Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Chapter 17:

From a distance, Master Uncle Hye-jeong captured Beob Gang’s exclamation and approached Mu-jin with a surprised expression.

“Ha. To think you were actually engaging in active cultivation.”

Getting closer, Master Uncle Hye-jeong realized that Mu-jin was indeed practicing active cultivation and let out a sigh.

Suddenly, Mu-jin, feeling interrupted by the strange sounds made by Master Uncle Hye-jeong and Beob Gang, looked at them with a puzzled face.

“Is there a problem?”

“It’s not so much a problem… Mu-jin, just when were you able to engage in active cultivation?”

At Beob Gang’s inquiry, Mu-jin pondered for a brief moment.

Of course, it was the result of the seven days and nights of wall-facing meditation training, but he couldn’t tell the truth. It would be as good as confessing that he was secretly doing other things during the wall-facing meditation.

“Well… I just tried it out now. In my family’s exercise methods, breathing is considered important, and as I was exercising today after a long time, it seemed similar to the family’s breathing methods and the Breath Control Technique, so I tried applying it.”

At Mu-jin’s words, Beob Gang’s jaw dropped open. Master Uncle Hye-jeong, with his years of experience, barely managed to keep his composure. It wouldn’t have been surprising if his jaw had dropped as well.

Originally, active cultivation was a state that could only be achieved when one had greatly advanced in their internal energy technique. Of course, since the Buddha Mind Technique is a basic internal energy technique, one would typically achieve great progress after a few years of practice.

However, this did not mean that all second-class disciples or even more senior monks of Shaolin could engage in active cultivation.

With advanced internal energy techniques, the accumulation of internal energy naturally doubles in speed. Instead of fully mastering the Buddha Mind Technique, it was an unwritten rule to lay the foundation with it before learning higher-level techniques.

The efficiency of concentrating and conducting Qi for one hour using a higher-level internal energy technique was far superior to conducting Qi for twelve hours a day through active cultivation with the Buddha Mind Technique.

But if one were to reach the level of active cultivation within just a few days of learning the Buddha Mind Technique, the story changes.

This individual would be able to accumulate internal energy at a significantly faster rate than other children, and it would be the same case even if they were to learn higher-level internal energy techniques.

When conducting Qi, one could proceed with advanced techniques, and for regular training, they could continuously refine their Buddha Mind Technique through active cultivation. And above all else.

‘Considering that he easily managed to engage in active cultivation by just trying it once, he might quickly succeed in active cultivation even with even higher-level techniques.’

Both Beob Gang and Master Uncle Hye-jeong were harboring such thoughts.

“Ahem. So, does that mean you can continuously conduct Qi through active cultivation even normally?”

Master Uncle Hye-jeong asked with anticipation, to which Mu-jin shook his head.

“I can do it only when I practice my family’s exercise methods.”

Both Master Uncle Hye-jeong and Beob Gang looked slightly disappointed at Mu-jin’s answer, but they quickly composed themselves.

‘I’ve been too greedy. Amitabha.’

It was already a remarkable feat to be able to engage in active cultivation during exercise, how could they expect more?

And through the conversation with the two, Mu-jin realized an important point.

‘Hmm. It would certainly be useful if I could continuously conduct Qi not only during exercise but also normally, wouldn’t it?’

It was the moment a new goal was born.

But a goal was just a goal.

“Then, may I resume my exercise?”

Muscle loss was muscle loss. It was absurd to waste precious exercise time on idle chatter.

“Yes, you may proceed.”

“Ahem. It seems we’ve been a hindrance.”

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At Mu-jin’s request, Beob Gang and Master Uncle Hye-jeong had no choice but to step back with embarrassed faces. They had completely forgotten their original intention to instruct Mu-jin in Shaolin’s training methods.

* * *

After finishing an hour of dawn training, Mu-jin got up with a refreshed look on his face.

‘That was very rewarding.’

During the hour, he had not only worked his muscles but also continued active cultivation, resulting in the accumulation of an hour’s worth of internal energy.

Mu-jin, a decade-long fitness enthusiast, knew very well that while each day’s progress might seem small, after a year or two, the change would be immense.

As the novice disciples finished their dawn training and started cleaning up to head to Ban-dangju for their meal.

“Eutcha.”

To relax the muscles he had stressed for an hour, Mu-jin began practicing the Close-Range Spear Technique. Since he had focused on shoulder and arm exercises that day, he started loosening up his upper body.

Beside him were Mu-yul, Mu-gyeong, and Mu-gung as well.

“Oh. When did Mu-gyeong learn that?”

“Mu, Mu-yul senior brother taught me. It, it hurts, but after doing it, I feel stretched out and comfortable.”

Mu-gyeong pointed to Mu-yul, speaking shyly as if embarrassed.

“Kuh. Well done, Yul.”

Mu-gyeong was a child who would become an excellent asset in the future. After all, wasn’t he that prodigious blood successor?

Teaching the Close-Range Spear Technique

Mu-jin looked particularly reliable today, having taught Mu-gyeong the Close-Range Spear Technique.

After giving Mu-yul a thumbs-up, Mu-jin began to stretch alongside him for a while.

“Hmm?”

It didn’t take long before he noticed a few odd things.

Firstly,

‘Mu-gyeong is stiffer than I thought?’

He noticed that the poses which Mu-yul performed with ease seemed to trouble Mu-gyeong.

‘Now that I think about it, Master Uncle Beob Gang did seem to be in quite some pain.’

Of course, Beob Gang clenched his teeth and tried not to show it.

Anyway, in Beob Gang’s case, he already had a knee problem, and his body was fully grown.

‘So I thought it was because of his age, but now I see, maybe Mu-yul is just more flexible?’

Indeed, Mu-yul was good at following not just the Close-Range Spear Technique but also other physical activities.

‘Maybe Yul has more talent than I thought?’

But why then had Mu-yul’s name not appeared even once in the first or second part of the story?

Pondering this briefly, Mu-jin soon realized the reason.

‘Could it be… because of his pure white hair, he couldn’t learn the ascending martial arts?’

It seemed plausible for Mu-yul. In martial arts novels, the more advanced martial arts often had very complex manuals.

‘Still, he has talent in physical activities, so if he gets a little help, he might become quite strong?’

Until now, Mu-jin had just treated him like a cute nephew, but perhaps he could become a significant force in the future.

Having organized his thoughts to that point, Mu-jin then turned to resolve another question, looking at Mu-gung.

Somehow, unlike Mu-gyeong or Mu-yul, Mu-gung was merely watching from the side, not joining in the stretching.

“What are you doing not participating?”

“Ahem. I’ll do it later, so don’t worry.”

At Mu-jin’s question, Mu-gung turned his head away with a blush on his face.

It wasn’t because he misunderstood the Close-Range Spear Technique as an offensive skill of Mu-jin. That misunderstanding had already been cleared up thanks to Beob Gang.

He had even reluctantly tried it a few times and felt refreshed. Yet, there was a reason he was only watching.

‘Damn it. That guy would definitely make fun of me.’

He didn’t want to show his stiffness to Mu-jin, or to any of the other disciples, for that matter.

Mu-gung found it most embarrassing in the world to show others something he couldn’t do, even more than losing.

“What’s the use if your muscles cool down, you dummy.”

Unaware of this fact. Or rather, not particularly wanting to know, Mu-jin approached Mu-gung and began to force him to stretch.

“Arghhh!!! Let go!! Let me go!!”

“Wow. This guy is like a complete wooden puppet. A wooden puppet.”

It did not take long before Mu-jin realized just how incredibly stiff Mu-gung was.

“Yeah! I am stiff! You got a problem with that!!!”

Thinking that Mu-jin was making fun of him, Mu-gung yelled back, but Mu-jin just clicked his tongue lightly and continued to press down on his body.

“Being stiff isn’t a sin, and what’s there to complain about? You practice the Close-Range Spear Technique to become more flexible when you’re stiff. Those who mock the efforts of others are the real trash.”

There were sometimes those kinds of people.

Those despicable ones who would laugh at overweight people who had gathered the courage to go to the gym to diet, and who couldn’t run for long before collapsing from lack of stamina.

Mu-jin disliked the behavior of those who mocked the efforts of others, and more than anything else,

“Phew. Just thinking about the members who left because of such jerks makes me want to smash their heads with a dumbbell right now.”

Considering the economic hit his gym took because of such people, he couldn’t help but grind his teeth in anger at them.

Of course, Mu-gung, unaware of such circumstances, found the words quite moving.

To only show his best to others, he had been living his life making tremendous efforts in secret, behind everyone’s back. Among the novice disciples, he was the most advanced not just because of his large build and martial family background but mostly because of his efforts.

“Ahem. For the first time today, you’re actually saying something sensible. Yeah! We shouldn’t laugh at those who make an effort.”

“Right. So let’s make an effort.”

Pleased with Mu-gung’s spirited response, Mu-jin pressed down hard on his body.

“Arghhh!!!”

Once again, Mu-gung’s screams echoed throughout the practice yard.

* * *

Upon the introduction of new ‘sandbags,’ Mu-jin began to enjoy various free weights and started practicing active cultivation, aside from that, the daily routine of the initiate disciples remained unchanged.

However, on the tenth afternoon, a change came during the morning training session.

“Now that most disciples have mastered the Buddha Mind Technique, it is time to move on to the next stage,” proclaimed Master Uncle Hye-jeong, who was seated at the high seat.

At this declaration, two Second-class Disciples suddenly took the starting stance of the Revolving Fist Technique.

“From now on, you will learn to infuse the internal energy, gathered through the Buddha Mind Technique into the form and stance of the Revolving Fist Technique,” Master Uncle Hye-jeong continued.

Finally, they would learn not just to gather internal energy but also how to utilize it.

“One Cycle Heart Punch, involves pulling up the gathered internal energy from the ‘Danjeon’ through the ‘Sea of Qi,’ ‘Middle Cavity,’ and ‘Great Abyss,’ after which seven parts of the qi go through the ‘Qi House’ acupoint on the right side to the ‘Shoulder Center’ acupoint. Three parts of the qi…”

Following Master Uncle Hye-jeong’s explanation, the two Second-class Disciples each slowly began to unfold the initial form.

“Your posture must not be distorted. Those who have learned the Buddha Mind Technique should now firmly support themselves with both legs and proceed to practice the One Cycle Heart Punch according to the ‘lumborum.’”

As soon as Master Uncle Hye-jeong’s command was issued, Mu-jin also assumed the position and concentrated.

‘Sea of Qi, Middle Cavity, Great Abyss… So it’s going up from the ‘Danjeon’ to the chest.’

He calmly recalled Master Uncle Hye-jeong’s explanation and used a small part of the internal energy coiled in the ‘Danjeon.’

‘Divide it into seven and three?’

The first challenge was to divide the internal energy that reached the chest’s ‘Great Abyss’ between the acupoints located on the shoulders of both arms.

Mu-jin calmly settled his mind and slowly divided the internal energy between his arms, twisting his upper body, extending his right arm forward, and balancing with his left arm, dispersing the gathered qi along both arms.

Boom!!

Despite proceeding slowly, a small explosive sound burst forth when he thrust out his right fist.

‘Oh ho.’

In that single practice session, Mu-jin briefly grasped the overall concept.

‘So by stimulating the acupoints with internal energy, the idea is to strengthen each part?’

Sending a small amount of qi to the left arm while thrusting with the right seemed to serve this purpose.

If the qi were carelessly concentrated only in the right arm, the posture would be completely distorted due to the right arm’s inability to withstand the power.

Should the force exceed a certain level, the muscles in the back and waist could be injured, and in severe cases, it could lead to problems with the spine or lower body.

‘Good thing I don’t have much internal energy gathered yet.’

It had been just about twenty days since Mu-jin started learning the Buddha Mind Technique. The amount of internal energy he had accumulated was negligible. Had he carelessly exerted that power with years’ worth of internal energy built up, he might have twisted his waist on the spot.

With that thought, Mu-jin cautiously repeated the initial form of the Revolving Fist Technique to prevent any potential injuries.

‘But if the internal energy is low now, what about later when it might wreck my waist or lower body?’

No matter how much he balanced with his left arm, if the lower body was weak, there would be a limit eventually.

While Mu-jin pondered such doubts…

“To properly execute the initial form of the Revolving Fist Technique, you must also send qi to the lower body.”

Master Uncle Hye-jeong’s next instruction followed as he observed the disciples’ practice. It seemed he was teaching them one step at a time.

Right after learning the pathways to send internal energy to the lower body for the initial form…

‘This is more complicated than I thought?’

Mu-jin realized that internal energy wasn’t always a cure-all. As much as internal energy was used to strengthen the body, proper distribution according to each movement was necessary.

How much training would be required to manage that distribution of internal energy in a single breath during urgent combat?

With that thought, Mu-jin naturally turned his gaze towards Mu-yul.

The boy who had taken more than five days just to memorize the acupoints. Still, by the time Mu-jin finished wall-facing, he had indeed memorized all the acupoints…

“Tsk. This isn’t going to work.”

Seeing Mu-yul flailing his arms and legs in a strange manner, wondering where he was sending his internal energy, Mu-jin sighed.