Chapter 239: Shining the Light (3)
On the roof of the tallest pavilion in the vast estate.
From there, a woman stood silently, gazing somewhere.
‘This is going to turn into a major issue.’
It was Yeon Seo-hwa, who had secretly followed her daughter.
Having watched the entire scene from the beginning, she could not help but worry.
The rampaging Emei nun was no ordinary opponent. If she fought So-so, it wouldn’t end easily.
‘Those orthodox fools have finally lost their minds. To think they dared to entrust the future of the Murim Alliance to the Star of Heavenly Slaughter.’
A child born under the Star of Heavenly Slaughter possesses innate talent for martial arts, but if their murderous intent isn’t suppressed, they can become a legendary mass murderer.
In the Demonic Cult, such talent was highly valued, and they had researched many ways to control it, but the orthodox sects were different. They probably mistakenly believed that studying the Buddhist path would resolve it.
Pondering for a moment whether she should intervene, she made up her mind, crossing her arms with an intrigued expression.
Their clash was already beginning.
“Well, she won’t die, at least.”
Seo-hwa was not worried about So-so.
Her question was whether the Emei nun could withstand the Buddha’s Palm.
The moment her murmur ended, the onlookers erupted in gasps.
A colossal, brilliantly shining palm print had appeared, swallowing Hwa-ryeong.
“W-What is that!?”
“How can this be…”
The Buddhist monks in particular were so shocked they could not close their mouths.
It was the moment the light of the Buddha first manifested in the world.
The nun who had displayed such invincible power was now slammed pitfully into the ground.
“…I will kill you.”
Staggering to her feet, Hwa-ryeong drew the sword from her waist.
Her eyes were bloodshot and burning with rage, and her cheeks trembled with fury.
In contrast, So-so’s expression was full of ease.
“Do you remember beating up Yeong-yeong? You did bad things, so now you must be punished.”
So-so folded her left palm inward and gently lowered her right wrist.
One of the Shaolin monks noticed this and shouted, “The Demon-Subduing Mudra!?”
It was one of the hand signs of the Buddha, the posture Siddhartha Gautama took when he overcame all delusions and achieved enlightenment.
At the same time, it was the starting stance for the first form of the Buddha’s Palm, Buddha’s Light Appears.
Not backing down, Hwa-ryeong traced a Taiji pattern with the tip of her sword. The Taiji Wisdom Sword, regarded as the pinnacle of orthodox swordplay, was being unleashed.
The onlookers did not dare to intervene, holding their breath in suspense.
A moment later, Hwa-ryeong gnashed her teeth and launched her attack.
Shooting forward in a straight line, her figure was like a beam of light.
So-so simply extended her right hand gently. However, in the blink of an eye, the small palm print expanded thousands of times in size.
Hwa-ryeong met it head-on, intent on piercing through the golden palm force.
Clang—!
The only one who witnessed the exact moment of impact was Yeon Seo-hwa on the roof.
The shockwave of qi that rippled outward swept over the onlookers simultaneously.
“Ugh!”
“Gah!”
Though they stumbled back, they strained their eyes to see the outcome, eager to witness this legendary clash.
However, all they saw was the small shadow of the nun flying backward endlessly.
Boom—!
Crashing against the wall of a pavilion, Hwa-ryeong broke through it and continued to fly.
Only after being sent flying more than twenty zhangs did she finally stop.
Such terrifying destructive power left everyone speechless.
Before they knew it, So-so had bent her right hand to shoulder height and slowly extended her left hand with her fingers aligned.
The Mudra of Fearlessness. It was the gesture the Buddha made to dispel the fears of all living beings.
As the mudra was prepared, Hwa-ryeong, her eyes wild, came charging back from the distance like a madwoman.
A fierce whirlwind of qi wrapped around both her hands. It was the starting posture of the Proud Dragon Repents, one of the stances of the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms. Because it consumed a massive amount of internal energy, it was a terrifying palm technique of immense destructive power.
A clash of raw palm force against palm force. The onlookers shivered in anticipation.
“Aaargh!”
With a roar of fury, a golden dragon bellowed, opening its jaws.
The massive torrent of sword energy surged forward as if to swallow So-so whole.
And then, in a split second, the colossal palm print slapped the face of the charging golden dragon.
Ka-boom—!
“Gah!”
Slammed pitfully into the ground, Hwa-ryeong was buried half a zhang deep.
If not for the Qingcheng Sect’s Crimson Gate Divine Art, the impact would have killed her instantly.
“How does it feel to get hit? Do you understand now?”
Buried in the ground, Hwa-ryeong trembled violently, desperately trying to stand back up.
“I will kill you…”
“Sigh.”
Had she still not learned her lesson? So-so sighed regretfully and formed another mudra.
At that moment, Hwa-ryeong leaped from the crater, thrusting her index fingers repeatedly.
It was the Emei Sect’s lethal technique, the Buddha’s Light Single Finger. Beams of light shot toward So-so in rapid succession, but they vanished before even touching her body.
The Buddha’s Palm stood like a wall, blocking everything.
Thud! Thud!
Though she unleashed a barrage of finger and palm strikes, they were useless, as if she were striking a massive mountain. None of her martial arts could pierce it.
And then came So-so’s counterattack.
The massive palm print began to buffet Hwa-ryeong as if slapping her.
Bang! Bang! Boom—!
“Gah!”
The nun was beaten to a pulp, her state too pitiful for words.
It was like the scene of Shakyamuni Buddha subduing the Monkey King.
The relentless punishment only stopped after Hwa-ryeong’s body went limp.
Her face was covered in blood and her bones were broken. Even though she had executed the Crimson Gate Divine Art to its absolute limit, the damage was severe.
Satisfied, So-so brought her hands together, forming the final mudra.
The Meditation Mudra. It was the hand sign the Buddha took during meditation, used to calm one’s turbulent qi after executing the Buddha’s Palm.
The surroundings were filled with shock. Although five hundred martial artists had gathered in the estate, a suffocating silence reigned.
After a moment, an elderly monk of Shaolin approached So-so and pressed his palms together.
“Amitabha. This old monk is Jeong-un of Shaolin. Might I ask who you are, patron?”
“I’m So-so.”
The ‘Jeong’ generation shared the same generation as the Abbot, making him a highly influential figure within Shaolin. Along with Jeong-hye, who was currently a rogue fugitive, he had once been called one of the three great monks of Shaolin.
Yet, such a man lowered himself to address a child who barely reached his chest as ‘this old monk.’
“A moment ago, I witnessed the light of the Buddha. May I ask what Buddhist martial art you just displayed?”
In Buddhism, the light refers to the radiance emanating from the Buddha’s body. It was a phenomenon that could not manifest unless one was a Bodhisattva.
At that moment, So-so recalled her parents’ warning never to speak of the Buddha’s Palm. She couldn’t very well say she had stolen it from Shaolin Temple.
Since the martial art had been lost since the disciples of Bodhidharma hundreds of years ago, no one recognized it anyway.
Unable to find an answer, So-so looked troubled.
“Hing…”
“If this old monk’s question was impolite, I apologize. I simply saw the image of Shakyamuni Buddha overlapping with your figure, and was curious about its origin…”
At that moment, So-so heard a familiar voice.
A voice like rolling jade beads vibrated in her mind. Her mother was explaining via telepathy how she should answer.
At the welcoming voice, So-so’s face brightened instantly.
“The Buddha appeared in my dream and taught me.”
She simply repeated what Seo-hwa had told her.
Yet, Jeong-un stood frozen as if struck by lightning, unable to move.
The onlookers waited expectantly for his next words.
After a moment, he looked around with a solemn expression and declared, “To save all living beings, Maitreya Bodhisattva has manifested. The darkness will now recede, and the light of the Buddha will shine upon the world.”
The Buddhist sects like Shaolin and Emei were shaken to their core.
They had witnessed the divine power of the Buddha with their own eyes. Furthermore, there was no reason for a renowned monk like Jeong-un to speak nonsense.
Deeply shocked, the monks instinctively pressed their palms together in prayer.
“Amitabha.”
So-so also hesitantly pressed her palms together to return the gesture.
“Amitabha…”
The situation was taking a strange turn.
The completely changed gazes of the people around her, filled with awe and reverence, were overwhelming.
Embarrassed, So-so blushed and hurried away.
“I-I will return to my quarters…”
As So-so walked past, the monks scrambled to clear a path for her.
“The Bodhisattva is passing, clear the way!”
Beside her, Yeong-yeong and Baek-sang walked like bodyguards.
The crowd simply stared blankly at their retreating backs.
Just then, a Shaolin monk approached Jeong-un and asked, “What should we do with that child of the Star of Heavenly Slaughter? If we let her live, it may bring a great disaster.”
Jeong-un examined the unconscious Hwa-ryeong. Although she was severely injured all over, there were no life-threatening wounds.
“Though her heart is cruel, there must be a reason the Bodhisattva spared her life.”
“Many of our monks were injured. Are you saying we should just let her go?”
Jeong-un nodded and looked at Elder Geum-hye of the Emei Sect, who stood dazed.
“Maitreya’s first teaching is mercy. Is that not so?”
Elder Geum-hye wished she could sink into the ground.
“I have no words. Because of our Emei Sect…”
Normally, they would have faced strong protests, but today, Jeong-un was in an excellent mood.
A smile never left his face, as if his own heart had become like a Bodhisattva’s.
“Not at all. Thanks to this, has Maitreya not manifested here?”
“Thank you for your understanding. Then, may we bind that child and take her with us?”
Although Hwa-ryeong was an Emei nun, she was asking for Jeong-un’s permission.
He was the junior brother of Abbot Jeong-myeong, the current Leader of the Murim Alliance and Shaolin’s Abbot, and held the highest generation here.
Since their sect had caused direct harm to the Alliance, she could not ignore his wishes.
Instead of answering, Jeong-un asked how they would dispose of her.
“What do you plan to do with her?”
Elder Geum-hye had already thought of a plan.
She had ground her teeth in humiliation under Hwa-ryeong’s abuse. She had no intention of letting this opportunity slip, and her eyes flashed with venom.
“We will confine her to the Cave of Repentance. Unless her murderous intent disappears completely, she will never set foot in the world again.”
Shaolin had a similar place. A place where criminals were confined in pitch darkness without a single ray of light, structured so that they could not escape on their own.
“That too must be Maitreya’s will. Do so.”
“Thank you. We will take our leave…”
The two pressed their palms together in farewell.
Elder Geum-hye could not raise her face, wishing to leave this place as quickly as possible.
Turning away, she immediately barked orders to the gathered Emei nuns.
“Our Emei Sect will return to our mountain first. Prepare at once.”