Chapter 241
Chapter 241
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 241
Chapter Title: The Bandit King's Arrival
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The Sect Leader looked out at the countless Mount Hua Sect disciples gathered at Peach Grove Plain and opened his mouth.
"No Flower Hall Leader."
"Haha, did you call for me?"
Hyeoncheong stepped forward at the summons.
The Sect Leader gazed steadily at him with a soft smile before speaking.
"Guide the third-generation disciples and the lay disciples to the Carefree Grotto."
Everyone jumped in surprise at his words.
The Carefree Grotto was one of Mount Hua's four great caves, a deeply hidden cavern primarily used by elders for secluded training.
Yet he was telling them to go there.
"You're telling us to hide."
"That's right."
Hyeoncheong nodded.
He knew well the reason the Sect Leader had made this decision.
The third-generation disciples were mere boys and girls who had recently joined the sect.
Moreover, the lay disciples had families to return to.
But the lay disciples strongly objected to the Sect Leader's decision.
"What do you mean?!"
"We are disciples of Mount Hua Sect too!"
They wouldn't be a significant force, but without them, Mount Hua's numbers would fall short of a hundred.
They cried out in appeal, but...
"It is already decided."
The Sect Leader did not waver.
The bandits were no easy foes.
Some might even lose their lives in the clash.
How could he demand such sacrifices?
"But Sect Leader...!"
As the lay disciples' protests grew louder...
"Calm yourselves."
Hyeoncheong intervened.
He had moved to their side, stroking the heads of the third-generation disciples who were starting to sob amid the suddenly tense atmosphere.
"You're scaring the children."
The lay disciples faltered, mouths agape in confusion.
"Then, may we go?"
Hyeoncheong asked the Sect Leader.
The Sect Leader nodded.
"Now, dry those tears and let's go together."
Hyeoncheong plastered a smile on his face to soothe the third-generation disciples on the verge of tears, tending to the children as he set off.
A moment later, Hyeoncheong and the third-generation disciples left Peach Grove Plain, but the lay disciples hadn't moved a single step.
The Sect Leader looked at them and asked.
"Why didn't you go with them?"
"Even as lay disciples, we are still disciples of Mount Hua Sect. How can we hide while our senior brothers risk their lives in battle?"
"Are you discriminating against us lay disciples?"
The Sect Leader shook his head at the question from one lay disciple.
"When have I ever discriminated?"
"Then why tell us to hide?"
"It's not hiding. It's moving for the future of Mount Hua Sect."
The Sect Leader said gently.
"I'm entrusting the children to you."
The lay disciples' eyes wavered.
With such words, insisting on fighting would be nothing but childish petulance.
"So, hurry up and go?"
Cheonhwi scanned the few lay disciples and mouthed the words.
"With that level of skill, you'll just be a hindrance here. Protecting you while fighting is no easy task."
"......"
"Oh, are you worried the cave will be stuffy? Don't worry. We'll finish up quick and come get you."
At Cheonhwi's confident words, the lay disciples stood speechless for a moment.
Then, Hyeonyang and Jeokgeom, along with the named disciples, approached and gripped their hands tightly.
The lay disciples met the eyes of the elders and senior brothers who clasped their hands.
"I'm entrusting the children to you."
"We trust you, senior brother."
"You can handle this much, right?"
Seeing their earnest words and gazes, the lay disciples steadied their hearts and spoke.
"......Understood. We'll protect the third-generation disciples even at the cost of our lives. So please return safely."
Hyeonyang smiled softly at the words of Song Yang-jeong, the longest-serving second-generation lay disciple.
"Don't worry."
"Understood."
Song Yang-jeong turned and said.
"Let's go, everyone."
Some lay disciples still looked dissatisfied, but they too nodded soon after.
And slowly bowed their heads.
"We'll wait at the Carefree Grotto."
"Please come back soon."
After a deep bow, the lay disciples hurried after Hyeoncheong and the third-generation disciples.
Once they vanished from sight...
The Sect Leader wiped the smile from his face and spoke.
"I assume you all know."
The abrupt statement without explanation filled the air with tension.
Soon, the Sect Leader spoke again.
"A vicious bandit horde is ascending to trample the sacred Mount Hua guarded by our ancestors since ancient times."
The disciples clenched their fists.
It was news they had already heard.
But hearing it directly from the Sect Leader made the pressure feel different.
The Sect Leader surveyed his disciples.
Fewer than a hundred in number.
A small force compared to the ascending bandits.
'If only Hyeondo, Hyeonjin, Cheonyu, and the children at the Murim Alliance were here...'
Regret flickered through his mind, but he quickly shook it off.
'How can the Sect Leader waver?'
Closing and opening his eyes, the Sect Leader addressed the disciples looking up at him.
"Is there anyone who doesn't wish to fight?"
"No!"
A resounding shout echoed.
Their eyes swirled with various emotions.
Anxiety, nervousness, fear, and more.
There were negative feelings, but most eyes burned with resolve and fighting spirit.
Reading their gazes, the Sect Leader whispered lowly.
"Good."
Shing―
With his words, he drew his sword.
In that instant, a miraculous change occurred.
Whoosh―
A subtle sunset glow spread from the sword he raised high toward the sky, swiftly dyeing the clear blue heavens.
Operating the Violet Radiance Divine Art, Hyeonsang looked at the disciples before him and shouted resolutely.
"Then draw your swords! Pour out everything you have! Now is the time to show those vile scum who underestimate Mount Hua the extent of our power!"
The disciples drew their swords in unison.
Like the Sect Leader, they raised them toward the sky and shouted vigorously.
"Yes, Sect Leader!"
"Mount Hua will not fall!"
Their cries echoed loudly one after another.
Meanwhile, Cheonhwi, who had been standing idly at one side of Peach Grove Plain, wore a bored expression.
"Making such a fuss over mere bandits... Huh?"
Suddenly, Cheonhwi's head snapped around.
'Well now? What's this?'
Cheonhwi's eyes darkened.
The aura steadily approaching the sect entrance blazed fiercely, as if to burn Mount Hua itself.
'The bandits have an expert of this caliber?'
Cheonhwi looked toward the sect entrance in astonishment.
'I've heard even a pond can produce a dragon, but I never imagined a dragon would emerge from bandits.'
At that moment.
Boom!
A massive explosion rang out.
Dust rose from the distant sect entrance, and through it, shadows of numerous figures drew closer.
And shortly after.
Thud― Thud―
A man emerged through the dust.
The disciples tensed at the pressure emanating from the middle-aged man with wild, beast-like features, his long hair streaked with white and unbound.
"Fine weather today."
The Bandit King, hands behind his back as he gazed at the sky, smirked crookedly and lowered his eyes to the Mount Hua disciples before him.
Thump.
The disciples' hearts sank.
The moment his pitch-black pupils fixed on them, their bodies felt rigid.
Then the Sect Leader stepped forward, standing before the disciples.
"The gates were open, yet you break them down? Did you not even learn that basic courtesy?"
With his words, he spread the inner energy of the Violet Radiance Divine Art and took a large step forward.
In that instant, a gale of purple light raged.
Whoosh!
The aura enveloping the disciples scattered and vanished in a flash.
"Oh ho."
The Bandit King's smile deepened.
There was only one in the world who emanated such vivid purple energy.
'Mount Hua Sect's Violet Radiance Divine Art...!'
The Bandit King's eyes gleamed as he spoke.
"You're the Sect Leader of Mount Hua."
"And you must be the Bandit King."
"Hahaha, can't you tell by looking?"
After a laugh, the Bandit King flicked his left hand.
Green winds stirred from his sleeve, and soon...
Whoosh!
A fierce vortex swept in, blowing the thick dust obscuring his back high into the sky.
"......"
Silence fell.
As the dust settled, countless neatly arrayed bandits revealed themselves.
Over a hundred by rough count, and not one had an ordinary presence.
The Sect Leader's eyebrow twitched.
'Were the bandits this powerful?'
He had thought even a massive bandit force would have few true experts.
After all, they were just a band of mountain thieves.
Yet the reality before him shattered his expectations.
'They don't pale compared to Mount Hua's disciples. Especially those two... even against our elders...'
The Sect Leader quickly scanned the white-robed middle-aged man and the shabby old man flanking the Bandit King.
Their auras were weaker than the Bandit King's but not to be underestimated.
Meanwhile, the Bandit King surveyed the surroundings and spoke.
"A splendid view. Worthy of being called Mount Hua."
Appreciating the scenery leisurely as if on a tour, he continued.
"But it's a pity. I should have come when the plum blossoms were in bloom."
His gaze turned to the massive rock peaks towering into the sky.
Seeing the summits resembling fully bloomed flowers, the Bandit King slowly twisted one corner of his mouth.
"Mount Hua will never see plum blossoms bloom again."
"How dare you spout such nonsense here?!"
"You bastard!"
As the disciples erupted in anger...
"Kill them all."
The Bandit King commanded coldly.
"Heh heh, been waiting for those words."
"We'll slaughter them!"
"Time to show the power of the bandits!"
Led by Giyeonno, the bandits charged toward the Mount Hua disciples.
The Sect Leader stared at the oncoming bandits and slowly raised his sword.
"Don't back down!"
As his words ended...
"Yes, Sect Leader!"
The Mount Hua disciples leaped forward without hesitation, clashing with the bandits.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Cheonhwi, standing at one side of Peach Grove Plain and watching the battle calmly, smiled.
'Perfect level for gaining real combat experience.'
Currently, the disciples slightly outmatched the bandits in skill.
But the bandits' superior numbers balanced it out.
'Hm, I'll step in only when it's dangerous.'
As Cheonhwi pondered while scanning the surroundings, a shadow suddenly loomed over him.
"How dare you look away!"
The bandit swung his double-handed axe viciously.
The lightning-fast axe was about to strike Cheonhwi's crown when...
Slash!
A chilling sound rang out.
'Huh? Why is the sky suddenly...?'
The bandit was dumbfounded.
He had clearly swung at the dumbstruck young Daoist standing there.
Yet suddenly his view tilted upward, revealing the clear blue sky.
'Did I just get...'
Realizing too late, the bandit's vision began to redden as blood filled it.
And then consciousness faded.
Roll―
"Coming to die on your own."
Cheonhwi muttered at the head tumbling to the ground and the body yet to collapse, flicking the blood from his blade.
Drip drip―
Blood splattered everywhere, freezing the nearby bandits in their tracks.
Cheonhwi looked at them, rigid as trees, and mouthed.
"What? You want to come too?"
Gulp―
The bandits' throats bobbed as they swallowed dryly.
'How did he kill him?'
'What just happened?'
They couldn't comprehend.
The young Daoist they thought was as good as dead now held a sword, and their charging comrade lay headless on the ground.
In the blink of an eye.
Yet they saw nothing.
Not even him drawing or swinging the sword.
There was only one meaning.
'An expert...'
'We can't match him...'
Cold sweat beaded on their foreheads.
They couldn't turn back now.
Showing their back to such an expert was suicide.
Then Cheonhwi suddenly tilted his head sideways, eyes gleaming.
"Oh? Finally something decent?"
The bandits hesitated at his seemingly defenseless glance away, but...
It was brief.
Charge!
The bandits rushed Cheonhwi all at once.
'Chance!'
'Now or never!'
Kicking off the ground, they stirred a massive dust storm.
"Hm?"
Cheonhwi turned at the commotion.
But before his head fully turned, the eight bandits were already upon him.
Swoosh!
They swung axes and sabers wildly, as if to mince him.
Crack―
Their muscles screamed from the force.
Just as sharp blades sliced through the air from all directions...
Flash!
A blaze of light devoured their vision.
And then...
Drip drip―
A rain of blood fell around Cheonhwi.
"No time to deal with you lot."
Without sparing a glance at the fallen corpses, Cheonhwi strode away.
Thud―
A single step.
Yet in one bound, he covered over ten zhang, arriving at a corner of Peach Grove Plain to survey the scene.
Amid the tangle of countless bandits and Mount Hua disciples, one sight dominated his view.
The Bandit King and Mount Hua's Sect Leader.
The two supreme figures representing bandits and Mount Hua stared at each other, slowly building their inner energy.
Fierce green energy laced with murderous intent.
In opposition, the subtle violet Violet Radiance Divine Art dyeing the space.
Crackle crackle!
Cheonhwi grinned at the two clashing auras encroaching on Mount Hua.
"This should be interesting."