Let's Try It Once.
Muhwa had been busier than ever since the Wei Lingje ended.
“Unnie, are you tired?”
“Yeah, I’m tired. I wish I could swing a sword like you.”
A sigh slipped out of her.
It was because Taecheong had suddenly become full of energy again after waking from near death.
“Teacher Sun said my dantian was shattered.”
“Yeah, it was definitely that.”
Seowol nodded, her voice carrying absolute conviction.
“When I drew my sword, my dantian didn’t even vibrate.”
Seowol’s answer made Muhwa’s eyes widen in surprise.
“You can sense that?”
“Yeah.”
“Since when…?”
“After sparring with my master?”
The utterly natural reply made Muhwa narrow her eyes.
I knew her talent for reading the flow of qi was so outstanding that no one would doubt she was the vein of the sword god.
She could feel the vibration of the dantian from afar.
In this world, was that even possible?
Muhwa realized that something had changed in Seowol without her noticing.
Fortunately, as a martial artist, it was a good change—or rather, growth.
Well, even if it’s not me, if something goes wrong, Teacher Sun will handle it.
After all, he’s not just a master.
Every time Seowol called him “master,” she made a sour face, but it wasn’t that she disliked it.
She seems a bit shy.
Muhwa smirked, denying her own thoughts.
That guy is shy? No way.
People say others are awkward and shy, but for him to feel shy?
Is that possible?
He’s the type who subtly shows off himself in front of others.
“Seowol, you can tell there’s something wrong with my dantian, right?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t use my dantian properly.”
“But, can a person be that firm?”
Any martial artist would be devastated if their dantian shattered.
They’d become crippled.
Even those with strong willpower couldn’t endure it.
That was what it meant to be a martial artist.
The stronger the martial artist, the more pronounced that tendency.
If a third-class thug’s dantian shattered, they wouldn’t be too heartbroken.
But for an absolute expert at peak or transcendental realm, it was a fierce moment where everything they’d built was negated.
“It’s not just because he’s a Taoist priest, before the Wei Lingje….”
Even the Wei Lingje had a precarious feeling.
Grasping onto one last thread.
Was there some realization after sparring with Teacher Sun and the sword dance?
Maybe.
With the dantian broken, what need for realization?
“Still, it’s not all bad. Since the vitality of the Wudang Sect is flowing, we can discuss many more agendas than before.”
“It looks good. They’re bustling.”
Seowol nodded in agreement.
Muhwa looked at Seowol’s face with a grand expression.
Because Seowol, who had no interest in martial arts except that, had started to observe her surroundings more.
While gently combing Seowol’s hair with her hand, Muhwa thought.
Thanks to this, there have been many achievements.
There hadn’t been much exchange between the Namgung Clan and the Wudang Sect in the past.
They had only sympathized with the righteousness of forgetting past enmity and moving forward together.
They couldn’t go further, dig deeper, or discuss details.
Of course, because power was divided.
They couldn’t casually discuss or make promises.
Because the leaders of the Three Pure Ones and the Five Great Clans were claiming to be the real powers.
As the envoy of the Namgung Clan, she hadn’t accomplished much.
That changed.
When the sect leader of Wudang firmly stood, things progressed quickly.
Strengthening ties between Namgung and Wudang, detailed promises where representatives from each sect exchanged insights, and binding commitments to unite the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Clans.
All this happened rapidly in just a few days.
It was so smooth that it was called swift.
Even the Namgung Clan’s ambitious requests seemed acceptable when they came from the sect leader.
Returning to the clan with these achievements, the elders would clap for Muhwa’s skill, but Muhwa knew it wasn’t just because she was good at her job.
Teacher Sun…
He had become so close to Taecheong that they lived in almost the same residence.
The goodwill towards the Namgung Clan from the sect leader actually comes from Teacher Sun.
Muhwa tilted her head.
How did Teacher Sun gain such goodwill?
There was sufficient reason for goodwill.
The advancement of the Wudang martial arts lineage, the benefactor of the Wudang blood slaughter, the grace of gifting the Taiji Sword, and even the personal life he saved from the near-death state of the sect leader.
Power is power, after all.
Is Taecheong a Taoist priest who has completely transcended the worldly with the foundation of the Wudang Sect?
Muhwa’s eyes turned cold for a moment.
Strictly speaking, the person who suddenly appeared from outside with enormous influence is Teacher Sun. I’d better be cautious.
Muhwa had observed carefully.
The light in the sect leader’s eyes when she first asked for sword dance wasn’t hostility, but caution rather than goodwill.
Definitely it was…
But now it’s too close.
Muhwa secretly felt uneasy.
Could it be that Teacher Sun won’t stay in the Wudang Sect as is?
The sudden worry added irritation to Muhwa’s heart.
Until now, she had naturally treated Sun Wukong as a person of the Namgung Clan.
Namgung Jinbaek treated Sun Wukong as a brother.
When she learned that, Muhwa’s shock was earth-shattering.
She couldn’t figure out how to treat Sun Wukong.
Namgung Jinbaek’s only sworn brother.
That made him practically a person of Namgung, but…
She had met too big a mountain.
The one who inherited the advancement of the hidden lineage of the Wudang Sect.
With this alone, everything is settled.
If Sun Wukong stays in Wudang, he will become the leader of Wudang.
The distribution is unclear, but considering Taecheong’s attitude, the goodwill of the next power holder the leader of the Five Great Clans, and the subtle bending towards Sun Wukong…
He will become the leader of Wudang.
On the other hand, the Namgung Clan is still weak.
History and status are not inferior to Wudang, but the current reality is the problem.
What the Namgung can give and what the Wudang can give are different.
Thinking this far, Muhwa became more serious.
Of course, even if Teacher Sun isn’t in the Namgung Clan, the Namgung won’t fall apart…
But Sun Wukong’s status has become too great.
Equal to the Ten Great Masters.
This fact was known to all in the Wudang Sect.
The elders concluded the same from the sword dance: Sun Wukong is at least equal to Taecheong, honestly more.
They couldn’t say it because of the honor of the Wudang Sect and trust in the sect leader.
Wait, then is the Wudang trying to recruit Teacher Sun?
The justification is sufficient.
It’s another lineage of the Wudang Sect; what can’t they accept?
It’s even stronger justification than Namgung.
In the Namgung Clan, Sun Wukong is at best a guest.
The guest system allows him to come and go anytime.
It was good until now, but now it became poison.
“Unnie, why?”
Seeing Muhwa’s serious face, Seowol tilted her head.
Seeing her now looking at people’s emotions and worrying, Muhwa felt happy, but she couldn’t smile.
Seowol calling me master…? That Muyoung is master?
The position of the young lady of the Namgung Clan as master is certainly great.
But that can’t make her a person of Namgung.
Muhwa let out a big sigh.
She had achieved many achievements that could greatly benefit the Namgung Clan, but her heart was full of worries.
***
Despite Muhwa’s worries, Sun Wukong had no intention of staying in Wudang.
“Are you really going back to the Namgung Clan?”
“Yes.”
“It’s a pity. Teacher Sun is definitely a lineage of the Wudang Sect. This place is like home, isn’t it?”
In a gentle voice, Sun Wukong laughed.
The cautious eyes from the sword dance were gone.
Now, the eyes and voice dripping with honey.
“After all, a connection made once won’t disappear even after death. In the next life, we’ll be entangled again. Even if our bodies are separated, we won’t forget each other.”
“…Teacher Sun seems knowledgeable not only in the Dao but also in the Buddhist law.”
“Living, you pick up a lot from everywhere. That’s how it became this way.”
With the old man’s talk, the sect leader couldn’t help but laugh.
Young face.
Hard to guess the exact age, but much younger than himself with wrinkles.
But the deeper the conversation, the more depth felt.
Where did such a person come from?
There’s a saying: the outstanding person hides their appearance but will definitely be revealed.
Sun Wukong is not a young age who hasn’t reached adulthood.
But he’s someone who should have been known long ago.
He suddenly appeared like a drop from the sky.
And martial arts too.
The sect leader bowed slightly.
“Thanks to Teacher Sun, my heart is beating again at my old age.”
“Hmm. Don’t use such expressions. It feels weird.”
“Hahaha. Forgive an old man’s rudeness. That sword dance gave me a clue. I felt a part of the void spirit body.”
Void spirit body.
The faint hope thread Taecheong got at the end of the sword dance.
The realm where one can accept the natural qi like the dantian and handle it like internal energy.
Not the realm of enlightenment, but the realm of the body.
Similar meaning to the indestructible body.
But how it was achieved was mysterious.
For the indestructible body or the indestructible body, there was at least a way passed down.
By intensely cultivating external energy like the diamond indestructible body, it approaches the indestructible body.
In the Tang family, it’s said that by physically enduring and overcoming the poison, one reaches the indestructible body.
But the void spirit body is different.
“Only those who have given up everything can achieve it.”
The realm of the body that can only be achieved by eliminating the dantian.
Not just eliminating the dantian, but a body that can be created.
Then, wouldn’t everyone have given up their dantian?
It’s just the minimum condition.
“Well, there’s no credit to me. That was something I achieved myself when I was desperately dancing the sword dance.”
Sun Wukong said it casually, but Taecheong shook his head with a firm face.
“Because you helped me with the sword dance, my body could change.”
The faint internal energy left in the whole body.
The faint qi that others couldn’t even sense, he squeezed all of it.
Not only that. Teacher Sun, you must have induced it, right?
Taecheong was confident inwardly.
The sword dance of the Taiji Sword he had awakened was different from his own.
It wasn’t the Taiji Sword of the Jianghu martial arts that focused on harming people and suppressing opponents.
It was like cultivating the Dao.
Soft movements like immortals.
He followed. The lack of skill was his own, and he had to follow the sword dance.
The more he desperately followed Sun Wukong’s movements.
Taecheong’s sword slowly changed. From the original form of the Taiji Sword that Jang Sambong had created and swung solely for cultivation. Slowly, very slowly.
With all his qi squeezed, Taecheong’s body underwent strange changes in the original form of the Taiji Sword that had elevated Jang Sambong.
“It’s still far, though. Far. I haven’t reached the realm of handling nature like the dantian. But, I can still dream of being a martial artist.”
Taecheong smiled brightly.
It doesn’t reach the dantian filled with dozens of years of internal energy.
Even if pulling natural qi, it’s still small. His qi has become so low that it’s pitiful compared to before. But the potential is infinite.
“So, I can’t thank Teacher Sun enough. You’ve helped me for a while.”
“Well, it was a bonus.”
“I won’t forget. I will deeply think that Teacher Sun is a person of the Wudang Sect.”
“Don’t forget that heart.”
“Ah, and about Teacher Sun’s distribution… Well, there are problems in many ways.”
The distribution of Sun Wukong became a problem as he was revealed as the hidden lineage of the Wudang Sect.
The question of where to distribute Sun Wukong’s distribution was an unprecedented concern.
Like the orthodox sects, the Wudang Sect is very particular about distribution.
It was also the reason the leader of the Five Great Clans was somewhat inferior to the Three Pure Ones.
Since Sun Wukong didn’t detail his origins, it was impossible to casually determine in many ways.
Taecheong cautiously opened his mouth.
“Well, it may not be appropriate for my disciple, the leader of the Five Great Clans, to have the same rank as me….”
“With that young friend?”
Taecheong’s mouth closed.
Young.
Who… That friend also has a name, what. Moreover, if it’s the same distribution as the leader of the Five Great Clans, it’s the top in the Wudang Sect.
Right above that is only the sect leader…
“Eh?”
Suddenly Taecheong’s eyes widened. Sun Wukong’s smile filled his vision.
“I mean. I am sworn brothers with the young lady of the Namgung Clan.”
“…!”
“And I am the older brother.”
Taecheong’s eyes rounded.
“What I taught you while helping you a lot is similar to how a senior brother guides a junior brother, isn’t it?”
Sun Wukong smirked.
“Well, try it once, brother.”
“…”
“Eh? Even if you say try it once. Brother Sun, like this.”
Taecheong was at a loss for words.