Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 899

Tang Gunak suddenly spoke, his voice loud and clear, “Chung Myung, let’s spar!”

The disciples of Mount Hua moved back quickly. If Chung Myung and Tang Gunak were to fight, even just a practice fight, the fight would be very strong and could hurt anyone nearby.

Yet, mixed with their worry about being caught in the middle, they also felt excited.

Tang Gunak had become so familiar to Mount Hua that they forgot how powerful he really was. He was the head of the Sichuan Dang Family, a very important family from Sichuan province. They were one of the most powerful families, called the Five Great Families.

His position was very high, but just saying his name, Tang Gunak, made people respect him even more.

People called him the ‘Poison King’ because he was a master of using poison in fights. His name was as famous as the leaders of the Nine Great Sects, which are like the most important groups of fighters in the land. They showed their amazing power in a place.

And now, Tang Gunak was showing all his power, his ‘aura,’ without holding back, right in front of Chung Myung.

Even though Chung Myung was called the ‘Sword Saint of Mount Hua,’ which meant he was the best swordsman from their group, and people said he would be a great leader in the fighting world, he was not as strong as Tang Gunak yet.

Yet, among the disciples of Mount Hua watching this unexpected challenge, none of them seemed worried about Chung Myung. They just watched with great interest, waiting to see what would happen.

They had complete trust in Chung Myung.

This reminded Baek Cheon of the past.

He remembered a time when Chung Myung and Tang Gunak had faced each other before, at Jo Gul’s house. They had a short practice fight, called a ‘spar,’ that was only supposed to last ten seconds.

That was how they started to know each other.

However, Baek Cheon knew that the spar back then wasn’t a real fight. Dang Pae stopped the fight, but it was only meant to see if someone could last ten seconds without losing.

This time, there were no rules like that.

Yoon Jong said, a little nervously, “Isn’t this too sudden? The Sect Leader, our leader, is even here.”

Baek Cheon shook his head and said firmly, “The Sect Leader will understand.”

“But shouldn’t they be more respectful because they are friends? A sudden fight like this as soon as they meet.”

“What you say isn’t wrong. But…” Baek Cheon said, not looking away from the two men.

“There are times when you don’t need to be too formal.”

Tang Gunak could feel the air around him very clearly.

He was completely focused and stared silently at Chung Myung, who stood across from him.

He tried hard not to smile.

‘Life is unpredictable.’

When he first met Chung Myung in Sichuan, could he have imagined having such a big fight with that brave and a bit wild young swordsman?

Seeing Chung Myung easily handle his power, he felt proud and wanted to compete.

He must have become stronger.

There was no doubt about it.

That young swordsman had always done things he never thought possible. So, over the past three years, he would have become even stronger than he expected.

That was why he wanted to know.

Just how strong had his young friend become? Could Tang Gunak still beat him?

He was so focused that all his muscles were tense.

“Oh, how scary.”

Unlike him, who had used all his power, Chung Myung said playfully, looking very relaxed.

“There’s no need to act so scary. It’s just a spar.”

“…Just a spar?”

“Yes, just a spar.”

Tang Gunak, staring at Chung Myung, who seemed calm, smiled slightly.

“Let me ask you something.”

“…Yes?”

“Do you think anyone has shown such disrespect to me and survived?”

Chung Myung’s eyes widened a little. But soon, his wide eyes became smiling eyes.

Chung Myung smiled widely and replied.

“Yes.”

“…What?”

“There probably is. Wouldn’t there be at least one person?”

“…”

“Or I could be the first.”

As soon as that short conversation ended, Chung Myung and Tang Gunak looked at each other and smiled.

The conversation was the same as when they first met. Chung Myung had been rude to Tang Gunak and survived, even becoming his first friend.

“How about it? Should we do just ten seconds again this time?”

“…A hundred seconds wouldn’t be enough, I think.”

“For someone who’s supposed to be the head of the Dang Family, you’re being very dramatic.”

“As the leader of the Dang Family, I can’t say something like ‘a thousand seconds’ – that’s too long!”

“…You’re more relaxed now than before.”

“Who do you think?” Tang Gunak smiled slightly.

It wasn’t a joke; even a thousand seconds might not be enough. He had been trying to overpower Chung Myung by showing his power, but Chung Myung’s power was like water, he couldn’t hold onto it or control it.

‘It feels like striking flowing water.’

He wanted to know.

The fierce battle on the Jang River.

Chung Myung had faced Jang Il-so and survived. That made him very famous in the fighting world.

But he knew, and Chung Myung knew, that facing Jang Il-so didn’t mean he was as strong as Jang Il-so.

If so.

Not the Chung Myung from back then, but the Chung Myung of now?

Had the current Chung Myung become strong enough to face Jang Il-so and the Sama Order, their enemies?

‘I’ll find out by testing him.’

Tang Gunak took out a throwing knife from his sleeve. Holding the knife between his fingers, Tang Gunak showed his power, as sharp as a sword.

And at that moment.

Screeeech.

Chung Myung slowly took out his sword, the Plum Blossom Sword, which was named after the plum blossom flower. He took a stance, holding the sword shining in the sunlight downwards.

It was a soft stance that didn’t seem strong. But when Tang Gunak saw it, he felt like he couldn’t breathe.

It was just a lower stance that wasn’t special. But it was different from the stances Tang Gunak had seen before. He couldn’t say how, but it was definitely different.

Tang Gunak’s lips twitched slightly.

He thought about saying ‘Be careful,’ but stopped. The person in front of him didn’t need a warning.

Squeeze.

Tang Gunak gripped the throwing knife tightly.

This was a special knife, called the ‘Soul-Reaping Throwing Knife,’ which used to belong to Dang Bo.

He put his inner power, called ‘internal energy,’ into the knife. The knife made a loud sound like a sword.

Tang Gunak looked at Chung Myung.

Whirr.

Tang Gunak threw the knife very fast. It was so fast, it seemed to appear in the air suddenly.

Wham! Clang!

At the same time, there were two loud crashes, shaking the area.

Gwak Hwi’s eyes widened.

‘What happened?’

Even though he was watching closely, he didn’t understand.

‘Ah, wait a minute… So, they were facing each other… and suddenly the throwing knife appeared from above, and then there was a loud crash?’

Only two things had changed.

Tang Gunak’s hand was forward, and Chung Myung was holding the sword at an angle.

“Ah, no….”

Gwak Hwi heard a voice, like a rescue, because he was so confused.

“…Crazy.”

“Fast.”

“I’m seeing things I never thought I’d see.”

Baek Cheon, Yoo I-seol, and Jo Gul were shaking their heads, looking annoyed. Gwak Hwi asked, thinking they understood something.

“What, what happened?”

“Just the obvious.”

“Yes?”

Baek Cheon said casually, “Tang Gunak threw the knife, and Chung Myung hit it with his sword to block it and send it flying upwards. The action was so fast, the sound came later.”

“Simple, right?”

‘I still don’t understand it!’

Gwak Hwi’s face turned pale.

So… Tang Gunak threw the knife, and Chung Myung hit it and bounced it upwards, but it was so fast that all he saw was the knife floating in the air?

‘What kind of fight is this?’

Gwak Hwi had become confident through very hard training. But this one move shattered the confidence he had worked so hard to get.

Like they are on a different level. Could there be a better way to describe it?

“Gwak Hwi.”

“Yes? Ah… Yes! Martial Uncle!” (Martial Uncle is like a respected older brother in their fighting group).

“Don’t miss a single moment of this fight.”

“Someday it will be helpful. Just like it was for us.”

“…I understand.”

Gwak Hwi and the disciples of Mount Hua, who were confused and amazed, widened their eyes again at those words.

“Hmm.”

Chung Myung shook his sword lightly. He felt a dull pain in his wrist.

“Is the name ‘Poison King’ becoming less impressive?”

Clack.

Tang Gunak caught the Soul-Reaping Throwing Knife and shrugged.

“Who do you think?”

“Tsk. I praised you too much.”

Chung Myung smiled a little sadly and jokingly. Of course, he knew. Tang Gunak wouldn’t have used his full power in their past spar. Tang Gunak is too proud to use his strongest moves against someone younger and less experienced.

But even so, the power and speed of this throwing knife was much stronger than before.

‘It’s enough to bring back old memories.’

It was a move that reminded him of Dang Bo.

And this meant one thing.

After Chung Myung visited the Dang Family, Tang Gunak had focused only on throwing knives, not poison. He had kept practicing and improving, without being lazy or thinking he was already good enough.

To overcome the problems with using only poison in fights.

“…It couldn’t have been easy.”

Changing your main skill is always harder than just regular training. But Tang Gunak shook his head as if it were nothing.

“It’s not just Mount Hua.”

“…Yes?”

Chung Myung tilted his head, and Tang Gunak said calmly but firmly, “Mount Hua is improving so fast, it might seem like everyone else is not moving forward at all.”

“But we are still moving forward, even if it’s slowly.”

Tang Gunak gripped the throwing knife.

“So, I don’t want to let you be ahead. It’s my job to defeat the Sama Order, not yours.”

Chung Myung’s lips twitched.

He was trying hard not to laugh out loud because he was so happy and excited.

He remembered Dang Bo saying, ‘I will defeat that Heavenly Demon!’ (Heavenly Demon is a very bad enemy). The Taoist, meaning you, should just watch!”

“Anyway….”

Maybe it’s just in their nature?

Chung Myung slowly lowered his sword.

Tang Gunak’s words were the best words he could have said as a fighter and a friend.

If so….

Chung Myung smiled slightly, but seriously, and gripped his sword tightly. The green tassel swayed lightly.