Return of the Mount Hua Sect

“…this woman?”

Despite his precarious situation, he was one of the leaders of the Green Forest’s Seventy-Two bandits.

He may not have been as renowned as Go Hong, but his fame was enough to silence a crying child in the region he hailed from.

And this insignificant creature dared to obstruct his path?

“I don’t have time to deal with you, wench. Move now!”

“No.”

“….What?”

Yu Yiseol gently shook her head.

“The elder isn’t free to deal with you.”

Wong Kang’s face turned red as he retorted.

“You who don’t even know your place!”

No further words were necessary. Even at that moment, his battle line was crumbling. There was a limit to sustaining the fight with their numerical advantage.

Without hesitation, Wong Kang roared and charged at her.

Kwaaang!

As if to prove he didn’t become a leader for nothing, he executed a terrifying maneuver.

The sight of him wielding his jagged blade was enough to make one’s hair stand on end.

However, Yu Yiseol, standing in front of him, remained unfazed.

Paat!

His blade swept through the space she had occupied. The wind it generated was enough to stir up dust from the ground.

But no matter how powerful the attack, it was meaningless if it didn’t reach its target. And Yu Yiseol had completely evaded it by merely taking two steps back.

“Hmm!”

Of course, Wong Kang hadn’t expected to finish her off with one blow. If he had been that naive, he wouldn’t have risen to the position of a leader.

Kwaang!

A storm of raw blade qi surged, threatening to tear Yu Yiseol’s body apart. Yet, Yu Yiseol merely stared at the blade hurtling toward her.

One would expect her to be terrified at the sight, but there was no hint of fear in her eyes or heart.

She had endured too much to falter now.

Tat.

Yu Yiseol struck the ground and leaped directly into the storm of blade qi, which was thick with dust.

And.

Kang! Kang! Kang!

Three consecutive sword strikes created a gap within the swirling blades.

Shhh.

Like a mirage, Yu Yiseol darted through that small gap and charged forward, her sword thrust out, targeting her opponent’s neck.

‘Huk!’

Wong Kang, so shocked that his eyes nearly bulged out of his head, spun around in fear.

Thud!

His surprise was so great that his landing was sloppy, and he fell on his backside.

“…”

The fear of death made him sweat.

‘She made it through that?’

It wasn’t a question of whether it was possible or not. He wasn’t someone who had never been defeated, but there were times when his blade neutralized threats against him.

However, no one who had bested him had ever plunged into a swirling storm of blade qi. It was an act no sane person would attempt.

But this young swordsman, who appeared to have lived half as long as he had, was doing just that.

‘Does she not fear it?’

How could he know?

The person he was currently facing was someone who had severed the demonic qi of the high priest of the Demonic Sect by standing at the forefront and clinging to the body of the high priest, even at the cost of her own life.

Yu Yiseol pointed her sword at him as he began to sweat and thought with her expressionless face.

‘So different.’

She was certainly lacking in many ways.

The Demonic Sect might have been more skilled, but they possessed the spirit to inflict wounds on their opponent’s body and die, even if it meant sacrificing their own lives.

And the high priest of the Demonic Sect had instilled in her such fear that her body shook. The true embodiment of evil.

In the first place, it was impossible for her, who had faced such individuals, to fear Wong Kang.

People grow through experience.

Yu Yiseol felt the sting of those words at that moment. If she had never dealt with the high priest before, even with the same skills, she wouldn’t have been able to maintain such composure.

‘See more to experience more.’

It was evident that those experiences would make her sword stronger.

“…I wondered how on earth they were this strong, but it seems like Mount Hua has given up on fear.”

Wong Kang’s lips twitched as Yu Yiseol mumbled.

“You talk too much.”

“…this damned wench!”

Wong Kang roared, but Yu Yiseol made the first move. Her body flowed into the force ahead of her, leaving only illusions behind.

“AHHHH!”

In response to her, the opponent raised his blade and swung it to cut her in half.

But

Kakang!

Yu Yiseol raised her sword at an angle, twisting her waist to the side, and struck back the moment the blade came in, sending it down. She then quickly twisted her body.

‘W-what?’

It was a martial arts technique that felt like artistry. The moment Wong Kang opened his eyes in surprise, the sword shook like an illusion, creating numerous afterimages. Soon, Wong Kang’s entire body was covered in wounds.

It was impossible for him, who was seriously injured, to simultaneously block the sword technique that came at him.

He eventually raised the blade to block it and threw himself backward.

Slash! Slash!

He managed to block the vital areas from being hit, but his thick forearms and thighs were cut down like old trees.

“Kuak!”

And that made him groan in pain.

The sound of the sword hitting flesh was eerily resonant in his ears.

‘Just how…’

The sharpness of the sword? Was the speed so great that he couldn’t see it?

Those were all secondary things.

What truly shocked him was that her sword aimed for his vital points without hesitation. A sword that didn’t want to subdue the opponent. It wanted to kill.

Of course, there was no reason why one couldn’t wield a sword that wanted to kill just because they belonged to the justice faction. But the very fact that this girl was doing so made him fear her.

‘…the world has misunderstood Mount Hua!’

If anyone had known that such monsters were being nurtured there, they would have intervened.

“Kuaaak!”

Wong Kang increased the distance as he raised his eyes.

The plan was to win by force without giving the opponent the opportunity to rush in. That was a huge mistake. Those who dealt with the swordsmen of Mount Hua should never allow distance.

Prrrr.

The tip of Yu Yiseol’s sword trembled gently as if in anticipation. Soon, the red plum blossoms began to bloom.

Wong Kang opened his mouth as if he was losing his soul.

The plum blossoms floated in the air as if they were alive. Even in that gap, the flowers continued to envelop Yu Yiseol’s body, and soon, they filled Wong Kang’s vision.

An illusion. Yes, it had to be that.

But wasn’t an illusion something that could be distinguished from reality? This was no different from reality.

Unconsciously, Wong Kang took a step back and gripped the blade in anger.

“AHHHH!”

And then he screamed as he swung the sword.

The strong wind pressure pushed the plum blossoms away, and no matter how much he tried to push and tear them apart, the flowers continued to bloom.

In the plum forest, he wielded the blade like a madman, and against the endless flowers, he tried to destroy them.

‘T-this can’t be happening!’

The leader of a bandit group in Green Forest. A person who should have been crowned as the Green Forest King.

There was no way he would be defeated by this young female swordsman from Mount Hua, which wasn’t even considered a strong sect. Such nonsense could never happen!

“DIEEEEE!”

While moving, his blade cut through the air due to the rising impatience and lost its sharpness.

And then.

Paaat!

Yu Yiseol’s sharply honed senses didn’t miss the opportunity.

Yu Yiseol’s sword rose like a hawk stalking its prey among the fluttering plum petals and rushed toward Wong Kang’s neck.

“Kuak!”

Despite the change in form, Wong Kang raised his blade to block it. He tried to.

Turn.

But Yu Yiseol’s sword, which flew in like light, easily overcame his sword and dug into Wong Kang’s neck faster.

Slash!

“…”

Wong Kang was wide-eyed in disbelief. But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find Yu Yiseol. She had decapitated him.

His shortened life was ended as he tried to turn his head to see her.

‘Such a swift sword,… changed….’

Puaaah!

His half-cut neck began to spurt out blood.

His vision gradually blurred, and his body suddenly lost strength.

‘Sword Ghost…’

The last thought he had after he realized what he had gone through.

Thud.

His huge body fell down with blood gushing from his neck, and the surrounding grass was stained red.

“L-leader!”

“Leaderrrr!”

They watched their leader lose his life and screamed in despair. The screams weren’t for the death of their leader but the screams of fear for what would happen next.

Pat!

Yu Yiseol brushed the blood off her sword and glared at the other bandits.

“…”

Silence fell. The faces of the bandits who looked at her turned pale.

On the mountain that Wong Kang ruled, he was a king, and such a person lost his life at the hands of this unknown swordsman. This difference was enough to destroy their spirit.

“The battle starts from the head.”

Yu Yiseol, who had neatly carried out the teachings of Chung Myung, gazed at Baek Cheon, who smiled.

“The enemy leader has been defeated!”

And he aimed the tip of his sword at the pale-faced bandits.

“Make those who don’t surrender pay for their sins!”

“Yes!”

The disciples of Mount Hua, whose morale rose endlessly, attacked with increased force.

“EHHH!”

“You damned bastards! Even if you become evil spirits… kuak…”

Fear spread rapidly as even those who still had the will and energy to resist fell helplessly.

“I-I surrender! I surrender! Please spare me!”

“Drop your weapons, you idiots! Drop them quickly!”

Although the battle was short, lasting no more than an hour, over 100 bandits fell. If the battle had continued, the outcome seemed obvious.

The only options left for those who had lost their force and even their leader were death or surrender. Even those who lacked the ability to think knew how precious their lives were, so they threw down all their weapons.

Victory belonged to Mount Hua.

This was a completely different outcome than the battles against the Ten Thousand People Clan and the Great Star Bandits.

It was the first time a fortress of bandits at full strength had been defeated under the name of Mount Hua. The faces of the Mount Hua disciples were flushed with emotion.

Their pride in their performance and the victory of the battle ignited their spirits.

“Elder.”

“Hmm!”

Hyun Sang, who was trying to calm his excited heart by clenching his fists, raised his voice.

“This battle is a victory for Mount Hua! Take the weapons of the opponents and capture them!”

“Yes!”

It was a clean sweep and an amazing victory for Mount Hua, and no one could say otherwise.