Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 678

Everyone wants to avoid trouble. But sometimes, trouble finds you. Hyun Jong felt that trouble now, like a knot in his stomach.

His stomach felt tight and uneasy, even though Chung Myung, the troublemaker, wasn’t even here.

He quietly looked at the people sitting in front of him.

Usually, his own students from Mount Hua would sit here, looking up to him. But today, important leaders from all the sects were in those seats, staring at him.

Their stares weren’t exactly mean, but it was easy to guess they weren’t friendly either.

The Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families.

The most respected families in Kangho.

Hyun Jong had met the leaders of each sect before at the Mount Hua Tournament.

But this was different.

Before, he was just cheering for his students among leaders who didn’t care about him. Now, he had to face all their attention.

He felt a little better knowing his allies from the Cheonwu Alliance were sitting beside him. Without them, facing these stares would be much harder.

“Amitabha.”

Beopgye, in the middle, quietly said a Buddhist prayer and looked at Hyun Jong with deep eyes.

“First, congratulations on starting the Cheonwu Alliance, Alliance Leader.”

He called him Alliance Leader, not Sect Leader. This meant Shaolin accepted Hyun Jong as the leader of the Cheonwu Alliance and would treat him that way.

Shaolin had to do this anyway, but getting their approval was still important in Kangho.

“Thank you,” Hyun Jong said with a gentle smile.

“It makes me feel better to hear you say that, Elder.”

“Hahaha.”

Beopgye chuckled softly, which made the atmosphere in the hall a little more relaxed.

“The people of Kangho are very interested in the Cheonwu Alliance.”

“Yes.”

“On behalf of everyone in Kangho, I ask you to work for peace and calm.”

“Of course.”

Beopgye didn’t seem angry at the Cheonwu Alliance.

Actually, Shaolin, their temple, had already agreed to accept the Alliance because of a deal made by Chung Myung.

Besides…

‘I understand now…’

Beopgye could see what Beopjeong meant before coming here. He could feel the tension in the faces of the leaders sitting next to him.

Before, the powerful families in Kangho were like loose sand, not working together. Shaolin Temple, which should have been leading them, had lost its power to unite them.

‘If there’s no one to fight, there’s no reason to join together.’

If they thought Shaolin’s advice wasn’t helpful, Shaolin couldn’t control them, no matter how strong they were.

Shaolin was losing control over the Nine Sects because of what happened at the Mount Hua Tournament. So, from their point of view, the Cheonwu Alliance wasn’t all bad.

Of course.

Beopgye thought it was a bit messy for monks and Taoists to be involved in politics. But then, the world was never perfect anyway, was it?

“Amitabha.”

He couldn’t say any of this out loud.

“The Abbot of our temple also has high hopes for the Cheonwu Alliance. I truly hope…”

But just then…

Lee Byeok’s voice cut through the polite air. “Elder Beopgye is being too kind,” he said, his tone sharp. “Maybe Buddhist monks are used to turning the other cheek, but we in the secular world can’t ignore this.”

Heads turned quickly towards Lee Byeok.

Lee Byeok of Cheongseong Sect sat forward, his dark robes rustling like dry leaves. His eyes, cold and hard, stared at Hyun Jong for a moment, then at Tang Gunak.

“Forming an alliance,” Lee Byeok continued, his voice low and dangerous, “is like throwing a stone into a still lake. It makes waves. And I have to ask – why would the Cheonwu Alliance deliberately stir up trouble in our peaceful Kangho?”

“It’s not about causing trouble…”

“Can you promise us that you’re not trying to take over?”

He wasn’t asking Hyun Jong or Tang Gunak, but the other leaders.

“Hmm.”

“Umm.”

The other leaders made slight noises.

Cheongseong was a sect in Sichuan, close to the Sichuan Dang Family.

The Sichuan Dang Family and Cheongseong weren’t as hostile as Mount Hua and Jongnam, but it would be odd if they were too friendly.

When groups are close, they compete for the same things. They might start well, but eventually, they’ll resent each other.

That’s why Lee Byeok was so sensitive.

“Who can say anything about people joining together? But if we don’t know what they’ll do, it’s hard to just congratulate them.”

Hyun Jong frowned at the direct words.

“The Cheonwu Alliance isn’t trying to take over. What you’re worried about won’t happen.”

“Then!”

Lee Byeok stared at Hyun Jong.

“If there’s a problem between my sect and the Sichuan Dang Family, and we fight, will Mount Hua stay out of it?”

“…”

“I’m asking if you’ll let each sect handle its own problems, no matter who’s right or wrong. But the Cheonwu Alliance doesn’t seem like that.”

Hyun Jong paused, then closed his eyes. He calmed himself, then opened his eyes and smiled gently.

“The sects in the Cheonwu Alliance are brothers because they trust each other not to do foolish things. If a sect in the Cheonwu Alliance does something wrong, the Alliance will stop them.”

“…”

“A brother doesn’t support what’s wrong, but stops it.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

But Lee Byeok didn’t seem satisfied.

“Of course. But no one here thinks the Cheonwu Alliance will cause problems at first. The problem is what happens later.”

Hyun Jong looked at Lee Baek, seeming to ask what he meant. Lee Baek chuckled softly and said,

“Even a child, if you give them a sword, wants to swing it. Do you really think the sects that now have the Cheonwu Alliance backing them will stay quiet and obedient?”

“…”

“At first, they will hold back, of course. But after some time, they will want to use that power. Can you really be sure the Cheonwu Alliance won’t cause any problems, even then?”

The people there looked strangely at Lee Baek.

This was a celebration of the alliance’s beginning. Even if there were complaints or possible problems, saying them out loud at an event like this was rude.

But no one stopped Lee Baek. Everyone wanted to know the answer to his question.

Hyun Jong looked into Lee Baek’s cold eyes. He was about to speak, but then Tang Gunak spoke first. Tang Gunak had been standing quietly next to Hyun Jong, like a guard. He slowly opened his mouth.

“Elder Lee Baek,” Tang Gunak said, his voice calm but sharp, “you don’t need to worry so much.”

“What do you mean?” Lee Baek asked, frowning.

Tang Gunak smiled strangely. It was not a friendly smile. It was a smile that showed no warmth. “Cheongseong is worried about the Tang Family, right? The Sichuan Tang Family? Am I wrong?”

“…”

Lee Baek pressed his lips together tightly.

It wasn’t easy to answer such a direct question. Cheongseong had never been much stronger than the Sichuan Tang Family. And now, the Sichuan Tang Family had the power of the Cheonwu Alliance behind them…

Tang Gunak looked at him sharply, like a blade cutting through.

“Does the Tang Family need the Cheonwu Alliance to deal with Cheongseong? You think too highly of yourselves.”

“Wh-what…”

Lee Baek’s face turned red.

Of course, he was an elder of Cheongseong, and Tang Gunak was the head of the Tang Family. But even so, this was too much.

“Those words are too much!”

“Too much?”

Tang Gunak showed his teeth in a cold smile.

“Is it not too much for an elder—not even the leader of Cheongseong—to question the leader of the Cheonwu Alliance? So, are my words to an elder of Cheongseong too much?”

Suddenly, Tang Gunak became very serious, and a sharp feeling came from him.

“Answer me.”

“Th-that’s…”

Lee Baek didn’t know what to say.

It didn’t matter if Tang Gunak was right or wrong. What mattered was that Tang Gunak, the Poison King, was openly angry with him.

Even before the Cheonwu Alliance, Lee Baek was no match for Tang Gunak. How could he even look at Tang Gunak now?

“Trusting in power and using it?”

Tang Gunak almost sneered.

“You should be saying that to yourselves, not us. If the Nine Great Sects weren’t backing you, would you dare to say such nonsense here?”

“Patriarch, your words are too harsh,” Beopgye said, trying to calm things down. Tang Gunak glared at everyone and said,

“Listen carefully. Hyun Jong Jinin is the leader of Hwasan and the leader of the Cheonwu Alliance. If you speak carelessly to the leader, you disrespect the Cheonwu Alliance. More than that, you disrespect the Sichuan Tang Family, the Namban Beast Palace, and the Bukhae Ice Palace.”

He didn’t raise his voice much.

But his low, heavy voice was more scary than any shout.

“If that happens again while I’m here, the Sichuan Tang Family will not ignore it.”

“Well said,” Maeng So said. He had been watching. He crossed his arms and glared at the honored guests.

Maeng So was huge, like a mountain, and everyone in the room felt the pressure from him.

“I don’t know much about the rules here. I only know that you can’t treat the leader carelessly. And don’t forget, the leader is protecting you. If the leader wasn’t here, I would have done something already.”

Tang Gunak’s words were a warning, but Maeng So’s words were more like a threat.

But no one could easily argue with him.

‘That fool gave them a reason to act like this.’

‘He’s so foolish!’

Lee Baek was the first to be impolite.

So, no one could blame them for being impolite too. Lee Baek understood this, and his face went dark with anger.

“The Bukhae Ice Palace doesn’t like being unfair either. But in Bukhae, we don’t talk nicely to those who are rude,” Seol So-baek said calmly.

“If you really want to know what is too much, we can show you.”

Seol So-baek wasn’t very strong in martial arts.

So, he couldn’t show the same strength as Tang Gunak or Maeng So.

But who would dare to ignore the Bukhae Ice Palace behind him?

As the three sects started to defend Hyun Jong, the mood in the room turned bad.

“Amitabha,” Beopgye said quietly, with a Buddhist prayer.

“I will apologize to the leader for them. Please forgive our rudeness.”

“Rudeness? How could it be rudeness?” Hyun Jong said. He gently raised his arms.

Suddenly, the heavy feeling from Tang Gunak and Maeng So disappeared. Hyun Jong’s gentle and clear presence filled the room.

“It’s a question that people would naturally ask. I know you are worried about the Cheonwu Alliance starting,” Hyun Jong said with a gentle smile.

“But the things you are worried about will not happen. Please, trust me.”

Beopgye nodded quietly.

“I will trust you. I ask again that you lead the Cheonwu Alliance well.”

“I will,” Hyun Jong said.

Tang Gunak watched the two men bow to each other and smiled slightly.

‘We are in control now.’

Just showing that the Cheonwu Alliance would not give in to the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families made this meeting worth it.

Of course, they didn’t look very happy, but…

‘Now, we just need to finish this well.’

But at that moment, Tang Gunak didn’t know what was coming.

He had no idea that something he had never imagined, something that no one in the world could have imagined, was now approaching Hwasan.