Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1703

Elder Seop Ryang of the Sun Palace made a face of pain. “Kuh!”

‘What on earth are these bastards?’

His small eyes darted around. This couldn’t be happening. This was impossible.

The Sun Palace’s martial art was the Scorching Yang Skill, which burned people alive. As humans, they were bound to feel revulsion and fear towards the raging flames.

Even those with strong beliefs, cruel murderers, or any master, would flinch when faced with the heat of the Scorching Yang Skill. The Scorching Yang Skill was special. Even if you blocked the attack, you still felt the heat.

If they struggled, they would just be burned to ash. So, they had to retreat. It was a reaction so natural it was common sense.

But these madmen were completely ignoring that common sense.

“Damn it! It’s hot, I tell you!”

Along with the curse, the tip of a sword, glowing red-hot, flew towards Seop Ryang’s face. Though he screamed and his face was a mess, the incoming sword strike was cold and composed.

‘How can this be?’

He thought all they had to do was block.

If they just cooked these exhausted fools properly, the cliff would collapse on its own, and they could simply slip away through the path they had already prepared.

How could something so easy have gone wrong?

“Aaaaargh!”

They were even being pushed back. He could clearly feel the chaos around him. The less experienced fighters were not fighting well because they were desperate.

He had always laughed at such situations, but now the Sun Palace was being driven into one.

‘Hwasan.’ Their momentum was making even Seop Ryang’s body stiffen.

“Get out of my way, you bastard!”

‘Danger……’

When Seop Ryang saw the young man with curly hair running at him, eyes bright, he stepped back without thinking. He was overwhelmed by their momentum even before they could test their skills.

It was at that very moment.

“You shameless bastard!”

“Ugh!”

Seop Ryang widened his eyes as much as possible.

He froze for a moment, then slowly turned. What he saw at that moment was not the owner of the voice, but a giant sun exploding as if to cover the world.

‘Oh, no!’

Kwaaaaaah!

Soon after, the fire energy struck Seop Ryang. His flesh melted away in an instant, beginning to burn black.

“Wh-what is this!”

“Evade!”

Due to the suddenly erupting, terrifying heat, Yoon Jong hurriedly grabbed Jo Gul. The two of them rolled together as one.

“Aaaaaaaaaaargh!”

A scream so painful to hear froze the fierce battlefield for a moment. In the bright red flames, a burned black body moved and twisted like it was dancing.

“That……”

It was a sight that could not be fully expressed with the word ‘horrific’.

After a while, as the flames subsided, Seop Ryang’s body, burned black like a charcoal briquette, finally collapsed with a thud.

Shhh.

Everyone stared blankly at the sight of a human body crumbling into ashes. Then, they shifted their gaze to the one walking out from behind the ashes that had been Seop Ryang’s corpse.

“Gu, Palace Lord!”

Palace Lord Jin Pyeong spoke angrily, grinding his teeth. He looked very angry. “You pathetic fools. How much further are you going to disgrace me?”

“Hwasan? By these mere nobodies!”

Scorching Yang energy, like lava, rose from the entire body of the Sun Palace Lord.

“Come. I will personally send you to hell!”

The gatekeeper of the final gateway to hell let out a great roar.

“Lo, Lord?”

A dazed voice escaped from Jo Gul’s mouth.

“That’s the Sun Palace Lord, isn’t it?”

“That person?”

Jo Gul, who had asked back as if he couldn’t believe it, soon distorted his face horribly.

“Isn’t this too unfair? Our So Baek is so small and cute, but why is that person like that……?”

“What nonsense are you spouting! You idiot!”

Yoon Jong, who had rebuked Jo Gul, kept the Sun Palace Lord in check with a tense face. It was funny to be thinking this after scolding Jo Gul a moment ago, but in truth, he somewhat understood his nonsense.

‘Like a blazing sun.’

The heat coming from the Sun Palace Lord seemed as if it would burn even Yoon Jong’s clothes, who was standing far away. If the Scorching Yang Skill reached its peak, was this the kind of power it could unleash?

Yoon Jong felt his body stiffen with tension.

He looked like a rich nobleman. Someone who would relax in a palace away from the city.

In short, he wasn’t someone who could scare people just by looking at him, like the Black Dragon King.

But the strong, scary energy coming from him made his normal look unimportant.

‘Why at a time like this……’

He couldn’t help but sigh at the overwhelming despair.

They had to open that path. They had to, in order to survive.

But the wall blocking their path right now was too high and thick. They even had to overcome a wall that was already difficult to climb while being pressed for time.

‘I need to find another way……’

Above Yoon Jong’s head, who was feeling sad and worried, someone suddenly soared up.

“Sa-go!”

Stunned, he shouted without thinking.

While he was agonizing, Yoo Iseol was taking action. Her body rushed fiercely towards the Sun Palace Lord like a hawk.

“It’s reckless, Sa-go! Right now……”

“A-mi-ta-bul!”

And at that moment, a great lion’s roar erupted from beside Jo Gul.

Taah!

Along with a striking sound like a giant whip being swung, Hae Yeon’s punch from Hae Yeon, the Shaolin genius, flew towards the Sun Palace Lord with terrifying speed. An operation focused on speed rather than power. A fist full of determination to support Yoo Iseol.

From the front, the punch from Hae Yeon, the Shaolin genius, was flying in, and from above, Hwasan’s most deadly blade aimed for his neck.

It was a situation that anyone would feel threatened by.

But the Sun Palace Lord didn’t even twitch an eyebrow.

“Such petty tricks!”

Hwaaaaah!

Soon, an enormous Scorching Yang Skill exploded from the Sun Palace Lord’s hands.

‘That’s?’

Yoon Jong widened his eyes.

The force coming from the Sun Palace Lord’s hands was turning golden, surpassing orange. Soon, it surged like a wave, completely covering his front.

Woo woong!

The power of the punch failed to penetrate the heat and disappeared. Yoo Iseol hit the power with her sword as hard as she could. But she was pushed back by the strong energy. She could not overcome it.

“Sa-go!”

Tak.

Yoo Iseol, who had landed on one knee, had blood trickling down from her lips.

“Sa-go! Are you alright?”

“……I’m fine.”

She had only exchanged a single sword strike, yet the ends of her hair were singed, and blood was flowing back up through her mouth.

Literally, in just one strike.

“Unbelievable…… inner strength.”

“Ugh……”

Yoon Jong’s eyes trembled faintly.

‘Is that really possible?’

Everyone they had faced so far had been difficult.

The Black Dragon King’s strike was unbelievably powerful. The Thousand-Faced Scholar moved so fast, no one could see him.

Jang Il-So himself made everyone cower in fear. Just thinking about the sword of Man-Geum Daebu sent shivers down their spines, even though they had only glimpsed it.

But this power was different.

How much internal energy (a type of magical power) would one need to fill an area with a single palm strike? It was like an unbreakable shield. A burning shield that burned anyone who got too close.

Hye-yeon spoke, sounding troubled.

“The Lord of the Southern Sea Sun Palace… I’ve heard they are royalty, generation after generation. They use their royal power and the power of the palace to control many elixirs of Yeom-eup (powerful magical potions from Yeom-eup).”

Jo-Geol turned to Hye-yeon, surprised.

“No, can eating elixirs like rice really make that possible? Didn’t Cheong-Myeong say that elixirs don’t matter much after a certain point?”

“That’s probably true. Usually.”

“Yes?”

“Normally, if you pour too much water into a container, it overflows. But… that man is royalty, and he was always going to be the Lord of the Sun Palace. Wouldn’t he have prepared himself for this power since he was born?”

“This world is so unfair! I should have been born into a rich family too.”

“…You shouldn’t say things like that.”

“What about you, Monk? Weren’t you cherished in the wealthy Shaolin (a famous temple known for monks and martial arts)?”

“I… I was an orphan from the streets too….”

“Yes, sorry. Anyway, I’m always the bad guy.”

Yoon-Jong was about to hit him on the head, unable to watch any longer.

“Get out of the way!”

At Yoo I-Seol’s shout, everyone jumped away. At the same time, golden energy slammed into the spot where they had been standing.

Whirrrr!

There was no explosion. Instead of destroying everything, the energy melted it. The ground turned red, then quickly burned black.

“…Good heavens.”

Jo-Geol stared in shock, his mouth open.

The ground was now black ash. Jo-Geol’s mouth was dry. *If that heat hit a person…* Could even internal energy protect you from that? He doubted it.

“They have no manners,” the Lord of the Sun Palace said coldly. He frowned at them. “To joke around in my presence.”

He looked down at them as if they were insects. It was pure arrogance, but strangely, Jo-Geol didn’t find it unbelievable. Looking at the Lord of the Sun Palace, it felt… right.

“It’s like I’m naturally a slave…”

“What nonsense are you talking about!”

“Keeuh.”

Jo-Geol groaned.

“Lord Palace! They’re nothing, just dirt under your feet. They are not worthy of your attention.”

“We fear for your safety! Please, stay back!”

“We will take care of this.”

The guardians rushed forward, begging and pleading, ready to bow down before the Lord of the Sun Palace. But he only gave them a cold, scornful look.

“What do you think you can do?”

“Lo, Lord Palace.”

“You pathetic fools. How much more do you have to humiliate me!”

The guardians turned pale as the Lord of the Sun Palace became angry.

They knew him well, serving him closely. It was rare for Jin-Pyung, the Lord of the Sun Palace, to be so angry.

From his point of view, it made sense.

If this were Yeom-eup, he would never have been humiliated by Jang Il-So, who was just a commoner. He would never have been ordered around by someone like Jang Il-So, let alone bow his head.

What if he couldn’t even do this right? He couldn’t imagine how much shame Jang Il-So would make him suffer. The Lord of the Sun Palace, who was born to be above others, could never accept that.

So, he had to succeed in this mission, no matter what! For Yeom-eup, for the Sun Palace, and for himself!

His golden robes fluttered wildly, as if in a storm.

“Step back. Or you’ll die too!”

The guardians were scared by the heat and quickly moved away. If they stayed close, they would turn to ash.

The Lord of the Sun Palace, surrounded by heat, stepped toward the volcano. He was ready to kill, to burn them all to death.

“Worthless things. Rude… and ignorant!”

The swordsmen of Mount Hua (a famous sword school) stepped back without thinking.

The heat was so strong that it felt like their souls were being taken away. They knew they shouldn’t retreat, but fear grabbed them.

They knew they had to move forward to survive. But could they really walk into those flames?

Jo-Geol clenched his teeth so hard that his jaw hurt.

“What do we do, Senior Brother?”

“I wish I knew….”

“Thinking is your job! How can we fight someone like that?”

Yoon-Jong bit his lip, not answering.

“Is there no way?”

“There’s always a way.”

There was a way to fight anyone. Cheong-Myeong had taught them that. However…

“What is it?”

“Internal energy is limited. It’s always being used up. No matter how strong he is, he can’t keep using that much energy.”

“So?”

“So, we should try to wear him down.”

“…I’m going crazy.”

Jo-Geol’s face fell.

Yoon-Jong was right. It was the best plan.

But Mount Hua didn’t have time to waste. They needed to hurry.

There was a weakness, but they couldn’t use it. Was that what made someone unbeatable?

Jo-Geol clenched his fists, his face pale, and thought hard.

‘No, I have to do something!’

He was the leader of Mount Hua’s vanguard. He had to open the way, even if it was hard. That was his job.

But he couldn’t think of a way.

They would turn to ash the moment they faced him. What could they do against such an enemy?

‘Maybe…’

Would it be better to jump off the cliff? Would that be better than facing that man?

He knew that the longer they waited, the longer they would have to make up for it later.

But instead of hitting his head against a wall…

Just as Jo-Geol was about to turn around…

‘Huh?’

He saw something.

A man was standing, facing the heat that could burn him alive. He stood firm, blocking the Lord of the Sun Palace.

The man’s voice reached Jo-Geol, who was frozen.

“Whether it’s a hard road or a fire… I decided a long time ago.”

“Sa….”

“The important thing is whether I can do it….”

The Plum Blossom Sword was aimed at the Lord of the Sun Palace.

The Lord of the Sun Palace frowned as the sword, hot from the heat, pointed at his face.

“…Who are you?”

“Baek Cheon.”

“S, Sasuk!”

In the melting heat, Baek Cheon’s eyes were cold.

“I am the acting sect leader of Mount Hua.”