Return of the Mount Hua Sect

Hyun Jong’s eyes, as he looked at Chung Myung, were filled with despair.

The gazes of the elders and the other disciples beside him were not much different.

“That…”

Hyun Jong, about to say something, covered his face with both hands in silence.

“Chung Myung.”

“Uh?”

Chung Myung, who was kneeling in front of the door with his hands up, responded.

“… I am asking this just for clarity.”

“Yes.”

“… you do know that you are a Taoist, right?”

“Of course.”

He had lived in a Taoist sect for years!

“Right… you know… you do know, right… I…”

Hyun Jong just looked up blankly at the ceiling as if he couldn’t speak further.

This Chung Myung wasn’t the sChung Myung who kicked out Yang Kyung in front of many people.

After that incident, Chung Myung escaped on the way to the pavilion. He nearly ended up killing Yang Kyung, but then he was caught and dragged away by Baek Cheon and Un Geom.

If the two had noticed a little later that Chung Myung was gone, Yang Kyung would have been lying in the Physician’s Hall, unable to leave Mount Hua yet. There would have been a new patient in the hands of Tang Soso…. Ah, no. He must have been receiving treatment from her.

“Please… please, let us live like Taoists. Please….”

“No, sect leader! Just listen to me! That bastard dared to ignore Mount Hua?”

“You are the one who ignores Mount Hua the most! You!”

“Me? Ehh, as if.”

“Ughhh!!”

“Hehe. It seems like there is smisunderstanding, but I just tried to settle things amicably. I don’t know if I can….”

“Arms! Raise your arms straight! Arms up!”

“… tsk!”

Chung Myung pursed his lips and raised his arms up again.

Hyun Jong felt as if his heart was sinking.

‘The one being called the best in the world right now.’

The person people were flocking to see the most right now wasn’t Tang Gunak or Hyun Jong, but Chung Myung.

After briefly greeting Hyun Jong, everyone was looking for Chung Myung. They were eager to see who this rumored Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon was.

But with the guy acting like this…

“As people get older, they need to mature a bit…”

“Ah, I have to say something regarding that.”

“Uh?”

“Hehe. No matter what, that seems like a difficult thing to do. Wouldn’t there be peace in the hearts if we gave up on changing each other?”

“… Chung Myung.”

“Yes?”

“Raise your arms closer, too.”

“…”

“Arms, arms! Closer!”

Chung Myung raised his arms closer with a sullen expression. At that moment, a disapproving voice cfrom one side.

“No, he could be like that! Why are you punishing him as if he made the mistake? Chung Myung let it down. Your arms must hurt more.”

Hyun Young seemed a bit unhappy with that, wondering if a warrior around the age of Chung Myung would end up with sore arms after being punished like this.

“Because you protect him like that, he is getting worse!”

“What are you saying?”

As Hyun Young looked at him in anger, Hyun Jong flinched.

‘Was I a bit too harsh?’

Hyun Young spoke with blazing eyes.

“When did Chung Myung get worse!? From what I saw, from the moment I saw him for the first tto now, he has been consistent! He hasn’t changed even a bit at all!”

“…”

Uh… right… okay. Sure. He had been this way from the start.

“And I think he has gotten a bit better. He only hit the man once and left him, right?”

“… truly a proud moment.”

Be proud, you bastard.

Hyun Jong was deeply saddened by the fact that he couldn’t bear to speak curses, being the sect leader of Mount Hua.

“And it’s even more troublesto listen and hold back! How dare you say something like that in Mount Hua? As Chung Myung said, he wasn’t just looking down on the outsiders, calling them barbarians. They were all ignoring and ridiculing Mount Hua, which formed an alliance with them.”

“Yes!”

After acknowledging Chung Myung’s correctness, Hyun Jong glared at them with fiery eyes.

“…just what…you…”

Chung Myung bowed his head once again. At this, Mount Hua’s Five Swords, who were watching, sighed.

‘Oh my god, to make Chung Myung back down with just a look.’

‘As expected of the sect leader!’

‘And… that’s it?’

What’s so impressive about a sect leader subduing a disciple with just a look? If the disciple was Chung Myung, then it would mean a lot more.

“Just be quiet.”

At that moment, Hyun Sang sighed softly and stepped forward to stop Hyun Young. Hyun Young was losing his temper.

“No, did I say something wrong?”

“Be quiet! Uh? Quiet!”

Hyun Young complained in anger.

As Hyun Jong looked at the elder and the third-class disciple who was pouting, his heart started to burn up to the point it was turning into powder.

Un Am, observing the two elders bickering, smiled and said,

“Sect leader.”

“Um?”

“I rarely side with Elder Hyun Young, but this time, what he said isn’t wrong. I don’t think Chung Myung did anything wrong.”

“…he left Mount Hua to hit the man again?”

“That’s not wrong; it’s an act of being human… ahem.”

No, well, let’s put that aside for now.

“This is something we need to be sure and accurate about.”

Un Am spoke in a serious tone.

“This isn’t just about how people view the Palaces. Even if they don’t feel positive about them, if they respected Mount Hua, they wouldn’t have dared to speak like that here.”

“True! If this was Shaolin, those bastards wouldn’t have said a thing…”

“Be quiet for now!”

“You be quiet!”

“Shut up now. This isn’t the place for you to speak! Brat!”

Chung Myung, bombarded with constant criticism, pouted and stayed quiet.

“…I did nothing to deserve this treatment.”

“Stop acting sad!”

“Tsk, it doesn’t work either.”

The talks continued, uncaring about Chung Myung’s mumbling.

“First, it would have been a chance to clearly communicate the stance of Mount Hua regarding the North Sea Ice Palace and Nanman Beast Palace who cto Mount Hua. Suppose Chung Myung had arrived a bit later. In that case, Mount Hua might have been considered just another sect in the Central Plains that rejects them, even after they call this way for us.”

There was a large wall between both sides. Although Mount Hua managed to make friends with those beyond the wall, it hadn’t yet changed for many.

And relationships were things that were constantly worked on.

If one was lazy about the fact that they had already made a good impression and then treated them with neglect, you never knew when and how drastically the feelings of the two Palaces might start to change.

“Although it is a bit extreme, Chung Myung’s actions would have been a clear sign to the Ice Palace and Beast Palace. At least a sign that Mount Hua, unlike the other Central Plains people, is someone who really can stand by their choice.”

“… there is no clearer way to say it.”

“Isn’t the problem that we were too honest about it?”

“… one has to be appropriate in those matters.”

However, it was clear that at least this action of Chung Myung had the result of uniting the Heavenly Friends Alliance.

“Sect leader.”

“Continue.”

Un Am nodded at Hyun Jong’s words.

“The Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace and the Nanman Beast Palace have immense faith in Mount Hua, but the leaders’ will doesn’t always have to coincide with the will of the sect, right?”

“Yes.”

Hyun Jong nodded.

It might not have been a nice story to hear from the point of view of Mount Hua’s Sect leader, but Hyun Jong didn’t show a bit of sadness.

“Perhaps the Beast Palace and Ice Palace are also anxious about Mount Hua. And considering how we spent years not being in contact, there is no way the distrust vanishes so easily.”

“So, you are saying we should show it and not say it?”

“Yes. That is the right way.”

Hyun Jong’s strange gaze turned to Chung Myung.

Of course, Hyun Jong also had similar thoughts and supported Chung Myung on the spot. But…

‘Did that guy think before he moved?’

He already knew that Chung Myung was not so stupid as to let his body decide the actions before his head. And even if Chung Myung’s body moved fast, he was smart… it made no sense.

“And, one more thing. The most important thing is that it served as a warning to other sects.”

“Hmm?”

Un Am spoke firmly.

“People in the world only know that a new alliance has been created, but they don’t know what kind of alliance it is.”

“Yes.”

“If the Palaces and Mount Hua on both sides had stepped back in this fight, there would have been a place that had decided to look down on our Alliance.”

“…”

“Don’t we know that, though? Favor isn’t always returned as favor. It takes the right strength and will to receive back favors which have been given.”

“… that is right.”

It was an odd experience. How meaningless the favor of the powerless act would have been.

The disciples of Mount Hua, recalling that, went stiff.

“They need to be shown clearly. The Heavenly Friends Alliance isn’t a place which allows any rudeness.”

“Right! And if we stayed still, we would have been done!”

Those who were listening intently frowned at how Chung Myung joined in.

Chung Myung, not caring about the gaze, continued.

“… did everyone decide on something without informing me?”

“… wait now, he doesn’t think he didn’t do anything wrong, right?”

Hyun Jong sighed.

There was nothing wrong with what Hyun Young said. He has been consistent for sure, not a single thing changed from the start to now.

And Chung Myung spoke.

“That is what the world is like.”

“Uh?”

“Once you start being looked down on, the problems will continue to rise. As a human being, I tend to judge people when I see them in front of me. I will think, ‘These people can tolerate all this, right?’”

“…”

“So, we have to get it right the first time. Well, then, the no-gooders will not try to take up a fight. So, grab him by the collar right away!”

“…That is enough.”

“Yes.”

Hyun Jong sighed.

The truth.

The problem was that even the right words from him were making Hyun Jong’s temper reach a fever pitch.

Hyun Jong, feeling bitter, looked at the other disciples. Then he closed his eyes, thinking, and opened them. His eyes were clear as if he had thought about what he wanted to say.

“It is natural for the attitude to vary depending on the position of a person or the sect. But the position of Mount Hua had changed so much and so swiftly in a short duration that anyone would be confused.”

“…”

“But in times such as these, one needs to calm down, too. When you don’t know what to do, think of one thing.”

Everyone looked at Hyun Jong.

“You don’t have to try to do anything to change things.”

It was a statement that might have seemed a bit unexpected.

Hyun Jong smiled as he looked straight ahead at the disciples who wanted to listen to his next words.

“You are all doing good enough. The proper actions you should take are already in what you have been taught in the past. Where your heart goes is the path that Mount Hua will step onto, so believe in yourself and don’t be shaken by anyone.”

“Yes, sect leader!”

“We will remember that!”

Hyun Jong nodded.

Such things would happen a lot more in the future. As Mount Hua’s influence grew and the more work they had to do, the more such choices would be forced onto them.

One could not always make the best decision. However, if one knew where they had to go in the future, even if it was a bit of a crooked and tough path, would they not be able to cthere eventually?

“Change is bound to be accompanied by anxiousness.”

Hyun Jong’s words calmed the disciples a bit.

“Let’s move ahead, firm in our beliefs. Believe in what has been done so far.”

“Yes, sect leader!”

Hyun Jong quietly laughed at the confident response.

“Finally, tomorrow is the day. Let us all do our best.”

“Yes.”

Finally, the start of the Heavenly Friends Alliance had come.