Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 187

Jo Pyung’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

“Uh… Uh-oh…

‘Does he have a death wish?’

Jo Pyung was stunned. He couldn’t believe what he just heard.

He’d never imagined such rude words being directed at Dang Zhan.

Who was Dang Zhan, after all?

Wasn’t he the fifth young master of the Sichuan Dang Family, a famous and powerful family in Sichuan, and the ruler of Chengdu?

Who in Chengdu, of all places, would dare to speak to a member of the Sichuan Dang Family like that?

If anyone could, they’d have to be a powerhouse who could trample even the Sichuan Dang Family, or else…

‘Just a madman, probably.’

Unfortunately, the current situation seemed to lean heavily towards the latter. There was no way this young man could be a powerhouse who didn’t even consider the Sichuan Dang Family.

Which meant…

‘…How am I supposed to handle this?’

His mind went blank.

The Sichuan Dang Family was famous worldwide. It wasn’t just because they were strong, even though they were small in number.

It was their tenacity and venom.

Even though they were part of the traditional groups, they were considered closer to the unusual, never forgetting a grudge and being highly sensitive to insults.

And now, someone had openly insulted the Sichuan Dang Family. How were they going to deal with the problems?

Moreover, the problems might not be limited to Mount Hua. Perhaps the Saha Assembly would also have to bear some responsibility for this.

However, contrary to Jo Pyung’s worries, Dang Zhan wasn’t particularly agitated.

He was more confused than angry, and the family’s teachings, which forbade him from getting worked up in any situation, were holding him back.

Narrowing his eyes, he meticulously observed the person who had walked out of the room instead of getting angry.

The Mount Hua uniform embroidered with plum blossoms.

His face, not yet completely free of youthful traces, could be considered quite handsome.

It was clear that he was a Mount Hua disciple, but it wasn’t certain which one he was.

“Who are you?”

Dang Zhan opened his mouth, putting as much composure and courtesy as he could gather into his voice.

But the response he received canceled out all the courtesy he had shown.

“Who are you?”

“……”

A reaction that was more than just indifferent; it was rude.

A face flushed red.

And a bottle of alcohol in his hand.

After putting all of that together, Dang Zhan could only come to one conclusion.

‘He’s drunk.’

He had no desire to get into a brawl with a drunkard.

However…

‘To drink so much that he’s drunk while traveling… Are the rumors about Mount Hua’s disciples exaggerated?’

In Dang Zhan’s mind, the evaluation of Mount Hua began to drop quickly.

Just then, as if rebelling against that evaluation, the disciples of Mount Hua, wearing their uniforms, burst out of the room.

“Aha ha ha ha ha!”

“He’s very drunk. We’re sorry!”

“Let’s go inside! Come on, Chung Myung! Let’s go, quickly!”

The Mount Hua disciples grabbed the drunkard’s limbs and began dragging him inside. Up to this point, it would have been something to just laugh off, but…

The problem was the drunkard’s name.

“Chung Myung?”

A voice filled with unconcealed confusion escaped Dang Zhan’s lips.

“Are you saying that’s the Mount Hua Divine Dragon, Chung Myung?”

“……”

Soon, astonishment flickered in his eyes as well.

And Jo Pyung, who heard those words, also looked back and forth between the Mount Hua disciples and Dang Zhan with a dumbfounded expression.

“The, the Mount Hua Divine Dragon? That person?”

Jo Pyung’s words echoed Dang Zhan’s sentiments.

Mount Hua Divine Dragon.

Now, there was one word that almost always went with that name.

The greatest rising star in the world.

This phrase was filled with the envy and expectations of the martial artists.

A position that all the rising stars who dreamed of becoming the greatest in the world wanted to obtain. A glorious title that only one person of the era could hold.

He had won against ten second-generation disciples of Jongnam.

There were even rumors that he had won against a Mu disciple of Wudang, not even a Jin disciple.

He was famous for his bravery too. He’d even gone into the deadly Sword Tomb, stopped a terrible massacre, and earned praise from the respected Heosanja of Wudang.

The greatest rising star of the era, possessing both martial skill and intellect!

“……That person?”

Dang Zhan and Jo Pyung tilted their heads at the same time.

‘Doesn’t seem like it.’

No way.

The people next to that drunkard seemed like much better martial artists. One of them was giving off such tremendous energy that even Dang Zhan was on edge.

But to leave someone like that alone and call that drunkard the Mount Hua Divine Dragon?

‘There must have been some mistake.’

Or else the evaluation of the Mount Hua Divine Dragon that was known to the world was a complete lie.

Dang Zhan’s brow furrowed.

After thinking for a moment, he opened his mouth.

“Are you the Mount Hua Divine Dragon, Chung Myung?”

Chung Myung, who was being dragged away, reacted to his voice.

“Let go! Let me go! He’s calling me!”

“No, no. No one called you.”

“You misheard. You misheard! Let’s go, Chung Myung!”

“No, I’m telling you, they called me! Oof!”

Chung Myung, who had shaken off his senior and junior brothers by waving his arms, staggered forward again. Then, he narrowed his eyes at Dang Zhan.

“Did you call me?”

“……Are you Chung Myung?”

“Haa.”

Chung Myung sighed deeply. Then, he clicked his tongue softly.

“Hey! Hey you! Manners, kid! Don’t you know how to talk to people? Name first! Always name first! Dumb kids these days…”

Dang Zhan pressed his lips shut.

Now that he heard it, he realized he had made a mistake. He had momentarily forgotten his manners because he was so dumbfounded.

“Who are you?”

“……I apologize for my rudeness. I am Dang Zhan of the Sichuan Dang Family.”

“Dang Family?”

“That is correct.”

“No……”

Chung Myung twisted his face.

“If you’re from the Dang Family, you should be well-educated. Why are you barging in at this late hour and demanding that I come out? Did all the Dang Family members I knew die, and some other Dang Family folks create a new Dang Family in their place?”

The more Chung Myung spoke, the redder Dang Zhan’s face became.

He didn’t mind being insulted. But this was a direct insult to the Dang Family.

Just as the enraged Dang Zhan was about to say something, Yoon Jong quickly jumped forward and began hitting Chung Myung’s mouth.

“You troublesome mouth! You troublesome mouth!”

Slap! Slap!

“Ouch! Ouch! Why are you hitting me!”

“Here!”

Yoon Jong, who had grabbed Chung Myung by the scruff of his neck, dragged him back.

Baek Cheon, watching the scene with a dumbfounded expression, cleared his throat slightly and stepped forward. His face was also slightly flushed.

“We apologize for the rudeness. I am Baek Cheon of Mount Hua.”

“……Are you the Hwajeong Sword?”

“People call me that.”

“If so, you are the very person who defeated the Sword Dragon of Wudang.”

“……We merely exchanged a few blows.”

Dang Zhan’s eyes turned cold.

At least he had met someone who could communicate. Dang Zhan was even feeling grateful that the other party knew the proper etiquette, having experienced such absurd events.

“I hope you understand our rudeness in visiting you at this late hour. When I heard that the disciples of Mount Hua, an important martial arts school famous throughout the world, had come to Chengdu, I couldn’t contain my burning desire to compete.”

“I don’t think it’s rude. I’m just embarrassed that we dare to make the Dang Family want to compete.”

Dang Zhan curled up the corners of his lips.

“It’s more than enough. Especially…”

Dang Zhan’s gaze turned to Jo Gul, who was standing behind Baek Cheon.

“Young Master Jo and the Dang Family have many connections. That is why I would like to check in this place today what Young Master Jo has learned from Mount Hua.”

Baek Cheon’s face hardened slightly.

“I don’t understand. Why is the Dang Family checking the achievements of a Mount Hua disciple?”

“It’s simple.”

Dang Zhan smiled casually.

“He is not only a disciple of Mount Hua but also a member of the Saha Assembly. Everyone who sets foot in Chengdu has a duty to be checked by the Sichuan Dang Family.”

Baek Cheon narrowed his brow.

He wanted to ask how they had such authority when they weren’t even the imperial family, but it was pointless. At least within Chengdu, it was true that the Sichuan Dang Family reigned like kings.

If he tried to avoid it awkwardly, there was a high possibility that the Saha Assembly, not Jo Gul, would pay the price.

And that was something neither Baek Cheon nor Jo Gul wanted.

“Sasuk.”

Baek Cheon glanced back at Jo Gul’s call from behind.

“I will go out.”

“Geol-ah.”

“Just a moment……”

Jo Gul called Baek Cheon and stepped back. Then, he whispered in a voice low enough that the Dang Family members couldn’t hear.

“This is the way people live in Chengdu.”

“I don’t understand. What is going on?”

“……It’s because Mount Hua’s reputation has increased. They don’t want the influential figures of Chengdu to escape the Dang Family’s control. If they leave me alone, they know that the children of other influential families can also go to prestigious sects in other regions, so they are trying to shame me and stop it early.”

“Huh?”

Confusion flickered in Baek Cheon’s eyes.

“Does that even make sense?”

“That’s the way of Sichuan, and the way of the Dang Family. If Mount Hua gets involved here, things will become more complicated. Please leave this to me.”

Baek Cheon nodded silently.

“I understand. Wait a moment.”

“Yes, Sasuk.”

Baek Cheon stepped forward again.

He approached Dang Zhan more closely than before, straightened his back, and opened his mouth.

“How do you want to check my Sajil’s skills?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Is there any other way for a martial artist to check another martial artist?”

Dang Zhan curled up the corners of his lips with a smirk.

“We’ll know if we fight directly.”

Baek Cheon nodded with a smile.

“So, you want to check the skills of Jo Gul, the young master of the Saha Assembly and the third-generation disciple of Mount Hua, and announce the results in Chengdu, so you’re telling me to hand over Jo Gul?”

“It’s a bit aggressive, but not far from the truth. And I wanted to become better friends with the disciples of Mount Hua if possible, but it seems the situation is not good. So, let’s do that later……”

Dang Zhan’s gaze shone coldly.

“First, hand over Jo Gul. This is an event of the Sichuan Dang Family. Don’t get involved.”

Baek Cheon’s smile deepened.

“Of course. We of Mount Hua have no intention of getting involved with the Sichuan Dang Family’s event.”

“You’re a reasonable person.”

“However… there’s a bit of a problem.”

“Problem?”

“Yes, a problem.”

Baek Cheon tilted his head slightly.

“I have no intention of getting involved with the event, but are you saying that the people here will check Jo Gul?”

“……Why is that a problem?”

“With that skill?”

“……”

Dang Zhan widened his eyes.

But Baek Cheon simply stared at Dang Zhan with clear eyes, without the slightest movement.

“Since you dare to step forward and check the third-generation disciple of Mount Hua, we must treat you in the same way. Come. I will check your skills first. Wouldn’t that be fair?”

Baek Cheon tapped the sword at his side.

And he said firmly.

“If you don’t, you can’t touch my Sajil. This is a Mount Hua event. Don’t get involved.”

All the Mount Hua disciples who had been watching the situation from the back stared at Baek Cheon with blank eyes.

“Sasuk!”

“Wow… Sasuk.”

“Sahyung!”

…You told me not to cause accidents.

What are you doing causing an accident?

The state of our sect is really something!