Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1594

This was a scene worth remembering forever.

But the Shaolin monks did not see the majestic back of the Dharma.

A roar, like that of a furious beast, echoed as the Shaolin monks unleashed their fists.

Thud! Bang! Bang!

These monks used their powerful fists, trained to spread Buddha’s teachings. They used their strength to stop anyone from reaching Dharma and the Dharma Assembly.

Bang!

“You shall not pass!”

His deep voice was replaced by desperate screams. They cried out for what they wanted so badly.

“Get out of the way, you bald monks! You’re in the way!”

Dozens of blades flew in from all directions.

Scritch! Scritch! Scritch!

No matter how diligently they had trained, they could not block all the swords in such a chaotic fight.

A Shaolin monk’s entire body was mercilessly cut by the blades, turning dark, sticky blood red.

“I told you, you will not pass!”

Bang!

Blood poured from the Shaolin monks, staining their robes dark red. But they held on.

Red Fox arrived, his face becoming a mask of anger.

Even as swords sliced into their backs, they grabbed at ankles, refusing to release their grip. Their faces were pale with pain, but their eyes burned with a fierce resolve.

“Amitabha!”

This Buddhist prayer, usually spoken by those devoted to Buddhism, sounded different as they threw away their lives.

Death is frightening to everyone.

But they accepted death. If death was unavoidable, they would use it to protect something, anything.

This selfless sacrifice, like a lotus flower growing from mud, showed the true meaning of their Buddhist faith.

“Before… I die, you will not pass.”

Spitting out clumps of blood, the Shaolin monk grabbed onto the one trying to advance. It was a tenacity comparable to that of the Myriad Manifestations Sect, but different from the madness of the unorthodox factions.

“…Are you just pretending?”

Red Fox gnashed his teeth.

He could see Dharma Assembly staggering away in the distance, with Dharma clinging to his back.

He couldn’t let them get away. The victory was almost certain. Dharma’s head would ensure that victory and elevate the Wicked Alliance, the Myriad Manifestations Sect, and even the Tyrant Fist Sect to the most glorious heights.

“I won’t let you escape!”

Bang!

Red Fox kicked off the ground, leaping over the entangled figures. Or, rather, he tried to leap over.

But at that moment, dozens of streams of fist energy, glowing with warm golden Buddhist light, poured down on him. It was as if they had timed it perfectly, erupting all at once, forcing Red Fox to flinch and wield his blade.

Shwaaaaa!

The flying fist energy was torn apart by the fierce blade. It was only that much, but it stopped Red Fox from advancing further, holding him back for a moment.

Grrr!

Red Fox bit his lip.

They had to block attacks from all directions. To attack Red Fox, they had to be willing to be stabbed by swords.

And yet, at least a dozen streams of fist energy had flown towards him.

None of those Shaolin monks cared about their own bodies.

Even as anger surged within him, Red Fox felt a chill run down his spine. He couldn’t understand this kind of devotion. It was different from anything he had ever seen.

“These…”

But there was no time to hesitate. He had to chase after those two now. If he let them get away, it would all be his fault.

Just as Red Fox was about to kick off the ground again, one of the Shaolin monks, having shaken off the unorthodox fighters, desperately charged towards him.

“Aaaaargh!”

A Buddhist light-filled palm technique erupted from his outstretched hand. Red Fox, glancing coldly, slashed his blade horizontally.

Shwaaaaa!

The powerful palm attack was cut in half by the red blade, leaving a deep cut across the monk’s body.

“A…mi…”

The strength drained from the Shaolin monk’s body, but he never stopped. Staggering, he took one step, then another, towards Red Fox.

Thud.

A gesture weaker than a child’s fist touched Red Fox’s chest.

Was Dharma Assembly truly worth this much? Just because he was the abbot?

“…Is this Abbot worth dying for?”

He asked, not even expecting an answer.

But an unexpected answer came from the staggering Shaolin monk.

“It is no different…”

“…What?”

A gentle aura settled on his pain-stricken face.

“It’s not just him… anyone… deserves to be protected.”

Red Fox’s face twisted.

Snikt!

The blade severed the monk’s neck.

The body collapsed. He felt a strange unease. He killed without hesitation, but this time, something felt different.

Red Fox, glancing coldly at the body, raised his head and glared at the Shaolin monks.

“Anyone… you say.”

The Shaolin monks’ eyes were different. They were filled with something that even Red Fox, who had witnessed countless deaths, could not understand.

“Even if the higher-ups are fools, does that mean the lower ranks aren’t rotten?”

Red Fox could not empathize, but he could respect them.

Perhaps these people would never open the path for Red Fox until their lives were exhausted. Or perhaps, even after their lives were exhausted.

“If that’s what you truly desire…”

Red Fox gripped his blade tightly.

“I shall grant your wish.”

Clang!

Sword and hand collided.

Jongli Hyeong fought with his famous Subduing Demon Swordplay. His movements were fast, light, and exact.

But Jongli Hyeong was despairing. It felt like trying to stop the ocean with a sword.

‘T-this is…’

Dozens, maybe hundreds, of hands were covering him, each taking on a different shape. It was as if hundreds of people were reaching out to him.

‘Thousand Faces Hand!’

It was the unique skill of Thousand Faces Master Dam Yeohae. The Thousand Faces Hand, which had earned Thousand Faces Master the title of the Number One Hand of the Unorthodox Faction, was presenting Jongli Hyeong with endless despair.

Of course, he might be able to win.

Even though the opponent was Thousand Faces Master Dam Yeohae, the Number One Hand of the Unorthodox Faction and the leader of Hao Gate, Jongli Hyeong was also the leader of the Mount Hua Sect. His Subduing Demon Swordplay was by no means inferior to Dam Yeohae’s palm technique.

Yes, he might be able to win.

If only he had the time to slowly decipher each of those dazzling hand techniques.

But Jongli Hyeong lacked that ‘time.’ In a situation where all sides were collapsing and enemies were narrowing the encirclement, he would not have the leisure to decipher his opponent’s martial arts.

“Haaah!”

Jongri Hyung attacked wildly with his sword.

His sword strike was strong. It should have pushed his enemy back in a normal fight. But his enemy’s hand did not fight his sword directly.

Jongri Hyung watched the hand shadows easily block his sword. They seemed to be everywhere, controlling the fight. Jongri Hyung felt more and more hopeless.

“Get out of my way!”

Crack!

He screamed again and pushed his sword forward. But the hand shadows wrapped around his sword. Jang Young changed the shapes of the shadows, and they held his sword like real hands.

“You seem to be in a hurry,” Thousand Faces Investigator said.

“Thousand Faces…” Jongri Hyung started to say.

“But I don’t need to hurry,” Thousand Faces Investigator finished. He smirked. He had the face of a young man, but his voice was old. This mix of young face and old voice was strange and made Jongri Hyung feel cold.

“So, Sect Leader, why not relax and enjoy this?” Thousand Faces Investigator asked.

“Aaaargh!” Before he could finish, a dying scream cut through the air.

“Aaargh!” Jongri Hyung yelled something similar and shook his sword harder.

“Haha!”

Thousand Faces Investigator’s loud laughter overlapped the scream. Jongri Hyung’s eyes quickly turned red.

‘Why is this happening to me?’ Jongri Hyung thought. ‘I did nothing wrong! Even if I made a mistake, I don’t deserve this terrible end. It’s not fair. I’m being treated badly.’

“Get out of my way! I said, get out of my way!”

“Tsk, tsk. How ugly,” Thousand Faces Investigator said. “For a Sect Leader, you have no pride left.” He clearly made fun of Jongri Hyung.

Jongri Hyung felt anger, shame, and many other terrible feelings.

He looked to the side for a moment, without meaning to. He wanted to see the person who had caused this terrible scene.

Jongri Hyung’s eyes opened wide in shock.

“That…” He was in a dangerous fight. He knew he could die if he lost focus for even a second. But he was too shocked to think about fighting.

Beopjeong was running away. Beopgye carried him on his back.

‘He’s running away?’ Jongri Hyung thought. ‘Beopjeong? No, that’s not the main thing.’ The real shock was not that Beopjeong lost to Jang Il-so. It was that he was running away and leaving everyone else.

Beopjeong had led so many people to die. He had left the Gongdong clan, the Peng clan, and even the Shaolin in terrible danger.

‘Alone? He’s leaving us to escape by himself? After causing all this trouble?’ Jongri Hyung started to understand what was happening. He felt cold inside, then suddenly hot with anger. He was filled with rage.

‘He just wants to save himself!’ Wham! Because Jongri Hyung was distracted by anger, Thousand Faces Investigator’s hand hit him hard in the chest.

Jongri Hyung coughed up blood and stumbled back. But he wasn’t angry at Thousand Faces Investigator anymore.

“Beop…” He felt a huge wave of anger rising up inside him. He screamed, “Beopjeoooong!” His voice was full of despair and echoed across the whole battlefield.

He felt someone looking down at him with scorn. His body was hurt and covered in bruises. Then, a loud voice spoke, full of power and pride.

“A leader must value his own life most of all,” the voice said. But maybe because he tried too hard to sound important, his voice sounded a little weak.

Paengyeop quietly touched the sword stuck in his side. His hand was shaking badly. It was burned and so badly damaged he couldn’t even hold the sword to pull it out.

And in truth… even if he could grab the sword and pull it out, the outcome would not change much. For this was not the only sword embedded in his body.

“You might have been able to lead a group, but you were not a true leader.”

“No matter how strong a group is, it becomes chaos when the leader is gone. You should have run away instead of fighting me, even if it meant killing everyone else to escape.”

“Cough.” Paengyeop coughed weakly, just air coming out.

Maybe he was right. Paengyeop looked at himself. His body was full of swords. He couldn’t even fall down by himself. Didn’t that show the man was right?

Paengyeop didn’t think the man was stronger. The difference was how they thought. The man was cold and logical. He could fight without hesitation and order many others to attack together. Paengyeop didn’t have that.

It might be seen as cowardly for a fighter, but for a leader, it was the most logical and normal thing to do.

Paengyeop struggled to keep his eyes open and looked around. Behind the Lord of the Solar Palace, who stood there proudly, he saw something terrible.

Dead bodies were everywhere. But even in this chaos, some Peng clan members were trying hard to run away. His eyes were blurry, but he could still see them.

There were only a few dozen of them. It was a very small number compared to all the people he had brought here. Was it worth dying to save just these few?

“Small-minded people find importance in things that don’t matter. But a real leader only risks his life for things that are truly important. That Shaolin leader seems to understand this.”

“You die because you don’t understand this, you fool.” Paengyeop laughed weakly.

“Value…” Paengyeop repeated. His vision became so blurry he could barely see anything. Soon, everything started to go dark around the edges.

As he was dying, the last thing he saw was the young fighters of the Peng clan. They had finally managed to escape from the enemy.

“Then… not bad…”

“Hmm?”

“…not bad.” The Lord of the Solar Palace, who had been watching Paengyeop, frowned.

But Paengyeop was too weak to hold his head up anymore. It fell forward. Plop. Paengyeop’s body fell to the side. It was a sad sight, with many swords sticking out of him.

The Lord of the Solar Palace watched him for a moment without speaking. Then he laughed in a mocking way and turned to leave. “What a useless death,” he said. His cold voice was barely heard by Paengyeop as he lay dying.

‘Brother…’ In the darkness of death, he thought he saw his brother looking at him.

‘…I don’t regret it,’ he thought. As death came closer, Paengyeop’s eyes stared blankly, looking for something he couldn’t reach.

‘No… wait…’ Paengyeop’s hand fell to the ground, lifeless. His sword, his favorite weapon, lay beside him, alone and silent, as if it was sad that he was gone.