Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 71

Sweat poured down Jo Gul’s face. It felt like a waterfall.

“Hoo…” He gasped for air.

As soon as he knew he was alive, his body showed it in every way. Sweat ran down him so much he could barely open his eyes.

Then, his body started to shake.

*What if the sword had been just a little deeper?*

No, not even a little. If the sword had gone down just a tiny bit more, Jo Gul would be dead now, his head cut open.

“Th-… Uh… Uh-uh.”

He wanted to shout curses, but no words came out. He couldn’t stop his body from shaking.

Chung Myung chuckled as he looked at Jo Gul.

“How is it?”

“…What?”

“How does it feel?”

“…”

How did it feel, indeed?

Normally, he could have answered, but his mind was too confused right now.

“The feeling of having died?”

“Th-…”

Jo Gul squeezed out the last of his strength.

“You… you little rascal…”

“Hee hee hee hee!”

Chung Myung didn’t seem offended by the curse. That made sense.

Jo Gul probably felt like he had been to hell and back. If he could even lift a sword, he would attack Chung Myung.

“Now, Senior Brother can take a rest.”

Chung Myung cheerfully turned around. Then, he looked at the other senior and junior brothers who were staring at him with horrified eyes.

Twitch.

The senior and junior brothers who met his eyes all looked down slightly.

“Senior Brothers, think carefully.”

“…”

“Do you think you can avoid getting hit by doing that?”

‘That devilish bastard.’

‘How did such a scoundrel end up in Hwasan?’

‘Is that what a Taoist is supposed to say?’

If the most respected elder saw Chung Myung, he would be very angry and shout curses.

“Now, let’s not waste time. Who thinks they can come out? Yes? Grand Senior Brother?”

“…”

Yoon Jong looked at Chung Myung hesitantly, then looked away.

“How about Jonghak goes out?”

“Yes? Senior Brother, I think he called you.”

“So, you’re not going out?”

Yoon Jong glared, and Jonghak lowered his head.

‘Everyone’s acting strange.’

Yoon Jong used to act like a respected older brother, but since Chung Myung arrived, everything had changed. Well, Yoon Jong wasn’t the only one who had changed.

“Not going out?”

“…”

Chung Myung sighed deeply as he watched his senior and junior brothers arguing.

“What a pity. Brothers who should be helping each other are fighting like this.”

‘Whose fault is that, you wretch!’

‘Did you sell your conscience to the market!’

‘We’d be harmonious without you! Without you!’

Their desperate cries couldn’t be said out loud.

Chung Myung nodded as if to tell them not to worry.

“There’s only one way for brothers to unite. If you all suffer the same hardships together, brotherly love will bloom naturally. Don’t worry. I’ll handle it fairly.”

Handle what?

Chung Myung raised his sword.

“If you don’t come, I’ll go. Here I come!”

Don’t do it! You madman!

Whether everyone was shocked or not, Chung Myung laughed wildly and rushed at the third-generation disciples. The terrified third-generation disciples screamed and ran away, but Chung Myung chased after his senior and junior brothers like a wolf chasing sheep.

“Why aren’t you coming here?”

“Would anyone come if they were you! You crazy bastard!”

Yoon Jong, who was screaming, squeezed his eyes shut as he saw the sword falling towards his head.

“Ugh…”

“Haa…”

The third-generation disciples, sprawled out in the training hall, trembled with blank eyes.

“Oh, Mother…”

“Father, I’ll live a good life…”

“Under the bed… I hid jerky…”

“Is that what you’re thinking about now? Now?”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue as he looked at his sprawled-out senior and junior brothers.

“It’s not like you did anything great.”

Normally, they would have argued, but the third-generation disciples didn’t even have the energy left to argue. The experience of seeing a real sword falling towards their heads at a terrifying speed was something they never wanted to do again, even if it meant death.

Yoon Jong wiped the sweat from his eyes with a trembling hand.

‘That barbaric bastard…’

Yoon Jong had been through a lot with Chung Myung, but this was a bit different. It really felt like he had pushed his foot into the gates of the underworld and barely managed to pull it out.

Chung Myung opened his mouth, looking at everyone.

“How is it?”

“…What?”

Jo Gul, who had been the first to be hit and had regained some sense, answered with difficulty.

“Why couldn’t you block it?”

“…Huh?”

“It’s an obvious downward strike. Why couldn’t you block it?”

Was he doing all this just to say that?

Jo Gul shouted, feeling frustrated.

“Because it’s fast! It’s so fast and strong that you can’t block it because you can’t think! Even a three-year-old would know that!”

“Really?”

Chung Myung smiled, looking satisfied.

“You know it well.”

“Th-…”

Jo Gul gritted his teeth.

“But why don’t Senior Brothers do that?”

“Huh?”

Jo Gul stared at Chung Myung with a blank look. Just as he was about to argue, Chung Myung raised his sword and struck downwards.

Wham!

With the sound of air tearing, dust billowed from the ground.

“Simple, right?”

“…”

It wasn’t just Jo Gul.

Now, the other senior and junior brothers were also getting up and looking at Chung Myung’s sword.

“…Is that the sword I saw?”

“Yes.”

“It felt several times faster? Weren’t you holding back?”

“It’s the same. The sword falling on my head and the sword watching from the side can’t be the same.”

“…”

Jo Gul was reasonably intelligent. Therefore, he could quickly understand what Chung Myung was saying.

“Are you saying I can do it too?”

“More than enough.”

Chung Myung raised his sword.

“Look.”

And then struck down again.

Wham!

Jo Gul remembered that image clearly. It certainly wasn’t an invisible speed or a great technique. It was just a fast and simple straight line, striking down the sword without any unnecessary movements.

Holding the sword and striking down.

The moment that simple movement was perfectly executed, the one holding the sword became a painting.

Jo Gul unknowingly opened his mouth.

“That’s a downward strike.”

“…”

Jo Gul quickly closed his open mouth.

“If you’ve made a body, you have to use a sword that suits it. First, the lower body.”

Chung Myung stomped on the ground.

“Based on a firmly fixed lower body, pull the power from your waist, transfer the power to your fingertips, unify it with your inner strength, and then strike down in one breath.”

Wham!

Chung Myung grinned.

“Easy, right?”

“…”

Yoon Jong, who had listened to Chung Myung’s explanation, spoke in a heavy voice.

“I know what you’re saying. Instead of trying fancy sword moves, it’s better for us to use simple sword strikes based on our training, right?”

“And one-hit kill.”

Chung Myung added to Yoon Jong’s explanation.

“You need to be prepared not to swing the sword twice. You have to be prepared to die if you can’t kill in one hit.”

Yoon Jong sighed.

‘So, that’s why he showed us everything.’

Seeing is believing. There’s a huge difference between experiencing a one-hit kill sword directly and just hearing about it. If the people here hadn’t experienced Chung Myung’s sword falling on their heads, it wouldn’t have been easy to understand.

“But, Chung Myung-ah.”

Yoon Jong said with a heavy sigh.

“I know what you mean, but we are disciples of Hwasan. Does it make sense to win in this way?”

“What’s it mean to be a disciple of Hwasan?”

“If you’re a disciple of Hwasan, shouldn’t you defeat your opponent with Hwasan’s swordsmanship?”

Then Chung Myung looked at Yoon Jong with a dumbfounded expression.

“What did I just do?”

“Downward strike.”

“What’s the first form of Yukhap Sword?”

“…Downward strike.”

“Right. Isn’t Yukhap also Hwasan’s sword?”

When Chung Myung looked at him with a sulky expression, Yoon Jong coughed loudly.

“I didn’t think it through.”

“Tsk tsk tsk.”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue and looked around at everyone.

“Yukhap is the base of Hwasan, the foundation of Hwasan. Everything in Hwasan starts with Yukhap and ends with Yukhap. But!”

Chung Myung glared, and those who felt guilty looked away.

“Those who can’t even do Yukhap well are already worrying about looking good and using advanced sword forms!”

“Khmm.”

“Ah, the night air is cool.”

“The moon is bright too.”

The third-generation disciples, whose faces turned red, pretended not to notice.

“Know this clearly.”

Chung Myung’s voice lowered. With the playfulness completely gone, the senior and junior brothers all stared at him with serious eyes.

“If you don’t properly learn Yukhap, it’s useless to learn other swordsmanship. Yukhap is the base of all Hwasan swords. Like a building needs a strong base, or it will fall easily. Senior Brothers need to make what they have completely their own first.”

Everyone nodded.

It was a statement they wouldn’t have believed if they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes. But hadn’t they already experienced it with their bodies?

‘The Fallen Flower Sword, which seemed so strong, couldn’t block even a single sword.’

‘A simple downward strike seemed like the best swordsmanship in the world.’

‘What’s important isn’t the swordsmanship, but the person using the sword.’

Jo Gul got up from his seat and looked at Chung Myung.

“Chung Myung-ah.”

“Yeah.”

“I have just one question.”

“Yeah.”

Jo Gul organized his thoughts slightly and then immediately opened his mouth.

“I know what you mean when you say Yukhap is important. But we’re not you. It might sound like a foolish thing to say, but we need the power to break the noses of the Jongnam bastards right now, more than strength in the distant future.”

“Hmm.”

“Honestly, you’re the only one among us who can generate this kind of power with Yukhap. So, I’m asking.”

Jo Gul’s eyes shone.

“If we do as you say, can we beat the Jongnam bastards?”

Chung Myung sighed instead of answering.

Jo Gul bit his lip slightly as he watched his reaction.

‘I know it’s a pathetic thing to say.’

Jo Gul wasn’t someone who didn’t know that those who learn martial arts shouldn’t be obsessed with personal victories and should look to the distant future. But he never wanted to lose to Jongnam again. That feeling of shame…

“What did you hear me say?”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung rolled his eyes.

“Lose to Jongnam? Those kinds of people don’t deserve to live. How dare a disciple of Hwasan lose to Jongnam, those bastards! I’ll smash their heads in!”

Jo Gul trembled as he saw Chung Myung’s eyes gleaming with murderous intent.

‘No, we’re like that, but why are you so worked up about Jongnam?’

He hasn’t even been in Hwasan for very long.

“Didn’t I say? I’ll make sure you win.”

Chung Myung raised his sword and pointed at his senior and junior brothers.

“There’s no such thing as a good defeat.”

“…”

“All that matters in a fight is winning. Hold onto their trouser legs, throw dirt in their eyes! Winning is the end! Cowardly? What a joke! Do you think a guy who got his head cut off on the battlefield can argue about cowardice? Win by any means necessary!”

Chung Myung was saying things that would make the old leaders of Hwasan very, very angry.

Jo Gul chuckled as he looked at Chung Myung.

‘Yeah. This guy was originally like this.’

He felt a sense of relief.

“So, what do we have to do now? How can we use the sword like you?”

“It’s simple.”

Chung Myung curled up the corners of his lips.

“Let’s start with ten thousand downward strikes.”

“…Are you kidding?”

“Would I?”

“You have to be kidding.”

“Aww.”

“Kidding…”

Chung Myung smiled gently.

“Want to lose and die? Or die now?”

“…”

Perhaps an even greater enemy than Jongnam was inside Hwasan.