Chapter 20: Slapping Is a Good Means to Enlighten the Foolish

Among the Nine Great Sects, the Shaolin Temple could be seen as an exceptional place.

The Nine Great Sects were all situated on rugged mountains, so there were many cases where ordinary people could not easily set foot there. Not all of them were like that, but quite a few sects possessed such a tendency.

However, the Shaolin Temple was far from that.

“All martial arts under heaven originate from Shaolin.”

Based on the pride of being the birthplace of martial arts, its great reputation widely known in the Martial World and the weight of its name earned the respect of the people of the world.

Even ordinary commoners knew the name of Shaolin, and even government officials working on state affairs respected its name and reputation.

Perhaps because of its increased recognition, Shaolin, which was treated similarly to a Buddhist holy land, had a constant stream of visitors called incense guests who came to make offerings to the Buddha, to the point that Shaolin even set up a separate Buddhist hall specifically to receive them.

Because they interacted with the secular world to that extent, they tended to communicate actively not only with commoners but also with government officials who believed in Buddhism.

In a word, it meant that there was a quite secular side to Shaolin.

Seo Yun-geon was also an official who had a relationship with Shaolin, and that was why figures from Shaolin who had a connection with him had visited.

As such, it was difficult to refuse Seo Yun-geon’s request.

The figures of Shaolin, who had intended to simply enjoy the feast and leave, had to move their heavy hips at Seo Yun-geon’s request.

“Good grief. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry claims to know Shaolin martial arts.”

And some of them did not like this.

Rough words burst from the mouth of a monk who looked remarkably young.

He was a young Shaolin disciple who had received the Buddhist name Beom-gak.

Considering that he was roughly at the age of just reaching adulthood, it seemed highly likely that he was the disciple of someone participating here.

This was because, for someone of his age who should be focusing on ascetic training to come out into the secular world, it was usually to attend to his master.

“What do they mean by telling peers of a similar age to get along well. It’s just dumping chores on me.”

Although his master might have assigned this task with a different meaning, Beom-gak considered it as having a troublesome chore passed down to him.

Beom-gak, thinking that he was doing a tiresome and trivial chore, tapped his foot on the ground in annoyance.

***

Receiving a lesson from the people of Shaolin proceeded faster than expected.

Although it was accomplished because Uncle Baek Jin-seong pushed for it, it was not a bad thing.

As for Wudang martial arts, I could somehow explain the origin of how I learned it based on the Supreme Ultimate Fist, but there was no particular way to explain the Shaolin Fist I occasionally used.

Of course, things like Shaolin’s Six Harmonies Fist or Arhat Fist were widely known in the Martial World.

They were martial arts that were taught quite often in places like martial arts academies run by lay disciples of Shaolin, and they could also easily be found in third-rate martial arts manuals that occasionally appeared in the marketplace.

Still, if I learned something here, I would be able to use it as an excuse to properly package the martial arts I learned from Master Bodhidharma.

The Shaolin disciple I met with that mindset was…

“I am Beom-gak.”

He was obnoxious.

His face said it all.

That he was currently extremely annoyed.

Unless one was someone whose concept of tact had been obliterated from their mind, it was an attitude that could be recognized immediately.

[Is he standing on one leg right now?]

[Ho! Ho! Ho!]

His attitude was very poor.

[Wudang was hopeless, but Shaolin is quite a mess too, isn’t it?]

[Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!]

It was to the extent that both masters were dumbfounded.

Did something bad happen to him?

“I am Yeon Cheong-un.”

“Oh, right. Yeon Cheong-un. Then, I can call you Cheong-un, right?”

“Yes.”

“I heard you learned Shaolin martial arts, show me.”

He went straight to the point, as if he did not want to look at my face for long.

In fact, that was actually better for me as well.

It was obvious at a glance that he did not have the attitude to teach. I did not want to hear that I had learned something from a guy like this either.

The fact that I did not turn my back immediately was already maintaining courtesy toward Master Bodhidharma and Shaolin.

It was out of consideration for Master Bodhidharma, who had not shown it but had secretly been looking forward to it when I mentioned meeting the Shaolin disciples of this era.

There was also consideration for Uncle Baek Jin-seong and Lord Seo Yun-geon. If I just turned back here, it would also cause trouble for the two of them.

“Sure.”

Let’s close my eyes and perform it just once.

With that mind, I demonstrated the Shaolin Five Fists that I had learned from Master Bodhidharma.

Simple yet exquisite.

Brave yet swift.

Containing the spirit of Shaolin as it was, I displayed it proudly.

Since I also had the intention of surprising Beom-gak by showing an even more amazing performance than he expected, I put my whole heart and soul into it.

However, the response that came back was strange.

“That’s not how you do it, though?”

“Pardon?”

Was I just being lectured?

Does that guy even know whose martial arts he is nitpicking right now?

Because I was so dumbfounded, I stopped performing the martial arts and stared at Beom-gak with a blank expression.

Beom-gak, who had finished criticizing to his heart’s content, snorted and continued his explanation.

“I said that’s not how you do it. It’s completely outdated. What is that Shaolin Five Fists? Did you learn it at some backwater martial arts academy that doesn’t even know how the Martial World is running?”

A bolt from the blue was striking down repeatedly.

[Puhahaha!]

Master Zhang Sanfeng’s laughter was loud enough to make my head ring.

Well, since Master Bodhidharma was being completely torn to shreds.

“When you say outdated…”

“There’s no finesse! No finesse!”

What kind of bullshit is this?

The characteristics of the Shaolin Fist were strong yet fast, simple yet exquisite, brave, bold, and rapidly changing.

Why would finesse go in there?

Master Bodhidharma said that Shaolin’s martial arts were like the king of the mountain ruling with dignity.

Finesse for a ruling king?

I knew very well it was nonsense.

Still, if it were the gentle Master Bodhidharma, he would respond to this nonsense generously…

[Ho! Ho! Ho! This fake monk must have shaved off his eyeballs along with his hair when he shaved his head.]

…

Excuse me?

Master Bodhidharma? Are you really Master Bodhidharma?

That sounded like a command to shave off someone’s eyeballs.

It did not sound like something that would come from the mouth of the gentle (?) Master Bodhidharma.

Come to think of it, Master Zhang Sanfeng had previously asked where I thought the temper of the Shaolin disciples, who foamed at the mouth and broke heads, came from.

Now I understood a little.

Meanwhile, since I was standing blankly like that, the other side seemed to have reached a strange conclusion.

“Well, I expected it would be something like this. After all, Shaolin martial arts are so famous. There are way too many people claiming to have mastered Shaolin martial arts. Having a deep history is truly a difficult thing.”

Every Tom, Dick, and Harry…

Every single expression of this guy is crossing the line.

“The person who taught me said that what I learned was quite precious…”

“That’s what scammers usually say when they commit fraud. Everyone says that when they teach. What I’m teaching is precious, it’s a secret transmission.”

[This bastard who isn’t even fit to be a fake monk…]

Master Zhang Sanfeng, why are you imitating Master Bodhidharma’s voice?

…Like hell he was. Of course it was Master Bodhidharma.

This was a danger signal.

This guy won’t do. If I don’t do something about it quickly…

I felt that if I left him like this, the very unpleasant side Master Bodhidharma had shown might be directed at me as well.

Should I just break this guy’s head?

“Don’t believe me? Shall I show you how full of problems what you learned is?”

While I was contemplating what kind of excuse I could use to beat him up, he conveniently made an excuse for me himself.

Anticipating the words that would follow, I clenched my fists.

“Come at me. I’ll personally teach you.”

For the first time, words that I liked came out.

Without realizing it, I almost shouted, ‘Thank you!’

“Then!”

Without hesitation, I dashed forward.

Beom-gak moved, waving both hands against me.

I could see his two fists, which were executing the Dragon Fist of the Shaolin Five Fists, creating a strange flow.

Instead of striking straight ahead, he added left and right movements as if he would aim for the side at any moment.

He advanced while creating a flow that confused the opponent’s eyes.

I understood what the finesse Beom-gak spoke of was.

Striking straight ahead accompanied many risks.

It was a rugged and reckless path that could not be taken without Shaolin’s harshly solid training.

A way to travel that path a bit more easily.

It was to deceive the opponent.

[Tsk! Insignificant.]

Master Bodhidharma said, clicking his tongue.

He had no choice but to do so.

The Shaolin Five Fists was a cultivation method as well as a fist technique in itself.

Finesse in training.

That was laziness!

Before the tempering that had undergone ten thousand refinements, passing a hundred and a thousand, floppy and shoddy moves were useless!

In my vision, which gathered my spirit to look at the world clearly, Beom-gak’s movements were visible in their entirety.

How he moved, how he tried to deceive.

I saw that flow in detail.

Listening force saw and read it.

*Fwoosh!*

The fist he extended while moving fluidly to the side aimed at my face quite sharply, but it did not work on me, who could see even the fine hairs on his fist.

I avoided it simply.

*Fwoosh!*

Avoiding another consecutive attack that followed.

*Thud!*

I dug into the opponent’s range.

“Heup!”

I could have struck him, but if I hit him carrying this momentum as it was, a truly serious matter could occur.

Perhaps because the foundation was created in my body after forcibly executing the Heavy Earth Divine Art, a dangerous level of power was currently settling within my body.

If I hit him properly now, that guy would be crippled at the very least.

With the thought of letting it slide once, I just let him back off.

Seeing the startled Beom-gak retreat, a bitter smile built on my face without my realization.

I learned that the Shaolin Fist I was taught had a method not only when advancing but also when retreating.

I had never learned such movements.

Whether he saw the smile drawn on the corner of my mouth, Beom-gak’s face instantly turned red.

“So you had a trick up your sleeve!”

Beom-gak, who forcibly reversed his retreating body and leaped forward again, fiercely spread his hands.

“Prajna Palm!”

Ever-changing. The palm technique he poured out while frantically extending both hands forward was as dazzling as looking at thick peach blossoms.

There is falsehood within truth, and truth within falsehood.

It was full of tricks to deceive the eyes with truth and falsehood.

But!

[What is a useless and meaningless movement in martial arts?]

Master Zhang Sanfeng’s question evaluated this martial art.

“Throwing a fit.”

[What is a guy who executes a move that is easily read?]

“An idiot.”

[Then what is that?]

“An idiot throwing a fit.”

[You have learned well.]

Everything was visible.

No matter how ever-changing or how full of finesse it was, a martial art that was completely read lost its utility.

I dodged all those pouring attacks as if demonstrating it.

Since there was a method even to my retreat and I did not lose composure, the pouring attacks could not block my path of retreat.

Although I only moved my lips to the extent that it was barely audible, he must have recognized part of what I said by looking at the movement of my lips. Beom-gak’s face turned as red as a ripe persimmon.

[Then finish him off now.]

As soon as the words pushing my back fell, my body reacted.

The body that formed the foundation of the Heavy Earth Divine Art exploded the power it had been holding back.

*Thud!*

The earth trembled at the stomp of my foot.

That single step narrowed the distance in an instant.

Surpassing the distance of the thick hand shadows of the Prajna Palm that Beom-gak was executing in a single breath.

*Smack!*

“Kek!”

The extended fist slammed into his face.

Beom-gak, who spun about three and a half times in the air, rolled away as he flew.

I did withdraw my power as much as possible at the moment of impact, but it still seemed to have been excessive.

“Stop!”

While I was thinking whether it had been a bit too harsh, a shout burst out from the side.

A middle-aged monk looking at this side with anger was visible.

Seeing the opponent who looked as if he would attack this way at any moment, a combative voice sounded in my head.

[Another round?]

The voice of Master Zhang Sanfeng, full of excitement.

Perhaps because the aftermath of the Heavy Earth Divine Art was boiling throughout my body, excitement rose within me as well.

By Master Bodhidharma’s standards, the Heavy Earth Divine Art had not even achieved the first stage yet.

How far could this power, which was currently nothing but a foundation, actually reach?

[When guiding the foolish, a punch is a good tool.]

Master Bodhidharma? I’m not really used to the way you talk, though?

[Do you have any complaints about guidance?]

“No.”

Well, as the disciple, I was the one who just needed to get used to it.

But, can I handle that?

He looked to be on a completely different level compared to this guy who was obviously immature.