Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 699

The crowd buzzed with excitement. “Wasn’t that incredible?” one person asked, his face red with excitement.

“Incredible?” another replied, his eyes wide. “Are you even asking! That was unbelievable!”

It was normal to see martial artists in the *Jianghu* (the world of martial arts) test their skills. But a fight like this? In the bright sunshine, with everyone watching, and for their groups, their sects? That was rare indeed.

Everyone who had seen it was talking about it now, full of excitement.

“Indeed, worthy of the name Hwasan! The Taehaeng Three Swords were quite famous in the Hebei region!”

“Hey, come on! Are the Taehaeng Three Swords really that great? Compared to the disciples of the main sect, they are nothing!”

“What business do we have seeing the main sect’s disciples? Those folks are like people from another world! The Taehaeng Three Swords are formidable masters in their own right!”

Ordinary people rarely get a glimpse of the faces of the Nine Great Sects’ main disciples in their lifetime. Therefore, even being at the level of the Taehaeng Three Swords allows one to act like a master in most places.

“To defeat such individuals with a single sword strike!”

“Did you see the flash of light as his sword moved? It was like a streak of lightning! It seems that’s the famous Hwasan sword energy these days.”

“Hmm. But it was a bit different from what I imagined…”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard that each move of Hwasan’s Plum Blossom Sword Style is like a fluttering petal, but what I saw earlier was more like…”

“Hey, you! What foolishness are you spouting! Does the Sajil Sword Technique of Jeomchang really pierce the sun just because it’s said to? Does the Jangpung Wave-Breaking Swordplay of Hainan really create waves just because it’s said to surge like them?”

The man who rebuked him clicked his tongue as if he were pathetic.

“Martial arts are bound to be exaggerated. How can a person actually wield a sword to create sword energy like flower petals? It’s just a fancy metaphor.”

“Now that I hear it, that makes sense. It has a point.”

“That was flower-like enough! Rather, after seeing it, I realized how amazing Hwasan is. Even though they are a sect that is more involved in everyday life, they defeated three disciples of Jongnam with a single sword strike! If I didn’t know better, I’d say his skills rival the famous Hwasan Divine Dragon or the Sword of Hwajeong!”

“Hey! That’s too much! Are you bringing up the Hwasan Divine Dragon, said to be the greatest talent in the world, and the Sword of Hwajeong, known as the strongest among the later generation of Hwasan?”

“Hmm? Hmm… Indeed, I might have gone too far. Anyway, I meant to say that his divine might was great enough for his name to be mentioned! I’m more curious as to why such a person hasn’t been known until now.”

“I agree with that. He was definitely amazing.”

Those gathered in small groups were all preoccupied with talking about the martial arts contest.

“And he’s a chivalrous hero!”

“That’s right! I heard that Hwasan was acting chivalrously in Hebei, but I didn’t know that their disciples were all so dedicated to chivalry. They could have just ignored it and left, and no one would have known.”

“Isn’t that why Hwasan’s name is resounding throughout the world?”

At that moment, a man turned his head. It was Jin-pyeong.

One of the men who had been excitedly talking asked with a puzzled look.

“Why are you so quiet?”

A slightly uncomfortable expression crossed Jin-pyeong’s face as he was questioned.

“Well, that…”

He hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth awkwardly.

“He doesn’t look like someone I’ve seen in Hwasan before.”

“Haha. This fellow is something else. Just because you briefly visited Hwasan, do you think you would know all the disciples?”

“No… it’s not that, but every sect has its basic attire and atmosphere, doesn’t it?”

“Tsk tsk tsk. Don’t the prestigious sects have different clothes to wear inside and outside the sect from the start? Moreover, sects with strong secular tendencies like Hwasan allow their disciples to wear comfortable casual clothes when engaging in external activities, don’t they?”

“That’s true, but…”

Jin-pyeong reluctantly nodded.

He didn’t know Hwasan very well either, so it was difficult to say exactly what the problem was. However, a strange feeling settled in his stomach, like something wasn’t right. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt uneasy.

“Ugh. Well, it’s probably just my imagination.”

“Tsk tsk. Stop talking nonsense and think a little. What if that chivalrous hero is an imposter? Do you think Hwasan would stay still?”

Hearing those words, Jin-pyeong felt goosebumps run down his spine.

The image of the Hwasan Divine Dragon planting his foot on someone’s face flashed vividly before his eyes.

‘Yeah, if they knew, they wouldn’t let it go.’

A strong guy is scary. But a strong and crazy guy is even scarier.

“Y-yeah, I guess not.”

But what if there really was something wrong?

Maybe that guy would see hell while still alive.

Jo-geol ran forward with all his might.

His body felt lighter than ever before.

No wonder he felt light! He was used to pulling heavy carts. But this running… it was still hard. Especially with *that* crazy guy leading the way. ‘That damn Cheong-myeong!’ he thought angrily.

“Haa… Haa… I, I can’t go any further… Haa… Haa!”

“That, that crazy bastard…”

“Hey! Stop! Stop! You bastard, stop!”

Baek-cheon, who was panting with his breath reaching the tip of his chin, finally kicked off the ground with all his strength and threw himself. Then, he grabbed the waist of Cheong-myeong, who was running in front, and hung on.

“What is it!”

Cheong-myeong glared and turned around.

Baek-cheon gritted his teeth and shouted.

“I can’t run anymore, you bastard! Are you trying to kill someone?!”

“How far have we run to be making such a fuss!”

“You crazy bastard!”

“Huh? Where did So-so go?”

“…She dropped out a while ago, and Yu I-seol is dragging her along.”

At those words, Cheong-myeong stretched his neck back and clicked his tongue with a pathetic look.

“Tsk. How can you be of any use with such weak stamina!”

“What, you bastard?”

“Who has weak stamina?”

“Say it again!”

“Oh, my. What’s wrong with you guys?”

Cheong-myeong flinched slightly when Baek-cheon, Yun-jong, and Jo-geol glared at him with such fierce expressions.

The three people from Hwasan could not stand being told they were weak, but they couldn’t stand being told they had weak stamina even more. This was an insult to the training they had been doing.

“Hey, you crazy bastard! Even horses don’t run like this!”

“Of course, they should! Would it make sense for those who have learned martial arts to be worse than horses?”

“…Huh?”

Hearing that, it seemed like he was right?

Jo-geol, speechless, turned around as if asking for help, and Baek-cheon sighed deeply.

Why doesn’t this kid think about using his head as the days go by?

“If we keep going like this, we’ll collapse before we even arrive in Gangseo. Then wouldn’t that delay us even more! I know it’s urgent, but calm down, you!”

“Am I in a situation where I can calm down?”

Just as Cheong-myeong was about to say something, Yu I-seol, carrying Dang So-so on her back, ran up from behind. She quickly arrived in front of them and carefully placed Dang So-so on the ground.

“Ugh… Th-this Sa-hyung bastard… Th-this…”

Seeing Dang So-so still tightly clutching her hairpin in her hand even in that state, Yun-jong felt goosebumps and rubbed his arm.

“Look. Even So-so can’t handle it.”

“Tsk tsk. The Dang family is finished…”

“What, you bastard… Ah, I’m dizzy…”

Everyone fell silent as they watched Dang So-so collapse again.

‘…She’s getting rougher as the days go by.’

‘She’s fainted, but she’s still holding onto her hairpin.’

Baek-cheon, watching Dang So-so, who couldn’t come to her senses, asked Cheong-myeong.

“Why are you in such a hurry? It’s not like that guy knows we’re coming and will run away.”

“Yeah. And according to the Branch Leader, he hasn’t caused any trouble so far, right? If he was going to cause trouble, he would have already done it.”

Yun-jong chimed in from the side. Then Cheong-myeong smiled brightly.

“Sa-suk and Sa-hyung must be happy.”

“…Why?”

“To be able to live so thoughtlessly.”

“…”

Cheong-myeong’s face twisted in an instant.

“Then, you think a damn con artist gives a prior warning that he’s going to scam you, and shows all the signs before scamming you? Originally, a con artist is the most normal person in the world until right before he scams you!”

Oh… That’s also true.

“It’s too late to wait for him to scam you and then catch him! Looking at the way this bastard is acting, he’s definitely waiting to commit something!”

“No, how do you know that…”

At that moment, Jo-geol raised his arm high.

“I believe Cheong-myeong’s words a hundred times over on this matter!”

“Huh? Why?”

“Don’t similar types recognize each other? If that bastard looks like a con artist to him, then he’s a con artist.”

“That’s… persuasive!”

Just as Baek-cheon felt a chill at that clear answer, Jo-geol, kicked by Cheong-myeong, screamed and fell away.

“Damn it!”

“Already hitting him and then saying ‘damn it’…”

Cheong-myeong glared at Baek-cheon.

“Anyway, my gut tells me that this bastard is already up to something. Do you think I’ve only seen one or two of these guys? I’m not going to get scammed again in my life!”

“…When did you get scammed again?”

“There is, there was something like that!”

Cheong-myeong turned his gaze sharply towards the direction of Gangseo Province. And he spat out as if chewing.

“One hour! We’ll rest for exactly one hour. After that, we’ll run to Gangseo without stopping, so everyone better know that! If you drop out, I’ll leave you behind!”

Baek-cheon sighed without realizing it.

‘Con artist or whatever, I’m going to die because of that bastard first.’

The sun had completely set, and night had fallen. The Taehaeng Three Swords were tending to their wounds inside a small shrine in the mountains.

As they bandaged their torn flesh, they gritted their teeth as if unable to contain their anger.

“Should we just let that bastard go?”

“It hurts like hell, Eldest Brother.”

“Shut up!”

Gwa Hyeok-so, the leader of the Taehaeng Three Swords, glared fiercely at his two younger brothers. The two quickly cowered at his gaze.

“No, it’s not that…”

“Still, this is a bit too much, isn’t it.”

“Tsk.”

Gwa Hyeok-so clicked his tongue and looked down at his shoulder. Seeing the dark purple bruise on his shoulder, he was just as enraged.

“That damn bastard…”

It was then, as the three were fueling their anger towards Jin Yang-geon.

Thump!

Someone knocked on the door. The three men’s faces instantly hardened.

But before they could react, the door to the mountain shrine swung open.

“You…”

“You bastard!”

The faces of the Taehaeng Three Swords flared up like wildfire as they identified the person standing in front of the shrine.

It was Jin Yang-geon, who had competed with them a little while ago, who had appeared at the shrine.

Jin Yang-geon strode into the shrine, his white robe fluttering.

An explosive tension filled the air.

And at that moment.

“Hey, you bastard! You didn’t say you were going to hit us this hard!”

Ma Wi-ryang, the second of the Taehaeng Three Swords, shouted, and Jin Yang-geon smiled brightly.

“Haha. That’s right. But thanks to that, everyone was wonderfully fooled, wasn’t it!”

A triumphant look spread across Jin Yang-geon’s face.