Chapter 621

"I won!"

"Oh my god, Yoon Jong Sahyung won!"

"Against Wudang’s Three Swords……"!”

Mount Hua's disciples rose in unison as if they were boiling with excitement.

He won.

At any rate, Yoon Jong won the match. If this were a life or death battle, the outcome might have been different, but it was definitely a spar. No one would be able to disparage Yoon Jong's victory within means of a sparring match. (For convenience sake, Bimu will still translate as a spar.)

"……I really won."

Even if Yoon Jong were to lose and came off the stage, Mount Hua's disciples would have patted Yun Jong on the shoulder for how much he had done. They had seen how hard he tried with their own eyes.

But as a result of his best effort, he even managed to win.

"What are you doing?"

Baek Cheon burst out laughing and shouted with a chuckle, unable to contain his joy.

"He can't even walk properly, so go up and bring him down!"

"Yes, Sahyung!"

"Yes, Sasuk!"

Mount Hua's disciples rushed up onto the stage in excitement. It would be enough for one person to support him, but it was too much to ask those who were excited to think that far.

"Yoon Jong-ah!"

"Sahyung!"

Yoon Jong grinned as he saw his Sahyungje running in droves.

"Help me. My legs are loose and I can't move."

"What about internal injuries?"

"It's all right."

Everyone jumped from side to side at the word and carried Yoon Jong almost halfway. And they proudly walked down the stage.

"Soso! Sahyung...…!”

"For a moment."

Yoon Jong tapped his Sahyungs on the shoulder trying to find Soso. The Sahyungs then stepped back from side to side and carefully put him down.

SYoon Jong, who took steps with difficulty, stood in front of Hyun sang.

"Elder-nim, fortunately...….”

Hyun Sang hugged him before he could finish his sentence.

“…….”

"I tried hard. I really did."

Yoon Jong smiled faintly, moved by Hyun Sang's emotion.

"...I've paid for my meals."

"What do you mean ‘paid for your meals’, you punk! Do you sprinkle gold on your food or something?"

Hyun Sang, who took Yoon Jong off his arms, reddened his eyes.

He was so proud that he felt overwhelmed.

He was not moved because Yoon Jong won, or because he showed an exceptional performance. It was because the attitude he showed, the determination reflected in his sword, was too clear.

"Go ahead and get the treatment. You might still have some internal injury left.”

"Yes, Elder-nim."

After finishing the report, Yoon Jong turned around. In his eyes, he saw the Five Swords huddled together.

Baek Cheon, who is looking at him with a proud face, and Yoo Iseol who is still expressionless but clenched her fists as overflowing with emotion. and Jo-Gol with his lips pressed together uncharacteristically, looking like he is going to cry any second.

And…….

"You know."

“…….”

"If you fought ten times, you would have lost nine times."

"I know."

Chung Myung, too.

Yoon Jong nodded obediently at his words.

He also understood it acutely. Mu Yon was obviously better than Yoon Jong. He was not yet at the level of Mu Yon.

"But……."

Chung Myung grinned.

"If you win, that's all."

“…….”

"Stretch your shoulders. "Winning against a rival you can beat is nothing to be proud of. True pride comes from defeating an unbeatable opponent. You did great, Sahyung."

"…… What kind of wind is blowing?”

Yoon Jong was briefly taken aback by the sudden compliment from the man who was known to nag so much.

However, for a moment, a clear smile finally bloomed on his lips.

‘This is what winning feels like.’

A strange sense of achievement that he didn't feel when he had a good performance at the Murim Competition, and when he fought with the Ice Clan and fought fiercely against Magyo, wrapped around his whole body. He slowly opened his mouth in emotion.

"I'm……."

"Are you done?"

“…….”

But at the sound of a voice coming from next to him, Yoon Jong's gaze slowly turned to the side. Tang So-so, who had approached, was standing there with a big smile on her face.

"If it's over, let’s go."

"…Is there any need for that...?"

Yoon Jong followed her back like a cow being dragged to a slaughterhouse. Mount Hua's disciples all laughed at the sight.

But their eyes weren't just filled with joy and laughter. Whether it's Saje or Sasuk, everyone felt a lot of things about Yoon Jong.

"The sword that continues."

Baek Cheon stares fixedly at Yoon Jong's back and mutters.

'Honestly, I'm jealous.’

That unshakable and upright will, that determination.

Of course, he knew he shouldn't harbor such feelings.

But what can he do? This is his honest feeling. He tried to quickly bury his rather embarrassing jealousy and hide it.

However.

"Look at Dongryong's face. That, that."

“…….”

‘Ah, that ghostly bastard.’

Baek Cheon distorted his face and glared at Chung Myung.

"Tsk tsk. Guys who have more are always the ones to go over the line. Look at how greedy he is."

"No, it's not like that.…!”

Baek Cheon, who had blushed, tried to refute what he said, but Chung Myung spoke in a low voice.

"Sasuk has things that only Sasuk can do."

Baek Cheon finally shut his mouth at those calm words. And he sighed as he looked into Chung Myung's eyes.

"Really, this punk’s mouth is...….”

He knows. That if Yoon Jong is the one who should lead the later Mount Hua on his back, Baek Cheon is the one who must elevate the current Mount Hua to a higher level.

It's not possible to compare which one is more important. Both were equally significant.

Baek Cheon quietly looked at the third-class disciples. They were all filled with joy and pride for Jo-Gol and Yoon Jong's victories.

'They saw hope.’

Jo-Gol proved that generation and age are not everything, and Yoon Jong showed that he could win even against those who are more talented, as long as he had the perseverance to keep going.

So how can one not be excited?

"Damn, those jerk-like Sajil."

They set the mood like this before he even stepped up, and now he can't lose even if he wants to.

Both were incredibly excellent.

But he was their Sasuk. He can't lose to them yet.

"Watch carefully, you bastards."

Baek Cheon headed off to the stage, clutching his Plum Blossom Sword. No, he was going to.

"Are you going?"

Chung Myung's low-pitched voice called out to him. Baek Cheon replied as if it were natural.

“We have to keep this momentum going.”

"Well, that's not bad either. But……."

"Huh?"

"I don't know if it will work out the way Sasuk thinks.”

Feeling slightly ominous, Baek Cheon glanced at Chung Myung. Whenever he said this, something unexpected always happened.

“Shall we change the order?”

"No, well....”

Chung Myung smiled and shook his head.

"That won't matter. You can go. Just win nicely and come back."

Baek Cheon stared blankly, not understanding what Chung Myung meant.

If he's going to be like this, why did he say that?

"Go on then."

"All right."

As Baek Cheon walked towards the stage with an uncertain look on his face, Chung Myung chuckled to himself.

"It's not prestigious because it's great. It's a prestigious sect because they've won."

Now Baek Cheon would know this fact for himself.

It was Heo Sanja who greeted Mu Yon off the stage first. The glare was surprisingly fierce.

Mu Yon stood in front of Heo Sanja, unable to turn a blind eye to the gaze. Heo Sanja, who was staring at Mu Yon as if he was about to eat him, said as if chewing.

"Did you say cultivation?”

“…….”

"The honor of the sect is at stake. Is your personal satisfaction more important than the honor of the sect?"

It was truly a voice of a man holding a sword.

Mu Yon was a first-class disciple and a powerful figure worthy of being called Three Sword of Wudang, but he could not ignore the wrath of an Elder. After a brief sigh, he quietly closed his eyes.

However, Mu Yon's eyes, which soon reopened, did not contain even a hint of shaking.

"Elde-nim, what is the meaning of such honor?"

Heo Sanja's face was distorted by his calm rebuttal.

"…What did you just say now?”

Mu Yon shook his head and said.

"Honor is only meaningful when it is obtained fairly. Isn't the honor gained by claiming victory over defeat and hiding one's faults more humiliating than pointing fingers at one's mistakes?”

Heo Sanja's face was contorted with anger. But Mu Yon's words continued firmly.

"I didn't step down because the honor was not important. I withdrew because honor is important. If I hide my mistakes because they didn't see them, how can I call myself a righteous Wudang disciple?"

Heo Sanja stared at Mu Yon with his teeth gritted.

“Have you finished talking?”

"Elder-nim."

In the harsh atmosphere, Mu Jin stepped forward and dissuaded him.

“He has eyes to see. Please calm down first.”

“…….”

“And from what I’ve heard, what Mu Yon said wasn't entirely wrong.”

"What?"

“They, the others, must have known about the mistake that Mu Yon made.”

Even if they didn't know, one person must have certainly known: Mount Hua Divine Dragon.

Mount Hua Divine Dragon.

What Mu Jin saw cannot be missed by him.

"If Mu Yon hadn't stepped down from there, he might have suffered even greater disgrace. Haven't we heard enough of the rumors of those who underestimated Mount Hua and were disgraced?”

"This……!"

But Heo Sanja's anger has not faded at all. He gritted his teeth and kept pressing on.

“How can you be so foolish!”

All they did was spout words without knowing what they were talking about.

How would they know?

That the Tao they talked about actually came from complacency.

That in the end, the righteousness they say ultimately comes from strength.

Those who are not capable of putting the Tao into practice do not have the right to discuss it, and those without strength cannot discuss righteousness. They do not know in the slightest that everything they boast about now comes from the reputation and power of the sect.

'They are too out of touch with reality.'

It seems plausible to follow the Tao by grinding and polishing swords only in a clean manner, but it is the same as growing up in a greenhouse without experiencing the world.

'We've raised weaklings who spout nothing but empty words under the name of the prestigious sect that our ancestors shed blood to establish.'

Heo Sanja's gaze became empty.

He no longer felt the need to discuss right from wrong with them. It's an argument with no answer anyway.

What matters now is not what is right.

The important thing is that he must bring back the result of the victory. That was the intention and will of the Sect Leader who sent him here.

"Elder-nim, the next opponent is coming up."

Heo Sanja looked at the stage with a cold face. Looking at Baek Cheon walking slowly from the other end, he shrieked in a cold voice.

"You must be on your guard."

"Yes, Elder-nim."

The answer came back, but Heo Sanja didn't even look at Mu Yon until the end. His eyes were fixed solely on Baek Cheon, who was on the stage.

‘Is it Righteous Sword?’

With the exception of Mount Hua Divine Dragon, Baek Cheon is the best among Mount Hua's rising stars. Of course, it was not the highest performance of the Murim Competition in the past, but it was well known that he beat Jin Geum-ryong of Southern Edge Sect and achieved brilliant results in the conquest of Daebyeolchae this time.

Above all...

'The people we've dealt with so far have been the third-class disciples.'

Even though they are called under the same name as Five Sword, the difference in generation cannot be ignored.. That Baek Cheon must have been at least a few steps ahead of Jo-Gol and Yoon Jong, who have come out so far.

Baek Cheon, who walked to the center of the stage, softly saluted.

"I'm Baek Cheon, Mount Hua's second-class disciple."

He took one look at Wudang’s camp and then said with his eyes fixed on Mu Jin.

“I don't think I have the qualifications to choose my opponent, but I don't think it's anything to blame for having someone I want as a martial artist myself. If it's not rude, I'd like to compete with Mu Jin Daehyeop.”

The eyes of Wudang’s disciples turned to Mu Jin.

It may seem cheeky for Mount Hua's second-class disciples to ask Wudang's first-class disciples for a sparring match, but that's not the case now.

Considering the performance of Mount Hua's third-class disciples so far, and considering Righteous Sword's position in Mount Hua, the request for a sparring match for Mu Jin did not seem too unreasonable.

"Um."

Mu Jin touched the Pine Pattern Ancient Sword lightly as if he had thought so.

If he can't compete with Chung Myung anyway, isn't it his job to compete with the strongest except Chung Myung?

"I'll accept that challenge…….”

It was then.

"Wait."

Heo Sanja coldly blocked Mu Jin. Despite his low voice, he dug into everyone's ears strangely.