Chapter 177
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: Mount Hua Sword Debate (1)
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According to the Annals of Great Korea, a tragic historical text that was erased from records due to defeat in the Great War of the Pacific...
Compared to the West, scientific technology in the East had developed remarkably quickly.
Unlike the barbaric West, where the concept of quantum mechanics only took root in the 20th century...
Already under the advanced experiments of the Scientific Sovereign Yi Geum, Crown Prince Sado had entered a superposition state, proving that life and death could not be observed until the lid of the rear cart was opened—directly refuting classical physics (which wasn't disseminated).
And that was just the beginning?
The Five Great Mountains.
The concept of the Five Peaks wasn't just limited to China; it was a geographical SCP phenomenon observed simultaneously across East Asia.
Among them...
The place the people of Shaanxi proudly claim as the top among China's Five Peaks is Mount Hua (though naturally, Mount Song is number one).
A rocky mountain where even Sun Wukong would shake his head and flee, with personal colors limited to stone yellow and grass green...
Or at least, it used to be.
"......What the hell is this?"
Right after possession, when the feverish plum blossom high from Saje hadn't fully worn off yet...
I had marched all the way to the entrance of Mount Hua, entranced by the plum blossoms like Sands shouting "Wow! You know Mongcheong! Truly Mongcheong!" from some original world's Mutube.
Precisely to this place, Huiyin County.
Lifting my head, all I saw were trees and rocks.
Not a single plum blossom in sight.
I gave up upon seeing that hellish landscape that would make me want to create at least five new characters just trying to climb it.
But now...
"Heh heh, country bumpkin president. Can you feel the hidden power of Mount Hua? This is the might of the plum blossom business!"
Even Moyong Wicheon had come to his senses, but Mount Hua's loyal dog, fellow disciple Ok Cheongja, was still out of it, saying exactly that.
Mount Hua, which I faced again after two years, was blooming with plum blossoms everywhere.
......But why were the plum blossoms still in bloom out of season?
My life sciences and earth sciences knowledge was being directly contradicted, but I had no choice but to chalk it up to continental weather patterns.
Anyway.
Mount Hua.
Mount Hua after two years.
- Your health worries me too much for you to join Mount Hua.
- Mount Hua's sword is light and nimble, heavy, ever-changing, and sharp. It doesn't seem suitable for you, who just got out of bed...
"Heh heh heh..."
Two years ago.
I was expelled from Mount Hua.
Even my father's earnest request to send a Mount Hua warrior as a martial arts instructor was rejected.
However, now.
The fact that my footsteps had led me here to boldly realize the cliché of "possessed but Mount Hua doesn't recognize me" could only be called the guidance of the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign.
"The mountain... is high."
"Mount Hua is said to be high, yet it stands beneath the heavens."
"......?"
Ah.
Do they not teach even basic geography or poetry in the Demonic Cult?
To tease the successor of that shameless debtor group, I quoted it right back and made him carry my luggage with a dunga duga.
"Hee hee."
Grinning innocently like that won't help.
Your inner acrophobia is probably erupting like a volcano right now...!
"Sihyeon—"
The evening sun casting a dim glow.
After finishing up at the inn, Luri approached me with a bright smile, light on her feet.
Whoosh!
I flexed my shoulders and launched Luri like a shot. She spun through the air like Sonic, naturally landing snugly in Narang's arms.
It was a moment that let me vicariously experience the feeling of a father handing off his daughter's care.
"No issues there?"
"Yeah! Everyone's super excited, so they're making a racket about some night meeting or whatever..."
"......Well, they're young."
Unlike the academy, where impure opposite-sex relations are somewhat restricted...
Huiyin County has tons of inns, and even outside of inns, there are plenty of secluded spots, plum blossom groves in full bloom, and dense thickets...
The Central Plains' birth rate might go up a bit today.
"Hmph."
Luri's icy glare pulled me back from my sordid fantasies to reality.
I don't know about other times, but she has this ghostly knack for sensing when I'm having naughty thoughts.
Is it that Simwol thing?
Should I seriously learn Occlumency?
I'll consult my inner Heavenly Demon about that later.
"You worked hard all day today, Narang. Go inside and rest now."
"Mmm..."
"What's up?"
Narang hesitated for a moment, glancing around to check if anyone was nearby.
She gently set Luri down and spread her arms wide.
Hm.
This feels familiar lately.
A bizarre function added in the MurimTalk beta test update.
Called something rootless like Mutokkon...
A familiar caricature spreading its arms wide.
The man Geum Sihyeon.
He wasn't such a basic guy to ignore this act of mercy.
I'll buy it.
Purchased.
I'll hug you.
Hugged.
"Hmph."
Of course, it was only an upper-body reunion hug, with something soft and jiggly wedged in between from the chest down.
Father and mother.
And a young daughter hugging together.
Interpreted that way, it wasn't bad skinship at all.
* * *
The next day at dawn.
Before the warm sensation of Narang's alluring pouch wrapped around my chest could even fade...
"Agh, shit..."
I grumbled curses as I rose from bed.
Unlike the student council president life I expected, full of milk and honey...
A horrific existence where I had to wake earlier than anyone, live more diligently and passionately than anyone, just to get through the day.
Today's dawn task was none other than...
Solo climbing of Mount Hua...!
Other supervisors planned to have lunch and then leisurely attempt the climb, but I was different.
If it were Lake Dongting, this wouldn't be an issue, but since I hadn't scouted Mount Hua in advance...
I had to climb and descend it myself to roughly map the route, then lead the supervisors along that path later—a grave mission.
Instructors?
Hiding behind the pretext of a journey to cultivate heroic spirit, they were probably dead drunk and snoring away by now.
Hawawawa!!!!! Early early early morning gangdujjang!!!!!! (17)
Having escaped the Hundred Flowers Academy Gallery, Gangdu-nim, who finally started causing a scene in the Central Plains Martial World Gallery, was vigorously spamming nonsense posts.
Well, I get it.
They say old folks don't need much sleep.
"......Argh, shii... Dawn already, so noisy... Eek!"
After suppressing Moyong Wicheon, who dared to throw a tantrum as my assigned roommate...
I inhaled the dawn air and departed Huiyin County in majestic style.
.
.
.
"......Are they really insane?"
Mount Hua folks were definitely not right in the head.
Leaving perfectly flat land unused, with paths like precarious cliffside trails that could snap any moment, and steep slopes where one misstep would send you tumbling.
So what if they planted plum blossoms everywhere?
The paths were trash.
"Huff, huff."
Still, just a bit further up, and I'd reach Yeonhwa Peak, where Mount Hua Sect's main sect was.
Originally, during the Qin Shi...
Fucking barbaric Central Plains time units.
Get out of my head!
Anyway, my goal was arrival by 7 a.m.
Checking the normalized time on my smartphone, it was about 5:47 a.m.
I'd arrived a full hour and thirteen minutes early.
So, what was left for me to do?
"Time to circulate qi properly, shiba."
The thought of true qi circulation breakfast—not some qi dawn or qi brunch—lifted my spirits unexpectedly.
There were too many interruptions lately.
"Let's see."
A spot somewhat distant from Mount Hua Sect, spacious...
And no PTSD-triggering plum blossom scent.
I trotted around looking for the optimal conditions.
"Oh."
I spotted a pretty decent, wide clearing.
Flat enough for the rocky mountain, with even a pond of crystal-clear water—it wouldn't be odd if someone had settled here to cultivate the Dao long ago.
"Makes me want to check the land registry."
If I were to bury my bones in Mount Hua, this would be the perfect spot.
No signs of people nearby, so I strode confidently to the center.
And sat cross-legged.
Closing my eyes and entering the selfless realm...
That's when the plum blossom scent wafted on the breeze...
Plum blossom ending... Silver Geum Sihyeon...
Along with those already faintly nostalgic old memories.
A few drops of pure qi.
Two drops of demonic qi.
My dantian shimmered, expanding steadily, undergoing renovations to welcome new tenants.
But still, without that crisp thunk reaching my upper dantian, today too it ended teasingly.
"Hoo..."
Having lightly brushed the edge of enlightenment, with the Heavenly Demon Divine Art's share in my dantian growing bit by bit, I wrapped up my qi morning time.
After gathering the surging natural qi around me, I rose.
"Hey kid, what's your name?"
"......!"
Before I knew it.
A strange old man was loitering at the edge of my vision.
Without a single sign of presence.
......Even Soul Moon Divine Eyes saw no internal energy—a pure, transparent body.
A civilian wandering near Mount Hua?
Possible.
But that civilian perfectly piercing my qi sense, approaching like a non-existent ghost?
With no trace of power at all?
"Elder, greetings. I'm a migratory bird drifting ports... no, a romantic swordsman who weeps at the sight of famed mountains—Seo Geumhyeon of the Murim humanities."
That's impossible.