Chapter 56: The Lonely Path of the Sword, Looking Toward Its End

Mount Hua.

People never hesitated to call it the greatest sword sect in the martial world.

Of course, anytime someone made that claim—

There was always some asshole who had to bring up Wudang Sect instead.

And then?

It was on sight.

A full-blown verbal war.

“The Purple Cloud Sword of Mount Hua is the ultimate divine technique!”

Excuse me? You dare disrespect the Purple Cloud Sword Art?!

“Hah! But do you fools even comprehend the profound reversals of Wudang Tai Chi^[1]?”

Oh, sure. Taiji Sword Style. Reflection technique. Whatever. 🙄

And if things got really heated—

They stopped arguing and just started fighting.

At that point, it didn’t even matter if they were part of Mount Hua or Wudang—

They just appointed themselves as representatives and duelled on the spot.

And that was when the bystanders got hyped as hell.

It was primitive, stupid, and peak entertainment in ancient Murim.

Either way—

When it came to sword sects, Mount Hua and Wudang were the first names people threw around.

That was how prestigious Mount Hua was.

But to Qing?

She didn’t give a fuck.

She had bigger problems.

"This mountain is nice and all, but where’s Mount Hua?"

Mount Hua was one of the Five Great Mountains of China.

Its sheer cliffs and majestic ridges were enough to make anyone feel small.

There were no gentle slopes.

Only towering cliffs.

White for the stone, red for the trees.

That was Autumn in Mount Hua.

It had taken them a month to get here.

And in that time—

A miracle had happened.

Chang Bin had finally stopped mumbling.

He was actually speaking like a normal person now.

Sure—

• His intonation was still weird.
• He wasn’t great at using honorifics.
• He still didn’t look at people when he spoke.

But who cared?

The fact that he had clawed his way out of silence was impressive enough.

Chang Bin had potential.

As the eldest of the group, Qing should have been proud of him.

She should have encouraged him.

She should have been nurturing.

But instead—

"So, Mount Hua is at Zaso Peak, so we still have a little—"

"No, no. Not the sect, the mountain. Where’s the volcano?"^[2]

Chang Bin smiled.

A Daoist’s smile.

His home was near.

He was showing off.

"Lady Ximen, surely you jest. Everyone who comes to Mount Hua makes that exact—"

Then he froze.

Because Qing was dead fucking serious.

"Wait… that was… a joke… right?"

She didn’t blink.

She didn’t laugh.

She just stared.

"…That was a joke, right?"

Chang Bin was met with silence.

"Unbelievable!" Qing shouted. "Where’s my volcano?! Where’s the lava?!"

"Qing, please don’t be so loud—" Peng Daesan began, but she cut him off.

"Since when did Mount Hua belong to you?" Qing demanded, her voice rising.

"They made it sound like it was! What kind of scam is this?! I was promised lava! Flowing fire! Blazing heat! But what do I get instead?!"

She whirled around.

"Fine. Then tell me this—what’s Mount Hua’s specialty? What’s the best thing to eat here?"

"…?"

Her abrupt topic shift was smoother than the yin-yang cycle of Taiji^[3] itself.

Pang Daesan actually hesitated for a moment.

"Hah, Qing, Mount Hua is a sect, not a restaurant! Besides, sect food is never anything special. You’ll only end up disappointed."

"Excuse you?"

Qing looked personally offended.

"Eh. The Divine Maiden Sect's food is delicious, actually. That’s just a stupid stereotype."

And to be fair—

She was right.

The meals at Divine Maiden Sect were amazing.

Even the most basic vegetarian dishes were rich, fragrant, and full of depth.

It was common in female sects.

Men could survive on plain food.

But for women?

Food was serious business.

So, despite Qing’s whining—

No one actually minded.

Because she was clearly enjoying the scenery.

She was constantly looking around.

Whenever they reached a particularly breathtaking view, she even stopped to admire it.

She might as well have been a country bumpkin on a sightseeing trip.

Mount Hua was not a place for leisurely strolls.

It was dangerous.

But then again—

There wasn’t a single weakling in their group.

And soon enough—

They reached Lotus Peak.

The main entrance to Mount Hua Sect.

Compared to other Daoist sects, Mount Hua was surprisingly secular.

Very worldly.^[4]

When people joined Buddhist or Daoist sects, they renounced their worldly names.

This was called monastic registration.

In its place, they received a new name—either a Daoist title or a Buddhist Dharma name.

But there were exceptions.

Some disciples never abandoned their worldly names.

These were called secular disciples.

Each sect had its own rules about allowing secular disciples.

For example—

• Divine Maiden Sect didn’t allow them at all.
• If a disciple left for a man, they broke their dantian and returned their name.
• Which, surprisingly, was very merciful.

After all—

Some sects would cripple all four limbs and brand their faces with hot iron.

Other sects allowed secular disciples, but only if they passed strict moral and aptitude tests.

Of course, there was also a rumor—

That a large donation could significantly improve one’s moral score.

There was no official confirmation on this matter.

But Mount Hua?

Mount Hua didn’t give a fuck.

Their acceptance process was infamously lax.

• Decent talent? Accepted.
• Great talent? Accepted.
• Rich family? Accepted.

As a result—

Mount Hua became the third richest among the Nine Great Sects.

A massive financial empire.

Qing’s eye twitched.

"So this place is basically a high-end daycare for rich kids who don’t wanna study?"

She hated it already.

--

Mount Hua was the third richest sect in the Nine Great Sects.

Why third?

Because the top two were Shaolin and Emei.

And why were those two richer?

Because Shaolin and Emei had monopoly over Buddhist believers.

Unlike Daoism, Buddhism was a religion with an actual following.

Shaolin didn’t need to do anything—

The believers just threw money at them.

No Daoist sect, no matter how greedy, could ever compete with that.

But even without religious donations—

Mount Hua was filthy rich.

Why?

Because Mount Hua disciples were everywhere.

Because Mount Hua’s wealth attracted even more disciples.

And because Mount Hua’s sheer size was absurd.

That much was clear when Qing finally saw it.

“What the fuck? Why is this place so huge?”

Qing stared at the sprawling expanse of Mount Hua’s architecture.

Her first thought?

“The Divine Maiden Sect was a goddamn hole-in-the-wall compared to this.”

Chang Bin smiled.

He was so proud.

Like a kid showing off his fancy new toy.

The moment they arrived at the main gate—

The Mount Hua disciples immediately recognized Chang Bin.

"Senior Brother! You've returned!"

"Pang Daesan and Namgung Sinjae? We've met before, haven't we? And this young lady… Wait a minute… No way…"

The disciple suddenly gasped.

Then, as if some forbidden realization had struck him—

"Of course! I knew it! Senior Brother Chang Bin!"

"No woman can resist your charms!"

"Why does the world create beautiful women, only to then create Senior Brother Chang Bin to steal them away?!"

"The legend of Mount Hua's greatest seducer—Chang Bin!"

Chang Bin turned red as a tomato.

"That's not it! She’s Young Lady Ximen Qing! A highly esteemed guest! We’re here to meet the Sect Leader—”

"Sect Leader? Are we sucking candy now?"

"Holy shit! Candy?! Boys, Senior Brother is handing out candy!"

"CANDY! CANDY! CANDY!"

And before Chang Bin could stop them, the disciples ran off screaming, like a fish slipping through water.

Straight into the sect.

With cultivator-level speed.

And with them?

So did the rumors.

Chang Bin faced the sky in despair.

The expression receiving candy had the same meaning as eating galbitang^[5] in the vocabulary of modern Koreans.

After all, in ancient, primitive China, guests at wedding banquets had to be given candy.

Of all people, why did it have to be that loose-mouthed Changyeon standing at the front gate?

By the end of the day, this was going to be all over the sect.

Changbin awkwardly pulled back his outstretched hand and glanced around, uneasy.

“Well… ahem... Brother Peng? It wasn’t intentional, so could you not glare at me like that? I am still your senior, you know…”

--

By the time they sat down for tea, the rumor had already spread like wildfire.

They barely had time to drink half a cup before an urgent message arrived—

“Sect Leader wants to see you immediately.”

That was… strange.

Sect Leaders didn’t just drop everything for visitors.

In ancient China, status was everything.

Even guests of high rank had to wait their turn.

Messing with the order of meetings was considered a huge insult.

So why was the Sect Leader of Mount Hua—one of the Nine Great Sects—

Skipping everyone else just to meet them?

The Reason?

It was simple.

Chang Bin was twenty-nine.

One foot away from becoming an unmarried old man.

A man needed a family.

Having a wife and children was good for mental stability.

It even helped in advancing to the Transcendent Realm.

And now?

The greatest bachelor in Mount Hua had returned with a woman.

There was no way the Sect Leader was going to miss this.

Mount Hua’s Sect Leader was Yu Ha-jinin.

And the first thing he said when he saw Qing?

"Oh-ho! So you’re the girl!"

Qing blinked.

"Do you know me?"

"I only just heard about you."

Then, he looked into her eyes.

And suddenly—

His expression stiffened.

"Your eyes… have strong spiritual energy. Clearly, you are a child of the Dao… but…"

Then he paused.

Because something was wrong.

Very wrong.

"Hmm… but it’s not just Daoist energy…"

Yu Ha-jinin narrowed his eyes.

Something about this girl felt deeply unsettling.

It was something words could not describe.

An unnatural presence.

A feeling of something deeply wrong.

While Yu Ha-jinin was silently panicking, Chang Bin quickly explained.

"Sect Leader, this is Young Lady Ximen Qing. She is the direct disciple of Senior Matriarch Ximen Surin."

"Ah! Ximen Surin's disciple!"

And just like that—

Everything made sense.

Of course.

If she was Ximen Surin's disciple, it explained everything.

The strange aura.

The terrifying presence.

The borderline insanity.

It was all because of her master.

Because if anyone knew Ximen Surin's past—

They knew she had been an absolute menace, with her women-centered ideology.

These days, she was calmer.

More refined.

But back in her prime?

She was an unstoppable force of female rage.

Only those seasoned by the prior generation knew what kind of evil the tyranny of the Zenith amongst women, who used to cry out for women warriors and women's struggle, was like.

Knowing that—

Yu Ha-jinin immediately jumped to another conclusion.

That this girl was now his junior martial sister.

A little sister… fifty years younger than him.

But hey.

What could he do?

Sect Leader or not, seniority was seniority.

So, he smiled warmly.

"Haha! To think I’d gain a junior sister at this age!"

"How is Ximen Surin? Is she well?"

"Oh, last time I saw her, she was fine."

"Good, good…"

Then, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"By the way… your cultivation is quite impressive. Would you mind sharing your current level?"

"Oh, I’m at the late stage of Peak Realm."

Yu Ha-jinin’s jaw dropped.

"Oh-ho! What a blessing for the Orthodox sects!"

He was genuinely amazed.

A twenty-year-old girl at Peak Realm?!

Even the Celestial Martial Emperor, the greatest genius of the past, had only reached mid-peak realm at that age!

Yu Ha-jinin’s smile grew even warmer.

Qing had no idea she had just earned Mount Hua’s complete favor.

1. [1] Wudang Tai Chi is based on the principles of Tai Chi Chuan, which is a Chinese martial art that is practiced for both its health benefits and its self-defense applications. Wudang Tai Chi is characterized by its gentle, flowing movements, which are designed to promote relaxation, balance, and coordination. ^
2. [2] In Korean, the word for "volcano" (화산) is homonymous with "Mount Hua" (also 화산). ^
3. [3] the source from which Yin and Yang, and thus all things, originate ^
4. [4] not connected with religious or spiritual matters. ^
5. [5] Beef short ribs soup ^