The Heavenly Demon Rebuilds Mount Hua (3)

Thud. The moment Baru slammed her staff into the ground, every piece of debris scattered haphazardly across the Mount Hua grounds began rushing toward a single point. Shattered trees fused back together to form pillars once more. They clustered and became a frame, then a floor appeared, walls rose, and finally a roof crowned the structure. Rebuilding the central building of Mount Hua to its former appearance hadn’t taken long at all.

“Ooh!”

“Wow. It actually works.”

“I was dreading the thought of rebuilding everything, but wow.”

Whether they were watching the broadcast or staying on Mount Hua, everyone let out gasps of awe at the sight. Even I found it wondrous, so the others must have felt the same.

After finishing the building’s reconstruction, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Baru turned around and proudly squared her shoulders at the storm of applause pouring down on her. I left her to bask in the praise and walked over to the building, giving the wall a few light taps with just enough force to check whether the restoration had been done properly.

That was when horrified cries burst out from behind me.

“You can’t break it!”

“Gently! Be gentle!”

“What are you going to do if it collapses again!”

No. Just what did these people think I was? Did they honestly believe I couldn’t control my strength at this level? Besides, if a building collapsed from a light tap like that, it was a building that would have collapsed anyway.

Annoyed by their reaction, I struck it with a little more force. Dust-like particles drifted down from the roof of the newly rebuilt structure.

“Min-ga.”

“I didn’t break it! I only tapped it lightly! Look, it’s standing perfectly straight!”

“I haven’t even said anything yet.”

I had made the excuse out of a guilty conscience, and Baru responded with an icy glare. Ahem. I may have overreacted a little.

“I couldn’t restore the furniture and other items inside. Doing that much was beyond me.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

As long as the building itself existed, filling the interior wasn’t difficult. In the worst case, we could simply buy furniture from elsewhere. We would have to consider decorations and room layouts, but I could leave that to the Strongest in Murim. Since he knew the previous Mount Hua well, he would handle it nicely.

“Then shall we move on to restoring the other areas?”

“Can you still manage?”

I didn’t know much about her Taoist magic, but after performing a feat like this, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she could handle similar work again?

“Of course. I can restore one more building. Just tell me where.”

“I hadn’t decided on anywhere besides this place.”

I had begun by reviving the most symbolic locations of Mount Hua for its reconstruction. I hadn’t yet considered the priority order for the remaining buildings.

As I hesitated over my answer, a user spoke up from behind us.

“Shouldn’t we restore the training cave first? If we want to attract users, we need to create a proper training area.”

It was a reasonably persuasive argument, but before I could nod, another user immediately countered.

“You can train on bare ground! The archive should come first!”

“What archive? There isn’t a single secret manual left. We should rebuild the outer walls first to keep the beasts out.”

“If beasts come we get experience points! That’s good! Rather than that…”

Perhaps because they were all genuinely invested in Mount Hua, their debate allowed for not a single step of compromise and grew fiercely heated. If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have simply chosen a spot myself. It was too late now. If I picked one at this point, resentment would surely linger in their hearts.

In situations like this, it was better to quietly wait until they reached their own conclusion. That said, there were far too many tasks to simply stand by and watch them fight forever.

Hmm. A good idea occurred to me.

I dragged Baru over beside the arguing group and slipped away. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠After all, the restoration work only needed Baru, didn’t it?

“Min-ga?!”

“Lady Baru. What is your opinion? The archive should come first, right?”

“No. The training grounds, obviously.”

Surrounded by the men, Baru let out a pitiful voice, but I firmly turned my back. Sorry, Baru. This is an unavoidable sacrifice. I’ll treat you to something delicious later, so please forgive me with that.

From behind me I thought I heard something like “I’ll definitely get my revenge!” but I must have misheard.

“What are you talking about? There is no way the divine spirit Baru would say something so petty. I would appreciate it if you refrained from insulting her.”

Voices of criticism rose in the chat, but I ignored them.

“Murim Choegang. Are you not joining their discussion?”

“From experience, whenever I get involved it only turns into a bigger mess.”

Murim Choegang gave an awkward smile, looking quite accustomed to such disputes.

“If you leave them alone, they’ll sort it out themselves.”

“I see.”

“And I’m sorry, but Hwaryeong-nim. Could you call me Han Min-jun instead of Murim Choegang?”

“Why?”

“Then shall I start calling you Mint Chocolate Pineapple Pizza, Hwaryeong-nim?”

The moment I heard the answer, I understood why his expression had soured. It seemed he too had created a childish name in a moment of poor judgment. Since he clearly didn’t want to be called by some horrible nickname either, I decided to grant his request.

“Very well. Min-jun. I wish to speak about the reconstruction of Mount Hua.”

“Ask me anything.”

“First, I intend to teach the way of following principles in the new Mount Hua.”

This was something that needed to be stated in advance. The users had only learned to follow movements the way they had been taught in the previous Mount Hua. From now on, that would not do. I planned to use this sect called Mount Hua as an outpost to teach the importance of principles to the entire Murim world. Therefore, every martial artist belonging to this place must strive to follow those principles.

“I already know. I saw the broadcast. Everyone has agreed on that part.”

“Really?”

Abandoning the methods they originally knew wasn’t something people could agree to so easily. When I asked again out of curiosity, Min-jun smiled and explained.

After my previous broadcast about the importance of principles, many users in Hwaryong Muin had begun practicing the method of following principles. Most gave up quickly due to the extreme difficulty, but a few of the top-ranked players had achieved meaningful results.

“It’s difficult, but once you master it, the performance is on another level. That’s how principles are currently evaluated among wuxia users.”

Because they had seen others produce results, resistance to learning it was lower. It seemed the broadcast where I had rolled Harin and Dang So-il around had been somewhat effective. I hadn’t expected results to appear this quickly. Since things had turned out this way, I would need to roll those two regularly from now on, so the importance of principles could spread even faster.

“Above all, they say you can’t reach full mastery of the Purple Mist Divine Art without learning principles, right?”

“So I’ve heard.”

“Then we have to learn it.”

Min-jun smiled brightly, yet the determination shining in his eyes was incredibly heavy. It seemed he would do anything to learn the Plum Blossom Swordplay. Indeed, it was no coincidence that he had become the representative of the Hwasan players. He must have reached that position thanks to exactly that kind of passion and resolve.

“Proper instruction will begin once the reconstruction of Mount Hua is roughly complete.”

It wouldn’t make sense to continue teaching in a place that still looked like ruins and would only invite suspicion. First we had to normalize the site.

“Then what about the Purple Mist Divine Art…”

“Among those learning principles at Mount Hua, I will select those who show outstanding talent and teach them separately.”

The Purple Mist Divine Art was, after all, a divine art of considerable depth. Ordinary talent would find even learning it burdensome. Therefore, I planned to prioritize teaching those who displayed talent among the learners.

“So mastering the way of following principles is the top priority for now.”

“Correct.”

“Will you be the one teaching about principles, Hwaryeong-nim?”

“I may do it, or the fellow who possesses the Purple Mist Divine Art could teach instead.”

I could not remain stationed here at all times, so that Simji-seeing fellow would likely end up teaching more often. Still, he had the skill to impart martial arts, so there should be no problem.

“There is one more thing I would like to ask.”

“What is it?”

“What are your plans regarding personnel for the Hwasan Sect?”

Ah, that matter. I had already given it some thought.

“We cannot accept everyone immediately.”

In my heart I wished to accommodate them all, but realistically it was impossible. At the moment, the only ones who could teach principles were myself and the Simji-seeing one. Even if we gave our all, there would inevitably be a limit to the numbers.

“I understand.”

“Therefore, we will first prioritize accepting skilled individuals who once belonged to the old Mount Hua.”

Primarily those who already possessed Mount Hua’s martial arts and showed the potential to quickly realize principles.

“Will you be holding interviews?”

“I will personally select from those who wish to enter the current Hwasan Sect.”

Later I could delegate to others, but this was the beginning stage of reconstruction. I needed to see and judge for myself to choose those with the greatest talent.

“You’re going to handle everything yourself?”

“Yes. Why? Is there a problem?”

“No, it’s not that. It just seems like it might be too much for one person to manage alone.”

Hah. This fellow. What was he saying? Min-jun appeared to have spoken seriously, but I let the remark pass.

No matter how prosperous Mount Hua had once been, it had now lost all its former glory. Its honor had been tarnished because its members had colluded with the Blood Cult. The secret manuals that once existed here had essentially been lost. The environment was so poor that one could not even expect proper meals and lodging, let alone medicinal pills. Moreover, the person offering instruction was an outsider with no connection to Mount Hua. Who would apply to such a place? Even with the Plum Blossom Swordplay as bait, there would be at most a few dozen applicants at best. Selecting the talented ones from among them would not be particularly difficult.

“It’s fine. There is no need to worry.”

“If it becomes too much, just tell me. I’ll help.”

“Hah. Even if you approach me that way, I cannot accept unqualified candidates.”

“Was I found out?”

I turned my gaze away from the chuckling Min-jun and looked toward the gathered Hwasan users. Despite our rather long conversation, they had not calmed down in the slightest. On the contrary, the situation had escalated further; they had drawn their swords and were now attempting to enforce their opinions through force.

From my perspective that pursued the supremacy of the strong, it was truly a desirable scene. Unfortunately, Baru was trapped right in the middle of it.

Standing amid the heated crowd with a completely soulless expression, Baru met my eyes and urgently mouthed the words.

“Save me.”

If I ignored even that plea, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Baru would truly become angry. It was time to step in.

As I moved forward, Min-jun followed behind me.

“Shall I help?”

“First I will calm those fellows down. After that, help me unify their opinions.”

“Understood.”

It was only after I had subdued the arguing group with force that I remembered: earlier, Min-jun had said that if he got involved the situation would only worsen. It did not take me long to understand exactly what he meant.

“What are you talking about! Of course the archive should come first!… ”

I had asked him to unify their opinions, so why was that fellow standing at the very front and fighting? As expected, birds of a feather really did flock together. Even the representative was the same kind of guy.