Return of Mount Hua Sect

“… Heo San.”

“… yes, sect leader.”

“Gather the disciples.”

“Yes!”

Venerable Heo Do bit his blood-stained lips.

Damage?

No, the damage wasn’t severe. Considering it was a large attack, a dozen injuries, and a few casualties weren’t that significant of a loss.

At first glance, Shaolin’s injuries were similar to Wudang’s, and Namgung had suffered a bit more. Qingcheng, which was at the back, was fortunate and suffered the least damage.

So where did all the blood come from?

Venerable Heo Do couldn’t overcome the growing sense of nausea and spat out.

Most of the blood currently soaking the ground belonged to the Black Dragon Pirates.

The indiscriminate attack didn’t differentiate between enemies and allies, killing the pirates of the Black Dragon.

“Hahahahaha!”

Jang Ilso, who had been laughing loudly, seemed to have finally calmed down a bit and covered his mouth with excitement. The laughter, lingering like a residue, hurt everyone’s ears.

It sounded like the whine of a beast.

“Haaa.”

Jang Ilso finally stifled his laughter and shook his head.

“Sorry. This… I hope you understand that I am a base person who doesn’t know how to hide his emotions.”

“…”

Venerable Heo Do suddenly wondered what kind of expression he was making. Additionally, he felt great confusion.

How should he comprehend this man?

This person couldn’t be described in words.

“…Did you use gunpowder?”

Jang Ilso nodded to the question as if praising Venerable Heo Do for figuring it out.

“I was lucky enough to get it.”

“…so you did use gunpowder?”

“As you can see, it works well.”

Venerable Heo Do changed his thoughts.

“I understand that you broke the law and used gunpowder. Because you are those kinds of people to start with. But no matter how much you call yourself the Evil Faction, you people aren’t animals! How can you be so cruel and attack your own comrades who are here! Is this your way?”

Venerable Heo Do’s scathing voice echoed loudly through the valley. Yet, even those angry cries couldn’t shake Jang Ilso.

“Ahh, right. This is our way.”

“Don’t you have pride as a warrior?”

“…Pride?”

Jang Ilso bit his tongue and licked his lips.

Observing that alluring appearance sent shivers down his spine.

“Pride? Is it your pride to stand up for one another with your skills and sacrifice your life in the end?”

“…”

“It is different. Different. Because my pride isn’t like that. No matter what you do, no matter what is done, I will always benefit from it. Be sure to defeat the enemy. Surely. Make sure I survive.”

Jang Ilso, who raised his voice for a moment, smiled softly again.

“That is my pride.”

“…”

“I am getting bored now, so let us stop with the obvious things. Well, you probably understand the situation you are in now. You don’t think this is all I prepared, right?”

Venerable Heo Do bit his lips.

He knew.

Because it was only one wall of the valley that collapsed. It was just one-tenth the size of the tall and wide cliffs that surrounded them.

Even if he was Jang Ilso, he wouldn’t end with just that. If they had been planning on driving them in here from the start, they would have surrounded the entire cliff with gunpowder.

‘What if this entire thing collapses?’

Death.

Everyone would die.

A few dozen warriors who could keep their bodies safe amidst such chaos might be able to live. But what good would that do?

Crack.

Venerable Heo Do’s face contorted. The eerie sound of gritting teeth emerged from his mouth.

There was no way it would have been easy to bury that much gunpowder and prepare it to collapse this cliff.

Even if the burial itself could have been done quickly, it would take quite a bit of time to check the land and make a plan.

‘This means…’

From the start, from the moment they decided to attack the Black Dragon pirates, or perhaps even from the moment they came to Yangtze…

“No, it must have been earlier.”

Jang Ilso orchestrated this entire situation and lured them here. This meant that the four sects representing the Central Plains—Shaolin, Wudang, Namgung, and Qingcheng—all fell into Jang Ilso’s trap.

“Amitabha.”

Beop Gye seemed to share the same thoughts as Elder Heo and recited his chants.

“Hegemony Lord, what do you want?”

“What do I want?”

“Exactly. Isn’t it that we need to understand the situation because you have something you desire? You must know the situation to have a conversation…”

But before the discussion could continue, Namgung Hwang shouted.

“What are you talking about, Elder! Are you saying you want to negotiate with them now? With those vile Evil Faction people?”

“Lord Namgung!”

A thunderous voice came from Beop Gye. Namgung Hwang, momentarily flustered by the words, closed his mouth.

“Please leave it to him for a moment. It will only take a moment!”

“… Damn it.”

In the end, Namgung Hwang swore with a cold look. Beop Gye clenched his fists.

Why would he want to negotiate with them? A Shaolin disciple had already lost his life in their attack.

The life of a disciple they cherished like a child was taken by a stone rather than a sword. Even if they tore Jang Ilso apart alive, it wouldn’t bring relief.

But that shouldn’t be the case.

If these attacks continued, they would never withstand them. Even if they were fortunate enough not to be entirely annihilated and only half of them lost their lives, these four sects would not recover their original prestige for another hundred years.

No, it would be more than that.

In the past, during the war with the Demonic Sect, everyone suffered damage. Therefore, even if strength was lost, their position wasn’t shaken.

But things were different now. If they were not careful, the heads of the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families might lose their positions and be relegated to the bottom.

Beop Gye couldn’t face such a situation. Wasn’t he an elder and not even the abbot?

His eyes looked at the cliff.

He saw it.

He hadn’t noticed it before since he hadn’t paid attention, but he could clearly see it now. There were black holes all over the wide cliff. It was probably full of explosives inside.

A long line stuck into the hope extended up the cliff. It looked like a way to light a flame there.

Looking at Jang Ilso, Beop Gye bit his lip.

‘No matter what conditions we grant, we need to get out of here first.’

Even if it was a humiliating agreement.

“I am sure other sect leaders have the same thoughts as me, right?”

“R-right.”

Byeok Hyun nodded quickly.

But Venerable Heo Do kept his mouth shut and didn’t answer. Perhaps it was pride that made it impossible for him to say anything about discussing with the Four Sects Alliance.

But Beop Gye couldn’t wait for the answer.

“Speak up, Hegemony Lord, what do you want?”

Even if the Wudang said something later, this situation now had to be resolved.

But the words that came out of Jang Ilso’s mouth were entirely different from what Beop Gye thought.

“Hahaha. What I want.”

Jang Ilso’s lips curled into a smile.

“Maybe that is because you are the type of person who lives alone in a mountain valley without knowing what happens in the world, so you talk a lot. What would I want?”

“…”

“What would I want? Of course, I have something I want.”

Jang Ilso smiled and spread his arms to show his wide sleeves.

“The only thing that will be received from those who invade and attack the land of the Evils faction is their lives! What do I want? Of course, it is annihilation!”

“…”

“Don’t be mistaken, mountain bastard. The reason I did not kill you all at once is because the sins you have committed are too great to grant you an easy death.”

Beop Gye’s eyes began to tremble.

“Death? Why are you dying? Who is dying? Knowing how you will die and then die! With your death, I will inform the world that the Four Sects Alliance has appeared. That sacrifice will be quite sufficient! Hahaha! Not a single one! I will not leave a single one alive! Not one of you!”

For a moment, despair appeared in the eyes of Beop Gye.

‘How can such an insane man exist in this world?’

It was impossible to explain even by saying that it was insanity.

Crash!

On the other hand, unlike the despairing Beop Gye, Venerable Heo Do couldn’t hide his anger and changed his mind.

‘The Wudang’s reputation might end in my generation.’

Venerable Heo Do’s fingertips trembled as he continued to keep the worst-case scenario in mind.

“By your blood, the world will know. The fact that the world ruled by the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families has come to an end! Now, these central plains will be subjugated under the name of the Four Sects Alliance!”

Jang Ilso’s hand lightly stroked his face. There was deep excitement at the tips of those soft fingers.

The Desolate Gold Elder, who was watching this in silence, laughed sinisterly.

“I never thought a day like this would come so soon.”

The Black Dragon Pirates also burst into laughter.

“I will pay for the lives of my brothers who died on the Yangtze River!”

Now, there were surely enemies of not only the Four Sects but also the Black Dragon Pirates at the foot of the cliff. But the Black Dragon King spoke as if they didn’t exist in the first place.

“If your sect loses its power, the Northern region would be nothing to conquer.”

Excitement also appeared on the Thousand Face Scholar’s face without filtering.

Venerable Heo Do, who was looking at the scene, spoke softly.

“Heo San.”

“… Yes, Sect Leader.”

It was a whisper so small that others couldn’t hear it.

“When I give the signal, lead the disciples and get out of here.”

“… Sect leader. It would be better to remove those explosives…”

“That will be done by Shaolin and Namgung.”

Heo Sanja slowly turned his head. As expected, the eyes of Beop Gye and Namgung were already scanning the holes in the cliff.

“Leave it to them. We must save at least one more disciple.”

“…”

Heo Sanja couldn’t bear to respond immediately.

The current command of Venerable Heo Do was no different from saying that only Wudang should survive by using Shaolin and Namgung as their shields.

It couldn’t be called an agreement at all. But Heo Sanja had no choice but to follow the others.

“… Alright.”

When Heo Sanja answered, Venerable Heo Do clenched his fists.

‘Four Precepts Alliance…’

If they were to judge the mistakes of Wudang, the fault ultimately lay with him.

Seeing the enemy as an easy target. Guided by a sense of hubris, he didn’t look back. All of that came together to lead to this result. If he had been a bit calmer, he wouldn’t have brought the disciples into such a bad situation.

So all the shame was on him. The disciples of Wudang had to get out alive. At any cost!

‘Shaolin and Namgung aren’t weak, so if they move quickly, they might be able to remove around half the explosives.’

All they had to do was cut off the wicks.

Since the enemy would respond without assessing the situation, it would be impossible to eliminate them all, and at best, it would just be half.

‘Then a war will break out between the survivors and the Evil Faction people on the cliff.’

Both sides needed to prepare to suffer damage close to annihilation.

‘Well, first…’

While he was calculating in his head, Jang Ilso raised his hand high, waving the hem of his long sleeve.

“The rats are using their heads. No matter how much you think with that sloppy mind, you won’t be able to find a way out. So die now!”

Venerable Heo Do’s gaze turned upward.

‘N-No!’

“Heo San! Lead the disciples out right now…!”

Venerable Heo Do was about to scream the order when—

“Why does my stomach want to puke when I see that bastard’s face?”

A high and powerful voice rang loud and clear over the cliff.

Jang Ilso’s hand, which was held high, slowly descended.

Eventually, his gaze shifted to the other side.

Kwang!

With a loud explosion, several members of the Evil Faction, dressed in black, screamed and fell down the cliff.

They were the ones guarding the side of the cliff occupied by the Evil Faction.

Step. Step.

A person slowly appeared from the unguarded side of the cliff.

“… Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon.”

Chung Myung.

“Don’t my sahyungs also think the same?”

“Ahh. I agree with that.”

The disciples of Mount Hua appeared as well.

“…”

For the first time, a smile vanished from Jang Ilso’s face as he witnessed it.

“Yah.”

“…”

“I am so happy to see you again!”

Chung Myung grinned, the most evil smile he could muster.