Return of the Mount Hua Sect

"Faster! Faster!"

"Sa-sasuk! We cannot speed up anymore!"

"What nonsense! Can't you see that?"

Baek Cheon's voice was filled with urgency and anger. Although they were climbing at a frantic pace, they couldn't overcome the initial difference from those who began the climb first. At this rate, the Wudang disciples would reach the goal first.

If that happened, Chung Myung would have to deal with Wudang's disciples all by himself. No matter how inhuman he might be, there was no way he could deal with so many Wudang disciples.

Not just Chung Myung, even Chung Myung's grandfather couldn't handle them.

'No, Chung Myung's grandfather shouldn't be brought up, but would it be possible for Chung Myung if he became an old grandfather?'

Well, that doesn't matter now!

"If you don't want to see your sajae die, use every bit of energy you have and move! Let's move!"

"Huh?"

Baek Cheon climbed the cliff even faster than before, with Yu Yiseol following closely behind him.

"Damn it!"

Even though they followed the same training schedule every day, they were the second-class disciples, while Yoon Jong and Jo-Gul were the third-class disciples. There was still an unmatched difference in their stamina.

"Gul! Be strong! We need to move faster!"

"I-I might die!"

"Don't whine!"

Yoon Jong clenched his teeth.

Falling behind Baek Cheon didn't hurt his pride. Baek Cheon was like an idol to him. Yoon Jong was angry at himself because Chung Myung might be in danger, yet he couldn't move any faster to help him.

"How can I… Uh?"

At that moment, Yoon Jong noticed something strange.

Some of the Wudang disciples climbing the cliff turned around and started to crawl towards the disciples of Mount Hua.

"What are they doing?"

"Do you think they are coming to stop us?"

"… so strange. Right?"

"Tell me about it."

It was weird.

"All that training to fight on a cliff seemed useless, I didn't think it'd help out here."

Yoon Jong drew his sword, and so did Jo Gul.

Would they deal with Wudang disciples if they were on flat land?

If they were sane, they would never dare. Firstly, Yoon Jong couldn't find anyone younger than him among the Wudang disciples. What's more, along with the third-class disciples, there had to be some first and second-class disciples mixed in.

But they were currently on a cliff.

Yoon Jong and Jo Gul were two people who had been on the receiving end of Chung Myung's sword on a cliff.

"You're digging your own grave! Your grave!"

Yoon Jong crawled towards the Wudang disciples that were approaching him. Jo Gul, who watched the scene from behind, mumbled.

"… it is really annoying."

"Petty tricks!"

Heo Sanja bit his lip as he watched the weapons embedded in the floor flying at him.

But just because it's a petty trick, that didn't mean that it would be easy to deal with. Why were they called divine weapons? They were regarded as such because these weapons could cut through swords and slice through bodies strengthened with qi.

If those weapons couldn't be dodged…

"Hmm?"

At that moment, Heo Sanja's eyes widened.

'The divine weapons…?'

There was not even a shred of energy on the flying swords. All that could be seen were rusted lumps of scrap metal.

"What?"

Kang! Kang! Kaang!

Heo Sanja raised his sword and defended himself. The swords that attempted to kill him were scattered away in all directions. Some were even cut in half because they couldn't withstand Heo Sanja's attack.

"What is…"

Phat!

"Ugh!"

Among the rotten swords, there was one flying around with formidable power.

Heo Sanja, frightened at the perfect weapon, flipped over. If something like this had come at him from the start, he would have dealt with it more calmly. However, he had been dealing with rotten swords until now when a perfectly preserved divine weapon assaulted him unexpectedly; as a result, he panicked.

And…

Swish.

Chung Myung didn't miss the opportunity and rushed in to attack Heo Sanja from the side.

"Kuak!"

Kang!

Heo Sanja raised his sword to block the attack, but he couldn't keep his body from losing balance and bouncing back.

Heo Sanja, who was thrown off the cliff, bit his lips.

"You're playing tricks till the very end!"

Heo Sanja used his sword to stop himself from falling and then lightened his body to climb the cliff once again.

Chung Myung clicked his tongue at the sight.

'Seems to be missing strength.'

It would be nice if the man just fell down the cliff, but it didn't seem like this would end that easily.

Meanwhile, Heo Sanja standing on the cliff, again looked at the swords sprawled across the ground.

"… this."

"Right, they are swords."

"…"

Looking at them clearly now, they were all rusted and dyed red; they looked to be in bad form.

'But, if you think about it, this was bound to happen.'

They were known as divine swords, but they were all weapons made of iron. It was only natural for them to rot away if left alone for two hundred years in this damp cave.

However, among the many decayed swords, a few looked fine. In other words, these were not just divine swords in name, but truly divine swords.

'Right, but it's worthless anyway.'

Heo Sanja could feel the laughter of Yak Seon echoing in his ears.

The main purpose of those that entered the Sword Tomb was to obtain these weapons. Only a few, like the Wudang and Shaolin sect, knew that Yak Seon and the Untraceable Seizing Sword were one and the same!

Even that was only known because one of Yak Seon's disciples had accidentally spilled the information.

So, when making the Sword Tomb, Yak Seon must have anticipated that those coming here would be pursuing these weapons.

Did Yak Seon not realize that these swords would rot?

No way.

If he really wanted to pass these swords on to future generations, he would have stored them in a better environment. They wouldn't have been put in a cavern full of moisture like this.

"Was he simply mocking those who would come here later? He surely wasn't a good man either."

Heo Sanja looked at the wooden box.

It didn't matter what happened with the weapons here. The true purpose of his journey was different.

And… it was probably the same for Chung Myung.

Chung Myung also didn't pay much attention to the fallen weapons.

"It seems like we have the same purpose."

"If you want to take those swords, I'll be happy to send you off with them."

"You're quite naughty."

"You don't want to be too greedy."

'Actually I'm quite greedy as well.'

Chung Myung pointed his sword forward. As time passed, Chung Myung would be the one at a disadvantage. The other Wudang elders would also arrive if he couldn't defeat Heo Sanja quickly.

'There's no other option.'

It was an inescapable truth that one fist could not match up against ten fists. Even the Heavenly Demon was unable to escape this fate. Chung Myung had no intention of testing whether it was true or not himself.

"Here I come!"

"You seem to be in a hurry!"

"Well, you're just too talkative!"

Chung Myung's sword moved softly in the air.

"Hmm?"

Heo Sanja's mood quickly changed. He realized that Chung Myung's sword was unusual.

Red flowers began to bloom from the tip of Chung Myung's sword. Heo Sanja lightly exhaled and exclaimed in shock.

"Plum Blossom Sword Technique? You've really restored the Plum Blossom Sword Technique!?"

'My my, and you looked so uninterested until just a moment ago.'

It seems like Wudang knew that Mount Hua had lost its techniques. Of course, what Chung Myung was currently displaying wasn't the Plum Blossom Sword technique but the Seven Sages Sword. However, it didn't look like that in Heo Sanja's eyes.

Red petals began to flutter.

In a place where nothing should be able to bloom.

Red plum blossoms were growing in a cave where nothing could live. The blossoms bloomed in unison and flew towards Heo Sanja.

Heo Sanja lowered his sword.

He lowered his stance.

This was the most stable form where the sword of Wudang began.

The sword began with a heavy move.

Circle.

Heo Sanja drew a large circle in front of him with his sword.

The circle was the source. It was the origin from which everything began.

In the beginning, there was just one world. But the world then divided into Yin and Yang, creating all things.

After all, the world began with Yin and Yang, and that Yin Yang was Taiji.¹

"Haaah!"

The circle drawn by Heo Sanja's sword split and divided into two halves, one white and the other black. Both energies began to swirl and shift.

Taiji Wisdom Sword.

The greatest martial arts technique of Wudang and the technique that truly defined the Wudang.

The Taiji Wisdom Sword was fully displayed in Heo Sanja's hands.

Although Mu Jin had previously used this technique against Chung Myung, it was only a clumsy attempt that failed to capture the true essence. That failure didn't deserve to be called the Taiji Wisdom Sword.

However, the technique that Heo Sanja was unfolding now was precise in every way.

Chung Myung's flying petals became entangled with the dazzling Taiji Wisdom Sword.

Soft and strong.

The two opposing properties melted away. The petals were gently sucked in and crushed.

"To be able to make plum blossoms bloom at this age!"

If diplomacy didn't work, then defeating the child was the only option left. Killing intent rose in Heo Sanja's eyes.

"It's too early to be surprised."

Chung Myung's sword swung once again.

Mutual Restraint

As Chung Myung had felt in the past, the reason why Mount Hua couldn't defeat Wudang wasn't that their martial arts were weak. The softness of the Wudang was the opposite of Mount Hua's sharpness.

Swift and fast swords always revealed their weak points to the soft sword.

But that is all.

What is Mutual Restraint?

Fire is extinguished by water, but a big enough fire can burn away any water. Anything can be overcome with a stronger force.

'Here it comes!'

The internal qi crouching inside the dantian responded to the will of Chung Myung. Impeccable and clear energy, the purest qi moved from his dantian and circulated through his body before moving to the sword's tip.

Bloom.

Blossoms bloomed again.

The plum blossoms seemed to form a small forest as they bloomed again and again.

This was no longer the Seven Sages Sword.

Twenty-Four Movement Plum Blossom Sword technique.

In the past, the Southern Edge Sect tried to steal this technique, but they were unable to execute it.

Plum Blossoms bloomed one after another!

Fluttering and propagating endlessly. Like plum leaves fluttering in the spring breeze.

For a moment, Heo Sanja was captivated by the sea of blossoms flying toward him.

'How… How is this sword?'

For the Wudang, the beginning of everything was the Taiji.

Inducing Taiji in the sword was like placing the world in the sword.

But the sword he saw now seemed to speak to him.

The source of everything?

The beginning of everything?

It wasn't that.

The world itself was like that.

If the Taiji represented one Path, then the dew on the tip of a leaf at dawn was also a Path.

All of that can be considered the path of life. Everything was nature.

The plum blossoms were fluttering, but the logic of the world was contained within them.

"Haaaa!"

"Ahhhh!"

As the petals collided with the Taiji, a huge storm ravaged the surroundings.

It was fortunate that no one had reached the top of the cliff yet. If anyone else had been present, they would have been shredded into bits by the collision of both sword techniques.

"Kuaaak!"

Heo Sanja bounced back and grabbed his chest.

'It pierced my sword?'

His chest was stained with blood. There was not just one injury; his entire body seemed to have been sharply cut as blood spewed forth.

'What about him?'

Heo Sanja shook his head. He could see the figure of Chung Myung lying on the ground.

"Kuaaaak!"

Chung Myung struggled to get up. Apparently, he wasn't all great either.

'Damage?'

No, maybe he was pushed back lightly.

Respect rose in Heo Sanja's heart.

At this moment, Heo Sanja was unable to help but feel admiration for this child. At the same time, however, the sense of crisis rose.

"You have quite dirty intentions."

Chung Myung struggled to get up and spit on the floor. Although, it was more like blood than saliva.

"This should come to an end now."

"That's what I was hoping for."

The two faced off and looked straight into the other's eyes.

But there was something that both overlooked.

This place had no sparring ground or training hall where they could battle and go all out. Nor was this a time that they could fight, just the two of them.

"Sahyung!"

The both of them took a deep breath and turned their heads.

Heo Gong.

Finally, Heo Sanja's sajae managed to come up the cliff.

For a moment, Heo Sanja's eyes fluttered in emotion. Realizing what had to be done, he screamed with nerves popping in his throat.

"Sajae! That wooden box! Grab the wooden booooooox!"

Heo Gong turned his head.

His eyes clearly saw the wooden box placed on a rock in the center.

"Okay!"

Heo Gong quickly flew towards it without delay.

At that moment, Chung Myung screamed.

"Nooooooo!"

Chung Myung tried to throw himself at Heo Gong, but Heo Sanja quickly blocked the way.

"This is the end, you brat!"

"No, that's not…!"

Chung Myung's eyes clearly captured the sight of Heo Gong grabbing the wooden box.

"Ah…"

'… we are ruined.'

'Ahhh, those assholes!'