Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 45

Each time he breathed out, a cloud of yellow dust puffed into the air.

Jo Gul groaned, twisting on the ground. He was so tired he couldn’t even think about spitting out the dirt that filled his mouth. It tasted like grit and despair.

I’m done for.

He was too weak to move. He had rolled around so much that the sky looked yellow. He kept losing and regaining his senses. If he felt this bad, how much worse must it be for the others?

He struggled to lift his head and looked around.

Everyone was wiped out.

Not a single person could stand. They were all sprawled on the ground like corpses, panting. Only Yoon Jong was sitting with his backside on the ground, his upper body raised.

Senior Brother.

Respect welled up from the depths of Jo Gul’s heart.

If you only looked at skill, Jo Gul was a little stronger than Yoon Jong. Jo Gul was more talented with swords and had a better natural sense for fighting.

Right now, Jo Gul truly understood why Yoon Jong was the Senior Brother.

Jo Gul could barely twitch a finger, but Yoon Jong, who had undergone the same training, was at least sitting up, catching his breath instead of lying down. This wasn’t just about skill. It was about mental strength.

How could he not respect a Senior Brother who could do what he could not?

On the other hand…

Jo Gul’s gaze turned to the opposite side.

Ugh! Heave! Heave-ho!

…

Jo Gul saw Chung Myung repeatedly doing squats with sandbags three times his size on his back. He was moving so fast he was a blur.

Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Ugh! Why is this so light! Hey, someone who’s finished training, pass me your sandbags… What? Why is everyone lying down?

That monstrous bastard.

Jo Gul gritted his teeth.

The training was brutal. It felt endless. Chung Myung, as if he had made up his mind a few days ago, was pushing the third-generation disciples harder than ever before. Hence, this state.

But there was only one reason why they couldn’t complain. Chung Myung was doing five times the amount of training right in front of them.

Anyone with a bit of stubbornness and a competitive spirit couldn’t voice their complaints in that situation. Even if they were overflowing with dissatisfaction inside, wouldn’t they shut their mouths for fear of what others would think?

And yet, Chung Myung was continuing his training without even a hint of exhaustion, even after doing that much.

Ah, is it already this late?

Thud!

Chung Myung threw the sandbags he had been carrying to the ground. Then, he clicked his tongue.

What, you’re all collapsing after doing so little? Tsk! Kids these days are weak. It wasn’t like this in my day.

You’re the youngest, you twit!

The youngest one is talking about ‘kids these days’!

Today’s training ends here. Eat and then do the afternoon training. Anyone I catch sleeping or messing around in afternoon training? Double training for you tomorrow. Got it?

Devil!

Fiend!

Son of a bitch!

They cursed him fiercely in their hearts, but even Chung Myung didn’t have the ability to read minds. Unfortunately.

Then I’m off. Clean up the training equipment properly.

The third-generation disciples all sighed as they watched Chung Myung saunter back to the Baekma Hall.

Meat.

They could see meat.

These days, Hwasan seemed to be overflowing with money, as meat was served at every meal. Moreover, seeing cooks they had never seen before coming and going from the dining hall, it seemed they had hired new people.

The third-generation disciples, who used to light up at the sight of meat, had been sitting at the table for quite some time now, but no one was touching it.

Eat.

Yoon Jong said weakly, but no one picked up their chopsticks.

I feel like I’ll throw up if I eat.

I have no appetite.

Just looking at the meat makes me feel sick. Am I going to die from training?

No one dared to put anything in their mouths.

Senior Brother.

Why?

Yoon Jong,

one of the younger students whined, his voice shaky.

Isn’t… isn’t this going too far?

Yoon Jong couldn’t say anything. But that didn’t mean the complaints would stop.

Look, I know training is good,

one student said, rubbing his sore arm.

And yeah, we haven’t worked hard enough since we got here. But…

He trailed off, looking at Yoon Jong for support.

And?

But this training is too much. There’s not a single part of my body that isn’t sore.

The other senior and junior brothers seemed to feel the same way.

We’re going to die like this, Senior Brother.

It was bearable before, but these days, I really feel like I’m going to die.

As soon as I get to my room, I fall asleep like a corpse. Every time I fall asleep, I’m terrified that I’ll die in my sleep.

I can’t even hold my chopsticks. My hands are shaking so much.

Yoon Jong sighed.

What’s the point of telling me…

But wouldn’t he at least pretend to listen if Senior Brother said something?

You’re the Senior Brother, after all.

Yoon Jong frowned.

But that’s not wrong.

In the past, when similar situations arose, Jo Gul and Yoon Jong would suppress the complaints. But this wasn’t something that could be handled that way now.

Yoon Jong was also reaching his limit.

When fatigue builds up from training, it must be relieved to avoid hindering the next training session, but recently, Chung Myung, for some reason, didn’t give them a chance to recover and pushed them relentlessly.

Every day, it felt like they were exceeding their limits. How else would Yoon Jong feel fear when going out for dawn training?

Yoon Jong glanced at Jo Gul.

Geol.

Yes, Senior Brother.

What do you think?

Um…

As Jo Gul hesitated, everyone’s attention focused on him. Among the third-generation disciples, Jo Gul was the next most influential person after Yoon Jong, perhaps even more so than Yoon Jong.

To be honest, it’s a bit much.

Right?

My body can’t handle it. The problem is that the intensity is getting worse day by day. I welcome intense training, but this is too harsh.

Hmm.

The more you hammer iron, the stronger it becomes, but the more you hammer a person’s body, the more it breaks.

Then what do you think we should do?

The problem is…

Jo Gul twitched his eyes.

That ba… No, there’s no way Chung Myung doesn’t know this.

Keueung.

Yoon Jong groaned.

He had exactly the same thought. The training they were doing now didn’t make sense. But it made even less sense that Chung Myung didn’t know he was making them do excessive training.

Because it was Chung Myung.

I think it’s best to endure a little longer for now. If nothing changes after a little more time, then we should say something.

Let’s do that. Then I won’t hold back either.

When Jo Gul and Yoon Jong finished talking, everyone had agreeing faces. The important thing was that they had heard an answer that they would protest if this situation continued.

Whether that protest would work or not was a separate issue.

Let’s eat for now. Force it down even if it doesn’t go down. We have to train in the afternoon, and if we show a weak appearance, our Martial Uncle will scold us.

Keueung.

I will eat well.

Ugh.

Everyone reluctantly picked up their chopsticks with hands that had no strength. Seeing how weak and sad they looked, Jo Gul clicked his tongue softly.

Kkeueueung.

Jo Gul headed heavily toward his bed.

I really feel like I’m going to die like this.

It was a miracle he even managed to wash himself. He wanted to just rush to the bed and collapse, covered in dust as he was, but he wanted to praise himself for washing his clothes and body with desperate willpower.

Because of that, his eyelids felt like lead, and he had no strength left in his body. It was a wonder that he could even walk.

Plop.

Jo Gul, who had fallen face down on the hard bed, also let out a sigh.

When I wake up, it’ll be training again.

In fact, Jo Gul had no complaints about Chung Myung’s training method. He thought he could endure it no matter how harsh it was. Because in the end, all that training would make him stronger.

But recently, he had some doubts.

Is this training really making us stronger, or just breaking us? He wasn’t sure anymore. Can his body continue to endure this training?

However, before that question could deepen, sleepiness washed over him. Jo Gul stopped thinking and entrusted himself to the oncoming sleep.

Senior Brother.

Umm.

Senior Brother. Wake up. Senior Brother.

Um?

Jo Gul opened his eyes with difficulty. A human figure came into his blurry vision.

Who!

A heavy hand pressed down on Jo Gul, who was trying to jump up.

Don’t make a fuss and get up quietly.

Chung Myung?

Hurry.

What was this crazy bastard trying to do, barging into Jo Gul’s room in the middle of the night? And how did he open the door?

What’s going on?

Jo Gul struggled to get up. He seemed to have slept quite a bit, but his fatigue hadn’t been relieved at all. His body felt like it was filled with lead. Irritation, hot and prickly, rose up inside him.

At that moment, Chung Myung handed him something.

Here.

Jo Gul frowned without realizing it when he saw the small pill on Chung Myung’s hand.

What is this?

A spiritual medicine.

What?

Shhh.

Jo Gul, who had unknowingly raised his voice, shut his mouth.

I got this with difficulty. I’m giving it to you because you’re my Senior Brother.

A, a real spiritual medicine?

Have you been living a lie? You should be able to tell just by the scent, right?

It was real.

A sweet, clear fragrance, like mountain flowers after rain, tickled Jo Gul’s nose. It was faint but definitely there, promising relief.

The reason he still questioned it was because he couldn’t believe this situation.

What was a spiritual medicine? It was a medicine that enhanced inner strength and purified the body. In the Jianghu, blood feuds broke out and people died just from rumors that the highest-grade spiritual medicine was somewhere.

Even if it wasn’t that level of spiritual medicine, it was the same. If it had even a little bit of efficacy in enhancing inner strength, its value far exceeded the same amount of gold.

But he was giving that spiritual medicine to someone else?

It’s not poisoned.

No, that’s not it!

Jo Gul was about to shout but took a deep breath.

Why… why are you giving *me* this?

Jo Gul stammered, his voice full of disbelief.

You could take it yourself!

Because Senior Brother needs it.

…

Eat it quickly. Before the others find out. And it’s a secret that I gave you a spiritual medicine. I’m only giving it to Senior Brother.

You.

Jo Gul opened and closed his mouth.

Can I really eat this?

If it were normal circumstances, he would have had many concerns, but Jo Gul, who was enduring extreme fatigue, couldn’t use his head as sharply as usual. Besides, that pill really seemed to be a spiritual medicine. As evidence, his exhausted body was reacting violently.

Eat it first. I’ll guide your energy.

Can I really eat it?

I’m giving it to you because you’re my Senior Brother.

Chung Myung flicked the pill in his hand. Before Jo Gul could react, the pill slipped into his mouth and melted away, flowing down his esophagus.

He could intuitively tell that this was a real spiritual medicine.

I’ll guide your energy for now, but don’t absorb it all at once. Absorb it slowly over at least a month.

Ah, okay.

Turn around. I’ll start guiding your energy now.

Jo Gul looked at Chung Myung with slightly touched eyes and turned his body to sit in a lotus position. Watching Jo Gul’s back, Chung Myung smiled. It wasn’t a kind smile. It was sharp and knowing, like a fox who had just tricked a rabbit.

You have to give water to a thirsty person for them to know how grateful they should be.

Chung Myung was already curious about what kind of expressions his senior and junior brothers would show when they came to the training ground tomorrow.