Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1690

Mu-jin groaned softly. A terrible picture flashed in his mind. Blood was everywhere, staining the white rock a dark red. Swords flashed, pointed right at him. He saw the angry faces of his enemies, full of hate and wanting to kill. The night was so dark, it felt like even screams would be swallowed by the blackness.

But then, through the despair, he saw someone. A tall, handsome young man in a black uniform stood there, like a light in the darkness.

“Ah…”

The sound escaped Mu-jin’s lips without him meaning to. Was it a sigh of pain? Or maybe a sound of pure joy?

Baek Cheon, and the Mount Hua Sect, had finally reached the top of White Rock Cliff.

How could he possibly describe this feeling?

The Wudang disciples felt strong emotions, like a huge wave.

But Baek Cheon, seeing them, felt something entirely different.

Enemies filled the narrow cliff top, and the Wudang swordsmen were surrounded.

‘Is this all of them?’

Baek Cheon bit his lip hard.

Wudang was a sect that rivaled Shaolin as one of the great pillars of the world. Yet the number of Wudang swordsmen visible now was far too pathetic for their status.

Where were all the others?

Baek Cheon’s gaze drifted downwards.

He saw blood thickly staining the cliff top. Blood that had been trampled and blackened by the muddy feet of the Four Evil Sects.

The tip of his drawn sword trembled slightly.

There was a hand sticking out from the feet of the Four Evil Sects’ warriors who were glaring at him. The calloused palm was pale and bloodless, clearly showing what fate its owner had met.

How many had been sacrificed beneath their blades?

Of course, it wasn’t too late to turn back. There were still those who lived.

And the Mount Hua Sect, including the Cheonwu Alliance, had done their best.

But this… this was too…

It was then, as Baek Cheon struggled to suppress the rising self-loathing, that he heard a hateful voice in his ear.

“How does it feel?”

Baek Cheon turned his head.

Thousand-Faced Shaman had dodged Tang Gunak’s dagger and retreated to the edge of the summit, staring at Baek Cheon.

“Is it quite different from what you expected?”

Baek Cheon couldn’t bring himself to deny it.

He had hoped they would have survived a little longer. He had hoped their efforts would have saved more people.

But the reality he faced was simply horrific.

“Sometimes foolishness creates good results by chance. But most of the time, the ending that awaits the foolish is obvious.”

Thousand-Faced Shaman cast a cynical glance to the side. The Wudang disciples stood there, leaning on each other.

“If they had abandoned their pride and fled, most of them would have survived. If they had chosen practicality instead of spouting nonsense about honor, they could have rebuilt the temple at any time.”

The eyes of the Wudang disciples flickered at those harsh words.

Less than half remained. No, less than a third. Tricked by the enemy’s schemes, more had died beneath their blades than those who lived.

Of course, they had filled the summit of this White Rock Cliff, the sacred mountain of Wudang, with the corpses of their enemies. But that didn’t reduce the number of those Wudang had lost, did it?

Perhaps they themselves had severed the lifeline of Wudang, which they had tried so hard to protect.

The fact, the reality, was so terrible that even when they saw Baek Cheon, who had finally come to their rescue, the Wudang disciples could not cheer enthusiastically.

And Baek Cheon could guess their feelings.

Everyone’s tightly closed lips and trembling eyes told him. Facing their faces full of self-loathing and sorrow, Baek Cheon clenched his teeth as well.

“Delusions are sweet, aren’t they?”

“It might be better to live in a dream than in a terrible reality. But those who fail to wake up from their dreams in time will eventually face an even worse reality. Like these people now, and like you from now on.”

Clang.

Then, Baek Cheon suddenly pushed his sword back into its scabbard. Everyone was momentarily taken aback by his appearance as he emptied his hands and looked at the Wudang disciples.

“Hmm?”

Thousand-Faced Shaman also looked at Baek Cheon, seemingly puzzled.

Baek Cheon respectfully clasped his hands towards the Wudang disciples who were surrounded by enemies.

It was a simple and concise gesture of courtesy, without any words.

But no one could take their eyes off it. Even the Four Evil Sects, who were threatening Wudang at this moment, and Thousand-Faced Shaman, who was mocking Baek Cheon.

Thousand-Faced Shaman sneered.

“What meaningless…”

“Shut your mouth.”

Baek Cheon cut him off, and Thousand-Faced Shaman’s face contorted with anger. No matter that he was a member of the Four Evil Sects and the other was a rising star of the good sects, it was not a word he should hear from a young man who had not lived even half his life.

But Baek Cheon did not even glance at Thousand-Faced Shaman, but only stared seriously at Wudang.

“You may not understand. No, you may not want to understand. But… listen carefully.”

Baek Cheon looked straight at the Wudang disciples and said.

“There is no such thing as a worthless will in this world.”

Instantly, the shoulders of the Wudang disciples trembled faintly.

“Whether it’s faith, duty, or the honor you hold in your heart. Whatever the reason, we fight. Even if it means sacrifice, even if it means losing what we must not lose. Even if!”

Baek Cheon bit his lip and opened his mouth again.

“Even if people laugh at us for it.”

In the silence that did not suit the battlefield, Baek Cheon confirmed.

The eyes of the Wudang disciples, which had been shaking with despair and self-loathing, calmed down and were soon filled with firm determination again.

Only then did Baek Cheon’s gaze turn to Thousand-Faced Shaman. Unlike before, it was merciless and sharp, like a honed blade.

“Know this, Four Evil Sects.”

“We don’t just fight to survive. We fight to protect, and we fight to leave something behind. The death of someone who only fought to survive may be worthless, but the death of someone who fought to leave something behind never loses its value. Because they have protected what they had to protect with their lives.”

Thousand-Faced Shaman twisted his lips and sneered.

“Something to protect?”

“Yes.”

“Then… if even that which must be protected is trampled, will it really be a dog’s death then?”

“No. You won’t have that chance.”

Clang.

Baek Cheon drew the sword he had sheathed again and aimed it at Thousand-Faced Shaman.

“Because we have arrived.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a man soared from the cliff like a flying bird.

Thud.

The one who had jumped high up to the cliff landed lightly next to Baek Cheon like a feather.

“You’re late.”

“Yes, Junior Sister.”

And then two more shadows soared up to the cliff, and again two more climbed the cliff and filled the space behind Baek Cheon.

“Damn it! The Wudang people……!”

“There are still survivors. Calm down.”

While Jo Gul bit his lip until it bled to suppress his rising anger, Yoon Jong also quietly chewed over his anger.

Hye-yeon, who walked behind him, chanted a Buddhist prayer with a heavy face, and Tang Gunak, who stood behind Baek Cheon, glared at Thousand-Faced Shaman with a serious and calm gaze.

Baek Cheon said in a straight voice without the slightest tremor.

“We won’t let that happen.”

Thousand-Faced Shaman, who had been staring at Baek Cheon without a word, turned his gaze slightly to the Wudang disciples. He could feel that the eyes of those who had been losing their will had come back to life.

‘Damn it. Those dying bastards.’

Those who had barely opened their lifeless eyes and were waiting for their time to die were now ready to fight to the end.

‘Half an hour……. No.’

If he had stopped them for just half a quarter of an hour more, he would have been able to finish off all the exhausted Wudang bastards. If that had happened, he would have been able to slowly trample on the bastards hanging from the cliff and the bastards who were feeling empty on this summit.

But regretting for a long time was a waste.

Thousand-Faced Shaman lightly clenched and opened his hand, and blood flowed down from the wound inflicted by Tang Gunak. The throbbing pain made him even angrier.

Letting them come all the way here should definitely be called a failure. It was also foolish to get injured trying to stop them in a hurry.

But he hadn’t lost his advantageous position yet.

‘Rather……. Yes, that’s good.’

Now that they had come all the way here, they would have no way out either. If he could annihilate all of Mount Hua here, he would be able to achieve more than just eliminating Wudang.

And at that moment, he saw the disciples of Mount Hua, who had broken through the cliff, soaring one by one to the summit. He couldn’t let them settle down any longer.

“You’re just spouting nonsense with that few numbers. That’s why you good bastards are like this.”

The eyes of the Four Evil Sects, who had been embarrassed, regained their composure at the word ‘numbers.’

That’s right. Even if the situation had changed a little, the fact that they were absolutely advantageous had not changed.

“Kill them all!”

Thousand-Faced Shaman shouted with all his might, unlike himself.

“Tear them to pieces and make them realize that they have rolled into the tiger’s mouth! Make this place their grave today!”

“Oooooooooh!”

“Aaaaaaaaargh!”

The excited Four Evil Sects rushed towards the Mount Hua disciples standing at the edge of the cliff.

“They’re coming, Senior Uncle!”

At Yoon Jong’s cry, Baek Cheon pointed his sword forward.

Before his eyes were countless enemies, and in between them were the Wudang disciples who were still surrounded.

Could he save them?

‘No need to think.’

Doing what is possible is not desperation.

What was important was that he had run all the way here for them. And that his fellow disciples were behind him.

“Mount Hua!”

“Yes!”

The swordsmen of Mount Hua, who had climbed up the cliff, answered loudly enough to burst their throats.

“Break through the enemies and save Wudang!”

“Taaaaaaap!”

No sooner had Baek Cheon finished speaking than Yoon Jong and Jo Gul shot forward like rays of light. The other Mount Hua disciples followed right behind them.

Lightning strikes towards the onrushing tidal wave.

Tang Gunak’s robe fluttered as he kicked off the ground, and the devilish faces of the rushing Four Evil Sects drew closer and closer. The twisted air surged and pushed out as their energies swirled together.

Beyond that intense space, Baek Cheon’s gaze met Mu-jin’s in the air.

In a world where time seemed to flow slowly, as if distorted, Mu-jin’s one remaining eye drew a curve that did not suit this terrible situation.

The meaning of that smile didn’t matter.

Baek Cheon, engraving the reply in the form of a wink in his heart, rushed forward with his sword aimed.

‘Yes.’

Why must he fight?

Why must he volunteer for sacrifice?

Why can’t he back down even though he knows it’s foolish?

The answer is here.

It’s not about surviving. Even if he is powerless, even if he is lacking.

‘It’s about protecting.’

If he can carry it through, he can definitely leave it behind. His will, his life. He can pass it on to those who will protect his back and those who will move forward.

“Baek Cheon of Mount Hua is here! Come, all of you!”

His booming voice, his sword energy, and his expression emitted light as one will.

As if it would never go out.