Return of the Mount Hua Sect

And this moment of choice comes to everyone who pursues the development of their sect.

For the future of the sect, disciples must be nurtured. And no matter what anyone says, the ones who can best raise the disciples are the strongest in said sect.

Of course, being highly skilled doesn’t necessarily make one a good teacher. The so-called “Why can’t you do it?” The scenario is all too common.

However, typically, those with higher realms are more likely to be better teachers. It’s the same way that it’s easy for someone looking down from the top of a mountain to point out a more comfortable path to those climbing below.

The issue is time. Time is finite.

Reaching higher heights demands its own price. Moreover, the path of martial arts becomes steeper the higher you climb. Therefore, just maintaining one’s realm is bound to consume a tremendous amount of time and mental energy.

Those who climb up such difficult terrain where the air is so thin are usually those who have struggled in the mountains, but even they cannot carelessly extend a hand to a fallen comrade right before reaching the summit. They know doing so might cause them to fall too.

“Ughhh…”

Legs tremble uncontrollably. Pupils dilate on their own, and the mouth involuntarily opens, drooling.

But they can not fall.

“Try falling.”

“……”

“I’m counting on you, so please try falling. I’m begging you please do.”

Namgung Dan put as much strength as he could into his shaking legs. But this damned body would not listen at all. Even though he tried to instill strength, he just swayed here and there like a reed hit by a typhoon.

“Tsk, tsk. Look at that leg spinning. That bastard called the sword master can’t even control his own body properly, that.”

Of course, the criticism was accurate. Ultimately, a sword is something you wield by moving your body. To precisely control a sword, one must first be able to accurately control their body.

But Namgung Dan had his excuses.

‘You crazy bastard! How can I possibly….’

“Oh? Is he falling? Is he falling?”

“Keueueu.”

Namgung Dan desperately clenched his legs.

At the same time, the boulder as large as a house on his back began to tilt precariously.

“Tsk, tsk.”

Chung Myung watched with a look of pity.

“Anyway, youngsters these days lack backbone, backbone. In my time, we used to roll up rocks like this one up the mountain paths for fun!”

‘Does that even make sense, you crazy bastard!’

The sweat seeping into his eyes made them sting.

If it were just the rock, it might be bearable. Sadly, large iron weights were also hanging all over Namgung Dan’s body. In the meantime, when he was told to carry a rock without using internal strength, saying that it felt like death was an understatement.

“What? Willpower?”

“……”

“Anyway, young cubs only live with their mouths. Do they think willpower is some kind of poison to coat on a blade during a fight? Suddenly making people strong? Willpower is used in times like this, times like this. When you’re training and you feel like you’re about to lose your breath, that you’re about to faint! At that time, just holding on a little longer is called willpower.”

“Ugh…”

“So instead of just talking about it, show me that willpower…”

Kuung!

Before Chung Myung had even finished speaking, a person who had been holding on next to Namgung Dan fell forward.

A chunk of rock rolls near him while he is foaming at the mouth.

“…Damn nuisance. Assistant!”

“Yes!”

“To your positions!”

“Yes!”

Just then, Jo-Gol and Yoon Jong came running, grabbed the person who had fallen to the ground, and dragged him away.

To the Medicine Hall?

Nonsense. Those who cannot survive the training are sent to special training to strengthen their will. They won’t be sleeping tonight.

“Anyone talks about working hard, who can’t do that? It should be the body that works hard, not the snout. Am I right?”

Namgung Dan did not answer. No, to be precise, he didn’t have the energy to respond.

Of course, that doesn’t mean he agrees with Chung Myung’s words. On the contrary, he was severely opposed.

How on earth is this type of training supposed to help with swordsmanship?

However, after seeing someone who had the same thought throw down the rock and dared to challenge Chung Myung to get kicked all the way to the Yangtze River, Nangung Dan decided to forget how to think altogether.

“I’ve never seen a guy with such willpower survive that long, you bastard. After three days and nights of continuous fighting, it’s not the hand holding the sword that shakes, but your neck. Being a martial artist, everyone has good physical strength. The only thing that will allow you to survive in the end is the practice you have accumulated on a daily basis.”

“……”

“Refined swordsmanship? Pure internal strength? That’s not something you should even be discussing at your level. Someone who can’t run anywhere tries to fly. First, shut up and focus on being able to swing your sword one more time.”

Namgung Dan almost nodded involuntarily.

If the Plum Blossom Island incident hadn’t happened, he might have dismissed Chung Myung’s words as bullshit. But he felt it at Plum Blossom Island. There is nothing wrong with what Chung Myung says now.

From the moment the battle continued for more than three days, there was no sword master or whatever that was. Once they see something in their eyes, don’t they reflexively strike at it?

Perhaps this training was designed with even that in mind…

“Ah, watching these kids shit blood makes me feel like my stomach is being unclogged. Kikikikik.”

“……”

That can’t be possible. That demon couldn’t possibly…

“Oho. Your legs are giving out again. Push harder.”

“Keueueu.”

He wanted to cry, but his eyes were so dry that not even tears would come out.

“……”

Namgung Myung broke into a cold sweat as he looked at the young sword warriors of Namgung Family who were struggling while carrying a rock the size of a house on their backs.

“This….”

Even Namgung Dowi, who was at the forefront, was staggering around while carrying a rock that was twice as big as the others.

“What is this…”

Namgung Myung, who was looking at the scene as if it were absolutely absurd, heard a voice mixed with laughter in his ears.

“You seem flustered.”

“Tha- That’s right. That….”

Un Gum, standing next to Namgung Myung, quietly shook his head.

“It might look like mere harassment, but this is a process that even all disciples of Mount Hua have gone through.”

“…That one?”

“Yes.”

Un Gum added with a bitter smile.

“So just watch for now. Since the child took the initiative himself, the effect will be certain.”

“No….”

Namgung Myung looked at the training with still an unconvinced expression. Instead of speaking further, Un Gum just smiled softly.

‘You’ll understand soon enough.’

And he would regret it. Specifically, the fact that he was older.

Among those who survived from Plum Blossom Island, those who are much older cannot join in. In the first place, Chung Myung excluded all those of a certain age.

This is not simply because it is difficult to handle or because it is inconvenient to teach older people. This was because there were limits to the development of those who had already hardened their minds and muscles. Dragging such people along would only be a torment for both parties and would also not have much effect.

Therefore, it may have been judged that it would be better for Namgung’s future to focus on teaching those who are still soft in body and mind.

‘Well, it’ll not be just this person who would be disappointed.’

If Un Gum had been born a little later, if he had been able to become at least first-class disciple, he might have been able to become stronger than he is now.

‘It’s really disappointing….’

“No. This bastard!”

Kwang!

At that time, Chung Myung kicked Namgung Dan mercilessly.

“I told you to straighten your back! Your back! Can’t you understand simple instructions! You want to challenge me? This bad luck of mine, now I have to deal with Namgung punks too! Get up, you bastard! You’re in for double the trouble today!”

“……”

No. Perhaps it’s best to be of a certain age.

At least to deal with that man.

The same goes for martial arts.

The realm of the absolute strongest is that realm where if you don’t continuously refine and diligently train yourself, you can quickly become rusty, and taking the wrong step could lead to dire consequences.

That’s why almost all sects consider their strongest individuals. So that they can shine the sect’s name, they are encouraged to focus only on their martial arts without worrying about anything else.

As a result, those who are said to be the greatest masters of a sect only pass on their martial arts to a few disciples, and rarely even meet the disciples far below them.

This is considered the path for both the sect and the individual’s benefit.

Most of the prestigious sects are those who have risen to the highest level in Kangho with this structure of a small number of absolute powers and talented disciples who support them.

However…

“Lucky bastards.”

Here, there is a human being completely excluded from such leisurely pursuits.

Chung Myung gritted his teeth.

Unexplored path of life (????(前人未踏))…. No, since there is Heavenly Demon, it is a bit embarrassing to say so. Anyway, someone who has reached a level so high it almost touches the sky and yet absurdly manages to secure even more time, that is Chung Myung.

An unfortunate human being who not only built his own martial arts but also got time to teach from one to ten by painstakingly wiping the noses of clumsy young disciples….

In the past, Plum Blossom Sword Sovereign did not pay much attention to the lower ranks. To him who scolded his Sahyungje for not being good enough, there was no way the Myung generation, who was far lacking in terms of martial arts skill, could even enter his sight. Ranks below that? There’s no need to even mention them.

To put it more bluntly, Mount Hua seen through Chung Myung’s eyes is nothing more than a rolling stone, except for Cheong Mun, the extremely grand sect leader, Cheong Jin, a clumsy guy who only has a head for show, and a few third-class disciples that have some useable corners.

Aside from how much he regretted that perception later….

Anyway, how did Chung Myung feel when he came back from a hundred years ago and saw Mount Hua for the first time?

All he could do was somehow turn those little kids, whom he wouldn’t have even glanced at in the past, into swordsmen who wouldn’t be outdone by anyone else.

So, what this means is…

The training that Mount Hua’s disciples have undergone so far was devised by Chung Myung, Mount Hua’s greatest sword warrior and the greatest sword warrior in the world, someone who overturned his martial arts skills from scratch through numerous battles while fighting the war against Magyo, it was a system created with only one determination to nurture the disciples.

What’s the use of explaining its efficiency in words?

While other grandmasters of similar realms were inventing new martial arts for the future of their sects, Cheongmyeong pondered over how to slightly draw out and extract even the tiniest bit of talent from these idiots.

While other grandmasters were showing off their mighty power to the world, Chung Myung spent nights figuring out how to explain in words what he knew by instinct to fools who couldn’t even grasp how to wield a sword.

Therefore, the training system he created boasts ridiculous efficiency if one can just endure it. So much so that in just a few years, the disciples of Mount Hua Sect, a sect that barely qualified as third-rate, to top-level swordsmen of the martial world in just a few years.

Yes, if one can just endure it.

If one can endure it, that is.