Return of the Mount Hua Sect

“Let’s head back.”

Heo Sanja turned around without saying another word. He didn’t even wait for the disciples’ response. Coldness emanated from his very walk.

It wasn’t behavior befitting a representative, especially when Heo Gong hadn’t even regained consciousness. Still, none of Wudang’s disciples dared to point out his error.

Mu Jin sighed softly as he watched Heo Sanja walk away into the distance.

“Bring the elder. We will return to Wudang at once.”

“Yes.”

He then looked at the sajaes, still in shock, and opened his mouth to speak.

“Do not forget what the elder of Mount Hua said a moment ago.”

“…”

“The real winner is the one who gains more from this fight. The outcome of this spar may show a clear defeat for us, but if we truly learn something from it, we have nothing to be ashamed of.”

“…yes.”

“It’s just…”

Mu Jin closed his eyes.

“I just feel like we’ve missed out on too much. It wasn’t us who built up the reputation of being the best swordsman sect in the world; we merely assumed it was our full strength.”

All the disciples of Wudang nodded at those words. They understood Mu Jin’s message.

“We start again. From scratch. The disciples of the other sects are trying much harder than us, so we cannot afford to hold back and feel embarrassed before them.”

“We will keep that in mind.”

“We’ll try harder.”

“Right. We will.”

Mu Jin nodded slightly.

As if his words offered them comfort, everyone began to find a task and moved out. However, Mu Jin’s heart grew heavy with all this.

The disciples of Wudang learned lessons from this spar.

But would the sect leader and the other elders readily accept the results?

‘It’s unlikely.’

They were the ones striving for a future envisioned, while the elders and sect leader believed the present was all that mattered.

When he changed their positions and thought about it, he didn’t think he would want to be considered as a sect leader who was humiliated in front of the people by a ruining sect and gave up the title of the world’s best sword sect and best swordsmen to another.

‘Maybe this spar will change a lot more than I had imagined.’

There was a high chance that the change would be in the direction that Mu Jin didn’t want, but he had no strength to stop this. All he could do was just hope that the elders and sect leader wouldn’t decide something which was the worst option.

“Wait a minute.”

After speaking to the disciples, Mu Jin began to walk towards Mount Hua like he had something planned.

“This bastard!”

“You are unbelievable!”

“Oh my, you won over Wudang elder…!”

“Just how far ahead can you go, you idiot!”

The hands of the sahyungs began to pat the head of Chung Myung, who stepped down.

Tak! Tak! Tak!

All the dust which set on his head during the spar began to rise up and yet not a single disciple of Mount Hua cared about it, and just continued to pat his head.

“Hahahah.”

Chung Myung pointed to his stomach and said.

“Well, we did something great, this is…”

Tak tak tak! Tak! Tak!

“Th-this much is….”

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud thud! Thud!

“You bastards! The more I am patient, the more you act out!”

“Rabbit!”

“Tsk, quick-witted brat!”

The Mount Hua disciples who had been hitting him on the head by using the victory as an excuse, ran back as soon as Chung Myung noticed it.

Yoon Jong and Jo Gul grabbed the arms of Chung Myung, who was quickly trying to track them down and hit, and then smiled.

“Chung Myung. Wudang is watching you.”

“Calm down a little.”

“No! I will not!”

“We didn’t do it because we wanted to, not at all.”

“You should understand.”

“Ughh.”

Chung Myung gritted his teeth, looking enraged. Yoon Jong, who observed him while holding back his anger and groaning like an animal, just shook his head.

‘Well, he truly is an amazing guy.’

He didn’t come to this conclusion because he defeated an elder of Wudang.

This was the picture that Chung Myung had painted in his head since the word ‘spar’ was mentioned. Hadn’t he already witnessed how many times the thoughtless actions of Chung Myung brought so much benefit to Mount Hua?

‘The reputation of this guy and Mount Hua will soar even higher now.’

The victory in the spar wasn’t the greatest achievement for Chung Myung. Actually, the win of the day paled in comparison to the war in the North Sea to take down the remnants of the Demonic Sect.

But this was about the position of Mount Hua.

From the perspective of the Central Plains, there was no way they would get news about what happened in the North Sea, which was many miles away. Actually, rumors about the North Sea didn’t even reach the Central Plains.

Taking down the bandits and stabilizing the Green Forest’s influence were also acts that amounted to nothing when compared with the spar against Wudang.

After this, Chung Myung’s acts and Mount Hua’s reputation will begin to spread again like wildfire throughout the world.

“In the end, we got everything we wanted. That damned guy is…”

“So true, right.”

Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong simultaneously shook their heads, looking at Chung Myung surrounded by their sajaes.

“Haha! You did something amazing!”

“No, that cannot be called great anymore!”

“Just how did you end up like this?”

The disciples of Mount Hua were still having a hard time believing what they witnessed. They knew he was strong, but was there any way for them to know how strong he was?

But seeing Chung Myung today, they were sure of it. The guy who was beyond common understanding.

“Well, no one will speak about that.”

Chung Myung was drilling his ear a little angrily as the praises continued to pour in.

“I won one spar, and the other people won once, too, so it’s the same win.”

“… How are both the same?”

“Isn’t your head a little weird?”

“And…”

Chung Myung looked at everyone and said,

“Even those who lost today did well.”

“…”

“As the elder said, it is said that winning and losing in this competition depends on what you learn from it. The same thing. Just because you lost a spar doesn’t mean you lost it all. If you get stronger through a loss, there is a win in that.”

The disciples, calmed down by that, nodded their heads.

Chung Myung smiled at that and chuckled.

“How is that? When you take a closer look at it, it doesn’t seem like a huge thing, right?”

“… Rather than saying it is not huge.”

Gwak Ho, who stepped awkwardly to the side, nodded, and then Baek Sang, who listened to Chung Myung, nodded and continued,

“Even though we weren’t still high up there, I realize that it wasn’t a tree that cannot be climbed.”

Chung Myung smiled brightly after hearing those words.

“Right. That is enough.”

For now, that was more than enough.

Mount Hua’s disciples who stepped into the spar today would no longer think that Wudang was a cloud they could not touch. Although it was still above them, they would think of it as people they could definitely catch up with.

That was Mount Hua’s greatest achievement in this battle.

It was then.

“Senior sasuk!”

“Sasuk!”

Chung Myung turned his head at the noise that came from behind, and there was Un Geom, who was regaining consciousness with the disciples supporting him.

The eyes of Chung Myung changed.

“What amazing thing happened for you to move now? Lie down now. Didn’t you hurt your back?”

Un Geom heard that and laughed a bit.

“I heard my disciple was working hard, so how can I just lie down and watch it?”

Chung Myung waved his hand as if it was nothing.

“Even though he is an elder, he is the youngest of them all. The Wudang still has ghost-like beings. There is still a long way to go before we fully defeat them.”

“Haha.”

Un Geom laughed as if he was now helpless.

He was someone who had to be confident about the disciples but also wary of pride getting to their heads. That was the role Un Geom should actually play.

When one person left, another naturally took their position.

Right, that was how a family and a sect were alike.

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes.”

“It was a lot of hard work.”

“…”

Chung Myung, seeing Un Geom’s eyes, pursed his lips as if he wanted to say something but then turned his head. And he had a humble look.

“Take credit for the task…”

Tak!

But before he knew it, Hyun Young came up from behind, grabbed him by the head, and shook him wildly.

“You! You monster!”

“Ack! It hurts!”

“Now you are even taking down the elders! Just two more years, and you will go catch dragons!”

Well, he already did catch something similar to that.

But there was no use saying it now, right?

“Woah, this time, it is so absurd that I don’t even know how to benefit from this.”

“It isn’t about making money, though?”

“Uh…?”

Chung Myung flinched as he saw Hyun Young’s wide mouth as if he was shocked.

‘Is this true?’

Wasn’t this so strange?

“Now, now!”

Hyun Sang walked to the center and clapped his hands to lighten everyone’s mood.

“I know how you feel, but not here. Many eyes are watching, and isn’t the Wudang still there?”

“Ah, then shall we pour out more for our favorite tea?”

“…”

“… No, I told you the Wudang is right there.”

What happened to this guy’s nature? Was it possible to acquire martial arts at the cost of giving up one’s humanity?

Hyun Sang, who was looking at Chung Myung with scared eyes, cleared his throat loudly.

“Let us finish the rest of our talk at the residence. Organize everything now. We head back now.”

“Yes, elder!”

“Understood!”

As soon as the order was given, Mount Hua’s disciples began to busily organize the place. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Chung Myung took a step to move together.

“Uh? Who is coming there?”

“… It’s the great warrior Mu Jin.”

“Why is he coming through?”

But the disciples of Mount Hua frowned at the sight of Mu Jin approaching them. They felt a bit anxious due to the day’s happenings.

‘Does he want to start a fight here?’

‘Well.’

Mu Jin, who arrived right in front of Mount Hua’s camp with everyone’s attention on him, bowed and stared at just one person.

“Taoist.”

“Uh?”

“Can I speak to you for a moment?”

“Me?”

“Yes, Taoist.”

Chung Myung tilted his head.

“Is there anything for us to talk about? We didn’t even spar.”

“…”

“What? If you are itching to fight, I can give that to you.”

“… It is not that…”

Mu Jin sighed. The last spar was so intense that he forgot just what kind of person Chung Myung was.

“There is something I would like to seek advice on.”

“Hmm.”

Chung Myung nodded gently.

“Well, nice. Let us head over there.”

“Yes.”

When Mu Jin turned first and headed to a corner, Chung Myung shrugged and followed him; well, he tried to.

It would have been like that if someone hadn’t called Chung Myung.

“Chung Myung.”

“Uh?”

Baek Cheon was looking at him with a grin.

“Leave the sword and then go.”

“…”

Chung Myung’s face contorted.

“Why? Are you afraid I will start cutting people?”

“Ugh, guess not. Well, leave it alone.”

“No, still!”

“Chung Myung.”

Un Geom smiled kindly at his side and nodded.

“Leave it and go.”

“…”

No one was on his side from the start.

“… Why leave the sword…”

“Ah, forget it. Don’t bother asking.”

Muy Jin smiled bitterly as he looked at Chung Myung, whose lips were pouting.

“Such an amazing person.”

Kangho was a place ruled by strength. The strong were bound to receive better treatment. But in Mount Hua, well, no one seemed to be that scared of Chung Myung, who had just defeated an elder of Wudang.

Mu Jin knew how difficult that task was.

Heo Gong was also someone who went against formality and manners. Still, instead of people gathering around him, they all just shunned the man.

When Chung Myung first met him, he seemed different. Maybe Chung Myung has changed, or maybe Mu Jin did since their last spar, so he was able to see things he hadn’t seen before.

“So what?”

“Ah…”

Mu Jin hesitated for a moment and then said,

“There is something I would like to ask the Taoist to teach me.”

“Yes. Tell me. It isn’t something that I can teach, but I will do my best to answer it. I cannot commit to it.”

“…that much is definitely impressive.”

Seeing Chung Myung come out so shamelessly without any intention of hiding his nature made Mu Jin smile.

“Taoist.”

“Yes.”

“Aren’t you the youngest of the disciples in Mount Hua?”

“Looking down on me now?”

“…it isn’t like that.”

Why did this brat always take things the wrong way?

Mu Jin cleared his throat a couple more times to make sure no other misunderstanding would arise.

“I know that Wudang and Mount Hua are different, but I still feel like asking. What should we do when a person of low status in the sect has a different opinion from the seniors?”

“Uh?”

His voice was genuinely serious.

“When what I think is right and what the elders think ends up being different, I don’t know what to do as a disciple.”

Chung Myung frowned slightly.

“Hmm. I don’t know why you are asking that to me.”

“…Yes. True.”

“Don’t you already know the answer to it?”

Chung Myung looked straight into the eyes of Mu Jin and said.

“People already know the answers to most of their problems. They just pretend not to know because they cannot bring themselves to think about it.”

“…”

“You shouldn’t ask others, but ask your own heart. That is all I can say.”

Mu Jin raised his head and looked at the sky. After a long look at the clouds, he lowered his head and bowed.

“Thank you, Taoist.”

“It was nothing.”

“I hope I have a chance to see the sword of the Taoist the next time. Now… right. There is no sword.”

“Tsk.”

“I guess I’ll leave then.”

Mu Jin bowed once again and turned around. His steps toward the Wudang side felt a lot lighter than before.

Chung Myung, who was staring at his back, soon burst into laughter.

Mu Jin was young.

Anyone who was willing to change and had passion in their heart deserved to be called young, no matter how old they were.

There surely was a limit to what could be done alone, but as long as there were people who questioned it, Wudang would not stay where they were now.

‘As I look at it, there is someone I can think of.’

What happened to that guy?

Lee Song-Baek.

Chung Myung, who thought of that name, scratched his head in silence and turned.

The goal of being a strong person was achieved for now.

‘I need to head back now.’

This was to be done before Hyun Jong started shedding tears in loneliness.

‘Well, I am sure he will like it since I am bringing a nice present.’

A pleasant smile appeared on Chung Myung’s lips as he ran back to Mount Hua’s disciples.