Return of the Mount Hua Sect

It wasn’t easy to see a large gathering of martial artists, but the scene with all of them sitting cross-legged in a concentrated manner, cultivating their inner energy was an incomparably rare sight.

‘Fascinating.’

Tang Gunak observed the martial artists cultivating their inner energy with a renewed sense of wonder.

To those unfamiliar with the life of martial artists, it might have appeared merely intriguing. However, for those who understood the nature of martial artists, it was an extraordinary and meaninful sight.

Fundamentally, the cultivation of inner energy was usually conducted in secrecy, away from the eyes of others. Why? It was simple. Martial artists were most vulnerable when cultivating inner energy.

Even someone who could break rocks in a single strike or leap across a river in one step, with their guard down during inner energy cultivation, was susceptible even to a child’s sneak attack.

That’s why martial artists typically didn’t showcase their cultivation to even their close peers. Avoiding revealing moments of vulnerability was instinctual, much like an animal seeking a hidden den when approached by a predator.

But here, in this expansive training ground, numerous martial artists were openly cultivating their internal energy.

‘Because they were commanded to?’

It seemed unlikely. Under normal circumstances, even if there were commands from Tang Gunak or Chung Myung, martial artists would find a quiet place to cultivate internal energy, possibly within the confines of their own quarters.

The fact that they were openly cultivating internal energy in this wide training ground implied that they no longer perceived those around them as threats.

‘You never know.’

Tang Gunak shook his head.

The word ‘trust’ was a strange one.

No one was unaware of the importance of mutual trust. Leaders of martial arts sects all desired their disciples to build trust among themselves. Hence, various rituals established a hierarchy among disciples, and numerous rules strived for fair judgment of minor conflicts among them.

However, trust isn’t easily built. Even if outwardly one appears to trust another, when faced with crucial decisions, people are prone to make different choices because that’s human nature.

‘If I had done the same thing in the Tang Family, could everyone cultivate internal energy like this?’

He already knew the answer.

Therefore, it was something unknown. The things they had done together – fighting like mad, challenging each other, joining forces to resist the martial world – all of that seemed like a distant past.

Was there even room for human interaction between them? And yet, how did they come to trust each other so completely, exposing even their most vulnerable aspects without hesitation?

Tang Gunak glanced at Chung Myung.

At times like these, he couldn’t help but realize that Mount Hua’s Chivalrous Sword was seeing something he couldn’t. When would he be able to see what that person saw?

“Why are you like that?”

“I’m just a little upset.”

“What?”

“…”

“You’ve become a bit more ill-tempered. No, have you improved compared to the old days?”

“Ugh.”

Tang Gunak shook his head in frustration. It would be perfect if only he could do something about that personality.

‘Anyway, it’s a good thing.’

After a long and arduous journey, this scene seemed to convey something to him. The ‘friendship’ that he and Mount Hua’s Chivalrous Sword had worked so hard to establish within Heavenly Comrade Alliance was slowly taking shape and solidifying.

“By the way, you did a great job creating spiritual pills for all those kids.”

“Hmm. Well, that…”

Chung Myung scratched his chin.

“To be honest, they’re not proper spiritual pills. Each spiritual pill has an appropriate amount, but due to a shortage of ingredients, we had to reduce the size. The effects won’t even come close to those of proper self-cultivation pills.”

“Could it be considered a quarter effective?”

“Well… it might be even less than that.”

“Wasn’t this self-cultivation pill supposed to be better made than before?”

“Yes. So you can expect at least one fifth effectiveness from the pill.”

Chung Myung let out a deep sigh.

“You have to feed them well to make them fight well.”

“… You always criticize yourself for not doing well, even though you’ve done things others can’t dream of. You’re too harsh on yourself.”

“It’s not that I’m being harsh on myself; it’s just that the situation we’re in is simply harsh. But we can’t just let ourselves off the hook because we’re not enough, right?”

“It’s hard to argue against that.”

Most people focus on the results of their work. However, Chung Myung only focused on how close he was to the goals he needed to achieve.

Watching him from the side sometimes gave one the chills.

Tang Gunak was thankful that he hadn’t encountered Chung Myung as an enemy.

“By the way…”

A sigh escaped from his lips involuntarily.

“It’s undoubtedly a great thing from Maengju-nim’s perspective, but from my perspective, it’s not all that easy.”

“Hmm? Why?”

“Even if it’s one-fifth of a pill, isn’t it still a self-cultivation pill? Especially if it’s one-fifth of Mount Hua’s self-cultivation pill, it should be at least as good as the peak self-cultivation pills of most other sects….”

Tang Gunak made an uncharacteristic sound of distress.

“Now they have higher internal strength and better physical fitness, how am I supposed to deal with those guys?”

While it was something he had hoped for, the children becoming close-knit and growing stronger through the spiritual pills was not entirely without its challenges when considering the perspective of controlling such children.

He was already so exhausted from facing the kids who hadn’t taken the self-cultivation pill that he was on the verge of collapsing on the ground. How was he going to handle them now that they’ve taken the pill?

“Ah, you don’t have to worry about anything. I’ve prepared one for you separately, Gaju-nim.”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung rummaged through his robes and took out a neatly wrapped self-cultivation pill.

“I’ve prepared it with the most effective part. One for the Gaju-nim, one for the palace lord, and one for So Baek.”

Tang Gunak stared at the self-cultivation pill in Chung Myung’s hand. It was different in size and quality from what was given to the kids, a properly made self-cultivation pill.

“Don’t tell me to give more to the kids for no reason.”

“In the past, I may have said such words out of pride, but I’m not in a position to put on such airs right now.”

“I’ll give this to you separately, so have it for dinner tonight. Oh, I prepared some for the elders too, though it’s a bit smaller.”

Certainly, in this aspect, Chung Myung had no flaws.

“…Wait. You said it’s for me and our two palace lords? Then…the Nokrim King…”

“Shh.”

Chung Myung looked around, put his index finger to his lips, and whispered.

“Keep it well hidden and have it when no one else is around. Got it?”

“….”

“Those greedy bastards from the Evil Sect might cause a fuss if they find out.”

Tang Gunak glanced at Im Sobyeong, who was cultivating energy with a satisfied expression after receiving the spiritual pills.

It was somewhat eerie to see him grinning while cultivating energy, but watching Im Sobyeong, an indescribable pity welled up from the depths of Tang Gunak’s heart.

‘Born in the Evil Sect by chance….’

No, more precisely, it was by chance that someone born in the Evil Sect met Chung Myung….

Aware of Chung Myung’s deep-rooted hatred for the Evil Sect that was incurable, Tang Gunak quietly stored the received spiritual pills in a deep place in his chest.

“…Got it.”

“Yes, hehe.”

Chung Myung turned his head to look at those who were cultivating energy.

“It’s about time to finish.”

A faint smile spread across his lips.

Kuuuuung!

The deeply buried inner power within Namgung Dowi was pushed into his dantian. Strands of energy that had penetrated deeply like pulses surged upward one after another, like dragons ascending to heaven.

Kwuaaaah!

At the same time, black, congealed blood flowed from Namgung Dowi’s nose and mouth. Rather than being injured, it was the impure substances that had been incurred during the long, intense training that were being expelled from his body along with dead blood.

‘Again!’

Kwaaaaah!

The surging energy rose again, causing a splendid explosion as it met Namgung Dowi’s inner power. The energies that spread throughout his body created an indescribable vitality.

“Hoo….”

Namgung Dowi slowly opened his eyes. What he saw was Chung Myung watching them from the front.

‘This is the time!’

The energies overflowing inside him seemed to speak for themselves. If he had taken this spiritual pill before starting his training, it would have been impossible to achieve the same effect as now.

The efficacy of the spiritual pill raises one’s inner power. However, there is something even more important than that. At the moment of taking the spiritual pill, one gains an opportunity to utilize a tremendous energy that one would never be able to use under normal circumstances.

How one seizes such a miraculous opportunity is crucial.

Constantly fighting, realizing one’s limits and shortcomings, those who have experienced this instinctively learn how to use that energy.

‘One wall is crossed.’

Without the help of the spiritual pill, it was unknown how much more time it would have taken. The timely-given spiritual pill drastically shortened that time. This was such a feat that in comparison the newly accumulated inner power seemed insignificant.

He rose with a confident face. His eyes sparkled with a clear light.

Shortly after he stood up, Tang Pae also stood from his spot. His face was not much different from Namgung Dowi’s.

One by one, those who were sitting in their respective spots rose. And before half an hour passed, those who had absorbed energy were all up, standing in their places.

Their gazes naturally turned toward Chung Myung.

They didn’t know what to say, but at this moment, it was clear who they should be looking at.

Chung Myung nodded emphatically, receiving everyone’s gaze.

He opened his mouth.

“Well….”

“….”

“Ugh!”

“….Huh?”

Suddenly, Chung Myung, who seemed nauseous, held his nose and stepped back.

“….Go wash up, please….”

Everyone jerked, patting their bodies. Dirt that had come out of their pores clung and stuck, making their clothes turn reddish-black.

“Uh….”

“Phew. What’s this smell?”

“Ugh!”

Only then did those who smelled the foul odor emanating from their bodies start groaning here and there.

Tang Gunak, covering his nose solemnly with one hand, raised his voice.

“….Go to the river. Quickly!”

“….”

“Ah, I said go!”

Those who were expecting something extraordinary now ran toward the Yangtze with awkward faces.

And for the next few days, the people living in the Yangtze River basin collectively suffered from stomachaches. As a result, there were minor issues with officials investigating whether it was the beginning of an epidemic, but….

Anyway, the Yangtze River just continued to flow peacefully.