The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 40

"S-Senior Brother!"

"Are you okay?!"

The monks rushed to the fallen Monk Il-jik.

He'll probably be fine. He just lost consciousness due to a sudden concussion; I didn't hit him hard enough to injure his body.

After numerous clinical trials on my senior brothers in Wudang over the past few months, I am now an expert when it comes to beating people up.

"Umm..."

As expected, Monk Il-jik soon regained consciousness.

Is it thanks to the Muscle-Tendon Change Classic? His recovery speed is faster than I expected.

"Did I... lose?"

The other monks couldn't answer his question.

In this situation, silence is affirmation.

Monk Il-jik barely got up with the help of the other monks around him.

I bowed my head politely to him.

"I have learned a lesson, Monk."

"I am the one who has learned a lesson..."

He shook his head a few times as if his head was still ringing and then continued.

"But... the sword art you used just now..."

"It's the Un Family Sword Art. It's a sword art that is faithful to the basics."

"Un Family Sword Art...?"

He tilted his head.

It's a familiar reaction. Among the people I've met so far, there wasn't a single martial artist who knew the Un Family Sword Art.

"Then it's not a martial art of Wudang?"

"Well. It's ambiguous to say it is, and it's also ambiguous to say it's not."

"What do you mean by that?"

"To say it's a martial art of Wudang, none of my senior brothers have learned it, and to say it's not, I have learned it."

"Then you mean that only you have learned that sword art?"

"That's right. Who would practice such a basic sword art to the death in the first place?"

I said it nonchalantly, but at those words, Il-jik's expression hardened a little.

Because my words just now were no different from saying that he had been defeated by a basic sword art that no one else learns.

Il-jik must have said that because my sword art is very similar to the Three Talents Sword Art, but in fact, this was derived from the Three Talents Sword Art, and so on, and so on... it's too troublesome to explain at length.

"I see. Now I understand, so this is what it was... hahaha..."

"Pardon?"

But, Monk Il-jik suddenly burst into laughter with an expression as if he had realized something.

I looked at Monk Il-jik with a puzzled expression because I couldn't understand what he was talking about.

"Thanks to you, almsgiver, I have realized the truth... The words my master told me every day meant this...! It seems you, almsgiver, have known that fact for a long time!"

He said with his eyes wide open, as if he was suddenly excited.

Then he suddenly approached me, and as if he had completely forgotten that he had been beaten by me a moment ago, he even grabbed my hand.

"What's wrong all of a sudden?"

Even though I pulled my hand away, his face was still filled with emotion.

"My master always said that I was going too far ahead. If you build a pavilion when the ground is not completely solid, that pavilion will inevitably collapse someday...!"

"Those are good words. But isn't that a matter of course?"

"I'm ashamed... but I have been misinterpreting those obvious words until now. I thought my basics were perfect and have always wanted only advanced martial arts. But, my master always said that advanced martial arts are not the only answer."

I frowned without realizing it at his very arrogant words.

"What basics in the world can have the modifier 'perfect' attached to them? Your master probably thought that a rookie was saying arrogant things. Good martial arts only allow you to see a great effect with little strength and internal energy; you can't become a master with just that."

"As expected... almsgiver, you say the same thing as my master."

Even though I spoke in a slightly strong tone, he just laughed.

To the point where I'm confused if he's the same person who got angry at my shallow provocation a moment ago.

"Thank you for the great teaching. I will strive even harder from now on."

He put his palms together and bowed his head deeply.

Looking at him, I finally feel a sense of regret.

'This, didn't I make a mistake?'

The Dao-Buddhist Great War is just around the corner, and I've given such an enlightenment to the rising stars of Shaolin.

Monk Il-jik seems to be the most senior brother among the rising stars, so there's a possibility that the entire Shaolin will become stronger following him.

'No, what am I thinking? I have to see the big picture. The big picture.'

I must have become a Wudang person too.

Thinking about the useless Dao-Buddhist Great War when the orthodox martial world is destroyed.

Anyway, my goal is to block the Demonic Cult riffraff who will invade the Central Plains in the future, and furthermore, to kill those things that are worse than dogs.

So I should rather be happy that Shaolin is becoming stronger.

'My senior brothers... I just have to train them more.'

If Shaolin becomes stronger, Wudang just has to become even stronger.

To think that I was worrying about such a simple thing, I still have a long way to go.

"May I say one more thing?"

"What are you going to say...?"

"Monk, when you operate your forms, you have a tendency to trust your own body too much. Of course, I know that your body is well-trained thanks to the Muscle-Tendon Change Classic, and that you have learned the ultimate pupil technique. But, in the end, that body is your body."

"......"

His expression became subtle, but I continued without caring.

"If a weapon breaks, you can just get a new one, and if your armor is torn, you can just fix it or buy a new one. But, you only have one body. It would be better to adopt your current fighting style after you have figured out whether your opponent can cut your body or not."

Swoosh—

I put down my wooden sword, found my real sword, and lifted it up.

Then I slowly poured my energy into it.

The internal energy that I had been hiding tightly in my body until now began to be poured into the sword as if a dam had broken.

'Nine Palaces Sword Art.'

I slowly began to unfold the Nine Palaces Sword Art.

The Nine Palaces Sword Art is the sword art with the most destructive power among the sword arts I can display.

The place I looked at with the sword was a corner of the training ground floor.

Staring at that place, I swung my sword with all my might without losing concentration.

Hoo-woong!! Seogeok!

I felt a lump of internal energy leave my body.

The sword succeeded in cutting the training ground made of granite.

To be honest, I was not sure if it would succeed.

Not only did I not know the strength of the floor at all, but I was also not sure if I could put that much energy into the sword. But it succeeded beautifully.

'Good. I've improved enough to be able to cut granite.'

This is about the level I was at when I was around thirty in my past life.

Since I started to make a name for myself as the Self-Reliant Sword Master around this time, I can be said to be a so-called first-rate master in the martial world.

"T-To cut the training ground...!"

A monk said with a trembling voice.

He was making a fuss as if he had seen something impossible.

'Is cutting granite such a big deal to be so surprised?'

I was puzzled for a moment.

I could understand the reason he was surprised from the following words.

"To split a training ground made of diorite with sword qi...! What realm has that almsgiver reached? Amitabha..."

"Diorite...?"

I was also surprised to hear that.

Diorite is a rock made from cooled lava, just like granite, but its strength is much harder than granite.

When you carve granite or polish a training ground like this, you use tools made of diorite to cut the granite, so you can guess how hard it is.

'No wonder it was a little dark.'

If you process diorite like this, it's not easy to distinguish it from granite at a glance.

But, the color is darker, and there are black spots like stains here and there, that's the only difference.

'I almost got embarrassed.'

It would have been really embarrassing if I had said I would show them and then couldn't cut it.

'Wait a minute, does that mean I can already split diorite?'

I think I'm much stronger than I thought.

It was a good thing I came to Shaolin this time.

I couldn't figure out what my current level was, but now I can.

For now, I put aside my joy for later and continued to speak as if I were nonchalant.

"You see? If you just trust your body and extend your arm without knowing the opponent's level, a moment might come when you get cut by a blade. Even if you don't get cut, you could get a big injury."

Il-jik nodded his head greatly with an emotional face and then opened his mouth.

"To point out the complacency that was rampant in me like this... meeting you, Almsgiver Unhwi, today must have been the will of the Buddha."

"And it's also your and my will, Monk. Because you called me here."

"Haha... actually, I misunderstood a little at first."

"Misunderstood?"

"When you were dealing with me, you used a basic sword art that seemed to be a slight modification of the Three Talents Sword Art, so I thought you were trying to deceive me because you didn't want to show Wudang's martial arts... but if you had used Wudang's real martial arts, I clearly wouldn't have been a match for even three moves. Thank you... for your consideration."

He bowed his head deeply to me with a sincere heart of gratitude.

It's the first time I've seen a high-nosed Shaolin martial monk show such courtesy to someone other than an elder of the same sect.

Whatever the truth is, I'm grateful if he thinks of it that way.

Although my conscience pricked me a little. Well, what's good is good, right?

"No. Let's both strive hard and have a good match at the Dao-Buddhist Great War."

I smiled brightly and extended my hand to him.

Monk Il-jik shook my hand with a heated gaze.

Unlike when I first came here, it's a gaze that recognizes me as a master.

'If this happens, they'll train even more crazily because of me.'

After meeting the Shaolin monks in person, I began to look forward to the Dao-Buddhist Great War.

'There is no defeat. Only victory.'

I needed a primary goal for my senior brothers' training, and it turned out well.

Those Shaolin monks I saw with my own eyes and felt with my own body now.

For now, I have to make them much stronger than them.

***

That evening.

Il-jik sat facing his master, Grandmaster Juhyeon, to study the scriptures.

This time is a very important time for the martial monks of Shaolin.

They considered learning and practicing the will of the Buddha as important as learning martial arts.

Thinking that martial arts without the will of the Buddha are just violence.

"Il-jik-ah."

"......"

"Il-jik-ah!"

"Ah, yes. Master."

But, in Grandmaster Juhyeon's eyes, Il-jik was strange today.

He, who always had bright eyes and was overflowing with confidence to the point of being excessive.

Because for some reason, he was quiet today and his eyes were dazed as if he was looking at empty space.

"Your mind is troubled. Did something happen during the day?"

Il-jik's eyes trembled at Grandmaster Juhyeon's light question.

"Yes, Master. Actually... I had a martial arts match with a Taoist from the Wudang Sect this morning."

"A Taoist from Wudang who came to the main temple today... are you talking about Hyeon Yang?"

He also knew Hyeon Yang well.

Hyeon Yang is a martial artist who represents the second-generation disciples of Wudang.

Although Grandmaster Juhyeon is not now, he had once served as the head of the guest hall.

So there was no way he didn't know Hyeon Yang.

"It wasn't Taoist Hyeon Yang. A little younger... a third-generation disciple of Wudang."

"A third-generation disciple?"

His eyes widened.

The reason why a demon had entered Il-jik's mind now is obvious.

He thought he was the best rising star, but he had lost in a spar with someone.

But, to think that it was a third-generation disciple of Wudang, he couldn't easily understand.

'Was there someone among the third-generation disciples of Wudang who could do this to Il-jik?'

He had also been to Wudang several times, and he had been there and seen the third-generation disciples even a year ago.

'Although there were a few talented ones, their talent wasn't enough to overwhelm Il-jik.'

No, to be more precise, he had been thinking that the current system of Wudang could not produce real talent.

If, even in that situation, he had developed an outstanding ability to overwhelm Il-jik, it means that he is a truly peerless talent.

"Is that person in the guest hall now?"

"Yes, Master."

"Tell me everything that happened earlier."

At his master's words, Il-jik began to tell the story of what had happened with Unhwi during the day.

Grandmaster Juhyeon listened to the story with surprised eyes from beginning to end.

(End of Chapter)