Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 290

Jongli Gok stared angrily at the sparring stage. Seeing his students carry the defeated Jong Seohan away hurt him deeply.

“Damn it.”

The quiet sound of grinding teeth could be heard.

He knew he had to stay calm. Leaders don’t show anger. But inside, his blood was boiling. *How could this happen?*

“Such humiliation!”

He clenched his fist so tightly that his nails dug into his palm, and he trembled.

The cheers of the audience continued.

This was a serious blow to Jongnam.

The fact that Jongnam had lost to Hwasan at the last Jonghwa Assembly was well-known. Many people were happy about Jongnam’s disgrace rather than Hwasan’s success.

Before, only important people saw it. Because most people didn’t see it themselves, they didn’t really understand what happened.

But now, too many people were watching this fight. If they all talked about it, the whole world would know about Jongnam’s defeat.

And there was something else that made Jongli Gok even angrier.

“How?”

That sword technique.

The sword technique that had just defeated Jong Seohan looked very familiar.

Wasn’t it very similar to the Snow Blossom Twelve Forms that Jongnam had created with all their effort?

“How did they get it back?! It shouldn’t still be in Hwasan!”

That sword technique was like Hwasan’s symbol!

Then…

“…Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Style.”

A surprised voice came from Beop Jeong.

Everyone on the platform looked at him.

“Amitabha,” Beop Jeong said, his voice surprised. “Sect Leader Hyun Jong, is it true? Has Hwasan really found the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Style again?”

“Yes,” Hyun Jong replied, nodding slightly.

“Oh…”

Beop Jeong stared at Hyun Jong with wide eyes, looking surprised. His eyes moved quickly.

“I was sad when I heard that Hwasan had lost the heart of their sword techniques, but to think they have brought it back like this. This is something to celebrate.”

“You are too kind. We were lucky to find the secret book left by our ancestors.”

“Indeed, indeed. I wondered why Hwasan was improving so quickly, but now I know the story. If you have the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Style again, who can ignore Hwasan?”

Hyun Jong smiled at Beop Jeong’s words.

Actually, what he said wasn’t completely true.

Hwasan had started to improve long before, and finding the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Style just made it even clearer.

But there was no need to tell them that.

“We are happy to have found the swords of our ancestors. And…”

Hyun Jong looked at the sparring stage. He saw Jongli Gok’s face become hard as stone.

“If we can do well with that sword technique, we will be very happy.”

Jongli Gok’s fist trembled.

“Damn it.”

Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Style.

The symbol of Hwasan and the sword technique that made Jongnam look like they were beneath Hwasan for hundreds of years.

To make things worse, Hwasan had gotten that sword back. And Jongnam’s Snow Blossom Twelve Forms had been beaten by that sword.

“The Snow Blossom Twelve Forms is a sword technique that is better than the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Style. If you know it well, you should never lose to the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Style. Never!”

But the result showed the opposite.

Jong Seohan knew the Snow Blossom Twelve Forms very well, just as well as Baek Cheon knew the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Style.

But Jong Seohan was badly defeated without being able to use his full strength.

Jongli Gok bit his lip and looked at Jin Geum-ryong.

“You must not lose.”

Jong Seohan could lose.

But if Jin Geum-ryong lost, it would mean something different. If he was defeated, Jongnam would have to admit that their younger students were not as good as Hwasan’s.

He couldn’t stand that shame.

Besides…

Baek Cheon wasn’t everything, was he?

Jongli Gok looked at Chung Myung.

“Hwasan Divine Dragon.”

And all the other students of Hwasan who were said to be as good as Baek Cheon.

A cold feeling went through Jongli Gok’s heart.

“Maybe.”

He might be seeing the moment when Hwasan became better than Jongnam.

He didn’t want to believe it.

❀ ❀ ❀

The staff whistled past Jo Gul’s ear, close enough for him to feel the wind of it, before it sliced across his cheek.

As the staff cut through the air, Jo Gul’s cheek was also cut. He felt a burning feeling on his cheek, but Jo Gul didn’t look away.

“Faster and stronger!”

The main competition was different; the opponent’s staff was sharp. They were stronger than the ones he had fought in the earlier rounds.

But not so strong that he couldn’t handle them. Senior Brother Yoon Jong’s sword was much sharper, and Yu Yiseol was much more skilled.

Baek Cheon was better overall, and Chung Myung…

“Not even close to Chung Myung.”

Jo Gul now understood who he had been training with.

He would never have been able to reach this level if he had trained alone.

He thought of Baek Cheon’s patient guidance, Yu Yiseol’s sharp advice, and Yoon Jong’s encouraging words. And then, Chung Myung… who always pushed them all harder than anyone else.

Jo Gul gritted his teeth.

His heart was cold. His head was even colder!

“Taat!”

His sword moved quickly.

It was Jo Gul’s plum blossom.

Different from Chung Myung’s, and different from Baek Cheon’s.

Plum blossoms bloomed on Hwasan’s many peaks. Each one was different, so how could the Plum Blossom Sword Style be the same?

He remembered the words: ‘A plum blossom sword style without your own heart is like a flower that is already dead.’

His plum blossom quickly covered the staff that was coming at him like a ray of sunlight.

Clang! Clang!

The sound of metal hitting metal echoed as the plum blossom made of sword energy hit the staff.

Soon, the staff was pushed away.

Jo Gul didn’t miss his chance.

Flash!

His sword moved, and a flash of light, sharp and sudden as sunlight breaking through clouds of plum blossoms, struck his opponent.

“Ugh!”

The beggar from the Beggars’ Sect fell to the ground, hit by the sword energy in his chest.

“Stop!”

A loud voice shouted.

“The winner is Hwasan’s Jo Gul!”

Jo Gul put his sword away and bowed respectfully.

“I have learned a lot.”

Then, he turned and walked off the sparring stage.

The audience couldn’t cheer so easily anymore.

Someone swallowed hard.

“Wait… are they actually going to win?” one person whispered. “No way, right?” another replied, sounding unsure.

“No. You can’t just say that. There are only a little over a hundred people left now, right? After today, only sixty-four will be left. Hwasan’s students have the most left even now, so what do you think will happen if they keep winning like that?”

“…I guess.”

“If Hwasan wins, it will be a big surprise. It’s hard to believe.”

The crowd became quiet and looked at the Hwasan students.

“Are they going to win?”

“Volcano?” The word hung in the air, no longer a funny joke. It felt more like a warning.

Winning this All-World Martial Arts Competition would be huge for Mount Hua. The biggest thing to happen to them in almost a hundred years.

*Isn’t this a big deal?* someone thought in the crowd. Whispers started to spread.

Mount Hua had been a famous martial arts group once, but years ago, they had been kicked out of the Nine Great Sects – the most powerful groups in the land. Could a group like *that* really win this competition? Could they beat all the strong students from the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families and take first place? It seemed impossible.

If that happened, it would be like showing that the people who kicked Mount Hua out of the Nine Great Sects were wrong.

For the Nine Great Sects, it would be a total embarrassment.

“Actually, hasn’t it already been proven a little bit? Even if Mount Hua messes up now, who can say they don’t deserve to be one of the Nine Great Sects?”

“Isn’t that too much? They’re just young students, after all.”

“Do the old guys live forever? If their young students are this strong, who says Mount Hua won’t become the best group in the world later on?”

“…No.”

“Then the Nine Great Sects will be known as the fools who kicked out the best group in the world. Am I wrong?”

“…”

No one could answer easily.

It would be rude to speak carelessly. Also, they were afraid the Nine Great Sects might hear what they said.

But even if they didn’t say it out loud, they were all thinking the same thing.

‘The Nine Great Sects are about to be totally humiliated.’

‘Their faces will be great to see.’

Most people there knew that this martial arts competition was really a place for famous families to show off.

They wanted to become closer with each other and show everyone how strong they were. It was clear they wanted to stay in charge of the world.

But with Mount Hua joining, things were changing fast.

What if Mount Hua won?

‘It would be like Mount Hua stealing the fancy meal those famous families made and running away.’

The crowd’s eyes started to shine strangely.

They wanted to see it.

It might be something they would never see again, not even in history. They really wanted to see that moment with their own eyes.

And Qingming, watching all this, smirked.

‘The stage is being set up nicely, isn’t it?’

That’s why he had begged for the golden ticket, so he could get even one more person from Mount Hua into the competition.

Qingming winning? Of course, that would be good too.

But wouldn’t it be a waste to only get the result ‘Mount Hua has the best young student in the world’ from such a well-prepared stage?

He needed to show everyone there how strong Mount Hua was, not just Qingming.

He needed to make them remember that the Plum Blossom Sword House of Mount Hua had finally come back to life after a long, hard time.

That way!

Qingming looked up.

‘I’ll be able to really mess with those Nine Great Sects jerks.’

Maybe they wouldn’t be able to enjoy the competition so easily anymore.

“It’s been too friendly until now.”

He would make them feel like they were dying a little bit every day. He told them to wait and see.

“Qingming, here’s the money for…”

“Ah, right!”

Qingming grinned and ran to the betting table. He took out a new bag from his pocket and swept the money into it.

“Heavy, just the way I like it!”

He happily took the bag and grabbed another stack of betting slips.

“The next match is between Jin Geum-ryong of Jongnam and Cheongseong’s…”

“Ten thousand nyang on Jin Geum-ryong!”

“The next match is between Namgung Dowi of Namgung and…”

“Ten thousand nyang on Namgung Dowi!”

“Yoon Jong of Mount Hua and…”

“Fifty thousand nyang on Yoon Jong of Mount Hua!”

“Fifty thousand nyang on Yoo Iseol!”

..

“One hundred thousand nyang on Hae Yeon!”

“Thirty thousand nyang on Baek Gong!”

Whirr!

Behind Qingming, the full bags piled up like a mountain. Everyone who saw it was speechless.

‘He got all of them right?’

‘Is he a gambling god?’

‘Shouldn’t we think this is rigged?’

Some people looked doubtful, not believing it.

Predicting a match’s outcome? It wasn’t that hard.

Even the people there could guess right about eighty percent of the time if they bet everything they had.

The problem was the other twenty percent.

Getting eighty percent right meant they would get twenty percent wrong.

That was normal. If they knew for sure who would win before the match, why have the competition?

That twenty percent chance was why people lost money. But Qingming had already guessed dozens of matches correctly.

The piles of money behind him proved it.

He smiled proudly, unable to hide it, as he looked at the growing wealth.

“Hehe!”

‘That, that!’

‘That Taoist jerk!’

‘Agh, he’s so annoying!’

They had to watch as the money they lost piled up in someone else’s hands. The gamblers’ eyes became fierce.

“Next is Tang Soso of Mount Hua and… Jongnam’s…”

Before Wi Rip-san could finish, the angry gamblers shouted.

“Four hundred nyang on Tang Soso!”

“I’ll put a thousand nyang on Tang Soso!”

“Two thousand nyang on Tang Soso!”

“Huh? Two thousand nyang?”

“Don’t be silly! Mount Hua has won every match so far! Plus, isn’t that Taoist from Mount Hua too? He’s been betting on their side every time a Mount Hua student comes out! Forget the odds, we need to win first!”

Realizing that chasing long odds would ruin them, they started putting all their money on Tang Soso.

They thought it was better to follow Qingming and win steadily than to risk everything on a big win.

Quickly, money piled up like a mountain on Tang Soso’s side of the table.

“Hmm.”

Qingming grinned as he watched.

“Looks like you’re starting to get it.”

Everyone who heard that sighed in relief.

“But the odds seem a bit off.”

Qingming started searching through the slips in the bag behind him.

And…

Thud!

The slip he threw landed right on the opposite side of the piled-up money.

“Fifteen thousand nyang on Lee Song-baek of Jongnam.”

“……”

The gamblers stared at Qingming, trembling.

Qingming shrugged.

“What?”

“……”

You shouldn’t bet there!

You damned horse-faced jerk!

A faint mist formed in the crowd’s eyes.