Return of the Mount Hua Sect

“I think I will extend my lifespan a bit more.”

“My physical strength has finally returned.”

The disciples of Mount Hua and Hae Yeon settled down and tested their bodies, rotating their shoulders and cracking their necks. They felt a noticeable lightness in their bodies.

“Kuak, this oil is truly impressive.”

“Just a single drop and the results are astonishing! It’s truly the ultimate remedy!”

“Amitabha. It seems that consuming substances is indeed necessary…”

However, Chung Myung’s complexion had turned pale. Tears welled up in his eyes.

‘These hungry ghosts.’

Did they steal the most precious oil because there was nothing else left for them to steal from the world?

Even though it didn’t compare to the Soul Vitality Pill, whenever the pill was mentioned, the oil always came up.

Such a precious thing…

“Feeling better now?”

“Yeah.”

Baek Cheon’s face remained furrowed as he turned to Chung Myung.

“Who is the one who always goes through all these tricks just to give out one drop of that thing?”

“Right, Sasuk, I’ve never seen such a small drop in my life. Dropping it like that, just letting it fall, is quite a skill.”

“Seriously.”

Chung Myung shouted in frustration.

“Do you even know what this is?”

“Yes, yes. We have no idea.”

“Ah, it fills me with so much power! So much!”

Chung Myung wiped his teary eyes.

“This is something you witness when you’ve lived for a while. I never imagined a day would come when I’d get cheated like this.”

- Serves you right, you bastard.

“Kuaaak!”

Ah, that ghost!

Don’t just appear out of nowhere like that!

Chung Myung spat into the air abruptly, causing everyone to take notice.

“But, Chung Myung.”

“Huh?”

“Are you okay?”

Chung Myung glanced at Baek Cheon without saying a word. Then he shook his head.

“… giving bottles and pills isn’t something to take lightly. Where does this guy leave his conscience?”

“No, it’s because you didn’t take it.”

“It is for weaklings like Sasuk who are injured, but I can surely handle this much!”

“Is that so? So, if you give one more drop to the weakling…”

“Do not touch! Your palm will start being cut!”

Baek Cheon licked his lips as he pulled back his hand, seeing Chung Myung hiss like a poisoned wild cat.

“But, even though I ate that precious oil, my body wasn’t perfect.”

“It hurts so much.”

Yoon Jong trembled and sighed. It was a truly terrible fight that he would remember forever. Goosebumps ran down his spine.

“Anyway, we managed to overcome the Demonic Sect.”

“And even killed the high priest!”

The shoulders of the Mount Hua disciples rose in triumph.

But unfortunately, in front of them stood a monster who couldn’t keep his eyes open while watching people’s shoulders rise.

“We beat the high priest?”

Chung Myung’s head began to tilt to the side, causing Jo Gul to shout out.

“Why, why! What are you doing now!”

“No good.”

Chung Myung shrugged and said,

“It’s easy to be misunderstood, but I thought it would be better to know the truth. The high priest we beat isn’t even a real high priest.”

“…”

“First of all, a genuine high priest wouldn’t come to such a distant land and engage in such nonsense.”

“I heard that doing such absurd things was a characteristic of the Demonic Sect?”

“That’s different from this.”

Chung Myung’s face stiffened as he shook his head.

“The self-proclaimed high priest mentioned that you would understand, but those individuals were even rejected by the Demonic Sect. They were forced to fend for themselves after being cast aside from the Central Plains, so they were unable to receive proper training.”

“Then…”

Yoon Jong’s face also stiffened as he spoke, swallowing nervously.

“Are you suggesting that the actual high priest and members of the real Demonic Sect are more powerful?”

“You are asking something so obvious.”

Chung Myung scoffed.

“Seems like…”

However, Yoon Jong didn’t seem to understand.

The power of the Demonic Sect that he witnessed firsthand was truly terrifying. Didn’t the disciples of Mount Hua and the Ice Palace warriors almost perish because of just a few of them?

Even so, this wasn’t a legitimate Demonic sect?

“Just look at the outcome.”

“Huh?”

“Even if it’s just one sub-group if the people of the Demonic Sect could easily control the Ice Palace, wouldn’t the Central Plains have been completely overwhelmed by the Demonic Sect a hundred years ago?”

“…”

The expressions on the faces of the disciples from Mount Hua became perplexed.

When they heard it spoken like that, it didn’t seem so wrong. Obviously, the disciples of Mount Hua were actively driving out the Demonic Sect from the Ice Palace. But if they were to argue that way, wouldn’t there have been more warriors than them in the Central Plains 100 years ago?

“We dealt with those who were nothing more than a small fraction within the Demonic Sect.”

“… I see.”

It was a fact they didn’t want to believe, but the more he listened, the more he understood.

“…a legitimate Demonic Sect…”

The Mount Hua disciples’ faces turned grave.

‘Oh my god, those people are still alive and kicking.’

The thought of their own carelessness sent chills down their spines.

“And if the Heavenly Demon gets involved…”

Chung Myung dismissed Yoon Jong’s murmurs with a shake of his head.

“Exactly. It would become the Demonic Sect that nearly decimated the Central Plains.”

“…heavenly demon…”

At that moment, Jo Gul inquired as if he had recalled something.

“But Chung Myung, what happened in there? Did the Heavenly Demon really come to life?”

“Come to life, my ass.”

Chung Myung snorted.

“They tried to play tricks, but I just cut his head off.”

“… that is so fortunate.”

The high priest, on the other hand, was terrible. What would have happened if the Heavenly Demon had actually been resurrected?

But the fact that they had avoided a great deal of trouble didn’t provide them with much reassurance. It was because they discovered that there were more situations like this in the world.

Observing the serious expressions on everyone’s faces, Chung Myung smiled as if he had never been filled with pride.

“Well, there’s no need to feel disheartened.”

“Uh?”

“Even if you are weak, a high priest is still just a high priest. And even if they’re not the best, the Demonic Sect is still the Demonic Sect. It’s amazing that we managed to fight and win against them.”

“… aren’t you being too harsh by not giving us any medicine?”

“I did give you a bottle!”

When Chung Myung shouted with a face that looked like he felt things were unfair, Baek Cheon sighed and shook his head.

“Well, I suspected as much.”

“What?”

“This is not going to work.”

There was a determined look in his eyes.

“The Demonic Sect is stronger than we expected. If they attack the Central Plains with the same force as before, there is no guarantee that Mount Hua will be safe.”

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded.

They were well aware of the power of the Demonic Sect and the fact that Mount Hua was currently not strong enough to resist them.

“We must become stronger.”

“Are you including yourself in that statement?”

“Not only us, but the entire Mount Hua must become stronger. I don’t want to witness any deaths from their swords.”

“Agreed.”

“I feel the same, sasuk!”

They faced each other and nodded, a smile appearing on Chung Myung’s face.

‘Exactly. Adversaries are what make people stronger.’

It may seem like a bold statement, but it was the Southern Edge that made Mount Hua stronger, followed by the Nine Great Sects, including Shaolin.

It was not easy for anyone to train solely with the goal of becoming stronger. But when you had an opponent you refused to lose to, someone you wanted to surpass, you would find the energy to push yourself harder and become even stronger because of it.

Watching them set goals and strengthen their determination, he realized that he could truly consider them as accomplished warriors.

“Once we’re back, we need to quickly restore order in Mount Hua.”

“I will have to show them the depths of hell.”

“I will make them experience the same pain that the Demonic Sect inflicted upon us!”

“They deserve to die.”

“…”

Uh…

Children?

This was, uh… no… quite different from what he was expecting.

Uh?

“Amitabha.”

At that moment, Hae Yeon, who had remained silent, finally spoke up.

“I felt it, too. Honestly, I couldn’t understand why the abbot had to risk so many sacrifices to send me to this place. But after learning how dangerous the Demonic Sect is, the insight of the abbot is…”

“Right, that fucking damned bald bastard!”

“…bal-bald…”

Hae Yeon was speechless. A fire rose in his eyes.

“He just said the Demonic Sect were a couple people hiding here, but the entire group is in this place? Damn, everything that comes from his mouth is a lie! That liar! It looks like he will fall into hell if this continues!”

“A lie… that… hell…”

“When I go back to the Central Plains, I will yank out every hair on the abbot’s head… oh, there is no hair! Then I’ll rip his beard off! I will!”

Originally, what Hae Yeon should have said at this point was, ‘No matter how much he felt like it, it is too much to say this to Shaolin’s abbot.’

However, those words didn’t come out in front of Chung Myung, who was emanating killing intent through his eyes and breathing fire like a dragon.

“D-disciple. Calm down…”

“He will have to pay extra.”

Hae Yeon, rendered speechless, looked at Baek Cheon, who was standing beside him. Then, the other disciples gathered to offer their assistance.

“Of course. The pay isn’t enough for this. Let’s make sure to get it right.”

“Let’s seize the opportunity to dismantle the entire pillars of Shaolin!”

“I will have them melt down the statue of Buddha and sell it.”

“…”

Abbot.

The thieves here were overwhelming.

Hae Yeon stood in silence, observing the intense hostility that everyone directed towards Shaolin. The anger from some was expected, but what troubled him more was that he found himself agreeing with the idea of them receiving extra payment from Shaolin.

“Amitabha! Amitabha!”

How did his thoughts become so clouded?

‘No… but then again, they do have a point.’

“Ughh. Amitabha.”

Hae Yeon found himself in the midst of an identity crisis. Thankfully, someone came to his rescue.

Knock.

“Come in.”

As Baek Cheon spoke, the door swung open, and Seol So-Baek and Han Yi-Myung entered, both dressed in pure white robes.

“Taoist! When I heard that you woke up, I hurried over here! How are you feeling now?”

Seol So-Baek eagerly stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

“Exactly.”

“You should address him as the palace lord.”

“Can you believe this guy!”

“You need to get hit!”

Everyone stopped and shouted, but Chung Myung didn’t pay them any attention. His gaze was fixed on Seol So-Baek as he asked,

“You should be busy. What are you doing here?”

“There is an order at work, Taoist. No matter how important things may be, what could be more important than meeting the man who saved the North Sea and expressing my gratitude!”

“Huhuhu. Look at you being smart.”

‘You were well raised. You raised him very well.’

Chung Myung, feeling happy, smiled.

With Mount Hua attempting to crush him and take his belongings, Seol So-Baek appeared like a sweet and friendly puppy.

Seol So-Baek’s eyes gleamed brightly.

“I don’t know how to express my gratitude to the Taoist! Thanks to you, the Ice Palace was able to avoid annihilation and save ourselves. Thank you so much.”

“Is that true?”

Chung Myung’s smile widened even further.

“Yes, Taoist!”

“I see that you understand. Correct?”

“Of course. If we don’t know grace, aren’t I the same as a beast? Seol So-Baek may not have learned things, but I am not a beast~ I will never forget the grace you showed for the rest of my life.”

Seol So-Baek’s serious face made Chung Myung smile, and Han Yi-Myung’s eyes were filled with tears at this.

‘Such a good one.’

A hero who rushed from the Central Plains to save the North Sea, and the young palace lord who would carry the will of such a hero and lead the North Sea.

How could this not be a great omen?

Now was the time.

Chung Myung smiled and spoke.

“Just words?”

“… Huh?”

Seol So-Baek tilted his head slightly and glanced at Chung Myung as if he misheard something. However, Chung Myung kindly reaffirmed it.

“Thank you, just with words.”

“…”

Then he extended his hand and lightly tapped Seol So-Baek on the shoulder.

“There is no gratitude in the world, and there is no grace that can be repaid. Originally, grace and gratitude were given as compensation for things! Things! Do you understand the meaning?”

“…”

“Why? Did you think a couple words of thanks would solve everything? Ah?”

“Ah, no. That…”

“If you don’t know grace, you are a beast?”

“… Yes.”

“Beasts give away their skin. Instead of not knowing the favor, you repay it with skin. But you don’t mean to let people get lower than beasts, right? Right? You couldn’t. The North Sea Ice Palace will have no pride in them.”

Seol So-Baek started to sweat.

Once the name of the Ice Palace was mentioned, he couldn’t back down anymore.

“O-of course, Taoist. The North Sea Ice Palace will repay our debt.”

“… really?”

Chung Myung smiled as if he had won everything in the world.

“Hahahahah! Well, that’s good to know. I never expected the Ice Palace to be this shameless!”

“Y-yes, of course.”

“Exactly, so…”

Chung Myung’s hand tightly gripped Seol So-Baek’s shoulder. Seol So-Baek, who was taken aback, saw a glimmer of light in his eyes.

“I will see it once you bring it.”

“W-what?”

Chung Myung’s smile was so radiant that it seemed unbelievable.

“A list of assets of the North Sea Ice Palace.”

“…”

“Quickly.”

“…”

Seol So-Baek resembled a sheep surrounded by wolves; the disciples of Mount Hua glanced in his direction, their expressions filled with pity.

‘He’s been caught.’

‘Such a shame.’

‘My apologies, palace lord.’

There were individuals in this world whom you should never owe anything to.

Seol So-Baek and the Ice Palace had ventured into a realm of ill fortune.