Return of the Mount Hua Sect

In the center of the mountain hut, numerous bandits knelt.

Their faces displayed loss and fear as if their right to live had been stripped away.

Losing their martial arts to a warrior could be a punishment worse than death in some ways. However, Hyun Sang had no intention of showing them mercy.

‘After all, they are bandits who prey on people.’

There were people who benefited the world by learning martial arts, and there were people who caused harm by learning martial arts.

He thought these bandits were clearly the latter.

Discussing reform and good fortune with clumsy teaching sometimes produced results as bad as not starting at all. It would have been better to eliminate future troubles through one swift punishment.

“And the children?”

“There are a few children with minor injuries, but no child was seriously hurt.”

“Um!”

Hyun Sang nodded.

Although there was a huge difference in skill, lives were still lost to a reckless sword in any case.

But fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case this time.

Mount Hua had become so strong.

If this was Mount Hua before the arrival of Chung Myung, Hyun Sang knew that their disciples would have been unable to handle the bandits even at the base of the mountain, let alone those above them.

However, clearing out the bandits at the top of Green Forest was impossible without taking any damage. Since this change occurred in just a few years, realizing how quickly the sect had become stronger was surprising.

“You have all been through so much.”

“Not at all, elder.”

“This was easy!”

Perhaps the disciples were thinking the same. Although he was somehow trying to stop his shoulders from shaking, his face still showed pride.

But…

Because of that, everyone had forgotten. There was an evil spirit here, and it was always unable to tolerate happy situations.

“Why are your shoulders shaking as if you did something amazing? We just caught some bandits.”

Once the cold remarks were poured on them, the disciples of Mount Hua looked at Chung Myung with sullen expressions.

However, he shamelessly puffed out his chest.

“What? Why? Did I say something wrong?”

“…Even if you prick him with that needle, not a single drop of blood will come out.”

“Make sure you hit him, and be still!”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue with a disapproving look.

“Since when did the Mount Hua sect become such an insignificant place that gets proud for beating up some bandits?! If our ancestors saw this, they would be so upset that they would die again!”

“Not me. No!”

“Ah, be quiet now!”

“W-who even said anything?”

Everyone sighed as they watched Chung Myung speak nonsense.

“Hmm.”

However, even after hearing the scolding, the disciples couldn’t help but let their flushed faces and smiles return.

Chung Myung eventually burst into laughter.

‘Of course, this is good.’

The victory was a more valuable experience than anything else. Of course, you could learn things from defeat, but right now, gaining confidence through winning rather than learning from defeat is more important.

Mount Hua’s disciples had a subtle sense of defeatism.

Since their talent was never recognized, they couldn’t help but feel a subtle sense of inferiority to those who had been recognized by the sect.

‘The best way to get rid of that is to do something they wouldn’t dare do.’

Although gaining fame was truly important at the moment, having confidence in oneself wasn’t a bad thing.

‘And gain experience too.’

The biggest advantage gained from this battle was that, for the first time, the entire Mount Hua group stepped forward and experienced what a battle was. Just having this experience at a time when the entire world was peaceful was a huge benefit to the sect.

Because one day, the day would come when they would have to fight like this. In that sense, it could be said to be a battle in which a lot was gained…

But… what else could be said?

“Huhu.”

“Ehehehe.”

“Kuak. We were a lot stronger than we knew.”

“Hehe, I didn’t care if it was Wudang or Budang. They were nothing special!”

“Hahahaha!”

“….”

Watching the sahyungs all laugh happily, Chung Myung’s stomach twisted and his feelings soured.

“Nice?”

“Hahaha. Yes! It was!”

“You liked this?”

“… Uh?”

The sahyung, sajaes who were all smiles, slowly closed their mouths with awkward looks once again at the words of Chung Myung.

“You mean it was that good?”

As Chung Myung smiled brightly and asked, anxiety began to appear on the faces of Mount Hua’s disciples.

“Then you need to do more!”

“Uh?”

“Where are the next bandits?”

“Uh?”

“C-Chung Myung?”

Blood Tiger Bandit Yang Gwe looked at the scene in front of his eyes in shock.

‘What is… this??’

It felt like the mountain was being pushed in. It wasn’t a mountain of bandits but a mountain full of flowers.

“Ahhhh!”

“Just who are these people!”

His men were helplessly being swept away and falling.

“…”

Yang Gwe gulped at this.

‘Where did things go wrong?’

The moment he saw Im So-Byeong standing behind the approaching Mount Hua warriors, cold sweat began to trickle down.

His face, which always looked sick, was now healthy.

‘Was his health degrading all a lie? Was it a ploy to lure us all in?’

There was no way to determine what was true and what was false.

Right, no, it was good till then.

He could understand it till that point.

But what really bothered him wasn’t Im So-Byeong, but the tragedy ahead of him.

The others desperately held on to the thin little person who was approaching them with a serious face.

“No, Sasuk has done so much all this while! Why are you trying to step out again!”

“Then I.”

“Sago! There was one guy Sago also fought with yesterday! Make some concessions! At least some!”

“You also fought against the bandit leader!”

“You cannot hit either!”

“…”

Yang Gwe, who had been listening to this, trembled.

So… before… this… they….

‘Are those brats fighting one another to deal with me?’

Finally, a bald man with different clothes sneaked from behind and was caught by the hair (?) Yang Kwe couldn’t hold it any longer and shouted.

“How dare these bastards! Act like this, knowing who I am!”

“M-Mister, stay out!”

“Just wait there! It will get decided soon!”

“…”

Yang Gwe’s shoulders slumped.

The guys who were fighting amongst themselves began to yell, and it seemed like they soon came to a conclusion, and one person stepped ahead.

He bowed.

His uniform neatly clung to him.

“…”

Compared to the others that he could not differentiate from his fellow bandits, this one had features closer to a Taoist. This man then stepped forward.

“Mount Hua’s Third class disciple, Yoon Jong…”

“Yoon Jong! For real!”

“… came here. You bandit.”

Yang Gwe’s thoughts changed.

The kid said something that felt like nothing like what a Taoist would say. This kid wasn’t sane either.

Yang Gwe, holding his beloved scimitar, gritted his teeth and rushed at Yoon Jong.

“I will fix your head!”

After a moment, Yoon Jong gently wiped the sweat from his forehead with a clean face and politely greeted him.

“I will learn well.”

A pleasure that was supposed to be felt, was missing for Yang Gwe.

No, it felt meaningless to even consider whether he was conscious or not. A person who has been reduced to a thing, wouldn’t be able to respond properly even if he was conscious.

Jo Gul, Yu Yiseol, and Baek Cheon knew how to take bold risks to defeat the opponent when a chance came.

But Yoon Jong would never deviate from what he learned. He would never push himself and only did the safest attacks.

A weapon that could be withdrawn once the opponent’s weakness was realized was considered a very straightforward sword. However, a scene reminiscent of a cat toying with a mouse unfolded in a life-or-death situation where one faced the impossible.

Regardless of how severe the wounds were, he refused to surrender. Thus, Yang Gwe had no choice but to continue attacking until he lost consciousness from excessive bleeding. That was the outcome.

Yoon Jong turned around, a hint of pride on his face.

“We defeated the enemy leader… why are you looking at me like that?”

He asked, genuinely puzzled by the reactions that differed from his expectations. Baek Cheon and the others, who watched this scene with a look of disgust, shook their heads.

“… Barbaric.”

“My goodness, how can someone beat another to such a state?”

“… I never imagined that being faithful could be so terrifying.”

It would have been more merciful to kill them quickly.

‘Well, that’s what’s frightening about Yoon Jong.’

Baek Cheon thought to himself as he observed Yang Gwe and Yoon Jong.

A person who only practiced striking for a year couldn’t beat someone who had learned various techniques from an early age. However, if one practiced only striking for a long period, no one could withstand a single blow.

Everyone knew this, but no one dared to voice it or attempt it.

Think about it. Who could practice the same motion so consistently?

The person who could do that was Yoon Jong.

A sword that wasn’t flashy or unusual. And above all, it was faithful to the basics.

If one calmly assessed the present, Yoon Jong was the weakest among the Five Swords. His strength didn’t match Jo Gul’s.

But…

‘If 10 or 20 years pass, that guy might become the strongest among us.’

It was such a peculiar thought.

Baek Cheon, Yu Yiseol, Yoon Jong, and Jo Gul.

Each of them had distinct personalities, with no two alike. Despite learning the same thing, their personalities and even their sword techniques looked vastly different.

Yet, they were all growing stronger in their own unique ways. Different yet the same, the same yet different.

And it wasn’t just them…

Baek Cheon’s gaze shifted to the back.

The disciples of Mount Hua, led by Hyun Sang and Un Geom, were taking down the other bandits.

Seeing the strength in their swords, he couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction.

Including the minor skirmishes, there had only been three battles. Yet, those three were enough for the swordsmanship of Mount Hua to improve dramatically.

Baek Cheon quietly watched Chung Myung squatting in a corner, dividing a rice cake for Baek Ah as if he had nothing to do with the battle.

‘Seriously.’

-What? Is Mount Hua so weak? You’re being ridiculous! It’s not that Mount Hua is weak. It’s you who are weak!

Baek Cheon laughed as if he had no other choice. After meeting this guy, their world changed.

Taking a good look at Chung Myung, Baek Cheon took a deep breath and said,

“Now, should we clean this up?”

“We need to handle this and move to the top.”

“Yes.”

He nodded and walked towards the bandits who were still fighting.

“But Chung Myung said not to help in catching the bandits. Can we just leave?”

“Wouldn’t it be okay if I just held a sword and glared from the side?”

“…seriously.”

The Five Swords, excluding Chung Myung, drew their cold iron swords and walked towards the bandits.

And.

Mount Hua cleared both groups of mountain bandits in less than half a day. They began to advance towards the last remaining group.