The Flood of Applications
"That's insane."
"Right?!"
How could someone with zero connection to the Mount Hua Sect wield its martial arts so masterfully? Was this the legendary principle of manlyugwijong—that reaching the pinnacle in one art would naturally elevate all others to their extremes? Hwaryeong's display had left the onlookers awestruck in more ways than one.
The people around her had fallen completely silent, simply watching her every move. Even the chat window—which was usually flooded with spam thanks to the stream's lax rules—contained nothing but raw exclamations of wonder.
Yet Hwaryeong herself stood alone at the center of it all, utterly indifferent, as if none of this was particularly impressive.
She really can do anything that involves martial arts, can't she?
After the demonstration ended, Hwaryeong announced that she would offer guidance. She told every Mount Hua user present to come at her with everything they had. All of them. Not just one or two.
Park Yeon wondered if that was even possible. The people gathered around her right now represented the very peak of what remained of the old Mount Hua. These were the players who had worked alongside him since the early days of Hwaryong Muin to rebuild the sect. They were the ones who had realized that the best way to restore Mount Hua's former glory was to become stronger themselves.
Han Min-jun, their de facto leader, was a monster who consistently ranked within the top one hundred. The collective strength of the group around Hwaryeong could stand toe-to-toe with the frontline forces of any major sect in the game. They might not defeat the absolute top-tier factions, but they possessed more than enough power to compete at the next level.
And she wanted to face all of them alone...
Well. If it was Hwaryeong-nim, maybe it really was possible.
Park Yeon recalled the sight he had witnessed the night before, right before heading out for drinks with his sect elder. He remembered how the former Mount Hua leader—empowered to an absurd degree through the Blood Cult's sorcery—had been completely and effortlessly overwhelmed. If even that monster couldn't stand against her, what chance did the people currently surrounding her have?
None at all.
There was simply no way Hwaryeong, who had casually dealt with that pathetic excuse for a human being, would struggle against Mount Hua's users.
The sparring that followed unfolded exactly as Park Yeon had predicted—one-sided from start to finish. Throughout the entire session, Hwaryeong didn't take a single step. She remained rooted in place, dodging, redirecting, and blocking the countless sword strikes coming at her from every direction.
It looked as though she were peering several moves into the future and responding accordingly. Park Yeon knew exactly how she was doing it. She had likely scattered her internal energy outward to read the flow around her using Qi Sense. Once that ability reached its pinnacle, one could respond to any incoming attack without even needing to rely on sight.
He had experienced this truth firsthand. During a previous challenge against the Heavenly Venerable alongside his fellow sect members, the man hadn't allowed a single strike to land. He had handled every attack with casual ease, just like Hwaryeong was doing now—as if he truly could see the future.
The ones truly suffering right now had to be the Mount Hua users. The sense of helplessness that came from not landing even a single blow was indescribable.
But how can she handle Qi Sense as easily as breathing? That technique is genuinely difficult.
Ever since his defeat at the Heavenly Venerable's hands, Park Yeon had trained his Qi Sense relentlessly. The memory of that day had burned itself into his mind, making him want to reach that same level. That was why he understood just how astonishing her mastery truly was.
Despite its obvious usefulness, very few people used Qi Sense. There were good reasons for that. The entry barrier was ridiculously high. Simply scattering your internal energy outward was difficult, and maintaining it was even harder. Even if you somehow overcame that initial wall, an even taller one waited beyond it—actually sensing the scattered energy was no easy feat.
Qi Sense was essentially a sixth sense that didn't exist in reality. Using it was as difficult as trying to move wings in a VR game with no assistance whatsoever. Of course, it could be overcome with effort. Park Yeon himself had practiced for a long time and reached a level where he could use it somewhat effectively in real combat.
But compared to what Hwaryeong was doing, his own skill might as well have been child's play. While he could only perceive large movements, she seemed to understand everything happening around her. She read every intention, every shift in movement from the Mount Hua users, and responded with perfect countermeasures.
Her responses were so clean and effortless that the fox sleeping around her neck looked as comfortable as if it were lying on a bed.
Is she even the same species as me? She should at least make sense.
"I wonder what kind of training would allow someone to handle Qi Sense with such precision," Park Yeon murmured. "If possible, I'd love to learn it."
"It's amazing, isn't it? I asked Hwaryeong-nim to teach me Qi Sense training once before," NyanNyan replied.
"What did she say?"
"She wouldn't teach me at all. She said my basics weren't even established yet, so what was the point of worrying about Qi Sense?"
Park Yeon felt a pang of envy toward the smiling NyanNyan.
"It would be nice if I could steadily learn under Hwaryeong-nim like you do."
"Then just join Mount Hua."
"Mount Hua? But Mount Hua is finished."
"You really were passed out drunk the entire time, weren't you?"
NyanNyan sighed and began explaining. According to her, the moment Hwaryeong started her stream today, she had used the reward she obtained to locate users of the Purple Mist Divine Art. During the process of requesting their cooperation, she had also declared that she would rebuild Mount Hua.
"That's why she's looking after the Mount Hua players right now. She said she'd give them some guidance since they'll be helping with the sect's reconstruction."
"...For real?"
"Why would I lie about this?"
If I'd known this would happen, I never would have gone drinking last night!
He had turned down Han Min-jun's invitation because he was so disgusted by Mount Hua's collapse. If he had gone with the others to search for the Purple Mist Divine Art instead, he could have been receiving her teachings in that very spot right now.
Biting his lip, Park Yeon stared jealously at the Mount Hua players on screen before rubbing his face and thinking:
Would it be possible to go there now and still receive guidance from Hwaryeong-nim?
No. No, he shouldn't. It would look too pathetic. While he might not get penalized since he had proper justification, the moment he showed up, he would face criticism from the thousands of people watching her stream. Park Yeon wasn't confident he could endure that.
"Are you envious of them?"
"Of course I am."
NyanNyan seemed to have noticed his prolonged silence and asked. Park Yeon nodded lightly.
"Since you used to belong to the Mount Hua faction, you can just join them. Then you'll be able to receive Hwaryeong-nim's teachings too."
"Did she say they were recruiting?"
"Yes. She mentioned she'd primarily select skilled individuals who used to belong to the Mount Hua faction."
So she was planning to hold a separate selection test. That made sense. With Hwaryeong-nim's own fame, plus the Purple Mist Divine Art and Plum Blossom Swordplay as bait, an enormous number of people would flock to apply. They couldn't possibly accept everyone, so some form of screening would be necessary.
"Sounds intense."
"Doesn't it? The Hwaryong Muin community is in complete chaos right now."
"I never thought the day would come when the Hwaryong Muin community would be on fire with actual game discussion again. Hwaryeong-nim really is the Queen of Kindling."
"Wherever Hwaryeong-nim sets foot, everything burns."
Just like Mount Hua did.
The response flashed through Park Yeon's mind, but he kept it to himself. Saying it out loud would probably kill the mood.
"By the way, NyanNyan."
"Yeah?"
"When does this sparring session end? It feels like it's been going on for quite a while."
Thirty minutes had passed since the sparring began, yet it was still in full swing. The Mount Hua users who had charged at Hwaryeong with desperate intensity were starting to show signs of exhaustion, but she remained completely unfazed. She casually encouraged the others to keep attacking.
"...Um. I'm not sure."
NyanNyan couldn't give a definite answer to Park Yeon's question.
"Haven't you seen her do this kind of sparring often?"
"I have. At least once a week."
"Then isn't there a general timeframe for how long they last?"
"There isn't."
"Huh?"
"There's no set time. The sparring only ends when Hwaryeong-nim is satisfied."
Her completely serious response, free of any hint of joking, left Park Yeon speechless.
...Maybe it's a good thing I wasn't there.
After observing the Mount Hua players twitching on the ground, she sheathed her sword. She hadn't even worked them that hard, yet they were in this state. They lacked tenacity. If it had been Enri, she would have clenched her teeth and struggled to stand no matter what.
She considered forcing them to their feet but decided against it. There was no need to pour her passion into teaching these temporary students. Unless they ended up under her wing later, that was.
"Raise your heads. I'll let you rest for now."
Only then did the people sprawled across the ground begin lifting their heads one by one. She glared at their shameless expressions, and every single one of them avoided her gaze.
How annoying. Maybe she should work them a little harder. Yes. At the very least, she would drain them until they couldn't even lift their heads if they wanted to.
The moment she made that decision, Han Min-jun urgently raised his hand.
"Hwaryeong-nim! I have a question!"
His obvious attempt to buy some rest time was plain to see, but she would hear him out. If the question proved useless, however, they would be rolling on the ground again.
"What is it?"
"Where should we submit our applications to join the Mount Hua Sect?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Didn't joining a sect involve setting a specific date and time, gathering candidates, and then selecting them? Submitting applications?
"Were you really planning to handle this in such a haphazard way?"
When she expressed her confusion, Han Min-jun looked genuinely shocked.
"Well... yes?"
"Who handles recruitment like that these days?"
He explained that they should first collect application documents via email, screen them for an initial selection, and only then gather the candidates. Especially now, when a huge number of people were certain to apply. Otherwise, strange individuals would slip through and turn everything into a complete mess.
"Is it really necessary to go through all that?"
Even if many people applied, there would only be a few dozen at most. Was it truly worth the effort? But Han Min-jun remained firm. They absolutely had to do it this way. If they followed her original plan, chaos would erupt on the day itself.
At first she had been skeptical, but this man clearly knew far more about the player base than she did. If he was insisting this strongly, there had to be a good reason. She nodded.
"I understand. Then, in your opinion, how should we proceed?"
Han Min-jun, seemingly familiar with this sort of work, immediately laid out several detailed plans the moment she asked. The approach he described didn't seem bad at all.
"Very well. Just in case, I'll follow your suggestion."
"Understood. If anything becomes confusing midway, please contact me."
"I will. Let's proceed that way."
After nodding, she quietly scanned her surroundings. They had probably rested enough by now.
"Everyone, stand up."
"Already...?"
"No way..."
"I seriously can't move."
"Just a little more rest, please."
"Stand. Now."
When she released her killing intent, they all scrambled to their feet in a panic. See? They could move after all.
"We'll begin again. Come at me."
Having decided to follow Han Min-jun's proposed method, she ended the stream that day and requested that applicants send their documents to the email address she had created for using her smartphone.
The next day, she realized something had gone terribly wrong.
"...Why are there over a thousand emails?"