#1130: This Place, This Is Hell. (5) — Return of the Mount Hua Sect

Chung Myung’s rampage was subdued only after Hyun Young and even Hyun Jong stepped in. Seeing Chung Myung collapsed in the corner, tightly bound with ropes, cold sweat ran down the backs of the sect leaders.

Hyun Jong looked at everyone as if he had a headache.

“Why is it that you all cannot control this?”

“……”

“We agreed to overlook fighting during sparring matches. But isn’t it a big problem that they fight each other even in daily life?”

Everyone nodded as if they agreed with that statement.

But Hyun Jong frowned as if he disliked that reaction even more.

“Then each sect leader should sort out the situation. Why do these incidents keep happening?”

“Ahem.”

The sect leaders all avoided the question silently.

“Please speak frankly.”

“Well, the thing is…”

“Ahem…”

Despite Hyun Jong’s urging, the sect leaders only coughed repeatedly. Seeing Hyun Jong’s incredulous expression, Tang Gunak finally spoke with a bitter smile.

“This seems to be a problem arising from differences in understanding…”

“You say it’s a difference in understanding?”

What could they possibly misunderstand here?

“The Alliance leader thinks that if we just want, controlling them would be easy… but in fact, our authoritative figure is not as strong as the Alliance leader thinks.”

“…What?”

Hyun Jong blinked blankly upon hearing that.

What nonsense is this?

“How can places like Namgung or Tang family have weak authority? What do you mean? The prestigious families and the Five Palaces Beyond the Great Wall I know have sect leaders with absolute authority.”

Tang Gunak sighed deeply.

“That’s the problem.”

“What?”

“…The problem lies in the perception of authority. Who has the strongest authority in the world?”

“Well… the Emperor.”

“Even that Emperor cannot ignore the feelings of his people, right?”

Hyun Jong was rendered speechless. Because it was true.

Even the Emperor with the greatest authority in the world watches his people’s mood and tries to win their favor.

“Of course, we can suppress them once or twice with our power. But if grievances accumulate and are not resolved, and the same things repeat, authority inevitably weakens.”

“Ah, no, but what exactly…”

Hyun Jong looked at the other sect leaders as if he couldn’t understand, but they only nodded as if agreeing.

“Are you serious now?”

When Hyun Jong asked again, Tang Gunak sighed deeply.

“That’s why it was difficult to say. It’s not something the Alliance leader can easily understand.”

Hyun Jong was silent for a moment, scratching his head. He thought it was a sensitive matter to push too hard.

“…Even so, saying it’s awkward to order disciples not to fight…”

“Sect leader.”

“Yes.”

“Is the authority of the Tang family Lord stronger? Or the Shaolin abbot’s authority?”

“Well…”

Hyun Jong could not answer easily.

It might not be pleasant for Tang Gunak to hear, but comparing the Tang family lord and the Shaolin’s abbot was impossible. The Shaolin abbot was not just the head of Shaolin but recognized as a representative figure in the murim world.

Naturally, his authority within the sect was very strong.

“You must have heard before? That Shaolin disciples rebelled against the abbot’s order and left to return to the main temple.”

“…I have heard, but…”

He thought it was just karma… no, well… even Shaolin has some who think for themselves.

“Think about it, sect leader. Even the Shaolin abbot, who has the strongest authority in the murim world, faces such things. If disciples dislike some decisions, they rebel and return to the main temple, don’t they?”

“…”

“In that case, what great power do we have to command disciples with just a gesture?”

Hyun Jong’s mouth slowly opened.

It seemed to make sense… but also didn’t.

Seeing Hyun Jong’s obvious confusion, Tang Gunak smiled bitterly.

“So, Alliance leader… no, sect leader, I said it would be hard for you to understand.”

“…Why?”

“The reason is simple. Our positions differ. The Mount Hua I know is a sect where the sect leader’s authority is extraordinarily strong in the murim world.”

“Mount Hua?”

“Yes.”

“Mount Hua?”

“…Yes.”

“In Mount Hua?”

Hyun Jong made a face as if asking, ‘What nonsense is this?’ and the sect leaders all smiled bitterly.

Of course, it might sound strange to Hyun Jong. Unlike other sect leaders, he treats his disciples like friends. So sometimes Mount Hua disciples speak and act toward Hyun Jong in ways unimaginable in other sects.

But friendliness and strong authority are completely different matters.

To Tang Gunak, Mount Hua is a sect where the sect leader’s authority surpasses normal imagination.

Imagine a situation where each sect leader sends disciples to a hopeless battle line. A fight with no justification or benefit.

Would the Tang family members willingly risk their lives following Tang Gunak’s orders?

Well, Tang Gunak was skeptical.

At that moment, they would prioritize their own lives over Tang Gunak’s orders. Tang Gunak’s power comes from legitimacy and position, not from faith and trust in the family lord.

Probably, the other sect leaders here think similarly.

But Mount Hua, Mount Hua alone is different.

Mount Hua disciples, if ordered by Hyun Jong, more than half would risk their lives even knowing they might die.

‘That is real authority.’

Authority is like that. No matter how proud you are usually, if you cannot exert it at critical moments, it is not true authority.

Hyun Jong found it very hard to understand but nodded somehow.

“Ugh. So… you mean it’s hard to stop disciples because they might rebel?”

“Hmm. It’s a bit embarrassing to say.”

“What’s embarrassing about it?”

At that moment, Im So-Byeong opened his mouth with a face saying, ‘This is why the Justice faction guys…’

“You guys just get cursed at or cold stares. For us, if things go wrong, knives fly while we sleep, knives!”

“…”

“And you guys have the strongest rules, so even if kids rise up, you can suppress them. But a guy like me becomes a corpse in an instant! A corpse. Do you understand?”

“You’re already half a corpse though?”

“…Still, being half a corpse is better than a full corpse.”

Im So-Byeong grumbled and continued indifferently.

“There are only two sects in the world where you can make disciples do what they dislike with just a finger snap. One is Mount Hua, and the other is…”

“Shaolin?”

“What? Shaolin? No way. It’s the Four Sects Alliance! If I had to add one more, it would be the Demonic Cult.”

Hyun Jong’s face twisted strangely upon hearing this.

“Well… depending on how you hear it, it sounds like Mount Hua is like the Four Sects Alliance or the Demon Cult…”

“Honestly, there’s not much difference. When the sect leader orders, everyone gets bloodshot eyes and rushes in without thinking whether it’s the north or south of the river. What sane person would do that? It’s not normal.”

Hyun Jong was silent. He felt very wronged but found it hard to argue. It had been a long time since he felt like this, since Chung Myung spouted his sophistry.

He sighed and asked Im So-Byeong again.

“So, the conclusion is that even the sect leaders find it hard to stop them?”

“Even if we try to stop it, as soon as things cool down, someone pours oil on the fire. How can we stop that? If we touch it clumsily, everything burns.”

“Even the one who brought the fire got burned.”

“That one got burned badly.”

The sect leaders shook their heads looking at Chung Myung tied in the corner. To them, it was like pouring oil on oneself, setting fire, and then screaming in pain.

“Then how on earth do we…”

At that moment, Han Yi-Myung spoke with a face full of confusion.

“Honestly, I don’t know why we’re having this meeting. If sects could easily mix, why would we divide by sect names and distinguish disciples by clothing? Why do meaningless joint training, which is just a brawl disguised as sparring?”

Everyone looked at Han Yi-Myung with empty eyes.

‘We wonder that too.’

‘When did we understand all that? We just did as told.’

‘That guy came from far away and doesn’t understand the situation at all.’

Not reading the other sect leaders’ expressions, Han Yi-Myung spoke irritably.

“I dare not say this in front of many sect leaders, but if we just stop this training and separate each sect’s quarters, wouldn’t this problem end…”

“Hoorah!”

At that moment, Chung Myung snapped the ropes binding him and jumped up.

“What? Separate?”

“…”

“Where are you saying such weak words!”

The sect leaders all nodded as if impressed.

The one suffering the most from this situation is none other than Chung Myung. Yet now, he refuses to take the easy way out no matter what.

That stubbornness is the driving force that has brought Mount Hua this far, the Mount Hua’s Sword Saint’s spirit…

“Then I’m the loser! Damn it!”

…It wasn’t power. Uh… just a bad personality.

“Ugh. Mount Hua’s Sword Saint.”

Tang Gunak sighed deeply.

“I understand your feelings, but the situation isn’t that simple. The barely calmed situation was completely twisted when Beast Palace and Ice Palace intervened. I know your enthusiasm, but sometimes excessive enthusiasm can be poison. Let’s calm things down first…”

“Calm down?”

“…”

“Who? Them? Or me?”

“Uh…”

Originally, I was going to say to calm them down… but it seems you need to calm down a bit too…

“Okay. I understand what you mean.”

“Huh?”

“So, this way won’t do, right?”

“…”

“Well…”

It’s true… but I think you completely misunderstood what I said…

“I get it. That’s right. I backed down.”