The Apostate Monk (3)

Mu-Jin, who had no interest in the influence his status had among the third-generation disciples of Shaolin, was spending another ordinary day. From early dawn, he headed to The Hall of Arhats to train his body with newly introduced exercise equipment, and in the morning, he practiced martial arts. In the afternoon, he treated Hyun Kwang.

Just as new CrossFit tools had arrived at The Hall of Arhats, new exercise equipment—specifically Pilates tools—were brought into Hyun Kwang's quarters.

"Starting today, I will teach you proper rehabilitation exercises," Mu-Jin said. He pondered how to translate "Pilates" and decided to call it "rehabilitation exercise."

"First, I will show you how to loosen your muscles with this," Mu-Jin said, picking up a foam roller. Here, they covered it with leather and called it a "革棒" (leather baton).

The foam roller could be used in various ways, such as rolling it against the muscles near the shoulder blades, sides, thighs, or the back of the thighs, also known as the hamstrings. However,

"Oww..."

"Grandfather, you must breathe. Moving while breathing is the only way to properly loosen the muscles."

The problem was that it brought tremendous pain when used for the first time by someone with stiff muscles. Mu-Jin, who had only been practicing bodyweight exercises, also felt some stiffness. Therefore, the pain that Hyun Kwang, who was close to a walking corpse, felt was immense.

"Haha, this is definitely something I'd like to have the disciples try. Our Shaolin disciples have been going through unnecessary suffering. Haha."

As he groaned in pain every time the roller touched his muscles, Hyun Kwang thought of his fellow monks. There was no need for wall-facing meditation or 108 prostrations. Rolling one's body over the foam roller felt like it would blow away all worldly desires, leaving only the sensation of pain.

Though it sounded like torture, this activity only caused pain during the process; once it was over, the knotted, aching muscles were relieved, bringing a refreshing feeling. Hyun Kwang thought it might be the most suitable activity for meditation or penance.

'Whenever the disciples come to nag me about eating meat and drinking wine, I must have them try this leather baton,' he thought, genuinely caring for his disciples.

After loosening his body with the leather baton, Mu-Jin proceeded with a few more exercises.

"Stand on this, then place your right leg on the rounded barrel like this. Yes, now twist your body, raise your arms, and lean to the side. Yes, like that!"

First, he used the Pilates barrel to loosen the lower body and core muscles again.

"Now let's start building some strength gradually. Since it's your first time, we'll start with just one spring today."

Then, to achieve the main goal of regaining strength, he began a full-fledged rehabilitation exercise using the reformer. Lying on a bed with springs attached, he placed leather straps on his legs and pushed with his leg strength, or he sat on the floor, placed leather straps on his arms, and pushed with arm strength.

While constantly paying attention to his posture and maintaining core balance, he stimulated various parts of his body bit by bit.

After conducting the rehabilitation exercises for a little more than half a shichen, Mu-Jin demonstrated the martial arts techniques he had perfected with Hyun Chun's help in the cave.

"It seems you have made some progress," Hyun Kwang said.

"Yes, the movements have become much smoother, Grandfather," Mu-Jin replied.

It was a natural conversation for the two, who often discussed martial arts training during meditation.

"Haha. Then, you should visit this place. It will be of great help to you now," Hyun Kwang said, handing Mu-Jin a piece of paper with the name of a certain pavilion written on it.

* * *

A pavilion located on the outskirts of Shaolin.

It was a place rarely visited by disciples except those belonging to a specific faction. Currently, a sparring session was taking place there.

A young monk was delivering a series of attacks with agile movements, but the middle-aged monk facing him blocked or dodged all the attacks leisurely without stepping out of the line he had drawn.

"At this rate, you wouldn't be able to catch a fly," the middle-aged monk said, taking a sip from a bottle in his right hand and extending his left hand toward the young monk.

Surprisingly, the young monk blocked the middle-aged monk's left hand by continuously using his learned martial arts techniques.

"Haha, you only do well under pressure," the middle-aged monk said, stepping out of the line he had drawn for the first time to attack.

"S-Sir!?" the young monk exclaimed, startled by the breach of their agreement.

"Try blocking this!" the middle-aged monk challenged.

Despite still holding the bottle in his right hand, the middle-aged monk used only his left hand to drive the young monk back. The vast difference in their skill levels would have confused the young monk, but as the situation grew more dire, the trembling in his eyes began to subside, and calmness returned.

"Huff!"

At some point, a smile began to spread across the face of the young monk, who had previously looked tense. Having shaken off his tension, the young monk shifted from evasion and defense to counterattacks. He seamlessly connected all the martial arts techniques he knew, moving ceaselessly.

Conversely, the middle-aged man who had initially been pushing the young monk back shifted to defense as his opponent began his offensive.

"Hahaha!"

As the young monk completely lost himself and began targeting vital points and pressure points with his fingers, the middle-aged man tossed the bottle of liquor in his right hand into the air. With a karate chop from his right hand, he struck the young monk's neck.

With a click, he caught the falling bottle and took a hearty swig.

"Tsk tsk. You still have a long way to go."

The middle-aged man, Hyu Gwan, clicked his tongue lightly and turned his head to the side. There, his disciple Beob Hye and a young monk stood together.

'Hoho?' Hyu Gwan's eyes sparkled as he noticed the peculiar hairstyle of the young monk.

"Master, he came with a letter from Uncle Hyun Kwang, so I let him in."

"Greetings, Sasukjo Hyu Gwan. I am Mu-Jin, a third-generation disciple."

"Hahaha. To think a third-generation disciple of our Shaolin would have such a hairstyle. Truly astonishing."

As Hyu Gwan laughed heartily, Mu-Jin responded with a light smile.

"I have received permission from the Disciplinary Head."

Finding it tedious to explain every time, Mu-Jin succinctly shared his reasoning, omitting the part where he had threatened with his beard and eyebrows.

"Hoho. So the Disciplinary Head approved it?"

"Yes, that's correct."

In response to Mu-Jin's answer, Hyu Gwan glanced at his disciple, Mu Gyeong, who was sprawled on the ground with a peculiar expression.

'To think he was hiding such an interesting story. Hehehe.'

Hyu Gwan contemplated how to style Mu Gyeong's hair, though he had no intention of messing with his own hair.

"Hehe. When your hair grows a bit, we should try it."

Having come up with an amusing idea, Hyu Gwan smirked and turned to his disciple, Beob Hye.

"You said it was a letter from Uncle Hyun Kwang? Let me see it."

"Here it is, Master."

Beob Hye handed the letter he had received from Mu-Jin to Hyu Gwan. After reading the letter, Hyu Gwan looked at Mu-Jin.

"Do you know the contents of this letter?"

"I haven't read it myself."

"Uncle Hyun Kwang has asked me to train you in my way. Do you have any idea what kind of training that entails?"

"...Is it the method I saw a moment ago?"

Mu-Jin glanced at Mu Gyeong, who was lying on the ground, and asked. Hyu Gwan let out a twisted laugh.

"Hahaha. You guessed it right."

The organization dispatched from Shaolin to deal with the terrible evil adversaries and demonic beings who show no sign of repentance. The Destroyer of Demon Division, Hyu Gwan, the leader of this Extermination Squad, had a simple training method." Hyu Gwan's training method, being the head of this division, involved sparring that was as close to real combat as possible. This included not only the traditional, straightforward sparring of orthodox sects but also underhanded and dangerous methods.

"Even though Uncle Hyun Kwang sent you, there are no exceptions."

"Master, I am willing to undertake this training."

Upon hearing Hyu Gwan's explanation, Mu-Jin raised his hand and replied confidently.

Mu-Jin understood why Hyun Kwang had sent him here. Although his martial arts had become smoother with Hyun Chun's help, it was still just moving his limbs in the air. To truly perfect his martial arts, he needed real combat experience, and he decided to view this training as exactly that.

"No need to drag this out. Come in."

With a smirk, Hyu Gwan took a swig of his liquor. Mu-Jin then charged toward Hyu Gwan, who was still drinking.

"Haha. Better than that rascal Mu Gyeong."

Charging at an opponent who was drinking showed more boldness than his disciple, causing Hyu Gwan to laugh.

Mu-Jin, using explosive speed, struck with his fist imbued with inner energy. The power in his punch was significantly stronger than during his initial assessment.

Originally, Mu-Jin's martial arts were like a patchwork quilt, with six different techniques sewn together by the strong thread of his sturdy body. However, as Mu-Jin's inner energy grew deeper, the size of the patches increased, making it harder for the thread alone to hold them together.

That's where the principles of the Diamond Fist shone. The different martial arts techniques began to blend into a similar color. The connections between each principle became smoother, reducing the strain on his body even when using greater inner energy.

Pow!!

Hyu Gwan effortlessly caught Mu-Jin's punch with his left palm and whistled lightly. The power of that single punch far exceeded that of his disciple Mu Gyeong.

"And Mujin spread his right hand, which he had thrust out, and grabbed Hyu Gwan's hand firmly so that he could not escape."

Whoosh!

With a powerful force, he swung his left leg.

Bang!

Mu-Jin's sweeping leg collided with Hyu Gwan's raised right leg, creating the sound of metal clashing.

"Haha. You've managed to make me use my leg. Impressive. I suppose you deserve a reward."

Blocking both attacks, Hyu Gwan released his grip on Mu-Jin's hand and reached for Mu-Jin's face. Mu-Jin tried to evade by turning his head, but Hyu Gwan's arm twisted at an unnatural angle, following Mu-Jin's movement.

Just as Mu-Jin raised his arm to deflect the hand,

Thud!!

"Ugh."

Hyu Gwan's right foot, which seemed to have moved without notice, kicked Mu-Jin's abdomen. Using his hand to distract Mu-Jin's vision, he had sneakily launched a kick.

"Ho? I only used enough force to make you fall, but you actually withstood it."

Hyu Gwan had left after accepting Mu Gyeong as his disciple during the entrance exam. Naturally, he hadn't seen Mu-Jin's sparring. He had only heard later that Hyun Kwang had accepted him as a disciple.

But now, after exchanging just a few moves, he could roughly gauge the martial arts Mu-Jin had learned.

'He's even mastered Iron Cloth Shirt.'

Learning even the neglected martial arts to create his own techniques.

"Will you come again? Next time won't end like this."

"Please let me try again!"

Mu-Jin answered Hyu Gwan's question and charged again. After blocking or evading several of Mu-Jin's attacks, Hyu Gwan roughly assessed Mu-Jin's condition.

"Each individual attack is powerful, but the connections in actual combat aren't perfect."

Having made his assessment, Hyu Gwan targeted Mu-Jin's openings and swung his left fist and right leg. These counterattacks precisely aimed at the gaps that appeared when Mu-Jin transitioned from one attack to the next.

Thud!

Mu-Jin's face twisted in pain as he was struck in the side.

'As expected, a master is a master.'

Despite making his martial arts smoother through training, it was still the first time he was using them in real combat. He had to think about how to move his internal energy before his body could follow, causing his connections to break in sudden situations.

"Let's go again!"

"Alright."

As Mu-Jin charged stubbornly, Hyu Gwan responded with a grin and took another drink. Mu-Jin mixed techniques using elbows and fingers within his punches and kicks, launching a variety of attacks. However, Hyu Gwan did not miss the small gaps between these attacks and struck Mu-Jin with his left fist or right leg.

After several exchanges where Mu-Jin was struck and pushed back,

"Tsk tsk. This young fellow is too persistent. Women won't like that."

"Are you quite popular, Sasukjo?"

Mu-Jin asked while rubbing his freshly slapped cheek, and Hyu Gwan laughed with a sinister expression.

"Haha. If you can manage to hit my face even once, I'll tell you an interesting story."

It wasn't the kind of joke a monk should make, but neither Mu-Jin nor Hyu Gwan cared.

Instead, Mu-Jin focused on his martial arts.

'He's targeting my openings precisely. I need to keep thinking.'

Mu-Jin kept paying attention to the gaps where he had been countered. In the rapid exchange of attacks, moving after seeing, thinking, and judging the opponent's movements naturally slowed him down. That's why both modern fighters and martial arts masters of this world aim to reach a point where they instinctively judge and move through countless repetitions.

However, without proper direction, mindless training could not engrain those instinctive movements. Initially awkward, continuous conscious effort in training eventually leads to instinctive actions.

After several more exchanges where Mu-Jin took hits while sparring with Hyu Gwan,

Bang!!

Mu-Jin successfully blocked Hyu Gwan's kick aimed at his opening for the first time.