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No, Chung Myung understood their feelings more keenly than anyone else. Because he had already experienced it once.

When Magyo began to push into Jungwon, the moment he understood the might of its power and its intention, what gripped Mount Hua was a feeling of fear and pressure that made it feel like they couldn’t even breathe.

A feeling of fear that if something is not done, Jungwon may be destroyed. And Mount Hua also feels pressure to share that responsibility. Mount Hua, tormented by that weight, eventually ran forward on its own to sacrifice itself.

That may have definitely been the right choice. As a result, Jungwon defeated Heavenly Demon and repelled Magyo. but….

‘Cheong Mun Sahyung.’

Chung Myung asks Cheong Mun, who is shedding tears of blood.

‘Do Sahyung still believe that this was the right choice?’

There’s no need to hear an answer. The tears Cheong Mun is shedding answers for him.

What if there really was such a thing as heaven, and they watched with their own eyes the downfall of Cheong Mun and the disgrace suffered by its descendants?

Perhaps, for Cheong Mun, that place should be called infinite hell rather than heaven. How could the heaven be a place where one watch scenes burning in hellfire comfortably?

And now, Hyun Jong is walking the same path.

Chung Myung opens his eyes and looks at Hyun Jong. Cheong Mun’s face appeared overlapping with the face of Hyun Jong, who was sitting in front of him.

“Sect Leader.”

“…Speak.”

“I know that it’s absurd for me to say this.”

“…So, you do know, you rascal.”

Chung Myung’s words eased the extremely heavy atmosphere ever so slightly.

Chung Myung was always like that. Even when everyone tried to stop him, he would charge into the enemy camp without a moment’s hesitation, believing it was something he had to do. It makes no sense for him to dissuade Hyun Jong now.

“Disciple, I have thought for a long time. Why did Mount Hua fall, despite upholding righteousness and doing what was right?”

“….”

“Why did we have to shed tears of blood despite doing the right thing?”

Hyun Jong slightly closed his eyes. In truth, this question was an unsolvable riddle for those living in the present Mount Hua.

They were taught to uphold Chivalrousness. But the price of upholding that Chivalrousness was too horrific. The disparity between what they learned and what they experienced. That disparity sometimes made them question the path they were taking.

If it were to protect others with one’s own death, everyone here would be able to do it without a single hesitation.

But Mount Hua’s disciples know. The task they were now attempting would force even those they most wanted to protect into the cycle of sacrifice.

How on earth could they accept that the cost of their efforts to protect their loved ones was the sacrifice of those very people they sought to protect?

Could they really die smiling?

Could it be possible for someone who watched with his own eyes the tragic sight of all his comrades he trained with, laughed and chatted with all dying, to die smiling, feeling the joy of having prevented the destruction of Jungwon?

Now, Chung Myung brought up the fact that Mount Hua’s disciples had been secretly trying not to mention.

“…Have you thought about it?”

“Yes.”

“And… did you find the answer?”

Chung Myung slowly shook his head.

“I couldn’t find it, Sect Leader.”

“….”

“I just hoped. May we become stronger. And may they be weaker than before. So that even if we repeat the same actions, the outcome would not be as horrific as it was last time.”

Hyun Jong closed his eyes.

It was an empty and futile answer. However, Hyun Jong was no different from Chung Myung. In order not to give up the fa?ade of Chivalrousness and Righteousness, they simply hoped. They just hoped that something worse than that wouldn’t happen to aim at their necks one day.

“That’s why when I heard the news of Magyo’s appearance, I had to go. Not to stop them, but to see for myself. To see with my own eyes how strong they were.”

Hyun Jong’s eyelids fluttered slightly.

This is because he could imagine the despair that Chung Myung must have felt upon seeing the power of Magyo with his own eyes. No, it is because he could feel it clearly in those eyes.

“…You must have despaired.”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung answered calmly. It was so calm that it actually painful. A sigh naturally escaped from Hyun Jong’s mouth.

Why does this child always keep such stories to himself?

If he could just share a bit more of what he holds inside, they could somehow give him strength. No… even if they couldn’t, they would at least try their best.

“I fought without finding the answer. Because fighting was better than doing nothing.”

“….”

“But as I fought, I came to realize. Why Mount Hua failed.”

Hyun Jong looked at Chung Myung with a blank expression.

“Why is that?”

“Because we did not believe.”

“…Did not believe?”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung nodded slowly.

Cheong Mun was definitely a great person. If one were to discuss strength not of martial arts but of character, there would be no comparison even throughout his entire life. Even Hyun Jong, who is now recognized by Chung Myung, might seem feeble in comparison to Cheong Mun.

However….

“Mount Hua at that time was incredibly strong, and the person leading it was so great. Because of that… precisely because of that, Mount Hua couldn’t trust anyone other than itself.”

He found out only now. Why did Mount Hua have to carry that heavy burden alone?

Cheong Mun always told him not to go forward alone and to take care of his Sahyung. He said not to go forward alone, but to lead those who are lacking with his excellence. That was Cheong Mun’s way. But…

Chung Myung bit his lip slightly.

Maybe this is the first time in his long life… he said these words.

“That way is wrong.”

The moment he uttered the words, his tongue felt bitter. Denying Cheong Mun was no different from denying everything about himself. But… now Chung Myung had to do this bitter deed.

Not for those left in the past, but for those living in the present.

“The reason Mount Hua was able to fight at the forefront was because there were those who supported them from behind.”

The reason Chung Myung was able to fight at the forefront was because there were those who supported him from behind.

“Yet, Mount Hua believed they were doing everything by themselves.”

Nevertheless, Chung Myung believed he was doing everything by himself.

“If only Mount Hua had the time to look back on those fighting behind them….”

If only Chung Myung had been able to look at those fighting behind him, even just a little.

“The outcome might have been different.”

Maybe he didn’t have to lose it all.

Chung Myung, who spoke up to that point, quietly closed his eyes.

The Mount Hua of that time was undoubtedly a strong and great sect. But because of that, it was also an arrogant and self-righteous sect. They also looked coldly at those who did not understand the rightness that Mount Hua pursued. This is a fact that has no choice but to be acknowledged.

Cheong Mun always scolded Chung Myung for not being able to harmonize. However, Mount Hua, which had such a Cheong Mun as its head, may also have been a sect not much different from Chung Myung as a person. Because the harmony that Cheong Mun spoke of was simply harmony within the sect.

Nevertheless, Chung Myung believed that Cheong Mun was unconditionally correct.

Because Cheong Mun was always the right person and was too great of a person for Chung Myung to follow.

But he learned it while fighting Dan Jagang.

There was Tang Bo behind him, but there was no one behind Mount Hua.

Cheong Mun, whom Chung Myung revered as a great mountain, was also not perfect. He, too, was just a man who struggled with endless worries throughout his life.

And now, for the first time, Chung Myung is free from the shadow of Cheong Mun that was cast over him and looks at the world beyond. A shadow that was so warm, yet also heavy and thick.

“Sect Leader.”

“Yes… Yes, Chung Myung.”

“When a person becomes anxious, they forget what they have.”

“….”

“What do we have?”

Hyun Jong could not readily answer those words. What is there…. What do they have….

Great cause? Chivalrousness? Or… Power?

Hyun Jong looked around at those gathered with deeply contemplative eyes. And then, as if there was nothing more to ponder, he spoke.

“Mount Hua has many things. But if I had to name the most precious and important thing among them, there would be only one.”

Hyun Jong nodded with a slight smile.

“It is simply people.”

Chung Myung smiled at those words. What the very words he had hoped to hear from Hyun Jong came out exactly.

“It is different from the past. We have people. Not only within Mount Hua but also those who stand with us.”

Hyun Jong nodded.

After Chung Myung came, Mount Hua gained many things. But, no matter what anyone says, the biggest thing is relationships and bonds.

“It was the same for me. When I was overwhelmed by the power of Evil Tyrant Alliance, the first thing I chose was to simply strengthen my own power. I was willing to give up everything for that.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Originally, Heavenly Comrade Alliance should have collapsed at that time. Who would want to wait for someone who has abandoned all responsibilities and stepped down in order to increase his power? But… Tang Gaju-nim took on all the work we had to do and waited silently for us.”

Chung Myung turned his head and looked at Tang Gun-ak. Tang Gun-ak, who received that gaze, let out an awkward laugh as if embarrassed.

“Why did you do that, Gaju-nim?”

“Is there any particular reason? Just…”

It was a shy voice rarely heard from Tang Gun-ak. Therefore, it felt all the more genuine, without a trace of doubt.

“Because we are close friends.”

Tang Gun-ak lightly cleared his throat, as if he was embarrassed to say such a thing with his own mouth. Chung Myung smiled softly.

If only back then.

A time in the past when they lost something they shouldn’t have.

If there was a sect like Tang Family for Mount Hua, and if there were people like Tang Bo for Chung Myung within Mount Hua, would they have merely stood by and watched the downfall of Mount Hua? Would they just sit back and watch as a flock of wolves rushed to Mount Hua?

No, that can’t be true. That could never happen.

If it were Tang Bo, he would have risked his life to stop it. If it were the current Tang Family, no matter what, they would not have let anyone set foot inside Mount Hua’s gates.

What Mount Hua now has, and what it lacked back then.

“Sect Leader…”

These are the words spoken by Chung Myung, a disciple of Mount Hua, to Hyun Jong, and the words spoken by Plum Blossom Sword Sovereign Chung Myung to Cheong Mun of the past.

“In the face of a formidable enemy, what a faltering swordsman must trust is their own sword and the time they have spent training.”

“…Yes.”

“Then what should the sect believe?”

“That….”

Hyun Jong once again looks at those sitting in front of him. And then, with a gentle gaze, he answered Chung Myung.

“The value of what we have preserved… and the conviction in the path we have walked.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

Chung Myung smiled gently as well.

“The reason we created Heavenly Comrade Alliance was because we needed people who would trust and fight alongside each other. Because we believed we would be each other’s strength and fortress.”

“Yes, indeed.”

Chung Myung slowly lowers his head.

“So, Sect Leader, when Sect Leader is unsure of what to do, reflect on what Sect Leader and Mount Hua have protected. I believe all the answers lie within that.”

Hyun Jong quietly watched Chung Myung bow his head.

What they have done. What they have protected.

“…I understand what you mean.”

Chung Myung closed his eyes.

‘Cheong Mun Sahyung.’

In the darkness, Cheong Mun was still looking at him. But Cheong Mun’s face no longer held any pain.

‘Do not worry. The children now are better than we were.’

At that moment, a soft smile appeared on Cheong Mun’s lips as he looked at him.

Chung Myung gazed at that smile for a long time with his eyes closed.

For a very long time.