Chapter 1856 – Return of The Mount Hua Sect

Chapter 1856. From here on, I’ll be the one to face you. (1) ❀ ❀ ❀

The sensation was like a searing hot iron plunging into his stomach. It wasn’t pain—it was agony that should be called despair, wrapping around Hye Yeon’s entire body.

“Ugh…”

But even in that state, Hye Yeon raised his fist. However, just as the punch was about to fly toward Jang Ilso’s jaw, Jang Ilso’s palm landed first—striking Hye Yeon squarely in the face.

Thud!

Hye Yeon was sent flying, spewing blood. The dull impact echoed through the air as Tang Soso’s feet moved faster than her head.

“Monk!”

In a flash, she hurled herself in front of Hye Yeon. The first thing she saw was his solar plexus soaked in blood.

Had his peritoneum been pierced? Or…

As a physician, the most correct decision was to treat Hye Yeon immediately. But Tang Soso turned away from him.

Whoosh!

“Don’t come any closer!”

With her back to Hye Yeon, she stood protectively in front of him, blocking Jang Ilso’s path. Jang Ilso smiled faintly as he looked at her.

“Hmm, how strange. When it was your life on the line, you charged in without fear, but now you look lost and terrified.”

“….”

“Well, it doesn’t matter to me.”

Jang Ilso lightly pressed the ground with the tip of his foot. Anticipating that he would fly in at any second, Tang Soso poured all her internal energy into the sword she raised.

But just then, someone forcefully pulled her from behind.

“Huh?”

Tang Soso fell on her butt, startled, and opened her eyes wide when she saw Hye Yeon standing in front of her.

“Monk!”

“Cough.”

Hye Yeon coughed violently. Thick, dark blood poured from his mouth. Yet, without a hint of hesitation, he parted his bloodied lips.

“I’m the one to face this person.”

“What are you—”

Tang Soso couldn’t even finish her sentence before letting out a breath like a balloon deflating. Hye Yeon had gently raised his hand to silence her.

Normally, Tang Soso wouldn’t have backed off so easily. But in that moment, there was a gravity and commanding presence in Hye Yeon’s gesture that she had never felt from him before. No, it might be more accurate to call it dignity.

So she couldn’t say another word.

“Amitabha…”

Hye Yeon pressed his palm gently to his solar plexus.

‘The abdominal wall has been pierced.’

The only fortunate thing was that it wasn’t Jang Ilso’s fist or palm that had pierced his stomach—it was his fingers. Still, even small holes—five punctures in the belly—couldn’t possibly leave someone unscathed. Hye Yeon took labored breaths.

‘Internal injury…’

He had only allowed a single strike. Yet it felt as if his energy wasn’t flowing properly. It must be the peculiar, sinister energy of Jang Ilso’s Blue Flame Steel-Slayer technique gnawing at his body. [cheong-yeomsalgang, 청염살강 (靑炎殺鋼)]

Hye Yeon took a deep breath.

‘It’s fine. I can still fight.’

He glared at Jang Ilso, eyes full of fighting spirit. But to the onlookers, that will to fight looked like nothing more than a futile act of defiance.

And to the man slowly approaching Hye Yeon—it looked the same. Jang Ilso casually flicked off Hye Yeon’s blood from his fingers.

“I should commend you for not dodging. Fine, I’ll give you that. At least you’re not like those pigs who talk big but do nothing.”

If Hye Yeon had dodged, Jang Ilso’s strike would’ve torn Tang Soso to pieces. Knowing this, Hye Yeon had stood his ground. That action alone proved he was different from the others.

“But what now? The world didn’t end up like this because people like you were never around.”

Jang Ilso smiled coldly.

“It’s because people like you died first.”

With a smile that seemed like both a laugh and a cry, Jang Ilso slowly lowered his hand. The blood-soaked tips of his fingers looked especially red.

“Why don’t you understand?”

“.…”

“Of course, every person holds different values dear. I won’t deny that. But… once you die, it’s all over.”

The corners of Jang Ilso’s mouth twisted into a crooked grin.

“The old monk of Shaolin knew that. That’s why he did whatever he could to survive. But… it’s funny, isn’t it? The old man, who doesn’t have long to live, knows that truth—yet you, who still has a long life ahead, don’t.”

Hye Yeon’s eyes darkened.

“So, once you die, it’s all over…”

He muttered, then shook his head firmly.

“That’s not true, Siju.”

“You’re going to preach to me about reincarnation or some other temple nonsense?  Even if reincarnation were real, a self stripped of its memories is no longer me. You so-called Buddhists—always clinging to your pathetic delusions, denying even the most obvious truths.”

“No. That’s not what I’m saying.”

“Hmph, then what?”

“I don’t live for the next life.”

That unexpected answer made a strange glint flicker in Jang Ilso’s eyes.

“What?”

Hye Yeon gave a bitter smile.

To attain liberation through spiritual training and good deeds, escaping the wheel of reincarnation to finally become a Buddha — this is the foundation of the lives of those who call themselves Buddhists.

But now, Hye Yeon was saying something completely different. The Hye Yeon of the past wouldn’t have said it out loud, not even in his dreams.

“To live the present for the sake of a next life, or for eventual enlightenment…”

He slowly shook his head.

“There was a time I believed that was the right path. But not anymore.”

Had he never left for Mount Hua, had he lived his entire life within the walls of Shaolin, he never would have known.

“That, in some sense, is nothing more than extreme self-love.”

“……”

“Death is not the end. Sometimes, it is through death that something can be achieved.”

Namgung Hwang had done so. So had the sages of Mount Hua. And though he didn’t witness it, Tang Gunak surely would too.

“Death itself is not what matters. What truly matters… is what follows after my death.”

A twitch flickered around Jang Ilso’s eyes.

“So you’re saying that the meaning of your life is to save that girl standing behind you?”

Hye Yeon gave a small smile.

“Who stands behind me is irrelevant. The depth of our relationship doesn’t dictate my actions.”

“Hahahahahaha!”

Jang Ilso burst out laughing, bending at the waist like he was in actual pain from laughter.

Even without any elaborate rebuttal, that uproarious laughter alone denied and trampled all over Hye Yeon’s beliefs — all his deep resolve and firm convictions.

Wiping tears from his eyes, Jang Ilso casually waved his hand.

“My, my… you’re so noble, I’ve got goosebumps.”

Then he gave a gentle smile.

“No need to worry. Even if you abandon your Buddhist principles, I’ll show you the mercy of the Buddha.”

“……”

“At the very least, you won’t have to see how your death turns into a meaningless one. That, my dear monk, is compassion.”

In an instant, a fearsome fighting aura burst forth from Jang Ilso.

Hye Yeon's body instinctively flinched. He was no stranger to killing intent and battle spirit. But the momentum pouring out of Jang Ilso was on a completely different level from anything he had ever faced.

‘Bishop?’

Though the energy felt different, the dreadful name he had encountered in Hangzhou flashed through his mind.

Killing intent may be formless, but to his already wounded body, even that was overwhelming. The inner wounds he had barely managed to suppress were now erupting again. Black blood poured from his mouth once more.

Jang Ilso’s finger pointed straight at him.

Piiiiiing!

By the time he realized it, the ring had already launched and was just inches from his face. Hye Yeon mustered all his remaining strength to lift his hand. The ring struck the edge of his palm and deflected, embedding itself in his shoulder.

It hadn’t pierced all the way through. But perhaps that would have been preferable. The ring squirmed inside his shoulder, creating an intense foreign sensation. Hye Yeon shuddered at the grotesque feeling.

With a serene smile, Jang Ilso kindly explained.

“Don’t worry. I won’t keep going.”

And it wasn’t a lie — he lowered his hand. But this was of no comfort to Hye Yeon.

‘Is it hopeless…?’

For a moment, he had thought he might be able to overcome him. But the current Jang Ilso felt like an insurmountable mountain. Maybe pure martial skill alone could catch up. But that wasn’t the only thing that made Jang Ilso so overwhelmingly strong.

“Amitabha.”

At this rate, he’d be crushed before the fight even properly began. He might be thoroughly toyed with and then devoured.

‘If that’s the case…’

Just as Hye Yeon gritted his teeth and prepared to spring forward—

Clang.

A sword suddenly appeared before him — blocking his path.

Startled, Hye Yeon looked up at the person who had stepped in front of him with a sword.

“Siju, what are you—?”

“What follows after death is what matters.”

“……”

“You’re not saying only a monk can say those words, are you?”

Hye Yeon couldn’t respond to her question. Not only because it was reasonable, but more so because of the look in her eyes.

“Even if I can’t win, I won’t hesitate to stand against him. I’m a disciple of Mount Hua.”

Hye Yeon cast his eyes down slightly. Then he gave a small nod.

“This humble monk was foolish.”

“Good that you realize it.”

She too was a disciple of Mount Hua — a proud swordswoman. Not someone for Hye Yeon to simply protect.

“Let’s do this together.”

“With all I’ve got.”

Hye Yeon and Tang Soso stood side by side facing Jang Ilso. He simply sneered.

“Now then…”

The moment his lips parted, Hye Yeon instinctively realized it.

At nearly the same moment, Jang Ilso’s body ‘appeared’ directly in front of him — as if he had teleported. Hye Yeon’s injured senses couldn’t even track the movement.

‘That’s enough.’

Though the words weren’t spoken aloud, Hye Yeon felt as if he had heard Jang Ilso’s unspoken thoughts.

Wooong.

A fist wrapped in blue flames flew toward Hye Yeon. If he couldn’t block it, his head would be crushed like a well-ripened watermelon.

He hurriedly raised his energy and thrust both hands toward Jang Ilso’s fist. Instead of any refined technique, Jang Ilso simply thrust his fist forward.

Crack.

Hye Yeon’s fingers shattered as they collided with Jang Ilso’s fist, which he hadn’t managed to fully intercept. But because of that, the trajectory of Jang Ilso’s strike barely twisted, grazing past the top of Hye Yeon’s head.

‘Counterattack…’

But before he could act, Hye Yeon’s world was swallowed by darkness. Jang Ilso had immediately bent his arm and drove his elbow down into the crown of Hye Yeon’s head.

Hye Yeon’s body curled up like a shrimp. Then, Jang Ilso’s open palm, blazing with blue flame, turned into a blade. The blue blade formed from pure energy fell straight toward the back of Hye Yeon’s neck, as he still reeled in a daze. [tl note: sudo, 수도(手刀), Hand blade/bladed hand/knife-hand (a martial arts term meaning a hand shaped like a blade, used in strikes)].

‘No!’

Tang Soso charged at Jang Ilso on instinct. It was the only thing she could do in that moment.

But she also knew—deep down—that Jang Ilso had already anticipated this. There was no way he wouldn’t know her only possible move.

Sure enough, a twisted grin spread across Jang Ilso’s pale face.

Even so, Tang Soso pushed forward without hesitation. Not even for a second.

‘Don’t be ridiculous.’

She knew it was a trap. But that didn’t mean she would avoid it. No, she wouldn’t avoid it. If one of them had to die, she would never yield the place of first to fall. Because that’s what it meant to be a disciple of Mount Hua.

That’s why, even as she saw the bladed hand flying toward her, she didn’t flinch.

As Hye Yeon belatedly gathered his scattered senses and moved with all his might to block Jang Ilso, Tang Soso, instead of retreating, extended her sword forward—to stop Jang Ilso from targeting Hye Yeon again.

‘I am a swordswoman of Mount Hua.’

It was the path she chose. And so, it was a pride she had to protect, even to the moment of death.

Jang Ilso’s bladed hand struck her neck. Tang Soso desperately kept her eyes open, resisting the instinct to squeeze them shut.

Fwoosh.

A fiery sensation bloomed on her neck. At the same time, Jang Ilso leapt backward.

Facing death, Tang Soso burned the image of Jang Ilso into her mind. She would never forget. Not this grudge, not this pain.

But… it was strange. Jang Ilso’s expression wasn’t one of triumph. Instead, he seemed… slightly surprised.

At that moment, Tang Soso felt a sudden awareness.

A sharp pain from her sliced neck—and heat so intense it almost seared her.

Tap.

And something touched her head. As she realized it was someone’s hand, the smell of hot sweat flooded her senses.

“Well done, Samae.”

“……”

Tang Soso unconsciously reached for her neck.

She had definitely been cut. But the wound wasn’t fatally deep.

If the blade had gone just a needle deeper, her carotid artery would have been severed—but Jang Ilso’s hand hadn’t pierced further.

Realizing this, Tang Soso clenched her teeth. Her eyes burned with tears. But no matter how relieved she was, she couldn’t cry—not now.

Instead, her usual biting tone slipped through her teeth.

“You’re late, you damned Sahyung.”

“Sorry.”

The hand resting on her head squeezed gently. As he pressed her head down, he stepped forward.

Curly hair and a broad back soaked in sweat came into view. Just looking at him, she could tell how hard he had run to get here.

“Step back.”

The sweat he’d shed turned to white steam as it vaporized in the heat. The man who always stood at the front of Mount Hua raised his sword and aimed it at Jang Ilso.

“This is the end of your rampage. From here on, I’ll be the one to face you.”

Jo Geol’s sword burned with a crimson aura, as fierce as his resolve.

Next Chapter

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