Dragon-Elephant Heart Protection and the Half-Shoes
Among the many ways to accumulate Good Karma in the Divine Dragon's Emergence server, the easiest was reciting sutras—reading the scriptures aloud. According to the Mahayana teachings, the merit of filling a space with one's voice and sharing the Dharma with others was boundless, no matter which scripture was chosen. Scriptures were also called the Light of Wisdom, a great beacon guiding one toward enlightenment. Thus, reciting them aloud was like seeking direction in a pitch-black world of worldly delusions by gazing at that solitary light. When one understood the meaning and recited with sincerity, no greater merit existed. Yet even without understanding, who could look upon the sun and claim not to know its brightness? Therefore, simply reciting the Dharma as instructed would naturally accumulate the merit that led toward Nirvana. In short, it was a cultivation method one could coast through!
Abbot Muhak had never intended to teach Cheong any martial arts. He already had a disciple, and even if Cheong fell far short of Wolbong by comparison, he would not despair over mere fate, nor would he covet brilliance. Moreover, forcing something upon another that they claimed they did not need would itself be excessive greed. His only wish was that by having her memorize bright verses, he might add even a single finger's weight to suppressing the Heavenly Killer Star she carried in her heart.
Thus, an exceedingly strange language flowed from Abbot Muhak's lips. The sounds, exhaled with breath, formed incomprehensible words whose meanings shifted entirely with the slightest variation in pronunciation. This was Sanskrit, the tongue of the land where Buddhism had originated. Abbot Muhak, however, did not know that Cheong possessed an all-purpose translator.
The moment she finished hearing the mnemonic verses, the martial arts window flashed brightly. When Cheong checked, a single technique had been registered in standby. Moreover, it was framed in purple.
Dragon-Elephant Prajna Heart-Protecting Art?
Hmm. Purple meant it was good, right?
"There. That completes one recitation. It is rather long, but if you slowly repeat it in your mind while circulating your qi, something beneficial will surely come of it. Now, I shall recite it again. Om—"
"Ah, Abbot? Are you planning to repeat this until I have it all memorized?"
"Of course. Reciting sutras is itself an act of accumulating merit. This is wisdom I received directly from a great monk of the Western Regions. Simply reciting it inwardly while circulating your qi will allow the profound spirituality of Buddhism to dwell within you—a miraculous Dharma teaching. As I said, you must memorize it while your mind is still young and pliant."
The Western tongue was quite long. More precisely, the classical Chinese used in the Central Plains was extraordinarily short. This was because, across all past and future and the three thousand worlds, the Chinese script was the most primitive and foolish form of picture-memorization. Its sole advantage was its brevity. However, because it was so short, annotations had to be added to every phrase, and since those annotations were themselves brief, annotations upon annotations were required—doubling or tripling the work. Trying to truly master it all in one's head would mean listening all day and still falling short.
Cheong bowed her head deeply, squeezed her eyes shut, and clenched her teeth as she dragged the standby-registered technique in the martial arts window up to the first level. When she was alone she could let go and thrash about like an idiot, rolling her eyes and trembling while drooling, fully expressing the horror of her brain being violated. But she could not show that face before a monk, so this was her desperate measure to avoid drawing attention.
Since she had been told to memorize it immediately, she had no choice but to raise it to the first level and cram it into her head.
"Hmm? What is the matter?"
"Uh, thith, thith ith why I thaid tho."
Her pronunciation had slurred from the aftereffects of having her brain kneaded.
"What? You memorized it after hearing it only twice? That cannot possibly be true. Even I required half a day of seated meditation and countless strikes from the warning staff before I could barely manage it."
"W-well, I'll recite it for you. If I make any mistakes, please correct me."
Cheong then recited the mnemonic verses she had crammed into her brain through trickery. When the Sanskrit flowed from a woman's beautiful voice, it created a truly strange and mysterious feeling.
That aside—she had actually memorized it all.
"This cannot be. Again. Try once more."
"Yes. So, um…"
"Again."
"Again."
"Again."
Only after forcing her to recite it ten full times did Abbot Muhak mutter in a hollow voice.
"Had you set your mind upon scholarship instead of martial arts, the greatest sage in the world might have been born. Yet you were born in a woman's body—truly, the will of Heaven does not reach everywhere."
Had Seomun Su-rin heard this, she would have unleashed a carpet bombing of Nuclear Noogies. Still, in this primitive Central Plains, a woman's scholarship was not acknowledged, so the statement was not entirely wrong. From the beginning, the ruling principle of the Central Plains was expressed in eight characters: all merit belonged to the Son of Heaven, and all sin belonged to women. When a nation fell, it was because women had sinned; that was why Daji and Yang Guifei were blamed for the fall of dynasties and labeled as calamitous beauties.
"Good. You have memorized it all. If you recite it ten times upon waking in the morning, repeat it inwardly each time you circulate your qi, and recite it ten more times before sleep, something good will surely come of it. Especially for you, who carries the ominous starlight of the Heavenly Killer Star, this is an exceedingly precious study."
"Yes, I understand—wait, you knew?"
Cheong asked in surprise. The sudden directness caught her off guard.
Abbot Muhak snorted.
"When one reaches the rank of First Under Heaven, such things are obvious at a glance. This will be of great help in suppressing the Heavenly Killer Star. Do not take my words lightly—recite it morning, noon, and night. Understood?"
"Yes. Thank you."
"Indeed, you should be grateful."
"Huh?"
Normally one would say "You should thank me," right?
Abbot Muhak burst into hearty laughter and continued.
"Gratitude is the feeling of being moved by kindness. I, too, felt gratitude when you readily offered to return the divine art. Mutual exchange of virtue does not erase what happened. Rather, by feeling gratitude toward each other, we cultivate merit—this is called dependent origination."
Cheong stared at Abbot Muhak with that expression. What was he talking about? Why was he bringing up acting? Did he mean she should pretend to be grateful?
Abbot Muhak laughed heartily once more and rose from his seat.
"Keh. When the manual is complete, bring it to Mumyeong Temple. There is no need to wait for this old monk to come fetch it. You should travel while you are still young."
---
That night, Cheon Yuhak held out a pair of shoes.
"Here. Shoes for your training. From now on, wear these when you go about."
"Eh? What kind of shoes are these?"
"They are called half-shoes."
It was questionable whether the objects Cheon Yuhak presented could even be defined as shoes. The soles were attached only to the front part of the foot, while the back consisted merely of silk that wrapped around the heel and hung loosely downward. The arch and heel were completely open, so standing normally would leave the bare foot touching the ground.
"This means I'd have to walk only on my toes."
"That is the point."
"If I don't lift my heels, this trailing part will drag on the ground and get dirty."
"Then lift your heels so it does not drag."
"And what about these bells? I'm not a child—do I have to jingle around announcing my presence?"
Cheong shook the half-shoes. Fortunately, because the added weights were heavy, they did not produce a loud, frivolous jingling, only a dull clinking sound like coins shifting in a pouch.
"Therefore, when you step, use only the balls of your feet. Ah, the soles are also double-layered, so stepping hard will produce a sharp clack like wood striking wood. Whether it is the sound of the soles or the bells, you must step lightly so that no sound emerges. Walk by moving one foot at a time with softness."
Once accustomed to this, no sound whatsoever would come from one's footsteps. This was the secret behind Cheon Yuhak's completely silent gait.
"Can't I just walk around normally without worrying about footsteps…?"
"Think of it differently. Simply walking around while wearing these and paying attention to making no sound is itself training. Is that not practically free training?"
"Oh?"
Cheong's eyes widened at the unexpected shift in perspective. Now that he mentioned it… hmm? He had a point.
"That is the first stage. Once you are used to it, we will switch to higher heels that make sound more easily and replace the bells with lighter ones. If you can walk without sound up to the third stage, from then on you will be able to move across fallen leaves without making any noise at all."
"Ooh."
Cheong was completely won over. And the result was—
"Damn it…"
There was no such thing as free training in this world. Training was originally arduous and difficult. If merely walking around constituted training, that meant walking itself was arduous and difficult.
The front soles of the half-shoes were like the metal taps used in the strange dance called tap dancing from Cheong's homeland, producing a crisp clack! with even the lightest step. The clinking sound like silver coins striking together came from the bells hidden inside the trailing silk at the heel. Thus, with every step: clack, clink. Another step: clack, clink. Moreover, since there were no soles at the heel, she had to walk on tiptoe the entire time, and to keep the trailing silk from dragging on the ground, she had to lift her feet much higher than expected—practically prancing.
Still, Cheon Yuhak's words offered some consolation.
"Hah. They say even a worm has its tricks—look at you, already skilled from the very start. You'll move to the next stage in no time."
Cheong's body was extraordinary, so merely walking on her heels did not cause pain or fatigue. It was only uncomfortable, yet she walked quite well.
Then—bang!
A surprise Nuclear Noogie struck, and Cheong collapsed on the spot, frantically rubbing her head. The force was such that a primitive person might have been trying to start a fire; at this rate, sparks might actually ignite on her scalp.
"Ow!"
"How can a girl walk about so indecently, swaying her hips like that? As if carrying a basin-sized rear were not enough, where did you pick up such a vile habit?"
When the heels were lifted, the pelvis naturally tilted backward, causing the buttocks to rise. At the same time, the center of gravity shifted upward, making the pelvis sway widely from side to side to maintain balance. The result was a seductive, bewitching gait that lured men—completely different from the modest, refined beauty walk that Seomun Su-rin emphasized.
"That's not it, actually, this is—ack!"
Smack!!!!
Cheong had removed one shoe to show it, only to be struck by another nuclear explosion that finally sent her rolling across the floor. A single Nuclear Noogie was never enough to bring someone to their senses; a second strike was always required.
"You wench! How dare you bare your feet in broad daylight! Cover them at once!"
"Ugh, Master, it hurts too much. My head… it feels like it's splitting…"
"Hmph. A split head might finally make you come to your senses. Enough—stand up and cover your feet immediately."
Since even exaggeration did not work, Cheong quickly put her shoes back on. When she explained the situation, Seomun Su-rin clicked her tongue sharply in displeasure.
"If it is training, there is no helping it. From what I hear, aside from being embarrassing, it seems quite an excellent method. Therefore, learn it quickly so you may abandon that shameful gait."
"Yes…"
Cheong answered dejectedly. Then, remembering she had something to ask her master—
"Ah, Master. Do you happen to know of something called the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Heart-Protecting Art?"
"Hmm? You mean the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art? Is that not the divine art of those Tibetan monks? It is said to originally belong to the Great Thunder Sound Temple of the Western Regions. Why do you ask—oh. Where did you pick that up this time? You have brought back quite an excellent divine art."
Seomun Su-rin no longer even bothered pretending she did not know.
"That's not it—Abbot Muhak taught it to me."
"That monk? That cannot be right. He already has a disciple who has learned the Juyang Seshim Gyeong. Why would he teach another art? Unless he knew of your peculiar constitution."
"When I said I would return the Yeorae Shinjang, he recited the mnemonic verses for me. He only had me memorize the verses, so I do not think he intended to teach me the art itself, but…"
"Hah. If he meant to teach, he should have done so properly. Well, if merely memorizing the verses can suppress the Heavenly Killer Star—wait. Did that monk recognize the Heavenly Killer Star? Did you let him check your pulse?"
"He said he could tell at a glance…"
Seomun Su-rin felt the gap in their realms. Indeed, the higher one's realm, the more each step became a cliff at the edge of the world. The distance of only three or four steps that Abbot Muhak had advanced was, in terms of height, an immeasurably vast difference.
"Haa. This master was careless."
Meanwhile, the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Heart-Protecting Art meant the study of protecting body and mind with the wisdom of dragons and elephants. Here, "heart-protecting" did not refer to the mind, but to the physical heart—an exclusive characteristic of divine arts that connected body and mind as one. In ordinary martial arts, heart-protection referred to internal energy cultivation while body-protection referred to external arts, but only these peerless divine arts combined the internal and external. As for the wisdom of dragons and elephants—when dragons and elephants faced adversity, they broke through and charged forward. The study of protecting the mind with that unyielding will to push ahead was also included. However, more than that, it was about immense power! Were dragons and elephants not synonymous with strength? This divine art was renowned for granting the divine strength of dragons and elephants to those who mastered it. It was said that upon reaching great accomplishment, one could wield the power of ten dragons and ten elephants. Of course, the grandiose boasts in martial arts mnemonic verses were mere exaggeration. Yet they accurately conveyed the art's capabilities.