Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 102

Someone yelled, “That bastard!” Another voice shouted, “How dare he say that to us!” Angry shouts came from everywhere in the crowd.

Jin Geum-ryong was so angry his teeth clenched. He was still shocked from losing, and now Yoon Jong was challenging him! It felt like his head was about to explode.

‘Maybe I went too far?’ Yoon Jong thought. Everyone was already sad because they lost, and his words made them even angrier. But Yoon Jong felt he had to do it. He had to keep the good feeling Chung Myung started going.

Jin Geum-ryong yelled angrily. “Gongjin! Gongjin!”

“Yes, Teacher!”

“Go! Beat that rude person and come back!”

“Yes, sir!” Jin Geum-ryong’s face was red and angry.

Jin Geum-ryong always wanted to be perfect. He wanted to win this whole competition without any mistakes. But Hwasan’s one attack ruined his perfect win. It was a big mistake that couldn’t be fixed. ‘Chung Myung!’ He looked at Chung Myung across the fighting area. ‘That idiot!’ He couldn’t believe Seonwoo-ryang, who he trusted, lost so badly. Was Seonwoo-ryang weaker than he thought? Or was Chung Myung stronger? ‘It must be Chung Myung.’ He knew Seonwoo-ryang well. Seonwoo-ryang was the best of Jongnam’s top students. If Chung Myung beat him, Chung Myung must be much stronger than Jongnam’s top students.

‘Maybe,’ he thought. ‘But the other Jongnam students are different.’ They had a surprise loss, but they weren’t totally shamed yet. If he could beat the other three top Hwasan students completely, then Chung Myung’s win would only be Chung Myung’s win, not Hwasan’s win.

Gongjin, the oldest of the top three students, walked into the fighting area. His face was full of hate, and he held his wooden sword tightly.

‘Has it been two years?’ Yoon Jong thought. It had been two years, but it felt like yesterday. At the last competition, Yoon Jong fought Gongjin. He was completely beaten. He couldn’t even fight back and lost easily. Two years had passed since then.

‘Honestly, I would have lost easily,’ he thought. If Chung Myung hadn’t come. When Chung Myung was gone, Yoon Jong didn’t train hard. He trained because he had to, but he didn’t really want to get stronger. He felt like it was no use. Losing to Jongnam made everyone in Hwasan weak and tired. They felt like they could never win, no matter what. Only Baek Cheon tried to fight against this feeling. Then, Chung Myung suddenly appeared, like magic. Because of that guy, Yoon Jong had trained as hard as he could for the last few months.

Had those few months of training made him better? He wasn’t sure. But… ‘I will not lose easily!’ He was still the oldest of the top three students. Even if Chung Myung was now like the leader, Yoon Jong was still proud to be from Hwasan. He would not be ashamed.

Gongjin stared angrily at Yoon Jong, his eyes burning. “No need to talk. Today, you will really feel how easy I went on you last time!”

“I don’t want to thank you for that.”

“Stop talking!”

Gongjin screamed loudly and ran at Yoon Jong. Yoon Jong bit his lip and held his sword very tight. ‘His sword is fast and simple,’ Yoon Jong thought. ‘Easy to see where he will attack.’ But before, Yoon Jong couldn’t stop him. They were just too different in skill. Yoon Jong couldn’t win with tricks! This time, though! *Clang!* Yoon Jong blocked Gongjin’s sword.

“Huh?” Gongjin pulled his sword back, looking surprised, and attacked again.

“Looks like you practiced a little! But it’s not enough!”

“Kuh!” Yoon Jong blocked Gongjin’s fast attacks one after another.

Fast. And strong. Gongjin’s sword was much faster and stronger than before. Yoon Jong could feel how hard Gongjin had trained. He seemed twice as strong as before. But… ‘Why?’ *Clang! Clang! Clang!* Yoon Jong’s sword moved easily, pushing away Gongjin’s attacks. Two years ago, he couldn’t even see this sword. Now it was faster, so it should be even scarier. But it was so strange. ‘Why can I see everything?’ It wasn’t slow. It was very fast. Attacks came so quickly Yoon Jong almost couldn’t breathe. But strangely, Yoon Jong could see exactly how Gongjin’s sword was moving. And now, he wasn’t just seeing it and doing nothing… *Clang!* Yoon Jong’s simple sword hit Gongjin’s, pushing it far away. Gongjin was too weak to stop it and fell back, trying to stand steady.

“…This guy.” Yoon Jong looked at Gongjin, confused.

“…Is that all you can do?”

“You…”

“Oh, no, don’t be mad. I’m not trying to make you angry. I’m really asking. Are you not fighting seriously to make me look bad? Are you going to fight hard now?”

“You little worm! I’ll kill you!” Gongjin thought Yoon Jong was making fun of him and ran at him like a mad pig, his face red with anger. Yoon Jong watched him, more confused than scared.

‘Chung Myung, what did he do to us?’ Yoon Jong thought. He could see every move Gongjin made so clearly. He could even guess where Gongjin would swing his sword just by looking at his shoulders. It wasn’t just knowing sword moves. He could really see it! *Whoosh!* The wooden sword, filled with power, swung wildly. But Yoon Jong just stepped back, easily dodging the attack. The sword went past his stomach. Maybe because Gongjin used too much power, he lost his balance a little. A small gap that Yoon Jong would never have seen before. But now, Yoon Jong could see it very clearly. *Thwack!* Yoon Jong’s foot moved faster than he thought, kicking Gongjin in the side. He saw Gongjin fly backwards and turned around.

Chung Myung.

Chung Myung was looking at him, not even interested. Like he was saying, ‘Hurry up and finish this, I’m bored.’

‘That crazy guy.’ No wonder he was acting weird. That guy knew all of this would happen from the beginning.

“Aaaaargh!” Gongjin was now totally crazy with anger and ran at Yoon Jong again. Yoon Jong stepped a little wider and lifted his sword a bit. He took the high stance. The most basic sword stance, and the start of the Six Harmony Sword. It was the stance for the one strike Yoon Jong had practiced like crazy for ten days. Gongjin’s sword came closer. Then, it changed in a way that was different from Jongnam swords. Before, Yoon Jong would have been very confused by this. But now, Yoon Jong didn’t even blink. All sword changes start from the fingers. He stood firm like a mountain and watched every small change. And… *Sssst.* He sees it! When the swords touched, Yoon Jong saw a tiny opening. As soon as he saw it, his body moved without him thinking. *Wham!* The sword cut through the air. A perfect strike, without any hesitation. His mind was clear. His body was trained. He knew exactly what to do. The sword, with all his power and focus, went past Gongjin’s sword and hit his shoulder right on target. Gongjin was shocked and quickly turned his sword to block Yoon Jong. *Claaaaaang!* The sword flew up. Gongjin’s sword, now broken in two, spun in the air and fell to the ground. *Thud. Thud.* The sound of the wooden sword falling was loud in the quiet Hwasan area.

“…” It was very quiet. Some people jumped up, looking at the fighting area in shock. Gongjin. The oldest of Jongnam’s top students, was on the ground, not moving. Yoon Jong stood in front of him, his sword down, standing still like a mountain. It was a perfect win, everyone knew it. Yoon Jong looked down at Gongjin quietly, then picked up his sword, put it back at his side, and bowed politely.

“I learned a lot.” Then, he turned and walked back to his place. Suddenly, a very loud shout exploded.

“Waaaaaaaah!”

“We won! We won! Yoon Jong won!”

“Hahaha! Amazing, I can’t believe it!”

It wasn’t just the young students. The place where the older Hwasan people were sitting was also very noisy.

“Hahahahaha! Yoon Jong! Yoon Jong!”

“P-Please be quiet, Elder Brother!” Hyeon-sang was shaking like he wanted to run to Yoon Jong, so Hyeon-yeong quickly held him back.

“Be quiet? How can I be quiet now! Hahaha! We won! We won!”

“Elder Brother! Behave! Please act like an elder!”

“Behave? Forget behaving! We won!” But Hyeon-yeong was also smiling as he pulled Hyeon-sang back.

‘He must be so happy,’ Hyeon-yeong thought. Hyeon-sang was always a serious elder brother. Hyeon-yeong cared most about Hwasan’s money, but Hyeon-sang cared most about Hwasan’s fighting skills. As the leader of the martial arts training place, he had to improve Hwasan’s fighting, so he was always sad that their fighting skills were weak and not good anymore. He didn’t show it much, but Hyeon-yeong knew he was very upset. But now, the top three students, who he didn’t think would do well, were completely beating those proud Jongnam people. ‘The Sect Leader?’ Hyeon-yeong looked at Hyeon-jong. He was smiling happily. His smile was so kind and warm that it made you feel good…

“Aaaaargh! You can’t become a god now!” Hyeon-yeong let go of Hyeon-sang and ran to Hyeon-jong, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him.

“Wake up! Sect Leader! Not now! What did you do to let your mind wander away!”

“I, I have done everything…”

“No, you haven’t! There’s still much more to do! Doctor! Get a doctor! Doctor!”

In all the noise, Yoon Jong went back to his place. He smiled a little, feeling shy, as his friends cheered loudly for him. He also felt… like he could fly. But while everyone else was jumping and happy, Jo Gul was the only one not smiling. Because it was his turn to fight.

“Elder Brother! Amazing Elder Brother! How did you do that? What should I do…”

“Geol.”

“Yes! Elder Brother!”

“Just go fight.”

“…Yes?” Yoon Jong smiled a real smile now. He understood why Chung Myung didn’t tell him anything special.

“You can’t lose even if you try. Just go fight. You’ll see when you get there.”

“…” Jo Gul looked confused. But if Yoon Jong said so, it must be true. Jo Gul’s face became serious, and he walked to the fighting area.

Yoon Jong didn’t even look at Jo Gul. He went right to Chung Myung and sat down next to him. Then, he asked seriously.

“What did you do?” Chung Myung smiled widely and looked at Yoon Jong.

“What?”

“To us!”

“Oh, that?” Chung Myung smiled slyly and said casually.