The next dawn.
Hummm.
Cheongmyeong quietly contemplated his own body.
The dantian, which had once been small and weak, was now firmly established.
The energy accumulated within had also grown to a size that he could clearly perceive.
Hummm.
Even while inhaling, the gathered energy resonated and purified his body.
Clear and pure energy.
Even after decades of living with his inner strength, Cheongmyeong had never seen such transparent and clear energy gathering in his dantian.
Although the current size of this inner strength was not great enough to exert significant power, if this pure energy continued to accumulate, it would eventually unleash a force greater than any other inner strength in the world.
"...... When."
After finishing his breathing exercises, Cheongmyeong's face twisted in frustration.
It would be impossible to exert great power now.
The volcano was on the verge of collapse, and he wondered how long he would have to wait for this.
Suppressing his rising anger, Cheongmyeong began to analyze the situation.
"Let’s summarize."
The problems facing the volcano were countless.
If he were to list them all, he could fill every piece of paper in the volcano.
However, the most pressing issues could be boiled down to three: "There is no money, no martial arts, and no talented individuals."
Then it was doomed, wasn’t it? It was horrifying just to think about it vaguely, but actually laying it out made his stomach churn even more.
So what was the biggest problem among them?
"Talented individuals."
Cheongmyeong's thoughts were clear and straightforward.
Money could be earned, and martial arts could be taught with what he had.
Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to pass it off without being asked, "Where did you get this martial arts?" but that was just a matter of process.
However, he could do nothing about finding talented individuals.
He couldn’t just run into the marketplace and kidnap kids with decent potential to save the volcano.
Moreover, potential could not be discerned just by looking at someone’s appearance.
If that were the case, prestigious families would be scouring the streets for children with talent.
"So, I need to make use of those who are already here."
Cheongmyeong clenched his fists.
What difference would it make to complain about the lack of resources? The priority was to make proper use of what he had.
It was a clear fact that the talents of the three main disciples did not seem particularly outstanding, but if they were lacking, they could be filled in, and if they were broken, they could be repaired.
"Of course, I didn’t have any disciples."
Old memories resurfaced.
When he had reached an age where he should take on disciples, his senior brother Zhang asked him, "Cheongmyeong."
"Yes, Senior Brother Zhang."
"It’s about time for you to take on disciples. How do you think you should teach them?"
"What’s so difficult about it?"
"How?"
"First, you beat them. If a dog gets beaten enough, it learns to walk on its hind legs. They’re still human, so they should be able to do better than a dog, right?"
"...... Let’s talk about this later."
After that, Senior Brother Zhang never brought up the topic of disciples again.
"I never expected to take on so many disciples at once."
The corners of Cheongmyeong's mouth curled up.
If anyone had seen that smile, they would have undoubtedly called it a wicked grin.
"...... I’m so sleepy."
"Why do we have to gather at this early hour?"
"Senior Brother, isn’t this a bit too much?"
Yoonjong quietly closed his eyes. 'Just be quiet for a moment, you brats.' The rules of the volcano were somewhat strict, but these kids had not completely shed the dirt of the mundane world.
Even if they were not from prestigious families, they were the children of households that lived comfortably in their regions, so they could not endure discomfort and were not used to patience.
Thus, after just half a day of being beaten, they were already voicing complaints.
Yoonjong slightly raised his head to look at Jogol.
At least Jogol seemed to have grasped the atmosphere and kept his mouth shut.
Well, the others were not completely oblivious to the situation either.
That’s why, despite their complaints, they all gathered without exception at this early hour.
Yoonjong cast a sullen glance at Baekmaegwan.
'Where did such a monstrous person come from?'
It was vivid in his mind.
Cheongmyeong, with a devilish appearance, swinging a chair leg and knocking down over thirty kids in an instant.
Brrr.
Just thinking about it sent chills down his spine.
"...... But who the hell is that?"
That question represented everyone’s feelings.
"He’s ridiculously strong."
"I didn’t even get to touch him."
"There were more than thirty of us. Could the senior disciples really do that?"
They didn’t know.
But one thing was certain: among the three main disciples, there was no one who could imitate that feat.
"That kid who just joined yesterday, could he have learned martial arts somewhere else?"
"Hey, even so, isn’t this a bit much? We haven’t just been idling around until now, right?"
Everyone was confused by a situation they couldn’t comprehend.
Even Yoonjong, who was older and had lived the longest in the volcano, was struggling to grasp the situation, let alone the other kids.
"What if we charge at him again?"
"......"
No one knew who said it, but that comment raised the tension.
"Is that possible?"
"Last night, we might have been caught off guard..."
"But what if we fail?"
"......"
It was a chilling hypothesis.
Everyone turned their heads.
Jogol, standing in a ready stance, spoke up.
"If you don’t want to get beaten to a pulp, just keep your mouth shut and do as you’re told."
"...... Jogol, Senior Brother."
Jogol, who was said to be the strongest among the three main disciples, was trembling.
'These crazy kids.'
What? Charge again? Only after getting hit once and stuck to the ceiling would they realize such words were foolish.
Jogol had confidence in his abilities.
Even if the volcano had lost its former glory, Jogol was still a talent that could be called a genius in any sect.
In the end, martial arts were something a person learned.
Even without sufficient teaching and excellent martial arts, he had the confidence to handle disciples from any prestigious family.
That confidence was shattered in an instant by a single punch that sent him flying over the ocean.
That was not someone who could be judged by common sense.
"Then why did you tell us to prepare for this?"
The three main disciples tilted their heads at the strange tools laid out before them.
"Right. What are these for?"
A long stick, a large and sturdy bag that could fit a person’s head, and...
"Why did we prepare sand and gravel? And what about the sewing kit?"
"Who knows?"
While everyone was grumbling, the door suddenly swung open.
"......"
Silence fell.
The chattering mouths all shut in unison, and everyone’s gaze focused on the door.
Soon, Cheongmyeong walked out, looking annoyed and irritated.
'Why are you the one annoyed?'
'If you’re annoyed, don’t gather us!'
Cheongmyeong, who stepped out lazily and stopped, looked up and surveyed everyone.
"Is everyone here?"
"Yes!"
"Be quiet. The senior disciples are waking up."
"......"
Thud.
Thud.
Cheongmyeong lazily opened his mouth after tilting his head left and right.
"Anyway, we’re going to be living together from now on. I don’t know how things will turn out, but there’s a chance we might be together as brothers for life."
"I’ll die before I go home."
"I’ll descend the mountain. No matter what, I’ll descend!"
Even those who had resolved to bury their bones in the volcano as true disciples were suddenly swayed by his words.
"But from what I see, you all..."
Cheongmyeong grinned.
"Are too weak."
"......"
"......"
For those learning martial arts, the most insulting and humiliating word was 'weak.' Even those who thought they would live as merchants after learning martial arts could not tolerate that word.
"Ugh."
But the problem was that there was no room for rebuttal.
It was a statement made by someone who had knocked down over thirty people without even getting touched.
Even if the sky turned red, they could not deny it.
"Well, I think so too. Martial arts aren’t everything in life. But you all came here to learn martial arts at the volcano. So you should get stronger, right?"
"......"
"So starting today, you’ll train with me every dawn. Sounds good?"
Of course, it didn’t sound good.
As Cheongmyeong spoke shamelessly, someone raised their hand.
"Speak."
"Do we really have to do this?"
Cheongmyeong looked at the one who asked with a pout before turning to Yoonjong.
Yoonjong, who was frozen, stammered as he spoke.
"Not everyone was there at that time..."
"Oh, right."
There were those who hadn’t been hit.
Some had not participated in the initiation ceremony.
They might have heard about it, but that alone wouldn’t help them grasp the situation.
"Can those who don’t want to do it go inside?"
"But you seem like a newcomer, so why are you speaking so casually? You should at least show some respect."
Cheongmyeong nodded as if he was right.
"That’s right. A person should have manners. In that sense, I have no intention of getting stronger or training. Hands!"
When a hundred people gathered, there would always be one or two who lacked awareness.
As one or two of them raised their hands, a few others, who had been hesitating, also raised their hands.
About ten or so.
"Good. Good. Martial arts aren’t everything in life. So, you all can go inside."
"Can we go?"
"Of course."
Yoonjong and Jogol’s faces turned pale.
'You foolish brats.
It’s not "you can go," it’s "let’s go!"'
'They’re walking into hell on their own.
Oh, Heavenly Lord, please watch over those kids.'
The clueless children entered Baekmaegwan with bright smiles.
And Cheongmyeong followed them in with a cheerful smile.
Thud.
The door closed neatly.
"......"
No one dared to speak and stared at Baekmaegwan.
Contrary to expectations, there were no screams or shouts.
But.
'That......'
Yoonjong saw it clearly.
The large Baekmaegwan hall was slightly shaking.
It was obvious what was happening inside, even without seeing it.
A brief moment passed.
Creeeak.
The door slowly opened again.
And the kids rushed out with faces as if they had seen a ghost.
Then they quickly returned to their original positions, standing at attention with all their might.
"Tsk."
Cheongmyeong, who stepped out, opened his mouth again.
"Those who don’t want to train."
"None!"
"I said be quiet. The senior disciples are waking up."
"None!"
"Ugh."
Cheongmyeong clapped as if he were moved.
"I’m very pleased with your desire to become stronger. The future of the volcano is bright. So I will do whatever it takes to make you strong."
"......"
"Let’s begin."
As Yoonjong watched the sun rise in the distance, he tightly closed his eyes.
The future of the volcano might be bright, but their future was bound to be dark.