The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 256

The Sect Leader, who smiled broadly at my words that I could do it all day, replied to me.

"Yes. I consulted a lot with your grand-elders because of this martial arts tournament. To be honest, the main discussion was whether it was meaningful for you, Unhwi, to participate in this tournament. Objectively speaking, it is true that your martial arts are far superior to your senior brothers."

I nodded my head.

I was the one who had won against Monk Yeong-hwan, who had a higher generation than me, in the Taoist-Buddhist Great War a few months ago.

And not long ago, although it was mixed with luck and trickery, I also defeated my master.

It is true that it is difficult to find an opponent in our generation.

"But wouldn't it be strange to completely exclude you from this tournament and just give you the position of one of the Five Swords of Wudang from the start?"

"I think so too. Even if everyone knows my skills, if I take the first place without even having a duel, there will definitely be senior brothers who will be dissatisfied."

"That's what I mean. So I thought there would be children who would want to fight you at least once even after the rankings are decided."

"So... you're telling me to prove my skills myself. And not just once or twice, but by allowing all the senior brothers who want to fight me to challenge me."

"That's right."

The Sect Leader nodded with a satisfied expression.

He seemed happy, perhaps because I was telling him what he was supposed to explain.

"But to be honest, there are concerns. You have to face many people, don't you? You are also human, so your stamina and internal energy are not infinite. In the end, the child who faces you later will have an advantage."

I, looking at the Sect Leader's worried face, said with a confident smile, "It's okay. I can face ten or twenty people. However, continuously dueling might be a bit difficult for me, so please adjust the duel order well so that I can have at least a about 30 minutes of rest after each duel. Then I can recover during that time, and fight again and recover... If I repeat this way, I can fight enough."

"Hoo... is that possible?"

"Yes. If it were a life-or-death battle where I had to kill the opponent, I don't know, but in the end, it's a martial arts tournament to show off our skills. For now, I just need to adjust my strength so that the senior brothers I face can show their skills to the maximum without me having to go all out, right?"

"Haha! Exactly. Really... you're saying everything I wanted to say. In fact, if you go all out, most of the children wouldn't even be able to withstand three moves, so I was wondering how to tell them to adjust to those children..."

The Sect Leader said as if a great burden had been lifted from his mind.

And for good reason, it's not easy to tell a martial artist preparing for a duel to go easy.

Depending on the situation, those words could be words that deeply wound their pride.

But since I spoke up first, he seemed very pleased.

And I also didn't mind the Sect Leader saying that.

Why? Because telling me to go easy on the senior brothers also presupposes that I have overwhelming martial power compared to them.

It's not an enemy I have to deceive my skills from, and there's no need to feel offended by every little thing or deceive my skills to someone who already knows how much my martial arts are worth.

"Good. Then this martial arts tournament will proceed in that manner. First, it would be the first step to figure out how many disciples want to face you, and who wants to face whom."

"I guess so. Then I won't need to nominate anyone?"

"Huh? Come to think of it, I hadn't thought of that. Is there a child you want to face as well?"

The Sect Leader asked me with a look of realization.

He seemed to have completely forgotten that I also had a choice.

I chuckled and said, "Well... there are some senior brothers whose skills I want to see."

"I see. Then..."

The Sect Leader thought for a moment and then said to me, "But the children whose skills you want to see are likely to be the most outstanding among your senior brothers. Isn't that right?"

"That's right. There are a few senior brothers who stand out."

"Wouldn't those children nominate you first anyway? For now, you can just watch whether those children want to face you or not, and if they don't choose you, then you can nominate that child."

I nodded vigorously at the very clear conclusion.

"Yes. I will do that, Sect Leader."

"Good. It's a request that might be unreasonable, but I'm grateful that you granted it."

"It's all for the development of our Wudang Sect, so I'm glad if I can be of help in this way. I can do even more difficult things than this for the Wudang Sect."

"Unhwi-ya...!"

The Sect Leader looked at me with very moved eyes.

"But Sect Leader..."

"What is it?"

"Then may I also ask you one favor?"

"A favor? What kind of favor are you going to ask?"

"It's a question truly for the development of the Wudang Sect, can you promise to answer it?"

"Huhu, this fellow. I can only promise to answer after hearing what the question is. What question are you going to ask?"

"Then it's fine. It's a question that only has meaning if you promise to answer it."

"Then don't ask the question. Wouldn't that mean you won't be able to ask what you're curious about?"

The Sect Leader said to me with a triumphant expression, as if he had won something, but I didn't answer his words and just quietly put my hand on my waist and started groaning.

"Ouch, ouch... Sect Leader, I'm sorry. Actually, I hurt my back a little when I went to Zhejiang Province last time, so I might not be able to participate in this martial arts tournament because of the back pain. Why does my back hurt so much all of a sudden...?"

"Ah, no..."

The Sect Leader, looking at me with a dumbfounded expression at my feigned pain, opened his mouth.

"Ha! Unhwi, now you're trying to play with the Sect Leader."

"Play with me? I learned from my master that if you give something, you get something back. He said it's a natural law of the world..."

"Oh dear. You've learned something wrong from Hyeon Yang."

"My master said he learned it from the Sect Leader?"

"Haha! That rascal!"

At my words, which might sound audacious, the Sect Leader finally burst into laughter.

He laughed for a long time and then said to me, "Alright. I lost. Then if I promise to answer any question, will your back get better?"

"Of course. I heard that back pain is very much affected by psychological factors."

"Huh. Really... if you can't talk. Alright, I'll answer. What are you so curious about?"

I, with a very bright smile, said to him in an innocent voice, "All the donations that have come into the Wudang Sect because of me so far... and the details of the regular donations that come in, please tell me."

"What, what? Unhwi-ya. Surely you don't think we're doing something with the money that came in like that, do you? Surely not?"

The Sect Leader's expression, which had been gentle until just now, became stern.

He even looked a little displeased.

It's a natural thing. Because my question could ultimately sound like I'm asking him to tell me how much of my money he has embezzled.

But, since I didn't mean it that way, I said to the Sect Leader with confidence, "No. I absolutely did not ask that question with such a thought. The reason I'm telling you now is because I thought I could avoid misunderstandings by asking you directly like this."

"Then what were you thinking when you asked?"

"You might think that if there's no money, that's it, but in the end, a sect can only develop if there's money, right? So the donations that have come into the Wudang Sect now are the driving force that can further develop our Wudang Sect. I thought I should know well the people who provided that driving force so that I can repay them someday."

"Repay them...?"

The Sect Leader looked at me as if I were a strange person.

Donations are, as the name suggests, donations. Repaying them seemed to be something he had never thought of until now.

"Unhwi-ya. The donations we receive now are, strictly speaking, a form of repayment for the grace that our Wudang Sect and you have bestowed while traveling all over the martial world. But are you saying you want to repay that repayment again?"

"Yes. In fact, the amount they donated wouldn't be a small sum, and I thought it wasn't right to just take it and wipe my mouth after doing something for them. At least for those who donated to us, shouldn't we make them feel that they did well to donate so that it leads to the next donation?"

The Sect Leader looked at me silently for a long time, then burst into laughter again.

It wasn't the laughter mixed with absurdity he had let out a little while ago, but a genuinely joyful... and a laughter as if he had realized something.

"I see. Yes. Unhwi, you make me ashamed. Making them feel that they did well to donate..."

The Sect Leader, as if he had realized something from his conversation with me, pondered my words for a long time and then continued, "Alright. I understand. Since the money that came in thanks to you is not a small sum, I can't tell you right away how much came in and how, but I will have the Yeongeun Palace Master organize the donations soon and then tell you."

"Yes. It must have been a difficult decision, but thank you for granting it."

"No. Thanks to you, I also learned a great thing. How could I, the Sect Leader of the Wudang Sect, not have thought of such a thing... I am ashamed."

The Sect Leader had a relieved expression.

"In fact, until now, I have taken the donations we received for granted. No, not just me, but most sects would be like that. So, in most cases, donations could not continue consecutively and ended in one go. Every time that happened, I thought badly of the donors, thinking they had forgotten the grace we had given... but in the end, the problem was with us."

I nodded lightly.

Grace, by nature, is volatile and quickly disappears.

In fact, the reason they give us money under the pretext of gratitude and donation might also be mixed with the psychology of wanting to repay the grace we first gave them.

But if that grace continues to accumulate, we will be able to maintain a good relationship until the end.

"Is there anything else you want to ask?"

"Yes. For now, I don't think so."

"Then go back. I have something to talk about with the Yeongeun Palace Master for a moment."

"Yes, Sect Leader."

I bowed to the Sect Leader and immediately left the Sangcheong Palace.

To be honest, I also felt admiration for the Sect Leader.

'Yes. He has to be at least that much to be called the Sect Leader of the Wudang Sect.'

The Sect Leader's reaction a little while ago and his immediate action of calling the Yeongeun Palace Master to talk about the donations.

I felt that the Sect Leader was a person of great capacity.

A Sect Leader with great capacity who knows how to think rationally, and disciples below him who train martial arts to the death.

Although it is the group I belong to, the thought that the Wudang Sect will develop tremendously if it continues like this never leaves my mind.

'And the main axis of that will be our Un generation disciples.'

I, with light steps, moved towards where Un Gwang and the senior brothers would be waiting.

Thinking that I was going to meet the people who would become the main axis of the Wudang Sect's development, I somehow felt very good.