Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 851

“…Mount Hua, is it?”

“Yeah, it’s Mount Hua….”

“…We’ve arrived.”

The disciples of Mount Hua stared up at the peaks. Their faces were pale and deathly, and Mount Hua’s peaks soared high above the clouds.

In the past, leaving Shanxi and returning, seeing these high peaks would fill them with a feeling they couldn’t explain. They would realize that their roots were in these barren peaks.

But now, looking at the towering cliffs of Mount Hua, no warm feelings could be found on the faces of the Mount Hua disciples.

Only boundless despair settled upon them.

“…We have to climb that?”

“With these bodies?”

“…Just kill me. Just… kill me.”

The eyes of the Mount Hua disciples grew moist.

At first, when they left the Yangtze River, they felt motivated.

What Chung Myung had said to them was true. Facing the Ten Thousand People Clan, the disciples of Mount Hua had felt their shortcomings. The sense of crisis—that they might see their fellow disciples die—had spurred them on.

Because of that, their motivation was high, and their resolve was firm.

Therefore, even when Chung Myung drove them at an unbelievably fast pace, covering a huge distance in a single day, they didn’t complain.

But when, with bodies completely exhausted, he announced they would begin training as soon as they found a place to camp, their eyes wavered….

And when the training, which felt more like a beating, began, tears of blood flowed.

They were forced to train until late at night, rolling and struggling. They barely fell asleep before being kicked awake again just an hour later, they couldn’t help but curse under their breath.

This had been going on for days.

“Senior Brother… you’re bleeding from the mouth. Wipe it off.”

“My lips are just chapped. But you look pale?”

“That’s because I’m about to die.”

“…”

They had arrived at Mount Hua looking like beggars that even the poorest people would pity and toss a few coins to. Not a single spark of soul remained in their eyes.

And at this moment, they couldn’t help but ask themselves a question.

“…Why did they have to settle here of all places?”

“Does he have no sense? Huh? Does he have no sense at all!”

“Is he trying to screw over the descendants? Was the Founder like Chung Myung?”

Curses erupted like a volcano, each word filled with pain and frustration, but no one blamed them for being rude.

It couldn’t be helped.

Their legs were trembling so badly they felt like they would snap on even the smallest pebble. Having to climb that ridiculous cliff right away, it would be stranger if curses didn’t spill from their mouths.

Amidst all the despair, there was only one person whose face lit up.

“Kuh! It’s Mount Hua!”

“…”

Chung Myung’s energetic voice boomed from the back, clear and refreshing.

“I was getting frustrated not being able to train properly on the road. Now I can finally do it right! My mouth is already watering! He he he he.”

“…That crazy bastard.”

“…”

The fact that this curse came not from the disciples of Mount Hua, but from ‘Hyun Jong’ himself, clearly showed what was happening here.

But Chung Myung, ignoring the curses, simply pointed his chin at Mount Hua with a face that said he was enjoying this to death.

“What are you doing?”

“…”

“Climb.”

“…”

“Just so you know, any Senior Brother who falls off the cliff has to start over from the bottom. And the thirty who arrive last also start from the beginning.”

“…”

“Kuh! I should have done this sooner! It’s so refreshing!”

“…Please just die, Chung Myung. Please!”

“Alright! Let’s go!”

Ignoring the curses pouring out from everywhere, Chung Myung cheerfully kicked the behinds of the Senior Brothers in front of him.

The disciples of Mount Hua belatedly wondered if it might have been better to join the Ten Thousand People Clan.

Plop!

Jo Gul, having barely passed through the mountain gate, collapsed. The ground greeted his face with open arms, but unfortunately, Jo Gul didn’t even have the strength left to brace himself with his hands.

Having greeted the ground with his entire face, Jo Gul twitched and opened his mouth.

“…Senior Brother.”

“…”

“Are you alive?”

Then, a voice like the sound of ants crawled out of Yoon Jong’s mouth, who was lying motionless beside him.

“…Dead.”

Usually, the word ‘meticulous’ is used as a compliment.

But now, the disciples of Mount Hua could only curse Chung Myung’s meticulousness.

That damn bastard was so meticulous that he varied the intensity of the training to match each individual’s level. Thanks to that, even the Five Swords, who were clearly stronger than the other disciples, couldn’t help but be utterly exhausted.

“That, son of a… Unnecessarily thorough bastard.”

“…He’s a genius at tormenting others….”

Yoon Jong and Jo Gul had even fallen off the cliff and had to crawl back up from the bottom of Mount Hua twice.

They felt like someone’s foot had stepped on their face when they fell… But what was the point of dwelling on that now?

And it was at that moment.

Rumble!

At the sound of something huge moving, Yoon Jong and Jo Gul, who were lying prone, twitched and turned their heads. The sight of Mount Hua’s mountain gate closing without a sliver of a gap entered their eyes clearly.

“Locking it.”

Clang! Clang!

A large bolt securely locked the gate.

It was a common sight, but today it looked like the gates of hell closing.

“Alright. With this, the Seclusion is complete.”

“…With that?”

Chung Myung shrugged at Baek Cheon’s question.

“What’s so grand about Seclusion? Close the gate, don’t go outside, and don’t receive visitors, and that’s Seclusion.”

Chung Myung cracked his neck from side to side.

“Alright, everyone, wake up.”

“…Huh? You’re not getting up?”

The human body is honest.

Their minds might have held different opinions, but their bodies, having been rolled, beaten, and overworked, reacted quickly to the voice they heard.

The disciples of Mount Hua quickly rose to their feet and lined up.

Chung Myung tilted his head, looking around at the tattered disciples of Mount Hua.

“Seclusion, preparing for the future….”

His voice was as twisted as his posture.

“There seem to be some Senior Brothers who think this is some incredibly romantic task after hearing those words.”

Chung Myung’s snake-like eyes caused the disciples to flinch and subtly avoid his gaze.

“I wish you would understand what’s happening. Do you see that?”

Chung Myung gestured with his chin towards the closed gate.

“…Why the gate?”

Baek Cheon asked in a fading voice, and Chung Myung smiled brightly.

“If even one person among you….”

“…”

“…doesn’t reach the level I want….”

“…”

“…you will never see the outside of Mount Hua again. You’ll just live and die here with me, nice and cozy, inside the mountain gate. Understand? Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“…”

“Do it right. Do it right.”

At this point, everyone couldn’t help but understand.

The Seclusion they had imagined and the Seclusion Chung Myung had in mind were as far apart as the Central Plains were wide.

But now that they knew, it was not something they could undo.

“And….”

Chung Myung’s gaze shifted slightly to the side.

The older disciples, the Yun generation, were resting to the side, not part of the training group. They met Chung Myung’s gaze and subtly turned their heads away.

“You older disciples who are worried about your pride, talk to me later.”

Hearing those words, Yun Geom said to Yun Am with a pleased expression.

“Senior Brother.”

“Hmm?”

“Hasn’t Chung Myung become much kinder? He’s even considering the face of the Grand Masters.”

“What did you eat wrong?”

“…”

Yun Geom was speechless. Yun Am had become very rough.

Swoosh.

Chung Myung slowly drew the Plum Blossom Sword. And after stabbing the sword into the ground, he looked at everyone.

“The jokes end here.”

“…”

Chung Myung scanned everyone and opened his mouth.

“Even if it’s me, there’s no way to increase your skills….”

“Ah. There’s no quick way to improve, is there?”

“…”

Chung Myung’s eyes widened as he looked at Baek Cheon.

Then, Jo Gul, standing next to Baek Cheon, clicked his tongue.

“He’s probably going to say something like, ‘Martial arts are frustratingly honest. There’s bound to be a limit to shortcuts.’”

“…”

Yoon Jong, who had been nodding slowly, opened his mouth with a solemn face.

“So he’ll say we have to reduce our sleeping time, reduce our resting time, and only train and train again. It’s tiring. So tiring.”

“…”

Chung Myung, having had his words stolen, stared blankly at the three.

Then, Yoo Iseol delivered the finishing blow neatly.

“Old man.”

“…”

Tang Soso didn’t stay still either.

“Anyway, he always tries to scare people whenever he opens his mouth. Is there anyone here who doesn’t know that?”

Their bodies were tired enough.

But the more tired their bodies were, the more their anger would revive. Wasn’t Mount Hua all about that anger?

“He just keeps repeating the obvious.”

Baek Cheon chuckled.

“You better worry about yourself. No matter how good you are, it’ll be hard for you to handle all of us.”

Jo Gul also chimed in, snickering.

“You’ll have to sweat a lot. Don’t come crying later saying you can’t do it.”

Yoon Jong nodded.

“You better think carefully about what your words mean. Even if you want to run away, that gate won’t open.”

“I’ll put a hole in your body. For sure.”

Yoo Iseol’s eyes flashed with murderous intent.

The disciples of Mount Hua, lined up, glared in unison and agreed with those words.

“You watch out, you bastard! Do you think you’ll be safe when we get stronger?”

“You’re living as you please now! We’ll see when the Seclusion is lifted.”

“We’ll pay back all the grudges we’ve built up! All at once!”

“…It’s not me, Chung Myung. I’m always grateful.”

“Which bastard was that just now?”

As murderous intent poured out, surpassing even anger, Chung Myung let out a hollow laugh.

Hyun Jong, who had been watching the scene, smiled gently and stepped forward.

As Hyun Jong walked to the center, the disciples of Mount Hua, as if nothing had happened, softened their venomous eyes and stood quietly.

“In the past….”

Hyun Jong opened his mouth amidst the silence.

“Those who had mastered the sword of Mount Hua to the extreme were called ‘Plum Blossom Sword Masters.’”

“…Plum Blossom Sword Master.”

“That name was a title given to a disciple by Mount Hua. Those who received the name of Plum Blossom Sword Master could proudly declare anywhere in the world that their sword represented the sword of Mount Hua.”

A clear light flickered in the eyes of the Mount Hua disciples.

“It will be difficult. Training within the mountain will be more challenging than you think. However….”

Hyun Jong smiled, taking in all the disciples at once.

“When that closed gate opens again, I hope that all of you can proudly call yourselves Plum Blossom Sword Masters.”

If that could be achieved, no one in the world would dare to ignore the name of Mount Hua.

“Can you do it?”

“Yes, Sect Leader!”

“We will do it!”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue at the loud answer.

“Is it something that can be done just with motivation?”

“That bastard, though….”

“Still, there’s nothing to worry about.”

Chung Myung gripped the Plum Blossom Sword and twisted his lips.

“Because I will definitely make it happen.”

Time is short. It’s too little time to turn those yellow chicks into eagles.

But….

‘I will do it.’

Like the Mount Hua of the past. No, even more than that.

He will make the plum blossoms they bloom fill every place in the world.

“Let’s start. I won’t listen to any whining, so be prepared!”

Chung Myung’s booming voice echoed.

The cool breeze that came down from the peak gently wrapped around Mount Hua and spread back down the mountain.

The plum tree endures the long winter to bloom.

The plum blossoms that bloom after a difficult period of hardship will dye the spring of Mount Hua, which will come someday, more red and more splendidly than ever before.