Elder Sima

//Just like you guys told me I am slowing down the pace as there isn't many changes, I am goanna do in this arc as no big changes makes sense to me and I assumed that everyone here have already read manhwa till the S1 , pacing is definitely going slow down after the time skip. And all interactions with other disciples, is something I wanted to do while they are traveling. //

In the morning, Shisui and Chung Myung returned from their usual early morning spar and joined the 3rd disciples in training. They participated in a physical workout that lasted until 8 A.M.

According to the schedule, Southern Edge was supposed to arrive between 6-7 A.M., and after a brief rest, the conference was set to commence at noon.

"Hey, isn't Southern Edge supposed to have arrived by now?" asked Chung Myung.

"It seems they are late this year too. They sometimes come late," replied Yoon Jong.

"Damn it! What about the conference then?"

"Sometimes it happens in the evening to show they can still win after such a long journey," replied Jo Gol, tightening his fist.

"Hey Shisui, you must know when it will happen if those bastards are late."

"It was decided last night that if they're late, the conference will be postponed until tomorrow morning around 9. So, yeah, you guys can train as much as you want today," replied Shisui, smiling.

"What do you mean by 'you guys'? You'll be training with us too!" Jo Gol asked.

" I would love to, but my body will really break if I continued it more. If you don't believe me," to which Chung Myung nodded in satisfaction, as it was his achievement to train someone to the point they would break without rest in the morning.

No one else argued about that, as everyone knew Shisui started his training earlier than them and had a sparring session one-on-one with Chung Myung that lasted for an hour.

"So, I'll be going to the Finance Hall, and you guys enjoy the training," Shisui said.

"Traitor! He left us alone," Jo Gol shouted.

"Tch."

"What do you mean alone? You still have me to train you. Jo Gol, if you're feeling lonely, I can give you more attention," said Chung Myung.

"No! Please, no!"

And just like that, Jo Gol once again suffered because of his mouth, his scream echoing throughout Mount Hua, to which everyone just ignored.

---

At the gate of Mount Hua, Elder Hyun Sang stood ready to welcome the Southern Edge sect. He heard a knocking sound and ordered the gate opened to welcome them.

"It must have been a tough journey coming all this way, Elder Sima. I am Hyun Sang, Elder of Mount Hua. We've met before, and I'm glad to see you again."

"Hmph, why isn't the sect leader out here?" Elder Sima asked rudely.

"He's inside right now."

"Tsk, does it make sense for the sect leader not to receive guests who've come such a long way?" This infuriated Elder Sang, as it was ridiculous for an elder to order a sect leader. This attitude made him sure they were determined to cause trouble, but he ignored it and invited them to a banquet. Elder Sima again tried to ridicule him, but Elder Hyun Sang still ignored it.

As Elder Sima and the Southern Edge sect entered the gate, they were shocked to see the changes from the Mount Hua they had in mind. The poor conditions they expected—lack of meat, chickens in food, and inadequate accommodations—seemed like a thing of the past or a myth. Their grounds were paved with stone, buildings in good condition, and the main gate rebuilt.

Seeing their bewilderment, Hyun Sang asked, "Is there a problem?"

Elder Sima asked, "It seems Mount Hua has changed too much. You seem to have earned some good money, as it's unlikely Mount Hua would resort to thievery."

The accusation of thievery made Hyun Sang lose his temper, about to shout, but Chung Myung cut him off.

"What a load of fucking bullshit! You should just die," Chung Myung said, facing the elder.

This angered Elder Sima too much, and he asked Chung Myung to repeat it.

"How can you want to rest when you haven't even run that much?" Chung Myung turned to Jo Gol. "Stop talking bullshit and start running properly!"

Jo Gol, who was running absentmindedly, was suddenly accused by Chung Myung of asking to rest and was hit in front of everyone, making him want to cry.

Chung Myung turned toward Elder Sima and said, "It seems you heard that. Now this is embarrassing."

Of course, the elder wasn't convinced by this nonsense. When he was about to argue, he was cut off by Jin Geumryong.

Jin looked toward Chung Myung and asked, "May I know who you are?"

"Well, would you even know if I told you?"

"Who knows, I might know who you are. So, tell me your name."

"Chung Myung."

This name clicked in Jin's mind as the same disciple who spat blood while sparring with Lee Song-baek and who took away the Merchant Guild from Shaanxi.

Seeing the antics of Chung Myung, Jin asked him to show some manners, to which Chung Myung just showed more antics.

"Well, you're right. I should show respect to you, but isn't me not showing you any respect worse than your elder commanding our sect leader?"

This turnaround using his own words made even Jin angry, but the elder asked him to stop and told Chung Myung why his rudeness wasn't as severe as his because the Southern Edge sect is more powerful than Mount Hua and advised Chung Myung to learn to keep his mouth shut or he would regret it in the future and proceeded to walk toward their pavilion. Can't say about Chung Myung regretting it but elder Sima is definitely going to regret it .

---

At the meeting, everyone was present, seen drinking tea at the round table except for Shisui. Elder Sima was bothered by the relaxed faces of the others; he lightly slammed the cup on the table.

"Is the tea not to your liking?" asked the sect leader.

"It has a deep fragrance of plum blossoms, which I don't like," replied Elder Sima.

"Is there a reason for that?"

"In a forest, there are many smells, each different from the other. Some are strong, some are faint but still present and can be smelled. But with plum blossom, it's different. It breaks the harmony of the forest; its smell is so dense that it covers up the smell of others, which many birds would not prefer, maybe insects would like it," Elder Sima said smugly.

"Maybe that's why crows like this forest," replied the sect leader with a smile.

"Yeah, they would like it, but I think all of them are dead now."

This statement increased the tension in the air.

"Let's stop talking about tea and the forest. We, at the Southern Edge sect, are thinking of making this conference the last one," said Elder Sima.

"May I ask the reason behind it?" asked the sect leader.

"It's meaningless for our sect to spar with Mount Hua; there's too big a gap between us."

At this, everyone was silent. Shisui had asked this same question in a previous meeting; at that time, it was just a what-if scenario. There was an argument then, and the conclusion was to allow the Southern Edge sect to make this conference the last one while they win it.

"Sect leader, you need to publicly announce after the conference that this will be the last conference and you don't want it to happen again. If you care about your disciples, then think about it," after saying it, Elder Sima left the hall.

A quarrel happened inside the hall after he left, but it became silent in a minute as it was a meaningless thing to talk about. There was one thing Mount Hua had to do, which was to win the conference. Everyone just placed their hope on tomorrow's match.

It was only the elders of Mount Hua who were hoping to win a few matches because both teams were becoming ready for an absolute win and no loss.

---

Next morning, while disciples were being eaten by their under confidence and Southern Edge disciples were being eaten by their overconfidence.

The Geumryong brothers were having a meetup while someone was secretly listening to their interesting talks.

Shisui was training hard; today he bloomed his first plum blossom, which is a very big achievement.

"Well, today is the day the world will know about our monster, and I can't even interfere that much because this crushing win while exhibiting the swordsmanship of Mount Hua is needed by Mount Hua. Otherwise, I would have tried to convert it into a brawl."

"Just imagine all 2nd class disciples of Southern Edge versus two 3rd class disciples of Mount Hua, and Mount Hua wins. It would have been quite a sight, but it won't be that much helpful than that."

Maybe I can do something...

Just like that, the time for the conference came.

//Write in the comments what changes you guys want in this arc.//