Tangmunjeon - Chapter 421



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Tangmunjeon Episode 421

Mt. Mudang

‘I never thought this would be possible···.’

After much effort, the two priests of Mudeungsan Mountain have perfected the most bizarre passing technique in the history of martial arts.

When Youngbo Jinin made up his mind to move ten times, Hyungong was able to perform the dharma as Youngbo Jinin wanted without a single error. Youngbo Jinin finally obtained legs that he could move as he pleased.

Thanks to that, Yeongbo Jinin had fun every day.

“What should we name this passing technique?”

“Master. There’s no one to follow, so is it really necessary to give it a name…”

“No one knows what will happen in this world. One day, there may be a cripple who desperately wants to learn this martial art.”

“Ah, yes···.”

“How about the Myeolin Myeolma Gong (孭人滅魔功)?”

A martial art that carries people and destroys demons.

The feeling was pretty good, but I felt like I was being teased for some reason. It also felt a bit strange that the name was centered around the person being carried, not the person being carried.

Hyun-gong grumbled and answered.

“···Do as you wish.”

But despite his miserable attitude, Hyun-gong did not completely hate this life.

The situation of bickering with Youngbojin all day long was quite good. But what was more satisfying was the fact that Wuwei was improving day by day. Hyungong’s achievements in recent years were truly dazzling.

Yeongbo Jinin did not stop at simply directing Hyungong to move according to his intention.

Rather, what Youngbo Jin-in emphasized more than the method of protection was making Hyun-gong meet his gaze and predict his sword path.

Yeongbo Jinin would repeat this to Hyungong every time he carried the load. He was practicing this passing technique not only because it was powerful, but also to teach you more.

Of course, just because you have a master on your back doesn’t mean you can naturally acquire the master’s sword skills.

However, it was possible for Youngbo Jinin and Hyungong. The two of them had learned the same martial arts, and Hyungong was exceptionally intelligent and had already achieved outstanding results, so he was able to grasp the true meaning contained in Youngbo Jinin’s sword.

Just as Youngbo Jin-in imagined moving legs without being able to move his legs, Hyun-gong imagined a sword that he could swing freely without moving his arms.

And Hyun-gong sparred with the best swordsmen several times a day, and predicted Yeong-bo-jin-in’s sword moves at every moment.

If Hyun-gong had predicted it in advance, Yeong-bo-jin-in’s sword would follow that trajectory without fail, and Hyun-gong soon realized that he had achieved a great accomplishment.

‘The process is a bit ugly, but… the results are definitely satisfying. If I pick up the sword and practice a little more, I might be able to follow the Master and reach the state of harmony. No, it’s definitely possible.’

However, there was one person who was put in an awkward position because of Hyun-gong’s achievement.

It’s Namgung Myeong.

Namgung Jincheon looked at Yeongbo Jinin and Hyeon Gong with a hazy look in his eyes for a long time, then spoke to Namgung Myeong.

“Myung-ah. I also want to convey my enlightenment without leaving anything out.”

“Calm down, Father.”

“Since I already have no left arm, I only have to sacrifice my right arm for a moment… A cavalry battle between the Mudang faction and the Namgung family that will determine their pride. Isn’t it exciting just thinking about it?”

“···I told you to calm down. I’m the one in charge now.”

Namgung Jincheon’s story was half a joke, but the other half was clearly serious.

A while ago, Namgung Myung saw Namgung Jincheon sitting on Yeongbo Jinin’s back in the dark. He still gets goosebumps when he thinks about that moment.

But the bigger problem was that every time he saw Hyun-gong growing at a frightening rate, Nam-gung Myeong also felt a little temptation.

‘No. No. I can’t show myself in such a shameful way.’

Namgung Myung practiced even harder to shake off distracting thoughts.

Namgung Myung was a naturally gifted person who quickly accepted Namgung Jincheon’s enlightenment and achievements, so Namgung Jincheon eventually stopped talking about losing in front of Namgung Myung.

Just as the priest of Mt. Mudang and the father and son of Namgung Se-ga devoted themselves to training, the two monks also devoted themselves to training.

However, the location was outside the shamanic premises. A place where no one has set foot. A bamboo forest where no one can peek.

“I feel like my lower body is weak!”

“I know!”

“Who told you to only use your calves? Use your palms to generate internal energy! Think of your feet as roots growing from the soles of your feet and holding onto the ground! Even if you swing your fists with all your might, you should always distribute three-tenths of your internal energy to your waist, knees, and soles of your feet!”

Sam-an-bul and Wan-li-seung do not have a master-disciple relationship.

Sanyan Buddha, who broke the Shaolin Temple’s precepts and ran away, was clearly a sinner in the eyes of Wanli Sheng, the abbot of Shaolin Temple.

However, because of the connection between them and Dang Mu-jin, the time they spent together was so long that it was a bit awkward to belatedly ask for forgiveness, and because they had the great evil of the cult leader as their common enemy, they could not ask for a life-or-death decision.

Even though Sananbul knew that the situation was dangerous, he often got on Wanli Seung’s nerves.

“Do you know that I am not a monk, but a Buddhist monk? The abbot of Shaolin Temple is saying that he cannot stand the thought of a Buddhist monk who only draws water and prepares food?”

“Control your breathing! Don’t let your knees relax! I have to tell you even these basic things one by one. How can this possibly work?”

“These days, the monks of Shaolin Temple seem to be focusing on tricks and not learning the basics. Did the new monk teach them that?”

“···Don’t mention the Master’s nickname!”

Manryeokseung continued his sparring with Sananbul, extending his fist filled with murderous intent.

Although Wanli Seung learned much of the Shaolin Temple’s martial arts, Sanyan Bu stole the basics and trained them his entire life to become one of the world’s best masters.

Although both of them had Shaolin martial arts as their foundation, their paths were extremely different, so Sanyan Buddha was able to teach Wanli Sheng a great deal.

Although Wanli Sheng was somewhat dissatisfied with this situation, he could understand Sanyan Buddha’s intentions.

Hyun-gong, Nam-gung-myeong, and even Wan-ryeok-seung. The training of the three people was secretly competitive.

Each of them had someone to teach them, a sparring partner, and a situation where they were on the edge of their seats. The effectiveness of their training could not have been lacking.

*

One night, while continuing his training, two people approached the Hyeoncheondang in Mt. Mudangsan as darkness fell.

“I’ll go in.”

“Come in.”

Knock knock-

As always, Yeongbo Jinin was present in Hyeoncheondang. The people who came to see Yeongbo Jinin were Namgung Jincheon and Samanbul.

“Have you heard that the Demonic Cult has started moving again?”

When Yeongbo Jin-in, who had been waiting while sitting down, asked, Namgung Jin-cheon sat down and answered.

“Yeah. I wondered why they were hesitating and not rushing into Mt. Mudang, but it turns out they were waiting for reinforcements.”

Unlike Yeongbo Jinin and Namgung Jincheon, who had already heard the news, the news of Samanbul was slow to arrive.

Although he had turned his back on the Demonic Cult, because he was originally from the Demonic Cult, the Jeongpa warriors did not easily approach Sam-an-bul. There was even less of a person who could convey information.

“Reinforcements? Where did they come from?”

“Looking at it, it looks like they’re the guys who went to Sacheon.”

“It’s Sacheon.”

The Demonic Cult members would not have returned without any gains, so they must have caused great damage to Sacheon. Thinking of Dang Mujin, my mouth became bitter.

“What are the chances that Cheongseong, Ami, and Danggajang joined forces to stop the demonic cult?”

“If you look at it objectively, it’s not high.”

“I remember that the young Yongdubangju also headed to Sacheonseong. Maybe he was swept away together.”

“Maybe so.”

Sam-an-bul sighed.

A good fighter can be found somehow, but no one can replace the poison of Dang Mu-jin.

“If we had known that so much power would be transferred to Sacheon, we should have stayed there too.”

When Sam-an-bul reproached himself, Namgung Jin-cheon responded curtly.

“If that was the case, not only the Wudang sect but even the Shaolin Temple would have been in ruins by now. Since they knew that the forces gathered at Wudang Mountain were formidable, the demonic sect couldn’t easily push in.”

“I know. I know, but… Oh my. What’s the use of blaming yourself for the past?”

As Namgung Jincheon said, the power gathered at Mt. Mudang was considerable.

Yeongbo Jin-in ordered the Jeongpa warriors gathered at Mt. Mudang to retreat, leaving only the core members behind.

However, the people did not follow Youngbojinin’s instructions and remained at Mt. Mudang. The reason was that it was obvious that the most important battle would take place at Mt. Mudang, so there was no reason to retreat.

Hyun-gong, the leader of the shaman faction and the one who holds the real power in the Murim Alliance, also thought that Yeong-bo Jin-in’s judgment was wrong this time.

If the leader of the Demonic Cult is beheaded at Mt. Mudang, the Jeongma War will effectively be over.

However, if the leader is not eliminated and the sect loses its key leaders, the war will end in a different direction.

In case of defeat, there was a need for a way to retreat while protecting the key players. The Jeongpa warriors stayed in Mt. Mudeungsan in preparation for such a situation.

Sam-an-bul crossed his arms and leaned his upper body against the wall.

“Namgung Jincheon. Do you think we can stop the cult leader here?”

“It’s not impossible.”

It seems positive, but the meaning behind it is negative.

Sam-an-bul clicked his tongue lightly. Tsk.

Yeongbo Jinin, who was listening to the story of Namgung Jincheon and Samanbul, opened his mouth.

“You know why I called you.”

“well.”

“It would be nice to win, but it would be foolish to just hope for victory and not prepare for the eventuality. When the situation is heading towards defeat, we need to discuss how to respond.”

“Do you have any good ideas?”

Samanbul asked Yeongbojinin. However, Yeongbojinin knew that Samanbul and Namgung Jincheon had reached similar conclusions as he.

“Fight to the death. If you can win, you must seize the victory. If you lose, you must retreat together if you can. However, if you cannot even retreat, the three of us must do whatever it takes to stop the enemy and save future generations. Wan Licheng, Hyeon Gong, and Nam Gung Myeong. The three of us must absolutely not die.”

“Even if they’ve overcome one crisis, will they be able to overcome this difficulty?”

Namgung Jincheon opened his mouth on behalf of Yeongbo Jinin.

“···Sometimes, when I felt depressed, I would leave Namgung Se-ga and go to Hangzhou to watch the sea.”

However, at first glance, it sounded like a story about grasping at straws.

“The sea on a clear day is nice, but what’s truly spectacular is the sea on a rainy day. It’s even more spectacular when a storm is approaching. Have you ever seen the sea with a storm approaching?”

Sam-an-bul and Yeong-bo-jin shook their heads.

Sam-an-bul was not a person who leisurely walked around looking at the sea, and Yeong-bo-jin-in was a person who rarely left the Mu-dang-pa territory.

“As a storm approaches, the waves become more violent. The late-rising aftershocks tend to swallow up the foresh waves. And now, I think a storm is approaching the sea of ​​​​Murim.”

“What does it mean?”

When Samanbul asked again, Namgung Jincheon asked Samanbul a question.

“Samanbul. The previous generation’s masters and our generation. And the next generation. Which one do you think is more accomplished?”

“The achievements of the previous masters are high. If you go back a couple of generations, wasn’t there a true master named Jang Sam-bong? Martial arts are not passed down, and as they are put into practice, they gradually deteriorate.”

“I guess so. But I don’t think so.”

Sam-an-bul’s eyebrows twitched.

The old is precious, the new cannot compare to it.

Future generations tend to wander around looking for traces of the past in order to catch up with the glory of their predecessors even a little.

It was a self-evident truth that ran through everyone’s mind.

“You. Do you think that the leader has surpassed Jang Sam-bong, the true man, or Dharma Master?”

“That’s not it. But the flow of the world is not about a particular individual, but about the many beneath. Just as if you want to check the height of a wave, you should look at the crest of the wave, not the highest splash.”

Unlike Sam-an-bul, Yeong-bo-jin-in was smiling. It must be because he thought that his thoughts and Nam-gung-jin-cheon’s thoughts were the same.

Namgung Jincheon continued the story.

“Samanbul. The six sage leaders of our generation were me, Shinsung, Geolsun, Yeongheoja, Yeongbo, and Muryangja. Muryangja was a bit clumsy, but he had all reached the realm of transcendence. Even Yeongbo Jinin had gone beyond transcendence… Yes. He had reached the realm of harmony.”

“I know.”

“Among the six great masters of the previous generation, there were four who were supreme masters. Among the supreme masters of the previous generation, there were three. When Jang Sam-bong was there, there was not even an expression called the six great masters.”

Sam-an-bul realized what Yeong-bo-jin-in and Nam-gung-jin-cheon were trying to say.

Namgung Jincheon was directly denying the common sense that the old is precious and the new is inferior.

Just as the waves of the sea grow stronger as a storm approaches, the back wave will become stronger and swallow up the front wave. The next generation will surpass the previous generation.

“Look at our next generation. Namgung Myung, Hyeon Gong, Hong Ju San, Yoo Jin Gwang. They all reached the realm of transcendence at an extremely early age. Manryeok Seung Cheonguk was a bit late, but that’s a characteristic of Shaolin martial arts, so it can’t be helped… I think Tang Wu Jin has also clearly reached the realm of transcendence. No, I actually feel that Tang Wu Jin is half a step ahead of the others. I wonder what will happen when they reach our age?”

Sam-an-bul imagined.

Twenty years later. Thirty years later. I imagined a world where a new generation would take over the center of the martial arts world.

These people are already in the realm of the super-peak by the time they turn 30. What kind of achievements will they make?

Sam-an-bul laughed in vain.

“It is true that old knowledge is lost and old glory is forgotten. But does the world move forward faster than that?”

Youngbo Jin nodded.

“Yes. We are the front wave. Behind us, a strong wave is approaching. Furthermore, I think that the generation after us will not be a simple wave. It will be a huge generation, like the wave that occasionally comes between the waves. Given the state of the world, what should the front wave like us do?”

“Is that our role? To open the way for the waves to go a little further, to overcome the obstacles that block them…”

Instead of saying that, Sam-an-bul burst into hearty laughter.

“My goodness, you guys who haven’t even aged a year are talking like old people. I was the first wave of your generation. Even Shin Seung, who you consider to be of the same generation, was fifteen years older than you guys.”

Yeongbo Jinin and Namgung Jincheon just laughed without saying anything.

The two men knew that the Three Eyes Buddha was not refuting their claims.

Sam-an-bul thought of Wanli Seung.

Manryeok Seung was not young. He was closer to the age of Yeongbo Jinin or Namgung Jincheon than to Dang Mujin or Hyeon Gong.

However, Sananbul thought that Wanli Sheng would be the next wave leader. Originally, the monks of Shaolin Temple achieved success a little later, but did not advance further than anyone else.

‘It’s okay to be old. Just live a long life…’

As the laughter died down, Youngbo Jin said.

“So. In a moment of crisis, can you shake off all your foolishness and bring out your true energy?”

Namgung Jincheon answered first.

“The child I raised poorly and failed to be a father has grown up to be a good man… I should be a father to him one last time just to be proud of him. I can fight the best in the world, so there’s nothing to regret.”

Youngbo Jinin’s gaze fell on Samanbul.

“If I can punch that cult leader in the face once, I can drag Jinwonjinki out a thousand times. And if I can save Manryukseung’s life, I can consider myself to have washed away the sins I committed in the past.”

Although he spoke boldly, in reality, Sam-an-bul was not confident.

Sam-an-bul thought of Hwa-yeon-shin-ni. When he said that he would participate in the Jeongma War, Hwa-yeon-shin-ni became furious and locked himself in Junggyeong.

He was so angry that he went all the way to Chongqing to find Sananbul, but he still wouldn’t meet him.

Sam-an-bul hid his true feelings and asked Yeong-bo-jin-in.

“Can you pull out the original energy?”

Yeongbo Jin-in stretched out his two emaciated legs forward as if he was incredulous.

“That’s a bad question. I can’t run away anyway. I might be able to live a little longer if I can pull out Jinwonjinki.”

Laughter broke out again.

“Haha! Right. That must be it. Now I understand something. The scar on Hyungong’s arm. Was that to prevent Hyungong from fighting the cult leader?”

“That way, you can run away without any regrets.”

“Your love for your disciples is truly extraordinary.”

Yeongbo Jin-in smiled brightly, then sat down and used a long stick to open the door halfway.

Youngbo Jin also slightly opened the window behind him. The wind that came in through the half-opened sliding door swept through the room fiercely and escaped through the small window. Unlike the daytime, the air was very cool.

The three of them sat quietly, enjoying the breeze with their whole bodies.

A storm was coming.

……. (continue)