Rumors travel faster than the wind.

The fact that the Ten Thousand People Clan rushed to Shaanxi and hit Mount Hua spread all across the world at shocking speed.

Kangho was inclined to hear such news, so it wasn’t shocking. But the reason why these rumors spread this fast was because of the Beggars Union, who grasped the situation and helped the news spread.

And before the news spread, rumors were shared by normal people.

-Mount Hua defeated them!

Those who first heard such rumors thought it was true. But when news began to arrive saying the exact same thing, still no one questioned it.

Well, wasn’t Mount Hua the place that regularly did such ridiculous things?

“Oh my, they defeated them all?”

“Didn’t the entire Ten Thousand People Clan attack?”

“Does that even matter? It is the Ten Thousand People Clan! Those people! Don’t people say that they control a large force? Couldn’t such people send their strongest to take down Mount Hua?”

“I did hear that.”

“Hehe. Anyway, this is good. It has been a while since they made a name for themselves during the tournament in Shaolin, and now they are going after those evil things. There isn’t a single day where we don’t hear about Mount Hua.”

Ordinary people, who only had a passing interest in Murim, began paying attention to Mount Hua, who had defeated the Ten Thousand People Clan.

The clan that was supposedly the cruelest within Kangho was defeated by Mount Hua, a sect that was only now regaining its name. There couldn’t be anything better to talk about than this news.

However, those who looked deeper into the news paid attention to something else…

Within Wudang…

There was a man with a long black beard.

Every time he moved his brush, it felt like a clear orchid was being drawn.

But that was only for a little while.

“Mount Hua is said to have fought back against the Ten Thousand People Clan who invaded their mountain.”

The person brushing, whose eyes were pointed down, had a pained frown appear on their face.

And the tip of his brush, which had been painting thin, was pushed thick. And because of that, the entire beauty of the piece changed.

‘Still lacking discipline.’

Wudang’s sect leader, Heo Do Jinin, put down the brush and sat up straight.

“…It is Mount Hua again.”

Heo Do Jinin frowned, looking at Heo Gong, who was in front of him.

“Heo Gong.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Am I taking things too far if I say that my ears might soon be clogged with the stories coming from Mount Hua?”

“…no.”

The sect leader sighed,

“It is probably not the proper attitude of a sect leader, being jealous of others’ joy, but lately, I feel like admitting that I am a narrow-minded person. Just hearing the name of Mount Hua makes my stomach churn.”

Heo Gong also let out a shallow breath at this.

Of course, within Kangho, there was no place that hated Mount Hua more than Southern Edge, as they were closely situated in the same region.

The problem was that Wudang was right next to Southern Edge in this regard, and they didn’t like Mount Hua progressing so much.

Unlike Southern Edge and Mount Hua, who had a difficult relationship due to the geographical proximity, Mount Hua and Wudang had many other similarities that made friendship between the two impossible.

They were both a Taoist sect and also a sword sect. This meant that they were always competing over the title of the greatest sword sect in the world.

The past sect leaders might not have cared about this, but the current Wudang sect leader could no longer regard Mount Hua as a fallen sect.

“What do you think?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just your thoughts.”

Heo Gong frowned,

“I do not know what Sect Leader’s intentions are, but I don’t think this will simply end with Mount Hua.”

“…not end with Mount Hua?”

“You know everything, but you don’t seem to like it.”

The sect leader smiled at this,

“I am sorry, it has become a habit.”

Heo Gong sighed and continued,

“All the Ten Thousand People Clan moved to Shaanxi. It doesn’t matter what happened to Mount Hua in the process. The important thing is that they stepped into the land of Shaanxi.”

“Right.”

The Central Plains was a region dominated by the Nine Great Sects, One Union; Five Great Families; and the Shenzhou Five Hegemony. There was no force that could compete with them except for the five clans outside the plains.

So far, these factions had never clashed with one another. The scars left behind by the wars with the Demonic Sect had been too great.

This was why most sects never left their region, and never aimed for what belonged to others. But now, the Ten Thousand People Clan had broken this unwritten rule and attacked a sect beyond their borders.

“Mount Hua is not among the Nine Great Sects.”

“Yes, but this is not a safe time.”

Heo Gong spoke with sharp eyes,

“Sect Leader, Wudang is also trying to expand its’ sub-sects beyond Hubei.”

Right.

They had collided with Mount Hua before and were subsequently defeated in the battle for the Sword Tomb.

“The other sects are doing the same. It means that an era has come where no one is satisfied with what they have.”

“Hmm.”

“And the movement of the Ten Thousand People Clan will be the starting point.”

His sect leader frowned at this.

Kangho’s history always repeated itself. As the moon approached its zenith, the power of the sects became stronger and stronger, and even more was desired. As a result, conflicts were started between the sects, and those would eventually devolve into wars covering the land.

And when one exhausts their strength like that, there will come a lull and then a repeat of the same fight.

And it was the war against the Demonic Sect that had broken this rule.

The Demonic Sect was so strong that it managed to wipe out the power of many sects, and the remaining sects, realizing they didn’t have much power on their own, decided to ally themselves with other sects.

Following that war was a hundred years of peace.

‘But, it seems like only a single action has ended this peace.’

For a moment, Heo Do Jinin looked flustered.

“The situation is not getting any better.”

Soon the truth, which he realized, began to flow out,

“Neither the Nine Sects, the Five Families, nor the Five Hegemony has any more patience left. No matter how hard one tries to stop it, someone will start a fight.”

“Yes.”

“And the problem is, that isn’t all,” said Heo Do Jinin.

“It looks like the Abbot of Shaolin is in a lull state.”

“Shaolin?”

“Yes. They cannot seem to find a clue with the North Sea issue.”

“…”

Heo Gong’s face hardened at the name, ‘North Sea’.

North Sea.

Within that place, traces of the Demonic Sect were discovered.

“Normally, if this were the work of the Demonic Sect, then most sects in Kangho would come out and act. The problem now is that there is no one to organize them and give orders.”

“Isn’t Shaolin the one who was supposed to do that?”

“Yes. This time would have been no different if things had played out normally. But the Abbot has been too greedy. They hosted this tournament on their own, and if they had managed to accomplish their plan, Shaolin would have been ordering all of us. But…”

Heo Do Jinin smiled,

“Mount Hua has ruined their plans.”

“…right.”

Shaolin was literally humiliated during the tournament they had arranged. It was so great of a humiliation, it would have been better if Shaolin was eliminated right from the start.

Skills were important, but so was one’s face.

No matter how great Shaolin was, by losing so much face, not many would respond to their summons.

“Each sect is starting to move, and the matters of the Demonic Sect, which should be a priority, are being left behind. And then there is the issue of a rising power, which no one has even thought of, spreading its influence all over the land. Do you know what to call this?”

“…well.”

“Anarchy.”

Heo Do Jinin’s eyes darkened,

“The tides tend to wane when the moon is full, and a lasting peace is followed by chaos.”

“… Anarchy.”

Heo Gong’s face also darkened.

“The only way to survive such times is to protect one’s self firmly. Be good to the self, and remain aware of your surroundings. There must be some kind of movement somewhere.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“And…”

“Yes.”

“Monitor Mount Hua closer.”

“…Mount Hua?”

“Yes.”

At his words, Heo Gong wasn’t too sure.

“Sect Leader. It might not be needed…”

“*Um?”*

“I know that Mount Hua is going to be on the rise. I know that it has possibly the greatest swordsman in the world, and they defeated the monk and an unlikely clan… but still, Mount Hua is…”

“Do you know what appears in a period of anarchy?”

Heo Do Jinin stopped talking, wanting to know the answer.

“…I don’t know.”

“A hero.”

Heo Gong’s face went stiff.

“Mount Hua defeated the Ten Thousand People Clan. You realize what that means, right? It means that Mount Hua, with just its first-class disciples, a few other second-class and third-class disciples managed to defeat the Ten Thousand People Clan.”

“But even Wudang can…”

“Children with no real battle experience fought them off. And this experience must have further enhanced their martial arts and given them the confidence that they would not lose to anyone.”

“…”

“Do not underestimate Mount Hua. It is by no means like Wudang. But right now, there is no guarantee that Wudang will be an uncrossable mountain for them.”

“…I will keep this in mind.”

Heo Gong lowered his head.

But the look on his face said he still didn’t understand this.

‘I guess so.’

Those who had never known of a time when Wudang was behind Mount Hua wouldn’t be able to understand the concerns of Heo Do Jinin.

But he knew.

Once upon a time, there was an era when Wudang bowed its head to Mount Hua, who was in front of them.

‘I will never let that shame come onto us.’

Heo Do Jinin, who was sitting, clenched his fist.

“Mount Hua has to be checked, and it isn’t just to keep them on guard.”

“Then why?”

“Will the Ten Thousand People Clan stay still?”

“Ah…”

Only then did Heo Gong nod.

Jang Il-So, the leader of the clan, was known to be violent and cruel. There was no way that man would let this go after suffering such disgrace.

“It might be difficult to move now with various things happening. But humans are creatures that take the extra mile without caring about the situation. And if a situation comes where Jang Il-So leads his clan and advances to Shaanxi…”

Heo Do Jinin’s eyes were cold.

“It will be an explosion in the middle of Kangho.”

“So…”

The eyes of the man shone brightly.

Even though there was no wind, his long pure white robes, which covered his body, were fluttering slightly.

His lean face and red lips, which looked abnormal, made his face even more frightening to look at.

Clack.

The rings on all ten of his fingers clacked against each other, making an eerie noise.

“Everyone died?”

“…not all.”

“Then most?”

“Yes.”

Jang Il-So, who was lying on the side of his bed, slowly got up. And then, with one leg on his bed, he rested his chin on it.

“Ga-Myung.”

“Yes.”

Ho Ga-Myung, the military leader of the clan, lowered his head.

“I gave you three units, and I even gave you the Black Swan assassin unit. The reason I sent so many troops was that I wanted to kill all of those Mount Hua brats and clean up the place. But… not a single one of them was killed, no, not a single one of them could be killed, even then?”

“…”

Ho Ga-Myung didn’t answer him and just bowed his head.

“Where did it go wrong? Uh?”

“…Mount Hua had much more strength than we realized.”

“Right. I can get that. It is obvious. You think I am talking while not even knowing about such an obvious thing?”

It was a soft voice. The kind that didn’t seem to have even the slightest hint of anger, and that made Ho Ga-Myung scared.

“Interesting. So Interesting. Everyone in the world must be laughing down at me, right? That this clan didn’t know its opponent and decided to swing its claws. Hahahah! Funny right? A tiger without claws.”

The laughter which rang out suddenly stopped, and the eyes of Jang Il-So were cold.

“Gather all units. For Mount Hua.”

“L-Lord! We cannot move…!”

Kwang!

Ho Ga-Myung’s body bounced back and hit the wall. He coughed up blood as he fell to the ground.

“Don’t understand the order? Or don’t you see the situation? Huh? I told you, right? Look at the profit in the distant future and not the one right in front of you.”

“Cough.”

Ho Ga-Myung struggled to get on his knees and bowed his head.

“Those who move after Evil should not be laughed at. Even if they curse and criticize, they must be kept in fear of our actions. You get that?”

“…I will keep it in mind.”

“Gather the troops then. I will move on Mount Hua personally.”

The hem of his white robes fluttered, and the moment Jang Il-So was about to move…

“L-Lord!”

Someone came into the room with a rushed expression, it was one of his attendants.

Jang Il-So was annoyed by this,

“Why are you making a fuss right now?”

“G-Guest! We have a guest.”

“Uh?”

All the annoyance on his face vanished at this unexpected news.

Guest?

Was there someone who would come searching for them? That, too, one of the leaders of an Evil Sect?

As if to answer his doubts, someone came into the room.

And checking his face, Jang Il-So frowned.