Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 616

“Th-That…!”

Heo Sanja’s face showed he was shocked and scared.

*This sword is dangerous.*

The flower moves looked like magic, beautiful but hiding sharp attacks. They made you dizzy and unable to see the danger.

It was not just pretty.

It was very dangerous, like a colorful plant with deadly poison inside.

*I don’t understand this.*

He didn’t want to believe it, but Hwasan was a famous and old group. They were even more connected to the true history of Taoism than Wudang. *How could such a dangerous sword style come from such a place?*

*Whoosh!*

The flower petals, which had shot up together, now fell like a storm of rain.

Heo Sanja knew how dangerous this beautiful sight was, but even he stopped for a moment, watching the petals dance in the air.

Then, suddenly…

*Whoosh!*

Jo Gul jumped through the falling petals, moving like lightning towards Mu-ho.

Like an arrow flying from a bow, Jo Gul attacked Mu-ho’s head with a strong strike.

*Swoosh!*

It was a powerful hit, like he wanted to cut Mu-ho in half! This was not the usual skillful sword moves Jo Gul showed. It was just raw power.

“Mu-ho!”

Heo Sanja watched and shouted without thinking, almost standing up.

But…

*Clang!*

Just as Jo Gul’s sword was about to hit Mu-ho’s head, Mu-ho’s sword flashed out fast, blocking the attack.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

Sparks flew everywhere as the swords hit each other hard. They fought fiercely, Jo Gul’s heavy sword pushing down on Mu-ho’s sword trying to block it.

*Crack.*

Mu-ho’s eyes showed pain in his wrist.

*I blocked it!*

That was so close!

If he had lost focus for even a second, if he had been too amazed by those fancy sword moves, he would have been badly hurt, maybe even killed.

But he blocked it!

Mu-ho felt happy inside.

Jo Gul was much better than he thought, but not good enough to beat him. *If I can just keep blocking these strange and hard-to-guess attacks, I will win.*

*I will win…*

But then…

*Hmm?*

Mu-ho’s face suddenly became still.

Jo Gul’s mouth, above him, was curving into a smile.

*He’s smiling?*

It was a smile of victory.

Not the face you’d expect when your best attack is blocked. This smile meant everything was going just as he wanted.

Mu-ho felt something was very wrong. He tried to pull his sword back and defend himself.

*Clang!*

“Huh?”

But the sword wouldn’t move.

It was like Jo Gul’s sword was stuck to his, not letting go.

*A Binding Art?*

The power from Jo Gul’s sword was holding his sword, pulling it closer.

*What kind of power is this!*

It was a rough, simple power, but it was incredibly strong. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t pull his sword away.

*Whoosh!*

Just then, the plum blossom sword energy Jo Gul had sent out before came flying back towards them together.

*It’s… it’s broken?*

Wudang sword style is supposed to be smooth and never-ending.

But even the best sword style can be stopped if the sword itself is held still. Yet, the sword energy Jo Gul sent into the sky was still strong.

*The petals weren’t the trick.*

*Jo Gul himself was the trick, to get me to focus on him.*

“No!”

Mu-ho used all his inner power, trying hard to pull Jo Gul’s sword off his own, which was stuck like glue. But it was no use, no matter how much he pulled.

You could see the veins popping out on Jo Gul’s strong, dark arms.

“Haaaah!”

Getting more and more desperate, Mu-ho quickly used his inner force, trying to push Jo Gul away with force. Or at least, he tried.

But then, *thwack!*

Jo Gul grabbed the blade of Mu-ho’s sword with his other hand.

*Is he crazy!*

Even with hand moves, Mu-ho’s sword still had sharp energy. Jo Gul could easily lose all his fingers!

Could someone be this crazy in just a practice fight?

It was a very risky and brave move, and it worked.

With both sword and hand holding and pulling, Mu-ho’s sword was completely stuck, like a mountain was on top of it. It made a sad metal sound.

*N-No…*

Mu-ho quickly turned his head. And he saw it.

The red storm coming right at him.

*Whoosh!*

The petals covered Mu-ho’s whole body.

*Scratch! Scratch!*

His skin was cut in many places, blood flew out, and sharp petals stuck into his skin.

“Ugh.”

Mu-ho’s hurt body shook.

Even though he had used his Great Purity Qi to protect himself, the plum blossom sword energy easily broke through his inner power and cut into his skin.

Groaning in pain, Mu-ho looked up quickly, thinking fast.

*If the sword energy is hitting everywhere, Jo Gul must be hurt too, right?*

Mu-ho’s eyes opened wide when he saw Jo Gul. His body shook like he was hit by lightning.

He wouldn’t have been so surprised if Jo Gul was fine. But Jo Gul was smiling widely, showing his teeth, even as the plum blossom sword energy he used was cutting him too.

Mu-ho understood.

*I wasn’t determined enough.*

He was just practicing, but Jo Gul was fighting to win.

That small difference… that’s why he lost.

*Thud.*

Feeling the plum blossom sword energy cut into his back, Mu-ho passed out and fell to the ground.

*Clang!*

The loud sound of the Songmun Ancient Sword hitting the arena floor could be heard everywhere.

*Thud.*

Jo Gul landed softly on the ground and looked at his legs. His legs were bloody from the plum blossoms that had cut him.

But he didn’t care.

He looked at Mu-ho, who was passed out on the ground, and made a tight fist.

“I won!”

His happy voice shouted out to the silent crowd.

“…That crazy guy.”

“He’s not right in the head, not at all.”

“He deserves a beating!”

Baek Cheon, Yoon Jong, and Yu Yiseol all looked like they wanted to hurt Jo Gul.

Being crazy was one thing, but who would use their own body as a trick in a practice fight? Especially getting hurt like that.

“That man…”

Tang Soso, who had to fix his wounds, looked like she was burning with anger.

The three men who were angry before shivered when they heard her teeth grinding. A low angry sound filled their ears.

“Does he think his body is just cloth? That you can just sew it up and it’s okay?”

“…C-Calm down, Soso.”

“He won, right? Huh?”

Finally, her anger burst out.

“Winning isn’t everything! What if he was badly hurt! That idiot!”

“But, he’s a s-senior brother, Soso.”

“So what? I don’t care about senior or junior! I’m going to just… just…!”

Tang Soso looked so angry that Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong quickly said sorry.

“…We’re sorry.”

“We’re sorry for him.”

“Anyway!”

Tang Soso made fists and ground her teeth again, making the three men jump and look back at the fight area.

Jo Gul was still holding his hand up high, enjoying his win.

*I can’t stop him, no matter what.*

Honestly, Baek Cheon wasn’t sure Jo Gul would win.

To Baek Cheon, Jo Gul had a small chance, but winning depended on luck, so he couldn’t be sure.

*That fool.*

If it was just a fight for himself, would Jo Gul have taken such a risk? Probably not.

But this fight was very important for Hwasan to win.

For Hwasan, which was weaker overall, to win, they needed to take the lead. Jo Gul knew this, and that’s why he tried so hard to win.

Even though you couldn’t see it, Jo Gul felt responsible for Hwasan, and it was heavy on his shoulders. Even though he was just a Third-Generation student, Jo Gul was already important, carrying the name of Hwasan.

*That guy.*

Baek Cheon felt proud and smiled a little.

But then…

“Why isn’t that guy coming down?”

…It looks like he’s going to stay there until all the Wudang people remember his face and are really angry?”

…Someone go pull him down now.”

“Yes.”

Yoon Jong quickly ran to the fight area, kicked Jo Gul from behind, and pulled him away by his ear.

Baek Cheon watched and sighed.

“I don’t know if he’s someone you can trust…”

*One Chung Myung is already too much.*

“Ouch, ouch, ouch! That hurts! Senior Brother! Ow! It hurts!”

“It should hurt! It’s supposed to hurt, so of course it hurts!”

“Ah, is it okay to treat a winner like this!”

“Quiet.”

As soon as Yoon Jong let go of his ear, Jo Gul stood up straight, like he hadn’t been acting weak at all.

“I thought the First Disciple of Wudang would be amazing, but…”

“Was he not special?”

“No. He was special, but…”

“…”

*What is wrong with this guy?*

Everyone was staring at him, confused. Jo Gul said seriously,

“The pressure was real. It’s a sword style I’ve never seen. It doesn’t look like much, but it gets harder and harder, like you’re sinking in mud.”

“Hmm.”

“You can’t think he’s weak. If I fought normally, I might have lost.”

…So, he’s Wudang.”

Their hearts, which had started to relax, became tense again.

Baek Cheon saw how much Jo Gul had grown from this talk. Before, Jo Gul would just brag about beating the First Disciple of Wudang. But now he was thinking about the other brothers who had to fight next, not just his own win.

*I need to train harder too.*

Just as Baek Cheon was having this nice thought…

“But still, I won! Hee hee hee!”

“…”

Baek Cheon decided to forget the nice feeling for now.

“Anyway, he’s not someone I can’t beat! If I’m just a little careful… Kraaah!”

Suddenly, Jo Gul fell down and screamed in pain.

Tang Soso had come without anyone noticing, and was grabbing Jo Gul’s hurt leg with a scary face.

“Oh, are you happy you won?”

“Ack! Soso! There! Ack! That’s where I’m cut…”

“Oh, here?”

“Kraaah!”

Everyone who saw Soso’s fingers pushing into the wound closed their eyes, like they had promised each other to do it.

“Haha. Our Senior Brother is very hurt. I need to fix you up again.”

“Ah, no! I’m not that hurt! It’ll be fine if you leave it! I can just use my spit!”

“Hey. Don’t talk silly. I’ll give you a proper treatment.”

Tang Soso pulled out a big needle from her sleeve.

It was not just big, but thick and sharp, not like a normal needle at all. It was more like a tool for leather. Jo Gul asked, voice shaking.

“Wh-Why the needle? I don’t have any hurt inside.”

“I need to sew you up.”

“Huh?”

“This is a needle.”

“…That’s?”

“Yeah.”

…If that’s a needle, then a worm is a dragon… Kraaah!”

Tang Soso pulled Jo Gul to a corner without saying anything else. The Hwasan students shivered, trying to get rid of the chills on their skin.

*I must never get hurt.*

*If I get hurt, I’d rather just die.*

That was the moment when everyone knew another rule of this fight.

Baek Cheon smiled sadly and looked at the Wudang side. They were still frozen, not even thinking about helping Mu-ho, who was still on the fight area.