Chapter 45

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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A look of futility filled the eyes of the Greedy Wolf Unit disciples as they stared at the collapsed pile of rocks.

“What? Twelve shijin?”

At Yo Yeon-myeong’s words, Myeong-won replied.

“You also said it would take five shijin, Senior Brother.”

“…”

The pieces of copper coins that had gathered in one place returned to the bosom of the young Taoist Myeong-hun. Although it had not even taken a single shijin, which Myeong-hun had suggested, for Yeon Baek-jung to comprehend the Cloud-Dispelling Palm and enter its gateway, he was still the closest.

And Hye-won, who saw this,

“……”

was at a loss for words, but soon muttered.

“Even I took twelve shijin…”

Talent was a relative thing.

**

The principle of the Cloud-Dispelling Divine Palm was simpler than expected.

‘Match the natural frequency with the frequency of the palm force’s release.’

This physical phenomenon, commonly called resonance, could be implemented without necessarily relying on internal power or true qi. For instance, cases where a bridge collapsed because the uniform strides of regular soldiers marching in formation matched the frequency of the bridge were more common than one might think.

Therefore, it was common practice in the military not to keep step when crossing a bridge.

In the case of the Cloud-Dispelling Divine Palm, it was simply that internal power was moved instead of footsteps.

However, because the principle was simple, it did not mean there were no difficult parts in achieving mastery over the palm technique.

‘In real combat, one must grasp the natural frequency of the opponent’s internal power and release the palm force to match it.’

A natural frequency unique to every substance existed in all matter. The martial arts experts who practiced martial arts were no exception to this. Rather, because they breathed in a regular pattern, their natural frequency was felt more easily.

However, because this could only be discerned if one’s energy sensitivity was exceptionally outstanding, it was not as easy as it sounded.

Furthermore, it seemed it would take about a day or two to master the various forms of the Cloud-Dispelling Divine Palm to be unleashed at the right moment.

Above all, in order to utilize the energy sensitivity and forms acquired in such a manner in real combat, training identical to actual battle was desperately needed.

Just then, Senior Brother Myeong-hun approached me with a somehow triumphant face.

“A little over half a quarter-hour has passed.”

I did not understand for a moment what he meant by saying a little over half a quarter-hour had passed, but.

“In the meantime, many senior brothers and senior sisters from other units who wanted to see you have also arrived. Would you like to meet them?”

Because I had focused my entire mind on the huge rock before me, I had no leeway to look around. Before I knew it, the senior brothers and senior sisters who had gathered were looking at me with shining eyes.

Those were the gazes I had been receiving since I returned after defeating the Red Yang Demonic Immortal.

It was a look of wanting to pit their martial arts against each other as fellow disciples.

I nodded my head right away.

“I would like to meet the senior brothers and senior sisters who have strong Body-Protecting Qi first. Would that be alright?”

“Of course. After all, the thirsty man digs the well.”

It was a moment of realizing once again that reputation was a good thing.

**

Surprisingly, the ones who stepped up as opponents were two senior brothers.

They were said to be opponents carefully chosen by Senior Brother Myeong-jin and Senior Sister Yoon Heun.

“I am Jin Yang-cheol of the Giant Gate Unit.”

“I am Myeong-tae of the Giant Gate Unit.”

Although the Wudang Sect was a Taoist sect, being a direct disciple of the main mountain did not mean one absolutely had to be ordained into the priesthood. Senior Brother Jin Yang-cheol did not wear a Taoist cap and let his hair loose, letting it flutter in the wind. On the other hand, in the case of Senior Brother Myeong-tae, he wore a Taoist cap over a topknot gathered into one. Since he did not show a single movement in the wind,

even though the two senior brothers were so different, even their breathing was perfectly synchronized.

“The Giant Gate Unit’s mission is to guard the sect.”

“We have trained in a combined strike formation.”

“If you wanted to have a duel with someone who has strong Body-Protecting Qi, you have chosen correctly.”

The two senior brothers had accumulated internal power at no less than the Elixir Condensation Stage.

Among the Seven Stars Units of the True Martial Pavilion, the combat unit with the most members was none other than the Giant Gate Unit. Even in that Giant Gate Unit, these senior brothers were renowned for their high-level martial arts skills.

A combined strike formation was not one plus one.

A combined strike formation was precisely a martial art made so that one and one could meet to produce a power of ten.

They would not fall behind even the martial prowess of the Red Yang Demonic Immortal.

Above all, defeating the Red Yang Demonic Immortal was only possible because the Beggars’ Sect disciples and Tang Jong-hyeok bought time, allowing me enough time to observe and analyze the Red Yang Demonic Immortal’s martial arts.

However, now, I was in a situation where I had to face a combined strike formation deployed by two senior brothers alone.

‘Winning will not be easy.’

Because I was evaluating my own level more objectively than anyone else, I was easily able to let go of any greed for victory.

However, I did not feel any hesitation.

As I had realized through the duel with Senior Brother Myeong-hun that victory or defeat in a duel between fellow disciples was not very important,

I rather nodded my head with a willing heart.

“I requested a duel out of a desire to master the Cloud-Dispelling Palm’s internal heavy strikes method.”

“Then that is even better. The Two Polarities Patrol Formation we have practiced supplements our Body-Protecting Qi through each other’s breathing.”

“If you can disrupt the patrol formation’s body-protecting qi, the Heaven’s Net, your achievement in the Cloud-Dispelling Palm technique will surely rise by a level.”

“It will be suitable for training your Cloud-Dispelling Palm technique.”

They even explained the characteristics of the martial arts to be used in the duel.

The senior brothers were also not hung up on victory or defeat.

It was a duel to pull each other’s hands and push each other’s backs to take one more step forward on the path of martial arts.

Feeling the affection of my fellow disciples, I shouted in a loud voice.

“Thank you for engaging in the duel!”

I clasped my hands in greeting, and

the duel began.

The synchronized breathing of the two senior brothers encouraged each other, gradually amplifying their internal power. The mnemonic formula for that internal power amplification was incredibly familiar to my eyes.

‘True Qi Resonance!’

If the Cloud-Dispelling Divine Palm shook the opponent’s inside through a resonance phenomenon, the senior brothers matched the crests and troughs of each other’s true qi waves. The reinforced true qi wave added to the amplitude, maintaining a gradually massive flow as it pressured me.

Just like waves with matching patterns overlapping to become a giant tsunami.

They did not use the body-protecting qi only for defense.

Keeping in my eyes how they utilized the Two Polarities Patrol Formation, Heaven’s Net, as a martial art of unified offense and defense, I gathered internal power in my palms according to the Cloud-Dispelling Divine Palm’s force release formula.

Along with a humming vibration, a deep blue energy gathered in my palms. The densest part of the true qi wave induced by internal power was formed in my palms, and I pushed the Cloud-Dispelling Palm’s force into the senior brothers’ Two Polarities Patrol Formation right away along with a single-step stomp.

Silk reeling was imbued in the movement of twisting the toes, and centrifugal force was properly loaded into the swinging form of the palm technique.

Then, the shape of the Two Polarities Patrol Formation’s internal power wave changed instantaneously, and

“Pushing Palm!”

“Neutralize!”

A pair of physical palms clad in the Heaven’s Net’s true qi confronted the Cloud-Dispelling Palm’s force. The force wave of the Two Polarities Vast Heaven Palm, derived from the Two Polarities Patrol Formation, surged and collided with the Cloud-Dispelling Palm.

The moment I saw the shape of the Two Polarities Vast Heaven Palm’s force wave drawn over the sensitivity of the Tai Chi Diagram Exposition, I could sense it intuitively.

‘It is being neutralized.’

Just as I thought, the crest of the Cloud-Dispelling Palm’s internal power and the trough of the Two Polarities Vast Heaven Palm’s force met and neutralized each other.

Amplitudes of opposite directions met, and their magnitude converged to zero.

As the internal power waves neutralized each other, the true qi dispersed, and

“The martial arts of the unorthodox and demonic masters you will encounter in the future will surely be more threatening than this!”

“You must confront it properly!”

“You must not give up!”

“Squeeze out your strength!”

The senior brothers engaging in the duel encouraged me.

Since they had stepped forward to help my achievement in the Cloud-Dispelling Palm technique in the first place.

However, because the senior brothers’ Heaven’s Net was still intact, my limbs grew heavy due to the surging true qi force wave, regardless of their words of encouragement.

Just like the saying that the Heaven’s Net is vast, though its meshes are wide, it lets nothing slip through.

A pressure so intense that it was difficult to even breathe poured down upon my body.

After partially deflecting the force wave of the Heaven’s Net with the force field of the Two-Section Brocade body-protecting qi through the Primal Chaos Tai Chi Art, I kept the shape of the pressure emitted by the senior brothers in my eyes.

And what was visible was,

the senior brothers standing at regular intervals as if they had become opposite poles, and the shape of the body-protecting qi wave formed between them as if it had stopped.

Originally, it was a law of nature and a common principle of the world that waves constantly flowed.

Nevertheless, its appearance of being stopped in place was not because it had actually stopped. It merely looked as if it had stopped.

‘Standing wave!’

The waves of the two resonating true qis met at a specific period, maintaining their shape like a single stationary wave.

Just by looking at that shape, I was able to grasp the frequency of the standing wave deployed by the two senior brothers.

‘Neutralize the standing wave.’

As my intent moved the true qi, the energy of the Primal Chaos of One Qi stirred up the mental power of my upper dantian. The mental power carved experience and inspiration into one, forming a new form and force release formula.

Although it deviated from the palm form and force release formula I had learned from Martial Aunt Hye-won,

‘The Great Tao has no gate, yet there are a thousand different paths.’

I boldly took a step onto the new path.

Just as I had followed the footsteps of the great masters who had made new discoveries until now.

**

Jin Yang-cheol and Myeong-tae could not suppress the shaking of their hearts as they watched the force wave of internal power unfolding from the palm of the True Martial Pavilion’s youngest junior brother, Yeon Baek-jung.

-One day, he suddenly just created an internal moving cultivation skill and brought it over, you know?

-It was on the way back after finishing a mission, he said. The steps he took between the slender willows lined up along the riverbank became a new footwork force. That too in response to Myeong-jin’s sword. Such a feeling… was a first since entering the Wudang Sect. Now I can sympathize that Grandmaster Sanfeng must have felt this way when he established Wudang’s martial arts with the Eight Disciples.

To be honest, the story about Yeon Baek-jung that they heard from Myeong-won and Yo Yeon-myeong of the Greedy Wolf Unit sounded like a bluff. If that was the case even for Yang-cheol and Myeong-tae, who knew that Myeong-won and Yo Yeon-myeong were not of such character, how would it have been for others?

However, watching the scene before their eyes now, they could not help but believe the words of the Greedy Wolf Unit disciples.

‘It is not the Cloud-Dispelling Divine Palm!’

‘It is a new palm technique!’

As a pride that it was they who drew out that palm technique from Yeon Baek-jung and the competitive spirit unique to youth arose simultaneously,

‘Even so,’

‘we cannot lose.’

Since the Two Polarities Patrol Formation itself was originally a sword formation that had to be deployed with swords in hand, they had already started the duel with Yeon Baek-jung by giving him an advantage, so

they unleashed their internal power to the extreme.

A vortex collided against the Two Polarities Patrol Formation’s Heaven’s Net.

Although it felt far too small and weak compared to the massive true qi wave of the Heaven’s Net,

the palm force that advanced without breaking, though it seemed about to break, finally came into contact with the patrol formation’s body-protecting qi.

The flow of the force wave formed along the form of the golden spiral, which was shaped according to the laws of nature, began to crumple the Two Polarities Patrol Formation’s body-protecting qi. They had no choice but to watch with their eyes wide open.

To make a full response to a momentary variable was not an easy thing to do, no matter how skilled they were.

However, they could not understand.

In addition, Yeon Baek-jung’s palm force showed a wave of perfect neutralization, as if it were a long-lost sibling to the body-protecting qi formed by the resonance of the Two Polarities Patrol Formation.

As the crumpled body-protecting qi was torn apart and the true qi shook,

the insides of the two men began to shake.

**

“Cough!”

“Cough!”

I went ‘uh-oh’ at the sight of the senior brothers spitting black blood. I had gotten too carried away following the newly emerging inspiration and form.

“Senior Brother! Are you alright?”

Although it was a situation of giving a disease and then offering medicine, I had to ask. This was even more so because a duel was a process of checking each other’s boundaries and moving forward, not for the purpose of harming each other’s bodies.

‘To have used another newly conceived martial art to injure those who stepped forward to help my achievement in the Cloud-Dispelling Palm… I had no face to show them!’

“I am sorry, this junior brother temporarily lost his mind…”

At that moment, Senior Brother Jin Yang-cheol, who had spit out blood, raised his hand and blocked my mouth.

“…It is fine.”

“Indeed. Cough. There is no need for Junior Brother Yeon to, cough, apologize.”

Senior Brother Myeong-tae wiped away the blood flowing near his mouth and spoke again with a somewhat relieved expression.

“Rather, it is an honor to be able to witness such a martial art, Junior Brother.”

What did he mean by it being an honor?

Even though they had deployed a combined strike formation against a young junior brother and suffered defeat, not a shred of shame could be seen on the faces of the senior brothers.

Rather, they even seemed to be proud of something.

At the moment I was confused by a reaction that was difficult to comprehend with my mind,

Senior Brother Myeong-won and Senior Brother Yo Yeon-myeong stepped forward and supported the two to their feet.

“The words of these guys are sincere, so there is no need for our junior brother to feel sorry.”

“Indeed. Rather, these fellows, and the other guys who watched your duel just now, have obtained a fortuitous encounter.”

Senior Brother Jin, who was supported as he stood up, nodded his head and spoke. Despite his pale face, his expression was infinitely bright.

“That is right. I have contributed to a new martial art that will shine Wudang’s glorious name in the future. It is something for which I should be grateful, not something for which our junior brother should feel sorry.”

At the words of the senior brothers, I conjured an image of a giant pendulum vibrating around my heart.

That was how much the words of the senior brothers shook the middle dantian.

Senior Brother Myeong-tae patted my shoulder with a thud and asked.

“By the way, what is that martial art? I ask because I want to know what kind of martial art we were beaten by.”

It was a request to tell them the name of a palm technique that did not yet have a name.

“If you have not decided on it yet, by any chance, would it be alright if I named it?

I nodded my head at the senior brother’s words.

Since nothing had come to mind immediately.

Then, Senior Brother Myeong-tae began to speak with joyful eyes.

“Since you defeated the Two Polarities Patrol Formation’s Heaven’s Net with a minimal force release formula, it was an image of internal power continuously flowing without end like a fine thread. Taking its name from that image, how about Cotton Palm?”

I nodded my head vigorously at Senior Brother Myeong-tae’s words.

It was difficult to think of a better name than that.

**

As a result of pouring my energy into practicing the Cloud-Dispelling Divine Palm and supplementing Wudang’s Cotton Palm at the tail end of spring, even Martial Aunt Hye-won and Master acknowledged the power of the Cotton Palm.

“Now it will be difficult to block it with standard internal body-protecting qi or external body rigidification.”

“…If the forms had not been properly supplemented, it would have been a martial art riddled with holes. Still, you did well.”

Beyond Martial Aunt Hye-won’s warm encouragement and Master’s gruff praise,

-Meem! Meem!

the cries of cicadas clinging to the pine trees began to drift in. It was the sound of the end of spring, which had felt both short and long.

Suddenly, the dream I had in the Library Pavilion around the time spring began came to mind. I realized anew that many things had changed after I dreamed that strange dream of living a person’s life in its entirety.

However, sentimentality was just sentimentality.

Since the affairs of the martial world rolled on like turning gears,

Martial Aunt Hye-won gathered the members of the Greedy Wolf Unit.

And we could sense it intuitively.

It had finally arrived.

“The Martial Alliance will be convened. The site of the Martial Alliance is Mount Song in Henan.”

We left the mountain gate of Wudang Mountain around the time summer began. It was toward the site of the Martial Alliance, the Shaolin Temple, which was convened to counter the movements of the Six Great Evils.