Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 22

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 22. Touching the Truth Beyond All Difficulties
While Dan Yeop was lost in sweet reverie of reuniting with Baek Yuhwa, someone called out to him.
“Senior.”
Startled, Dan Yeop turned around.
Gwan Gujong, a fourth-year student, stood before him with an awkward smile.
“Oh? What is it……?”
“I heard you’ve mastered the Chenji Swordsmanship. Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
“So you’ll be training in the Chilsang Swordsmanship now?”
“No, I’m not.”
“You’re not?”
“Yeah, I’m learning the Baekryou Swordsmanship.”
Gwan Gujong’s eyes widened in surprise.
“The Baekryou Swordsmanship? Why?”
“It seems to suit me better.”
“But you’re from Amun, aren’t you? Shouldn’t you be training in the Chilsang Swordsmanship if you’re going to advance in Amun?”
“I’m not going to Amun.”
“What? Then where are you going?”
Gwan Gujong looked at Dan Yeop with bewilderment.
He had assumed that as an adopted son of Instructor Dan Bulwi, Dan Yeop would naturally advance to Amun—yet he was saying he wouldn’t?
“I’m staying here. Why do you ask?”
“Ah, I’m from Amun, you see? So I was hoping to build some connection with you, Senior. But now that you’re not going to Amun…….”
Within Amun, Instructor Dan Bulwi was rising as a new force to be reckoned with.
At Hao Moon, connections with the strong are power itself.
Gwan Gujong’s sudden approach to Dan Yeop was nothing more than a strategic investment in his network.
“……Then take a rest.”
Gwan Gujong, standing there with an awkward expression, turned and left without hesitation.
Dan Yeop was no fool.
Having guessed the true purpose behind Gwan Gujong’s sudden visit, he smiled bitterly.
To be treated with respect at Hao Moon, one must grow strong.
Before, he had abandoned the effort despite struggling endlessly, but now things were different.
‘An investment, then?’
If he was ever to hold his head high before Baek Yuhwa, he would need to invest heavily in himself.
Dan Yeop opened the book containing the Banya Heart Method and began to read.
The next day.
When morning training began, Dan Yeop headed to the Seonmun Training Hall.
He knew that practicing the Banya Heart Method would be more effective, but the human heart is not so easily reasoned with.
He did not want to surrender his time to an Inner Demon.
A genius who claimed mastery of all six schools’ martial arts had written him letters begging for graduation—only to have them rejected out of stupidity.
The Inner Demon would not grant his wishes.
Knowing that the other party was an Inner Demon, it was hardly surprising.
He had been foolish to ask for help without understanding this.
Though he tried not to dwell on the misery and shame, his resentment toward the Inner Demon only deepened.
Awakening the Inner Demon would certainly bring a leap forward in martial prowess, but this was precisely why he chose to go to the Seonmun Training Hall instead.
‘I cannot entrust my life to an Inner Demon just because it would be easy and quick.’
Entering the Seonmun Training Hall, Dan Yeop renewed his resolve.
Seonmun Training Hall.
Instructor So Yugang showed Dan Yeop far less interest than he had the day before.
He had already learned enough about Dan Yeop.
In his eyes, Dan Yeop was not the fool the rumors made him out to be, but neither was he capable of mastering the Baekryou Swordsmanship.
He was marginally better than someone slashing blindly—and that was being generous.
Hao Moon had many such students, so there was no reason to single him out.
“First form, Sucheon Chu!”
With Go Wol’s lead chant, Baekryou Swordsmanship training began.
Dan Yeop diligently followed the others, swinging his Straight Sword.
Despite countless practice sessions the day before, he was already confused by the first form.
He struggled merely to imitate the others in this form, and from the third form onward, he fell hopelessly behind.
Fear of being struck by another trainee’s blade drove his retreat.
Once the third form ended, about half the trainees moved to safer ground.
Only the fourth-year students continued on to the fourth form.
After completing the fourth set of Suun Hoe, he moved on to staged training.
Dan Yeop mixed in among the trainees practicing the first set.
Just then, Wang O, a fourth-year student, approached him.
“Dan Yeop, want me to give you one-on-one instruction?”
He spoke casually from the start, but Dan Yeop pretended not to hear.
“Oh? Yeah, thanks.”
As Dan Yeop emerged from among the trainees, Wang O led him to a corner off to the side.
Soon after, Wang O demonstrated the first set of Sucheon Chu rapidly, then spoke.
“See? Give it a try.”
Halfway through the first set, Dan Yeop stopped.
“Left once, right once—you’ve got to strike upward diagonally from below. The water has to rise to the sky first, or it won’t fall as rain!”
“Ah, right……”
Dan Yeop drew his Straight Sword left and right, striking upward diagonally, then stopped again.
“What comes next—you don’t know? Wow, this is no joke. You’re even worse than Jang Sopa.”
Wang O’s mouth fell open.
Jang Sopa was the least talented trainee among the fourth-year students.
The fourth-years called Jang Sopa an idiot, but Dan Yeop was even worse than that.
“Watch carefully! Do it like this.”
“Why did you stop again? I just showed you how a moment ago!”
“Damn it! Are you doing this on purpose? The direction’s backwards!”
“Strike upward from below! The water rises first—how many times do I have to say it!”
“Hey, you hardhead! Then it becomes rain and crashes down! Top to bottom!”
Wang O’s scolding echoed through the Training Hall all morning long.
The eyes of the trainees watching Dan Yeop shifted gradually.
At last, the morning training session ended.
Dan Yeop left the Seonmun Training Hall and trudged back to his quarters.
His head felt foggy from being hectored by Wang O all morning.
Unlike the gentle Go Wol, Wang O drove him like a madman.
He felt like an idiot.
Though he’d received instruction, he felt he’d actually fallen behind from yesterday.
As he passed the fourth-year dormitory, he heard Wang O’s voice from inside.
“I’m right, aren’t I? Dan Yeop’s genuinely thick-headed, I’m telling you. Compared to Dan Yeop, Jang Sopa’s a genius. It took Jang Sopa about two years to learn the first set? Dan Yeop’s gonna need four years—I’ll stake my left hand on it.”
“Really that bad?”
“Hah! Dan Yeop’s not even human. Why else would his nickname be Stone Monkey? He gets called senior at Byeongma Chong, but once he hits Kangho, he won’t even be able to look those guys in the eye.”
“He couldn’t even look straight here.”
“Exactly, damn it! I don’t know what Ha Yongwol sees in that bastard.”
“Dan Yeop’s got a handsome face though. Women care more about a man’s looks.”
“Damn it, I should’ve joined Gimun instead of Seonmun.”
“What does that matter? After graduation, you can just go to Hongyeon Dan where Ha Yongwol is.”
“Oh, right. I could go to Hongyeon Dan. Yeah, I’m going to Hongyeon Dan. Damn.”
“Wait, you’re not harassing Dan Yeop because of Ha Yongwol, are you?”
“Harass? I’m trying to make a human out of Stone Monkey.”
“What if Amun notices you doing this?”
“Then we have a little match. Besides, Dan Yeop seems to go around alone. Amun probably doesn’t pay any attention to him either, right? They were quiet even when he was getting beaten by third-years.”
“That may be, but still be careful. It looks like even Amun’s started treating Dan Yeop as a senior these days.”
“Beating him without fists, cutting him down with words—that’s fine. If he’s got any sense, he won’t ask me to teach him. Until then, I’m gonna mess with him real good. Guys who seduce women with their faces need to get their asses handed to them.”
“Either way, the moment Amun hears about this, back off. Getting on the wrong side of Amun will screw you over.”
“Of course. But man, Dan Yeop’s grown a lot. Until last year he was a complete pushover, but now I gotta worry about Amun’s reaction.”
“Isn’t Master Dan Bulwi looking after him? If not for Master Dan, those hot-headed Amun kids wouldn’t give him a second glance.”
“Ah, damn. I wish I had some backing like that too……”
When Dan Yeop heard footsteps behind him, he quickly hurried into his own quarters.
He’d thought Wang O was being harsh, but now that he understood the reason, he felt deflated.
‘He wasn’t trying to help me at all—he was harassing me because of Ha Yongwol.’
Suddenly, he remembered something Ma Eunrok, a second-year student, had said to him before graduation.
―You dared to meet with Ha Yongwol, so when I graduate, you’ll die by my hand.
That day he’d gotten slapped across the face and his mouth had split open, leaving him in pain for several days afterward.
‘Sigh! I have no relationship with Ha Yongwol at all……”
The more he thought about it, the more exasperated he felt.
For a while, he’d wanted to practice Baekryou Swordsmanship in the Seonmun Training Hall, but now he couldn’t muster the courage to go back there.
Blank-faced, he sat with his eyes fixed toward the head of his bed.
Dan Yeop rose from his seat and retrieved the Banya Heart Method Manual from beneath his pillow.
To master the Baekryou Swordsmanship quickly, there was no choice but to summon the Inner Demon.
“Is this the will of heaven……?”
He studied the Banya Heart Method carefully, then climbed onto his bed and settled into the lotus position.
Since the Inner Demon would find him the moment he began cultivating his internal energy anyway, there was no need to seek out some hidden place.
Suddenly, the mantra from the Banya Heart Method flashed through his mind.
―When one truly perceives the emptiness at the heart of all things, one transcends every obstacle and touches that reality.
Every obstacle—what does that mean?
Wang O’s harassment?
The Inner Demon gnawing away at his very life?
The terrifying memories of his mother, who tried to kill him at any moment without warning?
Reaching that thought, he drew in a deep breath.
A long, slow exhale.
A flash of light.
Dan Yeop’s eyes opened slowly.
Unlike any other time when he felt nothing, his heart now seemed strangely hollow, and it unsettled him.
Still in the lotus position, he observed as his mind drifted.
After a moment, when his thoughts had fully settled, he descended from the bed.
“What happened?”
As Dan Yeop tilted his head in confusion, his stomach growled audibly.
“What? Am I starving?”
He went outside first to get a sense of the time.
Seeing trainees gathered in front of the dining hall, it seemed to be mealtime.
Before heading to the dining hall, Dan Yeop checked the Byeongma Chong first.
The bright sunlight suggested it was almost certainly midday.
‘That slow-witted Dan Yeop called me without even eating?’
If the situation weren’t that urgent, it meant he’d lost his appetite.
‘Given the atmosphere among the trainees, it seems like the latter…….’
The turmoil in his heart the moment he woke must have stemmed from that.
“Hah! I’m grateful, at least.”
Dan Yeop decided to eat first, then seek out the instructor Dan Bulwi.
He was curious how many days he’d been asleep, but more importantly, he needed to ask who had made the scar on his neck.
***
Byeongma Chong dining hall.
When Dan Yeop received a flatbread made of flour and mutton soup, he carelessly settled into a nearby empty seat.
As he tore the flatbread into small pieces, dropped them into the soup, and sucked them up with a wooden spoon, the trainee across from him kept staring.
“What?”
Jang Sopa, a fourth-generation trainee sitting across from him, glanced around before speaking in a low voice.
“Ask Go, not Wang, to teach you.”
“Teach me what?”
“The Baekryou Swordsmanship.”
“Oh, did I practice the Baekryou Swordsmanship this morning?”
“What?”
Jang Sopa stared at Dan Yeop, wondering what he meant.
“I’m asking if I practiced the Baekryou Swordsmanship this morning.”
“Yes…….”
At that moment, Jang Sopa regretted speaking to Dan Yeop at all.
As someone who’d also suffered at Wang O’s hands, he’d offered advice out of sympathy, but now it seemed like this man had a serious problem upstairs.
‘Damn. This guy doesn’t even remember what he did this morning?’
Dan Yeop nodded while sipping the mutton soup.
“Hmm, it’s a bit salty. The Baekryou Swordsmanship is decent, though. Are you learning it too?”
“I’ve completed up through the fourth form.”
“Oh! That’s impressive. Are you a fourth-generation trainee by any chance?”
“Yes.”
“Your name.”
“You mean me?”
Rather than answer immediately, Jang Sopa asked back, his tone dismissive. A man who couldn’t even remember his own morning activities—where did he get off…….
Couldn’t remember what he’d done this morning.
“Is there anyone else here I’m talking to besides you?”
“Jang Sopa.”
“So you’re Sopa. Are you from Seonmun?”
“Yes.”
Jang Sopa gave a terse reply and buried his face in his meal, focusing intently on eating.
Uncomfortable in this setting, he harbored only one thought: finish quickly and leave.
“But Sopa, why did you ask to study under Go instead of Wang?”
“Hack, cough!”
Startled, Jang Sopa inhaled sharply and choked, spraying food across the table.
The commotion drew the eyes of every trainee nearby toward Jang Sopa and Dan Yeop.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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