Descent from the Mountain (2)

With Hyun Kwang's help, after absorbing all the energy from the Invocation Pill, Mu-Jin's dantian was filled to the brim with inner energy, equivalent to nearly twenty years of cultivation. The amount of inner energy Mu-Jin possessed had almost tripled, instantly reaching a level where he could confidently proclaim himself as a skilled martial artist in the world of martial arts. Though he might be lacking in the ability to hear the sounds of masters, considering his age, it was an absurd amount.

However, as things often go in the world, the situation wasn't all positive. Due to the sudden increase in inner energy, Mu-Jin's dantian was now saturated, and he couldn't condense his energy at all. The proof of this was the sparkling light emanating from Mu-Jin.

"Haha, if you use martial arts in your current state, your body might break first."

"...It seems the junior disciple has been too greedy."

Mu-Jin also vaguely understood his situation. Seeing this, Hyun Kwang opened his mouth with a gentle smile.

"Follow this old man. I will guide you to something that will greatly benefit you in your current state."

***

The place Hyun Kwang arrived at with Mu-Jin was a hall in the Shaolin Sect. And in the courtyard of that hall, Mu Gung was standing still, having just performed the initiation ceremony for the Diamond Fist. No, upon closer inspection, Mu Gung's body was moving very slowly. Practicing some unknown slow-motion punches, Mu Gung noticed Mu-Jin entering the hall and exclaimed, "Huh?"

"Kah!"

The moment Mu Gung's concentration was broken, a majestic lion's roar burst out from the hall.

"Yikes."

As if to provoke a match, Mu Gung, who made an eerie sound that didn't match his appearance, resumed the initiation ceremony for the Diamond Fist. And not long after, the owner of the majestic lion's roar opened the door and welcomed Mu-Jin and Hyun Kwang.

"I respectfully greet Elder Hyun Kwan."

He was a middle-aged man with a solid build and a dignified appearance reminiscent of a mountain king. He was Hyu Dam. Hyu Dam glanced at Mu-Jin's strange head with a slightly displeased expression before speaking.

"Did you come because of Mu-Jin's condition?"

"Haha, indeed, Master Hyu Dam."

Indeed. Master Hyu Dam, being a master, immediately noticed Mu-Jin's condition.

"Would it be okay if I proceed according to my method?"

"Haha, of course. Isn't that why I came here?"

"Understood."

Without adding any unnecessary words, Hyu Dam succinctly concluded the conversation.

"Haha, then I trust only you."

Hyun Kwang, too, turned his head towards Mu-Jin as if to say there was nothing more to say.

"Receive training from Master Hyu Dam here and learn to condense that energy."

"Yes, Grandfather!"

As Mu-Jin replied crisply, Hyun Kwang smiled kindly and turned to leave the hall.

"What should I start with, Master Hyu Dam?"

Instead of answering Mu-Jin's question directly, Hyu Dam turned his head slightly and looked at Mu Gung's side. Sensing this, Mu-Jin discreetly moved towards where Hyu Dam was looking. And instead of giving any instructions, Hyu Dam called out to his disciple.

"Beob Hwi."

"Yes, Master!"

"Same method as Mu Gung. Start from the very basics."

"Understood, Master!"

Following Hyu Dam's instructions, Beob Hwi approached Mu-Jin and opened his mouth.

"Try performing the initiation ceremony of the Chain-Linked Fist."

Following Beob Hwi's instructions, Mu-Jin first performed the initiation ceremony of the Chain-Linked Fist, the most basic martial arts he had learned. 

"Unfold the Chain-Linked Fist sequences with the minimum amount of inner energy you can manage."

'The minimum amount of inner energy.' 

Mu-Jin concentrated his mind and faced the huge amount of energy condensed in his dantian. For someone like Mu-Jin, who had just started learning martial arts and was a little over a year into it, it was an overwhelming amount of inner energy. Mu-Jin began to pull out a portion of that thick inner energy and started to channel it through his meridians.

'Is this the minimum amount I can manage now?'

Accepting it for now, Mu-Jin began to flow the energy through each meridian, unfolding the sequences of the Chain-Linked Fist. No special moves were needed for the most basic martial arts, which was the Chain-Linked Fist.

Mu-Jin unfolded the sequences of the Chain-Linked Fist one by one as he sent his inner energy through his meridians. As he released a certain amount of energy, it was as if a dam had burst, and even more inner energy spewed out into the air.

"Kah!"

At that moment, a lion's roar infused with the profound energy of Buddhism burst forth. Sudden shouts tended to startle people, but Hyu Dam's serene lion's roar instead calmed Mu-Jin's mind.

"Stop your movements and gather your inner energy."

Following Beob Hwi's instruction, who stood beside him, Mu-Jin regained his focus and calmed the energy that was about to erupt uncontrollably.

"Hoo."

Mu-Jin opened his eyes after barely calming down the energy.

"I will start again from the beginning. With the minimum amount of inner energy. You must ensure that there is no change in the amount of energy. Every time you fail to control it perfectly, you must gather the energy and start over."

"I understand."

Mu-Jin replied and once again unfolded the sequences of the Chain-Linked Fist from the beginning.

Hyu Dam's training method. It was a training to cultivate an undisturbed mind.

The martial arts Hyu Dam was practicing dealt with extreme positivity, which tended to easily excite people due to its nature. To master such martial arts freely and prevent mistakes or falling into extremes, the most important thing above all was an undisturbed mind.

In fact, there were various training methods to cultivate such a mind, but the training Mu-Jin was currently undergoing, 'maintaining the same amount of energy,' was devised by Mu-Jin himself.

It was a training method devised by Hyu Dam while practicing with an infrared scanner.

And so, Mu-Jin was progressing through that method. Life was truly subtle.

***

The next day.

After a day of training, Mu-Jin succeeded in unfolding the sequences of the Chain-Linked Fist with more or less the same amount of energy.

"Are we moving on to the Shaohong Fist next?"

As Mu-Jin, barely maintaining his focus, finished unfolding the Chain-Linked Fist, Beob Hwi shook his head horizontally.

"This time, you will practice controlling not only the energy but also the tempo. In addition to what you have done so far, try to maintain the same slow speed as possible while unfolding the sequences of the Chain-Linked Fist."

"...?"

At Beob Hwi's words, Mu-Jin glanced at Mu Gung beside him. There, Mu Gung was unfolding the Diamond Fist at a slow speed, as if a slug was crawling.

'I wondered what he was doing since yesterday...'

Now that he looked, it seemed that Mu Gung had progressed from the Chain-Linked Fist to the Diamond Fist, step by step.

'...Poor guy.'

Mu-Jin and Mu Gung became third-generation disciples at the same time. In other words, that guy had been repeating such training for at least four months.

Mu Gung may look like a bear, but Mu-Jin knew he was a guy full of pretense.

Although he didn't show it, he might be feeling like dying right now.

Perhaps sensing Mu-Jin's sympathetic gaze, Mu Gung, who was unfolding the Diamond Fist at an excruciatingly slow pace, glared at Mu-Jin with a twisted face.

"Kah!!"

Without fail, Hyu Dam's lion's roar burst forth.

"Heik."

And Mu Gung made a bizarre sound that didn't fit his physique.

'There's no shortage of weirdos here.'

Shaking his head at the sight, Mu-Jin gathered his resolve and performed the initiation ceremony of the Chain-Linked Fist.

"As slowly as possible. But do not stop the movement."

Following Beob Hwi's caution, Mu-Jin unfolded the sequences of the Chain-Linked Fist as slowly as possible. Maintaining the same amount of inner energy was a given.

'Twice as hard. No, at least three times harder.'

As the speed of unfolding the Chain-Linked Fist slowed significantly, the time to maintain the same amount of inner energy extended much longer.

"It's not just about moving slowly. Continuously think about the optimal path for your fist to extend. The flow of energy is the same. Continuously observe yourself, but don't get lost in the flow."

Beob Hwi continued to warn Mu-Jin, who was slowly unfolding the Chain-Linked Fist.

Although the state of nothingness was considered a grand achievement for martial artists, for Mu-Jin at the moment, it was poison.

Jumping around uncontrollably amidst handling his own energy, he could easily fall into extremes.

Mu-Jin focused on each of his muscles, one by one, and on the subtle flow of energy through his meridians as he moved his body.

The training was unrelenting.

'Ha. If Mu-Yul had become Hyu Dam's grand-disciple, he would have gone bald from stress within five days, wouldn't he? Oh well, it doesn't matter since he's already bald.'

When boredom threatened to defeat him and his concentration wavered.

"Kah!!"

Without fail, Hyu Dam's lion's roar burst forth.

It was a dreadfully serene training.

***

It took a whopping seven days and nights for Mu-Jin to complete the Chain-Linked Fist training.

It wasn't until the fourth day that Mu-Jin could continuously unfold the Chain-Linked Fist at the minimum speed, followed by three days of training to adjust the amount of energy.

Similarly, using the same amount of energy but gradually increasing it was the method for the Shaohong Fist. However, the difficulty level was incomparable.

Unlike the Chain-Linked Fist, which simply required sending out inner energy, the Shaohong Fist had a unique flow depending on the key points.

While the Chain-Linked Fist encountered difficulties due to lapses in concentration leading to mistakes, the Shaohong Fist faced obstacles right from the first sequence.

But Mu-Jin, the embodiment of evil and effort, pushed himself through the dreadfully serene training.

With sheer determination, he managed to complete the Shaohong Fist in just ten days.

Of course, there were still six more martial arts remaining, starting from the Autumn Wind Step to the Diamond Fist, but Mu-Jin wasn't worried.

Having adapted to maintaining the same amount of energy even in the unique flow according to the key points while training in the Shaohong Fist, Mu-Jin felt confident.

Of course, each martial art had different key points, and the flow varied accordingly, but grasping the concept was crucial.

So when another ten days passed.

Mu-Jin succeeded in slowly unfolding all six remaining martial arts with the same energy and at the same slow speed.

However, this didn't mean that all his training was over. Mu-Jin's martial arts involved unfolding multiple key points simultaneously.

But Mu-Jin wasn't worried.

'Now, I can control the amount of energy exactly as I want.'

Now, he could freely manipulate the inner energy he gained from the Shaohong Fist.

After all, simultaneously unfolding various key points was something Mu-Jin was familiar with. Thanks to the help of Hye Gul, Hyun Chun, Hyu Gwan, and Hyun Kwang, he had polished his skills enough.

"I will take my leave now, Master."

With his inner energy completely controlled by the Shaohong Fist, Mu-Jin, whose bright aura had completely disappeared, spoke to Hyu Dam in a calm tone.

"Hmm."

In response to Mu-Jin, Hyu Dam only nodded without saying a word.

And as Mu-Jin turned to leave the training hall, Beob Hwi, who had guided Mu-Jin in every training session, spoke to the master.

"I think Hyun Kwang Sabaekjo-nim knew why he accepted Mu-Jin as his disciple. Master."

Mu-Jin, who had caught up with Mu Gung, who had started nearly four months earlier in just a little less than a month, was astonishing.

Of course, Mu-Jin's training was not about martial arts or fighting but about training in undisturbed mind. It was about cultivating an undisturbed mind, not raising the level of martial arts.

What surprised Beob Hwi was Mu-Jin's concentration.

Although Mu-Gung, who was still young, sometimes let his impatience get the better of him, his mind often raced ahead of his body.

On the other hand, despite being one year younger than Mu-Gung, Mu-Jin never lost his concentration easily.

"Sometimes, he seemed more mature than me. Master."

Having only observed for just under a month, Beob Hwi had already figured out Mu-Jin's true nature (?).

And unexpectedly, Hyu Dam uttered a single word.

"Is that head of yours for anything?"

"...?"

Thinking of Mu-Jin's hairstyle, Beob Hwi erased the hypothesis he had formed in his mind.

***

A few days after Mu-Jin completely controlled the inner energy of the Shaohong Fist.

Finally, the promised time of ten days had passed.

"We have completed all preparations, Master."

""Hehehe. Then, I shall send the disciples in charge of treatment.. Merchant Chief."

The preparations for the Shaolin and Heavenly Flow Merchant Group's business were complete.

Mu-Jin, along with the disciples responsible for treatment at the clinic, set out for the Shaolin Temple with Ryu Ji-Gwang.

"As he entered the world of martial arts novels, it was the day Mujin descended Mount Sung for the first time."