Chapter 1

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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-You have passed the final screening for the physics faculty appointment at Korea University.

I hummed a pleasant tune as I recalled the opening line of the email I received yesterday.

To think that I, who had pursued interesting research rather than grand ones, would actually become a professor at Korea University.

‘Well, although the first class I was assigned is a liberal arts class for the Department of Physical Education.’

The title was “Understanding of Kinematics.”

Other professors might have avoided it, but it was a pleasant task for me.

Because it was all content I had covered on my YouTube channel.

With such a light heart, it was my first day of commuting to Korea’s top university.

Honk!

I died.

**

‘To die at the peak of one’s life. How unfortunate.’

I opened my eyes while wishing for the repose of the man in the dream I had.

A bizarre world where giant towers and black, hard ground existed, and wheeled carriages ran fast upon it.

From living a lifetime in that world until dying.

Was it called the Butterfly Dream?

At the moment I was confused whether the dead professor in the dream was me, or if the Wudang Sect disciple of the Myeong generation, Yeon Baek-jung, was the real me.

The book spread out on the table entered my sight.

At first, I wondered if it was a novel with the same content as the dream.

-Energy flows throughout the entire universe… this is called natural energy. Natural energy is not uniform, so it sometimes flows and sometimes gathers, and the gathered and condensed lump is called essence, and all things in the universe are composed of essence… Only when spirit dwells in essence do we finally call it life… Spirit is not restricted by time and space and is immortal even after essence disappears, so in Buddhism this is called reincarnation, and in Taoism this is called rebirth…

It was a Taoist introductory text about the essence, energy, and spirit that make up all things under heaven. The old book was stained with spit marks here and there.

‘Everyone else must have suffered a lot besides me.’

I wiped away the spit I had drooled, smirking inwardly.

Then, the content of the book that was smudged as I wiped it suddenly caught my eye.

Or rather, should I say it was engraved in my mind.

-…the gathered and condensed lump is called essence, and all things in the universe are composed of essence…

“Hmm?”

The content that seemed unbearably boring just a moment ago clearly began to be interesting. Of course, it was not that I understood everything.

‘So does that mean E equals mc squared?’

Just as I was naturally accepting the content of the book without realizing it.

“Martial Uncle, stop dozing off and come out. It is time for Tai Chi Chuan training.”

It was the voice of Seon-yang, a martial nephew who was the same age as me but one generation below.

**

“Martial Uncle, do not be so gloomy. Grand Martial Uncle made that decision because he treasures you.”

Just as Seon-yang said, Master’s act of stuffing me into the Library Pavilion was all out of consideration for me.

It had been seven years since I entered the training of Tai Chi Chuan.

For a normal disciple, seven years of Tai Chi Chuan training would be the age to realize the profound meaning of each stance and practice the Release of Force, which loaded the accumulated internal force, however weak, onto the stance.

However, the expectations for me were different from others from the beginning.

-Would five years not be enough?

-Five years is too long. Three years will be enough.

The elders of the sect measured and judged me as they pleased, and then expected things.

It was because I was born with a great physical frame.

The Heaven-born Divine Strength, which allowed one to lift a thousand-pound boulder even without internal force.

The problem was that Wudang Sect’s Tai Chi Chuan did not suit me at all.

-No, why on earth do you change the routine as you please? Is that not the routine of Shaolin’s Arhat Fist instead of Wudang’s Tai Chi?

-But if I strike like this, I can hit the fastest and hardest.

-Tai Chi Chuan is not a martial art meant to harm others! It is a martial art meant to protect one’s own body!

That teaching did not touch my heart at all.

-Is it not true that if I just beat them first, there is no chance of getting hurt?

The punishment handed down to me from the moment I said those words.

It was the reading punishment in the Library Pavilion for three double-hours a day.

-I am a disciple of martial studies, not Taoist studies though?

-Before learning martial arts, one must cultivate the mind.

Master dismissed my protest with a single word and stuffed me into the Library Pavilion. Of course, I knew he did so hoping his disciple would do well.

“I know well. That he did it all for my sake.”

At my gloomy reply, Seon-yang smiled and spoke.

“Still, if you read the books in the Library Pavilion, won’t there come a time when the intent of Immortal Sanfeng, who created Tai Chi Chuan, touches you?”

“Yes. I should hope so.”

“Since Martial Uncle possesses extraordinary talent, you will be able to rise quickly once an opportunity arises.”

“Thank you, Seon-yang.”

Comforted by my same-aged martial nephew, I gathered my thoughts and raised my head. A red brick wall topped with elegant blue tiles stretched widely along the mountain slope.

It was the Training Ground of Prince Slope where young disciples of Wudang Sect trained.

Inside the Training Ground, nearly a hundred young Taoist boys stood widely spaced apart.

Seon-yang and I also stood with appropriate spacing.

Soon, a middle-aged Taoist with the impression of an iron tower walked out of the temple building and stood before us. It was Senior Brother Myeong-cheol, the martial instructor in charge of Tai Chi Chuan.

“You have all gathered. Then, we will start with stance training first.”

Confirming that all disciples had gathered, Senior Brother Myeong-cheol stood on the platform and immediately began to slowly perform the Tai Chi Chuan stances.

“First Form! Great Emptiness Form!”

Senior Brother Myeong-cheol bent his knees halfway and pulled his right foot back by about half a step from his left foot. At the same time, he extended his half-opened left hand forward and tightly pressed his right fist to his waist.

I also executed the movements my body had learned out of inertia.

However.

“The mnemonic formula of the Great Emptiness Form is to stand upright and centered, and to relax the mind and energy!”

The moment I heard the mnemonic formula of the Great Emptiness Form, the interpretation of the formula naturally flashed through my mind.

‘Keep the body upright while releasing the strength.’

I had always wondered why I had to release my strength. Why? Unnecessarily? I had been stubborn with such thoughts.

‘Because only when strength is released do the joints loosen, and only when the joints and muscles are relaxed can force be transmitted smoothly. Just like two objects connected by a spring.’

I felt unfamiliar with myself for naturally making an interpretation I had never thought of before, but my body applied that interpretation to itself like a spinal reflex.

I slowly exhaled while keeping my upper body straight.

‘Phew.’

With that, as I calmed my breathing and quieted my mind, I felt my shoulders sink and my center of gravity naturally move downward.

‘It is about placing the load below.’

It seemed that responsiveness would decrease instead of stability increasing, but the elasticity stored in the bent knees compensated for this.

‘The optimal state where the body can move in response to an opponent appearing at any moment. While deploying footwork in any direction—front, back, left, or right—one keeps the opponent in check with the left palm and counters with the right fist.’

Calculations naturally formed in my mind, and the coping method when enemies appeared from all directions came to me.

At the moment my body was about to twitch against that imaginary enemy.

“Tch. Just how long do they want us to learn these basic movements? I already mastered things like this along with learning to walk.”

A large boy with a greasy face, who was sitting two seats away from me—next to Seon-yang—was grumbling quietly.

-If the body is good, it seems the head will not have to suffer though?

My past years of trying to resolve the stances only with strength with such arrogant thoughts overlapped with that large boy, making me feel ashamed.

However, there was no time to fall into idle thoughts.

Because Senior Brother Myeong-cheol, who was walking around to inspect the disciples’ postures, had arrived right in front of me.

And Senior Brother Myeong-cheol.

“…”

He looked at me with strange eyes and passed by me without making any corrections, unlike usual. After checking the postures of a few disciples, Senior Brother returned to the platform and immediately continued to the next stance.

“Second Form! Advancing into Emptiness, Leaving the Temple!”

Senior Brother Myeong-cheol called out the stance name, and then

He smoothly moved his hip joint and stepped forward with his right foot, which he had pulled back. At the same time, the fist pressed to his waist drew a light arc in accordance with the movement of his lower body, and

Whoosh.

At the peak of the extended fist, the wind gently wavered.

“The mnemonic formula is to keep the head empty and spiritual, and to clearly distinguish between empty and full!”

The mnemonic formulas, which were nothing more than a sequence of letters until I had that bizarre dream in the Library Pavilion, adhered to my body with their proper meanings.

‘Empty is empty, and full is full. Fill the empty spaces and empty the filled spaces.’

From those words, I thought of the shifting of the center of gravity.

The center of gravity that sank with the Great Emptiness Form naturally shifted along with the movement of the hip joint.

The shifted force rotated smoothly along with the low load.

Just like a roly-poly toy rocking.

It rocked but did not fall over.

As I extended my arm naturally in that state, all the rotating force was fully loaded onto the arm and fist.

Whoosh.

Even though internal energy was not loaded, the wind gently wavered at the peak of the extended fist.

Seon-yang was looking at me with surprised eyes.

And the grumbling boy next to Seon-yang also looked at me with surprised eyes.

However, I had no leisure to look at them.

Because I was occupied with thinking about the identity of the force that generated the light fist wind even without internal energy.

‘Centrifugal force!’

It was the force of a rotating object trying to move away from the center. The inertial force that I had familiarly handled in my dream

naturally melted into the principles of Tai Chi Chuan.

Even while watching Senior Brother Myeong-cheol’s subsequent demonstration of the stances, I continued to interpret, understand, and embody it in my body.

‘The curve of extending the fist. If I refine it just a little bit…’

My feelings of being like a pig dragged to the slaughterhouse when leaving the Library Pavilion had been completely reversed.

**

Myeong-cheol, a Wudang Sect disciple of the Myeong generation, recalled today’s Tai Chi Chuan training again.

‘Something has changed greatly.’

Myeong-cheol, who had taught Tai Chi Chuan to young disciples for several years, had watched Yeon Baek-jung all along. Yeon Baek-jung possessed extraordinary talent unlike other disciples, but he had a strong tendency to rely on strength rather than understanding the depth of the Tai Chi Chuan stances. As if ‘strength is the answer,’ he tried to resolve everything with strength, so his mastery of Tai Chi Chuan always remained in the same place.

‘Such a child…’

Today’s Yeon Baek-jung was distinctly different.

Even while performing the stances, he did not simply follow the routines. It was visible that he was calculating his own fist method with how to utilize it in real combat in mind.

On the surface, it was a stance he knew well, but a priorly unseen naturalness was embedded in his movements. As if dancing, the martial art blended perfectly like clothes that fit his body.

‘Like dancing?’

It was said that when the mastery of martial arts deepened, each and every movement became as smooth and natural as a dance.

In the Jianghu, that state was called the State of Martial Dance, and it was a state that even old figures of the Jianghu who had polished it for decades could not easily reach, but

it was said that occasionally, bizarre entities that far surpassed the common sense of ordinary people appeared in the Jianghu.

‘Could it be!’

Myeong-cheol could not help but recall the evaluations that the Grand Masters of the Won generation, and the generation above them referred to as the Eight Disciples of Sanfeng, had made regarding Yeon Baek-jung in the past.

‘Has the talent of Heaven-born Divine Strength bloomed late?’

When this thought arrived, Myeong-cheol’s chest throbbed with excitement.

However, the expectation was brief.

Myeong-cheol composed his mind and shook his head.

It was too early a judgment to easily dream of that possibility. Even if he seemed to have bloomed his talent in a single day of training, whether it was an achievement solidified through long, arduous practice was something that had to be watched a bit more.

‘Moreover, he did not even load internal energy.’

Because in any martial art, there was a difference like heaven and earth between utilizing internal energy and not.

‘For now. For now, I must watch more.’

Even so, the uncontrollable expectation soon brought a smile to his mouth.

At that moment, the door to his quarters opened and a middle-aged man with a clear and elegant appearance showed himself. Myeong-cheol immediately stood up from his seat and held his clasped hands.

“I greet Martial Uncle Gangwon.”

“Ah, no need for formalities. How was it? Today. Is that disciple of mine still stubborn as a mule?”

The disciple that Immortal Gangwon spoke of was none other than Yeon Baek-jung.

“That is—”

Myeong-cheol, who pondered for a moment how to say it, excluded his own thoughts like the state of martial dance as much as possible, simply delivered only the appearance Yeon Baek-jung showed during training today, and asked what he was curious about. Or rather, he was about to ask.

“—Therefore, I ask. That child, Yeon Baek-jung, did he perhaps experience something special recently—”

However, Myeong-cheol could not resolve his curiosity.

Because as soon as Myeong-cheol finished speaking, Immortal Gangwon utilized Wudang Sect’s Cloud-Climbing Step and vanished.

“—…is there? I was about to ask…”

Myeong-cheol felt awkward.

**

After the training at Prince Slope ended, I returned to the Purple Yang Hermitage where I lived with Master, without even eating.

Befitting its name, the Purple Yang Hermitage was incomparably good for organizing thoughts, as one could enjoy the burning sunset in the evening.

‘Something has changed.’

I drew in my head again the Tai Chi Chuan I performed during today’s Tai Chi Chuan training. I had engaged in training no differently from usual, but.

‘Why is it fun?’

I focused purely on Tai Chi Chuan without the uncomfortable feeling of being forced to wear clothes that were painful and did not fit. As if it had been that way from the very beginning.

‘How?’

As my thoughts deepened, there was only one answer.

‘Is it because of that strange dream?’

My mind seemed to have changed somehow right after I had the dream.

The true intent of Immortal Sanfeng, who created Tai Chi Chuan, touched my heart along with the mnemonic formulas. My mind, which was filled with self-obstinacy until before, became filled with the principles of martial arts, and I recalled the parts that kept catching during the Tai Chi Chuan I performed in the day.

‘I feel that if I refine the routine just a little bit, it will connect more smoothly.’

At that moment, I recalled the training of the Tai Chi Ball Skill, one of Wudang’s nine skills. A training to cultivate the strength of the arms and the body’s center by moving a heavy iron ball like an acrobat.

I arrived at the thought that the movement of the iron ball rolling over my straight arm, that perfect arc, was similar to the routine of Tai Chi Chuan.

‘What if I combine the ball skill training with Tai Chi Chuan?’

As I deployed the Tai Chi Chuan routine while keeping alive the feeling of not letting go of the ball from my hands, as if placing an iron ball on my hand, as if that ball were rolling along an imaginary line.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

The routines of all stances connected, and

Speed naturally began to attach to the slow fist routine.

I fell into a state of selflessness just like that and performed the fist method.

At that moment.

‘Hmm?’

A familiar hand intervened in the middle of the routine.

I naturally brushed the hand away and lightly pushed my fist forward with the stance of Advancing into Emptiness, Leaving the Temple.

Regrettably, my fist did not reach the target.

However, I was not disappointed.

No.

Rather, I was pleased.

“You have improved a lot.”

Because Master, who always did nothing but scold me, was looking at me with surprised eyes.

“I greet Master.”

I held my clasped hands toward my master, Immortal Gangwon.