Return of Mount Hua Sect

Baek Cheon’s face tensed up.

Across from him stood Chung Myung.

Whenever that guy stood across from Baek Cheon, he would always show a look of annoyance with his half-twitching face.

But not now.

A heavy sense of intimidation could be felt from Chung Myung’s body, which held the sword in a half-straight stance. The two eyes staring at Baek Cheon were cold and sunken.

‘Is he being serious?’

Baek Cheon caught his rapid breathing.

He didn’t think he could win, but he didn’t want to lose without trying, either.

He put strength into his toes as if he were going to grab the ground and relaxed his wrists.

At that moment, Chung Myung started to move.

Paat!

Baek Cheon lifted his body into the air without a moment to be surprised. That was the only way to avoid the sword qi coming across the floor.

And at that moment.

Paat!

Chung Myung jumped over the clashing Plum Blossom Sword qi in one breath and rushed to Baek Cheon. The sword raised high towards the sky, shone dazzlingly in the sunlight.

Swish!

The sword swung down in one breath.

Baek Cheon was startled by the strength of the sword, which was about to split his head, and barely managed to block the blow with his sword.

But, at that moment.

Just before their swords met, Chung Myung folded his wrist and pulled the sword inside.

‘What?’

At that moment, Baek Cheon’s eyes were engraved with the sword cutting through the air, and the sword’s pommel was aimed at him.

Paat!

The sword pommel flew to his eyes with fierce strength, and soon the world seemed to turn black and cover him.

Crack.

“…”

Tak.

Baek Cheon’s face, which had fallen to the ground, was soaked with cold sweat.

Chung Myung’s sword head was standing right between his eyes. If he hadn’t stopped at the end and had continued to hit, his eyes would have come out.

Shhh.

Baek Cheon, who was blankly watching Chung Myung put away his sword, wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve and politely gave him a bow.

“… I learned well.”

“I learned well.”

Chung Myung, who had lightly paid his respects, turned around and looked at the other disciples who had been watching the spar. The disciples of Mount Hua were all surrounding the area, watching the duel intently.

“You saw it?”

“…”

“It was felt.”

The disciples of Mount Hua looked at Chung Myung with odd expressions. Although they had watched the entire match from start to finish, it was difficult for them to easily articulate what they should have seen in this battle.

“That… are we still so far?”

Chung Myung snickered at Jo Gul’s question.

“Well, that isn’t so wrong either.”

Chung Myung shrugged and continued.

“What I was trying to show was a matter of technique.”

“Technique?”

“Yes, technique.”

Chung Myung slowly nodded and looked back at Baek Cheon.

“I hate to say this myself, but sasuk’s skills are great. Now he will be treated as a great swordsman anywhere in this murim world.”

Baek Cheon had won against second-class disciples of Wudang and also managed to withstand the blows of Jang Ilso. Now, the term “upcoming warrior” didn’t suit Baek Cheon.

Objectively speaking, Chung Myung’s evaluation was rather harsh.

“Then why is he so strong?”

Chung Myung shook his head at the question.

“No, it isn’t that.”

It was a difficult statement for them to understand. He had great skills, but he wasn’t strong.

“This is the fundamental problem of the sword of righteousness, especially the sword of Taoism. The sword of Taoism is only for the purpose of awakening the TaoTao within us. The sword itself cannot be a purpose to pursue.”

Chung Myung drew the sword again.

“That is why it is honest.”

The sword, which had been raised, slowly lowered.

“Of course, the Taoist sword also has various techniques to defeat an opponent. But it isn’t like those of the Evil Faction or Demonic Sect, who exist solely for that purpose. Essentially, the Taoist sword is a means for cultivation.”

“Ah…”

Jo Gul nodded.

Reflecting on their recent encounter with Plum Blossom, he realized Baek Cheon focused on the sword. At the same time, Chung Myung used the plum blossom sword qi to distract and aimed for Baek Cheon’s legs by scattering the sword qi downward.

The same tactic was evident when their swords clashed at the last moment.

Baek Cheon attempted to fight fairly with the strength of the sword, while Chung Myung didn’t directly counter but instead aimed for Baek Cheon’s eyes with the sword’s handle.

This was a technique Mount Hua hadn’t taught.

“Actual combat is harsh and tough.”

Chung Myung’s voice softened.

“Mount Hua’s sword is excellent on its own. But there are situations that Mount Hua’s sword cannot handle. No sect in the world teaches you how to deal with a fallen man clutching your leg or someone ready to sacrifice their life just to stab you.”

“…”

“It is the limitation of a sword meant for cultivation, not for fighting.”

Baek Cheon nodded slowly.

He had felt this clearly when fighting Jang Ilso. He felt helpless against the killing intent aimed at wounding him by any means.

“You cannot defeat the Ten Thousand People Clan or the Four Precepts Alliance with that.”

And the same applied to the Demonic Sect they would face in the future.

In the past, Mount Hua had honed their skills, even in the early days of the war with the Demonic Sect.

However, as the war dragged on and battles accumulated, their swords began to change. To survive and defeat the enemy, they adapted, becoming more practical and aggressive.

If many of those who experienced that war had survived, Mount Hua’s Swords might have changed significantly. However, the transformation that occurred at that time was both fortunate and unfortunate, and it wasn’t passed down to future generations.

“Then….”

Yoon Jong opened his mouth with a stern look.

“Are we supposed to learn it now?”

Hearing those words, Chung Myung’s face changed.

‘He is scared….’

Here was the meaning of Yu Yiseol’s words.

To put it bluntly, this wasn’t the sword of Mount Hua but the sword of Chung Myung. The sword of Chung Myung was honed through countless battles. Even if it was passed down to future generations, it was a special sword technique with no verification that the essence of Mount Hua would be preserved.

This was why he hesitated to teach it.

He had tried to improve the shortcomings of the normal technique he noticed, but it was close to the basics. He didn’t teach a sword with vicious killing intent meant to kill the opponent alone.

Because the Sword of Mount Hua was such in the first place, the previous disciples of Mount Hua didn’t let their people lose their sense of justice. They knew that even a little killing intent at the tip of the sword could shake what the sect stands for.

But what Chung Myung was aiming for now was the opposite.

Chung Myung, who worked so hard to reestablish the spirit of Mount Hua, was now doing something that could blur the essence of Mount Hua.

Chung Myung bit his lip and remained silent. Then, after a long time, he slowly nodded.

“Yes. You need to learn it.”

But there was no other way.

If all of them could reach the highest point within three years, there would be no need to teach them this sword technique. If the situation hadn’t been this urgent, he could have leisurely led everyone to the level of Mount Hua over several decades.

But the situation had changed.

The flames of war came sooner than expected, and there was no way to entirely avoid it.

So there was just one thing Chung Myung had to do.

‘Not repeat the same thing.’

A mistake could be corrected at any time. Even if the spirit waned, it could be revived.

If only the people existed.

If only there were people who would carry on that spirit, Mount Hua would eventually find its original place and flow. After all, the Tao was known to be like water.

What Chung Myung had to do wasn’t teach Mount Hua about the Tao, which he himself didn’t understand.

It was to prevent those with that spirit from vanishing. To allow at least one more of his sahyungs to survive.

“A practical sword technique….”

Baek Cheon spoke with a smile.

“That sounds fun.”

Chung Myung spoke with a blunt look.

“Don’t take this lightly. The reason why a real sword technique is called real is because you cannot learn it by swinging a sword alone. Wouldn’t it be better to go to the battle and get stabbed to death there?”

“That would be more fun.”

Baek Cheon raised his sword.

“There is no need to explain this or that. I have already made up my mind. I think it would be better to swing my sword one more time, don’t you think?”

Chung Myung looked at Baek Cheon silently.

Baek Cheon had experienced a terrible defeat a moment ago. He must have felt a deathly fear the moment the sword head flew to his eyes because Chung Myung intended it like that.

But now, there isn’t a single trace of hesitation in Baek Cheon’s eyes.

“…”

Chung Myung’s lips curled up slightly.

‘I wonder if I was worrying for nothing.’

He realized it now.

They were not Chung Myung.

Even if Chung Myung had learned the most horrid sword technique in an extreme situation, there was no reason for them to be like him.

They were much more Taoist-like than Chung Myung and walked on a much more righteous path than Chung Myung.

Worrying that they might make a wrong decision about Mount Hua’s future was nothing but arrogance.

All of these people were the ones who decided the future of Mount Hua.

“So what should we do?”

“… well, it is simple.”

Chung Myung chuckled at Baek Cheon’s question.

“Just today. You die a hundred times.”

“….”

“Then you will swing the sword viciously because you want to live.”

That extreme.

Chung Myung, who scraped the floor with the sword, glared at Baek Cheon with a devil-like face.

“It is easy to talk. Let’s see if you can put it into practice.”

“Go ahead, this bastard.”

“You will plead for death!”

Chung Myung rushed ahead with a violent killing intent.

A knowing smile was on his lips.