Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 736

Scritch scritch. The soft sound of footsteps on dry grass filled the quiet morning air.

“Hmm.”

Hyun Jong took a deep breath of the clear dawn air and hummed happily.

‘Good.’

It is hard for anyone to wake up early. Even for a martial artist who trains their body every day.

But somehow, after making himself get up, wash his face, and get dressed, the struggle was gone, and he felt good.

It felt especially good to train when everyone else was still sleeping…

Suddenly, Hyun Jong’s face changed as he looked ahead.

‘Ugh. I’m late!’

Whoosh!

A sword flowed like water, cutting through the air.

Behind Yoo Iseol, who jumped high and swung her sword, the dawn moon was a pale silver disc in the lightening sky.

Hyun Jong watched Yoo Iseol silently for a moment. The cool morning air touched his face.

She touched the ground for a moment, then tilted her head, her dark hair falling over her shoulder.

After swinging her sword forward a few times, she nodded and got back into her stance.

‘When did that child grow so much…’

She was a child who couldn’t even cry at her father’s grave. The day she held Hyun Jong’s hand with her small, trembling hand and entered Mount Hua still seemed clear, yet she had already grown so much and was wielding a sword.

‘Good.’

In the past, Yoo Iseol always seemed lonely.

Although there were many fellow disciples within Mount Hua, Yoo Iseol couldn’t mingle with them. She always wielded her sword alone, just like now, chasing after something alone. She was determined to follow a path that no one else in Mount Hua could follow with her.

A smile formed on Hyun Jong’s lips.

But now, Yoo Iseol had people to stand by her side. There was Tang Soso, Chung Myung, Baek Cheon, Jo Gul, and Yoon Jong.

Perhaps that was why Yoo Iseol, wielding her sword now, no longer seemed as lonely as before.

Hyun Jong shifted his gaze to the moon illuminating her back.

‘Are you watching?’

Now, close your eyes in peace. Everything you wished for has been achieved.

Hyun Jong, watching Yoo Iseol’s training with eyes full of warmth, quietly turned away.

“Let’s see… Then the next secluded place is…”

Hyun Jong sighed as he looked at the opposite peak. It seemed he would have to descend and climb again for quite a while.

“⋯⋯.”

Hyun Jong’s eyebrows twitched.

“Haaap!”

Wham!

With a powerful shout, the sword cut through the air.

“Agh, damn it! Why isn’t this working? It was easy when that Chung Myung did it!”

The one who swung the sword sat down, rested his chin on his hand, and began to mutter.

“Did I misallocate my inner strength? No, that can’t be… Then it wouldn’t be twisted like this. Ah, no. Did I put too much strength in my wrist? Ugh… That doesn’t seem right either.”

He drew lines in the dirt with his finger as he thought. Then, he jumped up.

“I don’t know! I’ll figure it out if I do it a hundred or a thousand times! Martial arts are originally learned with the body!”

‘No! That’s wrong, you idiot! You need to understand it first, then do it!’

“Eurachaah!”

He drew his sword vertically and horizontally, repeating the same sword move. Hyun Jong felt sorry for him and wondered if he could help. But then,

“Got it!”

Huh?

“Hahaha! That’s it! It was the knees, the knees!”

…He got it?

The person who jumped up and down burst into loud laughter.

“That’s how it’s done! Ah, I should have tried this sooner!”

Hyun Jong blinked. He almost said something, but he shook his head.

Yes. If he solved it, that’s all that matters. The method doesn’t matter.

“Alright, next!”

The sword began to dance quickly through the air again.

Hyun Jong, watching from behind the thicket, smiled.

‘That fellow, really.’

Seeing Jo Gul with a bright smile, he felt pleased.

Before, Jo Gul was not interested in martial arts and didn’t know what to do. But now, he was so dedicated to martial arts that he was training alone from this early dawn.

It wasn’t just because he was working hard that he was pleased.

A person’s life doesn’t come twice.

If one lives their only life doing their best in whatever they do, that alone is enough to be praised and admired.

‘But it is surprising.’

He didn’t expect Jo Gul, of all people, to be training from this early dawn, even if it were Yoon Jong.

Well…

In a way, Jo Gul was also showing the fastest rate of development among the disciples.

‘He wouldn’t have been able to achieve such results if he hadn’t been secretly training hard.’

It was obvious, but people often missed that fact when looking at Jo Gul’s usual actions.

‘Keep working hard.’

Hyun Jong offered his support in his heart and turned around with a satisfied expression.

“But…”

His face, looking at the opposite peak, became a little sad.

‘Where do I have to go next?’

Extremely hardworking.

Admirable fellows.

“…Hmm. There’s no way this shouldn’t work. I’ll try again.”

Yes, yes. Baek Cheon.

You’re working so hard. This Sect Leader is happy.

Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh!

Tap!

Soso.

Why are you throwing needles instead of swinging your sword?

Yes, well… Hwasan is not a strict group that says you must only use Hwasan martial arts. But… shouldn’t you train with a sword?

Tang Soso scurried over to retrieve the needles stuck in the rock. Then, she returned to her spot and, after swinging her sword sharply again, spun around and shot needles.

“Ugh, damn it! Why do the needles keep coming out here! I’m supposed to be training with the sword only!”

Oh… So you weren’t throwing them on purpose.

Oh…

What is that again?

Hyun Jong’s eyes flickered slightly.

Yoon Jong, holding his sword, didn’t budge. Hyun Jong watched him for a while, thinking he might be deep in thought, but he didn’t move an inch from the same position for a full quarter of an hour.

‘Is he sleeping?’

No, no, that’s not it.

It’s impossible to sleep while holding a sword like that.

Then what on earth…

Yoon Jong, who had maintained the same posture for a long time, slowly lowered his sword.

“Hmm, so that’s how it works.”

What?

What is it, you rascal? You were just standing there holding your sword, what on earth?

“Then this is…”

Yoon Jong took a stance to swing his sword to the side. But the sword seemed to stop in the air, and Yoon Jong once again froze like a stone statue, not moving.

Hyun Jong, who had been staring at him, shook his head.

Hyun Jong sighed. He had wanted to train early this morning, but everywhere he looked, people were already there! “Everyone has their own way of training, I guess,” he mumbled to himself.

As Hyun Jong walked, he heard shouts from different directions. “Baek Sang-ah, I thought you were focused on the Jae Kyung Pavilion!” someone yelled. Then, another voice, “Oooooh!” Hyun Jong recognized Jong-hwe’s voice. He realized Yoon Jong and Jo Gul were not the only ones training hard. Then he heard a deep groan, “Heeeuuuum!” Hyun Jong stopped. “Un-am? Is that Un-am? Since when has he been training like this, and without a sword?” he wondered.

Everywhere he looked, people were training. Hyun Jong frowned, feeling a bit annoyed.

It wasn’t even early morning anymore. It seemed like the whole mountainside was full of people training! “Everyone is so focused,” Hyun Jong thought.

The younger disciples had taken all the best spots at the top of the mountain. Hyun Jong decided to go to the middle of the slope instead.

After descending the mountain for quite some time, Hyun Jong surveyed his surroundings. A smile returned to his face.

“No one here…”

“No! That’s not what I meant!”

He flinched.

At the shout that erupted nearby, Hyun Jong craned his neck and looked around.

‘They’re here too.’

If this is the case, just gather at the training ground, you kids. Why bother!

However, even knowing there were occupants, he didn’t immediately turn back. The voice he’d just heard was very familiar.

Of course, all the voices of the Mount Hua disciples were familiar, but the voice from just now was on a completely different level.

“Didn’t I do as you told me!”

“Put a sliiiight bit of force! A sliiiight bit! Not just slightly!”

“How am I supposed to know the difference between slightly and sliiiightly, damn it!”

“This rascal!”

Hyun Jong, who had been listening to their bickering, stealthily approached and peeked his head out from the bushes. At that, the two people startled and let out shrill cries.

“Mom! You scared me!”

“Ugh! Please announce yourself before coming, please!”

Hyun Jong tilted his head slightly, looking at Hyun Sang and Hyun Young who were standing awkwardly with their swords.

“…What are you two doing here? From this early morning.”

“Well, you know… ahem.”

Hyun Young averted his gaze with an embarrassed expression. The tips of his ears were reddish, so he seemed somewhat ashamed.

Hyun Sang smiled and answered instead.

“He says the Plum Blossom Sword Art is too difficult, so he asked me to help him.”

“Plum Blossom Sword Art?”

Hyun Jong chuckled in disbelief.

“You’re saying you came out from this early morning to train that? You have so much to do during the day.”

“What do you mean by having a lot to do?”

Hyun Young grumbled.

“And even if we have a lot to do, does it make sense for us to be playing while the young ones are training? If we want to run things fairly, we have to do our part too.”

“Why ‘we,’ you rascal.”

“Then is Elder Brother going to play?”

Hyun Jong laughed it off. But at the same time, his eyes became moist. Seeing a sword in Hyun Young’s hand brought a mix of emotions.

‘That’s right.’

Hyun Young had given up on the path of martial arts early on and took charge of Mount Hua’s finances. But that wasn’t because Hyun Young didn’t want to learn martial arts, but because there was no one else who could do the job.

It was true that he lacked talent, but Hyun Young wouldn’t have let go of his sword if Mount Hua hadn’t been on the verge of collapse.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, it’s just… it feels new.”

“What’s new about it.”

Hyun Young kept snapping back curtly. But Hyun Jong knew very well that Hyun Young’s reactions like that weren’t out of malice, but out of embarrassment.

“Well… I don’t know about the old days. Now there’s Baek Sang-ah, and there are a couple of kids helping the Jae Kyung Pavilion, and there are people dispatched from the Eunha Merchant Guild, so we’re not exactly short-handed…”

“Heh heh. Yes, yes.”

“Ugh! Yes! So I’m just doing some training in my spare time! Is that okay?”

“Who said anything? Hehehe.”

Hyun Young glared at Hyun Jong, who burst into a hearty laugh.

Aish. If he weren’t the sect leader.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

At Hyun Jong’s words, Hyun Sang shook his head.

“Not at all, Sect Leader.”

Hyun Sang hesitated for a moment, then continued with a faint smile.

“I just think it’s fortunate that this opportunity has come our way.”

“Fortunate?”

“Yes. When the Myriad Man House invaded before, didn’t we stand at the forefront to protect the disciples?”

“That’s the natural thing to do.”

“Yes, Sect Leader. It is the natural thing to do. But if the disciples become stronger than us, can we really stand at the forefront?”

Hyun Jong, who had been listening silently, understood Hyun Sang’s words and nodded.

“Yes. I understand what you mean.”

“I don’t want to put the disciples ahead because we lack strength. But I also don’t want to stubbornly stand in front with no strength and become a burden to the disciples. If we have this divine art and swordplay, wouldn’t we be able to protect the disciples for a while longer?”

Hyun Jong looked at Hyun Sang with affectionate eyes.

“Hyun Sang-ah.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“I have no intention of giving those guys the front seat for at least ten years.”

“Neither do I.”

The two smiled and looked at each other. But unfortunately, one person’s expression was a little different.

“Can I join too?”

“You’re a bit…”

“Eyy, that’s a bit…”

Hyun Young, seeing the two’s disgruntled expressions, flared up and shouted.

“If you came to train, stop chatting and train! Elder Brother, continue teaching what you were teaching!”

“…Is that the attitude of someone who’s learning?”

“Oh, then try living without allowance from today!”

“Le-let’s start right away. Quickly!”

Hyun Jong chuckled as he watched Hyun Sang, startled, quickly demonstrate. But the end of his laughter was slightly bitter.

‘It’s fortunate that this opportunity has come.’

Right. That’s right.

Hyun Jong shifted his gaze to the upper reaches.

Beyond the towering peaks of Mount Hua, the morning sun was slowly revealing itself.

‘Yes. It’s truly fortunate.’

It was truly dazzling.

Hyun Jong smiled, glanced at the two, and interjected.

“You have to relax your strength there, you blockhead!”

“Don’t give me pointers. I’m already dying.”

“Let’s see. I’ll show you!”

“Ah, I told you to get lost!”

The sound of three people bickering echoed warmly from the mid-slope of Mount Hua, bathed in the soft rays of the early morning sun.