Now the Sect Is Finally Running Properly! (5)
The courtyard of the estate was being used as a training ground, so it wasn’t especially large. Even so, with all the Mount Hua disciples lined up at once, it didn’t feel empty at all; it was packed to the brim.
The other sects of the Heavenly Friends Alliance had apparently vacated the training ground for Mount Hua’s Acting Sect Leader appointment, and not a single person could be seen. As he silently thanked them for that consideration, Baek Cheon took a heavy step forward.
This was the day he had wanted for so long. Ever since he first left Zhongnan and entered Mount Hua, his dream had been to become sect leader and someday make Mount Hua a better sect than Zhongnan had ever been.
It had been a childish goal, born of youthful pride, but even now, with the arrogance of youth long gone and age having settled fully on his shoulders, his dream hadn’t changed in the slightest. If anything, it had only grown larger, and firmer.
Now his dream was no longer merely to make Mount Hua better than Zhongnan. It was to go beyond that — to turn it into the greatest sect in the world, and beyond even that, into a sect that would lead the currents of the entire martial world.
And today, Baek Cheon was finally taking the first step toward that dream he had wanted for so long.
Don’t get nervous.
This was only the first step. If he was already tense now, how was he supposed to navigate the rough road ahead?
Baek Cheon drew in a short breath.
The Mount Hua disciples, who were usually full of mischief, were watching him with utter seriousness. Under those gazes, Baek Cheon stepped forward. Dressed in full formal attire, he looked more striking than ever. He walked down the center of the training ground and finally stood before the sect leader and elders who had been waiting for him.
No one had told him what to do. But he somehow knew what he was supposed to say.
“This second-generation disciple of Mount Hua, Baek Cheon, pays his respects to the sect leader.”
At that cue, the Mount Hua disciples all dropped to one knee and extended both hands forward in formal salute.
“We pay our respects to the sect leader!”
Hyun Jong said nothing as he looked at Baek Cheon, then shifted his gaze to the disciples lined up behind him.
Clad properly in his Taoist robes, Hyun Jong seemed more solemn than usual. Under that gaze, every disciple straightened at once, tensing their bodies as if determined not to leave even the slightest stain on this moment.
They all knew it. They understood exactly how important it was to appoint a new sect leader.
For any sect, a change in leadership was no simple matter. But for Mount Hua in particular, it carried special significance.
Mount Hua was a sect whose sect leader held greater authority than most. And until only a few years ago, it had stood on the brink of extinction.
For such a sect to appoint a new sect leader meant not only severing itself from the Mount Hua of the past, but also being reborn as a new Mount Hua.
So even if the one being appointed here was only an Acting Sect Leader, the weight of the moment was no different from appointing a true sect leader.
Hyun Jong took in all the disciples. Seeing the ones who usually laughed and joked now radiating razor-sharp focus made him feel both strangely unfamiliar with them and, at the same time, deeply reassured.
At that moment, an odd sense of familiarity rose in him, and he closed his eyes.
So that’s it…
There was no reason to feel familiarity at the sight of something he had never seen before. And yet this feeling was not an illusion. Hyun Jong knew exactly why.
The disciples before him now looked exactly like the Mount Hua he had longed to see even in his dreams back in the past. No — they had grown even better than the future of Mount Hua he had always imagined.
To see with his own eyes the dream he had once only wished for was enough to fill his chest with feelings beyond words. And at the same time, he was newly struck by the realization that it was now time to step down from the seat of sect leader.
Perhaps I was a little late.
Regret? No, he had none.
Every person had their own role to play. Now that Hyun Jong had realized his role was over, it was only natural that he would feel no lingering attachment.
What remained was not regret, but something else altogether.
Hyun Jong smiled faintly and opened his mouth.
“Disciples, listen well.”
“Yes, Sect Leader!”
The Mount Hua disciples answered in ringing voices. After nodding once, Hyun Jong spoke in a grave tone.
“As all of you already know, I, Hyun Jong, hereby intend to appoint, in my capacity as the sect leader of Mount Hua, a new leader who will guide Mount Hua into the future.”
Many emotions flickered across everyone’s faces in that instant.
Regret at Hyun Jong stepping down from the seat of sect leader.
A touch of unease and fear toward a Mount Hua that was about to change.
But above all, there was expectation for that changed Mount Hua, and unshakable trust in Baek Cheon, who would lead it forward.
Hyun Jong thought to himself.
That’s good.
If he could draw those expressions from his disciples, then he was certainly qualified to become sect leader. He would surely perform the role even better than Hyun Jong himself ever had.
Hyun Jong found himself remembering the day he had become sect leader.
His senior brothers had all left Mount Hua, and the burden of leadership had been dumped on him. There had been no celebration, no blessing. Only the stubborn will to protect Mount Hua, and the crushing weight of responsibility.
The looks Hyun Sang and Hyun Young had given him then had become a heaviness Hyun Jong would remember for the rest of his life.
How fortunate.
That was why this was such a joyful thing. The one who would become the new sect leader could receive different eyes from the ones he had once received.
Mount Hua was no longer the failing sect of Shaanxi that he had inherited in the past. It was no longer a place where everything was chosen haphazardly and half-heartedly patched together by the opinions of only a few.
The Mount Hua of the new age would, like the Mount Hua of old, take its rightful place as a distinguished Shaanxi sect and a great sect that would shake the world. So it was only natural that the one suited to that era should take the seat of sect leader.
What Hyun Jong would carry away from the seat of sect leader was only the pride that he had endured until Mount Hua’s new age had arrived. Was that not enough?
“A Mount Hua sect leader must, first and foremost, remember the duty of a Taoist as the head of a Taoist sect, and as the head of a sect of swordsmen, must walk the path of the sword correctly.”
Baek Cheon’s face was firm and unwavering. Hyun Jong smiled lightly.
Yes. Baek Cheon would do well. He had walked the path of the sword with the greatest sincerity, and in his heart he had firmly engraved the righteousness that every Mount Hua swordsman ought to possess.
“I, Hyun Jong, now judge that Mount Hua’s future disciples have also become worthy of this role, and shall report to our ancestors and forebears that the position of Mount Hua sect leader is to be transferred to the sect leader of the next generation.”
A gentle force flowed from Hyun Jong’s body.
“Is there anyone here who objects?”
“No!”
“Is there anyone here who opposes this?”
“No!”
Hyun Jong quietly nodded. Surely the ancestors watching over them would also smile and accept his choice.
He could say with confidence to the ancestors he would one day face that he might not have done perfectly, but he had done his utmost. That he had never once neglected his duty as Mount Hua’s sect leader.
Everything will proceed according to the natural order.
Hyun Jong nodded and fixed Baek Cheon with his gaze. On that upright face rested a heavy sense of responsibility. Hyun Jong gave a small nod.
Had he worn that same expression himself? And had his own master felt the same way?
“Then I, Hyun Jong, as the Mount Hua sect leader recognized by my predecessors, and as the head of Mount Hua to whom authority has been entrusted by the disciples, shall select the one who will become the sect leader of the next generation.”
All the Mount Hua disciples looked at Baek Cheon with eyes shining in anticipation.
At that moment, Hyun Jong’s gaze moved to another person. To Cheong Myeong, who, while all the disciples and even the elders were looking at Baek Cheon, alone was watching only Hyun Jong with unwavering eyes.
Seeing those steady eyes, Hyun Jong smiled. It was a smile perhaps not unlike Cheong Myeong’s.
Ancestors. I did my best.
So…
“The one who will follow after me and become Mount Hua’s sect leader is—”
Hyun Jong’s gaze moved away from Cheong Myeong and settled on one person. On the one who ought to stand in that place.
“Un Am!”
“Yes?”
“...Huh?”
In that instant, the disciples’ eyes all went wide.
More than a hundred disciples stared blankly at Hyun Jong, every one of them round-eyed and stunned. But the most visibly bewildered among them was none other than Un Am. His eyes shook violently.
By contrast, a playful smile formed at the corner of Hyun Jong’s mouth.
So… may I at least make the final choice according to my own wishes?
After all, the Dao is ultimately about following where the heart leads.
His heart told him this.
Even if Baek Cheon could become a more excellent sect leader, they could not ignore all that Un Am had devoted to Mount Hua until now.
If they came to take it for granted that the more capable man should be placed higher, then Mount Hua itself would become a sect that looked only at ability and nothing else.
To refuse that voice in his heart — that was Hyun Jong’s first and last act of selfishness, and the result of facing himself as a Daoist.
“Uh…”
Un Am was so flustered he couldn’t even close his mouth, and Hyun Jong felt a sensation he could hardly put into words.
Living a next life like that Cheong Myeong fellow doesn’t sound so bad.
This scene, in which everyone failed to hide their shock, granted Hyun Jong a feeling he had never experienced in his entire life.
“Disciple Un Am, step forward!”
“S-Sect Leader…?”
Un Am could only stare at Hyun Jong helplessly, not knowing what to do.
“What are you doing? Do you intend to defy the sect leader’s order!”
When Hyun Jong roared with feigned majesty, Un Am, still at a complete loss, at least stepped forward. Even if they were watching from a distance, the people from the other sects were still observing; under no circumstances could he disobey the sect leader’s command in front of them.
When Un Am came forward on cautious steps and knelt beside Baek Cheon, Hyun Jong shouted in a decisive voice.
“I, Hyun Jong, by the authority of Mount Hua’s sect leader, hereby choose the first-generation disciple Un Am as Mount Hua’s sect leader!”
A dazed expression appeared on Un Am’s face. Hyun Jong shouted again.
“Furthermore! Since Mount Hua is no longer as it once was, and one sect leader’s power alone is no longer enough to properly govern it, I hereby establish a permanent Acting Sect Leader position to share the external duties of the sect leader. To that end, I appoint the second-generation disciple Baek Cheon to the position of Mount Hua Acting Sect Leader!”
“Ah!”
“Uh…?”
Even knowing it was not supposed to be that way, cries of astonishment burst from the mouths of Mount Hua’s disciples all the same.
“Is there anyone here who opposes this?”
The Mount Hua disciples exchanged glances for a brief moment. A moment later, their eyes turned to the two people before them.
To the one who would lead Mount Hua’s future, and to the one who would connect the Mount Hua of the past and the future.
And then, a thunderous cheer exploded forth.
“No, Sect Leader!”
Amid that bursting whirlpool of emotion, one person — Cheong Myeong — broke into a crooked grin.
“At last, the sect is getting back on its feet!”
It was the moment when his gaze upon Hyun Jong was filled with unmatched satisfaction.