So You Should Be Consistent, a Person. (4)
"My back..."
"Aaah... my legs..."
The Mount Hua disciples moaned one after another as they crawled along in a daze. They had somehow made it back to Baekmae Hall, but they could barely remember how they’d gotten there, let alone what kind of state they’d been in while making the journey.
"...I nearly drowned in the bath while washing up."
"I sat down for a moment and saw my dead grandfather."
Gathered in the main living room at the center of Baekmae Hall, they clutched at their chairs one by one and let out long, exhausted sighs.
"...And we did all that."
"Exactly."
"We even took spiritual medicine!"
"..."
"So why couldn't we win? Why!"
Frustration and a sharp, blue fury spilled from the eyes of the Cheong generation disciples.
"If I could just land one punch! Just one damn punch, I'd be satisfied!"
"Did you see Jo Gul Sajae beating people up while laughing earlier? He was already a pain in the ass to begin with, but after hanging around Chung Myung, he’s practically thrown his humanity out the window!"
"And what about Great Sahyung? Honestly, if he at least cackled like Jo Gul, you could get mad back at him. But no—he says everything with that solemn face of his, then beats you to a pulp without an ounce of mercy!"
"...You're not wrong."
Thinking back to how they’d been battered senseless all day by Jo Gul and Yoon Jong, everyone ground their teeth.
Everyone here had taken an extra pill of Jaso-dan.
Their vitality should have been overflowing to the point of bursting through the ceiling, and yet they had still been completely overwhelmed by those two. No matter how they looked at it, they couldn’t accept it.
"What on earth did Chung Myung do to those two?"
"It's not just those two. Didn't the Sasuk-lords get beaten like dogs too by Great Sasuk Baek Cheon and Yu Sago?"
"...Even Monk Hye Yeon was getting the better of them."
"Poor thing..."
As they thought about the Sasuk-lords, the Cheong generation disciples’ eyes grew damp for a moment. They pressed the corners of their eyes hard, then clenched their fists.
"I'm not saying I suddenly want to beat Yoon Jong Sahyung or Jo Gul Sahyung now!"
Jong Hoi shouted, fire blazing in both eyes.
"But we can't become martial artists just to get beaten up like this and let it end there!"
"That's right!"
"One hit is enough! Just one hit!"
"I don't even care about Chung Myung anymore, but we can't spend our whole lives getting hit by Yoon Jong Sahyung and Jo Gul Sahyung! This isn't just about winning or losing anymore!"
"Exactly!"
The Cheong generation roared their agreement.
In the midst of it all, Jong Hoi’s face hardened slightly as he let out a sigh.
"Listen up, all of you."
"Yes, Sahyung."
"I was speaking lightly, but this is no small matter. I doubt any of you don't understand what we were given."
"...We do."
"How could we not know what kind of divine elixir that was?"
The Cheong generation knew full well just how extraordinary what they had received was. No, they couldn’t not know.
Two pills of Jaso-dan.
In all their lives, they had never heard of any sect giving its disciples two spiritual pills each. And Jaso-dan was no ordinary medicine—it was no less than Shaolin’s Great Rejuvenation Pill, no, perhaps something even greater.
"...And on top of that, Liquid Sky Essence."
"I thought I’d go my whole life without even smelling Liquid Sky Essence."
Their legs trembled all over again.
What kind of sect handed out Liquid Sky Essence to third-generation disciples?
Because this was Mount Hua, they’d gritted their teeth and accepted it. If any other sect had done the same thing, they themselves would have been the first to call them insane.
"To put it bluntly..."
Jong Hoi glared with fierce eyes.
"If you gobble down two Jaso-dan pills and Liquid Sky Essence and still fail to earn your keep, you ought to bite your tongue and die."
"...R-right."
The Cheong generation all nodded.
It was a bit extreme, but not wrong.
"We still have an excuse for now. Honestly, we did take the spiritual medicine, but we haven’t fully absorbed it yet, have we?"
"Yes, Sahyung."
"But if we fully absorb all this and nothing changes much, then Mount Hua will have thrown those priceless divine pills onto the ground."
"..."
"I can't bear to see that happen. Do you even know how hard those were to get? The damn Chung Myung who complains the moment he opens his mouth went all the way to the far North Sea and brought them back."
"...That's true."
As Jong Hoi ground his teeth with a face full of resentment, Jin Woo-bo, who had been standing nearby, slowly added his support.
"Sahyung is right."
He swept his gaze over the Cheong generation, then bit his lip slightly.
"Did you all see the injuries on our Sahyung's bodies earlier?"
"...Yes."
While they had been sparring, everyone had clearly seen the wounds hidden beneath the torn clothing now and then.
"If they suffered injuries like that, it means they were walking the line between life and death. Our Sahyung may be foolish and not know how to brag about their own achievements, but those were pills they literally put their lives on the line to obtain."
"..."
"And they gave those spiritual pills to us without an ounce of pretense. If we're human, we can't forget that kindness. Even beasts know gratitude."
The Cheong generation all nodded in agreement.
The Sahyung had become more foul-mouthed than before, and they kept their inner feelings hidden more and more. But the Cheong generation knew better than anyone how steadfastly they looked after their junior brothers and sisters.
"Let's put our lives into training."
Jong Hoi bared his teeth.
"Every time something happens to Mount Hua, it keeps being Chung Myung, the Sasuk-lords, the Sago, and the Sahyung who get dragged out to handle it. There has to be a limit to that. If we were reliable enough, do you think the Sect Leader would have sent only those people so far away?"
"..."
"We need to push back from behind. We can't keep being dead weight forever."
"Yes, Sahyung!"
As the mood grew hotter and hotter, Jong Hoi nodded.
"If I catch anyone slacking in training from this point on, I won't even wait for the Sahyung to step in—I’ll deal with them myself. All of you, throw yourselves into this with your lives on the line. Understood?"
"Yes!"
The fire that had been kindled in the Cheong generation’s hearts spread clearly into their eyes.
They were Mount Hua’s martial artists too.
It was true that the Sasuk and Sahyung had forged ahead under the banner of the Mount Hua Five Swords, but that didn’t mean they intended to leave everything to them and slack off.
"Get some rest, all of you. Tomorrow, we’re really going to try landing one hit!"
"Yes, Sahyung!"
"Tomorrow, I’ll really make sure I hit them!"
With their own will and resolve burning in their chests, the Cheong generation dispersed to their rooms.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"...They're coming up faster than I expected."
"Jaso-dan really isn't an ordinary spiritual pill. The power in their swords has changed dramatically."
Baek Cheon and the others, gathered to discuss that day’s training, expressed their impressions with faint amazement.
"I think I understand what that bastard Chung Myung meant when he said they lacked real combat experience. When you’re no longer worried about breaking their bodies, you can pour on the pressure, and their swords become sharper in response."
"I definitely felt that too."
Then Yu I-seol, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, said softly,
"Still not enough."
"...Right, Sago."
"More like real combat."
"That seems difficult to do any further."
"It can be done."
"..."
Yu I-seol looked straight at Jo Gul as she spoke.
"They're all Mount Hua disciples. They can endure it."
"...What if they can't?"
"Make them."
There was such unwavering resolve in her voice that Jo Gul reluctantly nodded.
"Understood."
Watching the exchange, Baek Cheon smiled faintly.
"Everyone, listen."
"Yes."
"In your opinion, how strong are the disciples right now?"
"...Hmm."
Yoon Jong scratched his chin and said,
"Honestly, the Cheong generation still doesn't seem able to match the fighters of the North Sea Ice Palace. Of course, they've all grown much stronger, but..."
That was only natural.
The Cheong generation were still barely out of childhood, mere youngsters. Compared with the ordinary warriors of the Ice Palace, who had spent decades repeating their training, they were at least ten years younger, and in some cases twenty.
Just being comparable to them was already impressive.
"The Baek generation can at least stand against them."
"Right."
Baek Cheon nodded.
"I judge it the same way. But at this level, they still can't do anything."
His expression hardened slightly.
"Those northern warriors were cut down in groups by the Demonic Sect as well. Sure, they may have been overwhelmed by the momentum, but the truth is, their skill was lacking too, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
"Then what happens if the Demonic Sect attacks Mount Hua now?"
At the question, everyone’s faces twisted at once. Even Yu I-seol, who was usually expressionless, furrowed her brow.
It was a thought none of them wanted to entertain.
If that happened... the disciples other than the ones here would not even be able to put up a proper fight.
The Demonic Sect was that terrifying, that dreadful.
"We need to make sure something like that never happens. But we can't guarantee it won't happen, either."
"Yes."
"So..."
Baek Cheon said firmly,
"We need to train them as quickly as possible. So that they can fight back no matter when the Demonic Sect comes."
At that, Jo Gul, who had been thinking deeply about something, let out a sigh.
"Something I've been feeling more and more..."
"Hmm?"
"...When you think not about just training blindly, but about making sure they reach a certain level, the pressure is no joke. Honestly, even if we can manage it for now, the stronger the junior disciples get, the harder it'll be to keep pushing them higher."
"True. But why bring that up all of a sudden?"
At Baek Cheon’s question, Jo Gul huffed and said bluntly,
"...Doesn't that mean that bastard Chung Myung has been doing this all along?"
Everyone fell silent at those words.
"From the moment he arrived, all he ever thought about was making Mount Hua stronger. He squeezed the Cheong generation dry to make them stronger than Zhongnan for the Hwajong Jihoe, then did the same all over again for the World Martial Tournament..."
"...He did."
Baek Cheon shook his head slowly, his face complicated in a way that was hard to put into words.
Seeing things from the other side. They said you only understood someone once you stood in their shoes, and it wasn’t wrong. Now that he was the one leading disciples, he felt as though he finally understood a little of the worry Chung Myung had carried alone all this time.
"That bastard really is a monster."
Baek Cheon muttered it bitterly, almost like a sigh, then looked around at everyone.
"But we're no longer the same youngsters we used to be."
His eyes held strong conviction.
The war with Maninbang. The fierce battle against the Ice Palace. And even the war with the Demonic Sect, where they had fought with their lives on the line.
All of it had left them with real accomplishments, and those accomplishments now supported their backs not with arrogance, but with confidence.
"If he could do it, then so can we. So now it's our turn to push his back. We need to ease his burden, even if only a little."
"Yes, Sasuk. That's right."
"Yes, Sahyung."
Everyone looked at one another and nodded.
The world grows wider the more you live through it.
There was inevitably a difference between how one saw things while living inside the small world of Mount Hua and how one saw them after experiencing a wider world.
"The junior disciples will grow stronger too. What we have to do is help them absorb the spiritual medicine’s power faster and become stronger, even by a little."
"Yes."
"As you all know, once that bastard Chung Myung says something, he makes damn sure it happens. Before long, everyone will definitely get real combat experience."
Yoon Jong nodded firmly.
"So... work as hard as you can so you won't regret it later. If someone gets badly hurt or dies, there'll be nothing we can do to undo that pain."
At Baek Cheon’s words, a small flame lit up in Yu I-seol, Jo Gul, and Yoon Jong’s eyes.
"...Then I'd rather die by my own hand first."
"We really will have to train them to death."
"I'll work harder starting tomorrow."
Baek Cheon smiled quietly and nodded.
"And since we also ate Jaso-dan and Liquid Sky Essence, we need to earn our keep! Everyone rest well, and from tomorrow on, let's work even harder."
"Yes!"
The moonlight shone brightly, as if encouraging them. It seemed as though everything would end warmly like that, and then—
"Um..."
"Hmm?"
At the voice that came from somewhere nearby, everyone turned their heads.
Hye Yeon, tucked away in a corner, was looking at them with pitiful eyes.
"...I didn't get to eat any."
"..."
Baek Cheon’s eyes wavered wildly.
"Why... no, I mean, why didn't you get any?"
"H-how am I supposed to eat it if you don't give me any?"
"I'm sure it was distributed according to headcount..."
"M-Master Chung Myung took it away, saying how could some Shaolin monk lay a hand on Mount Hua's divine pills..."
Baek Cheon’s trembling eyes shut tightly.
That demonic bastard.
Hye Yeon had gone to the North Sea with them and suffered through that hellish ordeal too, and yet Chung Myung had actually stolen his spiritual medicine.
"He's not even human..."
"Seriously."
Seeing the tears welling in Hye Yeon’s eyes, Jo Gul casually set a hand on his shoulder.
"...I'll get it back for you somehow, so please don't cry, Monk."
"A-Amitabha..."
And with Hye Yeon’s tears, the night at Mount Hua deepened.