Return of Mount Hua Sect

“Hmm.”

Chung Myung’s gaze extended beyond the cliff.

After scanning the people occupying the cliff, led by Jang Ilso, Chung Myung’s gaze shifted downward this time.

Wudang, Namgung, Qingcheng, and even Shaolin.

Their flustered faces were clearly visible.

“Ohhh?”

Chung Myung grinned, clearly intrigued.

“This, we’ve arrived at a very interesting situation?”

Venerable Heo Do looked up at Chung Myung, his eyes wide with surprise.

Why were they here?

Did Mount Hua decide to wait across the river?

‘Again, as they wish…!’

But this time, instead of feeling anger, he was so happy he almost cried. He was confident there would never again be a moment when he would welcome Mount Hua like this, not just now but in the future.

“Sect leader! Mount Hua is…!”

Beop Gye seemed to share similar thoughts. A noticeable redness spread across his face.

‘If it were any other sect, something like this would never have happened.’

No sect in the world would dare to arbitrarily break the agreements reached with Shaolin, Wudang, and Namgung. Even if the sect waiting across the river was Southern Edge, since they promised to wait, they wouldn’t take a single step until something serious happened.

‘Like thunder…’

But this time, they survived, thanks to him.

Of course, Mount Hua couldn’t deal with all of the Four Precepts Alliance on the cliff. Mount Hua was still not even equal to the weakest in terms of the Nine Great Sects.

But!

‘It could at least play a role in briefly preventing them from using the explosions.’

That should be enough.

All they had to do was buy a little time until their sect could climb the cliff. Just a moment.

Because they ignored the words of the Evil Faction and moved ahead on their own, an absurd chance arose. As the sky collapsed, a hole was created for people to escape.

‘I never thought I would be saved by Mount Hua.’

Venerable Heo Do, who burst into laughter at the surprising situation, immediately shouted.

“Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon!”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung lowered his gaze.

Normally, in this case, Venerable Heo Do would have rejected Chung Myung and called for Hyun Jong. Still, he didn’t care about pride now.

When Chung Myung’s eyes met his, he got straight to the point.

“Cling on to them! Please stop them for just a moment!”

“Uh?”

Chung Myung tilted his head.

“Stop them?”

“Right! All you have to do is wait until they ignite the gunpowder and blow the cliff! Then we will climb up the cliff and deal with them!”

“Ah, gunpowder.”

Chung Myung nodded as if he understood. Then Beop Gye quickly took Venerable Heo Do’s words and shouted.

“Right, Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon! It won’t be easy, but all you have to do is hold on to them for a moment and bide their time!”

It was definitely not easy to handle them all at the same time. But Mount Hua’s current strength made it possible.

The growth of Mount Hua they were trying to prevent was now paving the way for them to live.

“Ah, are you telling me to fight and waste time on them?”

“T-that’s accurate!”

Upon hearing Venerable Heo Do’s resolute answer, Chung Myung’s head tilted to the side.

Uh? Why was he doing that…

“Us?”

Beop Gye opened his mouth in confusion at the strange answer.

“R-right. Who else is here besides Mount Hua?”

“So, us?”

“…”

“Why?”

Beop Gye was feeling at a loss for words.

Even Venerable Heo Do, as if he hadn’t expected those words, opened his mouth wide and looked up at Chung Myung with a mesmerized face.

“No, well….”

Chung Myung nuzzled his ears and blew on his finger.

“We came here to watch because you told us to watch, but if you suddenly tell us to fight, of course, we are flustered.”

“… L-look, Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon?”

“Do not worry. We will not interfere without reason and will keep an eye on it. If we end up greedy without notice, then we won’t be such a righteous sect. Now… let’s see, a mat.”

Chung Myung turned around, received something from behind, and unfolded it.

Beop Gye’s eyes trembled with uncertainty.

“M-mat?”

No, what was this…

Chung Myung sat down on the neatly spread mat and patted the space beside him.

“Sasuk and sahyungs, sit down too. We have found a great place, so let’s take a comfortable look around!”

“…”

“Why aren’t you sitting down?”

The faces of Baek Cheon and the others were all pale and tense.

‘How can we sit in this crazy situation, you bastard!’

‘Please act like a human! Please!’

Normally, they would have already screamed and hit him, but due to the situation, the Five Swords couldn’t even speak.

Even if they were trained by Chung Myung, could they behave as usual when there were Wudang, Shaolin, and Namgung men below, and on the other side, leaders of the Evil Factions?

Of course, Chung Myung was a bastard who would be quicker in finding an insane moment than a sane one. Still, they never thought he would be acting like this in the current situation, too.

Seeing that even Mount Hua’s disciples were flustered, Chung Myung shrugged his shoulders indifferently. Then he looked down with a calm expression and asked.

“Aren’t you going to fight?”

“…”

“I guess we can fight now that the spar is done? Do what you want!”

At that moment, Namgung Hwang, who couldn’t hold back his anger, shouted at the top of his lungs.

“What are you doing now? You shameless bastard!”

Chung Myung frowned at the loud shout and screamed louder.

“Why are you screaming like that? You said to do what we were told!”

“Isn’t this about fighting the Evil Faction? No matter how bad the ties between us are, surely we need to cooperate! Is this the way of Mount Hua and the Heavenly Friends Alliance?”

“Sigh…”

Chung Myung looked down at Namgung Hwang and laughed.

“You’re saying we didn’t cooperate? We ran all the way here to help, but who told us to stay back and twiddle our thumbs?”

“T-that is…!”

“Whether we do as you say or not, you always have something to complain about! To which tune am I supposed to dance?”

Namgung Hwang opened his mouth.

“And what about the way of the Heavenly Friends Alliance?”

Chung Myung scoffed openly.

“No. This is the way of the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families. Cross Kangho and enjoy the scenery, right? You people seem to like that.”

After finishing speaking, Chung Myung glared at Beop Gye. Beop Gye lowered his gaze without realizing it.

Of course, they needed to cooperate. If one could help, of course, one should help.

Beop Gye knew how worthless and empty such words were. When Mount Hua asked the world for help, they were completely ignored.

How shameless was it to ask for cooperation while clearly knowing the history?

“But now what? Cooperation? Cooperate?”

“…”

“We will just handle our own. We will only look.”

Chung Myung smiled.

Then, Hyun Young and Hyun Sang, who had been quietly listening from behind, looked at Hyun Jong with anxious faces.

“… Sect leader.”

“I-is this alright?”

Of course, there was no mistake in what Chung Myung said. This was what Mount Hua could do.

But no matter how right something was, there were things to be said in different places and times. In this situation, pushing for salvation might not look good.

But, even though it was clear, Hyun Jong knew everything about the situation and remained extremely calm and reserved.

“Why? Is there something wrong with what Chung Myung said?”

“W-well, it isn’t exactly wrong, but…”

“Then it is good enough.”

“S-sect leader!”

Cold sweat flowed down the face of Hyun Sang. The faces of the other Mount Hua disciples were more or less the same.

“Do not step forward.”

“Uh?”

“Do not step forward and leave the matter to Chung Myung.”

Usually, the person who distrusted Chung Myung the most and mistreated him was Hyun Jong. But when the moment came to decide the fate of the sect, Hyun Jong had a different attitude.

Like now.

There was no way in the world anyone could think calmly in this situation.

As far as Hyun Jong knew, there was just one person in Mount Hua who could do that.

But Baek Cheon seemed to have other thoughts.

“C-Chung Myung.”

“Uh?”

Baek Cheon’s face, which had been calm until facing Jang Ilso, turned pale.

“W-We have to help.”

“Help?”

“Right! No matter what, we need to help.”

Chung Myung looked at Baek Cheon with an ‘Ah’ face.

“That… still, isn’t it a bit harsh? Still, we need to help him…”

“Huh?”

But Chung Myung opened his eyes wide and asked back as if it was shocking. The reaction was different from what he had expected, so Baek Cheon trailed off and looked at him blankly, while Chung Myung mumbled.

“I knew Dong-Ryong was a bit extreme, but even so, helping the Evil Faction bastards and defeating the Nine Great Sects was a bit… you know? Of course, I know that the resentment is deep, but there are things people can and cannot do.”

“W-What are you talking about, you insane bastard! Of course, we need to help the Nine Sects and defeat the Evil Factions!”

“Eh? Ah, was that what you heard?”

Chung Myung grinned.

“Well. That is a problem too… if a rat and cockroach are fighting in your house, who should you help?”

“…”

“If possible, it’s better for both to lose. Right. And we fight?”

This insane bastard.

It wasn’t like he was insane, which was more of an exclamation; as he often said, he was crazy.

“Of course, guy! Of course, we have to help Evil Factions!”

“Help the Evil Faction!”

“Yah! Justice faction! Justice faction! Damn it! What are you talking about!”

Baek Cheon’s face turned red. Baek Cheon rarely made such kind of talk, but now he was in a situation where he was unable to come to his senses.

“What? Does sasuk like a good guy with a grudge? Or do you like criminals without resentment?”

“Uh? That….”

“See. Because this isn’t an easy problem to handle. Sigh… I am worried about this. Ugh….”

“…”

The saddest thing was that everyone was listening to what Chung Myung was saying.

“Hmm.”

At that time.

Jang Ilso, who had been quietly observing the situation, let out a low snort and opened his mouth.

“Yes. Mount Hua had no reason to help them.”

Chung Myung raised his head and looked at Jang Ilso.

“There might be a reason for Mount Hua to help, but the Heavenly Friends Alliance has no reason to do so. Isn’t that right, Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon?”

A smile was clearly visible on the red lips. Chung Myung smiled as he looked at Jang Ilso.

“Yah, Jang Ilso.”

“Speak, Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon.”

“Shut up.”

“…”

Jang Ilso’s eyes twitched so lightly.

“Looking at that grinning face makes me want to stab a knife between those eyes. Don’t change my mind for no reason, and keep that mouth shut.”

Chung Myung growled and said.

The deadly killing intent he was leaking out reached Jang Iso.

“…”

Not only the Four Precepts Alliance, but even the sects below the cliff looked at Chung Myung with dumbfounded looks.

Who in the world would even dare say something like that to Jang Ilso? In such a situation!

Chung Myung. No one would be able to do that unless they were Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon.

No one else.

Beop Gye realized it right then.

Those who had appeared now were neither saviors nor enemies.

They could offer the hand of salvation, or they could reach out with a blade of ill intent.

In other words… This meant that the fate of not just the sects there, but the entire Kangho depended on the choice that Mount Hua made.

And…

‘Why does it have to be you? Why!’

The person who determined the position of Mount Hua was none other than Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon.

At this moment, the fate of the world was rolling in the palms of that mysterious, truly evil person.

‘Why.’

Beop Gye ended up closing his eyes tightly.

The sound of Chung Myung’s laughter could be heard in his ears.