Show off your best skills.
Those words stabbed and twisted like a knife inside Jin Hyeon's heart.
He couldn't help it.
There were nine disciples from the Wudang sect guarding the main entrance to Huayoung Gate. Including Jin Hyeon, there were ten in total.
But Mount Hua only sent five disciples.
It would have made sense if they had chosen a representative to have a one-on-one match. These people had come to assist their sub-sect. Even if they recognized that they were no match for the Wudang Sect, since they had come this far, they would still need to act like they tried their best before returning.
But right now, this fool was talking about fighting, not just having a match. Chung Myung was saying that even if all the disciples of Wudang came at once, they would be able to deal with them.
"You…"
Jin Hyeon's side had twice the number that Mount Hua's did.
Even so, Chung Myung said they could fight, as if he was utterly ignoring Wudang.
When in Jin Hyeon's life had he been so neglected?
"Infinite Life Sutra."
If he didn't recall his teachings, Jin Hyeon felt that his rising anger would boil over and erupt. He struggled to calm his heart by reciting the sutra before staring at Baek Cheon, a look of unbridled anger still apparent on his face.
"Should I accept this as the will of Mount Hua?"
Jin Hyeon meant that Baek Cheon, as the senior, should voice his position. However, he merely shrugged his shoulders at Jin Hyeon's question.
"If we take back our words now, the whole world will laugh at Mount Hua."
"…"
"And."
Baek Cheon laughed bitterly.
"Even if I wanted to end this peacefully, it doesn't look like you would let this go."
"You've seen correctly."
Jin Hyeon bit his lip.
He could tolerate insults directed at him. But now, Chung Myung had not only insulted Jin Hyeon; he had insulted the Wudang sect itself.
"Six Hours."
Jin Hyeon stared at Chung Myung with a terrifying look in his eyes.
"One day. I'll give you one day. At this time tomorrow, we will strike Huayoung Gate as you said. Please note that since you were the one that proposed this, we will not be held responsible for any unforeseen accidents according to the Kangho's laws."
"Well, just wait until tomorrow. Of course, if you want to play, we could play right now."
Chung Myung wiggled his finger provokingly.
"Come on."
"…"
Jin Hyeon's fists trembled as he tightly clenched them. His breathing grew rapid, and his face went pale.
Seeing this scene, Yoon Jong shook his head.
'He'll die from blood pressure before we even fight if he can't control himself.'
All the disciples of Mount Hua understood. People who don't know him believe that Chung Myung's greatest strength lies in his martial arts. However, compared to his ability to piss people off, his martial arts are hardly worth mentioning.
During the relatively short time that Yoon Jong had spent with Chung Myung, there had been dozens of times he thought he might die of anger. At this moment, Yoon Jong couldn't help but feel sorry for Jin Hyeon despite the barriers between their sects.
'Just don't talk to him.'
'The more you talk, the more he responds, and the angrier you become.'
However, instead of rushing at Chung Myung, Jin Hyeon restrained himself and moved modestly.
Seeing his composure, the disciples of Mount Hua exclaimed.
'As expected from the Wudang sect.'
'Oh my, he managed to hold himself back. Hang in there.'
'Everything looks good now.'
They felt like applauding.
"Tomorrow. At this time tomorrow."
Grunt!
As soon as Jin Hyeon spoke, he gnashed his teeth.
"I will see you this time tomorrow. Don't try to ask for mercy from my hands. You'll understand why you are Mount Hua and we are the Wudang sect! You will understand the difference very clearly."
"Yeah, yeah. Fine."
"…"
Chung Myung turned around as if he didn't care.
"Next, he'll say that we shouldn't run away if we doubt our skills. Can we go in and rest now?"
Yoon Jong's mouth was agape.
'You devil!'
After three months of closed-door training, had he researched the most effective ways to step on people's nerves?
Oddly, Jin Hyeon no longer showed any reaction. It seemed true that when a person's anger boiled over to the extreme, they would become calm and go silent.
Jin Hyeon turned around after giving Chung Myung a cold glance.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
With those final words, he decisively left Huayoung Gate.
"Sahyung!"
Wudang sect's disciples rushed to Jin Hyeon's side.
"Why are you leaving that arrogant bastard alone!? We don't need to wait till tomorrow! You need to fix his bad habits now!"
"Right! I've never seen such a rude man in my life. I ought to break his head open and bring him back to his senses. No, he's so out of his mind, even that might not be enough!"
Hearing his sajae's complaints, Jin Hyeon stopped walking.
"… right now?"
"Yes, now!"
Jin Hyeon took a deep breath.
"Do you know why I said we should wait until tomorrow?"
"We don't…."
"If we do it now, blood will be drawn."
The sajaes shut their mouths.
This wasn't the first time they had come out of the sect. They had already been through such conflicts dozens of times and experienced big and small incidents. Was there anyone among them that hadn't given or experienced injuries?
Jin Hyeon's sword had already seen blood many times.
There was no way he would be afraid of seeing blood. Jin Hyeon's words meant that he would kill Chung Myung if a fight broke out right now.
Jin Hyeon turned his head and looked at Huayoung Gate.
"They'll soon realize what they've done. One day is long enough to let the horror of what's to come sink in."
"Yes, Sahyung."
"Let's head back."
Jin Hyeon headed toward Path's Edge training hall. His sajaes followed behind him, and after a while, the training hall leader also hurried to catch up.
"L-let's go together!"
"Go."
"Um. Go please."
"They left."
Left behind, Mount Hua's disciples looked at the empty entrance with slight dismay.
But unlike them, Wei Lishan was on the verge of fainting.
"W-what…. What the hell happened…."
He was sure that he had called for help.
But could 'help' mean beating up the Wudang Sect's people?
In the past, Mount Hua was a prestigious sect and was one of the Nine Great Sects. They should have had some friendship with the Wudang Sect. Wei Lishan hoped that, based on that friendship, they would be able to mediate somehow. He never thought things would get so bad.
Unaware of Wei Lishan's inner turmoil, Chung Myung smiled.
"Now you can stretch your feet out and sleep comfortably."
Feet?
Stretch his feet?
"grrr."
Thud!
In the end, Wei Lishan stepped back and fainted.
"Huh!? Father!"
"Leader!"
Wei Soheng and Yeom Pyong were frightened and rushed to Wei Lishan.
Chung Myung clicked his tongue as he watched the scene.
"I didn't mean for him to stretch out here. He seems quite impatient."
The disciples of Mount Hua sighed.
"Huh!"
Wei Lishan jumped out of his bed and looked up at the ceiling with his eyes wide open.
He waited for a while and stroked his forehead with a trembling hand.
'It was a dream.'
Of course.
Such a nonsensical thing was impossible in real life.
With a sigh of relief, Wei Lishan reached out for his kettle and gulped down some water.
Drinking a bit of cold water, he felt like his heart was calming down.
Clik.
The door opened, and Yeom Pyong entered.
"Are you awake?"
"… how long have I been lying down?"
"It was about four hours."
"I see…"
Wei Lishan felt like his body was getting weaker as things went on. It was necessary to rest and recover, but he felt like it was abnormal because his body was unable to stabilize.
"I need to get up, we never know when the Wudang sect will come."
"Didn't they say they were coming tomorrow?"
"… tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"Did they come while I was asleep?"
Yeom Pyong narrowed his eyes as he looked at Wei Lishan.
"Did you have any dreams?"
"Yes. Such a strange dream. A person came from Mount Hua, and that thug-like man argued with the Wudang sect's disciples and risked the fate of Huayoung Gate by demanding a fight."
"…"
"It was so absurd… even in the dream, I thought I was going to faint. Does it make any sense for such a mad man to come from Mount Hua? He even said that he's Mount Hua's Divine Dragon! Hahahahaa. My condition must be worse than I thought…."
Wei Lishan looked at Yeom Pyong and stopped laughing when he saw his serious expression.
And silence fell.
"… it cannot be."
"It is."
"I don't think so."
"It is quite clear."
Wei Lishan's hands trembled.
"I-it happened?"
"Calm down, Gate leader. The water has already been spilled. Now that we've reached this point, maybe we should sneak off in the night."
"Night escape?"
"Isn't it better than holding out and dying? Seeing the anger on that man's face, when he comes back tomorrow, he'll kill anyone in sight."
"… isn't he a Taoist?"
"Leader, look at reality. If we counted the number of people the Nine Great Sects have killed, they would fill the entire yellow river. Do you really think there are no wicked men among them?"
Wei Lishan was speechless and closed his mouth.
"If we want to save our lives, we need to think quickly. One day… no, there's not even a day left."
Wei Lishan got up with a stiff face.
"Where are Mount Hua's disciples?"
"I guided them to the annex. They must be there."
"I see…"
Wei Lishan accepted reality.
If it wasn't a dream and had actually happened, then now was the time to make a decision.
'It wouldn't matter if I was alone.'
But Wei Lishan had a wife and child; he had disciples to protect. And above all.…
'At this rate, they'll be upset too.'
Mount Hua's disciples had come to help Huayoung Gate in their time of need. Although they had chosen a bad method due to their inexperience, Wei Lishan couldn't bear to see them fall to the Wudang Sect's sword.
"Pyong."
"Yes, Gate leader."
"I think we should lower Huayoung Gate's signboard."
"…"
"Even if it isn't Nanyang, if we can keep the name Huayoung, wouldn't that be enough?"
"Leader…"
Yeom Pyong felt troubled, but Wei Lishan seemed to be at ease now.
'It was all greed.'
Wei Lishan never wanted to abandon the land where he lived. His heart didn't want to be pushed aside by Wudang's disciples. He was overwhelmed by a desire to protect his Gate.
In the end, it was all because of his greed.
And when he let go of his greed, he felt at ease.
But the world doesn't always work the way we want.
"That… it won't work out the way you want, father."
"Huh?"
Wei Soheng walked into the room.
"What do you mean? It won't work the way I want?"
"Even if we try to give up now, the disciples of Mount Hua won't leave."
"Why?"
"… it's a bit strange, but they don't seem to have the slightest thought about losing to the Wudang sect."
Wei Lishan's face darkened.
'What are they? Daredevils?'
No. It couldn't be.
Even if the others were unaware, Baek Cheon, The Righteous Sword of Hua, is someone who must understand. He led the Baek disciples and would likely become the sect leader of Mount Hua someday.
It didn't make sense for such a person to be unable to grasp the situation accurately.
"… I need to meet with the Righteous Sword of Hua."
Wei Soheng's face turned awkward.
"That's great."
"What?"
"Well, he said that father must have woken up by now and he requested to meet you."
"… the Righteous Sword of Hua?"
"No."
Wei Soheng spoke with a shaky face.
"Mount Hua's Divine Dragon."
That damned dragon of Mount Hua!
"… what Divine Dragon. He has to be the shitty dragon."
For once, Wei Soheng could fully sympathize with his father's choice of words.