The Stone Monkey Palm

The martial art concealed within Mugeuk Gate was an astounding technique, one that elicited genuine admiration even from Dokgo Jin, whose standards were notoriously difficult to satisfy.

Truth mingled with falsehood, illusion blending seamlessly into reality.

Bizarre, wondrous, and entirely elusive.

There was simply no other way to describe it.

'It defies the conventional logic of traditional martial arts. Rather than an unorthodox path, it borders on a radical departure from all established forms.'

After mentally tracing the nameless palm art's sequences once more, Dokgo Jin rose smoothly to his feet and extended ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his hand toward the empty air.

Paaang!

A sharp crack ripped through the atmosphere as air was violently displaced. Its trajectory was noticeably far more refined than when he had unleashed it amidst the chaotic onslaught within Mugeuk Gate.

'At this level, even an expert of the Peak Realm or higher would struggle to evade it.'

Considering its kaleidoscopic, ever-shifting nature, the difficulty of learning the art itself was surprisingly modest.

'Truly a peculiar martial art.'

However, because it concentrated so singularly on unpredictable paths, its inherent destructive force was relatively weak—if one had to name a flaw, that was it.

'Anyone who knows the true nature of this palm technique wouldn't even bother dodging.'

They would simply brace themselves behind an impenetrable defense or swat it aside with protective astral qi. Yet that did not mean it could be taken lightly. One could easily augment its lethality through supplementary means such as poisons or hidden weapons.

'If I were to adapt this for actual combat...'

Just as Dokgo Jin withdrew his hand and sank into contemplation, a voice cut through the silence.

"It is called the Stone Monkey Palm."

"...!"

Startled, Dokgo Jin turned his head. Leaning against a pillar of the pavilion, Jin Cheonseong, the Master of Mugeuk Hall, had lowered his book at some point and was watching him with keen intrigue.

"The palm technique you just scattered across the air, I mean," Jin Cheonseong added in a low, measured voice.

Dokgo Jin clasped his hands in a respectful salute. "I greet the Hall Master of Mugeuk Hall."

"Good to meet you. Someone has finally cleared Mugeuk Gate at long last." A look of genuine satisfaction spread across Jin Cheonseong's face. "What is your name?"

"I am Dokgo Jin of the Iron Soul Unit."

A curious gleam flashed in Jin Cheonseong's eyes. "I see. So you are the third Dragon Tiger Plaque Master, Dokgo Jin." He gestured toward the space before him. "Come, sit. Let us have a proper conversation."

"Yes, Hall Master."

Dokgo Jin walked over without hesitation and took a seat opposite him.

"Would you prefer to move elsewhere if this spot is uncomfortable?"

"This is fine."

Jin Cheonseong chuckled heartily. "Haha, I thought so. By the way, when did you arrive?"

"Not long ago."

"My apologies. Once I lose myself in a martial manual, I tend to completely lose track of the world."

Glancing at the text in Jin Cheonseong's hand, Dokgo Jin remarked, "The Exposition of Heavenly Meridian Reverse Flow... that is hardly a manual one would recommend."

Jin Cheonseong's eyes rounded in surprise. "Hm? Don't tell me you've actually read this?"

"Yes. I recall reading it in my youth."

In his early years, Dokgo Jin had been renowned within the Dokgo Clan as an insatiable bookworm. It was no exaggeration to say he had devoured every single martial text stored in the clan's archives.

"Oh!" A radiant glow lit up Jin Cheonseong's face. "Then I must ask: what was your impression after reading it?"

The Exposition of Heavenly Meridian Reverse Flow was a theoretical treatise on the human body's qi and blood, reinterpreting the natural circulation of meridians in reverse.

Dokgo Jin offered a succinct reply. "I consider it remarkably well-suited as an introductory primer for demonic arts."

"What? Hahahaha!" Jin Cheonseong burst into boisterous laughter, nodding vigorously. "It certainly shares much in common with demonic arts, I'll grant you that. Yet it is also a theoretical treatise proposing a method to momentarily amplify one's internal energy."

"..."

"I had no idea the Dragon Tiger Plaque Master would be such an accomplished martial scholar. These days, too many fighters in our alliance are so obsessed with physical drills that they neglect studying manuals entirely."

His tone sounded rustic and old-fashioned, but considering his true age, it was hardly out of place. Though Jin Cheonseong appeared to be a man in his mid-to-late thirties, he had long passed his fiftieth year—the milestone of knowing the Heavenly Mandate—and was an elder well into his autumn years.

Dokgo Jin shifted the topic. "The name of the palm technique is rather peculiar."

"Ah, the Stone Monkey Palm?"

"Yes."

"Considering the origins of the art, it is the most fitting name there is."

With that, Jin Cheonseong recounted how the Stone Monkey Palm had come into existence.

Originally the abandoned child of slash-and-burn farmers, Jin Cheonseong had spent his childhood among a troop of monkeys in the wild. When martial artists from the Northern Heavenly Alliance finally discovered him, he was behaving entirely like an ape. Recognizing his uncanny, animalistic agility, they brought him back to cultivate him into a warrior. Almost immediately upon his arrival, he eclipsed all his peers and became the undisputed strongest among them.

"Part of it was because I was born with an exceptional martial skeleton, but the greatest factor was the Stone Monkey Palm."

"Don't tell me you truly learned it from..."

"That's right. It is a palm technique I devised by mimicking their movements while living in their midst."

If true, it was astonishing.

'A born genius, then.'

"However, because it lacks conventional lineage, compiling it into a secret manual proved tricky. Conveniently, Elder Divine Mechanist was around, and since I wanted to ward off bothersome visitors anyway, I designed Mugeuk Gate around the foundations of the Stone Monkey Palm." A cynical smirk touched the corners of Jin Cheonseong's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mouth. "Anyone lacking the skill to discern even that much doesn't deserve a private audience with me."

Dokgo Jin felt a momentary chill run down his spine.

"..."

He had taken the measure of the Hall Master's temperament.

'He utterly disregards anyone he hasn't personally acknowledged.'

The only reason Jin Cheonseong was displaying such goodwill and conversing with him so openly was because Dokgo Jin had successfully breached Mugeuk Gate.

"So, Dragon Tiger Plaque Master. What drove you to challenge Mugeuk Gate? Surely it wasn't just to win a private meeting with me."

Dokgo Jin answered with composure. "I heard about Mugeuk Gate by chance, grew curious, and decided to test myself. In doing so, I unexpectedly gained an exceptional technique."

"Hahaha, you flatter me. It's hardly worthy of being called an ultimate technique. As someone of your caliber has surely noticed, its striking power pales in comparison to the ingenuity of its stances. It remains incomplete."

Dokgo Jin, however, did not agree with that assessment.

'The Stone Monkey Palm lacks raw power simply because that is its fundamental nature, not because it is incomplete.'

Had it truly been incomplete, someone of Jin Cheonseong's caliber would have perfected it decades ago. Given his age, he must have created it over forty years prior.

'It is already a finished art. Trying to shore up its perceived weaknesses will only ruin it.'

It was no different from forcefully adding heavy brushstrokes to an already finished masterpiece in an attempt to make it better.

'There's no way the Mugeuk Hall Master doesn't know that... Is he simply unsatisfied?'

The fact that he had been reading The Exposition of Heavenly Meridian Reverse Flow just moments ago was telling. A challenger had entered Mugeuk Gate for the first time in four years; news of it would have naturally reached his ears. That must have brought the Stone Monkey Palm back to mind, prompting him to ponder ways to compensate for its lacking destructive force. Pulling out The Exposition of Heavenly Meridian Reverse Flow to revisit its concepts fit the pieces together perfectly.

And Dokgo Jin's deduction was spot-on.

"I have heard the rumors surrounding you as well," Jin Cheonseong continued. "You have proven that earning the Dragon Tiger Hall Master's recognition was no fluke."

"I was merely fortunate."

At that, Jin Cheonseong's expression turned stern. "There is no need for such modesty. To a true martial artist, excessive humility is no virtue. One should not be arrogant, but displaying confidence commensurate with one's skill is something to be encouraged."

Dokgo Jin nodded calmly. "I will keep that in mind."

"Haha, forgive me. I became far too solemn."

"I have one request, Hall Master."

"What is it?"

"I wonder how far my comprehension of the Stone Monkey Palm extends. I would like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to compare it against your own."

Jin Cheonseong smirked. "Hahaha! No need to beat around the bush if you wish to spar with me using the Stone Monkey Palm." A sharp light flashed in his eyes as he rose readily to his feet. "Very well! Let me see for myself just how much of the Stone Monkey Palm's principles you've grasped in such a short span."

"Thank you."

The two men squared off, separated by roughly twenty feet.

Yet Dokgo Jin's expression tightened slightly.

'So this is the Master of Mugeuk Hall...'

The aura radiating from Jin Cheonseong now was completely different from when they were casually sitting and conversing. He stood motionless with his hands clasped behind his back, adopting no stance whatsoever, yet his sheer, heavy presence bore down like an oppressive weight. It was impossible to fathom just how terrifying he would be if he unleashed his full martial prowess.

"The Stone Monkey Palm favors the one who strikes second, so I shall make the first move."

Without any windup, Jin Cheonseong thrust a palm forward.

Shwaaa!

His palm cut through the air along a bizarre, erratic trajectory, darting straight toward Dokgo Jin's shoulder.

Refusing to yield, Dokgo Jin swept his hand in response. Imbued with Ink Flame Qi, the tips of his fingers intertwined with Jin Cheonseong's palm force in midair.

Papat! Papapat!

Each clash of their palms tore sharp concussions through the archive pavilion's quietude. The Stone Monkey Palm was not an art meant for head-on collisions; it was a continuous sequence of deceptive forms that slipped into blind spots and bent trajectories by leveraging the opponent's momentum.

Jin Cheonseong felt a surge of genuine admiration. Dokgo Jin wasn't merely mimicking the forms; he had fully internalized the erratic shifts and bizarre angles unique to the Stone Monkey Palm, making them his own.

'Splendid. To think he has mastered it to this extent already!'

His competitive spirit thoroughly stoked, Jin Cheonseong accelerated his offensive. His palms left dozens of afterimages hanging in the air, pressing down on Dokgo Jin with relentless ferocity. It was the absolute pinnacle of speed achievable through the Stone Monkey Palm.

It was precisely then.

Dokgo Jin's gaze turned chillingly calm.

Abruptly pulling back the hand he had been striking with, he twisted his torso and thrust his opposite palm forward to meet the blow directly.

Paaang!

Even if the Stone Monkey Palm was known to lack destructive weight, intercepting it with an unbraced, bare palm was reckless. Unable to fully absorb the impact, Dokgo Jin stumbled several paces backward.

"Watch out!" Taken aback by the unexpected blunder, Jin Cheonseong froze.

Yet Dokgo Jin's mind was focused on only one thing: discerning the energy coursing into his palm from Jin Cheonseong.

Tssss!

A fierce, scorching true qi blazed through Dokgo Jin's wrist like the blazing sun. It was Jin Cheonseong's signature energy—overwhelming, domineering, and impeccably pure.

'Yang qi.'

And not just any ordinary warmth—it was Extreme Yang Qi.

Considering that Sagong Wun, Master of Cloud Sea Hall, wielded Lightning Qi, this was unexpected. Though both were direct disciples of the Alliance Leader, the foundational roots of their inner energy were completely different.

Dokgo Jin mobilized his Ink Flame Qi to scrutinize every wisp of the invading energy down to the finest detail. However...

'...There is none.'

Fierce and raging as Jin Cheonseong's true qi was, akin to a colossal roaring waterfall, there was not a single trace of demonic qi mixed within it.

Jin Cheonseong furrowed his brow. "What was that just now?"

"My apologies. I wished to experience firsthand just how much power the Hall Master could manifest through the Stone Monkey Palm."

"Good grief, to do something so reckless just for that... Is your hand alright?"

Dokgo Jin raised his swollen left hand for him to see. "It looks like this, but the bones and meridians are entirely unharmed."

Jin Cheonseong let out an amused snort. "You're just as obsessed with martial arts as I am."

Fortunately, he seemed to accept Dokgo Jin's excuse without suspicion.

Dokgo Jin bowed with clasped hands in a formal farewell. Sensing his intent, Jin Cheonseong asked, "Are you heading out already?"

"Yes."

"Well, today isn't the only day... Ah, as the conqueror of Mugeuk Gate, you may request an audience with me whenever you wish. Though I doubt I'll be of much help."

"You are quite modest, Hall Master."

"...!"

Jin Cheonseong blinked blankly for a second before bursting into laughter. He had realized that Dokgo Jin had just thrown his own advice about excessive humility right back at him.

"Hahaha! Fair point! I'm sure I can be of help somehow, so come find me whenever you need."

"I will keep that in mind."

"Ah, wait."

As Dokgo Jin turned to leave, Jin Cheonseong called out to stop him.

"Even so, you are the very first person to ever clear Mugeuk Gate. It wouldn't do to send you off empty-handed."