Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 521

Seol Sobaek’s body shook like a leaf caught in a freezing wind. Fear, cold and sharp, pierced him, making his teeth chatter.

His vision blurred, and he felt like he couldn’t breathe.

His heart pounded so hard he thought it would explode. Facing the evil power coming from the Demonic Sect cultists, he felt like his soul was being crushed.

He felt like he was falling forever, lost in a dark pit.

Now he understood why the warriors of the Ice Palace had collapsed and run away.

‘I… I am…’

Just then, he felt a small hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Tang Soso looking at him with a determined face.

“Don’t worry, Palace Lord.”

“We won’t lose.”

Seol Sobaek’s eyes flickered.

‘Isn’t she scared?’

That was impossible.

She was still human. Even if Tang Soso was much stronger than him, she had to be afraid of those monsters.

So how could she look so calm?

And it wasn’t just Tang Soso.

The Ice Palace couldn’t stop the Demonic Sect, even though they had almost ten times more people. They didn’t even try to fight, turning their backs and running away.

They gave up fighting, showing they were not true warriors.

But the Mount Hua disciples, even though they were only a tenth of the Demonic Sect’s size, stood their ground.

What was different?

What made them so different?

‘Mount Hua…’

Seol Sobaek tried to steady his shaking legs. He wanted to run, but he couldn’t.

‘I have to see.’

He had to see what made Mount Hua different.

Clang!

A black, evil hand crashed against a white sword. The sound was like scraping metal.

Baek Cheon bit his lip.

His sword was blocking the enemy’s attacks, but it was getting harder and harder.

The evil aura coming from the Demonic Sect member stung his skin. His heart sank, and his hair stood on end.

He realized two things.

The enemy wasn’t as strong as he thought.

They were strong, but not as scary as he thought they would be after seeing them destroy the Ice Palace. Not at all.

And the other thing was…

‘Even so, they are hard to deal with.’

Martial arts aren’t everything.

He had heard this many times. Now, facing the Demonic Sect member, he understood what it meant.

Fighting someone who was crazy and only wanted to kill, without caring about their own life, was very hard, no matter how strong they were.

Their movements were wild and unpredictable, making him feel uneasy.

Each time their swords crashed, he felt his strength and mind being worn away.

But he wouldn’t be pushed back.

Thud!

Baek Cheon stepped forward and pushed his enemy away with all his strength. He created some space and then used the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

As plum blossoms filled the sky, the Demonic Sect member’s eyes turned red. The chanting stopped, and he made a sound like scraping metal.

“Foolish tricks!”

The Demonic Sect member charged towards the plum blossoms.

“Haaah!”

The evil energy turned into long claws and tore through the plum blossoms. It was like a monster bird cutting through a plum blossom field.

The beautiful plum blossoms were destroyed.

At that moment…

Wham!

Hae Yeon’s palm struck the Demonic Sect member with great speed.

Kroooong!

The sound was like a giant bell. The Demonic Sect member was knocked back, spitting blood.

But…

Crack! Crunch!

The Demonic Sect member flipped in the air and plunged his claw-like energy into the floor.

Crack!

The stone floor cracked. He stopped himself from falling out of the hole in the wall and stood up.

Blood streamed from the Demonic Sect member’s eyes, nose, and mouth. He was badly hurt. But he didn’t make a sound.

“… Heavenly Demon Re临, myriad demons obey.”

He just kept chanting, blood flowing from his mouth.

The blood, his blank face, and his crazy chanting made the Mount Hua disciples freeze. The sight sent shivers down their spines. The chant meant to make them feel weaker and scared.

“Heavenly Demon Re临…”

The sound of the Demonic Sect member dragging his feet made their hearts pound.

Baek Cheon’s eyes wavered.

Then, Jo Gul’s voice came from behind.

“Sasuk, let’s switch if you’re having a hard time!”

Baek Cheon snapped back to attention and gritted his teeth.

“Just watch from there, you brat!”

His voice was loud, but he felt calmer.

He bent his knees, which were stiff, and steadied himself. He calmed his shoulders and his racing heart.

He remembered the words he had heard so many times.

‘Always think.’

No matter who the enemy was, he had to focus on himself first.

Baek Cheon’s sword, which had been shaking, became still.

The enemy was strong and strange, but that didn’t mean Baek Cheon couldn’t give it his all.

‘It’s heavy.’

His fellow disciples were behind him, watching him. He felt the weight of that.

‘Don’t complain.’

Baek Cheon’s eyes became firm.

Someone else carried the entire Mount Hua on their back. He couldn’t give up now.

More Demonic Sect members were coming through the Ice Palace’s defenses.

There were already six of them.

‘I don’t care if there are six or ten!’

“Not a single one of you will pass!”

Baek Cheon’s sword moved, drawing plum blossoms in the air. Yoo Iseol’s plum blossoms bloomed with him.

It was like Mount Hua welcoming spring, the air filled with the faint scent of plum blossoms.

Whoosh!

The Demonic Sect members attacked. They swung their hands, and black claw energy tore through the plum blossoms. Black energy twisted the petals.

But they wouldn’t retreat.

Plum blossoms bloom again and again.

Baek Cheon and Yoo Iseol used the Plum Blossom Bloom move from their sword style. It was a powerful attack, full of energy.

The plum blossoms covered the entire area.

“What…?”

A gasp came from one of the Demonic Sect members.

But they didn’t have time to be surprised. The plum blossoms swayed and then swallowed them.

The Demonic Sect members’ eyes glowed. Black energy surged from their bodies as they charged into the plum blossoms.

The plum blossom sword energy pierced their bodies, but they kept moving forward. They protected their heads and chests, ignoring the cuts on their arms, legs, and thighs.

“Heavenly Demon Re临, myriad demons obey!”

Finally, one of the Demonic Sect members broke through the plum blossoms and swung his hands at Baek Cheon’s head, spitting blood.

Thwack!

But Baek Cheon’s sword pierced the Demonic Sect member’s chest first.

Anyone else would have retreated.

But the Demonic Sect member didn’t move. Even with the sword in his chest, he kept coming, blood streaming from his mouth.

“Kugh!”

Baek Cheon wasn’t surprised, but it didn’t make it any easier.

He stepped back and tried to pull out his sword.

But then…

Squeeze!

The Demonic Sect member grabbed Baek Cheon’s sword with his chest muscles. The sword dug into the wound, but the Demonic Sect member didn’t show any pain.

Baek Cheon’s eyes widened.

“Heh heh.”

“You… crazy!”

Other Demonic Sect members jumped over Baek Cheon’s head.

Yoo Iseol and Hae Yeon were busy fighting their own battles and couldn’t help him.

“Amitabha!” Hye-yeon cried out a Buddhist prayer and tried to hit the attacker who jumped at him. But it was an attack of little consequence. No matter how skilled Hye-yeon was, he couldn’t possibly face all of them at once.

One fighter from the Ma Sect gave his life.

Because of this brave act, the Ma Sect fighters were able to break through the Mount Hua fighters’ defense.

Yui-seol gritted her teeth and swung her sword, swiftly and accurately, aiming only for the enemy’s weak points.

Yui-seol’s sword was very good at cutting quickly. But it was less effective against enemies who kept attacking even when hurt.

Chwaaaak!

With Yui-seol’s sword stuck in his shoulder, a Ma Sect fighter swung his claws. Three red lines appeared on the side of her neck.

Soon, blood flowed down.

But she paid no attention to the wound, slashing her sword downwards to tear open the enemy’s injury.

“Krrrk…”

Thud!

The moment the Ma Sect fighter faltered, Yui-seol’s foot slammed into the opponent’s stomach. Kicking the opponent away, she jumped backwards.

Her sword moved quickly, and then she scattered plum blossom attacks towards the backs of the enemies heading past Baek Cheon towards Jo Gul and Yoon Jong.

Scritch! Scritch!

Wherever the plum blossoms hit, backs were cut deeply, down to the bone. But the enemies kept coming, just as fast.

“Think you can just walk past me, you bastards!”

Jo Gul was the first to meet the Ma Sect fighters, who were rushing forward with even more savage energy.

“Do I look like a scarecrow to you!”

Clang!

Jo Gul’s sword flashed, cutting and stabbing at the Ma Sect fighters. The Ma Sect fighters stumbled for a moment at the unexpected speed, but they kept rushing forward.

“Kahahaha!”

A Ma Sect fighter roared like a wild animal and swung his hand. Dark energy swirled around his fingers like black smoke. It looked like it could rip a person apart.

Scritch! Scritch!

But Jo Gul’s sword was faster. Jo Gul quickly stabbed the Ma Sect fighter in the chest and stomach. He pulled his sword back and rolled away.

Kagagagak!

The ground where he had been standing exploded. Five deep gashes ripped across the stone floor, like claws from some monster.

“Kuk!”

Jo Gul groaned. He couldn’t avoid it completely; his back was burning and he felt pain.

Blood streamed down from his back.

“Geol-ah!”

“Don’t worry about me, Sahyung! I won’t die!”

Jo Gul shouted. Yoon Jong stared at the wound, then nodded.

The two looked at Chung Myung.

Chung Myung was sitting and focusing his energy, looking calm as if he were not in a fight.

“Aish, that annoying bastard.”

“Tsk.”

Jo Gul and Yoon Jong grumbled and gripped their swords as they faced the rushing Ma Sect fighters.

“We won’t let you touch him!”

“We’ll stop them even if it costs us our lives!”

Ma Sect fighters were climbing up through the broken wall.

They knew they couldn’t stop all of them.

But it didn’t matter.

‘Even for a moment longer!’

They would endure.

Kwaaaang!

A Ma Sect fighter’s attack hit Jo Gul’s sword hard. Jo Gul spat blood and was thrown backwards.

“Augh!”

Jo Gul planted his sword into the ground and twisted his body to avoid hitting Chung Myung. He crashed into the wall.

Koo-oong!

“Cough!”

Blood gushed from his mouth. Jo Gul shouted.

“Sahyung!”

“I know!”

Yoon Jong used his sword to defend, blocking attacks from two enemies at once, even the one Jo Gul was just fighting.

“Hoo-uk!”

Rough breaths escaped from his mouth.

Fighting at the back, he could see the battle in front of him.

Hye-yeon was constantly using his energy to stop those who were entering. If he hadn’t been blocking the entrance, they wouldn’t have been able to hold out.

Baek Cheon was also fighting hard.

He seemed to have injuries. His uniform was stained with blood.

But he didn’t move back, as if he wouldn’t let any more enemies pass.

‘Sasook!’

Yoon Jong gritted his teeth.

Beside Baek Cheon, Yui-seol was cutting down enemies with a cold face. Half of her uniform was covered in blood from her neck.

Everyone was fighting with all their might, but…

‘Damn it.’

They were being pushed back, little by little.

The enemies were skilled.

Knowing they were trying to protect Chung Myung, they were targeting only Chung Myung. Trying to block them was making their movements difficult, and they were becoming anxious.

Kaaa-aaang!

“Kuk!”

Yoon Jong’s sword was pushed back violently as it couldn’t withstand the force.

Chwaaaak!

A Ma Sect fighter’s claws swept across Yoon Jong’s chest.

“Sahyungeee!”

Jo Gul’s shout pierced his ears, but Yoon Jong thought it was not a big deal.

Chung Myung had worse wounds when he fought Maninbang, and Un Geom’s wounds were even worse.

“Come on!”

Yoon Jong roared and shook his sword.

At that moment, a sharp dagger flew from behind him towards the Ma Sect fighters. It was Tang Soso.

Kaang! Kang!

The Ma Sect fighters blocked the daggers. Yoon Jong didn’t miss the chance.

“Haaa-ahp!”

Yoon Jong’s sword created a flurry of plum blossom attacks around the Ma Sect fighters. Jo Gul, moving like lightning, joined in with powerful sword strikes.

‘Push them back with this…’

At that moment.

‘Huh?’

Yoon Jong saw something strange.

Something black slowly moved through the plum blossoms.

The black hand appeared incredibly slow to Yoon Jong’s eyes.

The plum blossom sword attacks he made, and even Jo Gul’s powerful strikes, seemed to move very slowly. Even Sasook and Sago, and the Ma Sect fighters, were moving too slowly.

‘This…’

The hand moved towards his neck.

It looked so slow, but his body wouldn’t move.

This was definitely…

‘Dying…’

The Ma Sect fighter’s hand, carrying the energy of death, reached his neck.

Yoon Jong closed his eyes.

‘Mount Hua…’

At that moment.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaang!

Suddenly, a big explosion happened, and Yoon Jong’s body was thrown backwards.

“Wh-what…”

Thud.

He landed on his backside, looking confused.

‘What is it?’

He touched his neck, but it was fine. Shouldn’t there have been a hole?

The Ma Sect fighter who had been aiming for his neck was thrown away and collapsed on the floor, covered in blood.

A quiet voice reached Yoon Jong’s ears.

“Did you wait long?”

Yoon Jong turned to look at him, dazed.

Chung Myung, who had stood up, was looking at them calmly.

“Ah…”

Yoon Jong felt his strength leave him.

“You…”

Chung Myung smiled.

“Don’t even think about returning alive, not a single one of you.”

A terrifying intent began to flow from Chung Myung’s eyes.