“Hegemony Lord, huh….”

The Abbot’s eyes sank.

“You mean he came there in person?”

“Yes, abbot.”

Byeop Gye quickly glanced at the Abbot’s face, even though he knew it would be difficult to discern the Abbot’s thoughts just by looking.

The Abbot had closed his eyes and recited a sutra with an unhappy expression.

At first glance, praying in front of others might not be accepted by all. But those among the monks who had been with the Abbot for a long time were aware that this behavior had a significant reason.

After a while, the Abbot opened his eyes and looked ahead.

“And the response of the Nine Sects?”

“Quite confusing.”

Byeop Gye took a long breath and spoke with somber eyes.

“Yes, each sect had different reactions. Some openly showed hostility, while others showed great interest in the Heavenly Friends Alliance. But commonly, it seems like they haven’t yet decided how to respond.”

“It has to be as such.”

The Abbot smiled and asked.

“What do you think then?”

“About the Heavenly Friends Alliance?”

“Yes.”

Byeop Gye had to think, and he frowned.

He, too, was confused about the alliance.

“What I think… yes. It is stronger than I had imagined and less threatening than we think too….”

After organizing his thoughts and saying a couple of words, Beop Hye eventually shook his head and honestly said.

“I don’t know, Abbot. What impact will they have on Kangho?”

The Abbot smiled and nodded.

“I see.”

“… then what do you plan to do?”

“About?”

“The measures we should be taking?”

“Hahaha. You are speaking of something unnecessary again. They haven’t caused any trouble in Kangho yet, so what measures will we be taking against them?”

“Abbot… wouldn’t it be too late if we wait for them to create trouble?”

The Abbot simply smiled at Byeop Gye’s voice of concern.

“Right. But that won’t happen.”

“….”

“As long as Mount Hua’s sect leader becomes the leader of the Heavenly Friends Alliance, there will be nothing to worry about for you or the other sects. That person isn’t someone who wishes for dominance.”

After hearing the Abbot’s words, Byeop Gye recalled the image of Hyun Jong in his mind.

‘Surely….’

The disciples of Mount Hua didn’t look like Taoists. However, Hyun Jong had a very gentle nature to him. It was difficult to imagine such a person would pursue needless battles and cause trouble.

“The problem is with the others.”

“… uh?”

“Influence isn’t something that stays on the side because you don’t want to wield it. Even if you stay still, it spreads on its own and shakes the entire land around.”

“What are you trying to….”

“Aren’t the people more sensitive to the rumors than we assume them to be?”

The Abbot had a sullen smile on his face.

“If you were deeply impressed by the Heavenly Friends Alliance, other people who visited there must have felt the same too. And with the rumors spreading, it is natural that people will continue to line up to be a part of the Heavenly Friends Alliance, even if they don’t internally want it.”

“Surely…”

“If someone gets something like that, then someone else has to lose it. I don’t expect those who have lost to be silent.”

The Abbot looked at the flickering lamp at the side with a sullen look.

“What happened to the meetings of the sect leaders who were invited?”

“Everyone has contacted saying they would attend. But… there has been no reply from Wudang yet.”

“Ugh, that man.”

The Abbot shook his head.

It wasn’t like he didn’t know how the Venerable Heodo was feeling now, but a person who led a sect needed to learn about hiding their emotions.

“Eventually, Wudang will also have to come, so bring everyone in as soon as possible.”

“Yes, abbot.”

“Amitabha.”

The eyes of the Abbot went a bit dark at that.

‘The Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families can still work.’

This was clearly a huge opportunity for Shaolin. Even the sects that were hostile to Shaolin and those who ignored its words until now must listen to Shaolin about the current situation.

It was a great chance to regain their past power.

But….

‘I hope it isn’t just the Nine Sects and Five Families that get affected by this.’

And the Hegemony lord.

Jang Ilso.

His displeasure surfaced again.

“If anything unusual happens, call the Beggars Union and ask for the information right then.”

“I understand, Abbot.”

The Abbot nodded at the quick response. It was quiet, like the calm before the storm.

But there was time.

“What is all this?”

Chung Myung was shocked at the huge pile of luggage inside the sect gate.

“Where is this going now? How long has it been since it came? Are you trying to do something again?”

“…It isn’t like that!”

Looking back, it was Chung Myung who resisted Hyun Jong’s attempts to stop him, saying he didn’t have anything, and went out of Mount Hua at the right time. But those memories had long been erased by Chung Myung.

Yoon Jong shrugged his shoulders and said,

“Gift.”

“Uh? Gift?”

“Right. Gift.”

Jo Gul, who came close, tilted his head.

“Now that the ceremony is done, why give us gifts?”

“They say it was brought by those who came to visit Mount Hua in person and that it is a gift from the merchants in Shaanxi and the nearby areas.”

“Uh?”

Yoon Jong also chuckled as if it were absurd.

“It seems that the other small and medium sects in Shaanxi have also sent gifts, but this isn’t all. People have been coming here since morning, holding gifts.”

“Ehhh….”

Jo Gul let out a sigh. But Chung Myung, standing next to him, was a lot calmer.

“You are not surprised?”

“For what?”

“That such gifts are constantly coming in?”

“Aren’t you stating the obvious?”

Chung Myung chuckled as he looked at the huge gifts piling up.

‘This used to be a common thing.’

At that time, Mount Hua had to hire people to separate the goods and gifts that came in.

The influence of a prestigious sect was beyond imagination. So, it was natural that the number of people wanting to build ties with them and look good to them would increase like the stars in the sky.

It was the same with the gifts that came in from high-ranking officials.

“Elder Hyun Young must be smiling now.”

“Seems like he is well settled in the warehouse.”

“He should be used to it by now.”

“… don’t wish for such things.”

Yoon Jong chuckled and changed his voice.

“If you’ve seen it roughly, get ready. The boarding house master ordered the Chung and Baek disciples to gather at the training hall.”

“Ah, I heard it too. But why gather suddenly? All this while, we trained independently except for the morning.”

“Looks like he is coming up with a way to check.”

“Check?”

Yoon Jong nodded.

“Wasn’t there a check-up in the past, too, when the fight happened?”

“… well.”

“I guess we will have to be prepared then.”

“But why so suddenly?”

Jo Gul couldn’t understand it. Yoon Jong clicked his tongue, feeling pity for him.

“Think about it. Didn’t we engage in a fight with the bandits this time?”

“Yes. We did.”

“Even then, we had to put up our own camp work with everyone, but if we had been able to conduct proper training for such situations, we would have been able to do better in our fights. It seems like Un Geom sasuk, too, felt a lot from the battle.”

“Ah….”

Jo Gul nodded.

“Then, Un Geom sasuk has been away for….”

“Right. Even in the midst of the busy schedule we shared, he seems to have taken the time to study and understand that. He is truly a shocking person. I understand that he didn’t even miss a single training session.”

“Ugh, it isn’t like he has ten bodies or something.”

Jo Gul stuck out his tongue, a slightly surprised look on his face.

Even though they didn’t have to work hard to make time, Un Geom was accomplishing more than them. While not even neglecting his personal training, he taught the disciples, conducted tests, and even ran the Boarding House.

It was to the point where they doubted if he even slept.

“If the training was that good, we should have learned it ourselves. Isn’t it possible to conduct a training check with just us five? If that were the case, the hardships we’ve gone through would have been reduced.”

“Training check?”

“Yes.”

“Uh?”

The conversation paused for a moment. Yoon Jong and Jo Gul, who were looking at each other, turned to the side.

“What?”

“…”

“Why are you looking at me?”

As Chung Myung looked at them, the two of them turned away.

‘Train with this bastard?’

‘Is it possible that his hands and feet will move?’

Considering that the training check was carried out by the people in the camp rotating like gears of a clock, there was no way those gears would work with the wrong set of people.

And whenever there was a chance, he would shout and run.

Chung Myung spoke with a dull look on his face as if he didn’t like their attitude.

“It seems like you blame me for everything, but what do you think will happen that’s good for sahyungs to work without me?”

“That….”

Now that he put it that way, it was also true.

First, they didn’t think that Yu Yiseol would be able to get along well with the physician’s care.

Baek Cheon… it might take effort, but at some point, he would give up and go insane.

And Jo Gul….

“Sahyung! Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Eh, nothing.”

Yoon Jong smiled.

‘Let’s just give up.’

Training or not, they fought well till now! And that was enough!

“Well, it seems like senior sasuk thought it would be right to learn about camping.”

“Then we have to learn it.”

Jo Gul casually said.

“Right. You, be ready. You….”

Yoon Jong looked at Chung Myung with dull eyes.

“… I don’t think you need to come, though.”

“What? Are you discriminating now?”

“C-chung Myung. Think once.”

“Uh?”

“Everyone is doing camp training, and the enemies are rushing from ahead.”

“Uh.”

“Then where do you think you will be?”

“At the front.”

“With whom?”

“Alone.”

Yoon Jong smiled and nodded.

“Right. Now you understand what I mean.”

“….”

“See you later, come on, Gul.”

“Yes, sahyung!”

Chung Myung chuckled as he watched the two people walk away.

‘Defense circle.’

Not a bad thing. Until now, the Five Swords had been the ones to fight, but in the future, other Mount Hua disciples would also have to pick their swords up.

In that case, a camping procedure would help.

Basically, a Defense Circle meant they prepared a formation to defend and not attack. If the disciples of Mount Hua could carry out it properly, then the sacrifices would be reduced.

Chung Myung guessed what kind of thoughts Un Geom had to start such training, and he touched his nose with his finger.

‘There is no need for me to order them now.’

At this time, he had to somehow get them to notice what to do or convey to the sasuks what to do, but now, everyone was trying to figure out what they had to do for Mount Hua to grow.

This meant that Mount Hua had now begun to operate fully as a sect.

Chung Myung smiled quietly as he felt his heart well up in pride.

“But…”

There were still things that bothered him. Chung Myung, who was looking back and forth between the gifts of Mount Hua and the scenery of Mount Hua, frowned.

‘There is no way all of this can happen this smoothly.’

There had to be some form of backlash.

Because the Heavenly Friends Alliance was stronger than expected?

‘Ehh.’

In the past, Mount Hua might have been stronger than the sects that made up the Heavenly Friends Alliance, especially considering the difference between a sect and an alliance.

And yet, they had always suffered from envious glances back then.

And now, were such greedy people just going to let it be? Let the alliance grow?

‘That cannot be.’

Chung Myung hurried to the gate.

‘Surely, if something is bound to happen, it will happen.’

Now, it was Mount Hua’s job to train and get stronger, and Chung Myung’s task was to solve any problem that came to Mount Hua.

“Maybe I should meet the beggar now.”

Chung Myung ran to the bottom of the mountain with a brisk walk.