Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1580

Thousands upon thousands of people had gathered.

The space was huge, but it was completely silent. In a place where people were about to fight for their lives, there should have been noise, shouts, something.

But there was nothing.

The setting sun painted the land in shades of orange and red, but the most powerful thing there was the silence. It was so deep and heavy, it felt like a blanket pressing down on everyone.

Then, you saw them. The source of this heavy silence: two men standing apart, facing each other. They were like giants in this world, leaders of their sides.

One was Beopjeong. He was the head monk of the famous Shaolin Temple, and for many years, he had been the leader of the good groups – the groups who followed the right path. People might argue about who was the strongest fighter in the world, but everyone agreed Beopjeong was one of the greatest.

Facing him was Jang Il-so. He led the groups who were seen as evil, and he had done something no one thought possible: he had united them all under his rule.

Some people liked him, some didn’t, and some weren’t sure about his skills. But everyone knew he was the strongest of the evil leaders at that time.

They were the heads of the most powerful groups in the world, the two most important people who shaped the world. The two giants stood facing each other on the empty plains.

The tension between them made everyone hold their breath.

“…Amitabha,” Beopjeong quietly said the Buddha’s name.

‘Jang Il-so.’

Even though he was far away, Beopjeong could see him clearly. Jang Il-so looked strange and fancy.

Even though a battle was about to happen where many people would die, Jang Il-so looked very tired.

Beopjeong tried to understand people, so he didn’t pay attention to Jang Il-so’s clothes.

He just focused on Jang Il-so as a person. Even Beopjeong, who had seen and judged so many people, couldn’t understand Jang Il-so.

Beopjeong realized something again.

Even though Jang Il-so seemed familiar, like they had been fighting for years, they had never actually met like this and talked.

Beopjeong’s loud voice echoed across the land.

“Paegun, how many more bad things are you going to do?”

When Jang Il-so heard this, his eyes smiled.

“The world is sad because you are greedy. Many people have died, and blood has covered the ground like rain. Isn’t that enough for you?”

Jang Il-so just smiled and looked at Beopjeong without saying anything. There was no anger in his eyes.

“I’m telling you, you can’t fix the bad things you’ve already done, but you can stop doing more bad things. I hope you understand that all the things you want don’t matter in the end, and you will stop now. Then, at least, you won’t make your karma worse.”

“Abbot!” Jongri-hyung was worried and spoke without thinking.

“What are you talking about? The bad things that man has done…”

“Amitabha.” But when he heard the heavy sound of the Buddha’s name, Jongri-hyung stopped talking.

Beopjeong stopped Jongri-hyung from talking and spoke to Jang Il-so in a quieter voice.

“Thinking you can hold onto something is just a silly idea. In the end, people die with nothing, just like when they were born. What you will have is not fame or money, but the bad things you’ve done to all living things, piled up like a mountain. How can you not know that?”

Beopjeong sat in a half-lotus position.

“If you know you’ve done enough and want to fix your mistakes, Shaolin will help you. Buddhist law is for everyone, even the worst sinner.”

He looked at Jang Il-so with a serious and honest look.

Beopjeong’s words made everyone a little embarrassed, but they knew he was sincere. Beopjeong was a priest who had spent his life following Buddhist law. He didn’t forget his duty even now.

But the old monk’s kind words were met with a loud laugh.

“Ha… Haha. Hahaha! Hahahahahat!”

Jang Il-so, who had been quiet, suddenly laughed loudly.

Unlike Beopjeong, who was serious and noble, Jang Il-so held his stomach and laughed in a silly way. He seemed too carefree to be a leader.

“Oh, my.”

Jang Il-so laughed for a long time and wiped his eyes with his long, neat nails. He even had tears because he laughed so much.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t think I would be listening to a sermon here. So, I don’t think it’s all my fault…”

Jang Il-so’s beautiful eyes looked at Beopjeong.

He was clearly making fun of him. He was mocking Beopjeong, his followers, and even the Buddhism that Beopjeong believed in.

“Isn’t that right?”

Jang Il-so looked at everyone behind Beopjeong.

It was strange to call them the Nine Great Sects now, but they were still protecting the Central Plains under that name.

“Even when the rich southern lands fell to me…”

The people who felt Jang Il-so’s gaze turned red.

“Even when my people burned the western lands…”

Someone gritted their teeth.

“Even when many people were dying in the northern lands, which was like their own home, they just watched… Talking about kindness and Buddhism…”

His voice was calm, but he was truly mocking them.

“I guess I’m stupid? It seems the Buddhist law I know is different from the one you’re talking about.”

“Paegun.”

“Well, what does the Buddha think? Wouldn’t he be happier with the fools who are trying to save people in the northern lands than with you, who only talk about Buddhist law and kindness? Huh?”

He was talking about the Cheonwu Alliance.

Jang Il-so knew what they, and Beopjeong, didn’t want to hear. He knew what they were worried about.

The Buddhist world’s attention was on Beopjeong’s back and hand.

Beopjeong’s back was calm, but his hand holding the rosary was tight and shaking slightly.

Only Beopgye, who was standing behind him, could see the tremor and guess what Beopjeong was thinking.

“Amitabha.”

But no matter what he was thinking, the Buddha’s name he said was respectful.

“We are not perfect. But the reason is you. I’ll say it one last time. If you’re going to stop, now is the time.”

“Now is the time.”

A soft and gentle voice reached everyone’s ears. It was quiet, but clear.

“If I know I’ve done enough and stop now… What if I say I will? Are you just going to let me go?”

Jang Il-so’s red lips twisted.

“No. No, you wouldn’t. You can’t do that. Then what will you do? Will you take me away, cut off my arms and legs, and bury me in a dark prison? To rot in a moldy prison, listening to boring Buddhist stories from bald monks until I die?”

“Paegun.”

“Chuck chuck chuck.” Jang Il-so shook his head in disgust.

“Shaolin monks are supposed to be kind, but this is too much,” Jang Il-So sneered. “Even devils wouldn’t be this cruel. We in the Demonic Sect are kinder! At least we kill you quickly, right?”

Abbot Beopjeong’s voice was calm but firm. “It is the only way to pay for your sins.”

Jang Il-So laughed, a short, sharp sound.

Soon, an eerie, blue energy began to gather on his pale face.

“I’m not sensitive, but I can’t stand to listen to any more of this disgusting nonsense.”

At that sudden change in his attitude, even Abbot Beopjeong momentarily held his breath.

“Repentance… Doesn’t it make you wonder?”

His chillingly cold gaze pierced the old monk.

“Who here least wants me to repent? Who really wants this war to have a purpose? Who is pretending to be Buddhist, pursuing their desires more fiercely than anyone else?”

“Jang Il-So!”

A roar burst from Beopjeong’s lips.

“‘Endurance,’ you call it? It sounds good, even strong. But let me tell you something. Endurance that avoids pain? We call that evasion.”

Jang Il-So’s eyes sharply pierced Beopjeong, and those standing behind him.

Those two words alone made Beopjeong’s face flush.

“It’s strange, isn’t it? You didn’t pay the price, so why does your endurance count? You merely watched. And now you stand before me, talking rubbish as if you’ve made some noble decision, as if you expect someone to praise you for it.”

“Enough of your evil lies!”

“Disgusting…”

The look Jang Il-So gave Beopjeong was one of utter disgust, as if he were looking at an insect. Beopjeong bit his lip and met that gaze head-on.

“Horrible.”

Jang Il-So smiled, though the disrespect in his eyes remained.

“But… even so, I don’t particularly hate you, any of you. Aren’t people inherently disgusting and vile?”

Jang Il-So grinned. A smile as innocent as a child’s, without a trace of darkness, spread across his face.

“Shall I tell you an easier way?”

At Jang Il-So’s question, a flicker of doubt crossed Beopjeong’s face. Jang Il-So said gently,

“Surrender.”

“Jang Il-So!”

“Then no more blood will be shed. I have no interest in unnecessary bloodshed. I promise, if you kneel before me and lick my boots, I will kill no one and be satisfied with mere ‘domination.’ How about it? Then a peace without sacrifice will be achieved.”

Beopjeong’s beard trembled.

“Not a difficult choice, is it? If you truly wish to avoid bloodshed. But… is that really what you want?”

Looking into those evil eyes, Beopjeong felt it to the core of his being.

There it is.

Pure evil, cannot be changed by words. A being made from malice itself, that is what stands before him.

How could one call such a creature human?

“No, that’s not what you want. I know what you desire. What you desire is right…”

Jang Il-So slowly drew his fingernail across his throat.

“Here.”

At the same moment, his crimson lips twisted.

“You desire something. Something that will make you famous. Spoils that will write your name in Jianghu history forever. You want to make Shaolin great again and your insignificant name in Shaolin history a legend.”

The quiet voice echoed in Beopjeong’s ears like a thunderclap.

Now, Jang Il-So’s eyes were gentle, without any hostility.

“Try to take it.”

“……”

“Stain your hands with blood, drive countless people to their deaths, fight and fight until this land is dyed crimson. Obtain what you so desperately desire.”

“Amitabha.”

It was decided from the start.

Both giants knew that dialogue was meaningless to them.

They were not those who accepted, but those who forced acceptance. One who lacked belief in oneself could never have risen to such a position.

Therefore, they had to crush their opponent. Their opponent’s beliefs, goals, power, and even their life.

“In the end, dialogue is impossible, it seems.”

“What a long way to come, for such an obvious ending.”

Jang Il-So’s gaze turned to the sky.

The sunset bled across the sky, deepening to a bruised purple, as if trying to conceal the blood that would soon spill upon the world.

“Hear me, all!”

Beopjeong opened the gates to a great battle that would shake the world.

“We can no longer allow the terrible acts of that evil monster. We did not wish to see blood, but we will not fear seeing it! Here, today, I! And we will punish that evil and restore peace to the Jianghu!”

The Lion’s Roar erupted like the bellow of a powerful being from heaven.

Then, the muscles in the backs of the monks coiled tight as springs. The strong inner power swirled around them.

“If not me, then who will go to hell! A—mi—ta—bha—!”

Using that force, Beopjeong unleashed a thunderous Buddhist chant and kicked off the ground.

“Follow the Abbot!”

“Uooooh!”

The forces of the Nine Great Sects, unleashing everything they had suppressed until now, began to rush towards the Demonic Alliance with terrifying power.

It was as if a towering tidal wave of immense scale was crashing down. It was a force that momentarily froze even the warriors of the Demonic Alliance, who had never known fear in battle.

“Hmm.”

At that moment, Jang Il-So’s casual humming reached their ears. In that instant, the warriors of the Demonic Alliance were reminded of who they were.

Jang Il-So tapped his chin with his fingertip and said,

“Unnecessarily noisy. Deal with them appropriately. Make sure they understand that this is no longer a world where they can do whatever they want.”

The first to react were naturally the Red Dogs, Jang Il-So’s loyal hounds who knew no fear.

“Protect the Alliance Leader, Raaah!!”

Emitting a fierce aura, they charged forward, and the warriors of the Myriad Demon Clan and the Black Demon Squad gritted their teeth and followed.

The vast, wide open field, stained and twisted with hostility, churned like a shipwreck.

The sun, hung beyond the western mountains, was also scattered red across the entire sky, as if cut by the coming darkness.

Righteousness and Evil.

The Nine Sects and the Demonic Alliance.

And Beopjeong and Jang Il-So.