Even if it fades into ridicule. (5) 

A scene, soaked in blood, came into view.  

The blade aimed at his life, the face of the enemy filled with malice and murderous intent, and the darkness of the night that seemed to overshadow even the screams of the dying.  

Beyond that despair, stood a tall young man in black martial arts attire.  

“Ah…” 

A sound, almost a groan, escaped from Mu Jin’s lips unknowingly. It was a deep sigh, perhaps even a moan of ultimate joy.  

Baek Cheon and Hwasan had finally reached the peak of the White-Faced Cliff.  

How could one express this feeling?  

An intense emotion, so overwhelming that it defied description in words, surged like a massive wave through the hearts of Wudang’s disciples who had held on and endured.  

However, Baek Cheon, seeing them, felt something entirely different.  

The enemy filled the narrow cliff, and the swordsmen of Wudang were surrounded among them.  

‘Is this all of them?’  

Baek Cheon bit his lip tightly.  

Wudang was a sect that vied for supremacy with Shaolin under heaven. Yet the number of Wudang swordsmen in sight seemed pathetically small compared to its esteemed reputation. 

Where were the others? 

Baek Cheon’s gaze drifted slightly downward.

He saw the blood that soaked the top of the cliff. Blood that had been trampled into the mud by the feet of Sapaeryeon, stained black with filth.  

The tip of his drawn sword trembled slightly.  

There was a hand protruding from beneath the feet of Sapaeryeon’s member who was glaring fiercely at him. The palm, hardened with calluses, was pale and bloodless, clearly indicating the fate its owner had met.  

How many had fallen victim to their blades?  

Of course, it was not too late to turn things around. There were still those who were alive.

And Cheonumaeng, including Hwasan, had done their best.  

But this… this was too much…  

Just then, as Baek Cheon struggled to suppress the rising sense of despair, a hateful voice reached his ears.  

“What do you think?” 

Baek Cheon turned his head. 

Cheon Myeon Susa had evaded Tang Gunak’s dagger and was now looking at Baek Cheon from a distance at the edge of the peak.  

“Is it quite different from what you expected?”

…Baek Cheon couldn’t deny it. 

He had hoped they would survive a little longer. He hoped their efforts could save more lives.  

But the reality he faced was simply horrific. 

“Sometimes, foolishness accidentally leads to a good outcome. But most of the time, the fate of a fool is predictable.”

Cheon Myeon Susa cast a sneering glance to the side. The disciples of Wudang stood leaning against each other. 

“If they had abandoned their pride and fled, most would have survived. If they had chosen practicality over meaningless talk of honor and righteousness, they might have rebuilt any building at any time.”  

“…”  

“This is the result of trivial pride and laughable chivalry. Your struggles have all been in vain.”

The harsh words caused the eyes of Wudang’s disciples to tremble slightly.  

What remained was half, no, maybe even a third. More had perished under their blades than survived, falling into the enemy’s trap.

Of course, the peak of the White-Faced Cliff, the sacred mountain of the Taoists known as Wudang, was filled with the bodies of the enemies. But that did not reduce the number of lives Wudang had lost.  

Perhaps, in their desperate effort to protect the legacy of Wudang, they had inadvertently severed it themselves. 

The fact, the reality, was so horrific that Wudang’s disciples could not wholeheartedly cheer even at the sight of Baek Cheon, who had come to save them.  

And Baek Cheon could understand their feelings.  

Their tightly clenched lips and trembling eyes told him everything. Faced with expressions full of self-reproach and sorrow, Baek Cheon also gritted his teeth.  

“Delusions are sweet, aren’t they?”  

“…”  

“It might be better to live in a dream than in a harsh reality. But those who fail to wake from their dreams in time eventually face an even harsher reality. Like these people now, and like you from now on.” 

Ssssrk. 

At that moment, Baek Cheon suddenly sheathed his sword. He looked at the disciples of Wudang with empty hands, causing everyone to feel a moment of confusion.

“Hmm?”

Cheon Myeon Susa also looked at Baek Cheon with curiosity. 

Baek Cheon politely clasped his hands and bowed to Wudang, surrounded by the enemies.  

It was a simple and concise gesture of respect, without any words. 

Yet no one could take their eyes off him. Even Sapaeryeon, who threatened Wudang at this moment, and Cheon Myeon Susa, who mocked Baek Cheon, couldn’t either. 

Cheon Myeon Susa sneered. 

“What a meaningless…” 

“Shut your mouth.” 

When Baek Cheon interrupted, Cheon Myeon Susa’s face twisted with anger. Despite being from the Just Sect and Baek Cheon being a young prodigy of the righteous path, it wasn’t something he expected to hear from someone who hadn’t lived even half as long as him. 

However, Baek Cheon did not even glance at Cheon Myeon Susa and only focused on Wudang with a serious gaze. 

“You wouldn’t understand. No, you wouldn’t want to understand. But… listen carefully.”  

Baek Cheon looked straight at Wudang’s disciples and said. 

“There is no such thing as worthless will in this world.” 

For a moment, the shoulders of Wudang’s disciples trembled faintly. 

“Whether it’s a belief, a duty, or a promise kept in your heart. Whatever the reason, we fight. Even if it means making sacrifices, even if it means losing things we must not lose. Even if!”  

Baek Cheon bit his lip gently before speaking again. 

“Even if it fades into ridicule.”

In the silence that didn’t belong to the battlefield, Baek Cheon confirmed it.  

The eyes of Wudang’s disciples, which had been shaken by despair and self-reproach, were now calmly settled, filled once more with firm resolve.  

Only then did Baek Cheon’s gaze turn to Cheon Myeon Susa. Unlike before, it was merciless and sharp, like a honed blade. 

“Remember this, Sapa bastard.” 

“…” 

“We do not fight just to survive. We fight to protect, and we fight to leave something behind. The death of one who fights only to survive might be meaningless, but the death of one who fights to leave something behind never loses its value. For they have preserved what needed protection with their lives.” 

Cheon Myeon Susa twisted his lips into a sneer. 

“Something to protect?”  

“Yes.” 

“And if that which you seek to protect is trampled upon, then it really is a futile death, isn’t it?” 

“No. You won’t have that chance.” 

Sssssk. 

Baekcheon drew his sword again and pointed it at Cheon Myeon Susa.

“Because we have arrived.” 

As soon as he finished speaking, a figure soared up from the cliff like a flying bird. 

Thud. 

The one who had leaped high onto the cliff landed lightly beside Baek Cheon, like a feather. 

“I’m late.” 

“Yes, Samae.”  

Then, two more shadows soared over the cliff, and two more climbed up to stand behind Baek Cheon. 

“Damn it! Wudang…!”  

“There are still survivors. Calm yourself.” 

While Jo Geol bit his lip hard enough to draw blood to suppress his rising anger, Yoon Jong quietly simmered with fury as well. 

Following them, Hye Yeon approached with a heavy expression and chanted quietly, while Tang Gunak, standing behind Baek Cheon, glared at Cheon Myeon with sunken, serious eyes.  

Baek Cheon spoke in a firm voice, without the slightest hint of wavering. 

“We won’t let that happen.”  

Cheon Myeon Susa, who had been silently staring at Baek Cheon, glanced at Wudang. He could also sense that the light of determination had returned to their eyes. 

‘Damn it. Those who were on the verge of death.’

The ones who had barely opened their eyes like dead fish and were just waiting to die were now ready to fight until the end. 

‘Around an hour… no.’

If they had just held them back for half an hour longer, they could have finished off the exhausted Wudang’s disciples. If they had, they could have slowly crushed those clinging to the cliff and those standing on the summit in despair. 

But dwelling on regrets for too long was a waste.

As Cheon Myeon Susa clenched and then loosened his hand, blood flowed from the wound inflicted by Tang Gunak’s dagger. The throbbing pain fueled his growing anger.  

Allowing them to reach this point should certainly be considered a failure. Hastily trying to stop them and getting injured was foolish.

However, they hadn’t lost their advantageous position yet.

‘Instead… yes, this is good!’

Now that they had climbed to this point, there was no retreat for them either. If they could annihilate the entire Hwasan here, they could achieve a victory greater than just eliminating Wudang.

At that moment, he saw the disciples of Hwasan breaking through the cliff and rising to the summit one by one. He couldn’t let them settle here.

“With such a small number, you dare to speak so boldly. This is why the Just Sects are like this.”

The eyes of Sapaeryeon’s warriors, which had been in a panic, regained their composure at the mention of ‘numbers.’

Yes, even if the situation had changed a bit, they still had the overwhelming advantage.

“Kill them all!”

Cheon Myeon Susa shouted with uncharacteristic power in his voice.

“Tear them to pieces and make them realize that they’ve walked into the mouth of the tiger! Make this place their grave today!”

“Ooooooh!”

“Aaaaargh!”

The excited members of Sapaeryeon charged towards Hwasan’s disciples standing at the edge of the cliff.

“They’re coming, Sasuk!”

At Yoon Jong’s cry, Baek Cheon pointed his sword forward.

In front of him were countless enemies, and among them, Wudang swordsmen were still surrounded.

Can they be saved?  

‘There’s no need to think about it.’  

Doing what is possible isn’t earnestness.  

What matters is that they had come all this way for them, and that behind him stood none other than his fellow brothers. 

“Hwasan!” 

“Yes!” 

The swordsmen of Hwasan, who had climbed to the top of the cliff, responded with booming voices. 

“Break through the enemies and save Wudang!” 

“Attack!” 

No sooner had Baek Cheon finished speaking than Yoon Jong and Jo Geol shot forward like beams of light. The other disciples of Hwasan followed closely behind them. 

Like a thunderbolt striking a raging wave, they charged forward. 

Tang Gunak’s long robe fluttered as he leaped forward, and the demon-like faces of Sapaeryeon rushing towards them grew nearer. The air twisted as their energies clashed, ready to explode at any moment. 

Through that intense space, Baek Cheon’s gaze met Mu Jin’s. 

In a world where time seemed to flow slowly, as if twisted, the single remaining eye of Mu Jin formed a gentle arc, unfitting for the dire situation. 

The meaning of that smile didn’t matter. 

Baek Cheon, engraving the gesture as a form of silent acknowledgment in his heart, surged forward with his sword aimed ahead. 

‘Yes.’ 

Why must one fight? 

Why must one choose to sacrifice? 

Why, knowing it’s foolish, can one not retreat? 

The answer is here. 

It’s not just about survival. Even if one is powerless, even if one is lacking. 

‘It’s about protecting.’ 

If one can uphold this, one can surely leave something behind – his will, his life. It can be passed on to those who will protect his back and those who will advance forward. 

“Baek Cheon of Hwasan is here! Come at me, all of you!” 

His resonant voice, his sword energy, and his expression all shone with a single will.

As if it would never be extinguished.