"Is it shattered into pieces?"

"Mu-Jin and Mu Gung, come forward!"

The morning of the sparring day.

As if there was no need to explain, Hyu Jong shouted with a spirited voice.

Hyu Jong glanced briefly at Mu-Jin with a complex expression.

Over the past week, Mu-Jin had been training on his own during the early morning sessions, but during the official martial arts training in the morning, he always put in his best effort to practice his techniques diligently.

Watching his behavior closely for seven days straight, Hyu Jong was starting to feel a bit puzzled.

"At least it didn't seem like he made excuses to avoid training."

The young boy seemed to have his own training methods.

However, even if that were the case, it was not something she could fully forgive. No matter how unique his training methods were, how could he dare compare them to those of the Thousand-Year Shaolin?

"This time, I hope you'll admit that Shaolin's training methods are superior to what you know."

As a disciple of the Buddhism, it was also his role to correct young disciples who were going down the wrong path.

With that thought in mind, Hyu Jong turned her head and looked at Mu Gung this time.

"If it's Mu Gung, he should be able to surpass his mistaken thoughts. Yes."

Among the seventy or so newly initiated disciples who had joined recently, he showed the most remarkable progress.

Even though it was basic martial arts, his understanding of complex techniques like Chain-Linked Fist was exceptional for his age. Moreover, he diligently participated in training every day and even practiced on his own whenever he had time.

Furthermore, his innate muscles were outstanding compared to other children, making him a potential prodigy of Shaolin.

Receiving Hyu Jong's hopeful gaze, Mu Gung's heart raced with excitement.

"Hyu Jong Sa Sok Jo is watching me!"

His dream was to make a name for himself in the martial world as a disciple of Shaolin.

At this moment, Mu Gung felt he was one step closer to that dream.

"I'm sorry, but I have to surpass you."

Viewing this as a proper opportunity to make a lasting impression on Hyu Jong Sa Sok Jo, Mu Gung unleashed his fighting spirit and gazed at Mu-Jin.

"Ha!"

As Hyu Jong and Mu Gung pondered their own thoughts, Mu-Jin, with a relaxed demeanor, alternated stretching his legs to relax his leg muscles.

And after Mu-Jin loosened his muscles to a satisfactory level, he asked Hyu Jong in a relaxed tone, "Shall we begin now?"

That relaxed attitude made Mu-Jin's forehead tense up.

"Hmph. He's just showing off!"

Though he was thinking that in his head, Mu-Jin, still at a young age, found himself unknowingly tensing up.

"Let the match begin!"

Was it because of that anger?

Mu-Jin's judgment was somewhat clouded, and as Mu-Jin rushed in when the sparring began, he found his body moving faster than he had expected.

In the split second of Mu-Jin's training of Chain-Linked Fist for the past seven months, his fist reflexively shot out.

Indeed, as Hyu Jong had hoped, Mu Gung's Chain-Linked Fist displayed a level of completion that was unmatched by his peers.

His punches, extending in a straight line like a picture, were incredibly swift, and they even displayed a penetrating power that was beyond his age.

However...

From Mu-Jin's perspective, who had been observing Mu Gung's movements while training Chain-Linked Fist for the past seven days, Mu Gung's punches were so predictable that he could avoid them without even looking.

Just before Mu Gung's fist was about to strike his face, Mu-Jin swiftly lowered his upper body.

"!?"

Surprised, Mu Gung tried to move his body to use a different attack the moment he saw Mu-Jin move.

Mu-Jin didn't miss the moment when Mu Gung's center of gravity shifted. He tapped Mu Gung's abdomen with his shoulder and simultaneously grabbed Mu Gung's shoulders, executing a perfect tackle.

It was a flawless tackle, just like in a picture.

The behavior Mu-Jin showed with the trees the other day—it was precisely practicing tackles.

"W-What?!"

"What the?!"

As everyone watching the sparring match, assuming Mu Gung would win, was stunned by the sudden turn of events.

Mu-Jin carefully laid Mu Gung down, ensuring he didn't hit his head as he fell from the tackle.

Then, with a swift movement like a flash of light, Mu-Jin rolled to the side and simultaneously applied an armbar.

From the beginning of the spar to the moment Mu Gung was subdued, it took no more than a second.

As the outcome became clear in that brief moment, some wore dumbfounded expressions, unable to grasp the situation, while others stood with mouths agape in shock.

"Get up quickly!"

"Can a disciple of Shaolin not endure even that much?!"

After the situation had ended, some senior disciples, who had only just come to their senses, began to throw out reprimands.

But they knew deep down.

Though they didn't know the armbar technique, they were all practitioners of martial arts for at least ten years, so they understood the pain it inflicted on the arm.

Their outburst was merely a reaction to their disbelief at seeing their trusted disciple defeated so easily.

"Ugh..."

And Mu Gung, caught in the technique, was now in agony. His arm was throbbing with excruciating pain, yet the senior disciples kept urging him to get up.

Adding to the agony was the fact that it was Mu-Jin, the little kid who had subdued him.

"Hey. If you resist, your arm will break. Just surrender, okay?"

Crack.

Applying just enough pressure to his arm, Mu-Jin subtly added a threatening tone.

Mu-Jin had no intention whatsoever of actually breaking the arm of a child more than twenty years his junior. He simply wanted the kid to surrender before getting hurt.

The only problem was Mu Gung's current predicament.

"Come on! Get up!"

"He couldn't even train properly! If it were up to Mu Gung's strength, he could break free!"

On one side, the senior disciples, who wanted their trusted disciple to shine, were shouting at him to get up.

Crack.

"Heh. Giving me more strength and your bones will snap? Don't you feel it? If you put in a little more strength, you'll live as a cripple for the rest of your life. Just surrender quickly."

On the opposite side, Mu-Jin was holding his arm and threatening him.

Unable to endure the pain emanating from his arm and the terrifying pressure from both sides, Mu Gung eventually...

"Ugh... Ugh... Ugh... Ahh!!"

...burst into tears.

It was the kid who was known to be as big as a head taller than the other children, behaving like an adult.

"..."

"..."

Seeing Mu Gung, who had always boasted of his unusually large size among his peers, lying on the ground and wailing, silence fell upon the training ground in an instant.

"I-I... I'm sorry. I was wrong. Huh? I was wrong."

As Mu Gung burst into tears, Mu-Jin, who was hastily releasing the armbar, tried to soothe him, gently massaging the strained arm.

"Okay. So why did you pick a fight with a little kid for no reason?"

It was a fair sparring match, but Mu-Jin muttered to himself, feeling as if he had tormented a child over twenty years younger than him.

Naturally, all eyes turned to Hyu Jong, who had overseen this spar.

"Ahem."

As one of the senior disciples, who had just come to his senses, cleared his throat, everyone turned to him.

"Ugh... Ugh... This is fatal!"

At that moment, while Mu Gung was still crying, he shouted in a mournful voice.

"Fatal?"

"He suddenly rushed at me right from the start! And he attacked with some strange technique, not Chain-Linked Fist! It's fatal! If we fought properly, I could win!"

The one who had acted all grown-up until now, Mu Gung, wailed and shouted like a complete child.

"Oh dear. I see. I'm sorry. Our Mu Gung is really good at Chain-Linked Fist. That's right."

"It's not Mu Gunghwa, it's Mu Gung!!"

"Oh dear. I see."

As Mu-Jin lay on the ground, soothing the whimpering Mu Gung...

"It seems Mu Gung has a point."

One of the senior disciples who had been watching the situation stepped forward and spoke.

"In a sparring match among Shaolin's disciples, it's only natural to use Shaolin's martial arts. You broke that rule."

Though he spoke triumphantly, as if he had caught a big fish, Mu-Jin, who was consoling Mu Gung, sniffed disdainfully.

"You clearly said a few days ago, didn't you? Shaolin's martial arts focus on 'subduing' the opponent."

"That's right."

"I clearly subdued Mu Gung. That's a much cleaner outcome than using Chain-Linked Fist."

"What!?"

"If I had used Chain-Linked Fist, we would have kept punching each other, and the injuries would have been even worse than they are now. But how is it now? Mu Gung is crying, but he doesn't have a single injury, does he?"

Although he had threatened to break his arm, he didn't. He even took care to avoid any accidents like hitting his head during the tackle.

In other words, he succeeded in subduing him without leaving a single scratch or injury.

"T-That's..."

"That's a stretch! How can you not use Shaolin's martial arts in a sparring match among Shaolin's disciples!"

With Mu-Jin's logically sound rebuttal, the senior disciples, who outwardly looked much older, started to force their way out.

Realizing that the mood was turning sour, Hyu Jong quickly stepped forward.

"Mu-Jin."

"Yes, Senior Hyu Jong."

"Are you saying you used that technique deliberately to subdue Mu Gung without injuring him?"

"Yes."

"Then, we can consider that the technique you used somewhat aligns with the intentions of our Shaolin."

"!!!"

"Therefore, Mu-Jin's victory in today's spar is valid."

At the sudden endorsement from Hyu Jong, the junior disciples looked at her with surprised expressions once again. Even Mu-Jin, who had regarded Hyu Jong as old-fashioned, wore a surprised expression.

However, Hyu Jong's words were not finished yet.

"One thing is missing here. The technique you used may indeed be more efficient in subduing opponents than Chain-Linked Fist. However, that only holds true when the opponent's level is lower. The reason why we practice Shaolin's martial arts is to subdue malicious enemies and evildoers."

The reason why Hyu Jong insisted on Mu-Jin's victory and stopped the forced argument of the junior disciples was due to a subtle shift in atmosphere among the entry-level disciples who had been watching the spar.

Their hard work in mastering Chain-Linked Fist over the past few months had been easily dismissed. Moreover, the situation was aggravated by the fact that the entry-level disciples, who had been tormented for months by the prospect of learning a martial art that could be easily dismissed, were now exaggerating the situation.

Although the entry-level disciples, who had little social experience due to their focus on training, couldn't read the situation, Hyu Jong, as a senior disciple who had experienced life in the martial world, sensed the trend.

"If we let this continue, all the disciples might leave Shaolin."

If they left, it would be fortunate, but if those who left spread rumors about this incident, it would be a great embarrassment for Shaolin.

That's why Hyu Jong acknowledged Mu-Jin's victory for now and refreshed the atmosphere.

"So, this time, I will personally demonstrate the essence of our Shaolin martial arts! The power of martial arts used to confront malicious enemies!"

With the intention of turning the disappointment of the entry-level disciples into anticipation by showing them what Shaolin's martial arts were, she continued.

"Bring the rock!"

When Hyu Jong gave the order to the entry-level disciples, the two who were quick on the uptake understood her intention and hurriedly ran off.

And shortly after,

The two entry-level disciples returned with a rock much larger than any ordinary person.

"Hoo."

Approaching the rock, Hyu Jong took a deep breath and performed the ritual stance of Chain-Linked Fist.

"Watch closely. This is the true power of Chain-Linked Fist that you are learning."

As the vigorous internal energy spread out from her dantian, Hyu Jong, who had finished preparing, threw a punch.

Bang!!!

The huge rock shattered into pieces.

"Wow!!"

Thanks to Mu-Jin's performance, the young disciples who had momentarily doubted Shaolin's martial arts were all impressed beyond measure.

Among their admiring exclamations, there was a mixture of anticipation that if they endured a little longer, they too could gain such power.

Watching them with satisfaction, Hyu Jong looked at Mu-Jin, who had been the starting point of the incident.

"Wow!"

Mu-Jin also looked at the shattered rock with admiration.

"Yeah. This is what martial arts is about."

There unfolded before him the scene he had imagined while reading martial arts novels as a child.

What is martial arts depicted in martial arts novels?

Swinging a sword once cuts a mountain in half.

Swinging a sword once cuts down hundreds of enemies.

Striking once with a fist causes the opponent's body to explode...

"Huh...?"

Mu-Jin, who had been exclaiming like the other kids, suddenly made a strange expression and pointed at the shattered rock, looking at Hyu Jong.

"Didn't you say it was a subduing technique?"

"D-Did I?"

"And yet the rock shattered?"

"..."

"..."

A strange silence fell over the training ground once again.