“Anyway, we need a reason for the fight.”
Leader Jin Mu accepted the proposal of Seol-Hwi, but then added that.
Learn the essence of the Wudang Sect and defeat them. It would show to the world that the Wudang’s five teachings are far superior to the three emperors.
It was not a bad plan either. But the problem lay elsewhere.
His reputation and such, Seol-Hwi lacked it all.
He did do things in Kangho at times, and was given a title too, but he did not immediately have a position that the Wudang Sect would accept.
Moreover, Seol-Hwi’s master was none other that elder Hye Un.
Although he continued the vision of Wudang, he had never enjoyed a great position and he was weak in martial arts. And the disciple of such a person suddenly defeated Jin Mu?
Surely people would be suspicious and have distrust in it. There would be too many people who view it negatively, thinking that it was a planned spar in which the winner and loser were decided in advance.
“That is true too”
“It is a matter of my position.”
Seol-Hwi nodded.
As time went on, and if he gradually showed his skills within the Wudang Sect, it was a problem which could be naturally solved. But for now, the time was issue.
After a while, a major problem would occur in which many Taoists believers would be killed overnight. And the reason was unknown to anyone.
To stop that, something had to be done now.
“Of course, I will give you a justification for that. The sect leader will come in next and take you on.”
“What do you mean?”
Seol-Hwi did not understand and asked.
“The sect leader represents the Wudang Sect and he is the absolute warrior who no one will deny. If you defeat such a man, then no one in the sect will challenge that result. It is only when everyone else does not object will you be able to step ahead for the reward.”
“Ah!”
Only then did Seol-Hwi understand what his intentions were.
He also realized how confident leader Jin Mu was in his own abilities.
Officially, the leaders of the Wudang Sect were Hye Woo and the sect leader.
The way he said it was so natural to him. Because that came from his confidence.
“The difficult and worrisome issues start from then. You have to defeat me, and with the martial arts of the Wudang Sect too. If not… the Wudang will soon find its doom.”
The third ability.
Everyone was on about it, but the existence and presence of this skill or ability or whatever it was, had already come into the roots of Wudang.
Here, leader Jin Mu had stepped ahead and decided to show public his ability. It was to raise the fangs of the Absolute being which was slowly encroaching on Wudang to come out.
And immediately, if the third ability was defeated with the strength of Wudang’s martial arts alone — to force it down overwhelmingly. If they didn’t win this, then Wudang would…
It was not known if the sect would close its doors, or just go down entirely. But the spirit of Wudang was the greatness of Taiji. All of that would be publicly brought down.
But he had to take this risk now.
Everything around felt dangerous to him. The Wudang Sect which was looking peaceful on the outside, had slow poison flowing in it.
A little step back to get stronger. There was no telling how many disciples of Wudang had decided that. Maybe it would be too late to act now. So…
If the current situation was ignored because of the immediate loss of repuation of the sect… the future would be a place where no one would come from Wudang who could go after the principles of Taiji.
“Can you give me a month?”
“One month, is that good enough? In that time you can defeat the best of Wudang?”
“Even if there were more time, nothing would change after a month. One month is enough time for me to prepare.”
“Hmm.”
Jin Mu had a stiff face.
It seemed like he thought that Seol-Hwi would not be able to defeat the sect leader, and that was natural.
“Prophet, yes…”
Nevertheless, the reason he had this glimmer of hope was because he was getting a glimpse of the future. And also, theoretically, it was because he understood this third ability.
“And please introduce yourself to the older member of the elder’s circle, the physician.”
Seol-Hwi also made a request.
“Elder’s circle?”
“Yes. At least twice to be generous. If there is someone higher up in the ranks, please be sure to be polite.”
“Why though?”
Jin Mu asked back at this odd proposal.
“I think it will help me understand the spirit and flow of life in Wudang, which I still lack. Also, I need someone who can confirm the martial arts I am using are of Wudang. That way, there will not be any unneeded talks after the spar.”
“A helper and witness.”
Jin Mu nodded.
This was also to handle the weakness of Seol-Hwi.
Although he made his own needed preparations, he also needed to do what Seol-Hwi asked. When it came to proving the legitimacy and power of a sect, the higher the better.
Immediately after the defeat of the sect leader, everyone would focus on him.
“A few people do strike my mind… okay, I will take a good look. Someone who everyone recognizes.”
There would be unfortunate events in time where Wudang’s marital arts were denied. If the elders come ahead, no one will speak back anymore.
Of course, there must be a situation where the man in front of him does subdued the opponent with Wudang’s martial arts.
“Let us start.”
This was how the unexpected spar between the Wudang members began.
The fight between the third ability user and the martial arts of Wudang.
“The injury would be bad, but thanks to the quick response, it will not be a problem if they rest properly.”
“That is a good thing.”
In the previous life, Jin Gu turned into a hemiplegic. In this life, treatment would happen.
Jin Mu’s quick thoughts and decision made that happen. At first that was a good sign.
“And Jin Gang also went into isolation. A self-healing situation.”
“Hmm.”
It was observed rest. However, in reality, it was the punishment for not hesitating to use all his power against him.
It was said that Jin Gang tearfully reflected on the actions and said he was possessed by something at that moment. But while the matter was serious, there was no need to establish strict discipline on a child within the sect.
After Jin Suk gave the news, Seol-Hwi trained for a couple days on his own.
He manged to understand the martial arts of Wudang. Although there was a clear goal, this wasn’t an easy task.
Even though he had reached Peak Master level, the path to Supreme Master always felt too high.
The clue to normal growth can be found by tapping into the Yin Yang veins and achieving enlightenment through the body or by finding the nature of martial arts and achieving everything with it.
But, no clues or ideas were visible in this aspect.
Thinking like that, he once again felt the greatness of the Heavenly Demon. When he had been in the Demonic Sect, was he not the one who entered into the Supreme Demon state to escape from the negative effects of the Demonic Arts?
I heard the Wudang too…
Hyun Ja. The man who was said to be the founder of Taiji must have had the possibility of reaching the peak.
When one climbed to Supreme Master, they were then able to tap into nature. It was a position to harmonize the qi.
But, it was said that the wise man could go beyond the harmony and rule the world with Taiji. How could one control this mysterious strength which was said to be the law of the world?
This is all too much.
Perhaps this was why those who considered the honor of Wudang had chosen the third ability, which can be called as evil.
In the younger days, Jin Mu was known as the best by Wudang. But even he had to stand still for dozens of years after tapping into Peak Master.
One year and then another and more. The feeling of despair when the path could not be seen.
Even when they followed the book or the teachings, it felt like a rainbow which could not be touched.
Until the Peak Master level, the direction could somehow be understood through the materials left behind by the ancestors. If one had the talent and did work hard, they could devote their entire life and reach it.
But not Supreme Master.
Talent and effort were basics, and had to be left to the infinitely slim odds of chance or luck. It was painful to have already risked one’s life and not knowing if one was on the right path or not.
No matter how much of a skilled person they were, or rather, the descendant of a skilled family, one can be put under pressure for not achieving it. But that was the attitude one had to become Supreme Master.
Taking failure for granted, praying for the blessings of the ancestors, and silently going ahead and persevering the teachings of Taiji.
According to the few records, the words of the ancestors who came close to Supreme Master all had differences.
Rather, it was the principles of Taoism, which had to be constantly revised and perfected. It was said that the Tao was being spoken about for no reason, but they actively refrained from saying it for fear that the later generations would have a corrupted view.
That is the number of people who got close…
And it meant that there was no answer as to how to understand Taiji. No one at Wudang was sure.
“Ugh, this one is the reckless guy?”
When Seol-Hwi was so worried, Jin Mu brought an old man. And this old man introduced himself to be a physician.
He looks like he is 100 years old.
The old man, who introduced himself as Ok Jin, had this weak look, like he would pass away the next day. Yet, the look in the eyes felt strange.
“I heard it from leader Jin Mu. You want to learn more about our Wudang…?”
“Yes, right.”
“Huh. The disciple of the Wudang elder who left home, wants to learn about Wudang. Woah, isn’t this an odd situation?”
He had this funny smile.
Long white hair and a long beard. A person looking like an old warrior from the paintings.
“Hehehe, it is shocking. And he is already pretty skilled.”
“You praise me too much.”
“It is a blessing for Wudang. Warriors whose skills have touched the clouds now want to be the sky itself. However.”
He smiled.
“I don’t know what an old one like me can teach you. I will only speak of what I know or have heard. Is that good enough for you?”
“I will listen to everything clearly and understand it. Even if the level of martial arts is high. My master always said, ‘If you want to resemble nature, and if you want to have your thoughts broadened, you must learn from other people.’”
Seol-Hwi answered.
This was something he learned from Master Chung Song and not Hye Un, the fake. Warriors and martial arts were different, and trying to understand and think was also different for each individual.
In order to learn how to view the world, one has to not just look up, but far too, and also look for the various things and point of views.
“You really think so?”
Ok Jin looked quite surprised.
“…Yes.”
“Master is Hye Un right? He taught you well. After hearing that, I no longer feel worried about others.”
Shhh
He stood up, smiling.
“Ask and I will tell it all.”
The story told by elder Ok Jin was something which lasted two hours. Most of it was about the childhood.
Seol-Hwi felt pretty comfortable hearing it.
Ok Jin had a fun way of speaking, and it was something nice. He could see why this man was friendly.
And it was the fourth day after meeting him.
“When I was young, I laughed and talked and played around. I thought about becoming a Taoist and to reach a place better than nirvana,” is what the man said.
Taoists turned to people and Buddhists aimed for nirvana. Both were speaking about being more than just humans, and that was how they answered the question of which was better.
“One day, a Taoist brought a spring painting. The kids were watching it among themselves, and oh my. Sasuk came? And they quickly hid it in the pavilion, but they were worried of what would happen if someone saw it. Do you know what happened to that pavilion? They set the pavilion on fire to cover it up.”
“…Burned it?”
It was something he could not believe in.
“Right, later, after the truth was revealed, I suffered greatly. Fortunately, the flame didn’t get any bigger so it wasn’t too bad…”
Additionally, Seol-Hwi came to know why the Jang-gyung Pavilion vanished from the Wudang sect. As another day came to an end like this—
“When you reached the level of second class disciple… it turns to talking. And to display the Taiji arts to witness.”
Seeing the Taiji arts with his own eyes? This appealed to Seol-Hwi.
“is that possible?”
“Of course.”
Ok Jin got up slowly.
“One child drew the Taiji flag and brought it home. And he had failed, and the other child demonstrated it. He too failed.”
“Then?”
“Another kid said the Yin and Yang are divided and put into the Taiji. One cannot see with their eyes but… they can feel it? But he failed too.”
“Right.”
Seol-Hwi chuckled
This was the way of taiji. It was a fun thought with nothing special.
But after hearing the words of this man, he could not simply forget it.
“But as they were being eliminated, the last remaining kid said this, ‘If you close your eyes, you can see.’”
“Close the eyes? That means…”
“Meditation…”
A fresh thought.
He asked how he could see Taiji with the eyes closed and was told that one can see, if they close the eyes.
“He continued the explanation like this, ‘When you meditate, you become caught up in the countless thoughts. If one loses the mind, even for a moment, they will be consumed by negative things from outside.’”
“…”
“But, if you push it out, the left and right sides look balanced too. If one keeps centering it and rotates it in a circle…
“It turns into Taiji.”
Seol-Hwi was surprised. But the old man was not done there.
“Achieving Taiji isn’t the end. More and more powerful external qi rushes in and it has to be stopped. When it gets clear, the external forces cannot reach it…”
“What happens when it turns clear?”
Seol-Hwi asked.
He had an idea.
What Ok Jin was going to say was the center. It tells one to build at the root of the abyss.
“Invincible.”
“…”
“Above the world. And that is Taiji.”
