Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 709

Dirt caked Jin Yang-geon’s clothes and skin. Without thinking, his fingers dug into the rough ground, as if trying to anchor himself. His eyes jumped from one place to another, unable to focus, like a trapped animal.

Boom!

An explosion erupted from the front, sending debris flying.

Hiiiik!

He gasped and flattened himself against the ground. Fragments of shattered walls and torn pillars narrowly missed his head. The force of their passing made the back of his head tingle.

Cold sweat ran down Jin Yang-geon’s face, leaving streaks in the dirt and dust that coated his skin.

He hadn’t asked for much.

He simply wanted to swindle a bit, pocket some money, and run away. Scamming the Gold Sword Clan was risky, but if one daring act could change his life, wasn’t it worth a try?

But… how on earth did it come to this?

He stared at the front of the building, now ripped open like a gaping wound. Iron Helmet gang members lay scattered on the ground like broken dolls. Dark crimson blood soaked into the dirt around them, staining their clothes and the stones beneath.

His trembling eyes shifted to the Iron Helmet Chief’s corpse. His neck was twisted at an unnatural angle, and he had died with his eyes open.

The moment he saw the lifeless eyes, Jin Yang-geon’s body lost all strength. He slumped back down to the ground.

Why…

His jaw trembled.

Why did it have to turn out like this!

Who would have imagined such an absurd situation would arise from his actions?

The Iron Helmet gang was powerful in Namchang. The Gold Sword Clan couldn’t handle them and had asked for help from all over, showing their strength.

Even a guest of the Myriad People Clan had joined, meaning no sect in Gangseo could handle the Iron Helmet gang.

That was why Jin Yang-geon was able to scam the Gold Sword Clan, relying on the Iron Helmet gang for survival.

But the scene before him shattered his expectations and plans.

Paaah!

Suddenly, powerful sword energy burst out. It was strong and bright. It flashed quickly, and the people in front were knocked back like leaves falling from trees. They fell to the ground.

Watching the source of the sword energy as the front line crumbled, Jin Yang-geon swallowed hard.

At that young age…

The man’s imposing aura couldn’t be hidden by the dust on his face. His sword energy and martial skills didn’t match his age.

The Iron Helmet gang members, who seemed much older, didn’t dare oppose his sword energy and were being pushed back.

The thought occurred to him that the ideal swordsman he had pretended to be with the Taehaeng Three Swords perfectly matched this man.

The others beside him were also extraordinary.

The female swordsman gracefully dodged spears like a butterfly. Her sword shot out like a ray of light.

She found gaps like a ghost, stabbed, quickly retrieved her sword, and thrust it again towards the vitals of the person behind.

Her movements were very fast and precise. She wasted no motion.

Aaaaargh!

The man, stabbed through the shoulder, screamed and collapsed. But before he could fall, her sword pierced the side of the person behind him and was retrieved.

Paaah!

It was amazing how much she had trained to use such simple moves like ultimate techniques. It was more impressive than the scattering sword energy or the single sword strike that felled many at once.

Hiiiik!

Every time her sword stabbed into an Iron Helmet gang member, Jin Yang-geon flinched. This is real, he thought, his breath catching in his throat. He stepped back again, feeling as if he himself had been stabbed.

I’ve gone mad…

What was he thinking, starting something like this?

Once the Iron Helmet gang members were defeated, he would be next to be stabbed by that sword.

And that wasn’t the end of it.

“Be careful of those who have fallen, they might still swing their swords… Watch out, you blockhead!”

The man swinging his sword shouted and kicked a stone on the ground. The man kicked a stone hard. It flew fast and hit the Iron Helmet gang member right on the chin. This gang member was trying to attack the curly-haired man from behind.

“Huh? I definitely knocked him down, though?”

“You’re gonna die, really!”

“Hey, the senior brother will watch over me!”

The curly-haired man grinned and took another step forward, lightly lifting his body into the air.

Eurachaaaa!

Soon, streaks of red sword energy bloomed.

Ah…

The sword energy from the tip of the sword gradually took a more complete form and transformed into fluttering petals.

Jin Yang-geon stared in astonishment, his eyes wide.

Pe, petals!

It was the Plum Blossom Sword Technique of the Mount Hua Sect, famous in the martial world.

I thought the ‘sword energy like petals’ was just a metaphor!

Who would have imagined the sword energy would really take the form of scattering petals?

Is, is that really possible?

At this point, he realized people had easily fallen for his sword techniques. This was because few people in Gangseo, far from Mount Hua, had seen the Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

Jin Yang-geon clenched his fist tightly and murmured in a dazed voice.

Only now did he truly realize it.

Th, they really are… really are from the Mount Hua Sect…

Having seen that sword energy, there was no denying it. He had just wanted a little money, a chance to escape his boring life. He’d dreamed of a new start, somewhere far away from this dusty town. Now, explosions rocked the ground, and men were dying all around him. It was all his fault.

Even without that sword energy, how could six people drive back so many Iron Helmet gang members if they weren’t from the Mount Hua Sect?

The fifty or so who had fallen were nothing compared to the hundreds of remaining Iron Helmet gang members. But their spirit was broken. Those who had boasted great momentum were now huddled together, panicked like sheep driven by wolves.

The Iron Helmet Chief, who should have been leading, was dead with a twisted neck.

Now, the end of this battle was obvious.

And Jin Yang-geon’s fate was clear.

I, I have to run.

Since he had impersonated the Mount Hua Sect, anyone could guess what would happen if they caught him.

Now that the Iron Helmet gang couldn’t protect him, he had to run.

But… where to?

How could he escape those madmen who had rushed from Seoseo and charged into the Iron Helmet gang with only six people, demanding him?

Those madmen would chase him to the ends of the earth.

But still, somehow…

Jin Yang-geon got up to escape and looked around. Then, he flinched and slowly opened his mouth.

Be, beggars…

Beggars were sitting on the wall behind the battle, watching him. Jin Yang-geon sensed his doom as if the sky was falling.

The Beggars’ Union guys are already spread out.

There might be a way to escape from Mount Hua, but there was no hiding from the Beggars’ Union. This was common knowledge.

Jin Yang-geon’s breathing quickened. As he despaired, rolling his eyes, he…

Kwaaaang!

A huge explosion burst out, sending power upwards. Rumble! When the power hit the roof, the tiles shook hard and fell like rain. The wooden beams broke and flew everywhere like arrows.

Such power, to destroy a whole roof with just one hit.

It was a sight that made legs feel weak and hearts beat fast.

And the powerful warriors who made this scene were now fighting each other like three tigers over land.

Clang!

Sword hit blade in the air.

Even against the strong blade, the young swordsman’s thin sword did not move back at all. Even more than that…

Clang clang clang!

The cold sound of metal rubbing against metal filled the air as the sword started to push back against the blade.

The two men’s faces were very close, almost touching, with only the sword and blade between them.

The man holding the blade with both hands, using all his strength, face became more and more twisted in pain. But Qing Ming’s face, holding the sword, showed no expression at all.

He was more than calm; he looked almost like he didn’t care, as he just pushed harder with his sword.

Crack!

Qing Ming twisted his wrist quickly. The sword tip, touching the blade, moved forward and started to scrape the swordsman’s neck.

Scritch. Scritch.

It wasn’t cutting, just scraping.

The sword tip, barely touching, made a red line on the thick neck. The swordsman tried hard to push it away, but it still made another red mark.

Soon, there were five or six red lines on his neck.

“Ghk…”

The swordsman’s face turned white.

Every time the sword touched his neck, he felt like he was facing death and then pulled back. If the sword went in just a little more, it would cut the main artery in his neck.

“Kuh…!”

The swordsman’s face twisted in horror.

‘What power…?’

He quickly looked down.

He saw Qing Ming’s thin wrist.

He could tell, even under the clothes, that the man was strong and fit. But his wrist was still much thinner than his own arm holding the blade.

Where did this power come from?

“Hey.”

Clang clang clang!

The sword dug into his blade, scraping it.

“You talked big before, why don’t you talk some more now?”

“Y-…”

Just then, Kwaaaaang! Another huge force flew from behind Qing Ming. It was the same force that had destroyed the roof earlier.

Crack!

The swordsman gritted his teeth and pushed down on Qing Ming with all his strength. He wanted to hold him still, so he couldn’t dodge the force.

The swordsman, using all his strength, stopped for a second. He saw Qing Ming’s face, the corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk. It was a clear smirk.

Crack!

“Ghk!”

Terrible pain shot through his foot. Qing Ming had stepped on his foot, crushing the bones.

Because of the pain, the swordsman’s body moved a little.

The pressure from the sword loosened slightly. The man, who had been pushing with all his strength, couldn’t stop himself from moving forward. Also, it was hard to balance with a crushed foot.

As he leaned forward, the sword twisted around his blade like a snake, throwing him off balance.

Whirl.

Before he could understand what was happening, the swordsman spun in the air, and then landed on the other side of Qing Ming. He didn’t mean to move like that at all.

‘What…?’

As the confused man tried to hold his sword again, Qing Ming kicked him hard in the chest.

Wham!

His body flew back like an arrow. He didn’t even notice the terrible pain in his chest or the confusing situation. All he knew was the force coming at his back.

Crack.

He twisted his body hard in the air. His spine felt like it was screaming from the sudden, hard twist.

“Haaah!”

He swung his sword wildly, hitting the force coming at him.

Kwaaaaang!

The blade and the force crashed together, making a huge explosion.

The attacker stumbled back, and the swordsman who swung in the air fell to the ground, vomiting blood.

“Y-…”

Their faces were twisted and covered in pain and anger…

“If I showed this to my students from Mount Hua, my teacher would love it,” Qing Ming said with a smile that made people feel uneasy. His sword rested on his shoulder.

“It’s a perfect example of how *not* to do a team attack.”

“You son of a…”

Just then, Qing Ming, who was calmly tapping his shoulder with his sword, disappeared as if he vanished into the ground. Then, in a flash, he was right in front of the swordsman who was ready on the ground.

‘Gasp!’

The swordsman, so startled his heart jumped, raised his sword to block. He wanted to stop the flying sword. But as the sword moved up, Qing Ming’s foot quickly found the opening. He kicked him hard in the chin.

Wham!

It was just a foot hitting a chin, but it felt like an explosion.

The kicked swordsman flew through the air, blood spraying, and crashed into the building.

Rumble.

The building, now completely broken, buried him.

Qing Ming, watching with no emotion in his eyes, spoke slowly.

“Sorry, but I’m not in a good mood right now.”

He pointed his sword at the last member of the Ten Thousand People Clan.

“You better not talk too much.”

The blood of the Ten Thousand People Clan member turned to ice.