Chapter 116

Chapter 116

The reason Mu-yul made such a strange proposal to Mu-jin was due to advice he received from his master, Haegeol, a few months before the Yongbongjihoe began.

– Mu-yul.

– Yes, Master!

– Only use this martial art if you encounter an opponent at the Yongbongjihoe who seems unbeatable.

With these words, Haegeol taught Mu-yul a special secret technique a few months before the Yongbongjihoe.

After completing the Pyo Fist technique, Haegeol inscribed the character for leopard (豹) on Mu-yul’s forehead. It was a secret technique he had been preparing for months until the Yongbongjihoe.

Mu-yul bent his knees and lowered his upper body in a posture close to quadrupedal movement, just as he had used the Pyo Fist until now.

Then, following the flow ingrained in his body through months of repetitive training, he circulated his internal energy.

In an instant, Mu-yul, propelled by the highly compressed energy in his thighs, charged at Mu-jin with the momentum of a fierce tiger.

Closing the distance with explosive speed, Mu-yul launched his right fist at Mu-jin, and the energy emitted from his punch burst out like sharp claws.

It was like a tiger crouching and then pouncing on its prey.

This was the fourth stage of the Shaolin Five Fists.

Mu-yul had mastered only the Tiger Fist, and this initial move was the Fierce Tiger Assault.

At a glance, it seemed similar to the Pyo Fist Mu-yul had shown before, but the revealed power at the end was vastly different.

However, despite Mu-yul’s unexpected Tiger Fist, Mu-jin calmly extended his hand towards Mu-yul’s incoming punch.

The energy emanating from Mu-yul’s right fist resembled a tiger’s claw, while the firm golden energy flowed from Mu-jin’s palm.

Boom!!!

The two energies clashed, causing a deafening explosion and a whirlwind of dust around the fighting stage.

Moments later, as the dust settled, Mu-jin was seen grasping Mu-yul’s right fist with his left hand.

Mu-jin, having blocked Mu-yul’s secret technique, smiled and spoke.

“So, is it my turn now?”

To this question, Mu-yul responded with a clear laugh.

“No! I’m out of internal energy, so I surrender!”

“......”

Mu-jin’s expression turned blank at Mu-yul’s answer.

‘What is this? Why do I feel so mocked?’

Well, if he had been outwitted by someone as smart as a member of the Jegal family, he might have felt, ‘Damn those cunning Jegal bastards!’ and gotten angry.

But being tricked by Mu-yul’s scheme left him feeling more self-pity than anger.

‘Now I understand why Paeng Gahu fell into madness. Sigh.’

The skill gap was so significant that it ended like this, but if they were more evenly matched, Mu-jin felt he might have ended up like Paeng Gahu.

“Mu-jin is indeed too strong!”

Although he felt a bit uneasy, Mu-jin gave a faint smile while looking at Mu-yul, who was smiling brightly.

‘Yes. This guy isn’t one to lie.’

It was probably true that Mu-yul’s internal energy was completely depleted.

Despite his physical talent, Mu-yul’s five senses were lacking, so even though he took the summoning pill, his internal energy was significantly lower compared to Mu-gung or Mu-jin.

His understanding of internal energy techniques was low because he lacked five senses.

Since he used Tiger Fist with such low internal energy, it was inevitable that he would run out of energy.

At times like this, it seemed better to show magnanimity as an adult.

“Still, you did well. I didn’t expect you to master Tiger Fist.”

While Mu-jin praised Mu-yul, who was smiling brightly, he ruffled his hair.

Suddenly, a curious thought came to mind, and he asked,

“But how did you learn Tiger Fist? I never heard you caught a tiger.”

If he had indeed caught a tiger, it would have caused quite a commotion in the temple, even in secret, it would have been impossible to learn.

“Nah. I didn’t catch a tiger. Master said he would catch one after the Yongbongji Conference ends, so he told me to just learn one move for now. He said it’s similar to Leopard Fist, so it wouldn’t be hard.”

“Oh, really?”

Mu-jin couldn’t help but think that she might stick to him more persistently, using her training to get revenge on Namgung Jin-cheon as an excuse.

‘Well, that’s not the most important thing right now.’

Mu-jin glanced at Jegal Jin-hui, who was retreating with renewed determination, and then looked at Mu-gyeong, who was standing beside him.

“Do well. If you fall too, Shaolin will only have me left.”

“...Isn’t it normal for only one person from a sect to reach the semifinals?”

Mu-gyeong replied, seemingly exasperated, but Mu-jin shrugged with a light smile.

“Where’s the fun in that? This time, four of us from Shaolin participated, so it would look great if all four made it to the semifinals.”

“If all four were you, that might be possible. Ugh, forget it.”

Sighing, Mu-gyeong, uncharacteristically for a monk, walked lazily towards the martial arts stage.

As expected, the match proceeded according to Mu-jin’s predictions.

Mu-gyeong won. Although it took quite some time, Mu-jin didn’t think Mu-gyeong struggled much.

“Did you manage to steal the Beggar Sect’s staff techniques?”

“Huh, steal? I didn’t do anything like that.”

When Mu-jin slyly asked Mu-gyeong, who had just finished his match and come down, Mu-gyeong pretended to be oblivious.

Of course, Mu-jin wasn’t fooled.

“Who are you trying to deceive? Ever since the sparring match with Byeokwan Dojang two days ago, you’ve been practicing the Thirty-Six Swords of the World.”

“Well, I mean, the opponent was strong, so I just picked up some techniques after a long fight. I didn’t steal anything, okay?”

Mu-jin chuckled at Mu-gyeong’s consistent denial.

Well, there was some truth in his words.

After all, the opponent was a martial artist who had made it to the third round. It wouldn’t have been easy to win, and during the prolonged match, Mu-gyeong likely figured out the weaknesses of his opponent’s techniques and exploited them to secure his victory.

Although he was looking for a way to counter the techniques, he was already analyzing and reconstructing his opponent’s martial arts in his mind.

“Beggar Sect’s Staff Techniques are good, but for now, practice the Thirty-Six Swords of the World and the Wudang martial arts you stole last time. Practice them so well that it doesn’t seem like you’re using the Thirty-Six Swords of the World. Those two will be more useful for your next opponent.”

“By next opponent, do you mean Namgung Jincheon?”

“Yes. As you know, his main martial art uses a heavy sword, and he has an overwhelming amount of inner strength, so you probably can’t handle him in a direct confrontation.”

Mu-jin’s advice was reasonable, and Mu-gung nodded without saying much.

It was sound advice.

* * *

The third round of the Yongbongji Conference finals came to an end, and the matchups for the semifinals were finally decided.

The first match would be between Cheongsu Dojang of Wudang and Mu-jin of Shaolin.

The second match would be between Namgung Jincheon of the Namgung Clan and Mu-gung of Shaolin.

Even though two of the Shaolin disciples who caused a stir in this Yongbongji Conference were eliminated in the third round, the surprises continued.

One had been defeated by the tournament favorite, Cheongsu Dojang, and the other was eliminated by another Shaolin disciple.

The fact that two disciples from the same sect made it to the semifinals was already astonishing, and recently, there had been rumors circulating.

Rumors that perhaps the Shaolin disciples might defeat the tournament favorites, Cheongsu Dojang or Namgung Jincheon.

Humans inherently like to rank things, and martial artists, who never miss a chance to watch a good fight, found this to be an intriguing topic.

Deep within the Martial Alliance.

There were those who were troubled by the unexpected turn of events at this Yongbongji Conference.

“Haha, this Yongbongji Conference has indeed attracted many outstanding young talents. Wouldn’t you agree?”

– Are you sure it’s okay to proceed like this? You all know that the setup was intended to target Cheongsu Dojang or Namgung Jincheon.

“Indeed, seeing them, I can say that the future of our orthodox sects and the Martial Alliance is bright.”

– Ahem. What choice do we have? We can’t suddenly stop the Yongbongji Conference now. For now, we can only hope that Namgung Jincheon or Cheongsu Dojang wins.

Their outward words were mere pretense to deceive those watching and listening.

Hmph. There’s no need to just hope. We can simply deal with those two Shaolin disciples or make sure they can’t advance to the semifinals.

They were exchanging entirely different messages through voice transmission.