Chapter 68:

Chapter 68:

Even if Hye-gwan had a reason for arranging the duel, Mu-jin had something to say.

“No matter what, this fight concerns Shaolin’s interests. Since I’ll be fighting a master superior to me, please give me some advice.”

At Mu-jin’s words, Hye-gwan chuckled.

As Hye-gwan was known as the most renowned fallen monk of Shaolin, he didn’t plan on spouting nonsense like, “Does a Shaolin disciple care about interests?”

“Look at that female patron. Isn’t she obviously a beauty?”

“Yes.”

“Then cling to her persistently like a rascal.”

“...Didn’t you say before that clingy men are not popular?”

When Mu-jin responded to Hye-gwan’s nonsense with more nonsense, Hye-gwan replied while gulping down his drink.

“Men who remember every little thing they said in the past are not popular.”

“...”

Looking at Hye-gwan as if he were crazy, Mu-jin eventually sighed and headed to the training ground.

Once on the training ground, Mu-jin calmed his mind and looked at Jegal Jin-hee, who stood a long distance away.

“A fan, huh...”

Jegal Jin-hee, who had come out for the duel, was holding a steel fan in her right hand.

Fan technique. It was a type of martial art that Mu-jin had never encountered before.

“I’m Mu-jin, the third-ranked disciple of Shaolin. Amitabha.”

“I’m Jegal Jin-hee of the Jegal family.”

After they showed their respect with a half-bow and a fist salute,

Pop!

Mu-jin moved first.

Although Hye-gwan had spouted nonsense, it was true that she was superior to him. He judged that there was no need to yield the first attack to a master.

Closing the long distance in an instant, Mu-jin leveraged his speed to launch a fist.

Jegal Jin-hee also reacted to the speed by stepping back and swinging her fan at Mu-jin’s fist.

Pop!

As if the first punch was a feint, Mu-jin spread his fingers and changed his trajectory, targeting her numbing acupoint with the Golden Locking Hand technique.

Clang!

However, the unfolded surface of the fan blocked all of Mu-jin’s widely spread fingers.

Then, as if dancing, she performed a light stepping technique, spinning her body and moving Mu-jin’s hand away with the fan that clashed with his hand.

Just as Mu-jin, who had used the Golden Locking Hand, was drawn further in and his upper body leaned forward, her left palm extended towards his abdomen as she completed her rotation.

However, Mu-jin also moved his left palm to block hers.

After exchanging one move each, Mu-jin and Jegal Jin-hee’s eyes sparkled simultaneously.

‘To be at this level at such a young age!’

‘If he’s this good at his age, he could have been in a novel!’

Both of them, harboring subtly different impressions, once again swung their fists and fans towards each other.

Bang!

When the fan and fist collided, a peculiar result emerged.

In terms of strength, Mu-jin had the advantage. Jegal Jin-hee used her stepping technique to dissipate the impact, but she was clearly being pushed back.

On the other hand, for Mu-jin,

‘Damn. My finger bones almost broke.’

He barely managed to refrain from grimacing at the sharp pain emanating from his fist.

‘Even though I have the advantage in strength, if it hurts this much, she must be infusing her fan with internal energy.’

If the weapon was infused with internal energy, it was difficult for his yet-to-be-perfected Iron Skin to withstand it.

‘She’s better than the swordsman I faced in the Black Snake Sect.’

Recalling the swordsman who had wounded his side, Mu-jin advanced towards Jegal Jin-hee, who had retreated.

For Mu-jin, whose main weapon was the Striking Bone Technique, close combat was the inevitable solution.

‘It’s dangerous to confront her directly while she’s holding the steel fan.’

Mu-jin, having learned a lesson from their previous clash, swung his Striking Bone Technique, forcing her to open the fan.

Just as he had done initially, Mu-jin mixed in feints and began to drive her back.

Paht!

Perhaps because she was pushed into a defensive position, she executed a swift movement technique, leaping back and throwing the steel fan she held at Mu-jin.

The wide-open fan spun fiercely as it flew towards him, spinning so fast it looked more like a disc than a fan.

Mu-jin twisted his upper body, narrowly avoiding the fan.

“!!”

Following the fan, Jegal Jin-hee, who had already taken out a new one, lunged forward.

She thrust the folded steel fan as if it were a sword. Instead of meeting her blade with his fist, Mu-jin struck the side of the steel fan with his palm, barely deflecting the attack.

Seeing a crisis as an opportunity, Mu-jin threw a left punch at her as she moved in.

However, the difference in their strength was clear. As soon as their legs collided, Jegal Jin-hee’s expression twisted in pain.

Now, with each balancing on one leg, they found themselves in a position where their hands and legs were locked against each other.

Since their attacking options were blocked, she expected Mu-jin to overpower her with brute force.

But Mu-jin’s next move exceeded all her expectations.

As she pondered how to deflect Mu-jin’s strength, what she saw was his head closing in on her rapidly.

Bang!!!

Mu-jin’s headbutt struck her forehead with force.

* * *

With a cracking noise, Jegal Jin-hee, who now had a large bump on her forehead, crumpled to the ground as soon as Mu-jin released his grip.

Already exhausted, she couldn’t withstand the shock of the headbutt and fainted.

“Amitabha.”

Mu-jin, victorious in the spar, chanted a Buddhist prayer, slightly wincing at the intense pain emanating from his forehead.

‘As expected. She lives up to the name of Jegal.’

She had a harder head than he had thought, perhaps because she used it so often. If he had been slightly off, it might have been him who fainted instead of her.

Meanwhile...

The sparring match, which had been thrilling and dazzling, ended in a headbutt more fitting for a ruffian brawl, casting a brief silence over the training ground.

The one who broke the silence was Yuk Jong-seon, who quickly regained his composure.

“Ahem. The winner of the match is the novice monk Mu-jin.”

As Yuk Jong-seon, the official adjudicator, declared the winner, the atmosphere between the Shaolin and Jegal factions became sharply divided.

“...Support Jin-hee. We’re leaving.”

Jegal-hyeon, true to his status as a Jegal family elder, knew how foolish it would be to dispute the adjudicator’s decision in this situation.

* * *

After the sparring match ended and the members of the Jegal family, Yuk Jong-seon, and Ryang Ga-won had all left...

The interior of the clinic was nearly festive.

“Ha ha ha! Novice Monk Mu-jin! That was a truly excellent sparring match!”

Mak Ji-hyuk, the leader of the Buddha’s Fist Sect, laughed heartily and praised Mu-jin.

“By defeating the prodigy of the Jegal family, they will be reluctant to make any moves for a while to keep this quiet. Ha ha ha! And with the adjudicator satisfied with our efforts, we have nothing to worry about anymore.”

“It’s not all over yet.”

Mu-jin replied to the jubilant Mak Ji-hyuk in a mature tone that didn’t match his age.

“The adjudicator was pleased with today’s treatment. While I plan to maintain that level of care while I’m here, I can’t stay here forever.”

Still, Mak Ji-hyuk, having the benefit of age and experience, quickly understood Mu-jin’s intention.

“Starting today, I will double the time spent on training in the treatment methods. This is to ensure the clinic can continue to function even after you leave, Novice Monk Mu-jin.”

“Then, I leave it in your capable hands, Master Mak Ji-hyuk.”

“It is we who are grateful, Novice Monk Mu-jin.”

Mu-jin and Mak Ji-hyuk exchanged bows, each acknowledging the other’s respect, before Mu-jin moved to another spot.

Once he arrived in a secluded place, Mu-jin slightly unclenched the fist he had been holding tightly.

“Ugh.”

During the sparring match, his adrenaline had masked the pain, but now that he had relaxed, he could feel the intense ache. Especially around his middle finger, which was swollen and bruised from a blood clot.

This was the result of colliding with her iron fan, imbued with internal energy, at the beginning of the match.

Although the bone didn’t seem to be broken as he flexed his middle finger, the swelling indicated it had been a close call.

Thus, Mu-jin pondered.

‘Why did such a significant woman never appear in the novel?’

It would be one thing if the Jegal family had a minor role in the story. However, the Jegal family was given ‘considerable’ attention in the second part of the novel, “Legend of the Evil Emperor,” on a level similar to that of the Cheonryu Sangdan.

The reason for this was also similar. Like the Cheonryu Sangdan, the Jegal family would ally with the dark forces in the future.

That’s why, when the Taegeom Sect reappeared today with the Jegal family backing them, Mu-jin was inwardly delighted.

If the Jegal family were a future ally in the fight against the dark forces, it would have been quite troublesome. However, since they were destined to be enemies, he had no qualms about dealing with them.

Recalling his memories of the Jegal family naturally brought to mind the contents of the second part of the novel.

‘Ah, the Jegal family episode was absolutely thrilling.’

The thrill of the second protagonist destroying the traps laid by the Jegal family and the dark forces purely through strength was indescribable.

However, during the protagonist’s destruction of the Jegal family, the character Jegal Jin-hee never appeared. No matter how hard he searched his memory.

‘Hmm. If it’s similar to the case with the Cheonryu Sangdan, does that mean she dies around that time?’

It seemed likely, considering characters like Ryu Ji-gwang and Yeon Ga-hee also didn’t appear in the novel.

Naturally, he thought about approaching the Jegal family through her, much like he did with Ryu Ji-gwang.

‘After what happened today, there’s no way she’ll want to get close to me.’

Realizing it was already a lost cause, Mu-jin shook his head.

With the current issues involving the Cheonryu Sangdan already keeping him busy, it would be too much to also worry about the Jegal family.