Return of the Mount Hua Sect

There was a whispering sound.

“Challenger?”

“That… um, right. If this happened, it would be Wudang challenging Mount Hua, right?”

“Ehh, this man. Even so, could that happen? Did it even make sense?”

“Huh? Did I say something wrong? Isn’t this a situation, that situation! To put it bluntly, would they have come here and asked for a secret spar if Wudang didn’t care about Mount Hua?”

“That was right… but it was Wudang!”

The merchants might have whispered quietly enough for the two sects not to hear, but there was no way that the words escaped the ears of Heo Sanja.

‘This!’

Heo Sanja lightly gritted his teeth without realizing it. He went directly to the merchants there and spoke to create an unavoidable situation.

This was because the elders of Mount Hua wouldn’t have expected them to act like this with so many troops. He thought that they wouldn’t be able to escape his trap.

But…

‘That damned goblin!’

This young Taoist had completely twisted his plans.

Of course, if one thought a little about it, it might have been an improvisation that anyone could come up with.

But, when Wudang personally descended with their disciples and asked for a spar in person, this man calmly looked at the situation and instantly turned it back?

‘This has to be nonsense.’

Not to mention the warriors, even the elders of most sects would be nervous upon hearing the name of Wudang. It was clear that those who spoke as if Wudang was nothing would go stiff at the sight of Heo Sanja or their disciples.

Then how did this guy do it? How was he so calm to trap Wudang in return?

‘I knew he wasn’t an ordinary guy from the start.’

Heo Sanja let out a low sigh.

Words that were free, like water, once said, couldn’t be taken back.

No matter what words he tried to say now, the challenge that was stuck in the minds of those merchants wouldn’t be eased.

“Challenge…”

The moment Heo Sanja opened his mouth to try to figure things out, Chung Myung rushed in again.

“Yes, it was expected. Actually, although Wudang is famous, its history is short. Since Mount Hua is the senior of Taoist teachings, we could surely help you with that… upp! Upppup! W-what… eup!”

In the end, the group of Baek Cheon, who were holding onto Chung Myung, became scared and covered his mouth.

Baek Cheon even stuffed a cloth into his mouth and wrapped the rest around the mouth of Chung Myung.

“Haa… hahaa. I apologize. This guy must have lost it in the heat… ah, so hot. Hot.”

As if waiting, a cold wind continued to blow.

However, Baek Cheon continued to fan himself as if it was hot.

Heo Sanja’s face contorted while watching this. It wasn’t that noticeable, but the smile he had until then had slowly vanished.

‘This man…’

The last thing Wudang wanted to hear from Mount Hua was about history.

Mount Hua was a traditional sect that could be called one of the first sects of Taoism in the Central Plains. Among them, it was a place that held the legacy of one of the Seven Sons of Taoism.

Now that all the sects established by the others had declined, the Taoist tradition inherited by Jeon Jin’s legacy originated from Mount Hua.

On the other hand, Wudang was founded by the Elder Sam Bong in his later years, and it didn’t have much history.

It was something he could ignore, but it left a bitter aftertaste, so he didn’t want this to be mentioned. But this damned bastard picked that out for discussion.

And that too in a place where many could hear.

“Haha… I apologize, elder. I failed to teach him properly since we are out too often….”

“….”

Was it said that one hated the sister-in-law who stopped you over the mother-in-law who hit you?

As Heo Sanja watched this scene of a person trying to apologize, anger surged within him. If this damned bastard had openly looked down on Wudang or if these elders were just bluffing, he wouldn’t have felt so upset.

But those people were slowly saying things that made the others laugh. Heo Sanja’s discipline was gradually being undermined with each trick.

“It… is fine. I am not foolish enough to get angry at someone as young as this disciple for something said without knowing the story.”

“Thank you so much for understanding….”

“Puaaah!”

At that moment, the cloth covering Chung Myung’s mouth tore and flew into the air.

“What? What now? What about it?”

“Ahhh! Just shut your damn mouth, you moron!”

Baek Cheon tried to cover Chung Myung’s mouth again with both hands, but Chung Myung bit his hand.

“Ackkk!”

When Baek Cheon grabbed his hand and stepped back in pain, Chung Myung didn’t miss the chance to speak quickly.

“No, Sasuk doesn’t seem to know much, but you, of all people, said I spoke something wrong? You really need to know the history of the sects! I wasn’t going to say this, but wasn’t Elder Sam Bong also a disciple of Mount Hua? He climbed the mountain of Shaanxi to study, and based on that, he founded the Wudang Sect….”

“Mouth! His mouth!”

Now even the other disciples who had grabbed the arms and legs of Chung Myung covered his mouth.

Yoon Jong and Jo Gul covered Chung Myung’s mouth while Yu Yiseol hit him on the head. Even Baek Ah slapped Chung Myung twice.

“Euppp! Euppppp!”

Chung Myung opened his eyes and tried to resist, but the other disciples looked more desperate this time.

When Chung Myung was finally subdued, Hyun Sang turned to the sky and sighed as if in deep regret.

“… I-I apologize. This kid doesn’t know… I will personally teach him.”

Heo Sanja didn’t even respond to this.

They say that when people are angry, they even forget to speak, and this is exactly how he feels now.

The reason his temperature rose all the way wasn’t because Chung Myung was speaking nonsense. It was because what he said was true.

They also did not know exactly everything about the initiation. However, this was a clear story among the circulating rumors.

‘Damn it.’

That was why he didn’t want to talk about it, but in the end, this was a fight of Taoists that would bring their roots into question.

Heo Sanja’s eyes scanned the gathered merchants. When he saw how subtle their faces were, he sighed.

‘I thought only swords were scary things.’

Given the miraculous skills Chung Myung demonstrated in the Sword Tomb and his performance in martial arts, there was no way one wouldn’t think of Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon as the best in the Central Plains.

But, after what he witnessed that day, the most terrifying thing about this man was his three-inch tongue.

Heo Sanja looked at the elders of Mount Hua and gritted his teeth inwardly.

‘This…’

Unlike when one felt bad and did not know what to do, Hyun Young, who had stepped back, had a look of relief.

He didn’t know if he failed to hide the expression or if this was done purposefully for the people to see, but either way, the man looked annoyed.

Crack!

At that moment, with a sound from behind, Heo Sanja flinched, coming to his senses.

‘I am a fool… what am I doing to get caught in such an obvious situation?’

Normally, he wouldn’t have been this annoyed. There was something irritating about this young Taoist which made the other people enraged.

This meant that the same words others would say were being relayed oddly by this man.

“Phew.”

Heo Sanja calmed down with a short exhale and looked at Mount Hua.

If you fight with an angry mind, it will be difficult to achieve the desired results. Now, he had to calm down first; that way, the disciples would also quell their anger.

“Hahaha. That’s right. That’s why I came here with the mindset of learning something. How is it? I know that Mount Hua hasn’t had much interaction with some Taoist sects, so wouldn’t it be a great help if this gives you the chance to mingle with other Wudang disciples?”

“Hmm.”

Hyun Sang seemed a bit worried about this.

“Thank you for the offer.”

Heo Sanja’s eyes twitched at this.

‘Are they turning us down?’

It couldn’t be.

“But, at a place where the presence of the sect leader isn’t there, this isn’t something we get to decide.”

“Even if the sect leader of Mount Hua was here, he wouldn’t have opposed it. More than anything, isn’t this for the disciples?”

Hyun Sang shook his head at the words of Heo Sanja.

“It isn’t like that. Mount Hua is a sect that never decides anything on its own. I understand your proposal to us, so I hope that you will give me time to discuss it with the disciples.”

“…You have to discuss this with the disciples? As far as I know, you two are elders of Mount Hua…”

“True.”

“But is that even needed?”

“I don’t know how Wudang does it, but Mount Hua is like this. Just because we lived longer doesn’t mean we know more, and just because you are in a higher position, it doesn’t mean you are wiser.”

Heo Sanja was at a loss for words.

‘What kind of sect is this that consults its disciples despite being an elder and that too for every small and major problem?’

Something he could never understand.

“So, give us a moment.”

“Yes. Please do.”

Hyun Sang bowed and stepped back. As Hyun Sang approached the back, the disciples gathered around him. Indeed, his words weren’t false.

“Haha.”

Seo Sanja looked at the scene and burst out laughing out of extreme discomfort at the situation. He, too, turned to his disciples.

“Elder.”

Mu Jin stepped ahead and spoke. He wanted to say many things, but Heo Sanja had just one thing.

“Mu Jin.”

“Yes.”

“They would accept this choice at any cost.”

“Yes.”

“So….”

He bit his lip before continuing.

“Don’t forget what was planned. Make sure to completely crush them!”

Mu Jin flinched at the firm voice.

“…you mean it?”

“Yes.”

“But they are second-class disciples. Of course, there are a couple of first-class ones, but…”

“You didn’t understand.”

“…uh?”

“You needed to crush them down without worrying about the reason or the morality.”

Mu Jin couldn’t find anything to say to that.

‘This was my first time seeing the elder like this.’

Heo Sanja’s face was normally very gentle, but then it was like a general at war. When he looked at that face, he couldn’t think of anything else.

“I understand.”

After hearing the answer, Heo Sanja glanced at Mount Hua. The disciples of Mount Hua were gathered there talking.

-Could one stop flowing water?

‘Sect leader.’

He didn’t know why the sect leader said that until he saw this with his own eyes. Elder Heo Do had seen this without meeting them in person.

‘I didn’t know if this was the right flow.’

However, it was certain that the force of this flow was shocking. Water eventually flowed from any place. Whether it was in the right direction or wrong, it joined the river.

‘I would stop it here, even if this meant causing bloodshed.’

Heo Sanja’s eyes held killing intent.