Chapter 19:

Chapter 19:

“Hmm. Isn’t it too few to make a comparison with just three?”

“Isn’t it difficult for everyone to trust my family’s training methods yet? If we proceed with too many children and it turns out ineffective, it would just be a waste of the other novice disciples’ time, so I thought to start with just three.”

Upon Mu-jin’s explanation, Hyun-seong’s eyes sparkled.

‘This young child has thought that far ahead.’

This meant that it was a choice made out of consideration for the Arhat Faction Leader himself and the Second-class Disciples and Master Uncle Hye-jeong who are in charge of training this batch of new novice disciples.

Pleased with that considerate choice, Hyun-seong nodded with satisfaction.

“Then proceed with the training with those three as you have said. Any additional matters will be decided after observing for a period of three months.”

“I can only be thankful for Ban-dangju’s consideration.”

Having received permission from Hyun-seong, Mu-jin gave a bow of gratitude.

‘Good.’

Of course, it wasn’t really a choice made out of consideration for Hyun-seong or the others.

‘Why would I teach all those other kids when they look so pitiful?’

Mu-jin, who had no intention whatsoever of managing dozens of kids for free while he was still busy strengthening his own frail body.

* * *

The next day at dawn.

As usual, Mu-gung awoke and headed to the training yard.

Mu-gung, who disliked showing weakness in front of others and was a hard worker, reached the training yard and immediately went to grab his sandbags to take up the horse stance.

“Hey. What are you doing over there?”

If only Mu-jin hadn’t come out to the training yard and spoken to him.

“What do you mean what am I doing? Can’t you see I’m about to train?”

“Today you don’t have to do that, man.”

“???”

“From today on, you’re going to train with me. You, Mu-yul, and Mu-gyeong.”

“??????”

Unable to comprehend Mu-jin’s words, Mu-gung looked around with a puzzled face.

By then, Beob Gang, who had come out to the training yard, backed up what Mu-jin had said.

“Mu-jin is right. The three of you will train with Mu-jin for the next three months.”

For Mu-gung, this was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.

Although Mu-gung had warmed up with Mu-jin using Close-Range Spear Technique and practiced the Revolving Fist Technique, they never trained in physical conditioning together.

He knew that both the Second-class Disciples and Master Uncle Hye-jeong disapproved of Mu-jin’s training methods.

From the perspective of Mu-gung, who dreams of becoming a distinguished disciple of Shaolin, why would he risk getting on the bad side of the masters?

In that regard.

‘It means I’ve already been marked just for associating with that guy!’

Training with Mu-jin sounded, to Mu-gung, like a threat of being expelled from Shaolin.

However, regardless of Mu-gung’s frustration, Mu-yul and Mu-gyeong, who were set to train with him, seemed to have no particular concerns.

“Hehe. So we’re doing whatever Mu-jin does from today?”

“Mu, Mu-jin junior brother. Pl, please go easy.”

Seeing the carefree attitude of the two junior brothers, Mu-gung felt frustrated all over again.

‘The masters must see me as being on the same level as those two...’

While Mu-gung was inwardly beating his drum and gong, a resounding roar of a lion burst forth from Master Uncle Hye-jeong, who had arrived at the training yard.

“Begin the morning training!”

Simultaneously, all the novice disciples began to grab their sandbags and took up the horse stance.

Thwack!

“Snap out of it, man.”

Mu-jin crisply slapped the back of Mu-gung’s head, bringing him to his senses.

“Since you’ve all been torturing your lower bodies and knees every day with the horse stance, let’s start today with the arms, which have been the most neglected.”

To demonstrate, Mu-jin grabbed two sandbags in each hand and alternated bending his arms to show the biceps exercise.

“Now, since it’s the first time for Mu-gyeong and Mu-yul, take one sandbag each, and Mu-gung, since you’re strong, start with two.”

After demonstrating, Mu-jin put sandbags in the children’s hands and led the training.

“Hehe. This is really comfortable.”

“I, I think even I can do this.”

Compared to the grueling Shaolin training they had endured before, Mu-yul and Mu-gyeong were happy thinking this was much easier.

‘Damn! I’ll never become a true disciple with just this kind of exercise!’

On the other hand, Mu-gung was inwardly screaming about the training being too easy. If he voiced it out loud, he’d get another slap on the back of the head from Mu-jin.

But their thought that the training was easy was a bit premature.

“Good, after doing fifteen reps and feeling a bit of heat in your muscles, let’s add another sandbag, shall we?”

The intensity of the training was slated to increase steadily.

With an additional sandbag in each hand, Mu-yul and Mu-gyeong now held two each, while Mu-jin and Mu-gung each held three.

Once again, Mu-jin used a series of beginner moves from the Revolving Fist Technique while occasionally dodging as if the Strike Sphere was an imaginary enemy, showing defensive movements.

“Wow! I want to try it too!”

Upon hearing Mu-jin’s explanation, Mu-yul was as excited as a child with a new toy, and even Mu-gyeong, although silent, seemed quite intrigued.

Then Mu-gung, who was watching from behind, pointed to something on the other side and asked.

There, several sandbags were tightly bound with rope to the training yard’s wooden pillars.

“What about those?”

“Ah, that. That’s a ‘Striking Sandbag’. It’s also for practicing martial arts, but you can do some training with it that you can’t with the Strike Sphere.”

Mu-jin took a stance in front of the Striking Sandbag to demonstrate.

But the atmosphere was different from when he was hitting the Strike Sphere. He started in a proper stance, regulated his breathing, and began to circulate his internal energy.

As the internal energy that started from his Danjeon expanded into the four limbs.

Thump!!

Mu-jin’s fist, cutting through the air, struck the Striking Sandbag, producing a heavy sound.

“This is for practicing the use of internal energy. If you do it in the air, you can’t get the sense of what it feels like to hit an opponent, right? And if we hit each other with internal energy, we’d be in serious trouble.”

After briefly explaining the Strike Sphere and Striking Sandbag, Mu-jin addressed the trio.

“So, from now on in the afternoons, we’ll warm up with the Strike Sphere while practicing the application of the Revolving Fist Technique, and then practice the Revolving Fist Technique charged with internal energy on the Striking Sandbag. Got it?”

“Yep yep! Then, can I try the Strike Sphere first?”

As soon as Mu-jin finished explaining, Mu-yul rushed towards the Strike Sphere and began to swing his fists.

Watching Mu-yul, who looked as if he was under a spell, blankly swinging at the Strike Sphere, Mu-jin muttered to himself.

“...Not even a cat.”

His actions resembled a cat that had just found catnip.

“Is he really a cat? It’s his first time, but why is he so good at it...?”

While boxers and mixed martial artists hitting a punching ball often look playful, the training is not actually that easy.

Yet, Mu-yul, on his first ever try, was shadow boxing to a rhythm as if he had been doing it all his life.

Clearly, when it came to physical talent among the novice disciples, he seemed to be in a league of his own.

‘It’s the head that’s the problem. The head.’

Shaking his head, Mu-jin turned his attention to Mu-gung, who was approaching the Striking Sandbag.

Mu-gung, having already trained extensively in the Revolving Fist Technique, was itching to try using internal energy.

Therefore, Mu-gung chose the Striking Sandbag over the Strike Sphere. In front of the Striking Sandbag, Mu-gung focused his mind, aiming to create an even louder impact than Mu-jin.

Thump!!!

As Mu-gung threw his punch with all his might, a refreshing sound of impact erupted.

“Uhahaha, how’s that! My skills.”

“Yeah, yeah. That’s refreshing.”

Whether Mu-gung was boasting or not, Mu-jin, who had been casually cleaning his ear with his pinky finger, waved his hand dismissively as if to shoo a fly and pushed Mu-gung aside.

“Now that you’ve had your turn, step aside, and it’s Gyeong’s turn!”

“Can I, can I not do that one (Strike Sphere)...?”

Mu-gyeong asked with a slightly nervous tone, but as Mu-jin simply stared at him silently, he soon took his place in front of the Striking Sandbag with an almost tearful expression.

“Have confidence! You can do it! Now, concentrate! Think of the Striking Sandbag as that Mu-tae guy and hit it! You did well last time!”

Mu-jin tried to boost Mu-gyeong’s confidence with words of encouragement, but if anything, it seemed to add pressure, as Mu-gyeong’s face grew increasingly red.

* * *

Since then, Mu-jin continued to work tirelessly to gain recognition from Hyun-seong and, more importantly, to elevate the physical prowess of the trio.

They were essential talents that he needed to survive and see the ending of this novel.

Mu-gyeong was a promising candidate for a future blood successor, and Mu-yul along with Mu-gung had the potential to grow significantly if their shortcomings were addressed.

One might think that it would be better to spend that time training oneself instead of looking after the three.

“Insurance must be acquired, yeah.”

The affairs of life are unpredictable, especially since he was now inhabiting the body of ‘Mu-jin,’ the protagonist of the novel.

Though he may have the protagonist’s talent, the problem was that the person inside that protagonist’s body was Choi Kang-hyuk himself.

For now, the external-focused training was progressing, and his knowledge as a former fitness trainer was proving to be a great help.

“Will I ever attain enlightenment about Tai Chi, the Five Elements, the Eight Trigrams, the cycle of reincarnation, and eternity?”

Honestly, Mu-jin felt insecure about this part.

While the protagonist in the novel would gain enlightenment daily, for Choi Kang-hyuk, who had taken over Mu-jin, those concepts were nothing short of nonsensical babble.

That’s why Mu-jin wanted to nurture the trio.

Just in case, in the worst-case scenario—that is, if he couldn’t grow as much as the novel’s protagonist ‘Mu-jin’—he intended to overcome the difficulties by combining their strengths.

Therefore, to Mu-jin, the trio were not only PT clients but also his beloved nephews.

They were his future comrades and his insurance.

This meant that at least in terms of external skills, he had to cultivate them to the fullest, and in that sense, gaining Hyun-seong’s approval was a very important issue.

After all, he would continue to teach them after three months.

[7:42 PM]

However, as the time agreed upon with Hyun-seong approached, the situation started to take a peculiar turn, contrary to Mu-jin’s plans.