Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 884

*Whoosh!* The sound of rushing air cut through the silence.

A sword, glowing with a bright, white light of power, swung down from above.

Dan Honhyeolsu’s eyebrows furrowed in a frown. He stepped back quickly. The sharp edge of the sword just missed his face, leaving a cold trail of air on his skin. It stopped suddenly in mid-air, as if an invisible hand was holding it. Then, with a flash, it shot towards his neck, faster than a striking snake.

“Tch.”

Twisting his body, Dan Honhyeolsu struck the side of the oncoming sword with his hand. The sword bent with a loud thud, but the tip quickly returned to its original position, keeping its direction.

The sword grazed his shoulder, leaving a red line of blood.

In that instant, a chilling blue light flickered in Dan Honhyeolsu’s eyes.

*Whoosh!*

With a sound like hundreds of bees taking flight, thick, blood-red energy burst from his hands.

*Wham!*

Dan Honhyeolsu’s palm struck towards Hyun Sang like a bolt of crimson lightning.

*Thwoom!*

Hyun Sang twisted his sword, using the flat of his blade to push aside the incoming palm strike. But this was exactly what Dan Honhyeolsu had planned!

*Wham!*

Dan Honhyeolsu unleashed a series of more than ten palm strikes. The intensely red, blood-colored energy flew towards Hyun Sang, threatening to swallow him whole.

Hyun Sang’s eyes darkened for a moment. He stood in a balanced position. His sword moved so fast it looked like there were ten swords at once, hitting Dan Honhyeolsu’s incoming palm strikes.

*Bang! Kwaaaang! Kwang! Kwang!*

Explosions burst out one after another.

The powerful force pushed Dan Honhyeolsu back four or five steps. He could have resisted, but he didn’t need to.

What he saw was Hyun Sang, standing strong, not moving even a step.

They must have felt the same force, but one had stepped back while the other had stayed put. Of course, this alone wasn’t enough to decide who was better, but it was clear who had gained from this exchange.

Dan Honhyeolsu’s eyes showed his tension.

Solid.

It felt as if his palm strike had hit a huge wall. The feeling in his fingertips was as strong as a mountain.

‘Why has someone like this been hiding?’

He had never heard of an old master like this in Mount Hua. Someone this skilled should be famous, even if they belonged to a sect like Mount Hua. It was strange that no one knew him.

That wasn’t the only thing that confused him.

“You there,” Dan Honhyeolsu said, his voice as rough as scraping metal. Hyun Sang looked at him.

“The swordplay you use seems quite different from that of your students?”

Hearing this, Hyun Sang smiled slightly.

“That can’t be helped. I’m not as young as those children.”

The swords of Mount Hua are very showy and quick. Hyun Sang was often surprised when he watched the children use their swords.

But…

When Hyun Sang was learning the sword, that kind of swordsmanship wasn’t common in Mount Hua. By the time the true sword of Mount Hua returned, he was already too old to learn a new sword style.

The young students were new and open to learning anything. They could easily learn the new sword style because they had no old habits.

But Hyun Sang was not like that. He had already learned a different sword style for many years.

It’s hard to write new letters on paper that’s already full of writing. It was almost impossible for him to completely change everything he had learned and fully accept new martial arts.

However…

‘What does it matter?’

Hyun Sang didn’t worry. He didn’t have to be the same as the children. It was okay if showy plum blossoms didn’t bloom from his fingertips. He wasn’t the one who needed to bloom. He needed to be strong and steady, to help them grow.

“A little late, a little dull. But it will be a bit more solid.”

Dan Honhyeolsu’s eyes darkened.

He knew from experience that these were the most difficult opponents.

And he didn’t have time to fight slowly to the end. The situation was getting worse, and if he waited any longer, he wouldn’t have a chance to escape, even if he won.

But.

*Crack!*

The sound of Dan Honhyeolsu cracking his knuckles rang out.

That didn’t mean he was afraid. The fact that he wasn’t famous despite his skill meant he had little real combat experience.

‘No matter how old you are, if you haven’t been in real fights, you’re just a beginner.’

He lowered his stance slightly. He knew when people like this were most nervous.

“Those are words you can say after you survive, old man!”

*Thwoom!*

He pushed off the ground with his toes.

Dan Honhyeolsu, almost flying, charged towards Hyun Sang. He planted his foot firmly, changing his body’s direction.

As soon as he twisted, he kicked off the ground again, shooting towards Hyun Sang. A chilling blue light flowed from his eyes as he moved in a zigzag pattern like a snake, charging diagonally.

He had seen the swords of the young students, and it was clear they had trained hard. But training was just training. In a real fight where life and death were decided quickly, a moment of confusion could be deadly.

‘And people become less adaptable as they get older!’

Dan Honhyeolsu moved in a strange, twisting way to get closer. His hands glowed a dark red color, curved like the claws of a hawk. They reached out, aiming for Hyun Sang’s ankles.

*Screee!*

Hyun Sang’s sword flew like lightning, aiming for Dan Honhyeolsu’s right hand, which was targeting his ankles. He wanted to pierce his hand and pin it to the floor.

But Dan Honhyeolsu twisted his hand as if he had been waiting for it, pushing the side of the incoming sword with his palm.

*Crunch!* It was a harsh, grating sound, like metal scratching against stone, as the sword’s edge and his hand touched.

The raised sword energy made the sword’s surface sharp. His hand was cut, and blood splattered. But he managed to make the downward-thrusting sword get stuck in the ground instead of his hand.

In that instant, Dan Honhyeolsu’s eyes flashed with a sinister light. He quickly flipped his body upwards, swinging both hands like lightning.

*Kwakwakwa!*

Red energy exploded upwards from below. It was as if red blood was piercing the ground and gushing out.

More than the strangeness of the sight, the bizarreness itself was dangerous. Even someone who had been in many battles would rarely have seen energy surging like a storm from under their feet.

With that one move, Dan Honhyeolsu was showing who he was.

*Bang!*

Hyun Sang, unable to deal with the sudden attack from below, kicked off the ground, drew his sword, and jumped into the air.

His sword moved fast, blocking the Jang-youngs who were chasing him.

But that was exactly what Danhon Hyulsu wanted.

Thud!

Danhon Hyulsu hit the ground hard with his hand. Pushing off the ground, he jumped after Hyun-sang, who flew up like an arrow. He was determined not to give up the lead he had taken.

One fleeing, the other chasing.

Hyun-sang kicked against the air, making the distance between himself and Danhon Hyulsu a little bigger, and raised his sword.

Whooosh!

Hyun-sang’s sword, filled with strong sword power at its tip, made a clean arc from above.

The sword energy looked strong enough to cut a person in half right away. But when Danhon Hyulsu saw that dangerous sword power, he felt excited.

‘Gotcha!’

Kroooooh!

Gathering all his inner strength, his hands quickly turned black, darker than red.

Haaaah!

Danhon Hyulsu shouted loudly and charged towards the coming sword. He crossed his hands and grabbed the blade.

Scraaaape! Scrape scrape scrape! Scrape scrape!

A screeching, metal-on-metal shriek that made your teeth hurt, echoed eerily. Hyun-sang’s sword, caught in the Blood Hand, thrashed like a live fish in a fisherman’s grip, cutting at his hands.

But even as his palms were being cut and torn, Danhon Hyulsu did not let go of Hyun-sang’s sword.

‘A swordsman is nothing without his sword anyway!’

A sword strike without your feet firmly on the ground wouldn’t be strong. It might be sharp, but it couldn’t be powerful. So, he could stop it with his hands.

He had faced people like this many times. He never got tired of seeing those who showed off their shiny swords with carefree faces turn pale.

Crack!

Danhon Hyulsu held the sword tightly in his hand, even hurting himself. He looked up at Hyun-sang. He wanted to see his face.

But… Danhon Hyulsu couldn’t.

He didn’t see Hyun-sang’s face, but something hard coming quickly towards him.

Before he knew what it was, Danhon Hyulsu’s eyes widened. At the same moment he realized it was Hyun-sang’s elbow, the crushing blow that felt like his skull would break hit his face and made him lose consciousness for a moment.

Wham!

Blackout.

The world went black for a moment, then became bright again. Danhon Hyulsu saw a bright blue sky.

Ugh…

Pain that ripped through his face, white-hot and blinding, hit him. It felt like his face was being crushed.

This…

Before he could even think clearly, his body moved without him telling it to. He tried to twist his body to avoid the next attack, but his hand was pulled tight, as if tied to something.

What?

His body was tilting back as if about to fall, but it was pulled hard. He saw the elbow he had seen a moment ago.

Wham!

Danhon Hyulsu’s body flew like a cannonball. He bounced up, leaving a big mark on the ground, with blood everywhere, and then fell back down.

Ku, cough! Cough!

Before he could even groan in pain, blood came up his throat and out of his mouth. In just two attacks, his insides were completely messed up.

Ugh…

His body tried to get up by pushing his hand against the ground, but it crashed down again. His vision swam, everything going hazy and red-tinged, and he saw the cleanly cut end of his hand.

Cough! Cough!

But what bothered Danhon Hyulsu was not the terrible pain from his crushed face, or the shock of losing the hand that had always protected him.

It was the situation he couldn’t understand.

How…?

His mind knew. When he had pushed the sword into his own hand and held it tight, the old man had pulled the sword, pulling him in, and at the same time hit his face with the elbow of his left arm, which wasn’t holding the sword.

Since he had fixed the sword into his bone, Danhon Hyulsu couldn’t escape.

Yes, he understood how it happened. He understood what had happened!

But how could that old man have reacted so perfectly in an instant? You would think that when someone stops a swordsman’s sword, his mind would go blank and he would be confused…

Thud.

Hyun-sang came down in front of him and stared at Danhon Hyulsu with serious eyes.

“Not bad… but you missed something important.”

Danhon Hyulsu struggled to lift his head, which was ringing and in terrible pain, and looked up at him. His eyes were full of doubt.

Missed?

Hyun-sang calmly answered his question.

“To me, your attacks are not strange or unusual. They’re very easy to guess. Sadly, there’s someone in the Hwasan Sect who uses his teeth to block swords.”

….

“If you hadn’t been in such a hurry, it could have been a good fight.”

Hyun-sang shook his head slightly and raised his sword.

“You lost because you thought I was weak. Out here, being careless gets you killed. Someone wise told me that once.”

Danhon Hyulsu’s face twisted in a horrible way.

Predictable?

His blood-soaked shoulders shook a little.

Was I the young and inexperienced fighter?

A groan came from Danhon Hyulsu’s lips.

Ugh…

The pain from Hyun-sang’s words was worse than the pain in his body. The groan turned into a wild howl.

“You… You dog! Aargh!”