Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 652

The courtyard of Mount Hua was a hive of activity. Disciples hurried back and forth, carrying bundles and checking lists, getting ready for their journey.

Hyun-young watched them, his brow furrowed slightly as he called out, “Have you packed *all* the luggage?”

A disciple, wiping sweat from his forehead, replied, “Yes, Elder!”

Hyun-young frowned. “And have you checked everyone is here?”

“Personnel all accounted for!” another voice shouted from across the yard.

Hyun-young’s eyes narrowed, looking at the growing pile of bags. “Why is there so much luggage? It seems to have grown!”

Suddenly, a loud voice boomed, filled with mock anger, “Who drank the liquor?! Confess now, you rascal! If you admit it, I’ll only beat you half as much!” It was another disciple, pretending to be furious, but a grin played at the corner of his lips.

Watching the scene, Hyun-young nodded, satisfied.

‘They’re doing well on their own now.’ he thought.

In the past, he had to direct everything, even packing the luggage. But now, the disciples moved quickly without him. He realized, ‘It’s a good thing they have autonomy.’

Others might see the disciples’ increased strength or the better training environment as the biggest achievements. But Hyun-young believed the greatest achievement was that the disciples had begun to think for themselves.

When a group follows one leader perfectly, it can be fast and efficient. But if the leader is gone or bad at their job, the group can easily fall apart.

The best way is for everyone to think, worry, and move forward together.

“Elder! All the luggage is packed!”

“Okay. But why is there so much? Didn’t we get rid of most of the luggage we brought from the mountain fortress?”

“That… the Gold Coin Merchant Guild Leader gave us a lot more gifts, so…”

Hyun-young squeezed his eyes shut, thinking, ‘This isn’t something I should be doing either.’

He remembered when they were poor, he would have accepted any money with open arms. But now, he felt burdened by the constant gifts.

Even without that money, they could live comfortably. And he knew that if you receive something, you have to give something back.

“Is that all of it?”

“Yes… Should I unload it again?”

“Why are you asking that now? Why didn’t you ask before loading it?”

“…I had a feeling you would tell me to load it anyway.”

“…”

“Shall I unload it?”

“…No. Let’s take it.”

“Yes!”

Hyun-young smiled slightly, thinking, ‘They know me too well.’

Too well, seriously.

Hyun-young, rubbing his slightly red face, shouted loudly, “Finish up quickly! We need to leave soon and travel carefully!”

“Yes!”

Glug, glug, glug.

The sound of liquor being drunk was cheerful.

“Kkeuh!”

Chung Myung pulled the bottle from his mouth and wiped his lips.

“Hangover acupuncture, my foot! Another drink will fix this hangover!”

He muttered, saying things that would make a doctor angry, and glanced down from the roof. His martial siblings were packing their luggage well.

“For now, this is done…”

He had shared a lot of information, but he wasn’t sure if it would all come back to help him.

Well, he didn’t share it expecting to get everything back anyway. Even when fishing, if you use a lot of bait and catch one big fish, it’s still worth it.

‘The problem is from now on…’

Chung Myung scratched his head as if he had a headache.

Mount Hua’s growth was faster than he expected, and the situation around Mount Hua was more urgent than he thought.

“We’re halfway there… but it’s still not enough.”

Now that it was clear the Demonic Sect would attack the Central Plains, there was no time to rest. Once they arrived, they had to quickly focus on the next goal and keep going.

Now, Mount Hua’s only goal was to help its disciples grow.

“Then it’s about time… Ugh. This is a headache.”

Chung Myung covered his head.

Effort is important for growth, but it doesn’t always guarantee it. Prestigious clans are prestigious because they offer even stronger martial arts when their disciples reach their limits.

Mount Hua was once one of the most prestigious sects. Even though its famous martial art was the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique, the Taoists of Mount Hua didn’t spend their whole lives only mastering that.

“Now it’s about time to pass on the Plum Blossom Sword Art and the Violet Mist Divine Art…”

The disciples must have felt it clearly during the sparring match with Wudang.

Mount Hua’s Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique is not worse than Wudang’s Taiqing Sword Technique. In fact, it can even beat the Taiqing Sword Technique, depending on how it’s used.

But not the Supreme Clarity Sword.

The Supreme Clarity Sword, which can only be used after mastering the Yang Eui Divine Art, was clearly a higher level of martial art than the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

Chung Myung could fight the Supreme Clarity Sword with the Seven Plum Sword instead of the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique, but that was only because it was him. Even Chung Myung knew that just being determined wasn’t enough to win a fight he was destined to lose if everyone was equally strong.

“The junior uncles and senior brothers are slowly becoming qualified.”

It would be hard for the disciples to fully understand the deep meaning of the Plum Blossom Sword Art right away. But they are now ready to start learning it.

So, if he just passes it on without thinking too much, that’s it…

“Damn it, what excuse am I going to use this time to give it to them!”

He had already dug up a secret manual and a secret cave. If he digs up the ground again, even a child would be suspicious!

They wouldn’t be fooled three times by the same trick!

“Kkeueueung. Should I say I found it in a cave on a cliff?”

That was also strange.

Even now, Hyun Jong knows that what Chung Myung is doing is a bit strange, but he is ignoring it. However, if Chung Myung finds another secret manual, it will be hard to ignore it anymore.

“Ugh! This is frustrating!”

Why can’t I give it to them when I have a secret manual! I have a secret manual!

“Kkeueung. If I had known it would be like this, should I have just given it to them back then?”

But that was impossible.

Martial arts must be learned slowly, step by step, to avoid problems.

Learning martial arts too quickly is like trying to run before you can walk. You will get hurt.

Also, Mount Hua is not strictly controlled. They don’t know what will happen if the highest level of martial arts falls into the wrong hands. There’s no guarantee that those who know about the Plum Blossom Sword Art have mastered the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique well enough.

So, he was right not to give it to them back then.

“Kkeueung… I need to find a way to pass it on somehow.”

Chung Myung, scratching his head, suddenly looked up at the sky and pointed his finger.

“No! Why did you make the situation so messed up! You should have left the secret manuals ready in advance!”

*How would I know!*

“Damn it, really!”

Chung Myung gritted his teeth.

“And!”

Once the complaints started, they didn’t stop.

“While you were leaving other secret manuals, you should have left the Violet Mist Divine Art too! What’s the point of having a martial art only for the sect leader if you keep it secret! You should have passed it on sooner!”

*I told you to learn it, but you said you didn’t have time, you bastard!*

“Ah… Did I?”

Uh… I think I did.

“Ahem. When am I supposed to learn a new martial art in the middle of a war? I’m too busy.”

*I’m getting pissed off, you son of a bitch! Me!*

“…Your language has become very rough.”

I don’t think Sahyung used to talk like this… Or has he always been this way?

“Kkeueung.”

Chung Myung, who had collapsed on the roof, stretched out one hand to block the sunlight and quietly looked at the sky before muttering softly, “There’s still a lot to do.”

He had to pass on new martial arts for the disciples and find traces of the Violet Mist Divine Art that might still be left in the world. If that wasn’t possible, he had to create another martial art to replace it.

‘It’s impossible for now.’

He couldn’t face the Heavenly Demon just by regaining his past strength. He had to become even stronger than before.

To do that, he needed more than what Chung Myung knew now.

“Kkeueung. I hate struggling so much. Will these problems never end? Never?”

Chung Myung, complaining with a tired face, soon muttered with a slightly awkward expression, “Well, even without secret manuals or anything, the kids have grown a lot. They even fought with Wudang. Right, Sahyung?”

If it were the old Chung Myung, he would have said that they should do that much as a matter of course. But now, he found them all admirable.

“Chungja generation, Baekja generation… and even Unja generation…”

They were commendable.

They followed Chung Myung’s unreasonable demands without complaint… Well, they complained like crazy, but they still followed him anyway, didn’t they?

It was too embarrassing to praise them openly like this.

“I’m a bad guy too.”

Chung Myung chuckled, dumbfounded.

People can’t always be tense. If they achieve results, they should rest and get rewards to stay motivated.

But Chung Myung couldn’t give them more time. He didn’t know how much time was left until the Demonic Sect attacked.

“Hmm…”

Chung Myung muttered, pondering for a moment.

“Sahyung. I’m… Ah, never mind.”

Chung Myung, who had stood up again, waved his hand as if someone was in front of him.

“How embarrassing.”

He bent down to jump, but stopped, bothered by something.

“Kkeueung.”

He paced back and forth, unusually anxious, then raised his head and looked at the sky as if he had decided something.

“Sahyung.”

His lips parted slightly.

“Am I doing well?”

A light breeze ruffled his hair.

He waited, but no answer came.

It couldn’t be helped.

Chung Mun’s voice was just his inner thoughts. There was no way he could answer something he wasn’t sure of himself.

“Tsk.”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue and was about to jump down from the roof again.

*You’re doing well.*

Chung Myung turned around, surprised.

Of course, no one was there.

“…”

He stared blankly at the empty air before biting his lip.

“I’m…”

“Chung Myung-ah! Chung Myung-ah! You rascal! Where are you hiding again! Come out now! We have to leave!”

Before he could say anything, he heard a voice calling him from below.

Chung Myung silently looked at the air and sighed softly.

“Hey, you! Are you not coming out now?”

“Ah! I’m going, I’m going now!”

Chung Myung shouted back, annoyed, then chuckled.

“Why am I so unlucky?”

The important thing is to do what he can now.

Someday, when he meets his martial brothers again, he will confidently say he did his best without shame.

So…

“I’m going!”

Chung Myung jumped off the roof without regrets.

“This guy is slacking off again while his junior uncles are working!”

“Ack! My ear! My ear hurts! My ear!”

“When did you get your hands on liquor again! You rascal! You wicked rascal!”

“Ack! My ear! Ear, ear!”

A warm breeze gently swept over the roof where Chung Myung had been lying.

Someone’s worries deepen, and someone’s will strengthens. Someone looks back, and someone looks to the future.

The world steadily flows on in each person’s thoughts.

The sunlight was already intense.

The time when the plum blossoms would fall and blue leaves and fruits would form was rapidly approaching.