Chapter 46

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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We headed out with the number of attendees for the Martial Alliance kept to a minimum.

This was because the disturbances by the heretical and unorthodox factions all over the world still did not cease.

Among the Greedy Wolf Unit members, only myself, Senior Brother Myeong-jin, Senior Brother Myeong-hun, and Senior Sister Yi Chae-yang were included in the group, along with one or two people drafted from each of the other Seven Stars Units.

Seeing this composition of personnel, Senior Brother Myeong-jin explained.

“Since it is a gathering where the prominent rising stars from each sect assemble, you all were selected. The rest of us and I have stepped up as guardians and guides.”

The opening of the Martial Alliance meant a gathering where people from righteous and prestigious sects across the world assembled, serving as a venue to share friendship while simultaneously exchanging martial arts. Therefore, it was Senior Brother Myeong-jin’s explanation that it was customary for each sect to send their most outstanding rising stars.

In addition, the one who stepped forward to lead the group was,

“Gangwon of the Sea Fog Pavilion. Since this Martial Alliance meeting is a place prepared for the orthodox sects, including the Nine Sects and One Association and the Seven Great Families, to unite against the movements of the Six Great Evils, I hope you will refrain from light words and deeds.”

Along with Master’s characteristically blunt tone, he sent a gaze toward me at the very end. I skillfully deflected Master’s gaze off my shoulder.

In addition to Master, Martial Aunt Hye-won, the Leader of the Greedy Wolf Unit, was also with the group. From Master to the Greedy Wolf Unit Leader,

no less than two members of the Nine Swords of Wudang had stepped forward.

Since the Nine Swords of Wudang were the ultimate mid-tier experts that the Wudang Sect boasted of, they naturally did not move lightly. Just sending two such experts was a sign that the Wudang Sect was showing sincerity toward this Martial Alliance meeting.

Right after we left Wudang Mountain in that manner, we drew people’s attention.

Because it was extremely rare for dozens of Taoists from the Wudang main mountain, and experts including elder-level figures at that, to travel together all at once.

“Our master wishes to host the Wudang Sect immortals…”

“He wants to hear your esteemed opinion on whether the grave site of his ancestors is fine…”

“An invitation from our master, who wishes to hear the esteemed opinion of Wudang Sect’s Immortal Gangwon, Hye-song, regarding the state of the martial world…”

At every single path we passed, we could receive invitations from various martial sects and local gentry. However, Master rejected all of those offers time and again.

“Is there really a need to do that? You said the more friends one makes, the better.”

At my question, Master opened his mouth along with a clicking sound of his tongue.

“There is information that came in secretly. A group of assassins is said to be heading toward Dengfeng County in Henan Province. Since the River of Three Crossings is the only one who dares to thrust a hidden sword into the Henan area, we cannot let others get swept up in unnecessary trouble.”

I nodded my head at Master’s foresight.

It meant that there was a reason two members of the Nine Swords had stepped forward for no ordinary reason.

However, Master’s words did not stop there.

“Even if it is not the River of Three Crossings, this Martial Alliance is a place for the orthodox martial world to combine forces against the movements of the Six Great Evils. If we accept invitations that come along the way, people are bound to wag their tongues saying that the Wudang Sect is trying to expand its influence. It could become the trigger for unnecessary trouble.”

“Oh.”

“If you are my disciple, you should be able to think at least that much.”

“This is how I learn. I have not even held my coming-of-age ceremony yet, you know?”

“When I was your age—”

I successfully endured that time through the study of Xu You’s State of Washing Ears upon meeting Sage King Yao, and we were able to safely reach the Shaolin Temple in Henan.

Fortunately, there was no assassin raid that Master was worried about.

My first impression of the Shaolin Temple, which we reached in that manner, was,

‘Solid.’

The monks guarding the mountain gate of Shaolin were like statues carved out of granite. It was the study of the Shaolin Temple’s Muscle Tendon Changing Classic, which was renowned throughout the world.

I quickly scanned their bodies, which contained the essence of Shaolin’s martial arts and the world’s external cultivation.

‘The muscles in the waist and arms are toughly kneaded. The abdominal muscles are formed even more solidly. A sword without properly loaded internal energy would not even leave a scratch.’

If even the Guest Hall disciples were at this level, I wondered how amazing the monks of the Shaolin Temple’s Luohan Hall would be. It was an impression that fully deserved being called the Mount Tai and the Big Dipper of the world’s martial arts.

The Guest Hall disciple, who received the calling card handed by Master, politely returned it and clasped his hands in salute.

“Greetings to Immortal Gangwon, Hye-song of the Wudang Sect. I am Mu-sang, a disciple of the Shaolin Guest Hall. I shall guide you to your quarters.”

The temple grounds we entered under Monk Mu-sang’s guidance were truly packed to the gills with martial artists. This was because almost every sect that claimed to be of the righteous path had gathered here.

And among them, there were also disciples of the Mount Hua Sect, so

“……”

“……”

Despite the stinging gazes of the Mount Hua Sect disciples who had stopped their steps for a moment, we did not react. Since this was Shaolin’s temple grounds.

[Do not create unnecessary trouble.]

It was a situation where even Master’s voice transmission reached me.

We moved our steps which had stopped as we faced each other, and

the Mount Hua disciples who were watching us began to move again with a snort.

In the quarters where we arrived in that manner, there was an earlier guest who had arrived earlier.

Among them, a Taoist with a rich gray beard clad in a dark blue Taoist robe noticed Master and greeted him.

“Hm? Is this not Hye-song of the Wudang Sect?!”

“What brings the Sword Tree rooted in Sichuan all the way to Henan?”

The Sword Tree.

Immortal Cheong-in was a renowned martial elder famous as one of the Eight Eminences of Qingcheng. If the Wudang Sect had the Nine Swords of Wudang, the Qingcheng Sect had the Eight Eminences of Qingcheng.

Immortal Cheong-in, the Sword Tree, countered Master’s words with a voice mixed with laughter.

“Ha, I do not think that is something the Wudang Sect, which has brought two blades of the Nine Swords, should say.”

“The rivers and lakes have been rather turbulent lately, have they not?”

“Indeed, it is only right for a sect with shallow roots like Wudang to shrink back even at a small danger.”

“To say that, is that fellow over there not another of the Eight Eminences, Cheong-song the Silent Night?”

“…Your eyes are sharp.”

While Master and the gray-bearded Taoist bickered, I scanned the faces of the Taoists sitting together nearby. Most of them were Taoists who appeared to be around the age of Senior Brother Myeong-jin to Senior Brother Myeong-hun, wearing Taoist robes of a lighter indigo than what Immortal Cheong-in wore, with the character ‘Jeong’ embroidered on the chest.

“They are the Taoists of the Qingcheng Sect’s Pacifying Sword Unit.”

Senior Brother Myeong-hun whispered in my ear.

The demeanor of the Pacifying Sword Unit warriors, who corresponded to the True Martial Pavilion in Wudang terms, was quite different from that of the Wudang Sect.

If Wudang’s demeanor was versatile and unobstructed, Qingcheng’s was cold and clean like a winter wind. It felt as if I was facing completely spotless, clear water, automatically making my eyes feel refreshed.

Following Shaolin, even the disciples of the Qingcheng Sect.

It was a feeling of my horizons broadening anew.

While scanning the Qingcheng disciples in that manner, I locked eyes with a man who looked as if all the fatigue in the world were contained in his eyes. And at that moment, I could tell right away.

‘Elixir Condensation Stage. And the very end of it.’

Despite appearing to be around the same age as Senior Brother Myeong-hun, he displayed a demeanor that was truly a standout among the young Taoists of the Qingcheng Sect. He was emitting a demeanor almost equal to or greater than Senior Brother Myeong-jin. In the midst of that,

‘Hm?’

Suddenly, the man’s figure felt as if it were blurring before my eyes.

Feeling that he was not easily perceived despite being right in front of me, I flashed upon a certain study.

‘That is the Qingcheng Sect’s Subtle Concealment Method!’

As energy accumulation increases, the external air outside the body is greatly shaken by the internal power exuding from the body. That is the aura emitted by an expert, and through this, martial artists grasp the opponent’s skill level.

Since the Subtle Concealment Method was famous as both an internal study to control such aura and a stealth technique to hide one’s presence,

it was a study to hide one’s aura by slicing true qi as finely as threads, thereby minimizing interaction with the surrounding external air. At the same time, because it even blurred the opponent’s perception through a unique force release formula, it specialized in concealment and stealth, belonging to the most unique studies among orthodox martial arts.

His figure, which slowly dissolved and blurred among the surrounding scenery, kept stimulating my upper dantian, and a phrase from Sun Tzu’s Art of War unfolded in a corner of my upper dantian, which had been tempered by reading in the Library Pavilion.

‘If one reaches the state of formlessness and soundlessness, one can control the enemy’s destiny.’

Since it meant that if one reached the realm where one’s form disappeared and sound vanished, one could easily take charge of and govern the enemy’s life and death,

blurring out of perception meant holding the power over that opponent’s life and death.

I immediately thought of a formula to counter the Qingcheng Sect’s Subtle Concealment Method, analyzing in what manner the threads of internal power released from the opponent’s body interfered with perception.

What I discovered in that manner was,

‘Ah, he is hiding his form by scattering visible light!’

In the world inside the butterfly dream, there were also countless studies of unorthodox ways. And among those studies of unorthodox ways, there was a study called the ‘transparent shoulder cloak ‘; those who studied the physics I had, especially those who dealt with light, had a vast interest in this study of the ‘transparent shoulder cloak’.

The fact that it was a study of exactly the same form as the principle of that very transparent shoulder cloak transitioned my middle dantian and upper dantian into an excited state, so

formulas for the Subtle Concealment Method and the formulas to break it naturally began to spring to mind.

**

‘Ah, I want to go back to the mountain.’

The Qingcheng Sect disciple, Su-gyo, disliked people.

More accurately, he loved nature.

From the blue currents flowing below Dujiangyan, the cool wind blowing over the ridges of Mount Qingcheng, to the sight of hummingbirds fluttering their wings to drink honey in summer. Everything he loved was on Mount Qingcheng and inside nature.

Of course, although the scenery of Mount Song where this Shaolin Temple was located was also beautiful,

‘Ah, it is people again.’

There were too many martial artists here.

Since the artificial breathing shaking the natural energy disturbed Su-gyo’s delicate senses,

‘Ah, I want to lie down.’

Although he was sitting because he could not lie down carelessly in front of his uselessly strict Martial Uncle Cheong-in, his limit was slowly approaching.

In the midst of that, he locked eyes with some young Taoist.

‘Ah, do not look.’

As his thoughts moved the psychokinesis of his upper dantian, Qingcheng’s secret transmission, the Subtle Concealment Method, naturally covered his body.

Only then did Su-gyo regain a little peace.

He began to raise his body with slow, very sluggish movements. The appearance of another sect meant that Martial Uncle Cheong-in would search for him again. He would have to perform useless pleasantries again.

‘Quickly get away from this place.’

He began to slowly slip away from the place, fooling even the senses of his fellow disciples. It was to find a place to lie down.

At that moment,

[I do not think leaving the place is a good idea, though?]

as a voice transmission of a youthful voice he had never heard before rang in his ears,

Su-gyo instantly froze in place.

‘Who is it?!’

He looked all around, but he could not find anyone who was casting a gaze toward him.

‘How? Who? Why?’

He was confident that no one would be able to see him.

It was the study of the Subtle Concealment Method that had brilliantly deceived the eyes of his Master, martial uncles, and senior martial uncles ever since he was at the main mountain.

While he was confident that no one would be able to break his Subtle Concealment Method study when he deployed it with determination, his heart felt like it sank at a voice that seemed to watch his movements with its own two eyes.

The moment his middle dantian shook, his study of the Subtle Concealment Method collapsed on its own, and

“Senior Brother Su-gyo, why did you stand up?”

“Su-gyo, you fellow, where are you trying to go again!”

His fellow disciples who stayed next to him noticed him and grabbed his sleeves.

“Ah, n-no. Just to relieve myself…”

At the absurd excuse, Senior Brother Su-jeong, who sat on the opposite side, spoke in a serious voice.

“We thought you had made a bad decision to scale the walls of Shaolin’s Guest Hall again.”

“……”

At the bone-hitting words of his senior brother, Su-gyo answered while hiding the sweat flowing on his forehead.

“I will just relieve myself and return right away.”

When the senior brother gave a small nod at his words, the hands that had grabbed his sleeves fell away.

“Please go ahead quickly. Ah, I shall go with you.”

“Ah, n-no. Please do not come.”

“Ahem. How are we to know where you will escape to again, Senior Brother?”

“No. I won’t run away. Please let me be alone.”

Su-gyo, who had escaped to the latrine for a moment in that manner, caught his breath and thought.

‘There was no one among my fellow disciples who could break the Subtle Concealment Method. If so?’

The one that came to mind instinctively was the young boy Taoist with a youthful face, and Su-gyo was a person who trusted his intuition and instincts.

His instincts were saying:

-A young disciple of the Wudang Sect broke Qingcheng’s secret transmission, the Subtle Concealment Method.

This was no ordinary matter.

‘I must find out how he broke it!’

As a martial artist, and as a Taoist who loved nature and peace, he had to at least prevent the study that protected his peace from being broken, so he returned to his seat along with a resolution.

However, by the time he organized his thoughts and returned to his seat again, the Wudang Sect disciples had already disappeared.

“Huh? Where is the Wudang Sect…?”

At Su-gyo’s question, Senior Brother Su-jeong stared at him with surprised eyes.

“What brings you to show interest in another sect for once? No, and did you not relieve yourself on purpose until the Wudang Sect disappeared?”

“Senior Brother, Senior Brother Su-gyo can be curious about Wudang too. Why do you scold him so?”

The youngest junior brother, Su-byeok, who shut Senior Brother’s mouth, quickly opened his lips.

“As for the Wudang Sect, they said they would prepare a venue for the young disciples to share friendship after dinner tonight, so you should come then too, Senior Brother!”

At the youngest junior brother’s words, Su-gyo gave a small nod and said,

“T-Then, is it alright if I enter the room now?”

At his question, Senior Brother Su-jeong quickly nodded his head.

“Yes. Take a good rest until dinner. No, rest during dinner time as well. We will send the food to your room through Su-byeok. You only need to show up at the venue to meet the Wudang Sect disciples after dinner.”

“Yes. Then.”

Su-gyo answered shortly and headed straight for the lodging.

**

After finishing dinner, I organized the formulas of the Qingcheng Sect’s Subtle Concealment Method in my head.

‘So it is a study that far exceeds the Night-Walking Body Skill.’

The Subtle Concealment Method was a study that could not be compared to the basic footwork, Night-Walking Body Skill. Originally, I did not have much interest in the studies of concealment or stealth, but the sight of the Qingcheng Sect disciple hiding his presence and concealing his form in broad daylight was quite shocking, sparking a new interest.

‘I should ask Master to teach me Remote Cloud in the Distance later.’

I was already excited at the thought that it would be fun to compare and analyze the Subtle Concealment Method with the stealth art of the Sea Fog Pavilion’s secret transmission, Remote Cloud in the Distance.

Furthermore, what made me more excited than anything else was,

‘that he had good eyes.’

meaning I could face the Qingcheng Sect disciple who displayed the study of the Subtle Concealment Method, which was capable of escaping the eyes of his fellow disciples and even Immortal Cheong-in, one of the Eight Eminences of Qingcheng.

Thanks to having eavesdropped on the conversation and voice transmissions exchanged between Master and Immortal Cheong-in of the Qingcheng Sect on our way into the Guest Hall lodging earlier, I was able to know the circumstances behind it.

-How about letting our young disciples strike up a friendship?

-From a person who used to look down on the Wudang Sect as a rootless sect?

-Ah, still, are we not both Taoist sects? If we establish a friendship and share observations on martial studies, would that not create roots where there were none?

-Haha. How can the noble Taoists of the Qingcheng Sect sit side-by-side and converse with our rootless Wudang Sect? I shall refuse.

[Please, give me some face, Hye-song. I beg you like this. I heard from the Old Monster Tang this time. That your disciple severed the arm of the Red Yang Demonic Immortal.]

[I heard that the Qingcheng Sect’s Qingyun Chixia has a problem with his character. Are you trying to perform some shock therapy?]

[…Yes. I beg of you like this. If he sees your disciple who defeated the Red Yang Demonic Immortal, wouldn’t my kid change a bit too? No, and honestly, isn’t it also a good thing for the Wudang Sect disciples to broaden their horizons? There is a reason for the saying that what is good for the sister is also good for the brother-in-law!]

[Didn’t you say we are a rootless Wudang Sect?]

[I shall apologize.]

[Publicly.]

[Sigh.]

-Hmm. My words were a bit harsh. How could the disciples of Zhang Sanfeng be rootless? The pride stemming from our Qingcheng’s tradition was excessive, so my tongue slipped. I apologize.

-Very well. I shall accept that apology. Then, see you after dinner.

-I shall give the kids time to meet.

-Alright.

The result of the secret conversation exchanged between the two men was precisely today’s exchange meeting, and since its purpose was to make the Qingcheng Sect disciple, who had been secretly trying to escape, run into me,

“I am Su-gyo of the Qingcheng Sect.”

Su-gyo was staring at me with eyes burning with determination, rather than the eyes soaked in fatigue from before.