Chapter 1103: If It's This Kind of Reciprocation, It Might Be Worth Accepting (Part 3)

The horizon was adorned with a dazzlingly white sun, hanging halfway in the sky. Just looking at it gave an endlessly warm feeling, as the white sun trembled gently...

"Your back's not straight?"

Kiii...

No, it wasn't the sun.

The small and cute marten, which was arching its back, quickly lifted its lowered waist at Chung Myung's voice.

Of course, it wasn't strange for a marten to arch its back. When feeling threatened or stretching, animals naturally lowered their upper body and raised their waist with all their strength.

But what was on the ground was not the cute front paws but a small and cute head... No, calling it a head was definitely strange.

[Illustration of what's happening (w/o the bag): https://pin.it/5wsl08o]

And what was more than strange was that there was a large cylindrical bag, which seemed to be ten times the size of a human body, placed on its back, which was the size of a human forearm.

Wow... This...

Baek-ah, who was trembling under the weight of the bag full of fist-sized stones, lowered his waist again with a whine.

"No, but what about this little guy?"

At the ghostly voice, the marten jumped, raising its back. However, despite its efforts, Chung Myung swiftly approached and kicked the marten away.

Kiiiiii!

The marten that had flown high into the sky, flapping its front legs, crashed to the ground. After turning its body fiercely in the air and landing forcefully, the marten quickly gathered the scattered bag on its back and shouldered it desperately. Then, it promptly slammed its head down again.

"And they say even beasts know who feed and raise them, who was it that said that! Who was it!"

...

"No!"

Chung Myung's eyes flashed brightly.

"Yes, you don't have to know about grace. But if you eat rice, you should pay for it! I fed you and raised you, and now that you've grown up, you're throwing a tantrum instead of running errands?"

Ki...!

Without giving the marten a chance to retort, Chung Myung threw it into the air again.

Pwaaaang!

The marten, which had flown high into the sky, repeated the actions it had done a while ago.

Thud!

Like a professional acrobat, the marten used all its strength to grab its short front legs behind its back. Touching it now would be like accidentally touching a rare and precious scarf in the Central Plains.

"Whether it's a person or a beast..."

Chung Myung clicked his tongue and glared at Baek-ah as if he didn't like it at all. In the marten's eyes receiving that gaze, transparent tears welled up.

Certainly, the tears weren't coming from pain or sadness. The meaning of those tears was purely a sense of injustice.

If Baek-ah could speak, wouldn't he shout, 'When did you conscientiously provide me with food? You bastard, you're worse than an animal!'

To be honest, all Chung Myung had done was rough up Baek-ah and walk around. Baek-ah hunted and ate on its own, went to the kitchen to find food, stole food... Well, let's leave that aside. Anyway.

However, with him making such a big fuss about feeding and raising, from Baek-ah's perspective, it was a role akin to going crazy and jumping around.

But what could be done? It's not like he could relieve his frustration with words…

...Even if Baek-ah could speak human language, would words reach that rascal?

In times like this, there was no choice but to just lie flat and say, 'I'm dead.'

"If an enemy comes to Mount Hua, then what? If we die, we die together, and if we live, we live together! While the Sahyungs are rolling around training, are you throwing a tantrum alone? Can't you straighten your back?"

Kiiii...

Baek Ah quickly lifted its waist high.

Watching this from the side, Yoon Jong and Jo Gol looked at each other.

"When did we become the marten's Sahyungs?"

"…It's my first time hearing this too."

"That aside... Isn't this considered animal abuse at this point?"

Baek Cheon shook his head as if to say that statement was incorrect.

"It's spirit animal abuse."

"Anyway, isn't abuse still abuse?"

"I don't agree. As far as I know, Chung Myung is someone who loves animals more than anyone in this world."

"Huh?"

Jo Gol looked at Baek Cheon with eyes that said, 'What kind of nonsense is this?' Baek Cheon spoke calmly.

"Because it's an animal, it ended like that. If it were us, we would have been stuck in the Yangtze River now, asking fish about their well-being."

"Oh, I see."

Jo Gol quickly understood. Baek-ah was receiving exceptionally special treatment. He had slacked off during training and only got hit on the head and kicked. If they had done the same, they would have been beaten until the brink of death and hung upside down without food or water for three days.

"...Chung Myung unexpectedly has a tender side."

"Is that so?"

"And come to think of it, it's quite reasonable, isn't it? If you fool around, even if you're an animal, you'll be punished."

"If you think about it the other way around, that bastard sees us as no different from animals."

"...Sounds like Chung Myung."

Listening to this conversation, Yoon Jong unintentionally distanced himself from them.

'These people aren't normal either. They're completely crazy.'

However, unlike the disciples of the Mount Hua Sect who unexpectedly found a tender side in Chung Myung, the people from Nokrim and Tang Family could only gape in astonishment.

"...What kind of marten..."

"Yeah..."

Their pupils shook.

However, it wasn't easy for them to explain exactly why they were surprised. Were they astonished by the marten who was receiving punishment like a person? Or were they surprised by the human who mistreated and oppressed even a marten?

"Hehehe."

"We are who we are, but really..."

"But we need to think about which of the two is the beast...."

At that moment, Chung Myung, who had been giving a lengthy speech to Baek-ah, turned his head sharply.

'Eek!'

'Don't make eye contact.'

'Hold your breath, hold!'

Nokrim and the Tang Clan, meeting each other's eyes, quickly looked downward. Just making eye contact with that human had made life more difficult over the past few days.

"Are you laughing?"

"...."

"Is a laugh coming out now?"

Chung Myung's two eyes twinkled.

'Wow, look at those eyes.'

'I'd rather the Evil Sect kid was a human.'

'I'd be more comfortable under Jang Ilso, damn it.'

The taste of Mount Hua. It was a moment when the unique taste of Mount Hua, recognized even in the distant Sichuan region and famous mountains of the Central Plains, could be felt.

"Anyway, whether it's a human or a beast!"

"...."

"Beasts don't know the grace of being fed and put to sleep! Human beings, swinging their swords around, who haven't properly trained and have been groaning until now!"

"...."

"Oh my. My dear, what did I do in my past life... No, that's right. I committed a sin. I committed a sin!"

Yoon Jong turned to Baek Cheon and asked.

"What is he saying right now?"

Baek Cheon smiled contentedly.

"He's just talking nonsense as usual."

"Oh."

"Just let it be."

"Yes."

Meanwhile, Chung Myung, with a displeased expression, looked at the fallen Nokrim and Tang people here and there.

'This is more serious than I thought.'

After rolling them a few times, it became clear what Mount Hua had missed in the past.

Fundamentally, these people's martial skills were by no means low. The Sichuan Tang Family, a prestigious family among prestigious families. And the elites of the Nokrim, the rulers of the central mountain range, were strong, and if there were any weak among them, that would be even more surprising.

The problem was that strength was never composed of a single element.

"The martial artists are weak... What is this sound of a fish drowning?"

While internal energy and physical strength are similar, they are not perfect synonyms. No matter how much internal energy you had, if you rolled around without rest for three days and nights, your stamina was bound to run out first.

And the moment a person lost their physical strength, their mental strength was bound to erode. Such people could show their full strength at the start of a fight, but if the battle continued, they would end up not being able to show even half of their abilities.

Huh? Isn't that a form of training?

Of course it was. If you fought and fought again and again, risking your life even when you were not able to use even half of your strength, you would strengthen both your physical and mental strength.

'The one who survives gets to talk.'

But the problem was that more than half would die before that.

The reason why the Demonic Sect cultivators were fearsome were that they were fanatics. And the reason why fanatics were fearsome was not simply because they were not afraid of death.

Haven't they already experienced it?

Demonic Sect cultivators don't tire. While their bodies may grow weary and weak, their minds are surrounded by an impenetrable armor that ordinary people can hardly imagine.

War never ends in a single breath. Depending on the situation, a hellish state of killing and being killed can persist day and night for seven days and nights.

No, even if the battle doesn't continue, there is the anxiety of when the opponent might attack, and they have to endure each day with that uncertainty. Even those who believed in their exceptional abilities were likely to lose their heads, figuratively speaking, and face imminent death.

"Tsk."

Chung Myung scratched his cheek nervously.

"I criticized those so-called prestigious kids so much... But in the end, I was also from a prestigious sect."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"No, nothing."

Chung Myung sighed deeply.

'I'm not without fault either.'

The conversation he had with Cheong Mun in the past suddenly came to mind.

- Chung Myung. What do you think is the reason for the Wudang's lack of skills?

- Lack of talent.

- ...Then what about Southern Edge Sect?

- They're less than human.

- ...What about Namgung?

- They're shameless.

- ...Is there no way to fix it?

- Hey, Sahyung. Can you turn stone into gold by carving it? Carve it and it's just a pretty stone. How can you change those born like that with some method? Just leave them be.

- ...

Ah... Thinking about it, there really was no answer.

Chung Myung covered his face with both hands.

'No, it really seemed that way at the time. What could I do with me?'

If you learned the same martial arts but your skills didn't improve, you didn't have talent. There was no need for any other reason. At that time, Chung Myung didn't know, and he didn't want to know.

But only after poking, kicking, grabbing the neck, and pulling the hair of these inhuman bastards, and struggling to make them play the role of people, did he come to know.

If you carve stones well, they can become gold.

But the past Chung Myung, the Plum Blossom Sword Saint Chung Myung, didn't know, and there was no need to know. It was more convenient to go there and kill them all without worrying about it.

"Now, that method won't work anymore."

Chung Myung raised his head and glared at the Tang people.

"... Flowers in a greenhouse."

"...What?"

Chung Myung's eyebrows furrowed sharply.

He had often described disciples of the Southern Edge or Wudang as flowers in the greenhouse. Let alone the Demonic Cult, they were just fake half-hearted people who couldn't show off their skills even if they only met young Evil Sect bastards.

The mistake Chung Myung made was precisely that.

'It wasn't just the kids that were the problem.'

What happens if flowers in the greenhouse grow well?

What becomes of it? It becomes a well-grown flower in the greenhouse. It looks healthy and beautiful on the outside, but once it's exposed to a few cold winds, it withers. In the end, it becomes a useless decoration unless it's in a warm indoor environment.

It was a mistake to blindly believe that the people who grew up like that would play their role as they got older and their skills improved. Even if the Tang Clan and Nokrim were in this state, what would they do when they saw other guys?

"So no matter how much we fought in the front, the rear collapsed…"

A lament of disgust escaped Chung Myung's mouth as he recalled memories he didn't want to remember.

Somehow, if he fought to the death here, the other side would collapse, and if he fought to the death over there, the front side would collapse again.

Looking back, the time that Chung Myung, under Cheong Mun's urgent orders, wasted moving around the battlefield across the entire Central Plains was comparable to the time spent actually fighting.

Whether the opponent was the Southern Island Sect, the Demonic Sect, or the Ten Great Sects, it was the same.

If he wanted to attack properly, the ones at the back had to at least hold out. If that didn't work, no matter how much Chung Myung leaped around, it would just repeat the hell of the past.

So what was the solution?

"...Is there any other way?"

Chung Myung's two eyes burned like hell.

"Physical strength comes from rolling, and mental strength comes from being hit with fists and words."

As he muttered, everyone's eyes widened as if they felt something ominous. Chung Myung clapped his hands.

"Now, everyone, let's start again."

"Uh, um, Chung Myung Dojang."

"Yes?"

The Tang Family disciple pointed to the sky with an awkward expression.

"Um... the sun is already setting?"

"So?"

"Ah... Chung Myung Dojang may not know, but we also have tasks for each sect. At night, we have to do tasks, including organizing documents, to keep the sect running..."

"So?"

"This, this is something we must do..."

"So?"

The disciple lost his words and looked at Chung Myung with a blank expression.

Chung Myung seemed to be unable to understand at all and smirked, tilting his head.

"So, you're saying you don't have enough time to do other things right now?"

"W-Well, yes! You understand."

The disciple's face turned pale. But Chung Myung soon grinned again and said.

"That's a strange thing to say."

"...Yes?"

"If there's not enough time, just don't sleep."

"..."

"Wars are something that lasts for ten days straight without sleep, stuff like that. It's perfect. Let's experience it right now. I was only planning to do it until midnight today. Since it turned out like this, let's add another hour."

The disciple realized that something had gone terribly wrong in an instant. All the Nokrim and Tang Family members around him glared at him as if they were going to kill him. For the time being, he had no choice but to lower his head deeply to avoid their livid gazes.

"Now, let's start! I have to count on you guys to survive! So grit your teeth!"

The Mount Hua-ification of the entire Central Plains was steadily progressing.