Return of the Mount Hua Sect (HTL 1634+)

Everyone was watching the hand.

The hand may no longer be able to do anything, but it once clearly led Mount Hua.

The wide open hand soon grasped something in the air.

They know. Although nothing was held in his hands, he was clearly holding onto something.

A sword. The thing his hand had never let go of his entire life. The thing that still felt naturally held, even at this moment.

A great wave arose in the hearts of those watching.

As they watched, they suddenly felt a new realization. How awkward it was for that young man not to have a sword in his hand. How sorrowful it was that what he held was not a real sword but merely an imagined one. They came to understand what they had lost.

Yet some saw something entirely different in Baek Cheon's gestures.

He cannot cut down his enemies. He can no longer draw plum blossoms. He can no longer imbue his ideals into that sword.

But despite that, Baek Cheon still holds his sword.

Baek Cheon's mouth opened.

"I wanted to become stronger."

Everyone was captivated by his quiet words.

"More than anyone in the world. I wanted to become stronger than anyone and prove myself."

It wasn't just because Baek Cheon's words were sincere.

His words represented all of them. All those who lived a life on the edge of a sword in the world of Kangho, a life where it wouldn't be strange if they lost their lives at any moment.

It's hard to explain why they live in such a world, why they took up the sword.

In the past, they would have said they were pursuing glory. But now, they couldn't easily say that.

Hadn't they already seen all those who pursued glory only to be annihilated with nothing in their hands?

What did they think in their final moments?

Those who chased the illusion of glory in the world of Kangho probably saw their hands empty and powerless in the end. What did they think of at that moment?

Those who chased the illusion of glory in the land of Kangho would have seen their hands losing strength, unable to hold anything in the end. What did they think at that time?

The fate they faced might soon come to those here as well.

Knowing that, why are they all still here? Why can't they let go of what they hold in their hands, even in a situation where they can no longer hope for glory?

"But I came to realize it eventually."

Baek Cheon quietly stretched out his hand towards Hyun Jong.

"Do you remember?"

It was a sudden question. Hyun Jong looked at Baek Cheon without saying a word. To be precise, he looked at Baek Cheon's eyes shining brilliantly through his spread fingers.

"What you must grasp in this hand is strength. But strength does not simply mean physical power. True strength must be accompanied by will. Strength without purpose is merely the power of a brute."

"..."

"Do you remember?"

Baek Cheon's eyes remained clear and bright. Hyun Jong knew. What was in those eyes was neither distrust nor hostility.

Instead, there was still deep trust. Even in this situation, Baek Cheon's gaze at Hyun Jong had not changed.

"These are the words that Taesang Jangmun-in said to me." (­great sect leader)

Hyun Jong gently closed his eyes.

Yes. Yes, that's right.

Those were his words. He conveyed his will to young Baek Cheon, whose face was still full of recklessness. He had no doubt that this boy would one day spread the will of Mount Hua to the world.

"Will and strength. Neither alone is sufficient for martial arts to be complete. But if you must choose only one, don't hesitate to give up strength. A will without strength is tragic, but strength without will is dangerous. This is also what Taesang Jangmun-in said."

Hyun Jong listened with his eyes closed. The voice resonated deeply in his ears.

When he finally opened his eyes, Baek Cheon's wide-open hands filled his view.

"So I ask, what should I hold in these hands?"

"..."

"What!"

Hyun Jong's mouth slightly opened. But he couldn't utter any words and closed it again.

"A sword and internal energy? Yes, I could obtain them. If I go to the place Taesang Jangmun-in wants, heal my body, and hold the sword again, couldn't I?"

Baek Cheon looked around at the others. No one could meet his gaze and turned their heads away.

"But how should I fill my will?"

Hyun Jong hesitated once more.

It was something he had to say, but he didn't want to utter the words. However, he spoke as if tearing off a piece of flesh from the tip of his tongue.

"...There is will even there."

"Yes. Of course. But can that be my will?"

"Baek Cheon."

"I dare to ask, Taesang Jangmun-in."

"..."

"Where is Taesang Jangmun-in's will?"

Hyun Jong couldn't bear his painful feelings and closed his eyes tightly again.

Of course, it's in Mount Hua. There was no need to ponder the answer. But he couldn't say it.

He uttered words he didn't want to say and couldn't give the answer he should have given. The entire process left scars and pained Hyun Jong.

"My will is here."

However, Baek Cheon spoke confidently. As if referring to an immutable truth that everyone knows, calmly.

"Let me ask again, Taesang Jangmun-in. What should I hold in this hand?"

Everyone looked at that hand.

It is empty. Therefore, it can hold anything.

"If you can hold nothing, you will hold nothing. If not, hold your will. That is what Taesang Jangmun-in told me."

Hyun Jong tried to give him something to hold in his hand. No, everyone did.

To those living in Mount Hua, that hand was not just the hand of one person. It is the hand of Mount Hua. A hand that holds the hopes of all who live in Mount Hua.

The one holding that hand is asking.

"Has that meaning changed now?"

It hurts.

"Are you trying to give the disciple an empty strength in his hand? Should I deny all the teachings of Taesang Jangmun-in with my own hand? Should I deny everything about Mount Hua?"

It hurts terribly.

Even those who kept silent out of respect for Hyun Jong looked at him at these words. The gaze of the disciples behind Baek Cheon now felt not just clear, but sharp.

Hyun Jong endured it silently.

"What meaning is there in such power? If one can be satisfied with power alone, how is that different from the evil sect? If the logic is that all other things can be obtained through power, how am I different from those Paegun?"

Baek Cheon's gaze struck Hyun Jong like lightning.

"The future that Taesang Jangmun-in discusses is wrong!"

"Baek Cheon!"

The elders of Mount Hua were startled and tried to stop Baek Cheon. And for a good reason. A moment ago, Baek Cheon's words entirely denied Hyun Jong's authority.

But Baek Cheon did not back down even an inch.

"If Taesang Jangmun-in's will has changed, I cannot follow that will. I will not follow it."

"You, you rascal! Watch your words..."

"Because that is no longer the will of Taesang Jangmun-in."

Thud!

Baek Cheon struck his chest strongly with his open hand, as if pounding.

"That will is here."

"..."

"Even if Taesang Jangmun-in abandoned it, that will has not disappeared from the world. It is here. That will has become my will, and now it is my intention."

"Baek Cheon..."

"Everything I have is in Mount Hua."

Baek Cheon slowly turned around. The eyes of the disciples, who had gathered looking only at him, met his.

It was a strange feeling.

In such moments, he always looked for Cheong Myeong's gaze first. Cheong Myeong was always looking at him from somewhere. But this time, Cheong Myeong's gaze didn't bother him.

Even though he was aware that he was among them, he looked at all the people of Mount Hua, not just Cheong Myeong.

Each gaze shone like a star.

There were times when those gazes felt burdensome. It felt so overwhelming that he trembled alone where no one was.

Because he wasn't such a great person.

But now he seems to understand. What he should do. What he should say. Those gazes were telling him.

"I am a weak person. Taesang Jangmun-in may have seen me as great, but I am insignificant and lacking beyond imagination. At least I know that clearly."

"That's why I needed someone to hold my hand and not let go, someone who would push me up when I struggled to climb a steep path, and who would look up together when the vastness overwhelmed me."

Baek Cheon's fingertips trembled faintly.

"All of that is in Mount Hua. And... all of me is in Mount Hua."

Yet his words were more resolute than ever.

"If I must hold only one thing in this hand, it would be my will."

"...Indeed."

Hyun Jong swallowed his pain and answered.

"My will is with Mount Hua. Therefore, I will follow the sage's intent. I will also uphold my will. I will become a model for those who follow."

Hyun Jong had been holding his breath all along. To be precise, he couldn't breathe.

"That is the duty of the one who continues, and the will that the one who holds the sword must naturally uphold!"

Everyone realized.

They lost Baek Cheon. But in losing him, they gained something.

Baek Cheon as a warrior might have disappeared, but the person named Baek Cheon standing there is incomparably more brilliant than in the past.

And they realized something else too.

How necessary that person, that weak person, is to Mount Hua. Who truly carries on the spirit of Mount Hua.

"That's why I refuse. The place I must be is here. Please reconsider, Taesang Jangmun-in."

Baek Cheon bowed deeply.

Even with a sick body, he neither looked servile nor unstable. That Baek Cheon, and the gentle disciples standing behind him, Hyun Jong looked at them quietly.

'It's splendid...'

It was several times more than what he had hoped for... No, it was so brilliant that he couldn't have hoped for it.

Perhaps the place where Baek Cheon is standing now is a higher place that even the masters of the past couldn't reach.

Just the existence of Baek Cheon would change the mountain. He could picture the mountain devouring this person and soaring to encompass the world.

The young boy who once knocked on the mountain's gate had finally come this far. The one watching over him had grown so old and shabby, but the boy had grown so magnificently.

Therefore, Hyun Jong could clearly understand. At this moment, what he needed to do.

"Jangmun-in." (sect leader)

"...Yes, Taesang Jangmun-in." (great sect leader)

"Can you give me the authority to make this decision once more?"

Un Am looked at Hyun Jong without a word. After a long silence, Un Am nodded.

"Do as you wish."

"Thank you."

Hyun Jong stood up. And slowly walked towards Baek Cheon.

Baek Cheon widened his eyes and looked at such Hyun Jong.

One step. Another step.

In the past, Baek Cheon walked towards Hyun Jong. But now, Hyun Jong is walking towards Baek Cheon.

Everything is different, but one thing is not. Seeing uncertain hope in the place where the walker is trying to reach.

Step.

Soon, Hyun Jong's steps stopped in front of Baek Cheon. Silence gathered.

Baek Cheon, who was sitting still, and Hyun Jong, standing in front of him. The two silently looked at each other.

In the past, Baek Cheon knocked on the gate of Mount Hua with that hand. What should the present Hyun Jong do with this hand?

Hyun Jong's hand slowly reached out.

With a firm and unwavering hand, Baek Cheon bit his lip as if he were overwhelmed and reached out towards Hyun Jong.

The weakened hand, struggling even with its own weight, reached Hyun Jong's thick hand. No, it tried to reach.

At that moment, Hyun Jong's hand stretched out a little more.

The hands missed each other, and Baek Cheon opened his eyes wide in bewilderment.

Clack.

The place Hyun Jong's hand reached was neither Baek Cheon's hand nor his shoulder. It was the Zahashin Sword at his waist.

"I won't accept it." He shouted, directly pushing it away, declaring it impossible.

But now, that Zahashin Sword was in Hyun Jong's hand.

"Taesang-..."

Without hesitation, Hyun Jong detached the Zahashin Sword from Baek Cheon's waist, glanced indifferently at Baek Cheon, and turned around.

"From this moment on, Jin Dongryong is no longer a disciple of Mount Hua. He is expelled from Mount Hua Sect."

Baek Cheon stared at Hyun Jong's shoulder, as if he couldn't believe it.

"However! Considering the merits Jin Dongryong has accumulated at Mount Hua, he is exempt from the punishment of being cut off."

It collapses.

"All disciples of Mount Hua must clearly acknowledge this fact and should not extend any kindness to those who have received the punishment of expulsion."

His world, everything of his.

"Carry it out."

As if fallen alone in a strange place, a single red plum tree growing between the pine trees swayed sorrowfully.