Chapter 109
"So you're saying you can't get any inside information?"
Taeseokgwan, the Cold Sword of the Huashan Sect, said, touching his forehead as if he was frustrated. Baek Seokhu sighed and pleaded.
"That Mok Wigun guy has gotten rid of all the people who were cooperating with our Baek family. We've also suffered a great loss."
"Hmph. That's right. To think that guy would do such a thing using the Chang'an magistrate."
"That's what I'm saying. He must have made a good impression while treating the magistrate's mother."
Taeseokgwan and Baek Seokhu sighed at the same time. It was because they were frustrated that they couldn't get any inside information on the Zhongnan Sect. Shouldn't they know what's going on to prepare or plan something?
"Lady Jang. How is the work you said you would proceed with?"
Lady Jang was in charge of getting information by putting a new spy inside the Zhongnan Sect. But her expression was not good either.
"It's not easy. They're not letting people in easily at Zhongnan these days..."
Zhongnan was in a state where it didn't need many people right away. After excommunicating so many people, there was rather a surplus of manpower. So it was not easy to put people in.
Besides, since they were so strict in inspecting the people they let in, it was not easy to put in a spy.
"This is really... Nothing is going right."
Taeseokgwan expressed his annoyance. That's understandable, he came here to pay back the disgrace he had suffered at Mount Xiaohua. But so far, nothing had gone as he had intended. Rather, the Zhongnan Sect was even showing signs of revival.
"Even if the sealing of the gate is out of the question, there shouldn't be any setbacks in the matter of being excluded from the Nine Sects One Gang."
"Shouldn't we not worry about that? There's nothing that has been newly reinforced..."
Although Lady Jang said there would be no problem, Taeseokgwan and Baek Seokhu had different thoughts. Because whenever Mok Wigun got involved, something unexpected always happened.
"Lady Jang. This is not the time to be so carefree. We have to find out what they're preparing for right now."
Baek Seokhu was desperate. How much money had he spent here so far? If this fails, the Baek family is really finished. So the Zhongnan Sect must be eliminated in the Heavenly Martial Arts Assembly West Academy preliminaries.
"I wish I could check their skills."
Although the possibility was small, he couldn't be at ease. Because Mok Wigun and the Light Wind Unit had intervened. Whenever he got involved with those guys, a problem always arose.
"Ah. How about this?"
Baek Seokhu slapped his knee as if he had just had a good idea.
"Do you have a good plan?"
"I think there's a way to find out their skills."
Baek Seokhu said that there was a place that had had a sect battle with the Zhongnan Sect at last year's Heavenly Martial Arts Assembly, and that he knew that place well.
"It's a place called Changhyeon Martial Arts Hall, which is a little famous on the Hamyang side. And they won against the Zhongnan Sect last year."
"So?"
"Wouldn't it be possible to have them have a practice match with the Zhongnan Sect by talking to them?"
If it works, they will be able to find out the opponent's skills.
"But will Zhongnan accept that proposal?"
There's no reason for the Zhongnan Sect to do that. Taeseokgwan's question was natural. At that, Baek Seokhu added an explanation.
"There are some circumstances."
It was that he had helped the Zhongnan Sect when they were in various difficulties last year.
"So if we talk about that and suggest a spar as a preparation for the competition, they won't be able to refuse."
"Well. Given the personality of the Zhongnan Sect leader, I guess so."
And so, the movement to find out the skills of the Zhongnan Sect's Heavenly Martial Arts Assembly participants began.
* * *
"From today, we'll also have to add actual combat sparring."
At Mok Wigun's words, Pyon Juksu was surprised.
"Are you okay? Won't it be tough just to watch the first stage?"
At those words, Mok Wigun looked at Pyon Juksu as if he was saying something strange.
"The actual combat sparring should be done by other people, not me."
"Who?"
"I've called all the Light Wind Unit kids. They said they'll arrive today, so we have to start right away."
Pyon Juksu said he was relieved then.
"They'll do well."
Mok Wigun, who was watching the happy Pyon Juksu, said.
"What are you talking about? You have to do it too."
"Me too? Why me?"
"You know the martial arts of the Zhongnan Sect well."
Pyon Juksu knows the martial arts of the Zhongnan Sect well. On top of that, his martial arts are high, and he doesn't get tired easily. So he is the right person for this job. The Light Wind Unit is a role to gain experience through sparring, but Pyon Juksu is a role to give guidance.
"I have a lot to do. And I'm not really into teaching..."
"It's an emergency situation, so I can't help it."
There is no time to go through the stages step by step like the Light Wind Unit. They have to be pushed hard and survive on their own.
"You know how to teach them not to repeat the same mistake, right?"
"Well. I know. I've tried it a few times following you."
"You just have to do that. The guy who adapts will survive, and if not, he'll be eliminated."
"Ah. It's really annoying... I have things to research too..."
Although Pyon Juksu grumbled, he reluctantly agreed to do it. It was because he knew that Mok Wigun was teaching the kids without a break, so he couldn't refuse.
And after a while, news came that the rest of the Light Wind Unit executives had arrived.
"You came at a good time. Let's start right away."
Mok Wigun met with all the Light Wind Unit executives. The guys who had come today were smiling all over their faces, as if they were happy to have left the Demon Dragon Manor and come here. Mok Wigun told them what they had to do.
"So we're gaining actual combat experience in preparation for the Heavenly Martial Arts Assembly."
"Then we just have to do it like a spar in a competition, right?"
That's right. For that, he had even made a sparring ground in the training ground that was exactly the same as the one used at the Heavenly Martial Arts Assembly. And Mok Wigun told them not to go easy on them at all.
"To improve in a short period of time, you have to fight with a tough opponent."
"But if we use all our skills, the match won't work."
Still, they have to do that.
"If you go easy on them, you'll get tired first. And they have to be shocked at first. Don't you think they also have to feel what a master is like?"
The second-generation disciples of the Zhongnan Sect had more than one or two problems. One of them was that they lacked proper experience. Because no one had been able to pay proper attention to them. So they went to the Heavenly Martial Arts Assembly every year and were eliminated every time.
The only thing Mok Wigun asked for was to make sure they didn't get injured.
"I understand. Let's warm up a bit."
And so, Mok Wigun, the Light Wind Unit, and Pyon Juksu moved to the training ground. And Mok Wigun delivered the changed content to the second-generation disciples. At that, sighs came out from here and there.
"Phew. It's hard enough to receive internal energy guidance, but how can we do actual combat sparring too?"
"If it's the Light Wind Unit and Physician Pyon, aren't they all amazing masters? The difference is so big, will it even be effective?"
They all seemed worried. Mok Wigun, who saw that, shouted.
"Anyone who doesn't want to do it can quit."
But no one gave up. They were all thirsty. A thirst for not having received proper training or guidance so far. The disciples who didn't feel such a thirst had already all left.
"Alright. Then let's start."
A group of five or six people trains with the instructor in front. The instructors are the seven Light Wind Unit members, Pyon Juksu, and Mok Wigun. These nine people.
The training time is one hour. After training, they rest for a while and then move on to the next instructor. It's a process of repeating this continuously. But when they actually started, the most motivated was Pyon Juksu.
"Your waist is empty."
"Ugh!"
Pyon Juksu's finger poked the disciple's waist. At that, the disciple trembled in terrible pain. He had just poked him with his finger, but he felt a pain as if he had been stabbed with an awl.
"When you use that technique, you must always remember that your weakness is exposed in your waist. And you have to strengthen your lower body."
"Ugh."
Another disciple collapsed to the ground. It was because Pyon Juksu had touched his leg. He also felt a tremendous pain in his leg.
"What are you doing? Aren't you all coming?"
Perhaps because of the more severe pain than he had thought. The disciples flinched.
"If you don't come, I will go. It would be better if it doesn't come to that."
Pyon Juksu dealt with five people at the same time and pointed out the weaknesses that were revealed in an instant or the parts that needed to be corrected. But the disciples' expressions became more and more distorted. It was because of the continuous pain.
"There's no time, so I can't help it. And even if I tell you with words, you'll forget it all soon. If you don't experience it directly, you won't feel it to the bone!"
That's why he was deliberately making them feel pain.
"So pull yourselves together and do it. Got it?"
"I understand."
The disciples seemed slightly moved. Because a person they couldn't even look at was giving them such detailed guidance. But that feeling was blown away in an instant.
"Ugh!"
Screams of pain were rampant here and there. It was Pyon Juksu who was giving a truly bone-deep lesson. Mok Wigun, who was watching it from the side, laughed to himself.
'That brat. He's doing exactly what I did.'
It was the method and words that Mok Wigun had used when he was training the royal knights before. Pyon Juksu, who had been impressed by that, was remembering it and using it.
He was doing it properly. You can't do it half-heartedly. You have to make them feel the pain for sure to fix it quickly.
'People are bound to repeat the same mistakes.'
There is no one who understands and fixes everything at once. The key is how much you can reduce that number of times. So you have to tell them accurately and for sure and engrave that lesson into their bones so they will never forget it.
"Aaaah!"
It was very good. A smile naturally formed on Mok Wigun's lips. The disciples who saw that trembled.
"Young Master Mok's expression is strange."
"He's laughing after hearing us in pain."
Mok Wigun, who had heard that, said quietly.
"No chattering! From now on, anyone who chatters will have their training doubled."
* * *
Mok Wigun and Pyon Juksu received a sudden call from the sect leader.
"Changhyeon Martial Arts Hall?"
The sect leader said that a message had come from a place called Changhyeon Martial Arts Hall.
"They were asking if we could have an evaluation match before the competition..."
"Do we have to do it now? The training schedule is already tight."
The sect leader said with a very troubled expression.
"We're in a difficult situation to refuse because we were indebted to them last year."
To be precise, it's okay to refuse. The one who is in a difficult situation is the sect leader's heart.
"Since the situation is like this, it's right to refuse..."
Jeung Yakcheon looked at Pyon Juksu and Mok Wigun's expressions. In fact, if the two of them strongly said no, he would have no choice but to refuse.
But unexpectedly, Pyon Juksu stepped forward.
"I don't think it's the right time. It would be better to refuse..."
Pyon Juksu's words were natural. But in the middle of his story, Mok Wigun suddenly intervened.
"Wait. Let's do it."
The two of them both looked at Mok Wigun as if they were puzzled. Mok Wigun, as if he was thinking of something, brought his finger to his forehead and said.
"It might be good. I think it would be fine to face another place."
(End of Chapter)