Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1754. Because I, too, am a person who failed to uphold moral principles (4)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
“Ughhhhh.”
A groan finally escaped Jo-Gol's lips.
"So it's already inside, but... It’s like consciously grabbing and pulling out an energy you haven't been able to feel……”
He muttered to himself as he swung his sword again in an awkward, half-hearted arc. Soon, his face twisted into a look of miserable frustration.
A sword of grotesque trajectory he hadn't swung even once since that childhood when he lived tormenting fellow saje at White Plum Dormitory, a time now so distant even memories were hazy.
"Ah! I can't do this anymore!"
He went to fling his sword away in a fit of temper but flinched and stopped. No matter how angry he was, throwing his sword felt like going a bit too far.
Yoon Jong sighed and spoke.
"Why are you throwing a tantrum again?"
“No, it’s not a tantrum!”
Yoon Jong's face seemed to read, 'Of course you would say that.' Jo-Gol's got heated until veins bulged on his forehead.
"This isn't something that works so easily!"
“It worked for me?”
“That’s because it’s you, Sahyung!”
Jo-Gol, frustrated, pounded his chest. Anyway, this guy Yoon Jong once in a while underestimated himself too much and made others struggle.
"Look! Can’t you see everyone is about to go crazy?”
At that, Yoon Jong could only grimace silently. Indeed, even though he had explained the method in the most detailed way possible, none of Mount Hua’s disciples standing in the training ground were able to easily draw out their Immortal Energy.
“I’m telling you, it’s already there. That thing, uh…”
"Stop repeating the same thing and tell me the method!"
"I am telling you the method..."
"Oh, Cheonsi Weonjun. This is why Taoist sects are failing. There's no other reason."
Exhaling for what felt like the hundredth time, Jo-Gol spoke again.
“Putting that aside.”
"Yeah?"
"Is this really okay?"
"What?"
Jo-Gol looked around.
The place they stood was a large training ground. Where Wudang's swords should have been wielded, Mount Hua's disciples had gathered, groaning and swinging their swords.
"That’s..."
“Don't worry about the fact that this is Wudang. Just because they see it once or twice..."
"No, that's not it."
Jo-Gol let out a deep sigh.
"I understand it's necessary, but as Sahyung can see, this can't be learned overnight, can it?"
Yoon Jong may have picked it up quickly, but not everyone could be like him. In truth, even Yoon Jong had desperately squeezed out the method while his life was on the line. If he hadn't been in that situation, it might have taken him even longer than the others.
“What I’m saying is, with Evil Tyrant Alliance liable to make a move at any moment, is it okay for us to be sitting here doing this?”
"Then what do you think would be better?"
"Well..."
Jo-Gol was about to answer immediately but trailed off. Yoon Jong watched him quietly before opening his mouth.
"I know, too, that even if we try from now, it's difficult to expect great results."
"Yes?"
"Perhaps in the end, no one might be able to master it."
“No, but why...”
"But isn't it better than doing nothing?"
Jo-Gol looked around again with a slightly renewed sense of wonder.
He saw people frustrated because they couldn't draw out Immortal Energy as they wished. Yet on the other hand, this scene felt quite familiar.
'It's like the usual Mount Hua.'
Those who until recently had been dying with nerves on edge now just looked like their usual selves.
Yoon Jong smiled broadly.
"Right?"
Jo-Gol, who was about to retort with a grumpy face, ended up just scratching his head vigorously. Yoon Jong spoke quietly.
“That guy Chung Myung once said. When things are complicated and urgent, train."
"...That crazy bastard again."
“My thoughts exactly. At the time, I thought, ‘That ghost who died from a lack of training is spouting nonsense again’… But later when I asked, it wasn't like that."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
“For people who have made training their daily routine, the state of training is most like their normal state. So just by training, they can regain their usual mindset, meaning composure. That's how the human body works, he said."
“...”
"Thinking about it, doesn't it make sense?"
It sounded like nonsense, yet the more he thought about it, the harder it was to argue. Just looking at the vitality subtly circulating in Jo-Gol's body showed as much. Unlike when he was groaning because of the complicated situation.
Jo-Gol let out an empty laugh as if dumbfounded.
"So... you're saying to leave aside all the complicated problems we can't solve right away and just fiddle with the small things in front of us?"
“To be precise, it’s about doing what we can do first. Even if it seems trivial, it’s better than staying at a standstill.”
...Absurd.
Mount Hua had been in turmoil like a disturbed beehive since Baek Cheon's incident. Moreover, Hyun Jong, who should be handling this situation, was hard to even see.
From outside, Evil Tyrant Alliance’s threat could strike at any time. No, just yesterday there were massive casualties from Evil Tyrant Alliance’s attack.
A small step in a situation like this?
“Do you have a complaint?”
Jo-Gol just chuckled.
Chung Myung wouldn't have done this. He would have pushed for something far more practical. Baek Cheon wouldn't have made this choice either. Even knowing there was no way, he wouldn't give up on resolving the bigger issue.
So this was clearly different from the path Hua Mountain had chosen until now, a method unique only to Yoon Jong. However...
"Well, if I say I have complaints, are you going to listen?"
"No. I'll ignore them."
"...Then why ask?"
Jo-Gol grumbled.
He still hadn't decided if this was the right call. It was hard to shake the feeling that they were wasting precious time.
Yet, strangely, he felt like he could breathe a little easier.
'Does this mean... until now, even breathing was difficult?'
He found himself asking whether he had been feeling pressure without knowing it. But then, a pitch-black shadow approached at a fast speed.
“I figured it out. The method.”
“Ah! I told you to cut it out, Sago!”
"This time, for real."
"You've said that at least ten times!"
"It's real. I had a feeling."
"I'm going crazy, really."
“So, like this...”
"It's exactly the same as before!"
Jaegal Zian, who had been watching the bickering Mount Hua disciples in the central training grounds of Wudang, whispered to the man standing beside him.
"Do you think it's possible?"
The man standing beside him was Tang Gun-ak.
Jaegal Family and Sichuan Tang Family were both originally part of Five Great Family. As such, Jaegal Zian was already quite acquainted with Tang Gun-ak. Yet, Jaegal Zian’s words and actions toward Tang Gun-ak were noticeably more respectful than before.
Because he had to acknowledge that the second-in-command of Five Great Family and the second-in-command of Heavenly Comrade Alliance had different standing.
"Do you mean handling Immortal Energy?"
"Yes."
"…Hmm."
“If it were a power that could be obtained so easily, the sects using sorcery wouldn't have been able to maintain their existence until now. I've acted according to the hints Gaju-nim gave, but I wonder if this will truly be meaningful..."
He wasn't denying that Mount Hua could use immortal energy. Yoon Jong had already proven that fact, and if it were Mount Hua of all sects, they might be able to secure a few more people who could handle Immortal Energy.
However, committing the majority of Mount Hua’s personnel to the task of awakening Immortal Energy was an extreme waste. There was no way Tang Gun-ak hadn't considered this.
Then there must be something Jaegal Zian hadn't thought of...
But the answer that came back broke Jaegal Zian’s expectations.
"Things like Immortal Energy don't matter much."
"…Huh?"
"It would be great if we could obtain it, but even if we can't, it's not like there's no way to fight them. Yoon Jong Dojang likely knows that as well.”
“…Then why?”
“Isn't it a good sight?”
Doubt flickered in Jaegal Zian’s eyes. Tang Gun-ak gestured forward with his chin as if to say, ‘Look’.
"No matter what anyone says, the center of Heavenly Comrade Alliance is Mount Hua. And that doesn't just mean in terms of combat power."
Jaegal Zian quietly gazed forward.
At the clamorous sounds of Mount Hua's training, disciples from other sects who had been scattered in their quarters began to emerge one by one, peeking at the training ground. Some even settled down to watch.
Watching another sect’s training was rude, but with them occupying such a large training ground and making such a commotion, it wasn’t something one could simply ignore. Naturally, Mount Hua would have expected this.
“No, why are you training without us?”
“Sogaju?”
Even Namgung Dowi had led Namgung Family into the training grounds as if lodging a fierce protest.
"No, I'm telling you this isn't that kind of training!"
"Training is training, where is there training that's not that kind?"
“If you’re not of the Taoist sect, you can’t use Immortal Energy. And Namgung Family doesn’t even need it.”
“Are you discriminating against us now just because we aren't Taoists? I thought of Yoon Jong Dojang as a brother!”
“That would be Baek Cheon Sasuk!”
"Ah, was it? Let's overlook small details."
Perhaps because of the lively, heated atmosphere, more and more people were gathering at the training ground.
“It used to be a common sight. Back then, Heavenly Comrade Alliance had vitality. I am simply trying to regain that appearance.”
“…At a time like this?”
"Rather, it's precisely because it's a time like this. If we lose ourselves anywhere at any time, we'll just be swept along."
"Hm."
Jaegal Zian slowly nodded his head.
Indeed, he wasn't wrong. In war, ensuring you can fully utilize your own strength was several times more important than employing strange and mysterious tactics.
"I understand what you're trying to do."
But at the same time, Jaegal Zian's gaze sharpened.
"However, then isn't this rather nothing more than a stopgap measure?"
“...”
“If Mount Hua is the heart of Heavenly Comrade Alliance, then the heart of Mount Hua is Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword.”
At the mention of Chung Myung, Tang Gun-ak's expression subtly stiffened.
"Then isn't the reason Heavenly Comrade Alliance isn't what it used to be, and the reason Mount Hua isn't what it used to be, ultimately due to the silence of Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword?"
Jaegal Zian's gaze turned toward the training ground.
“It looks boisterous and lively, but in the end, I cannot shake the feeling that they are forcing themselves to laugh. Am I the only one who thinks it's because the person who should be there isn't visible?"
At last, a sigh escaped from Tang Gun-ak.
“I think the same.”
“Then why...”
"Because there's nothing we can do."
"Huh?"
"If we could help, he would have already asked first. We've... already tried to help."
It wasn't like Tang Gun-ak didn't know that Chung Myung had changed. Everyone who knew him was likely feeling a strong sense of dissonance.
Was it because the current situation was an emergency? No, that couldn't be it. It was during such times that Chung Myung was the one who led and encouraged those around him.
And yet, he was silent now. Even while the alliance was in such chaos.
Surely something was going on. Something others couldn't guess.
Tang Gun-ak sighed deeply.
'My friend. Are we of no help to you?'
A bitter light flashed in his eyes.
"Now... we can only trust and wait. That he will be able to overcome this on his own.”
* * *
Late at night.
Drip.
The smell of blood filling the room was sour. It gave off a nauseating scent like something rotten.
Eyes tinged with an ashen hue stared blankly at the blood soaking his hand. He showed no sign of surprise, as if he were used to it. The black blood that had poured from his mouth slowly began to dry.
After a long while, the man... Chung Myung’s mouth opened.
“Why, damn it...”
He bit down hard on his lower lip. Over the dark red bloodstains, vivid blood droplets fell dot by dot.
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