I’ll Learn It Too
“...Let’s think about this again.”
“What is there to keep thinking about?”
For once, Hyun Jong could not hide his impatience as he looked at the damned brat in front of him.
I can’t believe I’ve come to this...
But who was Hyun Jong, anyway? He had shouldered the barren weight of Mount Hua for so many years that his grasp of reality was as sharp as anyone’s. He understood perfectly well that persuading this one bastard would be faster than talking down a hundred other disciples.
So even if it didn’t work, he had no choice but to force the issue.
“No. What I mean is... well... that...”
He cleared his throat and composed his expression before painting a benevolent smile on his face.
“Originally...”
“Huh?”
“Laws exist to put people at ease. But if they end up making people uneasy instead, then of course it is the law—not the people—that must be changed, would you not agree?”
“......”
“Even the sage who established it would, if he could see Mount Hua as it is now, surely understand. There is no need to cling blindly to the customs of the past when doing so serves no purpose.”
It was, in every sense, an irrefutable argument.
But Chung Myung’s mouth, which on most days moved faster than his fists, was somehow alive and well today too.
“Well said, Sect Leader.”
“R-right?”
Hyun Jong’s face lit up for a moment.
“However.”
Chung Myung smiled faintly.
“The reason we are supposed to trust and follow the words of our forebears is because people can’t know everything, right? Isn’t that something you told the disciples yourself, Sect Leader?”
“......R-right.”
“What I believe is right now may look different once the situation changes, and once I’ve gone through more things. That is why the laws set down by those who came before can serve as a guiding light for those who continue sailing through life. You said that too, Sect Leader, didn’t you?”
“......That’s right.”
He was all smooth talk from beginning to end.
Ah, my disciple. Why must your memory be so damn good for no reason?
For no reason at all...
“So!”
Chung Myung glared wide-eyed and spoke with force.
“Tampering with the laws set by our forebears is unthinkable. This Jaha Divine Art is something that the Sect Leader should be the one to master!”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
Watching the other swordsmen at his side bow with ridiculous enthusiasm, Hyun Jong could finally understand exactly why that Jaha Divine Art was so necessary for the Sect Leader.
Wasn’t the point of learning a divine art, building up your strength, and then using it to suppress and beat people up when moments like this came around? Wasn’t this exactly the sort of moment it was for?
Hyun Jong forced down the shortening of his breath.
He simply could not communicate with these children. At times like this, he had no choice but to turn to the old men with strength and authority... no, the wise elders for help.
“......What do the elders think?”
At his question, Hyun Young gave a snort-like laugh and answered first.
“What’s there to think about? If it’s something you’re supposed to learn, then you learn it. That’s all there is to it.”
“......”
That bastard’s got a mouth on him because it’s not his problem.
Hyun Jong looked down at the manual sitting on the tea table. His gaze was glum.
Jaha Divine Art.
How many times had he treasured and turned over those imposing words in his mind?
But now that the Jaha Divine Art was right in front of him, reality refused to match his expectations. After hesitating for a moment, Hyun Jong turned another page of the manual and peered at it again.
Dammit.
The yellowish part was paper, and the dark part was writing. Hyun Jong had spent decades studying martial arts, and yet he still couldn’t make heads or tails of what this was trying to say.
He quietly closed the book and smiled weakly.
No.
This wasn’t going to work.
Up until now, the successive Sect Leaders of Mount Hua had probably had no trouble mastering the Jaha Divine Art. They had all been grand disciples, after all—among the finest martial artists in the world.
But Hyun Jong...
“Heh... heh heh...”
No, this was impossible.
Of course, Hyun Jong did not think his own martial skill was low. Had he not survived after facing the leader of Maninbang, even if he had failed to win?
Though Mount Hua had only a few remaining martial arts and no superior internal methods left for him to learn, he had gathered every scrap he could and trained with all the effort he had.
But the formulas he had just barely skimmed were so far beyond that level that he could not even imagine mastering them.
How was he supposed to learn something like that?
“......You all think the same, do you?”
“Yes, Sect Leader!”
“Indeed, Sect Leader!”
...Good grief, you lot are utterly clueless.
“Cough.”
Hyun Jong cleared his throat softly and looked at Chung Myung with a stern face.
As he watched that grinning expression, he felt like one sharp flick to the forehead would settle everything. Of course, that would require drawing on every ounce of internal strength he had and then some.
“Listen, disciples.”
“What? We already seem to have heard plenty, so why are you—”
“Just listen, you little punk!”
“...Yessir.”
Ignoring Chung Myung’s muttering with effort, Hyun Jong spoke with solemn gravity.
“There must have been a profound reason why the forebears decreed that only the Sect Leader of Mount Hua should learn the Jaha Divine Art. I do not doubt that.”
Hyun Jong’s benevolent gaze moved over each of them in turn.
“To preserve the will of our ancestors is the duty of those who carry Mount Hua’s name forward. However, is the law truly the whole of our forebears’ intent? Did the sages place greater importance on Mount Hua’s rules, or on Mount Hua’s revival?”
“Rul—”
Startled by the slicing look Hyun Jong suddenly flung at him, Yoon Jong nearly answered, “the law,” and recoiled.
“...Revival, of course,” he hurriedly amended.
A warm, radiant smile bloomed on Hyun Jong’s face. It was as though the knife-sharp gleam from a moment ago had never existed at all.
“Exactly? I think so too.”
“......”
Cold sweat dampened Yoon Jong’s back.
“That is why I, by the authority vested in me as Mount Hua’s Sect Leader, intend to change one rule passed down from our ancestors.”
Hyun Jong gently pushed the manual forward.
“I will remove the Jaha Divine Art from the exclusive repertoire of the Sect Leader and allow any disciple of Mount Hua who wishes to learn it to do so.”
“Sect Leader!”
Hyun Sang cried out in surprise.
But Hyun Jong put that reaction aside and spoke as if making an official declaration.
“This is my decision for Mount Hua, and I will not accept objections.”
“P-please wait a moment, Sect Leader.”
Hyun Sang stopped him with a startled expression.
“Do you mean to say that it will be taught to every disciple? That you intend to make the Jaha Divine Art Mount Hua’s foundational technique?”
“...Of course not.”
Hyun Jong shook his head and elaborated.
“A superior martial art is as dangerous as it is powerful. It will be given only to those who prove their ability and earn the right to possess it. And that decision will be made under the strict examination of the Sect Leader, the elders, and the senior disciple.”
“Ah...”
“So as long as one proves oneself, anyone may learn it. I have no doubt this decision will make Mount Hua even more steadfast.”
It was a bold declaration.
Yet despite the resolute conviction in his voice, Hyun Jong kept glancing at Chung Myung and the disciples seated behind him.
He feared Chung Myung, above all others, would ignite the moment and oppose him outright. But surprisingly, Chung Myung simply nodded.
“Hmm... if that’s the Sect Leader’s decision, then I’ll follow it.”
Oh? What was this? He had expected the brat to foam at the mouth and scream that it was absolutely impossible.
Chung Myung was the sort who, if everyone else said the sky was blue, would howl that it was red; if they said the ground was flat, he’d roll around screaming that it was round. And yet he was giving in this easily...?
“However.”
As expected.
Chung Myung grinned.
“Teaching the ordinary disciples martial arts and the Sect Leader learning that martial art are two different matters, aren’t they?”
“...Hm?”
“In any case, you should learn it. You’re the Sect Leader of Mount Hua, after all. You should at least be able to beat down an elder from some other sect, shouldn’t you?”
Hyun Jong tilted his head slightly and asked back, “An elder from another sect?”
“Yes.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Hyun Jong glanced timidly past Chung Myung’s back, as though checking whether he had heard correctly.
The disciples seated there were all nodding too.
“That’s right. It only makes sense.”
“Still, he is the Sect Leader. Shouldn’t he at least be able to take on a Wudang elder?”
“A Wudang elder, even?”
“What’s so hard about that? Chung Myung does it.”
“If he does it, then it can be done.”
Hyun Jong’s eyes shook violently.
No, you fools...
Of course, Hyun Jong had always stressed that they should never shrink before other sects and should always stand tall in thought and action.
But not shrinking back and having absolutely no concept of reality were two very different things.
They had grown so accustomed to making impossible things happen by beating them into submission that the word impossible itself seemed to have vanished from their heads.
“Th-then...”
Hyun Jong, even letting out a slight hiccup of tension, swallowed dryly.
“I do not misunderstand what you mean, but...”
He began hesitantly, then squeezed his eyes shut in the end.
At this point, dignity be damned. He had to survive first.
“If I am to be honest, it will not be easy for this old body to learn a new martial art.”
“You’re in great shape.”
“You’re way too in shape.”
“Come on. If you go out, everyone’ll think you’re middle-aged anyway. Your hair’s so black too.”
Eh... that didn’t work either?
Hyun Jong’s face turned red.
“You little brats! Just wait until you’re my age! Does it even make sense to say I should learn an entirely new martial art by myself? I can’t even remember what I read a moment ago once I turn around—how am I supposed to learn this!”
“Ah, don’t worry about that.”
“Hm?”
Chung Myung grinned and stretched out a hand, taking the Jaha Divine Art from the tea table. He flipped through the pages with a quick rustle, then nodded as if satisfied.
“This should be enough for you to learn. I’ll help you.”
Hyun Jong stared blankly at Chung Myung, utterly thrown by the unexpected offer.
“You?”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Hyun Jong had gone speechless, his mouth hanging open, and Chung Myung just smiled wider.
“If you can memorize the formulas, I think I can help with the actual application. I’m better at teaching than you’d expect.”
“......”
“Ah, it’s fine, it’s fine. No need to thank me so much. Hehe. It’s only natural as a disciple.”
By this point, Hyun Jong had begun to doubt his own sense of reason.
Is my common sense the problem? Is it normal for a disciple to teach his master?
What kind of absurdity was this—something Confucius himself would hear from beyond the grave and leap out of his coffin to strangle with his burial shroud?
“......Isn’t that a little strange?”
“What is?”
“No, it’s just... that...”
“Don’t worry, Sect Leader.”
At that moment, Un Geom spoke up with a gentle smile.
“I am learning the Left-Hand Sword and have been asking that brat Chung Myung for guidance. He is, more than I expected, extraordinarily well suited to be a teacher. He knows how to identify the core and understands what is most necessary. He will certainly be of great help.”
“......”
“You have always stressed to me that if one lacks something, there is no shame in asking one’s disciple for instruction. No one would think it strange.”
Seeing Un Geom clearly remember and calmly repeat the lessons he had given, Hyun Jong smiled with utter satisfaction.
Is that bastard mocking me right now?
Honestly...
Then Chung Myung spoke again, his voice far more serious than before.
“To tell the truth, Sect Leader, you don’t really need to learn this if you don’t want to. Bluntly speaking, we’ve never followed you because you were strong in the first place.”
At those words, every Mount Hua disciple nodded in unison.
Even if the day came when Hyun Jong became the weakest person in Mount Hua, not one disciple would dare encroach on his authority.
No. Anyone who tried would be burned alive in the middle of the training yard...
“But, Sect Leader, you never know what life will bring. So there’s nothing wrong with becoming stronger than you are now.”
When he finished speaking and beamed at him, Hyun Jong simply stared back in silence. It was difficult to guess what was really in the brat’s head.
But in any case, nothing about those words was wrong, so in the end...
“Haaah. Fine. Fine.”
He let out a long sigh and raised both hands in surrender.
“I’ll learn it, all right!”
“Good decision, hehe.”
Hyun Jong shook his head, the world darkening before his eyes. He had never imagined that he would be struggling to learn a new martial art at this age. He already had more than enough to do...
Grinding his teeth, Hyun Jong suddenly snapped his head around.
“Hyun Sang, Hyun Young.”
“Yes?”
“You two learn it too.”
“......W-we do?”
Hyun Sang was the first to stammer and try to sidestep the order.
“S-Sect Leader. I need to verify the authenticity of the newly obtained manual...”
“I’ve got so much to do at the Finance Hall that I’m already drowning in work...”
“Enough. No more excuses. You two prepare as well. If nothing else, you should at least be respectable as elders of Mount Hua!”
“......”
“You understand me?”
“...Yes, sir.”
As befit the magnificent Sect Leader of Mount Hua, Hyun Jong was the kind of man who would rather die than die alone.