episode_0042

The most famous sword in the world, the Taesanbukdoo of the martial arts world.

Sung Shan Shaolin.

Throughout the long history of the Central Plains, there have been many emperors who oppressed Buddhism.

Nevertheless, Shaolin persisted and was greatly revived by Li Shimin, a historical fabricator and psychotic Xianbei man who believed himself to be a descendant of Laozi.

And the result was Shaolin Temple, which is still famous as the Great Mountain of the martial arts world.

‘What? A fortune teller?’

Even with that kind of background, I can’t help but be mistaken in thinking that a Shaolin abbot is a highly trained monk with such supernatural powers.

“The Lord looks like he is wondering how he knew that.”

“Oh, was it by any chance that it was all obvious from your expression?”

“Of course. If you can’t figure that out, then Nonap should step down from the position of the head monk. First, the host should sit down too.”

A shabby, one-armed nun wearing gray robes.

Although he was the Shaolin abbot I had only heard of through word of mouth, his voice itself had a strange majesty to it.

First of all, as soon as I sat down quietly and obediently, the Shaolin master looked at me intently and asked.

“If you were to see what you cannot see because you have acquired the ability to see the sky and the ability to see other people, and know what kind of mind you have, would you believe it?”

“Really?”

Even I was so surprised by the words that I hurriedly asked back.

In Buddhism, there is something called the six supernatural powers. As your level of practice increases, you naturally gain supernatural powers as a byproduct, or in other words, it is a concept similar to an event product that comes as an additional gift.

If you could see right into my heart, shouldn’t you not be here?

“Of course I’m joking. How could a slacker like Nonap, who isn’t even a great monk like Mokryeonjonja, have obtained such things?”

“Ah.”

What the heck, are you kidding me?

My voice became hoarse because I felt a little wronged by what I had momentarily believed to be true.

People can fly through the sky and emit light from their swords, so it’s possible that they really obtained such things through the method of enlightenment.

As soon as the Shaolin master saw my expression, he burst into laughter.

“No-nap acted so rudely when you had a distinguished guest from far away. I apologize for teasing you. As you probably know, No-nap is a rascal named Hyeon-heo.”

“… … This is Yeonjin. I have come to get what I have from Shaolin and return it to its original owner. ”

“I also read the letter sent by King Geumcheongeom. By chance, I was able to connect with the donor and continue the progress of the Bokma Yeorae Sword.”

“Should I show you?”

Surely you wouldn’t think that the leader of the Jongnam faction was lying, but Shaolin Temple would finally feel relieved when they saw the evidence before their eyes and thought that the martial arts that had been practiced had finally returned!

The question was asked with that kind of intention, but Hyun-Heo shook his head.

“Even though he harbors such a tyrannical spirit, there is a sliver of Buddha’s compassion shining within him, so there is no reason to doubt that he is the successor of the Bokma Yorae Sword.”

It felt like a sharp pain for a moment.

As expected of a master, he doesn’t seem to know that the identity of that tyrannical sect is none other than the Heavenly Demon Art, but he seems to have figured out what kind of martial arts I learned in that short amount of time.

What, did you have an endoscopy done on your lower abdomen?

I was tempted to ask how he knew that, but there was no reason for a thief to suspect his own feet of being numb.

Okay, let’s come to our senses.

Yeonjin, this is the Shaolin Temple’s Bangjangjeon. If there’s a demon cult member here, it wouldn’t be strange if their head was split open like a ripe watermelon with the Baekboshin Kwon.

From now on, I must thoroughly become a righteous warrior of the orthodox faction.

Otherwise you die.

After quickly calming myself down by hypnotizing myself, I answered while invoking the spirit of a young and promising swordsman.

“I wrote down the emergency number. But my handwriting is a bit bad… … .”

“Don’t worry about that. Everyone has a hard time copying scriptures, so what’s the big deal about transcribing them so they’re easier to read?”

“Oh, right. Since they are monks, they must have done a lot of copying and such.”

“That’s right. After all, it’s a sect and everyone’s names are on the list of monks. It’s good to learn martial arts, but isn’t it the duty of a practitioner not to be lazy in training?”

Strangely, there seems to be some substance to the words.

But does Shaolin Temple have any sense of identity as a temple, rather than a martial arts school? As expected from the Shaolin abbot. I can’t let my guard down at all.

Even in a conversation that is as casual as gossip, I cannot let my guard down at all. What kind of formidable enemy is this!

Although Hyun-Heo seemed to be saying things without much thought, each word he said had quite a weight to me, as I was under self-hypnosis that he was a swordsman from the Eastern country of courtesy who respected his elders.

“This is an emergency.”

Remembering that he had not yet handed over the secret to Hyun-Heo, he took out the secret of the Bokma Yorae Sword and handed it over.

Hyun-Heo silently accepted the silverware and stared at the words “Bokma Yorae Sword” written on its surface for a long time.

It wasn’t an expression of emotion, nor an expression of new feelings, it was a subtle expression that was difficult to describe.

Hyun-Heo, who had been looking at the surface of the emergency manual for a while, soon unfolded it and read each page one by one.

Hyun-Heo remained as still as a mouse until he read the entire secret prescription.

After a while of subtle silence, Hyun-Heo finally finished reading the secret and closed the page.

“Your handwriting is worse than I thought.”

“… … I’m not that close with Seo Ye-rang.”

“Just kidding. But I think this is enough to understand it.”

“Ah.”

I really can’t get a handle on it.

This is already the second time.

If you provoke me to this extent, even the most gentle person like me would get angry.

Of course, I wasn’t crazy enough to look at the Shaolin abbot with a glare, so of course I only did it in my head.

Hyun-Heo, who had put down the book he had read, opened his mouth.

“This secret weapon was burned down fifty years ago when the Mugeuk Demon Army opened a sacrificial rite within the Shaolin Temple grounds and fled, setting fire to Janggyeonggak.”

“… … I thought it was a big fire and it was a disaster, but there was something like that.”

“What, it’s an open secret. Everyone knows that the Infinite Demon King Cheongyeon is a disgrace to Shaolin.”

Hyun-Heo, who had brought up the topic of the Great Guardian Law, made a subtle expression on his face, but then continued speaking.

“At first, I was thinking of offering a grand gift to the Lord.”

“Great Revenge… … !”

My eyes lit up at the word ‘Dae-Hwan-Dan’.

In fact, it is returning the martial arts to its original owner, but for the sake of honor, it is only right for Shaolin to repay me.

This unique Chinese custom of guanxi is that in difficult times, isn’t it considered most important to show kindness to someone who has saved one’s face? That’s how important face is in the Central Plains.

However, if you just accept the emergency supplies and wipe your mouth, it would be a loss for Shaolin, so it is only natural to repay them in some way.

If it is called the Great Reward that was to be given as compensation, it is the pinnacle of elixirs that often appear in martial arts novels.

Perhaps, it is one of the best elixirs I can get, so much so that if I just take one pill of Daehwandan, my realm will advance greatly.

But if you were going to give me the Daehwandan, did you mean you were going to give me something else?

As I waited for Hyun-Heo to continue speaking with a faint expectation that it might be a secret martial arts skill, Hyun-Heo raised his voice loudly.

It’s quite tiring to have to keep exploring what the intention is behind such words.

Come to think of it, is this all because of the Great Guardian Law?

I briefly promised myself that if I ever get punished for my sly behavior, I would definitely watch from the first row of seats.

“Gongwoo!”

“Yes, sir. Please speak.”

“Take the present donor to Janggyeonggak and show him the secret power of the great power of Prajna.”

“Yes.”

I heard Gong-woo’s voice answering as he was waiting in front of the room.

The power of the half-night?

What kind of martial arts was that? I’m sure I’ve heard of it.

Just as I was trying to recall my vague memories, Hyun-Heo issued an order to evacuate the guests.

“I won’t ask you how you learned the secret magic. When you live a rough life as a warrior, regardless of gender, you’re bound to have one or two secrets to hide.”

“… … .”

Wait a minute, what did you just say?

At the moment when I hesitated as I was about to stand up, I raised my head and a tremendous presence emanated from a one-armed, shabby-looking nun.

My hands start shaking involuntarily, and my body shakes as if an earthquake is occurring.

Hyun-Heo continued talking, not caring about the fact that his body was shaking like an aspen tree, out of control, regardless of his will.

“The reason why No-nap doesn’t touch the lord. Even though he has mastered the magic, judging from his kipa, the first reason is that his magic is not the kind that can only be achieved through vicious methods that harm people.”

“… … .”

“The second reason is that even though you have mastered magic, judging from what happened in Jongnam, the lord’s nature is not evil. So, just continue on the path that the lord considers favorable.”

“How… …?”

To anyone who heard it, this was a warning.

Shaolin abbot.

A warning from a master of the realm of martial arts, considered to be the best in the world and a leader in the current era’s martial arts world.

I don’t know if what I learned is called Cheonma Shingong, but if I had to categorize it, Cheonma Shingong is a martial art close to demonic art.

So, it is considered that you have mastered the art of magic, and it is almost like a warning that you can be punished at any time if you do something foolish.

In the face of an overwhelming presence that forced me to keep my mouth shut regardless of my will, the words I managed to utter were, in a way, close to a confession: how did you know that?

But Hyun-Heo left his last words and turned around.

“That is also the reason why I am giving you the power of Banya. It is not so grand as to be called a gift of No-nap, but if by chance you become poisonous regardless of the will of the donor due to the magic you have learned, Banya will help you suppress it.”

And then, as if he had nothing more to say, he closed his mouth.

* * *

After my brief encounter with Hyun-Heo, I felt as if I had been possessed by a goblin.

It was to the point that Gong Woo, who was guiding me to Janggyeonggak, asked with a worried expression.

“I don’t know what the host said, but can you recite the emergency prayer in your current state?”

“… … Oh, I see. You have to memorize the vowels, the vowels. That’s right.”

Is it true that my neck is still attached right now?

I just couldn’t fathom how strong one would have to be to subdue a person’s soul with just their presence.

Zuo Zheng Guan Cheon.

As the saying goes, sitting in a well and looking at the sky, I was no different from a frog in a well.

To be honest, it was true that I felt a little proud because everyone around me was praising me for reaching my peak at this age, even in the Jongnam faction.

There were quite a few people who had mastered the Cheonma Shingong, as well as the martial arts of ascending levels such as the Mucham Nanga Sword and the Bokma Yeorae Sword, so it wasn’t a state that was achieved entirely by my own ability.

But now that I have met the Shaolin abbot and come out and realized that there is a heaven above the heaven, I feel like kicking away the mattress I am sleeping on.

For the time being, I’ll be thinking about it every time I lie down to sleep.

After unintentionally creating a dark history, I came to my senses by hitting the ball hard.

My face was cold and quite sore, and Gongwoo looked at me with worried eyes as I suddenly started to harm myself.

It occurred to me later that the Banya Great Power is a technique of internal energy that can be called a divine skill of Shaolin.

The meaning of Prajna is wisdom.

In simple terms, it is insight. A ferry boat that allows you to cross from the world of delusion to the world of peace, the mercy of the law. In other words, the port of Mijinja.

I could understand why Hyun-Heo had offered me the great power of Prajna in exchange for the Bokma Yorae Sword.

Let’s wake up.

As I entered the famous Shaolin Temple Janggyeonggak, accompanied by Gongwoo, who was still looking at me with worried eyes.

I renewed my determination.