Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 995

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes?”

Hyun Jong looked at Chung Myung silently before speaking.

“I’ve heard you say similar things before. But today, it feels different.”

Hyun Jong, the Sect Leader of Mount Hua, asked Chung Myung seriously.

“It seems to me that you think this conversation is more important than our others. Am I right?”

“Yes, Sect Leader. You are correct.”

“Then.”

He paused before continuing.

“Is there a reason why things should change now?”

Hyun Jong asked this to let everyone know that this conversation was important.

“Reason?”

“Indeed.”

“…You mean the reason, right?”

Hyun Jong felt something was strange and looked closely at Chung Myung. He quickly closed his eyes because Chung Myung’s head was tilted to the side.

‘Why is he suddenly acting up again?’

What had Hyun Jong even done?

“Sect Leader.”

“Y-yes.”

“I don’t even know how to explain this to you.”

“U-uh?”

Hyun Jong wanted to say, ‘If you don’t know how to explain it, don’t worry about it.’ He really did.

But, knowing Chung Myung well, he couldn’t say those words.

“All this time, you might have thought I was crazy.”

“…Could you tell?”

Chung Myung gave a small cough as if to let it pass this time. But Hyun Jong noticed Chung Myung’s eyes were slightly trembling.

“Sect Leader.”

“Y-yes.”

“When I first came to Mount Hua, what was here?”

“Uh?”

“To be honest, wasn’t Mount Hua even worse than the Beggars’ Sect, filled with beggars!”

“W-well, it wasn’t that bad…”

“Yes, it was,” Hyun Young said, cutting off Hyun Jong’s weak protest.

“The Beggars’ Sect had more money than Mount Hua. The beggars ate better.”

No, well… that wasn’t wrong either.

“Hearing that, it sounds like Mount Hua was worse than beggars…”

“Was that wrong? At least beggars don’t have debt.”

Hyun Jong was speechless and just coughed awkwardly.

“Anyway!” Chung Myung glared.

“Now that I think about it, was Mount Hua even a place where people lived back then?”

“When I joined, the martial arts books were gone, sold off like old junk!”

Hyun Sang and Un Geom turned their heads, feeling ashamed.

“The sect had no money, only a mountain of debt!”

Hyun Jong and Hyun Young stared at the ceiling.

“The young disciples weren’t training and were just acting like thugs!”

“W-why are you bringing this up now?”

“Jo Gul, shut your mouth.”

“Yes, Sahyung.”

Chung Myung snorted and shouted.

“In that situation, what? Direction? Discussion?”

The more his eyes rolled, the more everyone avoided his gaze.

“We were about to be beaten up by the Namgung family! That’s what we had to deal with first!”

“Y-yes, that’s right. That’s right.”

“After dealing with the Namgung family, the Wudang guys started a fight, and after settling that, now it’s the Shaolin and the Evil Sects!”

“C-calm down, Chung Myung,” Hyun Jong said, terrified, trying to calm Chung Myung, whose face was red.

Thinking about it, he was right. It was a memory now, but was Mount Hua a normal sect when Chung Myung first joined? If Chung Myung hadn’t found Mount Hua’s accounts back then, they would have been kicked out, and the sect would have been gone.

“Thinking about it makes me angry again! What kind of sect is this…!”

Everyone lowered their heads. It wasn’t their fault, but they felt embarrassed.

“Hoo! Hoo…”

Chung Myung took a deep breath to calm down and looked around at everyone.

“Anyway, until now, we’ve been busy dealing with what was right in front of us because the sect was about to collapse.”

“Yes, yes,” Hyun Young nodded as if he understood everything.

“Of course! People need to eat to do anything. What can you do when you’re about to starve tomorrow?”

“Kuh. As expected, Elder knows everything.”

“Of course, I know. You did a great job.”

“Hehe. What did I do?” Chung Myung chuckled and scratched his head.

But this time, no one was annoyed at Hyun Young’s favoritism. After all, it was true that he had helped Chung Myung calm down.

Chung Myung raised his head, looked at everyone, and said.

“Until now, we’ve been reacting to problems. But from now on, it’s different. As you know, Mount Hua is now a good sect.”

If other sects heard this, they might think Chung Myung was humble. That’s how respected Mount Hua was in the martial world.

Of course, they still needed more strong masters, but they had enough reputation to make up for it.

“So, I want to ask you, Sect Leader.”

Chung Myung looked straight at Hyun Jong and asked.

“What do you think, Sect Leader? What kind of relationship do you want with the Nine Great Sects, the most important groups of martial artists?”

“Hmm.”

Hyun Jong groaned.

Chung Myung spoke indirectly, but his point was clear.

Before, Mount Hua did not have choices. They were always fighting to survive, too busy with problems right in front of them.

But…

‘Things are different now.’

Chung Myung’s main point was this: Mount Hua now had a little breathing room. It was only a small chance to relax, but they could at least catch their breath for a moment.

Now, they could finally discuss.

They could talk about the path Mount Hua should take.

Hyun Jong’s eyes slowly scanned the faces of his disciples, searching for something in their expressions. All of them were waiting for him to speak.

“This is just my opinion, but…”

Hyun Jong made sure to say this. Chung Myung had said that he was Mount Hua’s sword, and that only Hyun Jong could wield that sword.

But that was only Chung Myung’s wish.

Hyun Jong didn’t want that. He wanted to walk alongside Chung Myung, not control him. He wanted to walk together with everyone in Mount Hua, not just Chung Myung.

‘Mount Hua is a sect that has come this far together.’

Hyun Jong, feeling sure of his decision, spoke.

“Chung Myung-ah.”

“I don’t think we can continue to work with the Nine Great Sects anymore.”

Chung Myung looked at him, confused.

“Why is that?”

Hyun Jong paused for a moment.

“The truth is, keeping our distance from the Nine Great Sects was not what I truly wanted. As the sect leader of Mount Hua, I wanted to bring back Mount Hua’s glory and be a worthy successor to the previous sect leaders.”

“Yes.”

“So, I had secretly hoped to return to the Nine Great Sects. Even though our relationship has become strained, I thought it would be good to become friendly again if they reached out to us first.”

Chung Myung nodded.

It was a reasonable thought. Chung Myung was radical and disliked them, but Cheong Mun would have likely felt the same as Hyun Jong if he were the sect leader now.

“But after what happened, I realized that their path is very different from ours.”

A sad look crossed Hyun Jong’s face. He must have been very disappointed. Still, his voice was gentle and careful.

“I repeat, this is just my thought. I am the sect leader of Mount Hua. But Mount Hua is not a sect where the sect leader decides everything. No, it should never be that way.”

Hyun Jong asked calmly.

“What do you all think?”

Hyun Young scoffed, a harsh sound that broke the serious mood.

“Even if we said we’d get along now, would that senile old fart, Beop Jeong, even accept us?”

“…Senile old fart is a bit much…”

“Aren’t Shaolin and Wudang the two main groups in the Nine Great Sects?”

“That’s right.”

“The abbot of Shaolin was embarrassed in front of everyone, and the sect leader of Wudang was climbed on and beaten in front of everyone! Do you think they’re crazy enough to get along with us!”

“…”

Everyone looked at Chung Myung.

“Why? What!”

Chung Myung confidently puffed out his chest as if he had done nothing wrong.

“So don’t bother trying because it’s pointless. Those old geezers don’t even want to get along with us. So why should we?”

“Hmm.”

Un Geum, who had been listening quietly, smiled gently.

“Your words are a bit harsh, but I agree. We’ve come too far to turn back to them now.”

“…”

“And even if they wanted to, as the sect leader said, their path is different from Mount Hua’s path.”

“Yes!”

“That’s right, Sect Leader!”

Words of agreement came from everywhere. Hyun Jong quietly nodded.

This wasn’t said because Mount Hua had become stronger. Mount Hua knew the pain of being weak better than anyone else. That’s why they were trying not to go down the wrong path.

“Then.”

This time, Hyun Jong asked everyone.

“What kind of sect do you think Mount Hua should become?”

“…”

This time, no one could answer easily. It was too deep a question to answer simply.

Then, Hyun Jong looked at Yoon Jong.

“Yoon Jong-ah.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Tell me. What kind of place do you want Mount Hua to be?”

Yoon Jong’s eyes showed deep thought.

“Sect Leader, I’m sorry, but… I don’t know about such great things.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

Hyun Jong seemed a little disappointed, and Yoon Jong spoke again.

“But I think I know what I need to do.”

His voice was full of conviction. Everyone looked at Yoon Jong.

“When the young lord of the Namgung family asked for help this time, my heart ached for him, and I wanted to help him more than anything. And I was so proud of Mount Hua for rushing to the Yangtze River to help him. I’ve experienced so much in Mount Hua, but there was never a time when my chest swelled with pride, more than ever before, to be a disciple of Mount Hua.”

“…Was that so?”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

Yoon Jong slowly nodded.

“That’s why I’m going to do what I felt. Even if it’s hard and tiring, I won’t ignore those who ask me for help. Just as Mount Hua has had difficulties in the past, I will always help those who are struggling and tired.”

A gentle smile appeared on Hyun Jong’s face.

“A place that listens to what is right and simply acts. That’s what I think Mount Hua is.”

Yoon Jong nodded after speaking.

“I have my Mount Hua, and Yoon Jong has his Mount Hua.”

He looked at each disciple of Mount Hua, one by one.

“But we don’t all need to agree on everything. If each of you achieves the Mount Hua you want to achieve, it will become a better place than anyone could have imagined…”

Hyun Jong paused, then closed his eyes and whispered.

“I believe so.”

A heavy silence filled the room.

Hyun Jong’s words touched everyone deeply.

‘Yes. That will work.’

They would face many difficulties in the future. But if they remembered what they knew now and acted on it, they would overcome those difficulties someday.

And when that time came, they, and the world, would know what kind of sect Mount Hua was.

Hyun Jong was about to speak again.

“Is that okay?”

“…”

Chung Myung slyly opened his eyes, looking mischievous.

“The Mount Hua that each of us wants to achieve?”

“…”

“So, if we can each make Mount Hua what we want… then I can finally do what *I* want to do, right?”

“…”

No.

Let’s find another way, Chung Myung-ah.