Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 104

“Cough… Cooough…”

“Sect Leader! Sect Leader, please! Someone get a healer!”

“Healer, my foot! Get out of the way!”

Hyun Sang pushed Hyeon Young aside and put his hand on Hyun Jong’s back, quickly sending energy into him.

‘Could someone’s inner power really be shaken just by being too happy?’

He knew that people who train their inner energy could get sick from shock. But he had never heard of it happening because someone was too happy. Yet, that was happening right in front of him.

As he sent energy into Hyun Jong to calm him down, Hyun Jong took a deep breath.

“He’s calmed down.”

“Are you okay, Sect Leader?”

“Am I alright?”

Hyun Jong turned quickly to Hyun Sang. Hyun Sang had never seen the Sect Leader’s eyes so wide before.

“Are you asking if I’m alright right now?”

“I… I misspoke, Senior Brother.”

“Ho, how could this be… Haa, heavens. Haa…”

Hyun Jong kept gasping for air. He didn’t seem to be getting any better.

How could he?

Hyun Sang understood Hyun Jong very well. Even he was about to shake with excitement, so how much more would Hyun Jong, the Sect Leader, be?

“Un Geom!”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Ye-yes, did you teach the children like that?”

Un Geom chuckled softly.

“If I could take credit, I’d be proud, but I can’t. The Third-Generation students did this on their own.”

“Independently?”

Hyun Jong looked at Un Geom, not believing it.

“Please, tell me more,” Un Am said to Un Geom, his voice full of excitement. Even he couldn’t hide how happy he was.

“It’s probably Cheong Myeong…”

“Cheong Myeong?”

Nothing was surprising anymore.

Whenever something happened, that name came up. He had even been expecting to hear it.

“What kind of child is he?”

“Isn’t he the one you let into the sect, Sect Leader? Do you really not know anything about him?”

“What would I know? I just accepted him because he wanted to join.”

That connection was causing amazing things to happen.

Since Mount Hua was hurt by the Demonic Sect, or even before that, since their ancestors were wiped out in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, Mount Hua had never beaten Jongnam.

Actually, ‘never beaten’ was only used inside Mount Hua. They weren’t even close. That’s why he had to stay quiet when Sama Seung made fun of them.

But now, Mount Hua’s Third-Generation students had beaten Jongnam’s Third-Generation students. And it wasn’t just a win, but a perfect, total victory.

‘Ancestors.’

Tears welled in Hyun Jong’s eyes. *’Ancestors, are you watching?’* he thought.

That day had come.

He had always believed it would happen, but he thought it would be impossible while he was alive. But now, seeing it happen before his eyes, he couldn’t ask for anything more.

“Sect Leader! It’s done! The children did it!”

“Yes. That’s right. Yes. They are amazing. Yes.”

He couldn’t find the right words. He just kept saying ‘yes.’

‘Now I can face my ancestors when I die…’

Huh?

Why was that rascal coming out again?

Hyun Jong blinked a few times, but Cheong Myeong was still walking out with a wooden sword at his waist, but his hands empty.

Then, he turned toward Hyun Jong.

“He’s looking this way?”

“Wh-what is that child trying to do now?”

Now, he was more curious than worried. Hyun Jong clenched his fist and watched Cheong Myeong.

Cheong Myeong twisted his lips into a wicked smile. *His eyes sparkled with mischief.*

“…”

That’s not how a Taoist should look.

What was that rascal planning?

Hyun Jong wanted to look away from even the Supreme Old Lord’s anger.

“Y… You! You pathetic fools!”

Sama Seung was losing his mind with anger. He bit his lip so hard it tore, and blood ran down.

Ten losses in a row.

There was no worse defeat. They had won ten times first, but he had forgotten that. The fact that they had lost to Mount Hua, and so badly, was making him crazy.

Even if it wasn’t Mount Hua, no one could be happy after losing ten times in a row after winning ten times. They hadn’t really lost, but it felt like it, didn’t it?

“Do you dare to even *think* of going back to Jongnam after this shame!? You pathetic fools! Losing to the likes of Mount Hua? And so miserably!”

Sama Seung spewed out his rage as if he were about to breathe fire.

“You moronic fools are dragging Jongnam’s name through the mud! Losing to Mount Hua in front of all these people? To Mount Hua? Eeeek! You imbeciles!”

The Third-Generation students couldn’t even look at Sama Seung, and even the Second-Generation students lowered their heads, looking worried.

Sama Seung couldn’t control his anger and was about to collapse, while Jin Geum-ryong glared at the Third-Generation students, looking like he wanted to beat them to death.

It was over.

The perfect victory he wanted was ruined. Even ‘victory’ was gone.

A draw.

A draw with Mount Hua? He had never even imagined it. But it was happening before his eyes.

“Damn it…”

He cursed without meaning to, even though Sama Seung was there. Jin Geum-ryong, his eyes bloodshot, looked at the Mount Hua students, and then narrowed his eyes when he saw something.

“That rascal!”

At Jin Geum-ryong’s words, Sama Seung looked too. He saw Cheong Myeong walking out unarmed.

‘That rascal!’

That rascal deserved to be torn apart!

When he thought about it, it all started with that rascal.

“Why is that rascal coming out again!”

At Sama Seung’s shout, everyone looked at Cheong Myeong.

“Heavens above, how did this happen?” one person whispered.

“Mount Hua must have been training hard,” another voice said. “This is truly unbelievable.”

“Ten wins in a row for Mount Hua’s younger students… Does that mean Jongnam’s Third-Generation team didn’t win *once*?” someone murmured.

Everyone knew something else, even if they didn’t say it. Mount Hua’s youngest students were not just winning; they were winning by a bigger margin than Jongnam’s older students had. *The air crackled with the shift in power.*

Before, they thought Jongnam’s confidence was just how winners act. But now, Mount Hua’s students won without bragging or being mean. So, Jongnam’s earlier attitude now seemed bad.

“They won in skill and in attitude too.”

“Yes, ‘Renowned Mount Hua’ comes to mind. I’m impressed.”

Mount Hua’s reputation was rising like crazy. It might even reach the heavens.

Hwang Dae-in bit his lip, fighting back a huge grin. *His heart was singing.* This was even better than he had hoped.

This competition would completely change how people saw Mount Hua. Some people were probably already figuring out how much to invest in Mount Hua.

But it wouldn’t be easy to guess. This was all a surprise.

“So this is…”

Just then…

“Excuse me, just a moment.”

Someone shouted from the stage to Hwang Dae-in.

“Hmm?”

Hwang Mun-yak looked at the stage. Cheong Myeong was smiling brightly.

“Isn’t that the child from earlier?”

“Yes, Cheong Myeong. The one who won first.”

Hwang Dae-in raised his voice and answered, understanding what Cheong Myeong wanted.

“What is it, Little Taoist?”

Cheong Myeong grinned and said,

“Since you saw most of it, I think you can judge fairly.”

“About what?”

“Who won?”

“Huh?”

Who won?

Hwang Mun-yak’s face became serious.

‘The Little Taoist doesn’t want a draw.’

He didn’t know what Cheong Myeong would say, but he had to answer. Hwang Mun-yak turned to everyone and asked,

“What do you think? We should decide on a winner.”

The important people of Shaanxi were surprised and thought about it, then started to speak.

“A draw makes the most sense, but if we have to pick a winner, wouldn’t it be Jongnam, since their Second-Generation students won more?”

“Hey, that’s nonsense. What’s the point of this competition? It’s to see the future of the sects! If we were just comparing strength, we wouldn’t have both Second and Third-Generation students competing. If we look at potential, Mount Hua won, since their Third-Generation students were better.”

“Hmph, potential is just potential. Those Third-Generation students might never be as good as Jongnam’s Second-Generation students.”

“If that’s the case, we should also think about how young Jongnam’s Third-Generation students are. A year or two makes a big difference at that age.”

“If we’re doing that, then Mount Hua’s Second-Generation students are also younger than Jongnam’s Second-Generation students!”

“Hey, you!”

No one could agree.

Each had their own reasons. You could say Mount Hua won, or you could say Jongnam won.

Hwang Mun-yak, who had been listening, shouted for everyone to hear,

“Little Taoist, it’s too hard to decide.”

“Right?”

Cheong Myeong snapped his fingers.

“But if it ends like this, people will be upset. Also, the Jongnam people won’t feel good going home, and we won’t feel good sending them off. So, we should decide who wins for sure.”

“How… how?”

“It’s simple.”

Cheong Myeong pointed at Jongnam.

“They have ten winners.”

“…”

The Jongnam students listened closely to Cheong Myeong.

“And we have ten winners.”

“Wh-why are we?” Yoon Jong asked, embarrassed.

Cheong Myeong looked back and forth between the two sides and said casually,

“We just take out the losers and have the winners fight again. Wouldn’t that be easy for everyone?”

‘Is he crazy?’

‘What’s he planning? They’re all Second-Generation, and we’re Third-Generation!’

‘No, he wouldn’t fight if he was going to lose. There must be something else!’

Cheong Myeong added a condition.

“But!”

Of course.

Just as the Third-Generation students were relieved, a shock hit them.

“Let’s not do boring matches where we fight one by one! If we’re going to fight, let’s do it right. Let’s have a series of fights until only one person is left. The winner keeps fighting the next person. The side with the last one standing wins. How about it?”

Cheong Myeong looked at Jongnam with a wickedly evil smile.

“If you’re scared, then just die.”

It was a challenge they couldn’t ignore.