Chapter 135 - The Black Flame Dragon Who Proves Himself (5)

The position of Murim Academy Director is one that holds an ambivalent status within the Murim Alliance.

If someone who has served as a Captain or a Hall Leader takes the position, it is perceived as a guaranteed path to success.

Conversely, if someone had risen to the rank of Vice Pavilion Master but was appointed as the Academy Director, it was a position where they had to slowly prepare for retirement.

Looking at it from that perspective, it could be said that the current Academy Director, the Three Purities Water Divine Dragon Buk Wonpyeong, was on a path to success no less than the elites of the Nine Sects and One Gang.

A very rare case for a disciple of a sect with a single-lineage inheritance.

Even within the rules of Jianghu, where forming factions had already become taken for granted, the prestige of the Three Purities Formless Sword was very special.

Perhaps it was only natural, as it stood shoulder to shoulder in sacredness with the Shaolin Sect's Bodhidharma Muscle-Changing Classic and the Wudang Sect's Heaven and Earth Taiji Divine Art.

'How did I end up...'

Buk Wonpyeong looked at the young man in front of him.

The young man, clad entirely in black from his martial robes and sword to the cloth tying his hair, was looking straight at him with dark eyes.

"What I want to learn is the Okcheong Heavenly Star Sword."

"..."

At this attitude of demanding it as if it were entirely his own to begin with, Buk Wonpyeong, who was nearing his forties, swallowed a groan.

Even when learning a single piece of swordsmanship from a third-rate wanderer, one would naturally bow at least three times, if not nine times...

"You aren't thinking of breaking your promise now, are you?"

Despite his aggressive pushiness rivaling that of a loan shark, Buk Wonpyeong could not otherwise express his dissatisfaction.

After all, the bet he had made with him was to teach him martial arts.

"Before that, I have a question."

"What might that be?"

"How does a young man barely in his twenties know about the 'correlation theory between acupoints and qi deviation,' which even the martial arts drill instructors don't know well?"

Until now, the general common sense in Jianghu was to view the causes of qi deviation as impurities in the internal energy residing in the Dantian and the excessive circulation of internal energy.

Recently, however, a theory had been emerging among martial artists who had learned some medical arts and physicians knowledgeable in martial arts that weak acupoints could also be a cause of qi deviation.

It was a story not well known unless one was interested in martial arts theory, let alone to the drill instructors.

That was why Buk Wonpyeong had been confident and accepted the bet.

Yet a young man barely out of his teens was reciting it all flawlessly.

"It is thanks to reading whatever helpful books I could find after feeling the limits of my sect's martial arts."

He was well aware that the Taiyi Sect was a mediocre sect.

The treatment of the Taiyi Sect in Jianghu was so trivial that comparing it to the single-lineage Three Purities Formless Sword felt disrespectful in itself.

"... And then you came to know about the correlation theory between acupoints and qi deviation?"

"Yes, I have a pretty good memory."

"..."

Only then did Buk Wonpyeong understand the sight of Jin Sowoon flawlessly reciting the names of the three hundred and sixty-five acupoints in response to the drill instructor's question about the acupoint method.

'Man proposes, Heaven disposes...'

Had he done everything he could for his sect despite the bleak circumstances?

He felt that the story of his regaining the true inheritance of the Taiyi Sword Emperor must not have been a mere coincidence either.

"You aren't thinking of canceling the bet by claiming you didn't know I had a good memory, are you?"

Jin Sowoon cast him a suspicious glance.

Buk Wonpyeong had previously looked upon him unfavorably for constantly causing trouble, but for some reason, he slowly stopped finding his actions hateful.

"I heard you regained the true inheritance of the Taiyi Sword Emperor; why are you taking an interest in another's martial arts?"

"I do not know how to use Sword Force."

"Huh?"

Buk Wonpyeong's brow contorted.

If it was a martial art with profound teachings, it was only natural that the path to Sword Force would be fully written out.

Although there were some exaggerated parts, even if only half of the legends were true, it was strange that Sword Force was not recorded in the Taiyi Sword Emperor's martial scripture.

"The Taiyi Sword Emperor does not seem to have placed much importance on the existence of Sword Force."

"Is that so? Still, among the elders of your sect..."

"I have seen Kwaehwa Hall's Hall Leader Kang Chaeseok unleash Sword Qi, but..."

A point that gave a rough idea of the situation.

Since the sect had no experts, they could not foster experts either.

"That friend was there..."

"Do you know him?"

"We attended the academy together. He was quite a promising friend..."

He omitted the words, 'His progress was slow because his martial arts couldn't support him.'

Because that was the frustration experienced by nearly six-tenths of those who entered through the special admission from the 108 Peaks.

"So, I asked the Academy Director in hopes that it would help me learn Sword Force."

"It wasn't a request; you made a bet."

"Wouldn't the martial ancestors be sad if they heard you handed over your martial arts because you lost a bet?"

"Then you shouldn't have made such a bet in the first place."

"Is that so?"

A brazen attitude, showing he didn't know what he had done wrong.

Buk Wonpyeong felt somewhat strange.

A strange feeling, as if he had turned back time and met a peer from the past.

Because in the past, Kang Chaeseok had also shown such remarkable will and conviction.

"Anyway, a promise is a promise, so I must teach you martial arts. However, I cannot teach you about Sword Force. To learn Sword Force, one must become my formal disciple in martial arts, but you have no intention of inheriting the true inheritance of the Three Purities Formless Sword, do you?"

"Isn't there something like a focused tutoring session?"

Buk Wonpyeong put on an absurd expression.

"Do you think Sword Force is something you can learn like some mere hand trick?"

Jin Sowoon meekly nodded his head.

"I roughly expected as much. That is why I said I wanted to learn the Okcheong Heavenly Star Sword."

At Jin Sowoon's words, Buk Wonpyeong shook his head.

"It is a shame, but that is also impossible. To begin with, the Okcheong Heavenly Star Sword requires harboring the Okcheong Heavenly Star Power among the Three Purities."

This was the reason why the Three Purities Formless Sword could only be passed down through a single-lineage inheritance.

The Three Purities: Taecheong, Okcheong, and Sangcheong.

This was a will emitted by martial artists, and it could only be accumulated not by some moving worldly qi, but exclusively through heavenly Daoist energy, the essence of the Three Purities.

Furthermore, in order to accumulate the Three Purities through heavenly Daoist energy, one needed an innate Martial God Physique and a Dantian forged of pure internal qi. A human who ate cooked food from childhood was essentially born as an existence incapable of learning the Three Purities.

"Since the Okcheong Heavenly Star Power is composed entirely of the purest internal qi among the Three Purities, even if you learn the sword forms..."

Buk Wonpyeong stopped mid-sentence, his mouth hanging open.

His gaze was fixed on something like a meteor hammer extending from Jin Sowoon's left hand.

"Th-That's..."

A golden halo of light rippled around the weight drooping heavily toward the floor and the thread connected to it.

"Okcheong Heavenly Star Power?"

Buk Wonpyeong looked as if he couldn't believe it even as he spat out the words.

"H-How can a lay warrior..."

"The foundation of the Taiyi Sword Emperor's martial scripture is based on heavenly Daoist energy. I don't know if it's fortunate, but since childhood, I've only practiced the Taiyi mental cultivation method, the basic study of the Taiyi True Scripture."

It was a surprising story.

Heavenly Daoist energy was produced during the process of ancient Daoists accumulating emptiness, and it was different from worldly qi meant for martial arts.

"Thanks to the true inheritance being severed for five hundred years, you were able to avoid straying onto another path... Is that it?"

"Well, at this point, I don't know if that's a good thing, though."

"Are there no martial arts utilizing the Three Purities in the Taiyi True Scripture you speak of? If it uses the Three Purities, such martial arts should naturally be prepared as well."

"Actually, this is something I realized while learning a martial art created by a certain eccentric. As the Taiyi True Scripture was influenced by the eccentric's martial arts, I came to handle the Okcheong Heavenly Star Power."

"You came to handle the Okcheong Heavenly Star Power by coincidence? What exactly is the martial art created by the eccentric... Perhaps, you can't tell me who it is?"

"Yes."

"Haha..."

"My biggest problem right now is this. My Okcheong Heavenly Star Power is effective at suppressing demons, but it shows no actual effect when striking."

"That would be the case. Because it is fundamentally an energy that accumulates emptiness, not meant to harm anyone."

"If you teach me that method, it won't matter even if you don't take me as a formal disciple in swordsmanship."

"Hmm..."

It was fascinating that he harbored the energy of the Three Purities but did not actually specify how to use it.

No, perhaps the people of that time thought there was no need to specify it.

Perhaps the study of the Taiyi True Scripture was incomparably harder than the Three Purities Formless Sword, which was widely counted as difficult.

"Do you have any intention of becoming my lay disciple?"

"No."

At the overly firm refusal, Buk Wonpyeong hastily waved his hands.

"I'm not saying I'd force duties upon you. To use all the Three Purities, wouldn't there be a limit to just learning a couple of martial techniques?"

"I wonder. If the Taiyi True Scripture does not manifest Taecheong or Sangcheong Power, wouldn't learning other martial arts be a distant dream? Moreover, if I learned another internal energy now, no matter how pure it is, wouldn't its original form change?"

"True... That makes sense..."

Buk Wonpyeong could only smack his lips in regret. His age was now nearing forty, and he had to slowly start looking for a disciple to inherit his true inheritance.

He had said he would search for a disciple after achieving enough success in the Murim Alliance, but he had not achieved as much success as he had wanted.

No matter how good his treatment in Jianghu was, in the end, he couldn't do anything with just his own strength.

"Conversely, how about the Academy Director joining the Taiyi Sect as a lay disciple?"

"Huh?"

He was about to laugh off the wicked joke and start training, but Jin Sowoon's face was completely serious.

And a surprising story flowed from his mouth.

"Aren't you at the age where you need to start looking for a disciple?"

"..."

"However, it is not easy to find a vessel capable of receiving the energy of the Three Purities, is it?"

"How could you..."

"Didn't I tell you? I've studied a lot of this and that. So, how about joining the Taiyi Sect as a lay disciple?"

"What on earth does my need to find a disciple have to do with being a lay disciple of the Taiyi Sect?"

"Wouldn't the Taiyi Sect's basic martial art, the Taiyi mental cultivation method, ultimately be related to heavenly Daoist energy?"

"..."

Buk Wonpyeong felt as if he had been struck hard on the head.

"Of course, it's something I also realized recently. If you consider that the Taiyi True Scripture and the Taiyi mental cultivation method were originally one study, a child who builds their foundation with the Taiyi mental cultivation method would have physical conditions perfectly fine for being taken in as a disciple for the Three Purities Formless Sword."

"..."

If Jin Sowoon's words were true, even a child who ate cooked food could use the Taiyi mental cultivation method to slowly eliminate their fire qi, and furthermore, if they just formed a Dantian with the Taiyi mental cultivation method, filling the Dantian with the energy of the Three Purities afterward would not be difficult.

Since the original reason for seeking a Martial God Physique was to find a constitution that innately did not accumulate fire qi well.

"Could you teach me the Taiyi mental cultivation method?"

Before they knew it, the one who was supposed to receive teachings and the one who was supposed to give teachings had swapped, but neither of them minded.

"Haha..."

An absurd laugh leaked from Buk Wonpyeong's mouth after he completed one grand circulation according to the oral chants Jin Sowoon had dictated.

There was absolutely no problem circulating his Dantian, which was full of pure qi.

This meant that the Taiyi mental cultivation method was indeed a study to train heavenly Daoist energy.

"A lay disciple... A lay disciple, you say..."

Although he was nearing forty and had no small amount of Jianghu experience, he had no great resistance to entering as a disciple of the Taiyi Sect.

No, rather, he sincerely hoped they would accept him.

If only that happened, the Three Purities Formless Sword could break its tradition of single-lineage inheritance and be reborn as a true sect.

"Would the Taiyi Sect accept me as a lay disciple?"

"Since you aren't seeking the Taiyi Sect's core essence, but merely wishing to use a basic martial art, it won't be a huge problem. Our Sect Leader is quite broad-minded."

"Haha... That is truly glad news to hear. May I go pay my respects to the Taiyi Sect right tomorrow?"

Jin Sowoon frowned.

"Isn't it still the middle of the semester? And you have something to teach me first."

"Ah... Right. I must."

And so, while Buk Wonpyeong was teaching martial arts to someone for the first time in his life, he asked about something that suddenly came to mind.

"Why are you... constantly at odds with the Orthodox Council?"

He knew that various talks were circulating among the drill instructors.

As personnel of the Education Pavilion, it was natural to claim neutrality, but the affairs of the world never flowed so purely, did they?

The incident with the exam this time also happened because some drill instructors connected to the Orthodox Council grew suspicious of Jin Sowoon.

"The Nine Sects and One Gang, the Five Great Noble Clans, and the Twelve Peaks and Castles are colossal entities. They aren't people you can face with youthful folly."

Buk Wonpyeong spoke as if talking to his younger self.

Jin Sowoon's current appearance was not much different from his past self.

But in the past, he had eventually been broken.

Because there were things you couldn't do no matter how hard you tried and tried to overcome with willpower.

"I have never set myself at odds with them."

"..."

"I just spoke up about things that were wrong, calling them wrong."

"But such things could make them conclude that you are an annoying existence."

"It doesn't matter."

"You don't care about success, wealth, or glory?"

A frail conviction cannot overcome a powerful desire.

Whether he knew that or not, Jin Sowoon spoke without hesitation.

"What joy would there be in enjoying success, wealth, and glory through wrong methods? I just wish to become an existence that does not bring shame to my junior brothers and my sect's elders."

"..."

"Furthermore, I don't believe absolute existences exist. If I show resistance, even if I fall, my junior brothers will carry on my will, and if even my junior brothers fall, their disciples will continue to carry on the will. Isn't that what the spirit of the Orthodox faction is today?"

"...!"

Buk Wonpyeong could only blankly open his mouth at Jin Sowoon's profound words.

After remaining speechless for a long time from the shock of what felt like lightning striking his head, he muttered like a groan.

"Even if born in a small stream, a dragon is still a dragon, I see..."

For some reason, Buk Wonpyeong thought that if he joined the Taiyi Sect as a lay disciple, he might be able to raise a disciple like Jin Sowoon.

"Still, be careful. I overhear the drill instructors' conversations sometimes, and it seems they are plotting something unusual."

"Since the Academy Director will become a person of my sect, what worries would I have?"

At Jin Sowoon's banter, Buk Wonpyeong burst into hearty laughter.

* * *

The atmosphere at the academy began to grow somewhat excited after the written exams ended.

It was because this practical exam was a sparring arena where the students' level of skill could be directly measured.

For the academy students who had the habits of warriors ingrained to the bone, such an event was no different from a festival.

"It's only the first day, but there are so many people."

To observe the practical exams starting with the Gap-class, not only the academy students but also many people from the Alliance had come out to see the performances of their sect juniors and disciples.

"Today, the majority seem to be personnel from the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Noble Clans."

Seong Moran said as she looked around at the people sitting sparsely apart wearing matching clothes.

"Wouldn't such a place become a battle of pride even among them?"

At Eunho's words, Seong Moran nodded as if she understood.

"By the way, who is Young Master Jin facing?"

Before I could answer, Namgung Seonhwa spoke.

"Since there's no one in the Gap-class besides the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Noble Clans, wouldn't someone probably come up from the Eul-class?"

My thoughts were similar. From the start, matching people with a massive gap in skill wouldn't result in an accurate measurement, so the drill instructors' cold evaluations were bound to factor into this part.

"If it's the Eul-class... I suppose it'd be the Black Whirlwind Yook Jagwang?"

Yook Jagwang, hailing from the Beijing Yukga, was a talent whose level did not fall short even compared to the elites of the Nine Sects and One Gang.

Seong Moran stared intently at my face before speaking.

"But you don't seem tense at all. The sharpness of the Yukga Spear Forms is counted as one of the ultimate arts in Jianghu."

I didn't know if it was fortunate or not, but thanks to Yook Sirang, I knew the six absolute techniques of the Yukga Spear Forms.

Furthermore, with Zhuge Cheongi's help, Yook Sirang had already completed the Destruction Form for all six martial moves of the Yukga Spear Forms.

His dream of returning to the Yukga Manor to take revenge after the war ended was never realized, but perhaps I might fulfill his dream right here, today.

"It's not a life-or-death battle, so what is there to be tense about?"

Looking around the spectator seats, there were Eul-class members waiting here and there, seemingly meaning some of them were taking the exam today too.

"We will now begin the Murim Academy's practical exam! Those whose names are called, step out into the training ground!"

The drill instructor's booming voice rang out clearly across the entire grand training ground.

The drill instructor shouted as he looked at the paper in his hand.

"Jin Sowoon of the Taiyi Sect!"

People's gazes converged on me.

Envy, jealousy, hatred, wariness, dissatisfaction, and so on.

A mixture of various emotions washed over my entire body.

When I got up from my seat and headed toward the training ground.

Eun Seollan, who was sitting next to Saryeon, spoke.

"Good luck, Oppa!"

I nodded toward Eun Seollan, and for some reason, Seong Moran and Namgung Seonhwa glared at me with fierce eyes.

"Keep your head straight. Don't let your guard down."

"I heard the Black Whirlwind Yook Jagwang maintains an ascetic lifestyle and devotes himself entirely to his training... It will be hard for Young Master Jin to win."

I put on a wronged expression, but the two simply turned their gazes away at the same time and snorted.

It was the same in my past life, but truly, a woman's heart was impossible to understand.

On my way to the training ground, I saw Yook Jagwang, wearing blue martial robes, rising from his seat in the opposite spectator section.

The drill instructor looked at me with strange eyes, then looked at the paper and shouted loudly.

"The sparring opponent is... Ilgak of the Shaolin Sect."

My footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

The same went for Yook Jagwang in the opposite spectator section.

From the place where the monks of the Shaolin Sect were gathered, a single monk quietly stood up.

"Crazy..."

Starting with a curse muttered by someone in the spectator seats, the grand training ground turned as noisy as a marketplace.