Return of the Mount Hua Sect

“Ice Palace!?”

“They are really coming.”

The people of the Central Plains gulped and turned their gaze towards the gate.

The North Sea Ice Palace, similar to the Nanman Beast Palace, was said to reign like the kings of the North Sea.

They finally made their appearance here, in Mount Hua, after so long.

The fact that the North Sea Ice Palace had conflicts was known. But, just the act of them coming here from such a distance had a different impact.

Eyes filled with anticipation watched as the warriors of the North Sea Ice Palace appeared along the open path.

“…Ohhh.”

“T-those are North Sea Ice Palace people…”

No one dared to speak loudly, and they all restrained themselves from any rash actions.

The appearance of the Nanman Beast Palace was shocking but not frightening. It was merely different and intriguing.

However, the aura emanating from the warriors of the North Sea Ice Palace was entirely different.

‘They are so perfect.’

‘The famous swordsmen of the North Sea…’

The swordsmen of the North Sea Ice Palace had a reputation for being cold and swift like the cold winds of the North Sea. And the Ice Palace troops gathered there were all personally proving that.

The sight of them dressed in white robes, with cold looks and perfect line movement, was enough to make onlookers put aside their feelings about the North Sea and admire them.

Even those who doubted whether it was right for these Palaces to be mentioned alongside the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families due to their long isolation would have to nod their heads seeing the state of the North Sea now.

Chak! Chak! Chak!

The steps continued.

It seemed like they were marching for war and not a friendly initiation event. Naturally, tension rose among the onlookers.

But then,

“Taoist Chung myung!”

“Uh?”

The people tilted their heads at the voice that suddenly came.

“A child?”

“Why is there a child over there?”

A young boy with a smiling face jumped out of the line of warriors and stepped through the gate with all his might.

“P-Palace Lord! You need to keep in…!”

And a middle-aged man, looking all scared, followed the boy from behind.

‘What is this?’

Everyone’s eyes turned towards him, confused by the situation. Still, it seemed like the boy didn’t care about the attention on him.

The boy ran straight ahead and suddenly stopped in front of one person.

“Ahh… phew, phew…! Taoist Chung Myung!”

“…”

Chung Myung chuckled as he looked at Seol Baek standing in front of him with a flushed face.

“Have you gotten a bit bigger?”

“A bit so, Taoist!”

“Why did you come all this way? You could have just sent someone.”

“I also tried to stop him.”

Han Yi-Myung, who followed behind, sighed deeply.

“I said I could come alone, but the Palace Lord said he wanted to see Mount Hua in person…”

Seol So-baek looked at Han Yi-Myung and spoke in a serious tone.

“How can we discuss the work trade for a hundred years or a thousand years without even seeing with our own eyes what kind of sect they are?”

Chung Myung, seeing this, spoke out honestly.

“… your mouth is surely working fine.”

In a sophisticated way, too.

“Taoist, so nice to see you again!”

“Yes, yes. You must have had a hard time coming here.”

Chung Myung grinned and pointed to the back.

“But I guess there is something else to do now?”

“Ah! That person…!”

Seol So-Baek nodded as if he understood. After waiting a couple of moments for all the men to gather at the mountain gate, he took the lead and stepped toward Hyun Jong.

Seeing this, Tang Gunak and Meng So stepped to the side. They realized there was a need for the Ice Palace and Mount Hua to exchange greetings.

Hyun Jong smiled a bit embarrassedly, but Seol So-baek soon stood in front of him and made a grand gesture.

“I, the Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace, greet the Sect Leader of the Great Mount Hua Sect!”

“Welcome, welcome, Palace Lord, I have heard so many things about you.”

Hyun Jong looked at Seol So-Baek with warm eyes.

“What difficult things you must have gone through to reach here. I don’t know how to express my gratitude to the Palace Lord for coming all this way to honor us in person.”

“No, Sect Leader!”

Seol So-Baek spoke seriously.

“Compared to the blessings that Mount Hua has showered on the North Sea, us coming here in person cannot be considered much of a task.”

Seol So-Baek paused for a second there and glanced back at Han Yi-Myung, who slightly nodded, indicating he was right.

“First…”

After catching his breath, Seol So-Baek spoke clearly.

“The North Sea has benefited a great deal from Mount Hua. Thanks to the Sect Leader sending Mount Hua’s Five Swords to us, we were able to end the troubles the North Sea was enduring and save the people. The courage of Mount Hua, who gave up their food to help the people of the North Sea, is still something the North Sea talks about!”

When Chung Myung saw Han Yi-Myung flinch a bit, he held back a subtle smile.

‘So it was ordered.’

That brat, that guy… ohhh.

“And!”

As if he wasn’t done speaking, Seol So-Baek shouted out in an awkward tone. Those who knew Seol So-Baek would have noticed how arrogant this was, but most people there had no way of knowing what was odd since it was their first time seeing Seol So-Baek.

“More than anything, the North Sea will never forget that it was only after the help of Mount Hua that we were able to stop the plan of the Demonic Sect.”

The people listening to one another were all shocked.

“Why is the Demonic Sect being mentioned?”

Demonic Sect.

Even if they didn’t know, it was a name that could be understood. It was a word that couldn’t be missed by anyone who lived with enemies in the world.

“Demonic Sect appeared in the North Sea?”

“And Mount Hua helped the North Sea defend against them?”

“That Demonic Sect?”

“Has to be those who escaped.”

“N-No! Even if it was just those who escaped, isn’t it incredible that they managed to stop the Demonic Sect? But why wasn’t that fact spoken of in the Central Plains?”

“…It is because the interaction between the North Sea and Central Plains has never happened till now. Even if they tried to say it, they wouldn’t have been heard.”

“So even after doing all this, Mount Hua has never shown any pride?”

“D- Does this make sense?”

Everyone turned to Seol So-Baek and Hyun Jong, all shocked.

It was because all of this was difficult to believe.

However, even though he was a boy who hadn’t yet become an adult, he was a Lord of North Sea Ice Palace and wouldn’t lie in front of so many people.

Moreover, wasn’t the dignity that Seol So-Baek lacked made up for by Han Yi-Myung and the swordsmen of Ice Palace with their blade-like force?

“No matter how much it is said that it is the Taoist duty to not show off, oh my… they accomplished something like that and didn’t say a word.”

“If the Ice Palace Lord hadn’t spoken directly, would we have known about it?”

“Wonderful. Truly shocking.”

Seol So-baek’s shoulders felt strong as he heard the voices of the Central Plains people whisper.

“The North Sea cannot be stopped and the North Sea does not forget the grace shown either. Everyone in the North Sea will take this to their hearts and repay the kindness of Mount Hua.”

When Seol So-Baek tried to bow his head, Hyun Jong grabbed him by the shoulders and smiled.

“I heard…”

“Yes, sect leader.”

“I heard that the disciples and the people of Ice Palace have become close friends. Is that true?”

“Yes, sect leader. We are proudly calling ourselves the friends of Mount Hua.”

Hyun Jong nodded at that.

“Then all this is in vain. What is the meaning of having grace between those who sincerely believe in their friendship?”

“Sect leader…”

“Welcome. You have come to the right place.”

Seol So-Baek, who was looking at Hyun Jong with slightly shocked eyes, soon smiled. Hyun Jong led him gently.

“Please come inside. I think we have a lot of stories to share now.”

When Seol So-Baek glanced back, Han Yi-Myung nodded.

“Please enter, Palace Lord. Leave the work outside to me.”

“Thank you, General.”

“This way.”

Hyun Jong, Tang Gunak, Meng So, and Seol So-Baek exchanged pleasantries and walked to the Sect Leader’s residence.

Even after they had gone, the people of the Central Plains didn’t come out of their shock.

However, that was only because they came here without any specific purpose. Those who climbed Mount Hua with a purpose were each whispering with stiff faces.

“Elder. The ties between Mount Hua and the other sects seem to be stronger than expected.”

“… I see.”

Peng Ak, with a stiff face, looked towards the Sect Leader’s side.

The Heavenly Friends Alliance was a very odd place.

Mount Hua, which was in the past one of the Nine Great Sects, the Sichuan Tang family of the Five Great Families, and the Palaces of Nanman Beast Palace and North Sea Ice Palace.

Even though the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Palaces could not be friends, their ties had been awkward. And it wouldn’t be strange to say that they had no real ties with the Palaces.

However, every sect and place of these divisions had turned into an alliance.

‘I thought that the trade route connecting Yunnan, the Central Plains, and the North Sea was the center of the alliance.’

Money was an evil thing. If there was an enormous benefit, there was no reason why enemies would not join hands.

So, he thought of the Heavenly Friends Alliance as an extension of that. But those who observed all this had to revise their thoughts.

“The Tang family didn’t put up Mount Hua as a puppet. The center of the Heavenly Friends Alliance was truly Mount Hua and not the Tang family.”

This was a lot bigger than he thought.

Those who came together for profit turned away without hesitation the moment there was no longer any profit to be made. But those who came together out of loyalty never ignore the difficulties of one another.

“Put a letter out. We need to make the situation known.”

“Yes!”

Peng Ak, who gave the orders, quietly listened. The Central Plains people, coming to their senses after this, were raising their voices.

“So, according to what the Nanman Beast Palace Lord said, didn’t the Plum Blossom Sword Saint of Mount Hua save Yunnan in the past?”

“Ehh. As if that happened? How could Yunnan people know something that we didn’t know of?”

“Have you heard anything more stupid? For something we are not sure about, the Lord of the Beast Palace bowed his head politely to the sect leader of Mount Hua?”

“… maybe for show?”

“Do you think the Beast Palace would bow down to Mount Hua just to create a show? There is nothing the Beast Palace cannot do compared to Mount Hua!”

“Well, that is true, but…”

“The Beast Palace is a sect that doesn’t forget a grudge, even if it means starving to death. So, did they cut off trade with the Central Plains for nearly 100 years? And such a sect speaks lies and bows its head in front of others simply for the sake of profit? Don’t speak nonsense!”

“… so that means all that is true. Then what kind of person was the Plum Blossom Sword Saint?”

Someone was busy talking about the Plum Blossom Sword Saint.

“What about the Demonic Sect… oh my, are there still remnants of the Demonic Sect?”

“Maybe not in the Central Plains, but in the North Sea, it could be. Isn’t the North Sea known for its vast land?”

“Even if it is the remnants, it is still the Demonic Sect! It is a huge achievement to have handled the Demonic Sect! But they kept silent all this time?”

“It is Mount Hua! They are the ones who took down Green Forest and distributed all the wealth of the bandits to the people!”

“Hehhe… harmony? In this world?”

Peng Ak, having heard all the rumblings, let out a quiet sigh.

‘Maybe words spread like fire.’

The words of the Beast Palace and the words of the Ice Palace—there isn’t a single person here who wouldn’t be interested in them.

Those who have gathered here are all skilled and renowned individuals from each sect, drawn by their interest in the history of Kangho to a place they otherwise would not need to come.

Now that these people have heard it, how significant would the impact be?

‘If it was created for this situation…’

Peng Ak’s eyes sharply focused on the sect leader’s residence.

‘Mount Hua is a lot scarier than we might have thought… no, I have to say that the Heavenly Friends Alliance is a lot scarier than we thought.’

He had no choice but to entirely revise his evaluation of the Heavenly Friends Alliance.

“Hehehe.”

“…”

But all of a sudden, Peng Ak turned his head at the sound of laughter that didn’t fit the dire realization.

The face of Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon was smiling in the most evil way possible.

“This is why people need to live a good life. hehehehe.”

“…”

For some reason, it was this strange feeling that made him feel even worse.