Return of Mount Hua Sect

“Uh…”

Kwak Ho entered the dining hall with a weary expression. No, rather than entering, it would be more accurate to say he barely managed to avoid collapsing as he dragged his body inside.

He staggered and soon grabbed a chair, sitting down heavily.

He might die.

It was something he used to say when he was bored. But Kwak Ho couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud. He was now realizing that it wasn’t something he should say so carelessly.

Because he felt like he was going to die?

No.

It was because the person in front of him looked like he was going to die, too.

“…S-sasuk. You… alright?”

Kwak Ho looked at Baek Cheon with trembling eyes.

Baek Cheon slowly raised his head. The moment he saw that face, Kwak Ho almost averted his gaze without realizing it.

‘Oh my….’

Such a disaster.

If someone had left Mount Hua for 10 days and returned, they would never be able to recognize Baek Cheon.

Baek Cheon’s face, which was always presentable despite hardships, was nowhere to be found.

His cheeks were sunken, his cheekbones protruded, and his eyes were deeply set as if he couldn’t even speak.

His bright skin, which had always been shiny, had turned dark and rough like pine bark, and his eyes, once bright, had become clouded and resembled rotten pollack.

‘He doesn’t look like a human now.’

Just looking at his appearance, it seemed like someone had been dug up and put in place.

“… Oh my. Sasuk…”

“Oh my….”

Everyone who saw him couldn’t even speak.

But no one asked why Baek Cheon had ended up like this. The reason was already evident in Baek Cheon’s body.

Under the pale face, the neck still retained some color.

There were countless red lines around it.

‘A punk who doesn’t even look like a human.’

Kwak Ho trembled as he looked at the wound.

After that day, Chung Myung would fight Baek Cheon whenever he was bored. And every time they fought, he would always leave a wound on Baek Cheon’s neck.

At first, he didn’t understand it. Why did Baek Cheon’s condition, which didn’t have any major wounds, noticeably worsen after every fight?

But Kwak Ho quickly came to understand the reason.

When Chung Myung, who had knocked out all the Five Swords, gathered the Third Class disciples together and began to spar.

Only then did Kwak Ho realize.

Chung Myung’s sword, which flew to his neck without a moment’s hesitation, clearly contained a killing intent directed at Kwak Ho.

When the sword that was swung like that touched his neck, Kwak Ho definitely felt death. For a moment, his consciousness was cut off, and his entire body felt as if it was falling into an abyss, a terrible sensation rising.

-You died once.

When he came to, the sword he had been holding was on the ground, and Kwak Ho was sitting on the ground, shaking uncontrollably.

He suffered from nightmares for three days after that.

Whenever he closed his eyes, he dreamed that the sword would fly and cut his neck. He would wake up screaming and barely fall asleep again, only to have his neck cut off again.

Only then did Kwak Ho realize it.

How deep and heavy is the word ‘death’ that is said so casually out of habit.

‘I am like this even after just one time.’

What could Baek Cheon, who had to go through that situation dozens of times a day, be experiencing?

Thud.

“S-sago!”

“Sago, are you alright?”

“No, Chung Myung, this bastard… even if he had to…”

Yu Yiseol, who had been walking unsteadily, collapsed next to Baek Cheon. Her appearance wasn’t much different from Baek Cheon’s. No one would be able to imagine the usual Yu Yiseol if they saw her now.

If Baek Cheon’s face was black and dead, then Yu Yiseol’s face was bloodless and pale.

At that moment, Yu Yiseol forced her swollen lips open and mumbled something.

“Yes, sago?”

“… Uh.”

“Uh?”

After gulping her saliva several times, Yu Yiseol finally opened her mouth.

“Out… side… Gul… Yoon Jong.”

“… Yes, I will bring them in.”

It was clear that Yoon Jong and Jo Gul were lying sprawled out on the training ground, so she was instructing them to be brought in. Everyone felt exhausted, but several people moved to somehow gather the two.

Then suddenly,

Kiiik.

The door opened effortlessly, and a person slowly entered, carrying the two individuals.

“Eeik.”

“M-monk!”

It was Hae Yeon.

He was struggling to enter the dining area, practically dragging Yoon Jong and Jo Gul, who were sprawled out.

“T-take them quickly!”

“Give them to me, monk!”

Hae Yeon, carrying two people on his back, seemed like an impossible sight. Yet, seeing Hae Yeon’s current state, they couldn’t help but rush to assist.

His face looked as though he hadn’t eaten in ten years and was on the brink of collapse.

Hae Yeon staggered and grabbed a chair for support.

Baek Cheon, Yu Yiseol, and Hae Yeon just stared at each other, eyes wide open, in silence.

The disciples of Mount Hua, watching this scene, tried hard to hold back their tears.

‘Who knew the Closed Gate would be like this?’

They thought they just had to work hard and endure.

“… I understand one thing.”

“What do you mean?”

Baek Sang laughed bitterly.

“… He was right about the Closed Gate. Such a sight couldn’t be shown to others.”

“….”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Who would be allowed to witness Chung Myung swinging his sword as if he truly intended to kill his sahyungs?

In truth, they had already seen it several times while fighting together.

It was well-known among the disciples of Mount Hua that when he entered a real battle and wielded a sword, he became a different person.

But they hadn’t realized.

What would happen when that sword was directed at them? What did those who faced Chung Myung see and feel?

‘The Ten Thousand People Clan is a hundred times better.’

Even when they faced the Ten Thousand People clan, known for their viciousness even among the Evil Faction, they didn’t feel such fear.

“…Can we really endure this?”

The training they had been doing until then was merely an extension of their previous efforts.

However, after starting this new regimen, everyone realized a few days later.

The training wasn’t just a matter of effort.

It was about overcoming.

Could they overcome that fear and dread, and find their own sword while constantly repeating the same, or even more intense, sparring matches as if they were real fights?

‘Can we do it?’

Everyone’s hearts, once filled with confidence, sank heavily.

“Sahyung, please have some porridge. If not, we won’t be able to endure it.”

Baek Sang handed Baek Cheon the rice cake he brought. Baek Cheon, who had been staring blankly at the ceiling, turned his head. His eyes looked so weak that it was questionable whether he could even see the bowl.

But.

Tak.

Baek Cheon suddenly snatched the porridge bowl, opened his mouth wide, and poured the porridge in all at once.

“S-Sahyung?”

“Ugh!”

His body couldn’t even accept the porridge, and he felt nauseated as he gulped it all down.

Gulp.

After repeating the process several times and cleaning the bowl, Baek Cheon stood up shakily and staggered to the door, holding the sword he had placed at his side.

“W-where are you going, Sahyung?”

“Training…”

“Huh! T-training… have you lost it? You need to take a break and rest!”

“I need to… train.”

“Uh?”

Baek Cheon mumbled, looking back at Baek Sang with a blank expression.

“…Ugh, in the afternoon… training… real combat… alone… won’t improve sword skills… sword must… be practiced separately….”

“….”

“Not a single… day of training should be missed.”

Was this person insane?

His hands were shaking so much that he couldn’t even hold the sword properly, and his legs were trembling like fragile trees, looking as if they might break at any moment.

But was he really going to train the sword technique with this body?

“Just a bit…!”

It was then.

Tak!

Yu Yiseol grabbed the bowl of porridge on the table and stuffed it into her mouth like Baek Cheon.

“That… uh?”

Hae Yeon did the same.

Even Yoon Jong and Jo Gul, who had been lying on the ground, groaned and got up, grabbed the bowl of porridge, and somehow shoved it into their mouths.

“I-I have to… eat to live….”

“Euk! Euk!”

The two somehow managed to force the food into their stomachs and raise their bodies.

“Uhk…”

“I am dying, really…”

They staggered out, holding swords.

“N-no sahyung!”

“Yah, brat! Are you all insane?”

Jo Gul turned his head with a face like a corpse.

“… didn’t you hear what sasuk said…?”

“….”

“Sword training… is a different thing, right?”

The disciples gaped.

“… sasuk’s stomach must be harder… how can I joke around. Damn it.”

“Let’s go.”

“… Yes.”

As Yoon Jong and Jo Gul stumbled out, a cold silence descended on the diner.

“… he is out of his mind.”

“Can he endure that too?”

Through the open door, the sound of the Five Swords swinging their swords could be heard as they stepped into the training ground.

The sun had already set a long time ago…

When everyone was stunned and couldn’t continue speaking, Kwak Ho opened his mouth.

“But, Chung Myung?”

“…Chung Myung isn’t finished yet.”

“Uh? What?”

Baek Sang sighed and said.

“I understand that after our training, he trains with senior sasuk and then elders.”

“….”

“And he probably does his personal training after that.”

Kwak Ho’s eyes went dark.

They took turns sparring with Chung Myung. But if Baek Sang’s words were true, then Chung Myung was fighting endlessly from dawn to dusk, and on top of that, he was doing his own personal training.

“… how can a human do so much?”

“Since when was he a human?”

Baek Sang clenched his teeth with an annoyed look.

Then he grabbed the bowl next to him and poured the contents into his mouth in one gulp.

“Ah, damn it. It is so bland and stinking. Tell him to put some more salt in this.”

“Sasul?”

Baek Sang grabbed his sword and went out.

“Let’s go.”

“… I-I might collapse, sasuk.”

“So what?”

Baek Sang said indifferently.

“Anyway, there is no point in being in Finance Hall anymore. We sealed the bloody gates.”

“… uh?”

“It isn’t like anything will happen if you collapse. So what is the problem with collapsing?”

“…”

“We cannot win with skill anyway.”

Baek Sang looked at all the disciples in the diner and said,

“Then at least we shouldn’t lose in effort. Damn it, I don’t have skills, do I? But do I not have guts, too!”

Those words seemed to have ignited the sparks in their eyes. The eyes of Mount Hua’s disciples were filled with determination.

Everyone gulped down the bowls of food placed in front of them.

Thud!

They put down the bowls hard and got up, staggering.

“Who said we would die?”

“We have a lot to do too. It is because Chung Myung mostly brings up the sasuk and sahyungs around, but if I were to do it, it would have been different.”

“The Five Swords of Mount Hua cannot always stay the same. We need to decide when the Closed Gate ends!”

The people in the dining hall rushed out.

The guesthouse of Mount Hua was not brightly lit as usual because it wasn’t receiving guests.

In that guesthouse, the sound of swords being swung could be heard continuously.

Training without anyone watching or forcing them.

The first step to overcoming their limits and overcoming themselves was to make up their mind to do it.

A firm determination began to appear at the tips of the Mount Hua disciples’ swords.

Perhaps.

A firm determination to remain at the tips of their swords for the rest of their lives.