“Oh my god..”

The sect leaders on the podium were all shocked.

“Wasn’t that the Divine Fist?”

“He didn’t look that old, but he managed to do that. In terms of power, it looked quite strong too. Hahaha.”

“Abbot, how did you manage to hide such a person?”

The abbot smiled at Heo Do Jinin’s words.

“I didn’t mean to deceive anyone by hiding this kid, he is the shy type and didn’t want to show his skills till now,” simply stated the Abbot.

“Isn’t it weird that you are making this fuss instead of me?”

“Right, but..”

Heo Do Jinin looked at the novice monk in surprise. The guy who left the sparring circle had bowed to the crowd.

“Isn’t he a Hae disciple?”

“Yes, that is correct. He is the youngest of the haeja disciples.”

“If he is a hae disciple, doesn’t that make him a first-class disciple? A first-class disciple...”

“He is younger than the second-class disciples in age.”

“.. ah.”

The Abbot smiled,

“Although the disciples’ classes are quite tangled up, it was difficult not to let a child who barely passed the conditions to join the ranks of the first class disciples not participate.. if there is anything troubling you about this, I apologize.”

“No. Any child who passed the terms for the competition is eligible to compete. That isn’t a crime.”

Heo Do Jinin quickly stopped any complaints which might come.

‘I need to watch that guy more.’

This competition wasn’t over yet.

It was important to win in this competition to spread the fame of oneself and their sect, but it was also important to identify the talents being nurtured by other sects.

Would anyone miss the chance to observe such a monster because of such trivial matters?

“This is amazing. At his age, to be this good.”

“Um. We cannot help but admire it.”

Groans and exclamations flowed out.

Yet this wasn’t a fake response. What the young novice monk had shown was really something they all admired.

Hundred Steps Divine Fist.

A combat technique from Shaolin.

If the Arahant fist was the basis of Shaolin, then this could be called the best and purified version of Shaolin’s martial arts. It was said that it was a martial art that Shaolin was so proud of that they described it as being equal to the Seventy-Two Ascending Fine Arts.

Shaolin’s martial arts were literally something that took time to learn, but in the end, they would turn out perfect.

It was known that their monks took years of training to understand their complex and mysterious martial arts.

But at this age, this child was already performing something amazing.

‘And at this level.’

Heo Do Jinin’s eyes narrowed. He thought that Shaolin had a hidden card, and it looked like they had hidden it for quite a long time.

It became clear that they were holding this competition for the sake of highlighting this monster.

“Hehe. It is amazing.”

“Not at all,” humbly said the Abbot.

“To use such a technique in a preliminary spar, especially after he said he didn’t want to use it, it is clear that he went for it because Mount Hua was a true opponent for him.”

“Still, it cannot be ignored that he used it.”

The Abbot smiled.

‘With this attention, the focus on Mount Hua has been snatched away, but..’

He glanced around at the faces of the sect leaders, whose reactions were divided into two. Half of the faces were extremely disappointed, while the others seemed to be deeply thinking of something.

The frustrated ones were the kind who didn’t have the confidence to handle Hae Yeon’s¹ skills, and those who thought too deeply were trying to compare Hae Yeon’s talent with their own.

And..

‘Oh.’

Only one person had a different expression.

‘Mount Hua?’

Among the many sect leaders, only Hyun Jong looked comfortable.

Was it because he had let go of his obsession with winning and losing..?

‘I will know if I watch him.’

The Abbot smiled and turned his head lightly as the conversations continued.

“W-what just happened?”

“It was like a flash?”

“.. there isn’t a technique that can do that.”

Wasn’t there a saying about one seeing how much they know²?

Unlike the other disciples of Mount Hua, who paid attention to the result, Baek Cheon and the others understood how terrifying this was.

‘For Baek Sang not to get hurt, the force was reduced at the last minute.’

Baek Sang probably didn’t get hurt because it was a blow that only pushed him back.

And knowing the ridiculous amount of control it took to tamper with the power of a technique so as not to harm the opponent, they looked at this monk with serious expressions.

“The winner is Shaolin’s Hae Yeon!”

Cheers erupted for Shaolin.

“As expected of Shaolin!”

“The disciple of Mount Hua was blown away with a single blow!”

“Right! True! It was strange that only Mount Hua was active! Now the true power of the other sects is showing itself!”

“Such a great thing! What is this?”

The audience didn’t hide their excitement.

More and more cheers, much more than the ones which had come for Mount Hua, rained down on Hae Yeon. The man simply blushed as he walked away.

“Mount Hua’s win streak was broken!”

“Then how long did you think it would last? How can Mount Hua keep doing that?”

“Luck, all luck!”

“How could it be possible with only luck? Don’t say nonsense!”

“Tch. Tch. It sounds like you don’t know. How can a prestigious sect not have power? Unlike Mount Hua, which attracts raw talent, the other sects differentiate talents with experience and classes. See! This is the real thing! Didn’t he fall down?”

“.. Umm. Right.”

“Now, in the finals, we will only see the real talents of these prestigious sects.”

“Ah! But there was something good in what Mount Hua showed. I believe in Mount Hua.”

The crowd began to make a fuss.

But the ears of the Mount Hua disciples didn’t hear it.

Baek Cheon’s gaze was fixed on Hae Yeon, who was walking away.

“What do you think?”

“That.. hehe..”

It was a face that said that the world was ridiculous.

“What did I say about geniuses?”

“Are you trying to say he is a real genius?”

“No. That isn’t at the level of what a true genius would do.”

“Uh?”

Baek Cheon looked at Chung Myung with doubtful eyes. But seeing the serious expression, he chose to wait.

And Chyung Myung, who looked at the sparring circle, thought,

‘That was insane.’

In the world, such things are born once in a while.

Things that destroy everything that exists and create something new. That was what the world called an eminent monk of Shaolin.

For example, the people such as Bodhidharma changed the flow of the previous martial arts in the land by creating Shaolin martial arts. And Sam-Bong created Wudang’s core concepts.

“Such people came to be called geniuses, and genius was a term that was only used to call someone whose talent would only appear twice or thrice in several generations.”

“No, how can such a man fall into Shaolin!”

Damn the world!

‘Still, the things we had were being overshadowed by talent! I want a bamboo spear to hit it all!’

From the perspective of Chung Myung, who started from the bottom without having anything, this monster of Shaolin was absurd.

“Crazy guy. A crazy..”

If he grew up like this, he wouldn’t just be the best in Kangho but also leave his mark in the history books.

So..

“I feel bad.”

“Uh? Why?”

At Baek Cheon’s question, Chung Myung said,

“Unfortunately, he was born at the same time as me. If not, it would have been the same as stealing the title of best in the world.”

“..”

“He is the same age as me. Tch tch. Same era as me. He will not be able to get out from under my shadow. I feel bad.”

“..”

“But what do we do? Life is inherently unfair. You need to work hard and think you have no luck. If not, there is no other way.”

“.. just shut it.”

Baek Cheon took a deep breath.

“But sasuk.”

“Uh?”

“Don’t we have to get him?”

“.. get him?”

“Sasuk. Sasuk.”

“Why me?”

Chung Myung smiled.

“Not Dong-Ryong but Baek Sang sasuk. You must have passed out from..”

“Ack! Baek Sangggg!”

Baek Cheon then ran for Baek Sang, making Chung Myung sigh.historical

“There is no good left.”

Of course, this wasn’t something Chung Myung should be saying.

“The fifteen participants..”

“..”

“The fourteen of us among the 122 other participants have passed.”

Hyun Jong smiled,

“This event was amazing in the history of Mount Hua. For today, I will never be ashamed in front of our ancestors.”

“If one more had won, everyone would have advanced.”

“..”

Baek Sang bowed his head, and Baek Cheon shouted at Chung Myung.

“Yah! Idiot! Is that something you say in front of people?”

“I am sorry.”

“You cannot beat him either!”

“Did a hidden sense of defeat wake up from your heated heart? Why is sasuk saying things I never mumbled?”

“Well, you said he was strong.”

“Right.”

Chung Myung nodded his head,

“Baek Sang sasuk cannot win over him even if he fights him a hundred times. So don’t worry. It is just that you lack skills. It isn’t that you were careless, and no matter how well you did, the results would have been the same.. What is the problem.. sasuk?”

Baek Sang, who was there, had his eyes rolled back, going crazy, and Chung Myung tilted his head.

“Are you hurt?”

“You are rubbing it in, you bastard! You!”

“Me?”

“Just shut it! Please!”

The two people continued to fight with each other, and the disciples of Mount Hua didn’t seem that disappointed anymore.

Wei Lishan, who saw this, smiled.

‘Dog fight.’

A very shitty dog fight.

The bigger problem was that Hyun Jong, who was sitting in the center, was looking at this very warmly, and so were the other elders!

‘No, Sect Leader!’

What kind of job do you have? A zookeeper? How can you look at such animals with those eyes?

Wei Lishan was shocked.

“Now, now. Be quiet.”

Hyun Jong calmed them down.

The other disciples had to be calmed just as much as Chung Myung and Baek Cheon.

“They said the finals would be in two days. I hope you use this time wis–”

Hyun Jong turned his anxious gaze to Chung Myung and blinked his eyes as the boy said,

“What?”

“Ugh.”

Hyun Jong took a deep breath.

‘I cannot even say anything to him.’

Please, if only you had half the character of Baek Cheon or Yoon Jong, I would never wish for anything else, but the heavens are fair; One person didn’t get to have everything.

Seriously.

To feel pride and anger from the same person.

Hyun Jong looked at Chung Myung and said,

“Please.”

“Uh?”

“The next two days! The coming two days! We do not want to have any trouble, okay?”

“This is bad, Sect Leader. When you say something like I created trouble..”

Hyun Jong grabbed his sword handle.

“.. you came with a sword?”

Chung Myung smiled.

“It must have been a while since you picked one up. Put it aside already.”

“Ugh!”

Hyun Jong turned away from him and looked at the other disciples,

“Listen”

“Yes, Sect Leader!”

“You have been good till now.”

He spoke with a calm smile now.

“It would be great if we could get good results in the finals, but from now on, it will not be as easy as before.”

Chung Myung tried to enter into the vision of Hyun Jong.

“And they are prestigious sects, right?”

“Hehe. Yes. Right.”

Hyun Jong smiled happily,

“Right. Don’t be discouraged by this. Stand with your shoulders wide, show off your skills, and have no regrets. The results don’t matter. What you get from this matters.”

“Yes, Sect Leader!”

Hyun Jong smiled, looking at his lovely disciples.

‘It was my mission to protect these children and Mount Hua.’

The seeds sown by Chung Myung would grow into beautiful trees in this competition, and one day, they would spread their branches over the world.

So as a sect leader, he has to protect..

“Listen to it and keep these words in your heart!” shouted Chung Myung.

Hyun Jong looked at him in shock as this was unlike him.

That child looks a bit..

“You need to win to get it! Did you see what the loser gets? Do you see Baek Sang sasuk over there? That is what happens when you lose!”

“Ughhh!”

“Baek Sang! Calm down! Baek Sang!”

“Tch tch.”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue, looking at Baek Sang, and tried to go after him.

And he looked around,

“Win at all costs! Okay?!”

“Oh!”

“Win!”

“Break their heads too!”

Hyun Jong still smiled kindly, looking at his disciples cheering.

‘Listen to my words at least, you bastards!’

It was already natural for Mount Hua to gain more power than before the competition.

However, it would be Hyun Jong who thought that he should seriously consider whether that was a blessing to Kangho or not.