The power of the Galaxy Sect was indeed remarkable.
The members of the Galaxy Sect stabilized and neatly organized the business sites of the Harmony Sect, which had been unable to be handled even after all the disciples of the Volcano Sect were mobilized, in just a few days.
Thanks to this, the face of Hyun-young, who usually resembled a demon, was adorned with a smile like that of a Buddha.
And that Buddha-like smile was mostly directed towards...
"Have you eaten?"
"Yes, Master Hyun."
"Good, good."
With an exceptionally benevolent smile, Hyun-young patted Cheong-myeong's head.
It seemed like honey would drip from his eyes.
"You need to eat a lot. Eat well and go earn some merit somewhere."
"... What?"
"No, I mean go and make some achievements."
"...."
The three great disciples were surprised once at the fact that the usually fierce Hyun-young could smile, and even more so that he could pat someone’s head.
For Cheong-myeong, who had to bow his head to the younger generation, it felt like a fate worse than death.
'I feel like I'm being tamed.'
Even Hyun-jong and Hyun-young were absurdly rejuvenating.
Seeing the black hair sprouting beneath their white hair and the hair at their ears turning black, a sense of disbelief washed over them.
'Well, they had aged excessively.'
It was a fitting appearance for their age, but considering they were martial artists, it was too much to have such white hair.
Those who had suffered so much were regaining their composure and returning to their true selves.
The Harmony Sect was stabilized, and the elders regained their smiles.
And time began to flow like water.
The disciples of the Volcano Sect felt the stability that had come to the Volcano after decades and accepted the passage of time with their whole bodies.
And while everyone was enjoying a peaceful life, the three great disciples were dying.
"Ughhhhh."
"Oh nooo."
The three great disciples, carrying boulders the size of a human body, moved their bodies while sweating profusely.
They bent down until they touched the ground and then, with all their might, lifted the stones.
"Ughhhhh!"
"Ugh, my back...."
But there was one noticeable change: the curses directed at Cheong-myeong, which had been incessantly spewing out, had almost disappeared.
"Oh, I'm dying!"
"You're not dying. You're not dying. Straighten your back."
"No, I'm really going to die...!"
"You just have to do it two more times. Come on, this is the last one. This is the last. One, two, three. Good job. Just one more?!"
"Ahhh!"
The one who collapsed to the ground pushed the boulder away and gasped for breath.
"Aren't we going to die like this?"
"You won't die. No one has died yet."
".... Ugh."
At first, Cheong-myeong had started this training without knowing anything because he was ordered to.
He began training just to avoid getting hit or singled out.
But after repeating the training for several months, he realized something.
'This actually works.'
No, saying it works is an understatement.
To be precise, the effects were tremendous.
Thanks to the elixir Cheong-myeong had provided, everyone was able to endure the training and feel its effects throughout their bodies.
First of all, their lower bodies became stronger, so their stances no longer wavered, their stamina increased, and above all, their bodies were filled with vitality.
No matter how unmotivated they had been, they were all martial artists at heart.
A martial artist would not hesitate to chew a snake alive if it meant getting stronger, nor would they shy away from throwing themselves off a cliff.
Who would refuse training that could improve their skills just by lifting some stones? They complained with their mouths, but the number of stones they carried gradually increased, and now there were even those who could lift boulders.
Among them, the most noticeable was Jo-geol.
"Ughhh!"
Jo-geol was lifting a boulder that was twice his size.
Everyone was astonished at the sight.
"Can he do that without using internal energy?"
"Right?"
The appearance of those talking had changed quite a bit.
Just a few months had passed, but everyone had grown at least a hand's length taller, and their shoulders had broadened.
Especially Jo-geol, who used to be on the smaller side among the three great disciples, had now grown to be quite large, with his body solidly built with muscles.
Yun-jong looked around at everyone and smiled.
'What a strange thing.'
When they first started this training, Yun-jong had many concerns.
The sword of the Volcano Sect was a transformation sword, a swift sword.
It was characterized by creating numerous changes based on speed and pressuring the opponent through those changes.
Therefore, he thought that simply strengthening their bodies through this training would hinder their ability to wield the Volcano sword.
But to his surprise, once the effects of the training started to show, their swords became twice as sharp.
Thanks to that, he was able to digest the Six Harmonies Sword, which he had to relearn from the beginning, without any difficulty, and now he was in the process of mastering a new sword called the Falling Flower Sword.
Although it was a bit overwhelming to learn it alongside the Seven Star Steps, Yun-jong was more than happy with this challenge.
The Seven Star Steps and the Falling Flower Sword were different from the martial arts they had learned until now.
The deeper they delved, the more hidden mysteries of ascension they found.
It was a martial art that gave them confidence that mastering it would make them stronger.
So it was only natural for him to feel excited.
'But there's one thing.'
"Ughhh!"
"Ughhhhh!"
"Wow, my body is getting bigger, and the sword feels like chopsticks!"
"Haha, is this all you can do? Bring me another piece of iron!"
Was this truly the Volcano or the Volcano Sect? Yun-jong couldn’t shake off the feeling that the place, which should be flowing with spirit and energy, was turning into a den of bandits.
"Brother. It's about time we should go eat."
"Yeah, you're right."
In the past, everyone eagerly awaited the end of training time, but now, as they set their own training schedules, they often lost track of time.
Managing their training so that it didn’t disrupt their daily plans was also Yun-jong's role.
"Let’s wrap this up and head in. We need to wash up, eat, and go for morning training."
"Yes, brother."
"I'll just finish what I was doing and wrap it up."
"Okay. Do that."
As Yun-jong looked around, he casually glanced at Jo-geol.
"By the way, where is Cheong-myeong?"
"He hasn’t been coming to training lately."
"That’s true."
Since the physical training of the three great disciples had started to run on its own, Cheong-myeong had not shown his face at the training ground much.
"But he’s not just lying around sleeping; he seems to be the first one up every day. Where on earth is he wandering off to?"
"How would we know? In fact, isn’t Cheong-myeong the busiest person at the Volcano?"
"That’s right."
It wasn’t just empty words; it was the truth.
After a series of events, the Volcano had regained its vitality.
Visitors, who had been nonexistent even after searching with open eyes, had become common, with at least a few coming every day, and the businesses recovered from the Harmony Sect were newly renovated and smoothly making money.
In line with this, renovations of the old buildings of the Volcano were underway, and maintenance for visitors was also being carried out.
In the midst of this, Cheong-myeong was busy shuttling between the Galaxy Sect and the Volcano.
"Brother."
"Hmm?"
"How strong have we become now?"
"Well..."
Yun-jong tilted his head.
Strength is relative.
To know how strong one has become, a standard is needed.
But they had no standard.
It was certain that they were getting stronger, but since all the brothers were growing together, it was hard to feel how much stronger they had become.
"At least, I think we’ve become twice as strong as before that guy showed up?"
"Just twice?"
"I don’t know. Saying twice is a bit abstract. What’s certain is that I feel confident I could take on at least three of my former self."
"That’s not enough."
"Huh?"
"You know, the 'meeting' is coming soon."
At the mention of the 'meeting,' Yun-jong frowned.
"That’s right."
"We need to get stronger. Much stronger."
"…I see."
Yun-jong chuckled.
"Then should I ask Cheong-myeong to push us a bit more?"
Jo-geol nodded resolutely with a serious expression.
"What is this nonsense?"
Cheong-myeong trudged toward the Falling Flower Peak.
To become stronger, a martial artist must train.
His sword was perfectly matched to his past body.
Therefore, he could mimic it somewhat, but he could not achieve the perfect unity of body and sword as he had in the past.
There was no shortcut.
He had to constantly swing his sword to resolve the disharmony between his body and mind.
However, the problem was that Cheong-myeong's sword was not something he could swing in front of others.
If he trained properly, the Volcano would be turned upside down.
"Ugh. I'd rather die than suffer."
In the end, he had no choice but to train where no one could see him.
So these days, he had been climbing the mountain at dawn to swing his sword at the sparsely populated Falling Flower Peak and then coming down.
'What am I supposed to do with this?'
Climbing to Falling Flower Peak was not a problem, but the time wasted was an issue.
'Time is already scarce.'
Taking care of the three great disciples, managing the businesses of the Harmony Sect in connection with the Galaxy Sect, and soothing the strange actions of the sect leader and elders in between was already enough to drive him crazy.
But more importantly, Cheong-myeong needed to become stronger.
'I have no time to relax.'
If he were given a hundred years, Cheong-myeong would eventually step into the realm of the past Plum Blossom Sword Master.
And naturally, he would become stronger than he was in the past.
As Cheong-myeong grew stronger, the Volcano would naturally grow stronger as well.
But the world was not that easy.
There were those who aimed for the Volcano, and before they could grow stronger, they would surely try to do something.
Even if there was no specific target, it would be the same.
There was no place that welcomed a flourishing sect.
Somehow, there would be interference, and those who would provoke them would appear.
What if he encountered those he couldn’t handle while leisurely trying to grow stronger? Moreover, wasn’t there an enemy named Jong-nam at the Volcano, who would inevitably cause problems?
Cheong-myeong shook his head.
'I need to get stronger as soon as possible.
Strong enough to handle whatever happens.'
Thus, he could not afford to slack off in his training.
He had to climb as quickly as possible.
Lying around wouldn’t make him stronger on its own.
He gritted his teeth and worked diligently...
"Eh?"
Cheong-myeong narrowed his eyes.
Someone was there.
An uninvited guest had appeared in the training ground that Cheong-myeong had designated for himself a month ago.
'Who would be here at this hour...?'
As he cautiously approached Falling Flower Peak, he saw someone swinging a sword under the moonlight.
The tip of the sword created a smooth line.
Soft yet powerful.
Gorgeous yet elegant.
The sword struck the ground and adorned the sky, slowly descending like petals falling from the sky.
Sword dance.
In the dark dawn before the sun had risen, a woman was dancing with a sword under the moonlight.
In a pure white martial outfit and hair as dark as ebony.
And a sword that shone under the moonlight.
"A beauty under the moonlight..."
Cheong-myeong was mesmerized by the woman's sword dance.
The sword melted into the moonlight.
It was delicate yet unwavering.
That sword resembled the plum blossom.
Yes, the old sword of the Volcano was melting into that sword dance.
Cheong-myeong fell into a strange fascination.
The old swordsmanship of the Volcano, which he thought he would never see again, was now unfolding before him.
It was not a matter of what swordsmanship one had learned.
It was a matter of how one wielded the sword in a certain sense.
Yes, just like...
"Who are you?!"
At that moment, a sharp voice erupted, and the woman who had been dancing with the sword suddenly charged toward Cheong-myeong.
"Huh?"
The woman, who had rushed right in front of Cheong-myeong, thrust her sword sharply at him.
"Huh?"
The fierce sword touched Cheong-myeong's neck.
Cheong-myeong stared blankly at the sword that was against his neck and sighed.
'What a buzzkill.'
To be detected by someone like this.
The Plum Blossom Sword Master must be rolling in his grave.
"Who are you? I've never seen you before."
The feeling was mutual.
Who are you?