Chapter 158: Deepening Insights

The incident of the Defeng Yin Clan seemed likely to cause a greater ripple effect than expected.

When Adept Heu-do turned the Wudang Sect upside down, that fellow the Wise Tao Hall Leader was crushed, and because of that, many people apparently felt intimidated.

As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together; they gathered fellows just like themselves to find a way to survive and created public opinion to resist.

At the center of it was Yin Si-hoo.

If they excised them incorrectly, the Wudang Sect could sway greatly, so they were pondering how to handle it when the affair of the Defeng Yin Clan broke out just in time.

Thanks to that, Adept Heu-do rejoiced that he had grasped the perfect justification to excise the cancer cells of the Wudang Sect.

Since he could suppress the noisy Zhongnan Sect at the same time, he said there was a need to handle the internal affairs of the Wudang Sect even more strictly, if only for that purpose.

‘In a word, that gentleman Shin Je-hyeon is screwed.’

I heard he was in a state of near-confinement, taking the blame for the matters related to me alone, but since Yin Si-hoo, whom he thought of as his only lifeline, caused all sorts of trouble and ran away, it will not end with mere confinement now.

The hard work of Adept Heu-do, who had to suffer that much, seemed visible, but since he seemed to feel a sense of accomplishment in his own way, there was no problem.

However, the problem arose when we joined the Divine Monk Elder at the shrine afterward.

‘Because after seeing that in the shrine, the smile that made him look ten years younger vanished completely.’

It was an event I did not want to keep in my memory, but even so, it was something I could not forget either.

In fact, Adept Heu-do reproached himself for laughing and saying everything had gone well, and performed a memorial service with the Divine Monk Elder for three days and nights.

Since he returned to the Wudang Sect with such a hardened face, though I do not know for sure, there will probably be quite a few wails.

Well, it is not my business, so I only pray from afar that things work out well.

Because the fire on my own foot is urgent.

The moment I returned to Samyang County and was about to think that I could finally stretch out my legs and rest, a serious problem arose in my peace.

The Great Qi-Refinement Art and the Sixteen Forms were the cause.

The Great Qi-Refinement Art was a training martial art that smelled too strongly of Shaolin, so it felt like it should not be leaked to the outside, and only Beom-gak learned it.

On the other hand, the Sixteen Forms was a training martial art that bore the heavy touch of Master Zhang Sanfeng.

Since the Wudang Sect’s Tai Chi Chuan is also commonly distributed, I passed it on to the Bright Fate Escort Agency and my friends with that vibe, but the Divine Monk Elder ended up seeing this.

Having recognized the true value of the Sixteen Forms, the Divine Monk Elder looked at me with eyes that could eat me alive.

It felt as if he had been planning something and I had walked right into it.

“You possess the qualities of a grandmaster.”

‘No. I just have good backing.’

From my position of being unable to reveal the existence of the heavens, my reply could not help but be poor.

“Isn’t that obvious? He is a child who has also bestowed teachings upon me.”

“Oho!”

“…”

It was because of this environment that I had lost my mind.

When the gentlemen who play at the absolute peak of Martial World coddled and praised me, it would be stranger if I did not get puffed up.

Even now, their skill in matching hands and feet to drive me into a corner was at a level that could slap the masters in heaven.

‘…Huh? Matching hands and feet and driving me in? This is a bit… strange.’

Somehow, a strange smell was wafting from between the two.

Did these two always match each other this well?

‘Did they plan this?’

If I thought about it, Senior Jang Mun-gyeong had already seen the Sixteen Forms at the Bright Fate Escort Agency, and even recognized its utility.

It would not be strange if there was some communication between him and the Divine Monk Elder while I was away.

In addition, assuming that the Divine Monk Elder had already seen Beom-gak training in the Great Qi-Refinement Art?

“Don’t you think something more will come out if we keep rolling him?”

“That sounds good.”

“They say hardship in youth is something one should even buy.”

“It will all become blood and flesh.”

“…”

‘Damn it! They did plan this.’

They didn’t just match hands and feet; they were total soulmates.

I knew the Divine Monk Elder was a nutcase from our first meeting, but that fellow Jang Mun-gyeong was also quite something.

I do not know where he sold off the dignity I saw in my first impression of him.

‘Should I help these gentlemen escape this mortal realm quickly?’

I should quickly find a way to send them to the heaven with good water and clean air.

If the day comes when I hear them screaming and shedding tears of blood in an unreasonable overtime work environment, I will surely sleep very well.

However, even that kind of malice (?) gradually subsided as I recalled what I had seen at the Defeng Yin Clan.

The clash between Senior Jang Mun-gyeong and Adept Heu-do was an opportunity that awakened me from my illusions.

As the memory of that day came to mind, my boiling inside calmed down.

‘Right, if there is something I desire, it is only right to make the corresponding effort.’

I do not want to become complacent.

Although I might have other thoughts if I rolled around until my vision turned yellow, at least for now, that was the case.

“You said you would roll me hard, but I am not the only one rolling, right? That would be cheap.”

“Hmm?”

I threw a provocation.

“Will you be okay? There is also someone whose joints are not intact, after all.”

One more time for good measure.

They say it is polite to strike twice when hitting.

At my spirited reply, the Divine Monk Elder and Senior Jang Mun-gyeong wore chilling smiles.

“You are prepared, right?”

“Like a youth, I should at least have a big liver.”

I cut off my own retreat.

The wide-open gates of hell shimmered before my eyes.

However, I have no intention of dying alone.

“Ah, by the way, you know that, right? I am not the only youth here.”

“…Oho?”

Instantly, the Divine Monk Elder’s eyes flashed dangerously.

At the same time, the sound of blood draining from a few people who were straining their ears over there could be heard.

“Th—Th—Th—That bastard whose mouth should be ripped apart!”

“…We’re screwed, fuck!”

I could bet all my assets that one of them was Beom-gak.

Senior Jang Mun-gyeong’s gaze as he looked at me changed subtly. It was a look reserved for an extremely wicked and lawless fellow.

‘So what?’

If the two elders go ahead and pave the way, those guys are my spare back pocket (insurance). I cannot leave such friends alone.

‘You guys want to become strong too, don’t you?’

They say sorrow divided is halved, and joy shared is doubled.

‘Let’s die together, guys.’

I welcomed my friends with a spotless, bright smile.

Others might see it differently, but at least I decided to think of it that way.

***

To roll us, the Divine Monk Elder and Senior Jang Mun-gyeong chose the Sixteen Forms. Only Beom-gak was changed to the Great Qi-Refinement Art.

The Sixteen Forms, as evaluated by Senior Jang Mun-gyeong before, was a training where the form naturally reveals itself if repeated ten thousand times, and the posture sets itself if repeated one hundred thousand times.

It was a celestial-branded martial art you could trust and use.

Since it was a training martial art that even the Divine Monk Elder admired, it was an obvious choice.

And, fitting for a training martial art packed with the characteristics of orthodox martial arts, the training was a continuous loop of simple, mindless repetition, repetition, and repetition.

As everyone knows, there are few things as hard, boring, and squeezing as the repetition of basic training.

I endured it because I had adapted to some extent through the masters, but the other fellows were literally in a disastrous state.

“Th—That bas… son of a… motherf… huuu… heee… gah…”

Today as well, Baek Mu-ho, who had become as limp as pickled green onions after tasting the true flavor of the Sixteen Forms, cried out as he became one with the ground.

Listening roughly, it seemed to contain endless hatred toward me, but I did not know the exact meaning.

I just assumed it was swearing and lightly let it go in one ear and out the other.

However, there was someone who could not do that.

“What is he saying?”

The Divine Monk Elder, who seemed to have roughly understood it was swearing but did not comprehend the meaning, demanded a translation.

“Phew… Hu… Ah, he said he is going to put poison in the food you will eat today.”

“Don’t fabricate stories!”

Baek Mu-ho sprang up and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Your tongue works well, doesn’t it?”

“…Gah?!”

Lately, I seemed to hear the sound of blood draining frequently.

“Hahaha! To think you still have the strength to wag your tongue even after rolling around that much, the future of the martial world is bright.”

“Hieee!”

I threw Baek Mu-ho to the brightly smiling Divine Monk Elder.

‘Here, my friend. Swear at me all you want. You are allowed to swear.’

In fact, that was the reason I accepted it with a laugh even though I clearly understood he was swearing.

[You seem to be resembling that fellow Baek Mu-ho?]

“I don’t know. I can’t hear you.”

Although an evaluation close to personal insult came down from Master Zhang Sanfeng, I let it go in one ear and out the other.

While repeating the Sixteen Forms and the Great Qi-Refinement Art like that once again.

“…K-Kill… me… hieee… just kill… ugh…”

Finally, Baek Mu-ho also collapsed.

Surprisingly, there was someone who endured longer than Baek Mu-ho.

“Haa… Haah… Haa…”

Though it was a difference of a split second, Young Lady Jang So-wol endured longer than Baek Mu-ho.

Thinking about it, it was an amazing thing.

Baek Mu-ho possessed the talent acknowledged by Master Heavenly Demon, and even held the divine power of earth.

It was only for today, but Young Lady Jang So-wol had endured more than such a Baek Mu-ho.

However, to me, it looked like a struggle to prove something.

‘We have indeed become very awkward.’

Although I shared conversations and stayed close with Young Lady Jang So-wol as before, I felt that she was implicitly drawing a line.

Perhaps because of that, whenever Senior Jang Mun-gyeong was behind my back, the back of my head felt hot.

“Tsk, tsk. A guy as big as a mountain…”

The Divine Monk Elder, who was looking down at the passed-out Baek Mu-ho, clicked his tongue as he glared at Beom-gak, who had passed out long ago over there.

At first, Young Lady Tang Sa-yeon had joined as well, but because she fled after just one day, claiming it was not something a human should do, the title of the weakest of their class went to Beom-gak.

He seemed to be comparing him to Young Lady Jang So-wol, who trained with spite, but regardless of that, Beom-gak did not move a muscle.

‘That fellow has also grown a lot.’

The fellow who used to act like a mouse in front of a cat before the Divine Monk Elder was now showing the guts of “rip my belly open if you want to,” so the assessment of “gazing at someone with new eyes” might be insufficient.

“Now it is our turn.”

When the only living people left were me, the Divine Monk Elder, and Senior Jang Mun-gyeong, we moved on to the next training.

“Now, display the Ultimate Extreme Strike.”

It was a free sparring match against either the Divine Monk Elder or Senior Jang Mun-gyeong.

However, in the case of the Divine Monk Elder, after he saw the Ultimate Extreme Strike I deployed, it transformed into a time of dissecting this martial art in detail.

Unlike the Great Qi-Refinement Art or the Sixteen Forms, this martial art was matchlessly lofty, so I made the excuse that I had followed it after seeing a secret manual in my grandfather’s books.

Thanks to that, the fact that the fellow who supposedly mastered the martial art could not utilize it properly was explained very neatly (?).

Of course, normally it would be dismissed as ridiculous nonsense, but surprisingly, the Divine Monk Elder and Senior Jang Mun-gyeong believed it easily.

This was because, in their eyes, I had become something like the greatest genius of all time.

It was the first moment that the empty reputation of a genius, which had only felt heavy, became useful.

Thus, the process of understanding with the mind what the body had realized began.

In a way, it was a lucky situation.

The Divine Monk Elder is the pinnacle of the current Shaolin martial arts.

Even to such a person, the Ultimate Extreme Strike was a high-level martial art that was difficult to easily comprehend, but as he watched it repeatedly, he caught on to it in his own way.

And he passed on that gain to me in an easy-to-understand manner.

“Haha! To think he recreated the Great Strength Vajra Palm in this manner! Just what kind of deceased master was he…”

The Divine Monk Elder, who admired it repeatedly, fell into thought as he refined what he saw and felt.

[You are growing.]

Master Zhang Sanfeng’s evaluation was both surprising and proud.

I might really hear the Divine Monk Elder’s voice in heaven sometime soon.

“Hehe.”

“What is that sinister smile?”

It seemed my inner thoughts had been briefly revealed.

“Ahem! Did I do something?”

“Humm…”

“Would you like to see the Ultimate Extreme Strike one more time?”

“Sure!”

Fortunately, my wicked (?) true intentions could be smoothed over well.

***

Fulfilling days continued.

However, one major problem troubled my mind.

“If only this had worked out well, it would have been better…”

The flat peach, which is said to be treated as a treasure even in heaven.

Although it grew on earth, so its grade was inferior compared to heaven, it was a treasure above which there would be no greater elixir in the world.

They said that if its utility were to be known to Martial World, though we do not know for sure, a large-scale bloody disaster might break out.

However, to obtain the effect properly, it needed to be refined with no small amount of trouble and effort.

When I listened to and looked up what was needed, I almost flipped over.

Precious items that could not be obtained even with money, or would pull out the very pillars of the household even if there were items for sale, were listed one after another.

If I tried to solve it with money, the last two characters of the Evil-Deed Gambling King’s title would surely become mine.

Going directly to the places the masters pointed out and digging them up myself was rather realistic.

“Sigh.”

Swallowing my disappointment, I put the flat peach I had taken out back into the wooden box.

It was then.

“Huh?”

The wood divine power that had settled within me moved and permeated into the flat peach.

I temporarily connected with the flat peach.

At that moment, something slipped inside me.

Something foreign that entered riding on the wood divine power moved at high speed toward my head.

“What is this?”