"Auuuuuu!"
Jo Gul stretched his body vigorously and got up.
"It feels so good to wake up!"
How long had it been since he slept in like this?
Since that demon bastard entered Mount Hua, the word "oversleep" had completely disappeared from the lives of the Third-class disciples. The phrase "night's sleep" itself barely held meaning, so how could oversleeping even be possible?
But today! On this historic day, even that damned guy couldn't do anything to them.
Jo Gul, having straightened his attire, stepped out of the room with confident strides.
"Are you awake?"
"Had a good sleep, sahyung!"
"Yes."
Yoon Jong smiled broadly as he faced Jo Gul. His face also gleamed with a healthy glow. Usually, his face was so dry it seemed like it would crumble at a touch…
"…It's truly amazing that a person's body can improve so much just by sleeping soundly."
"Exactly! If my body stays like this, I might even be able to take on that Chung Myung guy in a fight."
"No. That's going too far."
Yoon Jong chuckled and tilted his head as if recalling something.
"Wait a minute. Then…"
"Yes?"
"…Does that mean everyone else has been living like this?"
For a moment, the two looked at each other with blank faces.
"So this is my original physical condition?"
"Isn't that so?"
"…Damn, only the others knew how good this was. Why was I the only one unaware?"
Yoon Jong wiped the moisture welling up at the corner of his eyes.
Jo Gul said, "It's not that you didn't know, but that you forgot. And soon you'll forget again. As long as a demon lives in Mount Hua…"
Jo Gul cracked his neck.
"Anyway, my energy is overflowing. If I were told to rest for a whole day, I might have felt guilty and sneaked out to train, but since it's just half a day, I think this much is okay."
"I feel the same way."
Yoon Jong chuckled and walked toward the training ground. The sun was high in the sky, so it was time to train.
"The Tang family people must have had a hard time, right?"
"That's true, but…"
Yoon Jong shrugged his shoulders.
"Don't underestimate a prestigious sect. They were caught off guard suddenly, but a prestigious sect is prestigious for a reason. It's a different caliber; their original training wouldn't have been worse than this."
"No way."
"Hmm?"
Yoon Jong turned around. Tang Soso, who had approached quietly, was smiling meaningfully.
"If that were true, I wouldn't have been so shocked when I first entered Mount Hua."
"…"
"It's true the caliber is different, but the intensity is also different. There's not a single sect in the world that forces such insane training like Mount Hua."
"R-Really?"
"Other sects can't even make their disciples undergo this kind of training, even if they want to."
"Why?"
"Because people can't endure it."
Yoon Jong tilted his head in puzzlement.
"But we endured it, didn't we?"
"Look at this, sahyung."
Tang Soso looked at Yoon Jong as if he was being ridiculous.
"No, search the whole world. Do you think there's a sect that feeds their disciples spiritual pills like Mount Hua does?"
"…"
"Mount Hua's Heavenly Violet Pill is a medicinal pill that rivals Shaolin's Great Vitality Pill. In some ways, it's even more remarkable than the Great Vitality Pill. You know that, right?"
"Y-Yes."
Because it's the miraculous pill of spiritual pills.
"Even in Shaolin, the Great Vitality Pill isn't given to just anyone. It's carefully selected among those with proven talent, and only one pill is given at a time."
"That's right."
Tang Soso furrowed her brows deeply.
"But Mount Hua feeds them like they're eating some health tonics."
"…"
"Even Monk Hae Yeon has taken more Heavenly Violet Pill at Mount Hua than the Great Vitality Pill at Shaolin."
The two nodded silently as if their mouths were full of honey.
By that logic, Hae Yeon is bald and only uses Shaolin martial arts, but in reality, he should be considered a disciple of Mount Hua. People owe loyalty to the side that feeds them more, isn't that right?
"That's why only Mount Hua can endure this. Other sects would have had many cries by now. When young, the body can't endure the training, and when older and skilled, the inertia of training makes it hard to change. It's also an age hard to control."
"Indeed…"
Training a ten-year-old and a thirty-year-old can't be the same. Naturally, there would be resistance.
'If only he weren't someone like Chung Myung.'
If you rebel, you die. No, dying is better. And you can't even think of running away.
That's why such a person is bullying the entire Mount Hua, including the Tang family, Green Forest, and Namgung Family…
"Anyway, this isn't something you can do just because you want to. So your brothers and sisters must be dying right now."
"…I see."
"People think the core of Mount Hua is Chung Myung sahyung, but in my view, Heavenly Violet Pill is no less important."
"…Isn't that what you mean?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Because Chung Myung made Heavenly Violet Pill."
Tang Soso thought for a moment and then nodded.
"That's right…"
At that moment, Jo Gul, who had been silent as if thinking, spoke.
"Soso."
"Yes?"
"Then something's strange. Why don't other sects distribute their spiritual pills like that?"
Tang Soso looked at Jo Gul with eyes that said, 'What a clueless person.' Receiving that look, Jo Gul shrank his neck.
"Hey, sahyung, are you really the son of a merchant family?"
"W-What does that have to do with this?"
"Do you think the spiritual pills can be made just by willing it? Those spiritual pills require at least the inner core of a rare spirit beast or a medicinal herb that appears once in decades to be made."
"R-Really?"
"Even Tang Family's Heavenly Poison Pill requires rare poisons that are hard to find. What makes the Heavenly Violet Pill amazing is that it can be made from materials that a person can obtain if they really want to."
"Ah…"
Only then did Jo Gul understand everything and nodded.
"The old Heavenly Violet Pill from the practical days might have been more effective than the current one, but making one pill back then would require the effort of making hundreds of the current Heavenly Violet Pill."
"So, to conclude…"
"Hmm?"
Jo Gul grinned.
"It means even the Tang family people are on the verge of collapsing from lack of stamina."
"…That's true, but…"
If you cut off the front and back, that's what it means.
"Hehehe. That sounds like an interesting sight… Shall we go take a look?"
Yoon Jong frowned at Jo Gul's words.
"Maybe it's not something to say in front of Soso… But why do you have such a grudge against the Tang family? Being from Sichuan."
"It's because I'm from Sichuan."
"Why?"
Jo Gul clicked his tongue and looked back at Yoon Jong.
"Do you like the Southern Edge just because you're from Shaanxi?"
"…No way."
"It's similar. Since childhood, I've been so scared of Tang Family that it became a habit, so I developed a subconscious resentment towards them. I'm only now overcoming it."
Yoon Jong shook his head vigorously.
'You'll never fix that in your lifetime.'
Just look at Soso; he's still scared of her. How could he ever overcome Tang Family?
No… Is Soso even scarier than the Tang family??
Jo Gul chuckled, Yoon Jong shook his head, and Tang Soso wore a complicated expression as they entered the training ground. And…
"Ugh… It's cold."
"Suddenly, such a chill…"
The three shivered simultaneously.
"…Is it already winter?"
The three squeezed through the Mount Hua disciples already lined up in the training ground. Upon spotting a familiar back, they pressed close behind.
"Sasuk."
"Uh… yes?"
"Why is the atmosphere like this?"
"Well… it's because."
Baek Cheon opened his mouth as if to say something, then gestured forward.
"See for yourself."
"Yes?"
The three looked at the scene Baek Cheon pointed to. Their mouths dropped open simultaneously.
"Uh…"
"Wow…"
"Huh…"
There was nothing particularly different. The Tang family people were simply lined up in front of them, just like when training usually started.
If there was one minor difference…
"Oh no, brother…"
Tang Soso shivered.
The face of Tang Pae, the young leader of the Sichuan Tang family, was black and blue with bruises. It was so vivid that one might think it was painted on purpose.
"What state is…"
"What on earth…"
The swollen faces of the Tang family people looked ridiculous, but no one could laugh upon seeing them.
Because through their swollen, nearly shut eyes, a poisonous glare leaked out one after another.
"Mount Hua…"
"Bastards…"
"I'll kill them all."
Jo Gul flinched and stepped back.
Excuse me? We didn't make them like that, so why are we getting slapped for no reason…?
"Traitors…"
"Rotten Shaanxi bastards."
Wow… Even when facing the Four Sects Alliance, they wouldn't look at them with such eyes.
"Kuh, ahem."
Baek Cheon coughed loudly.
"It seems the Tang family lord is very angry."
"…I guess so."
"No matter how angry, to treat people like that…"
Tang Soso immediately rebutted.
"It's okay. Sichuan Tang Family's medical skills are the best. They were beaten just enough to be healed."
"…"
At times like this, you clearly realize where Tang Soso's bloodline comes from.
"Are we there yet?"
At that moment, Chung Myung, hands behind his back, walked out indifferently. He glanced over the Tang Family and Mount Hua facing each other.
"Uh… I originally had other things to do this afternoon."
No sooner had he said "other things" than the Tang Family people's gazes turned sharply to Chung Myung. If eyes could kill, Chung Myung's body would have been torn apart.
"…That might be a bit… uh… difficult."
Chung Myung averted his gaze slightly and looked at the distant sky.
'…I thought it was fortunate that your bloodline didn't continue.'
Come to think of it, since they're relatives, where else would the blood go?
Chung Myung quietly turned around. Tang Gunak, with a stern face and arms crossed, was staring at him fiercely.
He was clearly showing, "I will never say a word and will never interfere with your exclusive right to education, but this situation where you say you might be doing other training is very uncomfortable."
"Uh, well… haha. It would be a shame to end this without a fight, right?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than the Mount Hua guys desperately shook their heads.
They acted as if they were very, extremely, absolutely fine with it. As if there was not a shred of regret.
Of course, Chung Myung pretended not to notice.
"So, no choice. We'll fight again like yesterday… The winner gets half a day off tomorrow."
"W-Wait, Chung Myung. This doesn't seem right."
"Can't you see their eyes? They are going to kill us."
In the eyes of Mount Hua disciples, they saw Chung Myung looking embarrassed, uncharacteristically so, and Tang Gunak smiling contentedly as if finally pleased.
"Then, let's start…"
"Kill them!"
"Beat them all to death!"
"Bury them! Those apostates!"
Before the words ended, the Tang Gunak people drew their razor-sharp hidden weapons from their sleeves and charged.
"Hii, hiiiiik!"
"Dodge, dodge!"
Watching the hidden weapons rain down like hail from the sky, the Mount Hua disciples realized that something had seriously gone wrong.