Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 348

A little earlier.

“Weren’t you backing down a bit too easily, Senior Brother?”

Hyeondang smiled gently at Hyeonbeop’s words.

“Winning completely is good. But if the other person has nothing left, it feels bad afterwards.”

“Hmm. Certainly…”

“Of course, if I had pushed Hyun Jong harder, I might have gained more. But didn’t you see it too? The disciples follow Hyun Jong so closely; would our gains have truly ended as gains?”

Of course, Hyeonbeop had seen it clearly.

The sight of the Mount Hua disciples showing clear animosity.

‘Mount Hua is turning upside down.’

It was something they couldn’t even imagine when they were in Mount Hua.

No matter the crime, they were elders of the sect. How could disciples show such blatant hostility?

“It was right to back down there. Thanks to that, Hyun Jong didn’t back down either.”

“It’s bad for Hyun Jong that people don’t see him as the true leader.”

“Indeed.”

Hyeondang wore a bitter smile.

In the end, the position of sect leader was passed down from the predecessors. Until now, Hyun Jong had been calling himself the sect leader, but now, strictly speaking, Hyeondang was the only one in Mount Hua who could claim that title.

Hyeondang had merely left the sect; he had never given up the position of sect leader.

“Seeing that stubborn fellow backing off, it seems he himself thinks there’s much to be wary of.”

At Hyeonbeop’s words, Hyeondang simply wore a strange smile without answering.

“But seeing what he did today, he doesn’t seem to have any intention of backing down easily.”

“People can’t easily give up what they have. Is Mount Hua the Mount Hua of old? Of course, he’ll be greedy.”

Hyeondang twisted his lips up.

“But that’s why he’s easier to deal with. A noble Taoist who stays away in the mountains to cultivate the Way cannot be touched by the laws of the secular world, but someone with greed can be predicted.”

Hyeonbeop smiled, looking at Hyeondang.

In any case, they had virtually won that day. They had avoided Hyun Jong’s attempt to expel them and even gained the right to stay in Mount Hua.

As time passed, Hyun Jong’s position would weaken further, and naturally, their position would rise day by day.

“So.”

Hyeondang rose from his seat and spoke to his retainers.

“Until now, we have taken the lead, but from now on, there will be much for you to do. The disciples of Mount Hua are tightly united around the sect leader. You must sneak in among them to make things easier in the future. Do you understand?”

“Don’t worry, Grandfather!”

“Talking to those mountain fighters will be simple.”

“We will accomplish it perfectly.”

Listening to the energetic replies, Hyeondang nodded. Then, he wore a bitter smile.

‘Hyun Jong… that cheeky bastard.’

He had tried his best to appear calm, but he couldn’t forget the image of Hyun Jong, who had been pressuring him.

A guy who couldn’t even make eye contact in the past, now holding his head high and confronting him.

‘You are not the Hyun Jong of the past, is that what you’re saying?’

But he would soon find out.

Just as Hyun Jong was not the Hyun Jong of the past, he too was not the Hyeondang of the past.

At that moment, Hyeonbeop opened his mouth with a slightly hardened face.

“But, Senior Brother.”

“Hmm?”

“One of the things Hyun Jong said bothers me.”

“What words are you talking about?”

“That… when he told us to leave Mount Hua, he said it was for our sake, which is a bit…”

Then, he tilted his head, as if he couldn’t understand at all.

“I don’t understand. Considering Hyun Jong’s personality, I don’t think he would have said something without a reason…”

“…Bluffing, probably.”

Hyeondang simply laughed it off.

“What could happen just because we are in Mount Hua? It’s not like our ancestors will be angry and descend from the Immortal Realm.”

“That’s true. Hahaha.”

It was at that very moment that Hyeonbeop burst into hearty laughter.

KWAH-BOOOOM!

With a tremendous roar, the doors of the Blue Plum Hall shattered and crashed inwards.

“Wh-What!”

“Who is it!”

Hyeondang was startled and looked towards the door.

Through the shattered, wide-open entrance, someone was sauntering in.

‘Who…?’

Judging by the attire, he was clearly a Mount Hua disciple, but his face was unfamiliar. It was someone Hyeondang was seeing for the first time since he had ascended Mount Hua.

“Tsk, tsk…”

As he approached closer, and his appearance became clearer, Hyeondang frowned and clicked his tongue without realizing it.

His attire was haphazardly disheveled.

His long hair was unkempt, tied up roughly, and his gait was swaggering and delinquent.

Moreover, wasn’t that a liquor bottle clutched in his dangling hand?

‘How on earth did Mount Hua become like this!’

This could only happen if the sect’s discipline had completely deteriorated.

As if sensing his mood, one of his retainers in the front stood up abruptly and blocked the path of the Mount Hua disciple entering.

And…

CLANG!

“…”

Plop!

“…Huh?”

He was struck in the head with the liquor bottle.

Hyeondang’s mouth dropped open as he watched the retainer collapse onto the floor.

‘Wh-What is happening?’

Something was clearly happening before his eyes, but the process wasn’t registering in his mind.

So.

The Mount Hua disciple just struck his retainer with a liquor bottle and smashed his head?

Huh?

Hyeondang, as well as Hyeonbeop, stood there blankly, unable to close their gaping mouths.

What on earth was this…?

It was then.

“I came from hell, you bastards!”

The Mount Hua disciple, roaring loudly, charged forward without hesitation.

“Wh-What is it!”

“Block him! Block him!”

Startled by the ominous momentum, the retainers hurriedly stood in his way.

But it didn’t take long for them to realize how wrong that choice was.

Wham!

“Aargh!”

Wham!

“Aaaargh!”

“You bastards! How dare you block me!”

Those who stood in his way were sent flying left and right. Those who were sent flying were the lucky ones.

Wham!

One who was too panicked to run away or charge forward had his lower jaw kicked upwards, and he was sent crashing through the ceiling of the Blue Plum Hall.

Crack!

“…”

Dangle. Dangle.

Hyeondang stood there, speechless and unable to move, as he watched the man’s head stuck in the ceiling, swaying from side to side.

He couldn’t even find the words to describe the situation.

‘Am I dreaming?’

Of course not.

Surely, that couldn’t be the case.

But wasn’t it too absurd to be reality?

The Mount Hua disciple, who had just embedded a man in the ceiling, began to approach Hyeondang and Hyeonbeop, cracking his neck from side to side.

Hyeonbeop suddenly realized he had forgotten something.

“You, who are you?”

“Haa… Seriously, these idiots…”

“…Huh?”

“Are you deaf?”

The disciple of Hwasan pointed to the plum blossom etched on his chest.

Plum blossom?

He saw a plum blossom design. So what? Was that supposed to mean something important?

Hyeonbeop frowned, not understanding. The Hwasan disciple’s face twisted in anger.

“If you have eyes, you’d know I belong to Hwasan. You come into our place and take up space, then you ask us who we are?”

“……”

Hyeonbeop instantly knew something was off.

‘This one is not in his right mind.’

It wasn’t just his words. His voice, his face, everything he did seemed strange.

“Who are you guys, you fools! If you see the owner in someone else’s house, it’s polite to state your own identity first! Honestly, kids these days have no sense!”

“……”

Hyeondang was annoyed to hear such words from someone so young.

“You scoundreeeeel!”

“Why scoundreeeeel!!”

“Ugh…”

In the end, Hyeondang clutched the back of his neck.

“S-Senior Brother!”

“Father! Are you alright!”

The surrounding people rushed to Hyeondang, supporting him. Hyeondang struggled to calm his churning stomach, breathing heavily. But even amidst that, he didn’t forget to glare at the strange creature before him, a sight he had never seen in his life.

“Wh-who exactly are you?”

“Can’t you hear me? Are you deaf?”

“Keuk…”

“Senior Brother! Get a hold of yourself!”

Hyeondang grabbed Hyeonbeop’s shoulder with a trembling hand.

Seeing his pitiful state, Hyeonbeop gritted his teeth and shouted.

“You seem to be a disciple of Hwasan, but how can you be so insolent in the presence of the sect’s elder?”

“Elder?”

“That’s right!”

“Ha?”

The Hwasan disciple, Chung Myung, chuckled and scanned the people inside the Cheongmae Hall, a large room with wooden pillars and the scent of old incense. His gaze was openly mocking.

After looking at everyone once, Chung Myung tilted his head and asked.

“Where’s the elder?”

“Wh-what?”

“I don’t see him. Where is this elder you speak of?”

“You, you scoundrel!”

Hyeonbeop flared up and shouted. Chung Myung glared, his eyes blazing like hellfire. He was young, dressed in simple but clean robes, and his hand rested confidently on the sword at his waist.

But Chung Myung rolled his eyes and said.

“I step away for a moment, and some old people sneak in here and act like elders. I’ll break your backs and throw you out of here!”

Baek Cheon, who had followed Chung Myung into the Cheongmae Hall, briefly wondered, ‘Why would he say that?’ But he didn’t have the leisure to ask such a question right now.

Chung Myung glared.

“Who am I, you ask?”

Everyone flinched at the sight of his eyes, blazing like hellfire.

“I am Chung Myung, the Third Disciple of Hwasan, you fools!”

“Ch-Chung Myung?”

So, this guy is…?

“The Hwasan Divine Dragon!”

“Th-that guy!”

Everyone who saw Chung Myung cried out in astonishment.

The Hwasan Divine Dragon.

The one who had practically won the Mount Hua Sect Tournament, making his name known throughout the world as the greatest of the younger generation.

The one who was said to have already secured Hwasan’s future and the title of the world’s greatest in the years to come—was this the man?

But…

“You are just a Third Disciple! We are your elders, even grandmasters of Hwasan! Where is your Sect Leader, Hyun Jong?” Hyeonbeop roared, and Chung Myung smirked.

“Did you old people forget everything on your way here? Grandmaster? What grandmaster?”

“You scoundrel! Even if we left Hwasan, we are still part of Hwasan’s history!”

At that thunderous shout, Chung Myung scratched his ear as if deeply moved.

“Is that a dog barking somewhere?”

“W-well, no. But this guy…”

“Ah, you keep calling me ‘this guy,’ ‘that guy.’ Hey, old man.”

Chung Myung tilted his head and blew on the finger he had used to scratch his ear.

“Alright. You said it well. Grandmaster, is it?”

“That’s right!”

“It’s not like saying it makes it true. I’ll tell you a very simple way to prove that you are my grandmasters. If you can do it, I’ll bow my head and apologize right now.”

“…A way?”

Chung Myung gestured towards Hyeonbeop with his chin.

“Old man, can you use the Plum Blossom Sword Technique?”

“……”

“No. I won’t even ask for that much. What about the Seven Plum Sword?”

“……”

“Do you remember the Six Harmony Sword?”

“Th-that, I remember.”

“How proud.”

“……”

Hyeonbeop unconsciously shut his mouth. Frankly, would those older men in simple robes, their faces lined with age and perhaps a little weariness, who had abandoned Hwasan and returned to secular life have had any reason to learn Hwasan’s sword techniques?

“Then…”

Chung Myung, still standing askew, scanned them as if they were utterly pathetic.

“People who say they are Hwasan’s grandmasters can’t even use Hwasan’s sword techniques.”

“……”

“And it’s not like you did anything for Hwasan.”

“……”

“You abandoned the sect when it was struggling, lived well, and now you’re slithering back in, hoping to be treated with respect?”

A fierce light began to gleam in Chung Myung’s eyes.

“Do you think Hwasan is a joke? You throw it away as you please, and then try to pick it up again when you need it? I’m so angry, you fools!”

And finally, he rolled his eyes back.

Grandmaster?

Grandmasters? Really?

How dare these greenhorns suddenly appear and claim to be his grandmasters?

Chung Myung pulled out the sword he was wearing at his waist, scabbard and all.

“Alright. No. No. It’s okay. There’s still a way to prove it.”

“……”

Hyeondang and Hyeonbeop were overwhelmed by his terrifying aura and couldn’t say a word.

They could only watch as Chung Myung tightly secured the sword to its scabbard, ensuring they wouldn’t separate.

“Surely, people who say they are grandmasters should be able to defeat one Third Disciple. All of you, come at me at once. If I lose, I’ll acknowledge you as my grandmasters. But instead!”

Chung Myung revealed his pearly white teeth.

“If you can’t fight, you’ll have to crawl down Hwasan. Let’s see who dies, you fools!”

Chung Myung rolled his eyes back and charged forward. And he mercilessly struck the head of the one in the lead with his scabbard.

The clear sound of the scabbard hitting his head echoed through Hwasan at dusk.