Namgung Dan was truly confident.
Wasn't there a saying that went, 'everything depends on the mindset?'
Of course, he wasn't a staunch believer in this theory of the mind. However, he lived by the belief that even when doing the same thing, many things changed with just one shift in mindset.
Now that he had decided to fully embrace the practice of Chung Myung with renewed determination, it would be different from before, Namgung Dan thought.
That was just half an hour ago.
Thud! Thud!
Namgung Dan trembled and lowered his eyes to look down.
A pile of rocks had fallen from where his feet had slipped and was tumbling down.
Namgung Dan's eyes shook as if there had been an earthquake.
"Uh… eul…"
He couldn't even breathe deeply and shook, but this time he looked up. He could see the mountain peak jutting out beneath the blue sky.
Right. He was climbing the cliff right then.
"Euk!"
Without knowing where to go, he somehow planted his feet on the cliff wall and clung to it. In his desperation, he was almost ready to dig into the cliff.
"Phew. Euk! Phew!"
His breathing grew rapid, and his body shook. Every time he looked down into the distance, his heart felt like it was shrinking forever.
Just a moment ago, he had thought, 'why should I die?'…
"No, die! Just die! You insane bastards!"
These Mount Hua bastards were even crazier than he had imagined.
"Oh my, are your arms losing strength now?"
From far above, a voice that was now creepy in itself was heard.
"Right. Try to relax. Even if you do that, you will just fall."
At those words, Namgung Dan unconsciously looked down again.
'No!'
He quickly shut his eyes tightly and pressed his body against the cliff. Every time he looked down that far below, all the strength in his legs seemed to leave him.
At least, if these weights weren't hanging on his arms and legs, he could have done something….
'Does it make sense to tell me to climb a steep cliff while wearing this? You insane bastards!'
"Euk! Huek! Uck!"
After taking a deep breath for a while, he wiped the sweat dripping down his face with his shoulder and slowly turned his head.
"T-taoist."
"Uh?"
He spoke to a disciple of Mount Hua who was calmly climbing the cliff a little below.
"E-euh… doesn't this training seem too harsh?"
"Ah…"
Namgung Dan harbored some hope.
He was starting to realize that the Mount Hua sect was all a bit unusual, but this disciple of Mount Hua called 'Yoon Jong' seemed a bit normal.
If he could do it, he could at least speak up against that devil.
But Namgung Dan's expectations were shattered by Yoon Jong's response.
"Is it harsh?"
"Yes. Yes! Taoist! Isn't this too dangerous?"
"… Dangerous…?"
Yoon Jong tilted his head. He made an expression that said, 'I don't understand even a grain of rice of what you are talking about.'
"…Uh-taoist?"
"Is it dangerous? This place?"
"…"
At that moment, Namgung Dan felt that something was wrong between them.
"T-this situation is really strange, isn't it?"
"It definitely is odd."
Yoon Jong took one hand off the cliff and slowly scratched his head.
"That guy wasn't always so lax."
"Uh?"
"At best, what kind of training would it be if people climbed a cliff like this… people should be climbing a cliff at least half as high as the great mountain, but even though this is near the Yangtze River and there are no high mountains, this is…"
"… Uh?"
What on earth was this person talking about?
Yoon Jong let out a deep sigh as if he were worried.
"Since the Namgung family has made up their mind so firmly, we should do our best to respond, but I am worried because you are practicing too comfortably. I think it would be perfect if the cliff height were doubled and the slope a bit steeper."
… Was he even in his right mind?
Namgung Dan, speechless, stared blankly at Yoon Jong, forgetting for a moment that he was hanging from a cliff. Then he suddenly came to his senses and shouted.
"Isn't this a cliff, Taoist! If you fall, you will die!"
"… Uh?"
Then Yoon Jong glanced down again with a face that said, 'I have no idea what you are talking about.' Then he smiled very kindly.
"Ah, that is what you were worried about."
"Right! Exactly that…."
"If that is the case, you don't have to worry. You won't die."
"… Uh?"
Namgung Dan looked at Yoon Jong as if he had been hit on the back of the head out of nowhere. The smile on Yoon Jong's face was brighter and clearer.
"I have fallen from a place twice as high as here five or six times, but I didn't die."
"…"
"And falling is only scary at first, but later on, it becomes normal."
What really drove people insane was the fact that there wasn't a single hint of malice in any of the words that he said.
"So don't worry…"
"ACKKKKK!"
"Uh?"
Yoon Jong turned his head sharply. One of those who had climbed the cliff ahead of them screamed and fell down the cliff.
Thud!
"…"
The Namgung family swordsman, who had hit the ground, foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
Even after seeing that horrible sight, Yoon Jong shrugged his shoulders as if he were a big shot.
"Look. He is not dead."
"… he seems to be dead, though?"
"Haha. You are really good at joking."
Did this sound like a joke? This?
"Just what kind of training is this that we have to…"
Namgung Dan hurriedly shut his mouth without asking a question. Didn't he promise to never complain about training? He, of all people, couldn't break the promise.
"Ah, there is a clear reason for that."
"Uh?"
Yoon Jong smiled broadly and answered.
"There are many things that a swordsman needs, but the most important are the strength of his wrist and fingers. A swordsman who loses his sword while fighting is worse than a rock rolling on the ground, isn't that right?"
"…"
"That is why you need to train yourself not to lose strength in your grip, no matter what happens. There's no place like a cliff like this to embody the sense of crisis that your life will be lost the moment you lose strength in your hand."
Yoon Jong glanced down as he spoke. Namgung Dan desperately ignored the mumbling, 'I don't know if you can properly sense the crisis on such a low cliff.'
"Ah. And when you climb the cliff, your knees, ankles, and waist will naturally be trained. Also…"
Yoon Jong stopped talking and touched the rock that Namgung Dan was stepping on.
Then the rock snapped off, and Namgung Dan's body slid down.
"EUKKKKKK!"
Namgung Dan, who spread his arms and legs wide to the left and right, grabbed the cliff in shock. He barely managed to stop himself and turned around to look at Yoon Jong with a face covered in cold sweat.
"W-what is this…!"
"As you can see, all sorts of things happen on the cliff."
"That…"
Namgung Dan barely managed to suppress the words, 'What does that even have to do with this, you insane bastard!' Yoon Jong said calmly.
"Rocks break, and gusts of wind suddenly blow. Even a passing eagle might peck at your back."
"… Uh?"
"The battlefield is the same. When you are fighting, you might trip on a tree root and fall over, a broken sword might fly into your back, or even a fallen ally's sword might stab your leg."
"…."
"A swordsman needs to be able to respond quickly to all of those situations. That is why climbing cliffs is good training."
Yoon Jong gestured upward.
"… That's what he claimed. Well, I agree. It was very effective."
"…"
"So, hurry up and go up. If you waste time, you will be late for dinner."
Namgung Dan gulped dryly and looked down the cliff again.
The height he had climbed wasn't much different from the height he would climb up. At this point, it would be safer to go up than down this ridiculous cliff.
"Eukkk!"
Namgung Dan desperately reached out and grabbed the cliff.
'These bastards are all insane.'
"Hmm."
Chung Myung, who was lying on the cliff, lightly shook the bottle of alcohol in his hand.
Clank. Clank.
His brow furrowed slightly at the light sound.
"… Not much is left now."
Suddenly, irritation surged within him.
"How dare you waste so much time climbing a cliff! There, people are all constantly falling."
"This is their first time. It could happen."
"It could happen? Of course, it could happen. Of course."
"Uh?"
Chung Myung slightly stretched out his foot and placed it on something on the cliff. There were a lot of rocks the size of a person's head. Chung Myung smiled as he placed his foot on the base of the rock pile.
"But I wonder if they will think the same."
"…"
Cold sweat broke out on the back of Baek Cheon's head.
"… That… isn't that too much?"
"Uh? Too much?"
"Yes, Chung Myung. Think about it. Intense training is good, but people should gradually build up their skills from a level they can handle. First, calm down and…"
"Hmm."
Chung Myung nodded as if the words from Baek Cheon made sense.
"That's definitely what Sasuk said."
"T-that's right, right? So, first, get your feet out of there. Uh?"
"Right… Eukk!"
At that moment, Chung Myung stretched out his foot and rolled the pile of rocks toward the cliff.
Rumble!
"EUKKKK!"
"ACKKKKK!"
"The rocks are FALLINGGG!"
"What kind of bastard did this! Euk! What bastard!"
A desperate scream erupted from below. Baek Cheon closed his eyes tightly. When he opened them again a moment later, Chung Myung was smiling brightly.
"Eikk. My foot slipped."
'You demon.'
"Hehehehe."
Chung Myung crossed his arms and looked at the distant sky, laughing wickedly amid the screams and curses coming from below.
'So peaceful.'
The waters of the Yangtze River flowed powerfully. It made the situation of the Nine Great Sects and Four Precepts Alliance, who were facing each other across the river, seem insignificant.
It wasn't easy for the Nine Great Sects or the Four Precepts Alliance to make the first move in the current situation. That meant this peaceful daily life would be maintained for a while.
Well, the head of the abbot or that pathetic Jang Ilso must be filled with hard thoughts, but Chung Myung didn't even think of them.
"Hmm."
Chung Myung's gaze, which had been looking across the river as if exploring it, turned to the sky again.
As he slowly closed his eyes, the blowing wind tickled Chung Myung's cheek.
'I wish it could last a little longer.'
It was a small wish, embarrassing to even call it that.
But at this moment, a different movement from the wind of Chung Myung was taking place. A strong wind that no one in the world—not the abbot, not Jang Ilso, not even Chung Myung—could have expected was blowing, carrying the strong smell of blood.
It was the harbinger of a storm that would plunge the world into deep darkness once again.