Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 352

“Um… so,” Hyun Jong began, looking at everyone sitting in front of him. “You’re telling me… you just talked to them nicely, and they went away?” He sounded like he couldn’t believe it. But the others answered quickly and surely.

“Yes.”

“Indeed.”

“That’s right.” Chung Myung, Hyun Sang, and Hyun Young spoke one after another.

People used to say that if three people say they saw a tiger, you should believe them. Wasn’t that right?

“…So, these people who were making so much trouble just… left quietly?”

“Hehe,” Hyun Young chuckled, giving a knowing look. “People change their minds easily, you know.”

Hyun Jong’s eye almost blinked, he was so surprised by that sly answer. Finally, Hyun Jong looked at Baek Cheon, who was standing nervously in the corner.

“Baek Cheon.”

“Yes, Sect Leader?”

“Is it really true?”

“Well… um…” Baek Cheon paused, not sure what to say. Hyun Young, Hyun Sang, and Chung Myung all shot him angry looks at the same time. Baek Cheon quickly closed his eyes tight and blurted out,

“I-it’s true! It’s true!”

Hyun Jong kept looking hard at Baek Cheon. Baek Cheon turned his head away, not meeting his eyes at all.

Seeing Baek Cheon like that, Hyun Jong had so many thoughts racing in his head. But he stopped himself from saying anything. ‘Enough,’ he thought. ‘What’s the point of bothering Baek Cheon?’ The real troublemakers were right there in front of him.

“Eingh!” Hyun Jong frowned and sighed deeply. ‘Those three are going to cause me so much trouble.’ How could they trick him like this? No, it wasn’t even tricking. It was like showing him a black bird and saying it was a white swan! Chung Myung shrugged, seeing Hyun Jong unable to speak.

“I talked to them very nicely, and they were happy to leave, you know?” Chung Myung said innocently. ‘Nicely!’ Hyun Jong thought to himself. The problem was, Chung Myung probably used his fists more than his words! His fists! ‘Wait, no, that’s not quite right.’ He probably used his mouth too. That kid would have yelled at them until they ran away!

“Keueung.” Hyun Jong groaned and sighed again.

“Chung Myung,” he asked.

“Yes, Sect Leader?”

“I’m asking this because I’m worried, okay?”

“Yes, ask me anything you want.”

“You didn’t… you didn’t bury them somewhere, did you?”

“Oh come on, Sect Leader! Do you really think I’m *that* bad?” Chung Myung said, sounding offended. ‘Yes, actually, I do,’ Hyun Jong thought. “Don’t worry! They walked away on their own two legs… or… did they crawl? Hmm…” Chung Myung tilted his head, pretending to think. Hyun Jong just closed his eyes tightly. ‘Just forget about it,’ he thought. ‘It’s done. Talking about it won’t change anything, and it will just make everyone tired.’ And hadn’t he kind of expected this anyway? Ever since the elders had basically trapped him here? If he really wanted to stop it, he would have found a way out. But Hyun Jong hadn’t.

“…Okay, then. Everyone worked hard.”

“It was nothing,” Chung Myung chuckled again.

‘Yes, *you* especially worked hard,’ Hyun Jong thought, shaking his head inside. He decided to just let it go.

“Sect Leader,” Hyun Sang said, his voice suddenly lower.

“Hmm?”

“This isn’t something we should just laugh about.” Hyun Jong saw Hyun Sang’s face was completely serious. He frowned, his own face becoming serious too.

“Actually,” Hyun Sang continued, “even though things turned out okay this time, we can’t be sure it will always be like this.”

“What do you mean?” Hyun Jong asked.

“The real reason this happened is because Hwasan is now a place that other people want.” Everyone nodded at that. If Hwasan hadn’t become famous in the Mount Hua Tournament, would Hyun Dang and his family have even wanted to come here and cause trouble?

“Ha Woo-ryang thought he had the right to just take over Hwasan, so he showed his greed quickly. But that also means there are many other people watching us right now, wanting to take advantage of Hwasan. They just haven’t shown their plans yet, like Ha Woo-ryang did.” Hyun Jong nodded seriously. Then Hyun Young, who had been listening quietly, spoke up softly,

“But it’s also strange, isn’t it? Being more famous should mean we are stronger, but it feels like more people are trying to attack us than before.”

Chung Myung answered for them. “Because we’re easy targets.”

“Huh?” Everyone turned to look at Chung Myung, surprised by his casual tone. Chung Myung looked annoyed as he said, “They can’t mess with Wudang or Shaolin, but they think they can push Hwasan around. That’s why they’re doing this, right?”

“Hmm…” Hyun Jong sighed again. It was a simple truth, but Chung Myung’s blunt words hit right at Hwasan’s biggest problem.

‘It’s my fault,’ Hyun Jong thought. To be honest, all the fame Hwasan had now was because of what the younger students had done. Of course, other groups also became famous because of their young students, but… ‘Those groups also have strong older teachers and leaders.’ Usually, how strong the young students are shows how strong the older generation is too. If Wudang’s younger students were doing well, it meant Wudang’s older teachers were strong, even if you didn’t see them fight. But Hwasan really didn’t have enough strong older teachers and leaders.

‘And their skills aren’t good enough either.’ It wasn’t like they weren’t trying. The older teachers were working hard to learn the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique, trying to improve their skills. But because they were older, it took them much longer to learn new things. ‘Compared to the amazing younger students, the older teachers and leaders, who should be the strongest part of the sect, are weak. That’s why we look like an easy target.’ The people who should be in charge of the sect are weak, and the future leaders are still young. So, wouldn’t it look like a place someone could easily take over if they were clever?” Hyun Jong sighed deeply again.

The Hyun group, who understood what Chung Myung meant, all looked even more serious and sighed quietly. The others who were quick to understand also realized the problem and became silent.

“…I’m so ashamed,” Hyun Jong said, quietly.

“But why do we look easy to attack? We’re becoming famous, aren’t we?” Yoon Jong, who wasn’t as quick to understand as the others, asked the wrong question. Chung Myung looked right at him and said,

“Older brother.”

“Yeah?”

“What kind of people are we?”

“…Us? We’re Taoists, right?”

“Exactly, Taoists. And Taoists who live on this rough mountain, just practicing martial arts all day. So, how do you think people see Taoists who stay in the mountains and only train?”

“Well…” Before Yoon Jong could answer, Jo Gul jumped in quickly.

“Easy targets who don’t know anything about the real world.”

“…Isn’t that a bit harsh?” Yoon Jong asked, looking a little surprised. Jo Gul shook his head strongly. “That’s just how it is, older brother. Merchants even like to trade with temples or Taoist places far away in the mountains. They don’t know the prices in the market, so they don’t argue about the cost.”

“Really?”

Chung Myung nodded eagerly, as if Jo Gul had voiced his own thoughts.

“The old leaders came to Mount Hua for the same reason. They thought they could trick Taoists who don’t understand the world.”

“Ummm.”

Hyun Jong stroked his beard, a slight frown appearing on his face. He hadn’t considered this problem before.

Hyeonyoung, who had been listening quietly, turned to Chung Myung, his eyes bright with curiosity and a subtle smile playing on his lips.

“So, what do you think we should do?” he asked.

“Increase our influence,” Chung Myung stated.

“Influence?”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung took a deep breath and said firmly, “Many Taoist temples are isolated in the mountains, only focused on martial arts. But people see Wudang as untouchable, while they think they can interfere with places like Mount Hua or Kunlun. This isn’t just about how strong a sect’s martial power is.”

“You mean it’s about how people see us?”

“Yes. Exactly.”

“Hmm.”

Hyeonyoung nodded thoughtfully.

“Then, what should we do to change how people see us?”

“Let people know about us.”

“Let people know?”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung looked at everyone. “Wudang and Shaolin lead the world not just because they’re strong, but because their influence reaches everywhere. Remember the Jongdo Hall incident?”

“They even tried to build a martial arts hall in Namyeong, a small place.”

“Yes. They understand that a sect hidden on a mountain won’t earn respect, no matter how strong it is.”

Jo Gul slammed his hand lightly on the table, his voice a little rough with frustration. “Stop talking in circles and tell us what you mean! What are we going to do?”

Chung Myung frowned slightly.

“Are you even listening? It’s obvious! We have to do what Wudang does!”

“Huh?”

“Followers! Having followers close by is more powerful than just being a strong sect far away. Lay disciples are the key! Do you know how many lay disciple sects Wudang and Shaolin have throughout the world?”

“An enormous amount.”

“Right. If a Shaolin lay disciple sect is built next to my house, I’ll feel more connected to Shaolin and become more interested. If I learn even one move, I’ll feel like a disciple and defend them if something happens.”

Chung Myung nodded enthusiastically.

“That’s how you build influence.”

“Ah…”

Hyun Jong, deep in thought, turned to Hyeonyoung.

“Hyeonyoung.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Isn’t Wi Rip-san, the leader of the Hwayoung Sect, staying here now?”

“That is correct.”

It was true that with the arrival of the Hyeondang family, Wi Rip-san felt like he was not needed or important. He couldn’t bring himself to leave because of the strange atmosphere and seemed to be watching carefully.

“I was already thinking about discussing lay disciples with the Hwayoung Sect Leader. So…”

“We can expand the work further.”

Hyeonyoung and Hyun Jong exchanged a look and nodded.

“We need to decide if we move the Hwayoung Sect here, or start a new one. Either way, we need to make a place that is the center for Mount Hua’s lay disciples. If we can spread Mount Hua’s lay disciples throughout the world with that sect as the center, no one will be able to look down on Mount Hua.”

“Umm.”

A general plan had been made.

“Then, isn’t there something we should think about first?”

“What are you referring to?”

“Hwaeum is too small to establish a lay disciple sect. So, we need to think about a suitable place…”

Chung Myung shrugged.

“There’s nothing to think about. This is Shaanxi, and there’s only one big city.”

“That’s right.”

“But that’s…”

Everyone thought of the same place: Xi’an.

Xi’an is the capital of Shaanxi, where all the goods in Shaanxi gather. It naturally has the largest population. If Mount Hua aims to be the best sect in Shaanxi and the best in the world, it must start by conquering Xi’an first.

“But this is really…”

There was one inevitable problem if they established a sect in Xi’an.

“Is it Jongnam again?”

“Ugh.”

“I’m tired of even seeing their faces.”

Xi’an is firmly controlled by Jongnam. Establishing a lay disciple sect there would inevitably lead to conflict.

“It’s not like we’re picking a fight on purpose, but how does this happen every time?”

Those gathered realized why Mount Hua had been at odds with Jongnam for hundreds of years. When such a large sect is attached to this small place, you can’t avoid running into them.

“There’s no way to avoid a conflict, is there?”

“Hey. Why are you stating the obvious?”

“That’s right.”

Hyun Jong sighed and nodded at Chung Myung’s blunt reply.

“Then there’s no choice. First…”

Just then, a voice called out, “Hwasan Shinryong! Is Hwasan Shinryong inside? Hwasan Shinryong!”

“Huh?”

Everyone turned towards the door. The voice sounded familiar.

Chung Myung got up and opened the door, revealing a familiar face.

“Oh. What brings you here, Beggar Ahjussi?”

Hong Daekwang, who had been anxiously calling for him, frowned at Chung Myung.

“Why isn’t anyone outside? I waited a long time at the mountain gate.”

“There’s no one to come, so there’s no gatekeeper.”

“Forget about that! Listen to this!” Hong Daekwang cut to the chase, speaking urgently. “I came to tell you some important news.”

“Yes? What news?”

“Jongnam has closed its doors.”

“Yes?”

“What?”

“Huh?”

Those in the room were startled and rushed to the door.

“Ack! Don’t push!”

“What are you talking about? Jongnam is closing its doors?”

Hong Daekwang answered Hyeonyoung without delay. “To be precise, they say they will refrain from external activities for a while and focus on internal matters.”

“That’s closing its doors.”

“That’s right.” Hong Daekwang nodded at Chung Myung’s words. “It seems they felt something big at this Heavenly Martial Arts Competition. Or maybe internal conflicts have deepened, and they need time to manage them. I’ll have to investigate further.”

“Forget the reasons! Jongnam is closing its doors for a while, right?”

“That’s right.”

A wide, mischievous smile spread across Chung Myung’s face. It was the kind of smile that promised trouble, but also excitement.

“Sect Leader!”

“Yes!” Hyun Jong, understanding Chung Myung’s intentions at once, raised his voice. “Bring the Hwayoung Sect Leader here immediately!”

“Yes! Sect Leader!”

Hong Daekwang tilted his head, watching Mount Hua busily moving again.

‘What are they up to again?’ He thought. It’s a sect that never has a peaceful day.