"Aren't you holding your head properly?"
"Ughhh…"
"Ugh…"
Chung Myung's eyes sparkled fiercely as he looked at the hundreds of people with heavy stones hanging from their necks, bowing their heads to the ground. His sharp gaze mercilessly pierced the backs of the Heavenly Friends Alliance members.
"I showed some consideration that people usually don't, letting you rest a bit! And you couldn't stand it and started fighting?"
"…"
"You're protesting against me, right? You have so much energy you could die, but you rebel just because I let you rest? Huh?"
At that moment, Jo Gul, who was bowing his head, suddenly stood up and raised his hand.
"What?"
"You seem to misunderstand. We didn't fight because we had leftover energy."
"Then?"
Jo Gul shrugged his shoulders.
"We really had no strength, but when people get so pissed off, strength comes out on its own."
"Ah."
"Isn't it amazing? Haha."
Chung Myung nodded vigorously as if he understood.
"I think I get it, sahyung."
"Right?"
"Yeah. That's exactly how I feel right now, you bastard!"
Chung Myung kicked off the ground and his foot crashed into Jo Gul's face.
"Guh!"
As Jo Gul rolled on the ground, Chung Myung climbed onto his stomach. Soon, Chung Myung's upper body moved energetically from side to side for the first time in a while.
"Die! Die! Please just die!"
"Ah! Aah! Ah! Sa, save me…"
"Die! You bastard! Die!"
Jo Gul fought the Tang family during the day, got beaten up here and there at the diner in the evening, and now was enthusiastically beaten by Chung Myung, but unfortunately, no one here sympathized with him.
'He deserves to be hit.'
'Honestly, he has no excuse to say even if he dies.'
'Chung Myung, who has kept him alive until now, is a true taoist.'
It was a meaningful moment when the four sect members, who had been twisted in chaos, momentarily became one in spirit.
"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"
Chung Myung stood up, leaving the brutally sprawled Jo Gul behind, his eyes gleaming as he glared at the others.
Everyone quickly closed their eyes and avoided Chung Myung's gaze. If they met his eyes, they would end up like that too.
"I… yeah. I… was a bit thoughtless."
"…"
"Everyone is so strong and energetic. I worried for no reason."
Everyone here realized that even a person's voice could be so sharp with energy. It was a very unique experience, but also a frightening one.
"It's all my fault! All of it!"
"…"
"If I had known everyone was so strong and motivated, I would have increased the intensity earlier. Huh? It's my fault for not knowing you had leftover energy to fight even after all that training!"
"W-wait a minute, Chung Myung!"
Baek Cheon looked up in shock, but it was already too late.
"A man!"
Chung Myung stomped the ground loudly and shouted.
"Cannot keep making the same mistake. Yeah, exactly. Alright, let's see who dies first, you bastards! Let's try rolling you without sleep for three days…"
"We-we'll die doing that!"
"I'm telling you to die, you bastard!"
Chung Myung rolled his eyes and charged at Baek Cheon this time.
The training hall instantly turned into a mess. Hyun Jong, watching from a distance, buried his face in his hands and sighed in despair.
'How…'
They became the Heavenly Friends Alliance from Mount Hua, but how has nothing changed at all? How…?
Oh, Primordial Heavenly Lord…
"I feel like I'm going to die…"
"I'm already dead."
"So-Soso. I think my back is messed up."
"…There's some needles over there, so take them and stick them properly…"
The dying sounds escaped from the mouths of Mount Hua disciples sprawled on the floor.
The places hit while fighting the Tang family hurt, and the places bruised during the chaotic fight also ached. But the most painful parts were the back and knees overworked by Chung Myung's venting.
No, how could the places abused while rolling on the floor hurt more than those hit while fighting martial artists? At this point, Chung Myung's rolling might be considered an art form.
"…Who nagged at that Chung Myung bastard?"
"I think it was Baek Ah? I saw him running toward the door shortly after the fight started."
"Dirty weasel bastard… betraying the sworn brothers…"
"Ugh…"
While Tang Soso trembled with anger, Baek Cheon struggled to get up and sat on a chair.
"I'm dying…"
Baek Cheon, who was better than anyone at keeping his clothes neat, now had his clothes soaked with sweat and dirt, a complete mess. He was too exhausted even to think about washing up.
Jo Gul grumbled.
"Ugh. Those Tang bastards started trouble over nothing…"
"You better shut your mouth, you bastard!"
"Ah!"
Yoon Jong mercilessly kicked Jo Gul. Looking back, this could have been easily resolved if not for Jo Gul's meddling.
"Honestly, I just want to…"
Yoon Jong rolled his eyes, but Baek Cheon stopped him.
"Stop it, Yoon Jong. It's Gul's fault… no, it's that bastard's fault. Yes, he is completely wrong and clearly the root of all this, but it's not only his fault."
"There's a contradiction in your words, Sasuk."
"Ugh."
Baek Cheon sighed deeply and summarized.
"It's our fault for losing our temper."
"…Actually, they said things that could make anyone lose their temper."
"That's true."
There's nothing more infuriating than being underestimated after losing.
Baek Cheon clicked his tongue and looked at everyone with a slightly changed attitude.
"Speaking of which."
Baek Cheon's gaze turned to Tang Soso.
"Soso."
"Yes, Sasuk."
"What do you think about what the Tang family said?"
"What do you mean?"
"That… if they had used poison properly, none of us would have survived."
"Ah, that?"
Tang Soso nodded calmly.
"Yes. My brother crossed the line a bit. He shouldn't have said that. From now on, don't worry about me and just beat them freely."
"Ah, no, that's not what I meant."
"Yes?"
Seeing Tang Soso questioning as if she did nothing wrong, Baek Cheon broke into a cold sweat.
"I'm asking what would have happened if the Tang family had really used poison properly."
"Ah… so that's what you meant."
Tang Soso slightly frowned.
"Well, if you think about it, neither the sasuks nor the brothers did it properly. The essence of Mount Hua swordsmanship… though it's awkward for me to say, lies in the killing sword, but that can't be used in regular sparring."
"That's right."
"But in such a situation, the Tang family would have unleashed their secret deadly poisons and forbidden hidden weapons, dangerous weapons banned from use…"
Tang Soso rested her chin as if pondering.
"Hmm. This is a bit difficult…"
When she hesitated to answer, Baek Cheon nodded as if he had guessed.
"The Tang family would have won."
"Ah, no. Not necessarily."
"No. I thought the same."
Then Jo Gul got angry.
"What are you saying, Sasuk! We would never lose! That's impossible."
"Listen to me till the end."
"Yes?"
Baek Cheon sighed and said.
"If we face the Tang family for the first time, we will definitely lose to them. We are not familiar with poison or hidden weapons. Haven't we ever faced fighters like the Tang family before?"
"Th-that's true, but…"
"We know the Tang family somewhat. Or maybe we were confident we did. But that's the Tang family as allies, not as enemies."
"…"
"Even though we can somewhat resist poison with the Heavenly Violet Pill, many fell in the first ambush. That means if we don't prepare in advance, we can be defeated even when we could have avoided it."
Jo Gul, who was the first among the Five Swords to be poisoned by a poison needle, quietly closed his mouth. There was no excuse.
"If we suddenly met the Tang family as enemies on the battlefield, do you really think we could have shown our true strength? The side suffering greater damage would definitely have been us."
"Ugh."
Jo Gul, lost for words to refute, groaned.
"So, are you saying we're still weaker than the Tang family? Even though their elders didn't participate?"
"It's a bit different in meaning."
"Yes?"
"We will definitely lose the first clash, but after fighting twice, we'll improve, and after ten fights, I'm confident we'll win. That is, if the Tang family doesn't evolve from start to finish."
Yoon Jong nodded.
"I understand what you mean."
You lose because you don't know your opponent. But once you get used to them, you can handle them.
At that moment, Yu Yiseol, who had been silently listening, suddenly stretched out her hand with her palm visible.
Everyone looked at her, puzzled by the strange gesture.
"Five times."
"…"
"Five times is enough."
A smile appeared on Baek Cheon's lips.
"If the samae says so, five times will do."
Tang Soso made a complicated and strange expression with those words. It seemed like a boast to adapt so easily to the poisonous and hidden weapon techniques of the Sichuan Tang family, but on the other hand, it didn't sound completely wrong.
"As you all know, Chung Myung… that damn demon bastard… that useless stick, a cursed evil spirit crawling up from hell…"
"Calm down, Sasuk."
"Ahem, yes. Anyway, none of the training that bastard orders is meaningless. This isn't just about fighting to determine rank. It surely means to let us experience the Tang family's poison and hidden weapon techniques."
"…And also chaotic fights."
"Yes, chaotic fights. And… it probably means to physically feel the clashes that occur when multiple sects are mixed in one place."
Baek Cheon continued in a meaningful tone.
"Soon, we will have to experience that in a more intense form."
At those words, the Mount Hua disciples instinctively thought of the Four Sects Alliance and Jang Ilso, their expressions becoming extremely serious. Then Jo Gul spoke.
"No, you're thinking too positively. With that bastard's personality, he might have just been annoyed and tormented us."
"…"
"He probably found it convenient not to have to give orders here and there, and since everyone was dying, it was easier for him."
Everyone looked back at him.
Then Jo Gul reflexively made a wronged expression.
"Are you going to say I'm wrong again?"
"…No. You have a point."
"Very convincing indeed."
"Actually, my gut feeling is closer to that side."
Everyone sighed as if by agreement.
Of course, it's something that shouldn't happen logically, but isn't it stranger to expect common sense from someone who charges at Jang Ilso in anger and attacks the Shaolin abbot?
"A-anyway…"
Baek Cheon cleared his throat and tried to manage the situation.
"The training we have to do from now on is clear, so now we prepare for that side…"
"From now on?"
"Huh?"
Jo Gul's face twisted in anger.
"Are you saying we have to keep doing this from now on?"
"…"
"This crazy thing?"
"… I agree it's crazy, but don't we need experience to face the Shaolin?"
"Four Sects Alliance? Four Sects Alliance?"
Jo Gul said as if he couldn't understand at all.
"No, Sasuk. If we keep doing this, the Heavenly Friends Alliance will collapse from internal strife before even facing the Four Sects Alliance."
"…"
"Two days ago, the Tang family was our ally. But now?"
"Damn those poison dealers."
"Cowardly bastards."
"Country bumpkins from Sichuan."
"I'll kill them!"
Jo Gul scoffed.
"Look at this. I guarantee that in just a few more days, even eye contact will lead to stabbing. And if the Green Forest King and the easily angered Namgung's young lord get involved, the Yangtze River will be dyed red in no time."
"…"
"The Heavenly Friends Alliance is finished now. No dreams, no hope."
Damn, today he keeps saying things that are right.
What a strange day…