Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1196

“Well, then…”

Catching his breath, Baek Cheon spoke with resolve.

“It’s true that I’ve taken the position of Acting Sect Leader, but the fact that I am your Uncle-Master and Senior Brother hasn’t changed in the slightest! Yes, not in the slightest. So, just treat me as you always have. Understand?”

“I understand. However…”

“What is it now?”

“In the process of making us understand… did you really have to beat someone up so badly?”

All eyes turned to Jo Gul, who was lying battered and broken.

“…You really had to run your mouth that much.”

“That’s right.”

“Honestly, he was being excessively annoying.”

“He deserved it.”

Of course, everyone present had done the same thing before. But now, they didn’t remember doing it.

Jo Gul might feel wronged, but what could he do? The mouth he would use to voice his grievances was already swollen shut.

“Anyway…”

Baek Cheon knew he had to keep control of the situation. He straightened his back, looked at them firmly, and said,

“I haven’t officially taken the position of Sect Leader yet, and my status as a Second-Class Disciple hasn’t changed either, so please! As always! Just treat me as you always have! Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes, Acting Sect Leader.”

“…Just call me Uncle-Master.”

“Eii. How can we do that? There are rules in the sect.”

“If you don’t want to be beaten with those sect rules, call me Uncle-Master.”

“Iyaa, a man of power.”

“Aigooo. Since you’re suppressing us with your power, this humble one must follow.”

“Yes, Acting Sect Leader.”

Baek Cheon’s head slumped, his shoulders rounding with the weight of their teasing. Yoon Jong, noticing the genuine sadness beneath the surface humor, gently placed a hand on Baek Cheon’s shoulder, a silent offer of support.

“Uncle-Master.”

“…Hmm?”

“Didn’t you say you would take on the responsibility? Endure it.”

“…This wasn’t the kind of responsibility I meant.”

“Isn’t that how life is?”

Yoon Jong quietly comforted Baek Cheon, but that didn’t improve the situation. Once he was thoroughly teased by this group, an even greater number would come to tease him.

‘This sect needs to collapse.’

How did this respected Taoist temple become filled with such a teasing, wild group? If the ancestors of Mount Hua saw this, they would lament and form a river with their tears.

Now, the problem was that Baek Cheon was the leader of that group. Realizing what he had done, Baek Cheon wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Kkeueu… uh… Acting Sect…”

Look at him, look at him.

Even with his eyes swollen shut from the beating, he still tried to argue and complain! Look at that human raising his head!

Baek Cheon slowly lowered his foot and gently pressed it on Jo Gul’s head, a silent warning. Then, he cleared his throat again, trying to change the atmosphere.

“Ahem. You guys.”

“Did you hear that? ‘You guys’!”

“Wow! You’ve changed your way of speaking since becoming the Acting Sect Leader! Is this the power?”

“…Soso-ya, please.”

“Yes, yes, Acting Sect Leader! Speak… No, command us!”

Tang Soso could make even the harshest words sound like a sweet song, all while smiling brightly.

“Anyway.”

Baek Cheon cleared his throat briefly and spoke with utmost seriousness.

“As you all know, I am very lacking.”

The Five Swords, who were ready to latch onto whatever he said, quietly closed their mouths at those words.

“I did ask the Sect Leader for the position of Acting Sect Leader myself, but it wasn’t because I was confident that I could lead Mount Hua well like the Sect Leader. It was just something I had to do.”

Several people nodded.

“And you all probably feel the same way. I know you don’t have confidence yet. But… now that things have turned out this way, it will be difficult for you to be the same as before.”

“Yes, Uncle-Master.”

“I know what you mean.”

This was a change of era.

Nothing had really changed. Hyun Jong was still the Sect Leader of Mount Hua, and they were still Second-Class and Third-Class Disciples of Mount Hua.

But now that Baek Cheon had become the Acting Sect Leader, they would have to become elders and First-Class Disciples someday. That time had been brought forward much earlier than they had thought.

“I’m sorry for suddenly passing on the responsibility to you as well.”

“No, Uncle-Master.”

Yoon Jong shook his head.

“We’ve heard enough about why Uncle-Master made that decision. And we don’t think that idea is wrong either. If Uncle-Master is determined to take on that much burden, then we should naturally bear a corresponding burden.”

“That’s right.”

A gentle smile appeared on Baek Cheon’s lips. Certainly, Yoon Jong understood his heart the best in times like these.

“Mount Hua needed to make a decision to be reborn. But I am still lacking, and I am not yet capable of leading Mount Hua. So…”

Baek Cheon bowed his head to the Five Swords.

“Please help me a lot. I beg you.”

The Five Swords, who received the greeting, nodded in unison.

“Yes, Uncle-Master.”

“We will.”

“Don’t worry, Uncle-Master! We’ll do our best!”

They had gleefully teased him, and they hadn’t teased him enough yet, but everyone here understood why Baek Cheon had made this decision.

And they knew very well that thanks to Baek Cheon’s actions, they had avoided being forcibly dragged into an unwanted situation. So, there was no way they wouldn’t feel grateful when looking at Baek Cheon.

At that reaction, Baek Cheon bit his lip slightly.

He was inwardly worried that it was too sudden and would cause a backlash. But his Senior-Sister and Junior-Disciple understood with what heart he had taken the position of Acting Sect Leader.

“I, I will also help… you, Uncle-Master…”

Even Jo Gul, who was lying down, squeezed out his strength to speak.

Baek Cheon, feeling a lump in his chest, gently pressed his eyes. And he tried to calm his voice and said,

“Yes, I ask for a lot of guidance in the future…”

“Do whatever you want.”

At the sudden, twisted voice, Baek Cheon’s head turned to the side.

Chung Myung, leaning against one wall and sitting down, seemed to be saying with his face, ‘Aigoo, you’re so great.’

“Looks good.”

“Seeing the person who will become the Sect Leader and the person who will become the Sect Leader after that praising each other, saying, ‘Aigoo! How difficult is the position of Sect Leader! You’re suffering a lot!’ makes someone who will never become the Sect Leader feel jealous and good, right?”

Baek Cheon glanced at the others. As if telling them to stop him. But even the Five Swords, who seemed full of passion and willing to do anything for Baek Cheon, avoided his gaze at this moment.

‘It’s better to avoid trouble with Chung Myung than to argue with him.’

‘If you touch that now, you’ll really see something you can’t see.’

It is said that if a dog stays in a village school for three years, it can recite poetry, so how could they not understand the atmosphere after spending several years next to Chung Myung?

Right now, he was almost like a barrel of burning oil. No one wanted to get close to a barrel of oil that would explode if touched.

But that was their position, and Baek Cheon’s position was completely different.

‘…You sons of bitches.’

Just a moment ago, they said they would help with all their might.

Those guys would run away without looking back if the Demonic Sect appeared in front of them. No, they would rather kick Baek Cheon and throw him as bait.

Baek Cheon, remembering once again that there was no one in the world to trust, carefully watched Chung Myung’s mood and cautiously opened his mouth.

“Ahem. Ahem! That… Chung Myung-ah…”

“Ah?”

Chung Myung’s face brightened instantly.

“Aigooo. The Acting Sect Leader of Mount Hua is directly talking to this lowly Third-Class Disciple.”

“…”

“I’m so grateful that I don’t know what to do.”

Baek Cheon’s face gradually turned pale.

‘I knew that human would be like this.’

When he decided to ask for the position of Acting Sect Leader, what burdened him the most was not the weight he would have to bear as the Sect Leader, but the reaction of that damned bastard.

Look! Look at that bastard’s eyes rolling back!

“Even if our sect is changing, there are limits! He’s skipping ranks and ignoring who is older! An inexperienced person is becoming the Sect Leader!”

“…”

“Huh? A sect has rules and! Huh? Laws! Huh?”

“Chung Myung-ah.”

“If you ignore all the principles and everything else, saying that the situation is what it is and that this is the only time, even a well-known sect will become a third-rate sect in an instant! Uh, uh, uh, in the Mount Hua of history and tradition, this kind of…”

“Chung Myung-ah.”

“Until dirt gets into my eyes…”

“Chung Myung-ah!”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung, who was talking non-stop, raised his head. Then Baek Cheon raised his chin. Baek Cheon, showing off his sharp jawline, spat out in the most obnoxious tone in the world.

“If you don’t like it, you become the Sect Leader.”

Chung Myung’s mouth dropped open for a moment.

“Uh… Uh-uh…”

“Or go to the Sect Leader and argue.”

“…”

“You can’t, can you? You can’t do anything, can you?”

“…”

“Then shush. Shut your mouth quietly, Third-Class Disciple.”

The moment Baek Cheon smiled, Chung Myung’s body tilted to the side.

Plop!

His eyes lost their light like rotten pollock, and even the last remaining dregs of his soul escaped from his helplessly opened mouth.

“Why… Why am I…”

The Five Swords, who saw Chung Myung being knocked down in one blow, looked back at Baek Cheon with genuine admiration.

“Oh my… Chung Myung with just a few words…”

“Is this the power of authority?”

“That bastard is secretly weak to power.”

“Secretly? He’s openly weak.”

Yoon Jong whispered to Baek Cheon.

“Didn’t you beat him a little too hard?”

“…I have to do this much to that bastard. Otherwise, he would have been like that for another year.”

“Well…”

Yoon Jong nodded in agreement.

Baek Cheon waved his hand and opened his mouth.

“Anyway, there are many things to say, but let’s do what we need to do first.”

“Yes? What do we need to do? Is there anything urgent right now?”

“Yoon Jong, Jo Gul.”

“Yes, Uncle-Master!”

“Go and tell the leaders of each sect what I said.”

A meaningful smile appeared on Baek Cheon’s lips.

“If a person has said something, they must keep it. We are going to save Hainan.”

“Ah!”

Only then did Jo Gul, who had recalled the problem, exclaim with a look of realization. He had completely forgotten about it because so many shocking things had happened in a row.

“It’s not a situation where we can afford to finish everything we need to do and then go. Tell them to quickly discuss the situation.”

“I understand…”

“What? Hainan?”

At that moment, Chung Myung, who was dying, rolled his eyes and jumped up.

“Hey, you crazy bastard! What are you trying to do with Mount Hua!”

“Ah, so you should have entered the sect early and received the senior generation name. Aigoo. What should I do? Even if I want to give you the position of Sect Leader, there’s no way I can give it to someone with a junior generation name? Someone said that the sect has laws to protect.”

“Th, th… Th… Ugh!”

In the end, Chung Myung grabbed the back of his neck and fell backwards, and the Five Swords looked at each other with strange expressions.

‘Not bad?’

“Rather good?”

They were already beginning to feel the benefits of the Sect Leader changing.