Passing through Zhongnan Sect’s training grounds, Mu-jin soon arrived at the gate of the Sect Leader’s hall.
“Mu-jin, the third-class disciple of Shaolin, greets the Sect Leader of Zhongnan.”
Mu-jin bowed and observed the Sect Leader of Zhongnan.
While the Sect Leader of Wudang, Yun-song Zhenren, had a serene presence similar to Hyun-gwang, the Sect Leader of Zhongnan was an elderly man with a stern aura.
‘He seems a bit similar to Master Uncle Hye-dam?’
Though he didn’t boast an enormous build like Hye-dam, the feeling was similar.
The Sect Leader, who received Mu-jin’s greeting, responded in a calm tone.
“I am Baek-un, the Sect Leader of Zhongnan. Thank you for responding to our request, Shaolin Dragon. So, will the training commence from tomorrow?”
At Mu-jin’s bold request, Baek-un Zhenren’s white eyebrows twitched.
“Yes. For at least three months, until my training settles, I need a promise that there will be no interference in my training methods.”
Mu-jin intended to first fix the spirits of the Zhongnan disciples, who were like defeated soldiers.
To do this, it was necessary to prevent interference from the elders of Zhongnan in advance.
Baek-un Zhenren, who locked eyes with Mu-jin as if in a staring contest for a moment, soon nodded.
“So be it. From the moment we called you here, it was already entrusted to you.”
“Thank you for your decision.”
Mu-jin bowed again, thinking that the minimal preparations were now complete.
Early the next morning.
Third-class and second-class disciples of Zhongnan Sect gathered at the Grand Training Ground.
They had already been informed that from today, they would be taught external energy training methods by the Shaolin Dragon.
Regarding this, the Zhongnan disciples had various thoughts.
A few were purely delighted to receive special training from the greatest talent in the world.
Another few questioned the necessity of learning Shaolin Dragon’s training methods as fellow disciples of the Nine Great Sects.
The majority, however, exuded a highly negative atmosphere.
Doubts that the swordsmanship they had been training in was fundamentally weak, and a sense of futility as if they had wasted their time.
On top of that, the reality of having to pay Shaolin to learn external energy training methods now.
Once a negative thought took root, it spread rapidly, expanding the defeatist mindset for various reasons.
Before these Zhongnan disciples, Mu-jin appeared.
He had a black headscarf tied around his head.
“Greetings! I am Mu-jin, the third-class disciple of Shaolin, here to teach you external energy training methods starting today. From now on, I will lead the training. So from this moment, please refer to me not by my dharma name or nickname, but as ‘Instructor.’”
Mu-jin’s method for fixing the rotten mental state was…
“And those wearing red headscarves beside me should be called ‘Assistant Instructors’ from now on.”
It was military-style training.
“Go to the assistant instructors now and receive the numbered tags prepared for training convenience.”
Not just any training, but a mix of special forces induction tests and guerrilla training.
In their daze, the Zhongnan disciples received numbered tops from the Shaolin disciples, or rather, the assistant instructors, and put them on.
Even excluding the injured, the combined number of second-class and third-class disciples of Zhongnan was close to two hundred.
As they moved, the Grand Training Ground naturally became bustling. When everyone had put on their numbered tops, Mu-jin spoke in a stern voice.
“Before we begin training, I have one more thing to say. I came here with joy at the thought of seeing the disciples of the great Zhongnan Sect. But yesterday and today…”
Pausing his speech and taking a deep breath, Mu-jin continued.
Mu-jin, performing one of the most important duties of a military leader – expressing disappointment.
As the Zhongnan disciples stood bewildered, failing to grasp the situation, Mu-jin continued speaking.
“Yesterday, I saw you looking like defeated soldiers! And just now, your movements were not befitting of the disciples of a prestigious sect! I am disappointed! So from today, we will first correct those rotten mental states. Understood?”
As Mu-jin’s shocking remarks caused a stir among the Zhongnan disciples, some glanced at the Zhongnan elders present.
Their eyes questioned if this situation was acceptable.
Even Baek-un Zhenren, who had been watching Mu-jin’s shocking statements, had turned red in the face.
However, he did not intervene.
Partly because of his agreement with Mu-jin, and partly because it wasn’t Mu-jin’s remarks that had reddened his face with shame.
Mu-jin wasn’t insulting Zhongnan but reprimanding its disciples who were not acting like Daoist practitioners.
Since the Zhongnan elders did not intervene, one of the second-class disciples of Zhongnan finally spoke up.
“Are you daring to insult our Zhongnan Sect?”
“The insult is what you are doing right now! And if you think my words are wrong, prove it from now on!”
Retorting to the challenge, Mu-jin suddenly brought forward a gong.
“Anyone who finds it impossible to endure the training I conduct from now, come forward and strike this gong! Those unworthy of being in the great Zhongnan Sect should step forward, strike the gong, and leave! Understood?”
Mu-jin continued to provoke the Zhongnan disciples.
As Mu-jin’s words progressed, the previously gloomy atmosphere of the Zhongnan disciples began to change.
They started glaring at Mu-jin with burning eyes, as if facing an enemy.
Seeing this angry reaction, Mu-jin smiled and added,
“But if anyone endures my training to the end, I will personally apologize to them.”
With this brief speech concluded, Mu-jin commenced the actual training.
“Since the training from now on is external energy training, the use of internal energy is prohibited!! Anyone who uses internal energy because they cannot endure the training is admitting they are worms! Understood?”
“Hmph! You’re just saying that to set up training that you can’t even complete yourself, aren’t you?”
At the messy responses from all around, Mu-jin slightly frowned and shouted.
“To set an example, I will also participate in the training. And from now on, the only response during training will be ‘Yes!’ Once training starts, no questions will be accepted! Understood?”
“From the start of the training, you must respond with ‘Yes!’ Don’t the great Zhongnan Sect disciples understand such simple instructions? Once again, do you understand?”
“Is this the best the great Zhongnan Sect disciples can muster in their voices? Do you understand?”
Mu-jin quickly took control of the Zhongnan Sect disciples, now trainees, and continued the training.
The beginning was similar to PT exercises.
However, Mu-jin modified a few PT exercises he learned in the military into bodyweight exercises that were good for muscle training.
After all, it was external energy training, so they should perform exercises beneficial for muscle development.
Of course, there were some exercises he did not modify. Notably,
“Prepare for exercise number eight!”
“We will repeat exercise number eight fifteen times! No one is to call out the final count! If anyone does, we will start over from the beginning! Understood?”
“Exercise number eight, fifteen repetitions! How many repetitions?”
“Fifteen repetitions!”
“Thirteen repetitions! Begin!”
With faces full of determination, the Zhongnan Sect disciples repeated exercise number eight.
Even as Mu-jin demonstrated the exercise, he kept his head up, watching the trainees’ movements.
As they approached the thirteenth repetition,
Someone, inevitably, called out the final count.
“Trainee number fifty-seven! Fall out!”
“We will now start exercise number eight again!”
At Mu-jin’s command, some Zhongnan Sect disciples glanced at the fallen trainee number fifty-seven.
“Do not look away! Are you, the great Zhongnan Sect disciples, going to blame your senior brothers like vile scoundrels? It is the path of disciples from prestigious sects to embrace and overcome even the mistakes of senior brothers, isn’t it?”
“We will start exercise number eight again! This time it’s twenty repetitions! How many repetitions?”
“Twenty repetitions!”
“Twenty-two repetitions! Begin!”
How long did the grueling training continue?
No matter how much martial arts they had learned, since they focused more on internal energy than external, as the training continued, fatigue and muscle strain set in.
Whenever someone’s movements faltered, Mu-jin’s harsh reprimands followed without fail.
“Is this the extent of the great Zhongnan Sect disciples’ abilities?”
“The skill and perseverance of those who claim to have trained in Zhongnan for decades! Is this all you have?”
“Those who cannot endure this should step forward and strike the gong, admitting they are worms! Understood?”
The mixture of personal insults and provocations from Mu-jin ignited the fire in the eyes of trainees who were on the verge of giving up.
When the trainees had barely endured the grueling two-hour training, they were all left trembling like corpses.
“We will resume the afternoon training after lunch.”
Mu-gung, who had been watching Mu-jin conclude the training, suddenly began scratching his arm.
“Does it itch somewhere?”
Mu-gyeong, who was also playing the role of assistant instructor, asked, and Mu-gung shook his head.
“No. I got goosebumps.”
“Yes. That guy, now I see he was going easy on us?”
Only then did Mu-gyeong realize this and get goosebumps all over his body.
There were times when Mu-jin had shown such an appearance in Shaolin, but he had never hurled such curses and insults.
As the saying goes, speaking of the tiger brings it, Mu-jin approached them while they were talking about him.
“What are you doing?”
“If you only do cardio, you’ll lose muscle. Now we need to start exercising too.”
Mu-gung asked with an incredulous face, but it didn’t work on Mu-jin.
Although he had exercised with the Zhongnan Sect disciples for two hours, that level of bodyweight exercise was just ‘cardio’ for Mu-jin.
Exercises that consumed calories without building muscle were harmful unless one aimed to lose weight.
“Give me some water.”
While Mu-gung, still dazed, handed over a water bottle, Mu-jin poured protein powder, obtained with the help of the Sichuan Tang Clan, into it and drank it.
“Ah, it tastes awful no matter when I drink it.”
Leaving Mu-gung and Mu-gyeong wondering ‘then why do you drink it,’ Mu-jin began intense weight training.
Among the Zhongnan Sect disciples, who were in tatters after the two-hour grueling training, one of them.
Second-class disciple Byeok-hwan turned his head unconsciously while moving for lunch.
Perhaps it was out of anger towards Mu-jin, thinking ‘What is that bastard doing now?’
And what he saw was Mu-jin lifting a massive piece of iron in the center of the Grand Training Ground.
After undergoing that hellish training for two hours with them, he was now lifting such a monstrous piece of iron alone?
The uncharacteristically non-Daoist exclamation was not Byeok-hwan’s.
It was just the exclamation of one of those who, like him, turned back without much thought.
Maybe because of his voice, more people turned to look at Mu-jin.
“……Isn’t it just that it looks big on the outside?”
There were suspicious voices, but those suspicions were soon shattered.
Even though Mu-jin placed the iron down gently, a heavy thud resonated.
Mu-jin kept lifting and placing down the massive iron pieces.
At some point, the Zhongnan Sect disciples stopped walking and just watched.
As the watching continued for a while.
Mu-jin, who finished lifting, suddenly took a stance for a punch.
And when Mu-jin thrust his fist out.
Something destructive burst from his fist.
‘……How can he show such a technique to the disciples of another sect so casually.’
Such a thought came to Byeok-hwan’s mind for a moment before he shook his head.
It wasn’t that he showed it casually. It was the mindset that it didn’t matter if he showed it.
‘……It’s the confidence that even if they know, they can’t stop it!’
So what should a Zhongnan Sect disciple like himself do?
Zhongnan Sect’s martial arts are now known and thus ineffective?
‘If they know it, I just need to make it impenetrable.’ Content originally comes from noᴠelfire.net
Realizing how pathetic he had been, just as Mu-jin had said, Byeok-hwan vowed to change.