Wudang Sacred Scriptures-Chapter 41

“Is everyone ready?”

At Instructor Hyeonmun’s question, the six children lined up in the center of the training grounds all responded in unison.

“We are ready!”

“I was taught that a shout draws out momentum, and momentum strengthens will. So why are your voices so weak? I’ll ask again. Are you ready?”

“WE ARE READY!”

The disciples of Eternal Wudang answered with voices that thundered through the training grounds.

Instructor Hyeonmun had prompted their shout to ease the tension the disciples felt under so many watchful eyes.

“Good! Take your positions!”

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The six disciples sprinted to stand in front of the brick walls.

Seeing this, murmurs spread across the raised platform set before the Lord's Hall.

“Oh ho! Are they going to demonstrate Surface Palm?”

“So it seems.”

“Lord of Wujin Palace, it appears Instructor Hyeonmun wants to show off his Eternal Wudang disciples.”

“Well, this batch of kids is certainly unusual. I suppose he’s a bit excited.”

“But he’s overreaching. Even the disciples of the Precepts Hall can barely succeed at Surface Palm one or two times out of ten attempts.”

“Indeed. And with all eyes on them, they’re bound to get nervous, which scatters qi and blood flow.”

“Lord of Wujin Palace, shouldn’t you stop this now? We’ll all be embarrassed if this goes wrong.”

Lord Unhyeon, the master of Wujin Palace, spoke toward the other palace lords with a face a shade paler than usual.

“What expectations could you possibly have of children from the Outer Martial Pharmacy? Let’s just watch and enjoy the show, no matter how it ends.”

It wasn’t exactly welcome to receive such hollow sympathy, just because he had a stubborn disciple.

A thinly veiled contempt disguised as pity!

It was exactly this kind of situation he had expected, and why he had considered not attending.

But in the end, he had to move his heavy body, bound by the responsibility of a promise made to his disciple.

Sigh...

Lord Unhyeon let out a quiet sigh, just as his gaze met that of Elder Unhak, the Great Elder. The elder gave a small nod, and Unhyeon closed his eyes.

There was no turning back.

He was the lord of Wujin Palace, before he was ever a master.

At that moment, Instructor Hyeonmun’s voice rang out loud and clear.

“Jeong I-chu! Are you ready?”

“Disciple Jeong I-chu! I am ready!”

“Then release your strength!”

Jeong I-chu raised both hands slowly from his waist and began to open his palms.

“Haaap!”

With a sharp shout, Jeong I-chu thrust both palms toward the brick wall. More precisely, at the sheet of wet paper attached to it.

From the side of the training grounds, Kwak Yeon watched him with a tense expression.

Jeong I-chu had the highest accomplishments after Seok Jangsan.

Kwak Yeon could guess why Instructor Hyeonmun had put Jeong forward instead of Seok Jangsan.

It was to inspire confidence in the remaining disciples.

If Jeong succeeded, the others would ride the momentum.

But if he failed—

Then their morale would crumble.

Still, as long as Seok Jangsan succeeded at the end, they could save face.

“Isn’t this a bit reckless, given how unstable they still are?”

Kwak Yeon had asked with concern when he heard about the demonstration. Instructor Hyeonmun had shaken his head firmly.

“Opportunities don’t come often.”

“......”

“Maybe it’s my ambition talking, but I want every disciple in this group to be chosen for the main line.”

Only now did Kwak Yeon realize that this entire demonstration had been arranged for the sake of the two disciples who had yet to be formally selected.

If those two succeeded at Surface Palm, they’d almost certainly be admitted.

Watching Jeong I-chu form his stance, Kwak Yeon silently wished for his success.

Through the imagined eye of his mind, he could see Jeong I-chu’s meridian points opening one by one.

They’re all open. Now’s the moment!

As Jeong I-chu’s palms struck the brick wall, Kwak Yeon imagined himself as Jeong’s internal energy, flowing through his body like lightning.

He hadn’t opened every point perfectly, but it was clear his stance minimized spiraling strength.

Though it wasn’t enough to break the wall using only internal energy, the force of the physical palm would also help.

—BANG!

With a sharp burst of compressed air, two bricks popped out from the wall.

All eyes turned to the brick wall where Jeong I-chu had placed his hands.

But success in Surface Palm wasn’t judged by breaking the wall itself. That thin brick wall could be destroyed by anyone with decent force.

“Jeong I-chu! Withdraw your palms!”

At Instructor Hyeonmun’s command, Jeong I-chu let out the breath he’d been holding and pulled his palms back.

The torn sheets of paper came into view.

There wasn’t a clean hole, but they had clearly been pierced.

“Oooh!”

Gasps of awe rose from the platform.

“It’s not a full-through paper piercing...”

“Still, that definitely counts as achieving the first success in Surface Palm.”

Before anyone noticed, the palace lords had shifted in their demeanor.

Jeong I-chu had managed to transmit force outward using only basic training methods.

“Jang Unho! Are you ready?”

“I’m ready, Instructor!”

Jang Unho’s voice was full of confidence.

“Calm yourself. Circulate your energy through one full cycle before beginning.”

Instructor Hyeonmun was concerned that Jang Unho, feeling overly excited, might make a mistake in releasing strength and offered a steadying command.

Knowing how important this moment was for him, Jang Unho followed the instructions, visualizing the circulation of energy to settle his mind.

“Disciple Jang Unho, I am ready.”

Jang Unho left only a single sheet of paper intact and managed to push one brick out by about half an inch.

Even so, it was clearly a successful Surface Palm.

“Ooooooh!”

The roar of awe grew louder throughout the hall.

Two Eternal Wudang disciples had successfully demonstrated Surface Palm in a row—no wonder the crowd was stunned.

As the demonstration continued, the gasps grew louder, and even claps began to break out from the elders and palace lords.

Lord Unhyeon’s shoulders, too, were starting to straighten with pride. But his eyes darkened.

He was beginning to regret his decision.

If Hyeonmun’s judgment is right... was my decision hasty?

His gaze drifted to Kwak Yeon, who stood alone in the corner of the training grounds.

It can’t be. Even if the others all succeed at Surface Palm, that child wasn’t even placed in the demonstration group.

He couldn’t abandon Wujin Palace’s long-cherished projects based on mere potential.

At last, only one demonstration remained—Seok Jangsan, the final disciple of Eternal Wudang.

He was the most gifted and promising among them. No one doubted he would succeed in the technique.

Now, the attention of the entire hall was fixed on just one question:

How impressive would Seok Jangsan’s execution be?

“Seok Jangsan, are you ready?”

Despite the pressure of being the final act, Seok Jangsan’s expression was as calm as ever.

“I am ready, Master.”

...Master.

Instructor Hyeonmun knew it wasn’t a slip of the tongue from nervousness when Seok Jangsan called him “Master” instead of “Instructor.”

Had it been any other day, he would have sharply corrected him.

But today—no, for this brief moment—did he perhaps want to be their master in spirit, not just in title?

Instructor Hyeonmun chose to pretend he hadn’t heard it.

“Release your strength!”

Seok Jangsan struck out with both palms toward the brick wall.

There was no blast of air, no impact sound.

Was it a mistake caused by nerves?

Then came a muffled thud—phuk—as the brick wall shattered. Debris and dust burst out behind it.

The palace lords and elders on the platform froze as if turned to stone.

Even without inspecting it, they immediately realized the truth:

Ten sheets of paper had been pierced without a single tear as the bricks broke apart.

Silence fell over the entire hall.

Kwak Yeon, in his corner of the training grounds, was breathing in sync with the other disciples in his mind’s eye.

He was silently praying that they would succeed—and with it, achieve their dream of being chosen as mainline disciples.

Perhaps because of that, he felt as though he had become one with them.

He imagined himself as their internal energy pressure, bursting out from their lower dantian and racing through the meridians and acupoints.

It was as if he had taken the Celestial Meridian Map he had once drawn in the night sky and placed it inside their bodies.

The results had come out different from what he predicted, but he thought that was only natural.

After all, he hadn’t trained in Surface Palm himself—his understanding was still crude, and he could only imagine it based on their posture and movement.

Still, the fact that all of them had succeeded, more or less in line with his expectations, filled Kwak Yeon with relief.

So much so, that he didn’t realize he had just knocked on the gate of Perceptive Strength.

Perceptive Strength is the ability to perceive your opponent’s level of offense and defense, and understand their intentions.

Either way, Kwak Yeon was especially relieved that the final remaining student was Seok Jangsan.

Jangsan could do it with his eyes closed—what is there to worry about?

So, he allowed himself to watch comfortably.

And suddenly, it felt like he had become Seok Jangsan himself.

He watched Seok Jangsan’s posture and movement as if observing himself in a mirror.

In an instant, the large muscles moved to open the meridian paths, while the fine muscles straightened like needle points to align the acupoints all at once.

Perfect.

Even before seeing the result, Kwak Yeon knew that Seok Jangsan would succeed at Surface Palm.

Though he couldn’t do it himself, it was as if his long study had been proven through Seok Jangsan.

Kwak Yeon felt a thrill of joy.

Someday, he would do it too.

Was it from that sense of determination?

Kwak Yeon absentmindedly started clapping.

—Clap, clap, clap!

The sound of his applause broke the silence in the training grounds.

“Wooooaaah!”

Disciples accompanying the palace lords shouted with admiration and began clapping as well.

The wave of applause spread, overflowing even onto the platform.

The palace lords and elders began to clap, too.

One of the palace lords stood up, swept away by the excitement.

Then the others began rising, one by one.

Before anyone realized it, everyone except Elder Unhak and a few others were standing and clapping vigorously.

—Clapclapclapclapclap!

It was the first time since the founding of Eternal Wudang that such thunderous applause had erupted.

Instructor Hyeonmun stood in place, heart swelling with emotion.

****

“...Jeong I-chu will be assigned to Namam Palace. Jong-su to Hyeonmu Palace.”

Elder Unhak, the Great Elder, began allocating Eternal Wudang disciples to their respective palaces.

Though he briefly conferred with the palace lords, most of the decisions had already been made—he announced them without hesitation.

“Jang Unho and Pyo Yeongsang showed minor flaws, but since they’ve been selected by the Lords of Okheo and Oryong respectively, they will go to Okheo Palace and Oryong «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» Palace.”

Kwak Yeon let out a sigh of relief.

Those two had shown the slowest progress among their peers, and he had been worried for them.

If Instructor Hyeonmun hadn’t insisted on the demonstration, they wouldn’t have had a chance.

Now, all eyes in the hall turned to Elder Unhak.

Only two disciples remained: Seok Jangsan and Kwak Yeon.

But what everyone really wanted to know was—

Where would Seok Jangsan be assigned?

He had drawn attention since the Mid-Autumn Azure Tournament, and this time, he had undeniably proven his talent through the Surface Palm demonstration.

Everyone assumed, of course, that he would be chosen by Jade Void Palace.

It was the central palace of Mount Wudang, home to the future Sect Leader, and Elder Unhak’s own division.

There was no way such a gifted genius like Seok Jangsan would be rejected by Jade Void Palace.

And yet—

“Seok Jangsan will be assigned to Wujin Palace.”