Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1131

Hyun Jong and Hyun Young had to stop Chung Myung’s rampage. The sect leaders felt nervous seeing Chung Myung tied up in the corner. Ropes bound his wrists and ankles, and he glared from under his messy hair.

Hyun Jong rubbed his forehead. “Why is it so hard to keep you all under control?”

“…”

“I’ve decided to overlook the fighting during sparring sessions. But isn’t it a significant problem if you’re constantly brawling even outside of that?”

Everyone nodded, seeming to agree. But Hyun Jong frowned, looking even more unhappy.

“Then each sect leader should sort out the situation. Why does this keep happening?”

“Ahem.”

The sect leaders avoided eye contact and pretended they didn’t know anything.

“Please, speak your minds openly.”

“Well, that’s…”

“Ahem…”

Even as Hyun Jong pressed them, the sect leaders only cleared their throats. Hyun Jong looked annoyed. Finally, Tang Gunak spoke with a bitter smile.

Tang Gunak cleared his throat. “It seems… we have a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding, you say?”

What misunderstanding could there be?

“You seem to think it’s easy for us to control them if we try, but… in truth, we don’t have as much power as you believe.”

“…Pardon?”

Hyun Jong blinked, confused.

What was he talking about?

“Namgoong and the Dang Clan don’t have strong authority? What are you saying? The famous families and the Five Outer Palaces I know have very strong leaders.”

Tang Gunak sighed deeply.

“That’s the problem.”

“Yes?”

“…The problem is how people see that power. Who has the most power in the world?”

“Well… His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor.”

“Even that Emperor can’t ignore what the people think, can he?”

Hyun Jong didn’t know what to say, because it was true.

Even the Emperor, who had the greatest power in the world, paid attention to the people’s feelings and tried to please them.

“Of course, we could force them to obey once or twice. But… if people become unhappy and it’s not fixed, and it keeps happening, our power will become weaker.”

“No, but what is going on?”

Hyun Jong looked at the other sect leaders as if he didn’t understand. But they just nodded as if Tang Gunak was right.

“Are you serious?”

Hyun Jong asked again, and Tang Gunak sighed deeply.

“That’s why it was hard to explain. It might be difficult for you to understand.”

Hyun Jong paused, scratching his head. He thought it was a sensitive issue to ignore.

“…Even so, to say you don’t want to tell your disciples not to fight is…”

“Sect Leader.”

“Yes.”

“Whose power is stronger? The Dang Clan’s head or the Shaolin Abbot?”

“Well…”

Hyun Jong couldn’t answer easily.

It might not be nice for Tang Gunak to hear, but he couldn’t compare the Dang Clan’s head to the Shaolin Abbot. The Shaolin Abbot wasn’t just the head of Shaolin, but a representative of the Jianghu.

So, his power within the sect would be strong.

“You must have heard that Shaolin disciples, disobeying Beop Jeong’s orders, left and went back to the main monastery.”

“…I have heard of it.”

I thought, ‘Serves him right.’ No, wait, ‘At least some people in Shaolin are sensible.’

“Think about it. Even the Shaolin Abbot, who has the most power in the Jianghu, has these problems. Disciples disobey him because they don’t like some things and go back to the main monastery, right?”

“…”

“So, what makes us so special that we can control our disciples with a single word?”

Hyun Jong slowly opened his mouth.

It seemed right… No, it still didn’t make sense.

Seeing Hyun Jong’s confused face, Tang Gunak smiled bitterly.

Tang Gunak smiled weakly. “So, Sect Leader… No, I said it might be hard for *you* to understand.”

“…Why is that?”

“The reason is simple. It’s because you and we are in different situations. Mount Hua is a sect where the Head Disciple has more power than anyone else in the Jianghu.”

“Mount Hua?”

“Yes.”

“Mount Hua?”

“…Yes.”

“Mount Hua?”

Hyun Jong looked as if he was asking, ‘What are you talking about?’ The sect leaders smiled bitterly.

Of course, it might sound strange to Hyun Jong. He lived with his disciples like friends, unlike the other sect leaders. That was why the disciples of Mount Hua sometimes said things to Hyun Jong that would be unthinkable in other sects.

But being friendly and having power were different things.

Tang Gunak thought Mount Hua was a sect where the Head Disciple had unbelievable power.

If the sect leaders sent their disciples to a battle where they had no chance of winning, a battle that seemed pointless, would the Dang Clan risk their lives for Tang Gunak? He wasn’t sure.

Maybe they would save themselves instead of following Tang Gunak’s orders. Tang Gunak’s power came from logic and position, not from faith and trust.

The other sect leaders probably felt the same way.

But Mount Hua was different.

If Hyun Jong ordered it, at least half of Mount Hua’s disciples would risk their lives, knowing they would die.

That’s what power is. It doesn’t matter how proud you are usually, if you can’t show it at a critical moment, it’s not real power.

Hyun Jong found it hard to understand, but he nodded.

“So… you’re saying you can’t stop them because you’re worried the disciples will rebel.”

“Well, it’s a bit embarrassing.”

“What’s embarrassing about it?”

Then, Im So-byeong spoke with a face that seemed to say, ‘That’s why they’re righteous.’

“You guys get scolded or glared at. If we mess up, knives fly at us while we’re sleeping, knives!”

“…”

“And you guys are strong enough to stop them even if they rise up, but someone like me turns into a corpse! A corpse. Do you understand?”

“You already look half like a corpse?”

“…Still, being half a corpse is better than being a complete corpse.”

Im So-byeong grumbled and continued.

“Only two sects can make their disciples do things they hate with a single word. One is Mount Hua, and the other is…”

“Shaolin?”

“Huh? Shaolin is nothing. It’s the Four Evil Sects! If I had to add one more, it would be the Demonic Cult.”

Hyun Jong’s face twisted strangely.

“That… it sounds like Mount Hua is like the Four Evil Sects or the Demonic Cult…”

“Honestly, is it that different? Everyone’s eyes turn bloodshot when the Head Disciple gives an order, and they rush in without thinking. Is that normal?”

Hyun Jong was silent. He felt wronged, but he couldn’t argue. He hadn’t felt this way in a long time, not since Chung Myung spouted nonsense.

He sighed and asked Im So-byeong again.

“So, it’s difficult for the sect leaders to stop them too?”

“Even if we try, someone makes it worse, so how can we stop them? If we touch it, everything will burn.”

“Even the person who brought the fire burned.”

“He’s burned to a crisp over there.”

The sect leaders shook their heads, looking at Chung Myung tied up in the corner. They thought he was setting himself on fire.

“Then how can we…”

Then, Han I-myeong spoke, looking confused.

“I don’t know why we’re having this meeting. If sects could easily mix, why would we have different names and clothes? Why are we doing this 합동 training that has no meaning, this 패싸움 disguised as sparring?”

Everyone stared at Han I-myeong, bewildered.

The other sect leaders thought, ‘We don’t understand it either. We just do it because we are told to. This newcomer doesn’t get it.’

Han I-myeong, not understanding the others’ expressions, spoke angrily.

“It’s not my place to say, but wouldn’t it be solved if we stopped this training and separated the sects…”

“Eura-chaaaa!!” A roar ripped through the room. Muscles bulging, Chung Myung strained against the ropes. With a sharp *snap*, the thick cords broke, and he leaped to his feet.

“What? Separate?”

“…”

“Who’s talking weak here!”

The sect leaders nodded, impressed.

Chung Myung was suffering the most. But now, he was refusing the easy way out, even if he died.

They thought Chung Myung’s stubbornness was the strength of Mount Hua… but then realized, ‘No, he’s just stubborn and has a bad temper.’

Tang Gunak sighed deeply. “Chung Myung, I understand your passion, but this is more complicated than you think. The situation has been twisted by the Beast Palace and the Ice Palace. Sometimes, too much enthusiasm can be bad. First, calm down…”

“Calm down?”

“…”

“Who? Them? Or me?”

“Uh…”

I was going to say *they* need to calm down… but looking at you, maybe *you* need to calm down too.

“Oh. I know what you mean.”

“Huh?”

“So, you’re saying it can’t be done this way, right?”

“…”

“That…”

That’s right… It’s right, but… It sounds like you misunderstood me.

“I understand. You’re right. I was too soft.”

Chung Myung’s eyes gleamed with madness.

“Then I have to do it right.”

“…What are you going to do?”

“What do you think I’m going to do?”

“…”

“Do you really want to know?”

No. I really don’t want to know. Tang Gunak was horrified.

Chung Myung laughed like a madman.

“I was out of my mind. I never held back before! This isn’t it!”

“…”

“Don’t worry! I’ll make them really perfectly united!”

“…”

Cold sweat formed on the sect leaders’ backs. They felt like they were going to see something they shouldn’t. Something was creeping in.

Creeping…