Return of the Mount Hua Sect

‘Just two?’

It didn’t sound like a fight involving many people…

He carefully moved forward, minimizing his movements as much as possible. He reached the edge of where the sound was coming from and carefully parted the thick bushes.

‘Huh?’

At that moment, Baek Cheon opened his mouth without realizing it at the unexpected sight before his eyes. Just as he was about to make a sound,

“Shh.”

A voice was heard right next to him. Startled, Baek Cheon tried to scream, but a hand swiftly covered his mouth.

“Shh.”

“….”

Normally, someone of Baek Cheon’s caliber wouldn’t allow anyone to get close to his face so easily, but this person was an exception. The person who had covered his mouth was none other than Yoo Iseol.

“Be quiet.”

When Baek Cheon nodded silently, Yoo Iseol took her hand off his mouth. He had many questions for her, but this was not important right now. For now, he turned his gaze and looked back at the scene in front of him.

Chaeaeaeng!

Swords clashed.

A young man in a pure white uniform was thrown back and rolled helplessly on the ground.

“Ugh!”

A groan of pain escaped the young man’s lips, but he had no time to complain. He instinctively turned his body to the side.

Kuuuung!

A foot landed where the young man’s head had been moments before, leaving a clear footprint on the ground. It was obvious what would have happened if he hadn’t moved away.

But even before he could feel relieved, the attacker planted a foot squarely in the young man’s back as he twisted his body.

Kwang!

The young man flew like a frog kicked by a child and crashed into a large tree trunk.

Kuuung!

He slid down from where he had hit and collapsed to the ground. The one who had kicked him, Chung Myung, looked at the young man with an indifferent expression and spoke in a lowered voice.

“Get up.”

“….”

“Why? Have you had enough already?”

Hearing those words, Seol So-baek’s fingertips twitched.

“Cough!”

As he coughed dryly, blood came out. Staggering, Seol So-baek forced himself to stand. He staggered several times as if all strength had left his body, but somehow managed to use his sword as a support to stay upright.

“Your reaction is too slow.”

Chung Myung spoke, looking at him with indifferent eyes.

“Lack of strength is understandable because your internal strength is insufficient. Lack of speed is also understandable because your muscle strength is lacking. But the slowness of your reaction is entirely your problem.”

Seol So-baek’s hand holding the sword was trembling. It wasn’t from the shock of Chung Myung’s words. He was purely trembling from exhaustion.

His condition was already a mess.

The white uniform, like the snow of Northern Sea, was covered in dirt and turned muddy yellow, and patches of dried black blood were stuck to them. Even the faint color of the original white face disappeared and looked almost as pale as a corpse.

“What?”

Chung Myung looked at Seol So-baek and asked coldly.

“Should we stop here?”

“The- There’s no need, Dojang-nim!”

Seol So-baek gripped his sword tightly with trembling hands.

“If you want to stop, we can. You’ve had enough.”

“No!”

Seol So-baek said, gritting his teeth.

“As Dojang-nim said, it’s up to me to decide whether I’ve done enough or not!”

“…….”

“I’m not good enough! So I have to do more!”

Chung Myung chuckled.

“In that condition?”

“…….”

“Let’s be honest. You don’t have to push yourself like this. No one will ignore you because you’re weak. At least while I’m alive, no one in Northern Sea will dare touch you.”

Seol So-baek clenched his teeth.

“And objectively speaking, you’ve worked hard enough. No one can say you’ve had it easy. So, before you harm yourself…”

“No!”

Seol So-baek shouted and cut off Chung Myung’s words. His voice was almost like a scream. His bloodshot eyes glared straight at Chung Myung.

“You’ve done enough, you’ve worked hard!”

The grinding sound of his teeth was distinctly audible.

“What does that even mean? Ultimately, what matters is that I’m too weak to even participate in Ice Palace’s training!”

“Isn’t that natural? You started learning martial arts late, and you didn’t become gungju because you were strong in the first place.”

“I’m saying why should that be natural!”

Seol So-baek shouted in anger.

“Do our enemies care about such things? How can Ice Palace’s gungju protect the warriors and the residents of Northern Sea if he’s weak?”

“…….”

“Being young doesn’t mean free of responsibilities! Saying that I’ll be stronger later on isn’t comforting! Doesn’t that mean I’m weak and can’t do what I need to do right now?”

Seol So-baek picked up the sword that was stuck in the ground and pulled it out.

“I will become strong. As Ice Palace gungju, I will become qualified to lead Ice Palace like the other sect leaders. As soon as possible!”

“Really, this stupid guy….”

“Thanks for learning from someone.”

At that moment, Chung Myung rushed toward Seol So-baek and swung his sword. Seol So-baek quickly raised his sword to block, but his body was helplessly flung away.

He reacted in time but couldn’t withstand the force behind Chung Myung’s strike.

“Ugh!”

Seol So-baek, who had been rolling on the ground, eventually coughed up bright red blood. Looking at the sight, Chung Myung approached with a calm expression.

“Isn’t it unfair?”

“….”

“You reacted in time, but you lost in strength. This isn’t something I can help with. So how are you supposed to win? Just keep losing?”

Seol So-baek’s eyes shook slightly. Those words reflected his feelings exactly.

“But you know, that’s just how Kangho is. It’s endlessly unfair. Effort? There’s no guarantee you’ll be fairly rewarded for your efforts. But…”

Chung Myung smiled faintly.

“But what can you do? If all you can do is try, then you should at least do that. Don’t you think so?”

Seol So-baek forced his trembling body to stand.

“Cough!”

Despite coughing painfully, he still regained composure. Chung Myung watched him for a moment before speaking calmly.

“Do you know? There is little chance that you will grow up enough to play your part before war breaks out. And as gungju, the chances of you fulfilling your part are even less.”

Seol So-baek nodded.

“Still going to do it?”

“Yes!”

“Even if it’s meaningless?”

“Yes!”

There was not a single bit of hesitation in Seol So-baek’s answer. A satisfied smile appeared on Chung Myung’s lips as he looked at his intense gaze.

“Looks like you haven’t had enough. Should I beat you until you can’t say you can go on anymore?”

Chung Myung ran straight toward Seol So-baek. In that instant, Seol So-baek gritted his teeth and kicked the ground to match Chung Myung.

Baek Cheon, who had been watching the one-sided beating disguised as a spar, turned his head to look at Yoo Iseol.

“Samae.”

“Yes.”

“…Since when have they been doing this?”

“When?”

Yoo Iseol tilted her head slightly as if finding the question hard to understand. But before Baek Cheon could elaborate, she answered.

“Since the first day… or maybe the next.”

“The next day?”

“From the day after Ice Palace arrived.”

Baek Cheon flinched for a moment and looked at Seol So-baek again.

‘This isn’t the first time?’

Then, does that mean Chung Myung has been beating them up during the day and dragging Seol So-baek out at night to train him?

No, no. That’s not it.

‘When did Ice Palace arrive?’

So Ice Palace gungju has been enduring being beaten one-on-one like that every night?

‘That’s crazy….’

It’s not a particularly strange sight. He’s always been beaten by Chung Myung just as much as Seol So-baek… no, even more than him. But aren’t he and Seol So-baek on different levels?

There is no way that the young gungju could endure such training that even Baek Cheon finds it difficult.

‘But he’s enduring it, isn’t he?’

Baek Cheon was inwardly confused as to how to accept this sight. At that moment, Yoo Iseol whispered in an indifferent voice.

“He’s growing.”

“…Huh?”

“Day by day. Astonishingly fast.”

Yoo Iseol was not someone who gave praise lightly. For such a person to say something like this must mean that Seol So-baek is really growing stronger quickly.

‘Is it talent?’

No, that’s not it.

Of course, he might have some talent, but for Yoo Iseol to speak this way meant there was something more than just talent. And it didn’t take much thought to figure out what it was.

“Euuaaaaa!”

Seol So-baek rushed towards Chung Myung. Far from reaching him properly, it was unknown whether he could reach him without collapsing.

Baek Cheon, who saw that sight, unconsciously clenched his fist.

‘To that extent…’

He had always worked excessively hard. He had always given his utmost effort. No one could deny that Baek Cheon had done his best.

But at this moment, Baek Cheon realized something.

‘I knew it too.’

He thought to himself that he had tried hard enough, that he had put in enough effort, and that it was difficult to do more.

As he watched Seol So-baek, who was dragging his feet but was still screaming that he would swing his sword one more time, Baek Cheon felt that he himself had also become someone who looked down on someone from above.

‘I…’

Baek Cheon bit his lip lightly and turned to look at Yoo Iseol.

“How, Samae?”

“…At first, by chance.”

That must have been the case.

Yoo Iseol had always disliked showing her personal training to others. It must have been very uncomfortable to train at the manor where not only the people from Mount Hua but also those from other sects were present.

‘No, that means… she was doing day training and still doing her personal training?’

Even Baek Cheon hasn’t been doing it lately.

“And after that…”

Yoo Iseol closed her mouth as she was about to say something. It probably meant she found it hard to explain the exact reason.

But Baek Cheon seemed to know why Yoo Iseol wanted to watch this scene.

Kwang!

Chung Myung kicked Seol So-baek in the side and sent him flying. Then, he opened his mouth without hesitation towards Seol So-baek, who was lying on the ground.

“To lead people isn’t easy.”

“…”

“Standing in front isn’t hard. But being a leader is completely different. You have to work harder than anyone else, and you can never fall behind. And you must have the confidence that you’re moving in the right direction.”

“…Yes.”

“Confidence comes from doubt. It comes from the fear that what you’re thinking might be wrong. Someday, you too will reach a point where you think that the conclusions you’ve reached through much contemplation have led you here, and you’ll fall into the delusion that you’re still right. The moment you’re convinced that just doing what you’ve been doing is enough.”

When Baek Cheon heard those words, he clenched his fist.

“Remember that.”

Chung Myung said coldly.

“When your position changes, what was right can become wrong, and what was wrong can become right. And no one knows when that time will come. It might be a year later, it might be tomorrow, or it might have been yesterday.”

“…”

“So if you don’t want to be wrong, you have to constantly doubt and question yourself.”

Seol So-baek nodded his head with difficulty.

“That’s what being a leader is about. It’s tough. But if you can pull it off…”

Chung Myung spun his sword around once.

“I think Ice Palace will be able to get a really good gungju.”

“…Of course, they will.”

“Anyone can speak that. Come on.”

“Yes!”

Seol So-baek gritted his teeth and charged at Chung Myung again.

Chung Myung lowered his sword and watched Seol So-baek, who pushed himself forward with all his might. Above them, a bright moon hung in the sky.

Baek Cheon closed his eyes without realizing it.

‘I wasn’t stagnant. I had just frozen in place.’

He grabbed the sword that was like his own body. He felt the sensation of the sword, which had become so familiar and so comfortable, again, one by one, and dug deeper and deeper into his inner self.