Chapter 1210: Now The Sect Is Finally Getting Back On Track (5)

Because they were using the manor entrance as the training ground, it wasn’t very spacious. Thanks to that, the Mount Hua disciples lined up together and the place didn’t look empty; it felt full.

It seemed the other sects of the Heavenly Friends Alliance had cleared the training ground for Mount Hua’s Acting Sect leader appointment; not a single person was in sight. Grateful for that consideration, Baek Cheon took a heavy step forward.

This was what he had hoped for. Ever since he left Southern Edge Sect and first entered Mount Hua, his dream had been to become the Sect leader and one day make Mount Hua greater than the Southern Edge.

It was a goal born of youthful bravado, but even as he grew older and without any childishness left, his dream had not changed. If anything, it had grown larger and firmer.

Now his dream was no longer merely to make Mount Hua better than Southern Edge. He wanted to make it the foremost sect in the world, and beyond that, a sect that would steer the currents of the murim world.

And today, at last, Baek Cheon was taking the first step toward that much-desired dream.

‘Don’t get nervous.’

It’s only the first step. If he was already nervous, how could he face the difficult road ahead?

Baek Cheon took a short, deep breath.

The Mount Hua disciples, always full of mischief, were watching him with utmost seriousness. Under those gazes Baek Cheon moved forward. Clad in his uniform, he looked taller than ever. He walked along the center of the training ground and finally stood before the Sect leader and the elders who awaited him.

No one had specifically told him what to do. Still, he felt he knew what was required now.

“Mount Hua’s second class disciple, Baek Cheon pays respects to the Sect leader.”

At that signal, the Mount Hua disciples all knelt on one knee and extended both hands forward in salute.

“We pay respects to the Sect leader!”

Hyun Jong looked at Baek Cheon without a word, then shifted his gaze to the disciples lined up behind him.

Dressed formally in his robe, Hyun Jong exuded a weightier solemnity than usual. Those who met his gaze all straightened and tightened their posture, as if determined to leave no blemish on this occasion.

They all understood how important it was to appoint a new Sect leader for a sect.

A change of leadership is never simple in any sect. But in Mount Hua’s case, the meaning was especially significant.

Mount Hua’s Sect leader holds more authority than in any other sect. And until just a few years ago, the sect had faced a crisis so severe it nearly led to its destruction.

For such a sect to appoint a new Sect leader meant a break from the Mount Hua of the past and a rebirth as a new Mount Hua, didn’t it?

Therefore, even if the appointment here was for an Acting Sect leader, it carried the same gravity as appointing a new Sect leader.

Hyun Jong took in all the disciples with his eyes. Seeing them emit blade-like gazes, unlike usual, felt a little strange but also reassuring.

At that moment, he closed his eyes against a strange sense of déjà vu washing over him.

‘So that’s how it is...’

There was no reason for him to feel déjà vu at a sight he’d never seen before. Yet the feeling wasn’t an illusion. Hyun Jong knew the reason well.

The disciples he was seeing now were no different from the Mount Hua he had longed for even in his dreams. Indeed, they had grown into an even grander version of the Mount Hua future he had always imagined.

Seeing his dream fulfilled with his own eyes filled his heart with indescribable emotion. At the same time, he felt anew that it was time for him to step down from the Sect leader’s seat.

‘Perhaps I was a little late.’

Regret? There was none of that.

Everyone has their role. Knowing his role was finished, Hyun Jong had no reason to cling to it.

All that remained was, rather than regret...

Hyun Jong gave a small smile and spoke.

“Disciples, listen.”

“Yes, Sect leader!”

The Mount Hua disciples answered in resounding voices. Hyun Jong, nodding, spoke in a serious tone.

“As you all know, I, Hyun Jong, in my capacity as Mount Hua’s Sect leader, intend today in this place to appoint a new Sect leader who will lead Mount Hua into the next generation.”

A multitude of emotions passed across everyone’s faces for a moment.

Regret at Hyun Jong stepping down as Sect leader.

A slight unease and fear about the Mount Hua that would change now.

But most of all, there was expectation for the changed Mount Hua and firm trust in Baek Cheon to lead it.

Hyun Jong thought.

That would be good.

Someone who could draw such looks from the disciples would surely be qualified to be Sect leader, and could perform the role even more splendidly than Hyun Jong.

Hyun Jong recalled the time he became Sect leader.

He had assumed the Sect leader role because his sahyungs had all left Mount Hua; it was taken up out of necessity. There were no celebrations or blessings; only a stubborn will and a heavy sense of responsibility to somehow protect Mount Hua.

The looks that Hyun Sang and Hyun Young had given him then became a heaviness he would carry his whole life.

‘That’s a fortunate thing.’

So it’s truly delightful. The one who becomes the new Sect leader can receive a different kind of gaze than he had.

Mount Hua is no longer the declining sect in Shaanxi that he inherited. It’s not a place that runs by haphazard choices or settles matters based on the opinions of a few.

The Mount Hua of the new era, like the past Mount Hua, would establish itself as a proud Shaanxi prestigious sect and a great school that would shake the world. So it’s only natural that someone fitting for that era take the Sect leader’s seat.

What Hyun Jong would take away from leaving the Sect leader’s seat was simply the pride that he had held Mount Hua up to its new era. Wasn’t that enough?

“The Sect leader of Mount Hua must, as the head of this school, not forget a cultivator’s duty, and as the head of the sword school Mount Hua, must walk the path of the sword rightly.”

Baek Cheon’s expression was truly steadfast. Hyun Jong smiled faintly.

Yes. If it was Baek Cheon, he would do well. He had walked the sword’s path more faithfully than anyone and had firmly engraved in his heart the principles a Mount Hua swordsman must have.

“I, Hyun Jong, /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ having judged that Mount Hua’s next generation is qualified, will report to the ancestors and forebears that I will pass the position of Mount Hua’s Sect leader to the next generation.”

A gentle authority flowed from Hyun Jong.

“Is there anyone here who objects?”

“There is none!”

“Is there anyone who opposes this?”

“There is none!”

Hyun Jong quietly nodded. The ancestors watching probably would also smile in approval of his choice.

He could face the ancestors one day and say proudly that, while he could not claim he had done perfectly, he had done his best and had never neglected the role of Mount Hua’s Sect leader.

‘Everything follows its natural course.’

Hyun Jong nodded and fixed his gaze on Baek Cheon. A heavy responsibility sat on his upright face. He nodded again quietly.

Had he worn such an expression too? Had his master felt the same way?

“Then I, Hyun Jong, as Mount Hua’s Sect leader recognized by the ancestors and as the leader entrusted by the disciples, will select the one to become the next Sect leader.”

All Mount Hua disciples looked at Baek Cheon with eyes full of expectation.

At that moment Hyun Jong’s gaze shifted to another person. While all the disciples, even the elders, looked at Baek Cheon, one person alone — Chung Myung — stared straight at Hyun Jong.

Seeing those unshakable eyes, Hyun Jong smiled. It was perhaps a smile reminiscent of Chung Myung’s.

‘Ancestors, I have done my best.’

So then...

“The person who will succeed me as Mount Hua’s Sect leader is!”

Hyun Jong’s gaze left Chung Myung and turned to one person — the one deserving to ascend that seat.

“Un Am!”

“Yes?”

“...Huh?”

For a moment, the disciples’ eyes went as wide as lanterns.

Over a hundred disciples all widened their eyes and stared blankly at Hyun Jong. The most visibly stunned among them was none other than Un Am. His eyes trembled.

Meanwhile, a mischievous smile lingered at Hyun Jong’s mouth.

“So... may I at least have this final choice according to my will?”

In the end, the heart follows where it wants to go.

His heart spoke.

Even if Baek Cheon might become a better Sect leader, Un Am’s dedication to Mount Hua up to now must not be ignored.

If it became natural that the better one simply takes the higher position, Mount Hua would become a sect that values only ability.

Not turning away from that inner voice — that was Hyun Jong’s first and last indulgence, and the result of confronting himself as a cultivator.

“Uh...”

Un Am was so flustered he couldn’t even close his mouth, and Hyun Jong felt an indescribable emotion at that moment.

“Perhaps living like Chung Myung in the next life wouldn’t be so bad.”

This sight, which left everyone unable to hide their astonishment, gave Hyun Jong a feeling he had never experienced in his life.

“Disciple Un Am, step forward!”

“But, Sect leader...?”

Un Am didn’t know what to do and only stared at Hyun Jong.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying the Sect leader’s command?!”

At Hyun Jong’s sternly authoritative shout, Un Am, though bewildered, stepped forward. Even from a distance and with other sects watching, there must never be an act of defiance against the Sect leader’s order.

Un Am stepped forward cautiously and kneeled beside Baek Cheon, and Hyun Jong cried out in a firm voice.

“I, Hyun Jong, by the authority of Mount Hua’s Sect leader vested in me, select the first class disciple Un Am as Mount Hua’s Sect leader!”

A stunned expression appeared on Un Am’s face. Hyun Jong shouted again.

“Furthermore! Since Mount Hua is no longer what it once was and a single Sect leader cannot properly lead it alone, I hereby establish the permanent position of Acting Sect leader to share the external duties of the Sect leader. I appoint second-generation disciple Baek Cheon to the position of Mount Hua’s Acting Sect leader!”

“Ah!”

“Uh...?”

Even though they knew it shouldn’t be that way, a spontaneous exclamation escaped from the Mount Hua disciples.

“Is there anyone here who opposes this?”

The Mount Hua disciples exchanged glances for a moment. Soon their gaze turned to the two before them.

To the one who would lead Mount Hua’s future and to the one who would bridge Mount Hua’s past and future.

Then an enormous roar erupted.

“There is none, Sect leader!”

Amid that bursting whirlpool of emotion, one person — Chung Myung — grinned.

“Now the sect is finally getting back on track!”

There was a rare look of satisfaction in his gaze as he looked at Hyun Jong.