Chapter 1015: She Caught Him Today (Part 5)

Namgung Dan was quite confident.

Isn't there a saying, "Everything depends on your state of mind"?

Of course, he wasn't someone who fundamentally believed in this psychology, but he had always lived believing that even if you did the same thing, a lot could change with one's state of mind.

Now he had decided to fully accept Chung Myung's training and renewed his determination. So he thought it would be different from before.

Until just half an hour ago.

Thud! Thud!

Namgung Dan trembled and looked down below.

Rocks that had slipped from where his foot had slipped were falling far below in the dark.

Namgung Dan's two eyes trembled like an earthquake.

"Ah... ah..."

He couldn't breathe properly, and he was shaking all over. His heart raced uncontrollably every time he looked down below. 

Yes. Right now, he was climbing a cliff.

"Hold on!"

With nowhere to go, Namgung Dan tried to secure his footing on the cliff's surface, clinging desperately. He was so frantic that he seemed almost to be digging into the cliff.

"Heave! Heave! Heave!"

His breath quickened, and his body trembled involuntarily. Every time he looked down into the abyss below, it felt like his heart was doing somersaults.

Until a little while ago, he had was wondering if should just die. But...

'No! I'm dying! You crazy bastards!'

These Mount Hua disciples seemed to be crazier than he had imagined.

"Hey, are your arms losing strength?"

A voice that came from far away that gave him goosebumps.

"That's OK. Try to relax a bit. The worst that could happen if falling off the cliff."

At that remark, Namgung Dan looked down again without realizing it.

'No!'

He quickly closed his eyes tightly and pressed his body against the cliff. Every time he looked down below, it felt like all the strength left his legs.

At least, he thought he could do something if he didn't have so much metal attached to his arms and legs...

'Is it reasonable to climb this rugged cliff with these things on? You crazy bastards!'

"Whoop!" Phew! Whoop!"

After taking a deep breath for a long time, he wiped away the sweat flowing down his face with his shoulder and turned his head silently.

"Dojang."

"Yes?"

He spoke to the Mount Hua disciple who was climbing up the cliff below him.

"Uh... isn't this training too severe?"

"Uh...."

Namgung Dan held some hope.

He was now slowly realizing that the Mount Hua guys, without exception, were somewhat abnormal, but the Mount Hua disciple named "Yoon Jong" looked more normal than the others.

Perhaps, he could speak out against that devil.

However, Namgung Dan's expectations were shattered by Yoon Jong's response.

"Too severe?"

"Yes. Yes! Dojang! Isn't this too dangerous?"

"...Dangerous?"

Yoon Jong tilted his head, wearing an expression that said, "I didn't understand a word of what the hell you just said."

"Um... Dojang?"

"Dangerous? Here?"

At that moment, Namgung Dan felt that something was amiss between them.

"Isn't this situation really unusual?"

"Indeed, it is unusual."

Yoon Jong let go of the cliff with one hand and scratched his head slowly.

"He wasn't this soft..."

"Yes?"

"To think that ascending a cliff like this is considered training... even if we assume that there are no high mountains around here because it's near the Yangtze River... it shouldn't be like this...."

"...Yes?"

What on earth is this guy talking about?

Yoon Jong sighed as if he was worried.

"Namgung Family members seem to have finally resolved themselves, so we should respond with our best effort, but we are only doing training that is soaked with water. In my opinion, it would be perfect if we could increase the cliff's height by about twice and make the slope a little steeper."

...Was he in his right mind?

Namgung Dan, who was at a loss for words, looked at Yoon Jong in a daze, almost forgetting that he was hanging from the cliff. Then he suddenly came to his senses and shouted.

"But this is a cliff, right, Dojang! If I fall, I'll die!"

"...Yes?"

Then Yoon Jong looked down below with an expression that said, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

And then he smiled very naturally without any sign of malice.

"Oh, you were worried about that."

"Yes! Exactly..."

"If you were worried about that, you don't need to be. You won't die."

"...Yes?"

Namgung Dan looked at Yoon Jong as if he had just been hit in the back of the head. Yoon Jong's smile seemed genuinely innocent.

"I've fallen from a place about twice as high as this more than six times, and I didn't die."

"..."

"And falling isn't as scary as it seems in the beginning. Later on, you just get used to it."

What really bewildered people was that there was no trace of malice in every word he said.

"So relax...."

"Aaaarrrrgggh!"

"Huh?"

Yoon Jong turned his head. One of those who were climbing the cliff ahead of them screamed and fell off the cliff below.

Kuuung!

"..."

One of Namgung Dan's swordsmen hit the ground, frothing at the mouth, and fell over.

Even after witnessing this horrific sight, Yoon Jong shrugged as if he couldn't care any less.

"See? He didn't die."

"...He looks pretty dead to me."

"Hahaha. You're quite the comedian."

Was this a joke? Was it?

"Why on earth are we doing this...?"

As soon as the question slipped from his lips, Namgung Dan hurriedly closed his mouth. Hadn't he promised himself not to complain about training anymore, and wasn't that a commitment he had sworn to keep? Breaking that commitment was a role that no one other than him could fulfill.

"Ah, there's a clear reason for this."

"Yes?"

Yoon Jong replied with a smile.

"A swordsman needs various things for their skill, but above all, they need the strength in their wrists and fingers. A swordsman who loses their sword in a fight isn't worth more than a rolling stone on the street, right?"

"...."

"So, no matter what happens, training that doesn't release the strength from the grip is necessary. You need to embody the sense of danger that your life will be in jeopardy the moment your grip loses strength."

As Yoon Jong spoke, he glanced down. Namgung Dan desperately tried to ignore Yoon Jong's muttering, 'I'm not sure if this kind of sense of danger can be properly felt from such a low cliff.'

"Oh. And when you climb the cliff, it naturally trains your knees, ankles, and even your back strength. Moreover..."

Yoon Jong interrupted his speech by lightly touching the rock that Namgung Dan had been sitting on. The rock suddenly snapped and broke, causing Namgung Dan's body to slip down.

"Ahhhh!"

With arms and legs spread wide, Namgung Dan clung to the cliff in panic. After barely regaining his balance, he turned to Yoon Jong with a face drenched in cold sweat.

"What is this....!"

"As you can see, all sorts of things happen on the cliff."

"That...?"

Namgung Dan barely suppressed the urge to say, "What does this have to do with that crazy guy!" Yoon Jong calmly continued.

"Stones break, sudden gusts of wind blow, and even birds passing by may peck at you."

"....Yes?"

"The battlefield is no different. While fighting, you may suddenly trip over tree roots, a broken sword may fly at you from behind, and sometimes, even a fallen comrade's sword may pierce your leg."

"...."

"A swordsman needs to respond quickly to all of these situations. So, climbing the cliff is good training for that."

Yoon Jong pointed upwards with his chin.

"...That's what he argued. Well, I agree to some extent. I've seen the results."

"...."

"So, hurry up and climb. If you waste time, you'll be late for the meal."

Namgung Dan swallowed hard and looked down at the cliff once more. The height he had climbed was not much different from the height he had to go. At this point, going up seemed safer than going down this ridiculous cliff.

"Ugh!"

Namgung Dan desperately reached out and grabbed the cliff.

'These bastards are all crazy!'

"Hmm."

Chung Myung, lying on the cliff, lightly shook a bottle of alcohol in his hand.

Slosh, slosh.

His brows slightly wrinkled at the faint sound.

"...There's not much time left."

A momentary irritation surged within him.

"Why are they dragging out climbing a single cliff like this! These guys are all going crazy."

"It's their first time, isn't it? It could be like that."

"It could? Of course it could be. Naturally, I think so."

"Hmm?"

Chung Myung reached out and touched something placed on the cliff's edge. A pile of rocks the size of a human head was stacked there. With his foot on the base of the rock pile, Chung Myung chuckled.

"But I'm not sure if they think the same way?"

"...."

A cold sweat broke out on Baek Cheon's back.

"....Isn't that a bit... too much?"

"Hmm? Too much?"

"Yes, Chung Myung. Think about it. Intensive training is good, but as humans, we should gradually build our skills starting from a level we can handle. First, calm down and..."

"Hmm."

Chung Myung nodded in agreement with Baek Cheon's words.

"Indeed, what you say makes sense."

"So, let's take your feet off there first...Huh?"

"That's right... Oops!"

At that moment, Chung Myung stretched his foot and rolled the pile of rocks on the cliff.

Rrrumble!

"Uwaaaah!"

"The rocks are falling!"

"What the heck! Uwaaah! Who the hell is it!"

Desperate screams erupted from below. Baek Cheon closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Chung Myung was smiling slightly.

"Oh, my foot slipped."

'Devil.'

"Hihihihihihi."

Amid the screams and curses coming from below, Chung Myung, who had an evil laugh, clasped his hands and looked into the distant sky.

'So peaceful.'

The waters of the Yangtze River flowed calmly. The confrontation between the Ten Great Sects and the Evil Tyrant Alliance across the river seemed insignificant.

Both the Ten Great Sects and the Evil Tyrant Alliance were not in a hurry to make a move in the current situation. In other words, it meant that this peaceful everyday life would continue for a while.

Well, Beopjeong and Jang Ilso might be in a bind, but there was no need for Chung Myung to rack his brains for them.

"Hmm."

As if scanning the river beyond, Chung Myung's gaze turned back to the sky.

As he slowly closed his eyes, the wind that blew in tickled Chung Myung's cheek.

'It would be nice if this could continue a little longer.'

It was a wish so small that it would be embarrassing to call it a prayer.

However, at this moment, there was a different movement from Chung Myung's wish. A fierce wind that no one in the world, Beopjeong, Jang Ilso, or even Chung Myung had expected was blowing, carrying the strong smell of blood.

It was a prelude to the storm that would plunge the world into deep darkness once again.