NOVEL NEXT chapter 285
Head Abbot Hyeon Go assumed the Huashan Sect Leader had been able to learn because he already knew the arts, so three weeks—brief as it was—had sufficed.
In truth, anyone would think the same.
If martial arts could be mastered in three weeks with a snap, who would grind through training?
Even the most basic, easiest art takes at least a month of relentless effort just to get down. If we’re talking about a supreme art, it’s even more absurd.
“He started over from the beginning.”
“Even so, walking a road once trod is faster the second time.”
Watching Head Abbot Hyeon Go’s doubt, Yeon Woo Jin grinned.
Fair enough. It wasn’t something one could accept easily.
“I don’t know if I can properly learn three arts from you.”
“You can, Head Abbot.”
“Heh. Thank you for saying so. Then… let’s try.”
Head Abbot Hyeon Go was curious.
How exactly would Yeon Woo Jin teach him?
‘A man that extraordinary must teach in an extraordinary way.’
He never imagined a Time-Space Division Formation would be unfolded inside another Time-Space Division Formation.
Anyone with the slightest grasp of formations knows how insane that is.
Unfolding a formation inside a formation requires an astronomical amount of calculations so the two arrays don’t collide.
Would it be easier if both formations are the same?
No.
Harder.
Because the energies match, the formations react by trying to absorb each other.
If that reaction goes awry, in the worst case the life gate can be erased entirely, trapping you inside forever.
Yet even after Yeon Woo Jin layered a Time-Space Division Formation within a Time-Space Division Formation, there wasn’t a single hitch.
From that alone, one could see what a staggering genius he was.
With a genius like this, of course he could master a secret manual off a single read.
Another question rose in Head Abbot Hyeon Go’s mind.
Did Heaven truly send down such a being because of the Demonic Cult?
Or had the Buddha manifested and come to walk the world?
A day—no, a month together, just the two of them inside—would give him time to find out slowly.
****
“Amitabha.”
Head Abbot Hyeon Go kept chanting Amitabha under his breath, face saying he still couldn’t believe it.
“I… I can’t believe it. H-how can this be…?”
Even after experiencing it firsthand, he could not believe.
Yeon Woo Jin’s instruction was a new world.
In practice, the time it took to fully understand the Hundred-Step Divine Fist was one day. That was all.
He understood the Hundred-Step Divine Fist in a single day.
In one week, he executed the Hundred-Step Divine Fist perfectly.
He learned an entire art in a week.
And not a surface skimming—he learned it perfectly.
By the book, to the letter.
The Hundred-Step Divine Fist ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ is counted among Shaolin’s most abstruse arts.
Yet that abstruse art slotted neatly into his head and refused to fall out.
A week later, he learned the Unsurpassed Great Power Art.
Another week after that, the Bodhidharma Grand Zen Art.
Even after mastering three arts in such a short span, there was no strain on his body at all.
Because the flow of qi had been taught to him perfectly.
In all his life, Head Abbot Hyeon Go had never received instruction this perfect.
The time it took to learn the three arts was only three weeks.
Does that make any sense?
For a moment he even suspected he’d been beguiled—hadn’t learned them but merely believed he had.
But no.
All three arts had taken firm seats in his mind, and his qi moved the moment he called them up.
Of course, he hadn’t fully internalized them yet, so there were rough edges.
Even so, he had learned them. At his level, he could raise his attainment quickly—he just had to devote himself to training.
He was proud all the same.
The Huashan Sect Leader had required three weeks to learn two arts; he had learned three in the same time.
The Huashan Sect Leader had started from a partial grasp of the Twenty-Four Forms Plum-Blossom Sword Art; he, starting from zero, had done better—so he thought, and chuckled.
Then he shook his head.
‘What a thought to have. My practice is lacking.’
He rebuked himself for the joy of “surpassing” another and reflected.
Having learned what he came for, he was about to step out for the next person’s sake when Yeon Woo Jin stopped him.
“You have more to learn.”
“I haven’t finished?”
“No. This is the start. You’ve barely taken your first steps.”
He was right.
He had only just reached the toddling stage.
But anything beyond that would be up to Head Abbot Hyeon Go himself.
Yeon Woo Jin shook his head.
“That’ll be too slow.”
“Too slow?”
“We don’t know when the Demonic Cult will show itself. How long can we afford to sit and raise attainment?”
“But one cannot raise attainment just because one wishes to.”
“Right. That’s why, starting today, you’ll perform all three arts every day.”
“Heh heh. Of course I’ll practice, but—”
“No. Real combat.”
“…Pardon?”
“I realized there’s a way I don’t have to personally face each bout.”
When Yeon Woo Jin reached out toward him, Head Abbot Hyeon Go flinched.
“Don’t tense. Trust me.”
“Ah… understood.”
He offered his face to Yeon Woo Jin’s hand without resistance.
A faint dizziness, then Yeon Woo Jin withdrew his hand.
“From today, spar every day against your illusion.”
“…What?”
“Breathe internal energy into your eyes.”
“—Gasp!”
When he breathed internal energy into his eyes, a figure identical to himself stood before him.
“W-what is this…?”
How bizarre.
Head Abbot Hyeon Go looked to Yeon Woo Jin.
A look that asked, What is this?
“It’s an illusion that executes all three arts perfectly. Spar that illusion every day until you defeat it.”
“Huh… sparring with an illusion…”
Isn’t that just flailing at empty air?
He didn’t voice it.
Yeon Woo Jin had gone to an outlandish length for his sake—speaking that thought would be rude.
As if he had guessed the thought, Yeon Woo Jin said:
“Try it once. You’ll need time to acclimate.”
Head Abbot Hyeon Go nodded.
The moment he resolved to spar, the illusion before him shifted into a guard.
Perfect.
So perfect it made him snort.
For a heartbeat he doubted reality itself.
All right. Time to begin the match—how should he proceed?
It’s an illusion; even if he attacks, it won’t land. If it hits him, it won’t hurt; there’s no tension.
He decided to do it like mindscape training and began to move—
The illusion moved.
It was the perfect Diamond Unmoving Body Method.
He was marveling when a thought struck him.
Wait—how does the illusion know the Diamond Unmoving Body Method?
The moment puzzlement rose, the illusion’s strike flew at him.
Should he evade?
He hesitated, then twisted slightly—dodging seemed more helpful to the training.
He grew careless, thinking it was only an illusion.
He paid for forgetting Yeon Woo Jin’s words—with pain.
He had been clearly told the illusion surpassed his own attainment.
Skk—
“Urgh!”
He had dodged.
No—what was that? That pain?
Head Abbot Hyeon Go stared, shocked.
Not only had the illusion struck him—it hurt.
Is this possible?
Disbelieving, he looked between the illusion and Yeon Woo Jin.
Smiling at the sight, Yeon Woo Jin said:
“It’s an illusion, but it isn’t. That illusion will execute every art you know—perfectly.”
“E-every art I know?”
“Yes. It moves off the information engraved in your mind.”
Ah. So that’s why it used the Diamond Unmoving Body Method.
Because he knew it.
“You won’t have the leisure to glance at me.”
“…What?”
Ah—!
He had momentarily forgotten he was in a match.
“Yikes!”
Killing intent—from an illusion?
Could it be—
Is it angry at being ignored?
Whoom—
The illusion’s terrifying Hundred-Step Divine Fist brushed past the tip of Head Abbot Hyeon Go’s nose.
He’d nearly been seriously injured.
As his insides turned cold and he swept a hand over his chest, a perfectly outrageous line reached his ears.
“If you get hurt, I’ll fix you. So spar to your heart’s content.”
As those words fell, the illusion’s onslaught intensified, and Head Abbot Hyeon Go had no time to react to Yeon Woo Jin’s reassurance.
“Aaagh!”
That day, inside the formation, Head Abbot Hyeon Go’s screams rang without end.
****
“Hff… hff…”
Head Abbot Hyeon Go had fought the illusion until his robes were rags.
Only now did the illusion vanish.
Thud—
As it disappeared, he simply fell flat on his back, arms and legs outstretched.
He lacked the strength to move even a finger.
They called it “sparring,” but he had crossed the line between life and death more than once today.
More astonishing—whenever he was badly hurt, Yeon Woo Jin appeared like a ghost and healed him.
After doing that several times, he did something even more unbelievable.
“Ah! Right! Fool!”
He suddenly berated himself, then approached the exhausted Head Abbot Hyeon Go.
What now? Head Abbot Hyeon Go tensed—then Yeon Woo Jin spoke.
“I just realized I made a mistake.”
What mistake?
Had he made the illusion too strong?
If so, that was true.
It was a mistake.
He should have set it at a level a person could actually handle.
He’d gone too far.
“If you get hurt sparring the illusion outside, I won’t be there to take care of you. I didn’t account for that.”
Ah. So that was it.
Then… will he make the illusion weaker now?
Head Abbot Hyeon Go allowed himself a flicker of hope.
“Excuse me a moment.”
When Yeon Woo Jin reached out, Head Abbot Hyeon Go offered his face quietly—hoping he would adjust the illusion’s strength.
This time, unlike the first, there was no dizziness—only a refreshing sensation.
A moment later—
“All set,” Yeon Woo Jin said, withdrawing his hand.
“What did you do?”
He had hoped to hear that the illusion’s strength had been tuned.
“I gave the illusion the ability to heal.”
…What?
“I breathed my healing qi into you. Strictly speaking, it’s not the illusion healing you; it’s my healing qi inside your body activating.”
So that was it.
If he got hurt, his body would heal itself.
That’s how he heard it.
He understood the words, if not the principle.
Trying to make sense of what Yeon Woo Jin did only gave him a headache.
He’d learned that much.
While Head Abbot Hyeon Go was feeling hollow instead of satisfied, Yeon Woo Jin dealt him another blow.
“Come to think—your illusion won’t manifest unless you breathe internal energy into your eyes. I changed it so it will manifest on its own when the time comes.”
…What?
Truthfully, he had planned to summon it at his convenience after returning.
He was not in a position to cling to duels with an illusion endlessly.
He had many duties.
But now it would force the start of a match.
“W-wait. Then… the illusion will appear on its own at set times?”
“Yes. It will appear suited to the surroundings and attack. It may ambush you or use the terrain.”
Good heavens.
“C-can other people see it?”
“No. Only you.”
His head swam.
What would the other monks think if they saw it?
They’d think he’d gone senile.
Who would call flailing at empty air “sparring”?
When he returned, the very first thing would be to set the illusion’s appearance time to match closed-door cultivation—no exceptions.
He would use the head’s authority if he had to.
Even so, he was grateful to Yeon Woo Jin.
Wasn’t this for Shaolin’s sake—and his?
He said it was because of the Demonic Cult, but Head Abbot Hyeon Go could feel it.
That this wasn’t the true heart behind it.
Head Abbot Hyeon Go pressed his palms together and offered thanks.
“On behalf of Shaolin, I offer Yeon Woo Jin my sincere gratitude.”