Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 207

Dang Hak’s anger reached its peak.

“Does he think I’m a joke?”

What made him even angrier was that he couldn’t easily disprove the statement.

It wasn’t like he was unknown, but almost no one outside of the Dang Family or the Sichuan area knew his name.

This was nothing compared to the Mount Hua Divine Dragon, who made the entire world tremble.

Who was the Mount Hua Divine Dragon?

Wasn’t he considered the best of the younger generation, standing alone after defeating the famous Five Dragons?

Rumor had it that he defeated Wudang’s Mu Jin, even though he was younger. No matter how shameless Dang Hak was, he felt embarrassed to compare himself to the Divine Dragon.

But to insult him so openly like this…

“Does he have no honor?”

Openly discussing and making fun of someone’s weaknesses was not what a gentleman would do. How could someone so famous act like a common street thug?

Could he still be called a Taoist?

Besides…

“To dare send a woman as my opponent?”

And what was this?

If that woman lost, it would count as his defeat?

Grrr.

Dang Hak clenched his fist so hard that his fingernails dug into his palm.

He had never considered a woman as his opponent. It was a natural thought for someone from the Dang Family. In the Dang Family, women were seen as incomplete and unable to learn the secret arts.

Yet now, the female swordsman from Mount Hua stood before him, ready with her sword.

“Family Head!” Dang Hak shouted.

“Do you approve of this?”

Instead of answering, Tang Gunak looked at Dang Hak, Yu Yiseol, and Chung Myung in turn.

After seeing Chung Myung’s uninterested face, he looked back at Dang Hak with a blank expression.

‘He must have a plan.’

It was true that the brat was shameless, rude, thoughtless, and had a terrible temper!

‘But he’s not the type to fight a battle he can’t win.’

“It doesn’t matter.”

“If that woman loses, will you give me the position of Young Family Head?”

“…Are you saying that I would break my word?”

Dang Hak flinched at Tang Gunak’s cold stare.

Unable to understand the situation, he glanced at Dang Woei.

‘That idiot.’

Dang Woei gritted his teeth.

If he was seen by him in front of so many people, everyone would know that Dang Woei was supporting Dang Hak.

Of course, many people would guess that anyway. But there was a big difference between guessing and knowing for sure.

‘What are you thinking, Mount Hua Divine Dragon, you bastard!’

Dang Woei stared at Chung Myung and pressed his lips together.

‘There’s no way he just has a stomachache.’

It was hard to believe that someone like the Mount Hua Divine Dragon would get a stomachache from eating too much. Was a master a master for nothing?

‘Then could it be that he knows about the Cheonilchwi?’

That couldn’t be possible, could it?

‘No. He doesn’t know about the poison. But he might have sensed that something was wrong with his body. That must be why he sent that girl out.’

If he couldn’t win, he had to choose the most acceptable defeat.

If a girl came out and lost, Mount Hua could save face.

‘Killing the Mount Hua Divine Dragon here has failed… but it doesn’t mean there’s no other way. The problem is how to hide the existence of Cheonilchwi.’

Of course, the Family Head would be angry, but he wouldn’t be able to go back on his word. In that case, he just needed to give in a little and take the real benefits.

‘Move forward.’

Dang Woei nodded slightly.

Dang Hak, having received his grandfather’s permission, glared at Yu Yiseol with murderous eyes.

“I will make you pay for your arrogance.”

Yu Yiseol put her index finger to her lips.

“Mount Hua doesn’t fight with words.”

“…To the end.”

Dang Hak gritted his teeth and reached into his pocket.

“Be careful.”

Dang Hak’s eyes were filled with a cold, blue intent to kill.

“I will use poison in this duel.”

It wasn’t that Dang Hak was being nice enough to warn her.

The Dang Family had to warn their opponent if they were going to use poison in a duel. That was the rule they had set to remain an honorable group.

“Go ahead.”

Yu Yiseol calmly accepted Dang Hak’s words.

The two people’s eyes met coldly in the air.

Dang So-so watched the sparring arena with a worried face.

‘What is she trying to do?’

She couldn’t understand Yu Yiseol.

Who was Dang Hak?

Among the descendants of the Dang Family, Dang Hak was known as the most talented. He just couldn’t become the Young Family Head because he wasn’t the Family Head’s son. Even Dang Pae, who had been the Young Family Head, couldn’t compare to Dang Hak in skill.

Yet Yu Yiseol had stepped up to face such a person.

“I, I have to stop her!”

“Sister!” Dang Jan grabbed Dang So-so’s sleeve.

“Please calm down. If you step in now, you’ll only embarrass yourself.”

“Can that person really face Dang Hak? She could die!”

Dang So-so’s face was full of worry.

Yu Yiseol was the only person who understood her and tried to help her. She didn’t want to see her poisoned and collapsing.

“Do you think she went up there without knowing?”

“What?”

“Of course, she knew and still went up. Because she is a martial artist!”

Dang So-so was speechless.

“Don’t insult her. From the moment she stepped up there, there is no man or woman. It’s just a fight between martial artists. You must not interfere!”

Dang So-so’s eyes widened.

‘Then…’

That opening the way meant…?

Dang So-so’s eyes were fixed on Yu Yiseol.

Her serious face was firmly in her mind.

Dang Hak smirked as he watched Yu Yiseol seriously focus on him and take a deep breath.

“If you knew who I was, would you dare to stand here and face me…?”

“Too much talk,” Yu Yiseol frowned.

It wasn’t that she disliked talkative people. After all, she had a terrible chatterbox beside her who was like no one else in the world.

But every word that man said annoyed her.

“…If you want to die that badly, I’ll let you.”

Dang Hak’s hand reached into his sleeve. The slightly cut-off sleeve fluttered.

“Prepare yourself!”

Dang Hak’s hand shot out of his sleeve like a ray of light.

At the same time, more than a dozen palm-sized steel needles flew towards Yu Yiseol. Judging by the slight black color, they were clearly coated with a strong poison.

Yu Yiseol’s sword moved slowly.

Slowly.

Softly and gracefully.

It was more like a dance than swordsmanship.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Yu Yiseol’s sword swept away the flying steel needles.

It was more like she swept them away rather than knocked them away. The steel needles, which had been flying with great speed, lost their power as if they had been caught in a strong current and were stuck in the floor of the sparring arena.

“Hmm! You have some skill!”

Dang Hak launched his second attack right away.

Whoosh!

A blue dagger came out of his sleeve, carrying a strong force as it flew towards Yu Yiseol.

The tip of Yu Yiseol’s sword accurately aimed at the flying dagger.

Just as the dagger was about to hit, her sword twisted slightly. And it stuck closely to the side of the dagger.

Whirl.

Without slowing the dagger down, she spun her body once, causing the dagger to fly back towards Dang Hak.

“Huh?”

Dang Hak couldn’t hide his surprise at this unexpected move.

“How dare you!”

Dang Hak’s face turned red with embarrassment because the hidden weapon he had thrown was coming back at him.

He used the full power of the Ghost Claw of Poison, and his hand, stained black, grabbed the flying dagger.

Scratch!

The sound of metal scraping against metal rang out, and the dagger lost its speed. Dang Hak caught the dagger and gritted his teeth.

But even so, he didn’t act without thinking like he had done before.

‘She has some skill.’

He didn’t want to admit it, but that woman named Yu Yiseol was stronger than he had thought.

Dang Jan had been embarrassed by Jo Gul, and it seemed that the disciples of Mount Hua were all very skilled.

“If you weren’t a woman, you might have been able to beat me.”

Yu Yiseol didn’t respond.

“Blame the fact that you weren’t born a man.”

Yu Yiseol chuckled.

“…What’s so funny?”

“You’re so old-fashioned.”

“What?”

“Why are you so weak? Is it because you are a man?”

“You…!”

“That doesn’t matter now. What matters is this.”

Yoo Iseol’s sword aimed at Dang Hak’s neck.

“You’re just weak.”

Dang Hak was no longer angry. He simply glared at Yoo Iseol, his eyes wide and bloodshot with anger.

“Looks like you want to die.”

“Think what you like.”

“I’ll grant your wish.”

A strange glint appeared in Dang Hak’s eyes, and his hand moved again, going into his sleeve a little deeper than before.

Tang Gunak’s brow furrowed as he saw this.

The warriors of the Dang family habitually kept more confident and familiar hidden weapons deep in their sleeves. But Dang Hak’s case was a bit different.

‘Should I stop him?’

Dang Hak enjoyed using hidden weapons with high lethality. If he wasn’t careful, Yoo Iseol could suffer a great misfortune regardless of the outcome of the match.

But before he could step in, Dang Hak’s hand was pulled out of his sleeve.

Whoosh!

It was a different kind of sound than before.

Clearly, a sharp noise had erupted, yet nothing was visible.

However, Yoo Iseol seemed to see something, as she swung her sword continuously at the empty air. Her sword moved so fast, it was like a shield in front of her.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Small sparks flew from her sword in quick succession.

“What is it?”

At that moment, the masters of the Dang family, scattered throughout the audience, suddenly rushed forward all at once. Then, they spread their sleeves left and right, knocking down something flying into the audience.

“Th-that?”

Only after the flying object fell to the ground could its identity be confirmed.

“Is it a Bovine Hair Needle?”

On the ground were tiny needles, thinner than hairs, glinting like metal in the light. It was a hidden weapon called a Bovine Hair Needle because it was as thin and fine as cow hair. When fired at high speed, it was difficult to see where it was going with your eyes.

Yoo Iseol also judged that it was impossible to block each one individually, so she covered the front with her sword.

However, it couldn’t be perfect.

Yoo Iseol, having lowered her sword, bit her lip slightly.

Her gaze turned to her left shoulder.

A thin needle, so fine it was barely visible, was embedded in her shoulder.

Just one.

What problem could there be from being pricked by just one of those thin needles…

Yoo Iseol pulled out the Bovine Hair Needle. Confirming that the tip of the thin needle was stained black, she threw it to the ground.

‘Poison.’

Her shoulder throbbed. The throbbing in her shoulder turned into a burning ache, spreading down her arm like fire. At this rate, she would soon be unable to use her left arm.

Dang Hak sneered.

“Hah! You should have been told stories about the terror of the Dang family! Did you really think you could win?”

“…Poisoned?”

“Yes. You’re not so foolish as to not know your own condition, are you?”

Yoo Iseol muttered with an expressionless face.

“The foolish one is you.”

“What?”

“Do you think I’ll let you stand there until the poison spreads? Do you?”

With those words, Yoo Iseol charged at Dang Hak!

“Foolish! Did you think I wouldn’t have considered that much?”

Dang Hak smiled cruelly, and a cloud of dust started to rise from his sleeve as he swung his arms wide.

A thick, grey dust cloud puffed out from Dang Hak’s sleeves, smelling like burnt earth and something sharp and chemical, obscuring Dang Hak’s front.

“It’s Soul Severing Sand!”

Poisonous sand blocked Yoo Iseol’s attack path.

If he waited longer, the poisoning would worsen, so his intention was to retreat for now!

But at this moment, Dang Hak made a big mistake.

The disciples of Mount Hua, at least those who trained with Chung Myung, did not know how to retreat.

The tip of Yoo Iseol’s sword began to tremble softly.

Her sword blurred, and suddenly, beautiful shapes like plum blossoms bloomed in the air around her, pushing back the dust cloud with a gust of clean, sharp wind.

“Eep!”

Dang Hak was very surprised to see the dust cloud rushing towards him.

Dang Hak’s face changed from confident to shocked as he saw his attack fail. He wouldn’t be poisoned by the Soul Severing Sand, but the problem was that his vision was obscured. Unable to find a place to avoid, he kicked off the ground and floated into the air.

However, at that moment.

Dang Hak saw it.

A plum blossom sword suddenly rising from the middle of the approaching dust cloud!

His eyes widened with surprise.

‘Why from there?’

How could it be in the middle of the Soul Severing Sand?

But there was no time to think.

Wham!

The rising sword struck Dang Hak’s face, which had been exposed without defense, with the flat of the blade.

“Kraaah!”

Soon, Dang Hak crashed to the ground.

“Ugh… Huk.”

Dang Hak trembled and raised his head.

Yoo Iseol stood where the dust cloud had cleared. Her face was pale and showed she was in pain.

“She’s crazy!”

She didn’t push it away to avoid the Soul Severing Sand.

She hid in that Soul Severing Sand to avoid Dang Hak’s gaze. Enduring the poisoning.

“Not in her right mind…”

Yoo Iseol retorted coldly.

“You’re weak.”

“……”

“You’ve never even fought, yet you’re arguing about who’s strong and who’s not.”

No matter how strong he was, he was just a flower in a greenhouse.

He was no match for Yoo Iseol.

“Th-this! Me!”

Wham!

Dang Hak, who was trying to get up, was hit in the head by the flat of Yoo Iseol’s sword and tumbled down again.

She began to repeatedly strike Dang Hak’s head with the flat of her sword.

Baek Cheon muttered to himself without realizing it as he watched the scene.

“Head… Head. Head. Head…”

Yoon Jong shuddered as if it were horrible to watch.

“No. Why learn something like that…”

Their sadness at watching the scene was great, but how could it compare to Dang Hak’s pain?

Plop.

Dang Hak’s head was swollen and red, like a bruised fruit, and he groaned with every twitch, finally collapsing to the ground. Looking at his legs twitching pitifully, even strangers would feel sorry for him.

“You…”

It was that moment.

“Come here, Trouble.”

Chung Myung, who had already stepped onto the sparring stage, grabbed Yoo Iseol’s arm and pulled her in.

“……”

“The sooner you treat the poisoning, the better.”

Yoo Iseol nodded lightly and followed Chung Myung down from the sparring stage.

Her gaze turned to Dang Hak, who was lying behind her.

‘Loudmouth.’

And then back to Chung Myung in front of her.

‘Different.’

This one’s a loudmouth too, though.

Chung Myung took Yoo Iseol straight to Tang Gunak and held out his hand.

“Give it to me quickly. The antidote.”

Tang Gunak also handed over the prepared antidote quickly without saying a word.

“This should be enough.”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue and frowned.

“Why fight so dangerously?”

Yoo Iseol wrinkled her nose in disgust. ‘I don’t want to breathe the same air as him.’

…Oh.

It’s a good thing Dang Hak didn’t hear that.

Chung Myung nodded and turned his body.

“If you treat the poisoning carelessly, you’ll suffer, so treat it properly now. Jo Gul, provide protection.”

“What are you going to do?”

Chung Myung grinned.

“Well, well, well… looks like someone needs a little… *gift*.” he said with a sly grin.

His gaze turned to Dang Wae, who was trembling on the platform.

“No, should I say I’m going to give a gift?”

Chung Myung grinned, but his eyes were serious as he tapped the handle of the Plum Blossom Sword.

Prepare yourself.

Your ancestor’s punishment is a bit painful.