The Past Entwined (7)
Beom-oh was utterly shocked.
“How could this be?”
“The Grandmaster has admitted defeat?!”
Of course, even his eyes could see that the Grandmaster had clearly lost. He simply hadn’t wanted to accept it.
The real problem was that the Grandmaster had admitted it so readily.
“How…….”
How could he do that?
“Does he feel no resentment?”
The Grandmaster had severed all ties with both the Buddhist order and the secular world, choosing to burn away the rest of his life in Foshan.
Yet bonds are not so easily cut. From the few conversations they had shared, Beom-oh knew that while the Grandmaster claimed to have severed those ties, he had still gently guided the next head of Shaolin’s Arhat Hall—the very temple he had once belonged to.
In the same way, though the Grandmaster had distanced himself from martial arts, he had not completely severed himself from the world of martial arts.
The martial path, the martial world, martial arts themselves.
Once a person has lived in that world, they can never truly escape it. That held true for every elder residing in Foshan.
Yet he had admitted defeat so cleanly?
“He must have gone easy on him. If even I could see it, Yeon Daesu would have known as well.”
That was why Yeon Hojeong had spoken as he did. If the Grandmaster had displayed his true skill from the very first exchange, the outcome would never have been like this.
But what the Grandmaster had said next was even more shocking.
“Whether it was intentional or carelessness, the result is still the result.”
At that moment, Beom-oh felt a chill run down his spine.
“The result is the result……”
The strongest Arhat Hall head in Shaolin history. The very symbol of chivalry who had suppressed and defeated more evildoers than any predecessor.
A peerless master whose fiery temperament and overwhelming fighting spirit had made him both revered and feared by every Shaolin monk of his generation.
That man had so cleanly admitted defeat. And to an opponent far younger and weaker than himself.
“What on earth changed the Grandmaster so much?”
Of course, Beom-oh had never witnessed Tam-gyeong in his prime. He had seen his face, but never his martial exploits.
Still, there were things one could understand without seeing them firsthand.
Beom-oh felt a sense of kinship with Tam-gyeong. Beyond their shared Shaolin origins, he sensed it in their personalities.
Tam-gyeong must have felt the same. His fighting spirit would have been stronger than anyone’s, and his talent extraordinary. That was why the anguish he felt when his growth halted must have been immense.
And then—
“……Just like me, there must have been someone who helped him realize the truth.”
The martial world was a wilderness.
In the wild, there was no such thing as playfulness. A deer would never think of toying with a tiger. The moment it tried, it would die.
That was the law of the wilderness, the law of nature. To live a full life, one had to face every moment, every single day, with complete sincerity. Even then, few beasts lived long enough to die of old age.
What, then, of the martial world?
“He went easy on him. He held back. It was just a game. It was courtesy……”
Beom-oh’s eyes trembled.
“They’re nothing more than pathetic excuses.”
In a friendly spar, there might still be something to learn. But in a fight to the death, one dies without being able to offer a single excuse. There is not even a chance to protest.
That was life. That was the martial world. When it came to victory or defeat, excuses were nothing but impurities.
It was a realization he had already accepted deep in his heart on the way to Guangdong. There was no reason to be shocked by it now.
Yet Beom-oh was profoundly shaken by Tam-gyeong’s attitude.
“He’s different.”
Tam-gyeong. The Grandmaster. Gak-ryo.
They were the same person, yet also completely different people.
“The Shaolin monk Gak-ryo was a wrathful Mingwang whom everyone feared. The great Grandmaster of his generation was merely a benevolent old man. Tam-gyeong, the one responsible for Foshan, is a sage who burns away the rest of his life for a single purpose—and he will continue to do so.”
Tears began to well up.
Why?
If this, too, was a moment of realization, then why did Beom-oh feel tears coming?
“I should never have tried to imitate him.”
If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha.
“I already knew this, so why did I try so hard to become like someone else?”
Looking at another’s stance to reflect on oneself was right. But if one believed everything about that person was correct simply because of their position and tried to follow them exactly, that was impure.
“The answer was already inside me. Whether it was martial arts, the self, or the Buddhist mind—ultimately, I had to take that first step myself.”
Whooooooong.
Golden true energy surged from Beom-oh’s body once more.
It was far more subtle than before. So faint that one might not notice the light unless looking closely. Yet the moment one perceived it, the auspiciousness of that glow brought a sense of calm to the heart.
It was not an enlightenment of martial arts, but an enlightenment as a person.
Within Beom-oh’s chest, the transparent core of the five desires and seven emotions cracked with a sharp sound.
Whooooooosh.
The Dae-seung-beom-cheon-shin-gong stirred, and the once gentle yet powerful demon-subduing true energy began to compress to an extreme degree.
Shaolin’s martial arts were arts of enlightenment. The deeper one’s Buddhist mind, the greater the quality and quantity of one’s accumulated energy. The closer one reached to higher principles, the more the power of the martial arts themselves changed.
That was why Shaolin’s martial arts were great. Those who sought power had to be worthy of obtaining it. Only those with such worthiness could wield great power without misusing it.
In other words, Beom-oh had stood at the threshold of the wall of Mu-jong despite lacking deeper Buddhist insight or pursuit of principle compared to other monks.
Now, at last, he was beginning to soar as a martial monk who had truly learned martial arts.
Ding. Ding. Ding……
The faint toll of a temple bell echoed.
The inner energy of the Dae-seung-beom-cheon-shin-gong was transforming into the true energy of wisdom that pierced through the truth of the Great Vehicle Dharma.
A martial art of absolute enlightenment. An invincible technique that could not be mastered simply by knowing its scriptures and incantations.
The Ban-ya-dae-neung-ryeok, one of Shaolin’s greatest divine arts and one of the two great abilities, was reshaping Beom-oh’s true energy from its very roots.
* * *
“He is not your disciple?”
What did that mean?
Tam-gyeong smiled.
“A statement prone to misunderstanding. To be precise, it seems the person I know and your master are the same individual. However, the Mystic he was when he met me and the Mystic who taught you appear to have been quite different.”
“That sounds like wordplay. In the end, they’re the same person.”
“Does sharing the same shell make them the same person? If their soul and their enlightenment differ, they cannot be considered the same.”
Tam-gyeong turned his head to look at Beom-oh.
“Just like that child over there.”
Yeon Hojeong also turned his gaze toward Beom-oh.
Whooooooosh.
Even from this distance, the true energy emanating from him felt as though it pierced to the bone.
Its depth was truly astonishing. Beyond any judgment of strength or dominance, it was a true energy that naturally inspired reverence in those who faced it.
Just like Gong Gong Dae-sa.
Though different from Gong Gong Dae-sa, a power of similar nature was guiding Beom-oh toward a new realm.
“It is not the Supreme Ability, but the Prajna. Remarkable. Martial artists say that Shaolin’s strongest art is the Supreme Great Ability. That is incorrect. The Prajna Great Ability is in no way inferior to the Supreme Great Ability. However, the fact that this child has awakened Prajna proves that, contrary to his innate nature, he has constantly pursued wisdom. The Supreme is more worldly than Prajna.”
Tam-gyeong nodded.
“Thus, another Arhat Hall head capable of leading the current Shaolin generation has been born.”
“……”
“Tell me. Is the Beom-oh you know the same person as the Beom-oh standing there now?”
Yeon Hojeong could not bring himself to say they were the same.
Tam-gyeong’s smile deepened.
“The Mystic I met possessed eyes that could not only dismantle Shaolin martial arts at a glance but even break down the very principles of martial arts themselves. In a sense, it was similar to the Prajna Great Ability. He knew how to make opponents withdraw on their own without needing to lift a finger.”
“……”
“But you are different. Your Sasinmu is closer to the Supreme than to Prajna. You cannot pierce through principles at a glance, but your art is faster and stronger, and its outcome is fixed upon your survival and the death of others.”
“It is simply because we are different people.”
“Since the people are different, their martial arts must also differ. Looking at your martial arts, I can see it clearly. Sasinmu has a clear form and method, but that form and method are merely near-perfect examples. What matters most is how the one who has refined the Four Gods manifests the art depending on the situation and circumstances.”
It was a statement that struck at the very essence of Sasinmu.
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes took on a new light as he looked at Tam-gyeong. He had never met anyone who could grasp this truth after exchanging blows only once.
“In other words, Sasinmu is a martial art where spirit matters more than form and technique. While one can accumulate senses and experience alone, the way it is passed down will shape the successor’s disposition and how they manifest the art.”
“I……”
“Of course, I do not know much about Sasinmu. I am merely speaking based on what I have felt. Moreover, from what I have seen of your martial arts, you have not simply followed your master’s teachings but have completely internalized them as your own.”
“……”
“However, it is clear that your master’s teachings played a significant role in helping you reach your current form.”
After quietly listening to Tam-gyeong’s words, Yeon Hojeong asked abruptly,
“You said you do not know where my master is?”
“I do not. As I said, if I had known, I would not have made such an unreasonable request of you.”
“Then there is only one matter left between us. Whether the person you know is the same as my master or not, we can figure that out later.”
“Hmm.”
Whooooosh! Thud!
Using the Empty Hand Capture, Yeon Hojeong retrieved the Black and White Twin Dragon Axes and fastened them at his waist.
“What do you wish to see and learn from my Four Gods?”
“So you wish to conclude our transaction.”
“That is correct.”
“Very well. Then I shall tell you.”
Tam-gyeong drew in a deep breath.
There was clear tension in his demeanor. No matter his age, this was a moment when a matter he had pursued for so long might finally be resolved, at least in part.
Before it, age, experience, and wisdom were all meaningless.
“You said it yourself, did you not? That if I wished, you could even teach me the scriptures and incantations of the Four Gods?”
“You are reading too much into my words.”
“Haha, but do not worry. I have no need for the scriptures and incantations of Sasinmu.”
“Then what do you wish to know?”
“The incantation that belongs to the Four Gods yet is not of the Four Gods.”
“……?”
“A technique that is clearly part of Sasinmu, yet not entangled within it. More precisely, it is not so much a technique as a path one must walk toward enlightenment.”
“What are you……?”
“I happened to learn of it. When the Four Gods reach their extreme, and the souls of the Four Divine Generals are fully prepared, another world unfolds.”
“……?!”
“A martial art that is clearly Sasinmu, yet transcends Sasinmu. Scriptures remain, but incantations do not—like the Prajna Great Ability, an invincible realm that can only be reached through enlightenment alone.”
“……!!”
Shock spread across Yeon Hojeong’s face.
Tam-gyeong spoke with a somber expression.
“You know of it. Then I apologize. For making such an unreasonable request.”
“……”
“That is right. What I ask of you is but one thing—the scriptures concerning the Yellow Dragon.”