20demayo Chapter 26:
Chapter 26:
Chapter 26:
Originally, the mornings at Shaolin were quiet yet busy.
In places like the Arhat Faction, the External Faction, the Half Faction, the Jurisdiction Department, and so on, monks from each faction and department were quietly and busily moving about, attending to their assigned duties or practicing their martial arts.
However, today, for some reason, most of those who should be dispersed among the various factions and departments were gathered together.
The place they gathered was none other than the Arhat Faction, for today was the day of the entrance examination for the introductory disciples who had joined two years ago.
In fact, it wasn’t typical for so many to assemble for every entrance examination.
Usually, the number of children remaining to take the entrance examination was at most around twenty.
Except, of course, for those rare occasions when the number of disciples who stayed until the entrance exam exceeded a hundred, sometimes surpassing thirty.
Consequently, the number of second-class disciples available to take on new disciples was also about twenty at most.
It was customary for the Arhat Faction to give a heads-up, calling only the ‘prospective masters’ who suited the child’s constitution or body type.
But today was entirely different.
There were forty-nine children who had remained until the entrance examination. Subtracting the seven who had left early to carry on their family lineage as lay disciples, there were forty-two examinations to be conducted.
Therefore, instead of giving a heads-up, the Arhat Faction simply invited all those who were interested to attend.
Thanks to this, aside from the introductory disciples who would be taking today’s test, nearly two hundred individuals had gathered at the Arhat Faction.
Nearly half of Shaolin’s monks, excluding the third-class disciples, had come together.
It might seem sufficient for only the second-class disciples, who would be taking on the introductory disciples as direct disciples, to gather, but reality was different.
Since the second-class disciples were still learning martial arts from the first-class disciples, they felt somewhat inadequate to decide on their successors by themselves.
Hence, it was common for the first-class disciples to also observe and then recommend potential successors to the second-class disciples.
With this in mind, Hyun Seong deliberately invited as many people as possible to be spectators at this entrance examination.
His plan was to use this entrance examination to validate Mu-jin’s training methods and confidently order additional exercise equipment from the Jurisdiction Department.
As over two hundred people gathered together, even the composed monks of Shaolin couldn’t help but generate noise.
Each person spoke with a low voice, but when combined, two hundred such voices inevitably created a din.
“I heard that forty-two children are taking the entrance examination this time.”
“Perhaps Hyun Seong, the head of the Arhat Faction, left many children because of his compassion, Master.”
“That’s unlikely. Hyun Seong came to me yesterday and said that the abilities of these disciples are truly exceptional.”
As the gathered crowd engaged in such conversations,
At the appointed time, Hyun Seong appeared in the center of the training ground of the Arhat Faction.
“Thank you all for taking the time to come here despite your busy schedules. As everyone has pressing matters and there are many children who need to be examined today, I will not prolong my speech and will proceed directly with the examination. Amitabha.”
As Master Uncle Hye-jeong announced the beginning of the examination and stepped back, a Second-class Disciple stepped forward to the center of the training ground.
The entrance examination at Shaolin was, in fact, quite a straightforward affair. A Second-class Disciple would spar with an introductory disciple to assess how well the child had mastered martial arts.
The Second-class Disciple who had stepped into the center of the training ground was one of those tasked with conducting the sparring.
‘Introductory disciple Mu-gyeong, step forward!’ called out the Second-class Disciple.
Following that, a Novice Monk stepped forward to the center of the training ground in response to the call from Master Uncle Hye-jeong, who was in charge of overseeing the training.
Mu-gyeong bowed to the Second-class Disciple, and after the latter returned the greeting, the sparring began with Master Uncle Hye-jeong’s shout.
‘Haah!’
Mu-gyeong launched an attack on the Second-class Disciple, displaying the introductory martial arts and the basic martial arts of Shaolin he had learned thus far.
As one might expect, the gap between a Second-class Disciple and an introductory disciple was substantial. Consequently, the role of the Second-class Disciple in the examination was not to defeat the introductory disciple but to engage just enough to allow the latter to adequately demonstrate their skills.
The Second-class Disciple deftly dodged Mu-gyeong’s attacks or used internal energy at an appropriate level to block them.
Occasionally, when an opening appeared in the opponent’s defense, the Second-class Disciple would counterattack.
After all, merely blocking or dodging attacks would not allow for a proper assessment.
The completeness of the initial moves, the application of internal energy, the ability to eliminate vulnerabilities, or the capacity for quick thinking in covering those vulnerabilities were also part of the examination.
From this perspective, the skills of the child named Mu-gyeong were more than sufficient to pass.
Even though the Second-class Disciple was being lenient, the sparring had already proceeded with more than twenty exchanges that were worthy of the term ‘sparring.’
‘Enough!’
Thinking that everyone present had sufficiently witnessed Mu-gyeong’s abilities, Master Uncle Hye-jeong concluded the sparring.
‘Hehehe. It’s no wonder the Arhat Faction Leader took pride in him. Truly excellent skills.’
‘I’m not sure if it’s right to showcase such an exceptional disciple right from the start. Amitabha.’
Because of his extraordinary level of pure naivety.
However, having spent nearly two years together, Mu-jin knew very well.
That Mu-yul possessed a very special talent, one that more than made up for his naivety.
Therefore, instead of forcing him to learn various martial arts that did not suit him, Mu-jin had Mu-yul continuously practice only one introductory martial art and one basic martial art, the Qian Kun Bu.
To prevent Mu-yul, who lacked in intellectual capacity, from getting his limbs tangled while concentrating on the flow of internal energy, Mu-jin had him imprint the movements and the flow of internal energy into his body.
“Since everyone here is an expert, at least some will recognize the special talent unique to Mu-yul.”
With such thoughts, Mu-jin watched the sparring match that was just beginning.
“Hehehe. There was a reason behind Master Uncle Hyun Seong’s confidence.”
“This child also seems to have the skills to pass the examination comfortably. Amitabha.”
However, contrary to Mu-jin’s expectations, those watching Mu-yul’s sparring match could only give a ‘satisfactory’ assessment.
And the one having the same thought was the Second-class Disciple who was sparring with Mu-yul.
The reason was that the number of martial arts Mu-yul was using was not many.
“It seems I have grasped the number of martial arts he has learned.”
What remained was to check his adaptability and the application of his martial arts.
Having made his judgment, the Second-class Disciple swung his leg towards an opening the moment Mu-yul threw a punch.
To see how the child named Mu-yul would respond.
And Mu-yul swiftly dodged the incoming kick by twisting his body.
No, it wasn’t just a dodge. As if the punch he had been swinging was a feint, he used the momentum from his swift turn to aim his opposite elbow at the Second-class Disciple’s face.
Boom!!
The Second-class Disciple, who had not anticipated a counterattack from that position, quickly raised his palm, infused with internal energy, to barely block the attack.
And while the startled Second-class Disciple instinctively launched a counterattack with his other hand, also infused with internal energy,
“Hehe.”
Once again, Mu-yul evaded like a slippery eel, twisting his body out of harm’s way. And with the twist of his body, another counterattack from Mu-yul followed swiftly.
‘What, what!?’
The close-range combat, exchanging blows at a fast pace within a distance of just about a foot, left the Second-class Disciple, who was merely an introductory disciple and not even a Third-class Disciple, feeling bewildered.
Logically, it seemed clear that the punches aimed at the apparent openings should connect.
Yet, every time, the child named Mu-yul would dodge the attacks with movements that made one wonder if he was even human, all the while countering.
By then, those who were watching the sparring match also began to notice something unusual.
Among them, there was one middle-aged monk in particular whose eyes were fiercely shining.
‘Ha. To move in such a manner in that situation.’
Watching Mu-yul move in bizarre ways, the middle-aged monk nodded his head in satisfaction.
This child was a natural-born fighter.
Not predicting or anticipating the opponent’s moves, but moving instinctively like an animal, something the monk, who had practiced animal-inspired martial arts for decades, could keenly feel.
‘And to top it off, he has the exceptional physique to execute those instinctual decisions.’
Moving instinctively meant, conversely, not anticipating. In other words, it implied frequently making sudden movements without prior preparation.
Such movements required exceptional flexibility and elasticity, akin to that of animals.
The instinct of a wild animal, along with the exceptional flexibility and elasticity to bring those instincts to life.
Having recognized both talents, the middle-aged man spoke with conviction.
“Beob Hyun (法賢), take a good look. This child will be your disciple and my fourth-generation successor.”
“Yes, Master.”
The middle-aged monk’s dharma name was Hye-geol (慧傑).
“Do you see that animal-like movement? With that child, we can surely complete our Shaolin Five Forms.”
Shaolin Five Forms.
One of Shaolin’s representative martial arts, developed by Bodhidharma himself, inspired by the movements of the dragon, tiger, leopard, snake, and crane.
Hye-geol was the current successor of the Shaolin Five Forms and a man known in the martial world as the ‘Invincible in Five Forms.’