Chapter 272: So Prestigious Sects Don't Have Heads? (2)
Kangho was for strong people.
To the extent that they sought strength in themselves and longed to fight against the best in the world, they were strong people who only had affection for strength.
So people couldn't help but cheer for the absurd situation that was happening before their eyes.
"Woahhh!"
"Mount Hua's Divine Dragon! Mount Hua's Divine Dragon!"
"Mount Hua! Cheers!"
It had been a long time since the match had finished, but the cheers didn't stop. The crowd kept going.
Spars began to take place in other spots, but no one paid any attention to their outcomes.
The blow that Chung Myung had shown was just too intense.
"Oh my, what a great disciple of the Southern Island Sect!"
"He took him down without even using his sword."
"I told you! Mount Hua's Divine Dragon is great! Isn't this more than just rumors?"
"Yah, that was a surprise!"
"A surprise? A surprise attack of death! The guy who was careless on that stage is finished. The monk, Gang Cho, clearly gave the signal to start, what was that kid doing being that careless?! But still, the skill of that attack!!"
"Right! Only the winners can curse people!"
"The Mount Hua Sect has gotten really strong! Strong enough to defeat a Southern Island disciple in just one hit."
Minor things were ignored.
Most of the people gathered there wanted to see the talent of the other sects with their own eyes, to see who would lead in the future.
It just meant that they were ready to cheer for those who won. But even after seeing this in front of their eyes, they couldn't hold down their excitement.
And in the midst of such great screams, Chung Myung had a sad expression.
"Well, did I do something good?"
"Mount Hua's Divine Dragon! Mount Hua's Divine Dragon!"
"It was nothing."
"Mount Hua! Mount Hua! Mount Hua!"
"..."
Chung Myung's lips trembled.
And Baek Cheon, who looked at him, frowned.
'He likes this too much.'
"Ah, no. Well... it isn't like I..."
"... just smile Chung Myung. Or you will explode any moment now."
"I am feeling good. I took down one of those bastards."
"You are saying that, but your body is being too honest."
And Chung Myung opened his mouth.
Baek Cheon took a deep breath.
One hit.
Literally one hit. With just a single hit, Chung Myung took the attention of everyone here.
It wasn't known if Chung Myung was aiming for that, or if he simply found the opponent annoying. But the result would be the same either way.
Now, it is clear that everyone will pay attention to Chung Myung and Mount Hua throughout the competition.
"Careful, Chung Myung."
"Uh?"
Chung Myung turned to look at Baek Cheon.
"It isn't good to get too much attention. Look. Everyone has already started to be wary of you."
With that, Baek Cheon looked around. There are definitely more eyes on him than before.
This was only natural because the audience was cheering for him, but some of the eyes looking at him were focusing a little too carefully on him.
The other disciples from different sects who were participating seemed to be agitated at the sight of him, and their eyes had a vigilant gleam in them.
They also had eyes, so they couldn't just ignore what Chung Myung had just done. It would be strange if they hadn't become vigilant of him after that.
But Chung Myung who received those gazes, just rolled his hand,
"These bastards, how dare they look at me! I will pop their eyes out!"
"No, you crazy bastard!"
Fortunately, Baek Cheon was next to him and was able to hold Chung Myung down.
"Since you showed them that, they are bound to be aware of you!"
"Is it my fault if they couldn't do something like this? Those bastards who can't handle one hit!"
'Uh... True.'
Clearly, Chung Myung wasn't just someone anyone could handle. But whether they knew it or not was completely different.
At that moment Chung Myung licked his lip and said,
"Remember sasuk."
"Yes?"
"Don't care about being acknowledged."
"..."
"If you deal with them in moderation, you tend to think you can win and are ready for your next opponent. You might even look at them with pity. But when you want to win, you need to trample on them, without care for blood or tears. That way, the next time you meet, they will not be able to look you in the eye."
"... are we evil?"
"There are things we can learn from them too. They deal with things efficiently, especially when faced head-on. Their survival comes first, and their own profit comes second."
"..."
"Keep in mind, don't look at your opponents with pity. To win, you need to do it overwhelmingly, right...?"
Chung Myung turned his gaze up, looking at the sect leaders sitting on the podium.
"Because they will realize it too. Whose stage this is."
There was a clear expression of disbelief in the eyes of the sect leaders and family lords.
Meanwhile...
"Uh?"
The sect leaders who were watching the different spars couldn't hide their shock.
"That was amazing. Isn't that child from Mount Hua so talented?"
"The opponent wasn't too alert, but for a moment, even I couldn't see that child's movement."
"I heard the name of Mount Hua's Divine Dragon several times, isn't he a good one?"
A sincere sense of admiration was evident in their voices.
The skill shown by Chung Myung was enough to surprise even the heads of the sects and the other families.
Of course, the shock in their eyes was a light that couldn't be hidden.
'Still in one hit.'
'Wasn't Kwak Hwan-So known to be quite skilled? Weren't his skills known to be strong? But he couldn't even respond?'
This was a question everyone was trying to piece through.
This was a result that could only be seen when there was a vast difference in skills.
No, even if there was a difference in skills, most of the kids wouldn't have been able to defeat Kwak Hwan-So in one blow.
Mount Hua's Divine Dragon did that too effortlessly, watching him made it seem so easy!
"Mount Hua's Divine Dragon! Mount Hua's Divine Dragon..."
"The more we hear, the more strange it sounds."
Most of the sect leaders here didn't believe that Mount Hua's Divine Dragon was an actual candidate for the strongest in the world. To be precise, they didn't want to recognize him.
In fact, that position or title was something that could only be given after someone had bested the previous owner of that title. It was close to impossible to compare everyone that was considered to be 'The Best in the World'.
Besides there were the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families, and they definitely wouldn't accept this.
'If my disciple goes to Kangho, he could get that kind of evaluation.'
This was the thought each sect leader had.
However, at this moment, they thought that perhaps the fame of Chung Myung may not just be the useless ramblings of those easily impressed.
Indeed... could their disciples be able to give a showing that good? Doubt began to set in.
No one could easily go along with that.
Their appreciation had changed. This was because after that absurd situation had come to pass, surprise became vigilance. Their admiration had transformed into wariness.
"Ahem."
In that bizarre situation, Hyun Jong worked hard to calm his shoulders, which were constantly going wide with pride.
It wasn't that difficult to guess what the other sect leaders were thinking.
'They must be shocked.'
Well, this was definitely absurd.
Hyun Jong has been through such absurd times more than once now. This moment had finally come to pass, all as a result of enduring that man's absurd actions.
This was the moment to show everyone in the world what Mount Hua's Chung Myung was made of!
At that time, Tang Gunak, who was there, spoke to Hyun Jong,
"Congratulations, Mount Hua's sect leader."
"Ha... haha. He must have been lucky."
"Luck. Excessive humility isn't good. Who here can do something like that?"
At Tang Gunak's words, someone interrupted,
"Those words are not wrong."
Hyun Jong felt a little startled as he heard that.
This was because the person who had intervened in the conversation was the sect leader of the Southern Edge sect, Jong Rigok.
"It is true that only Mount Hua's Divine Dragon Chung Myung could do something like that. It was the same as what we had seen in the past Souther Edge-Mount Hua conference. Truly, he is a talented person who could aim for the title of the Best in the World."
'This man.'
Did he eat something that had soured?
Hyun Jong looked at Jong Rigok not being able to understand, and simply nodded a 'Yes.'
'This is all a play.'
The Southern Edge sect had suffered the greatest disgrace by Chung Myung.
If the result could not be changed, it would be better to use Chung Myung to make himself look better. That way, the Southern Edge Sect would not be known as a stupid sect that had gotten humiliated by a trivial, irrelevant person.
Of course, they probably hated Chung Myung enough to want him dead, but...
"Yes."
"Um. As expected of Mount Hua's Divine Dragon."
Perhaps, he had a similar thought, but Heo Do Jinin chimed in, saying something similar.
Tang Gunak and Heo Do Jinin, the weight of their words were bound to have a different weight attached to them.
And when Heo Do Jinin said that, the other sect leaders began to hide their cautious looks and complemented Mount Hua's sect leader.
"Congratulations, Sect Leader."
"Haha. It seems like the time when Mount Hua regains its name isn't too far away."
Hyun Jong's lips trembled.
He was making the face of a parent who just had their child be acknowledged, his disciples were getting him so many compliments. What could be a more happy moment for him?
"Ahem! Thank you, everyone."
Hyun Jong covered his mouth and coughed.
When he looked down, he could see Baek Cheon and Chung Myung.
Sometimes he really felt his life leaving his body due to his actions, but at times like this, his name felt so calming to him.
Finally, he managed to understand the feelings of Hyun Young, who favored Chung Myung.
Deep down, there was one person who couldn't fit into this atmosphere,
"Wasn't that just a surprise attack!"
"Um."
"Ahem."
Those who turned their heads at these absurd words confirmed who the person was and smiled very modestly.
It was Geum Yang-Baek, the sect leader of the Southern Island Sect.
He was shouting with a reddened face,
"I acknowledge the outcome of that spar. But if that child hadn't been so careless, the match wouldn't have been this easy."
Tang Gunak, who was listening to that, smiled,
'Trying to make yourself look good.'
For a martial artist, being careless was a bigger shame than being without skill. Especially in an official spar, where showing carelessness was equivalent to showing disrespect.
But at the same time, he could understand Geum Yang-Baek's feelings.
'Perhaps it is difficult to think rationally now.'
The disciple he had been raising dearly was smashed with one blow, and the name of his sect plummeted.
From the point of view of a sect leader, there could be nothing more terrifying than this.
"Let's see. The other kids will soon prove the skills of my Southern Island Sect!"
No one responded to the angry words of Geum Yang-Baek.
However, only one thing registered,
'Other kids.'
They all had confirmed the skills of Mount Hua's Divine Dragon with their own eyes.
Then, what about the other disciples of Mount Hua?
The eyes of the sect leaders turned to the other disciples of Mount Hua who were gathered.
Depending on the result...
'Maybe this spar will be a venue for the Mount Hua sect.'
The faces of the other sect leaders began to turn serious.
"Listen carefully."
Baek Cheon said with a stiff face,
"Do not follow this guy."
And Chung Myung, who was sitting next to him, frowned as he chewed on his beef jerky.
"If a bird follows a stork, it will die from getting its wings torn and its break broken. Never try to finish your opponent in one move, just focus on showing your skills! Do you understand?"
"Yes, sahyung!"
"I understand, sasuk!"
"Um!"
Everyone agreed with Baek Cheon's words.
However, Chung Myung tilted his head back as if he had a different opinion,
"That isn't right sasuk."
"Shut it!" screamed Baek Cheon.
"Don't tell us to do what we cannot do, but tell us to do what we can do!"
"What is so special about sparring for a long time with them?"
"Kuk!"
In the end, he shook his head, not wanting to deal with 'it' any longer.
"Anyway, never do what Chung Myung does. Do you get it?"
"Yes!"
No matter how scary Chung Myung was, if Baek Cheon and Chung Myung were speaking about this openly, it was better to side with Baek Cheon.
It was then,
"S-sahyung! Jo Gul's spar is starting!"
"Uh!"
Baek Cheon, who was startled, shouted,
"Jo Gul, calm down...!"
"Bang!"
"..."
"..."
The cry of Baek Cheon, who had nowhere to go, became silent.
Everyone looked at the sparring circle with blank eyes.
Jo Gul, who had blown his opponent away with a single hit, was staring at his opponent who was convulsing on the ground.
"C-Calm down..."
Jo Gul looked at his sword and then at his fallen opponent and turned his head.
When he met Baek Cheon's eyes, he opened and shut his mouth a few times.
"S-sauk."
"... Uh."
"... these bastards are too weak."
"..."
Weak?
The disciples of the Nine Great Sects One Union?
At that time, Chung Myung who was looking around, began to giggle,
"Silver spoons?"
"..."
"Then are they just bugs? Kuak. This is what it means. Look at our Dong-Ryong's arrogance."
"..."
Something was clearly wrong... no, it was Baek Cheon who realized that this all was starting to work out a bit too well.