Chapter 27:

Chapter 27:

Hye-geol’s intense gaze was fixed on Mu-yul’s movements, as if determined not to miss a single one.

He exuded an overt determination, unwilling to concede even to his senior brothers when it came to this child.

Thus, unknowingly targeted by Hye-geol, Mu-yul continued to spar with the Second-class Disciple, the bout nearing forty exchanges.

As the sparring reached its peak,

“Stop!”

Master Uncle Hye-jeong, who had been observing the situation, intervened to halt the sparring.

The purpose of the entrance examination was to assess the children’s level, not to determine the winner of the sparring match.

Indeed, the outcome was predetermined. It was impossible for a Second-class Disciple to lose to an introductory disciple.

Master Uncle Hye-jeong stopped the match out of concern that the Second-class Disciple, who had been going easy, might accidentally harm Mu-yul if the intensity escalated.

The sudden intervention from Hye-jeong brought a moment of silence to the practice yard, but soon, those who understood his intentions applauded Mu-yul for his impressive performance.

Clap clap clap!

“Hehehe. Thank you!”

Surprised by the unexpected applause, Mu-yul returned the gesture with a bright smile and bowed to the adults before returning to his place.

As the Second-class Disciple regained his composure, Master Uncle Hye-jeong resumed the entrance examination.

* * *

About a sijin had passed since the start of the entrance examination.

In that time, more than twenty children had completed their assessments, and so far, all had passed.

Although only about half of the examination had been conducted, the number of passers already rivaled the record high.

Naturally, this brought a sense of astonishment to the face of Abbot Hyun Cheon, who was watching the proceedings.

“How on earth have you managed to raise the children’s level like this? Did you perhaps secretly distribute Fasting Pills to the introductory disciples without my knowledge?”

“Hehehe. How could I possibly dare to do such a thing?” Hyun Seong replied with a smile to Hyun Cheon’s jest.

“And it’s still too early to be surprised, Abbot.”

“Too early to be surprised?”

Intrigued by Hyun Seong’s cryptic response, Hyun Cheon’s eyes shone as he asked, but instead of answering the senior brother’s question, Hyun Seong simply looked toward the center of the practice yard, as if to suggest that he see for himself.

Following Hyun Seong’s gaze, Abbot Hyun Cheon’s eyes fell upon a child whose size made one question whether he was really an introductory disciple.

* * *

During the peak of the entrance examination’s intensity.

“Hey, wooden puppet.”

Mu-jin elbowed Mu-gung in the ribs as he spoke.Ne/w novel chapters are p/u/blished on no/vel(/bin(.)c/o/m

“Ah, what now?”

As Mu-gung, who was becoming increasingly tense due to the approach of his turn, asked with a puzzled expression, Mu-jin casually responded.

“Don’t just stand there, try doing what I’m doing.”

Saying so, Mu-jin demonstrated a few Close-Range Spear Technique movements to loosen up his shoulders and neck muscles.

“I’m about to go on, how is doing that now going to change anything?”

“Stop complaining and just do it. Dude, have you ever gone wrong following my advice?”

Despite his puzzled look, Mu-gung eventually began to mimic Mu-jin’s movements.

Somehow, as Mu-gung loosened his neck and shoulder muscles following Mu-jin’s movements, his tension began to ease as well.

The tension that had condensed in his muscles loosened, and inversely, his overall tension eased somewhat.

‘Considering how stiff he already is, if he tenses up due to nerves, he really won’t be any different from a wooden puppet.’

Watching Mu-gung, who had begun to loosen up on his own, Mu-jin couldn’t help but chuckle.

As Mu-gung was actively loosening his tense muscles.

“Introductory disciple Mu-gung, step forward!”

Finally, Master Uncle Hye-jeong called out Mu-gung’s name.

“Is that child really an introductory disciple?”

“Did he lie about his age?”

Watching Mu-gung step into the center of the practice yard, the Shaolin disciples participating in the evaluation murmured in surprise.

Mu-gung, who was one year older than Mu-jin and now fifteen, had always been notably larger than his peers, and his size had increased even more after going through puberty.

At just fifteen years old, his height was already six feet and two inches (186 cm), and his distinctive muscular build made him appear even larger than the Second-class Disciple he was facing.

“Not bad at all.”

A middle-aged monk with a build as imposing as a Guardian King, spoke in a heavy tone.

The quintessence of Shaolin martial arts could be said to be the principle of “stopping within movement.” As the saying “Thousand-Year Shaolin” suggests, martial arts have evolved over a millennium.

Throughout this process, numerous principles emerged. While speed (快), agility (速), illusion (幻), change (變), and softness (柔) appeared, Shaolin has always valued heaviness (重) above all throughout the long span of a thousand years.

Among these martial arts, there are those that pride themselves on being the heaviest.

Hye-dam, the successor of the Vajra Immovable Body Technique (금강부동신법) and the Tathagata Palm (여래신장), observed Mu-gung’s movements with a stoic expression.

But due to his usual demeanor and the influence of the martial arts he practiced, his emotional expressions did not surface outwardly.

“Master. Do you take a liking to that child?”

Beob-hwi, Hye-dam’s immediate disciple and a Second-class Disciple, could sense that his master favored the boy.

“With that level, he might have the potential to carry on our Shaolin’s authentic lineage.”

It was an expression filled with pride in the martial arts he had mastered.

And Hye-dam was indeed someone who had every right to hold such pride.

The symbol of Shaolin’s martial force, the One Hundred Eight Arhats, guarded the Jinganggak and Shaolin Temple. These One Hundred Eight Arhats were composed of six groups, each with Eighteen Arhats, forming the One Hundred Eight Arhat Formation.

And Hye-dam was the leader of the first group among those six, one of the representative figures symbolizing the current martial strength of Shaolin.

Known in the martial world by two meanings as Vajra Divine General (금강신장, 금강神掌), Hye-dam watched Mu-gung’s sparring and thought.

‘He has made an effort to minimize unnecessary movement.’

It meant that he understood how great the principle of “stopping within movement” was.

And unfortunately for Mu-gung, the intense scrutiny from Hye-dam and the audience made him quite elated.

‘Hehehe. They are all watching me.’

Then, at times like this, one must leave an even stronger impression.

Having thought that far, Mu-gung assumed a stance to perform the most flamboyant technique he knew, instead of the simple movements he had been repeating up until now.

“Seriously, that blockhead.”

Recognizing the stance, Mu-jin covered his face, as if he couldn’t bear to watch the predictable outcome.

And as he had anticipated, a loud ‘thwack!’ of flesh striking flesh soon echoed across the practice yard.

“Kugh.”

Having been properly struck in the abdomen by the Second-class Disciple, Mu-gung was now clutching his belly and rolling around on the ground.

“Cough. It seems the child is still young and has some frivolousness left in him, Master.”

Watching Mu-gung rolling on the ground, Beob-hwi spoke with an awkward tone, and a ‘川’ character appeared on Hye-dam’s forehead.

“He’s a child in need of education.”

Despite the displeasing final scene, it meant that Hye-dam had decided to take Mu-gung as a personal disciple.

* * *

Meanwhile.

As the fervor of the entrance examination heated up the tranquil Shaolin Temple,

A Second-class Disciple of Shaolin, who had been watching Mu-gung’s sparring, furrowed his brow at a scent wafting over, one that seemed out of place at Shaolin.

‘Is that the smell of alcohol?’

Such a scent was completely incongruous with the sacred Shaolin Temple.

Yet, inexplicably,

The discordant aroma made it all the easier for the Second-class Disciple to guess the identity of its bearer.

“...I greet Master Uncle Hye-gwan.”

As the Second-class Disciple greeted the middle-aged monk emanating the smell of alcohol, the man called Hye-gwan merely waved his hand nonchalantly.

He seemed bothered by such trivial formalities.

“Hmm.”

Without so much as a glance at the Second-class Disciple who had paid his respects, Hye-gwan briefly looked towards the center of the practice yard.

“Looks like the kind of fool that Hye-dam senior brother might enjoy.”

Hye-gwan chuckled as he looked at Mu-gung, who was sprawled out on the ground of the practice yard.

“I came expecting a raucous party thrown by the Abbot himself in the throes of madness, but it seems today is the day of the entrance examination.”

With those words, Hye-gwan began to watch the entrance examination with a playful expression, harboring a hope that something interesting might emerge.