Return of the Mount Hua Sect

“He won!”

“Oh my, Yoon Jong sahyung won!”

“Wudang’s sword…!”

The disciples of Mount Hua all got up, cheering as if their blood was boiling.

No matter the form, Yoon Jong had won. If this had been a matter of life and death, the outcome might have been different, but this was a spar, and within the context of a spar, no one can look down on Yoon Jong’s win.

“… he really won.”

Even if Yoon Jong had lost and come down from the stage, the disciples of Mount Hua would have patted him on the shoulder because they saw with their own eyes how well he tried.

However, as a result of his best effort, he even won.

“What are you doing?”

Baek Cheon couldn’t hold back his laughter and laughed out loud.

“It looks like his legs are so weak that he cannot get up. Go and bring him down now!”

“Yes, sahyung!”

“Yes, sasuk!”

The disciples of Mount Hua rushed to the stage. Since it was their job to support one person, two people going to bring him down would have been enough, but it was odd to ask these excited ones to do just that.

“Yoon Jong!”

“Sahyung!”

Yoon Jong smiled as he saw his sahyung and sajaes rushing to him.

“Please help me move. My legs are so weak that I cannot move.”

“Internal wounds?”

“All fine.”

At those words, everyone rushed to Yoon Jong’s left and right, and they almost carried him halfway down the stage.

“Soso! Sahyung..!”

“Wait.”

Yoon Jong immediately tapped his sajaes on the shoulder as they were looking for Soso. And then they all stepped back, carefully putting him down.

After struggling to walk, Yoon Jong stood in front of Hyun Sang.

“Elder. Fortunately…”

Hyun Sang didn’t even listen to the words and hugged him.

“….”

“You worked hard. You really did.”

Yoon Jong smiled slightly at the voice full of emotions.

“… I paid for being fed.”

“Fed, this brat! Do you think your food costs nothing or what!”

Hyun Sang, who had moved back, had red eyes. It was shocking, and he was truly filled with emotions.

It wasn’t because they won. It wasn’t because of Yoon Jong’s skills. It was because he showed the will to stand at all.

“Hurry up and get treated. There may be internal wounds.”

“Yes, elder.”

After finishing that, Yoon Jong turned and saw the Five Swords of Mount Hua gathered in his eyes.

Baek Cheon looked at him, full of pride. Yu Yiseol, expressionless as usual, clenched her fists, holding onto her emotions. In contrast, Jo Gul looked like he would cry, his lips bitter.

And…

“I get it, but.”

“…”

“You would have lost 9 times out of 10.”

“I know.”

Until Chung Myung.

But Yoon Jong nodded at his words.

He felt it, too. The skills of Mu Yeon were far higher than his.

“But…”

Chung Myung smiled.

“It is enough if you win.”

“…”

“Stand tall. Beating an opponent you can beat is something to be proud of. You should be proud of when you beat an opponent you cannot beat. And it was amazing, sahyung.”

“…What wind is blowing here?”

Yoon Jong went stiff for a moment, as if unsure of the compliment from this guy who always nags had brought him.

However, for a moment, a brighter smile formed on his lips.

‘This is a win.’

There was a strange sense of accomplishment that he had never felt before, even when he achieved good results in martial arts tournaments or when he fought against others and engaged in a fierce battle with the Demonic Sect. He was filled with sentiment as he opened his mouth.

“I…”

“Did your best?”

“…”

But the gaze of Yoon Jong slowly turned to the side when he heard this voice come to him, and before he knew it, Tang Soso was standing there, smiling.

“Let’s go when you are done.”

“…Would there be any…”

Yoon Jong followed her like a cow being led to a slaughterhouse. All of Mount Hua’s disciples laughed at the sight. However, their eyes weren’t smiling. Whether it was sasuk or sajae, everyone felt a lot from Yoon Jong.

“The sword is what spoke.”

Baek Cheon stared at Yoon Jong’s back and mumbled.

‘Honestly, I am jealous.’

That unwavering, upright will to not fall and that determination.

Of course, he knew it wasn’t right to harbor such feelings.

But what could he do? These were his genuine feelings. He quickly suppressed his embarrassed feelings of jealousy and tried to hide them.

But.

“Look at our Dong-Ryong’s face. Now, now.”

“…”

Ah, this sick ghost.

Baek Cheon’s face distorted, and he let out a sigh.

“Tsk. Anyway, there are more people out there. If only you were greedy for them too.”

“No, it isn’t like…!”

Baek Cheon, whose face was red, was about to speak out when Chung Myung continued.

“Sasuk must do what he has to do.”

Baek Cheon, who heard that, finally calmed down and then sighed as he looked into the eyes of Chung Myung.

“Really, that fucking bastard….”

He knew. If Yoon Jong must carry the future of Mount Hua on his back, then Baek Cheon must support the current Mount Hua.

And who was more important could not be ranked here. Both were equally important.

Baek Cheon quietly looked at the third-class Chung disciples. Everyone was vividly remembering the victories of Jo Gul and Yoon Jong.

‘I see hope in them.’

Jo Gul proved that the current class and age weren’t all. And Yoon Jong showed that talent could be overcome if one pushed themselves.

So, is there any reason for them not to be excited?

“Such damned men.”

He had created such an atmosphere before Baek Cheon had even stepped in, so now he couldn’t lose even if he wanted to, right?

Both were absolutely amazing. But he was their sasuk, and he couldn’t lose now.

“See clearly now, guys.”

Baek Cheon headed to the stage, gripping the plum blossom sword tightly. No, he was trying to head to it.

“You are going?”

Chung Myung’s grumpy voice called out to him, and Baek Cheon responded as if it were obvious.

“We need to keep this momentum going.”

“Well, not bad. But…”

“Huh?”

“But I don’t think it will turn out how sasuk thinks.”

Feeling a bit ominous, Baek Cheon glanced at Chung Myung. Whenever this guy said something like this, something unexpected would happen.

“Shall we change the order?”

“No, well…”

Chung Myung chuckled and shook his head.

“That will not have much meaning either. You can go. Let’s win with flying colors.”

Baek Cheon looked at him in confusion, not knowing what was happening.

If he was going to say this, why stop him?

“Go now.”

“Yes.”

As Baek Cheon walked to the stage, looking unsure, Chung Myung smiled bitterly.

“It isn’t prestigious because it is a wonder. It is prestigious because it won.”

Now Baek Cheon should understand that.

Heo Sanja was the first to greet Mu Yeon as he came down the stage with a cruel glance.

Mu Yeon couldn’t ignore it and stood there. Heo Sanja, who had been glaring at Mu Yeon for a long time, spoke as if he were chewing on something.

“Did you train?”

“…”

“This is a matter of the Taoist sect, and your personal growth is more important than the sect?”

A voice that felt cruel.

Even though Mu Yeon was a first-class disciple with a strength worthy of being titled, he couldn’t ignore the wrath of the elder. He sighed briefly and quietly closed his eyes.

But Mu Yeon’s eyes soon opened, and he didn’t even waver.

“Elder. What is the meaning of the honor earned like that?”

Heo Sanja’s face distorted at those calm words.

“…What did you say just now?”

Mu Yeon shook his head slightly.

“Honor is meaningful only when earned in the right manner. Isn’t the honor gained by claiming to have won over a loss or hiding one’s mistakes more humiliating than pointing a finger when one commits a mistake?”

The face of Heo Sanja trembled in rage, and Mu Yeon continued steadfastly.

“I didn’t step down because my honor was more important. I stepped down because honor, in any form, is important. If I hide my mistakes by saying they cannot notice, how can I even call myself a proud disciple of Wudang?”

Heo Sanja gritted his teeth and glared at Mu Yeon.

“Did you say everything?”

“Elder.”

As the atmosphere turned hostile, Mu Jin quietly stepped forward and tried to dissuade him.

“There are eyes to see. Just calm down for now.”

“…”

“And from what I heard, what Mu Yeon said wasn’t wrong.”

“What?”

“They wouldn’t have been unaware of Mu Yeon’s mistake.”

Even if the others didn’t, one person would surely know.

Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon.

There was no way he didn’t see what Mu Jin did.

“If Mu Yeon didn’t concede now, he might have suffered greater humiliation. Haven’t you heard enough rumors about people who looked down on Mount Hua and got disgraced?”

“This…!”

But Heo Sanja’s anger didn’t subside. He gritted his teeth.

“How can one be this foolish!”

Weren’t they all speaking nonsense?

How would it be known?

Morality was talk for those who have too much time. And justice, they said, ultimately came from strength.

Those who had difficulty speaking could not speak of morality, and those who were powerless could not speak of justice. Little did they know that everything they were saying now came from the wealth and fame of the sect.

‘So isolated from this world.’

It might seem plausible to pursue Taoism by just training in the sword in a pure world. But in the end, this was the same as growing up in a greenhouse without seeing the harsh winds.

“Under the name of the prestigious sect that our ancestors shed their blood to build, weaklings who only speak of nonsense have grown up.”

The eyes of Heo Sanja darkened.

He didn’t have the patience to discuss this any longer, and this debate wouldn’t bring him the answer either.

What mattered now wasn’t what was right.

What was important was that he needed to secure a win. That was the intention and meaning of the sect leader who sent him here.

“Elder. The next opponent is coming.”

Heo Sanja looked at the stage with a cold face. He saw Baek Cheon, who was slowly approaching, and said,

“You stay in the back.”

“Yes, elder.”

The answer came back, but Heo Sanja didn’t even glance at Mu Yeon till the end, focusing solely on Baek Cheon.

‘Righteous Sword of Hua?’

Excluding Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon, it was said that Baek Cheon was the best disciple. Of course, he wasn’t the one with the highest records in past tournaments. Still, he knew he had defeated Southern Edge’s Jin Geum-Ryong and achieved amazing results in the bandit subjugation.

More than anything else…

‘The people we have faced till now were all third-class disciples.’

Even though they were under the same title of the Five Swords, surely the difference in stages could not be ignored. It is clear that Baek Cheon would be at least one step higher than Jo Gul and Yoon Jong.

Baek Cheon, who came to the center, bowed.

“Baek Cheon, a second-class disciple of Mount Hua.”

He glanced at Wudang and then looked at Mu Jin.

“I do not think that I have the right to choose my opponent, but as a warrior, I don’t think it is blameworthy of me to have someone I want as an opponent. If you don’t mind, I would like to spar with the great warrior Mu Jin.”

All the Wudang disciples turned to Mu Jin.

It might be arrogant for a second-class disciple to call for a first-class disciple of Wudang, but that wasn’t the situation here at all.

Considering all that Mount Hua had shown thus far, and this man’s position, the request for a spar with Mu Jin wasn’t so odd.

“Hmm.”

Mu Jin, lost in thought, touched his sword.

If he couldn’t fight against Chung Myung, shouldn’t he at least fight with the next strongest one?

“I will accept the…”

It was then.

“Wait.”

Heo Sanja interrupted Mu Jin. Even though it was a low voice, it pierced through everyone’s ears.