Episode 156

“W-we will join too! What are you doing, beggars!”

Hong Dae-Kwang yelled.

But before they could even get ready, the disciples of Mount Hua rushed in to face the enemies.

‘This, damn it!’

They lost their chance.

This was quite disgraceful for Hong Dae-Kwang.

‘Don’t those brats have any fear in them?’

Why were the Beggars Union even part of the Nine Great Sects?

Honestly, the martial arts of the Beggars Union lagged behind the other sects by a good margin. If they were judged for the number of masters or the quality of literacy they had, it wasn’t right for the Beggars Union to be in the Nine Great Sects, One Union.

Yet, there was a reason why they were put in that position.

The power of information.

Yes!

It was an additional element.

It was the reason why people didn’t hesitate to acknowledge the power of the Beggars Union. Because the information they had was second to none when compared to the other sects.

Even if their strength was lacking, they had the information to fight right.

Whenever a crisis struck or whenever people were called out… The Beggars Union was always at the forefront with the most accurate information.

And that was enough for the Beggars Union to be proud of their Sect.

Some people call them beggars with nothing to do, and that they are unaware of the preciousness of life but being able to go against injustice was the pride of the Beggars Union.

But now, the people whom Hong Dae-Kwang was looking at were even more fearless than Beggars Union.

Even if he considered that Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon had always been like this…

He was weird from the start.

But the disciples of Mount Hua who were with him seemed quite sane. They had eyes, and they could see the power of the opponent. And yet, without hesitating, they were rushing in to fight them.

Furthermore…

“Ah! These young ones don’t know fear!”

The ax of Mak Hwi was swung with a terrifying force.

Swish!

But Baek Cheon, who was facing him, was able to dodge the ax with amazing speed by just stepping back.

“It is only natural to respect the elders.”

Baek Cheon said with a smirk!

“You don’t seem to be someone who acts his age, so there is no need for me to respect you.”

“You fucking bastard!”

Mak Hwi ran towards Baek Cheon. However, Baek Cheon narrowly avoided the attack again and thrust his sword towards the man.

Hong Dae-Kwang, who saw it, admired his movement.

‘Unlike his appearance, he is quite proficient at riling people up.’

If Chung Myung’s words were like being hit with a huge club, then Baek Cheon’s words were like being pierced with a dagger with a smile. Thanks to that, the anger Mak Hwi had was soaring higher and higher as he ran for Baek Cheon.

And Baek Cheon was dealing with him splendidly.

Of course, if this was a head-on fight, Baek Cheon wouldn’t have been able to compete with the giant. However, Baek Cheon was using his speed and accuracy to create a fight that he wouldn’t lose.

And considering the fact that he was young, this was amazing.

It wasn’t just Baek Cheon.

“Ahhhh!”

Jo Gul’s sword went straight for Son Myung.

Like his title, ‘Shandong’s Quick Sword’, Son Myung’s sword was moving at an amazing speed. But no matter how fast he was, Jo Gul’s speed wasn’t lacking at all compared to him.

And…

“Gul! Don’t get excited!”

Yoon Jong was supporting him.

Whenever Son Myung would aim for a gap in Jo Gul, Yoon Jong would help him and defend.

Yoon Jong’s sword was slow. But that didn’t mean he lacked skill. Unlike Jo Gul, Yoon Jong’s sword was slow yet serious. And it could be said that it held the spirit of Mount Hua.

The quick and light sword of Jo Gul, and the heavy and serious sword of Yoon Jong were handling Son Myung.

And Son Myung, who was facing the two, was in trouble.

‘You sneaky bastards!’

Considering their ages, the two couldn’t have been practicing the sword for a lot of years. But they were both working together so perfectly as if they had been together for decades.

They were each looking out for the gaps in the other’s movements and were subsequently defending and advancing together.

‘Just where did such people come from!’

Son Myung stepped back and glanced to his side.

It was disgraceful to be pushed by two young men, but he didn’t show such an expression on his face.

It was the Blue Sword Scholar, Noh Gwang, who was facing real suffering.

“D-Damn it!”

Noh Gwang was the one who was facing real disgrace since he was being cornered by a girl from Mount Hua.

No matter how different their skills were, Noh Gwang wasn’t the kind of swordsman to be pushed back by a woman.

But the fact of what was happening now couldn’t be denied. The female disciple of Mount Hua, who was facing him, was constantly pushing him back with the most elegant sword.

Looking at her sword’s movement, even Son Myung couldn’t predict the next spot it would target. He felt cold sweat dripping down his back as he watched her movements.

‘When did Mount Hua get so strong?’

Everyone knew that Mount Hua was once a strong sect. But that was possible because the elders of the Sect had the skill and sufficient martial arts to relay to their disciples.

They had never heard of young disciples being this strong. Furthermore, it felt like they were all going to lose…

Kang!

Son Myung, clenched his teeth as he pushed his sword towards Yoon Jong’s waist.

‘You have been distracted! This little bastard!’

It was then.

Kang!

The sword that almost cut down Yoon Jong bounced back. And along with that came the most irritating voice one could hear.

“What!”

And Yoon Jong’s shoulders started trembling.

“I clearly said that! Huh! Don’t act carelessly! You talked so much before! How can you not even know how to defend! Do your ears not work?!”

“…”

“This is why I said I will do this alone! Alone! Shit! You keep interfering and annoying me! Ahh, my life!”

‘This bastard and his nagging.’

Yoon Jong was upset, but he said nothing. Because the one yelling at him was Chung Myung.

And now he was doing crazy things like supporting the other disciples of Mount Hua despite he himself being in a fight against 6 people alone.

Even if he yelled with ten mouths, Yoon Jong couldn’t say anything.

Chung Myung was also helping Yu Yiseol and Baek Cheon at the same time.

“Concentrate! Concentrate, please! And then, maybe if you do that, someone will applaud you for it, okay!? Phew, I’d rather freeze to death!”

Yoon Jong glanced at Chung Myung’s back.

Strange.

Even though the words came out like he was irritated, the voice felt strange.

‘Is he in a good mood?’

What a crazy thought that was!

Did it make sense to feel good in a life-or-death situation?

“Don’t keep thinking and move!”

That ghost-like bastard!

But nothing changed for Chung Myung. Yoon Jong threw away all the distractions from his mind and focused on Son Myung.

He could think about it later. For now, he had to focus on taking down this man.

Hong Dae-Kwang couldn’t help but feel a bit shocked as he looked at the disciples of Mount Hua pushing back their enemies into a corner.

“Branch leader! Where do we go?”

‘No, do I have to tell you that…’

Hong Dae-Kwang bit his lip and shouted.

“You! Hit them where you can! Bite their ankles if you have to!”

“Yes!”

Saying that, Hong Dae-Kwang jumped into the air and went for the enemies that Chung Myung was dealing with. Hong Dae-Kwang charged forward, took out a club, and began to smash the enemies.

And then came the voice.

“Ahhh! Now even the beggars are interfering. Ahh… seriously.”

Hong Dae-Kwang pretended to not hear it.

As the Beggars Union people joined, the ones trying to push Chung Myung began to retreat.

Except one.

Only one person didn’t care about that and kept glaring at Chung Myung.

Cho Myeong-San.

From the start till the end, he kept looking at Chung Myung.

It wasn’t known what the others were thinking.

If Chung Myung couldn’t be defeated, all the other fights would be meaningless. In order to survive here, that one monster had to be defeated.

“Hm?”

Chung Myung also seemed to be interested in him.

‘Look at this.’

That energy from him wasn’t like it usually was.

As if there was only Chung Myung here, all the senses of Cho Myeong-San were directed to him. Seeing that, Chung Myung smiled without realizing it.

‘That one is the real deal.’

Even Wudang’s Mu Jin had ignored Chung Myung. But this man was now treating him as an equal opponent.

Cho Myeong-San raised his sword and aimed at Chung Myung.

“Cho Myeong-San.”

“Chung Myung.”

There was no need for more words. All that was left to do was fight.

Cho Myeong-San’s body soared in an instant and went for the opponent.

At the same time, a slash followed his movements.

The large sword of his with blue sword qi clearly went for Chung Myung.

Kwang!

Chung Myung’s body trembled.

Even if it was blocked, it wasn’t blocked accurately to disperse the qi on it. It was an incredibly strong blow.

And it didn’t end there.

“Tat!”

Cho Myeong-San kept striking him with one attack after another with all his might.

Kwang! Kwag! Kang!

Each strike gave out a tremendous sound that resounded throughout the place. The force and the qi being put into the blade made it look twice as big.

What he was doing couldn’t be explained clearly. The tenacity of Cho Myeong-San and his will to put everything on the line was shocking.

Chung Myung’s eyes began to turn serious.

‘Right.’

His wrists were sore, and his body felt like it was being twisted. It was the heaviness that came with the force of the sword he was defending.

“Ahhhh!”

In the meantime, Cho Myeong-San screamed and struck again, adding even more speed.

He stepped forward and hit again and again. Successive attacks kept coming in from him.

One more and then another.

He brought out every little amount of qi that was stored in his body and dantian, and was using it to take down his opponent.

The dust rose because of his actions.

Because of that, Cho Myeong-San couldn’t see Chung Myung. But it seemed like no one could survive that force.

It was then.

He saw something out of place.

‘A petal?’

Among the raging storm created by his blade, a single red petal floated in the air.

And then the petals increased, and they pushed back the wind that was created by his sword. It reminded him of the scene of the last petals blowing away the summer storm.

They kept floating up like a fantasy, and one of them was now sitting on the forehead of Cho Myeong-San.

“…”

The blade of his stopped.

Silence.

As if the fierce sounds of battle till then were nothing but lies, the air also began to turn still.

Cho Myeong-San looked at Chung Myung. He was waiting for something.

Chung Myung lightly nodded and said,

“It was a good match.”

And the sight of Cho Myeong-San blurred.

He began to lose strength in his legs, and the sensation he felt in his body seemed wrong.

As he felt his body fall to the floor, he smiled.

‘I was acknowledged.’

He died before his body even hit the floor, but there was a happy smile on his face.