‘Damn it, is that the Righteous Sword of Mount Hua?’

The one who defeated Red Snake Blade?

It seemed like they had managed to make it to Mount Hua in time.

Yado’s face hardened at this.

Of course, this wasn’t a battle that could be changed just because a couple of kids had joined…

‘This isn’t the end.’

The fact that the Righteous Sword of Mount Hua was here meant that the other disciples from Xi’an were returning now, but he had heard that there weren’t that many of them.

But if they arrived, the situation would only become more disadvantageous for him.

“Haah!”

Becoming impatient, Yado swung his blade at Hyun Jong.

‘We need to reduce their chances!’

Winning wasn’t about the number of men standing at the end.

If they took too much damage while trying to defeat their enemy, then it couldn’t be called a victory.

The name of Mount Hua would still spread… but what if instead of numbers, something else was lowered?

‘If someone like their sect leader dies, the shock would be great.’

His formidable blade wrapped in his Qi went to strike down Hyun Jong.

Kwaang!

Reflexively, Hyun Jong raised his sword and managed to block the strike, but he couldn’t handle the full force of the blade with the wounds he had accumulated.

“Die! Die, you old man!”

For an instant, the blade was aimed at the exposed neck of Hyun Jong.

But…

Kang!

The path of his blade was blocked before he knew it.

“… you should learn to control your mouth,” said Baek Cheon coldly, who covered Hyun Jong without letting him be wounded,

“Before I tear your tongue out.”

“… you, a kid, will?”

Baek Cheon didn’t answer and just infused Qi into his sword, which was still in contact with Yado’s blade.

Tung!

“Kuak!”

At the Qi rising from Baek Cheon’s sword, Yado stepped back and lowered his stance.

‘This guy.’

He was not easy.

At least, his internal Qi was not just at the level of a normally skilled person. His wrists were already tingling.

‘I heard Red Snake Blade was defeated by him.’

And this didn’t seem like a lie. But unlike Yado, who was alert, Baek Cheon turned to help Hyun Jong.

“I apologize, Sect Leader. I was late.”

“Baek Cheon…”

Seeing the wounds on Hyun Jong’s body only made Baek Cheon’s mood worsen.

‘If I came here a little later, then…’

It wouldn’t have been strange for Hyun Jong to die from blood loss. And when he thought about it, he felt sad.

Something within his stomach felt hot.

“From now on, I will deal with him.”

“He is too dangerous. I…”

“Sect Leader, watch me. If something happens to Sect Leader, we will not be able to continue.”

“…”

Hyun Jong nodded at this.

“I get it.”

“Please deal with your wounds and lead your disciples.”

After that, Baek Cheon walked forward.

Hyun Jong only looked at his back.

‘When did this child grow up?’

He knew he was getting stronger. But, what Hyun Jong was feeling now wasn’t from Baek Cheon’s strength. It was because he realized that this child, whom he continued to regard as a child who needed to be guided, was now a swordsman who supported his sect leader.

Even though he knew that this wasn’t all true, he felt unknown emotions take over his anxious heart.

However, Yado, who watched this, wasn’t very happy.

“How dare you say you will deal with me?”

At his obvious condescending words, Baek Cheon aimed his sword forward.

“Is there any reason not to?”

“I am not going to be afraid of a one-timer.”

“You don’t have to be.”

“… what?”

Baek Cheon smirked,

“I am the cub of a tiger, and you’re a fucking dog. You might be a little bigger and stronger now, but you are still a dog.”

Yado felt a bit speechless at his words.

When he opened his mouth, he poured out nonsensical words which a Taoist shouldn’t say, and it was all too natural.

“Is there no sane person on Mount Hua?”

“We are usually sane. You are the ones who made us like this,” said Baek Cheon.

“Since you dared to put your blade on the body of our sect leader, you better not even dream of receiving a graceful death, you fucking son of a bitch!”

“That…”

The moment Yado tried to distance himself, Baek Cheon lept at him.

He moved with an angry face and explosive movement. Yet, his sword was sharp and accurate.

‘Damn it!’

Yado’s body began to run cold after Baek Cheon’s sword made its way to his neck, slashing him.

‘Maybe there are more wounds on my body now than ever.’

Yado gritted his teeth and struck back at the sword of Baek Cheon.

“Amitabha.”

“…”

Poison Bloody Hand’s face turned stiff as he looked at Hae Yeon.

“Shaolin?”

“Hae Yeon.”

“Why is Shaolin helping Mount Hua?”

“You are a strange one.”

Hae Yeon shook his head,

“Do you need a reason to help someone? To follow what your heart says is the right thing. And besides…”

Hae Yeon’s eyes gradually calmed down,

“I don’t need a reason to stop someone who reeks so much of blood.”

“So boring.”

Poison Bloody Hand licked his tongue.

‘Hae Yeon.’

He knew that the name of the person Shaolin was grooming as the next Abbot was Hae Yeon, who was also the winner of the most recent martial arts competition.

“If you die here, Shaolin will shed bloody tears.”

“Amitabha. That won’t happen.”

Hae Yeon’s voice was calm, but his fingers were twitching.

‘Calm down.’

This was the first time that Hae Yeon was experiencing a real fight. The smell of blood and the amount of killing intent floating around was hurting his composure.

His eyes searched for someone.

“… Amitabha.”

After hiding behind someone for a while, he turned and looked at Poison Bloody Hand with a softer gaze.

“So far.”

“… what are you talking about?”

Hae Yeon sighed.

‘I have been training all my life on the same principles, and yet I fail to keep my composure during such an important time.’

On the other hand, there was someone who was normally erratic but was remaining so calm in this situation.

Recalling the back of Chung Myung, he stood still.

‘I am glad I came to Mount Hua.’

What he was looking for was surely here.

And now…

“I am just checking to see how long I can keep up!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Come.”

Thud!

Golden light rose from his fists as he began to take his stance.

“P-Put it down, you bastard!”

“Stop.”

“I am not…!”

“Stop. Please.”

Hyun Sang’s face was distorted, but he didn’t have any more energy. The poison within him was turning his body black, and now it seemed to be reaching his heart.

“Yu Yiseol!”

“Do not get excited, it will only spread the poison quicker.”

As if to subdue the poison, Hyun Sang was being held up by Yu Yiseol, who ran across the battlefield. Hyung Jong’s battle wounds were a lot worse than Hyun Sang’s, but the one in the greatest danger was Hyun Sang.

Save for Yu Yiseol, the others didn’t notice this.

She held him up and took him to Tang Soso.

“Sago!”

Tang Soso shouted, looking at Yu Yiseol with tearful eyes, but Yu Yiseol only responded with an expressionless face.

“Soso.”

“Yes, Sago!”

“Antidote.”

Tang Soso nodded her head.

“You can do it?”

“Who do you think I am!”

Tang Soso clenched her fists tightly.

She was the daughter of the Tang family. A descendant of the family that was known to be unparalleled when it came to handling poison.

A family that was well-versed in poisons and antidotes.

As she was a woman, her family refused to teach her about poisons, but when it came to assessing and curing them, she was second to none.

“Please lay him down here!”

Listening to the words of Tang Soso, Yu Yiseol laid Hyun Sang down, and she carefully said,

“Elder.”

“…Yiseol.”

“Believe me.”

“…”

Eventually, Hyun Sang just nodded, and only then did Yu Yiseol completely let go of him.

Hyun Sang turned to the side and saw Un Geom clearly for the first time.

“…Geom.”

His lips trembled ever so lightly in sadness.

“Soso, Un Geom…”

“Will not die.”

“…”

“He will not pass over. Sahyung said not to let him, and he will not die!”

At those words, the eyes of Hyun Sang turned to the side.

Saying that they wouldn’t let him die was the same as saying there was a high chance of him dying.

He wanted to reach out and touch him, but he couldn’t. How could he touch the wounded when he had a poisoned body?

‘Un Geom… you foolish child.’

He couldn’t not know.

The foolish child who stood in front of the disciples he taught and took the danger onto himself.

As a teacher, this was worthy of praise, but as a disciple? Should it be greeted with anger?

In the end, the tears he had been holding back filled his eyes.

“Good. You did a good thing… you did good, you idiot.”

You should have been a little selfish.

Hyun Sang looked at Un Geom, whose body had turned pale and turned to the battlefield.

“Look here, Un Geom.”

The disciples you raised and protected are now protecting Mount Hua.

Right now, at this very moment, in our home.

Kwaang!

Their swords were moving softly with their plum blossoms blooming.

“D-damn it!”

“How do we stop them!”

The enemies, whose bodies were slashed and wounded, moved away from the plum blossoms.

However, the ones with the sword Qi had no intention of letting these people run.

“Where do you think you are running to, you bastards!”

Jo Gul raised his voice and chased after them.

But at that moment…

“Protect your sides!”

The roar from the side made him half pause his pursuit.

Jo Gul turned to see Yoon Jong glaring at him with an unusually cold face.

“Is it that important to defeat the enemy?”

“N-No sahyung!”

“Is it alright for your sahyungs and sajaes to die for your sake?”

“No!”

“Then hold your position! Hold the front!”

“Yes!”

Jo Gul regained his composure and strengthened his lower body by putting the weight into his legs.

Even in the midst of all this, the sword of Yoon Jong cut through the air like a beam of light.

“Ackk!”

And he pierced the shoulder of a warrior who was trying to corner the other disciples of Mount Hua. Jo Gul blocked the front, and Yoon Jong supported him from behind; even though they didn’t talk about it, they could naturally find their way.

“Do not get too excited or careless. Keep your heads calm!”

“Yes!”

Jo Gul grabbed his sword and looked forward.

Normally, Yoon Jong was the softest compared to Baek Cheon in their party, so when Yoon Jong emitted these never-before-seen emotions, Jo Gul knew that he could only just nod to each order.

In terms of skills, Jo Gul was definitely superior to Yoon Jong. From the start, he had always been stronger, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the difference had widened over time.

But…

“Sasuk, Step back!”

“Y-Yes!”

Even the Baek disciples would move at the ushering of Yoon Jong.

‘As expected of Sahyung.’

This was why Jo Gul knew that Yoon Jong would be an amazing person in the future and Jo Gul would be someone who supported him.

But what could it mean?

“Gul!”

“Yes, Sahyung!”

Jo Gul’s eyes looked at the people rushing towards him.

Soon, his sword moved like a beam of light.

‘This is what suits me better!’

If Yoon Jong and Baek Cheon led Mount Hua, then Jo Gul was their sword. The sharpest one of all.

That was the path Jo Gul wanted to walk on.

Right. Like…

He glanced at Chung Myung’s back, who was walking forward.

“Alone?”

“It will be enough.”

Chung Myung gave a short answer to Black Jackal’s question.

“…the situation behind you doesn’t seem that nice?”

Chung Myung turned around and saw that their enemies were strong. Until the others led by Hyun Young arrived, they would be in a tough situation.

But…

“This is good enough.”

A firm voice.

“We aren’t raised weak. And…”

Chung Myung turned to Baek Cheon and the others.

“… these days, I don’t handle everything on my own.”

The tiger cubs were gradually revealing that they had grown up. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to release them every now and then.

“And…”

Chung Myung turned to his opponent.

“I am not stupid enough to let loose a pack of jackals here.”

He knew it right then.

The guys in front of him were dangerous. If he let them enter the battlefield, then many would be wounded or worse.

They were different from the other warriors they had faced. These people gave off the stench of blood so thick that it reminded him of the past war.

“I agree with that. I do not like them. I cannot understand killing someone so easily.”

The corners of Black Jackel’s mouth twisted within the black bandages.

“Death is something to be enjoyed slowly.”

At that, Chung Myung showed his teeth and smiled,

“Fortunate.”

“… what is so fortunate about this?”

Black Jackal’s face turned stiff, and Chung Myung’s smile deepened.

“Because I also like people like you.”

Because he wasn’t going to kill him right away.

A man who was called the devil by the Demonic Sect.

Plum Blossom Sword Saint Chung Myung stared at his opponent, speaking with an eerie tone.

“… are you really a taoist?”

“Of course,” smiled Chung Myung.

“It is the job of a taoist to kill people like you. I am also tired of pretending to be nice. So let’s start. Whether you die or I do, let’s find out.”

Chung Myung, who released all the feelings he was suppressing, had an eerie smile.