Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 177

Baek Sang looked around the sun-drenched halls of Mount Hua and sighed softly. “The air feels uneasy these days,” he thought. Actually, it wasn’t just uneasy, it was more like… lost. Thinking about it, the air had been strange since that rascal Chung Myung came to Mount Hua. But it got much stronger after Chung Myung and his friends came back from Namyoung. Now, even the older teachers seemed very happy. Something important must have happened. “They must have done something great,” he thought. None of the younger students could deny how amazing Chung Myung was anymore. After two years, they just knew it, whether they wanted to or not. Besides, he had also gotten something good from Chung Myung. Honestly, how could he compare his old life, picking weeds and wearing ripped clothes, to now? Now he ate so much meat he got tired of it, and he wore nice clothes. No matter how spiritual you are, you can’t live on just morning dew. He knew things were a hundred times better now than when the whole school was poor. However, sometimes, Baek Sang missed the peaceful Mount Hua of the past. The Mount Hua when it felt like a real, holy place for training. He missed the quiet mornings spent meditating, the gentle rustle of leaves, the feeling of true peace that had been replaced by this… chaotic energy. “Too much to ask for…”

Rumble.

At the sudden sound, Baek Sang tilted his head upward.

“Is it going to rain?”

Suddenly, thunder…

Rumble.

Huh?

It sounded like it was right next to me?

Well, we are high up here, so thunder can sound close…

Rrrrrrrumble!

Baek Sang’s head snapped around.

No. It doesn’t sound like thunder at all…?

Baek Sang’s eyes widened as he looked around for the source of the sound.

“Wh-what’s going on over there?”

Dust was rising from the Abbot’s residence.

And it wasn’t just a feeling, it was real dust.

“Th-this is…”

Rumble!

As the sound of thunder echoed again, the entire building began to shake.

Huh? That shouldn’t be happening, should it?

That’s definitely the Abbot’s residence…?

And then.

“Aaaaaaargh!”

“What in the world is going on!”

“Please! Please, just a little less! Please!”

Baek Cheon, his younger brother, younger sister, the Abbot, and even the older teachers ran out of the building very fast. Baek Sang was completely shocked by what he saw.

“…What now.”

He didn’t have much time to think.

Rrrrrrrrumble!

The thunder sound came again, and then the building fell down completely. Roof tiles scattered in all directions, and pillars toppled over. Dust billowed out, coating everything in a grey film. The air filled with the smell of broken wood and earth.

“Oh my goodness…”

That place shouldn’t be collapsing like that. That’s…

The Abbot’s residence. An important place…

Baek Sang, staring blankly at the collapsed building, muttered to himself, without thinking.

“…This school is really falling apart.”

It’s a mess. A complete mess…

Hyun Jong’s eyebrows moved up and down quickly as he stared at the fallen building.

“Th-that…”

He was speechless.

“Ahem! Cough! Cough! Ahem!”

Hyun Young, who was coughing beside him, waved his hand and frowned.

“How can a building collapse from something like this?”

Hey, you!

My house just collapsed, and that’s all you have to say?

“Tsk tsk. Looks like we’ll have to build a new one.”

Hyun Jong’s ears perked up at those words.

A new house?

Oh… That’s good, isn’t it?

Should he be happy that he was getting a new house? Or sad that his old house had collapsed?

“Ah, no.”

That’s not what’s important right now!

Hyun Jong shook his head and craned his neck.

“What about that Chung Myung rascal?”

“He’s over there.”

“Huh? Where?”

“Are your eyes not working? Over there, over there.”

Hyun Jong narrowed his eyes at the spot Hyun Young pointed to.

The broken pieces of the building moved a few times before a person crawled out.

“Why did this collapse! Who did this! Who?!”

It was you, you rascal.

You did it! You!

Chung Myung came out, grumbling, and clicked his tongue at the collapsed building.

“This building was built so badly that it fell apart like this! Who used cheap stuff!”

Just as Hyun Jong was about to sigh in exasperation, Hyun Young spoke.

“Abbot, wasn’t that the Five Energies thing?”

“Well…”

Hyun Jong thought about Hyun Young’s words. “It was a little different from what I know about the Five Energies. I heard that when someone does it right, five colored circles appear when they use their power. We saw the five colors, but no circles, right?”

“…Then would you say it’s close to that level?”

“That, I don’t know.”

Hyun Jong could only offer a forced smile.

“Anyway, it seems feeding him the Chaos Origin Pill had an effect.”

And he laughed softly as he looked at Chung Myung.

He used his power, his body floated in the air, and he emitted a five-colored radiance, like a miniature rainbow bursting from his body. At this rate, wouldn’t he become immortal?

“Then, Abbot.”

“What is it now?”

“Just how much stronger has that rascal become?”

Hyun Jong fell silent.

How much stronger, you ask?

Well…

Hyun Jong hesitated, unable to answer, and Hyun Young’s eyes narrowed.

“You don’t know either, do you?”

“Ahem. Of course, I do.”

“Then why can’t you say it?”

Hey, you! How am I supposed to know that?

I’ve never seen anything like this before. Honestly, this guy who was already fighting well against the Mount Tang teachers ate a magic pill and got even stronger. How am I supposed to know how strong he is now?

It’s not like I can just ask him to fight me.

“He’s become very… um, very strong… I guess?”

“So, um… Heh heh heh. It’s hard to explain to you.”

Don’t look at me like that.

Hyun Jong looked away a little bit, and Hyun Young sighed.

“Anyway, it’s a good thing he’s gotten stronger.”

“Yes. It’s a good thing.”

Whether it’s really a good thing or not… Well, the building’s gone, for one.

While everyone was making a fuss, Chung Myung was staring at his hands.

‘Unexpectedly…’

There was a limit to the amount of energy he could draw from magic pills. The power inside him was the purest in the world. No matter how good the magic pill was, it was not as good as Chung Myung’s power.

Wasn’t that why he didn’t see much effect even after eating the Snow Plum Pill in the past?

But this Chaos Origin Pill was different from the magic pills Chung Myung had known.

It didn’t have much more power than the Violet Dawn Pill. But it had power that was much, much purer.

Perhaps…

‘This is just the thing for me?’

Of course, he couldn’t absorb even 20% of the energy he received and had to get rid of the rest, but what did 20% matter?

When he ate the Snow Plum Pill before, he only absorbed a tiny fraction of that small amount of power!

Thanks to that…

Chung Myung clenched and unclenched his fist.

His body was full of energy.

‘There’s still a long way to go.’

Regaining his past strength was still a distant goal. But thanks to the Chaos Origin Pill, he felt like he had made that time much shorter.

“Heeeuuuum.”

Chung Myung, with a happy smile, turned his head a little bit. His friends, who were like older and younger brothers to him, were standing there with very pale faces.

‘That monster!’

‘He’s definitely gotten stronger!’

‘Look at the light coming from his eyes. Is that even human? Is he human?’

His usual friends recognized that he had become much stronger than before just from the energy coming from his body.

“Heaven is so unfair. Why did we eat the same thing…”

It was understandable that they felt a bit jealous.

It’s not like magic pills choose who they work for. One person eats a magic pill and is happy that their energy has increased, while another floats in the air and blows away a building. How unfair is that?

Hyun Young ran up to Chung Myung.

“How is it? Did it have any effect?”

“Keeuh, Elder! This stuff is amazing!”

“Th-that’s good.”

Chung Myung licked his lips slightly.

‘So, it’s more effective than I thought?’

What Chung Myung lacked most right now was inner power. He thought the only way to get stronger inside was to wait, because his power was so pure. But now he found something that could help.

‘This.’

Will my inner power increase if I eat more?

Chung Myung’s eyes gleamed as he looked at Hyun Jong.

Hyun Jong clutched the Chaos Origin Pill box in his arms.

‘Oh, no.’

That greedy guy is definitely after the Chaos Origin Pill. But this is like the future of Mount Hua.

‘Absolutely not!’

Chung Myung smacked his lips and walked toward Hyun Jong.

“Abbot.”

“U-uh?”

“I don’t think anything bad will happen if you use a few more.”

“Th-this?”

Hyun Jong was startled and stepped back.

“No way!”

Before Chung Myung could say anything more, Hyun Jong shouted.

“Who knows what will happen in the future! Mount Hua’s medical hall is not working perfectly yet! If someone gets hurt, we need to use the Chaos Origin Pill to save them! I can’t give any more! You’ll have to step over my dead body to get it!”

“Keeuh.”

Chung Myung said, pretending to be very touched.

He thought he was just holding onto it like it was holy because he was cheap, but he had such good reasons. He thought, ‘Hyun Jong really cares about the students.’

But Hyun Jong didn’t know.

Just how big of a mistake he had made.

“Ah, so. You’re saying you need to save them for when someone gets injured or something?”

“Th-that’s right?”

Hyun Jong flinched, feeling something was wrong in Chung Myung’s tone. He definitely made a mistake.

“Abbot.”

“Uh-huh?”

“Thank you for everything.”

Chung Myung bowed deeply. But Hyun Jong’s worry only grew with that polite reaction.

Chung Myung raised his head and grinned.

“This Chaos Origin Pill will be a great help to our students who are going to the dangerous! Extremely ‘dangerous’ Yunnan! I’ll say it again, that extremely dangerous place! A place where anything could happen! That land ruled by the scary Southern Beast Palace!”

Hey, aren’t you going to smash their heads in…

“Keeuh, Abbot. I’m fine! This Chung Myung is willing to give his life for Mount Hua.”

“Uh…”

“But!”

Chung Myung turned his head sharply.

“If my teachers and older brothers get injured and die in that dangerous land, I won’t be able to close my eyes even in death!”

“Uh… Uh?”

Why is the story going that way?

“N-no, that…”

“In that dangerous situation, just one Chaos Origin Pill… No! Three pills! No! Five pills would be enough!”

“Why is it increasing… You thief!”

“Just five pills would be enough to save their lives and come back! Just five pills! Haa… But I guess not? That Chaos Origin Pill is for the future of Mount Hua…”

“Th-that’s right…”

Chung Myung turned his head sharply to look at Baek Cheon.

“Teacher! The Abbot says you’re not the future of Mount Hua!”

“Why are you getting me involved in this, you crazy guy!”

“That’s what he means! That’s what he means! Oh, this school! My students are risking their lives and walking into a death trap, and you’re saying that little bit of magic pill is too precious! People come before magic pills! Did magic pills come before people!”

It was then.

Tap.

Someone placed a hand on Hyun Jong’s shoulder.

He turned around to see Hyun Young smiling sadly and like he had given up.

“Just give it to him.”

“…”

“Isn’t it better than dying of frustration?”

“Kkeueueueung.”

Hyun Jong grabbed his head.

“Fine, fine! Take it, you bloody robber!”

Hyun Jong’s words got angrier and angrier as he dealt with Chung Myung.