Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 322

Baek Cheon had been staring blankly as the two men entered. He suddenly realized who they were and quickly bowed respectfully.

“W-We greet the Abbot!”

Because of him, the other Mount Hua disciples woke up and bowed together.

“We greet the Abbot.”

Beopjeong smiled gently.

“I hope you don’t mind me visiting so suddenly.”

“Not at all!”

Baek Cheon’s palms started to get sweaty.

He wasn’t just being polite. Wasn’t the Abbot of Shaolin someone famous in the martial world, someone everyone wanted to meet?

Having someone like him visit was a great honor, not rude at all.

“But, what brings you here…?”

Beopjeong smiled slightly at Baek Cheon’s careful question.

“Yes, I have something to talk about, but it’s not right to talk about it here. Is the Sect Leader here?”

Baek Cheon was surprised and nodded.

“Ah, sorry. I should have told the Sect Leader first… Baek Sang! Go quickly and tell the Sect Leader that the Abbot of Shaolin is here, hurry!”

“Yes, Senior Brother!”

Baek Sang ran off towards the second floor.

The other disciples didn’t know how to act around the Shaolin Abbot and stood awkwardly. Just then, the Abbot looked to one side.

“Indeed.”

He smiled gently, looking at Chung Myung.

“Are the preparations for the final going well, Divine Dragon of Mount Hua?”

Chung Myung smirked.

“Is there really anything to prepare? It’s just a fight anyway.”

“A fight, you say.”

Beopjeong nodded slowly, as if he liked the answer.

“Indeed. Just a fight. Hae Yeon should know that too.”

“Hmm?”

Just as Chung Myung was about to say something, Baek Sang rushed back.

“Please, come up to the second floor. I’ll take you there! Chung Myung, you come too. The Sect Leader wants you to join them.”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung stood up without hesitating.

“This way, please.”

“Thank you.”

Beopjeong smiled and followed Baek Sang to the second floor.

Once Beopjeong, Hae Yeon, and Chung Myung were gone, the remaining Mount Hua disciples looked at each other.

“Why did he come?”

“…I don’t know.”

Everyone became completely silent, staring at the second floor where the four had gone.

“Welcome, Abbot.”

“Thank you for the warm welcome.”

“Hahaha. This is a bit strange. Am I the host or the guest here?”

Beopjeong smiled gently at Hyun Jong’s words.

“Even though this is Shaolin, since this building belongs to Mount Hua, I’m just a guest.”

“Ah, yes.”

“So, shouldn’t I be treated like one?”

“Then, should I bring out some good liquor?”

“Do you have liquor?”

“Just kidding. Just kidding.”

“Hmm. That’s too bad. It would have been good if you weren’t joking.”

“Hahahaha. It’s interesting to hear you say that, Abbot. Hahahaha.”

Chung Myung smiled as he watched Hyun Jong talk smoothly.

‘Wipe off your sweat before you laugh.’

Even though he spoke well, his face was tense, and he had sweat on his forehead. It was really sad.

But Chung Myung couldn’t look down on Hyun Jong. A private meeting with the Abbot of Shaolin would be hard and stressful for anyone.

“Ahem.”

Chung Myung cleared his throat a little.

It was a signal that he was there, so there was no need to be so nervous.

Hyun Jong looked at Chung Myung. His worried face finally relaxed a bit.

“By the way.”

Chung Myung felt that if he left it to Hyun Jong, nothing would happen, so he spoke first.

“What brings you here?”

Beopjeong looked at Chung Myung.

“Well, with the final coming up…”

“I doubt you came to make friends right before we beat each other up. Right?”

Beopjeong smiled silently, looking at Chung Myung.

‘He’s bolder than I thought.’

He looked at Chung Myung closely.

Even Hyun Jong, the Sect Leader of Mount Hua, couldn’t hide his nervousness in front of him.

But Chung Myung didn’t seem nervous at all, even with him and Hae Yeon there. He even seemed a little bored.

Was it boldness? Or was he just clueless?

‘Neither.’

There was a strange feeling.

It shouldn’t be possible, but watching Chung Myung felt like dealing with an old master who had seen everything in the martial world.

No.

‘Is it even more than that?’

That couldn’t be. Of course, that couldn’t be possible.

Beopjeong trusted his feelings a lot. He believed that sometimes a feeling could tell him more than thinking.

But this time, he couldn’t believe what his feelings were telling him.

‘It felt like talking to a wise old master.’

It was similar.

The way he seemed not interested in the world but also very focused, and the way he didn’t care about what others thought of him.

And even the way he pointed out important things with simple words.

It was a feeling he sometimes got when talking to the retired elders of Shaolin. It was strange to feel that way about this young swordsman.

Of course, Beopjeong didn’t show any of these thoughts.

“Since the Divine Dragon of Mount Hua says so, I can’t joke anymore. There is a reason why I’ve come here.”

He looked straight at Hyun Jong.

“Sect Leader.”

“Yes, Abbot.”

“What do you think of the martial world now, Sect Leader?”

“What do I think, you ask…”

Beopjeong continued in a serious voice.

“What did you feel during this martial arts competition?”

Hyun Jong narrowed his eyes.

It was hard to guess what he was trying to say. Beopjeong looked at Hyun Jong’s face and sighed softly.

“This competition was meant to bring sects together. But now, with the final coming up, that hasn’t happened at all. The fighting between sects has gotten worse, and groups are more suspicious of each other.”

“…Hmm.”

The Mount Hua Sect is becoming active again, and trouble is brewing in the world. If the most powerful groups cannot work together, another terrible war might happen.

Hyun Jong nodded, the movement slow and heavy like the weight of the world on his shoulders. Lines of worry deepened around his eyes, making him look older than his years in the flickering candlelight of the room.

“But… why are you telling *me* all this?” he asked, his voice quiet.

Beopjeong closed his eyes briefly, then opened them, a faint light shining within. “Peace is very important,” he said, his voice calm and even. “Absolutely necessary.”

His gaze sharpened slightly. “But if people don’t choose peace themselves, sometimes… we must make them be peaceful. And for that,” he paused, leaning forward slightly, “we need Mount Hua.”

“Us…?”

“Yes.”

“No… What is Mount Hua supposed to do…?”

Beopjeong’s lips curved into a subtle smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes, which remained sharp and assessing as he looked at the bewildered Hyun Jong.

“Leader, Mount Hua is more important than you realize.”

“Hmm…”

“In this competition, Mount Hua has shown everyone how skilled you are.”

“But isn’t it just the performance of the younger students?”

“The younger students are the future of the sect. This means the groups that did well in this competition will probably be the leaders in the future. Mount Hua not only got two people in the top four, but even the students who were defeated showed great skill. Now, no group can ignore Mount Hua.”

Hyun Jong tried to understand why Beopjeong was visiting and talking for so long, but the old monk’s face showed nothing.

“So, please help us, Leader. If Mount Hua helps Shaolin, we can guide everyone towards real peace.”

Chung Myung narrowed his eyes.

*’So, he wants us to follow Shaolin’s lead?’*

*’Look at this monk.’*

*’He seems nice, but he’s very clever at politics.’*

Hyun Jong stayed quiet, not sure how to answer the unexpected offer. Then, Chung Myung spoke up cleverly.

“But.”

“Hmm.”

Beopjeong turned to look at Chung Myung.

“Help can’t be just one way, right? It only makes sense if we help each other.”

“Yes, you are right,” Beopjeong replied.

“Then what will Shaolin do to help Mount Hua? It doesn’t seem like we need anything.”

Beopjeong looked at him with surprise at the bold question.

“Well, that’s what I’m pondering. What should we help with? Hmm. How about this?”

“⋯⋯?”

“For example…”

The corners of Beopjeong’s lips curled up slightly.

“What if Shaolin completely supported Mount Hua to become one of the Nine Great Sects again?”

Hyun Jong jumped, as if he’d been shocked.

“Re-return to the Nine Great Sects, you say?”

Beopjeong nodded.

“That is correct.”

Hyun Jong’s eyes widened as if they would tear.

This idea wasn’t completely new to Hyun Jong. He had secretly hoped it might happen if things kept going well.

But.

It was a different story when those words came from the Abbot of Shaolin. And it wasn’t just any support, but ‘full support.’

This was the Abbot of Shaolin himself, after all.

What couldn’t be done with the complete backing of Shaolin and its leader?

This was almost a promise that Mount Hua would become one of the Nine Great Sects again.

“Why would you promise this?”

“Leader,” Beopjeong said with a kind smile.

“I think Mount Hua has great potential. But that’s why I’m also worried. While we are both leaders, Shaolin and Mount Hua can work together peacefully. But…” He paused, looking at Hye-yeon and then Chung Myung. He spoke seriously, “We can’t be sure if this will continue when the next generation takes over.”

“⋯⋯.”

Hyun Jong noticed Beopjeong was looking at Chung Myung.

*’Future generations?’*

He knew Beopjeong wasn’t talking about right after they died. Hye-yeon was here, so ‘future generations’ must mean when Hye-yeon becomes the leader of Shaolin.

When Hye-yeon becomes the leader of Shaolin, what would happen to Mount Hua?

*’No! No!’*

Hyun Jong felt a cold shiver inside.

Of course, Chung Myung was a lucky charm that had rolled in, a mad bull rampaging with Mount Hua on his back.

But he couldn’t bring himself to hand over the position of Sect Leader of Mount Hua to that monster.

*’He won’t become the leader, surely. There’s Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong.’*

But even if someone else became leader, it was easy to guess who would really be in charge of Mount Hua as long as Chung Myung was there.

What if Hye-yeon’s Shaolin and Chung Myung’s Mount Hua both became powerful?

*’Peace will disappear.’*

Chung Myung had shown he really disliked the most powerful groups. If he was like this now, how much worse would it be if he became the one in charge?

Peace or not, Hyun Jong would just be relieved if war didn’t start right away.

Now he understood Beopjeong’s worry.

“Aren’t you thinking too far into the future?”

“When you are in my position, you have to think about these things,” Beopjeong replied.

That simple sentence showed how much responsibility the Abbot of Shaolin carried.

“If Shaolin and Mount Hua can work together peacefully, everyone will be at peace. But if they can’t, the world will become divided again.”

“⋯⋯.”

“Leader, things are not good right now. There are small problems growing between the most powerful groups, and other powerful families are arguing with them. The evil groups are becoming stronger, and even now, dangerous groups are gaining power.”

Beopjeong quietly said a prayer, then looked at Hyun Jong with serious eyes.

“These are the signs of a time of chaos.”

“…A time of chaos.”

Hyun Jong fell silent.

He thought it would be a light discussion, but the matter was becoming increasingly large and heavy. More than he could handle.

“So, please think about it. If Mount Hua helps Shaolin, we will fully support you too. If that happens, it will be easy for Mount Hua to become powerful again, like it was in the past.”

Of course, it would.

Because he was the Abbot of Shaolin.

If Shaolin, called the North Star, openly supported another sect, who would dare to revolt?

It was a truly sweet offer.

But.

There were bound to be those who were very displeased with that sweetness.

“But.”

Beopjeong turned his head slightly.

Chung Myung was looking at him, his face showing no emotion.

“Why are you saying this now?”

“Hmm?”

“The final matches haven’t even happened yet, you know.”

Beopjeong answered readily, as if it was an expected question.

“If the final matches happen and we see who wins and loses, these words will mean something different. So, if we want to show you what Shaolin really wants, we had to say it now.”

But Chung Myung chuckled.

“I don’t agree,” Chung Myung said.

“…Hmm?”

Beopjeong looked at him, his eyes suddenly becoming serious.