Chapter 282
Chapter 282
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 282
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Lesson
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For Bu Eun-seol, who had reached the Supreme Heavenly Realm, formless energy was no more than a passing breeze.
But when the middle-aged man suddenly unleashed his formless energy, he was reminded of the Sword Demon, Wi Hyeok-gun, who had attacked him in the Hell Map of the past.
“Ugh.”
However, that feeling lasted only for a fleeting moment.
As if unable to withstand the energy, Bu Eun-seol deliberately staggered back a few steps.
The moment his true martial prowess was revealed, the whole charade would be over.
“Do you understand what I’m saying?”
At the middle-aged man’s question, Bu Eun-seol lowered his head with a pained expression.
“I understand.”
Seeing his wretched state, the middle-aged man nodded in satisfaction.
“And… if you grow tired of being a wanderer, come find me, the Hall Master.”
After casting one last glance at Bu Eun-seol’s face, the middle-aged man turned away without a shred of lingering attachment.
“What on earth just happened?”
Just then, Jong Jeong-yak approached and asked.
“The Seven Hyun Clan. Young Master Seol, you were a successor of that place?”
As if greatly shocked by the formless energy, Bu Eun-seol deliberately staggered once more before shaking his head.
“By the way, who is that person?”
Jong Jeong-yak blinked her large eyes and whispered in a low voice.
“You really don’t know?”
“What do you mean?”
“That is the man in charge of this Alliance’s Hall of Martial Ascendance, Yuk Jang-cheon. Hall Master Yuk.”
“The Palm King, Yuk Jang-cheon?”
Bu Eun-seol’s eyes widened.
That large-framed, middle-aged man was the leader in command of all the martial instructors in the Martial Alliance, and one of the Four Gods and Seven Kings. The Palm King, Yuk Jang-cheon?
“I did not know.”
As Bu Eun-seol shivered slightly as if in fear, Jong Jeong-yak smiled.
“It’s alright. Now that he has acknowledged you, Young Master Seol, you won’t have any more trouble.”
‘Acknowledged, he says… Good.’
Hearing those words, Bu Eun-seol inwardly smirked in triumph.
The Martial Alliance was the Martial Alliance, after all.
It might seem lax on the surface, but in reality, it was a more fearsome place than the Demonic Cult.
When an outside wanderer entered the Martial Alliance, they must have mobilized all their information networks to thoroughly investigate his background, from top to bottom.
And when they still found no issues, it was clear they had a fearsome master like Yuk Jang-cheon confirm Bu Eun-seol’s identity one more time.
‘It was fortunate that I entered the Martial Emperor’s Secret Archives.’
What if Bu Eun-seol was still at the level of merely imitating orthodox martial arts like in the past?
His true nature would have likely been exposed at once.
However, having entered the Martial Emperor’s Secret Archives and deeply studied various martial arts, Bu Eun-seol could now perform orthodox techniques more authentically than anyone.
That was why he could perfectly deceive the eyes of even a fearsome master like the Palm King, Yuk Jang-cheon.
‘The Martial Alliance. Nothing about it is easy.’
The power of the Orthodox Murim surpassed that of the Demonic Path, and the influence of the Martial Alliance also exceeded the full strength of the Demonic Cult.
If he were to misstep even slightly here, even Bu Eun-seol would meet an immediate death.
“You seem quite startled.”
At Jong Jeong-yak’s words, Bu Eun-seol forced a smile.
“I’ll be fine after a little rest.”
Then, stumbling as if in great shock, he made his way toward his quarters.
Night had fallen.
Jong Jeong-yak met with the Hwamillwonju every day to discuss many things for a successful Ten Council Meeting.
And with the Hwamillwonju’s help, she began to search for materials that would prove Danri Muk’s corruption.
Neung Jo-un, having completely let down his guard against Bu Eun-seol, no longer stood watch over him and went to help Jong Jeong-yak instead.
“If you feel cooped up, you can go for a walk. The guards will stop you if you try to enter a restricted area anyway.”
Moreover, after learning of Bu Eun-seol’s clan origins, his attitude had become quite favorable.
Most wanderers came from the Demonic Path or the Underworld.
But upon learning that Bu Eun-seol was the successor of the once-famous orthodox clan, the Seven Hyun Clan, he showed considerable goodwill.
*Click.*
As Neung Jo-un left, Bu Eun-seol stealthily slipped out of his quarters.
‘I should search a different place today.’
The mechanism in the abandoned warehouse was the most suspicious, but Danri Muk had changed the arrangement of the bluestone slabs yesterday.
The probability of him leaving a trace again today was low, so in the meantime, Bu Eun-seol intended to investigate other places.
‘Shall I go a little deeper inside?’
*Step, step.*
Moving slowly, Bu Eun-seol headed toward the depths of the Martial Alliance’s eastern gate, a place he hadn’t gone to yesterday.
It was where the quarters of the Alliance Leader and other masters of the Four Gods and Seven Kings level, or their equivalents, were located.
‘About fifty paces should be enough.’
Bu Eun-seol didn’t plan to get too close, intending to use Gongsim-tongnyeong from a distance of about fifty paces.
If he got any closer, he might arouse suspicion, and if a direct confrontation were to occur?
An endless stream of masters with whom he had no chance of winning would pour out.
‘The sound of a mechanism.’
Heading toward the eastern gate, Bu Eun-seol perked up his ears and looked at a building.
It was shaped like a large pagoda, and a faint grinding sound of a mechanism could be heard from the entire structure.
‘There’s a hidden space.’
Stealthily examining the area around the pagoda, Bu Eun-seol covered his face with the pillowcase from his sleeve.
Entering cautiously, he walked along a corridor faintly lit by a gentle light.
When he finally reached the end of the passage, a wide hall opened up, with small, sarcophagus-like objects placed here and there.
‘These are…’
Upon closer inspection of the sarcophagi, he saw that the Dharma names of monks were engraved on them.
‘I’ve come to the wrong place.’
This place seemed to be a sarira pagoda, where the sacred relics left by high-ranking monks who belonged to the Martial Alliance were stored.
‘These can also be considered precious treasures… so there must be a mechanism.’
Just as Bu Eun-seol nodded faintly and was about to exit back into the corridor,
“Amitabha.”
A low Buddhist chant came from behind him.
“What brings a night visitor to this sanctuary where an old man resides alone at such a late hour?”
Bu Eun-seol was greatly surprised.
It was surprising enough that someone had bypassed his Way of the Beast senses to approach this close, but also…
Even though the person was speaking from behind him, the voice was heard clearly in his ears.
‘This is a master I cannot face.’
Tense, Bu Eun-seol turned around very slowly.
He saw an old monk in robes, a faint smile on his face.
His eyes held the clear light of a boy, and his eyebrows, drooping long like willow branches, were colored white as snow blossoms.
He was clearly a high-ranking master from Shaolin of considerable seniority.
“I did not come with ill intent.”
Bu Eun-seol said respectfully, clasping his hands together.
“If the great monk would show me mercy, I will quietly withdraw.”
“Hoo hoo hoo. This is a sacred ground of Buddhism, where outsiders are absolutely forbidden.”
The old monk smiled with the innocence of a child.
“I’ll need to know your clan and name, so this old monk has something to report to the Buddha, won’t I?”
“If I intended to reveal that, I would not have worn a mask.”
“That is true, I suppose.”
The old monk shook his head as if in regret and said.
“Then I have no choice but to ask your body directly.”
*Whoosh!*
The old monk waved his hands lightly as if shooing away a fly.
Simultaneously, a gale strong enough to tear at his skin blew toward Bu Eun-seol’s face.
‘The Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm?’
What the old monk unleashed was the initial move of the Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm, the same technique used by Gwang Yeon, who was called the greatest prodigy of Shaolin.
However, Gwang Yeon’s version had been very gentle, and the speed at which the palm energy spread was very gradual.
But when this old monk performed the Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm, the palm energy poured out with a violent wind.
His internal energy was so profound that even the characteristic gentleness of Buddhist martial arts had vanished.
‘Keuk.’
Bu Eun-seol immediately used Extreme Speed, Formless Shadow to evade the palm energy.
In that instant, the palm energy multiplied into thirty-two strikes, enveloping Bu Eun-seol’s body.
‘I can’t dodge it.’
Bu Eun-seol was greatly flustered.
To have all his escape routes sealed in just two seconds?
‘Think later.’
He tried to use the Thousand Hands Annihilation Style to dissipate the palm energy at once.
At that moment, a thought flashed through his mind.
‘I can’t use demonic martial arts.’
There was no hostility in the old monk’s eyes, and a faint smile played on his lips.
He was clearly thinking of Bu Eun-seol as a junior from the Martial Alliance, without a single thought that he might be a demonic figure.
*Shhhk!*
In the brief moment he was lost in thought, the Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm grazed his face.
The pillowcase covering his face was instantly snatched into the old monk’s hand.
‘How can this be?’
Bu Eun-seol’s eyes were filled with shock.
Even if he had been momentarily distracted, to have his mask snatched so easily.
What if the old monk had harbored malicious intent?
He could have crushed Bu Eun-seol’s face in a single move with the Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm.
‘To think this unassuming old monk possesses martial arts that could look down upon the world.’
“Hoh.”
The old monk let out a sound of admiration as he gazed upon Bu Eun-seol’s finally revealed face.
Although he was using the Face-Altering Bone-Changing Art at the cost of a tenth of his power, the old monk’s eyes seemed to be able to see Bu Eun-seol’s true features clearly.
“Not only is your face radiant, but your eyes are full of vigor. Filled with killing intent, yet devoid of malevolence…”
The old monk spoke with an innocent smile.
“Which clan could have produced such an outstanding disciple…”
The old monk was convinced that Bu Eun-seol was a disciple of a renowned orthodox hero, not someone from the Demonic Path.
“Well, judging by your eyes, you don’t seem willing to tell me.”
The old monk spread his small hands wide again.
“Shall we ask your body one more time?”
*Shweek!*
His words were long, but his movements were like lightning.
The small old monk’s palms once again unleashed the sticky and powerful Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm.
‘I can’t block it.’
The old monk’s Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm was a hundred times stronger than Gwang Yeon’s.
It was at a level that Bu Eun-seol simply could not block with the orthodox martial arts he could imitate.
‘Is there no other choice?’
Even if the old monk had no intention of killing him, getting hit by that palm energy would instantly cause internal injuries or knock him unconscious.
If that happened, his investigation of the Martial Alliance would all be for naught.
*Shweek! Shweek!*
At that moment, sharp streams of force erupted from Bu Eun-seol’s body.
From his legs and both arms, he unleashed different orthodox martial arts as a single mass.
He had performed the Thirteen Nocturnes of the Martial Emperor, the ultimate orthodox martial art from four hundred years ago.
“Hoooh.”
The old monk exclaimed.
The sharp force that Bu Eun-seol had unleashed was dissipating the Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm one by one.
“A remarkable martial art, indeed…”
The old monk, having let out a cry of admiration, lightly shook his twin palms.
Despite the light shake of his hands, the force of the Thirteen Nocturnes that Bu Eun-seol had unleashed melted away like snow.
‘Prajna’s Great Power?’
The old monk hadn’t blocked the Thirteen Nocturnes with a special technique.
With the powerful and tenacious force known as Prajna’s Great Power, he had instantly altered the martial principles of the Thirteen Nocturnes.
‘Is he a master of the Realm of Infinity?’
Bu Eun-seol felt as if his heart would explode.
To extend an formless power and change the characteristics of an enemy’s incoming martial art?
This ability of the old monk’s proved that he had reached the pinnacle of martial arts, far surpassing the martial progression of the Supreme Heavenly Realm.
“Now then, try to receive this.”
In that time, the old monk drew his twin palms back to his chest, then spread them wide once more.
*Chwarararak.*
This time, he created sixty-four hand shadows that enveloped Bu Eun-seol’s body.
He had once again performed the Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm.
*Chwararararak…*
But then, something astonishing happened.
As if time had stopped, the Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm was pouring out incredibly slowly.
“…!”
At that moment, Bu Eun-seol’s pupils trembled ceaselessly.
The slowly unfolding Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm was not simply an increase in the number of palm energy shadows.
To each and every move, he had allocated a different angle and timing.
In other words, the old monk had created a new martial art from a single one.
‘This is…’
A spark of brilliance flashed in the eyes of Bu Eun-seol, who had gained a great realization.
Simultaneously, Bu Eun-seol’s hands lightly drew a circle.
It was a movement as if performing the Tai Chi Chuan of the Wudang Sect.
*Swish!*
In that instant, five strands of force shot up from around Bu Eun-seol’s body.
And those strands of force began to erase the sixty-four strikes of the Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm one by one.
*Swish! Swish! Swish!*
The force of the Thirteen Nocturnes was now incredibly sharp, unlike before, and it roamed freely in the air like a living flood dragon.
If before he had forcefully clumped martial arts together to perform the Thirteen Nocturnes,
Now, a powerful and sharp force was pouring out with just a very natural movement.
*Papak!*
When Bu Eun-seol finally dissipated all sixty-four strikes of the Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm, the old monk’s hands slowly came to a stop.
“Hah, hah.”
Bu Eun-seol gasped for breath.
It wasn’t because he was tired.
It was because he had realized a new and great martial principle that was difficult to handle, and had performed the Thirteen Nocturnes in a state of self-forgetfulness.
“Why…”
Barely managing to regulate his internal breathing, Bu Eun-seol looked at the old monk and clasped his hands together.
“Why have you bestowed such a lesson upon me?”
The old monk had not attacked Bu Eun-seol.
While performing the Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm very slowly, he had simultaneously imparted a high principle of martial arts to Bu Eun-seol.
“To have mastered various orthodox martial arts so deeply as to unleash them as a single mass, and for even a single strand of your internal energy to be as pure and profound as this humble monk’s…”
The old monk stared intently into Bu Eun-seol’s eyes and said.
“How could I not offer a lesson?”
‘Could he be mistaking me for a Great Righteous Master?’
The Great Righteous Masters were taught all the ultimate arts of the Nine Sects and One Union according to their abilities.
The old monk must be mistaking Bu Eun-seol for one of the eighteen Great Righteous Masters raised by the Martial Alliance.
“In return, promise this old monk just one thing.”
However, at the old monk’s next words, Bu Eun-seol immediately realized it was not a mistake.
“That when a great crisis befalls in the future… you will become an unshakeable pillar of the Murim.”
The old monk said with a gentle smile.
“No matter what position you stand in, without being swayed by anything…”
Trust was embedded in the old monk’s mysteriously sparkling eyes.
‘It wasn’t a mistake.’
Judging by his tone and attitude, the old monk was not mistaking Bu Eun-seol for a Great Righteous Master.
Then why did he impart this enlightenment?
Could it be that he knew of the Martial Emperor’s techniques?
Or was it simply because he knew him as a junior who had deeply mastered orthodox martial arts?
If not that… could he have the power to see destiny, to see the future?
“I understand.”
The thoughts were long, but the action was brief.
Seeing the benevolent light in the old monk’s eyes, Bu Eun-seol found himself deeply clasping his hands and bowing his head.
“I will do so.”
“Then, it is settled.”
The old monk then smiled gently and turned his body.
“We shall meet again if fate allows.”
And he slowly disappeared into the darkness beyond the sarcophagi.
“…”
Bu Eun-seol stared blankly at the passage where the old monk had disappeared for a long time.
Even after he came out of the pagoda a while later, he still felt as if he had been bewitched by a ghost.
The moonlight was still shining brightly, yet… he felt as if he were still wandering in a dream.
* * *
The next day, Jong Jeong-yak and Neung Jo-un were still frantically sorting through documents.
When it was time for a meal, Bu Eun-seol went with them to a nearby restaurant again.
Perhaps because it was too late for breakfast, there were almost no people eating inside.
“I saw a peculiar place while taking a walk last night.”
After a dry cough, Bu Eun-seol spoke in a low voice.
“There was a small pagoda visible far off toward the eastern gate.”
Jong Jeong-yak blinked her eyes and nodded.
“You mean the Golden Emperor Pagoda. Why?”
“Does anyone live there?”
“No? No one lives there.”
According to her explanation that followed, the Golden Emperor Pagoda was a place that enshrined the remains of outstanding heroes who had protected the Orthodox Murim.
Naturally, no one lived there, and only the custodians who cleaned and managed the place entered from time to time.
Then was the old monk Bu Eun-seol saw yesterday a ghost?
‘He wasn’t a ghost.’
The area around his sleeve had been sharply torn by the aftershock of the Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm.
Even if that old monk were a ghost, it wouldn’t make sense.
Why would the ghost of a Shaolin high monk appear, modify the Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm, and give a lesson on the Thirteen Nocturnes?
“By any chance, was there some kind of Buddhist ceremony held there recently?”
When Bu Eun-seol changed his question, Jong Jeong-yak nodded.
“How did you know? A Buddhist ceremony hosted by the Shaolin Temple is held there once a year.”
Scratching her forehead, she nodded and said.
“Not long ago, the one called the Divine Monk, Great Monk Hong Hyeon, specially conducted the ceremony.”
“Hong Hyeon…”
A spark seemed to flash in Bu Eun-seol’s eyes.
“You mean Great Monk Hong Hyeon, who is said to be over two hundred years old… the Buddha Revered One of the Three Revered Ones?”