Return of the Mount Hua Sect

The snow flower and plum blossoms that filled the world faded away.

Like a fantasy.

Those who witnessed this sight stood in stunned silence. Lost in the afterglow, they were unable to escape the lingering imagery of that majestic sight. As the dreamlike visions faded, two people were left standing in their place.

Just two.

Chung Myung and Jin Geum-Ryong.

Everyone observed the two with bated breath.

‘What happened?’

‘Who won?’

Most people didn’t notice what happened during the fight. They only saw a flurry of white snow flowers and red plum blossoms.

But soon, they would be able to clearly see the results they were looking for.

Jin Geum-Ryong appeared to be standing tall, but soon his knees began to tremble.

In a world where time had stopped, only Jin Geum-Ryong seemed to move. His knees bent to the floor, and his body crumbled.

Thud!

The sound of his body hitting the floor broke the stifling silence.

That awkward and unfamiliar sound caused time to flow within Mount Hua once again.

“…”

Baek Cheon looked at the fallen Jin Geum-Ryong with his eyes wide open.

‘Jin Geum-Ryong has….’

A wall that Baek Cheon could never overcome had been defeated and lay collapsed on the ground.

Was Jin Geum-Ryong weak?

That was not the case.

Jin Geum-Ryong’s strength this time had far exceeded Baek Cheon’s expectations. He could understand why Jin Geum-Ryong was so proud and had such confidence in himself. Even if they had battled a thousand times, Baek Cheon would still never defeat him.

But such a man was now lying on the floor.

Baek Cheon’s gaze shifted to the side.

Chung Myung was looking at Jin Geum-Ryong with his sword lowered. It was not just Baek Cheon; everyone was looking at Chung Myung.

There was a slight unease.

And a sense of excitement that arises from the bottom of the heart.

Everyone was naturally aware of what this meant. The scene they had just witnessed would probably be spoken about forever.

As long as Mount Hua and the Southern Edge Sect continue to exist, the story of what happened today would live on through the mouths of the public, along with the names of the Southern Edge Sect and Mount Hua.

In other words.

A legend was born here today.

“… we won.”

Yoon Jong mumbled without realizing it.

He couldn’t believe it despite seeing it with his own eyes.

Ten wins in a row.

Mount Hua’s third-class disciple, Chung Myung, defeated the Southern Edge Sect’s second-class disciples ten times. He even faced off against their strongest disciple, Jin Geum-Ryong.

“Uh…”

Many thoughts complicated Yoon Jong’s mind, and nothing seemed to make sense.

All he could do was groan and stare at Chung Myung.

Shhh.

Chung Myung finally sheathed his sword to his waist and looked around. Those who met his eyes flinched and stepped back.

And…

His lips formed into a smile, and he slowly said.

“This time’s Mount Hua-Southern Edge sect conference….”

He declared in a voice that was neither too high nor low.

“Ends with the victory of Mount Hua!”

And with that came the reaction!

“Ahhhhhhhh!”

Yoon Jong was startled to see Baek Cheon screaming in front of him.

Although Yoon Jong had spent a lot of time together with Baek Cheon since entering Mount Hua, he had never seen Baek Cheon scream this excitedly.

But after thinking about it, it made sense.

Yoon Jong was only a third-class disciple; his feelings towards the Southern Edge Sect were naturally more shallow than Baek Cheon’s. Baek Cheon and the second-class disciples had been crushed by the Southern Edge Sect for at least a decade more than the third-class disciples after experiencing many more conferences.

As such, Yoon Jong’s emotions couldn’t be compared to Baek Cheon’s. Even so, Yoon Jong felt like he was losing his mind in the excitement.

The same was true for the other disciples.

“Woahhhh! We won! We won over the Southern Edge Sect!”

“The first victory in all these years! The first! Damned Southern Edge Sect!”

“Ten wins! Ten wins! That crazy bastard won ten straight times!”

“Right! Hahahaha, Chung Myung! Chung Myung, you brat!”

They had never won a single fight. Seeing the second-class disciples rejoicing for Chung Myung even more than the third-class disciples, Yoon Jong smiled.

‘This is a martial arts sect.’

People argue with each other, and they may not get along well. However, when matters involving the sect’s name occur, all those complicated feelings vanish.

Ah, of course.

“Ahhhh! Sahyung! That crazy bastard won! He beat Jin Geum-Ryong! Woahhh!”

That didn’t mean that the third-class disciples were any less happy.

Jo Gul, who was next to him, grabbed Yoon Jong’s head and began to shake him with a force that could break his neck. He seemed to completely lose his mind.

“Hey, let go of—”

“Ahhh! This is crazy! Crazy, I say! Ten wins! Ten wins! I knew he wasn’t a human, but oh my God! Ten wins! That crazy bastard! Hahaha! He is seriously insane!”

“Let go of me, you idiot!”

Even as Yoon Jong screamed, he couldn’t erase the smile covering his face.

Jo Gul, who was shaking Yoon Jong’s head, nearly began to rip his hair out. Yet, they couldn’t help themselves. A sense of joy and satisfaction was rising from their hearts.

Had they ever felt like this in their lives?

‘Chung Myung. You did well, you punk!’

Yoon Jong looked at Chung Myung, who was still standing in the center.

Chung Myung raised his hand and pressed hard against his chest.

Then he gulped down a rush of blood that was seeking to escape from his mouth.

‘I overdid it.’

The difference between what Chung Myung was capable of and what his body could handle was still as extreme as ever. It was good to overpower Jin Geum-Ryong with the Seven Sages Sword, but he suffered several internal injuries in the process.

But…

“This should be fine.”

He can handle this much internal damage.

In the past, he was the Plum Blossom Sword Saint and lived as an object of fear and respect to others. But had he ever done something like this in his life?

‘I didn’t sever the Heavenly Demon’s head alone.’

Everyone knew the name of the Plum Blossom Sword Saint and his role in history. However, there weren’t many achievements of his own that people could discuss.

Especially not when he was as young as Chung Myung is now.

But this battle today will be remembered and spoken about for a long time and follow Chung Myung throughout his new life in Mount Hua.

‘Am I proud?’

‘No. It’s bittersweet.’

Chung Myung lifted his head and looked at the Southern Edge Sect. Seeing the disciples all dazed and mesmerized, something bloomed within him.

When life is this good, even plain rice would taste sweet!

A cold glint flitted through Chung Myung’s eyes as he smiled and looked at the Southern Edge Sect.

A victory that could be seen on the surface was important, but what mattered to Chung Myung was that they had been ensnared by his hidden intentions. It was certain from how the disciples appeared to be lost and in a daze.

They had understood.

They will never be able to forget what happened here; this was going to be firmly imprinted in their memories. Thinking about how this would impact them in the future, they would surely struggle for the next decade to overcome this trauma.

“You should have never touched us.”

Losing the present is a great crisis, but losing the future results in a complete collapse.

Today, Chung Myung stole the Southern Edge Sect’s future.

‘How is that! Sahyung! My sahyung! Can’t this be called an act of perfect revenge?’

- Are you really a Taoist!?

‘Seriously!?’

Chung Myung contorts his face. A Taoist has no enemies!

Well, at least for this moment, Chung Myung felt thankful that his Sahyung wasn’t alive. If he was alive or if they had returned together, he would have said that the Southern Edge Sect had sinned in the past, but their present disciples were innocent.

And Chung Myung would be asked to stop.

‘But the debt hasn’t been paid in full.’

Chung Myung stared at the Southern Edge Sect.

As long as both sects live near one another, they will continue to find themselves entangled together in the future. So, Chung Myung decided to steadily take his revenge on them.

But for now, this would be the end.

On one side, there was a burst of tearful cheers echoing loudly. On the other, a despairing crowd of mournful gazes.

“Sasuk.’

“Huh? Uh!”

Un Am, who still hadn’t pulled himself together, returned to his senses at Chung Myung’s words.

Un Am looked around and gulped.

‘H-How am I supposed to do this?’

If not him, then who else would do it?

Un Am clenched his fist and looked around, then he shouted with a radiant cheer.

“This Mount Hua and Southern Edge Sect conference ends in the victory of Mount Hua!”

The screams grew even louder.

The place where Mount Hua’s second and third-class disciples gathered was chaotic. They were hugging each other, running around, and screaming out loud.

“Tch. Tch. Without any sense of shame.”

Chung Myung smiled.

Then he looked over at the fallen Jin Geum-Ryong. Even though their disciple had been defeated, no one from the Southern Edge Sect had come to recover him.

No, it wasn’t as if they simply weren’t in the mood to do it. However, their shock was unlike anything they had ever felt before.

“Take him back.”

“…”

“Get yourselves together.”

Startled by Chung Myung’s words, the Southern Edge Sect’s disciples rushed to retrieve their comrade.

“Sahyung! Sahyung! Come to your senses!’

“To the treatment room! Move!”

Chung Myung, who was watching them, turned his head and began to return to his seat in the crowd.

Then, the second and third-class disciples that had been keeping an eye on Chung Myung quickly rushed to him.

“Oh, my god—”

Chung Myung’s words were swiftly cut short.

“Ahhhh! Chung Myuuuuuungg!”

“You idiot! You crazy bastard!”

“No! Well, such men are needed! Seriously!”

The disciples rushed around him. Chung Myung felt like screaming as the immense weight of those around crushed him.

“Ack! My body! You idiots! My body…!”

“Uhahaha!”

“Crazy! Insane!”

“My body! You bastards!”

But it seemed like his words fell on deaf ears. The excited disciples continued to assault Chung Myung in unison, hurling praises and curses as they pushed, pulled, pressed, and hit him….

What sort of son of a bitch just hit him?

After a long period of suffering, Chung Myung somehow managed to escape from the disciples. He staggered. It felt like he collected more injuries from the celebration than he did from the battle.

But.

‘I don’t feel so bad.’

Chung Myung smiled.

In the past, he always played the role of savior for Mount Hua, but he rarely received praise like this. Back then, everyone took his victory for granted. The expectations were different.

Chung Myung returned to life and had to handle many bothersome issues, but thanks to that, he was able to experience many things that he couldn’t experience before.

One thing was certain.

‘Today’s event will change Mount Hua.’

The water in the stream began to flow.

The disciples, who had lost their confidence and suffered from a spiral of defeat, finally regained their pride. One day, that pride would lead them to higher planes.

‘Sahyung. Is this good?’

- You did well. Chung Myung.

Getting a compliment from him was so hard.

A proud smile settled on Chung Myung’s lips.