Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 61

Chung Myung grinned.

“Seriously, how can those merchants be so out of touch with reality? They’re giving all this just for saving one person?”

Money!

It’s money!

Wealth!

As the ancient sages said, the more money, the better, isn’t it?

Chung Myung had already emptied his Senior Brother Sect Leader’s secret funds, becoming one of the wealthiest people in Shaanxi, but increasing his wealth was always a pleasant affair.

“How generous.”

These merchants in Shaanxi are very generous! It was just a joke, but they are really giving so much.

Even taking half would be cause for celebration.

Of course!

Naturally, they wouldn’t be giving so much to Chung Myung purely out of gratitude. They might have been willing to do so before Hwang Mun-yak recovered, but once he made a swift recovery, the situation changed.

People’s feelings often change after they get what they need.

Even so, they were giving a lot without complaining. This meant they probably had other reasons.

But even if they had other expectations of Chung Myung, it didn’t matter to him.

‘If I don’t want to do it, I won’t.’

If Chung Myung were as young as he looked, he might feel burdened by receiving so much wealth, but unfortunately, Chung Myung was no child.

Rather, he was an old hand who had seen a lot.

They would have thought differently if they had known that…

“Anyway, I’ve pretty much solved everything.”

He had saved Lord Hwang and, in return, received a promise of support for Mount Hua. As soon as preparations were complete, he would head to Mount Hua with Chung Myung. So, it could be said that he had done everything he needed to do here.

There was only one thing left…

Chung Myung smirked as he saw someone approaching him.

“Yo. Feeling a bit better?”

Lee Song-baek.

Lee Song-baek, the second disciple of Jongnam, approached Chung Myung, who lay back on the old wooden floor, dust motes dancing in the sunlight from the window, and quietly looked down at him.

“What’s the matter?”

Lee Song-baek stared at Chung Myung before opening his mouth.

“I am returning to Jongnam.”

“Oh, that’s good. I thought you’d be lonely all by yourself. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

Even after saying that, Lee Song-baek showed no sign of turning around. Chung Myung glanced at him and opened his mouth.

“Is there something you want to say?”

At Chung Myung’s words, Lee Song-baek gave a faint smile.

“Little Taoist Priest.”

“Yes?”

“I understand that you set me up to resolve this matter.”

“Yes?”

“Since the result is good, I can understand it.”

Chung Myung got up and sat on the wooden floor. Then, looking at Lee Song-baek, his eyes twinkling with mischief, he smirked.

“It’s a bit strange to call it a trap. Wasn’t it *you* who tried to trick *me* first?”

Lee Song-baek smiled faintly.

“So, we’ve decided not to blame each other, haven’t we?”

Chung Myung laughed in disbelief.

‘His personality is peculiar.’

The youngsters these days seemed quite different from the old days. Back then, the Jongnam brats he met were all eager to express their hostility towards Chung Myung.

Chung Myung hadn’t really thought much about what the Jongnam disciples were like before.

“So, what is it you want to say?”

“I don’t care if I was disgraced, put in danger, or manipulated by the Little Taoist Priest. It’s all due to my own inadequacy.”

Lee Song-baek said with a firm face.

“However, what troubles me is the sparring match I had with the Little Taoist Priest before that incident. I still can’t understand what I experienced back then.”

Chung Myung narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Lee Song-baek.

“So?”

“If you allow it, I would like to spar with you once more. This sparring match is not like the last one, with malicious intentions. I sincerely request a sparring match with you.”

Silence hung in the air. Chung Myung looked at Lee Song-baek, his smirk fading slightly.

Lee Song-baek stood still, his eyes fixed on Chung Myung, waiting for an answer.

Chung Myung scratched his cheek as he looked at Lee Song-baek.

‘Look at this?’

He thought that he had come to pick a fight again. If he had grasped all the circumstances, it would be stranger if he didn’t know that he had been manipulated by Chung Myung.

He was sure that he would be rampaging like a boar that had been preemptively hit, but Lee Song-baek was instead burying that fact and requesting a sparring match.

‘It doesn’t seem like he’s trying to defeat me through sparring either.’

It was quite an interesting reaction.

“Hmm. What should I do?”

Sparring is, in the first place, about comparing each other’s martial arts. From Lee Song-baek’s perspective, sparring with Chung Myung might be meaningful, but from Chung Myung’s perspective, there was nothing to gain from Lee Song-baek.

So, there was no reason to accept this request, but…

“Well, all right.”

Well, there was no particular reason to refuse either.

But more than the gold, Chung Myung thought about what this meant for Mount Hua. This support could really help them.

Chung Myung got up from his seat. Then, he gestured with his chin towards the courtyard.

“Here?”

“Let’s go somewhere people can’t see.”

“Sneaky? Me? Surely not!”

Chung Myung made a gesture of slitting his own throat, and Lee Song-baek sighed.

“Little Taoist Priest. I am not a fool. Although it is unbelievable, I already know that your martial prowess is superior to mine.”

“Ho?”

Chung Myung looked at Lee Song-baek with an interested expression.

“Didn’t I say? I want to know what I experienced.”

Chung Myung wore a subtle smile.

“You’ll regret it.”

“Even so, I would like to.”

“Yes, well. Fine. Let’s go then.”

Chung Myung stepped out into the courtyard. The air was cool and smelled of pine trees. Birds chirped in the branches overhead.

Lee Song-baek followed behind him with a stiff expression.

Lee Song-baek took a low breath. His hands tightened slightly at his sides.

He was nervous.

Lee Song-baek had never been nervous even when sparring with his senior and junior brothers, or even his master and uncles, but seeing Chung Myung standing before him, he felt his heart beating three times faster.

‘He’s small.’

Chung Myung, whom he carefully examined again, was still a child.

Of course, it was a bit embarrassing to call him a child now, but the fact that he was at least ten years younger than him did not change. In Jongnam terms, would he be his youngest junior disciple?

‘He’s at least one generation apart.’

One generation is the difference between a master and a disciple.

In principle, Lee Song-baek, as the second disciple, could accept Chung Myung, the third disciple, as his disciple. Of course, it is difficult to accept a disciple at an age when one should be focusing on training, so in reality, only first-generation disciples accept disciples, but in principle, it is possible.

In other words, he was now holding a sword to face someone who was essentially a disciple.

Even so, what was this?

This pressure?

Just recognizing Chung Myung as an enemy and placing him in front of him, the pressure he had never felt before was weighing down on him.

‘Why am I so nervous?’

It felt like he was crossing swords with the elders. Even though there was no way that child was on that level.

Lee Song-baek looked at Chung Myung. *He’s so young,* Lee Song-baek thought. *How can someone so young be so strong? I need to understand.*

In fact, he couldn’t feel any energy from Chung Myung right now. And he couldn’t feel the firm determination to defeat his opponent.

He merely lowered his wooden sword, gazing at Lee Song-baek.

Lee Song-baek bit his lip, steeling his resolve.

“I need to see Chung Myung’s skill with my own eyes.”

“He’s got a good sense?” Chung Myung watched Lee Song-baek, who was trembling as he held his sword, with an intrigued expression.

Right now, Chung Myung wasn’t posing any threat to Lee Song-baek. But Lee Song-baek couldn’t relax, as if he’d encountered a tiger right in front of him.

“Quite a sharp sense.”

“He might become the greatest swordsman of Jongnam in the future.”

Chung Myung thought back to his own youth. Had anyone in Jongnam had such a sharp sense? *I don’t really know*, he thought.

Back then, he wasn’t particularly interested in others. He was busy enough just honing his own sword and avoiding the Head Disciple’s nagging.

But even if Mu-wi didn’t, he couldn’t recall anyone with such a keen sense. Having a great sense meant being able to see more, and that directly led to potential.

“A late bloomer, is he?”

He might not stand out much right now, but as he grew older and continued to train, he would start to stride ahead of others. And in the distant future, he might be called the greatest swordsman of Jongnam or the Sword Venerable of Jongnam.

The only sad thing is… *He was born in the same time as me*, Chung Myung thought.

Chung Myung subtly raised his sword.

Should I teach him a thing or two as an apology?

“Aren’t you coming?”

Chung Myung tilted his head and pointed his sword, causing Lee Song-baek to flinch and step back slightly. Then, gritting his teeth, he pulled his body forward.

The beads of sweat forming on his forehead showed just how hard he was trying.

Lee Song-baek, after taking several deep breaths, opened his mouth with difficulty.

“Before we cross swords, may I ask you something?”

“Yes. As much as you like.”

“Just who in the world is So-dojang?”

“…I’m Chung Myung of the Mount Hua Sect?”

Lee Song-baek gritted his teeth and said.

“How can that be? So-dojang hasn’t been learning the sword for very long.”

I’ve honed it for a hundred years until I turned white-haired, you rascal. And even when I was your age, I could flick you down with a finger!

Chung Myung clicked his tongue.

It felt like he was cheating a little, but he didn’t feel that guilty. The Chung Myung of yesteryear was even stronger than the Chung Myung of today.

The current Chung Myung hadn’t even started training for a year, and he was progressing incredibly slowly as he built his foundation.

But the Chung Myung of the past had already honed his sword for over ten years by this time, and he had reached a level where no one among the later disciples dared to stand against him.

So, there was nothing to feel awkward about.

“The world is inherently unfair.”

“……”

“But it’s not like you don’t have a chance either. Isn’t the important thing to believe in your own path?”

“Are you saying that if I believe in my sword and dedicate myself, I can one day defeat you?”

“Eii. Hardly.”

Chung Myung waved his hand.

“If a crow-tit tries to follow a stork, its legs will be torn.”

“……”

“But it’s okay even then. Because you won’t be ashamed of not being able to beat me. Rather, you’ll consider it an honor to have crossed swords with me.”

“Arrogant. Utterly arrogant.”

Lee Song-baek’s eyes slowly sank.

Perhaps because the conversation had eased his tension a little, his face was gradually returning to that of a martial artist.

“Be careful. Knowing my shortcomings, I will use the best moves I can from the start.”

“As much as you like.”

Lee Song-baek slightly twisted his sword to the side.

Watching that movement, Chung Myung narrowed his eyes.

‘What is it?’

Even a minor change in the sword alters its essence. Jongnam is fundamentally a sect that pursues the orthodox path. They don’t twist their swords. Showing the opponent both the blade and the side of the sword at the same time is a technique mainly used in Illusion Swordplay.

That’s right.

It’s Mount Hua’s way.

“I will face you with the Snow Blossom Twelve Forms.”

“Snow Blossom Twelve Forms?”

Chung Myung tilted his head.

Did Jongnam have such martial arts?

The basic techniques of Jongnam are the Thirty-Six Swords of the World and the Taiyi Dispersing Light Sword, aren’t they?

It seemed they had created some new martial art while he was away.

“I’m going!”

“Yes.”

“Taaah!”

Lee Song-baek charged at Chung Myung with a shout.

Chung Myung watched Lee Song-baek with slightly bored eyes.

‘Now, what should I do?’

Should I cleanly trample on this junior who is different from the start? Or should I give him guidance so he can grow up well?

‘Tsk, even if I have a bad personality.’

It wouldn’t be to his taste to trample on a child like that, even if he were an elder or a first-generation disciple of Jongnam. First, guidance…

That was the moment.

Lee Song-baek’s sword underwent a heavy change.

Not fast at all, but extremely heavy, and not flashy, but diverse.

A change different from what Chung Myung knew of Jongnam unfolded before his eyes.

And the face of Chung Myung, who saw that change, twisted like a demon for a moment.

“This…”

Chung Myung’s wooden sword was swung forward with fierce power, without any change in form.

Wham!

With an explosive sound, Lee Song-baek spat out blood and fell backward in just a single exchange.

But Chung Myung wasn’t satisfied with that and immediately rushed forward, grabbing Lee Song-baek by the collar. Then, he pulled him close, right in front of his face.

Lee Song-baek, seeing Chung Myung’s face, which had turned into a demon in an instant, couldn’t even breathe and trembled.

“Where did you learn this, you bastard?”

“Cough, cough. What, what are you talking about…”

“This…”

Chung Myung bit his lip.

Snow Blossom Twelve Forms?

What a load of bull.

That phrase might fool everyone else, but only one person could not be fooled. Chung Myung.

The change was clumsy and awkward, but the basic form of this sword style was a sword that Chung Myung knew very well.

‘Plum Blossom in Disorder.’

The sword of Mount Hua. The sword that represents Mount Hua.

The sword that is said to contain all the essence of Mount Hua.