Multivers, Leveling Up in the World I Created

Chapter 429: 429 Return to the Volcano 15

Cheongmyeong’s words plunged the dining hall into a moment of silence, as if time had stopped.

"Apologize right now!"

"Ahaha... We’re sorry, senior disciples. He’s only been here a short time and doesn’t know any better."

Yoon Jong and Jo Geol broke the silence, urgently grabbing Cheongmyeong and covering his mouth to prevent him from doing anything reckless, bowing their heads in apology instead.

"Is that so? Even so, it seems he needs to learn some manners between senior and junior disciples."

"I’ll take responsibility and—"

Mumble mumble...

Just then, Cheongmyeong tried to break free with force, and the third-generation disciples piled on to restrain him. They knew letting him go would cause a disaster, so they held him down with all their might.

"Hold him tight!"

"Damn, what strength..."

"Calm down, Cheongmyeong! They’re our senior disciples!"

The third-generation disciples’ reaction flustered the second-generation disciples, who said no more. But one person was watching the scene closely with a "Ikari Gendo" pose—Baek Cheon.

Baek Cheon was prideful but, as the senior of the second-generation disciples, felt a strong sense of responsibility to revive Huashan. There was no way he’d let such an irregularity slide.

After the chaotic meal, Baek Cheon called Yoon Jong aside. I suspected he was asking about Cheongmyeong in detail.

After that, just like in the original, the second-generation disciples began harassing the third-generation disciples at every turn. They’d make them clean for resting during training, demand they walk with straight knees, require permission to drink water—citing old rules. It was clear they were making a point.

’It seems Baek Cheon is using this opportunity to firmly establish the hierarchy with the third-generation disciples.’

But what was amusing was that after this started, Baekmigwan, the third-generation disciples’ quarters, was always in an uproar.

BAM! CRASH!

"Let go! Before I blow everything up!"

"Calm down, Cheongmyeong! The Hwajong Assembly is coming up! If you cause trouble now, you could be expelled!"

"Right—the second-generation disciples are Huashan’s pillars! If you cause trouble now, even the sect leader won’t overlook it!"

"I just want to hit them once!"

From what I could hear, all the third-generation disciples were trying to restrain Cheongmyeong as he raged. They were suffering greatly because of him.

But the situation differed from the original—if Cheongmyeong caused a major incident now, he really could be expelled. Having taken the opportunities for myself, Cheongmyeong hadn’t distinguished himself yet.

Huashan’s improved situation and barely saving face at the Hwajong Assembly were all attributed to me. In such circumstances, there wasn’t much justification to protect Cheongmyeong if he caused trouble.

’At this rate, he really might get expelled.’

Still, I had no grounds to intervene directly. The second-generation disciples were acting under the guise of discipline, and as an instructor—though still an outsider—it was awkward for me to interfere. So I decided to watch for now.

After dinner, as usual, Yi-seol and I went to the back mountain to train in the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique. We’d moved to a different spot—I didn’t mind running into Cheongmyeong, but Yi-seol was uncomfortable with him. She never said it, but it seemed she felt he was encroaching on her late-night snacks. So I’d reluctantly changed locations.

Since then, I hadn’t seen Cheongmyeong for a while. But today, he’d somehow found us. Yi-seol’s expression wasn’t pleased.

"Cheongmyeong? How did you find us? I thought this place would be hard to discover."

"Ahaha, Huashan is in the palm of my—I mean, I heard your training sounds and came over."

"I’ve been avoiding you so you could train without distraction since the Hwajong Assembly is soon, but you came because you wanted snacks again?"

"That too, but I also had something to ask."

"Really? What is it?"

"I was wondering if Huashan doesn’t have any elixirs for support? The Hwajong Assembly is almost here, yet unlike other sects, there’s no support..."

Cheongmyeong seemed puzzled that Huashan wasn’t providing elixirs despite its improved circumstances. Having had experience with disciples from other sects in the past, he seemed to know that Huashan disciples’ internal energy was lacking compared to others. He was trying to address that.

"Well, that’s Huashan’s business, so it’s not my place to say—why don’t you ask your senior disciple?"

"I did, but they dodged the question. That’s why I came to you."

"Hmm... I suppose such matters aren’t easy to discuss with disciples."

I thought for a moment and then said,

"Better to tell you now than to let you harbor false hopes. Simply put, Huashan currently has neither the means to make elixirs nor even a foundation to produce them."

Cheongmyeong looked shocked.

"Th-that can’t be... I’m not expecting Jaso-dan, but I know Huashan has elixirs like Maehwa-dan or Seolmae-dan!"

"I don’t know where you heard that, but there’s none now. Everyone knows Huashan disciples lack internal energy. Even if things have improved, if we haven’t produced them for a long time, that means we don’t have them."

"I see... Then what about Senior Disciple Yu’s high-level internal energy?"

Cheongmyeong was curious about the source of Yi-seol’s internal energy. Being skilled himself, he seemed to recognize her level.

"That’s thanks to our Jin Estate’s elixirs. Yi-seol belongs to our estate."

"R-right... Then could the Jin Estate sell or provide elixirs to Huashan?"

I looked at Cheongmyeong coldly and replied,

"Don’t be ridiculous! Would you readily hand over elixirs, barely enough for your own disciples, to another sect?!"

"...I suppose not."

"Good that you understand."

Cheongmyeong probably already knew, but he must have been frustrated with Huashan’s situation—I didn’t press further.

"Let’s have our snack while we talk."

I brought out a prepared set of braised pig trotters and shared them.

"Another new dish. How many recipes do you know? And it’s delicious—are you a master chef or something..."

"I’m not planning on becoming one—I just made them out of boredom. Anyway, you seem to be having a hard time with the second-generation disciples—how are you holding up?"

Now familiar with Yi-seol’s appetite, Cheongmyeong talked while eating.

"Munch, munch... Don’t even mention it. They’ve been so petty lately. I’m only holding back because of the senior disciples—if not, I’d have—"

"Have?"

"Ahaha... Not ’have’—I meant ’work hard’! For the sake of Huashan!"

From what I gathered, Yoon Jong and Jo Geol had managed to persuade Cheongmyeong, just like in the original. It seemed they were the ones keeping the peace at Huashan.

"Oh, I haven’t mentioned this yet, but after the Hwajong Assembly is over, we’ll probably be returning to the estate."

"Then when will you come back?"

"Unless something special happens, probably not. I’ve almost done everything I needed to for Huashan."

"You mean returning Huashan’s martial arts."

"Yes."

Cheongmyeong thought for a moment and then asked,

"Since you’re leaving, let me ask one more thing—I’ve been meaning to ask: how strong are you, Instructor Jin? When I train, I can usually gauge how strong someone is, but with you, I get no sense at all. It’s like your body is completely empty."

He’d suddenly gotten sharp.

"That’s because you’re still far below my level and can’t read my energy. Besides, I keep my fangs hidden—isn’t that a basic skill for a martial artist?"

Cheongmyeong tilted his head.

"Is that so? Hmm... Was it just because my internal energy isn’t enough?"

As he pondered, I felt a twinge of guilt. In a world where sensing and reading energy was possible, rather than keeping [Stealth] active all the time, I should probably reveal some energy to avoid unnecessary suspicion.

Just then, I sensed someone else approaching.

"Cheongmyeong, did you call someone?"

"No, I didn’t call anyone—why... oh, someone really is coming?"

Cheongmyeong seemed surprised that I’d detected the person before him.

"Ah, I finally found you. What exactly do you do here every night... Hah... A late-night snack, I see."

It was Baek Cheon. He sighed at the sight of the pig trotter spread.

"Care to join us?"

I asked, and Baek Cheon sat down.

"I wondered why there was a chicken coop behind the quarters—when I asked the senior disciple, he just said to ignore it. Now I understand."

"We’re not Taoists, so we need hobbies like this to get by."

Yi-seol nodded in agreement.

"Well, Instructor Jin and Senior Disciple Yu aren’t formal Huashan disciples, so I understand. But what’s a third-generation disciple doing here?"

Baek Cheon frowned and pointed at Cheongmyeong, who was busy eating trotters. I winked at Cheongmyeong, signaling him to play along.

"He came out to train for the Hwajong Assembly at night—admirable, don’t you think? So I’m sharing some snacks with him."

Cheongmyeong nodded in agreement.

"I see. With the Hwajong Assembly approaching, I can understand that to some extent. But Huashan has rules and order. A third-generation disciple wandering outside at this hour is clearly forbidden—it’s disturbing Huashan’s discipline."

"That’s true. But didn’t you do the same? Who was it that asked for late-night sparring and guidance?"

"Th-that’s different..."

Baek Cheon couldn’t continue, his face reddening. Cheongmyeong couldn’t hold back his laughter.

"Pfft... Ahem... Sorry."

Baek Cheon scowled at him.

"Why did you come looking for us?"

When I asked, Baek Cheon pointed at Cheongmyeong.

"The reason I came is because of this kid. I heard a third-generation Huashan disciple was drinking and making a scene in Hwaeum. I called in the third-generation disciples to question them, but none had done it—their whereabouts were clear and their statements consistent. So I came looking for the remaining one."

It was obviously Cheongmyeong’s doing—he loved alcohol and had done it often before the Demonic Cult massacre. But what I wondered was where he got the money for food and drink. Cheongmyeong had arrived at Huashan as a beggar, so he had no money.

’How did he get the money? He’s too proud to steal... Wait, did he extort money from his senior disciples?’

That seemed the only possibility. If so, he’d likely gotten it by promising not to cause trouble for a while.

We all looked at Cheongmyeong. Silence hung in the air, but the message in our eyes was clear: "Is that true?"

Cheongmyeong, however, calmly tore into a trotter and said,

"It wasn’t me. Maybe a second-generation disciple was mistaken for a third-generation one?"

Cheongmyeong’s casual tone threw Baek Cheon off.

"Th-that’s impossible! According to the witness, a young child was drinking and making such a scene that they watched out of disbelief. Then they noticed a plum blossom emblem partially hidden under the outer robe and realized it was a Huashan disciple. They immediately reported it to Huashan—it must have been a third-generation disciple, since all second-generation disciples are over twenty."

"But isn’t it true that some senior disciples look young? Besides, the third-generation disciples are all too busy because of you to have time to go to Hwaeum. You know that better than anyone. And why do you assume it was a Huashan disciple? It could be a plot by another sect—like Zhongnan."

"Th-that’s..."

Baek Cheon couldn’t respond to Cheongmyeong’s logical rebuttal. He’d never expected Cheongmyeong to fight back like this.

’Wow... Impressive.’

I was equally dumbfounded—I’d never seen anyone lie so blatantly without blinking, besides myself. I almost suspected he had a [Con Man] ability.