Late at night.

However, there was light in the boarding house. And soon, disciples came out of it.

Groans and sighs filled the air as they came out. Not even an hour into their sleep, a madman intrudes into their room and wakes them all up.

After the cluster, comes the dog with his rejuvenated look.

As the disciples looked at him, whispers resounded. Not whispers, more like complaints.

"Aren't our 'training' in the early morning?"

"Yeah! Why is he making us suffer?"

Dong-rae looked at the disciples with a weird face.

'Had they not learned their lesson? Complaining is useless in front of him.'

His eyes went onto one particular disciple. It was Ryu Yongsun. Strangely, after days of harsh training, there were still those determined eyes.

'Did he give up complaining? Well, I guess that's the best option.'

Thud!

Yeong-jeon stomped his foot on the ground so loudly that it caused the murmurs to go silent.

Such commanding presence.

Like someone who held them all in an iron fist. No one to oppose. In the past, many individuals rose to fame. But this is a sect, not a singular man. A sect is built not by a single disciple but by all of them.

If Yeong-jeon could mold these good-for-nothing disciples into something on par with the past, surely the Thunderous Sky Sect would be known throughout the land.

"Oh, brothers, I have observed that you all have weak bodies."

The disciples, who had been students for a long time, looked at Yeong-jeon with disgust.

"Weak bodies? Says the man who just joined a week ago!"

"Yeah! We have been training for years!"

A vein popped on Yeong-jeon's forehead. He clutched his fists tight and spoke in a forced tone.

"Well... Who said that must come in front of me to... let me hear him better."

The other disciples immediately walked aside and revealed a disciple in the middle. Of course, no one wanted to oppose this man.

Yeong-jeon gestured for the disciple.

"Come here."

The disciple in question hesitated as all eyes turned toward him. His name was Choi Hyeon, one of the more vocal members of the group. He was built strong, with years of training evident in his physique, but right now, his face was a mix of defiance and nervousness. He glanced around for support, but none of the other disciples dared to meet his eyes. The atmosphere was thick with tension.

"Come," Yeong-jeon repeated, his voice calm but carrying a weight that made it impossible to refuse.

Choi Hyeon slowly stepped forward, trying to maintain his composure. "I've been training here for four years," he began, voice firm. "I don't need some newcomer telling me I'm weak. You’ve been here a week—what could you possibly know?"

Yeong-jeon smiled coldly, his gaze piercing through the disciple's bravado.

"I see..."

His voice was soft but it sounded like something horrible would happen any time.

That was when...

Wooosh!

Everyone's jaw went wide when Yeong-jeon slipped down. He caught himself with his hands and used it as leverage to kick Choi Hyeon's jaw upward.

"Kuak!"

Eyes followed the flying disciple.

Thump!

The poor disciple was sent flying and landed on where he once stood. The disciples who watched this averted their gaze between Yeong-jeon and Choi Hyeon with widened eyes.

"..."

"..."

The silence that followed was deafening. Choi Hyeon lay on the ground, groaning, clutching his jaw in pain. The rest of the disciples stood frozen, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Yeong-jeon stood back up, dusting off his hands casually as if nothing had occurred, his cold gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"Is that four years of training? Barely able to stand up after that?"

Yeong-jeon shouted, banging his chest.

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"Too proud! Too arrogant!"

The disciples' eyes narrowed at the word 'arrogant'.

Yeong-jeon turned back to Choi Hyeon, who was still struggling to get up.

"If you wish to challenge me, then learn first how to stand on your own two feet."

"..."

Choi Hyeon didn't speak, he was clutching his jaw. The humiliation was heavy but the pain in his jaw reminded him of his place.

"You all see that mountain?"

Yeong-jeon pointed at a mountain not too far away.

Everyone's eyes followed the dog's pointing finger. There was confusion in their eyes but Dong-rae seemed to have figured it out.

'I'm not going to climb that.'

After he saw everyone turn to the mountain, Yeong-jeon spoke.

"That mountain has a high slope but is climbable nonetheless. You all are weak. But, to strengthen iron, we must strike harder!"

He put all his emphasis on the last word so strongly that it shook the disciples.

'Ah, we're climbing it. Yes, it will help us. Good... As if!'

Ryu Yongsun looked at the tall mountain. There was a glint of determination in his eyes.

'Grandfather, for your wish, I will become as strong as you.'

And without letting Yeong-jeon finish, he sprinted towards it.

The other disciples watched in stunned silence as Ryu Yongsun bolted toward the mountain, his figure quickly disappearing into the night. His sudden action caught even Yeong-jeon off guard, but a slow smile crept onto his face.

"There's one with spirit," Yeong-jeon muttered, crossing his arms as he turned back to the rest of the disciples. "Well? What are you waiting for? Are you going to let him climb it alone?"

A murmur of discontent rippled through the group, but no one moved. The mountain loomed large in the distance, its steep slope barely visible in the dim moonlight. The mere thought of scaling it was enough to send a wave of exhaustion through the already weary disciples. After all, they had only been roused from their beds moments ago.

Soo-yeon stared at Yeong-jeon for a moment and turned to Ryu Yongsun who was already climbing it. She groaned and started sprinting towards it.

For unknown reasons, she wanted to surpass everyone.

'I will prove to them that I am strong!'

Dong-rae watched the two run. And he averted his gaze towards Yeong-jeon.

'He's serious, isn't he?'

His instincts told him this wouldn’t be just a simple test of endurance. Climbing that mountain would be the start of something much harsher.

Before he could dwell on it any further, another disciple started running, inspired—or perhaps pressured—by Ryu Yongsun's resolve. Soon, a few more followed, their pride or fear of humiliation pushing them forward.

Dong-rae sighed. And at last, he dashed towards the mountain. Opposing this means opposing an asura, so, he had to climb this mountain whether he wanted to or not.

Yeong-jeon waved his hand, swaying away the dust that gathered when the disciples ran.

'The confidence to speak only comes after true strength. If you wish to complain in my face, you better defeat me.'

There was a sharp glint in his eyes.

'If strength is all you need, I can help you gain it. However, you must do the work yourself.'

'The children might be weak as of now, but I'll make sure it surpasses its past.'

Time passed, and the sun rose on the horizon. It was bright and the birds seemed to sing in sync with it.

However, inside the kitchen, the disciples were the opposite of that. There were bags in their eyes, and their clothes were dirty.

"Uh..."

The disciples looked at the food plated for them with a gloomy expression. They have had no sleep since yesterday because a certain dog made them. The strain on their bodies was so great that their chopsticks only lay beside them, unable to use them.

Tak!

A disciple slammed his hand on the table and spoke.

"Ever since that madman came, our lives were ruined!"

"These 'training' are definitely going to kill us!"

"He isn't even training!"

"Yah! Every time we descend, we just catch him sitting down, closing his eyes! Then, he will just send us off to the mountain!"

"How about we report him to the sect leader?"

Ryu Yongsun looked down at his shaking hands and clenched it. Strangely, he wanted to oppose this but he couldn't stammer a word.

Beside him was Dong-rae who was observing him. He heard the disciples. What if they do it and Yeong-jeon gets expelled? He looked at Ryu Yongsun.

'Ryu Yongsun seemed like he wants to speak...'

Dong-rae, who had been silently watching, leaned in closer and whispered, "If you have something to say, now's the time."

Ryu Yongsun's eyes flickered toward Dong-rae. He took a deep breath, pushing down the fear and exhaustion that had been clouding his thoughts. He stood up slowly, feeling the eyes of the disciples fall on him. His legs trembled, but he forced himself to speak.

"I... I don't agree."

As soon as he said that, the disciples turned to him with a mix of disbelief and frustration. Murmurs broke out almost immediately.

"What do you mean you don’t agree?"

"Are you siding with that lunatic?"

Ryu Yongsun swallowed hard, clenching his fists as he continued. "Look at us… Yes, we’re exhausted. Yes, this is brutal, but..." He glanced at his trembling hands. "I've never felt this much improvement before. I can feel my strength growing. I don't like his methods either, but... maybe this is what we need."

The disciples quieted, processing what Ryu Yongsun had said. Some looked uncertain, while others still held their resentment.

One disciple, clearly unconvinced, scoffed.

"Improvement? All I feel is pain! This isn’t training—it's torture!"

Dong-rae watched everything unfold. As expected, no one took Ryu Yongsun's side. He didn't know why but there's this trust for Yeong-jeon. It was faint but he knew it was there.

'If I let this happen... Yeong-jeon may get expelled.'

Thud!

A loud slam against the table made the disciples quiet, and their attentions turned to Dong-rae.

"Are you all complaining? About this? We joined a sect because we wanted to learn martial arts!"

"Being strong can't be gained by being pampered! So why if we broke bones? Let's use Choi Hyeon as an example."

Dong-are's eyes wandered across the room.

"Is Choi Hyeon one of the strongest here?"

The disciples exchanged uneasy glances, unsure of where Dong-rae was going with this. Choi Hyeon, still nursing his wounded pride and jaw, remained silent but visibly stiffened at the mention of his name.

"Choi Hyeon has trained for years, right?" Dong-rae continued, his voice steady. "And yet, despite all that training, he was defeated with a single move. What does that tell you?"

Before Dong-rae could even take a breather, another disciple stood up and spoke.

"Who are you to tell us what we need to do? I think you're just siding with that madman because you joined at the same time as him! It is painfully clear that you favor him because you are friends with him!"

"Yeah! Why would we side with a prejudiced brat?!"

Dong-rae felt a stab in his heart as the disciples' complaints rained down on him endlessly.

'Kuak!'

The tension in the room thickened, and Dong-rae found himself at the center of the storm. He clenched his fists. He wasn't able to convince the masses. And the disciples have already made their verdict.

'Well, I could just side with the others later...'

Before he could sit and join the opinion of the others to save himself, a feminine voice interrupted all of them.

"You are all weak!"

The disciples turned to a woman at the corner of the room. Soo-yeon slammed her table once more.

"How can you all turn down the opportunity to get strong?"

"Soo-yeon?"

The disciples who complained were all in shock. Yeong-jeon caused a commotion against her a few days ago so they expected her to side with them.

They could not believe it.

The last one they expected to side against them...

Soo-yeon glared at the group with fierce determination in her eyes, her posture firm as she stood her ground against the rising tide of dissent.

"You’re all just afraid of putting in the effort! Look at Ryu Yongsun! He understands what’s at stake!"

It was strange for her too. She didn't understand it, but she wanted to grow stronger.

'I'll show my father and brother... I'll show them...'

She clutched her fist.

"Then what do you want us to do? Just sit here and get tortured?" one of the disciples shot back, voice tinged with anger and frustration. "You think this is how we should train? By getting beaten down by someone who doesn't even know our struggles?"

Soo-yeon continued not even letting the disciple's words sink in with the others.

"You're all training? I've stayed here for only a month but I've already bested you all! And is it because I'm strong? No! You're all weak!"

"I will talk to the sect leader himself if any of you get gravely injured while in his training."

There were no objections from anyone. And they all slowly nodded.

"Fine!"

The disciples grumbled in agreement, though their frustration was still evident. Soo-yeon, with her fierce expression, had managed to silence the room, but the tension lingered.

"Then it's settled. If you have a problem with this training, bring it to the sect leader. But until then, we continue."

Dong-rae sat down quietly and sighed. Cold sweat ran through his skin the whole time, and he felt as if he was going to explode.

'I just want to rest...'

After a few hours, the sun sunk and the moon illuminated the land.

Dong-rae jumped on his bed, feeling as if all the burden on him was lifted. He hasn't been sleeping since yesterday, so his tiredness is at its utmost peak.

'Yeong-jeon is always gone, what the hell is he doing?'

"You still aren't asleep?"

Dong-rae glanced at the door and saw Yeong-jeon holding a strange wooden box.

"What is that?" he asked.

Yeong-jeon waved his hand dismissively and approached Dong-rae.

"Ah, nothing. Just close your eyes."

The wooden box had an unassuming appearance, but the air around it felt heavy as if it held some sort of significance. Dong-rae tried to shake off the thought.

"Close my eyes?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow. "What are you planning?"

Yeong-jeon’s lips curled into a sly smile. "Just trust me. This will help you in your training."

"One thing, keep quiet about this or I'll bend all of your limbs."

Dong-rae nodded nervously, gulping down the lump in his throat.

Yeong-jeon looked at Dong-rae and opened the wooden box, revealing a quarter Thunder Resilience Pill. He consumed most of it so it had to be divided for the others.

He took it out and—

Thwack!

"Kuk!"

Forcefully slammed it into Dong-rae's mouth. It was a quarter so there's no need to help about circulating it.

Instead, he watched as Dong-rae slumped asleep when he swallowed the pill.

'It seems that it is all the same for the others... Back in my day, even the children could gather qi.'

'Well... After this, you will all be stronger than ever.'

'But! Strength and training are relative! It'll only get harder and harder, like a rolling snowball, it'll only get bigger and bigger.'

A maniacal chuckle came out from Yeong-jeon's mouth.