Return of the Mount Hua Sect

“Sasuk?”

“Hmm?”

“It’s noisy outside. Is there something happening?”

At that question, Baek Cheon smiled.

“Nothing happened.”

“…”

The disciples of Mount Hua glanced at the tightly shut door with suspicious eyes.

“An intruder!”

“Follow him!”

They didn’t bother listening to it, but because of their trained senses, they picked up the shouts outside along with the blizzard.

Nothing happened!

Jo Gul’s face went stiff, and he looked at Baek Cheon.

“You are certain nothing happened.”

“Yes?”

“Yes. I need to get some rest. I am tired.”

“Me too.”

That was when the two of them looked at each other and smiled.

“Ice Swordsmen! Call them!”

“There! Do not let him go!”

There were a lot of urgent screams and orders.

But at that moment.

Clack!

Hae Yeon’s face stiffened as he got up from his place and quickly approached the place where he had placed his belongings.

And then he took something from there and headed to the window.

“Monk. What are you doing…”

Euk. Euk.

Everyone looked at Hae Yeon dumbfounded. He very diligently sealed the window handles with the cloth he had brought from his luggage.

“Amitabha. I have to sleep, and this noise isn’t letting me.”

Ahhh.

Yoon Jong looked at Baek Cheon and seriously asked.

“Should I turn off the fire?”

“….”

The emotions filled the room.

It was Baek Cheon who realized that the disciples of Mount Hua had a special connection.

“Ahh! I am angry!”

Bang!

Chung Myung, who unsheathed his sword and kicked his pursuer, felt anger stir within him. He hadn’t bothered to check if anyone was beneath the tower in his haste to escape the cold.

“This damn blizzard!”

The blizzard raged on, obscuring everything in sight. The people dressed in white were barely visible…

“Huh?”

Chung Myung’s eyes widened.

Wait. Was everything white?

He glanced downward.

Black.

Very black.

This stood out…

“There!”

“That black-clothed man! Catch him!”

Chung Myung chuckled.

“They say ignorance invites trouble.”

He never expected his own forgetfulness to betray him.

Wearing dark clothes in a snowstorm made him stand out. Everyone in the Ice Palace seemed to be clad in white.

But no matter how much he regretted it, it was too late now.

Chung Myung pushed aside his thoughts and surveyed his surroundings with wide eyes.

‘I need to escape from here.’

Even if Baek Cheon hadn’t closed the window, returning to the room was almost impossible. He had to find a way to flee quickly…

And then it happened.

Paaaat!

Amidst an eerie noise, a deep blue sword flew through the blizzard, hurtling toward Chung Myung.

‘Huh?’

There was only one person…

“Oh shit! My sword!”

Chung Myung instinctively checked his waist and quickly rolled to the side as realization dawned upon him. He had forgotten his sword.

“It was so cold that I completely forgot. I have a habit of forgetting things.”

Considering his age, he should be experiencing full-on dementia rather than simple forgetfulness, but his body was young.

‘No, this is actually good.’

If he were to use the sword reflexively, everyone would become suspicious. After all, no one should know that Mount Hua was his true home.

“Surround him!”

“You there!”

The palace warriors closed in on Chung Myung. The fiercely pointed swords they held showed their determination to prevent his escape.

“Tch.”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue and cracked his neck from side to side.

Although he was surrounded, he didn’t appear too shocked. Dealing with people like this used to be a daily routine for him. It felt more like old memories resurfacing.

‘Back then, I had a wild spirit.’

It felt like his pent-up frustration would be relieved if he beat up those Demonic Sect bastards one by one.

‘Ehhhh.’

Chung Myung sighed as he recalled those memories. With helpless eyes, he looked at the people surrounding him.

‘What is wrong with these people?’

He had to handle them carefully and find a way to escape…

But then it happened.

“Those in black!”

“Huh?”

Among those surrounding him, the apparent leader glared at Chung Myung and shouted.

“Are you a member of the sect?”

“Sect…?”

“What are you doing infiltrating this place!”

“…”

Chung Myung’s eyes started to widen with anger and turn red.

The sect?

The Demonic Sect?

Was this person really calling him that?

“No, who is this bastard?”

Crack.

The bone cracked, and those who heard it stepped back.

“The sect?”

Chung Myung spoke slowly.

“You… people don’t seem to understand what’s happening…”

The enraged eyes behind the mask were exposed.

“There are things people can say and things people shouldn’t say.”

And you just said something you shouldn’t have.

Now all of you are dead.

With his eyes closed, Chung Myung rushed at the warriors of the Ice Palace.

Kwaaang!

“… a fist.”

Kwaang!

“… or a foot?”

“I think it’s the head?”

“No, this is the elbow. Definitely an elbow.”

The disciples of Mount Hua listened excitedly to the sounds from outside.

Tang Soso looked at them, feeling confused and unable to hold back; she said,

“Sasuk.”

“… huh?”

“… is this really okay?”

Baek Cheon smiled happily and looked at the youngest.

“Will it be okay?”

“…”

A single drop of sweat rolled down her cheek.

“Then… should we do something?”

“Something?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“…”

Baek Cheon shook his head as if he couldn’t understand.

“Soso.”

“Yes.”

“Why bother when you already know everything? How can anyone stop that guy from causing trouble?”

“…”

Yoon Jong, who listened from the side, nodded in agreement with Baek Cheon’s words. And Baek Cheon spoke seriously.

“This is a natural disaster. No ordinary person can stop a tornado.”

“But there are places to avoid being caught in it, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

But that didn’t calm Tang Soso down. Being from the Tang family in Sichuan, she knew firsthand the consequences of messing with other sects.

Just imagine if some random person broke into the Tang family and beat up people in the middle of the night. The Tang family would be furious.

“What is Chung Myung sahyung even thinking?”

Actually, did that person even think at all?

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“It’s getting worse.”

“Ugh. I can’t even bear to think about it.”

The disciples of Mount Hua looked out the window in disgust.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With his eyes closed, Chung Myung climbed onto the person who had fallen in the snow and attacked them with both fists.

“Sect? Secttttt? Say that again, you jerk!”

Have these people gone insane?

Demonic Sect?

You, you fucking jerk, if I were a member of the Demonic Sect, I would be soaring through the sky and causing chaos!

But what about me?

A member of that sectttt?

Chung Myung had lost his sanity, his eyes were filled with anger.

“This is the first time in my life I’ve been cursed like this! Hey, you despicable jerk! I may have curses on the tip of my tongue, but I keep them to a minimum. How can someone be so cruel to another person?”

Bang!

The power from his core to his fist was perfectly delivered to the opponent. Chung Myung conveyed his emotions as he turned the fallen guy’s jaw to the side and struck again.

“Die! Die! Die! You bastard!”

The man’s head bent both right and left from the hit.

“Ugh, this crazy bastard!”

“What are you doing?! Rush him!”

The warriors of the Ice Palace, who had forgotten to attack, suddenly snapped back to their senses and rushed at Chung Myung.

Wheik!

Chung Myung saw the people rushing at him with his eyes wide open.

“Okay!”

Leaving the fallen man alone, he jumped up and grabbed the flying sword with his bare hands.

A coldness touched his fingers, but to Chung Myung, who was enraged, it didn’t matter.

Clang!

And the blade broke instantly.

The warriors were shocked at the sight of the sword blade breaking purely due to internal qi.

‘H-How?’

They couldn’t fathom how a sword infused with sword qi could be stopped with bare hands, let alone break.

Was this even possible?

But their thoughts didn’t last long.

Wheuk!

It was unimaginable for the warrior who was hit in the jaw. With a single strike, Chung Myung looked around like a beast searching for food.

Seeing his eyes filled with craziness, the warriors of the Ice Palace flinched and took a step back despite having the advantage.

“…Is that the demonic arts?”

“….”

No, these bastards were for real!

This was the martial arts of a Taoist sect in the Central Plains, you dead, blind bastard!

-It doesn’t seem that way to me, though.

“Ah, why are you only speaking out like this! Go back in!”

After screaming, Chung Myung rushed forward and began knocking down the warriors at random.

Bang! Bang!

The warriors, beaten with fists and kicked, flew along with the blizzard.

“S-Stop!”

“Damn it, this one is….!”

The warriors tried their best, but Chung Myung moved with the thought that he was a madman of Mount Hua… no, he was in the process of proving that he suited the title of Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon.

But it was then.

“Reinforcements!”

“Who is that!”

The tightly shut door of the Ice Palace opened wide, and more warriors began to come out.

With rage already on top of his head, Chung Myung turned to face them. His body, which had been racing to hit, flinched.

He looked at the people outside and smiled. The ones who had been following him all this time were merely the patrols. The real elite people of the Ice Palace came out like ants now.

‘Ehhh. This isn’t right.’

People needed to pay if he was angry.

‘Run!’

This was enough to sow doubt and convince him to get his task done. Now he had to get out of there before the problem escalated.

He could not die like a dog in this frozen land!

He noticed how people were quickly surrounding him, checked the gap, and rushed there.

“Huh!”

The moment Chung Myung rushed towards them, the ice warriors there stepped back in fear.

However, Chung Myung’s hand moved gently as he pushed aside the sword aimed at him.

Thud!

The sword bounced to the side with equal force. Chung Myung noticed the warrior’s open chest and slammed his shoulder into their stomach.

Clench!

The warrior’s mouth widened in surprise.

Chung Myung grabbed their shoulder, trembled, and swiftly switched positions, kicking the man.

Kwang!

Due to the recoil of the kick, Chung Myung soared through the air and began to jump out of the palace with the wind.

“Goodbye, bastards!”

Ah, of course, I was not leaving for real. He chuckled and moved.

Goooooo!

Chung Myung heard a crackling sound, causing him to glance back.

Wooooooong!

Something spun and roared towards him from the ice palace’s entrance - a white pillar-like thing.

‘The Ice White Divine Palm.’

The martial art that represented the Ice Palace and was known as one of the best Yin techniques.

The palm flew straight toward Chung Myung, carrying an abnormal amount of energy.

“Tch.”

Chung Myung frowned slightly and turned his body using qi. But then he stopped.

‘Huh, fuck! No!’

He was on the verge of using the Plum Blossom Crushing Hand, and everyone would notice.

If there was a blizzard with red plum blossoms blooming within, it was practically confirmation.

‘Ah, why must all martial arts be like this?’

Chung Myung appeared annoyed.

A turquoise light began to radiate from his hand. Instead of using his Plum Blossom Crushing Hand, he opted for the Bamboo Leaf Hand, channeling his internal qi to strike the flying ice.

Kwaaaaang!

“This!”

Seol Chun-Sang stepped out of the door, regretting his choice of technique. The masked man had easily countered it, like a hammer smashing a stone.

“Follow me!”

“Yes!”

“He was hit with the divine palm, so he can’t have gone far! Make sure you bring him back alive before he freezes to death!”

“Yes!”

The warriors from the Ice Palace rushed out in anger, and Seol Chun-Sang frowned as he watched them.

‘Did he manage to escape from me by countering my technique?’

“He certainly has guts. It seems he’s familiar with how the yin arts work.”

A mischievous smile crept onto his face. However, he still had no idea who the masked man truly was.

And that was a pity.