You say it's like the Nine Great Sects.
That statement was utterly unbearable. How many times had Hyun Jong been disappointed by the hypocrisy of the Nine Great Sects?
But upon reflection, the words he uttered were not so different from the behavior of the Nine Great Sects. They hid their true feelings and repeatedly put on a good face, and what accumulated and festered was exactly what the Nine Great Sects have become now.
Chung Myung looked at Hyun Jong squarely and said.
"It's strange if there are no problems between people in the first place, so there's no way sects can harmonize without any issues."
"…"
"Of course there are problems. The important thing is how we solve those problems, isn't it?"
"That's true, but…"
The problem is that the way to solve them is quite unreliable, isn't it?
"Removing hypocrisy is a good thing. But if the result leaves only bad feelings between each other, isn't that worse than just pretending?"
The Nine Great Sects don't pretend out of desire. Fundamentally, society is a place where it's hard to reveal one's innermost feelings openly.
The phrase "friendly competition" sounds nice, but in reality, it's like dragons or unicorns—words exist but the substance does not. When people compete, it's natural to feel jealousy.
Chung Myung shrugged his shoulders.
"You might think that way, but ignoring problems because they're difficult isn't the solution, right?"
"Hmm…"
Hyun Jong suddenly felt this situation was quite strange.
Usually, he spoke the sound argument while Chung Myung often spouted sophistry. But now, the words coming from Chung Myung were closer to the sound argument.
The kind of sound argument that's hard to uphold and practice.
"I can't help but be worried."
"Sect leader."
Chung Myung looked at Hyun Jong with serious eyes.
"If they weren't Tang Gunak, Green Forest, or Namgung, what would you think?"
"Hmm?"
A firm voice came from Chung Myung's mouth.
"If there was a rift between the Baek disciples and the Chung disciples of Mount Hua, would you really tell them to just cover it up and pretend to be close like now?"
Hyun Jong pressed his lips tightly.
'Surely…'
If the Baek disciples and Chung disciples hid ill feelings and acted hypocritically, Hyun Jong would have tried to resolve it by any means.
Yes, by any means. Because that would never be good for Mount Hua as a whole.
"…Are you saying I am putting up walls against them?"
"It's not exactly a wall. But… you probably don't think of them as truly one huge sect."
Hyun Jong furrowed his brows. Is that really so? He wanted to deny it, but his mouth wouldn't easily open contrary to his thoughts.
Chung Myung shrugged and said.
"There's no need to be so serious. It's not as easy as it sounds, right?"
"…"
"I was the same. I thought this was enough. But… it wasn't."
Seeing Hyun Jong silent, Chung Myung smiled bitterly.
"If we talk about friends and such, we should consider them as one sect first. So far, what we've done is no different from saying our kids must train hard and suffer, but others' kids should be pampered and cherished."
"…"
"It looks like favoring others' kids on the surface, but in reality, it's just loving only our own. Shouldn't we stop that now?"
Hyun Jong gave a hollow laugh.
The Chung Myung he knew was fanatically devoted to Mount Hua. Sometimes, he felt Chung Myung cared for Mount Hua several times more than even the sect leader himself.
Such a person was saying not to discriminate between Mount Hua and other sects.
"…Chung Myung."
"Yes, Sect leader."
"Is that the right thing to do?"
"Yes. I think so."
"Even if problems arise because of that?"
"Yes. All problems cease to be problems once solved. The danger is not that problems arise, but that we blindly cover them up fearing problems might arise."
A sigh escaped from Hyun Jong's mouth.
"And."
"Hmm?"
Chung Myung grinned.
"If they fight and clash like that, they might not get along happily like before, but at least… they will be able to trust the one standing behind them on the battlefield."
"…"
"Isn't that enough?"
Hyun Jong shook his head.
"I thought you wanted a close friend. But now I see you want not a friend, but a comrade-in-arms."
"No. What I want is a true friend."
"…"
"Not just pretending to be close on the surface, but someone who insults and criticizes each other, yet runs to help first in times of crisis."
Tang Gunak, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, spoke up.
"So far, Mount Hua has fulfilled that role well."
"Yes, that's right. It happened that way somehow. But what I hope for is not that. I want everyone in the Heavenly Friends Alliance to have that kind of relationship."
"That's a difficult task."
"Yes, it is difficult."
Chung Myung said calmly.
"Of course, sustaining it will be difficult. But… if we try and make an effort, wouldn't it be possible for a while?"
"Until we face the Four Sects Alliance and the Demonic Cult?"
Chung Myung did not answer that. He just smiled slyly. Seeing that, Tang Gunak shook his head.
"It's closer to delusion than ideal… but anyway, I have no complaints about that."
"Yes?"
"Just the chance to reorganize Tang Family is enough to satisfy me."
After finishing, Tang Gunak muttered gloomily, "The final winner is Tang Family, damn Mount Hua bastards." Seeing this, Hyun Jong quickly gave Chung Myung a warning look, as if to say, "How can you say that while he's like that?"
But Chung Myung kept grinning. Hyun Jong finally sighed.
'When hasn't he been like this…'
Hyun Jong knew well that Chung Myung never acted without thought. This time, he was just more worried because it involved not only Mount Hua but other sects as well.
"Chung Myung."
"Ah, don't worry, Sect leader."
"…"
"There will be no problem."
Hyun Jong looked at Chung Myung with solemn, deep-set eyes.
'Still the same as ever.'
In truth, Hyun Jong did not want to protect Tang Gunak or other sects. He was worried that if serious problems arose from Chung Myung's actions, the responsibility would fall on Chung Myung himself.
But Chung Myung seemed to have already guessed Hyun Jong's feelings.
"Alright. I understand. If that is truly your will…"
Hyun Jong nodded heavily. In the end, he had no choice but to support Chung Myung.
"But Chung Myung, that's not the only problem."
"…What else is there?"
"I fully understand your thought that it's better to foster… no, to let this situation continue. But whether they can endure this situation is a separate matter, isn't it?"
"What do you mean by that…"
At that moment, Hyun Sang flipped through the ledger in his hand and spoke.
"Up to today, Namgung has fifteen injured and twenty lightly wounded. The Green Forest has twenty-eight injured, and the lightly wounded… are unaccounted for. Tang Family also has ten injured."
"We didn't bother counting the lightly wounded. Tang Family can treat those on their own."
"…So you say."
After Hyun Sang and Tang Gunak finished speaking, Hyun Jong frowned.
"Do you understand?"
"…"
"Recently, the frequency of injuries has sharply increased. Moreover, the severity of injuries is gradually worsening. To me, this seems less about intense training and more about bodies not being able to endure it."
"Uh…"
Hyun Jong smiled knowingly, as if there was no escape this time.
"No matter how good the training is, if the body can't endure it, it's useless, isn't it? You usually consider this, but it seems you missed it this time."
"No, but there's Tang Family…"
Chung Myung glanced at Tang Gunak, who quietly smiled.
"We're doing our best, but it's not easy."
"You're really doing your best, right? Really?"
"Haha. That's obvious. Do you think I discriminate against those who eat the same food because of petty pride?"
He didn't used to be like that. But lately, I've had some doubts…
"I swear I'm not."
"Ugh."
Of course, Tang Gunak believes him.
But I can't trust the Tang Gunak blood flowing in him. Because in that man's body flows the blood of a person who once calmly swindled with the most wronged face in the world.
"Tsk."
There is suspicion but no evidence. Chung Myung glanced suspiciously at Tang Gunak, then turned his gaze back to Hyun Jong.
"So it's better to patch things up moderately here. After all, if they become sickly and can't fight properly after finally uniting, it would be worse than not uniting."
"Ah, you don't have to worry about that."
"Yes, good thought… Huh? What did you say?"
"I said you don't have to worry."
"…Ah, no. Chung Myung."
"So you mean there must be a way for the kids to endure while maintaining the current situation."
"Is that… so?"
"Ehhh, Sect leader. Who am I? I've got all that prepared!"
"…Huh?"
Is there really a way for this?
"Well, what are you planning to do?"
The most practical way is to reduce training intensity, but that's practically impossible. This training isn't commanded by Chung Myung.
"How about the Mount Hua kids?"
"Huh? Mount Hua?"
Hyun Jong looked at Hyun Sang for an answer. Hyun Sang replied with a somewhat reluctant expression.
"Mount Hua… has about twenty lightly wounded and no injured."
"No, why?"
"…Well, maybe because they're unnecessarily sturdy?"
Chung Myung chuckled.
"The kids aren't sturdy just because they received Mount Hua's cultivation. That's all the result of continuous physical conditioning, isn't it?"
"…"
"Can't endure? Then make them endure. Don't make excuses to escape because you're weak."
"Chung Myung, what exactly have you prepared?"
"They'll probably arrive soon."
"What?"
"What… both what and who. The Beast Palace and Ice Palace will come soon. I've sent word through the Eunha Merchant Guild. They've been told to bring everything they've gathered over the past three years."
"…"
"If we shove a Heavenly Violet Pill into their mouths, they won't be able to rest even if they want to. At the same time, we should mix in the Beast Palace and Ice Palace people too. Those fellows have been living comfortably using the excuse of being far away, but we can't keep watching that."
"Uh… well…"
Chung Myung, you say you'll take care of the Ice Palace and Beast Palace too in such a strange way. It's easy for listeners to misunderstand…
"Hehehehehe!"
Chung Myung grabbed his belly and laughed heartily.
"We've been the only ones bleeding so hard all this time, we can't keep watching that. Now, if we die, we all die together! No one can ever say later that we didn't get anything and backed out! Uhehehehe!"
Ah… so it wasn't a misunderstanding.
Yes. Yes....