“There isn’t enough alcohol there!”

“Coming there!”

“Meat! More meat here!”

“There is no one to take the meat! Run to the diner!”

“Yes!”

After the ceremony, which was unprecedentedly short, the banquet followed.

Those who witnessed the start of the Alliance sat together in groups of two and three at the tables, reflecting on the day’s events and discussing the future.

“When we came here, wasn’t it a bit different from what you expected?”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking… I assumed the Heavenly Friends Alliance would announce a bold intention to dominate the western and Central Plains.”

“This man! Is the Heavenly Friends Alliance the only power in the central and western regions? There are the Qingcheng and Emei sects with their eyes wide open, and the Kunlun and Diancang sects are also there! And if you consider Kongtong, it’s also on the western side!”

“Right.”

“And even though they are currently in training, the Southern Edge is also there! It’s difficult for this Alliance to confront so much force!”

“Yes… yes, I understand, but…”

The people about to respond exchanged glances, falling silent with odd expressions on their faces.

Honestly, before the ceremony, everyone would have agreed with this without a second thought.

The Qingcheng, Emei, Kongtong, Diancang, and even the Southern Edge.

This meant that five of the Nine Great Sects, which hadn’t joined the Alliance, were in the west.

But…

“Diancang and Kunlun are so far away that they don’t normally intervene with the Central Plains.”

Moreover, considering the distance between the two sects, there’s little to discuss even though they are from different sects. Although it’s said that the Nine Great Sects are one faction, their influence doesn’t seem to extend to the Central Plains.

“And Qingcheng, along with the Emei sect, are a bit slow, even among the Nine Great Sects.”

Had they not witnessed the opening ceremony, they wouldn’t have ranked the Qingcheng or Emei sect below the Heavenly Friends Alliance; now, they harbored doubts about whether the two sects could deal with the Heavenly Friends Alliance.

Of course, if one considered the strength of each sect, Qingcheng and Emei might be superior to the four sects of the Heavenly Friends Alliance. Even if that weren’t the case, they wouldn’t be significantly weaker. However, the Nine Great Sects operated less as a unified entity. In contrast, the Heavenly Friends Alliance functioned as a single body. The extent of this difference was unknown.

“Anyway, this is strange.”

“Right.”

The people of the Central Plains remained silent, each lost in their thoughts, unable to voice their concerns aloud. A slightly odd atmosphere enveloped them.

They had come together with the notion that the presence of the Heavenly Friends Alliance would herald a new era for the Central Plains. Still, they expected this change to take at least ten years, if not twenty.

No single sect thought that the Alliance would exert a strong influence on the western side of the plains immediately upon its formation. Yet, observing the current developments, it all seemed rather peculiar.

A declaration that appeared too kind and gentle, yet the will and hope behind it were more upright and firmer than anyone else’s.

“…although they phrased it mildly in the end, if one really thinks about it, it was no different from a declaration of war.”

“It isn’t that serious… How can Sichuan Tang declare such a promise when it is the most famous sect in the Central Plains and Mount Hua is a Taoist sect?”

“Do you really see it as such? This…”

But as he was about to continue, he looked around and then fell silent. It wasn’t something he could discuss openly with members of the Heavenly Friends Alliance nearby.

‘Foolish people. Such behavior.’

He clicked his tongue, observing the others who were lost in their carefree thoughts.

‘They don’t understand what it means to be brothers.’

This might not be normal, but what if the Kunlun Sect, a member of the Nine Great Sects, had a problem with this and went to war?

Would the other Nine Great Sects step in and help?

Impossible.

None of the Nine Great Sects would side with Kunlun. The work of each sect belonged to their own respective sect. In the end, when something major happened in Kangho, the sect was nothing more than a member of a loose alliance that acted under one name.

But what if the same thing happened at the Nanman Beast Palace?

It seemed clear that the Sichuan Tang family and Mount Hua would come to their rescue right then, and even the distant North Sea Ice Palace would rush there.

In the end, even if only one of those sects turned into one’s enemies, one would have to deal with all three other sects at the same time. There was no way that such a decision could be made lightly.

‘Nothing has changed, but at the same time, everything feels so changed.’

The moment the heads of the four sects, which ruled their own part of the Central Plains, shared the cup of brotherhood, the meaning of this sect’s Alliance changed entirely.

It was unheard of for sects to share such a drink. When it came to things in the world, it was impossible to predict how things would change the next day. Kangho was a place where today’s friends stabbed you in the back tomorrow.

The heads of prominent sects, who probably knew better than anyone else, forming ties as brothers? This was something that wouldn’t happen in a normal situation.

But no matter how much he thought about it, the reason for it couldn’t be guessed. No matter how much grace they received, the sects outside the Central Plains didn’t have to consider themselves as brothers…

“What are you thinking so deeply about?”

“Uh? N-No. It’s nothing.”

“Drink! You need to drink! Think about things later. Isn’t this a good day!”

“R-right! Hahahah! That is how it should be for us!”

The noisy drinking banquet continued.

Those who had no particular thoughts simply celebrated the start of the Heavenly Friends Alliance. At the same time, those with their own agendas looked around, observing the members of various sects enjoying their drinks.

Those burdened with many thoughts found themselves unable to cope with the situation, sinking into deep contemplation with stern expressions.

Meanwhile, the one who had turned the situation so peculiarly… No, the culprit who had changed the atmosphere in such a strange manner, revealed the face that had annoyed the world.

“No, did I say something wrong?!”

“…”

“If you’ve seen it all, then head home. Why do you sit around and drink alcohol as if this is your living room! Make some noise now!”

“… okay, but speak quietly. Chung Myung, someone might hear us!”

“I want them to listen, so listen up! All these people are here to have some fun…”

At that moment, Chung Myung stopped speaking and then said,

His eyes brightened as he looked at the white bottle held up to his nose.

“… take this and go up there and drink.”

“Uh, is that okay?”

“…Yes, please. Go ahead.”

“Hehe. Then alright.”

Chung Myung took the bottle from Baek Cheon, making him sigh.

“Sasuk, are you alright? This is the sect’s event.”

“… then you can follow him and stop him when he acts out.”

“You’ve made a very wise and thoughtful decision, Sasuk.”

“…”

At that moment, Chung Myung, who was drooling over the bottle of alcohol, looked at Baek Cheon with a sad expression.

“But when will these men leave?”

“I heard that huge events like this normally last for around 3 days and nights.”

“What? 3-4 days? Are they haunted by some alcoholic ghost or something? Taking 3 days to sober up?”

“… Man, when it comes out of your mouth, I have no other way to express my sadness.”

“Hehe. Don’t be sad, though. This is a great day.”

“…”

Should he just kill them?

Baek Cheon sighed with a blank expression and continued speaking.

“Anyway… normally, we would hold the banquet for 3-4 days, but the sect leader thought it would not be a good idea to hold the banquet for such a long time, so we decided to hold the banquet only until today.”

“Ugh! As expected of your sect leader. It hurts my stomach to see strangers drinking my alcohol in my home.”

“…They came to celebrate with us.”

“Celebrate my ass. I guess they came here only to drink. Have they ever been to a place like this and truly celebrated something?”

“Yes.”

“Uh? There is?”

Chung Myung looked at Baek Cheon with a blank look, as if he was shocked.

‘Am I the strange one?’

Baek Cheon’s thoughts fell as he looked at the expression of concern.

‘Where in the world did this guy’s personality go wrong?’

What must he have experienced before stepping into Mount Hua for him to be this lost? No, should he just think of it as if it was expected?

“W-well, actually…”

Just as Chung Myung was turning a bit annoyed, a hand reached out from somewhere and blocked them.

“Ehh?”

An elegant noble with silk clothes and a crown smiled at the two.

“Stop the fights and have a drink. This is a rare drink.”

“Uh…”

“Ah…?”

The two people were shocked for a moment as they opened their mouths at the same time.

“You… you! This is…”

“Wait…”

Even if the sky fell, why did it have to fall like this? Chung Myung clicked his tongue and shouted.

‘So annoying!’

But when he saw the person who was in front of him, he was shocked.

“N-No, fuck… have you lost it…?”

No one should not be allowed climb onto Mount Hua. But if one thought about their life, there would be those who wouldn’t climb.

And the man in front of them was such a person.

“Huhu, I came to congratulate you as I couldn’t stop myself… cough! Ah, this damned mountain! What coldness is around this! Cough!”

Baek Cheon’s jaw twitched at the sight of the man coughing, his mouth covered by his hand, and his shoulders trembling.

“Haha. I am so touched that you are happy to see me…”

“No! H-has this man lost his mind?”

Chung Myung rushed at the man and grabbed him by the collar, but instead of shouting loudly, he looked around with trembling eyes. Fortunately, no one looked at them as they were all busy drinking and chatting. Chung Myung pulled him closer and scolded him in a whisper.

“Did you almost die and survive only to lose your mind? Have you lost it? You are insane!”

“Hehe! Such a true friend came, risking their life…”

“What are you even saying, you insane bastard!”

Embarrassed, Chung Myung turned away from him.

“Kuak! D-does one need to think much to come and congratulate you?”

“It is because it is you! If it was someone else, I would have killed him, you insane bastard!”

This man, dressed nicely, was Im So-Byeong, the Green Forest King.

“No, what kind of an Evil Faction bastard would come crawling into this place? There are people here who would kill you on sight!”

Now, the sects of the world have truly come to Mount Hua. The current Mount Hua was a gathering place of skilled warriors who came from the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families.

For the Justice faction, it might be the safest place, but for the Evil Faction, this was no different from the depths of hell.

It was clear that even those who wouldn’t normally make eye contact with Im So-Byeong ran rampant around, threatening to cut off his head if he dared come.

Then what confidence did this man have to come here?

“I am asking seriously. Have you lost it?”

“Ah, no. Just wait, don’t be so excited.”

Im So-Byeong held out his hand and smiled.

“That is why I came in disguise!”

“…”

“Hehe. No matter how many people are around, who would think that I would come here, dressed in such attire? If one mentioned the Green Forest King, they would only envision a rough, bandit-like warrior clad in leather.”

“…”

“As proof, I’ve already spent 2 days here, and not a single person has recognized me. I am safe!”

Chung Myung’s eyes shook.

‘N-No…’

It seemed to make sense… no, even so, he shouldn’t do that… but it’s true that no one recognized him…

‘Haha, I don’t know.’

But not a single one here was normal.

“… So, why did you come here?”

“Of course, I had to come.”

To Chung Myung’s slightly dull look, Im So-Byeong wore a serious expression.

“It’s just that we haven’t been able to publicly speak about it, but isn’t Green Forest also a sect that shares brotherly ties with Mount Hua?”

“… Who?”

“If the Heavenly Friends Alliance is spreading its news, would there be a way for Green Forest, the center of the alliance, to not come?”

“That is what….”

“Hehe. Do not worry. I understand it all. I will meet the other leaders and then go back. So, how about a drink till then? What do you think?”

Chung Myung smiled happily as he saw Im So-Byeong shake the bottle.

“Get out, you evil bastard!”

Life could not get easier just because one climbed a mountain.