0027 ———————————————-
Embroidered Uniform Guard (錦衣衛)
I followed Hyun-Chun Daoist (玄天道人) on the way to Taizheng Hall. His movement was not wasted, and I wondered if it was the effect of the secret Haste Skill of Wudang Faction, Jiyuncong (濟雲從). Arriving at the Taizheng Hall, I could see a complete view of the conduit, which was an ordinary sized building for about five to six people to train together.
The inner disciples (内门弟子) were not presently visible. When I asked about it, he answered, “I sent them to the headquarter to explain the situation. They departed yesterday, and they would be back after nine days.”
“The inner disciples of a Daoist must have learned to conduct the martial arts of Wudang Faction. Wouldn’t they be helpful to the subjugation for the Evil Cult?”
He shook his head.
“If you look at the monsters, you will not say like that. The clumsy cannot handle the monsters with numbers. I think there are just more scapegoats.”
“…?”
“My disciples haven’t been trained for a long time. There is no disciple beyond the First-class, and I cannot put them in danger who will be the pillars of Wudang Faction.”
Rattling.
Hyun-Chun Daoist went into the room and brought out a tea. The aroma of the tea seemed to indicate that it was a luxury tea. He sat down and savored his tea.
“In conclusion, it is necessary to punish the great sorcerer who controls the monsters and the fanatics with a flute.”
“Hmm…did he learn the martial arts?”
Hyun-Chun Daoist gave a wry smile.
“That is very vague.”
“What is vague?”
“I have never been near him because of the monsters and the fanatics he was controlling. I could have approached him if I had risked my life, but I just backed off. I have not checked his martial arts.”
“…”
At first glance it looked ridiculous, but the situation was a little serious. No matter how rough the fanatics became and they developed their combat skills, the Peak-class (絕頂) was the Peak-class.
It was natural for Hyun-Chun Daoist to dig into the enemy by the invisible Haste Skill, and to blow Sword Qi (劍氣) at enemy experts. Not being able to give a sword to the sorcerer, however, meant that the power of the fanatics and the monsters was formidable.
‘Well … Did I put my feet in the wrong place?’
“Is the great sorcerer a man or a woman? What is the purpose of the sorcerer?”
“The great sorcerer was only playing the flute, and just the human figure could be seen. He never said a word.”
“It seems that it has been a long time since you infiltrated the village, but what about the village now?”
“… I don’t want to imagine. When I went in, the whole village was already in a madness, and it’s not different now.”
“…”
I felt the need to be strong. If there were human sacrifices at the time of the first infiltration of Hyun-Chun Daoist, human corpses would be now scattered on the streets and human flesh eaters would go around. I used to cruelty, but I might have been devastated by such a sight.
‘Oh, I see.’
I realized what the point was. I then gave my opinion to Hyun-Chun Daoist.
“Evil Cult (邪敎) is a religion to begin with, and now it intends
to expand by increasing the number of people who worship it. They know that you found out their identity, but why don’t they take any action yet?”
He nodded in admiration.
“Yeah. That’s a point. I’ve been watching them for days as I walked around the village, but I haven’t seen a single human being coming out. I deliberately stepped on top of the mountain to keep an eye on for the visitor, but there was no change.”
I made a face, frowning.
“The great sorcerer with a flute is doing something.”
“Yes. If he had figured out my identity, he would have guessed that there would be a punitive expedition soon. If they don’t create or inflate power, they’re probably preparing for a filthier business inside the village. He will build up his strength with more evil techniques, or he will be making even more terrible things.”
“The more time we take, the worse it will be.”
“Yes.”
No matter how urgent Hyun-Chun Daoist might be, I could recognize why he had drawn me to this matter, facing of the leakage of the secret martial arts of Wudang Faction. No matter how well-known and well-connected he was, it was not easy to find a Peak-class expert in the world. It was also difficult to attract such a person in a single day, so he had no choice but to talk to me.
I had a cup of tea. The hot tea was so good to resist, and it cooled me down.
“By the way, what the hell is that? What does it look like and what kind of power does it have?”
“Well … that is hard to explain. I’ll sort my thoughts out.”
Hyun-Chun Daoist was lost in thought. He then took the pencil out of the table nearby and slowly picked up the brush to start painting. Having learned the basics of poetry from Mang-Liang, I realized that he was very knowledgeable in painting.
“It looked like this.”
After some period of painting, he completed the work after about fifteen minutes. I carefully looked at the picture, and forgot what to say.
“…”
‘What the hell is this? Can this monster exist in the world?’
It was shaped like a loose piece of meat. It looked like it was made up of bubbling chunks of foam with countless eyes visible on its surface. It also featured tentacles, which looked like hundreds of hands, flinging.
He sighed when he saw my expression.
“The real thing is uglier and very large. It is a horrible creature I’ve never seen before.”
“Are there a lot of these things?”
“There were three of them which were very quick and powerful, and Sword Strike (劍擊) didn’t work very well. Their bodies were like a liquid that was flowing. Sword Qi (劍氣) worked, but you have to do your best to knock them out.”
According to the illustrations and descriptions, it was a monster. If I encountered this monster without preparation, I would be in danger.
Because of the three monsters, a Peak-class martial artist almost died! However, his mental cultivation was so deep that he could escape, observing the enemy’s features and means of attack.
I looked at him.
“Do you mean to fight head to head against something like this?”
“No way. At least a thousand soldiers will be required to bring these creatures down.
down. All you have to do is defeat the great sorcerer of the flute.”
“Do you have any plan?”
He spoke in a confident tone.
“The great sorcerer usually doesn’t show up, but he comes to town center at noon to play the flute. They perform human sacrifice on a strange altar. He is vulnerable when performing human sacrifice, so we can attack and knock him down then.”
“How about the monsters?”
“Monsters appear to eat human blood and flesh after human sacrifice is over. It doesn’t show up before then.”
“What do I have to do?”
He seemed hesitant to answer. He then said with a cautious face.
“Make a way for me to cut off the neck of the sorcerer.”
“…”
The expected answer puzzled me.
In other words, his plan is to make a quick raid before the monster appears and chop off the great sorcerer’s head. And all I have to do is to get rid of the fanatics and protect him so that the present counterplan can move ahead to the end.
I got scared when I came to risk my life.
‘Oh my god. Do I just take off now?’
I felt it was prickly to face the fourth death in a place like this. Wouldn’t it be better if I ran away? However, the temptation to get the martial arts of Wudang Faction was too strong. I said after much consideration.
“… okay. But before you do that, I need you to guide me in my martial arts.”
“What do you mean? Your martial arts are above the belt.”
“It’s ….”
I sighed briefly.
“Once you look at it, you’ll see.”
I headed for the training camp in Taizheng Hall. I then grabbed a weapon that was lying nearby, and put the power of Neigong to the weapon and tried my best to perform, connecting Lightning Spirit Eight Spearmanship (雷靈八式), Lightning Spirit Swordsmanship (雷靈劍法), Lightning Cloud Palm (雷雲掌), and Lightning Spirit Footwork (雷靈步法).
In the meantime, Lightning Qi was formed with roaring sounds, and showers with the lightning storm would fall in a moment. It was caused by the Lightning Dragon One Qigong which was at its extreme.
Hyun-Chun Daoist, who was watching my show seriously, sighed a little later.
“Oh my god! your Neigong is more than three times mine, but the martial arts level is at best above the Second-class. How could there be such a discrepancy?”
His voice was permeated with amazement and astonishment. Because he was a Peak-class, he could accurately evaluate my skills. I put back the sword with a somewhat embarrassing expression and said to him.
“That’s why I hesitate to help you. I’m strong in my Neigong, but I don’t know the martial arts well.”
“Well…you had got the extraordinary fate (奇然). Or an Elixir. I thought that you were hiding your identity as a secluded expert, and you had become Forever Young (反老還童) through New-Birth with Bone-Change (換骨奪胎).”
“Forever Young is only in martial arts novels…”
“But your Neigong was far more than explained. I guess the only person who can count on to deal with you is the Master of White Lotus (白蓮敎主).”
Hyun-Chun Daoist laughed after a moment.
“Oh my god! You are a really teenager… This is what really happens.”
It was Hyun-Chun Daoist who memorized the Buddhist cognomen, but his mood was not so bad. It would
It would be better for him to pass on his martial arts to a young man. He also evaluated the rest of my martial arts.
“Both of the swordsmanship and the spearmanship seem to be the secret martial arts of a prestigious martial faction, but the achievement is low and the Neigong is not fully exercised. You are using only thirty percent out of hundred percent Neigong.
“Thirty percent?”
It was too low for me.
Then he nodded.
“Of course, your Neigong has no match in the world, but the movement and concentration of the Real Qi is too poor, and if you are a master, you will be able to read the flow of your Neigong and easily suppress it. No matter how strong the force is, if someone let it flow, and it is enough to shed it.”
“That’s true.”
I laughed bitterly. What he pointed out was that I had felt it. There was a previous record in which the chief elder of Iron Blood Sect played with me lightly, and cut off my neck with less than half of my Neigong. Even if I competed against Hyun-Chun Daoist now, there would be no big difference.
He said after careful consideration.
“What is the Cultivation Method (心法) you have learned?”
“It’s called Lightning Dragon One Qigong.”
“Good. The Cultivation Method I will teach you is called Mysterious Sky Divine Qigong (玄天神功), and you will be able to learn it without any burden.”
“Why?”
He explained it calmly.
“The Lightning Dragon One Qigong is the crystal of the lightning, and the lightning represents the Earth in the Five Elements. And Mysterious Sky Divine Qigong has the characteristic of Metal. Five Elements (五行) are Metal (金), Water (水), Wood (木), Fire (火), and Earth (土). They compose all things in the universe, and they circulate and produce each other.
In addition, they are compatible or incompatible with one another. Since there is a harmony between the Earth and Water, it will be no problem at all when you cultivate Lightning Dragon One Qigong and Mysterious Sky Divine Qigong together.
If you learn about Mysterious Sky Divine Qigong, you will be able to have strong vitality and recuperative powers to support the offensive power of Lightning Dragon One Qigong. You won’t fall into Qi Deviation (走火入魔) because they coexist in the harmony and work together each other.
Qi Deviation (走火入魔) is also known as Qigong Deviation and literally means “to catch fire and be possessed by demons.” It is a dangerously unstable state in which Qi is twisted and out of control, mostly by psychological causes or wrong use of Cultivation Method, resulting internal damage and symptoms of psychosis. People, who practice Cultivation Method and Martial Arts incorrectly, or who rashly use forbidden arts, succumb to their internal demons and are all at risk of falling into this state.”
“…!”
“It will take only two hours to memorize Mysterious Sky Divine Qigong. For the rest of the time, I’ll begin by pointing out the swordsmanship and spearmanship you perform from the beginning.”
I knew I had another great destiny.
“Okay.”
I could be guided one-to-one by Hyun-Chun Daoist, a Peak-class expert. Although it is doubtful whether I will be able to learn the secret martial arts, I could move a step forward if I was taught by him.
As he said, the entire said, the entire teaching of Mysterious Sky Divine Qigong was over within two hours. Rather than teaching me all about Mysterious Sky Divine Qigong, he taught me a simple Real Qi Guide Method (眞氣導引法), because I needed to drill the small veins. And he said that he would teach me everything in earnest after the subjugation would be over.
It was a truly awkward experience to be guided about Lightning Spirit Eight Spearmanship and Lightning Spirit Swordsmanship. I had a duel with him without pulling up my Neigong, and every time I encountered his wooden sword, since he was reading my thoughts of where to go. It was not a lie that he could read all my attacks.
Clank!
“The Qi in your wrist is poor!”
My sword was drawn far away by the sword of Hyun-Chun Daoist. It was a short time, but sweat was dripping all over my body. While competing with Hyun-Chun Daoist, I felt there are too many loopholes in my martial arts.
“The speed of your Qi is too slow.”
“If someone has too much Neigong like you, it’s hard to steer a gigantic waterway. To get rid of the hesitation, you have to memorize the way Qi flows in the stream of moves (招式) of your martial arts.”
Hyun-Chun Daoist continued to say.
“I don’t know your swordsmanship exactly, but I can point out the shortcomings. Think about the lack of your moves and the reason why.”
“Thank you.”
As Hyun-Chun Daoist said, it was a study-up activity for me to have a duel. I didn’t necessarily receive any special training, but my skills were growing faster. When I had fought with the chief elder of Iron Blood Sect, he wouldn’t have let go of it, and I had just got confused as to what to do. But Hyun-Chun Daoist knew how to give me enlightenment since I was in the middle of a great duel for “map.”
For the next four days or so, I only ate, slept, and trained in the martial arts with Hyun-Chun Daoist. I couldn’t spare any more time as I had to subjugate as quickly as possible. I often climbed up the mountain to monitor the Evil Cult in turn and otherwise focused on promoting my martial arts.
As a result, I managed to get rid of a considerable amount of my blind-spots and gained a higher level of swordsmanship. At least in Lightning Spirit Swordsmanship, I was now capable of showing greater power than ever before. He spoke after watching my achievement with satisfaction.
“That should be enough. You can show your ability in fifty percent, not thirty percent.”
He taught me about the weak points of Lightning Spirit Swordsmanship at various times during the four days, and also taught me about how to change moves using Extremely Clean Swordsmanship (太淸劍法).
“You want to go to slaughter now?”
“Yes, I don’t know what kind of monster will come out if I delay any longer.”
“…”
I answered after pondering.
“Let’s go.”
I thought that if the situation would not be good, I would flee away alone. There was a sense of royalty that was guided the martial arts by him, but I was not willing to die. I would kill the fanatics without any burden to experience the real battle. I would not miss this chance.