Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 727

“Hmmmm.”

Chung Myung leaned closer to the old book, his brow furrowed in concentration as he muttered to himself.

“Fortunately, there are no missing pages…”

Secret manuals are more delicate than people think.

The disciples of Mount Hua are very lucky. What would have happened if they had found the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique, the Plum Blossom Sword Scripture, or the Violet Mist Divine Art without Chung Myung?

“…A great disaster would have occurred.”

In old stories about martial artists, someone often finds a secret manual in a cave and becomes a master by learning it alone. But that almost never happens in real life.

The reason is simple: secret manuals are not really for learning martial arts on your own.

Putting all the secrets of advanced martial arts into one book is very hard. It’s like trying to fit a big bull into a small bag.

Explaining everything in words would take many books. So, how can you capture the heart of all martial arts in just one secret manual?

In the end, a secret manual is just a short summary. It’s like showing parts of the bull by scraping off a bit of its horn, plucking a few strands of its hair, and cutting off a small piece of its hoof.

That’s why people who want to learn martial arts look for a teacher, not just a secret manual. A teacher can explain the ideas in the manual.

Huh?

Then why do we need secret manuals?

“How could anyone remember all this for a lifetime? They’d forget.”

Many people think secret manuals are for learning martial arts yourself. But really, they are more like guides for teachers.

If someone who doesn’t know Mount Hua’s martial arts tries to learn only from a manual, without a teacher, they’ll end up like Jin Yang-geon.

He only learned a little bit and barely used the martial arts, so he was okay. But if he had kept going like that for a few more years, he would have had an internal energy imbalance and either died or become crippled.

“He was lucky.”

For Jin Yang-geon, meeting Chung Myung then was very fortunate. At least he could avoid a big problem.

Learning martial arts is tricky and dangerous.

“Let’s see…”

Shhh!

He could say the Plum Blossom Sword Scripture’s words with his eyes closed, but not the Violet Mist Divine Art. The Chung Myung from the past had never seen this martial art before. So, he had to be careful.

– That’s why I told you to learn it a bit!

“Ah! It wasn’t the right time, I’m telling you!”

Chung Myung snapped back.

“I had to go out and swing my sword the very next day! When would I have time to learn a new martial art? It would mess up my balance!”

If a martial art with a different style mixes into a body that’s perfectly balanced, it won’t make him stronger right away. It will actually make him weaker.

If he took the time to learn the new martial art fully and get his balance back, he would become stronger than before. But Chung Myung didn’t have that time back then.

“…Tch. It is a bit of a shame, honestly…”

Chung Myung sighed softly, looking closely at the Violet Mist Divine Art.

It couldn’t be helped, but… if he had learned the Violet Mist Divine Art earlier, maybe the final battle would have been a little different.

So, Hyun Jong’s decision wasn’t wrong.

Hyun Jong must have known that the future of the martial world wouldn’t be easy. He must have thought it was better to make his disciples a little stronger than to hold onto power.

“He’s a great man, after all.”

People don’t like giving up even a single grain of rice. Even someone who hates power can be tempted by it when they become a leader. The Head of Mount Hua, who used to lead a small sect with nothing, is now in a different place as the Head of Mount Hua, known throughout the world.

He must have felt the power in his hands and seen how others changed toward him. But to give the martial art that only the Head could learn to his disciples is a very big deal.

“Even the Head Master couldn’t do that.”

– Hey! It’s not that I couldn’t do it! I clearly told you to learn it…

“Anyway, you stingy old man… You’re worse than a junior.”

– You little…

Chung Myung picked at his ear and blew on his finger. It sounded like a dog was barking somewhere…

There was something to think about. It was a tricky problem, so Chung Myung frowned.

“Hmmmm.”

He was looking at the Violet Mist Force secret manual that he had torn out.

But unlike the Violet Mist Divine Art manual, which he had looked at carefully, Chung Myung didn’t care much about the Violet Mist Force manual.

“This is useless now.”

The Violet Mist Divine Art and the Violet Mist Force are like siblings from the same family.

The Violet Mist Force is a good martial art, but if you have the Violet Mist Divine Art, you don’t need to learn it. It’s just a weaker version of the Violet Mist Divine Art.

“Oof.”

Chung Myung threw the Violet Mist Force manual behind him.

It was a martial art he had learned before, so he felt a little sad… but if he kept it because of that, it would just add to the number of martial arts and make it harder for future disciples to choose.

So, even if he felt regret, it was right to get rid of the Violet Mist Force now.

Everything you can do with the Violet Mist Force, you can do better with the Violet Mist Divine Art. It’s harder to learn, but they have to deal with it.

Chung Myung, having let go of his feelings, opened the Violet Mist Divine Art manual again.

“Hmmmm. The more I look at this, the more amazing it is.”

It was a great martial art.

It was much better than the Violet Mist Force he had learned. It was the best of all Mount Hua martial arts.

Chung Myung had used his own version of the Violet Mist Force, so it was still strong. But he couldn’t deny that the Violet Mist Divine Art was better.

All the wisdom of the Mount Hua masters was in this manual.

“…All the wisdom?”

Chung Myung’s eyebrows twitched. He started turning the pages more slowly.

“No, no. Not all the wisdom.”

His eyes curved into a smile.

“Without the greatest master in Mount Hua’s history, you can’t call it the best of Mount Hua martial arts!”

Thud.

As if hearing him, the pages suddenly seemed to stick. But Chung Myung forced the pages to turn.

“Well, it’s great now… Yes. It’s great now, but?”

His eyes shone brightly.

“It could be even better! Right?”

– Ah, no! No, you little…! Not that…

“Hey. Why does a dog keep barking like that? Did those people from the Beast Palace leave a dog behind!”

– I’m not a dog! You little…! It’s me! It’s me!

Chung Myung cleaned his ears again and put on a serious face.

“If water stays still, it goes bad. Martial arts are the same. If we just repeat the past, there is no future! Martial arts must always improve! This is what Cheong Mun, the thirteenth Head of Mount Hua, taught!”

– I never said that! Hey! Hey, you!

“Then, where…”

Chung Myung looked at the manual and smirked.

“Shall I change it a little to my liking? Just a little… really just a little.”

Martial arts can change a lot with even small changes.

Chung Myung grabbed the Plum Blossom Sword Scripture from the floor. He held the Violet Mist Divine Art and the Plum Blossom Sword Scripture in his hands and chuckled.

“What? My martial arts can’t be passed down? Cheongjin, you little…! What are you going to do if I pass them down?”

If Cheongjin could see this from the Immortal Realm, he would be slapping himself for saying that.

“Heh heh heh.”

Chung Myung’s eyes gleamed as he looked at the secret manuals in his hands.

“Know that you are honored! I’m going to fill you up with the wisdom of the Plum Blossom Sword Saint!”

That was the moment when Mount Hua was doomed.

❀ ❀ ❀

“…How many days has it been?”

“I’m not sure.”

Hyun Jong stared at the dark mouth of the Plum Blossom Cave. A knot of worry tightened in his stomach with each passing day Chung Myung remained inside.

“…Could something have happened?”

“Hey! Don’t say things like that! You shouldn’t talk about bad luck when someone’s training hard!”

“B, but I’m worried! Learning a new martial art is hard. What if he has an internal energy imbalance inside…?”

“Be careful what you say! Ugh, that mouth!”

“…I am the Head, Hyun Young.”

“Ah… I forgot for a moment. Sorry.”

“…”

Hyun Jong sighed. He looked back at the Plum Blossom Cave.

“…I hope nothing bad happens.”

Chung Myung is the only one in Mount Hua who can fully understand and teach that advanced martial art.

He wanted to help, but he couldn’t. He could only wait for Chung Myung to learn the secret manual and come out safely.

“He’ll be alright, right?”

“Ugh, when you get old, all you do is worry!”

Hyun Young clicked his tongue.

“Think about it. Is that guy someone who will have problems? He’s the one who causes problems for others!”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“Stop talking nonsense and just watch…”

Just then…

Rumble!

The mountain shook as if there was a landslide.

“What, what is it?”

“An earthquake?”

The three men looked to one side.

If something like that happened on a peaceful mountain, the cause was clear.

“Uh-oh…”

Hyun Sang pointed to the Plum Blossom Cave with a shaking hand.

“T, there…”

KABOOOOM!

The stone wall blocking the Plum Blossom Cave broke into pieces and flew everywhere. Violet energy spread out from inside.

“…”

The cave entrance glowed with a deep reddish-violet light, like wine spilled in the darkness. A faint, sweet scent of plum blossoms drifted out, even stronger than usual.

The three men stared in amazement.

Thud!

“Hooooooo.”

A man walked slowly out of the cave.

“…Chung Myung… ah?”

Thud. Thud.

Chung Myung walked forward, breathing out reddish steam. He felt very powerful.

“Hooooooo!”

“…”

Uh… I told him to learn martial arts… did he go somewhere far away for a while? Like hell?

Chung Myung raised his head.

Reddish-violet light shone from his eyes. The three old men flinched.