Genius Martial Arts Trainer

That Shaolin Is Not It (2)

As the crowd followed Hye-gwan’s hand and turned their heads, they confirmed Mu-jin’s face.

“……”

A peculiar silence lingered in the vicinity.

No matter how illustrious the name of Shaolin might be, their opponent was a child who might have just turned fifteen.

It was an opponent they could easily defeat. The only problem was that they claimed to be part of the “orthodox faction.”

“Are you not underestimating us too much?”

“Indeed, that’s correct!”

Even though they were from a small sect, it wasn’t proper for the leaders to duel against a child.

“Hahaha. There’s no need for the sect leaders to step forward personally, is there? Let’s handle this in a way befitting the ‘orthodox faction.’ A duel among the post-novice disciples. Isn’t that clean and fair?”

Hye-gwan, who said this, glanced over the crowd with his half-closed eyes and pointed at someone.

“That young man over there seems just about right.”

The young man Hye-gwan pointed at looked to be around twenty years old.

By coincidence or fate, the young man he pointed at was none other than Kang Geo-wan, the eldest son of Kang Tae-goo, the head of the Taegeom Sect.

Unconsciously, Kang Geo-wan frowned upon being selected by Hye-gwan.

‘Even if that novice were Namgung Jin-cheon of the Namgung family or a disciple from the Qing Shui (清水) Taoist Temple of Wudang, at that age, he couldn’t defeat me!’

Having turned twenty-one a few months ago, he might not compare to those famous figures throughout the continent, but he was a well-known post-novice disciple in Nanchang.

However, regardless of his son’s pride, Kang Tae-goo barely managed to suppress his rising lips and asked,

“Are you sure you want to settle this duel between that child and Geo-wan?”

“Unless you prefer to duel personally with this disciple?”

“Khum. That was not my intention.”

With a light cough, Kang Tae-goo stepped back and whispered to his son.

“Even if the opponent is careless, do not let your guard down.”

“There is no need for that, Father. No matter how much of a Shaolin disciple he is, he is still just a novice monk. If he hasn’t even mastered the Seventy-Two Consummate Arts, there is nothing to fear.”

Kang Tae-goo nodded at his son’s words, his face full of pride.

As his son had said, the true terror of renowned sects like the Nine Schools of Shaolin and the Five Great Families lay in their possession of advanced martial arts and techniques known as consummate arts and divine skills.

However, unless it was demonic arts, mastering these orthodox consummate arts and divine skills required one to progress from basic martial arts step by step.

And these basic martial arts were something that all small sects possessed. They remained small sects only because they lacked high-level martial arts, and thus had few experts who could reach the level of being called masters.

Ultimately, the significant gap between the disciples of small sects and those of renowned sects started to appear no sooner than their late teens and typically around their twenties.

Hence, the level of that young child, who had barely reached the age of fifteen, would not be much different from the young disciples of other minor sects.

“The justification is sufficient. Now, go and teach him a lesson.”

“Yes, Father.”

At Kang Tae-goo’s instruction, Kang Geo-wan stepped forward with a confident stride.

Living up to his name, Kang Geo-wan, boasting a robust build, greeted Mu-jin with a slightly displeased face, clasping his fists in respect.

“I am Kang Geo-wan, the junior head of the Taegeom Sect. Novice monk.”

“I am Mu-jin, the third-generation disciple of Shaolin. Amitabha.”

Receiving Mu-jin’s greeting, Kang Geo-wan clicked his tongue inwardly.

“No matter if you’re from Shaolin, I still seem to be your senior, Mu-jin. So I will let you have the first move.”

Even without touching the sword at his waist, Kang Geo-wan spoke those words, causing Mu-jin to burst into a small laugh.

“As you wish.”

Just as he nodded in response, Mu-jin darted into Kang Geo-wan’s embrace.

Shocked by Mu-jin’s speed, which was much faster than expected, Kang Geo-wan tried to throw a punch in a hurry but flinched.

He recalled that he had agreed to give the first move.

Reluctantly, Kang Geo-wan stepped back to avoid Mu-jin’s first punch.

Or so he thought.

The right fist, which he believed had just grazed past his face, had suddenly extended its fingers and grabbed the back of his neck with the Golden Locking Hand technique.

‘!?’

While Kang Geo-wan was astonished by the immense force felt from his neck.

Thud!!

Mu-jin’s lifted knee struck precisely at Kang Geo-wan’s abdomen.

“Ugh.”

Kang Geo-wan felt a shock that made him want to vomit as he bent over, clutching his stomach.

“Amitabha.”

As if nothing had happened, Mu-jin leisurely offered a half-bow in respect.

“……”

The peculiar silence once again enveloped the audience as the match ended in a single move.

Especially, Kang Tae-goo, Kang Geo-wan’s father, wished he could hide in a mouse hole.

His son, who had shown needless bravado, ended up utterly humiliated in a duel meant to uphold the righteous cause of blocking Shaolin’s advance, highly valued by the orthodox sects.

At that moment, Kang Geo-wan, who was clutching his stomach and bending over, suddenly lifted his head and shouted.

“Ah, it’s not over yet!”

Even though everyone knew of Kang Geo-wan’s defeat, he stubbornly insisted.

Since his defeat had already humiliated him, he had nothing more to lose, so he thought of at least avenging his disgrace.

“Hu… I apologize for underestimating you, Mu-jin. So, I humbly request another duel.”

Kang Geo-wan, his face flushed red with humiliation, spoke with his head bowed.

Looking at such a pitiful sight, Hye-gwan opened his mouth with an expression of extreme pity.

“He is so desperate. How about granting his request, Mu-jin?”

It was clear he was teasing.

“As you wish, Master Uncle Hye-gwan.”

Mu-jin shrugged his shoulders lightly and accepted the rematch.

‘Endure humiliation to gain opportunity, they say. I will repay this disgrace today!’

Having endured humiliation to secure another chance, Kang Geo-wan drew the sword from his side from the start, determined not to repeat the same mistake.

“I did not bring a wooden sword as I didn’t anticipate a duel, so I will participate with the sheathed sword instead. Mu-jin.”

“You may as well remove the sheath and use a real sword.”

“……The sheath will suffice.”

Mu-jin’s considerate words made Kang Geo-wan grit his teeth and respond,

“I won’t let you get away with this!”

As soon as the sparring began, Kang Geo-wan measured the distance with Mu-jin and swung his sword diagonally.

True to the name of the Taegeom Sect, they used a larger sword compared to the ones typically used by martial artists.

The length, thickness, and width of the blade were all larger than average, and naturally, the weight of the sword was heavier than those of other sects.

Moreover, the martial arts of the Taegeom Sect also emphasized the principles of the heavy sword.

His swordsmanship was closer to ‘destroying’ rather than ‘cutting’ his opponent.

However, as the long sword flew towards his upper body, Mu-jin met it with his fist.

“Since you humiliated me, I’ll at least take your right hand!”

To avenge the humiliation he suffered in their previous encounter, Kang Geo-wan drew more of his internal energy, determined to shatter Mu-jin’s right hand bones.

And at the moment his sword clashed with Mu-jin’s right fist,

*Clang!*

A metallic sound erupted, hard to believe it was flesh against steel.

Moreover, even though it was a clash between a fist and a sword, Kang Geo-wan’s arm was pushed upwards due to the overwhelming force, causing his grip on the sword to loosen.

Thanks to his ten years of sword training, Kang Geo-wan utilized the upward momentum of his sword and brought it down again.

It ended up exactly as Mu-jin predicted, using a real sword in the sparring match.

Despite the sword flying towards him, Mu-jin did not panic and stepped closer to Kang Geo-wan, one step at a time.

Because Kang Geo-wan’s sword strikes embodied the principles of the heavy sword, their speed was not very fast.

Perhaps to address this issue, instead of aiming for sharp stabs at specific points, he executed slashing attacks targeting broad areas.

It was an offensive strategy, leveraging the essence of the heavy sword, with the idea that even a graze would be lethal.

Since these attacks occupied a wide area, it wasn’t easy to dodge all while closing in.

Thus, Mu-jin used both fists and palm techniques to strike the sides of the sword for the attacks that were difficult to evade.

Since his Iron Skin technique was not yet perfected, he couldn’t place his hand directly on the blade infused with internal energy.

How many times had Kang Geo-wan’s sword and Mu-jin’s hand collided, creating a metallic sound?

Each time they clashed, Mu-jin closed the distance bit by bit, until he was close enough to be within Kang Geo-wan’s reach.

When Kang Geo-wan swung his sword once more,

Instead of striking the sword again, Mu-jin used his left hand to perform the Golden Locking Hand technique, grabbing Kang Geo-wan’s hand that held the sword.

Though Kang Geo-wan, whose both hands were seized, urgently shouted,

“Wait a moment!?”

Mu-jin swung his right fist straight at Kang Geo-wan’s face.

*Thud!*

Kang Geo-wan, who had been directly hit by the fist that previously made a metallic sound when clashing with the sword, spat out blood, and his teeth scattered everywhere.

“Amitabha.”

As Mu-jin, having finished the sparring, bowed respectfully as a class leader, everyone’s gaze fixed on him. More specifically, on the bloodstains on his fist.

“Hmm. I think that’s enough for the sparring.”

The strange silence was broken by Hye-gwan’s sly voice, sounding like he was holding back laughter.

“It was just a sparring match, but wasn’t that a bit too much?”

Kang Tae-goo shouted in sorrow, lamenting that his son might not be able to chew food properly in the future. Hye-gwan turned his head sideways and retorted,

“It was an accident during the sparring, wasn’t it? From what I saw, that friend Geo-wan swung his sword as if he intended to cut Mu-jin to pieces.”

“But Mu-jin is not hurt at all!”

When Kang Tae-goo insisted, Hye-gwan smiled and replied,

“Well then, would Sect Leader Kang like to spar with me? Who knows, I might accidentally punch a hole in your stomach during the match, but it hasn’t happened yet, has it? Hahaha.”

With that menacing laugh, no one dared to argue further about this sparring match.

In fact, the duel between the two, who had a seven-year age difference, was already unfair. The moment Kang Geo-wan lost, they lost the right to argue any further.

Rather than argue, they needed to hide this incident to avoid disgrace.

Mu-jin, knowing this, willingly participated in the sparring that Hye-gwan suggested without any complaints.

There was just one thing that puzzled him.

‘Did Master Uncle Hye-gwan plan for me to fight that guy, Geo-wan, with this in mind?’

But when he saw Hye-gwan smiling with a look filled with the scent of blood, Mu-jin couldn’t help but think that maybe it was just for fun.

* * *

After driving out those self-proclaimed righteous sects and finishing the cleanup to use the mansion as a clinic,

Mu-jin moved to handle the primary reason he had come to Namchang.

He headed to the branch of the Cheonryu Sangdan in Jiangxi Province, Namchang. Specifically, to the branch leader’s office deep within the branch.

“Branch Leader, a novice monk from Shaolin named Mu-jin has come to see you.”

“Let him in.”

Passing through the door opened by the branch’s chief officer, Mu-jin entered the branch leader’s office.

There sat a young man who looked to be in his late twenties.

‘Wow. He’s a spitting image.’

Indeed, the bloodline could not be denied, as he looked exactly like Ryu Ji-gwang would have in his younger days.

Not only did their appearances match, but the atmosphere of the branch leader’s office was similar too, with a table piled high with papers.

However, there were subtle differences.

Ryu Ji-gwang always wore a kind smile. In Mu-jin’s opinion, this was likely due to his realization as a seasoned merchant.

Understanding that smiles cost nothing, Ryu Ji-gwang, a shrewd merchant, constantly wore a smile that seemed to have become one with his face.

Even in his dealings with Mu-jin, who was just a novice monk, he used a mix of respectful and casual speech, showcasing his impressive interpersonal skills as a merchant.

It signified that even a young Mu-jin could potentially become a ‘customer’ of the Cheonryu Sangdan one day.

In contrast, his second son, Ryu Seol-ho, wore a stern expression. It seemed like a mask to hide any weaknesses from his opponent.

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