Heavenly Demon of Mount Hua

Chapter 11

—–CROW—– 

Early in the morning, Cheon-hwi, meditating as usual on a large rock, felt his eyelids flutter, and soon his eyes, with their stark black and white contrast, opened.

“Phew.”

He exhaled deeply and stood up, releasing his cross-legged posture.

Just then.

“Have you finished your meditative breathing?”

A familiar voice reached him.

“Huh? Senior Uncle?”

He looked at Hyeon-do with a puzzled expression.

Hyeon-do always visited him at Sul-shi (7-9 p.m.).

So why had he come so early in the morning, even before Jin-shi (3-5 a.m.)?

Perhaps sensing his questioning gaze, Hyeon-do smiled and said,

“I should have told you yesterday that I’d be coming early this morning because I have something to do in the afternoon, but I forgot. Hahaha.”

He slowly approached.

Cheon-hwi shook his head, watching Hyeon-do approach without hesitation.

Hyeon-do had been treating him with increasing familiarity recently.

‘Since that day, huh?’

He recalled the day he had performed the Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

As soon as he opened his eyes after the trance, he saw Hyeon-do and the Sect Leader.

‘You truly are a genius, just as you said.’

‘Hahaha! Didn’t I tell you!’

They had been quite excited at the time.

But their excitement was short-lived. The Sect Leader’s expression hardened as he gave Cheon-hwi a stern warning.

‘Never perform the Plum Blossom Sword Technique in front of others.’

Although he didn’t understand why, he agreed just to avoid any trouble.

He had planned to modify the Plum Blossom Sword Technique after gaining enlightenment during his previous execution.

‘There’s quite a bit of overlap in the sword forms of the Plum Blossom Sword Technique, and it consumes a lot of internal energy unnecessarily with each swing. It would be better to simplify the moves to reduce internal energy consumption…’

As he was thinking about how to reduce the number of moves and make the Plum Blossom Sword Technique more efficient.

“Then today, as I mentioned yesterday, I’ll teach you our sect’s footwork.”

Hyeon-do said with a cheerful smile.

Recently, he had found joy in practicing martial arts with Cheon-hwi.

A genius who could learn martial arts with a single glance.

He had never felt this much enjoyment in teaching.

‘And I’ve learned a lot while teaching him.’

The smile never left his face.

Every time he taught Cheon-hwi a martial art, Cheon-hwi interpreted it in unexpected ways.

Thanks to that, his perspective on martial arts broadened, and he gained a lot of insight.

‘I wonder what surprising things he’ll show me today.’

Filled with anticipation, he said,

“First, the Seven Star Steps, the first footwork all disciples of our sect learn.”

Hyeon-do immediately channeled his internal energy and demonstrated.

Whoosh— Whoosh—

His footwork accelerated, and his form blurred, leaving afterimages.

As the afterimages multiplied.

Whoosh!

Cheon-hwi turned his head.

“Well done.”

Hyeon-do, looking proud, was watching him from behind.

“Did you see how I moved my feet?”

“Yes.”

Cheon-hwi replied indifferently.

“Now, try it.”

Hyeon-do crossed his arms and stepped back.

His teaching method was simple.

Demonstrate a martial art and have the student imitate it.

It was a rather crude method.

Originally, Hyeon-do hadn’t intended to teach this way.

He had planned to explain the verses and provide guidance, just as he did when teaching the Plum Blossom Energy Cultivation and the Six Harmonies Sword Technique.

But he changed his mind after three days.

‘His talent defies common sense.’

As if to prove that his daily visits to the Ten Thousand Classics Pavilion weren’t in vain, Cheon-hwi already knew most of the martial arts Hyeon-do taught him.

Not just knowing them, but understanding the principles and theories behind the verses completely.

So he omitted the explanations.

And the results were satisfactory.

Cheon-hwi had already learned most of the foundational techniques of Mount Hua Sect, and now only footwork remained.

And Cheon-hwi himself was quite satisfied with the current method.

‘It’s convenient to skip the tedious explanations. Of course, this only works because it’s me.’

He wasn’t just being modest.

For this training method to work, one needed exceptional talent to understand how a martial art was executed just by watching, and extensive knowledge to know the verses behind it.

But did such a person exist?

‘No one but me.’

If it were anyone else but him, they wouldn’t have made any progress, let alone master the martial art.

‘He moved his feet like this.’

Recalling the Seven Star Steps.

Whoosh—

He channeled the internal energy of the Plum Blossom Divine Art.

After practicing footwork, including the Seven Star Steps, for about an hour.

Wow!

Cheon-hwi frowned at the cheers he had been hearing.

“It’s unusually noisy today.”

“Hahaha, isn’t the Five Mountains Gathering about to start?”

“The Five Mountains Gathering?”

Hyeon-do looked surprised.

“Don’t tell me… you don’t know?”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“How can you not know about the Five Mountains Gathering… Ah!”

He let out a short sigh.

He had forgotten, but until recently, Cheon-hwi had been a sickly child who couldn’t even practice martial arts.

Besides, he had only been training with him lately, so how could he know about the Five Mountains Gathering?

Hyeon-do turned his head and coughed.

“Ahem. I guess you didn’t know because you’ve only been at the Ten Thousand Classics Pavilion and your hut.  I said I had something to do in the afternoon, right?  That was to help select the disciples who will participate in the Five Mountains Gathering.”

He glanced at Cheon-hwi.

But there was no reaction.

‘So what?’

Cheon-hwi wasn’t interested in what Hyeon-do was doing in the afternoon.

He was only interested in one thing.

“So, what is the Five Mountains Gathering?”

“Ahem, ahem.”

Embarrassed, Hyeon-do coughed repeatedly and cleared his throat before speaking.

“The Five Mountains Gathering is a grand meeting held every four years, rotating between the Five Mountains Sword Sects, for the purpose of exchange.”

“A grand meeting?”

“More precisely, it’s for the exchange of martial arts among the Five Mountains Sword Sects. The four disciples selected beforehand will have one-on-one matches with disciples from other sects…”

‘Huh?’

Cheon-hwi tilted his head, listening to the explanation that sounded familiar.

‘It’s similar to the Five Clans War.’

Long ago, the five clans that supported the Heavenly Demon Cult were constantly at odds, engaging in deadly battles every day.

Eventually, when the Heaven Clan and the Strong Clan were on the verge of mutual destruction, the then-Cult Leader intervened.

The Cult Leader put an end to the war and declared that each clan should select five warriors to fight.

That was the Five Clans War, a bloody battle to determine the hierarchy of the five clans.

The difference between the Five Clans War and the Five Mountains Gathering was that the number of participants in the matches wasn’t four but five, it was held every ten years, not four, and lastly, it wasn’t a match but a fight to the death.

‘Extremes meet.’

While Cheon-hwi was briefly distracted, Hyeon-do continued his explanation.

“The Five Mountains Gathering is quite influential. The disciples who stand out gain fame and earn nicknames even before entering the Jianghu.”

Hyeon-do’s expression gradually twisted.

Cheon-hwi, watching his increasingly grim expression, said,

“You don’t seem too thrilled about it.”

“As I said, it was originally a meeting for the Five Mountains Sword Sects to build relationships.  But since the last Five Mountains Gathering, the other sects have been acting strangely.”

Hyeon-do’s face hardened.

As Mount Hua’s influence waned after the loss of his youngest junior brother and most of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen, the other sects had become increasingly dismissive of them.

Especially after the Five Mountains Gathering held at Mount Tai Sect four years ago, the treatment of their sect had noticeably changed.

‘They ignored our sect’s opinions and, with the majority of three sects, pushed our performance to the very beginning.’

He recalled the disciple who had participated in the Five Mountains Gathering lamenting about it.

“They’re probably aiming for our weakened position.”

He flinched, having unconsciously muttered his thoughts.

‘I shouldn’t have said that.’

Realizing his mistake, Hyeon-do quickly added,

“But we don’t have to worry about that anymore.  Now that I’ve reached the Heavenly Martial Realm, our sect will never falter.”

He puffed out his chest and glanced at Cheon-hwi.  Fortunately, Cheon-hwi’s expression was as usual.

Hyeon-do sighed in relief.

But he didn’t know.

That his assumption was wrong from the start.

Cheon-hwi wasn’t worried at all.

On the contrary, he was inwardly amused.

‘It’s no different from my cult.’

As they say, people are the same everywhere.

Even though they were Taoists and belonged to the righteous sects, they were still human.

Then Hyeon-do’s eyes widened.

“If you’re curious about the Five Mountains Gathering, go to the Do-rim Plain on that day.  Any disciple of Mount Hua Sect can observe the Five Mountains Gathering.”

“Observe?”

Cheon-hwi frowned.

A chance to see the martial arts of the Five Mountains Sword Sects.

Moreover, if it was as prestigious and important as Hyeon-do made it out to be, they would surely showcase their true skills at this Five Mountains Gathering.

‘A circus of Taoist tricks…’

***

Mount Hua, renowned as the Western Mountain.

Anyone would be awestruck by its steep cliffs, as if carved by a knife.

Those who overcame the daunting climb and set foot on Mount Hua would realize that the rumors were true.

Only the Taoists of Mount Hua Sect could freely traverse the mountain.

As rumored, the mountain paths were narrow and treacherous.

So much so that it was difficult to climb without being a trained Taoist of Mount Hua Sect.

Therefore, most people gave up at this point.

But as they say, no pain, no gain.

If they continued to climb, they would encounter a breathtaking view.

Whoosh—

Beautiful plum blossoms blooming throughout the mountain.

The crimson plum blossoms, contrasting with the clear blue sky, gently enveloped the mountain ridges as if draping Mount Hua in silk.

In addition, the towering rock peaks rising towards the sky resembled blossoming flowers.

Upon seeing this, people would recall the saying about Mount Hua.

‘The ‘Hua’ (Splendor) in Mount Hua refers not to the plum blossoms, but to the grand peaks that bloom atop the mountain.’

It was a saying passed down jokingly since ancient times.

But upon reaching this point, they would realize that it wasn’t just a joke.

To anyone, the distant peaks resembled flowers in full bloom.

As they continued to climb, captivated by the scenery.

Thud—

There was a point where they had to stop.

A giant gate blocking the path.

At first, everyone would be taken aback, but upon seeing the old signboard hanging above the gate, they would understand why it was there.

[Mount Hua Sect]

It was the gate to Mount Hua Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects.

Whoosh—

The gate opened, and a warm breeze washed over them.

The breeze, carrying the rich fragrance of plum blossoms, tickled their noses, and their eyes took in the interior of Mount Hua Sect.

Plum blossoms blooming along the path.

Ancient pavilions.

Just passing through the gate created the illusion of entering a different world.

And there was the vast training ground, the Do-rim Plain, where the true disciples practiced martial arts.

Normally, the training ground would be filled with disciples, but today it was empty.

Instead, the area around the training ground was packed with Taoists of Mount Hua Sect.

After all, today was the day of the Five Mountains Gathering, held at Mount Hua Sect for the first time in twenty years.

“Wow!”

“Will Senior Brother win?”

“Of course! Not only Senior Brother, but Senior Sister will win too!”

As the Do-rim Plain was filled with chatter and excited shouts.

Boom!

The sound of a drum resonated through the air.

A heavy silence fell over the Do-rim Plain, as if doused with cold water.

Then.

Step— Step—

Footsteps broke the silence.

Everyone’s gaze turned towards the sound.

Five Taoists were walking from the entrance of the Do-rim Plain.

The elder of Mount Heng Sect, Jeok-u-ja.

The elder of Mount Hengshan Sect, Go-gyeong-ja.

The elder of Mount Tai Sect, Mu-yeong-ja.

The elder of Mount Song Sect, Tae-gyeong-ja.

These four were the elders of each sect who had escorted their disciples to Mount Hua.

And the remaining Taoist was Hyeon-sang-jin-in, the Sect Leader of Mount Hua Sect.

They strode onto the training ground and stood in a line.

The Sect Leader scanned the quiet surroundings.

Then he smiled gently and said,

“Let the Five Mountains Gathering begin.”

The moment the Sect Leader’s quiet voice reached everyone’s ears.

Wow!

A huge cheer erupted throughout Mount Hua Sect, and the Five Mountains Gathering began.

—–CROW—–