บท 253: Chapter 1141: Still, What Can You Do? (Part 6)

Approaching quietly towards the dense thicket, Baek Cheon lowered his posture slightly. The clash of weapons sounded more vivid as he got closer.

'Two?'

It didn't seem like the sound of several people fighting together. Reducing his presence as much as possible, he cautiously moved forward. Approaching the place where the sound was coming from, he carefully pressed the thick bushes to the side.

'Huh?'

At that moment, an unexpected sight unfolded before his eyes, causing Baek Cheon to involuntarily open his mouth. Just as the sound was about to come out.

"Shh."

A voice came from right beside him. Startled, Baek Cheon tried to scream, but a hand approaching quickly covered his mouth.

"Shhh."

"...."

Normally, someone around Baek Cheon's age wouldn't easily allow their face to be touched by someone else. But this person was an exception. The one who covered his mouth was none other than Yoo Iseol.

"Quietly."

As Baek Cheon nodded without saying a word, Yoo Iseol removed her hand from his mouth. Although there were many questions about her appearance, it wasn't important right now. For the time being, he turned his gaze to the scene in front of him.

Clang!

The clash of swords resounded. A young man in a pure white robe was thrown backward, tumbling mercilessly.

"Kuk!"

An involuntary groan escaped from the young man's mouth, but there was no room for him to make a sound. The young man instinctively turned his body to the side.

Kuuuuung!

Just before, where the young man's face was, a foot landed, leaving a clear mark on the ground. If he hadn't turned his body, the situation would have been too obvious.

But before Baek Cheon could feel relieved, the one who stepped on the ground kicked the fallen young man's back.

Thud!

The young man, who had been thrown like a frog kicked by a child, crashed into a large tree trunk.

Kuuung!

His body, which had been slammed against the tree, slid down, leaving a clear trace. The one who casually watched this scene, Chung Myung, spoke with a sinking voice.

"Get up."

"...."

"Why? Have you had enough by now?"

Hearing these words, the fingertips of the fallen young man, Seol So Baek, twitched.

"Cough!"

As he coughed, blood mixed in. Seol So Baek twisted his body and struggled to get up. He wobbled several times, seemingly all the strength drained from his body, but using his sword as a cane, he managed to stand.

"Your reactions are slow."

Chung Myung looked at him with indifferent eyes and spoke.

"It's inevitable that your strength will run out. It's because your inner energy is lacking. The fact that your speed is slow is also inevitable. It's because your muscular strength is lacking. However, the delayed reaction is entirely your problem."

Seol So Baek's hand, holding the sword, was trembling. It wasn't because he was shocked by Chung Myung's words. It was simply because he was shaking from exhaustion to the point of complete fatigue.

His condition was already a mess.

The robe, white as the snow in the North Sea, was covered with dust, turning into a yellowish color. Black blood was dried up in various places. His originally pale face lost even the faint flush, appearing almost corpse-like.

"Why?"

Chung Myung asked coolly as he looked at Seol So Baek.

"Shall we stop here?"

"No, no, Dojang-nim!"

Seol So Baek clenched the sword tightly with trembling hands.

"If you want to stop, you can. You've done enough."

"No!"

Seol So Baek spoke with his teeth clenched.

"You said it yourself, Dojang-nim. Whether it's enough or not is something I decide!"

"...."

"I'm not good enough! So, I have to do more!"

Chung Myung chuckled.

"Like this?"

"...."

"Let's be honest. You don't have to do this. No one will ignore you just because you're weak. At least, as long as I'm alive, no one in the North Sea will touch you."

Seol So Baek gritted his teeth.

"And objectively speaking, you've worked hard enough. No one can say that they've lived comfortably around you. So, before you hurt yourself...."

"No!"

Seol So Baek cut off Chung Myung's words with a loud sound. It was a scream-like voice. His bloodshot eyes stared directly at Chung Myung.

"I've done enough, I've worked hard!"

The sound he made was loud and clear.

"What meaning does that have? In the end, the only meaning is that I've become so weak that I can't even participate in the training of the Ice Palace!"

"Isn't that natural? You started learning martial arts late, and you didn't become the Ice Palace Lord because you were strong in the first place."

"Why is that so natural!"

Seol So Baek shouted with resentment.

"Do you even understand that? How can I protect the residents of the North Sea when the Lord of the Ice Palace is weak!?"

".."

"Being young doesn't absolve responsibility! Saying that I will become stronger later is not consolation! It ultimately means that I am currently weak and incapable of doing what I should be doing!"

Seol So Baek fixed his grip on the sword that had been stuck in the ground and drew it out.

"I will become stronger. As the Lord of the Ice Palace, I will be qualified to lead the Ice Palace like the other sect leaders. As soon as possible!"

"This stubborn guy..."

"Thanks to someone I learned from."

At that moment, Chung Myung charged at Seol So Baek with his sword. Seol So Baek quickly blocked the sword, but at that moment, his body was inevitably pushed back.

"Ugh!"

Seol So Baek, who was severely knocked down, eventually vomited a splatter of blood. Watching this, Chung Myung approached with a stern face.

"It's unfair, isn't it?"

"...."

"Clearly, you reacted, but you were pushed back by strength. You can't do anything about that. So how are you supposed to win? Are you just supposed to keep losing?"

Seol So Baek's eyes shook slightly. The words accurately represented his feelings.

"But you know. Kangho is originally like that. Unjust and endlessly unfair. Effort? There's no guarantee that you'll receive fair compensation even if you work hard. But..."

Chung Myung smiled faintly.

"Still, what can you do? If there's nothing else you can do, you just have to work hard. Isn't that right?"

Seol So Baek forced his trembling body to stand up.

"Cough!"

Even as he forcibly coughed and spat, he resolutely regained his posture. Watching this, Chung Myung calmly asked.

"You know it, right? The possibility of you growing enough to do your share before this war breaks out is almost nonexistent. The possibility of you fulfilling your role as the Lord of the Ice Palace is even less."

Seol So Baek nodded.

"But will you still do it?"

"Yes!"

"Even if it's meaningless?"

"Yes!"

There was not a single hint of hesitation in Seol So Baek's response. Seeing his intense gaze, a satisfied smile appeared on Chung Myung's lips.

"It looks like you didn't get hit much. Shall we continue until you say you can't do it anymore?"

Chung Myung charged straight at Seol So Baek. In that moment, Seol So Baek bit his lip and faced Chung Myung, hitting the ground.

Spectating the unilateral beating disguised as a practice, Baek Cheon turned his head to look at Yoo Iseol.

"Samae."

"Yes."

"...Since when has he been doing this?"

"Since when?"

Yoo Iseol tilted her head slightly, as if finding it difficult to understand. But before Baek Cheon could elaborate again, her answer flowed out.

"On the first day... from the next day."

"The next day?"

"From the day after the Ice Palace arrived."

Baek Cheon glanced at Seol So Baek again for a moment.

'Today isn't the first time?'

So, has that guy Chung Myung been beating them during the day and dragging Seol So Baek out for training at night? No, that wasn't it. That couldn't be.

'When did the Ice Palace arrive?'

Did that mean the Ice Palace Lord had endured one-on-one beatings every night and still held on?

'Crazy....'

It's not a particularly strange sight. After all, he had always been treated by Chung Myung as such... No, even more than Seol So Baek.

But, in the first place, weren't he and Seol So Baek on completely different levels?

Baek Cheon couldn't imagine that the young Lord could endure such training that even he found challenging.

'But he's enduring it, isn't he?'

Baek Cheon was internally confused about how to perceive this situation. At that moment, Yoo Iseol whispered in an indifferent voice.

"He's growing."

"...Huh?"

"Every day. Amazingly fast."

Yoo Iseol wasn't someone who was lenient in her evaluation of people. If such a person said that, it must've meant that Seol So Baek was indeed becoming strong quickly.

'Talent, perhaps?'

No, that wasn't not it. Of course, there may have been talent, but for Yoo Iseol to have said something like that meant there was something else other than talent. And what that something else was, there was no need to think about it.

"Aaaaah!"

Seol So Baek rushed towards Chung Myung. Baek Cheon wondered whether he could even be able to go all the way without falling in that state, let alone reaching him properly.

Seeing this, Baek Cheon involuntarily clenched his fist.

'To that extent....'

He had worked hard to the point of excess. And he had been diligent to the point of excess. No one could deny the fact that Baek Cheon had done his best.

But at this moment, Baek Cheon realized it himself.

'I thought that too.'

He thought that he had worked hard enough, done his best, and thought that it was difficult to do more than this.

He could feel it as he watched Seol So Baek dragging his feet and swearing that he would swing his sword one more time. Before he knew it, Baek Cheon had become someone looking down from above.

'I...'

Baek Cheon, who bit his lips slightly, turned his head to look at Yoo Iseol.

"Why Samae?"

"...At first, it was by chance."

It was probably like that.

Yoo Iseol had always disliked showing personal training to others. It must have been very difficult for her to train in a manor where not only Mount Hua but also other sects were present.

'No, does that mean... Did Samae continue personal training even after all that?'

Even Baek Cheon hadn't been doing it recently.

"After that..."

Yoo Iseol tried to say more but closed her mouth. It probably meant it was difficult to explain the exact reason.

But Baek Cheon seemed to know why Yoo Iseol had tried to watch this scene.

Bang!

Chung Myung kicked Seol So Baek's side, sending him flying. And he opened his mouth without hesitation towards the fallen Seol So Baek.

"It's not that easy to lead people."

"...."

"Standing in front is not difficult. But leading people is a completely different matter. You have to work harder than anyone else and never fall behind. And you must have the conviction that you are clearly moving in the right direction."

"....Yes."

"Conviction comes from contemplation. It comes from the doubt that you might be wrong. The moment you fall into the misconception that everything will be fine if you just continue as you have done so far,"

Hearing those words, Baek Cheon clenched his fist.

"Remember."

Chung Myung said coldly.

"When the position you stand in changes, what was right becomes wrong, and what was wrong becomes right. And no one knows when that will happen. It could be a year later, maybe tomorrow, maybe yesterday."

"...."

"So, if you don't want to be wrong, you have to constantly contemplate and doubt."

Seol So Baek nodded his head with difficulty.

"Leading is like that. It's tough. But if you can do it... th Ice Palace can really get a proper lord."

"....Of course."

"I mean, who can't do it?. Come on."

"Yes!"

Seol So Baek bit his teeth and rushed towards Chung Myung again.

Chung Myung watched Seol So Baek while holding the sword, and Seol So Baek moved forward with all his might. Above them, a bright moon was rising.

Baek Cheon unknowingly closed his eyes.

'It wasn't stagnation. I just stopped in my place.'

He tightly gripped the sword that was like his own body. Familiar, so comfortable now. Feeling each sensation of the sword again from the beginning, he delved deeper into his inner self.