Yang Kyung couldnât suppress his distaste.
There were numerous reasons for his discomfort.
Firstly, the journey to Mount Hua was much longer than he anticipated. Upon arrival, he found Mount Hua overcrowded, far beyond his expectations.
Consequently, he had to ascend this crowded metal mountain, already drained from the lengthy travel.
Indeed, he could somewhat understand the situation. Mount Hua hadnât explicitly invited everyone; people might have decided to visit out of curiosity.
However, what infuriated him even more was something else.
âWhat? No accommodation?â
âI apologize.â
The Ice Palace warrior, jotting down their entries, offered a slightly sorrowful smile.
âWith the influx of visitors, those who didnât receive a letter might have to stay in Hwa-Um village at the base of the mountain.â
âMountain base?â
Yang Kyungâs face twisted in annoyance.
âYouâre suggesting we go down this cursed mountain only to climb it again?â
The North Sea Ice Palace warrior apologized once more, his expression genuinely sympathetic. Even he acknowledged that descending and then re-ascending the mountain was an arduous task.
âI apologize. The lack of sufficient accommodation has led to this situation. We hope for your understanding.â
Yang Kyungâs face reddened with anger, but he attempted to remain calm.
âThen, if I head down to Hwa-Um village, where can I stay? Is there a decent place?â
âFor those who arrived early, we allocated the newly constructed pavilions⊠but now, all those places are occupied, so you might have to opt for guesthouses or tents. However, I canât guarantee the availability of guesthousesâŠâ
âTents?â
Yang Kyung stared at the Ice Palace warrior, utterly astonished.
âDoes the Heavenly Friends Alliance expect their guests to sleep outdoors in tents?â
âI apologize. The turnout exceeded our expectations.â
âExceeded expectations?â
Yang Kyung clenched his teeth, his expression turning fierce.
âDoesnât it mean that Kanghoâs warriors have come to congratulate the launch of the Heavenly Friends Alliance? But is this how they treat guests who come to celebrate an occasion with them?â
When he finally shouted, the people around him turned in surprise. Because of the uproar, naturally, the disciples of Mount Hua reacted.
âWhat is going on?â
Jo Gul looked at Yang Kyung and asked.
âSee this.â
âYes, speak.â
âI am Yang Kyung, the clan leader of Hunanâs Pure White Clan. In Kangho, they call me the Iron Bold Being.â
âI greet Warrior Yang. It is an honor to meet you.â
Jo Gul, who was acting out of his character, gave a polite bow and then asked.
âButâŠ?â
The question was why this man was angry.
Yang Kyung frowned.
âWe traveled a long way to come here and celebrate the ceremony of the Heavenly Friends Alliance, but is it right to ask people to sleep in tents because you cannot provide them a place to rest?â
Jo Gul, who could now guess what happened, sighed and looked a bit unsure.
âWho knew so many would even come here?â
No, even if he had known, it wouldnât have changed a thing. A building wasnât something one could construct on the spot because they wanted to. One had to give in a huge level of effort and even all this now was done because of the efforts of the Tang family.
âI truly apologize. I hope the esteemed warrior understands us, too.â
âUnderstandâŠâ
The eyes of Yang Kyung, who spoke to Jo Gul softly till then, changed.
The moment Jo Gul saw those eyes, he could tell that this man didnât have good feelings about Mount Hua from the start.
âIsnât understanding something that can be gotten when both parties make equal effort? Isnât that right, Taoist?â
ââŠWhat are you saying?â
âSo, what kind of people will stay in these magnificent pavilions on Mount Hua?â
Jo Gulâs face turned cold at the intention of this question.
âSpeak.â
ââŠpeople of the Nine Great Sects and Five Families.â
Yang Kyung chuckled at that.
âSo⊠those great people get to stay in that great pavilion, and the nameless like us just sleep in tents like bandits?â
âIt wasnât meant in that way.â
âThen what does it mean? How great is the meaning then?â
Jo Gul bit his lip.
âHe keeps saying nonsenseâŠâ
If any other sect in this world held such an event, they would allocate the accommodations similarly. When Shaolin held the tournament, didnât Shaolin too offer its residence to those participating and famous sects on its premises and have the guests stay outside?
But this man was picking the same thing for a fight now?
Which meant that they decided to start against Mount Hua right from the start.
The problem was that Jo Gul couldnât respond to such statements. He was asked to handle this peacefully until the event ended. Care must be taken to avoid even the most minor fights.
In the end, Jo Gul pushed down his anger and spoke politely.
âPlease understand that our situation isnât that nice either.â
âNot nice thenâŠâ
Yang Kyung grinned.
Mount Hua could have been strong now, but it is still new to all. It wasnât that difficult to drive them into a corner.
Yang Kyung glanced at the people gathered around him.
Everyone was looking at this verbal fight happening between them as if it was an interesting sight.
Not much, not less; it was just curiosity for them. They didnât care about Yang Kyung. But, they were curious to see how Mount Hua would respond to this.
âI can understand the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families! I understand the situation of Mount Hua.â
ââŠâ
âBut⊠what about them?â
âUh?â
Yang Kyung gestured with his eyes to the Ice Palace warrior and the Beast Palace warriors.
âWhy are they taking up the space if thereâs no space for the guests? The host needs to provide a bed for the guests to come, but with so many of them taking up space, itâs obvious that the guests donât have enough room to rest!â
Jo Gul thought this was absurd and said,
âClan leader, these are the Heavenly Friendâs AllianceâŠâ
âWhen there isnât enough space, shouldnât it be alright for them to give up the pavilion?â
ââŠâ
Seeing how Jo Gul didnât answer, Yang Kyung smiled, confident in his victory.
âWhy? It isnât tough, right? To begin with, the North Sea Ice Palace is in a cold region, so it wouldnât be that tough for them to sleep anywhere. The Nanman Beast Palace is basically made up of barbarians, so sleeping on the streets shouldnât be a problem, right?â
Jo Gul grew increasingly angry.
What made everything absurd was how the surroundings laughed at Yang Kyungâs words.
âLaughing?â
They werenât getting angry after such words but chose to laugh?
Jo Gulâs entire body was now seething with anger.
âYour words are out of line!â
âI am speaking the truth, so what is wrong? In the first place, they are those who live in barren lands, so why hand them such a good pavilion? It is like putting a necklace of pearls around a pig!â
âYouâŠâ
As Jo Gul was about to retort, the laughter grew louder.
âWell, he isnât so wrong.â
âFor outsiders, a pavilion or an imperial palace is the same.â
âWe can give them the tent since they live in huts.â
Not just Jo Gul but the faces of other Mount Hua disciples began to turn red. Even their lips trembled in anger.
âThis is bad.â
Jo Gul realized it just now.
The Ice Palace and Beast Palace rejected the Central Plains. For them, there was a clear reason for it.
But emotions didnât care about that.
No matter what reason they had, it was impossible to like those who left you. And especially for those who looked down on them in the past.
Since the past, the Central Plains have ignored outsiders and their people. Wasnât the reason the Beast Palace held the Plum Blossom Sword Saint in such high regard because he was the only man who fought for Yunnan, unlike any other sect in the Central Plains which ignored them in their time of crisis?
What was more important here wasnât about the Plum Blossom Sword Saint who fought for the Beast Palace, but that even though the Demonic Sect invaded, the central plains didnât offer help to any sects outside their own.
Thanks to Yang Kyung, those feelings towards them, which hadnât been spoken about till now due to the fear of the Tang family and Mount Hua, began to surface.
âMount Hua and the Tang family should be enough. I donât get why they called over the Beast Palace and Ice Palace.â
âIs it even possible for a sect of the Central Plains to have ties with those outside? They are outsiders.â
âI donât know why they are spoiling the air.â
Once people start talking, it cannot be controlled.
Many people who were watching this, not wanting to cause more trouble, began to voice their concerns, and things turned even more heated.
When whispers turned to mumbles and then to questions, Jo Gul, who wanted to be patient, spoke.
âPlease refrain from using such words. The Ice Palace and Beast Palace are close friends of Mount Hua. Insulting them is like insulting Mount Hua!â
âHaha. I looked at Mount Hua in a nice light, too.â
Even though Jo Gul was angry, Yang Kyung wasnât scared; he just had a sly smile.
âWhat can you do? Kick me out if I insult you more?â
ââŠâ
âCome and try it. Mount Hua is a place where the Central Plains gets subjugated and the outsiders get protected! Hehehe! If I had known this is how Mount Hua is, I wouldnât have come this far at all!â
Jo Gul was confused. The eyes on him werenât looking at him kindly. And the words of Yang Kyung, saying they would reject the Central Plains in favor of outsiders, was like the final blow to all of them.
Normally, Jo Gul wouldnât care and would speak back. He would even shout back. But this was the first time Mount Hua was holding such a huge event, and not wanting to cause trouble for the sect was holding him back.
âThatâŠâ
At that moment, someone stepped forward from behind the Ice Palace warrior.
âDonât pick on others to fight with. If you have a complaint, speak to me directly.â
âWhat?â
âAre you a coward who cannot question the one in charge and instead raises your voice at young Taoists?â
âThis⊠this barbarian, how dareâŠ!â
âWhat?â
âDo not let your mouth run!â
âDamn, bastard!â
At the mention of barbarians, the Ice Palace and Beast Palace warriors became enraged and advanced.
The entire atmosphere soured.
âY-You cannot do this!â
Jo Gul tried to intervene.
âYou cannot cause trouble here. Isnât this a place for the announcement of the Heavenly Friends Alliance?â
ââŠâ
Despite being enraged, the Ice Palace and Beast Palace warriors fell silent. They didnât want to back down, but after Jo Gulâs reminder, they realized this wasnât the place for such behavior.
And the words might have made sense to them, but not from Yang Kyung.
âAh! Look at them trying to use their mouths on us!â
The Beast Palace and Ice Palace warriors, feeling humiliated, grunted.
ââŠif this wasnât Mount Hua, your head would have been on the ground. Consider yourself lucky to be here.â
âWhat?â
Yang Kyung, enraged, rushed forward.
âHow dare this disgusting barbarian speak to me!â
And he screamed at the top of his lungs.
âDirty outsiders, why are you so arrogant? I have nothing to say to you!â
âDirty outsiders?â
This made the Ice Palace and Beast Palace warriors bite their lips.
They wanted to grab this man and kill him, but they knew that would cause trouble for Mount Hua and the Tang family, so they refrained.
âStop spoiling the central plains with your disgusting feet and go back to where you belong, you disgusting animals!â
âClan leader Yang!â
Jo Gul, unable to contain himself, shouted at the man and stepped forward.
âWhat did this bastard say?â
Flinch.
Jo Gul turned back at this.
âAh, no!â
Chung Myung was walking out, cracking his neck.
And the gaze of Chung Myung looked to the left and right before settling on Yang Kyung.
âWho is what now? Did your liver swell up to the point of exploding? Yah! Come here! Get over here, I say!â
âN-noâŠ.â
Jo Gulâs hand moved with swift speed and grabbed the sleeve of Chung Myung.
Well, he tried to.
But if his hands were swift, then Chung Myungâs body was swifter. Chung Myung slipped from the grasp and walked ahead. All Jo Gul caught was air.
Clench.
Crack.
Chung Myungâs foot connected with Yang Kyungâs face. And the entire world turned silent.
Everyone was shocked at this. All of them were looking with their mouths open.
âACKKKKKKKKK!!â
And what broke the silence was the scream of Yang Kyung, who was kicked and thrown back.
Only then did the surrounding Mount Hua disciples regain their senses and hold their heads in their hands.
âWe are finishedâŠâ
It was the moment when the only goal of Mount Hua, âprevent Chung Myung from creating a mess,â had failed.
This content is taken from free web novđl.com