Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1244

Geumyang Baek cleared his throat loudly. The air in the room was thick with unspoken words.

“Ahem, ahem.”

Geumyang Baek choked, his face flushing red. His hands tightened on his teacup. *Did I hear him right?* he thought, his mind racing. A cough like that was embarrassing for a leader like him.

What did he just say?

Geumyang Baek regained his composure and asked again,

“Did you just say… you want us to withdraw from the Nine Great Sects?”

“Yes.”

The answer came back instantly, without hesitation. It was all the more bewildering because of it.

Geumyang Baek was speechless again, staring blankly at Baek Cheon. He felt that if he opened his mouth now, he would make a mistake.

Just who *is* this man? Coming here with Mount Hua’s important symbol and daring to tell *him*, Geumyang Baek, to leave the Nine Great Sects?

No one in our world has ever heard of such a thing!

Telling a sect belonging to the Nine Great Sects to abandon its position? This was something no sane person would ever utter.

Even the Demonic Cult, which had once invaded the Central Plains, or the great sects of the now-vanished Evil Sects, which had once brought a storm of blood upon the Central Plains, would not have dared to say such a thing so easily.

The Nine Great Sects… it was everything Hainan had worked for. Years of struggle, of proving themselves worthy. To be told to just throw it away? Unthinkable.

Geumyang Baek flinched for a moment, quickly erasing the thoughts that had surfaced in his mind.

For a moment, a dark thought crossed his mind. Could this be about revenge? Because Hainan had taken Mount Hua’s place?

He felt a flush of shame. How could he even think such a thing about these honorable people?

Feeling deeply ashamed that he had entertained such thoughts even for a moment, Geumyang Baek opened his mouth with a much more cautious tone.

“This old leader is slow to understand… Can you explain what you truly mean by this?”

“It is as I said.”

But Baek Cheon, seemingly without any consideration for Geumyang Baek’s feelings, answered as resolutely as before.

“I am advising you to give up the name of the Nine Great Sects, which is now just an empty show, and join us in the Cheonwoo Alliance.”

“No…”

“What on earth are you saying…?”

The elders behind Geumyang Baek jumped to their feet, faces red with anger.

“What are you thinking!” one shouted.

“How dare you insult us like this!”

“Quiet!” Geumyang Baek’s voice cracked like thunder. The elders froze, instantly silent.

Geumyang Baek maintained his silence for a moment, picking up the teacup placed before him.

“The tea will get cold. This tea is made from fine tea leaves grown in the highlands of Hainan, so why not enjoy its fragrance?”

“Thank you.”

Baek Cheon smiled lightly at those words and lifted his teacup. Baek Cheon lifted the teacup with graceful fingers. He inhaled the steam, his eyes closed for a moment, then took a slow, deliberate sip. Every movement was calm and controlled.

“Are you perhaps interested in the art of tea?”

Baek Cheon, having put down his teacup at Geumyang Baek’s question, smiled gently.

“I have not been leisurely enough to learn the art of tea in particular, but Hyun Jong-jin, the former sect leader of Mount Hua, enjoyed tea so much that I learned the etiquette from him.”

“Ah, from Hyun Jong-jin… Wait? Has Hyun Jong-jin stepped down from the position of sect leader?”

“I failed to mention that. The former sect leader has passed the position of sect leader to Un-geom Jin-in, the current sect leader of Mount Hua.”

Geumyang Baek gasped.

“Wait… Hyun Jong-jin stepped down? But… why?”

“Ho, perhaps Hyun Jong-jin… No, the Elder Hyun Jong-jin of your sect…?”

“That is not the case. The sect leader is still healthy.”

“Ah…”

“I don’t fully understand his reasons, but it seems he felt it was time for younger leaders to take over.”

It was full of surprises. The earlier suggestion to withdraw from the Nine Great Sects was absurd enough, but this was just as absurd.

‘He stepped down from the position of sect leader of his own accord?’

At a time like this? It was unbelievable.

The Jianghu was now facing a great crisis. In this situation, was it really possible for someone who had been leading a sect to hand over the position to a successor and step down? Just how much trust must one have in the disciples they had raised to do such a thing?

Geumyang Baek could not even imagine it.

‘No. That is not all there is to it.’

In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that the current momentum of Mount Hua even threatened Shaolin. The actual power they possessed might not yet reach that of Shaolin, but in terms of the influence they wielded in the Jianghu, there were definitely areas where they surpassed Shaolin.

It must have taken a long time of patience and waiting for Mount Hua to reach this point.

They had endured the pain of feeling like their entire body was sinking into a swamp, and now they had finally reached glory. Was it really possible for the person at the center of it all to step down of their own accord? How little greed must a person have for such a thing to be possible?

“…Amazing.”

“I think so too.”

A sigh escaped from Geumyang Baek’s lips.

‘The tables have completely turned.’

Before, Hyun Jong was not as important as him. But now, everything was different. He felt like he had failed Hainan, while Hyun Jong had turned Mount Hua from a small, unknown sect into a famous power.

Geumyang Baek, struggling to push back the flood of emotions, spoke in a voice that seemed to have lost as little composure as possible.

“I think I can understand why Alliance Leader would make such a suggestion. Having learned from someone like Hyun Jong-jin, who doesn’t care about worldly things… the names of the Nine Great Sects and things like that must seem like just empty titles.”

“⋯⋯.”

“But Alliance Leader, you should think about what the Nine Great Sects mean to the ordinary world, and what people think of them. The Nine Great Sects are…”

“I know, Sect Leader.”

Geumyang Baek stared silently at Baek Cheon.

Interrupting another sect leader’s words could be considered the height of rudeness, but Geumyang Baek did not want to dwell on such trivial matters now. Rather, he was more curious about what Baek Cheon would say next.

“You say you know?”

“Yes. Maybe I understand it even better than you do. The Sect Leader leads Hainan, which has become one of the Nine Great Sects, but we are the ones who have only looked up at those Nine Great Sects from the lowest of places.”

At those words, Geumyang Baek nodded unconsciously.

Come to think of it, Mount Hua had not been in its current position for very long either. Surely, they too had looked at the Nine Great Sects with a mixture of envy and jealousy. And they must have dreamed of the day when they would return to the Nine Great Sects.

“And yet, you are saying such things to us?”

“Yes.”

Baek Cheon closed his eyes slightly and then opened them. And he spoke resolutely, as if there was no need to beat around the bush.

“The reason is simple. The current Nine Great Sects are not something Hainan needs to stay in.”

“…Alliance Leader.”

“The fact that *we* are here…”

Baek Cheon paused for a moment, then turned his gaze to the elders of Hainan who were seated behind Geumyang Baek. And he continued, making eye contact with each of them.

“And not the Nine Great Sects, shows this is true.”

A sigh escaped from Geumyang Baek’s lips. At the end of a long sigh, he spoke in a slightly slower tone.

“Of course, no amount of gratitude would be enough for all of you who have come to this distant place. As the sect leader of the Hainan Sect, and as a person from Hainan Island, I express my deepest gratitude.”

“⋯⋯.”

“But Alliance Leader, that is separate from this. That gratitude and…”

“Originally.”

Baek Cheon interrupted Geumyang Baek’s words once again.

This time, Geumyang Baek frowned in displeasure. But Baek Cheon’s words that followed made him even more displeased.

“It should have been the Nine Great Sects, not us, who came to this place.”

“⋯⋯.”

“The reason is simple. Those who talk about ‘doing what’s right’ have a responsibility to help those who are in difficult situations, no matter what the circumstances.”

Baek Cheon said that much and then looked around at everyone.

“Therefore, we of the Cheonwoo Alliance also wish to apologize to those of you here.”

Baek Cheon bowed deeply from his seated position. Geumyang Baek was stunned by the sudden action and shifted in his seat.

“W-Why are you suddenly doing this, Alliance Leader!”

“We should have come sooner. We should have realized sooner that Hainan needed our help, that Hainan’s situation was not good. Because we failed to do so… No, because we didn’t act quickly enough, even though we could have… Please forgive us.”

“How can that be the fault of the Cheonwoo Alliance? Please do not do this, Alliance Leader! Please raise your head!”

Only then did Baek Cheon slowly raise his head.

“Sect Leader.”

“Yes, Alliance Leader.”

“I am being presumptuous, but it is not reasonable to say that it cannot be the fault of the Cheonwoo Alliance. The Cheonwoo Alliance is built on valuing honor. And it has become strong because of that. For such an alliance to fail to do what it should have done deserves to be blamed.”

Geumyang Baek felt a strange pull towards Baek Cheon. He was… upright. Yes, that was the word.

It wasn’t about their fighting skills, or their power, or even who was right or wrong. Baek Cheon was talking about something simpler, something stronger: being honest and doing what’s right. And that honesty was overwhelming.

“Therefore, I would like to ask.”

Baek Cheon asked, staring straight at Geumyang Baek.

“Where are those who should have been doing what’s right before anyone else?”

“Alliance Leader…”

“You must understand. No. You must acknowledge it, Sect Leader.”

Baek Cheon declared coldly, without a moment’s hesitation.

“The Nine Great Sects have abandoned Hainan.”

These words hit Geumyang Baek like a punch to the chest.