Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 357

The sword sliced through the air with a sharp *whoosh*.

Again, and again, the same motion.

The sword came down, showing no flaw even after many repeats.

Textbook form.

It was a perfect movement, just like in the books.

Drip.

The sword stayed the same, but his body was changing.

His clothes were soaked with sweat. Each time he swung his sword, droplets of sweat scattered in all directions.

‘Six thousand seven hundred forty-nine!’

The sword swung again.

‘Six thousand seven hundred fifty!’

Grit.

He pressed his toes into the ground, as if trying to break through his shoes. Repeating the same motion perfectly, without a single shake, was more like very strict discipline than just training.

But this young swordsman was doing this very hard training almost perfectly.

‘Six thousand seven hundred fifty-one!’

“Senior Brother!”

Suddenly, a voice rang out, making the tip of his sword waver.

Twitch.

Lee Song-baek pressed his lips together tightly and stared at the tip of his sword.

‘A failure.’

His goal was to do ten thousand perfect downward strikes. But the tip of his sword had wavered, even if only once.

Seeing his face, the person who called out quickly apologized.

“Ah… I-I’m sorry, Senior Brother.”

Lee Song-baek wiped away the sweat and shook his head.

“It’s not your fault.”

“But…”

“If my sword wavers at such a small thing, it will be useless in a real fight. My training is not good enough. I should thank you for making me see my weaknesses.”

Hearing these calm words, Hwa So-do couldn’t hide how much he admired him.

‘This man is truly on another level.’

Of course, the Lee Song-baek from before was also worthy of being called a genius.

But he was not the same after the Jonghwa Assembly. The change was so fast that he was once avoided, but now many Jongnam disciples were trying to be like Lee Song-baek.

Change.

A small but important change had already begun.

“But what is it?”

“Ah…!”

Only then did Hwa So-do remember why he came, and he nodded strongly.

“Senior Brother, I heard that Hwasan is opening a branch in Seoan.”

“Hmm? Hwasan?”

“Yes! I heard they are building a pavilion right now.”

Lee Song-baek frowned a little.

“Why is that such a big deal?”

“No, Senior Brother! Because of that, Hwajung Sword and Hwasan Divine Dragon are staying in Seoan right now!”

“Are you talking about Head Disciple Chung Myung?”

Lee Song-baek’s face changed completely.

“Is that true?”

“…Ah, yes! It’s true.”

Hwa So-do, who delivered the message, was even more surprised by Lee Song-baek’s strong reaction.

He had never seen Lee Song-baek, who was always as calm and steady like a mountain, so surprised recently.

“Head Disciple Chung Myung…”

Lee Song-baek muttered softly and looked down the mountain.

After thinking for a moment, he seemed to calm down and smiled.

“Really, that man never rests.”

How long had it been since the Mount Hua Tournament? And he was already starting something new again?

‘Don’t go too far ahead.’

He was a heartless man.

Shouldn’t he think about how hard it is for others to keep up with him?

“Do the elders know about this?”

“Yes, they know. But they didn’t react much.”

“I suppose so.”

Lee Song-baek nodded silently.

Jongnam was not able to pay attention to such things right now.

In this Cheonhwa Martial Arts Competition, Jongnam realized the mistakes they had made.

‘If we keep going like this, Jongnam will lose what makes it special.’

The sect leader seemed to have realized that too. Otherwise, he would not have made such a big decision.

Stopping all activities outside the sect for at least a year to manage things inside was not an easy decision.

Some might say it was only a year. But…

‘But it wasn’t just about the money.’

As a sect grew, its interests naturally became connected. With just a year of rest, Jongnam would lose a lot of money and maybe its influence outside the sect.

But Hwasan had shown that all of that was pointless without strong martial arts.

Jongnam had to get back to its roots, no matter how long it took.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“But, Senior Brother…”

“Whether Hwasan takes over Seoan, or Hwasan shakes the world, it has nothing to do with us right now. We must learn not from what they achieve, but from what they have done.”

Hwa So-do nodded silently.

“Yes, Senior Brother. I will remember that.”

Lee Song-baek nodded and picked up his sword again.

“By the way, Senior Brother…”

“Hmm?”

Hwa So-do hesitated before speaking.

“If you’re done with your personal training, would you be able to teach the younger disciples? Many want to learn from you, Senior Brother.”

Lee Song-baek smiled.

“From now on, don’t worry about my personal training. Tell them to come to me whenever they have questions.”

“Are you sure?”

At Hwa So-do’s question, who was smiling with joy, Lee Song-baek smiled and nodded.

‘Head Disciple Chung Myung would have said the same thing.’

For him, personal strength was not very important.

What mattered was Hwasan growing, not him.

He learned from Chung Myung that even though it seemed like a waste of time now, it was actually the faster way.

“Instead, let’s train together. Tell anyone who wants to come to my training place from tomorrow morning.”

“I will tell them, Senior Brother! I’m sure many will be happy!”

“Alright.”

Lee Song-baek, who was watching Hwa So-do rush out excitedly, suddenly remembered something and called him back.

“So-do.”

“Yes?”

“…Did Senior Brother Jin hear about it?”

Hwa So-do turned around and tilted his head.

“I’m not sure. He’s been away from others.”

“Hmm… I see.”

“Yes, then.”

After he disappeared, Lee Song-baek let out a sigh he had been holding in.

Since returning to Jongnam after the Mount Hua Tournament, Jin Geum-ryong had rarely been seen, only going between his room and the underground training area.

‘It’s like he’s training alone and not seeing anyone.’

Many people were concerned, but Lee Song-baek did not worry about Jin Geum-ryong like the other disciples.

‘Senior Brother is strong.’

Both he and Jin Geum-ryong had seen it.

A wall that could never be overcome in their current state.

Then, there were only two things to do: give up, or try something beyond what they had been doing.

Jin Geum-ryong was probably testing his limits again, to surpass that Head Disciple Chung Myung.

‘Really… he’s troubling so many people.’

His gaze was directed far down the mountain.

Seoan village was spread out below the mountain. Lee Song-baek knew Chung Myung, the leader of the Hwasan sect, was there.

“When we meet again, Sect Leader Chung Myung, I will be much stronger,” Lee Song-baek thought.

*Me too.*

*Jongnam sect too.*

The path ahead was still long and far away. But Lee Song-baek knew the important thing was to keep moving forward, step by step. He was sure no one in the world was more determined than him.

He looked down at the village at the foot of the mountain. His eyes were serious, but he smiled slightly and held his sword tightly.

*’Chung Myung is probably training very hard right now too,’* he thought.

*I will not lose.*

*If I have the same strong heart and love for my sect as Chung Myung, I can become as strong as him one day!*

Chung Myung made a clicking sound with his tongue, showing his disapproval. The sound reached Wi So-haeng’s ears.

“And you thought you could start a new branch sect looking like *this*?” Chung Myung asked, his voice full of scorn.

Chung Myung sat with his legs crossed, resting his chin on his hand. His face showed no sympathy, only a cold look.

Wi So-haeng felt ashamed under Chung Myung’s scornful gaze. He couldn’t even try to argue.

*I thought it would be easy.*

He had only enjoyed watching Hwasan’s impressive performances.

Wi So-haeng was from a branch family of Hwasan. Of course, he was happy to see the main Hwasan sect become famous and stronger than other sects.

But even though he had seen Chung Myung and the Hwasan group with his own eyes, he hadn’t really understood how hard they trained.

*Right. You can’t get anything good without paying the price.*

On the other side, away from the collapsed Hwayoung disciples, the Hwasan disciples were still training.

“Your stances are falling apart, you idiots!” Baek Cheon roared.

“Aaargh!”

Baek Cheon walked among them like a furious spirit. His face was like a demon’s.

*He’s completely mad.*

The Hwayoung disciples were struggling just to breathe, but the Hwasan disciples were doing even harder training, with heavy weights tied to their arms and legs.

And they still looked full of energy.

“Uwaaaaargh! I’ll get you back someday!”

“Just wait until I’m stronger! Senior Brother or whatever, I’m going to…!”

“Chung Myung! I’ll kill that Chung Myung jerk! That Chung Myung jerk!”

Well, yes, it was clear…

They seemed to have lost their minds a little.

But the fact that they could keep training like that, whether they were crazy or not, was truly amazing.

Wi So-haeng started to think that maybe Hwasan’s strength didn’t just come from their sword skills, but from the incredible strength of their bodies and minds.

“Well, still,” Chung Myung said, looking at the Hwayoung disciples and nodding slightly.

“At least they are breathing now.”

“⋯⋯But even like this, teaching the disciples… I don’t know…” Wi So-haeng sighed, still lying on his stomach.

*Did we underestimate this too much?*

Hwayoungmun was supposed to be a branch sect of Hwasan.

But now he realized, Hwayoungmun only had the name. They were far from being a true branch of Hwasan, the sect that was becoming famous everywhere.

He thought about it.

Hwayoungmun was supposed to represent Hwasan’s branch families. But they had to ask the main sect for help just to deal with Jongdo-gwan, which was only one of Wudang’s many branch families.

*Can we really do this?*

Worry filled Wi So-haeng’s face. Then Chung Myung smirked.

“What? Getting scared now that it’s actually happening?”

“N, no, it’s not that…” Wi So-haeng forced himself to sit up.

He sat up slowly, raised his shaking chin, and looked at Chung Myung.

“It’s not that I’m scared, but… I see how weak we are. I wonder if we can really start a new sect when we are like this…”

“So what if you are weak?” Chung Myung asked.

“⋯⋯Huh?”

Chung Myung rested his chin on his hand and stared at Wi So-haeng.

“You’re more arrogant than I thought. Did you expect to create a perfect sect from the very beginning?”

“⋯⋯Of course not.”

“Look over there.”

Chung Myung pointed his chin towards the Hwasan disciples.

“Just a few years ago, they were worse than animals.”

“What are you saying!”

“No, it’s true.”

The Hwasan disciples were yelling loudly, but they kept training without stopping.

“Just getting more disciples isn’t the point. That’s just increasing numbers. The important thing for this new sect is for Hwayoungmun itself to become stronger.”

“⋯⋯.”

“Can you do that?”

Wi So-haeng bit his lip hard.

“I don’t know if we can, but…”

Then he looked up at Chung Myung, his eyes shining with new hope.

“If we survive this training, can Hwayoungmun really become as strong as Hwasan?”

“That’s clear,” Chung Myung said firmly.

“Then!”

Wi So-haeng straightened his back, feeling new energy from Chung Myung’s confident answer.

“Then I will not give up!”

Chung Myung smiled slightly and nodded.

“Good.”

He looked at each of the Hwayoungmun disciples. They were all looking back at him, their eyes still tired but now filled with a spark of determination.

*Maybe this will actually work out better than I expected.*

And so, the day when Hwasan’s new branch sect would open in Seoan was getting closer.

“Oh? Lying down already?” Chung Myung’s voice was mocking.

“⋯⋯.”

Wi So-haeng could only lie there. Saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth.

*Something is very wrong.*

He had been foolish.

Only now, when he was completely exhausted, did Wi So-haeng understand the huge difference between the “training” he had imagined and the real “training” Hwasan was giving them.

What should sect training be like?

He had thought it would be like a great sect teaching its students, the older ones guiding the younger ones. He thought everyone would try their best, following the example of those ahead.

But this… this was something else.

*Is this really hell?*

His eyes fluttered.

A strange sweet taste filled his mouth. His clothes were completely wet with sweat, and he felt cold even though he was sweating.

*Was training always this hard?*

Of course, training was supposed to be hard. He knew that.

But the pain he felt now was far beyond anything he had ever imagined. It was a completely different level of suffering.

*I… I think I’m going to die.*

Wi So-haeng slowly turned his head. He saw the other Hwayoung disciples lying on the ground, completely worn out. Their clothes were ripped and dirty.

“Ugh….” someone groaned weakly.

“I… I can’t… anymore…” another whispered.

Those who could still groan were the lucky ones.

Some had passed out completely. Their faces were pale, and their mouths were open. Wi So-haeng didn’t even want to look at them. They were in such a terrible state.

*Wait… Father?*

He blinked, trying to see clearly.

Was that really Wi Rip-san among the unconscious figures?

*No, it can’t be.* Was he imagining things?