This Is Shaolin
I flinched at Jegal Jinhyeon’s words.
An assignment for the heir, out of nowhere? A cold unease settled over me, and for a moment I actually wondered whether I might really end up becoming the next alliance leader.
“An assignment? You want me to tour the sects?”
“Exactly. Fortunately, the Five Great Clans all seem to approve, probably because they owe you a debt. But the Nine Great Sects don’t know you very well yet, so it would help to make introductions. The sect leaders can’t easily leave their homes, either, so this may be a good chance for you to travel around the Central Plains while meeting everyone.”
After saying that, Jegal Jinhyeon gave me a meaningful look.
Basically, he was telling me to go with Sohui.
“Then I’ll go too!”
Paeng Hoyeon raised her hand and called out with obvious excitement.
Sohui shot her a sidelong glare, then spoke up.
“I’ll go as well.”
Once again, that strange tension crackled between the two of them.
At that point, it was already looking like my inspection tour was a settled matter.
Then Jegal Jinhyeon casually addressed Paeng Hoyeon.
“Ahem... Miss Paeng, I’ve received a letter telling you to return to the Paeng Clan.”
With that, he held out a single letter.
The moment Paeng Hoyeon accepted it and read the contents, it seemed she’d found a very good reason to go back.
“Ugh... why did the invitation have to come now?”
The letter said she was required to attend an imperial banquet held by the royal court.
Under normal circumstances, Paeng Hosik would have gone as their representative, but since he was currently in seclusion, the duty had fallen to Paeng Hoyeon.
“If it’s a banquet held by the royal court, then what about Miss Jegal?”
Shin Yu-eun, who had been quietly listening until now, spoke up carefully.
“Our Jegal Clan isn’t a noble house recognized by the imperial court, so we don’t need to attend.”
Sohui answered with a small smile.
Come to think of it, when I’d visited the Jegal Clan before, the place had been a single mountain estate.
It had felt less like the residence of a regional power and more like a secluded house tucked away in the hills.
So not every one of the Five Great Clans was a noble family.
Paeng Hoyeon looked thoroughly disappointed as she said goodbye to us.
“Looks like I won’t be able to go with you after all...”
“It can’t be helped. We’ll see you next time.”
And just like that, Paeng Hoyeon trudged out of the reception room.
A brief silence fell, and then Shin Yu-eun spoke as though she had been waiting for her chance.
“Then may I travel with you as well? I’d like to stay with you until we reach the Emei Sect...”
“Of course. Should we head to Emei first, then?”
Sohui said it in a prim, slightly haughty tone.
But Shin Yu-eun hesitated, then answered.
“N-no... Anhui Province to Emei is quite far, and there are many sects along the way, so I think it would be better to visit the other sects first. It’s fine to go to Emei slowly.”
Listening to her explanation, I learned that Emei Sect was located in the western part of Sichuan, along with the Qingcheng Sect.
Since the route from Anhui Province to Sichuan passed through Shaolin, Huashan, and Wudang, we decided to visit those three sects first before heading to Emei.
At first Sohui seemed opposed to the idea, but the logic was sound, so she agreed to the route.
“Then since it’s the closest by distance, shall we start with Shaolin Temple?”
“Sounds good.”
So we decided to begin with Shaolin Temple, the closest major sect to the Martial Alliance.
As we set off for Shaolin Temple, I asked Shin Yu-eun what kind of sect Emei was.
I knew almost nothing about murim to begin with, and unlike famous sects like Shaolin or Huashan, I knew nothing at all about Emei.
“By the way, Miss Shin. What kind of sect is Emei?”
“Emei is a sect that serves the Buddha, just like Shaolin Temple. The difference is that only men may enter Shaolin Temple, while only women may join Emei Sect.”
I found it fascinating that Shaolin and Emei accepted only men and only women, respectively.
Without thinking, I glanced at Shin Yu-eun’s long black hair as it swayed.
“We don’t shave our heads like Shaolin does!”
“Cough... then do all the people at Emei train spear techniques, like you do, Miss Shin?”
“Not at all. We generally handle all kinds of weapons. Swords, sabers, spears, staves, whips... all sorts of things. I happened to train in spear techniques.”
“Was there a reason you chose the spear?”
“It’s more comfortable to keep a little distance than to fight while staying too close. And also because my master uses spear techniques.”
As I talked with Shin Yu-eun about Emei Sect, I started getting curious about Shaolin Temple too.
“Do you know what kind of martial arts Shaolin uses?”
“Shaolin... not really.”
It seemed that although Emei Sect and Shaolin Temple both served the Buddha, they didn’t have much contact.
That was when Sohui grinned and spoke up.
“I know a little about that!”
As expected, Sohui always seemed to know everything.
“At Shaolin, they teach that the body itself is the strongest weapon. So they focus on physical arts rather than using other weapons.”
“What’s the difference between physical arts and martial arts?”
“Martial arts often channel internal energy into a weapon or project internal energy directly. But in physical arts, all that energy is circulated within the body to strengthen it.”
Hearing her explanation, I remembered Geumgang glowing like a golden Buddha in the passageway before we exterminated the blood-drinking demon.
“He did look incredibly solid.”
“That’s why you could think of it as similar to boxing or palm techniques, but the underlying principle is completely different.”
“Really? Isn’t it basically the same as boxing and palm techniques?”
“Boxing and palm techniques also channel internal energy into the fist or hand and strike with it, so they’re really closer to hitting with internal energy. Shaolin is different because the body itself is reinforced. It’s like the fist is simply being thrown, except the fist becomes harder and more powerful.”
I understood that there was some subtle difference, but honestly, it was hard to grasp exactly.
Seeing my confused expression, Sohui snorted and explained it more carefully.
“For example, there are techniques in boxing and palm arts that release internal energy.”
At her example, I immediately thought of my second brother’s Mount Tai Fist Art.
“And then internal energy gathers around the fist and ripples outward.”
“That sounds right. Young Master Hwangbo’s martial art was like that.”
Shin Yu-eun was listening to Sohui with obvious interest too.
“But Shaolin Temple’s martial arts don’t let internal energy burst out of the body. It only strengthens the skin, almost as if the skin itself is changing.”
Listening to Sohui made it start to click.
When I pictured it in my head, the difference between the two was clear enough.
“And Shaolin Temple has its most famous tactic too.”
“A tactic? Not a martial art?”
“Of course Shaolin Temple has a great many martial arts, since it’s the oldest sect. But they mostly keep them in storage; it’s rare for them to teach them directly or learn them in full. The tactic is... wouldn’t it be more interesting if you saw it yourself?”
Sohui only smiled and refused to tell me what it was until we arrived.
Shin Yu-eun also seemed to know what that tactic was, but she didn’t tell me either.
And so, while we kept talking, we finally reached Shaolin Temple.
The monks welcomed us right at the entrance.
“Namo Amitabha. What brings you to Shaolin?”
I took out the Martial Alliance token I carried on my person and showed it to him.
“I’ve come from the Martial Alliance. Um... I’m here because I heard Shaolin Temple wanted to meet me.”
The monk gave me a once-over, then nodded as if he understood.
“Ah. So it’s the North Sea Ice Dragon. Please come this way.”
He guided us deeper inside.
Once we entered Shaolin Temple, we saw many novice monks training.
There were more of them than I had expected.
Maybe because they were all bald, it almost felt like I was looking at a crowd of identical people.
As we drew closer to the main hall at the center, the number of novice monks dwindled, and the monks around us seemed to be getting older.
“It’s huge...”
Shin Yu-eun looked around with wide-eyed curiosity.
Shaolin Temple was enormous.
It dwarfed every clan estate and sect compound we had visited so far.
When we entered the biggest hall at the center, a massive Buddha statue greeted us.
“Amitabha...”
We followed the monk and stepped inside with proper courtesy.
An elderly monk was seated within, chanting prayers.
“Amitabha... a guest has come from the Martial Alliance, Master.”
The monk who had guided us delivered his message and then headed back toward the entrance.
“Please, be seated.”
The master turned toward us as he spoke, smiling kindly.
“This old monk is one of Shaolin’s elders, called Grand Master Won-gak. You must be the North Sea Ice Dragon?”
“Yes. My name is Han Yugang, though I’m probably overpraised by that title.”
“Heh heh...”
Grand Master Won-gak stared at me intently, saying nothing else.
Then, so quietly that we could barely hear him, he muttered something under his breath.
An awkward silence dragged on, and finally Grand Master Won-gak spoke again.
“I have heard that you will lead the Alliance in the future.”
“It’s not decided yet, but... the Alliance Leader does want it that way.”
“It seems you find the position of Alliance Leader burdensome.”
“I guess so... it’s a position heavy with responsibility.”
“Heh heh...”
Grand Master Won-gak smiled gently and rose from his seat at a measured pace.
“Someone must stand above others. You appear to have been born under such a fate. Amitabha...”
He offered a bow to the Buddha statue and left the hall.
We also stood, bowed to the statue, and followed him out.
“Our Shaolin will support your ascension to Alliance Leader.”
“What?!”
I was thrown completely off balance by Shaolin’s sudden declaration of support.
“Out of nowhere?”
“Heh heh... all things follow the will of the Thus-Come One...”
Grand Master Won-gak said that to me with a soft smile.
The will of the Thus-Come One? Fate? Was he reading my fortune or something?
With that question in mind, I followed after Grand Master Won-gak and arrived at Shaolin Temple’s training grounds.