Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 317

“How is Jo Gul?”

“He hasn’t regained consciousness yet, but he doesn’t seem to have any serious injuries.”

Baek Cheon frowned.

“He was caught up in such tremendous power and yet sustained no injuries?”

“There was no killing intent.”

After a moment of silence, Baek Cheon nodded slowly.

Then, he glanced around.

Baek Cheon looked around the main hall of Hwasan. Usually, this place buzzed with the sounds of training and laughter. Now, it was eerily quiet. Dust motes danced in the shafts of sunlight that pierced through holes in the roof – damage from Hae Yeon’s incredible attack.

*They’re all still stunned,* Baek Cheon thought.

He saw the faces of his fellow disciples. Pale and still, they stared blankly ahead. Seeing their shock, Baek Cheon felt his own spirits drop. *But I can’t blame them,* he told himself. *I was just as shocked.*

Baek Cheon, too, had been shocked by Hae Yeon’s fighting skills.

*How could someone be so powerful?* he wondered.

Of course, he knew Hae Yeon was strong.

Chung Myung himself had called Hae Yeon a genius among geniuses. It was only natural that he would be strong.

But what truly shocked Baek Cheon was the unbelievable accuracy of that absurd technique.

Hae Yeon blowing away the main hall with a single strike wasn’t particularly surprising. What was truly astonishing was the fact that he had completely defeated Jo Gul in a quick fight that lasted only a few exchanges.

The Hundred Step Divine Fist that followed was merely a finishing touch; the match had already been decided before that.

*It would have taken me at least a hundred exchanges to defeat Geol without injury,* he thought.

But Hae Yeon had completely defeated Jo Gul in just three exchanges. He couldn’t even imagine how strong one had to be to accomplish such a feat.

Baek Sang saw Baek Cheon’s serious face. He spoke carefully, trying to sound happy.

“Why is the atmosphere like this? On such a good day! Chung Myung and Yu Yiseol have both advanced to the Fourth Stage! No other prestigious clan has ever achieved the feat of sending two disciples to the Fourth Stage!”

“That’s right,” someone replied.

“Yes, it’s a great achievement, but…” Baek Sang trailed off, noticing the gloomy faces around him. The responses were not as cheerful as he expected.

Just as he was about to say something more…

Bang!

The sudden noise made Baek Sang’s head snap around.

Opening—no, kicking open—the door with such force… there was only one bloke in Hwasan who would do that.

“Chung Myung-ah!”

Baek Sang, as if meeting a saviour, greeted him with delight and quickly approached him.

“Try to do something about these guys.”

“Huh?” Chung Myung tilted his head and asked, “Why?”

“Well…” Baek Sang sighed. “The atmosphere is gloomy and depressing, probably because that match was so shocking.”

At those words, Chung Myung glanced at the Hwasan disciples.

Everyone tried to ease their expressions as they met Chung Myung’s gaze, but they couldn’t hide the anxiety beneath.

“Hmm.” Chung Myung smirked.

“Well, it seems like they’ve finally become more mature.”

“Huh?” Baek Sang, taken aback by the completely unexpected reaction, questioned him. Those who had been holding their breath, waiting for Chung Myung’s scolding, also widened their eyes.

*Did he eat something wrong?* one of them wondered.

*No. He always eats something wrong. How can a Taoist live on meat alone?* another thought.

*Isn’t he going to suddenly snap and start smashing heads again?* a third worried.

The gazes of those who were watching Chung Myung shifted to Baek Cheon all at once. Baek Cheon flinched under their scrutiny.

*Why me?* he thought.

*Say something, please.*

*Why me?*

*Aren’t you the Senior Brother?*

Baek Cheon contorted his face. *Only when they needed something was he the Senior Brother, only then! These brats!*

“Ahem.” But in the end, Baek Cheon cleared his throat quietly and cautiously opened his mouth, looking at Chung Myung. “Aren’t you angry?”

“Huh? Why would I be?”

“Well… I thought you might say something since they’re all so dispirited.”

Chung Myung chuckled.

“Well, it’s not good to be dispirited, but it’s better than being too proud even after seeing that.”

“…Huh?”

Being dispirited after seeing Hae Yeon’s martial prowess meant they were comparing themselves to him.

It might seem obvious, but it wasn’t obvious at all.

In the past, the Hwasan disciples wouldn’t have compared themselves to Hae Yeon, let alone Jin Geum-ryong. No, they wouldn’t have even dared to compare themselves.

Why? Because they thought of them as people living in a different world.

If they didn’t compare themselves, there was no reason to despair. And it was obvious that it would be more comfortable that way.

But now, everyone in Hwasan was comparing themselves to Hae Yeon and despairing.

*Progress begins when you realize the distance between yourself and others.*

Even if they despaired at the overwhelming difference, they had to realize it in order to progress. That was a hundred times better than not even realizing the overwhelming difference.

“Everyone, pay attention.”

Chung Myung stamped his foot on the floor, making a loud noise.

Those who were already paying attention craned their necks even further and looked at Chung Myung. Chung Myung opened his mouth.

“So, what do you want to say?”

…

*No, why is that bastard asking us after telling us to pay attention?*

Baek Cheon shook his head and opened his mouth.

“Just how strong is that Hae Yeon from Shaolin?”

“Hmm.” Chung Myung scratched his cheek.

*How should I explain this…?* he wondered.

Seeing Chung Myung hesitate, Baek Cheon clicked his tongue and said.

“I’ve seen a lot of guys who were supposedly strong, but this is the first time I’ve felt so hopeless. It doesn’t feel like I can win no matter what I do. Even if he is a genius…”

“Ah. Wait, wait.” Chung Myung interrupted Baek Cheon and waved his hand. “Don’t tell me you’re thinking that he was born with unbelievable talent, so we can’t win no matter how hard we try, or something like that?”

…

The Hwasan disciples, feeling a little guilty, subtly turned their heads to avoid Chung Myung’s gaze.

“…And I call these blokes my martial nephews.”

Chung Myung groaned and sighed deeply.

“Genius or whatever, there’s no one in this world you can’t beat!”

“You.”

“…I’m an exception.” Chung Myung, having found someone he couldn’t beat, quickly changed his words.

“Anyway! The reason that bald monk is so great isn’t because he’s talented.”

Then, he turned his head sharply and looked at Yoon Jong.

“Senior Brother!”

“Huh?”

“Why is that bald monk so strong?”

“Well…” Yoon Jong furrowed his brow. He knew he was strong, but it wasn’t easy to pinpoint the exact reason.

“Tremendous inner strength.”

“And?”

“Perfect… uh, yes. Perfect execution of his techniques.”

“That’s right.”

Chung Myung nodded.

“Talent or whatever, that guy is strong because he has practiced his martial skills countless times. He probably repeated the training his senior brothers have been doing for at least ten years.”

“Wait… what?” one disciple asked slowly, his voice barely a whisper.

“The training the senior brothers did.”

“The one you did with us?”

“Yeah.”

Silence fell over them.

So…

He’s been doing the training they’ve done for the past six months for over ten years?

“Isn’t this even more despairing?”

“Is he a real Buddha? How can a human do that?”

“Isn’t he crazy? How is that even possible?”

A sudden chill, colder than the mountain air, ran down their spines. The thought of ten years of that brutal training made their stomachs clench.

For six months, Chung Myung’s training had been relentless, even cruel. They had pushed themselves to their limits, close to breaking.

Because of this, they were doing well in the martial arts competition, even against famous clans.

Ten years. He had done that crazy training for ten years?

“Then he must be strong.”

“At that point, even a monkey would beat a tiger.”

Everyone nodded, some vigorously, others more slowly, digesting the weight of Chung Myung’s words. Baek Cheon nodded slowly, his gaze thoughtful, while Yoon Jong’s head bobbed quickly, a flicker of awe in his eyes.

“Don’t get me wrong.”

Chung Myung waved a dismissive hand.

“People limit talent to understanding. They say a genius is someone with a great brain who can learn martial arts with one look or reach higher levels instantly.”

“…”

“But that’s not even half of it. The real geniuses are those who can easily do what others can never endure.”

Chung Myung narrowed his eyes, his gaze intense.

“So don’t whine, you idiots. You’re trying to catch up in just six months to what someone else has been doing for over ten years? Has anyone here considered ten years of training to surpass Hae Yeon?”

His words made the atmosphere solemn.

As Chung Myung said, none of them had considered decades of intense training to catch up to Hae Yeon.

A rare, cold glint flickered in his eyes as he looked at everyone.

“Since when was Mount Hua such a great sect? Have you become so great yourselves after beating up those who claim to be descendants of prestigious families?”

“…”

His ruthless words pierced the hearts of the Mount Hua disciples.

A wave of shame washed over some. Faces flushed crimson, they stared at the ground, remembering their boasts from earlier. Others shifted their weight, the arrogance they had worn like armor now feeling heavy and foolish.

Various thoughts raced through their minds.

“The reason that guy is great isn’t anything else. It’s that he’s always striving forward. In other words…”

Everyone’s eyes were glued to Chung Myung’s lips.

“Strive forward. Don’t lose your initial resolve. Think of each day as your last. Don’t lose your passion for martial arts. Do your best.”

The words coming from his mouth were all incredibly obvious.

“The fact that a guy who actually does those obvious things that the higher-ups always say, and does them for over ten or twenty years, becomes like that. He’s literally a character who jumped out of a story.”

Baek Cheon nodded silently.

What shocked them wasn’t Hae Yeon’s tremendous inner strength, nor the seventy-two arts that unfolded based on that inner strength.

But a single punch extended.

There was something ‘different’ in each step taken.

Once they understood the secret of that difference, Hae Yeon felt even more impressive.

“Shaolin has more martial arts than all the others combined, and more secret manuals than the techniques of countless prestigious families. Martial arts are overflowing, and there are so many techniques that they rot away. Do you know what they do for the first year in Shaolin?”

“I wonder?”

“Horse stance.”

“…”

“Those who first enter Shaolin only do the horse stance from sunrise to sunset. If they endure that, they add weights and do the horse stance again, and if they endure that, they increase the weight even more.”

Horse stance, of all things. It was an unbelievable story.

“After that, they practice only one straight punch for another year. Until the perfect posture comes out and they create the perfect momentum. Do you know what this means?”

Chung Myung spat out as if chewing.

“People pay attention to Shaolin’s flashy techniques and its strength. But Shaolin doesn’t have its eyes stolen by such things. They pursue a solid foundation rather than the flashy things that are immediately visible. Hae Yeon is just the person who has perfectly embodied that philosophy of Shaolin.”

Baek Cheon let out a deep sigh.

“It means that instead of just chasing strength, we should think about how he became strong.”

“You still understand something, Uncle-Master,” Chung Myung said, clicking his tongue as if he was pathetic.

“Don’t despair at the fact that Hae Yeon is strong. That’s rather a hope. That guy is proving exactly what happens if you steadily walk the path that the senior brothers are going now. You should be happy instead!”

Light slowly began to return to the eyes of the Mount Hua disciples.

Chung Myung’s words were correct.

‘It means that if we keep striving forward, we can reach that level someday.’

How much more beautifully would their plum blossoms bloom when that day comes?

Yoon Jong opened his mouth, his face slightly flushed.

“By the way, Chung Myung.”

“Yeah?”

“What about you? According to you, you haven’t done as much training as Hae Yeon. Then can’t you handle Hae Yeon either?”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung stuck out his belly.

“He’s just a monk no matter how much he flies and jumps. How dare someone with no hair on his head try to beat me. I’ll smash his head in!”

“…”

It won’t work.

No matter how much they thought about it, that one couldn’t be human.

Everyone clicked their tongues and shook their heads. At that moment, Chung Myung suddenly contorted his face.

“Those Shaolin monks seem to be planning something, but let them do what they want. I’ll handle it easily.”

“…”

Everyone realized anew what kind of person Chung Myung was.

“Then are you going to beat Hae Yeon in the finals?”

“Hmm, I wonder.”

Chung Myung tilted his head slightly and looked at Yoo Iseol.

“Isn’t that the story when that guy wins against Senior Brother Accident?”

“…”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Yoo Iseol.

It was a burdensome situation, but Yoo Iseol calmly accepted everyone’s gaze without changing her expression.

“Does that mean that Sister Apprentice can beat that guy?”

“I don’t know that.”

“Then?”

“There’s only one thing that’s certain.”

Chung Myung curled up the corners of his lips.

“He’ll probably be flustered too. It’ll be the first time he’s met someone who has walked the same path as him.”

“…”

“First, let’s break the noses of those arrogant Shaolin monks and start from there.”

Chung Myung grinned.

‘He’s going to play with them as he pleases?’

He had been beaten like a dog while doing that before. It seemed that he hadn’t learned anything or changed even after a hundred years.

‘If your ancestors didn’t properly teach you a lesson, I’ll teach you again properly.’

That the world doesn’t work the way your sparkling heads think it does.

A bizarre smile hung on Chung Myung’s lips.

The disciples of Mount Hua, who were watching the sight, shuddered without realizing it.

‘Something’s uneasy.’

‘That guy, he seems to be planning something.’

The disciples of Mount Hua were feeling that an unknown, large dark cloud was approaching Shaolin’s future.