Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 274

“Everyone, calm down….”

Thud!

“No, don’t just rush in blindly….”

Thud!

“I told you not to end it in one blow, you fools!”

Thud!

Baek Cheon shouted to stop, but it was no use. The Mount Hua disciples kept rushing forward.

The audience had been cheering, but now they stared at the Mount Hua disciples with confused eyes.

“What on earth is going on?”

“Ah, no… how can every single one of them be like this?”

Now, everyone looked only for the black uniforms with plum blossom patterns on the stage.

‘Again?’

Every time they saw a Mount Hua disciple, the people’s eyes showed both excitement and confusion.

People were staring at him, putting pressure on him. Yoon Jong looked up at the sky, feeling lost.

‘This is quite different from what I expected.’

Putting aside the expectant looks directed at him…

“Eek!”

“⋯⋯.”

Yoon Jong looked at his opponent with a displeased expression.

‘Well, well?’

His opponent’s legs were tense, ready to spring. His hands gripped the sword so tightly, you wondered if any blood could flow. And his shoulders? So stiff they looked ready to touch his ears.

He clearly wanted to avoid being knocked off the stage with one hit, but…

‘He won’t be able to show his true skills like that.’

Of course, it wasn’t his fault. Yoon Jong would have done the same in that situation.

Even Gongchao, who was watching the match, looked at Yoon Jong with anticipation, expecting him to show something as a Mount Hua disciple.

Even the referee, who should have been neutral, was giving him that look. You could only imagine how the Jeomchang disciple felt, having to face Yoon Jong.

Yoon Jong tried to ignore the heavy stares and gripped his sword tightly.

No matter who he fought or what the situation was, he had to show his skills.

Otherwise, he could already hear what that devilish bastard would say.

He loosened his grip on the sword a little. The point wasn’t to use force, but to stay relaxed.

Yoon Jong took a shallow breath and stared at his opponent calmly.

Calm… Stay calm…

“Start!”

At Gongchao’s shout, the opponent screamed and charged.

He put all his energy into one strike.

Despite his stiff posture and tense face, the sword came at him swiftly and sharply.

‘Indeed, Jeomchang!’

A good sword, worthy of its famous name.

However…

‘This is strange?’

Oddly, Yoon Jong didn’t feel threatened by the sword.

Was the opponent’s attack weak?

Not at all.

‘Fast but slow, strong but weak.’

It was strange.

The opponent’s sword was fast and strong, but to Yoon Jong, it seemed incredibly slow.

‘This damned body has become accustomed.’

Compared to the swords that Chung Myung swung all the time, this sword might as well have been standing still.

Even if Yoon Jong couldn’t dodge Chung Myung’s sword completely, he could at least block it. Avoiding this sword was far too easy.

Swish.

Yoon Jong stepped to the left and easily avoided the sword.

At the same time, he saw the opponent’s wide-open side.

‘For now, let’s test him gently….’

But before he could think, his sword moved on its own. He swung the flat of his sword hard at the Jeomchang disciple’s exposed side.

Thud!

“Aaaaargh!”

The Jeomchang disciple screamed and flew off the stage.

Yoon Jong stared at his flying opponent, completely shocked.

“Ah….”

He should have studied the opponent’s sword more carefully…

This shouldn’t be happening…

“Winner! Yoon Jong of Mount Hua!”

Gongchao’s announcement was met with a huge roar.

“Woooaaah!”

“What kind of sect ends every match in one blow? They should be called the One-Blow Sword Sect instead of the Plum Blossom Sword Sect!”

“Amazing! Hehehe! Truly amazing!”

Yoon Jong walked off the stage as the roar of the crowd washed over him.

He scratched his head, looking awkwardly at Baek Cheon, who was speechless.

“I’m sorry, Martial Uncle. I was just trying to exchange a few blows.”

“⋯⋯Just trying?”

“The moment I saw an opening, my body moved on its own.”

“⋯⋯.”

Baek Cheon started to speak, then sighed deeply.

“Alright, you’ve done well.”

“That bastard… has trained us too hard, Martial Uncle.”

“⋯⋯.”

Baek Cheon’s eyes twitched.

He turned his head slightly and saw Chung Myung eating a sweet treat with a grin.

‘Ah, so it is possible to want to punch someone smiling.’

Clearly, there was something wrong with the old sayings.

Seeing that grinning face made his blood boil.

From Mount Hua’s point of view, the first day of the preliminaries went very well.

Of course, the other sects were shocked by their performance, but Mount Hua didn’t care about their feelings.

However, the Mount Hua disciples weren’t excited about their incredible performance in the first day of the tournament.

Instead, they stared silently into the air, looking confused.

The Shaolin temple was where the Mount Hua Sect was staying.

“⋯⋯.”

Jo Gul looked down at his hands with unfocused eyes, then looked around.

The Mount Hua disciples who had fought all looked confused.

“Were we always this strong?”

“⋯⋯Maybe they’re just weak?”

“Does that even make sense? They’re all disciples from the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families! Which sect was the person you beat today from?”

“⋯⋯It was the Hubei Peng Clan.”

“Does it make sense that someone from the Hubei Peng Clan would be weak? I heard he’s one of the top twenty younger martial artists in the clan.”

Just winning would have been great.

But they didn’t just win; they crushed them in one blow.

If they had won after a tough fight, they could have been happy. But winning so easily made them uneasy.

“Well, the reason is simple.”

Everyone looked at Chung Myung, who was dozing in the corner.

“I thought it was like hell, but it really was hell.”

“I thought other famous sects trained this hard too.”

“⋯⋯We really did come back from the brink of death.”

The Mount Hua disciples looked at Chung Myung with mixed feelings.

They now knew how hard that damned bastard had pushed them.

“Come to think of it, we all almost died three or four times, right?”

“We fell off cliffs without ropes more than five times! What do you mean three or four times?!”

“I was knocked out for three days after being hit by that bastard’s wooden sword. It’s a miracle I’m still alive!”

You should feel thankful in this situation. But looking back at the last few days, he felt angry, not thankful at all.

“He’s not even human, really.”

“Can’t even complain, can we? We won!”

Baek Cheon nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on Chung Myung. *What is he?* Baek Cheon wondered again. He’d stopped trying to understand Chung Myung using normal ideas a long time ago. But every time Chung Myung did something like this – something impossible – Baek Cheon felt his brain twist itself into knots trying to make sense of it all.

Does being strong mean you can teach others well?

‘That’s ridiculous.’

Were the leaders or former elders of other prestigious sects weaker than Chung Myung?

The fact that disciples from those famous sects, taught directly by such masters, couldn’t even withstand a single blow from the Mount Hua disciples was certainly bizarre.

“Anyway, there’s one thing that’s for sure, isn’t there?”

Everyone turned their heads towards the voice.

Yoon Jong continued in a rather serious tone.

“We’re incredibly strong.”

“⋯⋯.”

“Or those so-called prestigious sects are just disgustingly weak.”

It was an extremely arrogant statement.

Normally, Baek Cheon would have scolded Yoon Jong for speaking rashly after experiencing only one day, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so now.

Ten out of the fifteen participants had fought their first matches, and all of them had won. Not just won, but utterly crushed their opponents.

There’s a time and place for humility. How could one even dare to speak of humility here?

Imagine a student who always gets the best grades saying, ‘Oh, I was just lucky, others are smarter.’ If they said that, people would be very annoyed.

Baek Cheon bit his lower lip.

He was the chief disciple who had to lead them.

Even if everyone was elated and unable to contain their excitement, he had to maintain his composure.

“I understand you’re all excited about the good results, but everyone needs to stay grounded. There’s no way the strength of those called prestigious sects is only this much.”

The Mount Hua disciples nodded at Baek Cheon’s words.

“They will surely be more wary of us and come at us harder from tomorrow. So, don’t forget to stay calm. We are still weaklings compared to them…”

**BANG!** The door crashed open, making everyone jump. Dust flew up from the wooden floor.

“Wh-what is it!”

“Is it a surprise attack!”

The Mount Hua disciples jumped to their feet.

But their faces soon turned to bewilderment as they looked towards the door.

“Hyun Young… No, Sect Leader?”

Baek Cheon blinked.

‘What is it? For a moment, I thought it was Elder Hyun Young?’

It was Hyun Jong who had flung the door open.

A huge smile spread across Hyun Jong’s face, making his eyes crinkle at the corners. His smile was so bright, it lit up the whole room.

“Sect Leader?”

“Welcome, Sect Leader!”

Hyun Jong nodded slowly, walking into the room at a leisurely pace.

“Heh heh heh. Everyone has worked so hard. Really, you’ve worked so hard!”

Then, he stroked Jo Gul’s head, who was closest to him.

Baek Cheon smiled wryly.

He had seen Hyun Jong for quite some time, but this was the first time he had seen him so pleased and delighted.

‘Well, why wouldn’t he be?’

Before the tournament, he had been summoned to a gathering of the leaders of the Nine Great Sects, the Five Great Families, and various prestigious sects.

He had witnessed their arrogance and power firsthand, and now, in front of all of them, the Mount Hua disciples were performing so well.

He was more than happy. He was so happy, it felt like he could fly to heaven.

“If the ancestors were watching this, how proud they would be! Heh heh. Heheheh.”

Hyun Jong wiped his eyes slightly.

Just as everyone was about to become solemn at the sight,

“Hey, stop blocking the way and being all sentimental, and take this!”

This time, it was really Hyun Young who entered.

He was carrying several large baskets stacked high in front of his chest.

Seeing his precarious state, Hyun Jong asked,

“What is all this?”

“Food.”

“Food? What food?”

“Well, obviously food for the kids to eat!”

Hyun Jong frowned slightly at Hyun Young’s unexpected words.

“Doesn’t the Shaolin Temple provide meals?”

“Tsk tsk tsk tsk!”

Hyun Young clicked his tongue loudly at Hyun Jong.

“All they give you at the cafeteria is weeds! How are they supposed to gain strength eating that stuff!”

Hyun Young placed the baskets on the table and removed the cloths covering them one by one.

The baskets were full of roasted chicken, its skin golden brown and crispy. The braised pork ribs smelled sweet and smoky, making everyone’s mouths water.

“You need to eat meat to gain strength, meat! Are they trying to feed our precious kids weeds!”

Hyun Jong’s eyes widened.

“M-meat?”

“Yes!”

“Are they really e-eating m-meat at the S-Shaolin Temple?”

Hyun Young remained indifferent to Hyun Jong’s words.

“What about it? Those guys are monks, but we aren’t!”

“Ah, well, still…”

To think there would really be someone looking for meat in a temple.

And that someone was his own martial brother!

Hyun Jong was so surprised he couldn’t speak. Hyun Young started calling the disciples and putting out the meat for them to eat.

“Come on, eat up! You need to eat to gain strength, you cute little ones!”

“Thank you for the food!”

“Thank you, Elder!”

“Yes, yes. Cluck cluck.”

Hyun Young watched with great satisfaction as the disciples devoured the meat as if it were water.

Of course, it might look like a gluttonous scene to others, but in Hyun Young’s eyes, it was as adorable as chicks pecking at their feed.

“Chung Myung! Where’s Chung Myung? Ah, right! There you are!”

He hurried over to Chung Myung, who was dozing off in the corner, and patted him affectionately on the back.

“Chung Myung, it’s meat! You need to eat quickly!”

“Meat!”

Chung Myung’s eyes snapped open!

“Yes, yes. You’ve suffered a lot eating only weeds. From today, I’ll make sure you eat meat every meal!”

Everyone looked happy.

Hyun Jong muttered blankly.

“…Is this really okay?”

“Well, what about it? Tell them to win if they feel wronged!”

“⋯⋯.”

Hyun Young stroked Chung Myung’s head as he tore into the meat with the face of the kindest man in the world.

“You’ll do well tomorrow too, right?”

“O’ourse, ah’m Chung Myung! ‘Ow can ah ever lose?”

“Yes, yes. That’s the spirit! Hahahahahaha!”

Watching the two of them, like a black-hearted rogue drinking alcohol with gusto, Hyun Jong smiled contentedly as well.

‘I don’t know anymore.’

Well, everything will be alright. Probably. Whatever.