Chapter 50: Chapter 50
“Heavens…”
“How could someone at that age have such an achievement…!”
Exclamations mixed with admiration burst forth repeatedly from all over the martial arts training ground.
Myeong-hye, who had arranged the sparring match, looked at the four broken wooden staves atop the sparring platform with rather hollow eyes.
‘Already four people…’
In particular, the martial monk who was defeated last was a second-generation disciple of Shaolin. He was at a realm where he could sufficiently exchange blows even with squad leader-level figures of the Martial Alliance Headquarters.
Myeong-hye looked at Cheon Woo-jin and let out a long breath.
It was too different from the picture he had initially imagined. He had merely wanted to show that admirable youngest Alliance member the profound subtlety possessed by Shaolin’s martial arts.
However, before he could show any subtlety or anything, the wooden staves were all snapping. Even though that admirable youngest Alliance member was merely bringing his dark iron staff against them with an expressionless face.
‘Just what on earth is it made of…?’
Of course, the internal energy of the wielder must have supported it, but fundamentally, that iron staff itself seemed to be a miraculous weapon.
It could not go on like this. Myeong-hye swiftly surveyed the surroundings. First-generation disciples and even several elders had already come out and were watching the sparring. If it ended like this, it could be said to be a disgrace to Shaolin.
“…Deok-cheon, you step forward.”
“Pardon?”
The martial monk called Deok-cheon was startled. The people around him had similar reactions.
Deok-cheon was the strongest even among the second-generation disciples. Because his achievement was more outstanding than his senior brothers, he did not deliberately boast about it, but innate talent could not be hidden.
At Myeong-hye’s intense gaze, Deok-cheon repeatedly tilted his head even while stepping onto the sparring platform.
‘Sigh, is it really all right to do this…?’
Deok-cheon’s gaze turned toward Cheon Woo-jin. From the previous sparring matches, he knew that he was extremely strong. However, even at a rough glance, the age difference between himself and that Alliance member appeared to be over ten years.
Since he was someone who had difficulty finding opponents even among his peers, sparring with an opponent at least ten years younger was hardly welcome.
‘It won’t do if he gets hurt…’
Deok-cheon let out a sigh filled with worry. In the previous sparring matches, he had coped merely by bringing the iron staff against them, but if he tried to block his attack in that manner, he could be gravely injured.
In the first place, the assumption of losing did not even exist in Deok-cheon’s mind. It was merely that even winning would be an embarrassment, and if he accidentally injured him, it would be a major disaster.
Deok-cheon looked at Myeong-hye with pleading eyes, but Myeong-hye merely nodded his head with a face as firm as anything in the world.
“Phew…”
Letting out a long sigh, Deok-cheon shifted his gaze to Cheon Woo-jin. In any case, since he had stepped onto the sparring platform, he had to maintain courtesy.
“I am called Deok-cheon, a second-generation disciple of Shaolin.”
“I am Cheon Woo-jin.”
Cheon Woo-jin was merely standing with the Crescent Moon Staff hanging down. Looking at Cheon Woo-jin’s dry expression, people marveled once again.
“Heavens, his mental fortitude is remarkable.”
“That must be why he became an expert of that level.”
They seemed to think it was impressive that he assumed such a calm attitude even when facing an expert named Deok-cheon.
However, to Song Yi-yeon, who was watching the sparring together, it looked different.
‘Huh? I can see it…’
Young Hero Cheon sometimes chuckled to himself about who knew what thoughts, but for the most part, he was dry and indifferent. It was the same even when facing the disciples of the Dark Emperor, and even when facing a titan like the Alliance Leader right before his nose.
At most, when eating delicious food or watching scenes bustling with people, his eyes widened slightly?
However, was it because the time they had spent stuck together was quite long?
Behind Cheon Woo-jin’s expressionless face, a subtly revealed emotion was visible.
‘He’s troubled. But why?’
The aura of the martial monk named Deok-cheon was indeed extraordinary. However, Young Hero Cheon was not a man to become nervous for such reasons.
“Phew.”
At that moment, Young Hero Cheon let out a very low sigh. Only then did Song Yi-yeon realize the reason. That sigh closely resembled the sigh he had exhaled in the past when Gu Jin-seok or Seok Do-byeok was bothersome.
‘…He finds it bothersome.’
After realizing the reason, it was utterly absurd. Young Hero Cheon was actually finding sparring with Shaolin experts bothersome.
No, when he was the one who brought it up first…
Song Yi-yeon unnecessarily checked Myeong-hye’s expression. However, unlike himself, everyone else seemed unable to read the emotions from Young Hero Cheon’s face.
Just as the sparring between Cheon Woo-jin and Deok-cheon was about to begin.
Cheon Woo-jin suddenly turned his head and stared fixedly somewhere outside the sparring platform. At that sight, Deok-cheon slightly furrowed his brow. He seemed to think he was being ignored.
“Look here. Even so, the sparring…”
However, Deok-cheon’s words could not continue. From the stairs that Cheon Woo-jin was staring fixedly at, an old monk walked up with small steps.
Instantly, the atmosphere of the grounds changed in a single moment. Those who were focusing on the sparring looked at the old monk with tense faces.
‘Just who on earth could he be?’
Just as Song Yi-yeon was wondering.
Myeong-hye, who was beside him, literally ran like an arrow, brought his palms together in prayer, and bowed his head deeply.
“Granduncle Master, what brings you here…?”
Song Yi-yeon’s jaw slightly dropped. There was only one person in the entire world whom Myeong-hye, a first-generation disciple, would call Granduncle Master.
He was the uncle master of the current Shaolin Abbot and the last remaining old monk of the Beop generation rank, Master Beop-jin. He was the greatest senior elder not only of Shaolin, but throughout the entirety of the Righteous Path.
Even the Martial Alliance sought Master Beop-jin’s profound opinions when making important decisions that would exert an enormous influence on the martial world, and it was said that as many as three Alliance Leaders had sought his counsel. It was truly safe to view him as the living history of the Righteous Path of the martial world.
Master Beop-jin chuckled with his wrinkled face and spoke.
“The air was pleasant after a long time so I came out for a stroll, and it seems there is an interesting spectacle.”
“Ah, I was arranging a sparring match between the martial artists from the Martial Alliance and the children.”
Because the result of that sparring was disastrous, Myeong-hye answered awkwardly. Showing a gentle smile, Master Beop-jin lightly patted Myeong-hye’s shoulder and headed toward the sparring platform.
Everyone looked at him without even making a sound of breathing. Even for the disciples of Shaolin, days when they could see Master Beop-jin were rare.
Because it had been decades since he substituted meals with fasting pills, and he spent most of the year cultivating in his quarters.
Among the young monks who came out to watch the sparring, there were even some who were seeing Master Beop-jin for the first time.
Like that, crossing the sparring platform with slow steps while receiving everyone’s gaze upon himself, Master Beop-jin came to a dead stop in front of Cheon Woo-jin.
“…”
Cheon Woo-jin blinked his eyes and looked at Master Beop-jin.
Master Beop-jin also stared fixedly at such a Cheon Woo-jin.
Just how much time passed in that awkward silence?
“Y-Young Hero Cheon!”
Song Yi-yeon made a gesture of clasping his fists in salute from behind. Only then did Cheon Woo-jin belatedly clasp his fists and pay his respects.
Of course, Cheon Woo-jin was not a man who lacked this level of courtesy either. It was merely that he was greatly astonished and had temporarily malfunctioned.
‘His true source qi…’
Naturally, if one was human, there was an innate energy one was born with. It was an energy called innate qi or true source qi, which, unlike internal energy, was virtually impossible to consume or regenerate.
Yet, this old monk’s true source qi could not be felt in the slightest, like a person facing death.
Nevertheless, he was merely somewhat slender, and his body was healthy and hearty enough to look like a martial artist who had just passed fifty, which was strange.
If one were to encounter a spiritual existence such as a ghost, an immortal, or a Buddha, it would feel precisely like this.
“Cheon Woo-jin, Cheon Woo-jin, is it…?”
Master Beop-jin, who repeated the name several times, looked at Cheon Woo-jin for a moment as if observing him, then continued speaking.
“Could your master happen to be of the White Clan?”
“…Yes, that is correct.”
Master Beop-jin made a peculiar smile.
“Follow me.”
Having said that, Master Beop-jin turned his body and moved his steps along the path he had come. Everyone merely looked back and forth between Master Beop-jin and Cheon Woo-jin with bewildered expressions.
* * *
Cheon Woo-jin entered Master Beop-jin’s retreat quarters together with Song Yi-yeon.
It was a small, secluded thatched cottage built at the very rear of Shaolin, but because a Buddha statue was placed inside, a miraculous, sacred energy seemed to be felt throughout the entire room.
“Please sit down.”
At Master Beop-jin’s invitation, the two sat down quietly.
Cheon Woo-jin immediately asked what he had been pondering on the way here.
“Do you by any chance know the person called the Ancient Tree of Mount Song?”
At Cheon Woo-jin’s question, Master Beop-jin wore a peculiar smile. Unlike his wrinkled face, it was a playful smile like that of a teenage boy.
“Why are you looking for that person?”
“He is one of the five eminent masters whom my master ordered me to convey the news of his passing to.”
Master Beop-jin let out a sigh as if feeling regretful.
“Heavens, did it end up like that…”
Gazing into the empty air as if reminiscing about something, Master Beop-jin’s gaze deepened.
Cheon Woo-jin merely waited without words. He had already instinctively noticed that the person called the Ancient Tree of Mount Song was Master Beop-jin.
As the two savored the silence wordlessly, Song Yi-yeon also held his breath along with them. Because it was so quiet that even the sound of breathing seemed to be heard loudly.
Just how much time had passed like that?
Master Beop-jin’s gaze turned toward Cheon Woo-jin.
Cheon Woo-jin, whose eyes met his, momentarily felt as if he were stripped naked. Those deep, profound pupils seemed to see right through his inner thoughts.
Soon, Master Beop-jin spoke.
“Did you take two people as your masters?”
“How did you know?”
Master Beop-jin wore a gentle smile, as if looking at his youngest grandson.
“When you reach this age, many things become visible. Furthermore, that fellow’s aura is not easy to hide.”
Having said that, Master Beop-jin shifted his gaze to Song Yi-yeon this time. As the talk of Cheon Woo-jin’s masters came up, Song Yi-yeon was wearing an expression that looked curious yet at the same time not wanting to be curious.
In fact, it was truly like that. From what he had seen and heard while being together with Cheon Woo-jin until now, he knew that he had two masters.
‘One is a renowned, noble knight-errant of the Righteous Path, and the other seemed to be a famous villain.’
That was why he was curious yet did not want to hear it. Because if that villain were too evil a person, his heart would become confused.
As if reading such thoughts of Song Yi-yeon, Master Beop-jin showed a gentle smile and said:
“You are wise. Sometimes ignorance is what allows one to carry on with life.”
Song Yi-yeon gulped his saliva. Because Master Beop-jin’s words were a euphemistic expression of, ‘If you know, you’ll get hurt, you punk.’
‘I should never ask.’
Song Yi-yeon merely wanted to remain carefree friends with Young Hero Cheon just like now.
Master Beop-jin, who had been looking fondly at Cheon Woo-jin and Song Yi-yeon, suddenly asked:
“So, how did you, who received the teachings of those two fellows, end up coming all the way here? Tell me your story.”
After contemplating for a moment, Cheon Woo-jin nodded his head. Master Beop-jin already seemed to know that his other master was Black Elder.
“Both masters told me to see and judge for myself whether the world is evil or good. Thus, for now I am staying at the Martial Alliance, but I do not know when I will leave.”
“What? Where are you leaving to?”
Song Yi-yeon was startled and asked. He knew it was discourteous in front of Master Beop-jin, but he was so shocked that he could not help it.
Cheon Woo-jin answered nonchalantly.
“If I come to fully know what kind of place the Martial Alliance is, I might leave. Because that was the original purpose.”
“No, really…”
Song Yi-yeon let out a groan. Having just entered the Alliance, he had not imagined that Cheon Woo-jin would leave again.
Master Beop-jin, who had been watching the two for a long time, suddenly burst into laughter.
“To judge good and evil for oneself. Truly, how like those fellows.”
“Do you know my masters well?”
Cheon Woo-jin was puzzled. It was not strange for Master White Elder to have a connection with an eminent monk of Shaolin. However, Master Beop-jin somehow did not seem to harbor hostility toward Master Black Elder either.
Even though Master Black Elder was someone despised even by the Demonic Path and the Unorthodox Path.
“Of course I know them well.”
Master Beop-jin drew a peculiar smile and pointed to his left eye. Centered on the golden pupil, there was a long diagonal scar there.
“In my youth, there was a time when I completely lost the sight in one eye. Thanks to that, my life as a martial artist was practically cut off, and only after reaching the Golden Well realm in my later years was I able to see the light once again.”
“…”
“This eye, I mean. Who do you think did it?”
Cheon Woo-jin kept his mouth tightly shut.
‘Master, just what on earth…?’