Chapter 135. The Black Flame Dragon Who Proves Himself (5)
The position of Murim Academy Head was an ambivalent one even within the Murim Alliance.
If someone who had gone through the positions of Captain and Hall Master took the seat, it was regarded as a position that guaranteed future advancement.
Conversely, if someone who had risen as far as Deputy Pavilion Master was appointed as Academy Head, it was a seat where one had to start preparing for retirement.
Viewed in that light, the current Academy Head, Three Pure Ones Self-Cultivating Dragon Buk Won-pyeong, could be said to be walking a career path no less promising than the elites of the Nine Sects and One Gang.
It was an extremely rare case for a disciple of a One-Successor Lineage.
Even within the laws of the martial world, where factionalization had already become a matter of course, the status of the Three Pure Ones Peerless Sword was extremely special.
Perhaps it was only natural, since in terms of sanctity, it stood shoulder to shoulder with Shaolin’s Dharma Tendon-Changing Classic and Wudang’s Heaven-Earth Taiji Divine Art.
‘How did I end up……’
Buk Won-pyeong looked at the young man before his eyes.
The young man, whose martial arts uniform, sword, and even the cloth tying his hair were all black, was staring straight at him with those dark eyes.
“What I want to learn is the Jade Purity Heavenly Nature Sword.”
“…….”
At his attitude, as though he were demanding that Buk Won-pyeong hand over what was already his, Buk Won-pyeong, who was approaching forty, swallowed a groan.
Even when learning a single fragment of swordsmanship from a third-rate wanderer, one would still offer three bows, even if not a Ninefold Bow……
“You are not thinking of breaking your promise now, are you?”
Though his roughness was no less than that of a loan shark, Buk Won-pyeong could not show any particular dissatisfaction.
To begin with, the wager he had made with him had been to teach him martial arts.
“Before that, there is something I am curious about.”
“What do you mean?”
“How does a young man barely past twenty know about the ‘theory on the correlation between acupoints and qi deviation,’ which even martial arts instructors do not know well?”
Until now, the general common sense of the martial world was that the causes of qi deviation lay in the impurity of the inner arts settled in the Dantian and excessive inner arts operation.
However, recently, among certain martial artists who had learned medicine and physicians well versed in martial arts, a theory had begun to emerge that weak acupoints could also become a cause of qi deviation.
It was something that even the instructors did not know well unless they were interested in martial arts theory.
That was why Buk Won-pyeong had been confident when he accepted the wager.
And yet, a young man who was only just barely past twenty had recited all of it fluently.
“Because I felt the limits of my sect’s martial arts and read every helpful book I could find.”
Buk Won-pyeong also knew well that the Taeul Sect had been an insignificant sect.
The treatment of the Taeul Sect in the martial world was so trivial that comparing it to the One-Successor Lineage of the Three Pure Ones Peerless Sword felt rude in itself.
“……And while doing that, you learned about the theory on the correlation between acupoints and qi deviation?”
“Yes. My memory is fairly good.”
“…….”
Only then did Buk Won-pyeong understand the sight of Jin So-un reciting the names of as many as three hundred sixty-five acupoints in response to the instructor who had asked about Acupoint Methods.
‘Man proposes, Heaven disposes……’
Even in a hopeless situation, had he done everything he could for the sake of his sect?
For some reason, Buk Won-pyeong began to think that the story of how he had recovered the True Inheritance of the Taeul Sword Emperor might not have been a coincidence either.
“You are not thinking of canceling the wager by saying you did not know my memory was good, are you?”
Jin So-un looked at him suspiciously.
Until now, Buk Won-pyeong had looked at him unfavorably because he kept causing incidents, but for some reason, the things he did were gradually no longer hateful.
“I heard you recovered the True Inheritance of the Taeul Sword Emperor. Why are you interested in another person’s martial arts?”
“I do not know how to use the Sword Force.”
“Hm?”
Buk Won-pyeong’s brow was distorted.
If a martial art was of a high level, it was only natural that the path toward Sword Force would be written in it.
Though there were no absurd parts to it, even if only half the legends were true, it was strange that Sword Force was not recorded in the Taeul Sword Emperor’s martial scripture.
“It seems the Taeul Sword Emperor did not particularly place importance on the existence of the Sword Force.”
“Is that so? Even so, among the elders of your sect……”
“I have seen Hall Master Kang Chae-seok of Swift Blossom Hall send out Sword Qi, but……”
It was a passage that let him roughly understand what the situation was.
Because the sect had no masters, it could not raise masters either.
“That friend was there……”
“You know him?”
“We attended the academy together. He was quite a promising friend……”
Buk Won-pyeong omitted the words, “but his progress was slow because his martial arts did not support him.”
After all, it was a frustration experienced by nearly sixty percent of those who entered through the special admissions of the One Hundred Eight Peaks.
“So I asked you, Academy Head, because I wondered whether it might help me learn Sword Force.”
“That is not asking. It is making a wager.”
“If you say you handed over your martial arts after losing a wager, would your founder not grieve?”
“Then you should not have made such a wager in the first place.”
“Is that so?”
His brazen attitude showed that he did not know he had done anything wrong.
Buk Won-pyeong felt a strange feeling for some reason.
It was a peculiar sensation, as though he had turned back time and met an old classmate from the past.
In the past, Kang Chae-seok had also shown astonishing will and conviction just like him.
“In any case, a promise is a promise, so I must teach you martial arts. However, I cannot teach you about Sword Force. If you are to learn Sword Force, you must be taught the martial art itself, but you have no intention of inheriting the True Inheritance of the Three Pure Ones Peerless Sword, do you?”
“Is there no such thing as pinpoint private tutoring?”
Buk Won-pyeong made a dumbfounded expression.
“Do you think Sword Force is something you can learn like some hand technique?”
Jin So-un nodded obediently.
“I roughly expected that. That is why I said I wanted to learn the Jade Purity Heavenly Nature Sword.”
At Jin So-un’s words, Buk Won-pyeong shook his head.
“Unfortunately, that is impossible as well. To begin with, the Jade Purity Heavenly Nature Sword requires one to possess the Jade Purity Heavenly Nature Power among the Three Pure Ones.”
It was the reason the Three Pure Ones Peerless Sword had no choice but to continue as a One-Successor Lineage.
The Three Pure Ones were Great Purity, Jade Purity, and Supreme Purity.
They could only be built through Heavenly Dao Power, the essence of the Three Pure Ones, not through worldly qi that moved according to a martial artist’s emitted will.
Moreover, to build the Three Pure Ones through Heavenly Dao Power, one needed an innate Martial God Body and a Dantian made of pure Internal Qi. A human who had put cooked food into his mouth since childhood was essentially born as a being who could not learn the Three Pure Ones.
“The Jade Purity Heavenly Nature Power is made only from the purest Internal Qi among the Three Pure Ones, so even if you learn the sword form……”
Buk Won-pyeong, who had been speaking, opened his mouth blankly and stopped.
His gaze was fixed on something like a Meteor Hammer that had extended from Jin So-un’s left hand.
“Th-That is……”
A weight hung limply toward the floor, and around the thread connected to that weight, a golden halo of light was swaying.
“Jade Purity Heavenly Nature Power?”
Buk Won-pyeong looked as though he could not believe it even as the words left his own mouth.
“H-How can a secular martial artist……”
“The foundation of the Taeul Sword Emperor’s martial scripture was based on Heavenly Dao Power. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, since childhood, I have only practiced the Taeul Heart Method, the foundational study of the Taeul True Scripture.”
It was an astonishing story.
Heavenly Dao Power was something that emerged from the process by which ancient Daoists accumulated emptiness, and it differed from the worldly qi used for martial arts.
“Because the True Inheritance was cut off for five hundred years, you were able to avoid straying down another path…… Is that it?”
“Well, I cannot say whether that is a good thing now.”
“Are there no martial arts that use the Three Pure Ones in this Taeul True Scripture you speak of? If it uses the Three Pure Ones, such martial arts should naturally have been prepared.”
“In truth, this is something I realized while learning a martial art created by a certain eccentric. When the Taeul True Scripture was influenced by that eccentric’s martial art, I became able to handle Jade Purity Heavenly Nature Power.”
“You happened to become able to handle Jade Purity Heavenly Nature Power? What kind of martial art did that eccentric create…… Or is it someone you cannot speak of?”
“Yes.”
“Hoho……”
“My greatest problem right now is this. My Jade Purity Heavenly Nature Power is effective at suppressing demons, but it shows no effect in actual strikes.”
“Of course. Originally, it is an energy for accumulating emptiness, not for harming someone.”
“If you teach me that method, I do not mind even if you do not teach me the sword art itself.”
“Hmm……”
It was strange that it contained the energy of the Three Pure Ones, yet did not specify how to use it.
No, perhaps the people of that era had thought there was no need to specify it.
Perhaps the study of the Taeul True Scripture could not even be compared to the Three Pure Ones Peerless Sword, which was counted as difficult.
“Do you have no intention of becoming a Lay Disciple?”
“I do not.”
At the overly firm refusal, Buk Won-pyeong hurriedly waved his hands.
“I am not necessarily saying I will impose obligations on you. If you are to use all three of the Three Pure Ones, would there not be a limit to learning only one or two fragments of martial arts?”
“I am not sure. If the Taeul True Scripture does not implement Great Purity or Supreme Purity Power, would learning another martial art not be a distant prospect? Moreover, if I learn another inner arts method at this point, no matter how pure it is, would my original form not change?”
“Well…… that is true……”
Buk Won-pyeong had no choice but to smack his lips in regret.
His age was now approaching forty, and he had to start finding a disciple to inherit his True Inheritance.
He had said he would search for a disciple after achieving sufficient success within the Murim Alliance, but he had not achieved as much advancement as he had wanted.
No matter how well the martial world treated him, in the end, one could do nothing with one’s strength alone.
“Conversely, how about you enter the Taeul Sect as a Lay Disciple, Academy Head?”
“Hm?”
Buk Won-pyeong was about to laugh at the wicked joke and begin training, but Jin So-un’s face was utterly serious.
Then an astonishing story flowed from his mouth.
“Is this not about the age where you should start looking for a disciple?”
“…….”
“But finding a vessel that can receive the energy of the Three Pure Ones is not easy, is it?”
“How do you know that……?”
“Did I not tell you? I studied many things here and there. So, what do you think about entering the Taeul Sect as a Lay Disciple?”
“What in the world does my need to find a disciple have to do with becoming a Lay Disciple of the Taeul Sect?”
“Is the Taeul Heart Method, the foundational martial art of the Taeul Sect, not ultimately connected to Heavenly Dao Power?”
“…….”
Buk Won-pyeong felt as though his head had been struck with a bang.
“Of course, I only came to know this recently as well. But considering that the Taeul True Scripture and Taeul Heart Method were originally one study, a child who builds a foundation with the Taeul Heart Method should have the physical conditions needed to receive instruction in the Three Pure Ones Peerless Sword.”
“…….”
If Jin So-un’s words were true, then even a child who had eaten cooked food could gradually eliminate fire qi through the Taeul Heart Method. Furthermore, as long as that child formed a Dantian with the Taeul Heart Method, filling the Dantian with the energy of the Three Pure Ones afterward would not be difficult.
The reason one originally searched for a Martial God Body was also to find a constitution that did not easily accumulate fire qi by nature.
“Can you teach me the Taeul Heart Method?”
Before they knew it, the person who was supposed to receive teaching and the person who was supposed to give teaching had switched places, but neither of them paid it any mind.
“Hoho……”
After completing one small circuit according to the oral formula Jin So-un had recited to him, a dumbfounded laugh leaked from Buk Won-pyeong’s mouth.
There was no problem whatsoever operating his Dantian, which was filled with pure qi.
This meant that the Taeul Heart Method was a study that cultivated Heavenly Dao Power.
“A Lay Disciple…… A Lay Disciple, is it……”
Although he was approaching forty and had no small amount of experience in the martial world, he did not feel much resistance toward entering the Taeul Sect as a disciple.
No, rather, he felt as though he desperately wanted them to accept him.
If that happened, the Three Pure Ones Peerless Sword could break free from the tradition of being a One-Successor Lineage and be reborn as a sect.
“Would the Taeul Sect accept me as a Lay Disciple?”
“It is not as though you want the Taeul Sect’s core teachings, and you simply wish to use its foundational martial art, so there should not be any great difficulty. Our Sect Leader is broad-minded.”
“Haha…… That truly is the most welcome thing I have heard. May I go pay my respects to the Taeul Sect tomorrow?”
Jin So-un furrowed his brow.
“We are still in the middle of the semester, are we not? And there is something you must teach me first.”
“Ah…… that is right. I should.”
Like that, Buk Won-pyeong, while teaching martial arts to someone for the first time in his life, suddenly asked something that came to mind.
“Why do you…… set yourself against the Righteous Path Association?”
He knew that various stories were being exchanged among the instructors.
As a member of the Education Pavilion, it was only natural to claim neutrality, but did worldly affairs ever flow that purely?
This exam incident had also occurred because some instructors connected to the Righteous Path Association had suspected Jin So-un.
“The Nine Sects and One Gang, the Five Great Clans, and the Twelve Peak Citadels are enormous entities. They are not opponents you can face with the childish bravado of youth.”
Buk Won-pyeong spoke as if he were speaking to his younger self.
Jin So-un’s current appearance was not greatly different from his own in the past.
But in the past, Buk Won-pyeong had ultimately been broken.
After all, there were things one could not do, no matter how hard one tried or how much will one used to overcome them.
“I have never set myself against them.”
“…….”
“I merely said that something was wrong.”
“But those things may cause them to define you as a troublesome existence.”
“I do not care.”
“Are you saying advancement, wealth, and glory do not matter either?”
A fragile conviction could not overcome a powerful desire.
Whether he knew that or not, Jin So-un spoke without hesitation.
“What joy would there be in enjoying advancement, wealth, and glory through improper methods? I merely wish to become someone who is not shameful before my junior brothers and the elders of my sect.”
“…….”
“Moreover, I do not believe there is such a thing as an absolute existence. If I show myself resisting, even if I fall, my junior brothers will carry on my will. And if even my junior brothers fall, their disciples will continue carrying on that will. Is that not the spirit of the current Orthodox Path?”
“……!”
Buk Won-pyeong could only open his mouth blankly at Jin So-un’s words, which carried profound mystery.
After being silent for a long while from the shock that felt like lightning striking his head, he muttered as if groaning.
“Even if he was born in a stream, a dragon is still a dragon…… Is that it?”
For some reason, Buk Won-pyeong thought that if he entered the Taeul Sect as a Lay Disciple, perhaps he might be able to raise a disciple like Jin So-un.
“Even so, be careful. I happen to overhear the instructors’ conversations from time to time, and they seem to be plotting something unusual.”
“You are going to become a person of my sect, Academy Head. What worry could I possibly have?”
At Jin So-un’s playful banter, Buk Won-pyeong burst into hearty laughter.
The atmosphere at the academy after the written exam ended began to become somewhat excited.
This was because this practical exam was a martial-duel venue where the high and low of the academy students’ skills could be directly measured.
To academy students who possessed the instincts of martial artists down to their bones, such a venue was no different from a festival.
“It is still only the first day, but there are quite a lot of people.”
In order to observe the practical exam beginning with Class A, not only academy students but also many people from the Alliance had come to watch the performances of their sect’s junior brothers and disciples.
“Today, most of them are from the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Clans.”
Seong Mo-ran said this while looking around at the people sitting sparsely while wearing the same clothes.
“Would a place like this not also become a contest of pride among them?”
At Eun-ho’s words, Seong Mo-ran nodded as though she understood.
“By the way, whom is Young Master Jin facing?”
Before I could answer, Namgung Seon-hwa spoke.
“There is no one in Class A outside the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Clans, so perhaps someone from Class B will come up?”
My thoughts were similar.
To begin with, if they paired people whose levels differed too greatly, they would not be able to measure their ability accurately, so the instructors’ cold evaluation was bound to be applied in such matters.
“If it is Class B…… then would it be Black Whirlwind Yuk Ja-gwang after all?”
Yuk Ja-gwang of the Beijing Yuk Family was a talent who did not fall short even when compared to the elites of the Nine Sects and One Gang.
Seong Mo-ran stared intently at my face and said,
“But why do you not look nervous? The sharpness of the Yuk Clan Spear Form is counted among the ultimate arts of the martial world.”
I did not know whether this was fortunate or unfortunate, but thanks to Yuk Si-rang, I knew the six ultimate forms of the Yuk Clan Spear Form.
Moreover, with Jegal Cheon-gi’s help, Yuk Si-rang had completed the Shattering Forms for the six forms of the Yuk Clan Spear Form.
His dream of returning to the Yuk Estate after the war ended and taking revenge had ultimately never come true, but perhaps I might fulfill his dream here today.
“It is not as though we are fighting to the death, so what is there to be nervous about?”
When I looked around the stands, members of Class B were waiting here and there, perhaps because some of them were taking the exam today as well.
“The Murim Academy practical exam shall begin! Those whose names are called, come to the training ground!”
The instructor’s booming voice rang loudly across the entire Grand Training Ground.
The instructor looked at the paper in his hand and shouted.
“Jin So-un of the Taeul Sect!”
People’s gazes focused on me.
Envy, jealousy, hatred, wariness, dissatisfaction, and more.
A variety of emotions mixed together and covered my entire body.
As I rose from my seat and headed toward the training ground.
Eun Seol-ran, who had been sitting beside Sa-ryeon, said,
“Do your best, Brother!”
I nodded to Eun Seol-ran, and for some reason, Seong Mo-ran and Namgung Seon-hwa looked at me with venomous eyes.
“Keep your head straight and do it properly. Do not let your guard down.”
“They say Black Whirlwind Yuk Ja-gwang usually maintains an ascetic life and devotes himself to training……. It will be hard for Young Master Jin to win.”
I made an aggrieved expression, but the two of them merely turned their gazes away at the same time and snorted.
It had been the same in my previous life too, but a woman’s heart truly was something I could never understand.
On the way to the training ground, I saw Yuk Ja-gwang, dressed in a blue martial arts uniform, rising from his seat in the stands on the opposite side.
The instructor looked at me with a strange gaze, then looked at the paper and shouted loudly.
“The martial duel opponent is…… Il-gak of Shaolin Temple.”
My steps came to a halt.
Yuk Ja-gwang in the stands on the opposite side did the same.
In the place where the monks of Shaolin Temple had gathered, one monk quietly rose to his feet.
“Holy shit…….”
Starting with the curse someone in the stands muttered, the Grand Training Ground turned noisy as though it had become a marketplace.
