Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1604

Days passed like slow, heavy footsteps. Each one the same as the last.

Chung Myung had been in the mountain town of Hwaeom for three days now. He had to admit it: Jang Il-so’s plan had not reached this quiet place.

But it made no sense.

Chung Myung’s eyes grew dark as he stared down at Hwaeom. The town roofs looked like brown hats scattered among green trees. Smoke rose slowly, like lazy thoughts.

An unpleasant déjà vu lingered in his mind, feeling strange and unsettling. Chung Myung tightened his grip on his wrist, his knuckles white.

A faint, metallic smell of blood touched his nose. It wasn’t real, not here. It was a ghost from his past, a memory he wanted to stay buried.

“No.”

He squeezed his eyes shut, his breath catching in his throat.

No.

It was true that everything he had experienced so far, everything beyond his comprehension, ultimately led to those two words he hated to even utter…

Not yet. It couldn’t be.

He opened his eyes and stared blankly at the blue sky.

It was truly clear and bright. Chung Myung bit down on his lower lip.

“Have you returned, Grand Elder?”

Hyun Jong nodded heavily, seeing Un Am who had come to greet him. His face showed signs of fatigue.

“Where is Chung Myung?”

“That is…”

Unam silently turned his gaze towards the middle of Mount Hua. He must be there.

Hyun Jong nodded slightly with a grave look.

He couldn’t know what Chung Myung was thinking. Perhaps no one could. He just guessed that Chung Myung’s mind held things too deep and complicated for him to understand.

However…

“Hoo.”

Hyun Jong sighed heavily. Un Am asked cautiously.

“I heard the news. The deceased…”

“I am returning after taking care of them.”

He handed over the recovered bodies to the sects with survivors. For those without survivors, or those who couldn’t immediately come to receive the bodies in Hubei, he temporarily buried them nearby and marked the locations.

So that even in death, they could find their way home.

“The disciples will finish the remaining tasks and return to Hwaeom.”

“Yes.”

Hyun Jong, who had been silently looking up at Mount Hua, opened his mouth.

“Gather all the senior members of Hwaeom.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

Hyun Jong’s eyes, which had been capturing the steep mountain range of Mount Hua, closed heavily.

A heavy silence hung in the air.

The senior members of the Heavenly Union, Hwaeom, and even the surviving members of the Nine Great Sects were gathered in one place, and the situation was dire.

“Ugh…”

In an atmosphere that felt like it was crushing people, Hong Daekwang of the Beggars’ Sect couldn’t bear it any longer and groaned. He was about to say something, but Poongyeong Shingae pressed down on his shoulder, stopping him.

Hong Daekwang cursed inwardly.

‘I’m going to suffocate, damn it.’

But he understood.

Hong Daekwang had spent a considerable amount of time in the Jianghu. Yet, this was the first time he had faced such a serious situation.

Even he, who handled all sorts of information as a member of the Beggars’ Sect, was shocked. How much more shocked must the other senior members be?

‘But that doesn’t mean keeping our mouths shut is the answer.’

Hong Daekwang fidgeted with his fingers and glanced at Hyun Jong and Tang Gunak. It seemed that only those two could break through this atmosphere and open the discussion.

However, it was someone else who started the meeting.

“To summarize…”

It was Im So-byeong, wearing a light green hakchangui. His calm voice echoed in the room, which had been filled with silence.

“It’s a total defeat.”

His words were like daggers.

” ‘Total’ might not even be strong enough. A crushing defeat, no… I don’t know. What words can fully explain this defeat? Anyway, it’s that severe. I can’t even imagine what we had to do to lose this badly.”

Jegal Jarin, the head of the Jegal Clan who had followed Hyun Jong here, bristled at those words.

“Who are you?”

Under the sharp gaze, Im So-byeong smirked.

“I can tell you, but shouldn’t you say who you are first? Basic manners, right?”

Jegal Jarin, who had been glaring at Im So-byeong, now glared at Hyun Jong.

“Who is that, Sect Leader?”

Hyun Jong replied calmly.

“That person is the leader of the Green Forest group and is serving as the strategist of the Heavenly Union, Green Forest King Im So…”

“Green Forest?”

Jegal Jarin abruptly interrupted Hyun Jong.

“Why is a Green Forest person here?”

His eyes were filled with blatant contempt and anger.

“We just fought a war with the Demonic Sect. And now I have to watch a Green Forest bastard arrogantly stand here and insult those who risked their lives to fight? Is this what the Heavenly Union calls…”

“Those who risked their lives to fight.”

But before Jegal Jarin could fully unleash his anger, Im So-byeong sneered.

“You speak as if you fought like that yourself. When all you did was watch.”

“You… filthy bandit!”

Jegal Jarin, enraged, jumped up from his seat.

His fury was so intense that one could easily guess how he had become the head of a clan. But even as he faced that murderous intent head-on, Im So-byeong remained calm, even more blatantly sneering.

“Why? Did I say something wrong?”

“Can’t you shut your mouth?”

“The dead are gone, and there are others who need to be comforted, but someone who returned without a scratch is trying to use that prestige. It’s no wonder you lost so foolishly.”

“You…!”

As Jegal Jarin grabbed the sword at his waist, a chilling voice came from elsewhere.

“That’s enough.”

It was Tang Gunak.

He looked at Im So-byeong coldly and urged.

“Green Forest King, please be careful with your words.”

Im So-byeong started to complain, but stopped when he saw Tang Gunak’s face. He just shrugged. It was clear Tang Gunak didn’t want to argue.

Tang Gunak turned his head slowly, his eyes fixing on Je Gal-jain. The silence in the room deepened.

“Je Gal Clan Head,” Tang Gunak said, his voice low and firm.

Je Gal-jain swallowed hard. “…Yes, Clan Head Dang,” he replied, his voice barely a whisper.

Tang Gunak leaned forward slightly. “If you don’t like how the Cheonwu Alliance chooses people and does things,” he said, each word clear and sharp, “you are free to leave. No one is forcing you to stay here.”

Je Gal-jain stared blankly at Tang Gunak. His face, usually full of quick smiles, was now frozen in disbelief. For a moment, he couldn’t speak, the words caught in his throat.

He had never imagined that the head of the Sichuan Dang Clan, one of the Five Great Clans, would side with the Demonic Faction.

“The Green Forest King is a military strategist of the Cheonwu Alliance before he is a member of the Demonic Faction. If you have doubts about his identity or intentions, direct them to the Cheonwu Alliance, and to me, not to him.”

The tips of Je Gal-jain’s fingers trembled slightly with anger. Mo Yong-wi-gyeong, who had been watching closely, put a hand on Je Gal-jain’s arm to calm him.

“This time, Clan Head, you have been hasty. I understand how you feel, but you must calm down. This isn’t the right time.”

Je Gal-jain, unable to calm down, opened and closed his mouth several times before finally sinking back into his seat.

He crossed his arms and gritted his teeth, making his unhappiness clear.

Tang Gunak nodded.

“Continue, Green Forest King. However…”

He meant not to cause any unnecessary trouble.

“Yes, I understand.”

Im So-byeong didn’t want to waste his energy on small arguments. He continued as if nothing had happened.

“Shaolin is half destroyed, the Mount Hua Sect is gone, and the Peng Clan is also gone.”

“Ugh…”

Hwang Jong-ui, the finance officer of the Cheonwu Alliance, groaned.

Shaolin, Mount Hua, and the Peng Clan were once famous and powerful. The fact that so many of their fighters were dead was shocking, no matter how many times you heard it.

“To win these battles, the Demonic Martial Alliance lost… the Water Faction, including the Black Dragon King. Of course, the weak soldiers they used before were not important losses.”

The Water Faction alone, plus the Nine Sects and One League, and three clans of the Five Great Clans…

Even a child could see which side had lost more.

So, Im So-byeong didn’t bother to talk about it.

“In other words, the Nine Sects and One League have been completely destroyed by this event.”

“……”

“The remaining groups of the Nine Sects and One League are Jongnam, the Wudang Sect which is hidden away, and Kunlun, which doesn’t often get involved in the Central Plains. That’s all.”

Jongli-gok, the leader of Jongnam, had been trying to stay calm, but finally sighed softly. He had to be at this meeting.

Saying there are three groups left is not quite right. There might be more, like the Beggars’ Sect.

But the Beggars’ Sect had mostly joined the Cheonwu Alliance. Among the Five Great Clans, only the Je Gal and Mo Yong clans were left.

‘Wudang and Jongnam. Mo Yong and Je Gal, huh….’

These were the only ones who could really help in the war. Even then, no one knew when Wudang would come out of hiding.

It was hard to believe.

Of the Nine Sects and One League and the Five Great Clans that once ruled the world, only four were left.

Im So-byeong tapped his palm with his fan.

“In other words, the martial world we knew is gone.”

These words shocked everyone.

Not only the members of the Cheonwu Alliance, but also Je Gal-jain, Mo Yong-wi-gyeong, and even Jongli-gok were silent.

Until now, they had been worried about fighting the Demonic Martial Alliance. And they had argued about how to do it.

But now, even that argument seemed unimportant.

The terrible defeat made everyone understand how serious the situation was. This was not just a fight for power. If they didn’t stop the Demonic Martial Alliance, the Righteous Faction would be destroyed, and the world would be ruled by the Demonic Faction.

“Beop-jeong.”

Then, Jongli-gok said coldly.

“Where is he now?”

He looked sharply at Je Gal-jain, as if trying to see through him.

“…I don’t really know…”

“Did he go back to Shaolin?”

“……”

“Or is he still sitting there, feeling sorry for himself?”

Jongli-gok’s voice grew louder, each word sharp with grief.

“If he caused such a disaster, he should kill himself to apologize, or at least explain what happened. He has brought us to this point, so where is he and what is he doing!”

“Please, calm down, Clan Head. The Abbot did his best. However…”

“His best? That’s a joke. Is that what you call his best? Well, he must have tried hard! It would have been hard to lead so many righteous people to their deaths without a lot of effort! He really worked hard.”

Je Gal-jain, angry again, tried to stand up, but Mo Yong-wi-gyeong quickly pulled him back down.

“Calm down.”

“How can I be calm about this!”

“There’s no need to get angry either.”

Mo Yong-wi-gyeong sighed and looked at Jongli-gok.

“Clan Head Jongli, you shouldn’t talk like that. At least the Abbot tried to stop the Demonic Faction. But Jongnam ignored our calls for help, didn’t it?”

“……”

“While we were fighting and dying, Jongnam was hidden away, living like immortals. You can’t come here now and criticize the Abbot.”

“Living like immortals?”

Jongli-gok’s eyebrows went up at the angry comment.

“Really? Are you saying we should have agreed to that stupid plan and been destroyed too, just so we could have a chance to speak up?”

“Clan Head!”

“You should be glad that Beop-jeong is still alive. If he had died, you would have been blamed! What’s so great about coming back alive from a battle where everyone else died, that you can shout like that? Is *that* what Je Gal and Mo Yong call honor?”

“Clan Head… you’re being too harsh.”

Hyun Jong, who couldn’t listen anymore, tried to stop him. Jongli-gok looked at him sharply, but only for a moment, before snorting.

“Yes, yes. Since the famous Cheonwu Alliance Leader says so, I’ll be quiet.”

“…Clan Head.”

“Yes. Give me your orders, Alliance Leader. Who wouldn’t listen to the words of the Cheonwu Alliance Leader, the most powerful person in the martial world?”

It was a clearly angry response. Hyun Jong closed his eyes tightly. Everyone was stressed, so it was understandable, but he felt trapped.

Hong Dae-kwang watched the meeting get worse and worse, and he held his head and pulled at his hair.

‘A dogfight would be better than this.’

The hope he had been holding onto was disappearing.

‘Where did that guy go again, in the middle of all this?’

Hong Dae-kwang looked to one side. The chair that belonged to someone was empty.