Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 115

Chung Myung watched Hyun Jong walk up the mountain path.

Hyun Jong, after praising Chung Myung, took him aside and left the others. He started climbing Nakan Peak without a word.

Chung Myung quietly followed, watching Hyun Jong’s back.

This was the second time he had stared so intently at Hyun Jong’s back. The first time was before the Sect Leader’s private meeting, watching him weep silently.

Hyun Jong’s back carried the weight of Mount Hua’s decline, a sorrowful sight he couldn’t show to others, remained clear in Chung Myung’s mind.

But today, Hyun Jong’s back seemed more relaxed than before.

Soon, Hyun Jong reached the top and quietly looked out over Mount Hua.

Chung Myung joined him and looked around. Below them, the rough slopes of Mount Hua stretched out, a mix of green trees and grey rocks.

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“This is the highest point in Mount Hua.”

“Yes.”

“Do you feel anything now that you’ve climbed it?”

The question surprised Chung Myung a little. He answered honestly with the first thing that came to mind.

“It’s high.”

Hyun Jong glanced at Chung Myung, who confidently puffed out his chest. He had answered the question; what was the problem?

Seeing Chung Myung’s face, Hyun Jong smiled.

“Yes, you’re right.”

Hyun Jong’s shoulders loosened, and a small smile touched the corners of his eyes.

“I brought you here because I want to ask you something.”

‘Is this it?’

A determined look appeared in Chung Myung’s eyes.

He didn’t know what Hyun Jong would ask, but he wanted to avoid trouble as much as possible.

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“A plum blossom has bloomed on your sword.”

Chung Myung licked his lips nervously. He needed to be careful.

“Thank you.”

Hyun Jong bowed slightly to Chung Myung.

Chung Myung stepped back, surprised by Hyun Jong’s action.

“Why are you doing this, Sect Leader!”

“This isn’t as the Sect Leader of Mount Hua, but as Hyun Jong, a man, expressing his thanks. I wanted to see this at least once in my life.”

“But my duty as Sect Leader is more important than my own feelings, so I must ask: How did you bloom a plum blossom with the Seven Plum Sword Technique?”

Chung Myung looked at Hyun Jong and said quietly.

“It just happened naturally.”

“Naturally?”

“Yes. While I was mastering the Seven Plum Sword Technique, a plum blossom bloomed on its own. I don’t know exactly why.”

“I see.”

“It was like… the sword technique itself wanted to bloom.”

“Hmm?”

Chung Myung looked at Hyun Jong and spoke.

“Isn’t that what all the swords of Mount Hua are ultimately about?”

Hyun Jong looked down at the scenery. The towering shape of Mount Hua filled his view.

“No, you’re right. Perhaps I was asking the wrong question.”

He had thought there was some secret to Chung Myung blooming a plum blossom with the Seven Plum Sword Technique. But Chung Myung’s answer proved him wrong.

‘That’s right. That’s the sword of Mount Hua.’

Chung Myung was saying he had gone further than others. If others practiced the Seven Plum Sword Technique steadily, they would eventually bloom a plum blossom at the tip of their swords.

‘Plum blossoms.’

If all the disciples of Mount Hua could bloom plum blossoms, Mount Hua’s glory would return.

“Plum Blossom Sword Master, huh…”

A title no one dared to say anymore.

The plum blossom is the symbol of Mount Hua, and the Plum Blossom Sword Master represents Mount Hua’s strength.

No one in Mount Hua deserved to be called a Plum Blossom Sword Master right now, but if everyone in Mount Hua bloomed plum blossoms someday, as Chung Myung said, someone would eventually inherit that name.

“But we’re still far from that.”

The mood was good, of course!

When he turned to Chung Myung with an annoyed look, Chung Myung was grinning. Seeing that smile, he felt strangely relieved.

Hyun Jong smiled slightly and said.

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“What is Mount Hua to you?”

Chung Myung looked up, as if seeing his senior brothers in the sky.

Mount Hua. Mount Hua, huh.

“To me, Mount Hua is…”

His Senior Brother had said.

“Just Mount Hua.”

Now he understood those words a little better.

Hyun Jong nodded.

“If you’re a disciple of Mount Hua, that’s enough.”

A warm smile appeared on his face.

“People want things to stay the same, but the world doesn’t stop. That’s how it is. Can you handle all of that?”

Chung Myung grinned.

“I wouldn’t have started if I couldn’t.”

“I see.”

Hyun Jong looked at Chung Myung with a smile and said softly.

“If that’s what you think, then Mount Hua will protect you. I, and Mount Hua, will block everything you have to handle.”

Chung Myung smiled.

He didn’t ask any questions.

Hyun Jong didn’t ask anything either. He must have wanted to ask Chung Myung many things, but he only said that he would protect him.

‘The Sect Leader of Mount Hua.’

Hyun Jong was younger than Chung Myung, and he wasn’t famous in the martial world like Chung Myung. He couldn’t compare to Chung Myung in experience or strength.

And yet, he had to admit it.

There was something that he, Chung Myung, who had never been a Sect Leader, didn’t have, but Hyun Jong did. Chung Myung, who couldn’t call himself a Daoist, had to respect those who firmly followed their path.

“Sect Leader, it’s not about protecting.”

Hyun Jong looked doubtful.

“It’s about going together, as Mount Hua.”

A smile spread across Hyun Jong’s face.

“You’re right.”

Hyun Jong smiled gently.

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Promise me one thing.”

Chung Myung looked up at Hyun Jong, whose eyes were incredibly gentle.

“I hope that one day, I’ll hear more of your stories.”

Chung Myung opened his mouth, then closed it.

He felt something rising in his chest.

Chung Myung, trying to control his emotions, looked at the sky.

“It will happen.”

Someday.

Yes, someday.

The excitement didn’t fade easily.

If you’ve experienced something amazing, it can stay with you for months.

The Third-Generation Disciples of Mount Hua were feeling exactly that way.

The Hwajong Tournament was over, but they hadn’t moved on.

“We really won, didn’t we?”

“Can’t you believe it even after seeing it?”

“It feels like a dream. We beat Jongnam.”

It would have been easier if they had been confident and considered Jongnam a worthy opponent. But most of them hadn’t fully believed in themselves until they were in the arena.

That was because Chung Myung had forced their skills on them.

Also, Chung Myung never explained what the training would do or what level they would reach.

So they were surprised.

“I don’t know what that guy is.”

“Who?”

“Chung Myung, who else?”

Everyone nodded, looking blank.

After the tournament, as they calmed down, they started to understand how amazing Chung Myung was.

They knew Chung Myung was amazing, but this was so incredible that it changed everything they thought about him.

Just then, Jo Gul, who seemed lost in his thoughts, spoke to Yoon Jong.

“Senior Brother.”

“Yeah?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Are you asking me for help with insomnia?”

“That’s not it… Senior Brother, I can’t sleep! Chung Myung’s sword is stuck in my head!”

Yoon Jong hummed.

‘Is he like that too?’

Yoon Jong felt the same way.

Whenever he closed his eyes, the plum blossoms that Chung Myung had created kept flickering in his mind. Even when he was awake, he kept thinking about them.

At first, he was just happy.

Chung Myung had done most of it, but the other Third-Generation Disciples had helped defeat Jongnam. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.

But as time passed, the excitement faded, and they began to think about what they had seen.

‘That sword is…’

It was like an illusion.

How else could he explain it?

At this point, he didn’t care about the match against Jongnam.

That sword…

If only he could use that sword himself…

“Senior Brother.”

Yoon Jong turned to Jo Gul.

“Will we ever be able to use such a sword?”

Yoon Jong thought about it.

‘Someday…’

“Gul.”

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t say this as the eldest disciple of the Third Generation of Mount Hua, but…”

Everyone looked at Yoon Jong.

“To be honest, I just wanted to get stronger.”

Yoon Jong continued.

“I never thought about reaching a certain level or using a certain sword. I just wanted to get stronger.”

“I feel the same way,” Jo Gul confessed.

Most of them probably felt that way. Yoon Jong felt a little better.

“But after seeing that guy’s sword…”

What could he say?

Yoon Jong paused, trying to find the right words.

He had never thought he lacked the ability to speak well, but it was hard to express what he was feeling.

After a moment, Yoon Jong spoke honestly.

“I want to be like that too. I want to use that sword myself.”

Everyone nodded.

These words probably expressed how the Third-Generation Disciples felt.

Perhaps that was the sword of Mount Hua.

The goal they had to remember and work towards for the rest of their lives.

Only now, after several years in the sect, had they finally seen the sword of Mount Hua.

“Will we ever be able to use that sword?”

Yoon Jong, feeling everyone’s gaze, nodded slowly.

“I believe we can.”

A strong will shone in his eyes.

“We are disciples of Mount Hua. A disciple of Mount Hua can use the sword of Mount Hua. If we keep trying, we will use that sword someday.”

“Senior Brother!”

“Then we just need to train hard.”

“I will reach that level someday. I have a goal now.”

“Yes, I will try too. Together with you.”

The Third-Generation Disciples of Mount Hua began to trust each other and unite.

“Even if we have weaknesses, Chung Myung will fix them, right?”

“He’s like a goblin.”

“But he makes us stronger, doesn’t he?”

“That’s true.”

At the same time, they began to trust Chung Myung more and more.

But then…

Thump!

The door burst open.

‘I’ve said fifty times that doors are for opening, not kicking.’

The familiar face scanned the disciples in the room. His calm face twisted.

‘Here he goes again.’

‘What’s he going to say this time?’

Chung Myung’s lips, twitching, opened.

“Why are you all being so nice to each other after fighting so badly!?”

What was the grim reaper doing?

Why wasn’t he taking that man away?