Hyun Jong’s mouth was hanging open as he looked at the stage.

“Uh…”

That?

It felt like his head was spinning. He was trying to think of something, but the thought wasn’t clearly forming in his mind.

Tang Gunak, who was sitting next to him, helped him out,

“Abbot, is that the Arahant Divine Fist?”

The Abbot smiled brightly at his question,

“I think Lord Tang has more insight than I thought, yes.”

Tang Gunak was a bit shocked by this1.

“Seventy-Two Art of Perfection.”

Previously, Hae Yeon only used the Seventy-Two Art of Perfection. He had already used one technique which would be hard to learn even if his entire life was spent on learning it.

It wasn’t just Tang Gunak who was shocked,

“Arahant Divine Fist.”

The other sect leaders looked at Hae Yeon with wide eyes.

Being able to use one technique at this young age wasn’t simply an area of talent. Shaolin was the most undeniable sect in the world.

Talented people from all over the world constantly knock on their nose to become the disciples of the Shaolin Sect.

Even the many geniuses who flocked under the title of ‘world class genius’ would have to devote their lives to mastering this Seventy-Two Art of Perfection. It was that difficult to learn.

But for this child to do both of these tough techniques? This made no sense.

Heo Do Jinin, the sect leader of Wudang, had a stiff face as he asked the Abbot,

“Abbot. If it isn’t too rude, may I ask how much of the Seventy-Two Art of Perfection did Disciple Hae Yeon learn?”

The Abbot smiled.

“Well, it isn’t much. Just a dozen or so.”

“…”

A chilly silence fell on the stage. Even the sect leaders of the Nine Great Sects One Union, who lead the world, were at a loss at the words of the Abbot.

‘Twelve?’

‘Oh my…’

In this creepy atmosphere, Heo Do Jinin bit his lip.

‘Fucking shit!’

It is only natural for a human who was bound to be the Abbot of the Shaolin to be this humble. But looking back at this situation, it felt like the ability to absorb everything was in this sect2.

Twelve.

They had never heard of anyone among the Shaolin disciples learning more than fifteen, ever.

Of course, surely there was a difference in skill for each person, but in the first place, this particular technique was known to be the most difficult to learn.

And it was impossible for a human to learn and understand twelve of them when he was still this young.

Monster.

They thought he was a genius, but no, he was a monster.

He was confident that this disciple would never lose.

And there was only one thing that Heo Do Jinin couldn’t understand the most till now.

It was that the Abbot had neglected Mount Hua too much.

In the first place, it was clear that this competition was held to highlight the power of Shaolin’s hand. In Shaolin’s mind, the other sects would have been nothing more than small stones in the way to make them shine.

However, the competition was held, and the envy Shaolin should have gotten was snatched away by Mount Hua.

Nevertheless, Abbot didn’t take any actions and aided the situation, which wasn’t understood by many; how could he be this relaxed…

‘Was what I was thinking…’

And it wasn’t only Heo Do Jinin who realized it. Even Tang Gunak was able to notice this.

‘When Mount Hua is in full swing, you will destroy it and snatch away the attention it had gained?’

If the result of this competition had been a one-sided victory for Shaolin, it wouldn’t bring any glory to the name of Shaolin.

But what if Hae Yeon defeated Chung Myung? Then everyone would exclaim and talk even more about them.

People would feel the strength of Shaolin once again, and they would admit that they deserve to be called the best.

Because the appearance of a hero required an appropriate villain3.

The Abbot had a nice smile.

Thinking about what was hidden behind that smile, Tang Gunak felt a chill run down his spine.

On the other hand, the Abbot slightly raised his lips to smile at the gazes pouring in on him.

‘Their bodies feels creeped out.’

It had to be.

Because he felt the same when he looked at Hae Yeon’s talent.

In the world, there were countless people called genius monsters, and then there were those who were called geniuses, but among them, only Hae Yeon could be called someone blessed by the heavens.

This was something that goes beyond the understanding of normal people. If one understood and tried to be one step ahead, it would only turn their thoughts into a jumbled mess.

The Abbot thought that Hae Yeon was worthy enough to be called one such genius. If it was Hae Yeon, he could bring in the rebirth of a new Shaolin.

Just one thing.

The Abbot looked a bit regretful. In his view, Hae Yeon was a bit too perfect.

He didn’t know how to hurt others and oppress them4. His naturally timid character didn’t know how to change, take the lead, and use his martial arts.

So the Abbot was aiming for one thing in this competition.

‘If that child can only have a win-win spirit, he might change the history of Shaolin.’

Heavy energy descended from the eyes of Abbot looking at Hae Yeon.

Jo Gul slowly looked at Hae Yeon.

Hae Yeon’s face was red, probably from embarrassment at the fact that he had destroyed a building in front of him.

And Jo Gul looked at the guy who couldn’t stop his embarrassment from showing and felt sad.

‘Don’t go around throwing out such kind of absurd attacks when you’re that innocent, you damned bastard!’

This was an unpleasant feeling, different from what Chung Myung gave them.

Chung Myung smiled and threw nasty swords at their hearts through his mouth, while this guy was putting up an innocent face and giving out such energy. What he learned was that neither were true human beings.

And they both had different feelings.

Jo Gul slowly turned his head, and the disciples of Mount Hua were smiling at him.

“He is going to die?”

“He will die.”

“Ah. He cannot survive that one.”

“Yoon Jong, come on, light the incense!”

Jo Gul shut his eyes.

‘Those monsters!’

His sajaes were ready to say goodbye to his spirit, but it was almost like they were celebrating it. How can they be Taoists?

Furthermore…

“Hehehehe.”

Among the sahyung and sajaes, there was one person who seemed particularly happy.

‘Yoon Jong sahyung…’

The moment he looked at him, Jo Gul trembled.

‘… better to die than surrender.’

If he had known something like this would happen, he wouldn’t have made fun of…

The disciples of Mount Hua would humiliate him for the next few days if he gave up.

“I’d rather just die here. Damn it.”

Jo Gul, who saw no way out, finally picked his sword up and aimed it at Hae Yeon again.

“A-Amitabha. Are you fine?”

“…”

Even though Jo Gul was pointing his sword at him, the guy asked if he was fine!

“I-I am sorry. Our Abbot said that from now on, I can do my best, so I tried to modify my strength a little…”

At that timid mumbling, Jo Gul tilted his head,

“From now on?”

Hae Yeon nodded his head.

“I was told the disciples from Mount Hua shouldn’t be underestimated, ‘so do your best and do not act careless’ was what he said.”

Jo Gul smiled at this.

‘Is this guy trying to kill me for real?’

If this guy wasn’t careful and went all out, he was bound to die!

But it felt good too.

In other words, Shaolin’s Abbot recognized Mount Hua as a dangerous opponent.

Jo Gul sighed.

Is he confident in winning?

Well.

But all that meant nothing. He clenched his sword. No matter how strong the opponent was, he could not retreat without even fighting.

At the very least, he must find out just how strong this opponent is.

As Jo Gul’s eyes began to regain composure, Hae Yeon began to calm his expression, and he let one hand lower and held the other right in front of his chest.

Half palm.

In Buddhism, it was basic to bring both hands together, but in Shaolin, they only held one hand, and that was to show respect. This was to commemorate Shaolin’s ancestor, who cut his arm off to obtain the concept of Dharma.

But what Hae Yeon was doing now wasn’t a show of courtesy.

This was the first movement for the Arahant Fist, which was the basis from which all martial arts of Shaolin sprung from.

Jo Gul, who saw this, narrowed his eyes.

‘Even though you have the power to make the world tremble, you stick to the basics.’

The more he looked at this guy, the more he resembled Chung Myung.

Chung Myung emphasized the need to stick to Mount Hua’s martial arts basics until his mouth wore out.

Jo Gul took a deep breath and moved for Hae Yeon in an instant.

‘We need to win.’

In fact, his own sword movement was a bit different. While others struggled a little bit to make the plum blossoms bloom, Jo Gul couldn’t even manage to suit himself to such techniques.

Quickness and strength.

A logical sword technique to take down his opponent quickly.

No matter how hard he tried, he always came back to this concept!

Swish!

Jo Gul’s sword went to pierce the throat of Hae Yeon.

But Hae Yeon’s eyes didn’t falter even at the tremendous speed. His hand simply moved and then lightly struck the sword of Jo Gul.

Tang!

The sword vibrated and moved back with a clear sound.

“Kuak!”

Jo Gul stepped back as he suppressed a groan.

‘What was that?’

The guy simply struck the sword with his hand. But the shock felt on his wrist was too much.

It felt like someone had squeezed his wrist and pounded on it, and even his forearms, too, were slowly feeling it.

Jo Gul, who was surprised, stepped back to maintain his posture, but Hae Yeon wasn’t going to let that happen.

Thud!

Hae Yeon’s feet moved forward.

Light yet heavy!

Hae Yeon, who lightly went through the gaps in the defensive sword movement of Jo Gul, lightly swung the sword away with movement from his elbow. Then, he twisted his body as if he was spinning and shoved his shoulder into Jo Gul’s chest.

Thud!

It sounded as if someone had crashed through a gate. At the same time, Jo Gul’s body was thrown back into the air.

“Gul!”

“Insane!”

The disciples of Mount Hua yelled out, but someone pressed on the shoulders of Baek Cheon, who was ready to run.

“Chung Myung?”

“Wait and see.”

Chung Myung spoke with a serious face.

“That bastard might not know much, but he will not just lose with the tenacity he has.”

“…”

As if to prove that statement, Jo Gul was twisting in the air round and round and lightly landed like a bird.

Tuk!

Blood gushed out from his mouth as he barely landed on the stage, and his eyes looked red.

‘What is with him?’

The hair on his body stood up. He knew right away that this wasn’t the right fight. But that wasn’t the problem here.

Understandably, the overwhelming power the opponent had was terrifying. But now, Jo Gul felt overwhelmed by the sophisticated use of the techniques he was showing.

The feeling of all his effort in the past being denied by one person?

“Ptoey!”

Jo Gul spat blood onto the floor.

“This is why such things are called geniuses56.”

He ground his teeth in anger.

With just one technique, he could feel the difference between him and his opponent. If it were any other man, this competition would have felt so discouraging to them. To see a wall so high that no amount of effort could break through.

But Jo Gul didn’t back down.

“I know you are amazingly strong. But…”

He clenched his teeth and ran forward again,

“I am too used to fighting against such things!”

Paaang!

A sound of a whip being moved from the tip of his sword. The sound of air being ripped apart and the sword embracing its anger moved away from Hae Yeon.

Thud!

Hae Yeon’s fists, holding qi in them, deflected the sword. However, Jo Gul used the force from having his sword pushed back to spin in the air and then attack again.

Swish!

Jo Gul’s sword, which had moved in an instant, aimed for Hae Yeon’s body this time.

Swish!

The sword, which at first aimed for the head, turned for the shoulder, and the sword, which looked to be aiming for the waist, turned into a stab.

A sword that constantly changed, each move aiming for a fatal wound on the opponent. This seemed like a movement an unorthodox sect would perform.

A Mount Hua sword was considered the most bizarre and practical to deal with loopholes in techniques. Among the disciples of Mount Hua, Jo Gul had the clearest form of this.

But–

Thud!

Hae Yeon took a step ahead despite seeing such movements. He wanted to face it head-on and moved ahead. One after another.

One on top of that.

In the blink of an eye, not a single attack made its way to him.

Kang! Kang!

Jo Gul’s sword was blocked by a huge large veil made of white qi.

Jo Gul looked shocked at this.

‘Well, this is…?’

At that moment–

Kwang!

A leg stretched out and kicked him in the side.

“Kuak!”

Jo Gul had to lower his sword down to block it, but it was still a force he couldn’t handle.

Jo Gul’s body moved back.

Biting down on his lip at the pain he was feeling in his stomach, he lifted his head as he felt something, and what he saw was–

The basic form of Shaolin.

Hae Yeon with his legs wide apart and back straight, his hand on one side and the other in front of his chest.

“Ahhh!”

Soon after, the hand nearest the waist slammed forward.

And a blazing gold fist.

The majesticness filled the vision of Jo Gul at once.

‘Damn it…’

Kwaaang!

The power of the martial arts of Shaolin’s Hundred Steps Divine Fist was reproduced here.

Jo Gul was swept back into the air by the powerful wave which crashed into him.

“Ack!”

“Ugh!”

Everyone was shocked.

Wheik!

Someone soared into the air and snatched the body of Jo Gul, and lowered them down.

Tak.

The one holding unconscious Jo Gul was Chung Myung, who looked up.

And he looked at Hae Yeon, who was in an awkward position on the stage.

“…”

Hae Yeon, who felt the cold eyes of Chung Myung, lowered his head. But the gaze continued to stay on him.

Eventually, when Chung Myung moved his gaze, he noticed the Abbot of Shaolin smiling.

“… smiling?”

Chung Myung’s eyes had a fire bloom in them.

“Right. Even if you die, Shaolin has to win in the end, right?”

Don’t worry.

Because I will break your bald heads soon.