Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 142

Jin Hyun heard a low groan, and he trembled slightly, cautiously raising his head.

He saw the dignified Taoist hat sitting neatly on the Sect Leader’s head.

His hair was neatly combed.

The man before him looked like a powerful warrior from old stories, with a strong face and a long, black beard that reached down to his stomach. This was Heo Do-jin, the current leader of Mount Wudang.

Heo Do-jin had been lost in thought with his eyes closed, but he slowly opened them.

“You said Mu-jin was defeated?”

“Yes, Sect Leader,” Jin Hyun replied.

“By a Third-Generation Disciple of Mount Hua?”

“Yes.”

It was hard to know what Heo Do-jin was thinking because his face showed no feelings.

“So, the ‘Divine Dragon of Mount Hua’ is real,” Heo Do-jin said. “If he beat ten Jongnam fighters, it’s not surprising he could do this too.”

Jin Hyun bit his lip.

He wanted to say that Wudang was different from Jongnam, but he didn’t dare to speak. Wudang had also been badly defeated by the Mount Hua disciple.

“Where is Mu-jin?” Heo Do-jin asked.

“His injuries were severe, so he has been taken to the medical hall.”

“Severe injuries, you say…” Heo Do-jin quietly nodded.

“Jin Hyun.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Do you know why this happened?”

“…I failed because I wasn’t good enough.”

“No.”

Jin Hyun looked up, waiting for Heo Do-jin to explain.

Heo Do-jin said, “It is because of how Wudang martial arts work. They become stronger the more you practice them. The deeper your inner strength, the more you understand, and the longer you have practiced with the sword, the more powerful it becomes.”

“That is correct,” Jin Hyun agreed.

Heo Do-jin continued, “Wudang martial arts take time to become strong. Someone might seem weak now, but they can become very powerful later. The Sect Leader believes if Mu-jin had learned a different style, he might not have lost to the Mount Hua fighter.”

Jin Hyun bowed deeply.

Even if it were true, he couldn’t say so, because it would be insulting Wudang’s martial arts. Even if it were false, he couldn’t disagree, because the words came from the Sect Leader.

“Do you understand, Jin Hyun?”

“I find it difficult to comprehend.”

“That is why the Medicine God’s alchemy is necessary.”

“Ah….”

Jin Hyun nodded.

If the Medicine God’s alchemy was better than Wudang’s current alchemy, it could make up for the weaknesses of Wudang’s martial arts. If that happened, Wudang could become the greatest sect.

Repeating a story he already knew had two meanings.

One was to remind him of the goal, and the other was to scold Jin Hyun for returning without completing the important task.

“I am sorry, Sect Leader.”

“It is not your fault,” Heo Do-jin said.

Heo Do-jin quietly stroked his beard.

“I expected the Divine Dragon of Mount Hua to come himself. However, I did not think he would be strong enough to defeat Mu-jin. I thought that someone of your level would be more than enough to handle him, but I was wrong.”

“I am sorry.”

He could say nothing else.

“Yes. So, what was he like? The Divine Dragon of Mount Hua, as you saw him?”

Jin Hyun bit his lip.

How should he describe him? That ridiculously outrageous fellow?

There were many things he wanted to say, but in the end, only one word escaped Jin Hyun’s lips.

“He is a monster.”

Heo Do-jin’s gaze deepened.

“The other disciples of Mount Hua were also strong. I am ashamed to admit that even I could not defeat them. But… the Divine Dragon of Mount Hua is on a different level. The others are merely strong, but from him, I felt an insurmountable wall.”

A heavy groan escaped Heo Do-jin’s lips once more.

‘Is he that strong?’ He thought.

It was shocking that Mu-jin had been defeated by Chung Myung of Mount Hua. But now, Jin Hyun’s words meant that Chung Myung was not merely strong.

‘Jin Hyun is stronger than Mu-jin was at his age,’ Heo Do-jin thought.

He was a child who could become twice as strong as Mu-jin when he reached Mu-jin’s age. And yet, that child felt a wall before Chung Myung?

‘Could it be that Wudang will be overshadowed by Mount Hua in the future?’

This was a very serious matter.

“Jin Hyun.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Can you go again?”

Jin Hyun abruptly looked at Heo Do-jin.

“Do I deserve another chance?”

“You clearly made a mistake.”

….

“Therefore, I must give you a chance to make up for it. The preparations for those leaving for Namyeong are almost complete. This time, the elders will go in person. As soon as the preparations are complete, you shall return to Namyeong as well. And find the Sword Tomb.”

“I will surely succeed and return…”

“I have not finished speaking.”

Jin Hyun firmly closed his mouth.

Heo Do-jin’s voice, even lower than before, echoed in his ears.

“That child, the Divine Dragon of Mount Hua, is probably frustrated right now, unable to understand the Jangbo Treasure. And if he is smart, he will be waiting for us to come. Then, he will look for a chance to steal the alchemy.”

“Ah….”

“If the Sword Tomb is as I expect… no one outside will know what happens inside.”

Jin Hyun’s eyes trembled slightly.

Surely….

“I believe you understand what I mean. Make up for your mistake.”

Jin Hyun clenched his fist tightly.

“I….”

A cold light flickered in his determined eyes.

“I will complete my mission and return.”

Hong Daekwang, the leader of the Beggars’ Sect in Loyang, stretched with his legs on the desk, yawning widely.

“Haaaahm!”

He roughly wiped his mouth with his dirty sleeve and picked up a report with a listless gaze.

“Nothing interesting is happening these days,” he said.

It was a time of peace in the fighting world.

In recent years, no major incidents had occurred. To put it nicely, it was a time of peace; to put it badly, it was a continuation of boring days.

The same was true for Loyang, so Hong Daekwang was simply killing time.

‘I shouldn’t have become the branch leader,’ he thought.

Being bored and having no real work were different problems.

The world was full of things that, though not significant, had to be dealt with. Things that wouldn’t cause any problems if not dealt with immediately, but would become problematic if left unattended.

Hong Daekwang’s job was to handle such matters without letting them pile up.

“Can’t something happen?” he wondered.

Then he could escape this boring office.

The office was just a run-down shack with a desk he’d found somewhere.

“Let’s see…”

The report he was reading contained information gathered by the beggars.

The beggars of Loyang saw and heard all sorts of things while begging. They would pass on what they saw and heard to the beggars of the branch, who would then write reports for Hong Daekwang.

Sorting out the useful information was Hong Daekwang’s job.

“Let’s see. Nakseong House has closed. Their food was good; it’s a shame. The owner was kind and often gave alms. Hmm, is that why they went bankrupt?”

He tossed the report onto the floor.

“A fight broke out between the students of Loyang Seonghwa Martial Arts Center and Jungbo Information. Seonghwa won, and five of Jungbo’s students were taken to the infirmary… Is this a martial arts world issue?”

Another report was placed next to the desk.

“The Choi family had quadruplets… Are they doing even this now?”

Hong Daekwang crumpled the paper and threw it onto the floor.

“Ugh. There’s no real information…”

Hong Daekwang opened a new report and read it with a listless gaze.

“Wudang students were defeated by Mount Hua students in Namyeong.”

Hong Daekwang chuckled.

“Now they’re making up stories. This guy is dead.” He dropped the paper and began to read the next report.

“A martial arts contest occurred between the Second-Generation Disciples of Mount Hua and Wudang, representing Namyeong Hwayoung Gate and Jongdo Hall. Mount Hua won, and Jongdo Hall left Namyeong.”

Hong Daekwang straightened his back.

‘Wait. Is this real?’

His hands began to move faster. He quickly sorted out all the reports with similar content, read them, and even picked up the reports he had thrown on the floor, his eyes beginning to tremble.

“The Second-Generation Disciples of Mount Hua defeated the Second-Generation Disciples of Wudang?”

It was unbelievable.

However, too many reports said the same thing. Combining the reports, it seemed that the people of Namyeong had all seen the Mount Hua disciples defeat the Wudang disciples.

‘Surely, so many people couldn’t all be lying?’

If that were the case, it meant that the Mount Hua disciples had really defeated the Wudang disciples. The fact that Jongdo Hall had left Namyeong and Hwayoung Gate remained only made the result clearer.

“Ummm.”

Hong Daekwang’s mind began to race.

‘This is not a good sign,’ he thought.

Mount Hua had already defeated Jongnam once. It had been a major topic, but since then, both Mount Hua and Jongnam had been silent, so the matter had not become a big deal.

But now, Mount Hua had even defeated Wudang.

‘One time could be a coincidence. But there’s no such thing as two coincidences!’

That meant that the younger generation of Mount Hua was much stronger than people thought.

Then….

‘Does that mean Mount Hua might revive soon?’

If that were true, it would be a major incident.

Wasn’t Mount Hua already kicked out of the Nine Great Sects? If they regained their strength, the power structure would change.

Chaos started from such things.

“Hmm. I should go to Shanxi… Huh?”

Hong Daekwang’s eyes widened as he looked through the reports.

“…Mu-jin? It was reported that Cheongryu Sword Mu-jin lost consciousness and was carried back to Wudang by Wudang disciples?”

What kind of nonsense was this?

Cheongryu Sword Mu-jin was one of the Three Swords of Wudang. What could have happened to make him lose consciousness and collapse?

‘What is going on in Namyeong?’

It seemed that this needed to be investigated. Hong Daekwang was about to call in his men when—

Crack!

The door burst open as a beggar rushed in with a pale face.

“B-Branch Leader! You need to come outside!”

“Huh?”

Hong Daekwang stared at the beggar, confused.

Come outside, he said.

Since when could a beggar order the branch leader around?

‘I haven’t been hard enough on the beggars lately,’ he thought.

Once a begging bowl is broken, they’ll learn to fear the head beggar. Today, I’ll set the discipline straight….

“Eeeek!”

“D-Don’t go in!”

“S-Stop him!”

Huh?

Hong Daekwang turned his head sharply.

What was all this commotion?

“What’s all the ruckus!”

The moment he raised his voice to shout.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

A quiet footstep was heard, and then a person slowly entered through the half-torn door.

“Haaaah.”

‘Smoke?’

Why was he breathing out smoke? How unsettling.

The man who had entered without permission looked around, then fixed his gaze on Hong Daekwang.

“Are you the branch leader here?”

Hong Daekwang, staring at the man, nodded.

“Y-Yes, I am?”

The one who had entered was Chung Myung.

Chung Myung smiled and said, “Let’s work together, shall we?”