Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1139

Dust swirled around their feet as everyone gathered in a circle around Im So-byeong in the training ground. The sun beat down, making the air heavy.

Im So-byeong looked at the crowd, a wide, satisfied smile stretching across his face. It reached his eyes, and he puffed out his chest, pleased with the attention. Baek Cheon, standing beside him, also smiled, feeling hopeful. The Heavenly Alliance was finally coming together. They used to argue and fight, but now they seemed united.

Suddenly, Im So-byeong’s smile vanished. He frowned and waved his hand dismissively. “Why are you all here?” he snapped. “It’s distracting!”

“…Pardon?” someone mumbled, confused.

Im So-byeong’s voice rose. “Little guys, go away! Only important people here! Important people only!”

Baek Cheon jumped slightly and looked around. He knew Im So-byeong was talking, but it felt like Chung Myung was speaking again. It was strange.

“First, the two young masters from there.”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

“Send one representative each from the Ice Palace and the Beast Palace forward. As for Mount Hua… Hmm, just have all five of you come.”

Dang Pae raised his hand.

“What is it?”

“Why five from Mount Hua?”

Im So-byeong’s eyes twitched.

“I was trying not to say it in front of the children, but does the young master of the Dang family have the confidence to take on those five in a one-on-one fight and win?”

Dang Pae quietly closed his mouth.

“Shouldn’t we treat the maximum power with special respect! Do I have to explain everything one by one?”

“I apologize.”

“Tsk.”

Im So-byeong snatched his fan and waved it quickly, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration. His lips tightened into a thin line.

“And that…”

“Yes?”

“Will the Shaolin representative come too?”

Hye-yeon’s face turned bright red.

“That… I think the Green Forest King is misunderstanding a little, but I am not the representative of Shaolin.”

“Then join Mount Hua as the sixth member.”

Deep anguish bloomed on Hye-yeon’s face.

The position of Shaolin representative was absurd, but him joining Mount Hua as the sixth member was also very, very strange. No matter what, wasn’t he a monk?

Hye-yeon, who had suppressed all sorts of doubts and distractions arising in his mind, opened his mouth with a resolute face.

“Benefactor!”

“Yes?”

“…Let’s at least be the fifth in name.”

“…”

“Still, being behind that guy is a bit…”

“Wow… Monk. Why are you doing this to me?”

Jo Gul, feeling wronged by Hye-yeon’s blatant gaze, wore an utterly aggrieved expression. However, everyone except him nodded as if they fully understood Hye-yeon’s feelings.

“Then the fifth it is.”

“No, are you just deciding like this? What about my opinion?”

“Geol, be quiet.”

“…A harsh world.”

In any case, everyone gathered around Im So-byeong. After all, Im So-byeong was the only one here with a status worthy of representing a sect. And Im So-byeong was the one unofficially recognized as the strategist of the Heavenly Alliance. Naturally, everyone had no choice but to listen to his words.

However, the first words Im So-byeong uttered after gathering everyone instantly stunned those who had gathered expecting a strategy.

“What are we going to do?”

“…”

“…”

Those who had gathered looked at Im So-byeong with different emotions. Im So-byeong fanned himself languidly, as if asking, ‘What do you want me to do?’

“Um, Green Forest King.”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t you have a plan…?”

“A plan?”

Im So-byeong scoffed.

“I’ve just been getting beaten to a pulp as they come, where would I have a plan? If I had a plan, I would have used it already. Do you think I was holding back because I particularly enjoy getting hit?”

“…That’s true…”

Jo Gul was the one needed when everyone was trying to save face.

“No, you’re smart! Didn’t you have some kind of idea?”

“Ah, smart?”

“Yes, smart!”

Im So-byeong scoffed and looked at Jo Gul.

“So, you guys have just been getting beaten up until now, and now you don’t want to get beaten up anymore, and you’re too lazy to use your brains, so you want the heretic over here to use his brain and come up with an amazing plan so you don’t get beaten up anymore?”

“Well, not quite that far…”

“That’s why strategists die!” Im So-byeong thought: *Nobody ever listens until things go wrong.*

As Im So-byeong flared up and tried to charge, Yoo Iseol and Yoon Jong naturally held him down from either side. It was clearly the first time they had done it, but it was incredibly smooth and natural.

“Strategy? Do these people think strategies are just made up on the spot? Am I the kind of person who carries strategies in a strategy pouch and takes them out whenever I need them? Hey, you people! If strategies were so omnipotent, you should have treated strategists well from the start! You usually ignore us because we can’t use swords and just use our heads, but at times like this, what? If we can’t pull out a strategy in time, we’re useless?”

“Ah, no one said anything like that…”

“These people think strategists are some kind of immortals! So did Zhuge Liang succeed in the Northern Expeditions? Why are you making a fuss with me about something even he couldn’t do!”

“No one is making a fuss…”

“Filthy swordsmen!”

The Beast Palace disciples looked confused. The Ice Palace disciples remained calm, but you could see they were also unsure what to do.

Those who had been looking at Im So-byeong with vacant eyes turned their heads towards the Green Forest without realizing it. Unlike them, who were at a loss for words, the Green Forest bandits of Nokchae seemed used to this situation, yawning with faces that said, ‘That guy’s having another episode.’

“Well… he’s like that sometimes, so don’t mind him too much.”

“…”

Everyone was suddenly curious. What kind of lives have those people been living?

“Ahem.”

Baek Cheon cleared his throat to lighten the mood.

“So, the conclusion is… you don’t really have a plan right now?”

“If I had a plan?”

“Yes?”

Im So-byeong said with a nonchalant face.

“If I had a plan, would you be able to follow my orders?”

“Of course…”

Im So-byeong turned his head and looked at the Beast Palace disciples.

“Since you guys are physically strong, just get beaten up while grabbing onto the Mount Hua Sword Saint’s arms and legs. Of course, you might get your heads cracked and your limbs broken in the process, but you’ll be able to win.”

Before those words could even finish, the Beast Palace disciples roared.

“Why should we do that!”

Then Im So-byeong turned to Baek Cheon with a sulky face.

“Did you hear that?”

Baek Cheon lowered his head with a miserable face.

Come to think of it, even if Mount Hua did, the other sects had no reason to fully trust Im So-byeong. No, even if they did trust him, they had no reason to endure greater damage themselves to achieve the goal.

This is really difficult.

Baek Cheon frowned. He had thought bringing everyone together would be simple if they faced a common enemy. He was wrong. It was much harder than fighting.

Baek Cheon realized anew how difficult it was to coordinate the interests and justifications of each sect and tie them together as one. The more he experienced it, the more he doubted whether this was even possible.

It’s not true that people always do big, noble things, even if it hurts them. If that were real, the world wouldn’t have so many problems.

“Tsk, tsk,” Im So-byeong clicked his tongue, shaking his head slightly. He looked at Baek Cheon, a small smile playing on his lips, hidden mostly by his fan. Baek Cheon frowned, confused by the sound and the look. He was about to ask when Im So-byeong shot out a question.

“Isn’t the answer clear already, Sect Leader?”

“Sorry?” Baek Cheon asked, tilting his head a little.

“What have you been doing this whole time?” Im So-byeong asked again, his voice a bit sharper now.

“What have I been doing? Well…” Baek Cheon thought back to the messy fights, the shouts and crashes.

*Hitting, kicking, tearing…*

*…Just a messy brawl.* The thought brought a fresh wave of guilt.

“Haa… Why do you only go halfway each time, Sect Leader?”

“Sorry?”

“Is this what you wanted to do? Who is the devil that planned all this?”

“Well….”

Cheong Myeong.

There was no need to add ‘the one who planned all this.’ Within the Heavenly Union, Cheong Myeong was the only one who could be called a devil anyway, wasn’t he?

“Then why do you think that man planned this situation?”

The answer came instantly, not from Baek Cheon, but from the Five Swords gathered around him.

“Because he has a terrible personality.”

“To see us getting beaten up.”

“To torment us.”

“Because that’s just the way he is.”

Im So-byeong flinched, and just as he was about to say something, Dang Pae and Namgung Do slyly added.

“Sounds about right.”

“In truth, he doesn’t really need a reason.”

Im So-byeong fell silent, seemingly at a loss for words. He needed to overturn this with logic and clever speaking, but he couldn’t think of any logic to break through these words.

“That’s… true, but… well… maybe… No, that’s obvious. He’s always been like that.”

He had suffered too much to say otherwise. Far too much.

“In any case, that can’t be the whole reason, can it?”

“If we’re going to think positively, then perhaps.”

“Then why did that devilish… No, why did Cheong Myeong plan this! Think! Think!”

“Well….”

Baek Cheon frowned slightly.

The reason he made them fight each other? Honestly, he didn’t really know. Was it to find out how much anger they had built up?

“Then, on the other hand.”

“Yes?”

“What did you learn thanks to that fighting?”

While Baek Cheon was silent, searching for an answer and choosing his words, Jo Gul, who was next to him, spoke without energy.

“What is there to learn? All I learned was how nasty these people are, and how to mess with them better.”

“That’s it.”

“Yes?”

Jo Gul, who had expected to be scolded again, was surprised and looked at Im So-byeong. Im So-byeong was nodding as if he had given a good answer.

“That’s exactly it, that’s it!”

“…What is?”

“How to mess with each other better?”

“…”

“In other words, it’s the same as figuring out what weaknesses other sects have, and what strengths I have. Using my strengths to strike at the enemy’s weaknesses is the most basic of basics, not even worth discussing in military strategy.”

Those who thought it was right nodded.

“What? Did I do well just now?”

His desperate cry was cleanly ignored.

“And that means you can also know what you can do. You must have felt it while getting beaten and hitting each other, right?”

“…”

“What can you do when someone like the Mount Hua Sword Saint rushes in? What will you do?”

The faces hardened as they listened.

“Well….”

Watching those who were deep in thought, Im So-byeong smirked slightly behind the fan covering his face.

‘Keep thinking.’

It won’t do to just follow someone’s instructions.

On the battlefields they will fight on, no one can give immediate instructions. To survive, everyone needs to know what others can do. They must quickly decide what to do in each fight.

Not following instructions, but thinking and moving on your own.

Before knowing the enemy, you must first know yourself and the capabilities and characteristics of your sect, as well as those who will fight together.

“The Tang Family….”

Before Dang Pae could say anything, the Beast Palace Do spoke up.

“I’m not confident in rushing in and grabbing their legs, but the Beast Palace can do the best job of stalling for time.”

“Hoo?”

Im So-byeong’s fan fluttered pleasantly.

As attention focused on him, the Beast Palace Do scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

“We’re a bit burly, so everyone tends to misunderstand, but in fact, our martial arts, which imitate the movements of beasts, are effective at avoiding someone’s attacks. It’s just natural.”

“Come to think of it….”

The Ice Palace, which had faced the Beast Palace the most, nodded as if convinced.

“Good!”

Im So-byeong snapped his fan shut with a sharp sound.

It was good that words were coming out for the first time, but it was also meaningful that the Beast Palace, which had always taken a step back and maintained the attitude of ‘Let’s see how much you’ll acknowledge us,’ had spoken first.

This meant that they understood what he had said.

“The Tang Family can also help. Stopping those who rush in is what the Tang Family does best. It’s a bit difficult to attack when the Beast Palace is rampaging in front… but… we’ve had some exchanges with the Beast Palace, so it won’t be difficult to understand.”

“But the Tang Family becomes weak when approached, doesn’t it? Getting too close is….”

“Our Ice Palace can block that. We’re confident that we have a knack for defense!”

“No, using the Ice Palace for defense seems like a bit of a waste. Doesn’t the Ice Palace’s sword suit attack better? It would be better for our Namgung to block….”

“Mount Hua should be attacking rather than the Ice Palace….”

Once it started, countless opinions poured out from here and there in an instant. Not only those gathered in the center, but also those standing behind them began to add their own words.

In the flood of words that poured out sometimes fiercely, sometimes gently, Im So-byeong slyly covered his mouth with his fan.

‘They’ve become simple.’

Isn’t this how people become once a goal is set?

Im So-byeong smiled slyly and opened his mouth while snapping his fan shut.

“If it’s like this, even they….”

“Then we can put the Green Forest out as a shield!”

“They’re useless anyway! Meat shield is perfect!”

“Yeah! Isn’t the Green Forest tougher than the Beast Palace? Just push them in first!”

Im So-byeong, who had been listening to the sound as if he had lost his voice, raised anger in both eyes.

“What? Are you saying that the evil bastards should just be meat shields! You dirty traditional bastards!”

And so, the conversation of the Heavenly Union members, arguing, fighting, and shouting, continued until dawn that day.