Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 564

Im So-byeong felt lost. What was life even for anymore?

Lying on a simple bed in the small room, he stared blankly at the wooden ceiling.

Sometimes, when he lay here, the fading of his mind, the blur of his sight, the creeping cold, brought unbearable pain. But now…

‘It’s warm.’

Warmth flowed through him, a wonderful feeling. Just not shivering from the cold felt like being born again. Each pattern in the ceiling wood was sharp and clear, almost jumping out at him. His body, usually weak, now buzzed with energy, like he could fight a bear and win.

It was a change he had longed for even in his dreams. It was, quite literally, the realization of something he had desperately, fervently wished for.

But…

‘Why do tears keep falling?’

Clear droplets streamed from his eyes as he gazed at the ceiling.

‘How can a person’s fate be so twisted?’

People don’t miss what they’ve never had. Regret only comes when you lose something you once held.

So, how great would the sense of emptiness be when the sensation and vitality he was currently experiencing vanished?

‘This is a drug.’

The more he thought about it, the more messed up the situation seemed.

Now that he knew this taste, how could he possibly escape Chung Myung’s clutches?

Im So-byeong was a man who understood himself very well. He knew better than anyone what he would do once the drug wore off and he returned to his former self.

“Keeeugh!”

Why, of all people⋯⋯.

Why did he have to get caught by that devil⋯⋯.

Of course, building a friendship and relationship with Chung Myung was what Im So-byeong had hoped for.

But that meant forming an alliance based on friendship, not a relationship where one side unilaterally relinquished control.

Especially not when the side giving up control was Im So-byeong.

‘If I had known this would happen, I would have bluffed less at the end.’

Im So-byeong sighed, staring at the ceiling with half-glazed eyes.

And why did his body have to be so full of vitality in the meantime⋯⋯.

“Keeeugh. I really did meet a devil.”

If he had known this would happen, he would have listened to his subordinates who told him not to go to Mount Hua. To think he would suffer like this after kicking aside those who tried to stop him.

“Better to die than to suffer⋯⋯. Huh?”

Just then, he frowned slightly at the commotion outside. Loud noises were coming from outside, getting closer.

“What’s all the noise?”

There’s a sick person here⋯⋯. No, a person who *was* sick. People have no consideration.

He threw off the blanket with a slightly annoyed gesture.

“Mommy!”

But suddenly, the blanket he threw off slammed into the wall. His body, which had always lacked energy, suddenly surged with vitality like a waterfall, making it difficult to control his strength.

Instinctively looking around, he put the blanket back in its place and trudged outside.

And.

“Keeeeeeek!”

Boom!

“⋯⋯.”

As soon as he opened the door, someone flew in like a cannonball and crashed into the wall of the building. Im So-byeong blinked, his heart pounding in his chest.

Screeeech.

Soon, the person embedded in the wall slowly slid down and collapsed. Judging by the Mount Hua uniform, it seemed to be one of the disciples.

‘What?!’

An attack? Who on earth would attack Mount Hua⋯⋯.

Im So-byeong, trembling, checked the person who had fallen to the floor and hurriedly looked ahead.

The disciples of Mount Hua moved like wild animals, wooden swords flashing in the air. Shouts and the crack of wood filled the training ground as they attacked each other with fierce eyes.

“Get out of my way!”

“You think that’ll kill me!”

The person who had been rushing in with a terrifying momentum was hit in the waist by a wooden sword and bounced away like a kicked ball.

‘Is he dead?’

Usually, you’d die from that, right? Even a wooden sword should break bones and tear flesh with that kind of hit.

Moreover, the fighting wasn’t happening in just one place.

As he approached, he saw the same thing happening all over the training ground.

“Aaaargh! Just die already! Sasukkkkk!”

“What’s with this bastard?”

Im So-byeong stood there, blankly staring at the scene before him.

‘Is this training?’

This is insane.

Even very harsh training wasn’t like this. This is simply⋯⋯ a blatant way of beating people up, isn’t it?

“Th-that, that⋯⋯.”

Just then, a person who had been hit by Jo Gul’s sword splattered blood and collapsed.

“That, that’s really an injury⋯⋯!”

But before Im So-byeong could finish speaking.

Pop!

The person who had been splattering blood and crashing to the floor suddenly stood up as if he had never fallen.

“Wow⋯⋯.”

“This bastard?”

And grabbing his wooden sword again, he cursed and rushed at Jo Gul again.

“I’ll kill you and die! Aaaaargh!”

“⋯⋯.”

Im So-byeong’s mouth slowly opened.

‘What on earth is going on here?’

He couldn’t understand it with his common sense. This violent training that didn’t care for the body, and the Mount Hua disciples who kept getting up again and again even while doing it.

“Enjoying the show, are you? This is just a little morning exercise.”

“Huh?”

Im So-byeong hurriedly looked up at the sudden voice.

Chung Myung sat on the roof edge, watching everything with a strange smile, a bottle in his hand. Im So-byeong hadn’t felt him arrive at all.

‘Has he gotten even stronger in the meantime?’

It’s only been a few months since I last saw him⋯⋯.

‘Heaven is truly heartless.’

Dealing with the demon was already very hard. If it gets even stronger, Chung Myung wondered, how can anyone stop it? But he pushed that thought away. It was time to ask something else.

“Is it really alright for them to train like that?”

“Would I have them do something that wasn’t alright?”

“Yes. If it’s the Taoist, certainly.”

“⋯⋯.”

Chung Myung stared at Lim Sobyeong with a rather awkward look.

Lim Sobyeong also stared back at Chung Myung with an equally awkward expression.

‘Is he serious?’

‘Why? What? Did I say something wrong?’

The two men exchanged opinions with their eyes before putting on bright, businesslike smiles once more. It was a sight that would have made even an experienced businessman admire and applaud.

“Well… you’re right, but it’s fine for now. It’s not a problem at this level.”

“A person’s body isn’t as strong as you think, Taoist.”

“It’s fine. My kids are strong, you see! Ahem!”

Chung Myung puffed out his chest with a truly proud expression. Lim Sobyeong shook his head as if there was no hope.

“You might as well become a bandit, Taoist…”

“Pardon?”

“No… it’s nothing.”

Chung Myung downed his drink, wiped his lips, and chuckled.

“Really, how can you not tell even when you’re looking right at it?”

“Yes?”

“Look closely. No one’s hurt, so why are you so worried? You’re not acting like the Green Forest King.”

At his calm words, Lim Sobyeong turned his gaze back to the disciples of Mount Hua who were training.

‘Come to think of it…

Attacks that would have felled others a hundred times over were flying back and forth, yet not a single one of the Mount Hua disciples was lying down. Even if they briefly collapsed, they quickly regained their senses and stubbornly charged back in.

“There’s a reason they are so strong, it’s because of the special medicines.”

“Wait, then… did they also eat the elixir that I ate?”

“Yes. A better… no, uh… yes. They ate it.”

“⋯⋯.”

Lim Sobyeong’s resentful gaze shot towards Chung Myung, but Chung Myung pointedly ignored it and looked away.

“This isn’t the first time, is it.”

“No, everyone’s had two already.”

“Hmm.”

Lim Sobyeong’s mind began to race.

The best effect of an elixir, no matter who said what, was the enhancement of internal energy. And the second most significant effect was that it corrected the body’s balance and made it stronger.

Actually, looking closely at the training scene, it was visible.

‘Their robustness and recovery have already surpassed the level of ordinary masters.’

In terms of swordsmanship and skill level, they might still be lacking. But at least in terms of physical perfection alone, the disciples of Mount Hua had already far surpassed the level of the Nine Great Sects.

‘Well, when you think about it, it’s obvious.’

In which sect would they give their disciples two powerful pills of that size? If there was a sect capable of that, they would have already conquered the world.

The Shaolin sect had so much money, they didn’t know what to do with it. The Sichuan Tang Family was powerful with only a few members. But even they could not imagine doing something like this.

Lim Sobyeong’s face subtly hardened.

Mount Hua was already achieving a level of development that other sects couldn’t even dream of, thanks to Chung Myung’s existence alone. Wasn’t it clear just from the fact that the name Mount Hua, which hadn’t even been mentioned in the martial world until a few years ago, was now echoing throughout the land?

And the core of that upward trend was those young Mount Hua disciples.

These nobodies had made a name for themselves at the Grand Martial Arts Tournament and had blocked the attacks of the Ten Thousand People Clan. Even if you searched through the entire history of the martial world, it would be difficult to find a case where a sect’s young disciples had achieved such rapid development as a group.

‘And they’re getting even stronger from here?’

Training methods are ultimately determined based on how much a person can endure. No matter how great a training method is, it’s meaningless if the person receiving it can’t withstand it.

But right now, the disciples of Mount Hua were enduring training that even Lim Sobyeong couldn’t fathom, with their entire bodies.

Their enduring bodies and mental strength had already far surpassed common sense. So how could they not get stronger?

‘I need to recalculate.’

The Mount Hua that he had pieced together from information gathered from the outside and the Mount Hua that he was directly observing were completely different places.

Lim Sobyeong thought.

Perhaps the Mount Hua sect might become much greater than he had imagined.

“So.”

At that moment, Chung Myung asked casually.

“Have you figured everything out?”

“⋯⋯What do you mean by figured out?”

“Hey.”

Chung Myung smiled as if to say not to joke around when Lim Sobyeong asked back.

“Surely someone like the Green Forest King didn’t just barge into Mount Hua and lie down just to get one elixir? You wanted to see Mount Hua directly under that excuse, didn’t you?”

“⋯⋯.”

“Now that you’ve seen this much, you should have a rough idea, so what are your impressions?”

A bitter smile crossed Lim Sobyeong’s lips.

‘He really is a demon.’

Many people, seeing Chung Myung’s eccentric behavior, mistakenly thought that he was thoughtless and acted impulsively.

But at least Lim Sobyeong hadn’t missed it. The fact that within Chung Myung’s inner self, there was a calculation so deep that ordinary people couldn’t even begin to fathom it.

That’s why he was more difficult and uncomfortable to deal with.

However.

‘Those who rise to the top are mostly like that.’

Lim Sobyeong shrugged his shoulders and looked at Chung Myung with slightly sharp eyes.

“What about the Taoist’s mind?”

“What do you mean?”

“What kind of place is the Green Forest to you? Is it a place to use as a shield and then throw away?”

“You seem to be mistaken…”

“Yes?”

“I don’t use anyone as a shield. Because I know how dirty that is.”

A fleeting, eerie aura emanated from Chung Myung as he muttered quietly. Lim Sobyeong shuddered.

Chung Myung calmed his energy as if nothing had happened, looked into the distance for a moment, and continued.

“There are two kinds of allies. Friends and those who pretend to be friends.”

“⋯⋯.”

“Which side is the Green Forest on?”

Lim Sobyeong quietly watched him and said.

“The world doesn’t run on goodwill alone. Just as Mount Hua is uncomfortable with joining hands with the Green Forest, the Green Forest also bears a great burden in joining hands with Mount Hua.”

“Hmm, I suppose so.”

“However.”

Lim Sobyeong smiled brightly.

“A true friend is not bound by circumstances.”

And he confidently reached out his hand towards him.

“How about we start there for now?”

Chung Myung stared blankly at the hand he offered, then grinned.

“No, I haven’t said I’ll be friends yet.”

“⋯⋯.”

“It’s a bit awkward to be friends with a bandit, and I’m still a Taoist, you know.”

“⋯⋯.”

“That’s settled for now.”

“Set, what’s set…”

“Let’s talk about business.”

“Hmm?”

Chung Myung’s eyes sparkled.

“The story about having to deal with mountain fortresses wasn’t a lie, and they’re not just any unimportant people, right? Even if you’re the son of the former Green Forest King, the Green Forest is a place where the law of the jungle prevails. So there must be those who are resisting, right?”

Lim Sobyeong’s face turned awkward.

‘…He’s a real devil.’

But Chung Myung still smiled lightly, as if he were talking about something trivial.

“Tell me. It won’t be a bad story for each other.”

In the end, Lim Sobyeong sighed deeply and nodded.