Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 373

“…What did you just say?”

“Well, you don’t seem that old, but are you already having hearing problems?”

Chung Myung wiggled his ears and shrugged.

“Heh heh heh.”

Red Death God Yeop Pyeong let out a low laugh. His face showed a mix of confusion and anger.

“You little brat. Do you know who I am?”

“Haha. Of course, I know. So, you’re definitely…”

Chung Myung spread his fingers, about to say something, then stopped.

“Uh…”

Then, he quickly turned his head to look behind him.

“Who did you say he was again?”

The disciples of Hwasan all lowered their heads at once.

‘Please, Chung Myung.’

‘I never thought I’d be too embarrassed to lift my head in front of the Demonic Sect,’ one of them thought.

“…Red Death God Yeop Pyeong.”

“Ah! That’s right!”

Chung Myung turned his head sharply again.

“Red Wave God Yeop Pyeong!”

Yoon Jong frowned, “He’s doing it on purpose.”

“It’s Red Death God! Red Death God! You little bastard!”

Yeop Pyeong, unable to contain his anger, rolled his eyes back. Bang Seung gripped him tightly.

“Great, Great Chieftain. Calm yourself! You mustn’t be toyed with by such a young one!”

“Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!”

Even in his rage, Yeop Pyeong knew there was truth in those words. He calmed his anger and exhaled roughly.

‘What is this brat?’ he wondered.

He had traveled the world and met many remarkable figures and eccentrics.

But none of them had provoked him with just a few words like this.

If it was a calculated insult, it was impressive. If it wasn’t… well, that was even more impressive.

“…I thought his spirit was quite formidable for a young one, but he’s just a clueless, ignorant fool who can’t tell the sky from the earth.”

Before Yeop Pyeong could continue, Chung Myung shook his head and sighed deeply.

“The world has changed so much. To think that a member of the Demonic Sect would dare to speak disrespectfully in front of me, knowing I’m from the Hwasan Sect.”

“…Speak disrespectfully?” Yeop Pyeong was at a loss for words.

Did he dare use the word ‘speak disrespectfully’ in front of him? This young brat from Hwasan?

“Y-you…!”

“It’s not that I don’t know the world, it’s that the world is wrong now. Well, whatever. That’s something to be solved gradually. So, what are you going to do? Are you going to lose right here? Or get out of the city?”

“You crazy bastard!”

Yeop Pyeong gripped his sword and tried to rush forward.

“Great, Great Chieftain!” Bang Seung quickly grabbed him.

“Let go!”

“C-calm yourself! You’ll be in big trouble if you underestimate him. That guy is the Hwasan Divine Dragon who’s been making a name for himself lately.”

“…Hwasan Divine Dragon?”

“Yes.”

Hearing Bang Seung’s words, Yeop Pyeong glared at Chung Myung with bloodshot eyes.

“I thought his spirit was unusual for a young one, so you’re that Hwasan Divine Dragon.”

His voice, mixed with a beastly growl, was terribly menacing.

“But you’re still just a rising star. Hwasan dares to stand in our way, not even in Jongnam! They’ll only know their place when their heads are cut off!”

Boom!

Yeop Pyeong, shaking off Bang Seung, stomped his foot on the ground. A wave of deadly energy exploded from Yeop Pyeong, like dark smoke filling the air. The air itself seemed to shake with his anger.

Fear shot through Jo Gul. The hairs on his arms stood up, and his skin felt cold and prickly, like he was covered in tiny needles.

‘I didn’t think it would be this intense…’

His words might not have been impressive, but his martial prowess was certainly threatening.

Yeop Pyeong, having successfully intimidated all the disciples of Hwasan with a single move, gnashed his teeth and said.

“If you still try to interfere with us, I’ll slaughter you all…”

“Seriously, you talk too much.”

The eyes of the Hwasan disciples all focused on the back of Chung Myung’s head.

“Do the Demonic Sect guys these days fight with their mouths? Why are you talking so much? Hey. If you’re going to attack, hurry up and attack. Are you scared?”

Jo Gul turned his head.

Yoon Jong, standing next to him, was looking at Jo Gul as if it were obvious.

‘Senior Brother.’

‘Yeah. I know how you feel.’

He had known it for a while, but it became even clearer in this situation. That guy definitely doesn’t have a sense of fear.

“Y-you…”

At that moment, Bang Seung stepped forward slightly.

“Great Chieftain. Allow me a moment…”

“Get out of the way!”

“Hehe. Don’t get so excited. Why are you getting so worked up over a little kid? If you get into a brawl with a clueless brat, it’ll only damage the Great Chieftain’s reputation.”

“Kkeueueung.”

Yeop Pyeong didn’t ease his crumpled expression, but he seemed to acknowledge the truth in those words, gritting his teeth and stepping aside.

“Heeum.”

Bang Seung glanced at Chung Myung with amusement and then turned his gaze to Hyun Young. He thought it would be better to deal with the elder-looking man than that loud-mouthed brat.

“From what I can see, you seem to be the elder of Hwasan, but you don’t realize how reckless…”

Suddenly, Chung Myung’s leg shot out.

Paaaaaah!

Everyone stared at Bang Seung with bewildered eyes at the sudden noise.

A shoe, seemingly out of nowhere, was lodged in his mouth as he spoke.

Bang Seung fell to the floor with a soft *thump*, like a sack of potatoes. It was a truly sad sound for such a proud man.

“Seriously.”

Chung Myung lowered his bare foot and opened his mouth with an annoyed expression.

“I said you talk too much, you bastards!”

Baek Cheon smiled contentedly as he watched the scene.

‘Chung Myung.’

Even so, throwing a shoe into someone’s mouth is too much. Especially while they are talking.

“Seriously!”

Chung Myung rolled his eyes.

“These bastards are testing my patience! Since when have the Demonic Sect guys been able to stare straight and speak disrespectfully in front of Hwasan! Back in the day, they wouldn’t even be able to meet our eyes!”

“…Chung Myung, calm down.”

“Still, you have to let people speak.”

“Looks like he’s passed out?”

He wasn’t that strong, so he would have eventually fallen after being hit. Even so, the sight of him passing out after being hit by a shoe was too pathetic.

How much shame would he suffer when he woke up?

Baek Cheon realized something else as he looked at Chung Myung.

‘When you think about it, there’s no one as fair as this guy.’

He treats everyone the same, regardless of whether they’re from the Orthodox or Demonic Sects, so isn’t this the way of a true gentleman?

But it seemed there were those who didn’t think so.

Yeop Pyeong stared silently at Bang Seung, who was convulsing on the ground, and then let out a hollow laugh.

“What a ridiculous sight.”

But unlike his words, a chilling murderous intent flowed from his eyes.

“You cheeky little brat,” Chung Myung said with a grin.

“You grumpy old man,” Yeop Pyeong replied, his eyes narrowed.

“This is all your fault,” Yeop Pyeong said. “Don’t blame us for what happens next.”

“Yeah, right,” Chung Myung scoffed. “And don’t blame *us* when you lose.”

Silence fell between them, thick with anger. Yeop Pyeong’s eyes narrowed, and Chung Myung’s smile faded.

Yeop Pyeong stopped shouting. His face became still, but his eyes burned with a cold, deadly anger.

There was nothing more to say. Yeop Pyeong’s hand moved towards his sword.

“Today—”

But Chung Myung didn’t let him finish. “CHARGE!” Chung Myung roared, his sword already flashing in the sun. “Get them!”

“Hey! Shouting ‘Skin them alive!’ makes us sound like the *bad* guys!”

“Let’s go!”

Chung Myung didn’t wait for Yeop Pyeong’s words and preemptively struck. Soon, the disciples of Mount Hua simultaneously drew their swords and charged forward.

“Eek.”

Yeop Pyeong, having been preempted, flinched as he watched the disciples of Mount Hua charging towards him.

‘What on earth are these guys?’

He had led the Crimson Brigade and clashed with righteous sects more than a few times, but he had truly never seen such fellows before.

“Kill them! Kill them all!”

Yeop Pyeong shouted frantically, and the Crimson Brigade belatedly rushed towards the Mount Hua Sect.

In the middle of the main road in Xi’an, the Crimson Brigade of the Myriad Man House and the disciples of the Mount Hua Sect charged towards each other.

‘Hoo!’

Jo Gul gritted his teeth.

His heart hammered in his chest like a drum, and his face felt hot and flushed. His fingers trembled on the hilt of his sword. His hand, usually steady and sure, was shaking.

‘Calm down, Jo Gul, calm down!’ he told himself, but his breath still came in short gasps.

It wasn’t his first time facing a strong opponent.

All thanks to that Chung Myung, Jo Gul had experienced things that a third-generation disciple of an ordinary sect would never experience.

But this was clearly a different matter. First of all, the swords those fellows had drawn were not meant to subdue or simply defeat Jo Gul. They were meant to sever his neck and take his life.

Of course, he had risked his life in battles during the process of obtaining the Hongyuan Pill in the past. But, to be honest, back then, he was merely watching Chung Myung fight.

This was practically the first time he was directly facing someone with murderous intent.

Was that why?

‘Damn it!’

He felt like his body wasn’t moving properly. No matter how hard he tried to stay calm, he couldn’t control the rising heat.

Screeeech!

At that moment, a member of the Crimson Brigade rushed towards him, swinging a large broadsword down at Jo Gul’s head.

‘Eek.’

Jo Gul, his face flushed red, raised his sword in a fluster.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes?”

Hyun Young looked at Chung Myung with a worried expression and asked.

“Isn’t this the first time the children are experiencing real combat? Of course, I trust them, but I’m worried that someone might get hurt if they don’t perform to their full potential⋯⋯.”

“Ah, that?”

Chung Myung replied with an indifferent face.

“Well⋯⋯ it’s nothing much.”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung chuckled and said.

“Don’t worry. I’ve made sure they can handle it.”

“But we haven’t done any training like this, have we? Is there something I missed?”

“No. That’s all there is to it.”

“⋯⋯Then?”

Hyun Young asked back with a face that showed he didn’t understand, and Chung Myung shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s the usual training you’ve seen.”

“⋯⋯Huh?”

“You’re worried they’ll be too nervous to fight well, or that someone new to fighting like this will make a mistake and get killed, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Have you ever seen a tiger lose to a rabbit just because the tiger was nervous?”

“⋯⋯I haven’t.”

No, such a thing could never happen.

Chung Myung gestured with his chin as if to say, ‘See?’

“Being nervous is no excuse. If you’re well-trained, you should be able to fight even when you’re nervous. Good training means you can fight even if you’re not at your best.”

“⋯⋯.”

“Nervousness or whatever, the stronger one wins. You just need to be able to win even if you only perform at half your potential.”

“Then our kids⋯⋯.”

“Yes, well⋯⋯.”

Chung Myung smiled brightly.

“You don’t think they’ll lose to those *guys*, do you? They’re asking for trouble.”

“⋯⋯.”

Hyun Young closed his eyes tightly as he looked ahead.

‘Please don’t get hurt, kids.’

If you guys get hurt, I don’t think you’ll be seeing good days.

Clang!

The sword blocked the broadsword, sending it flying backward.

‘Huh?’

The one who was more surprised between the attacker and the defender was actually the defender.

Jo Gul stared at the Crimson Brigade member, who was clearly flustered, with a slightly dazed expression.

‘What⋯⋯.’

Why did it bounce back?

No, I didn’t even push him that hard?

“You, you bastard!”

But there was no time to think deeply. The Crimson Brigade member, with a face contorted in anger, charged again.

One.

‘Slow?’

The imposing aura was certainly impressive. But the speed of the incoming broadsword was somewhat different from what Jo Gul had expected.

Peng Ga’s swordsmanship was much faster and stronger.

Clang!

His sword and the broadsword collided again. Jo Gul’s sword glowed with a bright blue light. When it hit the Crimson Brigade member’s red sword, the blue light seemed to push back the red, even cutting into the metal.

“You, you little brat!”

The Crimson Brigade member screamed frantically, pushed the broadsword away, and then thrust his shoulder forward.

One.

‘What is he doing?’

Jo Gul, with a dumbfounded expression, slightly moved his body back in response to the Crimson Brigade member’s movement. As a result, the Crimson Brigade member’s posture collapsed terribly.

“Ha!”

And Jo Gul didn’t miss the gap in that collapsed posture. It was like his body knew what to do before his mind caught up. His sword flashed out, a silver streak in the chaos, slashing the empty shoulder.

“Kuh!”

The Crimson Brigade member twisted his body and retreated.

A line of red appeared on the Crimson Brigade member’s shoulder, and blood welled up, quickly spreading across his clothes.

“Oho⋯⋯.”

Jo Gul curled up the corners of his lips.

Jo Gul’s shoulders relaxed. A grin spread across his face, replacing the fear. He pointed his sword at the Crimson Brigade member, a playful glint in his eyes. ‘Not so tough after all, are you?’ he said, his voice now light and confident.

Jo Gul glanced back.

Sure enough, Chung Myung was looking at them with an indifferent face.

“What are you waiting for, Jo Gul?” Chung Myung’s voice cut through the noise, sharp and impatient. He watched with a critical eye. “Finish them!”

Alright!

A wide, almost cruel smile spread across Jo Gul’s face – a smile that was starting to look a lot like Chung Myung’s. He felt a surge of confidence, almost arrogance.

“Time to end this!”

His fear was gone, replaced by a rush of adrenaline and confidence. He moved like a different person, his sword a blur of motion, cutting through the Crimson Brigade fighters who now seemed slow and clumsy compared to him.