“So…”

Hyun Jong’s eyes scanned the people sitting in front of him.

“You had a good talk and they went back?”

There was disbelief in his voice. However, those who sat in front of him answered confidently without even the slightest hesitation,

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“True.”

In that order, Chung Myung, Hyun Sang, and Hyun Young responded.

Wasn’t it the norm to believe a tiger had appeared in the village when three people were saying it?

“… and those people quietly left?”

“Huhu. It is said that the human heart changes within seconds.”

“…”

Hyun Young’s smile after the answer made Hyun Jong narrow his eyes. Eventually, his gaze turned to Baek Cheon, who only stayed silent in the corner.

“Baek Cheon.”

“… yes, Sect Leader.”

“Is it true?”

“That… uh…”

When Baek Cheon hesitated without answering, Hyun Young, Hyun Sang, and Chung Myung opened their eyes, glaring at him, making Baek Cheon close his eyes tightly.

“I-It is true. It is true!”

“…”

When Hyun Jong stared at him, Baek Cheon turned his gaze away.

As he watched this, many thoughts ran through his mind… and Hyun Jong finally went silent.

‘Oh.’

What did these people do? These three culprits that were in front of him.

“Eh!”

Hyun Jong sighed.

These beings were bound to go to hell.

How could they possibly try to trick him into doing something?

No, this wasn’t a trick. Wasn’t it like bringing a crow and calling it a dove?

Seeing Hyun Jong go speechless, Chung Myung shrugged.

“I spoke really well, and they happily went back.”

Right, it was a good thing.

It would be a problem if you had said that you spoke with fists and not your mouth! With fists!

‘No, no.’

It couldn’t have been done with words.

If it was this child then he would have used his mouth to bite them!

“Ugh!”

Hyun Jong finally let out a deep sigh and asked,

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“… I am really asking since I am a bit lost.”

“… they aren’t buried around here, right?”

“Ah, even Sect Leader. Did my reputation go down or something? When did I do that?”

Uh.

I feel like you did enough.

“Don’t worry, they walked by on their own feet… uh… maybe crawl would be a better way to…? Uh…”

Hyun Jong just closed his eyes as he tilted his head and watched Chung Myung mumble.

‘Let’s move on from this.’

This interrogation was only going to make things tiring for him.

And didn’t he already expect this conclusion to come right from the instant he was caught and imprisoned in his own residence by these so-called Sajaes?!

If he really wanted to stop them, he would have kicked the door and gone out, but Hyun Jong didn’t.

“… right. You all have been through enough.”

“It was nothing. Hehe.”

“…”

Right. You must have had a particularly hard time. You…

Hyun Jong put down everything.

“Sect Leader.”

And Hyun Sang spoke up in a low voice.

“Um?”

“What happened this time isn’t something we can laugh about.”

At the most serious expression on his face, Hyun Jong frowned.

“Actually, what happened this time was resolved with no major problems, but I cannot guarantee it will not happen again.”

“What does that mean?”

“Actually, with what happened this time, Mount Hua has become a coveted destination for those who have abandoned us.”

Everyone nodded at that.

If Mount Hua didn’t gain its recent fame, would Hyun Tang and his family really come up the mountain?

“In the case of what he did this time, he just decided to come up early because he believed that he was worthy enough to climb up. Conversely, it means that even at this moment, many have opened their eyes to Mount Hua. It is just that they haven’t shown their intentions as fast as this man did.”

Hyun Jong nodded.

Hyun Young, who was listening to this, gently added,

“It is a little strange, though. Rising fame means that a sect is getting stronger, but there are more people aiming to swindle us than previously.”

The answer to that came from Chung Myung,

“It is because this is easy.”

“… uh?”

Everyone looked at the muffled voice coming from the sullen-faced Chung Myung,

“They cannot touch Wudang or Shaolin, but Mount Hua doesn’t have a solid position yet, right?”

“… um.”

Hyun Jong sighed.

It was a clear story, but the words which came out were so blunt, like the weakness of Mount Hua was being called out.

‘My fault.’

To put it bluntly, all the fame which Mount Hua gained was all because of its disciples.

Of course, the other sects also gained fame through such things, but…

‘Those sects had fame brought in by their previous generation, the seniors of the first-class disciples.’

Basically, the strength of the higher seniors was the same as the elders of a sect.

If the second and third-class disciples of Wudang were more active, it was the same as declaring to the world that the first-class disciples and others were weaker than them.

And the number of first-class disciples on Mount Hua was too low now.

‘And their skills are extremely lacking.’

Of course, that didn’t mean they weren’t trying.

The Un disciples were also redefining their martial arts and learning the Plum Blossom sword through a lot of effort. However, due to their age, the pace of accepting something new was slow.

‘Compared to the second and third-class disciples who are the bright future, the first-class disciples and the elders are the ones who need to be the main pillar of a sect. And right now, they lack the necessary skills, so this is making the sect more of an easy target.’

Those who should hold the real power in the sect were weak, and those who were the future were still young. So wouldn’t this look like a place anyone would want to eat?

Hyun Jong took a deep breath.

This was the basic limitation of Mount Hua, which had once fallen.

Hyun Jong, who guessed the meaning of Chung Myung’s words, went stiff before sighing.

Everyone who understood what he meant kept their mouths shut.

“… I have no face to show…”

“Then why do we look that easy? We also have made a name for ourselves.”

Unfortunately, Yoon Jong, who hadn’t gotten enough attention, asked something he shouldn’t.

Chung Myung looked at him and asked,

“Sahyung.”

“Uh?”

“What kind of people are we?”

“… us? Taoists.”

“Right. Taoists. Taoists who learn their martial arts at the top of a mountain. Then, how will the Taoist who stays on the mountain and practices all their life be treated?”

“That…”

Before Yoon Jong could answer, Jo Gul responded,

“As an ignorant fool who knows nothing about the world.”

“… aren’t you being too blunt?”

When Yoon Jong spoke, a bit shocked at Jo Gul’s words, Jo Gul shook his head.

“That is the reality, Sahyung. In fact, even merchants like to make deals with temples or remote sects. They don’t want to give details about prices and rob everything the temples and remote sects have.”

“… is that so?”

Chung Myung nodded his head, agreeing with what Jo Gul said.

“It is the same with those who climbed up Mount Hua this time. Because they thought that they could deceive even the most famous men, who don’t know anything other than mountains.”

“Um.”

Hyun Jong brushed his beard.

‘This is a problem I never thought of.’

Hyun Jong, who had been listening quietly from the side, looked at Chung Myung, curious as he asked with a smile,

“Then what do you think we should do?”

“Increase our influence.”

“Influence.”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung took a deep breath and spoke firmly,

“There are a lot of sects from whom we can learn because they, too, were stuck on their mountains. However, people of the world regard Wudang as a sect they cannot touch. On the other hand, places like Mount Hua and Kunlun are vulnerable. It doesn’t matter how strong we get here.”

“A matter of perception?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Hmm.”

Hyun Young nodded as if it was definitely something to think about.

“Then what do you think we must do to change that perception?”

“I will let you know.”

“… let us know?”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung looked at everyone,

“The reason why Wudang and Shaolin can become sects that lead the world is not that they are strong. It is because their influence reaches everywhere. It is just like working for the future.”

“… like a sect establishing their own martial sub-sects?”

“Yes, the world must know. No matter how strong you are, you cannot let yourself be treated like a sect isolated on the top of a mountain.”

Jo Gul, who was listening carefully, became frustrated.

“Stop going round and round and spit it out. What do you mean?”

Chung Myung frowned.

“Who are you even listening to? We should act like Wudang!”

“Uh?”

“Gossip, closeness! A fist close by… then a sword in the distance…. Rumors and gossip are more influential than one knows! Do you know how many rumors go around about Wudang and Shaolin?”

“… must be a lot.”

“Right. When a sub-sect of Shaolin gets established, we feel more familiar with the news of Shaolin, and we get more interested in them. We even want to defend it at times.”

Chung Myung nodded his head and continued,

“That is how influence works. It grows that way.”

“Ah…”

Hyun Jong was deeply immersed in his thoughts and turned to Hyun Young,

“Hyun Young.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Isn’t the gate leader of Huayoung Gate staying here?”

“Yes.”

Although Hyun Tang and the others visited suddenly, he was still here.

It was as if the guy was looking around, unsure of what to say and when to leave this unusual atmosphere. Uncertainty which only seemed to grow as time passed.

“Even if it isn’t that, I was thinking about discussing some things with him. So…”

“We might try and make him work a little.”

Hyun Young and Hyun Jong nodded, looking at each other.

“Whether we choose Huayoung Gate or a new sect we create, a place has to be created which becomes the center of Mount Hua’s inner circle for the future. If we can spread the inner circle of Mount Hua little by little, no one in the world will look down on Mount Hua. They just cannot do that.”

“Um.”

A clear direction.

“Then, isn’t there one thing to think about?”

“… what do you mean?”

“Hua-Um village is too small for us to put effort and build a close sub-sect. So we might have to think of a suitable place…”

Chung Myung shrugged at this and said,

“There is nothing to think about. This is Shaanxi, and there is only one large city in Shaanxi.”

“But that…”

“Right.”

A place popped up in their minds.

Xian.

Xian was the capital of Shaanxi and was the place where all the goods of Shaanxi were gathered. Of course, the population there was the largest.

If Mount Hua was aiming to create their first sub-sect in Shaanxi, then they needed to start by touching the west.

“But… this is…”

And only one sect could put their sub-sect in Xian, the sect closest to it.

“Southern Edge once again?”

“… Ugh.”

“I am tired of crossing paths with them!”

Xian was an area that Southern Edge held tightly. So for Mount Hua to open up a central sub-sect there, they would have to fight Southern Edge once again.

“… it isn’t like we are fighting them for some grudge.”

Those who gathered here had no choice but to deeply realize why Mount Hua and Southern Edge were at odds with each other.

If two sects of this size aimed for one thing, then a conflict between the two would only be natural.

“… is there any way to avoid fighting?”

“Eh. What are you talking about?”

“… right.”

Hyun Jong nodded at Chung Myung’s cool response.

“Then it cannot be a big deal. So…”

It was then…

“Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon! Is Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon inside? Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon!”

“Uh?”

Everyone turned to the door.

This voice seemed so familiar?

When Chung Myung got up and opened the door he looked at the familiar face.

“No. What is wrong with this beggar?”

Hong Dae-Kwang who had been eagerly calling for him outside, frowned as he looked at Chung Myung.

“No, why is there no one outside? I waited there for such a long time near the gate.”

“There is no one who wants to visit us, so no one waits there.”

“Well, that isn’t important.”

Hong Dae-Kwang spoke desperately,

“I have some pretty serious news to tell you.”

“Uh? What news?”

“Southern Edge visited us.”

“Uh?”

“What?”

“Huh?”

The people within the room were shocked as they rushed to the door.

“Ack! Don’t push!”

“What do you mean? The Southern Edge Sect is going silent?”

Hong Dae-Kwang answered the question without delay,

“To be precise, it wasn’t from here, but towards their main base. It is said that they will concentrate more on internal changes and hold off their exterior activities for a while.”

“That is what I said.”

“So.”

Hong Dae-Kwang nodded at Chung Myung’s words.

“Perhaps there is a big change in feelings after the recent tournament. Or internal conflicts got worse, and they needed time to manage it. I will have to do some thorough research to find out why.”

“No. Well, that reason is fine enough. But wasn’t Southern Edge already in seclusion?”

“Right.”

An evil smile rose on the lips of Chung Myung,

“Sect Leader!”

“Yes!”

It was right! Hyun Jong understood Chung Myung’s words and said,

“Hurry up and call the gate leader!”

“Yes! Sect Leader!”

Hong Dae-Kwang tilted his head as he watched the Mount Hua disciples and elders start to scramble around.

‘What are they up to?’

This was a sect he could never anticipate.