Chapter 1515: People Experience All Kinds Of Things As They Live (Part 4)

Quaaaang!

With a loud crash, Ilho Shin Gae tumbled violently.

"Uweeeek!"

With sword strikes engraved across his entire body, as soon as he opened his mouth, blood gushed terrifyingly from his lips.

Grasping the floor with trembling hands, Ilho Shin Gae slowly turned his head. Confronted with the sight before him, he forgot his own state for a moment, gaping in shock.

A blue sky.

The grand ceiling of the hall and the walls that once shielded the interior were now nowhere to be seen. Instead, an endless expanse of blue sky filled his vision.

"Wh, what…"

The words trailed off. Ilho Shin Gae, visibly dismayed, couldn't even finish his sentence.

It was expected. For this dilapidated hall, the shock of their battle was too much to bear. Rather, it was fair to say that something that should have collapsed long ago had managed to hold on until now.

Yes, as if…

Thunk.

At that moment, Chung Myung approached.

The battle within the hall had suddenly ended. As Chung Myung's sword shattered the upper level of the hall, all eyes seemed to be fixed on him.

"Mount, Mount Hua's Chivalr… *cough*"

Bloodied coughs erupted from Ilho Shin Gae's lips.

It was futile.

His Jade Divine Energy, which he refined with all his might, and the Eighteen Righteous Strikes, a secret technique only available to the sect leader, were worthless against this monstrous opponent.

He, an expert within the Beggar's Union, was defeated without a chance to explain himself against a youngster who had yet to reach his prime.

Thunk.

As Chung Myung stepped closer, seemingly pressing Ilho Shin Gae, he halted slowly in his tracks. He raised his chin and gazed at the pierced ceiling, beyond which lay the sky.

"Hmm."

Chung Myung looked at the sky for a moment as if impressed by something and then spoke calmly.

"It feels refreshing."

"…"

"And the wind blows too, doesn't it?"

It was an abrupt statement. Ilho Shin Gae, who had been staring blankly at Chung Myung, suddenly grabbed his chest and struggled to stand.

The outcome was clear. He couldn't possibly stand against that sword god.

No, even if he could stand against Chung Myung, it wouldn't matter. When these Shaolin monks appeared unexpectedly and took their side, the outcome was already decided.

He understood. Persisting further would only lead to meaningless sacrifices.

Yet Ilho Shin Gae couldn't admit defeat.

"…I…"

Amidst bloody coughs, Ilho Shin Gae glared fiercely at Chung Myung.

"I cannot accept it. I cannot acknowledge the dominance of a mere upstart!"

"…"

"The Beggar's Union is decaying! At this rate, the Beggar's Union will cease to be the Beggar's Union! I will! I will change the Beggar's Union…"

"Oh, there it is."

Chung Myung chuckled and nodded his head. Seeing Ilho Shin Gae's puzzled expression, Chung Myung continued.

"That 'I will…That's the issue. 'I will.'"

"…"

"It doesn't have to be you. Anyone can change the Beggar's Union. It's not something 'I' must do."

Ilho Shin Gae's face twisted in disbelief.

"You… do you even know what the Beggar's Union…"

"Are all a bunch of idiots?"

"What?"

He seemed to anticipate what Ilho Shin Gae was going to say… No, he said with a grin, as if he understood Ilho Shin Gae's feelings.

"Compared to you, they all seem lacking, and no matter how much they seem to be growing, they don't seem reliable no matter how you look at them. Unless you change them somehow, turn them around, and forcefully lead them, they will all be ruined."

Chung Myung's gaze glanced sideways.

"Thoughtless, stupid, lacking in talent even if you search with squinted eyes, and the only ones with decent skills are the ones who are so crazy that it makes you think they got stabbed in the head once when they were children, and among them, there are those overflowing with needless confidence..."

"Who the hell are you talking to?"

"…Chung Myung. Look straight ahead."

"Don't look here! Not here!"

Chung Myung pointedly stared at Ilho Shin Gae again.

"So 'I' have to do something. Whether it's the process or the justification, those small side issues will be compensated for by good results."

Chung Myung smirked and asked Ilho Shin Gae.

"Right?"

"..."

"That's why you can't do it."

Chung Myung glanced up at the sky.

"A guy who thinks he's great and can do everything alone only makes things difficult for everyone. Only someone who believes that those who seem less capable than themselves can do things they can't is qualified to become the head of a sect."

Ilho Shin Gae's fingertips trembled faintly.

"Are you saying I'm lacking?"

"No. I'm saying you're not suited for it."

"....Why?"

"Because you only change the present."

Ilho Shin Gae still didn't seem to understand. Chung Myung elaborated.

"Maybe you're not entirely wrong. If you become the leader, the Beggar Sect might improve for a while. But those changes will ultimately make the sect's future more difficult."

"Why?"

"Because after you die, no one will be able to replace you."

Ilho Shin Gae's body flinched for a moment. Chung Myung drove the point home.

"Something that can only be done by one person means, conversely, that no one else can do it if they're not there. A sect isn't like that. It has to be able to function and be protected even without one person. But you can't do that. In your eyes, anyone other than yourself is stupid and lacking."

Calmly, but somehow as if making a declaration.

"That's why it has to change. The people who will live in the future of the sect have to change it themselves. Not some old ghost with only a few days left to live!"

At that moment, Chung Myung turned his head sharply. The elders who met his gaze flinched and then clenched their teeth. One elder stammered in protest.

"Who are you to lecture us, not even a proper member of the sect...?"

"Let's stop this nonsense, now!"

At that moment, a thunderous voice erupted. It wasn't Chung Myung, nor an elder.

Hong Daekwang. He gritted his teeth and glared at the elders.

"Don't you know shame?"

"Y-You insolent...!"

"If you are so confident, why do you hide? If the Shaolin people are here, why not proudly declare your intention to take the leader's position to the whole world?"

"What....."

"You didn't even call your disciples because you're too ashamed to show this disgraceful spectacle!"

"Shut your mouth! You, who aren't even a proper member!"

At those words, Hong Daekwang's eyes flashed.

"Since when did the Beggar Sect become a place where you need a position to speak?"

"...."

"From the leader to the lowest beggar, we are all beggars. We are people who live in the lowest places. That's why we don't have ranks, and anyone can speak and voice their opinions! Wasn't that our sect?"

The tendons on Hong Daekwang's chin bulged.

"If you want to hold onto so many things! If you want to suppress others by dividing ranks! Then throw off those rags and go to another sect. As an elder of this sect, you will be well received elsewhere. Why do you cling to these filthy rags?"

It was a time when the elders were furious and about to shout.

"Answer him."

A loud voice came from behind them.

"S-Sect Leader?"

"No....."

The elders' faces were filled with confusion. On the side of the door that had not yet completely collapsed, the Sect Leader of the Beggar Sect, Pungyeong Shin Gae, and other elders were standing. They were the ones who had left the main hall earlier.

Seeing this, a few elders inside the main hall closed their eyes in resignation.

'It's over.'

The fact that the sect leader was standing there meant that the leaders who had gone to gather the common beggars had failed.

It also meant that their defeat was almost certain.

Pungyeong Shin Gae spoke again.

"This is a place for the elders. And it is where decisions about the sect's major affairs are made."

But surprisingly, Pungyeong Shin Gae's question was directed at Hong Daekwang, and it wasn't kind.

"Yet you, who have no qualifications, dare to speak. Why?"

Depending on how one listened, it may sound like a reprimand telling him not to dare come forward and to step back. But Hong Daekwang did not retreat an inch and shouted confidently.

"Why ask something so obvious! Because it's shameful, shameful!"

"....Hmm?"

Pungyeong Shin Gae's face hardened slightly as if it wasn't the answer he was expecting.

"Shameful? Is that all?"

"What other reason is needed?"

Pungyeong Shin Gae tightly pursed his dry lips with his tongue. His expression revealed a hint of unease. Hong Daekwang, seemingly with no intention to assist him, spoke again with a twitch of his face.

"We are people who live by begging. We don't work, just scrape by, and no one cares about us even if we freeze to death somewhere."

"...Of course. Isn't that what beggars are?"

"Yes. Of course! So, even if you don't know anything else, don't do shameful things. If a beggar who has nothing starts doing things that even make his feet itch, he'll truly become a worthless seed! Even if we are looked down upon as dirty beggars, we are still human. At the very least, we want to live like humans and be treated as such. Is there any more reason needed for that?"

Pungyeong Shin Gae's face showed a perplexed expression. His mouth twitched a few times.

In a short time, everyone couldn't take their eyes off Pungyeong Shin Gae and Hong Daekwang.

"Heh."

Pungyeong Shin Gae exhaled a short breath, letting go of all the thoughts that had been circling in his mind. Then, instead of acting as the Beggar's Union's sect leader, he directly expressed what he wanted to know.

"...How do you see the current state of the Beggar's Union in your eyes?"

"What are you asking? It's a mess. Is this some kind of beggar's den? It's more like the Hao Sect's den of devils."

"...Well, why do you think the Beggar's Union has become like this?"

"Why do you keep asking such obvious questions?"

Hong Daekwang responded as if he couldn't understand, and Pungyeong Shin Gae nodded with a bitter expression.

"Right... I asked something unnecessary. This is all my..."

"That's not it!"

"Hmm?"

Ignoring Pungyeong Shin Gae's intentions, Hong Daekwang, as if piercing through the confusion, glanced fiercely around the inside of the half-collapsed headquarters. Then he shouted.

"Here! In this crucial place that determines the fate of the Beggar's Union!"

The gaze that passed by everyone finally fell on Ilho Shingae.

"Where are the beggars?"

Ilho Shingae's eyes shook for a moment.

"Wearing tattered clothes and pretending to be a beggar, is that what a beggar is? People who accumulate money in their treasuries, not even once giving alms with their own hands, acting like nobles while wearing rags, are they beggars? Are these elders really beggars?"

Some elders' faces turned red involuntarily. The discomfort was not only felt by the elders, but even those who were secretly stung by the remark. Pungyeong Shin Gae's face also turned red.

It was true that he had gone through tough times, but it was also an undeniable fact that he had lived a luxurious life eating greasy and expensive food during glorious periods.

Looking only at the way he lived without knowing his status, who would call him a beggar?

"The reason Mount Hua was ruined is because people who weren't Taoists were wandering around."

"What? This bastard is doing well..."

"Chung Myung, be quiet!"

"Close your mouth!"

Before Chung Myung could have a fit, Hong Daekwang shouted again.

"And the reason the Mount Hua regained its glory is also because they are more Taoist-like than anyone else in the world."

"Development? Reform? Don't make me laugh. How can it help beggars if people gather here to make the Beggar's Union stronger? There are no beggars in this sect. In the end, you'll only benefit yourselves."

"What, you...!"

"Did you ask what my opinion was?"

Hong Daekwang looked at Pungyeong Shin Gae again and said.

"Yes. Let me tell you honestly. It has nothing to do with the Beggar's Union, the elders, or me. It's not my concern. Just as someone who is not a Taoist cannot discuss the future of the Mount Hua Sect, non-beggars cannot discuss the future of the Beggar's Union. If you want to make the Beggar's Union right, leave out both sides! The Beggar's Union is!"

Hong Daekwang paused for a moment and clenched his fist. Then, he struck it forcefully in a declaration.

"Where beggars will figure out how to make it right themselves. You bastards who only have oil on your stomachs!"

In the almost completely open space of the headquarters where people were scattered almost everywhere, the fervent and seemingly insane remarks echoed loudly.

Baek Cheon, who had been staring blankly with his mouth wide open, suddenly snapped out of it and turned his gaze sharply.

"Ch-Chung Myung..."

And Baek Cheon saw it. A Chung Myung, more shocked and agape than anyone else. Cold sweat broke out.

Ah... Was this a mistake? Uh...