Chapter 1117

Chapter 1117

Being likened to Ten Great Sects.

Those words were absolutely unbearable. How disappointed had Hyun Jong been with the hypocrisy of Ten Great Sects?

But when he thinks about it, the words he let out of his mouth didn’t seem all that different from the behavior of Ten Great Sects. Wasn’t the current Ten Great Sects the result of hiding each other’s feelings and repeatedly putting on a good front until it festers and finally bursts out?

Chung Myung looked straight at Hyun Jong and said.

“It’s strange enough for there to be no problems between individuals, so how can Sect Leader expect different sects to merge without any issues?”

“….”

“Of course, there will be problems. But the important thing is how to solve those problems, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but….”

Isn’t the problem that this solution seems rather unreliable?

“Removing pretense is good. But if the result is only bad feelings towards each other, isn’t it better to maintain the pretense?”

Do Ten Great Sects want to be hypocritical just because they are Ten Great Sects? Fundamentally, society is a place where it’s hard to reveal one’s innermost feelings.

The term ‘friendly competition’ sounds nice, but in reality, it’s no different from dragons or kirin. The term exists, but the substance is nonexistent. When people compete with each other, isn’t it natural to feel jealousy?

Chung Myung shrugged.

“Sect Leader might think that way, but not solving problems just because they’re difficult isn’t the right approach, is it?”

“Hmm…”

Hyun Jong suddenly felt that this situation was quite odd.

Normally, he would speak of principles, and Chung Myung would often talk about sophistry. But now, the words coming out of Chung Myung’s mouth seemed closer to reason.

A reason that’s hard to maintain and even harder to practice.

“I’m still worried.”

“Sect Leader.”

Chung Myung looked at Hyun Jong with sincere eyes.

“What do you think it would have been like if it weren’t Tang Family, Nokrim, or Namgung?”

“Hm?”

A firm tone flowed from Chung Myung’s mouth.

“If there was a rift between the second and third-class disciples of Mount Hua, would Sect Leader tell them to cover it up and pretend to be close?”

Hyun Jong kept his mouth tightly shut.

‘Indeed…’

If a situation had arisen where the second and third-class disciples were hiding their ill will and being pretentious toward each other, Hyun Jong would have tried to resolve the situation by any means necessary.

Yes, by any means. Because it would never be good for the entirety of Mount Hua.

“…Are you saying that I am building a wall between them?”

“I wouldn’t go that far. But… Sect Leader probably don’t really see them as one unified sect.”

Hyun Jong’s eyebrows furrowed. Is that really true? He wanted to deny it, but contrary to his thoughts, he couldn’t easily open his mouth.

Chung Myung shrugged his shoulders and said.

“No need to be so serious. It’s not as easy as it sounds, right?”

“….”

“I was the same. I thought this was enough. But… it wasn’t.”

Seeing Hyun Jong speechless, Chung Myung smiled bitterly.

“If we’re going to preach about being friends, we should treat them as part of our own sect. Up until now, what we’ve been doing is no different from saying our kids should train hard and grow tough, while treating others’ kids with care and gentleness.”

“….”

“On the surface, it might seem like we’re favoring others’ children, but in reality, we’re just being partial to ours. Shouldn’t that not be the case from now on?”

Hyun Jong couldn’t help but laugh dryly.

The Chung Myung he knows is a man with a fanatical affection for Mount Hua Sect. Sometimes, it felt like Chung Myung cared for Mount Hua several times more intensely than Sect Leader Hyun Jong himself did.

Such a person is saying that there should be no discrimination between Mount Hua and other sects.

“…Chung Myung-ah.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Is this really the right thing to do?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Even if it causes problems?”

“Yes. Once a problem is solved, it’s nothing. I think the dangerous thing is not that a problem will arise, but that you cover it up out of fear that a problem will arise.”

A sigh came out of Hyun Jong’s mouth.

“And besides.”

“Hm?”

Chung Myung grinned.

“If they keep fighting like this, they might not go back to being all smiles hahahoho, but at least… they’ll be able to trust the person standing behind them on the battlefield.”

“….”

“Isn’t that enough?”

Hyun Jong shook his head.

“I thought you wanted a friend. But now it seems that what you want is not a friend, but a comrade (??(戰友)).”

“No. What I want are true friends.”

“….”

“Not just pretending to be friendly, but friends who curse and criticize each other, but in a crisis, friends who run to each other before anyone else.”

Tang Gun-ak, who had been quietly listening to the conversation between the two until then, opened his mouth.

“Mount Hua has played that role well enough so far.”

“Yes, that’s true. It just so happened that it happened that way. But that’s not what I want. I want everyone in Heavenly Comrade Alliance to have that kind of relationship with each other.”

“That’s a difficult task.”

“Yes, it is difficult.”

Chung Myung spoke calmly.

“Of course, it will be difficult to maintain. But… if we try hard, we might manage it for a while, wouldn’t we?”

“Until we deal with Evil Tyrant Alliance and Magyo?”

Chung Myung didn’t bother to answer those words. He just smiled broadly. Tang Gun-ak shook his head when he saw that smile.

“It’s closer to a delusion than an ideal, but… Anyway, I have no complaints.”

“Yes?”

“I am satisfied just by being able to use this opportunity to reorganize Tang Family.”

After finishing his word, Tang Gun-ak muttered with a gloomy face, ‘The final winner will be Tang Family, damn Mount Hua bastards’. Hyun Jong, who was watching this, quickly noticed Chung Myung. It’s as if he’s asking how such words can come out of his mouth while seeing that

But Chung Myung was still smiling broadly. Hyun Jong eventually let out a sigh.

‘When has it ever been different…?’

Hyun Jong also knew very well that Chung Myung did not act thoughtlessly. It was just that this time, the issue involved other sects besides Mount Hua, which deepened his concerns.

“Chung Myung-ah.”

“Aah. Don’t worry, Sect Leader.”

“….”

“There won’t be any problems.”

Hyun Jong looked at Chung Myung with deep, serious eyes.

‘He hasn’t changed.’

In fact, Hyun Jong wasn’t worried about protecting Tang Family and the other sects. He was concerned that if something serious happened because of Chung Myung’s actions, the responsibility would fall on Chung Myung, of all people.

However, it seemed that Chung Myung had already guessed Hyun Jong’s feelings.

“Alright. I understand. If that’s truly your intention…”

Hyun Jong nods his head heavily. In the end, he had no choice but to support Chung Myung.

“But Chung Myung. That’s not the only problem.”

“…What else is there?”

“To encourage… No, I fully understand your thinking that it would be better to aid in this situation. But whether they can endure this situation is another matter entirely, isn’t it?”

“What….”

At that moment, Hyun Sang opened his mouth, flipping through the ledger in his hand.

“As of today, there have been fifteen wounded and twenty lightly wounded in Namgung. From Nokrim, there have been twenty-eight injuries and countless minor injuries… which we haven’t even fully tallied. Tang Family also reported ten injuries.”

“We didn’t count the minor injuries. Tang Family can treat that much on their own.”

“….So they say.”

As Hyun Sang and Tang Gun-ak finished speaking, Hyun Jong furrowed his brows.

“Do you understand now?”

“….”

“Recently, the frequency of injuries has significantly increased. Moreover, the severity of these injuries is gradually worsening. To me, this seems closer to the body not being able to withstand it rather than a problem that arises because the training becomes more intense.”

“Uh….”

Hyun Jong smiled with a look of resignation as if he thought it would be difficult to escape this time.

“No matter how good the training is, if their bodies can’t withstand it, it’s all for nothing, isn’t it? Normally, you consider these aspects, but it seems this time, you overlooked this fact.”

“No, Tang Family is here…”

When Chung Myung glanced at Tang Gun-ak, Tang Gun-ak smiled quietly.

“We’re doing our best, but it isn’t easy.”

“Are you sure you’re really doing your best? Really?”

“Haha. You’re saying the obvious. Do I seem like the kind of person who would discriminate against people eating the same food as me just because of some small competitive spirit?”

You didn’t used to be. But these days, I’m starting to have some doubts…

“I swear, it’s not the case.”

“Hnggg.”

Of course, he believes in Tang Gun-ak.

But he couldn’t believe the blood of Tang Family flowing through Tang Gun-ak’s body. That’s because this man also has the blood of that yangban who could calmly scam people while putting on the face of the most wronged person in the world.

“Tsk.”

There is suspicion, but no evidence. Chung Myung looked at Tang Gun-ak with a suspicious expression and then turned his gaze back to Hyun Jong.

“So it’s better to wrap this up for now. At best, we’re united with each other, but if they are too worn out and can’t fight properly, it would be worse than doing nothing at all.”

“Oh, Sect Leader don’t have to worry about that.”

“Alright, so you’ve… Huh? What?”

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

“…N- No. Chung Myung-ah.”

“So Sect Leader means we need a way to keep the kids going without them breaking down, right?”

“That’s… right?”

“Ei, Sect Leader. Who does Sect Leader think I am! I’ve already got it all prepared!”

“…Hm?”

Is there really a solution?

“What, what are you going to do?”

The most realistic way is to lower the intensity of training, but that’s practically impossible. This is because this is not a practice imposed by Chung Myung.

“What about the Mount Hua kids?”

“Huh? Mount Hua?”

Hyun Jong looked at Hyun Sang and demanded an answer. Then Hyun Sang responded with a slightly awkward expression.

“Mount Hua… has about twenty with minor injuries but no serious injuries.”

“No, why?”

“…I don’t know. Maybe they’re just unnecessarily sturdy?”

Chung Myung laughed heartily.

“There is no way for the kids to become strong by receiving the energy of Mount Hua. Isn’t that all the result of continuous improvement of one’s constitution?”

“….”

“Can’t handle it? Then make them handle it. Who uses weakness as an excuse to slack off?”

“Chung Myung-ah. What exactly have you prepared?”

“They should be arriving soon.”

“What?”

“Well… It’s both a ‘what’ and a ‘who’. Yasugung and Ice Palace should be coming. I sent word through Eunha Merchant Guild. Told them to bring everything we’ve gathered over the past three years.”

“….”

“If you put a pill of Jasodan in each person’s mouth, they won’t be able to rest even if they want to. We should also mix in Yasugung Palace and Ice Palace. Those yangbans have been living comfortably under the pretense of being far away for too long, but we can’t keep letting them get away with it.”

“Uh… that…”

Chung Myung-ah. It’s really strange how you say you making it sound like you’re helping Yasugung Palace and Ice Palace. It’s easy to misunderstand…

“Kikikikikik!”

Chung Myung held his stomach and laughed out loud.

“We’ve been the only ones bleeding all this time. We can’t keep letting that happen. Even if we die now, we all die together! We will never let anyone say that they’re falling behind because they did not receive anything later! Euhehehehe!”

Ah… I guess it wasn’t a misunderstanding.

I see. I see….