

“Who is what now? Did your liver swell up to the point of exploding? Yah! Come here! Get over here, I say!”

‘N-no….’

Jo Gul’s hand moved with swift speed and grabbed the sleeve of Chung Myung.

Well, he tried to.

But if his hands were swift, then Chung Myung’s body was swifter. Chung Myung slipped from the grasp and walked ahead. All Jo Gul caught was air.

Clench.

Crack.

Chung Myung’s foot connected with Yang Kyung’s face. And the entire world turned silent.

Everyone was shocked at this. All of them were looking with their mouths open.

“ACKKKKKKKKK!!”

And what broke the silence was the scream of Yang Kyung, who was kicked and thrown back.

Only then did the surrounding Mount Hua disciples regain their senses and hold their heads in their hands.

‘We are finished…’

It was the moment when the only goal of Mount Hua, ‘prevent Chung Myung from creating a mess,’ had failed.