Return of the Mount Hua Sect

Hwa-Um County.

“Now, now! Lead it all in!”

“You cannot drop even a single thing! They are all precious!”

“Since the money being given is nice, don’t damage a single item! You all get it?”

“Do not worry!”

There was a huge mountain of luggage piled on the road to Mount Hua. Then, sturdy men began to climb the mountain path with determined looks, carrying large bundles of luggage one by one.

“Can we all get this done by today?”

“I think we’re short on people.”

“Ugh. This is supposed to reach there by today.”

The merchants, nervous and forgetting to guard their expressions, stomped their feet.

“Is everything all right?”

“Young master!”

At that moment, Hwang Jongi approached and inquired, prompting the other merchants to bow their heads.

Hwang Jongi, who acknowledged their greetings with a light nod, looked up at the piled luggage and asked.

“How is it?”

“The supplies are all ready. But it isn’t easy to transport all these goods up.”

“We did hire a large number of laborers, but there aren’t many who are capable of carrying the luggage to the Mount Hua Sect. This job requires them to be strong and fit…”

“Hmm.”

Hwang Jongi stroked his chin as he looked at the mountain of luggage that still had to be moved, and one of the merchants asked.

“Before, when goods were brought here, the people of Mount Hua would come and move them, but this time…”

“Tsk.”

Before they could even finish speaking, Hwang Jongi frowned and clicked his tongue. The merchants all stopped at this.

“That is because the Mount Hua sect always took care of our situation. What kind of merchant moves goods only to the middle and tells their customer to take the rest of the way?”

“…t-that.”

“Even if that is how it worked until now, it cannot continue like this. The people of Mount Hua also don’t have as much time on their hands as in the past. Aren’t they a sect after all?”

“Yes, right. Of course.”

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the Mount Hua of the past when they began to trade, and the Mount Hua of now were practically different sects.

The merchants could attest to this, having observed the disciples of the Mount Hua sect moving goods every time. If today were the first transaction, the disciples of Mount Hua would have descended to move the goods while grumbling and upset, but they would still do it.

‘But the status of Mount Hua has continued to rise.’

The newly enlightened merchants looked up at Mount Hua with newfound interest. Who would have imagined that a sect, which seemed like it would close its doors and collapse, would end up this strong in just a couple of years?

“I think I can see how outstanding the merchant Lord’s insight was.”

“Right.”

Hwang Jongi nodded his head but decided to keep his nagging thoughts to himself.

‘I will have to think a little bit about whether my father’s insight was special or if it was the insight of Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon that was special.’

While the others noted the growth of Mount Hua, Hwang Jongi was seeing something else. Who would have imagined that the young Taoist he met a couple of years back could shake the world so much?

‘Father’s true insight was in recognizing the potential in people.’

Hwang Jongi only thought that Chung Myung was unique, a bit out of the ordinary, but never considered him to be special.

But since his father had recognized the special qualities and didn’t hesitate to invest heavily in Mount Hua, which was failing, the current Eunha Merchants Union came to hold great deals in hand.

The money they would receive in exchange for supplying all the accumulated goods was shocking, but compared to the money they received from the trade led by Mount Hua, weren’t the other dealings all minor?

“Listen carefully now.”

“Yes, young master.”

“From now on, as much as you can, try to avoid taking up the time of the Mount Hua sect. You must be aware that we need to get used to it. It isn’t the duty of the merchant to demand something which cannot be requested elsewhere to be done here in the name of friendship.”

“I-I will keep that in mind.”

“Merchant Yu.”

“Yes!”

“Hire more laborers.”

“Uh? But we brought those who were suitable for the work from around.”

“Send the workers who aren’t carrying loads up the mountainside. Wouldn’t it be alright to take turns when it comes to lifting the luggage?”

“Ah…! That will happen.”

“Don’t necessarily think of dividing into two, but check a suitable place along the way and create a gathering point. There will be more cases of transporting goods to Mount Hua in the future, so we need to come up with a way to continuously utilize it.”

“I will do as you command, young master!”

Hwang Jongi shook his head and continued the request.

“Be careful that no item gets damaged. I think we will need to provide a steady supply of items while this meeting happens and make sure there are no problems.”

“Yes!”

“Head back to work!”

Hwang Jongi smiled as he watched them run.

‘Mount Hua’s start.’

Something he was extremely happy about.

In the past, Eunha seemed to be secretly helping Mount Hua. But now, the Eunha merchant was once again in the position of receiving help from Mount Hua.

As a merchant, his priority was ultimately to gain reputation, so there was no reason to be bothered by this fact, but…

‘Soon, other merchant unions will line up at Mount Hua and cause chaos.’

And as expected.

He heard that Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon handed over the Beijing Yunnan tea sales rights to another merchant.

Compared to the deals which the Eunha Merchant Group made, it was extremely small, but if this continued, there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t be pushed back at some point.

Friendship and business were two different things. Eunha’s merchants must also prove their worth as merchants of Mount Hua.

“This ceremony will be a chance for that.”

Not just Mount Hua, but other sects that could be thought of as famous, prestigious, or anything close to strong would gather there. There was no more suitable place to show off the strength of Eunha merchants.

‘And as Mount Hua will also use the incident as a chance to solidify their position in the world.’

Based on a new alliance called the Heavenly Friends Alliance, not one created based on the Nine Great Sects.

“It is windy.”

Hwang Jongi mumbled softly and turned his gaze to the east. The wind was blowing towards Mount Hua. It was this heavy wind which had never been seen before.

Kangho was quiet.

They said it was always agitated by events big and small. Still, in recent times…, at least for the past 10 years, nothing major has happened that made people interested in it.

But recently, one name began to bother all the silent sects.

-Mount Hua defeated Southern Edge?

-I heard Mount Hua achieved the best results in the Worldly Martial Arts Tournament.

-I heard Mount Hua cut down the army of the Ten Thousand People clan? Does it even make sense?

-It is said that Mount Hua managed to subjugate Green Forest’s main base! And the Great Star Bandits at that!

-M-Mount Hua won a spar against Wudang! Even the first-class disciples appeared for Wudang, and the second-class disciples of Mount Hua stepped in! And didn’t they say that Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon defeated an elder of Wudang?

Mount Hua, Mount Hua, Mount Hua.

Anywhere he went, the name of Mount Hua constantly appeared, along with stories of what Mount Hua had accomplished.

“If this continues, won’t the Mount Hua sect really turn into the best sect in the world?”

“Does it make sense? With those prominent sects!”

“It isn’t something anyone could even think of! Who would have thought that Mount Hua would turn out like this a couple of years back? If someone had told me 2 years ago that second-class disciples of Mount Hua would spar against first-class disciples of Wudang, I would have said they’d be beaten to a pulp.”

“…Right.”

“You never know. One really doesn’t know, right?”

The attention of the world was all on Mount Hua.

Some were happy with this new, strong sect stepping into the world, while others felt moved at the sound of a once-forgotten name. And some didn’t like the emergence of a new sect that was shaking the balance.

However, no matter what people in the world felt, no one could deny that the sect currently attracting the most attention was Mount Hua.

Although Mount Hua wasn’t the strongest sect in the world right now, it was clear that it was the sect with the most attention being directed to it.

And…

There was news that drove a wedge into that.

-Mount Hua struck a blow to the other sects!

-Mount Hua joins hands with the Tang family, Beast Palace, and the North Sea Ice Palace to create this new alliance called the Heavenly Friends Alliance.

-A ceremony is being scheduled to announce its name in Shaanxi, Mount Hua!

Those who heard that for the first time laughed.

But when the same thing was said 2-3 times, people who had seen the existence shine could no longer laugh this off.

“A new alliance? What does this mean? Is the Murim Alliance not active?”

“It isn’t the Murim Alliance but the Heavenly Friends Alliance! Isn’t it said that it isn’t a place where the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families come together, but Mount Hua and the Tang families are joining hands and coming under a new alliance?”

“Did something like this ever happen before?”

“No! It didn’t! In the first place, this is an alliance newly formed and wasn’t Mount Hua actually in the Nine Great Sects once?”

“R-right.”

“It is odd for those in the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families to create a separate union!”

“T-then what happens?”

“Do you people realize?”

People couldn’t even figure out how to react to this.

Sichuan Tang family, the lord of Sichuan, the Beast Palace lord, the ruler of Yunnan, and the North Sea Ice Palace’s king. Who could have thought that the Mount Hua sect, which was right now the most famous sect in the world, could form such an alliance?

No one could have predicted what kind of impact this would have on the Nine Great Sects.

“Then are they turning into enemies of the Nine Great Sects?”

“Y-You brat! What makes them the enemy if they form an alliance? It’s just a matter of belonging there.”

“B-But if you aren’t going to do that, there is no need to form an alliance. I guess it is a little odd.”

“It would be amazing if those sects all gathered together, but how can they be compared to the old sects? The Nine Sects? And from what I know, Mount Hua also sent a message to the Nine Great Sects. If they were going to be enemies, would they have invited them?”

“True, but…”

But most of them felt it.

This wasn’t a simple thing.

‘Will the Nine Great Sects be silent?’

‘Then will the Tang family be excluded from the Five Great Families?’

‘If two of the Five Palaces join in, what will happen to the others? The Potala Palace isn’t too far, but it doesn’t like involving itself in Kangho, so what will the South Palace do?’

Recently, Kangho was like a silent lake.

But Mount Hua continued to throw stones into that quiet lake, letting the ripples grow bigger and making the waves.

“Well, then, when is the ceremony going to be held?”

“Around the end of this month.”

“This month’s end? Isn’t it too early?”

“Right.”

“T-this cannot be the time to talk anymore!”

“Where are you going?”

“To Shaanxi!”

“Uh? To Shaanxi?”

“The opening ceremony, but they won’t kick out the people who came to witness it, right? It could be a historic moment. I need to see this with my own eyes!”

“You want to go that far?”

“Do not think about stopping me! I am going!”

It was as if Mount Hua was taking a huge step into its ever-growing reputation.

Even those who didn’t care in response to the rapidly changing situation, and those who did all recognized it for sure.

The balance of power was being shaken little by little.

The fact that the order held in Kangho began to shake once again after the war with the Demonic Sect.

Even words held power. The news that had been spreading quietly spread like wildfire at some point and soon turned into a big storm that began to sweep the central plains.

No one could easily predict how far this raging typhoon stirred up by Mount Hua would take Kangho.