Thud.

The sound of a broken prayer bead striking the floor rang out like thunder. The beads, having slid down the snapped thread, rolled across the floor with an indifferent clatter.

Tang Soso, who had already been wide-eyed and had now opened them even wider like lamp globes, fixed her gaze on Baek Cheon and quietly reached out to tug Yu Yiseol’s sleeve.

“...Sago.”

“What?”

“D-do something about it.”

“Do what?”

“No, um...”

“Can’t stop him, anyway.”

Yu Yiseol murmured calmly without changing expression.

“At least you can hit sajil.”

Only after hearing that did Tang Soso realize anew.

The moment someone decides to storm out, the person at Mount Hua who is the hardest to stop was not the notorious Mount Hua fanatic Chung Myung, but Baek Cheon, Mount Hua’s Righteous Swordsman.

And the reactions of the others watching the scene differed little from Tang Soso’s. Jo Gul’s mouth hung open as if it might split, and Yoon Jong stared with astonished, narrow eyes.

‘My goodness...’

Yoon Jong looked at Baek Cheon with rounded eyes.

One can say with certainty: Mount Hua may have over a hundred disciples, but the only person who could sternly deliver such words before the world’s Beop Jeong is Baek Cheon.

Everyone’s gaze turned to Beop Jeong. More precisely, it went to Beop Jeong’s trembling shoulders.

Shaolin’s Abbott is trembling with barely contained fury right now. Anyone who knows what Shaolin is and what its Abbott represents could not help but find this sight chilling.

But Mount Hua’s disciples, knowing all this, harbored feelings other than just fear.

Yes, Baek Cheon’s words and actions may have been excessive. His tone might have been too harsh. The same point could have been made in a milder way.

But there was one reason no one raised their voice to call Baek Cheon excessive: what he spoke was the pent-up grievance every Mount Hua disciple had pressed into their chests.

Mount Hua’s ancestors saved the world. Yet even those who remembered that fact deliberately ignored it and continued to slight and exploit Mount Hua continuously. How unjust and bitter that must have been.

And now, in this place, Baek Cheon had sternly pointed that out, and to no less a person than Beop Jeong. Something they had hoped for but never even dared dream of had occurred in reality.

In the silence sweeping the room, Beop Jeong stared down at the floor. The shattered prayer beads lay messily scattered in his hand.

Who in the world would dare lecture Shaolin’s Abbott Beop Jeong on what is right? Who would try to teach him? This was an affront to the Abbott and an insult to the old monk Beop Jeong who had dedicated himself to the Dharma.

But the rebuke for this situation did not come from Beop Jeong; it came from Jong Ri-Hyung, who sat beside him.

“What on earth is that blasphemy!”

Jong Ri-Hyung raised his voice and glared at Baek Cheon with furious eyes. He had kept silent until now because it wasn’t his place to intervene, but this was, to him, far beyond the line.

“Ever since you became acting Sect leader, have you lost your sight? Even if you were formally installed as Sect leader, those are not words fit for your mouth! You know nothing of the world...”

But at that moment it was Beop Jeong who stepped in to restrain Jong Ri-Hyung.

“Enough, Sect leader.”

“Abbott! But this is excessive rudeness...”

“Enough!”

Beop Jeong’s sudden shout, charged with internal qi, immediately crushed Jong Ri-Hyung’s resistance. Jong Ri-Hyung flinched and looked back at Beop Jeong.

Beop Jeong, who had been staring at the scattered beads, lifted his head and closed his eyes.

“...I apologize for raising my voice, Sect leader. I appreciate your intent, but this is not something you should be angry about.”

“Abbott...”

“...Amitabha.”

Beop Jeong closed his eyes tightly and chanted. After murmuring the chant softly in succession, he barely regained his composure and opened his eyes.

Facing him was still Baek Cheon’s unchanged, composed face. To some it might appear supremely confident, to others unbearably arrogant. And to Beop Jeong?

“...As for that part...”

Beop Jeong paused briefly, took a deep breath, and spoke as if forcing the words out.

“This monk is at fault. I will apologize.”

No sooner had he finished than a collective sigh escaped from Mount Hua’s disciples.

Taken simply, Baek Cheon had pointed out Beop Jeong’s error, and Beop Jeong had acknowledged it. It might be nothing more than that.

But those who knew what lay beneath this seemingly simple situation could never judge it so lightly.

Beop Jeong closed his eyes, chanted once more, and then spoke.

“I had for a moment forgotten that you are the one who represents Mount Hua’s Sect leader, and that Mount Hua’s Sect leader deserves the treatment due to that position. It is this monk’s failing to recognize it.”

Mount Hua’s disciples glanced at one another.

Mount Hua’s Sect leader must receive the respect due to that position.

Those words could be interpreted in various ways. But the respect Beop Jeong spoke of for ‘Mount Hua’s Sect leader’ did not stem from Mount Hua’s present power or influence.

The meaning was clear: for the first time, Beop Jeong had publicly acknowledged Mount Hua’s past contributions.

How could one possibly describe what the disciples felt hearing those words?

Baek Cheon spoke again.

“As a single warrior and a disciple of Mount Hua, I should apologize for any overly harsh words, but I am not just an ordinary fighter now—I stand as Acting Sect leader of Mount Hua—so I ask for your understanding that I cannot offer an apology for my words.”

“...There is nothing to ‘understand’—that is the right course of action.”

Beop Jeong nodded calmly. Tang Gunak’s eyes showed a hint of surprise at the sight.

Others might not have noticed, but to him Beop Jeong’s change was clear. If Beop Jeong had been as he once was, the conversation could not have proceeded this way.

‘We are not the only ones affected by Mount Hua.’

Or perhaps Beop Jeong had returned to his original self, having cleansed away the doubts Mount Hua had caused.

Ultimately it would be a good thing, but for now it was not comforting. After all, Baek Cheon was about to engage in debate, against a Beop Jeong who remained composed even in this situation.

“However, Acting Sect leader.”

Sure enough, Beop Jeong opened his mouth once more.

“When I apologized, it was for my tone and manner, not to deny the meaning of what I said to the acting Sect leader. Now it is time for you, Acting Sect leader, to answer my question.”

Beop Jeong watched Baek Cheon calmly with settled eyes.

“You said this decision was not born merely of youthful hot-headedness. Then you must, naturally, be prepared with an answer that will convince this monk.”

At those words, the expressions of several people darkened.

In truth, among those present, who truly wished to join the Nine Great Sects? Deep down, everyone hoped the Heavenly Friends Alliance would endure all this.

Yet no one openly opposed it because there was no justifiable ground or logic to rebel against the cause Beop Jeong had presented.

What logic could possibly refute the claim that they must unite to save as many people as possible?

“If you cannot, then Acting Sect leader, you will inevitably become a villain who brought calamity to the world out of petty emotion. You understand that, do you not?”

It was a cunning turn of phrase: without excess and without ostentation, invoking the word ‘villain’ to weigh the responsibility of the choice and corner the one who must answer.

But if one seized on that single expression, the person expected to answer would be caught making excuses.

Everyone could do nothing but look at Baek Cheon with worried eyes.

“Of course, Abbott.”

But Baek Cheon’s reply was so bold it was refreshing.

Beop Jeong’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“You say you have an answer?”

“Yes.”

“That is hard to understand, Acting Sect leader.”

Beop Jeong looked at Baek Cheon with an interrogative gaze.

“If you are going to spout sophistry, I advise you stop. That would not only tarnish Mount Hua’s prestige but also drag the honor of the Sect leader who appointed you into the mud.”

Baek Cheon, who had been listening quietly, called to Beop Jeong softly.

“Abbott. Do you not realize?”

“...What do you mean?”

“I mean how contradictory your words are right now.”

Beop Jeong looked as if to ask what he meant, and Baek Cheon shook his head.

“When you visited before, I felt you had changed from the past. I was pleased and held you in great respect. Do you recall what you said then?”

“...I’m not sure. I said many things.”

“You said everyone was not wrong; they simply held different positions. Even if no one is wrong, differing circumstances can lead to conflicting pursuits. That’s what you said that day.”

Beop Jeong nodded faintly. Those were indeed his own words. So why bring them up now?

“Your words that day gave me great insight. I reflected on my stance and thoughts and rightly understood what I must do. This is what it means for the later to learn from the earlier. But... what of you now, Abbott?”

At those words, Beop Jeong’s brows furrowed.

“What are you saying...”

“You now say that those who do not share your will are all wrong, all sinners, and villains who will plunge the world into ruin.”

Beop Jeong inhaled sharply at the cutting accusation. His attempt to persuade had instead returned like a dagger.

‘This man...’

Beop Jeong stared piercingly at Baek Cheon with narrowed eyes.

In truth, pointing out logical flaws from the sidelines might not be so difficult.

But Baek Cheon had just assumed the heavy responsibility of Acting Sect leader and was facing none other than Beop Jeong, the abbot of Shaolin. Such a person was daringly poking holes in Beop Jeong’s logic, not by avoiding the questions but by confronting them directly.

“It is truly regrettable. I at least sympathized with the Abbott’s cause, but you are not now showing conduct befitting that cause.”

“This monk...”

“As Mount Hua’s Acting Sect leader, I only hope the cause you speak of will not be used merely as a tool to prop up your own logic.”

Beop Jeong’s expression involuntarily twisted slightly. Baek Cheon watched that reaction but continued calmly.

“There is one thing you need not worry about. My distrust of a certain attitude will not become distrust of you, Abbott. Nor will I use it as a reason to dissolve our agreement.”

Everyone looked at Baek Cheon with surprised eyes.

This was the first debate the Acting Sect leader had with the Abbott. In such a situation, he could have seized advantage, yet he spoke as if ready to give up any gains. It was hard to comprehend.

But Baek Cheon’s following words made even those people nod in agreement.

“The reason is simple. I said that if I lack something, I can learn, and if I am deficient, others can fill the gap. For me to use the fact that the Abbott is not perfect as a reason to refuse would be to contradict my own words.”

Hearing that, Beop Jeong’s face twitched faintly.

Depending on how one heard it, it sounded noble, but it also implied that Beop Jeong did not uphold his own words while Baek Cheon did.

Whether intentional or not, before one could question it Baek Cheon continued.

“There need be no other reason for Mount Hua to take a different path from Shaolin. If there is a reason, it is only one: the cause you speak of completely contradicts Mount Hua’s teachings.”

“...You say it contradicts?”

“Yes, Abbott.”

Baek Cheon drew a slow breath and declared firmly.

“Let me make this clear here: so long as I serve as Acting Sect leader, Mount Hua will not turn away those we can save in the name of saving all. If someone must be sacrificed, that sacrifice will be Mount Hua’s to bear.”

His tone was calm yet resolute, a voice that sent a shiver through everyone at Mount Hua.

“That is Mount Hua’s will carried down from the past, and the teachings Mount Hua must uphold.”

A gentle smile formed at the corner of his mouth.

“So please remember this, Abbott. This is the path Mount Hua has walked until now...”

Baek Cheon’s gaze turned to the disciples of Mount Hua who were watching him.

It was a gaze a little warm and a little stern.

“It is the path we will continue to walk.”

The eyes of Mount Hua’s disciples shone as if in reply to that voice.