Gulp, gulp, gulp.

“Kuaaak!”

Chung Myung quickly drank his beverage, let out a loud cheer to cleanse his palate, and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Then, looking in the direction of the disciples of Mount Hua, he grinned.

“Hehehehe.”

Hae Yeon looked sullenly at Chung Myung. Since he wasn’t a Mount Hua disciple, he couldn’t participate in this race, so he was left behind.

“Disciple.”

“Uh?”

“Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“What?”

Hae Yeon looked in the direction where the disciples ran with a worried face.

“Looking at the disciples of the Ghost Clan running, it seemed like they are very skilled…”

“Well, they are. Because they are from the Ghost Clan.”

In the first place, they had amazing footwork, which was why Mount Hua wanted to join hands with this clan.

‘I need to do it.’

“But why do we have to fight like this?”

“Why do you think?”

Chung Myung glanced at the elder of the Ghost Clan, Oh Jang-Song, and the young leader next to him.

“…first, I need to tidy up.”

“Did you say tidy up?”

“No, it was nothing.”

He shrugged and took another sip of his drink. Hae Yeon couldn’t let go of his anxiety.

“I am too anxious…”

Chung Myung smiled and looked at him.

“You seem to be getting more and more worried these days.”

“…”

“Was their training for nothing?”

Chung Myung’s face was relaxed and bored. As for the disciples of Mount Hua, in the past, they hadn’t been taught a proper footwork technique, but now they were learning a proper technique.

“Footwork is the most intuitive skill. As long as one works hard, results will follow. And as far as I know, there is no one who works harder than my sahyungs.”

“… the one who knows that should be you…”

“Uh?”

“Nothing…”

Hae Yeon shook his head.

‘Actually, this is a useless concern.’

By now, Hae Yeon was also aware of the extent of Mount Hua’s skills. No, to be precise, of those not from Mount Hua, he was probably the most aware.

From his point of view, the skills of Baek Cheon and his party have already exceeded the level of a disciple. If they were taken into Shaolin, no one would be able to fight them, except for Hae Yeon.

So no matter how good the footwork of the Ghost Clan was, they could not defeat Mount Hua’s disciples that easily.

“Come to think of it, it is an easy match.”

“Easy match?”

But this time, Chung Myung smiled.

“I would like it if it was like that.”

“Uh?”

“Well, if they are late, they will die.”

His eyes shone as if he had found an interesting toy, and Hae Yeon was back to having an anxious look.

“Ugh!”

Jo Gul kicked the ground hard. Each time he touched the ground, he would move forward several steps. Riding on this momentum, he sprinted forwards in an instant.

“Uhahahahaah!”

Laughter burst out.

‘I feel like I can fly with those damned metal orbs off me!’

What a refreshing feeling!

All the way from Shaanxi to Guizhou, all the way, he had to move with those lumps of iron around him. If they had walked there barefoot, their legs would have also hurt. But that idiot had brought in iron balls that were heavier than normal iron.

And now, after removing them, his body felt so light that he couldn’t control it. His confidence rose along with his speed.

Let his opponent be the Ghost Clan or whatever, now he could win.

Kwak!

There was a lot of power each time his foot rested on the ground.

‘Surely!’

The force that coursed down his legs and touched the ground was different from usual, and it fully utilized his body.

‘That bastard’s training was so effective.’

But I hate to admit it!

So no matter how, the match could be won…

“Oh? Pretty fast?”

In an instant, he heard a voice coming from his right side.

‘What…?’

Right now, he was moving forward so quickly it was as if someone had thrown him forwards. His own speed was a shock to himself, but then someone else was coming up to him with a relaxed face?

‘He caught up with my speed?’

As a look of shock crossed his face, the disciple of the Ghost Clan smiled.

“As expected of a disciple from a prestigious sect. You don’t seem to neglect your training at all.”

Jo Gul’s eyes twitched.

‘What is with this bastard?’

The feeling of being looked down on was evident in his words. And this was the same attitude the Southern Edge disciples often used during their conference.

At least, it was clear that they were convinced that they were better than Mount Hua in terms of their footwork.

So, Jo Gul said to him,

“You will receive a serious nose injury if you are this confident.”

“Oh?”

The Ghost Clan disciple grinned as if this was a funny joke,

“Confidence is good, but I think you should know one thing.”

“What?”

“Do you know which path to take?”

Jo Gul tilted his head. What did that mean…

“This is the path we use for training.”

“What did you say? Are you saying you will win because you run this path often?”

“No, no. It isn’t like that.”

The disciple immediately shot forward.

“Ah!”

“You will know once you experience this!”

Jo Gul’s eyes widened at their swift movement.

“Gul!”

Behind him was Yoon Jong, running fast.

“What are you doing!”

“N-Nothing, that brat….!”

“Enough! Catch up, no! Do not lose the lead.”

“Yes!”

And the two of them rushed forward, side by side. They pushed all their strength into their legs to move swifter.

“Uhahahaha!”

“Uh, that…!”

At that moment…

Kwang!

‘Uh?’

He felt a strange sensation around his foot. And as he lowered his head, he saw the image of the ground slowly sinking.

“W-What!”

“A trap?”

Shortly after, the ground beneath Jo Gul and Yoon Jong gave way, causing them to plummet.

“AHHHH!”

“No, fuck!”

They thought that running with all their might was good enough, so they weren’t focused enough to deal with the collapsing ground.

Thud!

Thud!

As they were running at the same speed, the two collided with the bottom of the pit at the same time.

Plop!

“Ugh….”

After falling into the water-soaked ground, the two barely came to their senses before suffocating, as they poked their heads above the water.

“Puaaaah!”

“Cough!”

Yoon Jong was coughing with a red face and spit out water as he gulped for air.

“What is this? Why are there traps on this path!?”

“R-Right.”

At that time…

A sneering voice came from above them,

“Ah, one thing.”

The disciple of the Ghost Clan who had jumped forward spoke, with a smile on his face,

“Besides this one, there are many other traps around here, so be careful.”

Even as he said this, Jo Gul’s eyes were filled with anger.

“No, who is this brat!”

“This is a gift.”

Thud!

The disciple above them shook the ground with a stomp.

“…Uh?”

What happened when someone stomped on unsteady ground?

“Ah, no…”

Rumble!

The walls of the pit, which looked dangerous, were not caving in. A large amount of land and mud fell down on them again.

The two of them, angry, opened their mouths with anger,

“Y-You fucking brat!”

“AKKKK!”

Rumble!

The area around the pit collapsed, and soon the area where Jo Gul and Yoon Jong were standing filled in with mud and dirt.

The disciple who looked at them grinned,

“I have no ill feelings towards you, but if we lose, we will end up looking bad.”

Pat!

Saying that, he continued forward.

After a while…

Out of the mud-covered pit, a hand popped out.

After fumbling left and right a couple of times, the hand moved to push the dirt aside.

“Ughhh!”

“Eik!”

Yoon Jong and Jo Gul, drenched in water and mud, became mud men as they crawled out of the pit.

“Spit! Spit! Ack!”

“… Gul, do not eat the mud.”

With a face covered in mud, Jo Gul said,

“Sahyung!”

“…”

“Let’s kill those bastards.”

It was no different from Yoon Jong either.

“This time, I agree.”

The two looked at each other, and as if a promise was made, they began to run after the disciple.

“I will kill him!”

“You are dead if I catch you!”

If Hyun Jong had been there to hear this, he would have covered his ears right there and fainted from the pain of hearing his disciples say such violent curses. But he was not, and the two just ran ahead.

“Haha!”

At the same time, Tang Soso was running forward, sweating a lot. Even though she was out of breath, she glanced to her side.

“S-Sago!”

“No.”

“Please, le-leave first…”

“No.”

Right next to her was Yu Yiseol, who was running with sharp eyes.

“I cannot do this anymore.”

“You can.”

Even if she was the daughter of the Tang Family, her stamina was solid, and her internal qi was second to none, but not so much when compared to the other Mount Hua disciples.

Her skills couldn’t be compared to Mount Hua’s Five Swords. So how could she run at the same speed as them?

The problem was that Yu Yiseol wasn’t a person who shared similar thoughts. She thought that if she ran normally, the others would win for her, so she stuck next to Tang Soso.

In the end, as Tang Soso tried to run at Yu Yiseol’s speed, she began to lose her breath.

“I-I am dying!”

“It is fine, you can do it.”

I am not okay, I really am not!

How are you alright?!

Tang Soso had a look of resentment now. Just then, Yu Yiseol glanced forward and frowned. She noticed that two disciples from the Ghost Clan were running in front of them.

‘Did we catch up?’

No, that couldn’t be.

So, did that mean the other party slowed down?

However, the person in front of them glanced back, and they had a faint smile, which made Yu Yiseol frown.

“Be careful!”

“Uh?”

And her guess wasn’t wrong, the Ghost Clan disciples in front of them kicked the trees surrounding them.

Thud!

The powerful kick shook the tree, and Yu Yiseol shouted,

“Soso!”

“Yes?”

She pulled Tang Soso firmly, and at the same time, she pulled her sword out.

Swish!

Something fell out of the tree that had been kicked.

‘A bamboo spear?’

To be precise, it would have been better to call it a bamboo stick rather than a spear. It wasn’t thrown particularly hard and had not been sharpened at the end.

However, to those running with strong momentum, this stick was threatening.

“Tat!”

A short shout from Yu Yiseol’s mouth. Her swing cut through the air and sliced down the bamboo sticks which were raining down.

‘Such insignificant things!’

Pang!

But just then, a loud voice rang out, and this time a large ball was thrown at the two of them.

“No use!”

Yu Yiseol went to cut it with her sword, but at the same time, Tang Soso screamed,

“Acck! No, Sago!”

Uh?

What?

Slash! Slash!

The sword slashed, and the balls were cut in two at once, but then!

Pung! Pung!

The sliced balls caused an explosion, and as black smoke spread about,

‘What is that?’

Yu Yiseol’s eyes widened.

But by the time she realized it was too late.

Iron net-like things came out of the smoke and fell on the two.

Chak!

One layer and then two. The nets fell onto the two Mount Hua disciples.

“Kyaaak!”

Eventually, their feet were tangled up, and the two of them rolled down the hill.

“Ack! Ack! My waist! Ack!”

“…”

Thud! Thud!

The two curled into balls and bounced again and again on the ground. And only when they fell onto a flat patch of ground did they stop.

“Ugh…. i… die…”

“…”

Their hands trembled as they pushed off the net.

Thud!

After barely taking it off, Tang Soso collapsed to the floor with a groan of pain.

“I… those bastard…”

She gritted her teeth and sighed while Yu Yiseol took the net off herself and said,

“Soso.”

“Yes?”

Tang Soso flinched as she looked at her. The string which had once tied her hair back had been torn in half, and she pulled it out. Black hair flowed down like a ghost’s would.

“…”

A sight that would cause anyone’s heart to drop.

Yu Yiseol exhaled and mumbled,

“I am going first.”

“…do not kill.”

“I will think about it.”

With those devil-like eyes, she gripped her sword and ran forward.

“…”

Tang Soso was left alone in the back, and she worried for the disciples of the Ghost Clan.