Baek Cheon, who was staring blankly at the two men who entered, suddenly came to his senses and swooped in.

“W-we greet the Abbot!”

Thanks to this, all the disciples of Mount Hua got up and bowed to the man.

The Abbot smiled,

“Please understand our sudden rudeness, coming here without contacting you beforehand.”

“Rudeness? Not at all!”

Baek Cheon’s palms were beginning to sweat.

This wasn’t a polite thing he was saying. Wasn’t this man the Abbot of Shaolin, someone who everyone in Kangho wanted to meet at least once?

And for such a person to walk directly into Mount Hua’s residence was amazing.

“But why has the Abbot…”

The Abbot smiled and said,

“Of course, we came here on business, but I don’t think I should speak of it here. Is the Sect Leader inside?”

Baek Cheon was a bit surprised,

“Ah, I apologize. I should have informed the Sect Leader… Baek Sang! Quickly tell Sect Leader that the Abbot of Shaolin has come!”

“Yes, sahyung!”

Baek Sang sprinted up with all his might, and the rest of them stood still, not knowing how to deal with the Abbot. And then the Abbot looked to one side,

“Right.”

He smiled as he made eye contact with Chung Myung,

“Are your preparations for the finals going well, Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon?”

Hearing this, Chung Myung chuckled,

“Do I need to prepare for it? It is just a fight.”

“A fight.”

The Abbot nodded as if he liked the answer.

“Right. It is just a fight. Hae Yeon should know that.”

“Hm?”

Just as Chung Myung was about to ask something, Baek Sang rushed ahead,

“Please come up, I will guide you. Chung Myung as well. Sect Leader asked you to come along.”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung got up without hesitation.

“Come on.”

“Thank you.”

The Abbot smiled and followed Baek Sang up to the next floor.

When the Abbot, Hae Yeon, and Chung Myung left, the other disciples finally relaxed.

“Why did he come?”

“… don’t know.”

Everyone looked toward the floor where the four of them had gone too and looked blankly.

“Come on in, Abbot.”

“Thank you for the hospitality.”

“Hehehe. It is difficult to consider this hospitality. You should have called for me, Abbot. Why did you have to come all this way?”

At Hyun Jong’s words, the Abbot smiled,

“We might be in Shaolin, but this was a space given to Mount Hua, so I am the guest here.”

“Ah.”

“How about something to drink?”

“Then shall we have tea?”

“Do we have grain tea?”

“We have the normal one.”

“Umm. That is a pity. It would be better if it weren’t a normal one.”

“Hahaha. If the Abbot says that, that puts us in trouble. Hahaha.”

Seeing Hyun Jong talking softly, Chung Myung smiled.

‘Wipe your sweat and smile.’

He was speaking fine, but the sweat glistened on his face, making it all too awkward. It felt like he was being pitied.

However, Chung Myung wouldn’t look at him like that. He knew how difficult it must be for Hyun Jong to sit with the Abbot.

“Ahem.”

Chung Myung coughed lightly.

It meant not to be too scared.

Then Hyun Jong gently raised his head and looked at Chung Myung, and his crumpled face relaxed.

“So.”

Chung Myung wanted to get to the point and leave already,

“What did you come here for?”

At the question, the Abbot looked at Chung Myung,

“Right, before the finals…”

“It doesn’t seem like you came here to make friends before the fight, right?”

The Abbot smiled at Chung Myung without saying a word.

‘You are more daring than I thought.’

His gaze lingered on Chung Myung.

Even Hyun Jong, the sect leader of Mount Hua, couldn’t hide his nervousness in front of the Abbot.

But Chung Myung wasn’t the least bit nervous in front of him or Hae Yeon. No, on the contrary, he looked like he was bored.

Was it boldness? Or thoughtlessness?

‘Neither of those.’

He felt aged.

Even though it wasn’t possible to know, watching Chung Myung made him feel like he was watching an old man with the most experience in the world.

No.

‘Maybe worse than that?’

That cannot be. Of course, that cannot be.

The Abbot was someone who had confidence in himself. He believed that sometimes a flash of sixth sense could tell more than a reasonable thought.

But this time, he couldn’t accept his sixth sense.

‘It feels like an ancestor is here.’

So similar.

It seemed like Chung Myung was detached from this world yet subtly obsessed with it. As if he didn’t care what other people thought.

And even the insignificant words that were slyly thrown in pointed to this.

This was the feeling he sometimes got when dealing with the elders of Shaolin who stepped down from the role of Abbot. It felt strange that such a sensation could be felt from a young man.

Of course, the Abbot wasn’t going to reveal this.

“Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon, I cannot hide it from you. Of course, there is a clear reason why we came to this place.”

Then he lifted his head and looked at Hyun Jong,

“Sect leader.”

“Please tell me, Abbot.”

“How do you view our strength?”

“How can I answer if you…”

The Abbot then asked,

“How did you feel about this competition?”

Hyun Jong narrowed his eyes. It looked like he was having some difficulty answering. The Abbot looked at Hyun Jong and sighed,

“Actually, this competition was prepared to create harmony between the sects. But now that the finals have come up, the purpose of this competition couldn’t be achieved.”

“… um.”

“The Demonic Sect is finally making their move, and other things are starting to seep into this competition. If the Nine Great Sects One Union and the Five Great Families do not sit harmoniously, we might have to go through a terrible war again.”

Hyun Jong nodded his head, and he spoke with a heavy expression,

“But why are you telling me this?”

“Amitabha. Unity is essential.”

The eyes of the Abbot shone,

“But if that doesn’t happen voluntarily. It has to be done by force. We need Mount Hua to do that.”

“… you are talking about us?”

“Yes.”

“No… but what can Mount Hua…”

Seeing Hyun Jong flustered, the Abbot smiled,

“Sect leader. The meaning of Mount Hua is a lot more than you think.”

“… umm.”

“Mount Hua has proven its ability to the world in this competition.”

“Isn’t that just one of the greater sects’ things¹?”

“It has to do with the future of the sect. In other words, it means that the disciples who stood out in this competition will likely have to deal with the world in the future. Haven’t we found that the problem is that it isn’t easy? Now, no sect can ignore Mount Hua.”

Hyun Jong tried to guess what Abbot was saying with these words. There was no expression on the old man’s face,

“So, please help Shaolin. If Mount Hua helps us, Shaolin can lead Kangho in the future with true harmony.”

Chung Myung narrowed his eyes.

‘So come under Shaolin?’

This is what he saw?

With an innocent face, he was a politically greedy bastard!

Hyun Jong was silent because he couldn’t find the right answer to this sudden offer, while Chung Myung slapped himself.

“But.”

“Um.”

The Abbot turned to look at Chung Myung.

“Help isn’t one-sided. Isn’t it right to only help each other?”

“Amitabha. The swordsman is speaking correctly.”

“Then what will Shaolin do to help Mount Hua? It doesn’t look like we are being given anything?”

At the bold question, the Abbot looked at him with strange eyes,

“Well. That worries me too. What should I do to help? Hmm. How about this?”

“…?”

“For example…”

The Abbot smiled,

“What if Shaolin fully supports you getting back into the Nine Great Sects?”

Hyun Jong slightly flinched.

“Nine Great Ssects? Getting back in?”

The Abbot nodded

“Right.”

Hyun Jong’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

Of course, this wasn’t a new story. Hyun Jong, too, had been thinking in his heart that if their upwards trend continued, plenty of possibilities would come up.

But.

If those words came from the mouth of Shaolin, it would be different. Didn’t he even say ‘full support’?

The person sitting here was the Abbot and no one else, and he would side with Mount Hua!?

This was nothing more than definite confirmation that Mount Hua would join the Nine Great Sects.

“How can such a promise be….”

“Sect leader.”

The Abbot smiled,

“I really appreciate the potential of Mount Hua very much. However, this is what I am concerned about. In the era of Sect Leader and me, Shaolin and Mount Hua could reconcile with each other. But…”

He paused for a moment and looked at Hae Yeon and Chung Myung as he said,

“There is no guarantee that it will happen in the future.”

“…”

Hyun Jong didn’t lose sight of Abbot looking at Chung Myung.

‘Future?’

He didn’t mean to end this partnership right after they died. That was why Hae Yeon was brought here. In other words, Hae Yeon would be taking over Shaolin.

When Hae Yeon became the Abbot of Shaolin, then Mount Hua…

‘No! No!’ thought Hyun Jong.

Chung Myung was a bandit who ran madly around Mount Hua.

And he wouldn’t dare hand over Mount Hua to him. He could not be the sect leader because there was Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong, who would do better.

However, it wasn’t difficult to guess who the real power of Mount Hua would be as long as Chung Myung was alive.

Anyway, what if a world in which Hae Yeon and Chung Myung coexisted came about?

‘Harmony would stand.’

It was a bizarre way of expressing bad feelings to the other sects in the Nine Great Sects. If that were the case even now, wouldn’t it be terrifying if the two become a powerhouse?

Harmony or shit, it would be happy if the war didn’t happen.

Only then did Hyun Jong understand what the Abbot was concerned about,

“Aren’t you looking too far ahead?”

“That is the kind of place we sit in.”

That single sentence contained how heavy the position of Abbot in Shaolin was.

“If Shaolin and Mount Hua can reconcile, then Kangho will be in peace.”

“…”

“Sect leader. The current situation isn’t a good one. We can see cracks in the relationships between the Nine Sects and the Five Great Families. The Demonic Sect is calling us out, and the sects under them are growing stronger even now.”

The Abbot looked at Hyun Jong with serious eyes,

“These are the signs that troubles will come.”

“… I am nauseous.”

Hyun Jong went silent.

He thought this would be a light discussion, but it felt like heavier things were being brought up, and this was tough for him to handle.

“So think about it. If only Mount Hua helps Shaolin, Shaolin will fully help Mount Hua. If that happens, it wouldn’t be difficult for Mount Hua to regain its glory.”

Of course.

Because he was the Abbot of Shaolin.

If Shaolin, which was the greatest point in Kangho, supported another sect openly, who would rebel against it?

It is a sweet proposal.

But.

There were people in the world who despised such sweetness.

“But.”

The Abbot turned his head, and Chung Myung looked at him with an expressionless face,

“Why are you saying all this now?”

“Hm?”

“The finals are still to happen.”

The Abbot answered as if he had expected that question,

“If there is a victory or defeat in the finals, we might be divided. Even the same words will hold different meanings. So to convey our true meaning, Shaolin had to come now.”

Chung Myung smiled,

“I have a different opinion.”

“… Um?”

The eyes of the Abbot sharpened at his comment.