Return of Mount Hua Sect

The news that Mount Hua had closed its gates spread through the Central Plains.

In the past, such news wouldn’t have attracted much attention, but the power that the name Mount Hua held in the current Murim world was incomparable to that of the past.

The reactions of those who heard the news were truly shocking.

“A-Abbot!”

Byeop Gye, whose face was pale, opened the door. The Abbot, who had been praying, turned around with a stern face.

“… How dare you be this foolish?”

“Ah, we have a problem, Abbot!”

“What new problem?”

“M-Mount Hua…?”

As soon as the name Mount Hua was mentioned, the Abbot’s eyes widened.

“… What did Mount Hua do with their rash actions again? Did they go down to fight the Four Precepts Alliance now?”

The Abbot was now, kind of… no, to be exact, not surprised by Mount Hua, but he was confident that he wouldn’t be shocked no matter what Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon did. He had already learned through several experiences that common sense didn’t apply to that person.

“M-Mount Hua! Mount Hua has closed their gates!”

“Right, closed their gates. That is a big… WHAT? CLOSED THEIR GATES?”

The Abbot’s eyes suddenly bulged.

“Closed gates? Did you just say closed gates?”

“Yes! Abbot! This is news from the Beggars Union!”

“H-How could that be? Something must have been wrongly informed. Or the Beggars Union misunderstood something!”

“I was also shocked like that and checked it several times… but it is true.”

The Abbot, who had been speechless for a moment, mumbled with a blank look.

“… So you mean they closed their gates?”

“Yes, they did.”

“… Why?”

“…”

Byeop Gye had known the Abbot all his life. And he swore that this was the first time he had seen the Abbot with such a bewildered expression, unable to continue speaking.

But he couldn’t blame the Abbot for this. When Beop Gye first heard the news, he stood there blankly and also mumbled nonsense several times.

“N-n-no. But why?”

“Calm down, Abbot.”

“… Amitabha. Amitabha! Amitabha!”

Even decades of cultivation didn’t help, and the Abbot couldn’t calm down despite his constant prayers.

“Amitabha! Amitabha! Amitabha, my ass! What is Mount Hua even thinking? What on earth is that guy thinking? That crazy….”

“A-Abbot! The disciples are listening! Y-you should lower your voice….”

“Kuaaak….”

The Abbot was tearing at his hair. But unfortunately, he had no hair, so he was just trying to pull at his bald head.

“What the… Why does Mount Hua always act like that? Why? Just why!”

He couldn’t understand.

Of course, the Abbot knew. Mount Hua… no, the things that Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon did, even if they seemed crazy, had a reason.

But wasn’t this too much?

“They finally have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make the name of the Heavenly Friends Alliance on par with the Nine Great Sects, and they’re doing this?”

The winds of victory didn’t blow so easily.

You must always reap the benefits at once, and had to row when the water came in.

For Mount Hua and the Heavenly Friends Alliance, this moment might be a chance that never comes again.

This was a time when Wudang chose to close its gates, Shaolin had been tied up because of the other sects, and Namgung was silent and wouldn’t step out.

Whether it was a person or a force, if there was no leader, it wouldn’t move.

Even if Mount Hua gained fame through the same activities, if Shaolin, Wudang, and Namgung are thriving, there is no way they will allow Mount Hua to solidify its power.

There was no need to interfere. It was enough for the three sects to operate normally. People naturally wanted new winds to blow, but they were most comfortable with what they were used to.

What bothered the Abbot the most was that Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon wasn’t someone who wouldn’t know this.

“Just how….”

“M-Mount Hua is still accepting people?”

“… If they closed the gates, then there is no way people would be able to enter. So, what would we be able to do?”

“That is true, but…”

The Abbot stared into space with a half-shocked expression.

‘What on earth is going to happen then?’

His calculations were all messed up in an instant. He had meticulously pieced together the complicated situation of Kangho by repeating it countless times, but all of a sudden, his legs were cut off, and everything turned upside down.

‘Not once, but twice!’

If Mount Hua got involved, nothing ever worked out right.

‘Phew. There is nothing we can do.’

“… Will we just sit by and watch?”

“What can we do? They did nothing wrong; they just closed their gates quietly. What can we do? It isn’t right to run over and ask why.”

“….”

“Besides, it is the law of the murim world not to touch a sect that has been closed for whatever reason…”

The Abbot finally let out a short sigh.

“I don’t know.”

“To think he could be this irresponsible…”

“Irresponsible….”

Byeop Gye, who heard that, was filled with resentment.

“The abbot knew.”

It wasn’t irresponsible to throw away everything you had in your hands, but courage. People could not easily throw away even a single grain of rice they held in their hands. How much courage would it take to put something this big down?

“What a strange person he is.”

The Abbot, who was looking far west, nodded.

Those two eyes were filled with confusion, so the Abbot closed his mouth. Perhaps the Abbot was thinking something he never could have imagined….

“W-wait.”

“Uh?”

The Abbot asked with a blank look.

“You said Closed Gate?”

“… Didn’t I tell you, abbot?”

“Then… Hae Yeon?”

“Uh?”

“What happened to Hae Yeon?”

“…”

Byeop Gye answered with a trembling face.

“That… I heard he followed Mount Hua, heading into their place.”

“W-what? So you are saying that Hae Yeon is inside the Closed Gate?”

“… I think so?”

“They are taking a disciple from another sect into their Closed Gate? And not just anyone, but Hae Yeon?”

“….”

A moment of silence passed, and the Abbot mumbled with a blank look.

“… I cannot just run over to them and demand they hand over our disciple…. No, the Mount Hua people know how it works… just… how did….”

Byeop Gye closed his eyes tightly as he watched the Abbot mumbling.

This time, it felt like Shaolin had been hit hard by Mount Hua.

---

“Closed Gate?”

“I heard as such.”

“Huh.”

Namgung Hwang, the head of the Namgung family, sneered.

“Sect leader? No, no. The sect leader probably doesn’t have that much strength to do so. Is it Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon?”

“… now he is Mount Hua’s Sword Saint.”

“What a grand title.”

Namgung Hwang clenched his teeth.

The title of Mount Hua’s Sword Saint stabbed Namgung Hwang in the chest like a needle. It sounded like they were saying only Mount Hua had proper swordsmen.

“Right… it isn’t wrong.”

“Uh?”

“Huh.”

Namgung Hwang snorted.

“… Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon. No, Mount Hua’s Sword Saint. As expected… he isn’t someone to be taken lightly…”

Namgung Hwang acknowledged Chung Myung. No, anyone who was there would have had no choice but to acknowledge him.

‘Jang Ilso was never weaker than the Black Dragon King.’

It wasn’t just what he saw and felt. No matter how much he benefited, there was no way someone like the Black Dragon King would go under someone weaker than him.

At least, they would be on equal footing.

‘That young man was on equal footing with Jang Ilso for a moment.’

Of course, he didn’t think Jang Ilso would have put in all of his efforts. But even so, what Chung Myung accomplished there wouldn’t diminish at all.

Compared to that incredible feat, even the name of Mount Hua’s Sword Saint was insignificant.

But….

“What’s more frightening than his skills and determination to lead Mount Hua at such a young age? And on top of that… he even dared to make the absurd decision to close the gates of Mount Hua without care…”

Namgung Hwang laughed, revealing his teeth.

“Do-Wei.”

“Yes, lord.”

“To put it bluntly, you will have a tough time. That isn’t someone who can be described with words like ‘those who come once in a hundred years.’”

“… I know.”

Namgung Do-Wei answered softly and bit his lips. However, he soon looked at Namgung Hwang with firm eyes.

“But.”

There was not a single waver in his eyes.

“If the descendants of the Namgung family look for men to aim for, shouldn’t we at least be of that level?”

Namgung Hwang silently stared into his son’s eyes. The passion in those eyes hadn’t yet disappeared.

“Yes. That is why you are my son.”

Namgung Hwang smiled.

“There must be another reason for Mount Hua to have closed their gate. That guy must know. Even if he gathers money and power for days, it means nothing to someone who lacks the strength of his own hands.”

“…”

“Do not forget, Do-Wei. The reason why the Namgung family can be the best in the world isn’t because of their wealth reaching the heavens, nor because their power reaches Anhui.”

Namgung Hwang declared in a booming voice.

“It is because the Namgung family is strong.”

Namgung Do-Wei nodded vigorously.

“I will keep it in mind.”

“But.”

Namgung Hwang’s expression hardened.

“The current Namgung family won’t be enough. And the current me won’t do either. I couldn’t defeat the Black Dragon King, and the Namgung family couldn’t defeat the Four Precepts Alliance. Don’t forget, Do-Wei. The reason we are suffering this terrible humiliation is because we are weak.”

“… Yes.”

Namgung Hwang nodded.

“Even Mount Hua, who has accomplished the most, steps into their own Closed Gate to build up their skills, so we cannot fall behind. All external activities of the family members are prohibited. For the time being, the Namgung family will focus on internal matters and prepare for the coming chaos.”

“I will follow your orders, lord.”

Namgung Do-Wei answered by bowing his head. Namgung Hwang’s eyes gradually darkened as he watched.

‘Huh.’

If he had accomplished that much, it wouldn’t be strange for him to go wild.

Even if Chung Myung showed off his skills right in front of him, Namgung Hwang would applaud him instead. The skills Chung Myung showed near the Yangtze River were worthy of it.

‘But he still feels hungry? How greedy.’

As an adult in the Murim world, it was embarrassing.

“You are being needy, Mount Hua. There is no reason for Mount Hua to be active anymore.”

Crack.

Namgung Hwang clenched his fists so hard that his joints turned white.

‘I’d rather bite my tongue and die than experience another humiliation like it.’

He knew. He had no right to criticize Venerable Heo Do.

Even so, what drove him was nothing more than shame for not having the courage to choose a dignified death, and shamefully turning it into something else.

He would never experience such humiliation again.

“Three years will pass quickly. The moment the three-year treaty ends, I will tear the Black Dragon King and Jang Ilso to pieces with my own hands and avenge this humiliation.”

Namgung Hwang’s eyes were filled with firm determination.