Bankruptcy? As If, You Bastards! (1)
"By the way."
"Hm?"
Un Geom lowered his head and looked at the child walking beside him.
What a bold little brat.
Anyone thrust into a new environment would normally be wary.
A child who had entered an unfamiliar place like Mount Hua at such a young age should have been terrified out of his wits, yet there was not the slightest sign of that in him.
His shuffling steps carried not tension, but annoyance.
Un Geom studied Chung Myung with curious eyes. Then Chung Myung suddenly asked,
"When was Baekmae Hall built?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I heard that most sects teach their disciples through master-disciple bonds."
"Hmm."
"But everyone’s gathered in a place like that, so it seemed a little strange."
Un Geom’s brow twitched faintly.
He’s poking right at the sore spot.
Traditionally, Mount Hua had also adhered to transmission through master-disciple bonds. A newly admitted child would be assigned to an instructor from a higher generation, and that instructor would teach them while strictly observing Mount Hua’s rules.
Those countless master-disciple relationships had together formed the great sect that was Mount Hua.
The reason that system had collapsed was none other than Mount Hua’s downfall.
"There’s nothing strange about it. It was simply more efficient."
"Then are you staying in Baekmae Hall too, Martial Uncle?"
"...No."
Chung Myung gave a slight nod. At the reaction, Un Geom frowned.
Weird kid.
There was no answer there that should have satisfied the question. And yet Chung Myung nodded as if he understood, then lost interest and looked away.
Un Geom had no idea what, exactly, he had understood.
By default, everyone who first entered Mount Hua was sent to Baekmae Hall. In other words, Un Geom, who served as the hall leader, was the first person to size up Mount Hua’s new disciples.
He had seen plenty of children, but this one felt different from the rest. How should he put it? He couldn’t explain it precisely, but there was a calmness to him that didn’t suit a child.
An interesting one’s come in.
While Un Geom slowly sized Chung Myung up, Chung Myung was thinking something entirely different.
So they ran.
He could roughly guess what had happened.
Just by looking around Mount Hua as a whole, it was obvious that there were far too few people. Considering how many third-generation disciples had remained when he charged into the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, the number had dropped by an absurd amount.
Had they only maintained that headcount, Mount Hua wouldn’t be this empty. In other words...
All those bastards left Mount Hua one by one.
The numbers wouldn’t have dropped all at once.
But on a sinking ship, there would always be people trying to escape. As more and more abandoned Mount Hua and left, the ones left behind would inevitably lack teachers.
It would have been fine if the ones leaving were those who hadn’t taken disciples. But if those who had stayed with Mount Hua for years and were even raising disciples themselves turned their backs on the sect, then the remaining disciples would have nowhere to go. There was only so much another teacher could cover in their place.
So this system must have been a desperate workaround. If they gathered the children in one place and taught them collectively, they wouldn’t have to worry as much about the shortage of instructors.
"Tch."
Chung Myung clicked his tongue.
So what?
Something being different from the past wasn’t something to condemn. Chung Myung, unlike that stubborn senior brother at the head of the sect, was a pragmatist. Results mattered more than clinging to tradition.
If building Baekmae Hall gave Mount Hua a way to survive, then so be it. It did feel a little bitter, though...
The hearts of the kids who had to make Baekmae Hall must’ve been even more torn apart.
Knowing that, Chung Myung’s mood grew a little heavy.
No. This isn’t the time to think about that.
There were enough others to feel miserable. His job was not to be swayed by emotion, but to turn Mount Hua back into the great sect it had once been.
The Third Training Ground.
The sight of the Third Training Ground opened before him. A high platform had been built at the far end of a wide open yard, and before it stood a mass of small children.
Oh?
Chung Myung tilted his head.
There seemed to be more third-generation disciples than he had expected. Compared to the past, they were still a handful at best, but considering Mount Hua’s current condition, they must have accepted quite a few disciples.
"Prepare your swords!"
"Taaaat!"
At the command, the swords all pointed forward in unison.
Oh?
Chung Myung watched the scene with interest. Mount Hua was a rather free-spirited sect. It was sometimes criticized for being too worldly, but that wasn’t because it ignored Daoist teachings. Rather, it was because it believed forcing Daoist teachings upon disciples was itself contrary to the Dao.
Thanks to that, large-scale training scenes like this were rare in Mount Hua. There was a sense of belonging, yes, but also respect for one another’s differences. That was the Mount Hua Chung Myung knew.
This is interesting.
In a sect like that, seeing more than a hundred people learning the same sword form all at once was certainly fascinating.
Even Chung Myung himself had never trained this way, aside from matching swords with his senior brothers while practicing the Seven Star Sword Array. And the Seven Star Sword Array was only a formation of seven at most.
"Reverse the sword!"
Whoosh!
More than a hundred swords flipped in unison, flashing with light.
Watching that, Chung Myung let out an admiring exclamation.
"Whoa..."
"Is it that impressive?"
"...?"
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Un Geom’s lips.
"There’s no need to be surprised. If you train hard, you’ll soon be able to stand like those children too."
"...Yes, sir."
Chung Myung’s answer came out a little strangely, but Un Geom only took it as the response of a child struck dumb by admiration and charitably assumed he had been captivated by the scene.
Of course, Chung Myung’s thoughts were the exact opposite.
What the hell are they even doing?
The more he watched, the narrower Chung Myung’s eyes became.
"Single sword!"
The children in their uniforms all darted forward at once and thrust their swords ahead. The sword forms were precise in a way that did not suit their age, and fierce as well.
"Th—"
"Hm?"
"What sword art is that?"
"What do you mean?"
"Ah... the sword technique."
Un Geom nodded as if he understood and answered.
"The sword art your senior brothers are performing now is called the Six Harmony Sword."
"Six... Harmony?"
"That’s right. More precisely, it should be called the True Six Harmony Sword. It is a sword art that our forefathers modified to be more practical than the Six Harmony Sword passed down through Mount Hua. It is the foundation of all Mount Hua martial arts."
"..."
"It isn’t easy to learn, but if you devote yourself to it, you will surely see results. You should go stand at the back as well. It will be awkward at first, but for today, simply think of it as getting used to the atmosphere. The detailed instruction will take place within the next two weeks."
Chung Myung walked toward the back with a dazed expression.
He must be frightened.
Seeing that, Un Geom frowned slightly.
Kids these days have no spirit.
Well...
Un Geom glanced at the children.
It was only natural for a young child not to be scared when seeing older disciples training with real swords? Even those fearless brats who, upon entering the sect, would brag about becoming the number one expert in the world still shook like leaves the moment they saw real blades.
He would get used to it soon enough, but perhaps it was best not to expect too much from that child.
But Chung Myung, now standing in the back row, was thinking something entirely different.
What the hell are these idiots doing?
Practical?
Practical, my ass.
Practical my foot.
Those filth-drenched idiots!
What was an introductory martial art, anyway?
An introductory martial art was precisely the kind of training that taught children, who knew nothing at all, what martial studies were. It was like a primer in a village school.
But what would happen if, in an attempt to teach children faster, you handed them the Analects and used that to teach them the primer?
For a little while, they would be ahead. Just a little while. They could recite the Analects that the other children had never even heard of. But could those children truly understand its deeper meaning?
This was how you ruined children.
No, fine. I get it.
Because they were in such a rush, they probably needed this kind of shortcut. The Analects had been too far, sure. The practical subtleties contained in the Six Harmony Sword those children were learning weren’t nearly that profound.
But still!
"If you’re going to do that, at least make the instruction look convincing."
"Huh?"
"Hm?"
Apparently his thoughts had spilled out of his mouth, because the children around him all turned to stare. Chung Myung looked at the baffled faces aimed his way, then quickly shook his head. The children looked at him suspiciously.
At that moment, the second-generation disciple standing on the platform bellowed,
"During training, who said you could look elsewhere!"
"Eep!"
"S-sorry."
"Anyone who looked away, horse stance!"
"Ughhhh."
"Aigoo!"
The children groaned and took up horse stance. They rested their swords across both hands and bent their knees. Watching that, Chung Myung clicked his tongue.
Then the second-generation disciple’s gaze speared into him.
"And you?"
"Yes?"
"Why aren’t you in horse stance?"
"I wasn’t looking away."
"..."
"..."
The second-generation disciple glared, then nodded. Not wrong.
"Continue! Reverse the sword!"
The commands kept coming.
Chung Myung looked at the second-generation disciple demonstrating on the platform, then lifted his gaze to the sky.
The sky really was blue.
So clear, with not a single cloud in it... it was just like looking at the future of Mount Hua, empty of everything.
How the hell am I supposed to fix this?
Becoming the number one expert in the world alone wasn’t all that difficult. He had deep experience and a long future ahead of him. If anything, the difficult part was not becoming the number one expert in the world.
But Mount Hua was another matter.
There was no money. There were no people. Their martial arts had been wrecked beyond belief. To change Mount Hua while only a third-generation disciple... that was harder than turning a worm into a dragon.
"Haaah..."
Then a sharp voice cut into his ears.
"Hey."
"...Hm?"
"You’re new, right?"
...
Calling a fellow third-generation disciple new? Just how far had this damn sect fallen?
"And?"
"I’ll deal with you later. I’m not letting this slide."
Chung Myung clicked his tongue.
"Fine, fine. But let me ask you one thing."
"What, are you crazy? You really don’t know your place, talking down to me?"
"I said I’d listen, so answer first. Then I’ll let you do whatever you want."
"What?"
"What else do you learn here besides this?"
"This?"
"This Six Harmony thing or whatever."
"After learning the True Six Harmony Sword, you learn the Seven Sages Sword. After that, once you graduate from Baekmae Hall, you learn the Sochung Sword Art."
"Sochung?"
"Yeah. And after that, you get to learn the Taeul Mystery Sword Art, which is the essence of Mount Hua’s martial arts."
"...Taeul Mystery Sword Art?"
"Yeah!"
"Taeul... Mystery?"
Chung Myung’s eyebrows began twitching on their own.
No.
It couldn’t be.
Surely not.
"L-let me ask one more thing."
"What?"
"W-when do you learn the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Art?"
"...What’s that?"
"The Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Art! I’m talking about Mount Hua’s essence, the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Art!"
The boy who had been answering him frowned.
"What are you talking about? Mount Hua doesn’t have any sword art like that."
"...It doesn’t?"
"Yeah. I’ve never heard of it."
"Krrrk."
A bizarre sound escaped from Chung Myung’s throat.
"There’s no Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Art? And the guys who should be learning that are instead learning the Taeul Mystery Sword Art?"
Blood vessels bulged in Chung Myung’s eyes.
- Senior brother. This Taeul Mystery Sword Art doesn’t have enough Daoist flavor, and its power is weak too. At this point, it seems like there’d be no problem in completely removing it from Mount Hua’s martial arts. What do you think?
- It’s a sword art that’s impossible to use. Let’s just abandon it boldly.
- Still, it was left behind by the immortals...
- Then how about taking it out of the library so the children don’t get the wrong idea?
- Hmm. That sounds good. Let’s do that.
Senior brother.
The children are learning the Taeul Mystery Sword Art, senior brother.
Dammit. Forget rebuilding Mount Hua. I’m about to drop dead from a burst blood vessel before I even get started. Me!
"Who’s talking now! All of you, get over here this instant!"
"Ah, shit. You just wait! I’m serious!"
"..."
A massive vein bulged on Chung Myung’s forehead.