“Cleanse it all!”

“How dare these bastards invade Mount Hua!”

“I will shove this in their stomach!”

The disciples of Mount Hua were ferocious as they stampeded.

Surrounded and outnumbered, the Ten Thousand People Clan tried to resist, but they couldn’t stop the swarming Mount Hua disciples.

Especially…

“Left, Jo Gul!”

“Yes, Sahyung!”

Yoon Jong and Jo Gul ran in sync, standing out the most among this flood of Mount Hua disciples.

Swish!

Their swords moved precisely toward their opponents.

Yoon Jong’s sword perfectly suited him, it was neither too hard nor too soft. A sword that didn’t stray from the path it needed to take.

Although Mount Hua had better swordsmen than Yoon Jong, anyone who wanted to teach Mount Hua’s sword to the next generation would end up using Yoon Jong as their guide.

On the other hand, Jo Gul’s sword moved rather roughly.

His sword was resolute and swift, in a constant thrusting motion. In terms of how perfect his sword was… it would be difficult to leave a high evaluation on it, but it was the kind of sword that would intimidate its opponents due to its speed.

Norms and anomalies.

Two kinds of swords that were difficult to harmonize, but were not moving perfectly in tandem.

“Sasuk, do not get too excited! Do not become careless either!”

“Okay!”

“I get it!”

Not just Jo Gul, but many of the baek disciples were taking orders from Yoon Jong.

Hadn’t it been a long time since Mount Hua had become a sect that paid little mind to organizational hierarchy? For those who had watched Chung Myung run amok for many years, this had become too widely accepted.

Even if Yoon Jong didn’t have a great reputation, the baek disciples wouldn’t have hesitated to follow his instructions.

“Come on!”

“Ohhhh!”

On the other hand, the others were equally fierce, savagely pushing back their opponents.

No.

This intensity was… those who went to Xi’an to help the sub-sect were rather extreme. While they had only been gone from the mountain for a little bit, too many things had happened, and now they were fully enraged by these intruders.

And…

“What are you doing? Fold these bastards in half right now!”

“Yes, Elder!”

Hearing Hyun Young’s screams, Baek Sang raised his sword to the sky.

“Destroy these evil beings!”

“Yes!”

Baek Sang’s martial arts weren’t that advanced, as he decided to learn from the Finance Hall, but that didn’t change the fact that he was Baek Cheon’s right-hand man.

Having suffered his own limits, he knew how far he could go, so he abandoned his ignorance and broadened his horizons to become better than his past self. This allowed him to see and understand a lot more about the battlefield.

This was how Baek Sang managed to fill the position of Baek Cheon among the disciples.

“Y-You people!”

“Damn it!”

Their enemies were pushed back little by little and they began to curse.

“Why are these kid’s swords so sharp…!”

“C-Captains! What about the captains!”

“J-Just run!”

Everything fell apart.

Those who claimed to be a part of the Justice Faction did so because they held a firm trust amongst themselves; do not be shaken, and do not leave anyone behind.

And this wasn’t something that was taught through training.

It came from a sense of belonging. Determined will. A firm belief in the path forward.

On the other hand, those who betrayed others for their own goals could never get themselves to do that.

The moment they realized that their allies were collapsing and the situation was twisted, they failed to show even half their original strength.

“C-Captain…”

All their eyes looked around to see who would guide them.

“Amitabha!”

Hae Yeon used his magnificent hands on Poison Bloody Hand.

Poison Bloody Hand gritted his teeth, black stains covering both his hands.

“D-Damn you righteous men!”

Wooong!

A huge palm moved down in a slamming motion. Poison Bloody Hand, who managed to block the palm, was unable to overcome the force behind it, and was pushed to the ground.

“Eup!”

The force pressing down on him made his body feel twisted, and it felt as if someone had toppled a mountain over onto him. It wasn’t a strong hit, but a heavy one. Like stepping on a bug.

‘T-This is Shaolin…’

The martial arts of Shaolin were known to be heavy.

Steady and repetitive training that many found to be frustrating.

Martial arts built upon itself with simple steps forward, which normal people wouldn’t even bother with. A type of training that was closer to meditation.

And through Hae Yeon’s martial arts, people could see just how extreme this martial art could be.

“AHHHHH!”

At this, Poison Bloody Hand screamed.

But ‘he’ couldn’t be used.

His poisonous hands were powerless to Shaolin’s methods.

Magnificent internal qi flowed out constantly, and his widened stances gave Hae Yeon’s body firm grounding.

Like a giant tree.

A tall and strong tree that never shook in the face of typhoons, and had lived for thousands of years. Shaolin’s martial arts were engraved into Hae Yeon’s body like he was a gigantic tree.

“AHHHHH! YOUUUUU!”

Blood burst out, Poison Bloody Hand was unable to handle this situation.

‘Damn it!’

Yado looked around with trembling eyes.

‘This isn’t good.’

In order to survive in a battle, one had to grasp the essentials. He was a warrior who had survived countless battlefields, so many that he was now called the Wild Sword. He knew that this battle had already been completely tilted.

There were no more odds.

‘I need to get out.’

He had no interest in dying with his men here. He wasn’t the kind to die with his men, to him, that was a dog’s death.

Where in the world was there anything more important than his life?

He had to pull himself out before this situation became worse and his escape route was blocked.

Of course, the Lord would be angry, but there was no need to go back. After getting out he…

Swish!

“Kuak!”

Yado screamed and blocked a sword.

Kang!

The sword, which lightly tapped aside his blade, aimed for Yado’s neck.

The moment he leaned his body back, the tip of the sword released plum blossoms, causing his eyes to widen.

“Shit!”

He immediately used blade qi to sweep away the plum blossoms.

“Wuk!”

But despite blocking the attack, Yado didn’t seem happy.

‘This bastard!’

“You seem to be pretty rushed?”

The white-robed man, looking arrogant, grinned as he looked down at him.

Yado bit his lip.

‘He is getting stronger.’

It was absurd, but this guy was getting stronger with time. No, not just him. Everyone here seemed as if they were getting stronger after each clash.

‘Growth? No, it makes no sense.’

Growth was the reward for training. Of course, it was said that a single swing of the sword in combat was more effective than a hundred swings alone. But that alone didn’t explain it, this was not their first time holding a sword in combat.

‘…first?’

Yado’s body trembled.

And then he remembered. This was possibly the first time these disciples were experiencing a proper fight.

‘Isn’t this closer to embodiment than growth?’

Those who trained would harden. Even those who wielded and wielded their sword countless times to obtain its truth, and to approach perfection, would end up hesitating in the face of a real fight.

And that was what changed the dynamics of a fight.

But this fight was only serving to give these disciples experience.

With this thought in his head, it was like directly watching these disciples learn how to properly use their countless sword techniques in a real fight.

So how could they not improve?

‘Is it because we gave them the necessary experience?’

This made his stomach swell up.

Yado believed that talent and sense were more important than training constantly, and with this mentality, he managed to reach the higher levels of martial arts. So when he saw talent shining, talent that hadn’t even fully bloomed yet, it made his insides twist.

But, right now surviving was more important than letting his emotions take over his mind. And right now, Baek Cheon was staring him down.

“Weight seems to be coming in.”

“…”

Yado flinched at his words.

There were so many wounds on this young Taoist, but his eyes were rigid, and they seemed clear on what they needed to do.

The eyes of a man who would not stray from his path. It was so dazzling that he couldn’t even look at them.

“Do you only speak arrogantly when you face an opponent you can beat?”

“…”

“That damned idiot once told me. Eyes speak of will, but feet show reality. The most pitiful of them have eyes of fury, yet feet that move away.”

Baek Cheon’s words didn’t sit well with Yado.

“If you want to run, I will show you the fastest way. If you cut me down, no one here will stop you.”

Yado’s face turned red.

By the time he was spilling blood on the battlefield, this little kid was probably an infant.

Could there be anything more humiliating than this?

‘There was a time when…’

Yado grabbed his blade with both hands; there was nothing good thinking about the past. Simple thoughts were better.

“Fine, Kid! I will make you regret this!”

“Sure.”

Yado shouted and charged in.

It was a rough form, but his blade was filled with qi. Enraged, he wanted to crush Baek Cheon.

Like the waves of a sea typhoon.

Baek Cheon slightly hardened his face as he saw the violent blade qi come for him. But he had no intention of backing down.

‘I am fine.’

Do not run.

While enduring Chung Myung’s intense training, he managed to understand. Even if it was slow, he simply needed to take one step at a time and firmly believe that one day, he would be able to reach the level he wanted to.

Those times were now going to help him.

‘This is not something to take by force.’

His sword was Mount Hua’s sword. It was not a sword that pressed down on his opponent.

The tip of Baek Cheon’s sword trembled, and soon plum blossoms spewed out, coming face to face with Yado.

‘The first thing.’

He listened to it until his ears hurt.

No matter how flashy and colorful an attack may be, there was always a before and after to a situation. Even if the attack unfolded right away, it was nothing more than a series of moves that would develop one after another, if enough time was given.

Baek Cheon’s world moved slowly.

The direction of Yado’s blade, that before, Baek Cheon could only see right before he was wounded.

‘Here!’

Plum blossoms that flowed out were pushed into one place.

Sword and blade.

Neither could be stopped with strength or overwhelming force. But if he couldn’t stop it once, then he would try it again, and if twice didn’t work, then thrice.

Defend, defend, and continue to defend.

Kakaka!

The plum sword waned and collided with the violent blade qi. However, after the plum blossoms that lost their momentum fell, new plum blossoms would bloom.

And again and again.

It didn’t have to be perfect. Just have the sword move where you need it to.

That was all.

It was the sword he should check.

“This…”

There was a look of shock in Yado’s eyes.

Baek Cheon’s sword seemed to be on a different level. The sword, which had been unstable till a moment ago, began to move with a strong sense of stability as if everything had calmed down.

‘What the hell is this?’

This was wonderful.

And colorful.

However, the impression that the gentle sword gave was now that of a wall of steel.

A wall.

A wall you cannot jump over.

Yado’s face turned pale.

‘How…’

It was then…

“ACKKKKKK!”

A desperate scream rang, making Yado turn his head in an instant.

‘Poison Bloody Hand!’

Poison Bloody Hand was swept away by Hae Yeon’s palm and fell down, coughing blood. Yado, who had seen this turned back.

There was a full body straight ahead. But also… a small Gap.

A very small gap.

Just as he had no choice but to look away, it was clear that the young man here was also interested in what happened with Hae Yeon and his opponent. And as proof of this, there was a small gap in his movement.

‘Attack now…!’

Pat!

His feet kicked the ground.

But his body was facing away, not towards his opponent. The moment he saw a gap in his opponent’s attack, his body chose to run away instead of fighting.

‘Ah…’

The gap between his head and his body was disturbing. His readied blade qi didn’t move much; instead, it was his legs that were doing most of the moving.

And…

Baek Cheon’s gaze shone through the plum blossoms, and his sword moved.

Ahhhh!

At once, the plum blossom sword qi scattered in all directions, and a sword with the force to divide the world was swung down.

A sharp, haughty, and extremely stable sword.

Slash!

Baek Cheon’s rushing sword pierced Yado’s back.

Slash.

His chest cracked with the eeriest of noises.

Tak.

After falling down to the floor, Yado looked at his chest and then at Baek Cheon.

Srng.

Baek Cheon, who had moved it, looked at Yado.

“This is the result of the life you lived.”

“…”

Yado, who had been opening his mouth as if to protest something, collapsed on the spot.

Thud!

Looking at his opponent until their eyes finally died, Baek Cheon looked toward the sky.

‘I am lacking so much.’

He admitted it. In terms of skills, this was his defeat.

If he had fought alone, he would have lost. Of course, if Yado hadn’t run and had chosen to fight, then defeating him would have been tough.

This was a lucky win.

But…

“I am different from you.”

Move.

Accept defeat and all the bitterness that comes with it.

Even if faced with something he couldn’t handle, Baek Cheon wouldn’t run like Yado. Because there was nothing one could obtain when they chose to run.

Baek Cheon turned around and shouted,

“The captains of the Ten Thousand People Clan have all been defeated! Surround the enemies!”

And his voice echoed through Mount Hua.