Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 452

Hyun Jong looked surprised.

“Is this… the Myriad Year Cold Iron Sword from the Tang Clan?”

“Yes.”

The answer was short, but it was very important.

“Yes, it is.”

Hyun Jong reached out and gently touched the wooden box.

“It seems even the box is extraordinary, good enough for something from the Tang Clan.”

Baek Cheon smiled as he watched Hyun Jong. Actually, the box for the sword was not special.

Hyun Jong was wrong about the box. Baek Cheon thought it was funny because Hyun Jong was so happy.

“Please, open it, Sect Leader.”

“Okay.”

Hyun Jong nodded and slowly opened the wooden case.

Creak.

“Ooh.”

When Hyun Jong finally saw the sword, his eyes shone with excitement.

He stared at the sword with plum flowers on it, unable to look away.

Just by looking at the dark, ink-black color of the sword cover, you could see how carefully it was made.

What made Hyun Jong even happier was the plum flower design. It was on the sword cover and the bottom of the handle.

‘It truly is a Plum Blossom Sword.’

He felt tears prick his eyes.

‘How delighted would the predecessors have been to see this?’

It felt like only yesterday that he couldn’t even provide the children with proper swords, and now, a Cold Iron Sword….

Other people might just see a famous sword. But for Hyun Jong, this sword meant much more.

“Truly magnificent.”

Hyun Jong smiled proudly and reached out towards the sword.

But.

Thwack!

Before his hand could even touch the sword, someone snatched it away with a lightning-fast movement.

“…“

Startled, he looked up to see Hyun Sang already holding the Cold Iron Sword, staring intently at it.

“Tha-that’s…”

…You naughty one!

I am the Sect Leader, after all. Before I even get to see it…

But he couldn’t bring himself to say these words. Hyun Sang’s eyes held intense excitement he had never seen before.

“…Cold Iron Sword.”

“…“

Swoooosh.

Hyun Sang slowly drew the sword. A faint blue light came from the blade, which was noticeably whiter than that of an ordinary sword.

“Ooh…”

Hyun Sang finally gasped.

Anyone who has used a sword for a long time could see how amazing this sword was, just by looking.

Hyun Sang carefully reached out and stroked the blade, where the plum blossoms were engraved. He had only touched it lightly, but a very coldness touched his fingertips.

He lightly flicked the blade with his fingertip, and the sword sounded very clear.

“Amazing. It’s truly an amazing sword!”

Hyun Sang exclaimed repeatedly, turning the sword this way and that to examine it.

‘Is he really that happy?’

Unlike Hyun Young, who would grin from ear to ear whenever something happened, Hyun Sang was always one to stay calm as much as possible. Seeing him so delighted like a child, Hyun Jong couldn’t help but smile as well.

“Are you that hap—”

“Let’s see!”

Hyun Sang lightly swung the sword.

A sharp blue aura burst forth from the tip of the sword…

Sword aura?

“Aaaaargh!”

“Eeeek!”

Baek Cheon and his group all rolled across the floor, throwing themselves out of the way of the sword aura that suddenly appeared.

Slice!

The sword aura quickly cut into the wall, leaving a long mark.

“…Huh?”

Hyun Sang’s eyes widened in shock. At the same time, Hyun Jong jumped up from his seat and kicked him in the butt.

“You crazy fool!”

Thud!

Hyun Sang tumbled to the ground after being kicked in the bottom.

“To use sword aura inside a room! Are you out of your mind?”

Hyun Jong glared and pointed his finger accusingly.

Hyun Sang seemed even more confused, his mouth agape as he looked down at the Cold Iron Sword.

“N-no, that’s not it, Sect Leader… I barely put any internal energy into it! I just did a little bit without thinking…”

At that moment.

Rumble. Rumble.

The wall that had been cut by Hyun Sang’s sword aura instantly collapsed. Soon, one side of the room was wide open.

“…“

Hyun Jong slowly raised his gaze, looking at the wall that had collapsed without any chance to stop it. Tears welled up in his eyes.

‘One is like this, and the other is like that…’

The disciples do good things, and the elders cause accidents.

Alas, my fate…

Hyun Sang muttered in a voice still filled with confusion.

“N-no, this can’t be happening?”

And those words made Hyun Jong even angrier.

“An elder who gets so blinded by a sword that he causes accidents that even children wouldn’t make!”

“T-that’s not it, Sect Leader! The sword… this sword is strange. It can’t be this sharp!”

Seeing Hyun Sang still admiring the sword even in this situation, Hyun Jong felt his insides burning and rotting away.

“Give it here!”

Hyun Jong snatched the Cold Iron Sword from Hyun Sang. Then, he carefully poured his energy into the Cold Iron Sword.

Sssss.

He had only pushed in a tiny bit of energy, but the sword aura seemed to grow and bloom from the tip of the sword. It was as if the sword was making sword aura by itself.

“…How can this be?”

Hyun Jong couldn’t find words, his mouth agape.

“…So this is why they call them famous swords.”

In truth, he had thought that even a famous sword would just be a little harder and a little sharper, but this was on a completely different level.

It was the moment he understood why the famous swordsmen would forget everything else and become completely focused on famous swords.

“They say a master calligrapher doesn’t care about brushes.”

“That’s nonsense. The better the calligrapher, the better the brush they use.”

“Huh?”

Hyun Jong looked at Chung Myung, who had suddenly interjected.

Chung Myung smiled contentedly and said,

“A master calligrapher would have a lot of money, after all.”

“…“

“They’d use good brushes.”

Ah…

That’s true.

Chung Myung shrugged.

“It’s the same with experts. There’s no expert without money, and someone with money using bad weapons is just showing off. Like, ‘I’m stronger than you guys even if I use this kind of weapon,’ or something?”

“…“

Baek Cheon, who had been blankly staring at the collapsed wall, looked at Chung Myung and asked.

“But I’ve heard that before, but isn’t that too much of an exaggeration? I heard that in the past, the Plum Blossom Sword Saint greatly defeated the Evil group’s forces with just a single blade of grass…”

“What crazy person is spreading such rumors? Why would he use a blade of grass when he has a perfectly good Plum Blossom Sword? Who is the one spreading such nonsense, anyway?”

Instead of answering, Baek Cheon slowly turned his gaze to one side.

Following his gaze, they saw Hyun Sang standing there with an endlessly awkward expression.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Ah, it was Elder? I didn’t know. Hee hee.”

Hyun Sang, who had just told an old story from the sect but had instantly become a crazy person spreading rumors, avoided their gazes with slightly mournful eyes.

Chung Myung cleared his throat softly.

“Ahem, anyway, you should always use the best sword possible!”

Hyun Jong quietly nodded.

In fact, when that rascal Chung Myung said he was going to look through old notes from our ancestors to make a sword, he wasn’t very happy about it, but now that he saw the finished Cold Iron Sword, he could understand why that rascal had been so excited.

This sword would improve the skills of the Mount Hua disciples even further. And it would also help keep them safe.

Hyun Jong looked at Chung Myung with a very kind look and quietly nodded.

“I was thinking…”

Bang!

At that moment, a loud crash came from the direction of the door.

“…“

Hyun Young rushed in through the door, which had been almost broken when it opened.

“Damn it! What kind of meeting takes so long! Why is it dragging on like this!”

“…“

Hyun Young, who had been grumbling fiercely, quickly spotted Chung Myung and smiled brightly.

“Chung Myung has arrived!”

“Yes, Elder!”

“Good! Good, you rascal! What is it this time…? Is it this?”

Hyun-young rushed at Hyun Jong, staring intently at the Hancheol sword he held.

“Here…”

Hyun Jong was relieved Hyun-young wasn’t trying to grab the sword like Hyun-sang. He carefully gave the Hancheol sword to Hyun-young.

“Ooh. This color… And the plum blossom pattern engraved on the blade. Heh heh. Truly, a sword befitting the name Plum Blossom Sword.”

The weight and balance felt perfect in his hand, clearly showing it was crafted for Mount Hua’s swordsmanship.

“Be careful when channeling your inner energy. Your martial brother has already made a hole in the wall.”

“A hole? Oh my goodness!” Hyun-young’s eyes widened, and he stumbled back, staring at the gaping hole in the wall. “Why is it like *that*?”

Horror turned to anger. Hyun-young spun around, his face thunderous, and glared at Hyun-sang.

Hyun-sang jumped, like a startled cat. He quickly looked away, pretending to examine his fingernails, anything but meet Hyun-young’s furious gaze. But it was no use. Hyun-young’s voice exploded.

“You call yourself an Elder? A fine Elder who can’t even earn a single penny!”

Hyun-sang mumbled, “…I’m sorry, Martial Brother.”

“Even the *newest* disciples are traveling all the way to Sichuan to bring back money! And you, an Elder of Mount Hua!” Hyun-young’s voice rose even higher.

“…I said I’m sorry!” Hyun-sang repeated, shrinking under Hyun-young’s wrath.

“Tsk tsk tsk. Tch!”

Hyun-young clicked his tongue with a displeased look, then spoke to Hyun Jong.

“Sect Leader, the children have returned, having accomplished a great feat.”

“Indeed. Truly, they have.”

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes.”

“Did you bring enough swords?”

“Yes. I brought enough to use moderately. But it’s a bit ambiguous to call it plentiful. We were slightly short on Hancheol.”

“Where else would you even *dream* of finding it!” Hyun-young exclaimed, his voice booming.

Hyun-young nodded contentedly.

Seeing that sight, Hyun Jong’s heart felt lighter than it had in years. A genuine smile spread across his face, reaching his eyes.

“See, you should have sent them nicely from the start. You were so stingy about that blasted Bigoni, agonizing over it for so long!”

“…”

“What, are you going to keep it and take it to your grave? A person should know how to let go of greed! Tch!”

“…”

“Didn’t you say that if we entrusted it to him and sent him, he would handle it well on his own! Have you ever seen that Chung Myung fail to handle things properly?”

Hyun Jong turned his head and looked out the window… No, at the sky visible through the gaping hole in the wall.

‘This rascal and that rascal…’

I wish they would all just disappear.

But whether Hyun Jong’s insides were rotting or not, Hyun-sang and Hyun-young were too busy chattering happily.

“Yes, yes. You’ve worked hard! Haha! You’ve made a much better sword than I expected.”

“Tsk tsk tsk. How arduous must the journey have been for his face to be half its size?”

Baek Cheon rolled his eyes, but kept his mouth shut. *Half its size? More like twice the size before the trip,* he thought.

He spent the whole trip lying down, eating, and sleeping, and you say half its size…

At that moment, Hyun-young, who was roughly stroking Chung Myung’s head, saw something pure white peeking out from under Chung Myung’s collar and flinched.

“W-what is this?”

“Ah, this? The Beast Palace Lord gave it to me as a gift.”

“…The color of its fur is extraordinary… It looks expensive.”

“Right?”

Perhaps sensing the greed in Hyun-young’s eyes, Baek Ah bared its teeth and threatened aggressively.

Haaah!

“Where do you think you’re being rude!”

Smack!

But after being swiftly punished by Chung Myung, it became sullen. Then, it tucked its head back into his collar.

Chung Myung shrugged his shoulders.

“It still has no manners.”

“Indeed. Unlike someone else.”

No, Elder.

It’s really similar. Really…

Hyun-young’s gaze slid slightly downwards.

“Hmm? This?”

“Ah.”

Chung Myung nodded and untied the Dark Fragrance Plum Blossom Sword from his waist, holding it out in front of him.

“The artisan from the Tang family gave it to me as a gift.”

A hush fell over the room. Everyone stared at the sword, their breath held.

“…This is…”

In particular, Hyun-sang couldn’t even finish his sentence and swallowed hard.

‘This is on a different level.’

The Tang family’s Hancheol sword was already amazing, like a masterpiece. But this new sword was even more special. It felt different, stronger than any normal Hancheol sword.

“May I take a look for a moment?”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung obediently handed the Dark Fragrance Plum Blossom Sword to Hyun-sang.

Hyun-sang received the sword, looked down at it for a moment, and carefully drew it with trembling hands.

“Huh!”

At the sight of the blade that was revealed, he gasped.

“This… such a sword…”

His voice sounded as if his soul had left his body.

Hyun-young, who was beside him, couldn’t suppress his surprise either and blankly asked Chung Myung.

“They just made a sword like this for you?”

“Yes. It’s a gift for Mount Hua.”

“…A gift for Mount Hua.”

Hyun Jong repeated Chung Myung’s words for a moment, then quietly nodded his head.

“It’s truly a grateful thing. Truly.”

“Do you want to use it?”

“No.”

At Chung Myung’s question, Hyun Jong refused firmly and shook his head.

“Although it was given as a gift to Mount Hua, this is a sword made for you to use.”

“Hmm. That’s true.”

“Then it’s right for you to use it. A gift is important to the receiver, but the giver’s intention is also important.”

Chung Myung nodded his head.

“Yes.”

But even though the decision was made, Hyun-sang couldn’t easily return the sword to Chung Myung.

“Just once, let me use it…”

Then Hyun-young’s eyes flashed fiercely.

“Give it here! You’re too old to be acting like this!”

“Y-you rascal! How important is a sword to a swordsman!”

“He won’t understand its worth! He won’t understand its worth!”

Hyun-young shouted and snatched the Dark Fragrance Plum Blossom Sword from Hyun-sang’s hand, returning it to Chung Myung.

“You use it.”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung grinned and tied the sword back around his waist. Hyun-sang smacked his lips several times.

“Then later, just let me borrow it once…”

“Shut your mouth! Just shut it!”

“…”

Hyun-young shook his head and looked at Chung Myung. As always, his eyes became warm as if lying.

“Yes. You’ve really worked hard. So, was there anything else?”

“Ah, we resolved the Ghostly Spirit Clan well. I’ve informed the Eunha Merchant Guild of the situation, so they’ll be able to start their business soon.”

“That’s certainly good news.”

“And, uh…”

Chung Myung paused for a moment to think, then opened his mouth.

“I’ve created an alliance with the Sichuan Tang Family and the Beast Palace.”

“An alliance?”

“Yes. I named it the Heavenly Union. For now, it’s just those three sects, but we’ll be accepting more.”

At the unexpected news, Hyun Jong frowned slightly.

“Since you’ve done it, I’m sure you’ve taken care of it, but I wonder if it wasn’t too hasty a decision. There will be countless major and minor matters to coordinate.”

“Yes. You can coordinate that. Because the Sect Leader is the leader of the alliance.”

“Huh? Who?”

“Sect Leader.”

“…What did you say I am?”

“The leader.”

“…”

Hyun Jong’s eyes trembled as he looked at Chung Myung.

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“…Why me?”

Unfortunately… there was no one to answer that question.

Unfortunately, that was the case.