Is There Any Resonance?
Even the fight with Yu Ja-cho was enough to reveal the importance of internal energy.
Moreover, neglecting internal energy training in the middle of a war between Haomun branches? That was no different from asking to be cut down by a blade.
“If you say you’ll do it, I’ll find you a useful mind method. Do you intend to treat your qi deviation?”
After long deliberation, Dan Yeop finally spoke.
“...Yes. I’ll try.”
“Wise choice. You can’t solve a problem by simply avoiding it because it feels daunting.”
“Yes.”
“And keep this in mind. The situation for Haomun in the Guannei Circuit isn’t good right now. The departure date from the tomb may be moved forward.”
“Is it that bad?”
“Tsk! The leaders of the Six Gates were far too optimistic about unifying Haomun… They believed the leaders of the other Nine Paths would yield once they realized their own shortcomings, yet not a single one has bent so far. That means the cards held by Guannei Circuit’s Haomun weren’t threatening enough to the opponent.”
Guannei Circuit’s Haomun had placed the Byeongmachong graduates at the forefront, but the results had fallen short of expectations.
Just as the saying went—beating the grass only startled the snake—the move had instead become poison.
The startled Haomun factions of the Nine Paths had formed alliances to swell their power and were now moving to check Guannei Circuit’s Haomun.
“What exactly is the card Guannei Circuit’s Haomun is holding?”
“The Byeongmachong trainees.”
“Ah……”
Chief Instructor Dan Bul-wi muttered to himself.
As expected, ‘simply transplanting a cultivated root into the mountain does not turn it into wild ginseng.’
Soon after, Dan Bul-wi asked as if testing the waters.
“When you leave the tomb, is there a branch you wish to join?”
“I heard the leaders of the Six Gates decide for the first generation.”
“I’m only asking in case no leader wants you—your own wishes might then be considered. Hmm, of course, if the Six Gates leaders learn about you, they’ll all fight to claim you……”
“If no branch wants me, can I go where I wish?”
“I don’t know. There’s no precedent.”
“Chief Instructor, where do you think would be best for me?”
“Naturally I want to bring you into Amun, but Amun would be difficult for you to adapt to.”
Amun’s primary work was human trafficking.
From Dan Bul-wi’s perspective, it did not suit the gentle-natured Dan Yeop.
“Chamun (coachmen), Seonmun (boatmen), and Gakmun (porters) feel somewhat off as well… Gimun (courtesans) or Jeommun (errand boys) would probably be better.”
For a brief moment, Dan Yeop’s eyes sparkled.
It was because Baek Yu-hwa had come from Jeommun.
“Then I’ll choose Jeommun.”
“Hm, Jeommun. Very well. I’ll tell Chief Dang of Masang that you wish to enter Jeommun.”
“Will that truly be all right?”
Dan Yeop carefully studied Dan Bul-wi’s expression.
It was because the chief instructor had openly called him his adopted son everywhere, leading others to assume he belonged to Amun.
“Huhu! Chief Dang will actually be pleased, so don’t worry. It will take about fifteen days to obtain an internal energy mind method. I’ll call for you again once it’s secured.”
“Thank you, Chief Instructor.”
“Go rest now.”
“Yes.”
Dan Yeop bowed deeply and left the Amun training hall.
Left alone, Chief Instructor Dan Bul-wi muttered with a regretful face.
“It’s a shame, but it can’t be helped……”
Honestly, he coveted Dan Yeop, but no matter how many times he considered it, Amun was not the right fit. If the genius Dan Yeop ever turned against Amun, he had no confidence he could handle the consequences.
Still, it was somewhat surprising that a boy in his prime had chosen the errand-boy branch over the courtesan house.
“Tsk, if I had a face like that, I would have asked to join Gimun……”
Chapter 19. Is There Any Resonance?
Dan Yeop spent the entire afternoon training the Heaven and Earth Blade Technique inside the Jeommun training hall.
He had grasped the second form in the span of a single breath, so he had challenged it again with renewed hope.
Yet contrary to his expectations, he only managed to learn three movements across the three forms.
Chief Instructor Go Muk, seeing the disappointed youth, offered words of comfort.
“Heh heh! Have you forgotten that others failed to grasp even the second form after fourteen years? Learning three movements in half a day is perfectly fine. At this rate, you should master all three forms within three days.”
“Yes.”
Dan Yeop nodded obediently.
There was logic in Chief Instructor Go Muk’s words.
It had been greedy to expect to finish in a single day what others had failed to learn in fourteen years.
Chief Instructor Go is right. Three movements tomorrow, three the day after, and I’ll complete the three forms in three days.
His mind felt clearer.
If he kept progressing at today’s pace, he would finish the three forms in three days.
The next day.
During morning training.
Dan Yeop began practicing the Heaven and Earth Blade Technique with high hopes.
Yet for some reason, he kept getting stuck on the third movement of the third form.
When performed individually, he could do the fourth and even the fifth.
But the moment he tried linking the movements together, he stalled at the third.
Considering how he had grasped the second form in one breath yesterday, it was enough to drive him mad.
Chief Instructor Go Muk, who had guided Dan Yeop all morning, clicked his tongue inwardly.
This is ridiculous! How can he fail to remember even a single movement after an entire morning?
In the end, Chief Instructor Go Muk gave up on Dan Yeop and returned his attention to the fourteenth generation trainees.
Left alone, Dan Yeop gritted his teeth and threw himself back into training the three forms.
He had to master them before he could leave the tomb.
Ten days passed.
During that time, Dan Yeop spent every morning and afternoon training session inside the Jeommun training hall.
Fortunately, there had been progress.
In ten days he had learned one more movement, completing the fourth movement of the third form.
After dinner, while Dan Yeop was once again practicing the Heaven and Earth Blade Technique in the Jeommun training hall, Gwan Gu-jong from Amun came looking for him.
“Senior Dan Yeop, Chief Instructor Dan is looking for you.”
“Ah……”
Dan Yeop hung the straight blade on the rack and headed for the Amun training hall.
Amun training hall.
Dan Yeop approached Chief Instructor Dan Bul-wi with careful steps and bowed deeply.
“Chief Instructor.”
“Yes. Any progress with the Heaven and Earth Blade Technique?”
“I have trained up to the fourth movement of the third form.”
“Oh! Well done. It’s slow, but still better than standing still. You should be able to master it within two months?”
“Yes.”
A shy smile rose to Dan Yeop’s lips.
Compared to others it was a pathetic level, yet he was genuinely happy with his own achievement.
At his current pace, he would be able to master the Heaven and Earth Blade Technique before the year was out.
“However, forms alone will barely be enough to face third-rate martial artists. If you wish to subdue opponents using a basic art like the Heaven and Earth Blade Technique, internal energy must support it.”
With those words, Chief Instructor Dan Bul-wi placed a thin book on the desk.
“This is the Prajna Mind Method, a foundational mind method from Shaolin. Its purpose is mental cultivation rather than building internal energy, so even the secular disciples do not learn it. If even our Haomun has turned away from it, that says everything. To martial artists it is a useless treasure, but for you it should prove greatly helpful.”
“Ah!”
Dan Yeop’s gaze fell on the book.
Simply seeing the four characters for Prajna Mind Method on the cover made his heart flutter with strange excitement.
Dan Bul-wi gently pushed the Prajna Mind Method toward Dan Yeop.
“If your only goal is accumulating internal energy, the Sun-Moon Breathing Secret of Chamun would be better. However, nothing surpasses the Prajna Mind Method in stability and mental cultivation. I believe it is the perfect fit for treating your qi deviation.”
“Thank you.”
As Dan Yeop picked up the book, Dan Bul-wi added casually.
“Do not avoid internal energy training just because symptoms of qi deviation appear. If you continue training without giving in, a good day will come. Nothing changes if you do not challenge it.”
For a moment, Dan Yeop felt something strike heavily inside his chest.
“...Yes.”
It was true.
He had learned the Divided Mind Technique and invited qi deviation.
Then now it was time to treat that qi deviation with the Prajna Mind Method.
He had no desire to spend his life using only forms before dying a meaningless death.
Back in his quarters, Dan Yeop opened the Prajna Mind Method.
If one correctly perceives that the true nature of the world is emptiness, one will overcome all difficulties and reach that true nature.
The Prajna Mind Method was similar to the Prajna Heart Sutra.
Unlike the sutra, however, the latter part contained breathing instructions.
The entire text was only one hundred and twenty characters long, so reading it to the end took less than a quarter hour.
One hundred characters for the practitioner’s mindset, twenty characters for the correct breathing method.
A little later, an unknowable sigh escaped Dan Yeop’s lips.
Haa.
He now understood why Chief Instructor Dan Bul-wi had called the Prajna Mind Method mental cultivation.
The content itself was excellent, yet every line felt like grasping at clouds.
Is it because I am not a child of Buddha?
The saving grace was that the explanation of the breathing method was short and concise.
Had the breathing instructions also been vague, it would have given him a terrible headache.
The twenty-character breathing method was simple enough for even his dull mind to memorize easily.
He had read the Prajna Mind Method half out of curiosity and half out of duty, but he did not begin internal energy training right away.
Dan Yeop was no fool.
Though he had never said it aloud, he too had noticed how he changed before and after his personality split.
Comprehending the second form without realizing it was neither coincidence nor miracle.
To identify the change, he first had to clearly understand his own limits.
He rose from his seat and headed for the Jeommun training hall.
Another ten days passed.
Dan Yeop managed to learn up to the fifth movement of the third form of the Heaven and Earth Blade Technique.
It had taken him ten days to memorize a single movement.
The newly entered fourteenth generation trainees had already reached the second form.
Though he showed nothing on the surface, the sight slowly burned away at Dan Yeop inside.
The fourteenth generation’s speed was faster than previous cohorts.
The previous groups had taken roughly two months to master the three forms, yet the fourteenth generation looked ready to finish in one.
It was a phenomenon caused by the steadily rising average age of new entrants.
Of course, memorizing the forms was not the end.
They would repeat them relentlessly for another year before moving on to other arts.
The problem was that if the fourteenth generation’s progress outpaced his own, he might once again hear himself called a “stone monkey.”
Jeommun training hall.
Afternoon training time.
Dan Yeop’s expression was dark as he watched the lively fourteenth generation trainees.
At this rate, the fourteenth generation will finish a whole month ahead of me…
The thought of stuttering in front of the fourteenth generation after they had mastered the three forms made his chest feel tight.
For now the fourteenth generation still treated him as a great senior, but that would change once the time came.
Yet even if he died and came back to life, there was no other method available to him right now.
After agonizing, he gritted his teeth and turned away.
Let’s not be greedy.
He already knew his limits.
Ten days of desperate effort yielded one movement. That was it.
Go on ahead. This is as far as I go…
If he could not compete with the fourteenth generation anyway, it was better to focus on treating his qi deviation at the same time.
Dan Yeop trudged out of the Jeommun training hall.
Chief Instructor Go Muk watched the youth’s receding back with a complicated expression.
Tsk! I had hoped he would learn faster than the fourteenth generation… but that no longer seems possible.
He understood Dan Yeop’s heart all too well.
Lately the way the children looked at Dan Yeop had changed.
Feeling awe toward a great senior’s blade techniques lasted only a day or two.
The day the fourteenth generation mastered the Heaven and Earth Blade Technique, the relationship between Dan Yeop and them would reverse.
Dan Yeop headed to the Mountain and River Diagram north of Byeongmachong.
It had been a long time since he last saw the diagram, and the sight stirred strange feelings.
When he was young the Mountain and River Diagram had looked so vast, yet now it seemed merely ordinary.
Soon he sat cross-legged before the stone wall engraved with the diagram and slowly began breathing according to the Prajna Mind Method.
Or rather, he tried to.
The moment he became conscious of his dantian, a white thread surged upward as if it had been waiting and pierced straight into his heavenly eye—the spot between his brows.
Flash—!
Dan Yeop opened his eyes and fell into thought for a moment.
Even Dunce Dan Yeop knew that training internal energy would cause his personality to split.
Yet he had still sat down in a lotus position?
It was the beginning of the full-scale…