Return of Mount Hua Sect - Chapter 669
Hyun Jong stared at everyone silently. There was silence. The Jungwon people swallowed dry saliva in the rising tension.
The Sect Leader of Mount Hua.
In the past, he was merely the leader of a small sect that no one paid attention to. But now, no one could dare to think of Hyun Jong in such a way.
The Sichuan Tang Family gave him the seat of honor, and the rulers of Outer region sects bowed their heads in respect.
Was it said that the position makes the person?
Hyun Jong wasn’t particularly exuding an air of authority. He merely glanced around calmly. But from him, a gentle warmth like a spring breeze and a sense of overwhelming dignity was felt simultaneously.
Those who had known Hyun Jong before realized the changed status, and those who did not know held their breath at the dignity of Mount Hua’s Sect Leader.
But Hyun Jong wasn’t particularly conscious of the gazes directed at him.
“So…”
Seemingly grasping the situation, he let out a deep sigh.
“…I don’t know why I feel like I’ve seen this scene before. Is it my imagination?”
‘No, Sect Leader.’
‘It’s not your imagination… We’ve seen it quite often. Really.’
Jo-Gol’s gaze turned to Hyun Jong. No, to be precise, he looked at the person standing behind him.
“…that, that…?”
“…Wow, Sasuk.”
Baek Cheon wore a pleased smile as he stood behind Hyun Jong. The look in his eyes seemed to say, ‘You fools. You should have started by bringing Sect Leader here right away.’
“…They say the truly smart ones are different.”
“No, think about it. We went through hell trying to stop that lunatic, and he just left?”
“I’m a little annoyed.”
“Shh.”
The whispering disciples of Mount Hua quickly closed their mouths at the sudden appearance of Yoon Jong’s gaze.
“Hmm.”
Hyun Jong’s gaze turned to Yang Gyeong.
“I am Hyun Jong of Mount Hua.”
“…I am Yang Gyeong of Cheongbaek Sect, Hunan.”
Yang Gyeong spoke with a slightly intimidated expression. He never imagined that such a big shot would suddenly appear.
In any sect, the Sect Leader usually doesn’t move around carelessly. As a sect representative, every word they say determines what kind of place their sect is, so they must be cautious.
However, Mount Hua’s Sect Leader was here even before the other disciples arrived.
Feeling suffocated by the rapidly changing situation, Yang Gyeong hunched his shoulders.
“May I ask what happened?”
“…Yes, Sect Leader. What happened was…….”
Yang Gyeong explained what he had gone through. Of course, since it was from his perspective, he downplayed his faults, and slightly exaggerated Chung Myung’s misconduct… No, he didn’t have to exaggerate, he just told it as it was. There was no need to exaggerate further.
“That’s what happened.”
“Hmm.”
Hyun Jong, who heard all of Yang Gyeong’s words, furrowed his brow. He then looked at Chung Myung, still held by his fellow disciples.
“Chung Myung-ah.”
“Yes.”
“Is everything Munju said true?”
“Yes.”
The story was told in favor of Yang Gyeong, but Chung Myung didn’t raise any objections and obediently answered. It was true that what happened was somehow similar to what was told.
“I see.”
Hyun Jong looked at Chung Myung standing proudly and slowly nodded his head.
“I’ll ask you a question.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“Do you feel any shame for what you’ve done?”
“No.”
An immediate answer came out without a moment’s hesitation.
Hyun Jong nodded as soon as he stared at Chung Myung. Then he called out a bit louder.
“Un Am!”
“Yes! Sect Leader!”
Un Am, who was standing as if to escort Hyun Jong, immediately saluted and bowed his head.
“Escort Cheongbaek Sect members, including Sect Leader Yang Gyeong, out of Mount Hua.”
“Yes!”
“Starting today, Cheongbaek Sect is banned from entering Mount Hua. Furthermore, I hereby declare that they cannot have any relationship with Mount Hua in the future.”
“Yes, Sect Leader!”
Yang Gyeong’s face quickly turned gray.
“Se- Sect Leader!”
He looked at Hyun Jong desperately. However, Hyun Jong clicked his tongue at Chung Myung without even looking at him.
“A Taoist should know when to be patient.”
“There are times to be patient and times not to be, right?”
“So, did you choose not to be patient this time because you distinguished between the two?”
“Well, that’s not it… Hehe.”
As Chung Myung scratched his head awkwardly, Hyun Jong shook his head as if he couldn’t help it. But it was only for a moment, and he spoke quietly.
“You did well.”
“….”
“If something like this happens again, you don’t have to be patient then either.”
“Yes.”
Chung Myung stuck out his chest as if to boast. The faces of the disciples were horribly distorted.
“N- No, Sect Leader…. If you say that…”
“How are we supposed to take care of the backlash…?”
“You, you mustn’t do that. Please!”
On the other hand, the Jungwon people couldn’t help but be astonished. They had never seen such things happening one after another. It was the first time they had seen a Sect Leader stepping in directly in such a situation, and the first time they had seen a Sect Leader defending a disciple who had trampled on the face of another sect’s leader.
However, the young disciple’s objection in response to his Sect Leader’s words was the most surprising thing.
The Elders who should have scolded them and the first-class disciples who were following them didn’t show any particular reaction, as if it was natural and familiar.
Hyun Jong smiled brightly.
“If there’s a problem, you guys can handle it like you did this time.”
“…but we couldn’t stop it.”
“And we won’t be able to stop it in the future…”
“Hohoho.”
Hyun Jong, who roughly glossed over the sorrow of his disciples with a benevolent smile, looked at Yang Gyeong. His eyes, which had been warmly looking at his disciples, suddenly became sharp and cold.
“What are you doing? Get them out of here!”
“Yes!”
Yang Gyeong glanced around with trembling eyes as the first-class disciples approached him. Then he shouted.
“Se- Sect Leader! Is this really Mount Hua’s intention?”
Hyun Jong did not answer.
“Is it really Mount Hua’s intention to protect those Outer region people and persecute the sect of Jungwon? Are you saying that in front of all these people?”
Hyun Jong’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“It seems you have a deep misunderstanding.”
“What?”
When Hyun Jong opened his mouth, the first-class disciples, who were approaching Yang Gyeong, stopped walking. Hyun Jong spoke in a loud voice so that everyone could hear clearly.
“Mount Hua does not protect Outer region people. No, Mount Hua doesn’t discriminate against people based on their origin or social status, whether they are of Outer region or Jungwon.”
“The- Then how can you…….”
“Mount Hua merely protects its friends.”
“….”
“Please keep this in mind. Namman Yasugung Clan and North Sea Ice Clan are close friends of Mount Hua, and they share the same purpose. Mount Hua doesn’t tolerate insults against its close friends. If you insult them, no matter where it happens, Mount Hua will come fighting back as it should.”
“That….”
Yang Gyeong becomes speechless.
There was no way to refute it. The most important thing here was the fact that Hyun Jong, who could be considered the embodiment of Mount Hua itself, sided with the Outer sect and was furious with Yang Gyeong.
Yang Gyeong’s strength was too weak to overcome this pressure.
Hyun Jong subsequently looked back at everyone in the hall. As if it was a word not just for Yang Gyeong.
“As long as we are under the name of Heavenly Comrade Alliance, Mount Hua will not stand by and watch its close friends be treated unfairly! Even if it might result in harm to Mount Hua!”
Those who made eye contact with Hyun Jong subtly lowered their heads and avoided his gaze. They couldn’t dare to meet his gaze because they had subtly sided with Yang Gyeong.
“Therefore….”
Hyun Jong paused for a moment. Then he clasped his hands together and bowed slightly. A gentle smile returned to his lips.
“Please don’t mind the little accidents and enjoy the founding ceremony.”
“The- There’s no way we’d mind!”
“We understand, Sect Leader!”
As quick responses came from all around, Hyun Jong straightened his back.
“Yang Munju.”
“Huh? Yes!”
Surprised, Yang Gyeong hastily answered. A glimmer of hope rose in the corner of his mind. However, all he could hear was a cold voice.
“Lead your disciples out of Mount Hua.”
“Se- Sect Leader….”
“I’m letting this go because it’s a good day. If you had dared to insult them in front of Mount Hua on any other day, I wouldn’t have let it go.”
Yang Gyeong could not say anything with his teeth clenched.
He couldn’t know what repercussions Hyun Jong’s statement would bring or what would happen. However, no one in this place would certainly stand up against Hyun Jong and support Yang Gyeong.
“I won’t say it twice.”
That cold voice was the final blow.
With his head bent down, Yang Gyeong turned silently and retreated. He was followed by the disciples of the Cheongbaek Sect, who also hung their shoulders.
Chung Myung gritted his teeth while watching them head to the gate along the open road.
“Ah, I should have beaten them more!”
“… You’ve beaten them enough, you punk! How much more do you want to beat them?”
It was already shameful to be kicked out of Mount Hua’s ceremony, but even more serious was the fact that he had his face kicked by a third-class disciple.
If this becomes known, they probably won’t be able to show their faces for a while.
Of course, it would be hard to show his face due to the huge footprints left on him anyway.
“Tsk. Well, yeah. At least we’ve humiliated them.”
“Yeah, yeah. So, calm down now…”
“Shit. I’m getting angry again when I think about it ! What, barbarians? That bastard’s mouth…”
“Ah, please! Just stop!”
“Enough already, bastard!”
The disciples grabbed the overexcited Chung Myung again. Hyun Jong smiled pleased at the sight.
“Hoho. As expected, they get along well.”
“Does this look like getting along well to Sect Leader? This?”
“Ple- please do something about t!”
“Hahaha.”
As Hyun Jong looked at the distant mountain with his hands behind his back, the faces of Mount Hua’s disciples were horribly distorted.
‘He’s doing that even though he knows everything!’
‘He’s really mean sometimes! Really!’
At that moment, the Ice Clan and Yasugung Clan warriors walked out from among the people and stood before Hyun Jong. They had somewhat embarrassed faces.
“…Thank you, Sect Leader.”
“We feel like we’ve caused unnecessary trouble…”
“Don’t say such things.”
However, Hyun Jong shook his head firmly.
“I am truly sorry for making our distant guests hear unpleasant words. Mount Hua will take the initiative to ensure that this does not happen again, so please don’t let this upset you.”
“…Sect Leader.”
The eyes of the warriors who looked at him were filled with emotion. They fully realized that Mount Hua’s words of considering them friends were not empty words.
This was an indescribable emotion…
“Why don’t we just beat the ones who open their mouths carelessly so much that they lose all their teeth and can’t speak? Let’s start with those guys from before.”
“….”
The emotion…
Th- the emotion…
“Hey, you scumbag, does that make sense?”
“Why doesn’t it? If you talk nonsense, you should be hit! And it’s not just these guys who were belittled! They also belittled us, too!”
“How does that even work?”
“Think about it! If this was Shaolin, would they have dared to speak like that to a sect allied with Shaolin? They would have been groveling and asking for favors instead!”
“…Oh? Now that you mention it, you’re right?”
“Yes! This is a disregard for us! We should strip them of their shells! We have to catch those guys again!”
“Hey!”
“Why? Are you trying to stop me again?”
“No. Let’s go together. Now that I think about it, I’m also angry!”
“Right?”
The warriors, who had been standing awkwardly, looked at Hyun Jong with uneasy faces.
Then Hyun Jong opened his mouth with an incredibly gracious smile.
“Un Gum.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“…Put them all in the Repentance Cave to cool their heads.”
“…Yes.”
Hyun Jong realized that the troublemakers were no others but Mount Hua’s disciples.