Chapter 1012: She Caught Him Today (Part 2)

Kwaaang!

Another swordsman fell to the ground.

Dowi gently opened his tightly shut eyes and assessed the fallen fighters.

"One, two, three... six..."

Precisely six.

The number six symbolized the Namgung Family's vulnerability and also represented the resilience of those who, despite witnessing their comrades' heads explode and losing consciousness in the same manner after shouting, 'I cannot accept this result,' still ran forward with an indomitable spirit.

In simple terms, it meant that six individuals who dashed forward, shouting, 'I cannot accept this result,' ended up with their heads bursting and falling unconscious.

All thanks to Tang Soso's sword.

"I wonder if she really doesn't know."

Should I laugh, or should I cry?

Thanks to Tang Soso's swift annihilation of the Namgung Family's swordsmen, his decision was undoubtedly the right one, and there was no way to prove it more conclusively.

'But is this truly a reason to celebrate?'

Dowi glanced back briefly.

The Namgung Family's swordsmen wore expressions as if they had seen ghosts.

Shock, disbelief, and astonishment mingled on their faces as they stared at their fallen comrades.

And then...

Clap, clap, clap.

Someone lightly clapped their hands and stepped forward.

"Well, if a friendly match has reached this point, I think we've seen enough. Let's not dwell too much on the outcome. Just..."

Baek Cheon awkwardly tried to defuse the situation. Dowi looked at him, overwhelmed with gratitude and regret.

It was a tearful effort to save the last bit of the Namgung Family's pride.

But...

"Wait a moment, Sasuk."

"Soso, now let's..."

"I still have something to say. It will only take a moment."

"Alright."

Baek Cheon, finally pushed aside by Tang Soso, lowered his head and moved aside tremblingly. She took a step forward and scanned the Namgung Family's swordsmen.

No one... not even Namgung Dowi himself, met her gaze. 

"What's wrong with all of you?"

The shoulders of the Namgung Sect's swordsmen shook lightly. Their overwhelming sense of defeat was now overlaid with humiliation.

"The Namgung Family? A prestigious name? Of course, it's prestigious. But... what makes you so great?"

Tang Soso's gaze was cold as she spoke to Namgung Siga's swordsmen.

"Did you grumble about receiving personal training from Sahyung and still not being satisfied? What makes you so great?"

The Namgung Sect's swordsmen were shivering with a mix of their already heavy sense of loss and the newly added sense of shame.

"You're a group of novices, nothing more. You're just novices, and without the Namgung Family's name, you're nothing."

Namgung Dowi's eyes flickered when he heard these words. He knew that the words were not meant for him, but his heart still trembled.

"If you wear the name 'Namgung Family' like a disguise, you'll eventually see the day when the name of the Namgung Family falls to the ground, just like you."

"Senior sister!"

"Isn't that a bit too harsh?"

"Too harsh?"

Tang Soso responded immediately to the immediate objection, her lips curving into a smile.

"Coming from me, who hasn't learned to wield a sword for a few years, to be saying such things even after smashing you with a sword."

The Namgung Sect's swordsmen closed their mouths once more.

There was simply no way to justify themselves. Even if the best orator in the world were brought in to argue the case, they would still close their mouths and shut their eyes.

"Those of you who have no basics, but only flaunt your outer appearance."

Tang Soso sneered.

"If you really want to become strong, start from the basics again. With the noisy and empty-handed swordsmanship you displayed, you won't stand a chance against the real experts here."

Having finished speaking, she turned and walked away.

Now that the time for humiliation was over, her cold voice reached the ears of those who had sighed with relief.

"And."

"..."

"Be grateful to our Sahyung. He sent me with you in mind. If others had taken the field, you would have suffered a more humiliating defeat."

That was the final blow. The Namgung Family's swordsmen, who had lost all resistance, hung their heads low. Their pupils lost their light, and their fingertips trembled so finely that it was heart-wrenching.

Observing their pitiful state from a distance, Baek Cheon wore a strange expression. At that moment, Jo Gol whispered to him.

"Hey, Sasuk."

"What?"

"Isn't this a total scam?"

"...Quiet down."

Baek Cheon brought his index finger to his lips and motioned for silence.

"No, it's a scam, isn't it…"

Yoon Jong reached out wordlessly and squeezed Jo Gol's mouth shut.

"Shut up, kid."

"Ergh!"

Baek Cheon looked at the Namgung Sect with a slightly pricked expression.

'...It's a scam.'

If someone else had stepped forward, would they have suffered even more?

'Well...'

Of course, if someone as powerful as the Five Swords had stepped in, that statement would not be entirely false.

But Tang Soso was not weak in the Mount Hua Sect.

If you evaluated it objectively, Tang Soso's skills were actually now among the best in the Mount Hua Sect. Since a young age, she had received the full favor of Tang Gunak and consumed various elixirs like snacks.

Moreover, if someone else had stepped forward, it would have been difficult to create and image of massive defeat through sheer brute force, like she just did now.

To catch up with something belated, it was necessary to go back to basics, so it wouldn't have been possible without Tang Soso, who had been training tirelessly for the last three years.

Just by watching the speed at which her skills were improving, a voice that said, 'This is a dirty world, where talent is everything!' automatically came out, making you want to throw away your sword along with it. But when you actually saw her training, you picked up the sword that you had thrown and collected it. The person who would make you pick it would be Tang Soso.

So, this was something only she could create.

'Chung Myung also sent Soso out to make this picture, right?'

Being beaten down by someone who started learning to sword much later than you, it was such a humiliating thing.

Namgung Family's swordsmen were clearly shocked, and the amount of shock they had was written all over their faces. Watching that amount of shock, Baek Cheon couldn't help but be newly impressed with Tang Soso.

The daughter of Tang Gunak, the head of Sichuan Tang Family.

Her existence is nothing short of a symbol of the relationship between Mount Hua and the Sichuan Tang Family. When she came to learn the sword, there were few people who could blame her for living her life as the flower of exchange even if she neglected her training a bit.

However, Tang Soso has bet everything she had. She just wanted to be recognized solely as a swordsman. People who did not see it in person did not know how desperate her effort was.

And what that tearful effort achieved was finally proven today.

At this moment, Tang Soso herself could be proud of herself.

"Sagoooooo!"

Tang Soso suddenly arrived without warning and grabbed Yoo Iseol, who had been watching this scene.

"Did I do well? Right?"

Yoo Iseol's expressionless body leaned back and forth, repeatedly returning.

Soso. You should consider that your strength is much stronger than before... My waist is going to be torn apart...

It was also amazing that Yoo Iseol kept an expressionless face throughout all this.

"...Your elbows are still stiff."

"R-Really? I tried my best."

Tang Soso made a show of folding and unfolding her arms.

"Make your lower body stronger and your arms more flexible."

"Yes! I'll keep that in mind!"

Tang Soso nodded earnestly, again and again.

Baek Cheon laughed, looking at her in that way.

'No, it's not just Soso.'

If Yoo Iseol hadn't been teaching Tang Soso continuously for the past three years, today's scene wouldn't have been possible.

And then.

Chung Myung, who had been observing the situation from behind, stepped forward with a flicker.

"Hmm."

With that short phrase alone, he captured everyone's attention and looked at the Namgung Sect with a calm gaze.

"All right."

"...."

"What else should I prove?"

When Chung Myung chuckled, the faces of the Namgung Sect's swordsmen turned bright red. It was because they suddenly realized how ridiculous their attitudes must have looked to Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword.

Let alone Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword, weren't they destroyed by Tang Soso?

"Let's stop playing around here."

Chung Myung lightly flicked his finger.

"I'm not a person who has time to drag along even those who can't understand it even if I explain it in words, and those who don't understand even if I show it with actions."

"The dojo..."

"Decide your fate by tomorrow morning."

He summarily and neatly organized the situation.

"Starting from tomorrow, we will engage in proper training, not the tasting we've done so far. It will probably be harder than it is now."

"...."

"Those who don't like it, don't bother coming to train from tomorrow. I won't catch you."

Namgung Dowi raised his head.

"D-Dojang! That... "

"Stand up straight, too."

Chung Myung spoke sternly.

"It is excessive to drag in every single one of those who swear that they will not follow you. That will only harm those with real motivation. If you really want to serve the Namgung Family, you must know how to cut out the rotten parts and move on."

A deep sigh escaped from Namgung Dowi's mouth.

"....I understand, Dojang."

In the end, Namgung Dowi had no choice but to admit that Chung Myung's words were correct. With the current mindset, everyone would just be repeating vague training.

"Then until tomorrow..."

"Just one..."

At that moment, a voice interjected, and Chung Myung's gaze dropped down below. Namgung Dan, who had collapsed on the ground, had lifted his head and was staring at him.

"Is it okay to ask just one thing?"

"Well, go ahead."

Rising from his seats and stumbling, Namgung Dan stared intently at Chung Myung and opened his mouth.

"...If we follow Dojang's training... will we become stronger?"

Chung Myung chuckled.

"Will you become stronger?"

"Yes. I..."

"Do it in moderation, you idiot."

Slightly surprised, Namgung Dan raised their head and froze in place, looking at Chung Myung's gaze.

Chung Myung sharply glared at Namgung Dan and said, as if growling.

"I'm the kind of person who kicks the butts of those who want it, not the one who coddles and comforts crying kids."

Namgungdan's face turned pale blue in no time.

"I've been lenient enough with this much."

"D-Dojang..."

"If you want to get stronger, put in more effort. Don't whine and ask me to do it."

Namgung Dan clenched his fist tightly. Chung Myung, who responded to them coldly, said again to Namgung Dowi.

"Don't force it."

"...."

"They'll decide their own patsh. Even if there are only a few people left, it will be much better than having only empty heads."

Namgung Dowi nodded.

"I will keep that in mind."

After finishing his words, Chung Myung turned his body. Then he pulled out a wine bottle from his waist and swayed away.

Following him, the Five Swords and Mount Hua's disciples followed.

The Namgung Sect's swordsmen, left behind in the large courtyard, gazed endlessly at the departing disciples of the Mount Hua Sect.