The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 195

The group match and the individual match have a considerably different atmosphere from the very beginning.

What should I say about the individual match? If it feels like a competition to see who has raised their disciples better, does the group match feel like a fight with the more fundamental pride of the sect on the line?

Moreover, this group match has an even greater meaning.

'If we win this spar, we win the Taoist-Buddhist Great War.'

My senior brothers will of course be fighting with this mindset.

'The defeat in the individual match doesn't mean much. If we win in the group match, it's a tie in an instant.'

Because it is natural that the Shaolin monks will also face the fight with this desperate heart.

I glanced over and looked at the side where the Shaolin monks were sitting.

To be precise, I looked at the place where Monk Yeong Hwan was sitting.

Although he is looking at the spar stage, rather than staring at it, he is looking at the empty space, and it seems that his gaze is simply directed that way.

What on earth is Monk Yeong Hwan thinking? Is he looking forward to his spar with me? Or is he simply cheering for Shaolin?

"Haa-ap!"

My thoughts were shattered by the sound of the Shaolin monks shouting in unison.

The Shaolin monks, as if they had promised, shouted as they formed a formation, and the spirit contained in their voices is tremendous.

'There's... no opening at all.'

Although I have heard a lot about it, this is the first time I have seen the Eighteen Arhat Formation with my own eyes.

I rarely had the chance to see it in my previous life.

Because for some reason, I always fought on a different battlefield from the Shaolin monks.

It was not a formation of eighteen people, but a sight like a single living being.

It brought to mind the image of a being with some great power crouching.

"Ugh..."

"Heup...!"

In the very quiet atmosphere, it seems I can hear the groans of my senior brothers.

I, who am watching from a distance, feel this much pressure, so I can't even guess what the pressure of my senior brothers who are facing them directly is like.

The eighteen Shaolin monks were all holding staffs.

In the first place, the staff is the most primitive weapon among the eighteen weapons.

If you were to explain the difference between a staff and a pole, you could explain that a staff is a little longer and thinner, and a pole is a little thicker and shorter.

Of course, many people treat the staff and the pole as the same weapon in that they are both long sticks.

'The staffs that the Shaolin monks use are especially more special.'

Although they train all eighteen weapons, they consider handling the staff to be very important among them.

Because the staff is a weapon like the mercy of the Buddha that can subdue an opponent with just a blow without killing them, and when killing is necessary, if you attach a blade to one end of the staff, it immediately becomes a spear.

'If the Eighteen Arhat Formation performed by mere junior disciples is this much... how strong is the Arhat Formation performed by the top masters of Shaolin? I can't even imagine how strong the One Hundred and Eight Arhat Formation, which is made by gathering six Eighteen Arhat Formations, will be...!'

Although the individual strength of the monks is what made Shaolin the number one sect of the orthodox faction, it is said that the undefeated myth of the Arhat Formation also plays a part... Only after seeing it in person do I seem to understand its meaning.

But at that moment, I felt a feeling similar to fear boiling up from the depths of my stomach.

Because I know that the undefeated myth of that great One Hundred and Eight Arhat Formation was broken.

'The leader of the Demonic Cult... and his direct subordinates below him, how strong are they?'

The only defeat of the One Hundred and Eight Arhat Formation that I know of—it is the defeat by the Demonic Cult of my previous life.

The one hundred and eight arhats of Shaolin had stepped forward to stop the cult leader, but the cult leader had defeated the One Hundred and Eight Arhat Formation, leading only five of his subordinates.

Although it is said that they fought for three days and three nights, so it was not an easy victory... it is still an undeniable fact that it is a tremendous power that is hard to imagine.

At that time, the fight began with the Shaolin monks stomping their feet at the same time as if they were one body.

The sword formation that our senior brothers had prepared was the Taiji Sword Formation.

The Taiji Sword Formation is literally a formation that can use the opponent's power against them by using the mystery of the Taiji.

In the first place, it would be a formation that Un Gwang, whose understanding of the Taiji is second to none, could prepare with the most confidence.

It was the Shaolin monks who attacked first.

Two Shaolin monks attack the senior brothers who are in charge of the two ends of the Taiji Sword Formation.

At a glance, the Shaolin monks have tremendous power.

Although I don't know the exact principle, it seems that because they are part of the Eighteen Arhat Formation, they can exert a greater force than they can originally.

Even though they have such great power, they are not careless...

'They attack just enough to reach the end of the staff's range. The maintenance of the distance is perfect.'

They began to attack my senior brothers like a beast slowly hunting its prey.

"Left wing, right wing, Manchu!"

The moment he recognized that attack, Un Gwang gave instructions to his senior brothers.

My senior brothers, who had been pushed back by the momentum, as if they had come to their senses after hearing Un Gwang's voice, did not just stand there and receive the attack, but jumped forward and deflected the Shaolin monks' staffs.

The moment the Shaolin monks and my senior brothers clashed at both ends, Un Gwang, along with Un Jihak who was waiting right next to him, jumped forward as if he were shot and swung his wooden sword.

It is a sword technique so fast that I wonder when Un Gwang learned such a fast sword.

Perhaps due to the influence of the Taiji Sword Formation, it seems he moved faster than his usual speed.

But Un Gwang and Un Jihak's swords were blocked too easily.

The Shaolin monks in the center, as if they were blocking the attack of a young child, lightly shook their staffs back and forth and took a stance as if they would come in at any moment.

In that situation, Un Gwang dealt with it calmly.

As if the attack just now was to test the power of the Eighteen Arhat Formation, he returned to his original position and is waiting with only his stance, almost without moving.

Originally, the Taiji Sword Formation is a defensive sword formation.

It doesn't matter how much time has passed, so he is waiting for the Shaolin monks to come in.

"......"

"......"

Silence flowed on the spar stage for a long time.

Then at some point.

"All-out attack!"

At the shout of one of the Shaolin monks, all the monks began to rush in.

Although it seems they are attacking freely, in fact, they all attacked at the same time as if they each had a promised position.

They began to push back my senior brothers from the very front, step by step, as if there were a set rule for everything, from the strength and angle of swinging the staff, to the order.

"Everyone, retreat the formation! Counterattack with Gam-ri!"

At that fierce attack, Un Gwang responded properly.

To interpret Un Gwang's shout just now, it was an instruction to push the formation back, but for Gam-ri, that is, the senior brothers located at the south and north of the formation, to launch an offensive and counterattack the Shaolin monks' attack.

The wooden staff and the wooden sword clashed violently, and a loud sound of impact rang out.

But the moment they clashed, I realized.

No, not just me, but everyone here must have realized.

'Is it because they believed in Monk Il-won and the Eighteen Arhat Formation that the hearts of the Shaolin, who had only won twice until yesterday, were not broken?'

The Eighteen Arhat Formation was not called the Eighteen Arhat Formation for nothing.

Our Taiji Sword Formation, which Un Gwang is leading, has to circulate the power received from the opponent and use that power against them to return it to the enemies.

But with the clash just now, three problems occurred to my senior brothers at the same time.

The first is that they could not properly receive the opponent's power.

The second is that they could not properly circulate the power that they could have used against them, and a lot of power was offset in the middle.

And the third is that the attack that they somehow squeezed out their energy to make was ridiculously weak to break the Eighteen Arhat Formation.

The two senior brothers who had gone in to strike the Eighteen Arhat Formation were hit by the staffs swung by the Shaolin monks, and one lost his sword, and one fell to the floor.

In an instant, the sixteen senior brothers fought hard to resist somehow, but their number began to decrease one by one, and in the end, only Un Gwang, Un Jihak, and Senior Brother Un Sik and Senior Brother Un Mi were left standing on the training stage.

When I looked at Senior Uncle Ok Hang, although he was looking up with pitiful eyes, it seemed he had no intention of stopping the match yet.

Because the four senior brothers who were standing were still showing a fighting spirit, and the sword formation performed by the four of them could also be called a sword formation.

In the midst of that, the Shaolin monks began to approach the four senior brothers, matching their steps as if they were one person.

I thought that they were also amazing.

The attitude of the Shaolin monks is the same now, when there are only four of them, as it was when there were eighteen of our senior brothers.

An attitude of doing their best regardless of the number.

That must be the mindset of forming and operating the strongest Eighteen Arhat Formation.

After a few more fierce exchanges. The group match ended in vain with Un Gwang, who was standing alone until the end, kneeling on one knee and sitting down.

After Senior Uncle Ok Hang declared the victory of Shaolin, our senior brothers returned to their seats without any energy.

The Shaolin monks show no sign of joy.

It is an attitude as if they have done a very natural thing.

At that time, a senior brother next to me said in a low voice, "Eight to... eight..."

That's right. With Shaolin's victory in the group match, the score that we had earned for two days has become a tie in just one day today.

'That means... the victory or defeat of the Taoist-Buddhist Great War depends on the fight between me and Monk Yeong Hwan... it ended up like this in the end.'

But for some reason, I don't feel nervous or burdened.

I thought it would be like this from the beginning, and it feels like that thought has come true.

"The last spar participant, please come up to the spar stage!"

At that time, as if the spar stage had been cleared, I heard the voice of Senior Uncle Ok Hang calling me.

I stood up from my seat and headed for the spar stage.

I can feel my heart pounding with a strange excitement.

It is a fight with a strong person. And it is a fight with a person of tremendous talent.

I am facing a fight with Yeong Hwan, whom I could not even reach even if I wanted to fight him in my previous life.

'It seems he has emptied everything...'

I, after going up to the training ground first, looked at the face of Monk Yeong Hwan who was coming up from the opposite side.

Until a few days ago when I first saw him, he was restless and showed an obsession with victory.

But now it's different.

Although I don't know how he has collected his mind in the meantime, now he is completely emptying his mind.

I could feel that he had come up to the training ground to purely compete in martial arts, throwing away all his obsession with me and his self-reproach.

"You have a good expression."

When we walked towards each other and got quite close.

Monk Yeong Hwan said as he looked at my face.

"Donor Unhwi, you don't seem to have much attachment to this fight. You don't seem to be nervous either. The victory or defeat will be decided by this spar, but are you not emotionally affected?"

"Of course I'm nervous. But that also means that if I defeat you, the Wudang Sect will win, right? Then there's no need to worry. I just have to win."

"Are you not afraid that the Wudang Sect will be defeated due to your defeat?"

"No. I'm not afraid at all."

I said proudly, and Monk Yeong Hwan looked at me with a slightly surprised face.

As if he were hoping for an additional explanation, I continued, "Even if the Wudang Sect is defeated, nothing changes, right? Just because we win this exchange match doesn't mean we suddenly become the great mountain and north star of the martial world, and just because we lose doesn't mean we are no longer a famous sect. We just lost in this competition. And since the Wudang Sect has always lost anyway, it's not like anything will change greatly, right?"

"Haha... amazing."

"What is?"

"To think that you would say the exact same thing as my master... your eyes were looking beyond me, at the top."

"Your master, you mean the abbot?"

But Monk Yeong Hwan did not answer my words.

He just began to gather his energy and prepare to fight at any moment.

I felt instinctively.

That the fight would begin like this.

"Then shall we begin?"

"Yes. Let's do that right away."

I pushed my wooden sword forward, and Monk Yeong Hwan took the stance of a fist art.

Now is the time to prove the results of the training I have done so far.

For some reason, I didn't feel like I would lose at all.