Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Unexpected Gratitude
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Crackle, crackle.
While Cheongsang and Cheongu were off returning the items they'd used during their excursion,
Jinmu, who had returned to Void Serenity Hermitage for the first time in a while to prepare his master's meal, was shedding tears from the acrid smoke stinging his eyes.
Fuck, fuck. They say the bear does the tricks and some poor bastard walks off with the money...
It had all been taken.
Two hundred nyang of silver taels, plus the bounty money.
That damn magistrate had described it all too precisely.
Jinmu, unable to defy Myeongjin's orders, had no choice but to hand over the entire sum he'd exchanged for ten-nyang bills just in case at the pawnshop straight to Myeongseon.
Fortunately, thanks to Cheongu and Cheongsang keeping their mouths shut, the ten kwan of gold he'd left at the pawnshop remained safe.
Still, it felt like a huge chunk of his precious flesh had been ripped away in one go.
Damn Taoist bastards. To dare extort money from me, the former supreme lord of the unorthodox sects.
They were the kind of people he could never bring himself to like.
"Haa."
Jinmu let out a deep sigh that seemed to cave in the ground as he continuously wiped away tears from the smoke billowing inside the hearth.
Then, suddenly,
'That old man.'
He recalled the mysterious old man he'd met at Muwolru.
What was his identity?
No matter how much he thought about it, no one came to mind.
He wasn't from the unorthodox sects or the Sun Moon Demonic Cult. And he certainly wasn't from the orthodox faction.
"Was it like this?"
Jinmu raised his hand and moved it in a strange manner.
The old man's palm strike toward him.
Without any preparatory motion, he extended his naturally hanging arm in one swift twist.
Whoosh! Bang!
Even without internal energy infused, the diagonal pull-back and thrust of his hand was quite fast,
and the air struck at its extreme point made a sound like a drumskin bursting.
"Hmm, that's not it... Was it this?"
Jinmu kept thrusting into the empty air, trying similar yet slightly different methods over and over.
Swish, swish-swish-swish! Bang! Pop-pop-bang!
But the more he repeated it, the more his brow furrowed.
"Damn it, why can't I replicate it exactly?"
He had clearly seen it.
Though his low realm at the time meant he'd suffered internal injuries upon clash, he vividly remembered the motion of unleashing that palm force.
Yet strangely, while he could imitate it, it felt subtly off.
He couldn't match it precisely.
It was a palm technique I'd never seen before. Completely ignoring the fundamentals.
Generally, the basics of palm techniques involve pulling back to gather qi and thrusting to explode it outward.
Of course, sects add variations, twists to create whirlwinds, and such developments, but they never completely ignore the fundamentals.
This held true even for Jinmu, who specialized in varying martial arts extensively.
But the old man's palm technique utterly disregarded those basics.
It skipped the pulling and gathering motions, exploding directly. Short, but missing two steps, making it concise. Yet its power overflowed.
"Hmmm."
After fiddling with his hand for a good while, frustration began to bubble up in Jinmu.
"This isn't easy."
Jinmu stared at his hand.
Even he, who had reached the absolute pinnacle with unorthodox martial arts, couldn't execute it identically, igniting a strange competitive spirit.
It had been a year since he'd begun learning Wudang's martial arts.
He'd found them somewhat enjoyable and trained diligently for quite some time, achieving some progress, but he'd stagnated at the Tan-gi realm.
Unlike unorthodox arts, the core of orthodox martial arts was 'enlightenment.'
This was why orthodox warriors took longer to cultivate and progressed slower than their unorthodox counterparts.
Countless people despaired before what was called the 'Wall of Lamentations.'
But the moment one overcame that wall, the steadily built internal energy expanded in an instant to support the enlightenment, leading to tremendous growth.
Those who crossed the wall and those who didn't.
That divided the realms of orthodox warriors.
Thus, blindly piling up internal energy didn't guarantee steady growth.
It was a stepwise progression, slow and steady.
However,
As they say, all streams return to the sea.
There were thousands, tens of thousands of martial arts in the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic paths, but they all converged to one end.
Jinmu was the one closest to that end. He'd already attained the 'Gang' realm, the pinnacle of qi cultivation arts.
Thus, he could no longer encounter walls of enlightenment.
Having comprehended everything, there was no further progress.
So while he could wield all of Wudang's martial arts near their original forms with proficiency, he couldn't expand his internal energy.
In other words, unable to accumulate enough, he lacked the energy to manifest enlightenment.
And above all,
'It's too slow!'
The Six Yang Divine Art he was cultivating.
This insane heart method, after all the hard work to gather internal energy, refined it during every qi circulation session, dispersing the unnecessary parts and leaving only pure energy.
And most of it at that.
The energy grew purer, but the accumulation speed was atrociously slow.
Jinmu had never once slacked in his training.
He'd grown a bit lax lately due to events, but he always rose at dawn for qi circulation, once after lunch, and once before bed.
Three times a day.
An unbreakable routine, yet
Gather, refine, discard...
What kind of nonsense was this?
If he'd just practiced his familiar Ink Dragon Chaos Origin Art, even if not reaching his past heights, he could've grown enough to strip the flesh from Wudang's Sect Leader.
"Haa."
Sighs kept escaping him.
After meeting the old man, Jinmu felt an even greater need to grow stronger.
The core lesson from his long life in the martial world: 'The weak die.'
The martial world was a place of endless strife.
To make one's voice heard there, one had to be strong.
That was the purpose of cultivating martial arts.
The strong embodied justice.
That was Jinmu's warrior's creed.
To become the chief disciple ahead, he needed to grow much stronger. And to seize the Justice Alliance, perhaps even stronger than Hyeokryeon Mugang, the Lord of Evil Hegemony Heaven.
He'd gained a sturdy young body full of vigor, but his internal energy was lacking.
Should he steal and swallow Wudang's treasure, the Supreme Purity Divine Pill?
Those puny Taoist bastards would lose their minds and beat him to death on the spot.
Damn Taoists.
In the end, the only answer was the Two Forms Heart Art.
And before that,
Forms?
Wudang's martial arts?
He had no need to train such things. He already knew them all.
'From now on, all training time goes into qi accumulation.'
As Jinmu resolved his future training,
"Jinmu."
Myeongjin called from inside the room.
"Yes, Master!"
"How much longer for the meal?"
"Not long, Master. I'll bring it in."
Jinmu hurriedly prepared the meal.
Ten days had passed since Jinmu's group returned.
Daily life at Void Serenity Hermitage had changed a bit.
After breakfast, Cheongu and Cheongsang's resounding shouts echoed all the way to the foot of the mountain where the hermitage stood.
And overseeing their training was not Jinmu, but Myeongjin.
With Jinmu devoting himself solely to internal energy cultivation in the nearby rocky cliffs since their return, Myeongjin was helping with their training in his stead.
Myeongjin was still frail, but the weather had warmed past spring, and starting meat in his diet had steadily improved his vitality, making it possible.
Jinmu, who had just finished training and returned, was preparing lunch with Cheongu and Cheongsang when,
"Senior Uncle!"
Amid their ongoing training, Jinhyeo came rushing to Void Serenity Hermitage, breathless to the hilt.
"Oh, Jinhyeo. Why the rush?"
"Something's come up."
Jinhyeo barely acknowledged Cheongu and Cheongsang's greetings.
"You need to prepare quickly."
"Prepare?"
"Yes. The Sect Leader ordered me to bring you and Jinmu right away. You two, get ready too."
The Sect Leader?
Damn these guys, seriously trying to kill me.
If they need me, they can come themselves instead of sending people back and forth.
But the master had to go too, and to become chief disciple, he needed to impress Myeonghyeon.
"What's so urgent that he's summoning us like this?"
"Well, there's chaos at the main sect right now."
"Chaos?"
"Yes. All because of this guy Jinmu. Goodness."
His tone blamed, but Jinhyeo's face looked quite pleased.
It didn't seem like bad news, but Myeongjin, clueless, looked at Jinmu and asked again.
"Why Jinmu?"
"You'll see when you get there. Hurry."
Jinhyeo just grinned without explaining.
This punk. Disrespectful in front of Master.
But Master said nothing, and Jinhyeo occasionally took his side.
I hope it's nothing serious.
"What in the world?"
Myeongjin blinked in confusion at the sight unfolding before him as he entered Purple Empyrean Palace.
"Haha, impressive, right?"
Jinhyeo placed a hand on his waist and threw his head back in laughter.
Purple Empyrean Palace's grand training ground.
A long line snaking along.
All of Wudang's scant disciples had gathered without exception.
Was some festival happening?
Yet strangely, they were all lined up with faces full of eager anticipation.
And at the front of the line, Taoist priests stood with arms outstretched while unfamiliar people measured their builds with tape.
"What's this?"
As Myeongjin demanded an answer, the Sect Leader and elders who had been outside approached with joyful faces.
"Come on in."
Sect Leader Myeonghyeon's face was beaming with excitement.
"Greetings, Sect Leader. But what is all this?"
"Heh heh, it's all thanks to Jinmu."
"Pardon?"
Myeongjin looked puzzled at Jinmu, but Jinmu was equally in the dark.
"Heh heh, pretending not to know, eh?"
Why the constant heh-heh-ing?
And pretending what?
Jinmu tilted his head, while the Sect Leader and elders wore pleased expressions.
"Heh heh, Senior Brother, you've got a real lucky charm of a disciple."
Origin Harmony Hall Elder Myeongseon burst into laughter.
"......"
"These are people running a tailoring shop in Dankang Village."
And?
"Get this—they're making new robes for all our Wudang disciples. Hats and shoes included as bonuses."
Robes?
Of course they need new ones.
They'd been patched so much they'd crumble at a touch anyway.
Of course, Jinmu, Cheongu, and Cheongsang already wore silk robes, so no issue for them.
But where'd the money come from?
No way it's from the two hundred nyang they took from me last time?
These bastards. Splash it around like this just 'cause they got some cash? Can't even save money earned through blood and sweat.
As Jinmu glared indignantly, Myeongseon smiled brightly.
"And they say it's all free."
What? Free?
"All complimentary. The Sect Leader refused, saying it was too much trouble, but they insisted it was money they'd have lost to those ruffians without Jinmu, even pleading the case."
What did you say?
Jinmu's eyes widened like saucers upon hearing that.
"That's not all. Apparently, that bastard Gongsachek's tyranny was something fierce."
"......"
"Thanks to Jinmu wiping out the ruffians, they no longer have to pay protection money. So not just the tailors, but the blacksmiths in Dankang Village say they'll forge weapons for all of Wudang."
Weapons too?
"Heh heh, our current ones are fine, but now the armory will be full for once—Pure East Hall's Myeongwon is grinning ear to ear."
As Myeongseon's praise continued and Myeongjin's face filled with delight, Jinmu's complexion darkened further.
"Want to know the most astonishing part?"
More?
Jinmu whipped his head around.
"We returned the money from Qingyang Merchant Group to the treasury, and they sent it right back. On top of that, hearing rumors of Wudang's financial woes, folks running shops, inns, and taverns in Dankang Village gathered donations to help us."
D-Donations?
How much?
"Don't be shocked."
Jinmu calmed his pounding heart and perked up his ears.
"A whopping five hundred nyang."
F-Five hundred nyang...?
"And that's not it? Several merchant groups contacted us wanting to renew ties with Wudang. Jingung's already taken second-generation disciples down to Dankang Village because of it. Haha, all thanks to Jinmu."
Amid Jinhyeo's pleased laughter, Jinmu felt like the spirit possessing the Immortal Grass had fled his body.
"Truly a return in glory."
Return in brocade robes.
Meaning returning home dressed in fine silks.
Of course, they had returned in silk robes. Newly tailored ones. Even for Cheongu and Cheongsang.
"Jinmu, you did splendidly. I'm overjoyed beyond measure."
"Yes, Master."
He answered Myeongjin's words out of obligation,
but still, this was too much!
If they'd received a favor, they should repay the one who earned it.
Why arbitrarily donate it all to Wudang?
They already took two hundred nyang last time.
Give it back, you bastards! It's my money!
But Jinmu didn't notice the growing affection in the eyes of the Sect Leader and elders watching him.
His insides just burned.