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Hyun Jong looked at everyone as if he had a headache.

“Why is it so hard to keep things under control?”

“….”

“I understand that they fight during sparring, so I’ll let that slide. But constant brawling even outside of training is a significant problem, isn’t it?”

Everyone nodded in agreement at this statement.

However, Hyun Jong seemed even more displeased by their reaction, furrowing his brow.

“Then the sect leaders should be managing these situations. Why does this keep happening?”

“Kuhum.”

The sect leaders averted their eyes and remained silent.

“Please, speak up clearly.”

“No. That’s….”

“Kuhum….”

Despite Hyun Jong’s urging, the sect leader simply cleared their throat. When Hyun Jong made a face of bewilderment, Tang Gun-ak finally opened his mouth with a bitter smile.

“It seems to be a matter of differing perspectives…”

“Differing perspectives, is it?”

What could they possibly have differing perspectives on here?

“Maengju-nim seems to think that if we put our minds to it, controlling them would be easy… but in reality, our authority is not as strong as you think.”

“…Yes?”

Hearing those words, Hyun Jong blinked in confusion.

What kind of nonsense is this?

“You’re telling me that even renowned families like Namgung or Tang don’t have strong authority? As far as I know, the sect leaders of prestigious families and Outer Five Palaces hold immense authority.”

Tang Gun-ak let out a deep sigh.

“That’s the problem.”

“Yes?”

“…The perception of that authority is the issue. Who in the world holds the most authority?”

“Well… His Majesty, the Emperor.”

“Even the emperor cannot ignore the people’s sentiments, can he?”

Hyun Jong was left speechless. That’s because it’s true.

Even the emperor, who holds the greatest authority in the world, must pay attention to his subject’s feelings and strive to win their favor.

“Of course, with our power, we can suppress them a few times. But… If we can’t resolve the accumulated dissatisfaction and the same thing happens again, our authority will inevitably be weakened.”

“N- No, just what..…”

Hyun Jong looked at the other sect leaders as if he didn’t understand at all. But they all nodded in agreement, indicating that they shared the same view.

“Do you really mean what you’re saying?”

When Hyun Jong asked again, Tang Gun-ak let out a deep sigh.

“That’s why it was difficult for me to tell you. It’s not something you would easily understand, Maengju-nim.”

Hyun Jong remained silent for a moment and scratched his head. He realized this was a sensitive issue, not something to be addressed lightly.

“…Even so, saying that it’s difficult to simply command your disciples not to fight is a bit…”

“Sect Leader.”

“Yes.”

“Is the authority of Tang Family strong? Stronger than the authority of Shaolin bangjang?”

“That….”

Hyun Jong couldn’t answer easily.

It might be unpleasant for Tang Gun-ak to hear, but no matter what, it was impossible to compare Tang Gaju to Shaolin bangjang. Wasn’t Shaolin bangjang not just the leader of Shaolin, but a position recognized as the representative of Kangho?

Naturally, his authority within the sect would be immense.

“Maengju-nim must have heard before, right? The story about how the disciples of Shaolin rebelled against the order of Bop Jeong and returned to the main temple.”

“…I’ve heard of it.”

He did think that that served him right….. No, uhmm….. that there still are some people with proper sense even in Shaolin back when he heard of it.

“Think about it, Sect Leader. Even bangjang of Shaolin, who holds the highest authority in Kangho, faces such defiance. Didn’t the disciples rebel and return to the main temple because the disciple doesn’t like the choices he makes?”

“….”

“What great authority do we have to command our disciples with a mere gesture when even Shaolin’s bangjang faced that result?”

Hyun Jong’s mouth slowly opened in surprise.

Now that he thought about it, it made sense… No, but it also doesn’t seem to make sense.

Tang Gun-ak smiled bitterly as he looked at Hyun Jong, who was clearly confused.

“That’s why I said it would be difficult for Maengju-nim…. No, for Sect Leader to understand.”

“…Why is that?”

“The reason is simple. It’s because Sect Leader’s and our positions are different. The Mount Hua I know is a sect where the sect leader’s authority is unprecedented in Kangho.”

“Mount Hua is?”

“Yes.”

“Mount Hua?”

“…yes.”

“Mount Hua?”

When Hyun Jong made a face as if asking, ‘What kind of nonsense is this?’, the other sect leaders gave bitter smiles.

Of course, it might sound strange to Hyun Jong. It is true that Hyun Jong, unlike other sect leaders, treats his disciples like friends. That is why Mount Hua’s disciples sometimes say and do things to Hyun Jong that would be unimaginable in other sects.

But being close and having strong authority are entirely different matters.

In Tang Gun-ak’s view, Mount Hua is a sect whose sect leader’s authority is beyond imagination.

Suppose the leader of each sect decided to send their disciples to the frontline of a war that seemed hopeless. A fight that seems to have no justification nor benefit.

Then, would Tang Family be willing to give up their lives following Tang Gun-ak’s orders?

Well, Tang Gun-ak was skeptical.

Perhaps at that moment, they would likely prioritize their lives over Tang Gun-ak’s orders. The power of Tang Gun-ak comes from his legitimacy and position, not from faith and trust in him.

He doesn’t know, but it is certain that the thoughts of the other sect leaders here aren’t all that different.

But to Mount Hua, only to Mount Hua is it not the same.

Among the disciples of Mount Hua, more than half would risk their lives and rush forward if it was Hyun Jong’s order, even knowing they might die.

‘That’s what true authority is.’

Authority is like that. No matter how much you puff up your chest, if it doesn’t come through in critical moments, it’s not real authority.

Although Hyun Jong had a very hard time understanding, he nodded his head anyway.

“Hngg. I see… you’re saying that you can’t easily restrain them because you’re afraid that the disciples might rebel.”

“Hm, it’s a little embarrassing to say.”

“What’s there to be ashamed of?”

At that moment, Im Sobyeong opened his mouth with a face that seemed to say, ‘This is why I can’t stand Righteous Sects punk.’

“At least you guys end up just getting cursed at and given dirty looks. For us, if things go wrong, we get knives thrown at us while we sleep! Knives!”

“….”

“And since you guys are the strongest in terms of martial arts, you’ll be able to somehow suppress your disciples even if they rebel. But someone like me would end up dead in an instant! Dead! Do you get what I’m saying?”

“You already look half dead?”

“…Still, being half dead is better than being fully dead.”

Im Sobyeong grumbled. Then he went on with a grumpy voice.

“In the first place, there are only two sects in the world that can make their disciples do things they don’t like with a mere gesture. One is Mount Hua, and the other is…”

“Is it Shaolin?”

“Yes? Shaolin, my ass. It’s Evil Tyrant Alliance, Evil Tyrant Alliance! If I had to add one more, it would be Magyo.”

As he listened, Hyun Jong’s face distorted in a very strange way.

“That… Depending on how you hear it, it sounds like Mount Hua is a place like an Evil Sects or Magyo….”

“Honestly, what’s the big difference? Sect Leader only needed to give an order, and they’d rush with bloodshot eyes be it to the river or to Gangnam without a second thought. Is that something that people in their right mind would do? They’re not normal.”

Hyun Jong was silent. It felt incredibly unfair, but he found it very hard to argue against. It had been a long time since he had felt this way, since the time when Chung Myung had spouted his sophistries.

He sighed and asked Im Sobyeong again.

“So, the conclusion is that it’s difficult for you sect leaders to control them?”

“Even if we try to stop them, someone will pour oil on the fire as soon as it starts to cool down. How are we supposed to stop that? If we tamper with it poorly, everything will burn.”

“Even the one who brought the spark got burned.”

“There, thoroughly roasted.”

The sect leaders shook their heads as they looked at Chung Myung, who was tied up in the corner. In their view, he was like pouring oil on his own body, setting it on fire, and now screaming in pain.

“Then what on earth should we…”

At that moment, Han Yi-myung opened his mouth with a face that said he didn’t understand at all.

“I honestly don’t know why we’re having this meeting. If the sects could easily mix with each other, why would we have to separate the names of each sect and distinguish the disciples by their clothing? Why are we having meaningless joint training, and even fighting under the guise of sparring?”

Everyone looked at Han Yi-myung with vacant expressions.

‘We’re wondering the same thing.’

‘When did we ever understand? We just did it because we were told to.’

‘That yangban came from far away and he doesn’t seem to understand the situation at all.’

Han Yi-myung, who had not yet been able to read the expressions of the other sect leaders, continued with an exasperated tone.

“I don’t dare to say this in front of all the sect leaders, but wouldn’t this problem be solved if we simply stopped this training and separated the residences of each sect…”

“Eurachaaaaaaa!”

At that moment, Chung Myung suddenly snapped the rope wrapped around his body and sprang to his feet.

“What? Separate?”

“….”

“Why are you talking so weakly!”

The sect leaders nodded in admiration.

The one who is suffering the most from this situation is none other than Chung Myung. However, Chung Myung is now betting his life on refusing to take the path that he can take comfortably.

That stubbornness was exactly the driving force of Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword who had led Mount Hua to this point…

“That’ll mean I lost! Damn it!”

…Or was it not. Uh… It’s just his bad personality.

“Hng. Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword.”

Tang Gun-ak sighed deeply.

“I understand your intentions, but the situation isn’t so simple. The situation that was barely calming down has completely become distorted with the intervention of Beast Palace and Ice Palace. I understand your desire, but sometimes excessive greed can be poisonous. First, calm down a little….”

“Calm down?”

“….”

“Who? Them? Or me?”

“Uh….”

I was originally going to say that they need to calm them down… but it also seem like you’re the one that needs to calm down a bit….

“Oh. I see what you mean.”

“Yes?”

“So you’re saying this way won’t work, right?”

“….”

“That….”

Right…. That is right…. But I think you interpreted what I said in a completely different way….

“I understand. That’s right. I was too soft.”

Chung Myung’s eyes began to sparkle with madness.

“We’ll do it properly then.”

“…What are you going to do?”

“What do you think I’ll do?”

“….”

“Do you really want to know?”

No. I really don’t want to know. Tang Gun-ak felt a shiver down his spine.

Chung Myung began to laugh maniacally.

“I’ve been out of my mind. Since when did I live while holding back like this?! This isn’t it!”

“….”

“Don’t worry! I’ll make sure they’re perfectly united!”

“….”

A cold sweat began to drip down the sect leaders’ backs. A premonition began to creep up on them that they were about to see something they shouldn’t.

Slowly creeping up….