Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 374

Red Brigade member Hyeong-pyo stared at the Mount Hua disciples, his eyes filled with disbelief.

‘What on earth are these bastards?’ he wondered.

The Red Brigade was made up of fighters hardened by countless battles. Like many outlaw groups, they had fought from a young age to survive, steal, or follow orders. They had proven themselves in endless conflicts and earned their place in the Red Brigade of Maninbang.

Compared to them, the fighters in front of him seemed like beginners who had never killed anyone. When they first crossed swords, they had seemed nervous, like fledglings.

But…

“Uhahaha! Where do you think you’re going!”

“Is that what you call swinging a sword!”

Hyeong-pyo’s eyes widened.

‘Are these really beginners from traditional fighting groups who haven’t seen real combat?’ he questioned.

The battle had just begun, but he couldn’t see any sign of their initial fear. The way they swung their swords with shining eyes made them look like wild beasts.

‘This can’t be happening,’ he thought.

Usually, beginners facing them for the first time would be scared by the swords aimed at their important body parts and the feeling that they wanted to kill them. They wouldn’t be able to fight properly. How many people had Hyeong-pyo killed that way?

This wasn’t just about traditional and outlaw groups. Beginners fresh out of the fighting world were bound to feel the same, no matter who they fought for.

But the Mount Hua fighters rampaging in front of him were different from any beginners he had ever met.

CLANG!

A sword flashed towards him.

He struggled to block it.

“This bastard is blocking?”

“Why aren’t you dying quietly, you outlaw bastards!”

“I’ll kill you all!”

He looked at those fighters…

Now, it was hard to tell who was the outlaw and who was the traditional group.

‘Wasn’t Mount Hua a sword sect?’

So, were these guys swordsmen?

Was he wrong about something? They seemed more like the wild fighters of Maninbang than any proper swordsmen he’d ever seen. Had he been wrong about them?

But Hyeong-pyo’s thoughts were cut short.

“Haaah!”

Chaeaaeng!

A fast-moving sword aimed for his shoulder and pierced him. He quickly swung his sword to block it, but the sword didn’t move. Like a snake, it twisted and dug into his side again.

“Kuk!”

Hyeong-pyo rolled on the floor to avoid the sword.

Even when he stopped holding back and used his best technique, he still got a deep cut on his side.

Drip.

Blood ran down his side. Looking at the long cut, Hyeong-pyo felt a chill.

Paaang!

The sword was terrifyingly fast. He couldn’t understand how these young fighters could swing their swords so sharply.

They were acting like experienced fighters, not beginners.

And their sword skills were too good for beginners.

Hyeong-pyo’s eyes darted around, shaking.

The Red Brigade, one of Maninbang’s main forces, was being pushed back so much that they couldn’t even fight properly.

“Bloody hell! To think we’re losing to second-rate disciples!” Hyeong-pyo screamed, his eyes bloodshot with anger.

Baek Cheon took a short, deep breath and relaxed his shoulders.

‘I keep getting tense,’ he thought.

Real combat was real combat. It was impossible not to be nervous when swords were flying around.

The important thing was to use his best skills even when he was tense. That’s what Chung Myung always said!

Baek Cheon calmed himself and looked at the Red Brigade member in front of him.

Since the martial arts competition, one question had been on Baek Cheon’s mind.

‘How strong am I?’

He knew where he stood among the younger fighters. He felt confident after beating Jin Geum-ryong, and he felt even more sure after watching Chung Myung. He saw the potential of his senior brothers.

That’s why he needed to be even more certain.

‘About my position now.’

Baek Cheon’s eyes gleamed.

The Baekja generation of Mount Hua had to become the main force and travel the world. Being strong among the younger generation wasn’t enough.

At least…

“I must be able to defeat you easily to call myself an elite of Mount Hua,” Baek Cheon said coldly and stepped forward.

The heavy sword pressed down on the incoming sword with even greater force.

Boom!

When the swords met, Baek Cheon saw his opponent’s face twist in pain.

‘It’s not difficult,’ he realized.

He put even more force into his legs.

Was it because his opponent was weak?

No, definitely not.

His opponent was strong.

It was just that Baek Cheon was stronger.

The Mount Hua disciples had endured terrible training that would have broken others. Now, on top of that strong base, their confidence was growing.

Confidence came from their skills.

With strong belief in himself and his skills, Baek Cheon had no reason to be weak.

Thud!

Baek Cheon stepped forward again, pushing back his opponent.

He wasn’t using Mount Hua’s flashy swordsmanship, but basic moves.

He was following Chung Myung’s advice to go back to basics when he felt excited or nervous.

“Don’t get excited!” Baek Cheon shouted in a strong voice.

“Stick to the basics! Lower your stance and your center of gravity! The sword starts from the lower body!”

He had heard this many times.

If he followed that, nothing would change, even in his first real battle. After all, the sword was used by people.

“Yes, Senior Brother!”

“Yes!”

Even in the middle of the fight, loud replies came from everywhere. The Mount Hua disciples lowered their stances as they pushed back the Red Brigade members.

Baek Cheon nodded slightly.

He stared at his opponent.

“This young brat!”

“I keep hearing you say ‘young’ this and ‘young’ that.”

He smirked.

“Looks like you’re the ones who haven’t learned anything.”

“What?”

“And…”

Baek Cheon tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.

“What that guy says is annoying, but he’s not completely wrong. I especially agree with one thing today. Mount Hua is back, and you’ll learn to fear our name. Should I cut off your head?”

“…”

“Come on. I’ll show you exactly what Mount Hua is like.”

“Eeek!”

The Red Brigade member glared at Baek Cheon with bloodshot eyes and charged.

Baek Cheon raised his sword. His face relaxed.

“Hmph.”

A sigh escaped from Hyun Young’s lips.

He could not believe his eyes as he watched the Mount Hua disciples push back the Red Death Unit.

‘When did our children become this strong…?’

He knew the younger Mount Hua disciples were among the best in the world.

But they were the younger generation.

He thought they would not be as good as the Red Death Unit of the Myriad Man Manor. He thought Chung Myung was confident because Chung Myung could fix the problem.

‘To think that the children alone could push back the Red Death Unit like this.’

It was said that parents underestimate their children the most, and masters distrust their disciples the most.

“I was just a worried old man after all.”

“Hey, don’t say that. It’s because you believed in us, Elder, that we were able to swing our swords at all.”

“The Red Death Unit of the Myriad Man Manor… they are still quite famous throughout the world…”

“They’re just a bunch of heretics.”

Chung Myung replied without caring, looking at the Red Death Unit.

What? Practical swordsmanship?

‘What a joke.’

Of course, Chung Myung didn’t ignore practical swordsmanship. People who fought many battles sometimes became stronger than those who only trained in the mountains.

But.

‘That’s the story of those who have actually fought battles.’

How much practical experience could those heretics have gained in this peaceful time?

It might have been possible during wars like the one with the Demonic Sect in the past. Back then, battles broke out dozens of times a day.

In those days, they fought from morning until night. Enduring a single day on such a battlefield was like training non-stop for ten days.

But there was no way those Red Death Unit bastards had experienced that much real combat.

‘At most, once every ten days. Or once a month, if that.’

People who trained like that could not beat those who trained hard every day.

“You don’t have to worry.”

“Huh?”

“Those guys are weaker than you think, and our martial brothers are stronger than you think.”

Hyun Young looked back and forth between Chung Myung and the Mount Hua disciples with a slightly flushed face.

‘There was a time….’

He remembered the hard times Mount Hua had faced, and seeing this victory was more emotional than he expected.

Wasn’t seeing the Mount Hua disciples wearing plum blossom-embroidered uniforms, defeating evil-doers, and traversing the world what Hyun Young had hoped and wished for?

That dreamlike scene was now unfolding before Hyun Young’s eyes.

‘If the Sect Leader were to see this, he would be overjoyed.’

He lightly rubbed his stinging eyes.

But he wasn’t entirely happy. Every time a blue blade was swung close to his disciples, he felt his heart drop.

“Gasp!”

Hyun Young’s brow furrowed, and his hands clenched tightly as he watched the fight. A thin red line appeared on Yoon Jong’s shoulder, blooming like a sudden flower of blood as a villain’s blade sliced through his uniform.

Just as Hyun Young was about to scream in horror.

“He got hit by a sword?”

“……”

A voice filled with spite and malice exploded like a cannonball from the side.

“No, now he’s even getting hit by swords from heretics? How little has he been training to get hit by such trash? Oh, really? Does he want to get hit by a sword because he hasn’t been beaten enough lately?”

Hey…

You said we need to relax.

Hearing your voice would give a perfectly healthy person a heart attack, you rascal.

But, whether he knew Hyun Young’s feelings or not, Chung Myung distorted his face as much as possible and shouted.

“Just try getting hurt! I’ll sprinkle salt on it!”

With Chung Myung’s rant, the Mount Hua disciples, with their morale boosted, began to push back the Red Death Unit.

“Aaaargh!”

“The back is more of a problem than the front! Damn it!”

“What is the ghost doing! Why isn’t he taking that bastard away!”

“Hey, he’s a Taoist, how can a ghost take him away?”

“What kind of Taoist is that?!”

The Mount Hua disciples gritted their teeth and attacked the Red Death Unit.

In fact, although they were complaining, hearing the usual nagging made their hearts more stable and calm than usual.

Thanks to that, amazing sword skills were shown, and the opponents began to be overwhelmed by it.

Pushed back by that wild momentum, the Red Death Unit members didn’t know what to do and retreated further and further.

“What kind of sword is that…”

“H-How can he do such sword moves…”

At that moment, the man who had been faltering and retreating with a pale face at the very back stopped walking. Something had touched his back.

“Ah…”

What touched his back was Yeopyeong’s chest.

The Red Death Unit member’s face turned pale as he realized his mistake.

“L-Lord! I…”

“Tsk.”

Yeopyeong reached out and grabbed the Red Death Unit member’s head.

“P-Please, save…”

Screeeech!

Before he could even finish begging, a blade flashed like light and cleanly cut off the Red Death Unit member’s neck.

Plop!

The headless body fell to the floor. Blood gushed from the severed neck. And soon, it soaked the floor red with gurgling sounds.

The battle stopped at once.

Everyone stared at Yeopyeong and the head in his hand with blank faces.

‘His own subordinate?’

‘…Is he really crazy?’

The Mount Hua disciples were especially confused.

Killing the subordinate they were leading with their own hands was something the Mount Hua disciples couldn’t understand at all.

“These bug-like things…”

Yeopyeong’s eyes were cold as ice as he looked at the falling body. Yeopyeong threw the head in his hand carelessly on the floor and glared at the Red Death Unit with fierce eyes.

“You can’t even handle one of these young ones properly and you’re retreating without even knowing you’re ashamed?”

“W-We’re sorry!”

“We deserve to die.”

Yeopyeong bared his teeth.

“If you deserve to die, then you should die.”

“L-Lord…”

“But before that.”

A deadly feeling came from his body.

“I’ll let you know why the Red Death Unit is the Red Death Unit. Step aside. I’ll personally cut off the heads of those brats.”

The corners of Yeopyeong’s lips curled up.

Yoon Jong’s body trembled.

The moment he felt the deadly feeling, his muscles instinctively tensed and he felt the hairs all over his body stand on end.

‘A master.’

The Red Death Unit was said to have gained its reputation solely through the power of the Red Death Blade Yeopyeong….

‘He’s on a different level from the members.’

He could deeply feel the killing power of a true master.

But at that moment.

“Is that bastard brain-dead?”

A voice mixed with annoyance was heard from behind him. His tense body relaxed a little at that annoying voice, which was no different from usual.

“I told you not to act out, but you just can’t understand what I’m saying.”

Chung Myung was now casually walking out, a sword roughly gripped in one hand.

“Well, whatever.”

He passed by Yoon Jong, stood at the front, shrugged his shoulders, and said.

“Sometimes, the only way to deal with people who don’t listen is to beat them. Come here. I’ll cut that pretty neck of yours off nicely.”

The smile disappeared from the face of the Red Death Blade, Yeopyeong.