“Taat!”
While Seol-Hwi was lost in his own thoughts for a moment, Jin Mu did his best.
The thunder energy was successful. The ultimate art of going beyond the thunder qi which pierced through the defenses and struck the desired point immediately after being launched.
He clearly saw the third ability thunder qi pierce into the chest of Seol-Hwi. And he thought he had succeeded.
Chik!
“…?!”
But the results came out different than expected. The thunder qi, which should have completely burned the body of the opponent, instead only severely shocked him and then did nothing more.
“W-wha-what…!”
He could not blurt out more than that mere exclamation. The great thunder energy that had come out vanished?
Jin Mu once again began to pull out the thunder qi. It was not about believing in reality. Usually, the more sincerely a warrior practiced martial arts, the more likely they discovered the problems within themselves and came across as a wall.
Knowing the efforts made so far and repeating the actions that produced results commensurate with the efforts were his training and hardships.
As the representative figure who suffered through hardships throughout life…
“Uhhhh! AHHHHH!”
Crackle!
Two, three, four, and five times. At first, he tried to figure out what was wrong.
So he corrected the form one after another and continued to put all his effort into the technique.
Crackling!
But the results continued to be the same.
In front of the opponent, to the left, right, and above. The lightning flashed and then vanished.
Jin Mu, whose internal energy had run out, fell into a state of despair and said.
“Just… how is…”
He could not understand what happened, and it was beyond being aware.
Sweat and effort did not betray anyone, and the life he lived till now felt completely turned upside down.
“Because the sky is round and the land is square.”
As he was panting, Seol-Hwi answered. The law of land and heaven.
An evident tale that even those unfamiliar with Taoism would recognize.
“The thunder travels thousands of miles in a breath. Another side of the sky and extreme force to the side, but the faster you go, the lighter you get and if you are light, then you cannot uproot anything which is heavy. Where I am now as the center of Taiji. The wind cannot pierce through the core of typhoon.”
The words could not be understood.
It was the words that anyone who delved into Taoism would have to grasp.
But all of this was merely a theory for him. It was possible to say that anyone can use the sword energy, but in reality, it would take several years to swing a sword and cut a piece of paper from a distance too…
“Say something which makes sense though…”
This was why Jin Mu could not believe it. No, he did not want to believe it. It had been decades, no, in the first place, he did not believe that one’s power could become like this.
“Why does it not make sense? No matter how the outside force is, it is ultimately a type of energy. The moment we are exposed to nature, we breathe, we are affected by the law of nature. Of course, one can use that to manifest greater strength, but it is useless in front of someone who looks at all this from a higher level and rules beyond the harmony of nature.”
“Haha! Is that so? That means that you are the one who rules beyond the harmony of nature?”
Jin Mu burst into a ridiculing laugh and rushed ahead without hesitation.
Chiing!
A sword technique carried out in anger, and it got close. It was the Taiji Wisdom Sword similar to that of the Wudang Sect.
Chang! Chaang!
The spark of lightning flew from Jin Mu’s sword, which Seol-Hwi had countered with his sword.
It was just an act of reckless anger, but it was still a hit.
If the thunder energy had dissipated at a distance, then the clash of swords was directed for the thunder qi to take effect. However, Jin Mu halted and gazed at the sword briefly, a tremor appearing in his eyes.
Chaak!
It was unmistakably his sword that had reached its target with thunder energy coursing through. Nevertheless, he experienced a jolt up close.
The opponent’s expression remained unchanged.
“Surely… the sword of Wudang surpasses external forces. I almost couldn’t withstand it for a moment.”
“Youu!!!”
At Seol-Hwi’s words, his eyes shook as if devoid of any remaining rationale.
Jkjkjk.
Now his entire body was saturated in thunder qi, sparks continued to emanate, and even the sword began to crackle.
Jin Mu felt as though everything had been refuted. The profound path of Taiji that he had just heard, Jin Mu was familiar with it. In his mind, however—
It is impossible. Never!
But it takes a minimum of 100 years for the body to comprehend it, typically through 100 years of solitary hardships.
And what about his adversary now?
His age?
Even if this rascal trained in sword techniques from the womb!
He could not have possibly dedicated enough time to progress this far.
Unless he knew that Seol-Hwi had truly experienced a hundred lifetimes, his skepticism was natural, and his judgment was inevitably clouded.
In Jin Mu’s view, Jin Hwi had employed the power of an external force greater than his own. The fundamental hypocrisy of feigning arrogance and showcasing Taiji.
After pursuing Taiji his entire life, he had ultimately abandoned it for an external power.
It was his ultimate transgression.
“Ackkk!”
Anger had tainted his being, and his body was exulting.
Grrr!
The thunder qi wielded by the sword moved so swiftly that the naked eye could not perceive it, with lightning bursting forth.
Crack!
The moment it came into contact with Seol-Hwi’s hand, it dissipated.
Wheik
It was absorbed into the original form of Taiji and could no longer maintain its structure.
This was Taiji.
“Ha…”
Drrr
His legs felt weak. Jin Mu, who was watching the lightning vanish, ended up kneeling down. The thunder qi lost.
When even his best move he made from close range had vanished, he was filled with despair.
He looked at Seol-Hwi and then glanced around as if he had lost his mind.
“HAHAHAHA! HAhahahaah!”
It was over. No matter how hard he tried to avoid it, this was the reality now.
Life, everything up to this point was messed up and passed in front of his eyes.
Just where… did it go wrong…
By the time he was 30, he had reached the level of Peak Master and was expected to be the future of Wudang. After a struggle of 10 years, he could not overcome the barrier that blocked him.
He felt sorry for his ancestors and his master’s death that had pushed him away from his current life. In the end, he gave up the right path of Taiji and chose the wrong way.
Only then did he think of gaining “strength.”
“Hehehehe… hehehe… hehehe…”
The martial arts were considered to be omnipotent before the power of Taiji. So what was this? What had he done until now?
Although he himself reached the realm of enlightenment around the age of 30.
“Genius… this is what it means that there is another sky above the sky.”
That was not right. The person in front of him was just beyond the normal age limit and was far stronger than him.
Not even a moment after defeating the sect leader, the highest person in the Wudang sect, Jin Mu was defeated by a disciple under him.
“Ughhhh!”
If things were going to be like this, he would not have taken such a path.
Hundreds of years of Wudang Taoism could have ended up with a talentless disciple. He turned out to be the villain who erased their history. He regretted his weak will for not staying on the right path even more and cried.
And this was turning into sadness.
He was feeling sad and regretful. The sadness was now turning into tears.
Jin Mu knelt and wept, realizing his defeat. His sobs seemed endless.
“Huhuuu.”
Thud
How much time had passed? Jin Mu’s tears eventually ceased. He remained on his knees, head bowed.
“End it, Jin Hwi, no sajae Myung Hwi. A disciple of the Wudang, I dared to delve into the forbidden. Driven by the thirst for power, I strayed from the teachings of Taoism and defied them.”
The notion swelled, firm thoughts echoing throughout the hall.
“Behead me and make an example. Let the corruption within Wudang end here and now! Quickly!”
Eyes shut, neck bent, tears streaming, Jin Mu knelt, prepared to accept defeat.
“To turn and turn… that is Taiji.”
As Seol-Hwi stood, a complex expression on his face, a voice sounded behind him.
It was Hye Woo, the Wudang sect leader.
“Leader Jin Mu, you have disrupted the righteousness of Wudang, causing harm to the sect and even endangering it. Do you understand?”
“…Yes. I know.”
Upon hearing the sect leader’s words, Jin Mu lowered his head.
Shhh
Seol-Hwi stepped back momentarily. His role in intervening was fulfilled, leaving the sect leader to decide the next course of action, fearing his presence might exacerbate the situation.
“Very well. Then I shall inquire. Does the spirit of Wudang still reside within your heart?”
The sect leader’s voice drew nearer to Jin Mu, who could not bring himself to lift his head.
He had believed his actions were justifiable, necessary even. Yet now, in this moment, it all seemed futile.
“Honestly, I am unsure what the spirit of Wudang truly entails.”
He spoke candidly.
It was simple to claim allegiance to the spirit of Wudang here, but he hesitated to do so now.
Kuk.
He still remembered.
The time when he was devastated by the death of his master, and the years of intense life. He needed strength and he worked until he fell. He was not going to justify it.
But now he was thinking of lying to save his life. Saying anything untruthful like that would be the worst choice as a warrior and as a human being.
“I am not sure because I was a bad disciple, sect leader, punish me for being dishonest. Please.”
“Well, if I want to punish you, it has to come from me first. Because I don’t know either, the spirit of Wudang, what is it?”
Suddenly, Jin Mu raised his head up in surprise. The man in front of him was looking at the sky.
“In the days when I was obsessed with Taiji and the Taiji Sword, wasn’t the spirit of Wudang Taiji? Think, then after a while, I looked at the Taiji Wisdom Sword and thought that it was the spirit of Wudang, and then I thought of it as the essence with the Ten Point attack.”
Jin Mu shook his head.
Even though he had not heard of it, he thought it did not apply to him.
“I am sorry sect leader. I am… I think I went too far.”
“Myung Yu. It doesn’t matter whether you went this far or reached an invisible place.”
Step. Step.
The sect leader stepped right in front of Jin Mu. Then he looked at him with one knee bent.
“The power the outside source gave you. Although the term third ability is used, it might not be a wrong approach. If there is a problem, it is because we had a wrong perspective which prevented us from embracing it.”
“Sect Leader…”
“I thought that there might be tolerance in the spirit of Wudang. How can the great sea differentiate between waste water and clear water? Either the third ability or the fourth ability. How can a river with a single ray of hue, dye the entire sea?”
Sect Leader Hye Woo shook his head.
Although he lost the battle, he was now standing in front of Jin Mu. He was huge… like a mountain.
“It is said that great wisdom appears to be foolish at first glance. Even though it may seem slow and sloppy to other people, and even if one fails or takes the wrong path, in the end, it all comes together in the big sea. I think that is the spirit of Wudang.”
“Sect Leader. I, I am… “
Leader Jin Mu’s eyes trembled.
The words of the sect leader were clear. Regardless of whether one was a warrior or not, working hard for Wudang was effort. This meant that since it did not turn into something bad, it would be left undisclosed.
And the spirit of Wudang.
According to the sect leader, he already had that spirit. Be it martial arts or something else, it showed from results.
That too was the spirit of Wudang.
Grumble.
Jin Mu teared up again. His tears would not stop.
The sect leader looked at him in silence and waited. Until the internal thoughts in the heart were conveyed through the mouth.
“If what is being said about is the spirit of Wudang, then I… have never forgotten it even for a moment. Really…”
“Enough.”
Tak
The sect leader tried to console Jin Mu, who felt lost.
“This is enough. Anytime you feel like it… you can come back to Taiji.”
“…Euk.”
The hand caressing his shoulder felt warm. On that day, Jin Mu, who had grown up, burst into tears.
It was like the past when he was an immature child. Like when the master of his was ruffling his hair, that warm touch.
