It wasn’t only Mount Hua that stared at Baek Cheon with eyes that were either entranced or admiring.

Everyone present couldn’t take their eyes off him. Even Beop Jeong and Jong Ri-Hyung looked noticeably surprised.

They were all looking again, at Baek Cheon. His true self, which had been hidden behind the reputations of Hyun Jong and Chung Myung.

“The worry took shape then. But the real worry began even before that.”

“...From before then?”

“Yes. It began with Lord Namgung, the young lord.”

“Yes? You mean me?”

Namgung Do-Wei, who had been staring at Baek Cheon with breathless, heated eyes, instinctively repeated the question and then, startled, covered his mouth.

But Baek Cheon, unconcerned with the reactions around him, calmly continued what he had to say.

“To be honest, Young Lord of Namgung was someone I did not regard as particularly remarkable.”

“...”

A flash of indignation crossed Namgung Do-Wei’s face as if he’d just been slapped out of nowhere. He had even felt moved by Baek Cheon, and yet he had spoken like that.

“But the current Young Lord of the Namgung is a person so great that I hardly dare imagine following him.”

“T-taoist Baek, Baek Cheon.”

“Young Lord of the Namgung is leading and rebuilding the shattered Namgung Family. At times, he does so so admirably that no one could deny it.”

At those words, Hyun Jong nodded.

“...Yes. That’s right.”

Who here could fail to know how hard Namgung Do-Wei had been struggling?

“At times I admired that sight, and ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) at times I envied it. The gap closed and I thought I could surpass him, but in an instant he widened the distance again and slipped away.”

Hyun Jong nodded again as if to show understanding.

To them he was simply admirable, but Baek Cheon, who was the same age, could not look on with nothing but warm eyes. Naturally, he felt competitive.

“So I thought: how did such a gap come to be?”

Baek Cheon took his gaze off Namgung Do-Wei and looked at the others.

“Then I realized: those who were ahead of me was not only the Young Lord of the Namgung family.”

Baek Cheon’s gaze then stopped at Seol So-Baek.

“Palace Lord Seol, despite being younger than the young lord, has earned the recognition of the Ice Palace. Everyone believes he will be an excellent Palace Lord, and he too works to meet that expectation, even by cutting his sleep.”

At that, Seol So-Baek awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“And.”

This time Baek Cheon’s gaze reached Im So-Byeong, who had been half hiding in the corner.

“The Green Forest King, though not much older than me, also leads the Green Forest admirably. He holds the grave position of head of one of the Shenzhou Five Clans, and the Green Forest King, who is younger than Jang Ilso, has led it while hiding his identity and age so others would not look down on him.”

Im So-Byeong cleared his throat awkwardly and, with an unfolded fan, fanned his face.

Having looked at them all, Baek Cheon turned to Hyun Jong and asked.

“Sect leader.”

“...”

“What is the difference between those people and me? What am I lacking that I cannot become like them? Even those not different from me, some younger than I, lead their sects admirably, so why must I still rely on the Sect leader’s protection and defer my cowardice to you?”

“...That is...”

Even Hyun Jong could not answer that.

But Baek Cheon shook his head as if he were not seeking an answer.

“It is not the Sect leader’s fault. But that gap clearly exists. So I worried, about where that gap came from.”

Baek Cheon looked at Namgung Do-Wei.

“My conclusion was simple. I apologize to the Young Lord of Namgung, but if the Namgung family lord had been alive, the young lord would not be as he is now.”

It could sound rude. Yet Namgung Do-Wei nodded without offense and, as if to lend Baekon his strength, spoke.

“You needn’t apologize. That’s a natural thing to say.”

Baek Cheon hummed softly and continued.

“There was one major difference: what burden they took upon themselves.”

His gaze turned to Tang Gunak.

As if asking whether the same wasn’t true when Tang Gunak rose to the family lord’s position. Tang Gunak, meeting that gaze, nodded without realizing it.

“A position shapes a person. It’s not that one is worthy because they will be family lord, but because they became family lord they could become worthy. A position requires responsibilities appropriate to it. But to put it another way...”

Baek Cheon turned his gaze to the disciples of Mount Hua, as if to say they too must hear.

“It also means that by shouldering responsibility and bearing that weight themselves, they were able to grow.”

“...”

“For one who has not borne burdens to talk about wanting to stand in the same position as those who have is nothing but childishness. If you truly want to stand in the same place, you must know how to shoulder that burden yourself.”

His voice grew clearer and more distinct.

“Now that I know that truth, I will not avoid the load I must bear. No, I will take that load on myself. To grow further through the responsibility on my shoulders, to become more confident.”

“Baek Cheon...”

“So please, Sect leader.”

Baek Cheon slowly bowed his head and made a humble request. It was supremely polite, but never servile.

“Please grant me permission.”

A sigh escaped Hyun Jong’s lips.

How could he be so confident, so admirable? An indescribable emotion swept over him.

And at that moment, a soft, disapproving murmur brushed past his ear.

“Amitabha.”

Beop Jeong, who had been watching the situation, seemed displeased and tried to cut the atmosphere.

“Taoist Baek Cheon seems too hasty. Responsibility is...”

“Baek Cheon.” “...”

But those words were cut off by none other than Hyun Jong’s voice.

“I know your intention, but that is far too difficult. Do you think you can bear it?”

It was a question heavy with meaning, but Baek Cheon’s answer came without hesitation.

“Alone, it’s difficult.”

“...Alone?”

“Yes. But, Sect leader, you did not shoulder it all alone either. By your side were the elders. Elder Hyun Sang led Mount Hua’s martial teachings, and Elder Hyun Young managed Mount Hua’s finances.”

Emotion welled up on the two elders’ faces.

“It was not only work. When biting winds howl and waves crash, how can one standing alone bear that trial? You endured because those people were there. And then Un Am sasuk and Un Geom sasuk, plus the Un disciple sasuks, did their utmost to protect the Sect leader.”

“Yes. It was not something I did alone. Certainly not.”

“Yes, Sect leader. That is so. I am the same. I cannot do it alone. But I have people to support me: a taciturn but rock-solid and trustworthy sworn brother, and a sajil who will tell me the right path without caring for anyone’s opinion when I go astray.”

Yu Yiseol set her mouth hard, and Yoon Jong quietly closed his eyes.

“Sometimes there is someone who teaches that one must follow fervent solidarity rather than cool reason, and someone who, even if of low rank, can mediate situations more objectively than anyone.”

Jo Gul turned his gaze upward, choked, and Tang Soso hung his head deeply.

“And... there is someone whose mere watchful gaze whip-lashes me more than anyone. I will bear that gaze for the rest of my life.”

All of Mount Hua looked at Baek Cheon.

He shone like the pristine white robe he wore.

“You asked if I can do it? Sect leader. Your disciple will do it better than anyone. Everyone will make me do so. And...” Baek Cheon’s gaze finally turned to Chung Myung.

“I harbor no resentment toward the past, nor debt toward future generations. Therefore it must be I who becomes the Sect leader now. In the coming age of war, the only one who can wield Mount Hua’s sword rightly is me.”

Chung Myung’s eyes, as he looked at him, were heavy and dark like a deep sea. But Baek Cheon did not avoid that gaze; he accepted it as it was.

After looking at Chung Myung for a long time, Baek Cheon slowly turned and faced Hyun Jong.

“So, Sect leader. Make your decision. Do not try to trust the disciple—trust Mount Hua, not this disciple. Believe that the intent the ancestors passed down has continued in me. Mount Hua will lead its disciple onto the right path.”

Hyun Jong closed his eyes. What came to his mind was a time before he met Baek Cheon.

‘Master.’

His master had passed the position of Sect leader, one which no one wanted, to the still-unready Hyun Jong, and worried for Hyun Jong until the moment he died.

Hyun Jong endured those harsh years, the bitter midwinter. Without Hyun Sang and Hyun Young at his side, he could never have borne that cold.

Thus he wanted to give them more time, to not be crushed by the responsibilities of the Sect leader and to have time to see their own lives fully.

But now Baek Cheon spoke to him.

That the time had not been wasted. That that time, that position, that weight had made Hyun Jong who he is now.

Those words made him both immeasurably pleased and yet...

As Hyun Jong’s silence lengthened, Yoon Jong subtly checked the expressions around him.

Beop Jeong looked thoroughly uncomfortable, and Jong Ri-Hyung seemed about to shout that this was an outrage.

Even the leaders of the Heavenly Friends Alliance, who were friendly to Mount Hua, couldn’t handle the current atmosphere.

Fearing something serious might erupt, Yoon Jong cautiously spoke up.

“Perhaps... let’s dismiss this meeting for today and revisit it later...”

It was at that exact moment.

“Disciples, listen.”

Hyun Jong opened his eyes and spoke solemnly. The disciples of Mount Hua, moved by his voice, immediately straightened their posture and attitude.

“Yes, Sect leader!”

Hyun Jong stared at Baek Cheon with eyes deep and like autumn frost. Baek Cheon squared his shoulders and met that look.

“The sin of uttering words unfit for his station and degrading Mount Hua’s honor is grave. Also, daring to demand transfer from the Sect leader is a crime worthy of the ‘family-excise,’ an offense of lineage extermination!”

“S-Sect leader!”

“No...”

At the mention of the ‘family-excise’ the disciples recoiled and looked at Hyun Jong. Yet his stare was so icy that they could not bring themselves to protest.

Everyone squeezed their eyes shut, but only Baek Cheon gazed at Hyun Jong unflinchingly, ready to accept whatever verdict would come.

“Therefore, I, Hyun Jong, by the authority of Mount Hua’s Sect leader, sentence the transgressing disciple Baek Cheon to a half-year ban on martial arts training and confinement to Plum Blossom Cave.”

The disciples who had squeezed their eyes shut flung them wide open.

But Baek Cheon closed his eyes instead. He had done all he meant to do; he had no regrets. Only...

“A sect has etiquette that must be upheld. That etiquette must be preserved in any circumstance. No one can escape punishment for failing to observe time, place, and propriety.”

Hyun Jong was someone who often yielded his opinion. Because it was he who commanded in a voice like frost, no one dared object. They only bowed their heads and accepted.

A bitter chill crept into everyone’s hearts.

“Elder Hyun Sang.”

“Yes, Sect leader.”

“As Mount Hua’s Martial Arts training leader, carry out punishment for the sinner’s crime.”

“I will carry out the order.”

A crisp sound of someone grinding their teeth rang out distinctly. It felt like the herald of an irreversible catastrophe. As that chill split people’s chests, Hyun Jong’s voice, sharper than a blade, thundered into everyone’s ears.

“But!”

Staring directly at the closed-eyed Baek Cheon, Hyun Jong declared with all the dignity he possessed.

“By the authority of Mount Hua’s Sect leader, I hereby appoint Mount Hua’s second-class disciple Baek Cheon as Acting Sect Leader to act in the Sect leader’s stead. The execution of all these punishments is stayed until Baek Cheon steps down from the Acting Sect Leader position! This is an order from Mount Hua’s Sect leader, and no objections will be accepted.”

Baek Cheon snapped his eyes open.

The world that had been a little blurred cleared, and Hyun Jong’s figure filled his sight.

A gentle smile had come to Hyun Jong’s lips, from some unknown time.

It was the warm smile like the plum blossoms of spring that Baek Cheon had seen on Hyun Jong’s face the first day he came to Mount Hua.

“My Baek Cheon.”

“...Yes, Sect leader.”

Hyun Jong said softly with a smile.

“Now you are the Sect leader of Mount Hua.”

“...”

“Please lead Mount Hua rightly.”

Baek Cheon bowed his head.

His shoulders were not as proud as before. They trembled almost pitifully. Yet no one present could point fingers or mock him for it.

“I, I will...”

Baek Cheon’s voice, laced with moisture, flowed out.

“I will carry out that order.”

It was the moment a new Sect leader was born for Mount Hua.