From the very beginning, Baekcheon had acknowledged the difference.

Jin Geum-ryong had been known as a prodigy since childhood.

Among the people Baekcheon knew, Jin Geum-ryong was the one who fit the description of a genius the best.

He had already experienced defeat.

In the last Hwa Jong meeting, and even before that, Baekcheon had never managed to win against Jin Geum-ryong.

He had only tasted the bitter flavor of thorough defeat.

However, "I thought the gap would have narrowed."

He had worked so hard.

Cheongmyeong had commented that his efforts were not proper, but Baekcheon believed he had truly endured a bone-cutting hardship.

At the very least, he could confidently say he had trained more than twice as much as Jin Geum-ryong.

Therefore, even if he couldn't win, he believed he had at least closed the gap a little.

But reality was always more devastating than imagination.

"Fwoosh!"

"Ugh!"

Jin Geum-ryong's sword struck Baekcheon's ankle.

Baekcheon, nearly losing his balance, desperately tried to regain it, gritting his teeth.

If it had been a real sword, his ankle would have been severed.

It was only because it was a wooden sword that it ended there.

But conversely, because it was not a real sword, he was not even allowed the freedom to lose.

"Why can't I even touch him?"

Why! After all that effort!

"Fwoosh!"

Once again, Jin Geum-ryong's sword struck Baekcheon's opposite thigh.

The impact was enough to nearly break a bone.

For a moment, his mind went blank, but he did not let out a scream or even a groan.

Instead, he slammed the wooden sword against the ground and propelled his body forward.

"Uaaaaah!"

His sword aimed for Jin Geum-ryong's head, a simple strike without any changes.

But it was that fast and that sharp.

"Slow."

Yet, Jin Geum-ryong simply took a step to the side and twisted his body, perfectly nullifying Baekcheon's decisive strike.

"Fwoosh!"

Jin Geum-ryong's sword struck Baekcheon's left shoulder.

Flesh burst open, and blood gushed out.

"Ugh."

With just one more attack, he could perfectly end the match.

But Jin Geum-ryong did not finish him off and took a step back.

Then, with an utterly arrogant expression, he looked down at Baekcheon.

"Ugh."

Baekcheon managed to prop himself up with one hand on the ground and somehow got back on his feet.

"......"

His eyes were bloodshot.

Though he was in pain, he did not lose his fighting spirit as he glared at Jin Geum-ryong.

"Oh?"

Jin Geum-ryong looked at Baekcheon with surprise.

"Even in such a state, you still have the will to fight."

Jin Geum-ryong raised his sword, aiming at Baekcheon.

"But that's all there is to it. You will never be able to touch even the hem of my clothes in your lifetime."

"...... Why?"

"You really lack understanding. I told you so many times."

Jin Geum-ryong looked around and then spoke.

"It means that the difference between your Hwasan and our Jongnam is that great. The martial arts of Hwasan cannot compete with the martial arts of Jongnam. Even if a hundred years or a thousand years pass, it will be the same!"

It was an incredibly arrogant declaration.

But no one could refute Jin Geum-ryong's words.

Even the disciples of Hwasan, who heard such arrogant words with their own ears, could only bite their lips, unable to shout out their anger.

Hyun Jong closed his eyes tightly at the sight.

"How much longer must we endure this?"

In front of the leader of a sect, a mere second-generation disciple was spouting such arrogant words, and who could understand his position that he could not even condemn it?

"Forgive my sins, oh Immortals."

However, Jin Geum-ryong's arrogance did not stop there.

He smiled at Baekcheon.

"If you want to catch up to me even now, it would be best to leave Hwasan immediately. There is no future here. Remaining in a ruined sect only brings ridicule."

Baekcheon gritted his teeth.

"I am... a disciple of Hwasan."

"Excellent. A man should be like that. However..."

Jin Geum-ryong charged at Baekcheon with his sword raised.

Baekcheon tried to block the incoming sword somehow, but his arms could no longer move.

Thud! Thud!

With the sound of a large drum being struck, Baekcheon was hit multiple times and finally fell sideways.

Thud.

Jin Geum-ryong glanced back at Baekcheon, who had lost consciousness, and smiled with a twisted expression.

"But I have no intention of going easy on you. Oh dear, did I take a bit too long to say that?"

With a grim smile, Jin Geum-ryong lightly retrieved his wooden sword.

Then he stepped over the fallen Baekcheon and headed towards his camp.

Defeat.

An utterly perfect defeat.

"Senior!"

Only then did the disciples of Hwasan, who had regained their senses, rush out to the training ground.

"Senior!"

"Don't touch him recklessly!"

"......"

Baek Sang, who carefully picked up the unconscious Baekcheon, fell silent for a moment and then shouted with a face twisted in horror.

"This is too much!"

Jin Geum-ryong, who was returning to his place, turned his head to look at Baek Sang.

"What do you mean by too much?"

"This is a martial arts match! How can you injure your opponent so severely during a match!"

"A martial arts match... So it ended just like that, didn't it?"

"...... What?"

Jin Geum-ryong sneered.

"If I had used a real sword, what do you think would have happened to him by now?"

"......"

"Because it was a match, he was able to save his life. Isn't that right?"

"How can you be so ruthless..."

"Don't be so angry."

"......"

Jin Geum-ryong chuckled.

"I was quite surprised myself. I never expected him to be that weak. I thought he would at least be able to block a bit. I apologize for that."

Baek Sang bit his lip until it bled.

A perfect defeat.

And ridicule that went far beyond the limits.

His heart sank, and blood boiled within him.

If he could, he would want to drag that man and make him pay dearly.

But right now, Baek Sang could do nothing.

"Take the senior to the medical hall! Right now!"

"Yes!"

As the disciples carried Baekcheon away, Baek Sang drew his wooden sword.

"Let me see that so-called Jongnam sword for myself!"

"There's no reason I can't."

"Seohan."

"Yes! Senior!"

"Deal with him."

"Understood!"

Jong Seohan grinned as he entered the training ground.

Seeing him walk out leisurely, Baek Sang gripped the wooden sword tightly, as if to break it.

Despite the increasingly tense atmosphere of the match, the audience was quite cheerful.

"Indeed, impressive."

"Baekcheon was stronger than I expected. But Jin Geum-ryong's achievement surpassed expectations."

"He truly deserves to be called the greatest prodigy of the province. And Jongnam, which has such a person as a disciple, is indeed worthy of being the greatest sect in the province."

"Isn't that right? Hahaha."

Hwang Mun-yak's expression hardened.

"This is why merchants are..."

Should it be called ethnic hatred?

One person was being carried out in a terribly pitiful state, yet no one cared about that fact.

No one blamed the excessive violence in a martial arts match.

It was only natural.

These people were only interested in understanding the strength of Jin Geum-ryong and Jongnam and how to profit from it.

Hwang Mun-yak was not much different from them, but at this moment, he could not hide his disgust towards them.

"This is a truly devastating defeat."

Baekcheon and Jin Geum-ryong.

Even though they represented Hwasan and Jongnam, the result was overwhelmingly one-sided to the point of being shocking.

In the end, Baekcheon could not even graze the hem of Jin Geum-ryong's clothes.

If the Hwa Jong meeting continued like this, Hwasan would never regain its former glory, no matter what they did.

No, the probability of their downfall accelerating would be even higher.

No one would acknowledge Hwasan.

Even if Hwang Mun-yak poured money into it, it would be irreversible.

This was no different from a death sentence.

"What is So Do-jang thinking?"

He thought that since he confidently gathered people and set up a match, there would surely be a hidden plan.

But now, even that began to be doubted.

"Have I overestimated So Do-jang too much?"

Hwang Mun-yak's gaze fixed on Cheongmyeong.

"...... Is the master alright?"

"He probably isn't."

"Did he get hurt badly?"

"He got hurt badly."

"......"

Cheongmyeong's indifferent response finally made Yoon Jong's face turn slightly angry as he shouted.

"Even if your relationship isn't good, that person is your master! How can you act so nonchalantly when your master is in such a pitiful state?"

"Calm down, senior."

"You brat!"

"I said calm down."

At Cheongmyeong's calm voice, Yoon Jong slightly opened his eyes.

It was different from Cheongmyeong's usual reactions.

"Did you think he would win?"

"......"

Yoon Jong bit his lip.

He did not hope for a win.

But... he thought at least they would maintain some dignity.

Baekcheon was the prodigy carrying all of Hwasan's expectations.

Perhaps Yoon Jong's excitement stemmed more from the fact that Baekcheon lost so terribly than from the fact that he was injured.

"Is the gap with Jongnam this wide?"

Gu Pai Lang, Gu Pai Lang.

However, the disciples of Hwasan did not think much of Gu Pai Lang.

They too had once belonged to Gu Pai Lang in the past.

Though it had fallen now, they believed that if luck and effort combined, they could one day compete with Gu Pai Lang.

But the wall of Gu Pai Lang was higher and larger than they thought.

Cheongmyeong chuckled.

"If effort alone could make one a master, there wouldn't be anyone in the world who isn't a master. What's important is not whether you put in effort, but how you put in that effort."

"......"

"Look. From now on, watch closely. All the second-generation disciples will lose."

"All of them?"

"There isn't a single person who can win. No, there is one... but it seems he won't participate."

Yoon Jong's face hardened.

The second-generation disciples had a record of 2 draws and 8 losses in the last Hwa Jong meeting.

It was a disastrous record.

And now, they were saying they wouldn't even achieve a draw?

"...... So this is how it feels to lose."

So pitifully.

But at that moment, Cheongmyeong's eyes widened as he looked at Yoon Jong.

"Lose? Who's losing?"

"Huh? You just..."

"That's the second-generation disciples!"

"......"

Cheongmyeong's eyes sparkled.

"How dare those Jongnam bastards think they can win against Hwasan? As long as I have my eyes open, I won't let that happen! Even if dirt gets in my eyes, I won't let it happen!"

"......"

"So get ready. We might have to make a more spectacular entrance."

"No, that..."

At that moment.

"Ahhh!"

Yoon Jong hurriedly turned his head.

Finally, his eyes caught sight of Baek Sang, who was lying pitifully on the ground.

Jong Seohan kicked Baek Sang with his foot.

"You still look like you can fight?"

"Ugh..."

"Just talking won't do."

Jong Seohan glanced at Baek Sang and then looked up at the disciples of Hwasan.

Then he smirked as if to say, "Come at me."

Cheongmyeong opened his mouth.

"But wait, that guy?"

"Catch him!"

The three great disciples rushed in and grabbed Cheongmyeong.

Seeing that, Jong Seohan laughed as if he found it ridiculous.

"What a sight to behold. Anyway, it's an unknown sect."

"Oh?"

Cheongmyeong's eyes slightly flipped.

"Let's see how long that mouth of yours can keep laughing."

You are marked by me.

Now it's too late to regret!