Chapter 72

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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**

Senior Brother Myeong-cheol, who had stood as my guarantor along with my master during the True Martial Pavilion entrance examination, readily handed over his position to me. No, my master said that it was actually Senior Brother Myeong-cheol who had first requested the Sect Leader to involve me in the education of the formal disciples.

“Based on what trust did you give me such a position?”

“Originally, guys who used to wander around are bound to teach better. Because they know what they themselves were lacking.”

At Senior Brother Myeong-cheol’s smiling face, I only let out a groan. Suddenly, past memories flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern.

-Tai Chi Chuan is a fist method to learn the movement and utilization of force! To throw a straight punch so recklessly like that…

-No silk reeling was applied to the Whirlwind Kick at all! Speed is not everything…

They were all invaluable criticisms.

The upper dantian, swept away by the reminiscence, shook the middle dantian.

As the heartbeat of the middle dantian forced blood to my face, I felt my body temperature rising on its own.

I quickly pushed the embarrassing memories to the far side of my upper dantian and straightened my expression.

“Ahem. You have found the right person indeed.”

At my response, Senior Brother Myeong-cheol showed a sly smile.

“Then, I leave it in your hands. It will not be that difficult. After all, I have gathered only the most exceptional children among the formal disciples.”

It was said that the children to whom I would transmit the Four Symbols Flowing Sword were those among the formal disciples of Prince Slope who had been recognized for their loyalty to the sect and their righteous spirit, and were classified as having outstanding bones, muscles, and comprehension.

Although one might ask if it could not be taught to all formal disciples, it was said that they were classified because many of them were not just those registering in the Taoist registry, but also disciples sent by prestigious families simply to form ties with the Wudang Sect.

The Four Symbols Flowing Sword I was to teach was Wudang Sect’s secret transmission.

Moreover, what was important was,

“They will all come after previewing the handwritten copy of the sword manual you wrote, so none of the children will be ignorant of the forms. Since you will only need to correct details in their postures, it should not be difficult for you.”

With those words, Senior Brother Myeong-cheol muttered, ‘Thanks to you, I get to rest a bit,’ and walked away.

Soon, familiar faces stood on the Prince Slope training ground.

“Oh.”

“Traitor!”

“You went out on a mission and did not show your face even once!”

“You only threw us a strange book.”

From my close martial nephews like Bo-yang, Gye-yang, Seon-yang, and Je Un-seong.

“!”

“That person is?!”

“Martial Uncle Bringer of Chaos!”

“Hwan-yang, is he your master?”

“Eh? That older brother is the one who used to sleep all day in the Library Pavilion?”

The familiar yet unfamiliar young martial nephews, including Hwan-yang whom I had saved.

And.

“…”

Even the formal disciples who had been recognized for their talent and comprehension among the children of prestigious families.

‘What were their names again?’

Seeing the martial nephews of prestigious family origins sending less-than-friendly gazes, I made an effort to erase their names from my mind.

Because it would only bring back unpleasant memories for no reason.

‘This position is a teaching position.’

It was not a place for personal feelings to enter.

Moreover, since they were children selected by Senior Brother Myeong-cheol,

‘It must mean that they are children who have at least been recognized for their talent and resolve.’

Therefore, I calmly opened my mouth.

“As you probably already know from looking at the sword manual, the martial art I will teach you is the Four Symbols Flowing Sword.”

The children’s eyes began to shine.

Even the children from prestigious families who seemed to harbor ill feelings toward me.

It was only natural.

Because the Four Symbols Flowing Sword was one of the five major sword studies representing the Wudang Sect.

Learning the secret transmission among secret transmissions was something any formal disciple would dream of.

“What you saw is a sword manual. Since it is not a secret manual, it might be unfamiliar, but it is written in a way that actually makes it easier to master the sword art as long as you interpret it properly. Ask me if there are any parts you do not understand.”

To be honest, I expected questions to pour out.

However,

‘What is this?’

Surprisingly, there were not many people raising their hands.

Among them, I pointed to Bo-yang, a familiar face who was raising his hand.

Bo-yang, having been pointed out, carefully opened his mouth.

“Uh… So according to this sword manual, if you solve this system of simultaneous equations to find the solution, you can calculate the magnitude of the opponent’s sword force, right?”

‘As expected.’

Seeing Hwan-yang sorting out trigonometric formulas alone after returning from a previous mission, I had organized mathematical physics textbooks in my spare time and handed them over to the guys of the Yang generation before leaving for the Murim Alliance.

The children’s level of understanding was excellent.

However, at Bo-yang’s subsequent question, I could not help but tilt my head.

“But… is this actually possible in real combat?”

Possible in… real combat, what did that mean?

At the unexpected question, my upper dantian became like the white paper that Immortal Mang-won used to spread out.

Barely gathering my senses, I asked Bo-yang back.

“Uh… why are you asking if that is not possible?”

It was a counter-question to confirm the point of his question.

However, at my counter-question, Bo-yang blinked his mouth for a moment before saying,

“Uh. So, are you saying it is possible for you, martial uncle? To calculate that while swords are exchanging back and forth?”

“You must be able to calculate and think of that so you can face whatever enemy you meet without panicking.”

After my reply,

the children who had raised their hands all slipped their hands back down,

and the class moved on to the next topic.

**

Since the stances and forms of the Four Symbols Flowing Sword were not complex, I thought that their level of mastering the shape of the sword would generally be beyond reproach.

However,

“Uh, the sword manual is in a form optimized for my body, so if you are thrusting the sword, martial nephew, go about half an inch lower. That’s it. Any questions by any chance?”

Shaking heads.

“In the Four Symbols Flowing Sword, the key principles of twisting and blocking the opponent’s sword path are important, but the sword path you just thrust… is obviously going to expose your flank. You misunderstood the sequence in the sword manual, did you not feel anything strange?”

Shaking heads.

Even though it was self-evident that they must have gotten stuck while practicing on their own, the children did not ask me any questions!

Why?

For what reason?

It was frustrating because I could not understand it well, but

‘Well, they might not know.’

I did my best to pull myself together and corrected the children’s mistakes.

However, it was not the case for everyone.

‘Hmm. Nice.’

Since Hwan-yang’s achievement was outstanding, it was a pleasure to watch.

In the process of the children showing their stances to me and me correcting them, the first day of the Four Symbols Flowing Sword class wrapped up quickly.

**

Returning to my quarters, I organized the children’s characteristics and achievements into a table.

This was because I thought that doing so would help me provide a bit more assistance in teaching the children.

In addition,

‘If I quantify it like this, it will also be easy for Senior Brother Myeong-cheol to teach the children in a customized manner later.’

Since Senior Brother Myeong-cheol had already compiled and handed over to me a register containing the children’s personality traits, bones and muscles, and comprehension, all I had to do was add to it.

Meanwhile,

“Hmm?!”

I was able to identify a peculiar characteristic.

‘Was it not that their comprehension was lacking?’

Under the personality of the martial nephew who had strictly followed the sword path of the sword manual even though it did not suit his body, ‘principled’ was written.

Under the characteristic of the martial nephew who had altered the sequence of stances and deployed them despite visibly exposing openings, ‘aggressive and active’ was written.

‘Did they train their sword in accordance with their own personalities?’

Indeed.

The children with relatively lower achievements were those who possessed personalities unsuited for training the Four Symbols Flowing Sword.

When my thoughts reached that point, they did not stop at the Four Symbols Flowing Sword but began to expand beyond it.

And the final destination?

‘The Tai Chi Sword Manual.’

At last, the reason why forms and stances did not exist within the Tai Chi Sword Manual became clear.

‘It was not because it was incomplete.’

From the beginning, it had been designed to create a sword art without stances and forms.

The essential principle of the Tai Chi Sword Manual was simply to merge with nature and guide the practitioner to construct the sword path according to the flow of natural energy.

In other words, it must have contained the essence of actionless nature.

‘However, the moment a shape exists within a sword art? From then on, the sword art begins to control the person.’

Just as the Four Symbols Flowing Sword emphasized composure and delicacy,

the characteristics of a sword art imposed certain personality traits upon the practitioner.

Perhaps this was not what the Tao pursued.

For that reason, although they said the Wudang Sect possessed a wide variety of secret transmissions tailored to the characteristics of different disciples,

‘since it was self-evident that the number of people is greater than the number of martial arts,’

it was not a fundamental solution.

The moment my understanding of the Tai Chi Sword Manual deepened like that,

‘So this is what it meant to learn about people through the sword.’

The principles of martial studies that I had occasionally heard from my master began to resonate in my heart.

Because if one understood the person reflected through the sword, it would become far easier to understand that opponent’s sword as well.

A fresh realization came over me: ‘So it is not only through training that one’s enlightenment deepens.’

Thinking about it, it was so.

Even the moment I realized the butterfly dream was during my ‘Library Pavilion training,’ not during Tai Chi Chuan training.

I felt that martial arts training was not the only way to comprehend martial arts. It was a moment when the phrase I had read and memorized in the Library Pavilion, ‘The Great Tao has no gate, yet there are a thousand different paths,’ was engraved in my heart once again.

However, enlightenment only held meaning when it was utilized.

‘Should I try applying this when teaching my martial nephews as well?’

It was a night when I could not easily fall asleep, excited at the thought of using what I had learned through teaching to teach them once again.

**

“Everyone gathered here has tried Tai Chi Chuan Push Hands sparring, right?”

“Yes!”

“Today, just like the Push Hands sparring, we will try the Four Symbols Flowing Sword stance sparring. The rules are simple. You will spar with each other using only the stances of the Four Symbols Flowing Sword you have learned so far. Instead of using internal energy, focus solely on the battle of wits between stances. Understood?”

“Yes!”

The disciples of Wudang Sect’s Yang generation replied loudly.

Since the reputation of ‘Bringer of Chaos’ was high even within the Wudang Sect, most of them sent trust-filled gazes toward Yeon Baek-jung standing on the platform.

The children of prestigious families, who had been unable to discard their doubts even a little, had also completely cast off those doubts through yesterday’s Four Symbols Flowing Sword stance training.

It was thanks to him identifying and correcting their shortcomings and areas needing improvement like a ghost.

Except for one person.

Yeo Sim-yang, the third son of the Yeo Clan, one of the five wealthiest families in the world, only stared at Yeon Baek-jung with a sullen expression instead of answering.

‘He was definitely nothing special before.’

True to his prestigious family origin, Yeo Sim-yang was arrogant.

Yeo Sim-yang did not blend in well with the other disciples in the first place. He associated exclusively with children of prestigious families.

Since the children who received Taoist names were mostly of vagrant origins who had rolled in from who knew where,

he deemed them not worthy to face him, the scion of one of the five wealthiest families under heaven.

Since Yeo Sim-yang had consumed all kinds of spiritual medicines since childhood and his peers were no match for him in terms of skill, he disregarded them even more.

However,

recently, he was anxious.

It was because of the anxiety that the reliable family backing him might have abandoned him.

‘Otherwise, there is no reason for a reply… not to come to my letters!’

His father had always replied to his communications, but even though he had already sent his third letter, no reply came.

What did that mean?

He had been abandoned.

‘While the eldest brother will inherit the family and the second brother is absolutely necessary since he has mastered merchant trade affairs,’

he, the third son, was learning martial arts here in the Wudang Sect.

Although martial power was said to be necessary for one of the five wealthiest families under heaven, martial power was something that could be bought with gold.

As such, his utility was bound to be the lowest among the three brothers. Since Yeo Sim-yang had always received less attention compared to his eldest brother, the heir, and his intelligent second brother since childhood, this lack of response heightened his anxiety.

‘Could it be that I have become a useless existence in this world?’

It was because that thought would not leave his mind.

Therefore, he was in no mood to answer loudly at all,

and he was in no mood to spar, as his same-aged martial uncle blathered in front of him.

‘Or was he?’

Should he rather prove his own worth by demonstrating his strength in martial arts? At the moment such a thought arose,

Clack-!

“Ugh!”

“Jeong-yang, victory!”

He had been defeated even in the Four Symbols Flowing Sword sparring.

Indeed.

He had failed to prove even the strength of his martial arts.

A completely useless existence.

A worthless existence in this world.

That was Yeo Sim-yang.

Himself.

‘Sigh.’

Yeo Sim-yang suppressed a sigh inside and picked up the dropped wooden sword.

Just then, a shadow fell over his bent waist as he reached to pick up the wooden sword.

It was Yeon Baek-jung.

The martial uncle to whom he had been rude in the past.

But now, an existence so far away that he could not even look up to him.

One side was still just a formal disciple of the Wudang Sect.

The other side was Wudang Sect’s greatest genius, making his name famous even within Wudang’s True Martial Pavilion.

At this point, he had become an existence like an insurmountable wall to him, to the extent that he did not even feel the courage to apologize for cursing and mocking him behind his back back then.

And that wall questioned him.

“Sim-yang. Do you have some kind of trouble at home?”

At that moment,

something from within

surged and spilled over.

**

‘What is with him? Why is he like this?’

I knew Yeo Sim-yang.

Among the few martial nephews who had cursed me behind my back in the past, he was the guy at the center.

Since he was that kind of fellow, in all honesty, I did not want to care about him much, nor did I want to give him any important teachings.

However,

‘the tip of the sword seemed to say something.’

The realization that one could gauge a person through the sword spoke to me. That there was some kind of problem with Yeo Sim-yang’s sword.

A sword that could not even display its original skill, showing none of the confidence bordering on arrogance that he was born with and had honed as he grew up.

He was not the kind of guy to wield such a sword, so seeing him get defeated helplessly and pick up his sword silently without even getting angry felt unfamiliar.

Because that unfamiliarity kept feeling like it was speaking to me,

that was why I had asked, but

‘why is he suddenly crying? A grown man!’

I was taken aback, but what could I do? Since I was currently playing the role of a martial arts instructor.

I silently patted the guy’s back gently.

After he calmed down for a bit,

the fellow confessed to me in a low voice.

“No reply is coming to the letters I sent to my family.”

**

This was the office of Wudang Sect’s Sect Leader.

Immortal Hyeon-won was discussing the budget for holding the ‘Sword Discussion Tournament’ next year with his right-hand man and the head of the Wudang Sect, Immortal Gangwon.

“Securing the budget seems like it will go smoothly. However…”

“Is there some kind of problem?”

“Well, it weighs on my mind that while I was away at the Murim Alliance, the offerings sent by the Yeo Clan ceased.”

“Hmm.”

Since they had maintained ties with the Yeo Clan, one of the five wealthiest families under heaven, since the previous generation of Grandmaster Sanfeng.

There was absolutely no reason for them to suddenly cease their offerings without a single word.

It was less a matter of money and more a matter of relationships and the changing times.

“Could it be that their minds changed due to the recent activities of the Six Great Evils?”

Since it was being reported that numerous secular branches of prestigious righteous sects had been attacked due to the rampages of the unorthodox factions, and the prestigious families, merchant groups, and wealthy clans sponsoring those sects were gradually changing their attitudes, Immortal Gangwon’s words were reasonable.

However,

“The head of the Yeo family has built trust with our Wudang Sect for a long time. Even if he were to change his course, he would have at least given us a hint.”

What was needed in times like this was to send someone to gauge the circumstances of the family in question.

“Hmm. Is there a suitable person?”

At Immortal Hyeon-won’s question, Immortal Gangwon happened to think of one person’s face.

A figure who was highly renowned and quick-witted, and who could prove the future of the Wudang Sect in order to sway the mind of the wealthy family that might have changed its course.

Added to that, it was a mission judged not to be so dangerous.

“I will try going there together with my disciple.”

“Is Martial Nephew Yeon not busy teaching children these days?”

“I will ask him first.”

And so, as a result of asking him,

“I will go.”

the disciple readily accepted the new mission.