Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1006

You can’t have everything. If you want something, you must be ready to lose something else.

This choice comes to everyone who wants to make their group stronger.

To help the sect grow, they needed to train the disciples. The best people to train them were the strongest members of the sect.

Of course, being skilled doesn’t always make someone a good teacher. Sometimes, skilled people don’t understand why beginners struggle.

But usually, someone with more skill makes a better teacher. It’s like how someone who has climbed a mountain can guide those climbing up.

The problem is time. Time is limited.

Climbing high costs something. The higher you climb in martial arts, the harder it gets. Just staying at the same level takes a lot of time and energy.

Climbing very high is dangerous, and even experienced climbers can’t always help someone who falls near the top. They know they might fall too.

“Ughhh…”

Namgung Dan’s legs shook like leaves in a storm. His eyes were wide and strange, and spit dripped from his open mouth.

He felt like he would break, but he couldn’t fall.

“Just fall over,”

“……”

“I’m waiting for you to fall! Please, just give up!”

Namgung Dan used all his strength to steady his shaking legs. But his body wouldn’t listen. He wobbled like a reed in a storm.

“Tsk, tsk. Look at those wobbly legs. A swordsman who can’t even control his body, honestly.”

That was true. A sword is held in the hand and used to move the body. To use a sword well, you must control your body well.

But Namgung Dan had an excuse.

‘You crazy bastard! How can I… in this situation…’

“Oh? Going to fall? Going to fall?”

“Ggrrrrrrh….”

Namgung Dan clenched his legs tightly.

The huge boulder on his back tilted.

“Tsk, tsk.”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue and looked at him with disgust.

“Honestly, kids these days have no grit. Back in my day, we’d roll boulders like this up the mountain for fun!”

‘Is that even possible, you crazy bastard!’

Sweat stung his eyes.

It would be better if he only carried the boulder. But Namgung Dan’s body was covered in heavy iron weights. Carrying a boulder on top of that, without using internal energy, was too much.

“What? Willpower?”

“……”

“Honestly, you young pups just talk. Do you think mental strength is like poison you put on your sword? Something that suddenly makes you stronger? Willpower is used at times like these! When you’re training and feel like you’re dying, about to faint! That’s when you hold on for one more moment. That’s mental strength.”

“Ggrrr…”

“So, instead of talking about it, show me that mental strength…”

Thud!

Before Chung Myung finished, one of the men next to Namgung Dan fell forward.

The boulder rolled away as he frothed at the mouth.

“……What a load of rubbish. Instructor!”

“Yes!”

Jo Gul and Yoon Jong rushed over, grabbed the fallen man, and dragged him away.

Were they going to the medical hall?

No way. Those who couldn’t handle the training were thrown into special training to strengthen their willpower. They wouldn’t sleep tonight.

“Who can’t just talk about working hard? Working hard should be done with your body, not your mouth. Isn’t that right?”

Namgung Dan didn’t answer because he didn’t have the energy.

He didn’t agree with Chung Myung. He strongly disagreed.

How could this training help swordsmanship?

But after seeing someone throw down the boulder and confront Chung Myung, only to be kicked to the Jang River, Namgung Dan stopped thinking.

“I’ve never seen anyone who talks about mental strength survive long, you bastard. If you fight for three days and nights, your neck trembles, not your sword hand. Martial artists are physically strong. What lets you last is the training you’ve done.”

“……”

“Refined swordsmanship? Pure internal energy? You shouldn’t be talking about that. You can’t even run, but you’re trying to fly. Just shut up and focus on swinging your sword one more time.”

Namgung Dan almost nodded.

If he hadn’t been at Plum Blossom Island, he might have thought Chung Myung was talking nonsense. But he felt it on Plum Blossom Island. Chung Myung was right.

After fighting for more than three days, there was no swordsmanship. If he saw something, he would just stab at it.

Maybe this training takes that into account.

“Ah, seeing the kids bleed makes me feel refreshed. Hee hee hee hee.”

“……”

There was no way that demonic bastard would do that.

“Uh-oh. Your legs are going again. Put some strength into it.”

“Ggrrrrh….”

He wanted to cry, but his eyes were too dry.

“……”

Namgung Myeong watched the young swordsmen struggling under the boulders, and sweat dripped down his back.

“That….”

Even Namgung Dowi was staggering, carrying a boulder twice the size of the others.

“What is this….”

As Namgung Myeong stared in disbelief, he heard laughter.

“You seem flustered.”

“Y-yes. That is….”

Un Geom shook his head.

“It may seem like torment, but the Mount Hua disciples went through this too.”

“……That?”

“Yes.”

Un Geom smiled bitterly.

“Just watch for now. Since that child stepped forward, it will work.”

“No….”

Namgung Myeong still looked confused. Un Geom laughed softly.

‘He will soon find out.’

And he would regret being old.

Those who survived on Plum Blossom Island but were too old couldn’t train. Chung Myung didn’t include them.

It wasn’t just because they were hard to handle. Those whose minds and bodies were set had limits. It would be hard for both sides and not effective.

So, he must have thought it was better to focus on those who were still flexible.

‘Well, he’s not the only one who regrets it.’

Un Geom also thought he could have been stronger if he had been born later.

‘It’s truly regrettable….’

“No. But this bastard!”

Wham!

Chung Myung kicked Namgung Dan.

“I told you to straighten your back! Can’t you understand me! Are you messing with me? This is my fate, now even the Namgung bastards are giving me trouble! Get up, you bastard! You’re doing double today!”

“……”

No. Maybe it’s better to be old.

At least to deal with that monster.

Martial arts were the same.

The world of power is a place where you can rust if you don’t train, and where inner demons can hurt you if you go the wrong way.

So, sects take care of their strong members. They let them focus on martial arts and bring glory to the sect.

The best masters only teach a few disciples and rarely meet the lower ones.

That is the path for the sect and for themselves.

Most famous families have a few strong people and excellent disciples supporting them.

But….

“Lucky bastards.”

Here, there is someone who is excluded from that.

Chung Myung gritted his teeth.

He was unprecedented. He had reached a very high level and had a lot of time. That was Chung Myung.

He had to build up his martial arts and teach his clumsy disciples from scratch.

The Plum Blossom Sword Saint didn’t care about the lower generations. He thought the Myeong generation was inadequate, and the ones below that weren’t worth mentioning.

Mount Hua was full of rolling stones, except for Cheong Mun, Cheongjin, and a few Cheongja disciples.

He regretted that later.

When Chung Myung flew to Mount Hua a hundred years later, how do you think he felt?

He had to raise the little ones into swordsmen who wouldn’t fall behind.

So, the training the Mount Hua disciples did was created by Chung Myung. He was the best swordsman of Mount Hua and had improved his martial arts through battles. His goal was to make his disciples useful.

It was very effective.

While other masters created new martial arts, Chung Myung worried about how to draw out the talent of his disciples.

While other masters showed their power, Chung Myung spent his days explaining what he knew to the idiots who didn’t know how to use a sword.

Therefore, his training system was incredibly effective, as long as you could endure it. It could turn the disciples of Mount Hua into top-class swordsmen in a few years.

Yes, if you can endure it.

If you can endure it.