The light stung so much that he couldn’t open his eyes.
When he slowly opened his half-closed eyes again, he saw the figures of the Five Swords waiting for him.
“...”
Chung Myung looked at them in silence.
Although they probably had a lot of questions, none of them asked Chung Myung anything.
Some greeted him with stern faces, while others smiled at him.
“For now....”
“Let’s head back to Mount Hua.”
Baek Cheon cut off Chung Myung’s words.
“What are you going to do about the guy down in the village? I think if we take him with us, it would be a burden.”
Jo Gul, instead of Chung Myung, responded to Baek Cheon with a pessimistic tone.
“Well, I gave him a brief warning, so there won’t be any major problems, right? If he makes another mistake, we can just catch him and beat him up.”
“... if he can go through something like this and still have another accident, he must be a great person. From then on, I admit it.”
“Uh?”
Jo Gul shook his head at Yoon Jong’s words.
Actually, it wasn’t that big of a deal to them anymore. Fighting with the Golden Sword clan, engaging in life-or-death battles with the Iron Rabbit clan, or encountering the unexpected Ten Thousand People Clan members and cutting off their heads...
Uh...
Looking back, it wasn’t normal, right?
‘Anyway.’
It might not be a big deal to them, but for ordinary warriors, it was an enormous event that they might experience at least once in their lives. If you went through something like that one after another and still had the guts to be a fraud, that should be a talent.
“Let us head back first. I don’t think this is a situation we need to worry about.”
When Tang Soso also agreed and stepped ahead, Baek Cheon nodded.
“Let us not waste time and leave right away.”
Chung Myung watched in silence as the sahyungs agreed and talked in unison.
There were probably countless things they wanted to ask.
But the reason Chung Myung wasn’t given a chance to speak was to ease the burden he carried.
Kuk.
Chung Myung’s hand, which was clutching his clothes, clenched tighter.
‘That is so fucking pathetic of me.’
He thought he had to be strong.
Even if he didn’t want to do it, he believed that punishing someone would be enough.
Looking at these pale-faced young people, he realized how stupid he had been.
“Let’s head back, Chung Myung. I need to report to the sect leader.”
Chung Myung nodded at Baek Cheon’s words.
Now wasn’t the time to be sentimental.
His sajae had been alone in this lonely place for too long. We had to take him to Mount Hua as soon as possible and let him rest.
“Right. Sasuk, let’s start....”
At that moment, Chung Myung suddenly closed his mouth.
His gaze fell on the bushes behind Baek Cheon. Baek Cheon, too, looked back in shock as Chung Myung’s face turned cold.
‘When...?’
Yu Yiseol tightly gripped her sword handle. Only then did the rest of the disciples notice the presence surrounding them.
“Who are you?”
Baek Cheon commanded.
“Come out!”
The bushes shook lightly at his cold voice.
Flutter.
The sound of stepping on grass and wind moving, and soon a group of men in red blood robes and grey robes appeared, surrounding Mount Hua’s disciples.
“...”
Baek Cheon went silent.
‘This won’t be easy.’
There was no sign of threat whatsoever.
But still, the hair on his body stood up. Even before his head could think, his body had sensed their capabilities and warned him.
It wasn’t that he didn’t think about the Ten Thousand People clan.
But he never thought they would lead their troops to the mountains like this.
‘It was my mistake.’
Even though he knew the status of Mount Hua had changed, he still thought and acted like in the past, ignoring it all, and that resulted in this.
“Our side, too, has its own reasons.”
“Reasons, everyone has them.”
“Is this something that cannot be resolved with words?”
“It seems like a question that doesn’t need an answer.”
Baek Cheon was about to speak.
Step.
Chung Myung, who was silently observing the situation, stepped forward without a word.
“Oh, you, Mount Hua’s Divine....”
Ho Ga-Myung was about to greet Chung Myung but went silent. The moment his eyes met Chung Myung’s, it felt like an ice cave had collapsed onto him.
‘... What?’
He, too, had been through hellish situations before reaching his current position. But even he was trembling as if the soul within his body had frozen.
Shhh.
Chung Myung stepped forward and drew his sword without another word.
“Now, I...”
“...”
“I am not interested in talking.”
Ho Ga-Myung was at a loss for words. It was that shocking.
‘Is he the same person?’
Of course, Chung Myung wasn’t all that impressive when they visited Mount Hua before. Even the face he showed when defeating their men and talking to his lord left an impression on Ho Ga-Myung.
But Chung Myung seemed like a different person now.
Even though he just pulled the sword out, it felt like the sword was cutting through his entire body. In the end, he couldn’t handle it and stepped back.
‘Just where did he come from....’
“I would kill you all if I could, but... I do not have the time for that now. Leave quietly. Those who retreat will not be cut down.”
Chung Myung warned them in a very low voice as he looked at everyone.
“If not, you die.”
In response to that threat, a killing intent appeared on the face of Ho Ga-Myung.
Now that they had seen the true face of Chung Myung, there was just one thing he could think of.
Must kill.
The clan leader needed this man, but Ho Ga-Myung had other ideas. Anyone who raised a tiger cub thought they could control it.
Only when the tiger cub turned into a real tiger and sank its fangs into one’s neck would one realize that there were things in the world that could not be achieved through hard work alone.
The clan leader wasn’t an ordinary person, but this boy was no less extraordinary. Ho Ga-Myung had no intention of ignoring the immediate threat in order to achieve greater results.
He had originally planned to leave Chung Myung alive, but at this moment, the plan changed. The others were pretty skillful, but this man had to be dealt with! No matter the sacrifice, he had to kill this man here.
Tak.
The cigarette burning between his lips fell. At the same time, a loud shout came out of Ho Ga-Myung’s mouth.
“Kill him! That one needs to be killed!”
Taking the signal from his words, those surrounding them began to rush in.
“Be prepared then!”
At the sharp shout from Chung Myung, the disciples of Mount Hua gathered around Tang Soso.
The red-robed men who rushed in had blood-like qi at the end of their rapiers, which was terrifying to see.
‘Enhanced qi?’
Chung Myung’s face turned cold.
But then.
Kwaaaang!
A huge explosion happened ahead. The man who was running in front soon turned into a mist of blood and was thrown back.
“...”
Chung Myung, who was about to swing his sword, turned his gaze with a stern look. Mount Hua’s disciples also looked in the same direction, though they didn’t know why.
“Tsk tsk... you did something stupid.”
They heard a familiar voice. A man in clothes that looked familiar but were far from normal walked out leisurely.
“Ga-Myung, Ga-Myung. I told you not to be like this. Tsk tsk. Tsk.”
Hegemony Lord, Jang Ilso.
At that moment, a bright blue qi appeared in Chung Myung’s eyes.