Transcendence
“Was Master Mu-gyeong always like this?”
Jegal Jin-hee, who had personally experienced his extraordinary talents during the suppression of the Jegal family’s rebellion, felt a profound sense of dissonance.
However, regardless of the astonishment of the two onlookers, Hye-gwan and Mu-gyeong conversed in their usual tones.
“You’ve heard everything, haven’t you? Who will you spar with first?”
“Do I have to spar with both of you today?”
“If you don’t want to, you can spar with me again.”
“Haha. Then, I’ll first spar with Jegal Jin-hee, who is standing in front.”
Mu-gyeong looked at Jegal Jin-hee with a smile, but for some reason, she sensed a strange emotion in that smile.
“Why does it seem like he’s asking me to spare his life?”
While feeling a peculiar sensation, Jegal Jin-hee awkwardly approached Mu-gyeong.
Hye-gwan spoke to Mu-gyeong.
“If you approach this spar with the insolent mindset of holding back your strength to prolong the fight, I will personally join the spar and fix your attitude.”
“Haha. There’s no way I would commit such a discourtesy.”
Once again, Mu-gyeong’s true intentions were seen through by his master, and he inwardly grumbled as he took his stance.
“I am Mu-gyeong, one of Shaolin’s three great disciples.”
“I am Jegal Jin-hee, the young master of the Jegal family.”
After exchanging formalities and taking their initial positions,
Wheeeee.
Golden energy began to spread from Mu-gyeong’s body, creating raindrops in the air.
“Hmm?”
Watching this, Mu-jin tilted his head. The number of golden raindrops Mu-gyeong created had decreased compared to before he left the Cave of Repentance.
“Is he holding back his strength?”
If he did, Hye-gwan would surely punish him.
The doubt was soon resolved.
“Haah!”
Following Hye-gwan’s teaching that the first strike wins, Mu-gyeong charged at Jegal Jin-hee with the Yeontae Gupum technique.
Thud!
Simultaneously with Mu-gyeong’s first punch at Jegal Jin-hee, the surrounding golden raindrops flew toward her back.
He demonstrated the skill of simultaneously using the Golden Rain Technique and fist techniques with his body.
He hadn’t stolen the Liangyi Divine Technique from Wudang.
It was merely a technique based on his extraordinary talent, using internal energy flowing through his body and external energy at the same time.
It was a skill Mu-jin couldn’t replicate even if he spent his entire life training.
While Mu-jin had been strengthening his body for the past few months, Mu-gyeong seemed to have devised his own method of fully utilizing the Golden Rain Technique.
However, the most astonishing aspect wasn’t the complexity of the technique itself. Mu-jin was familiar with such techniques from his own experience.
The blood successor in novels performed similarly.
“Though the blood successor’s energy was crimson rather than golden.”
Unlike the blood successor, who utilized the blood energy from the Celestial Blood Absorption Technique to execute the Blood Rain Demon Technique and Shaolin’s martial arts, Mu-gyeong used Shaolin’s internal techniques to perform Shaolin’s martial arts along with the Blood Rain Demon Technique.
Watching the spar between Mu-gyeong and Jegal Jin-hee, Mu-jin thought about how he would handle the situation.
“Hmm. It seems I’m not a good match against him.”
If it were Mu-jin, he would likely use the Golden Turtle Technique to ignore the golden raindrops and charge at Mu-gyeong recklessly.
But that was only possible for someone with special protective qi techniques like himself. For others, the attack would be disorienting and overwhelming.
“Hmph!”
Indeed, Jegal Jin-hee, struggling to fend off Mu-gyeong’s relentless attacks, swung her fans desperately to deflect or block the incoming strikes.
After about ten exchanges, Mu-gyeong suddenly retreated a step back.
“You’ve mastered that secret technique.”
“Of course, you noticed.”
“Yes. Although it’s my first time facing ice techniques, they do seem quite tricky.”
Despite his words, Mu-gyeong had already devised a solution. That’s why he deliberately stepped back.
“If the cold penetrates my body every time we clash, I’ll just avoid direct contact!”
Taking his stance again, a significantly larger amount of qi surged from Mu-gyeong’s body into the air.
Instead of combining it with martial arts, Mu-gyeong decided to focus entirely on the Golden Rain Technique.
In an instant, fifty golden raindrops materialized in the air, surrounding Jegal Jin-hee and attacking fiercely.
“Hah!”
Jegal Jin-hee, aiming to fend off the numerous raindrops targeting her entire body, executed a technique from the Moonlit Dance manual.
As she spun gracefully, the fans in her hands created a defensive barrier that froze the raindrops approaching from all directions.
And as she completed her technique,
Pop!
A raindrop hidden behind the others, which had been unnoticed, struck her back.
Dao Yuetian and Jegal Jin-hee once again set out in search of a new sparring partner, guided by Mu-jin.
Arriving at a different hall than the day before, they felt puzzled again.
“Why is there a tiger in the temple?”
Was it some sort of sacred beast raised by the Shaolin Temple?
As they pondered this, two people and a tiger engaged in performance art in the yard greeted them.
“Mu-jin~!!”
“Ook! Ookiki!”
“Haha. What brings you here with guests?”
“I came to arrange a sparring match for Mu-yul, Master Uncle Hye-geol.”
“A spar! That’s a splendid idea. Haha!”
Hye-geol readily accepted Mu-jin’s proposal with great enthusiasm.
Perhaps it was thanks to his generous nature that he could endure a disciple like Mu-yul.
“...Or maybe his generosity grew because of Mu-yul,” Mu-jin thought, choosing to ignore the sad possibility.
Just like with Mu-gyeong, the spar between Mu-yul and Dao Yuetian began, but...
“Yikes!”
“Hiya!”
“Heeyah!”
It was more like a game of tag than a spar.
Mu-yul, relying on his innate animal instincts and movements, narrowly dodged Dao Yuetian’s swift saber attacks but could barely counterattack.
“Surely... his lack of talent makes his progress slow.”
As the spar continued, the difference in their levels became apparent. Mu-yul was barely hanging on with his animalistic movements and instincts.
After barely holding on for the first quarter-hour, Mu-yul finally took a hit from Dao Yuetian’s swift saber.
“Ouch...”
Mu-yul, who had been struck on the head with the flat of the blade, rubbed the bump on his head and let out a small groan.
“Hehe! It was really fast and fun! How do you swing your sword so quickly?”
With a bright smile, Mu-yul asked Dao Yuetian, completely devoid of any competitive spirit.
Seeing his disciple’s demeanor, Hye-geol, looking like an enlightened monk, interjected between them.
“Dao Yuetian So-hyeop, if you don’t mind, would you spar with Mu-yul again? This time, including Ling-ling here.”
“Including that spirit beast?”
In response to Dao Yuetian’s question, Hye-geol replied confidently.
“Haha. You can look forward to it. The cooperative techniques of these two are among the best in the martial world.”
“Experiencing their cooperative techniques could be beneficial as well.”
Dao Yuetian readily accepted Hye-geol’s proposal.
To accomplish what Mu-jin intended, Dao Yuetian needed to become accustomed to fighting multiple opponents.
Expecting a fair one-on-one spar in a fight with shadowy forces was a foolish thought.
Thus began the peculiar one-versus-two spar between Dao Yuetian, Mu-yul, and Ling-ling.
“Heehee!”
“Ook!”
Moving together and making monkey noises, Mu-yul and Ling-ling showcased their uncanny cooperative techniques.
It wasn’t merely a matter of one covering the front while the other covered the back. When Mu-yul took a stance with the Crane Fist and aimed low like a snake, Ling-ling, perched on his head, attacked from above with the Monkey Fist.
“Heheh!”
“Ookiki!”
As Dao Yuetian’s saber aimed for Mu-yul’s head, Ling-ling pulled Mu-yul away to dodge, then used centrifugal force to spin Mu-yul and throw him at Dao Yuetian, while Ling-ling hid in Mu-yul’s shadow to target Dao Yuetian’s legs with the Snake Fist.
“...It doesn’t look like a trained cooperative technique but more like they’re just doing whatever they want.”
Yet why did they work so well together?
Perhaps because of their absurd cooperative techniques, Dao Yuetian found himself increasingly disoriented as the spar continued.
However, what surprised Mu-jin the most wasn’t their synchronization.
He had already known about the peculiar harmony between Ling-ling and Mu-yul.
More than that...
“Ling-ling’s movements have improved significantly.”
Previously, it felt like Ling-ling was merely mimicking Mu-yul’s actions, but now it truly seemed like he was performing martial arts.
And soon, Mu-jin realized it wasn’t just his imagination.
“Master Uncle Hye-geol, did you teach martial arts to Ling-ling?”
“Haha. You guessed it right. Although he has only mastered the Snake Fist so far, when he reaches Mu-yul’s level in the future, their cooperative techniques will be even more extraordinary!”
Hye-geol responded confidently to Mu-jin’s question.
“...Not only did he teach martial arts to a monkey-like person, but he also taught martial arts to an actual monkey.”
Mu-jin felt more pity than surprise.
“What path are you trying to take, Master Uncle Hye-geol?”