Responses
Ya, more to subordinate, not friends
Do you mean with Tang Bo or the clan itself? If so, both of them were specifically referred to in the novel as “friend”. Tang Bo who was also an elder from the Tang Family called Chun Myung, “hyung” and Chung Myung remarked that he was his one and only friend. As for the Tang clan, they entered into an alliance with Mount Hua. Chun Myung gave 3 conditions, the last one being for the Tang Family to consider Mount Hua as a “friend” and not just an alliance.
SPOILER:
The Tang Clan will be one of the biggest ally for Mount Hua in the future. Chung Myung only ever had 1 friend xD, his name is Tang Bo who belonged to the Tang clan. Before he perished in the war, he asked Chung Myung to take care of his family for him. When the Tang and Mount Hua enter into an alliance, one of Chung Myung’s condition was for the Tang Family to treat Mount Hua like a “friend”.
Btw, I think the novel refers to Tang Bo as his only friend because his senior brothers/junior brothers are considered a whole different entity from a “friend”