Flustered, Mu Jin took a step back in doubt.
"Are you going to continue fighting?"
"No. It isn't that I want to continue, I'm just going to beat you up a bit."
'Beat me up?'
'Me?'
No matter how he thought about it, Mu Jin believed that Chung Myung's face seemed to carry some deep resentment. Unable to understand the situation, he urgently asked.
"I don't think I did anything to deserve such a grudge, right?"
"Huh?"
Chung Myung stopped in his tracks and tilted his head to the side.
"You didn't?"
"…"
"Nothing to deserve it?"
Chung Myung spoke as if it was absurd.
"Are you crazy?"
He laughed and continued.
"To a sub-sect that was doing well on its own…no, you struck at one of Mount Hua's sub-sects without reason and even knocked down the poor Gate leader!"
'Uh…'
That was true.
"And as if that wasn't enough, you forced them to close their doors and tried to drive them away! So what? You didn't do anything to deserve a grudge?"
Chung Myung's eyes were bloodshot as he focused his sights.
"Whatever, you bastards are always like this! Never thinking about what you've done, just doing whatever you want and placing the blame on others. You're the ones that picked the fight! What the hell?"
Chung Myung lifted his hand and made Mu Jin flinch.
'Ah, I've still got a mask on.'
It would be a big deal if he got revealed here.
Chung Myung pointed to the second-class disciples and spoke.
"Let's just say that these kids are only following orders. phew. Right, so what is their fault in this matter?"
The second-class disciples that suddenly changed into children that blindly followed orders had tears in their eyes. However, Chung Myung ignored their distress and continued to speak.
"But not you, right? As a first-class disciple, you should be held responsible for what the sect did."
Chung Myung looked at him with strange eyes.
"Don't tell me, did you think I was a nice person who would simply send you off?"
"…"
'No, but you said you're a robber, not a disciple of Mount Hua.'
'At least stick to the identity you created….'
"These bastards must have gone crazy! They gave us money for thirty years, and you slapped the last good man in this era and tried to persecute him? What? You didn't do anything for me to hold a grudge over?"
Chung Myung's eyes shone.
Of course, Chung Myung had nothing against them.
But that's just how Martial sects were!
The resentment of the disciple is the resentment of the sect, and the resentment of the sub-sect is the resentment of the main sect!
Chung Myung was currently bearing the grudge of Huayoung Gate, not Mount Hua.
"Come here now, you little shit. You were beaten once, but you need to be beaten all day. The fact that you were sent shows just how much your sect is involved in this. I will show you exactly what the price of touching Mount Hua is."
From Mu Jin's point of view, this seemed insane.
How much had he really been involved? Everything that happened was decided by his superiors. Of course, Mu Jin also influenced the decision a bit, but he wasn't so involved that he had to take responsibility for it.
"What? Do you think it's unjust?"
"…"
"Get flustered when you see death! The world is unfair! You get to live with the Wudang and take all the good things in life, live comfortably without worrying about the world, and now you want to run from your responsibilities and push the blame on others?"
Mu Jin flinched.
"Get your head together. A martial sect isn't what you think. If a child makes a mistake, he is cursed by the adults, and the lower ranks need to clean up the shit caused by the higher-ups."
Just like Chung Myung was doing now.
'Ah, am I speaking about myself too?'
Anyway!
"You committed a crime, and it makes sense for you to be punished. I will punish you now, so take it in stride."
"N-No…"
As soon as Chung Myung was about to rush forward, Mu Jin grabbed his sword. Chung Myung looked at that and then spoke.
"Didn't I make it clear before? If you don't take the beating gently, you won't be able to walk back on your own two feet? Tch. I'm a man that keeps his promises."
Mu Jin bit his lip.
Looking back, he did remember something like that. At that time, he thought it was just the arrogant words of a guy that didn't know his place.
Mu Jin, who confirmed there was no room for compromise, had a hardened look on his face.
At that time, Jin Hyeon and Mu Jin briefly exchanged glances.
Conflicted thoughts crept in.
No one was around. In that case, it might be better for them to work together. They were flustered and injured. What's more, it seemed like this man had no intention of stepping down and letting them return.
So, they'd rather…
It was that moment.
Chung Myung rushed at Mu Jin, who struggled to make a decision.
"How is it!?"
The sword in Chun Myung's hand slammed down violently.
And Mu Jin's sword, which hadn't even taken a stance, was struck and bounced off Chung Myung's sword back into his own face.
"That after such a long time!"
Chung Myung took a huge step ahead with his right foot!
"There is still no progress!"
Kwaaang!
"You bastards!"
"Kuak!"
Blood gushed from Mu Jin's nose, which got hit by the tremendous force of Chung Myung's sword.
At the same time, his waist bent excessively backward.
'M-my waist…'
It felt like his waist would break.
But he somehow pulled through…
"Can you stop? Stop!"
Bang!
No, perhaps he hadn't pulled through after all.
Chung Myung began to strike the sword again.
"You Wudang bastards! Don't have one decent thought in those brains of yours!"
Bang!
"Do you use force to block that? This?"
Bang!
Mu Jin's feet started to dig into the ground like a nail being hammered in.
His body, hit by Chung Myung, was piercing the earth.
"You people preach that softness overpowers strength! Seriously, your mouths do all the work!"
Kwang!
"Kua…."
A cracking sound came from Mu Jin's waist.
Mu Jin was completely distracted by the pain in his lower back and his throbbing arm, which felt like it would break from trying to ward off Chung Myung's assault.
But at that moment.
A mixture of irritation and anger echoed in his ears, the most malignant voice in the world.
"Head! The Head! The Head! I told you to watch your head!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Mu Jin somehow blocked a series of downward sword strikes, but he was unable to withstand the power of Chung Myung's sword, and his own sword continued to rebound, bouncing off his head repeatedly.
"Kuak!"
Every time the sword hit his head, Mu Jin felt like he was being hammered into the ground. Still, it felt fortunate that he was able to block it. If he was being struck with the unsheathed sword, then he might have gotten some fine lines on his head by now.
But the real problem wasn't his head.
'W-waist…'
There was an unusual and disconcerting sound coming from his back.
Mu Jin clenched his teeth, thinking he would fold over and die from his back shattering.
'A-attack, somehow…!'
The enemy is more powerful than ever.
It didn't matter whether this man was a robber or Mount Hua's Divine Dragon. Pride? What did that even matter right now?
He had to be alive to have that!
Fortunately, the guy in front of him was only aiming for his head. It was as if Chung Myung didn't even care that he was blocking it with the sheath.
'J-just once!'
He just had to hit him once.
If there was an unexpected counterattack, a gap would emerge, and Mu Jin was capable of taking advantage of that opportunity.
No, even if he lacked the ability, he still had to do something. He only wished that he could move before his back fully broke.
"Head!"
The sword flickered.
'Now!'
Mu Jin tried the best he could and pushed strength into his lower body. Having stabilized his form, he began to utilize his upper body.
'Flow!'
The basis of the Wudang sect is softness.
Any powerful force can be rendered meaningless if its flow can be manipulated.
Looking at the raised sword, Mu Jin bit his lip. Waiting for the sword to fall, he planned his move. He would tilt slightly, shift the sword away from the face and…
'What?'
But why was it that Chung Myung's sword didn't seem to be coming down?
Mu Jin was so heavily focused that time seemed to pass slowly…
But then.
Something dark entered Mu Jin's vision. He looked reflexively and saw something rapidly approaching his face.
Mu Jin smiled bitterly when he realized that Chung Myung's fist was the mysterious object approaching his face.
'That son of a bitch.'
Lies were the only thing that came out of his mouth…
Paaaak!
"Your jaw! You bastard!"
Mu Jin, who had been drilled into the ground earlier, soared into the sky like a nail being extracted.
Wheik!
Mu Jin's body spun in the air like a top for a long time before crashing to the floor.
Unable to handle the force, his body rolled across the ground, dragging a long line, before finally stopping.
"Grrr…."
Seeing Mu Jin foaming at the mouth and unconscious, Chung Myung clicked his tongue.
"People from the big sects are all like this, tsk, tsk, tsk."
How could he seriously believe his opponent would only use his sword? This is why Mount Hua and Wudang need to step out of the mountains. Those who get stuck in the mountains always end up naïve and dead.
"Think of this as a good experience."
Chung Myung clicked his tongue as he approached the unconscious Mu Jin and kicked him.
"Hey, wake up. I need you to explain that sword…. Sword… What was it? Sword thing?"
However, Mu Jin didn't regain consciousness.
Chung Myung quickly calculated how much strength he had put into his fist as well as the fragile chin of Mu Jin and nodded.
'Nothing can be done. He'll sleep soundly for three days.'
'Did I get a bit too excited?'
'Well, it'll be fine. There are others I can get to tell me what I want to know.
"Then…"
Chung Myung turned his head.
As Chung Myung turned to look at them, the second-class disciples of Wudang shuddered, taking a step back.
"That Sword thing… Does anyone here know about it?"
"…"
Everyone stayed silent.
Everyone understood.
However, someone needed to say something to answer the question. In front of them was a guy that would even slap a ghost if they didn't respond to him.
"You! And you!"
Chung Myung pointed to Jin Hyeon and Jin Mu.
"Come here."
"…"
They both looked at each other and reluctantly walked towards Chung Myung.
'This can't be happening.'
'I can't beat him.'
A human who can knock Mu Jin into the air with one punch. Even if they all worked together, there was no guarantee they could win. What's more, their morale had already deflated. Would they even be able to work together and land any attacks on him?
Chung Myung had a soft smile on his lips.
"That sword… sword what?"
"… Sword Tomb."
"Right! Right! Sword Tomb. Can anyone tell me what that is?"
Jin Hyeon and Jin Mu stayed silent.
"Oh? You two won't speak?"
They may have lost the will to fight, but that didn't mean they would speak freely. It was the last sliver of pride they held onto as disciples of Wudang.
"Uh, well. Fine. I admit it. The one who's supposed to speak is him. You guys never made a bet with me. Promises aren't meant to be kept by others, right?"
"…?"
Jin Hyeon was confused.
Oh my, something very similar to common sense was coming from this man's mouth!
"Then, look here."
"Yes?"
"Here."
"What…?"
"What do you mean 'what', huh?"
Chung Myung smiled behind the mask. It was a smile that sent a chill down the spines of these two Wudang disciples.
"If you don't want to speak, then wake up the guy that has to speak."
'What?'
Was he talking about Mu Jin?
"H-How?"
How could they wake up someone who had lost consciousness?
"This is what I've learned in my life."
Chung Myung grabbed Mu Jin by the collar.
"You can't solve everything in this world with violence alone."
That was right.
Chung Myung was saying strangely reasonable things…
"But!"
A weird light shone in Chung Myung's eyes.
"Most problems can be solved with violence!"
"…"
"If you beat him until he gets up, he'll eventually get up! Or punch him down entirely! And you guys over there! Don't speak of this! Never!
Jin Hyeon smiled brightly.
It really felt like just telling him what he wanted to know would be better.