"…Ugh. My body feels so battered everywhere."
Tang Zhan rubbed his aching jaw. That damn Jo Gul's strike still throbbed painfully.
"Damn bastard…"
Even Jo Gul's fierce, deadly gaze was still vivid. That was definitely a punch thrown at him with genuine emotion.
Tang Zhan, grinding his teeth, screamed and clutched his jaw. Grinding his teeth only made the pain worse.
"Next time, I'll definitely kill that bastard!"
Tang Zhan trembled with his fist, raw hatred exposed. He felt foolish for once having good feelings toward someone from his hometown.
"Hyung. Those Mount Hua bastards, they go too far… hyung?"
Tang Zhan casually spoke to Tang Pae but tilted his head in confusion. Tang Pae sat on the bed with a clearly serious expression, deep in thought.
"Hyung, are you alright?"
"Hmm."
A low groan escaped from Tang Pae's lips as he pondered.
"It hurts a lot, doesn't it?"
"…"
"That person is really ruthless."
At those words, Tang Pae unconsciously rubbed his eye socket. The eye where Yu Yiseol's palm had struck was now black and bruised.
"Soso noona kept saying 'Sago, sago' while following, so I wondered why… Indeed, she is no ordinary person. So don't make such a face. Sometimes you get hit in life."
"That's not it."
"…Yes?"
Tang Pae suddenly frowned deeply.
Tang Zhan thought he was upset because he got hit by a woman. Of course, the Sichuan Tang Family basically does not teach martial arts to women of the family, so it is rare for them to be struck by women. So depending on perspective, it could be shocking.
But the reason Tang Pae was serious now was not that.
"Zhan."
"Yes, hyung."
"…Are you alright?"
"Me? I'm fine. My teeth feel a bit loose, but this much is nothing…"
"No, that's not what I meant."
Tang Pae shook his head.
"We lost again, didn't you?"
"Ah, you mean that."
Tang Zhan scratched his head.
"No. Well… we did lose, but if you think about it, it wasn't really a loss, right? If we had used poison and secret techniques for combat, we would have definitely won."
"Do you really think so?"
Tang Zhan was about to answer yes, but seeing Tang Pae's expression, he closed his mouth. Tang Pae looked more serious than expected.
"Of course, if we had used our deadly poison and combat secret techniques without regard for the opponent's damage, the situation might have improved. But wouldn't Mount Hua be the same?"
"What do you mean by that…?"
"Because it was a sparring match, your jaw hurts and my eye is bruised. If it had been real combat, your neck would have been cut and my eye gouged out."
Only then did Tang Zhan's face turn serious as well. Tang Pae sighed deeply and spoke.
"They are swordsmen. Especially Mount Hua's swordsmanship is said to be more vicious than the Evil Sect. Do you think they would have to strike a person twice in real combat?"
"…"
"The sword I saw on Plum Blossom Island was simpler and more brutal than any sect's sword. If that sword had been wielded against us today… they wouldn't have needed to waste time defeating us. The moment we entered the sword's range, our lives would have ended."
Tang Zhan could not refute that statement.
If today's sparring had been a real combat, what he would have seen was not Jo Gul's face grinning fiercely as he struck his jaw, but the cold back of Jo Gul walking away after cutting his neck.
Thinking that way sent a chill down his spine.
"Of course, if it had been real combat, they wouldn't have been able to injure us. But… no matter how I think about it, I don't believe the outcome would have changed."
"…Hyung."
"There is nothing more foolish than trying to deny what cannot be denied. The important thing is not to deny the facts but how to solve the problem. What do you think is the problem of the Sichuan Tang family now?"
Tang Zhan fell into thought at Tang Pae's question. When trying to find the problem, there was more than one.
"There are many things that come to mind… but I think there is one decisive issue."
"What is it?"
"Real combat experience."
Tang Pae nodded strongly.
"I was thinking the same."
There was a reason the two thought the same problem. After this sparring, they realized that the Tang family members had no real experience fighting certain other sects properly.
"…There was no such problem on Plum Blossom Island…"
"That was an illusion."
At Tang Zhan's grumble, Tang Pae spoke bitterly.
"Back then, we rejoiced that the Tang family's dignity was displayed to the world… but looking back, it wasn't the Tang family's doing but Mount Hua's greatness. They blocked all attacks aimed at the us, the Tang family and even cleared the path, didn't they?"
"They even dealt with the water pirates targeting us underwater."
"Yes. But we thought that was the skill of Tang family. It was like an archer boasting about his achievements while a comrade risked his life holding up a shield to protect him."
At that harsh evaluation, Tang Zhan bit his lip slightly.
It was a cold assessment, but he could not refute it. He knew that the one who would feel worse hearing this was Tang Pae.
"Without experiencing real combat, you cannot find the problems. Only after this sparring did I see the problems the Alliance has."
Tang Zhan nodded. Hearing that, he felt many things.
The Tang family is arguably the best sect in the world when fighting at a distance, but once the distance closes, they cannot demonstrate even half their skill.
The problem is that the battles they will face from now on are likely chaotic fights with enemies attacking from all sides. Without protection in such situations, can you not easily imagine what fate awaits them?
Tang Zhan, deep in thought with a stern face, suddenly raised his head and looked at Tang Pae.
"By the way, hyung."
"Hmm?"
"Then… did Mount Hua's Sword Saint anticipate all this and create this situation?"
"Probably."
Tang Pae gave a bitter smile.
"It probably meant for us to experience and feel it ourselves. Mount Hua's Sword Saint is unrivaled in real combat, so wouldn't he have clearly seen the problems the Tang family has?"
"Even the family lord didn't know… or maybe he did… but still, Mount Hua's Sword Saint pointed out those parts first?"
"Don't be mistaken."
At that moment, Tang Pae's voice lowered slightly.
"The family lord may be a stronger master than Mount Hua's Sword Saint, but that is a separate matter from real combat experience."
"…"
"While other sects were exposed to life-or-death battles, the Tang family always took a step back. Even during the Yangtze River disaster, where even the Nine Great Sects risked their lives, or the recent Hangzhou Ma Hua incident, the Tang family did not participate, did they?"
"…That's true, but still."
"In nearly ten years, the only real combat we've experienced was on Plum Blossom Island. But Mount Hua's Sword Saint has been fighting enemies threatening his life for years. Their Main sect was attacked by the Ten Thousand People Clan, they fought the Demonic Cult in the North Sea, fought Jang Ilso in the middle of the Black Dragon Pirates, and now this."
Tang Zhan felt dizzy and could not say a word.
"It's true we've considered Mount Hua friendly, but perhaps because of that familiarity, we underestimated the sect and Mount Hua's Sword Saint. They are more formidable than we thought."
Tang Zhan sighed deeply.
"Then they could have just told us."
"Would we have understood?"
"…"
"We would have pretended to understand, but not truly internalized it. People always take things they haven't experienced roughly."
Tang Pae rubbed around his aching eye.
"If that's the price for such a lesson… this level of injury is cheap."
Tang Zhan stared blankly at Tang Pae. Tang Pae asked with a puzzled look.
"What is it?"
"No, it's nothing."
Tang Zhan did not answer and shook his head.
At times like this, he realized why Tang Pae was the young lord of the Sichuan Tang family and he was just the son of Tang Gunak. It was hard to say it was just age. Their capacity and perspective were different.
Once, he dreamed that Tang Pae might fall and he might become family lord, but now it seemed laughable.
"Brother. Then what should we do now?"
"We must experience it."
Determination flashed across Tang Pae's face.
"Didn't Mount Hua's Sword Saint carefully set the stage like that? Didn't he generously send his most precious disciples to compensate for our lack of real combat? Then isn't it our duty to gratefully make use of that?"
"I understand what you mean."
"However."
"Yes?"
Tang Pae smiled gently.
"But that doesn't mean we can keep getting beaten like this. Gather the others."
"What do you intend to do…?"
"The family lord or Mount Hua's Sword Saint doesn't want us to just clash and break. They want us to desperately think, improve, and find a way to stand equal to Mount Hua."
"…"
"This is not a problem that you and I alone can solve. We need to listen to more people and have more people think about it."
"But hyung… if we do that, your authority will…"
"Nonsense. Within Mount Hua, Mount Hua's Sword Saint's authority is stronger than anyone's. But does Mount Hua's Sword Saint ever cover his ears and shout that everyone must obey him?"
"He seems like he does that though?"
"…"
Tang Pae was speechless and made a blank expression.
"Well… uh… no. Well… yes, but… ahem!"
Tang Pae quickly cleared his throat to lighten the mood.
"Anyway, in my view, what we must do is not assert authority. Perhaps Mount Hua's strength comes from distributing power from top to bottom and communicating openly without formality. There is a perfect example right in front of us, so closing our eyes and ears and sticking to old ways is just foolish."
Tang Pae smiled warmly.
"Let's open up a bit more. Mount Hua's Sword Saint asking us to do this now means he wants to come closer and open his heart a bit more. Even someone with so much in life is opening up; why should we close ourselves tightly and just protect what we have?"
Tang Zhan shook his head at those words.
"To be honest, I don't quite understand your words. Mount Hua is just a rising sect, and our Sichuan Tang family has proven its strength as the ruler of Sichuan for hundreds of years. Naturally, there will be resistance from everyone."
"…That might be true."
"But…"
Tang Zhan looked Tang Pae firmly in the eyes.
"I will follow your words. But please understand, it's not because Mount Hua looks great to me, but because the one giving the order is none other than you."
Tang Pae was silent for a moment as if at a loss for words, then bowed his head deeply and spoke softly.
"Thank you."
"Then I will go now."
"Alright."
After Tang Zhan hurriedly left the room, Tang Pae sighed deeply.
'I thought too easily.'
He thought that if everyone gathered with one mind, everything would be easily solved. But the moment different people gathered, what appeared were differences and their own shortcomings.
"Even so, I cannot ignore it."
Tang Pae lightly clenched his fist.
Even if Mount Hua leads the Heavenly Friends Alliance, they never intended to remain mere supporting roles. The Tang family will never be Mount Hua's assistants. Sometimes they will lead Mount Hua, and always be a sect Mount Hua can lean on.
That was the pride of the Tang family and the pride of Tang Pae, the young family lord.
"But first… we must let those Mount Hua demons know what defeat is. Let them feel exactly what we felt."
Tang Pae ground his teeth fiercely.
Unfortunately, he did not realize that his expression was gradually becoming like the Mount Hua demons'.