Return of Mount Hua Sect - Chapter 1738



Only Noblemtl

Episode 1738. Can You Hold On? (3)

Everyone was looking at that hand.

Now it can’t do anything, but it’s the hand that once clearly guided the volcano.

The outstretched hand soon grabbed something in the air.

I could tell. I couldn’t hold anything in my hand, but I was definitely holding on to something.

Sword. Something that his hand never let go of throughout his life. Something that he felt naturally held onto even at this moment.

A great ripple occurred in the hearts of those who were watching.

As I watched, I realized it again. How awkward it was that the young man didn’t have a sword in his hand. How sad it was that what he was holding wasn’t a real sword, but an imaginary sword. I realized what they had lost.

But some others saw something completely different in Baekcheon’s gestures.

He can no longer cut down his enemies. He can no longer draw plum blossoms. He can no longer contain his ideals in that sword.

But even so, Baekcheon still holds the sword.

Baekcheon’s mouth opened.

“I wanted to become stronger.”

Everyone was captivated by his soft words.

“I wanted to prove who I am by becoming stronger than anyone else in the world. Stronger than anyone else.”

It may not simply be because Baekcheon’s words are sincere.

His words speak for everyone. The hearts of all those who live in this world of martial arts, risking their lives on the edge of a dangerous sword, and not being surprised if their lives end at any moment.

It is difficult to explain why we live in this world, why we hold a sword in our hands.

In the past, I would have said that I was pursuing glory. But now, I couldn’t easily say those words.

Haven’t we all already seen those who, in their pursuit of glory, perished without ever achieving anything?

What were they thinking at the last moment?

Those who pursued the illusion of glory in the land of martial arts must have seen their hands losing strength, unable to hold on to anything. What on earth did they think of at that time?

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

Even knowing that, why are you all here? Why can’t you put down the sword you’re holding, even though you can no longer hope for glory?

“But at some point I came to know.”

Baekcheon quietly stretched out his hand and held it out to Hyeonjong.

“Do you remember?”

It was a sudden question. Hyunjong just looked at Baekcheon without saying anything. To be exact, his eyes shining brightly between his bare fingers.

“What you must have in your hands is strength. However, martial arts do not simply mean strength. They must be accompanied by will. A martial arts that has lost its will is nothing more than the power of a thug.”

“… … .”

“Do you remember?”

Baekcheon’s eyes were shining brightly as ever. Hyunjong knew. What was in those eyes was neither distrust nor hostility.

Rather, there was still a deep trust in him. Even in this situation, Baekcheon’s eyes looking at Hyeonjong remained straight.

“These are the words that the Supreme Master told me.”

Hyeonjong closed his eyes tightly.

Yeah, that’s right. Yes, that’s what it was.

That’s what he said. He conveyed his full intentions to Baekcheon, who was still full of anger on his face. He had no doubt that this boy would one day spread the meaning of Hwasan to the whole world.

“Will and strength. If you lack either one, martial arts cannot be completed. However, if you must choose only one, do not hesitate and give up strength. Will without strength is miserable, but strength without will is dangerous. This is also what the Great Master Taesangjangmunin said.”

Hyun-jong just listened with his eyes closed. The voice rang deep in his ears.

Then, when I finally opened my eyes, Baekcheon’s wide open, bare hands filled my vision.

“So let me ask you, what do you want me to hold in this hand?”

“… … .”

“what!”

Hyun-jong’s mouth opens slightly. But he closes it again without saying anything.

“Sword and internal energy? Yes, I can get them. I can go to the place that the Supreme Master wants me to go, get my body fixed, and then pick up the sword again, right?”

Baekcheon looked around at the others. They all turned their heads away, unable to meet his gaze.

“But what should fill the will?”

Hyunjong hesitated again.

There were words that he had to say, but he didn’t want to utter them. However, he soon spat out the prickly words as if ripping off the flesh on the tip of his tongue.

“… … There is a will there too.”

“Yes, of course I will. But can that be my will?”

“Baekcheon-ah.”

“I dare to ask, Grand Master.”

“… … .”

“Where is the will of the Supreme Master?”

Hyunjong, unable to bear the pain, closed his eyes tightly again.

Of course it’s in the volcano. There’s no need to worry about the answer. But I couldn’t say that.

He blurted out words he didn’t want to say, and couldn’t give the answers he should have. The whole process left scars on Hyeonjong and tormented him.

“My will is here.”

But Baekcheon spoke confidently. Just as if he was stating an immutable truth that everyone knew, in a calm manner.

“I ask again, Grand Master. What should I hold in this hand?”

Everyone looked at the hand.

It’s empty. That’s why you can grab anything.

“If I can grasp the blade, I will grasp the blade. If I can’t, I will grasp the will. That is what the Great Master Taesangjangmunin told me.”

Hyunjong tried to put something in his hand.

No, everyone did.

To those living in the volcano, that hand was not just the hand of one person. It was the hand of the volcano. It was the hand that contained the wishes of all those living in the volcano.

The one raising his hand is asking.

“Has that meaning changed now?”

sick.

“Do you really want to put power without will in the hands of your disciple? Should I deny all the teachings of the Supreme Master with my own hands? Should I deny everything about Hwasan?”

It hurts terribly.

Those who had been silent because it was Hyeonjong’s will looked at Hyeonjong at these words. The eyes of the disciples guarding Baekcheon’s back were now clear, almost sharp.

Hyeonjong endured it silently.

“What is the point of power gained in this way? If power alone is enough, how am I any different from Sapa? If power is the only way to gain everything else, how am I any different from that thug?”

Baekcheon’s gaze strikes Hyeonjong like lightning.

“The future that the Great Master is talking about is wrong!”

“Baekcheon-ah!”

The elders of the volcano were startled and stopped Baekcheon. It was understandable, as Baekcheon’s words just now completely denied Hyeonjong’s authority.

But Baekcheon didn’t back down even an inch.

“If the will of the Supreme Master has changed, I cannot follow that will. I will not follow it.”

“Hey, you punk! Be careful what you say… … .”

“Because that is no longer the will of the Supreme Leader.”

Fight!

Baekcheon took my hand and hit my chest hard, as if striking me.

“The meaning is here.”

“… … .”

“Even if the Supreme Master has abandoned it, its meaning has not disappeared from the world. It is here. It has become my meaning, and now it is my will.”

“Baekcheon-ah… … .”

“The volcano has everything I have.”

Baekcheon slowly looked back. The eyes of the disciples who had gathered around him were focused on him.

It’s strange.

At times like this, he first looked for Cheongmyeong’s gaze. Cheongmyeong was always looking at him. But right now, he didn’t care about Cheongmyeong’s gaze.

Even though he clearly knew that he was among them, he saw all of Hwasan, not Cheongmyeong.

Each and every one of their eyes seemed to shine like a star.

There were times when those lights were a burden. There were times when they felt so burdensome that I would tremble alone in places where there was no one.

Because he wasn’t that great of a person.

But now I think I know. What he should do. What he should say. Those eyes were telling him.

“I am a weakling. The Great Master may think highly of me, but I am much more insignificant and lacking than you think. I am the only one who knows it very well.”

“… … .”

“That’s why I really needed someone to hold onto what I had in my hand so I wouldn’t lose it. Someone to push my back when I was out of breath climbing a steep path, and someone to look up with me when I was feeling lost in the distance.”

Baekcheon’s fingertips trembled faintly.

“It’s all in the volcano. And… … everything about me is in the volcano.”

However, his words are more resolute than usual.

“If I had to hold just one thing in this hand, it would be my will,” he said.

“… … That’s right.”

Hyunjong answered, swallowing his pain.

“My will is in the volcano. So I will follow the will of the ancestors. I will also carry out my will. I will become an example for those who follow.”

Before he knew it, Hyeonjong was holding his breath. To be exact, he couldn’t breathe.

“Because that is the duty that the one who carries on the legacy must keep, and the will that the one who holds the sword must naturally carry out!”

Everyone found out.

I lost Baekcheon. But that’s why I gained it.

Baekcheon as a human may have disappeared, but the person Baekcheon there is incomparably more brilliant than in the past.

And I also found out.

How much that person, that weakling, is needed by the volcano. Who is the one who will truly carry on the volcano’s will?

“Therefore, I refuse. This is where I belong. Please reconsider, Grand Master.”

Baekcheon bowed his head deeply.

Even though he was sick, he never looked mean or dangerous. Hyunjong quietly looked at Baekcheon and the faces of the many disciples standing behind him.

‘That’s great… … .’

It was several times more brilliant than he had hoped for… no, it was more brilliant than he had ever hoped for.

Perhaps the place Baekcheon is standing on now is a high place that even the ancestors of the past could not reach.

With just one being named Baekcheon, the volcano will change. Using this as a symbol, he was able to draw the image of a volcano that would dominate the world.

The young boy who used to knock on the door of the volcano has finally come here. Those who watch him have grown old and shabby, but the boy has grown up so well.

That’s why Hyunjong knew clearly what he had to do at this moment.

“Long story.”

“… … Yes, Taesangjangmunin.”

“Could you give me the authority to make this decision again?”

Unam looked at Hyeonjong without saying a word. After remaining silent for a while, Unam nodded.

“Do as you wish.”

“Thank you.”

Hyunjong got up from his seat and slowly approached Baekcheon.

Baekcheon opened his eyes wide and looked at Hyeonjong.

One step. Another step.

In the past, Baekcheon approached Hyeonjong. But now, Hyeonjong is walking towards Baekcheon.

Everything was different, but one thing was the same: the one who walked saw an uncertain hope in the place where he tried to reach.

Damn it.

Soon, Hyeonjong’s steps stopped in front of Baekcheon.

The silence was still.

Baekcheon sat upright and Hyeonjong stood in front of him. The two looked at each other without saying a word.

In the past, Baekcheon knocked on the door of the volcano with his hand.

What should the current King Hyeonjong do with these hands?

Hyeonjong’s hand slowly stretched out.

At the firm, steady hand, Baekcheon bit his lips as if he was overcome with emotion and reached out his hand to Hyeonjong.

My weak hands, struggling to bear even my own weight, went up to Hyeonjong’s thick hands. No, I tried to lift them up.

At that moment, Hyeonjong’s hand stretched out a little further.

His hands were out of sync, and Baekcheon opened his eyes wide in a daze.

widely.

The place that Hyunjong’s hand touched was not Baekcheon’s hand or his shoulder. It was the Jahashin sword that was at his waist.

He refused to accept it, pushed it away and shouted that it was impossible. However, the sword was now in the hands of King Hyeonjong.

“Your Majesty… … .”

Hyun-jong took the Jahashin sword off Baek-cheon’s waist without hesitation, glanced at Baek-cheon absentmindedly, and turned around.

“From this time on, Jin Dongryong is no longer a disciple of the Volcano. He is excommunicated from the Volcano Bandits.”

Baekcheon stared at Hyeonjong’s shoulder in disbelief.

“However, considering the achievements Jindo Dragon has made in the volcano, Dan Geun’s punishment will be waived.”

It’s falling apart.

“All disciples of the volcano must make this fact clear and must not show any mercy to those who have been excommunicated.”

His world, his everything.

“Do it.”

As if left alone in an unfamiliar place, a single red plum tree growing between the pine trees swayed sadly.