Chapter 1738
Can they endure? (3)
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Everyone’s eyes were fixed on that hand.
It might no longer hold any power, but it was once the hand that undoubtedly led Hwasan. The hand that had been fully outstretched slowly clenched around something in the air.
They could sense it. Even though there was nothing in his grasp, it was clear he was holding something.
A sword.
The one thing that hand had never let go of throughout his life. Even in this moment, it felt only natural that he should be holding it.
A profound ripple stirred in the hearts of those watching.
As they observed, they suddenly realized how strange it was for that young man’s hand to be without a sword. And how sorrowful it was that what he clutched was not a real sword, but merely an imaginary one. They understood then what had been lost.
Yet some saw something entirely different in Baek Cheon’s gesture.
He could no longer strike down an enemy. He could no longer draw the plum blossoms with his sword. He could no longer infuse his ideals into that blade.
But despite all that, Baek Cheon still held his sword.
Baek Cheon’s lips parted.
“I wanted to become strong.”
Everyone was captivated by his low, calm words.
“Stronger than anyone in the world. Stronger than anyone else so that I could prove who I am.”
It wasn’t just the sincerity in Baek Cheon’s words that moved them.
His words spoke for everyone. For all those who lived their lives on the precarious edge of a blade in the world of Gangho, where death could come at any moment, Baek Cheon’s words echoed the deepest desires of their hearts.
Why do we live in such a world? Why did we pick up a sword in the first place? It’s difficult to explain.
In the past, they might have said it was to pursue glory. But now, that’s not something they can easily say.
Haven’t they all seen those who chased after glory, only to fade away without holding onto anything in the end?
What might they have thought in their final moments?
Those who chased after the illusion of glory on the vast land of Gangho likely saw their strength draining from their hands, realizing they had grasped nothing. What thoughts crossed their minds at that moment?
Perhaps the fate that befell them will soon come for those here as well.
So why, knowing this, do they still stand here? Why can’t they let go of the sword in their hand, even when they can no longer hope for glory?
“But at some point, I began to understand.”
Baek Cheon quietly extended his hand forward, aiming it at Hyun Jong.
“Do you remember?”
It was an unexpected question. Hyun Jong simply looked at Baek Cheon in silence, focusing on the intense, shining eyes between his thin fingers.
“What I should hold in this hand is strength. But martial arts do not mean strength alone. Martial arts must be accompanied by will. Without purpose, martial prowess is nothing more than the force of a brute.”
“…”
“Do you remember?”
Baek Cheon’s eyes remained unwavering, still shining with clarity. Hyun Jong knew that the gaze held no distrust or hostility.
On the contrary, it was filled with deep trust. Even in this dire situation, Baek Cheon’s eyes, as he looked at Hyun Jong, had not faltered in their integrity.
“These are the words you once spoke to me, retired Sect Leader.”
Hyun Jong closed his eyes slowly.
Yes, he remembered.
Those were his own words, spoken to a young Baek Cheon when his face was still full of youthful anger. He had imparted his teachings with all his heart, believing without a doubt that this boy would one day spread the will of Hwasan throughout the world.
“Will and strength. If either is lacking, martial arts cannot be complete. But if you must choose only one, do not hesitate to abandon strength. A will without strength is pitiful, but strength without will is dangerous. These, too, are the words of the retired Sect Leader.”
Hyun Jong, still with his eyes closed, listened as the voice resonated deeply in his ears.
When he finally opened his eyes, Baek Cheon’s thin, outstretched hand filled his vision.
“So I ask you, what should I grasp with this hand?”
“…”
“What should I hold?”
Hyun Jong’s lips parted slightly, but no words came out, and he closed them again.
“A sword and inner strength? Yes, I could obtain them. I could go to the place you wish, heal my body, and once again take up the sword, couldn’t I?”
Baek Cheon looked around at the others. None could meet his gaze – they all turned their heads away.
“But what should I fill the void of my will with?”
Hyun Jong hesitated once more. The words he knew he had to say clung to his throat, words he wished he didn’t have to utter. Yet, with the feeling of tearing off a piece of his own flesh, he forced out the thorny words.
“…There is will even in that place.”
“Yes, of course, there is. But can that will become mine?”
“Baek Cheon-ah…”
“May I ask you, retired Sect Leader?”
“…”
“Where does your will lie?”
Hyun Jong, unable to bear the anguish, shut his eyes again.
Of course, it lies with Hwasan. There was no need to even think about the answer. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
He was speaking words he didn’t want to, and the answers he needed to give remained unspoken. The entire ordeal left a painful scar on Hyun Jong’s heart.
“My will is here.”
But Baek Cheon spoke firmly, as if stating an immutable truth that everyone already knew, calmly and without hesitation.
“So I ask again, retired Sect Leader. What should I hold in this hand?”
Everyone’s eyes were drawn to that hand.
The hand was empty. And because it was empty, it could grasp anything.
“If I can hold martial arts, I will hold martial arts. If I cannot, then I will hold onto my will. That is what you once told me, retired Sect Leader.”
Hyun Jong had intended to place martial arts in that hand.
No, everyone had.
To those who lived and breathed Hwasan, that hand was not just the hand of one person. It was the hand of Hwasan itself, carrying the hopes and dreams of everyone within the sect.
And now, the one holding that hand was asking a question.
“Has that meaning changed?”
It hurts.
“Are you really going to place power without will into a disciple’s hand? Must I personally deny all the teachings you have given me? Must I reject everything that Hwasan stands for in order to be right?”
It hurts unbearably.
Even those who had remained silent out of respect for Hyun Jong’s decision now turned to look at him. The eyes of the disciples standing behind Baek Cheon, once faint, were now sharp and piercing.
Hyun Jong endured it all in silence.
“What meaning does power have if gained in such a way? If we are satisfied with strength alone, how are we any different from the Evil Sects? If the logic is that strength can obtain everything, then how am I any different from Paegun?”
Baek Cheon’s gaze struck Hyun Jong like lightning.
“The future you speak of, retired Sect Leader, is wrong!”
“Baek Cheon!”
The elders of Hwasan were startled and quickly shouted to stop Baek Cheon. It was only natural – they recognized that Baek Cheon’s words were a direct challenge to Hyun Jong’s authority.
But Baek Cheon did not retreat, not even a step.
“If retired Sect Leader’s will has changed, then I cannot and will not follow it.”
“You, you insolent fool! Watch your tongue…!”
“Because that is no longer the true will of the retired Sect Leader.”
Thud!
Baek Cheon clenched his outstretched hand into a fist and struck it against his chest.
“That will is here.”
“…”
“Even if the retired Sect Leader has abandoned it, that will has not vanished from this world. It’s here. It has become my will.”
“Baek Cheon…”
“Everything I am is in Hwasan.”
Baek Cheon slowly turned around. The gazes of the disciples, who had gathered because of their unwavering trust in him, met his own.
It was strange.
In moments like this, he would usually seek out Chung Myung’s gaze first. Chung Myung was always there, watching him no matter where he was. But this time, he didn’t feel the need to find Chung Myung’s eyes.
Even though he knew Chung Myung was among them, Baek Cheon saw not just Chung Myung but all of Hwasan.
Each gaze shone like a star.
There was a time when those lights felt burdensome. A time when they weighed so heavily on him that he would tremble alone, away from everyone.
He wasn’t an extraordinary person.
But now, he thought he understood. He knew what he had to do, what he needed to say. Those shining eyes were conveying that to him.
“I am a weak man. The retired Sect Leader may have seen something great in me, but I know better than anyone just how insignificant and lacking I truly am.”
“…”
“That’s why I needed someone to help me hold on to what I grasp in my hand, so I wouldn’t let it slip. I needed someone who would push me forward when the path became too steep, who would stand by my side and look up with me when the height became overwhelming.”
Baek Cheon’s fingertips trembled slightly.
“All of that is here in Hwasan. And… all of me is here in Hwasan.”
Despite his trembling hands, his voice was firmer than ever.
“If I must hold only one thing in this hand, you told me it should be my will.”
“…I did.”
Hyun Jong swallowed his pain as he answered.
“My will is in Hwasan. So, I intend to follow the will of our ancestors. I also intend to see my own will through. I want to be an example for those who follow.”
At some point, Hyun Jong had stopped breathing. More accurately, he found himself unable to breathe.
“That is the duty that those who carry on must uphold, the will that those who wield the sword must fulfill!”
Everyone understood now.
They had lost Baek Cheon. But in that loss, they had gained something far greater.
Baek Cheon, the warrior, might have disappeared, but the person standing there now, the man named Baek Cheon, was more radiant than ever before.
And they realized something else, too.
How much that person, that weak person, is needed by Hwasan. He was the one who would truly carry Hwasan’s legacy.
“Therefore, I refuse. The place where I belong is right here. Please reconsider, retired Sect Leader.”
Baek Cheon bowed deeply.
Despite his frail body, there was no trace of defeat or weakness in his posture. Hyun Jong quietly observed Baek Cheon and the countless disciples standing behind him.
‘He is wonderful…’
Far beyond what he had ever hoped for. No, more brilliant than he had ever dared to wish for.
Perhaps the place where Baek Cheon now stood was a height even the ancestors had never reached.
With Baek Cheon alone, Hwasan would change. Hyun Jong could envision Hwasan towering over the world, with Baek Cheon as its symbol.
The young boy who once knocked on the gates of Hwasan had finally come this far. As he stood there, the one who had watched him grow had become so old and frail, yet the boy had grown into someone truly remarkable.
Because of this, Hyun Jong knew with absolute clarity what he needed to do at this moment.
“Sect Leader.”
“…Yes, retired Sect Leader?”
“Could you grant me the authority to make this decision once more?”
Un Am silently looked at Hyun Jong. After a long pause, he finally nodded.
“Do as you wish.”
“Thank you.”
Hyun Jong rose from his seat and slowly approached Baek Cheon.
Baek Cheon, wide-eyed, watched as Hyun Jong walked towards him.
One step. Then another.
In the past, it was Baek Cheon who had approached Hyun Jong. But now, it was Hyun Jong who was walking towards Baek Cheon.
Everything was different, yet one thing remained the same: the one walking forward still saw an uncertain hope in the place they were headed.
Thud.
Hyun Jong’s steps came to a stop in front of Baek Cheon.
A profound silence settled between them.
Baek Cheon, sitting upright, and Hyun Jong, standing before him. The two looked at each other without saying a word.
In the past, it was Baek Cheon who knocked on the gates of Hwasan with this hand.
Now, what should Hyun Jong do with this hand?
Hyun Jong slowly extended his hand.
With a firm and unwavering motion, his hand reached out, causing Baek Cheon to bite his lip in a surge of emotion as he extended his own hand toward Hyun Jong.
Baek Cheon’s weakened hand, struggling under its own weight, tried to reach Hyun Jong’s sturdy hand. But just as their hands were about to meet, Hyun Jong’s hand moved further.
Their hands missed each other, and Baek Cheon’s eyes widened in surprise.
Thud.
Hyun Jong’s hand didn’t grasp Baek Cheon’s hand, nor did it rest on his shoulder. Instead, it reached for the sword at Baek Cheon’s waist, the Purple Mist Divine Sword.
The very sword that Baek Cheon had refused to take, that he had pushed away, was now firmly in Hyun Jong’s grasp.
“Retired Sect…”
Without hesitation, Hyun Jong removed the Purple Mist Divine Sword from Baek Cheon’s waist. He cast a brief glance at Baek Cheon before turning away.
“From this moment on, Jin Dongryong is no longer a disciple of Hwasan. He is excommunicated from the sect.”
Baek Cheon stared at Hyun Jong’s shoulders, disbelief etched on his face.
“However, considering the contributions Jin Dongryong has made to Hwasan, he will be spared of the excommunication punishment.”
He felt as though everything was collapsing.
“All disciples of Hwasan must take heed of this decision and offer no kindness or leniency to the one who has been excommunicated.”
His world, his everything, was crumbling.
“Carry out the order.”
It was as if he had been cast into a strange, unfamiliar place, where a lone red plum blossom tree swayed sorrowfully amidst the pines.
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