Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 855

Gwak-Hwi walked into the dining hall. His face was very pale, like he was about to die. It looked like he was barely able to walk without falling.

Staggering, he grabbed a chair and slumped down.

He felt like he was dying.

He often said ‘I feel like I’m dying’ easily. But now, looking at Baek Cheon, he knew he should never say that lightly.

Because he felt like he was dying? No.

It was because the person he was looking at seemed to be dying.

“M-Master… are you alright?”

Gwak-Hwi looked at Baek Cheon, his eyes trembling.

‘Good heavens….’

It was truly a ghastly sight.

If someone had left Mount Hua for ten days and returned, they wouldn’t recognize Baek Cheon.

The face of Baek Cheon, who was always so vibrant, was gone.

His cheeks were hollow, his cheekbones stuck out sharply, and his eyes were sunken, making him look like a living corpse.

His skin, usually bright and healthy, was now dark and rough, like tree bark. His eyes, once full of life, were now cloudy and lifeless, like old, dead fish.

‘He doesn’t even look human.’

Looking at him, it was as if someone had dug up a buried person and sat him down.

“Oh no… Master…” someone whispered.

“Oh…” another voice followed.

Everyone stared at Baek Cheon, unable to say anything more. No one needed to ask *why* he looked like this. The answer was clear on his body.

Even under his pale, sunken face, his neck was even paler. Across it, messy red lines were scratched like angry marks.

*That monster.* Gwak-Hwi shivered, looking at the wounds. He could almost feel the sharp edge of Chung Myung’s sword on his own neck.

Since that day, Chung Myung had sparred with Baek Cheon whenever he could. And each time, he made sure to leave a new wound on Baek Cheon’s neck.

At first, Gwak-Hwi didn’t understand why Baek Cheon’s condition worsened after each sparring session, even though he didn’t have any major injuries.

But Gwak-Hwi soon understood the reason.

It was when Chung Myung, after knocking out all the Five Swords, gathered the Third-Generation disciples for a sparring session.

Gwak-Hwi realized it then.

The sword of Chung Myung, which flew towards his neck without the slightest hesitation, clearly meant to kill him.

When that sword coldly touched his neck, Gwak-Hwi clearly felt death. A terrifying feeling, as if his mind was cut off and his entire body was falling into an abyss.

– You just died once.

When he woke up, the sword he had been holding was on the floor, and Gwak-Hwi was sitting on the ground, shaking and unable to control his body.

He had nightmares for three days straight.

Every time he closed his eyes, he dreamed of a sword flying and cutting off his neck. He would wake up screaming, and when he fell asleep again, his neck would be cut off once more.

Only then did Gwak-Hwi realize how deep and heavy the word ‘death’ was, a word he had said so easily.

‘And I’m like this after just one time.’

What could he say about Baek Cheon’s suffering, having to experience that dozens of times a day?

Plop.

“S-Senior!”

“Senior, are you alright?”

“No, that Chung Myung… he really is….”

Yoo Iseol, staggering as she walked, collapsed next to Baek Cheon. Her condition was the same as Baek Cheon’s. Looking at her now, no one would recognize the Yoo Iseol they knew.

The only difference was that if Baek Cheon’s face was pale as death, Yoo Iseol’s face was as white as a corpse, without any color.

Then, Yoo Iseol forced open her dry lips and mumbled something.

“Yes, Senior?”

“…Outside… walkway… Yoon Jong.”

“Yes?”

After swallowing hard several times, Yoo Iseol finally managed to open her mouth.

“Out… side… walk… way… Yoon Jong.”

“…Yes. I’ll get him.”

It was obvious that Yoon Jong and Jo Gul were sprawled out in the training hall, so she was telling them to bring them. Everyone’s body felt heavy, but some of them moved to try and help the two.

But then.

Creak.

The door opened weakly, and a person slowly entered, carrying two people on his back.

“Eek!”

“M-Monk!”

It was Hae Yeon.

He was dragging Yoon Jong and Jo Gul, who were sprawled out, almost as if he was pulling them, and struggling to enter the dining hall.

“Q-Quick, take them!”

“Give them to me, Monk!”

He was Hae Yeon, so what could possibly happen from carrying two people? But looking at Hae Yeon’s appearance now, they couldn’t help but rush to him.

His face looked as if he had been meditating against a wall for ten years without eating a single meal.

Hae Yeon staggered and grabbed a chair.

Baek Cheon, Yoo Iseol, and Hae Yeon silently stared at each other with glazed eyes.

The disciples of Mount Hua, who were watching the scene, struggled to swallow the tears that were welling up.

‘Who knew that closing the gates would be like this.’

They just thought they had to work hard.

“…I understand one thing.”

“What is it?”

Baek Sang let out a hollow laugh.

“…Closing the gates was the right thing to do. We definitely can’t show this to others.”

“…“

Everyone agreed.

Who could show anyone Chung Myung wielding his sword as if he was really going to kill his fellow disciples?

In fact, they had already seen it several times while fighting together.

Every disciple of Mount Hua knew that he changed when he went into a real battle and wielded his sword.

But they didn’t know what would happen when that sword was aimed at them. What those who had faced Chung Myung until now had seen and felt.

‘The Myriad Man House is a hundred times better.’

Even when facing the Myriad Man House, which was known for being vicious and cruel among the Demonic Sect, they had not felt this kind of fear.

“…Can we really endure this?”

The training they had done so far was an extension of their efforts.

But not long after starting this training, everyone realized this training is not just about effort.

This is about overcoming.

Whether they can overcome the fear and find their own sword while constantly repeating sparring sessions that are like real battles, or even worse than real battles.

‘Can we really do this?’

The hearts of everyone, who had been full of confidence, sank heavily.

“Senior, please have some porridge. You won’t be able to endure it otherwise.”

Baek Sang handed Baek Cheon the rice porridge he had brought. Baek Cheon, who had been blankly staring at the ceiling, slowly turned his head. His eyes seemed so lifeless that it was doubtful whether he could even see the bowl of porridge.

But then.

Thwack!

Suddenly, Baek Cheon snatched the bowl of porridge, opened his mouth wide, and poured the porridge in at once.

“S-Senior?”

“Ugh!”

His body seemed unable to accept even the porridge, and he covered his mouth as if he was about to vomit. But Baek Cheon stubbornly swallowed the porridge.

Gulp.

He repeated this several times, emptying the bowl, and then stood up from his seat, trembling. Then, he grabbed the sword that had been placed next to him and staggered towards the door. A determined glint appeared in his dead fish eyes.

“W-Where are you going? Senior!”

“…Training.”

“Yes? T-Training…? Are you crazy? You need to rest! Where are you going in that state!”

“…I have to.”

“Yes?”

Baek Cheon turned to Baek Sang with a blank face and muttered.

“The afternoon training… is not enough to improve my sword skills. I need to train with my sword… separately.”

“…“

“Not even… one day… can be missed. Not one day.”

Is this guy really crazy?

His hands were trembling so much that he couldn’t even hold his sword properly, and his legs were shaking like aspen trees, as if they would break at any moment.

And yet, he was saying he was going to do sword training in that condition?

“Just do it in moderation…!”

It was then.

Thwack!

Yoo Iseol grabbed the bowl of porridge on the table and poured it into her mouth, just like Baek Cheon. She thought of her family as she did.

“Th-That… that?”

Hae Yeon was the same.

Even Yoon Jong and Jo Gul, who were lying on the floor, groaned and raised their bodies, grabbing the bowl of porridge and somehow forcing it into their mouths.

“H-Have to eat… have to eat to live….”

“Ugh! Ugh!”

The two somehow forced the porridge into their stomachs and raised their bodies.

“Kuh….”

“I’m going to die, really….”

The ones holding swords staggered and walked outside.

“N-No. Senior!”

“Hey, you! Are you all crazy?”

Jo Gul turned his head with a corpse-like face.

“…Didn’t you hear… what Master said…?”

“…“

“Sword training… is separate.”

The disciples opened their mouths wide.

“…Master must be having a harder time… How can I complain? Damn it.”

“Let’s go.”

“…Yes.”

As Yoon Jong and Jo Gul also staggered out, a cold silence fell in the dining hall.

“…They’re really not in their right minds.”

“Can they even endure that?”

Through the open door, the sound of the Five Swords wielding their swords in the training hall could be heard. The training hall was dim, lit only by a few lanterns, casting long shadows that made the exhausted disciples look even more like ghosts. The air smelled of porridge, sweat, and exhaustion.

The sun had already set a long time ago….

Everyone was speechless and unable to say anything when Gwak-Hwi opened his mouth.

“But where is Chung Myung?”

“…Chung Myung isn’t finished yet.”

“Yes? What isn’t?”

Baek Sang sighed and said.

“I know that after our training, he trains with the Masters, and after that, he trains with the Elders.”

“…“

“And he’ll probably do his personal training after that.”

Gwak-Hwi’s vision suddenly became blurred.

They take turns sparring with that Chung Myung. But if what Baek Sang said is true, then Chung Myung is fighting endlessly from dawn to dawn, and then doing his personal training separately?

“…Can a person even do that?”

“When was that guy ever a person?”

Baek Sang gritted his teeth with an annoyed expression.

Then, he grabbed the bowl next to him and poured it into his mouth in one gulp.

“Agh. Damn it. It’s so bland. Tell them to add more salt.”

“Master?”

Baek Sang grabbed his sword and went outside.

“Let’s go.”

“…B-But you’ll collapse, Master.”

Baek Sang shrugged, his voice rough with exhaustion, but his eyes still held a spark of anger. ‘So what?’

“There’s nothing to do at the Jae Kyung Hall anyway. The gates are closed.”

“…Yes?”

“It’s not like anything special will happen if I collapse. So what’s the problem with collapsing?”

“…“

“We can’t win with skill anyway.”

Baek Sang looked at all the disciples in the dining hall and said.

“Then at least we shouldn’t lose with spirit. Damn it. I may not have the skill, but I have the spirit!”

Those words seemed to ignite a spark. The eyes of the Mount Hua disciples were filled with determination again.

Everyone grabbed the bowl of porridge in front of them and drank it down.

Thud!

They slammed the bowl of porridge down hard and staggered to their feet one by one.

“Who said we’re going to lose?”

“We have a lot to say too. It’s just that Chung Myung mainly takes the Masters and Seniors with him, but if I had been in that position, it would have been different.”

“Once a member of the Five Swords, not always a member of the Five Swords. We have to decide again when the gates are reopened!”

Those in the dining hall rushed out.

In that darkened training hall, the sound of swords being wielded began to be heard constantly.

Training that no one was watching or forcing.

The first step to overcoming their limits and themselves was to strengthen their resolve to accomplish it.

A firm resolve began to form at the tips of the Mount Hua disciples’ swords.

Perhaps.

A firm resolve that would remain at the tips of their swords for the rest of their lives.