The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 10

Whoosh—! Crack!

It was a punch thrown with my full body weight, but Uncheol surprisingly blocked it easily.

It seemed he had been anticipating a fight with me from the start.

"Unhwi! What are you doing all of a sudden?"

"What do you mean, what am I doing? Isn't this what you wanted, Senior Brother?"

Looking left and right, all the beds had been pushed against the walls to create a space in the middle.

It was clear that Senior Brother Uncheol had intended to fight me here from the beginning.

"That's right! I wanted to face you formally."

"So I'm doing what you want, what's with all the talk?"

Uncheol's face flushed slightly red.

It wasn't just from embarrassment; he also seemed a little angry.

"No, I was going to ask you for a spar. Do you really think I was trying to ambush you?"

"Weren't you?"

"You insult me! I am a disciple of the great Wudang. How could a disciple of Wudang, who reveres the righteous path, resort to an ambush!"

Uncheol shouted as if he was genuinely wronged.

But... for some reason, all I could do was sigh at his words.

I spoke in a very small voice.

"That's why you were all annihilated... tsk tsk..."

"What?"

"Sigh. It's nothing. But, you have to do some ambushing and some backstabbing to win a fight. What's more foolish than clashing head-on in the name of fairness?"

"What... are you talking about right now?"

"It's nothing. You wouldn't listen even if I told you right now anyway."

For a moment, I almost choked up thinking about the martial artists of the Orthodox Faction who were annihilated in my past life.

The mindset of the Orthodox Faction martial artists was as rigid as steel.

No ambushes, no setting traps during a fight, and they wouldn't even attack someone who had fallen.

It was frustrating to death, what with all that talk of fairness.

This was also one of the reasons I was looked down upon by the Orthodox Faction martial artists.

With my lacking martial arts, I didn't hesitate to do so-called cowardly things to survive in a fight.

I had thrown sand in an opponent's eyes during a fight, and I had thrown a hidden weapon to take an opponent's life while kneeling and begging for my life.

But, because of those things, I was able to survive until the end.

Well... I did end up dying to Mok Hwashin in the end.

"Then I'll do as you wish. You want to fight here?"

"Yes. I was too careless yesterday. If you can subdue me again, I will acknowledge you."

"Acknowledge? Haha. What do I get from being acknowledged by you, Senior Brother?"

"If you don't like that word, I'll change it. I will apologize for everything I have done to you until now. And I will follow you."

"You'll follow me?"

"Yes. I will do everything you say. I heard everything from Unjeong and Unmi. To make Wudang strong, let's start with our training. To be honest... that's what I wanted."

Uncheol's eyes were serious.

Looking at those eyes, I let out a sneer without realizing it.

If that's what he wanted so badly, why didn't he do it himself? What's with asking me to make him do it?

'Still... I don't dislike that attitude, do I?'

But it's much better than those who say they don't want to do it.

There are people who don't know how to do it themselves.

That's something I can teach them slowly.

"Alright. But no complaints no matter how it turns out. Got it?"

"Deal."

"And, today's result is a secret from everyone for now. If a rumor spreads that I beat up Senior Brother Uncheol, everyone will surely think it's strange. Senior Brothers, do you all understand?"

When I looked back at the other senior brothers and spoke, they all nodded their heads as if they were possessed.

Senior Brother Uncheol frowned automatically, as if he didn't like me talking as if I would naturally win.

But what could he do? He was the one in the position of the challenger right now.

Clasp—

Having seen it somewhere, Senior Brother Uncheol clasped his fists at me and said, "Uncheol, a disciple of the Wudang's 'Un' generation, asks for your guidance."

"Isn't it cringey to do that when we know each other?"

"Haap!"

At my words, Uncheol answered with a punch instead of words.

'Oh, not bad.'

The first thought I had seeing his punch was that his basics were quite solid.

The most important thing in the Wudang martial arts I had seen and learned over the past few days was harmony.

Even when throwing a single punch, it's not just about putting in a lot of force, but the harmony of the body and mind, the harmony of external and internal arts, is important.

Only when that harmony reaches its peak can it be called Taiji.

But Uncheol's punch contained a little bit of Taiji.

I could see why he was called one of the strongest among our 'Un' generation.

'But, it's still too shallow.'

Thwack—

I very lightly deflected his punch to the side.

Just because he understood a little of the principles of Taiji doesn't mean he can reach me.

He's just a little better than others his age.

Whoosh!

As if he had expected his punch to be blocked, Uncheol immediately swung his leg horizontally.

The power contained in his leg is unusual.

It seemed this was the real deal, rather than the first punch.

This footwork piques my interest.

'He has no manners, but if I raise him properly, he might be worth it.'

Although we had only clashed for two moves, I had already grasped Uncheol's skills to some extent.

At this level, he would be able to just barely put energy into his body or weapon.

'Even so... it's only at the level of a third-rate warrior.'

CRACK!!

"Keuk!"

I didn't dodge Uncheol's leg but raised my own to meet it.

The one who attacked was Uncheol, but he was also the one who let out a scream of pain.

Of course. He had swung his leg straight into my shin, which had become as hard as steel from concentrating my internal energy.

In fact, if you think about it, the amount of internal energy Uncheol has and the amount I have are probably not that different. Maybe Senior Brother Uncheol has even more than me.

But what creates such a difference is skill and experience.

Thud—!

I concentrated my energy on my Yongquan acupoint and rushed towards Uncheol.

The creaking sound from the wooden floor was a little unsettling, but I focused on Uncheol in front of me again.

No matter how much the level difference, with this paper-thin body, if I get hit even once, I could die.

Whoosh!

Uncheol's eyesight wasn't bad either; he threw another punch at the exact moment my body moved in.

But of course, I knew Uncheol would come out like this.

It's impossible for someone at his level not to be able to react this much.

Whoosh!

I rolled once in the air to dodge his punch.

And using the rotation of my body, I hit Uncheol's chest with my elbow.

Crack!

"Keuk! Cough!"

Uncheol, who was hit in the solar plexus by my elbow, coughed a few times.

"Hoh."

His endurance is also quite good. I thought I hit him pretty hard, but he didn't faint at once and maintained his form.

I waited quietly until Uncheol had completely absorbed the pain in his chest.

If I rushed in right now, I could subdue him, but you can't beat a martial artist of Uncheol's type in a flash like this.

For someone with a straight heart and confidence in themselves, you have to trample them down thoroughly, one by one.

Only when he loses to me after giving it his all will he accept the result.

Beckon, beckon—

I just beckoned with my finger, as if telling Uncheol to come at me again.

At my provocation, Uncheol seemed to get a little heated, snorted, and then assumed a new starting posture.

It was a starting posture I had never seen before.

Until now, he seemed to have consistently used the Taijiquan that was ingrained in his body, but he must have thought that it wasn't enough to beat me.

Tatadak!

Uncheol approached me with dizzying footwork.

I've seen that footwork somewhere before.

'Was it called Hyeoncheonbo?'

It was Wudang's basic footwork, but I heard it was a footwork that was still used even after becoming a master.

Like the foundation of advanced footwork.

'The fact that he learned this means he's really quite acknowledged.'

Shwoook!

In an instant, a fairly powerful internal energy gathered in Uncheol's hand.

The moment I felt that energy, my brow furrowed without my knowledge.

'Is he trying to kill me.'

Right now, Uncheol was so obsessed with winning that he had gathered his internal energy to a level that ordinary children of this age could never handle.

It seemed that for Uncheol, this spar had already gone beyond simply determining who was superior.

He had crossed the line by putting his emotions into it without even realizing it. A kid is still a kid.

Tatadak!

At the same time, Uncheol threw a punch.

It wasn't a straight punch like before.

A technique that throws an unavoidable punch by occupying seven directions.

'It's Chilseonggwon.'

A fist technique that can be said to be the essence of basic martial arts, along with Wudang's Chilseong Sword Art.

It was the most powerful martial art Uncheol could display.

Whoooong!

Uncheol's fist cut through the wind and came towards me.

I could feel a powerful internal energy within it that couldn't be said to belong to a mere third-generation disciple.

It seemed he had put everything into this one blow.

'You can't pour everything into one blow. Especially not a disciple of Wudang.'

I was a little surprised at first, but I leisurely extended my left palm forward and naturally brought my right hand to the side of my face in a starting posture.

"You're trying to block Chilseonggwon with Taijiquan?!"

Senior Brother Unshik, who also had a good eye, shouted at me.

I can understand why he's so surprised.

Chilseonggwon is a fist technique that can only be learned after mastering all of Taijiquan.

Therefore, it can be thought of as a more advanced martial art than Taijiquan.

'But there is no concept of advanced and basic in Wudang's basic martial arts. You just learn it later. And... Taijiquan is not such a low-level martial art.'

Swoosh!

I brought my left hand to Uncheol's fist, which had reached close to my body.

And as I tucked my left shoulder in, I lightly brushed Uncheol's fist away with my left arm.

You don't need strong force to brush away a fist.

A very weak but appropriate amount of force, just enough to change the direction of the fist, is sufficient.

Paat!

By the time Senior Brother Uncheol came to his senses, his fist had already gone far astray, and I had dug into his chest, looking as if I was being hugged.

"Senior Brother. This is Taijiquan. Using softness to overcome hardness. Didn't you learn that?"

"Taiji...!"

He couldn't even answer properly, as if he had realized something.

I infused energy into my right fist, which was pulled back taut like a bow.

And I poured it straight forward.

The place my fist was heading was Uncheol's defenseless chest.

CRACK!!!

The moment my fist was about to touch Uncheol's body, I opened my hand and hit his chest with my palm instead of my fist. But the sound was incredibly loud.

"Kuock!"

Uncheol made a strange sound and flew backwards with a clatter.

Not only did he fall to the floor, but the senior brother rolled to the end of the room.

It was a good thing all the beds had been moved, otherwise he would have been seriously injured by hitting a bed.

"Hoo. That was tough."

I dusted off my hands and approached the fallen Uncheol.

Senior Brother Uncheol was lying still, clutching his chest, as if in great shock.

"Senior Brother. Get up. I didn't hit you hard enough to make you faint. You know I changed from a fist to a palm at the last moment so I wouldn't break your ribs, right?"

"Keu, keum..."

When I spoke while nudging him with my foot, Uncheol continued to clutch his chest and barely managed to get up.

"Defeat. Do you admit it?"

At my words, Uncheol dropped his head and said, "Yes. I admit it."

"Good. I like that you admit it quickly."

I gave him a bright smile.

Then, Senior Brother Uncheol also stood up with a grin.

He must have seen and heard a lot somewhere, because he extended his hand to me as if he were an old-time martial artist who becomes friends after a life-and-death battle.

"As promised, I will listen to everything you say from now on. I look forward to working with you. For a strong Wudang...!"

"Alright. Then, for now, get on the ground."

"What?"

"I didn't say anything you couldn't understand, so why do you keep making me ask twice? I don't like saying things twice. Hurry up and get in the push-up position."

Senior Brother Uncheol stood in an awkward posture for a moment, then, realizing I wasn't joking, he got on the floor.

I looked around and then picked up a thick tree branch that was rolling on the floor, which the senior brothers with trembling legs must have used as a cane.

"This is good. The thickness is just right, and it fits well in my hand."

"What are you going to do with that...?"

"What do you mean, what am I going to do? First, you need to get hit a little."

"What?"

"Shut your mouth. You'll get hurt if you bite your tongue."

"W-Wait!"

WHACK!

"Aaaack!"

"Be quiet! Are you trying to gather everyone? Get back down quickly. If you get hit while standing, you don't know where you'll get hit."

"H-Heup!"

The relationship with the original owner of this body, which had lasted for several years, is not easy to change overnight.

Even if something like this happened today.

The way to speed that up is very simple. It's 'flogging'.

Uncheol was terrified and got back down, and my flogging continued.

What did I say? Didn't I say that Uncheol had to be trampled down thoroughly, one by one?

"Keok... S-Stop..."

"Ahem, get back down."

Later, when I asked, the senior brothers, excluding Uncheol, said they felt both fear and relief at the same time that day.

They were afraid because I looked like a demon, and they were relieved that it wasn't them who were getting hit.

(End of Chapter)