Chapter 1109: It Gives Me The Chills Sometimes (Part 4)

"Hahhhhhh!"

Jo Gol stretched vigorously and got up.

"It's so funny!"

How long has it been since he had overslept like this?

Ever since that devil bastard entered the Mount Hua Sect, the word "oversleeping" disappeared completely from the lives of the third-class disciples. The word "night's sleep" seemed to be in jeopardy too, so did oversleeping even make sense in their vocabulary?

But today! On this historic day, even that damn guy can't do anything about them.

After fixing his clothes, Jo Gol, who purified his mind, walked out of the room with unstoppable steps.

"Are you awake?"

"Did you cough, Sahyung?"

"Yeah."

Yoon Jong smiled broadly as he faced Jo Gol. His face was also gleaming. Normally, his face seemed like it would crumble if he touched it...

"...It's really amazing. It's incredible how much better a person can feel just by getting a good night's sleep."

"Yeah! That's right. If my body stays like this now, I think I can take on Chung Myung."

"No. That's too much."

Yoon Jong, who was smiling, seemed to have remembered something and tilted his head.

"No, wait a minute. Then..."

"Yes?"

"...So, everyone else has been living like this, right?"

For a moment, the two of them looked at each other with blank faces.

"So this is my body's original state?"

"Isn't it?"

"…Crazy, so only other people knew about this good thing. Why were we the only ones who didn't know?"

Yoon Jong wiped the moisture from his eyes.

Well, it's not that you didn't know, but you forgot. And soon you'll forget again. As long as that devil lives in the Mount Hua Sect...

Jo Gol cracked his neck vigorously.

"Anyway, I'm full of energy. If I had been told to take a day off and rest, I might have felt guilty and sneaked out to practice, but since it's only half a day, it seems okay."

"I feel the same way."

Yoon Jong chuckled and walked towards the training ground. The sun was now at its zenith, so it was time to start training.

"The members of the Sichuan Tang Family must have suffered a lot, right?"

"Well, that's true, but..."

Yoon Jong shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't underestimate the prestigious sect. Although they were shocked by the sudden situation, there's still a reason why they're a prestigious sect. Their nature is different, and the training they used to do probably wasn't inferior to this."

"That can't be right."

"Huh?"

Yoon Jong turned around. Tang Soso, who had approached unnoticed, was smiling meaningfully.

"If that were the case, I wouldn't have been so shocked when I first entered the Mount Hua Sect."

"..."

"Although there is a difference in nature, it's also true that the intensity is different. There's no other sect in the world that trains people as insanely as the Mount Hua Sect."

"Really?"

"In the first place, other sects wouldn't be able to make their disciples undergo such training even if they wanted to."

"Why?"

"Because people can't endure it."

Yoon Jong looked at Tang Soso with a puzzled expression.

"But we endured it, didn't we?"

"Look at what Sahyung is saying."

Tang Soso looked at Yoon Jong as if he found it absurd.

"No, search the entire world. Do you think there's a sect that pumps out pills like the Mount Hua Sect?"

"..."

"Mount Hua's Self-Cultivation Pills are no less powerful than Shaolin's Great Enlightment Pills. In fact, in some aspects, they are even more potent. You know that, right?"

"Well, yes."

It was indeed a miraculous medicine.

"Even in Shaolin, they don't give the Great Enlightment Pills to just anyone. They carefully select and choose from those who have proven talent, and only then do they reluctantly give out one pill at a time.

"True."

Tang Soso's eyebrows furrowed.

"But the Mount Hua Sect eats them up like some kind of soup."

"..."

"Even Hye Yeon probably took more Self-Cultivation Pills from the Mount Hua Sect than he did Great Enlightenment Pills from Shaolin, right?"

The two people nodded in agreement, dumbfounded.

In that sense, Hye Yeon was bald and used the martial arts of Shaolin, but was practically a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect. Wasn't it right for people to be loyal to whoever gave them more?

"Because it's the Mount Hua Sect, we're able to endure. If it were any other sect, there would have already been numerous protests. When I was young, my body couldn't handle the training, and as I got older, the inertia from my previous training made it hard to change. I'm also at an age where control becomes difficult."

"Well..."

Training a ten-year-old and a thirty-year-old couldn't be the same. There would naturally be resistance. [...how old is Soso again...]

'Unless there's a bastard like Chung Myung.'

Rebellion meant death. No, it was better to die. And don't even dare think about running away.

That was the kind of person who was attacking the entire Mount Hua Sect, the Tang Family, Nokrim, and the Namgung family...

"Anyway, it's not something you can do just because you want to. So, my brothers and younger siblings are probably dying right now."

"...I see."

"Some people think of Chung Myung as the core of Mount Hua, but in my opinion, the Self-Cultivation Pill is no less important."

"...Isn't that the same thing?"

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"Because it was Chung Myung who created the Self-Cultivation Pill."

"Yeah...."

Then, as if thinking about something, Tang Soso nodded.

"I see..."

At that moment, Jo Gol, who had been silent, spoke.

"Soso-ah."

"Yes?"

"Then, what's strange is... why don't other sects unlock their potential like that?"

Tang Soso looked at Jo Gol with eyes that seemed to say, 'Who doesn't have such thoughts?' Jo Gol, receiving that look, cringed.

"No, is Sahyung really the son of a merchant family?"

"Well, what does this have to do with that?"

"Do you think pills are something that can be easily made if you put your mind to it? To formulate a pill, at the very least, you need rare ingredients that may or may not be discovered once every few decades."

"Is that so?"

"To produce Tang Sect's Thousand Venom Pill, one has to find and obtain poisonous substances that are extremely rare and difficult to find even after one washes their eyes. What makes the Self-Cultivation Pill remarkable is that it's made from materials that people can find if they want to."

"Ah..."

It was only then that Jo Gol, who seemed to have understood everything, nodded his head.

"While the practical effects of the ancient Mount Hua Sect's Self-Cultivation Pill may have been better than the current one, to create a single pill from that era would require the effort of making hundreds of the current ones."

"In conclusion..."

"Hmm?"

Jo Gol chuckled.

"It means that the people of the Tang Family are running out of stamina right now and are on the brink of death."

"...Well, that might be true."

Cutting out all the words before and after could give it that meaning.

"Hehehe. That's an interesting spectacle too... Shall we go take a look?"

At Jo Gol's words, Yoon Jong furrowed his brows.

"Maybe it's not the right thing to say in front of Soso... Why do you have so many negative feelings toward Tang Family? You were born in Sichuan."

"It's because I was born in Sichuan."

"Why?"

Jo Gol clicked his tongue and looked at Yoon Jong.

"Does Sahyung like the Southern Edge Sect because he was born in Shaanxi?"

"...That's not the case."

"It's similar. Since I was young, I developed a habit of being scared whenever I saw a member of the Tang Family, and without realizing it, I developed resentment towards them. I'm overcoming it now."

Yoon Jong shook his head.

'You'll never overcome that.'

How could this guy who trembled even when looking at Soso overcome his fear of the Tang Family?

No, actually... was Soso scarier than the Tang Family?

Jo Gol, who was laughing, Yoon Jong, who was shaking his head, and Tang Soso, who had a complex expression, entered the training ground together. And...

"Uh... It's cold."

"Suddenly, what's this chill..."

The three of them shivered simultaneously.

"...Is it already winter?"

The three, who had already entered the training ground among the disciples of Mount Hua, discovered a familiar figure and, as soon as they saw it, pressed themselves back.

"Sasuk."

"Uh... yes?"

"Why is the atmosphere like this?"

"Uh... Well, that's..."

Baek Cheon seemed like he was about to say something, but he soon gestured towards the front.

"See for yourselves."

"What?"

The three looked at the scene pointed out by Baek Cheon. Without a word, their mouths hung open in astonishment.

"Ohh..."

"Wha..."

"Hohh..."

There wasn't anything particularly different. It was just the Tang Family members lined up in front of them, as usual when starting their training. If there was a slight difference...

"Oh my. Oraboni..." [brother, casual address from younger woman to older man]

Tang Soso shivered.

At the front stood the head disciple of the Sichuan Tang Family, Tang Pae, with his face black and blue, so vivid as if had been painted over.

"Wha, what in the world..."

"Seriously..."

The swollen faces of the Tang Family members were grotesque. Yet, nobody could burst into laughter upon seeing those faces. Through swollen eyes that were now smaller than buttonholes, a fierce glint of resentment leaked out.

"Mount Hua..."

"Damn bastards..."

"I'll kill them all."

Jo Gol twitched, stepping back. Excuse me? We didn't make those people over there angry, did we? Why are we getting slapped in the face by enemies we didn't create?

"Traitors..."

"Rotten Shaanxi seeds."

Wow... Even if they encountered the Evil Tyrant Alliance, they wouldn't look at them with such eyes.

"Ahem."

Baek Cheon cleared his throat loudly.

"It seems like Tang Gaju-nim was very angry."

"...Seems like it."

"No matter how angry he is, this isn't right. Attacking people with swollen faces..."

Tang Soso immediately retorted.

"It's okay. Sichuan Tang Family's medical skills are the best. It seems like he's beaten them up enough to fix it."

"...."

At times like this, you could clearly see where Tang Soso's blood came from.

"Is everyone here?"

At that moment, Chung Myung, who was behind, walked out leisurely. Then he glanced at the Sichuan Tang Family and the Mount Hua Sect standing opposite to each other.

"Uh... Originally, we had separate plans for this afternoon."

As soon as the words "separate plans" came out, the eyes of the Tang Family members turned sharply towards Chung Myung like a sword. If looks could kill, Chung Myung's body would have undoubtedly been skewered to shreds by their gazes.

"Well... it might be a bit difficult."

Chung Myung, avoiding eye contact, looked up at the distant sky.

'…I thought it was lucky that your bloodline didn't continue.'

Come to think of it, since they were relatives, where would it go even if he left?

Chung Myung subtly turned around. Tang Gunak, his face hardened, was looking at him with arms crossed and eyes burning.

He was clearly saying, 'I will never say a word, and I will never touch your exclusive authority over education. However, I am very uncomfortable in this situation where you are suggesting that you may conduct separate training.'

"Uh, well... hehe. It's just a match, and it'll be over in no time, right?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Mount Hua disciples desperately shook their heads.

We're very, very, very okay with separate training. We have no regrets whatsoever.

Of course, Chung Myung pretended not to notice.

"So there's nothing we can do. We're going to have another round today like yesterday... The winning side will take half a day off tomorrow, okay?"

"Well, wait a minute, Chung Myung. This doesn't seem right."

"Don't you see the murderous intent in their eyes? They're saying they're going to kill us."

In the eyes of the Mount Hua disciples, they saw Chung Myung, who looked uncharacteristically timid, and Tang Gunak, who smiled happily as if he was finally liking it.

"Well then, let's start..."

"KILL THEM!"

"KILL THEM ALL!"

"BURY THEM! THOSE DAMN TRAITORS!"

Before his words were even finished, the Tang Family members, pulling out their black-edged weapons from their sleeves, rushed forward.

"Hey, hey!"

"Dodge, dodge!"

Watching the downpour of hidden weapons from the sky, the Mount Hua disciples realized something. That something had started to go very wrong.