Mu-dang Practice (2)
Mu-jin ran off to catch up with Mu-yul’s carriage, which was speeding down the wrong path.
Crash!
The carriage, which had been moving at full speed, came to a sudden halt with a loud noise.
Naturally, due to inertia, some of the exercise equipment inside the carriage burst out through the entrance.
“Good grief!”
Mu-jin quickly used the Fast Ascent Step to leap into the air and grabbed the exercise equipment that was flying around.
These were iron weights that ranged from tens to hundreds of geun. If he caught such weights with his bare hands, his bones would likely shatter, but Mu-jin, who had reached the state of the Jade Vajra Technique, didn’t even get a scratch.
Mu-jin, who swiftly gathered the airborne exercise equipment, asked Mu-yul, who was lying on the ground.
“Why are you taking a nap there?”“Heheh. I’ve run out of internal energy.”
“Who told you to sprint at full speed? Good grief.”
Mu-jin sighed and opened his mouth after holding his head for a moment at Mu-yul’s reply.
“Just get in the carriage. I’ll pull it.”
“Okay!!”
Mu-yul, who responded brightly, got up and staggered onto the carriage.
Confirming this, Mu-jin began moving in the direction the Shaolin disciples had gone, utilizing the Fast Ascent Step to its fullest.
* * *
While Mu-gung was showing off his strength, running forward.
Mu-gyeong, who had been left behind, was now running alongside him.
“Heheheh!! Yahhh!!”
From a distance, Mu-yul’s bright voice began to be heard.
‘No way, did he already return after running so recklessly?’
For a moment, Mu-gung and Mu-gyeong were amazed at how deep Mu-yul’s internal energy and qinggong training were. Soon, they would face the truth.
“Go! Mu-jin’s carriage!!”
Mu-yul, who was hopping around like a monkey on the carriage, and Mu-jin, who was pulling the carriage at an incredible speed, came into view.
‘Why isn’t Mu-jin saying anything to Mu-yul?’
It seemed strange that Mu-jin, who was being treated like a horse by Mu-yul, wasn’t reprimanding him.
While Mu-gung and Mu-gyeong felt puzzled, Mu-jin, who had been running at an incredible speed, adjusted the carriage’s speed to match theirs.
‘Is he controlling his strength?’
Thinking that, they realized something else odd.
Despite having slowed down, veins bulged on Mu-jin’s forehead.
Not only his forehead but also all the muscles visible through his kasa seemed ready to burst.
Realizing this, Mu-gung and Mu-gyeong soon understood what Mu-jin was doing.
‘No way… is he reducing his internal energy and using maximum muscle strength to push?’
Why would he do something so ridiculous?
The answer was obvious.
‘To build muscle!’
Mu-jin truly considered pulling the carriage as muscle training.
Only then did Mu-gung and Mu-gyeong understand why Mu-jin wasn’t angry with Mu-yul.
The more difficult the exercise, the more it would help in muscle training.
‘…Lunatic.’
‘Muscle monster.’
Mu-gung and Mu-gyeong had similar yet different thoughts as they realized the truth.
* * *
Hubei Province, Wudang Mountain.
At the mid-slope of the tall Wudang Mountain, where various peaks boasted their elegance.
The entrance of the Wudang Sect, where one shows respect to Wudang by laying down their swords. Haegeomji.
“Surely, they should have arrived today at the latest according to the schedule.”
“Did something happen on their way here?”
Two young men, dressed in the distinctive robes of the Wudang Sect, exchanged brief words.
“Th-there, they seem to be coming, Senior Brother!”
A slightly younger-looking youth pointed towards the foot of the mountain.
Indeed, looking where the youth was pointing, a group clad in crimson kasaya was climbing the mountain.
“They appear to be Shaolin disciples. But… what on earth are they carrying?”
It was the Shaolin disciples carrying three enormous objects up the mountain together.
“They… look like carriages, Senior Brother.”
“So why on earth are they dragging carriages up here?”
And a carriage is called a carriage because it is pulled by horses, but can you call it a carriage if people are carrying it?
While the two Wudang senior brothers were puzzled by this, the men in crimson kasaya drew closer to Haegeomji.
Soon, the Shaolin disciples, whether it was a carriage or a human cart, placed the enormous objects on the ground at Haegeomji.
Bang!!
“!!!”
Even though they placed them down gently, the sound of the ground at Haegeomji being crushed startled the two senior brothers.
Facing the startled senior brothers, Hye-geol awkwardly took a bow and apologized.
“I apologize for causing a disturbance. Amitabha. I tried to be as careful as possible, but because of the weight, this happened.”
“What on earth is in that thing for it to be so heavy?”
“As you can see, it’s a carriage.”
“…”
So why are people carrying the carriage?
This question would soon be answered.
Wudang Mountain was steep, making it impossible for horses to pull carriages up. But the question still lingered.
Then why not just carry the luggage individually? Why bring the whole carriage?
“What on earth is inside that you had to carry the entire carriage up here?”
“Haha. We carried it up as training. Since the items inside are so varied, it was inconvenient to carry them one by one.”
As Hye-geol said this, he lifted the curtain of the carriage, revealing various metal objects.
Of course, the two Wudang disciples had no idea what these various metal objects were for.
‘Are these new weapons created by Shaolin?’
‘They might have brought new weapons for martial arts exchange.’
They misunderstood the various metal objects as weapons.
While the two were lost in their strange thoughts, Hye-geol spoke up again.
“Oh, I apologize for the late introduction. I am Hye-geol, the first disciple of Shaolin. I have come to exchange martial arts as agreed with Wudang.”
“You are the renowned invincible master! I am Myung-woo, the second disciple of Wudang.”
“I am Myung-shin, the second disciple of Wudang. I will notify the others inside.”
After a brief greeting, Myung-shin moved to relay the message.
Soon after.
Several key figures from Wudang, including the headmaster Yun-song, appeared at Haegeomji to welcome the Shaolin disciples.
“I am Yun-song, the headmaster of Wudang. Thank you for visiting us.”
“I am Hye-geol, the first disciple of Shaolin. It is an honor to meet you, headmaster.”
After exchanging simple greetings, Yun-song, observing the appearance of the Shaolin disciples, added in a puzzled tone.
“Did something happen on your way here?”
The Shaolin disciples were in a terrible state.
Their crimson kasas were covered in dirt and sweat, and sweat was continuously pouring off their bodies.
In response to Yun-song’s question, Hye-geol stepped forward and answered.
“Hahaha. We thought it would be a waste to just travel from Shaolin to Wudang, so we combined our journey with training.”
“Ah.”
Yun-song let out a peculiar sigh at Hye-geol’s explanation.
‘As expected of Shaolin.’
Though Shaolin had lost its title as the greatest sect due to not producing any top-tier masters like the Three Swords of the World or the Seven Kings in recent times, those with keen insight in the martial world knew the truth.
Even if Shaolin didn’t have any absolute masters, it was the place with the most experts.
With a thousand years of tradition and the Seventy-two Consummate Arts still preserved.
‘Now that I look closely, their clothes are dirty, but their qi is uniformly strong.’
The Shaolin disciples behind Hye-geol appeared to be second or third-class disciples in age, but their gazes and auras were weighty.
Especially, the muscles peeking through their kasas exuded a powerful energy.
Yun-song couldn’t know that these muscles were forcibly built from pulling carts all the way from Shaolin to Wudang.
“Since you must be tired from training during your long journey, why don’t you rest at your lodgings today?”
“Thank you for your consideration, headmaster. But before that, may we move our luggage a bit?”
It was only then that Yun-song noticed the massive heaps behind the Shaolin disciples, unsure if they were carts or wagons.
‘Those must be the carts Myung-shin mentioned.’
Realizing that carrying those up Wudang Mountain was part of their training, Yun-song spoke.
“It is customary to leave weapons at Haegeomji before entering, but I will allow it for the sake of martial arts exchange.”
“Weapons? What do you mean? We haven’t brought any weapons.”
“If those iron masses in the carts aren’t weapons, then what are they?”
“They are training tools. Hahaha. Since we will be staying in Wudang for a while, we brought them along.”
As Hye-geol gestured with his eyes, Mu-jin and some other Shaolin disciples began taking out the iron masses from the carts.
“Huff.”
“Huff.”
They started lifting weights right in front of the Wudang disciples.
“……”
Yun-song began to feel a headache coming on.
* * *
Right after resolving the trivial misunderstanding.
The Shaolin disciples followed the Wudang disciples’ guidance, heading towards the accommodations provided by Wudang while carrying carts loaded with exercise equipment.
Seeing their miserable state, Yun-song Zhenren recommended they rest for a day.
The Shaolin disciples gladly accepted Yun-song Zhenren’s consideration, organized their exercise equipment, and prepared themselves by bathing and cleansing.
And the next morning.
“I apologize for causing a disturbance yesterday. Let me introduce myself again. I am Hye-geol, First-Class Disciple of Shaolin.”
The Shaolin disciples exchanged formal greetings with the Wudang disciples who had welcomed them.
“Hehehe. It is an honor to meet the Invincible Five Fists in person.”
“Hahaha. My nickname is nothing compared to the name of the Wudang Grandmaster, like a firefly before the sun.”
After expressing modesty appropriately, the Wudang Grandmaster and Hye-geol got to the main topic.
“Have you heard the main purpose of this martial arts exchange?”
“Yes, I have heard from Bang-geon Seonsaengnim.”
“Then, could you show us that wrist training method first?”
The Wudang Grandmaster directly addressed the main topic.
“I will do so.”
Mu-jin stepped forward with confidence.
Standing proudly before hundreds of Wudang disciples, Mu-jin began to speak.
“I will demonstrate, so please follow along slowly. However, if your wrists are in poor condition, it’s better to receive treatment first.”
At Mu-jin’s words, the Wudang elders, including the senior disciple Yunja-bae, stepped back, and the second and third-class disciples stepped forward. Most of the first-class disciples and Yunja-bae had damaged wrists.
Once it was roughly decided who would come forward to learn, Mu-jin began his demonstration slowly.
“We will start with the Close-Range Spear Technique. This exercise relaxes tense or stiff muscles. Doing this Close-Range Spear Technique before and after exercise is highly effective in preventing injuries.”
Just as he had taught beginner disciples in the past, Mu-jin explained the basics step by step.
“After loosening your wrists, we will move on to the actual training.”
Having taught various wrist relaxation techniques, Mu-jin began the main exercise.
“Today, I will first show you a simple exercise to strengthen your wrists using a sword. Could you lend me a spare wooden sword or any sword?”
At Mu-jin’s request, one of the first-class disciples watching from the back handed him a wooden sword from the training hall.
‘Originally, this exercise uses dumbbells, but they might find using a sword more comfortable.’
Mu-jin, who had momentarily thought of unrelated matters while looking at the wooden sword, assumed his stance and began to speak.
“Place your forearm on a desk or stone slab like this, and rotate the hand holding the sword. Once you get used to it, you can use heavier objects.”
As Mu-jin began explaining and demonstrating several exercises, the Wudang first-class disciples and Yunja-bae watching from the back wore various expressions.
‘He is very accustomed to teaching someone.’
‘Hmm. He is an unusual kid.’
Some looked at Mu-jin with interest.
‘Can this really be effective?’
‘Hmph. Since Yun-heo Zhenren strongly insisted, we couldn’t stop him.’
Due to Yun-heo Zhenren’s insistence, some could not voice their skepticism, but their eyes were filled with negativity.
“Can such training alone truly strengthen the wrist?”
Eventually, one elder who was doubtful of Mu-jin’s training method voiced his question.
Mu-jin tilted his head and replied to the elder’s question.
“As with all training, it takes time to see if it is effective.”
“That may be true, but…”
At the elder’s reluctant answer, Mu-jin smiled lightly and said,
“Or, would you prefer to verify it through comparison?”
“Comparison? What kind of comparison?”
“We could compare the wrist strength of those who have trained with this method and those who haven’t among the Wudang disciples.”
At Mu-jin’s suggestion, the elder who had stepped forward and those who had shown doubtful reactions all nodded.
“So, how do you plan to test wrist strength?”
Mu-jin, smiling brightly like Mu-yul, asked back,
“Have you ever heard of arm wrestling (baisouwan)?”
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