“...It’s Mount Hua.”
“Ah, it’s Mount Hua.....”
“......We’ve arrived.”
Mount Hua’s disciples looked up at the peak of Mt. Hua, which rose dark above the clouds.
In the past, when they returned from Shaanxi and saw this high peak, an inexplicable feeling bloomed from deep within their heart. In the end, they realized that their roots could only be those barren peaks.
However, at this moment, as they gazed upon the towering cliffs of Mt. Hua, there was no trace of such sentimentality on their faces.
Only an endless sense of despair had settled in.
“...We have to climb that?”
“With these bodies?”
“...Just kill me. Just... Just kill me.”
Mount Hua’s disciples had tears welling up in their eyes.
When they first left the Yangtze River, their hearts were filled with enthusiasm.
What Chung Myung said to them was certainly not wrong. Facing off against Myriad Man Manor, the disciples of Mount Hua felt their own inadequacy keenly. The sense of crisis that they might have to watch their Sahyung die right next to them with their own eyes if things continued like this certainly stimulated them.
Thanks to this, their motivation was overflowing and their resolve was firm.
That’s why they didn’t utter a single complaint even when Chung Myung drove them at an unbelievable pace, covering an incredible distance in just a day.
But when they were told to start training immediately after finding a place to rest, despite their bodies being dehydrated to the point of not having a single drop of moisture left, their eyes wavered....
Blood tears flowed when the beating disguised as training began.
After rolling around all night until they finally fell asleep, they began to feel that something was wrong, and when they were kicked awake just one hour after falling asleep, they couldn’t hold the curses that coming out of their mouth.
And so it went on for several days.
“Sahyung... there’s blood at the corner of your mouth. Please wipe it.”
“It’s because my lips are cracked. But your face is pale, isn’t it?”
“It’s because I’m about to die soon.”
“....”
They reached Mt. Hua with the appearance that would make even the Beggar Union bastards want to give them coins out of pity. There was no soul left in the eyes.
And at this moment they had no choice but to be captured by a fundamental question.
“......Why the hell did they choose this place?”
“Don’t you have any thoughts? Huh? Don’t you have any thoughts at all?”
“Are they trying to screw up their descendants? Were our ancestors the same guy as Chung Myung?”
The sin of ignoring the hierarchy of the sect (????/欺師滅祖) poured down like a storm, but no one blamed them for being rude.
It’s inevitable.
Their legs were shaking so much that they could snap just by catching on a rock, and yet they had to climb that impossible cliff right away. Not cursing would be a strange thing.
Amidst everyone’s despair, there was one person whose complexion was radiant.
“Keuu! It’s Mount Hua!”
“....”
Chung Myung’s cheerful voice burst forth from the back.
“I was frustrated because we couldn’t train properly on the road. Now I can finally do it properly! My mouth is watering already! Kikikikik.”
“... .That madman.”
“....”
The fact that this curse did not come from the mouth of Mount Hua’s disciple, but from the mouth of ‘Hyun Jong’, clearly proved what was happening here now.
However, Chung Myung was undeterred, pointing at Mount Hua with a joyful face.
“What are you doing?”
“....”
“Climb.”
“....”
“By the way, if anyone falls off the cliff midway, they have to start over from the bottom. The last thirty to arrive have to start over as well.”
“....”
“Keueu! Should’ve done this a long time ago! It’s so refreshing!”
“...Please just die, Chung Myung. Please!”
“Now! Let’s go!”
Ignoring the profanity being hurled around him, Chung Myung briskly kicked the butts of Sahyung in front of him.
Rather... It is the disciples of Mount Hua who belatedly thought that it might have been better to join Myriad Man Manor instead.
Thud.
Jo-Gol, who had barely managed to pass through the gate, collapsed. The ground welcomed his face, but unfortunately, he didn’t have the strength to even put his hand on the ground.
Jo-Gol, who greeted the ground with his full face, twitched and opened his mouth.
“...Sahyung.”
“....”
“Are you still alive?”
Then a faint voice emerged from Yoon Jong’s mouth, who lay motionless beside him.
“...I’m dead.”
Usually, the word ‘meticulous’ is a compliment.
But now, Mount Hua’s disciples have only spoken ill of Chung Myung’s meticulousness as ‘damn,’ ‘bastard,’ etc.
Then Jo-Gol, who was standing next to Baek Cheon, clicked his tongue.
“‘Martial art is damn honest. There’s bound to be a limit to using shortcuts.’ He’ll probably say something like that.”
“....”
Slowly nodding, Yoon Jong opened his mouth with a solemn face.
“So, he would say that we should reduce the time we sleep, reduce the time we rest, and just practice and practice again. I’m sick of that. I’m sick of that.”
“....”
Chung Myung, who had lost everything he wanted to say, looked at the three with a blank face.
Then Yoo Iseol delivered the final blow.
“Old man.”
“....”
Tang Soso also couldn’t keep quiet.
“Anyway, every time he opens his mouth, he’s trying to scare people. Is there anyone here who doesn’t know that?”
Their bodies were exhausted enough.
But the more their bodies got tired, the more their fighting spirit came alive. Take away the fighting spirit, and they’re just corpses; isn’t that what Mount Hua is about?
“Always stating the obvious day and night.”
Baek Cheon chuckled softly.
“It’d be better if you worry about yourself. Managing all of us will be tough even for you.”
Jo-Gol also joined in with a snicker.
“Shouldn’t you need to sweat the soles of your feet, too? Don’t cry about it later when you can’t handle it.”
Yoon Jong also nodded.
“You’d better think carefully about what you’re saying. That door won’t open even if you want to run away.”
“We’ll pierce holes in you. By all means.”
Killing intent swirled in Yoo Iseol’s eyes.
Mount Hua’s disciples, lined up, all glared and unanimously agreed with her statement.
“Watch your back, you son of a beast! You think you’ll be safe when we get stronger?”
“Just live however you want for now! We’ll see when the Bongmun ends.”
“All the grudges we’ve accumulated until now! We’ll pay you back all at once!”
“...Not me, Chung Myung. I’m always grateful.”
“Who the heck said that just now?”
Chung Myung burst into laughter as they poured out killing intent beyond spite.
Hyun Jong, who was watching the scene, smiled and stepped forward.
As Hyun Jong walked to the center, Mount Hua’s disciples also softened their eyes that had been filled with fighting spirit and stood quietly.
“In the past...”
In the quiet atmosphere, Hyun Jong opened his mouth.
“People who have honed the sword of Mount Hua to the extreme were called ‘Plum Blossom Sword Master.’”
“...Plum Blossom Sword Master.”
“The name is none other than the title Mount Hua gives to its disciples. It’s said that anyone who received the name Plum Blossom Sword Master could proudly declare anywhere under heaven that their sword represents Mount Hua’s sword.”
The bright light in the eyes of Mount Hua’s disciples was evident.
“It will be difficult. Practicing while confined within the mountain is harder than you might think. However...”
Hyun Jong smiled as he took in all his disciples with one glance.
“When that closed door opens again, I hope all of you can proudly refer to yourself as Plum Blossom Sword Master.”
If that could be done, no one under heaven would dare to ignore the name of Mount Hua.
“Can you do it?”
“Yes! Sect Leader!”
“We will accomplish it!”
Chung Myung clicked his tongue at the vigorous answer.
“As if it will happen just because they are motivated.”
“But that bastard...”
“But, well, there’s nothing to worry about.”
Chung Myung clenched his Dark Fragrant Plum Blossom Sword and twisted the corners of his mouth.
“Because I will definitely make it happen.”
They don’t have enough time. It’s too short a time to turn those yellow chicks into eagles.
But....
‘I’ll make it happen.’
Just like Mount Hua in the past. No, even beyond that.
They will make the plum blossoms they have bloomed spread all over the world.
“Let’s get started. Brace yourselves, because no one’s going to listen if you cry!”
Chung Myung’s hoarse voice echoed.
The cool wind that descended from the peak along the summit gently enveloped Mount Hua Sect and spread back down the mountain.
The plum tree endures the long, long winter to bloom its flowers.
The plum blossoms that bloom only after going through a period of harsh and arduous suffering will become redder and more splendid than ever before, coloring Mount Hua’s spring that will come someday.