Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 691

“A defeated leader, is it…?”

Beopjeong’s eyes became thoughtful.

“You’re saying the defeated leader came in person?”

“Yes, Abbot.”

Beopgye secretly watched the Abbot’s face, trying to guess what he was thinking, even though Beopjeong’s face never showed anything.

Beopjeong’s face showed nothing, as usual. He closed his eyes and quietly chanted a sutra.

Normally, it might seem rude to meditate when someone is talking to you. However, Beopgye knew that this was Beopjeong’s way of thinking deeply.

After a moment, Beopjeong slowly opened his eyes and looked at Beopgye.

“What was the reaction of the Nine Sects?”

“Restless.”

Beopgye said, letting out a long breath. His eyes were grave.

“Of course, each sect’s reaction varied. Some openly showed hostility, while others showed great interest in the Heavenly Union. But, in general, they all seemed unsure how to respond to this situation.”

“I imagine so.”

Beopjeong smiled with a slightly complicated expression, then asked,

“What do you think?”

“About the Heavenly Union?”

“Yes.”

Beopgye frowned, thinking for a moment.

He, too, was unsure about the Heavenly Union’s existence.

“More powerful than I thought… Yes. More powerful than I thought, but not as threatening as I thought…”

Beopgye, who had been organizing his thoughts, shook his head and confessed honestly.

“I don’t know, Abbot. What impact they will have on this Jianghu.”

Beopjeong nodded with a smile.

“I see.”

“…What are you planning to do?”

“Do about what?”

“Shouldn’t we prepare some countermeasures?”

“Haha. It’s strange for a monk to talk about countermeasures like this. They haven’t caused any problems, so what countermeasures are there to take?”

“Abbot… Wouldn’t it be too late after they cause problems?”

Beopjeong merely smiled at Beopgye’s worried voice.

“That may be so. But that won’t happen.”

“……”

“As long as the Mount Hua Sect Leader is leading the Heavenly Union, the concerns you and the other Nine Sects have will not come to pass. That man is not one to pursue hegemony.”

Hearing Beopjeong’s words, Beopgye pictured Hyun Jong in his mind.

‘Certainly…’

The Mount Hua disciples certainly didn’t seem like Taoists. But Hyun Jong seemed like a noble Taoist. It was hard to imagine such a person pursuing hegemony and causing strife.

“The problem lies elsewhere.”

“……Yes?”

“Influence is like water. Even if you don’t try to use it, it will still spread and affect everything around it.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“The world is more sensitive to rumors than you think, isn’t it?”

Beopjeong smiled a little bitterly and shook his head slightly.

“If you were so strongly affected by the Heavenly Union, others who went there must have felt the same way. As the rumors spread, even if the Heavenly Union does nothing, people will naturally want to befriend them and gain their favor.”

“Indeed…”

“If someone gains something, it’s inevitable that someone else will lose something. I don’t expect those who have lost to remain silent.”

Beopjeong stared at the flickering lamp with heavy eyes.

“What happened to the meeting of the sect leaders I mentioned before?”

“Everyone has contacted us to say they will attend. However… Wudang has not yet replied.”

“Oh, that fellow.”

Beopjeong shook his head.

Beopjeong understood Heo Dojin’s feelings. But a sect leader should be better at hiding his emotions.

“Wudang will eventually have to come, so summon everyone as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Abbot.”

“Amitabha.”

A shadow fell over Beopjeong’s eyes as he recited the Buddha’s name.

‘The Nine Sects and Five Great Families can still be controlled.’

This was clearly a great opportunity for Shaolin. Even sects that had been subtly hostile to Shaolin and had subtly ignored its words would have no choice but to listen to Shaolin in this situation.

It was a good opportunity to make up for past mistakes at once.

But…

‘What if the Nine Sects and Five Great Families aren’t the only ones affected by this?’

And the name ‘Defeated Leader’ kept bothering him.

Jang Il-so.

A low Buddhist chant echoed once more.

“Contact the Beggars’ Sect and tell them to report immediately if anything unusual happens.”

“Understood, Abbot.”

Beopjeong slowly nodded at the quick reply.

It was very quiet, like the night before a storm.

Not yet.

“What is all this?”

Chung Myung’s eyes widened as he looked at the huge piles of luggage inside the main gate.

“Are we going somewhere again? How long has it been since the founding ceremony! Who are you trying to sell off this time!”

“……It’s nothing like that.”

Looking back, it was always Chung Myung who had refused Hyun Jong’s attempts to dissuade him, insisting on going out of Mount Hua. But such memories had long been erased from Chung Myung’s mind.

Yoon Jong shrugged and said,

“It’s a gift.”

“Huh? A gift?”

“Yeah. A founding gift.”

Then, Jo Gul, who had approached, tilted his head.

“What gift are you talking about now that the founding ceremony is over?”

“Those were brought by those who visited Mount Hua in person, and these are gifts sent by merchants in Shaanxi and other surrounding provinces.”

“Huh?”

Yoon Jong laughed, looking quite dumbfounded.

“It seems that even other small and medium-sized sects in Shaanxi have sent gifts, and what’s more, this isn’t all of it. People have been carrying in gifts since this morning.”

“Wow…”

Jo Gul exclaimed in admiration. But Chung Myung, who was standing next to him, was more composed than expected.

“Aren’t you surprised?”

“About what?”

“That these gifts keep coming?”

“What obvious nonsense.”

Chung Myung smiled as he looked at the piles of luggage that continued to grow.

‘This used to be everyday life.’

Back then, they even hired people to sort out the goods coming to Mount Hua.

The influence of a sect called a prestigious clan transcends imagination. So it was only natural that there were as many people as stars in the sky who wanted to establish a relationship with them and give a good impression.

It was the same principle as gifts constantly pouring into the homes of high-ranking officials.

“Elder Hyun Young’s face must be beaming again.”

“He seems to have set up camp in the warehouse.”

“He should be used to it by now.”

“……Don’t even hope for that.”

Yoon Jong chuckled and changed the subject.

“If you’ve roughly seen it, get ready. Elder Hyun Young has ordered the Blue Cloud and White Cloud disciples to gather at the Great Training Hall soon.”

“Ah, I heard about that too. But why are we suddenly gathering? We’ve been training autonomously except for the morning training.”

“It seems we’re going to learn sword formation.”

“Sword formation?”

Yoon Jong nodded.

“Wasn’t there a sword formation in the manuals we got?”

“……I don’t know much about it.”

“It seems we’re going to learn the sword formation that came out at that time.”

“Why suddenly sword formation now?”

Jo Gul asked with a puzzled look. Yoon Jong clicked his tongue as if he felt sorry for him.

“Think about it. Didn’t we fight a group battle against the Great Hall faction this time?”

“Yes, we did.”

“We formed a formation and coordinated our breathing, but if we could have properly deployed a sword formation, we could have fought a much better battle. It seems that Uncle-Master Un-geom felt a lot from that battle.”

“Ah…”

Jo Gul nodded.

“So, Uncle-Master Un-geom has hardly shown himself for a while…”

“That’s right. It seems he has been interpreting and researching the sword formation in between his busy schedule. He’s really amazing. I heard he hasn’t been neglecting his own training either.”

“Oh my, he doesn’t have ten bodies.”

Jo Gul stuck out his tongue with a slightly horrified look.

They weren’t the type to slack off on effort, but Un-geom was accomplishing even more than them. He was teaching his disciples while not neglecting his personal training, researching sword formations, and even running the Plum Blossom House.

It was questionable whether he was getting enough sleep.

“If sword formation is that good, we should have learned it among ourselves first. Isn’t it possible to deploy a sword formation with five people? If we had, the hardships we’ve gone through so far would have been reduced.”

“Sword formation?”

“Yes.”

“Us?”

The conversation paused for a moment. Yoon Jong and Jo Gul, who were looking at each other with strange eyes, turned their gaze to one side.

“What?”

“……”

“Why are you looking at me?”

Chung Myung glared, and the two quietly turned their gazes away.

‘Sword formation with that bastard?’

‘There’s no way our teamwork would work.’

Considering that sword formation is something that those who form the formation unfold like gears turning, there was no way that jagged gear would turn properly.

He’d foam at the mouth and try to run out at every chance he got.

Chung Myung said with a sulky face, as if he didn’t like their expressions.

“You keep blaming me, but do you think things will go well if you guys do it without me?”

“That’s…”

Come to think of it, that was also true.

First of all, it didn’t seem like Yoo Iseol would properly coordinate with the sword formation.

Baek Cheon… would try, but he would definitely lose his mind and run wild at some point.

Jo Gul is…

“Why are you looking at me like that, Sahyung?”

“No. It’s nothing.”

Yoon Jong smiled gently.

‘Let’s give up.’

Sword formation is for the birds. We’ve been fighting well without it! That’s enough!

“Anyway, Uncle-Master Un-geom seems to think it’s right to learn sword formation.”

“Then we should learn it.”

Jo Gul said casually.

“Okay. You get ready. You…”

Yoon Jong looked at Chung Myung with a sulky look.

“……I don’t think you necessarily have to come.”

“What? Are you discriminating against me?”

“Now, Chung Myung-ah. Think about it in your head.”

“Huh?”

“Everyone is deploying a sword formation. And enemies are rushing in from the front.”

“Yeah.”

“Then where do you think you’ll be?”

“At the very front.”

“With whom?”

“Alone.”

Yoon Jong smiled contentedly and nodded.

“Okay. It seems you understand what I mean.”

“……”

“Then, see you later. Let’s go, Gul.”

“Yes, Sahyung!”

Chung Myung smiled as he watched the two walking away.

‘Sword formation, huh.’

It wasn’t a bad choice. Until now, the Five Swords had been the main force in the battles, but from now on, other Mount Hua disciples would have more opportunities to wield their swords.

In that case, sword formation would definitely be helpful.

Basically, a formation is a means for defense, not attack. If the Mount Hua disciples could properly deploy a sword formation, they would be able to reduce sacrifices for sure.

Chung Myung, who guessed what Un-geom was thinking when he started the sword formation training, rubbed the tip of his nose with his finger.

‘Now there’s no need to tell them what to do.’

Until now, he had to make them realize things or convey what to do next to the higher-ups. But now, everyone was finding out what to do next on their own.

This meant that Mount Hua had begun to function fully as a sect.

Chung Myung smiled quietly at the feeling of fullness in one corner of his heart.

“But…”

Of course, there were things that bothered him. Chung Myung frowned slightly as he looked back and forth between the mountain of gifts and the scenery of Mount Hua.

‘There’s no way this will go so smoothly.’

There was less resistance than he had expected.

Is the Heavenly Union stronger than expected?

‘No way.’

The Mount Hua of the past might have been stronger than the four sects that make up the current Heavenly Union combined. Even more so considering the difference between a sect and an alliance.

Nevertheless, they had to suffer all sorts of interference and jealousy.

But now, those greedy bastards were just condoning the Heavenly Union?

‘There’s absolutely no way that’s true.’

Chung Myung’s steps hurried towards the main gate.

‘Something is definitely going to happen.’

Now, training to become stronger was Mount Hua’s job, and solving the problems that would come to Mount Hua was Chung Myung’s job.

“I need to meet the beggar uncle.”

Chung Myung ran down the mountain with a light step.