Return of the Mount Hua

Welcome back, Hwasan Geomhyeop. (1)

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The world was enveloped in a silence so profound that it felt suffocating.

Even though there were over a hundred people gathered, not a single sound could be heard. The gazes of those who seemed to have forgotten to breathe were fixed on a single point.

It was because an uncanny scene, fitting the word ‘bizarre,’ was unfolding before them.

A flying dagger, just a little longer than a mere span of a palm… was floating in midair. It hovered as if tied and fixed by a transparent thread, defying all the laws of the world.

Before long, the dagger began to fly slowly. At a pace so excruciatingly slow it could only be compared to a crawling snail.

All who watched that sight, which might have seemed laughable at first glance, wore expressions devoid of any hint of amusement.

On the contrary, their faces had turned pale, their lips tightly shut but trembling. Their expressions mirrored the very feeling of watching the strange, floating dagger’s movement.

“That… that…”

Baek Cheon unknowingly clenched his fist.

The dagger was cutting through the air, advancing. At such a slow pace that one could even question if it was moving at all.

But Baek Cheon could feel it. The energy emanating from that dagger was so powerful that his internal energy instinctively swirled around his body, protecting him against his will.

He could sense it.

Just how dangerous that dagger was. Just how much was invested in that dagger.

Cold sweat beaded on Baek Cheon’s forehead.

‘What about Chung Myung?’

His gaze quickly shifted away from the dagger and turned towards the direction it was aimed.

Before he knew it, Chung Myung’s steps had also come to a halt. For the first time since the duel began, Chung Myung’s feet, who had seemed as if he would cut through everything in his path, were planted firmly on the ground.

More than the dagger floating in midair and dominating the surroundings, more than the face of Tang Gunak, who had gone pale from unleashing that dagger, it was Chung Myung’s face that brought Baek Cheon a greater sense of crisis. Chung Myung had his lips tightly shut, his entire focus locked on the dagger flying towards him.

“F… Father.”

At that moment, a very small voice was heard. Turning around, Baek Cheon saw Tang Soso, her eyes squeezed shut and her hands clasped together.

Of course, it must be complicated for her. She would not be able to rejoice at the victory of either side.

But Baek Cheon wanted to see the outcome of this duel with his own eyes. So, too, would everyone else gathered here.

The Poison King of the world, Tang Gunak.

How much meaning was contained in that name?

To Baek Cheon and the rest of the younger generation, that name symbolized the order of Gangho, and it was as good as a representation of the current power of the martial world.

Could Chung Myung truly surpass that heavy and terrifying name?

‘Surpass it!’

Baek Cheon bit his lips hard.

‘Chung Myung-ah!’

With a heart burning with anxiety, he cast his gaze at Chung Myung. Chung Myung was still staring intently at the dagger flying at him.

Wooooong!

As if refusing to allow a counterattack, the flying dagger moved slowly towards Chung Myung.

Every muscle in Chung Myung’s body tightened.

‘What is this…?’

It felt as if a venomous snake, one whose poison could take his life with just a graze, was staring at him from inside its den. The tension was so vivid that even the slightest movement would cause those venom-filled fangs to strike his throat like a bolt of lightning.

‘Dark Explosion Dagger [암폭비(暗爆匕)]?’

…No.

This was a technique even he did not know.

At least, it wasn’t among the twelve dagger techniques used by Tang Bo.

Could it be a technique that even Tang Bo had not mastered?

No, that was impossible.

Tang Bo was someone who had mastered all aspects of the Twelve Daggers technique to perfection. That was why he was called the Dark Sovereign [암존(暗尊) – Amjon]. There couldn’t be a technique among the Twelve Daggers that Tang Bo had not mastered, nor could there be a technique he had not shown to Chung Myung.

Then, in that case…

Creeeeak.

Chung Myung’s hand gripped the hilt of his sword so tightly it seemed it might break.

‘There’s no choice but to find out.’

As Chung Myung moved, the speed of the slowly advancing dagger noticeably increased.

Wooooong!

At the same time, the dagger began to hum sharply.

The dagger, which had been moving like a snail, was now flying steadily. Gradually, little by little, it gained speed, becoming fast enough to be clearly visible to the naked eye.

And then.

Rumble!

The moment a rough, sword-like cry burst from the dagger, it began to spin slowly. Then, it gradually accelerated until it was spinning so fiercely that it was impossible to track with the naked eye.

Screeeech!

The energy of the dagger, which had been stretching out in all directions, swirled back in. The wind pressure generated by this swept the dirt covering the ground to the sides, and soon after, it began to pull it back in.

With a rattling sound, dirt and pebbles were sucked up into a massive vortex.

Boom!

A colossal dragon-shaped whirlwind, swirled violently around the dagger. The massive ochre-colored vortex looked less like a wind and more like a great yellow dragon preparing to ascend to the heavens.

“Ugh!”

“Step back!”

Those watching the confrontation from a distance lowered their stances. The overwhelming force seemed as if it would pull them in as well.

But that wasn’t the end.

The dragon-shaped whirlwind, spinning fiercely and sucking in everything around it, had yet to reach its full speed. It continued to swirl and swirl on the spot, as if threatening to devour Chung Myung.

A bright blue light burst from Chung Myung’s eyes. Even as he watched the enormous vortex of energy before him, his lips curled up in a wide grin. He even bared his teeth, as if he found the situation utterly exhilarating.

‘Here it comes!’

And then.

Boom!

A sudden shift occurred.

The flying dagger, which had been moving so slowly it seemed it would take a full day to reach Chung Myung, suddenly shot forward with a terrifying speed, exploding in an instant.

In that moment, Chung Myung saw it.

Amidst the slowed flow of time around him, the dagger alone spun with ferocious velocity, as if moving within a different stream of time. Behind it, a vortex formed, sucking in everything around it.

Even Chung Myung’s own body was being drawn towards the dagger flying at him.

At that moment, Chung Myung’s eyes widened.

It wasn’t just because this was an attack he had never imagined, despite having experienced countless battlefields and overcome numerous martial arts with his own body. There was a more pressing reason.

All the hidden weapons he had deflected, neutralized, and shattered, which now lay useless and scattered across the ground, began to rise into the air, responding to the vortex, and started to fly towards the dagger all at once.

‘What…?’

It was like the earth itself was rising up to engulf Chung Myung.

If Sky-Swallowing Flower Rain [만천화우(滿天花雨)] comes flying down from the sky to cover the world, this technique devours everything from the ground up.

An attack so formidable that even someone as great as Chung Myung couldn’t help but be stunned.

In front, the dagger entwined with the deadly vortex shot forward as if it would tear his body to shreds. From behind, hidden weapons coated in deadly poison whipped towards him like a torrential downpour.

There was no place to escape – not even above his head.

In that moment of life and death, what entered Chung Myung’s eyes was neither the dagger flying towards him nor Tang Gunak standing behind it with a pale face.

Instead, it was Baek Cheon and his group, their mouths wide open, shouting something at him.

‘Those…’

Seeing their desperate expressions, Chung Myung’s face twisted slightly.

‘You fools.’

Why were they panicking?

Were they afraid he would lose? Or did they think he wouldn’t be able to withstand this with the sword of Hwasan?

Chung Myung’s sword traced a smooth arc in the air.

‘Watch carefully.’

Who hadn’t imagined it?

Who hadn’t wished for it?

Since the moment their ancestors first took up the sword and settled on Hwasan, everyone had wished to see the end of that sword.

That is why the previous generation passes on their will to the next.

That is why the succeeding generation learns and upholds the teachings of their predecessors.

Learning [학(學)] is a consensus among those with different names but the same intention. Law [법(法)] is the will of those living in different eras but sharing the same heart.

Thus, it is swordsmanship, and thus, it is the way of the sword. 

‘It is here.’

Everything those who have carried the name of Hwasan from the past to the present have wished for is contained within Hwasan’s sword.

And now, in that sword, the will of those who stand here, along with the will of Chung Myung, will be united.

‘Bloom.’

A red plum blossom bloomed at the tip of Chung Myung’s sword.

Blooming [개화(開花)]. It is both the trembling for conception and the nobility for birth.

And after that?

‘Spread out.’

If they establish their will correctly, believe in it, and persist, it will spread throughout the world, allowing the scent of plum blossoms to fill the vast lands of the Nine Provinces.

“Chaos of the Plum blossoms… spreading across the Nine Provinces [매화란구주(梅花亂九州)]…”

The plum blossoms that bloomed sway gently. They scatter in the blowing wind, in the softly spreading sounds of grass brushing against each other, and in the drifting clouds.

Each plum blossom is unique. Not one is the same.

Some lack leaves, some have not fully bloomed, and some are modest. Even among the profusion of fully blossomed flowers, some have faint colors and do not blend well.

However, as more plum blossoms bloom, all the different flowers come together in a single flow, forming waves and harmonizing.

The plum blossoms do not resist the blowing wind. Instead, they embrace it, slowly drifting through the empty sky.

Sometimes briskly, sometimes softly.

Riding on the rushing wind, swirling, soaring up, gently descending, then again, far away.

The plum blossom petals that swirled around Chung Myung’s body spread out, blocking the incoming hidden weapons flying towards his back.

Klang!

The fierce hidden weapons pierced through the petals mercilessly.

However, before a single petal could even be crushed, a new petal intercepted ahead, and just as another petal was about to be torn apart, yet another fresh petal embraced the cold metal.

Ka-kang!

A clear metallic sound resonated like music.

Poison-laden sand and steel needles reflecting sunlight lost their momentum as they tangled with the seemingly weightless petals.

Did they not say, “The net of the Heaven is wide and sparse, yet nothing slips through [天網恢恢疏而不失]?”

The petals riding on the wind seemed to be merely scattered, but they missed nothing that flew towards Chung Myung.

And at that moment, everyone saw it.

The hidden weapons and poisoned sand, which seemed as if they would cover Chung Myung all at once and leave him in a mess, bounced off after colliding with the plum blossoms.

“…!”

The plum blossoms gently pushed away everything that tried to cling on, scattering chaotically across the entire world.

Beyond the vast training ground, further away.

The red, swirling plum blossom petals spread out as if a giant plum tree had opened its leaves to bloom.

Kwa-deudeuk!

The Soul Chasing Dagger, infused with all of Tang Gunak’s strength, advanced, piercing through the oncoming plum blossoms. Forward, and forward again.

Though it trembled violently, as if it might fall at any moment, it never stopped.

It fiercely tore through the petals, ripping them apart and pushing them away. It extended forward with what seemed like its last ounce of strength.

Ssssssk.

It cut through yet another petal.

Ssssssk.

And shattered another sword energy.

However, the dagger, which had somehow continued forward, soon began to tremble as if it had reached its limit, slowing down and eventually coming to a stop. Even the disciples of Hwasan let out sighs of regret at the sight.

But right at that moment.

Kwaang!

With an explosion that instantly shattered the tranquility that had covered Hwasan, Tang Gunak’s body shot towards the halted dagger like a lightning bolt.

The disciples of Hwasan widened their eyes at the movement they had never expected.

Grabbing the dagger in one swift motion, Tang Gunak shattered the plum blossom sword energy in an instant and surged forward.

And Chung Myung, as if it were only natural, charged at him.

“Stop!”

“Th-That’s enough!”

Cries that sounded like screams burst from the mouths of Hwasan’s disciples, who thought this would only end if one of them died.

Kwaaaaaaang!

The Soul Chasing Dagger and the Dark Plum Sword clashed head-on in mid-air.

Kwaaaaaa!

A fierce wind exploded in all directions as an enormous shockwave surged.

Wooooong.

The dagger aimed right in front of Chung Myung’s neck trembled violently. Tang Gunak’s sleeves swelled up as if they were about to unleash hidden weapons at any moment.

Squeeeze!

The sword, approaching as if it would split Tang Gunak’s face in an instant, emitted a crimson sword aura, as if it was ready to slice through both the dagger and Tang Gunak right then and there.

The world stood still, with the blades pressed against each other.

At that moment, when no one dared to step forward and no one could utter a word, only one thing moved.

A fluttering petal.

One fragile petal, swept up by the clash between the two, rose into the sky and, following the now calm flow of air, slowly began to fall.

Everyone’s gaze was fixed on this scene.

The petal, slowly descending, floated up again briefly, swaying this way and that, before gently drifting towards the dagger and the sword that were pointed at each other.

And as if reaching a quiet conclusion, it softly settled on top of the dagger.

“…”

“…”

Both of their gazes turned to the plum blossom petal resting on the blade.

A real plum blossom petal, not a sword energy.

The moment they saw this delicate petal, which did not match the intensity of the powerful clash, both of their faces simultaneously went blank.

Naturally, their swords lowered.

As they looked back and forth between the petal and each other’s faces, a helpless smile soon appeared on their lips.

Chung Myung lightly grasped the blade of the dagger aimed at his neck with his left hand. Tang Gunak, likewise, casually seized the Dark Plum Sword pointed at his face with his left hand.

The two of them, holding each other’s weapons as if snatching them away, silently inspected the weapons in their hands.

“…I never thought the blade of this sword would get damaged.”

“I believe that’s my line. For the Tang Clan Lord’s weapon to end up like this…”

The numerous scars etched into the blades seemed to tell the story of the time they had shared.

Tak.

Tang Gunak, who caught the dagger Chung Myung tossed, extended the Dark Plum Sword in his hand back to Chung Myung.

The two of them, after silently gazing at each other for a while, burst into laughter simultaneously.

With a shrug, Chung Myung grinned and asked,

“Shall we continue?”

“Hmmm.”

Tang Gunak thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“There’s no more point to it.”

“…”

A warm smile spread across his lips.

“Welcome back, Hwasan Geomhyeop.”

“Waaaaaaaahhhhh!”

Finally, a great cheer erupted from all around.

What had been conveyed was not just martial prowess.

Hwasan and the Tang Clan – this was the moment when these two great names stood facing each other after three long years.

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