Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 23

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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 23. Have you ever heard of the Man Ryu Gwi Jong?
Jang So Pal spoke hurriedly, wiping scattered food debris from around him.
“Keep your voice down. If Wang O finds out, we’re both done for.”
“Who is Wang O?”
“Wang O from the fourth cohort. He was with Dan earlier this morning.”
“Oh right? I’m a bit scattered today. Who’s Go?”
“Go Wol from the fourth cohort. He’s the strongest among them—an instructor at the Seonmun Training Hall. Yesterday Go Wol was teaching Dan, remember?”
“Oh, was he?”
Dan, are you joking around right now?”
“No, I’m not.”
“You don’t remember what happened yesterday and today? This is driving me crazy.”
“People forget things sometimes. Why are you making such a fuss about it?”
“But this isn’t just forgetfulness. What about the Baekryu Dobeop? Did you forget that completely too?”
“The Baekryu Dobeop? I’ve already acquired that.”
……
Jang So Pal stared at Dan Yeop with a bewildered expression.
He couldn’t even remember the person who taught him these techniques yesterday and today, yet claimed to have fully acquired the Baekryu Dobeop.
‘Is he insane?’
Jang So Pal had watched from a distance all morning—Dan couldn’t execute even one move properly—yet here he was spouting this nonsense.
This had crossed the line from mere bluffing.
Jang So Pal leaned back, no longer interested in continuing the conversation.
At that moment, someone placed a hand on the crown of Jang So Pal’s head and spoke.
“Unbelievable—all the worst fools from Byungma Chong gathered in one place. But what did you just say? That you’ve acquired the Baekryu Dobeop?”
At the sound of Wang O’s voice from above, Jang So Pal stiffened like a board.
Dan Yeop met the newcomer’s eyes with a serene expression.
“Who are you?”
“Who am I? This is ridiculous. I spent the whole morning teaching you the Baekryu Dobeop, and now you’re playing dumb?”
“Ah! Are you Wang O? Fourth cohort?”
“Yeah, I’m Wang O. But is it true you just said you’ve acquired the Baekryu Dobeop? I didn’t mishear that, did I?”
“Yeah, that’s right. But shouldn’t you speak more formally to a senior? Where are you from? Is there no hierarchy there? Is everyone just friends with everyone?”
At Dan Yeop’s provocation, the Dining Hall fell silent.
In the Jianghu, Hao Moon maintains strict hierarchy.
Moreover, the mutual respect between the Six Sects rivaled even the Five Peaks Sword Sect.
This was why Dunae Dan Yeop, the former sect leader of Amun, had used formal speech with a mere servant of the Cha Sect.
It might have been different if only the two of them were present—
But no matter who Wang O was, speaking informally before trainees from the Six Sects was a mistake.
The faces of the trainees from Amun and Seonmun immediately darkened.
Amun bristled at Wang O’s words; Seonmun at Dan Yeop’s.
As the atmosphere grew tense, Gu Gyo Eon, a fourth-cohort trainee, lightly jabbed Wang O in the ribs.
Wang O belatedly realized he’d lost his temper and forgotten both time and place.
He wanted to put Dan Yeop in his place, but there were too many eyes watching.
“Ah, it must be my fault for picking up bad speech habits while instructing you. But to acquire the Baekryu Dobeop—a technique famous for its infinite variations—in just two days? That’s extraordinary. I heard it took the Master fourteen years to acquire the Cheonji Dobeop, but I suppose the rumors were wrong?”
“Wang O.”
“Yes?”
“It’s true—it took me fourteen years to acquire the Cheonji Dobeop.”
“But a person like you……”
“Hold on, I haven’t finished speaking yet. Have you ever heard of the Man Ryu Gwi Jong?”
“The Man Ryu Gwi Jong?”
“Yes. No matter how many rivers flow, they all meet in the sea eventually. Once you achieve Complete Mastery in one thing, you come to understand that ten thousand things are the same.”
“What the—! You mean, if you achieve Complete Mastery in the Cheonji Dobeop, you can acquire the Baekryu Dobeop in just two days?”
“You—did you achieve Complete Mastery in the Cheonji Dobeop or not?”
“I’ve acquired it, but I wouldn’t call it Complete Mastery.”
“I spent fourteen years training to achieve Complete Mastery. If you’ve never mastered anything yourself, don’t speak. That’s what Man Ryu Gwi Jong means.”
“I still don’t believe you.”
“Believe what you want. Stop questioning me. I’m not finished eating yet.”
Dan Yeop scooped up a spoonful of mutton soup and slipped it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.
Wang O stood motionless, grinding his teeth.
“Don’t tell lies that’ll be exposed right away. A person who took fourteen years to acquire the Cheonji Dobeop acquiring the Baekryu Dobeop in two days? That makes no sense whatsoever.”
“I didn’t acquire it over fourteen years—I achieved Complete Mastery. Are you disrespecting Jeommun’s Cheonji Dobeop right now? Is Seonmun’s Baekryu Dobeop supreme under heaven?”
This time, the expressions of the trainees from Jeommun hardened.
Cheonji Dobeop was already treated like yesterday’s leftovers at Byungma Chong.
Yet Dan Yeop claimed that once you achieved Complete Mastery of Cheonji Dobeop, Baekryu Dobeop would be easy.
In theory, that might hold water.
The problem was that no one had ever reached Complete Mastery of Cheonji Dobeop, so there was no proof.
If someone said “even so, it doesn’t work,” that would be disrespecting Cheonji Dobeop itself.
In that moment, Wang O’s opinion of Dan Yeop shifted from merely foolish to outright deranged.
‘What? Fourteen years to master Cheonji Dobeop?’
He spoke with such utter conviction that it almost seemed plausible.
‘No, that’s insane. I know this bastard’s head is cracked.’
He forced himself to take a breath and calm down.
Dan Yeop’s words had a certain sheen to them, but they concealed a fatal flaw.
The flaw was this: he would need to achieve Complete Mastery of Cheonji Dobeop AND learn Baekryu Dobeop.
“Are you telling me you’ve achieved Complete Mastery of Cheonji Dobeop? I can’t believe that.”
“Believe it or don’t—that’s your problem. What are you, Wang O? Are you an instructor for Jeommun? Why are you bothering someone in the middle of their meal?”
Unable to contain himself any longer at Dan Yeop’s brazen tone, Wang O finally snapped.
He brought both palms down hard against the table and shouted.
“Bullshit! You delusional bastard! Stop spouting lies! I don’t believe you’ve mastered Cheonji Dobeop! I don’t believe you’ve learned Baekryu Dobeop either! Treat you as a senior? Forget it, you piece of trash! I’ll complete my Graduation Test a full ten years before you—why should I show you respect? If you’ve truly mastered Cheonji Dobeop and learned Baekryu Dobeop, then fine, I’ll treat you as a senior. But if everything you’ve said so far is a lie, then you’re nothing but a crackbrained idiot!”
“Oh my, what a scare. Why is our Wang O so angry all of a sudden? You don’t believe me? Let me show you the Cheonji Dobeop. Watch carefully.”
As he spoke, Dan Yeop began twirling the Wooden Spoon he was holding in various directions.
The Cheonji Dobeop he unfolded with only a twist of his wrist on the table looked like child’s play to anyone watching.
“Cheon Roe Nak Cham, Hoeng So San Jeol….”
“Damn it! You playing games?”
Unable to bear it any longer, Wang O swung his palm at the spoon.
But his hand swept through empty air.
In the same instant, Dan Yeop slipped lightly backward and flicked the spoon with a subtle motion.
“Pung Un Sang Hwa!”
Wheee—!
The Wooden Spoon spun at high speed, completing a full circle around Wang O’s upper body.
Startled, Wang O flailed his hand at the spinning spoon as if swatting a fly.
Crack—!
“Ugh!”
His hand stung as though seared by flame, and Wang O immediately withdrew it.
Whoosh—!
The Wooden Spoon grazed past Wang O’s back of the head and returned smoothly to Dan Yeop’s hand.
Click.
Dan Yeop caught the Wooden Spoon as casually as if nothing had happened.
“See? Once you achieve Complete Mastery of Cheonji Dobeop, you can do Pung Un Sang Hwa like that.”
Wang O’s face went rigid as he looked at his own hand.
The back of it was split open in a long, clean line as if slashed by a blade.
‘What the—how is this even….’
Wang O was too shocked to speak.
He couldn’t believe that a wooden spoon used for scooping broth could inflict such damage.
As Wang O stood there blinking in disbelief, Dan Yeop spoke to him.
“Still don’t believe I’ve achieved Complete Mastery of Cheonji Dobeop? Want me to show you again?”
“I, I believe you.”
“Wang O.”
“Yes?”
“I’ve talked so much because of you that my mouth is parched. Bring me some water.”
“Yes, of course.”
Overwhelmed by Dan Yeop’s presence, Wang O turned without another word.
He didn’t even realize he had just become the first trainee to fetch water for Dan Yeop.
After a moment, Wang O returned with the water, and Dan Yeop drank it down without hesitation, gulping greedily.
“Ah, refreshing. Wang O.”
“Yes?”
“Now you understand the terror of Cheonji Dobeop, don’t you?”
“Yes….”
“You have good manners. It’s pleasant to see. There’s a certain charm to your docility.”
“….”
Shame burned hot across Wang O’s face, yet he couldn’t bring himself to rage.
He was completely cowed by that final move Dan Yeop had demonstrated.
“Go on and see.”
At the order, Wang O bowed his head deeply and hurried away.
Jang So Pal, who had been watching in a daze, asked cautiously.
“Um, senior, did you really achieve Complete Mastery of the Cheonji Dobeop?”
“I don’t lie.”
“If you achieve Complete Mastery of the Cheonji Dobeop, can you really deploy the Pung Un Sang Hwa like you do?”
“Of course. It’d be strange if you couldn’t.”
“Really?”
“Have you done nothing but live deceived your whole life? Why won’t you believe what people tell you? It’s easier than drinking water.”
Dan Yeop flicked the Wooden Spoon again as if to prove it.
Ping!
Whoooosh!
With a sound like a wasp flying off, the Wooden Spoon spiraled across the table surface and returned.
Dan Yeop recovered the Wooden Spoon, his face brimming with satisfaction.
“See? Once you understand the subtlety of the three forms of the Pung Un Sang Hwa, it’s not difficult at all.”
“Wow! Now I see how incredible the Cheonji Dobeop really is!”
“Truth is naturally simple.”
“Senior, I admire you.”
Jang So Pal gazed at Dan Yeop with shining eyes.
The Cheonji Dobeop was a representative lower-tier martial art among the techniques of Hao Moon.
That such feats were possible with a mere lower-tier technique!
The thought that ‘Hao Moon’s martial arts become truly great when mastered to Complete Mastery!’ swelled his heart with pride.
The feat Dan Yeop had displayed in the Dining Hall spread rapidly among the trainees.
—Dan Yeop achieved Complete Mastery of the Cheonji Dobeop after fourteen years.
—With Complete Mastery of the Cheonji Dobeop, one can deploy three forms as a fenceless technique.
—Wang O, startled by Dan Yeop’s feat, lost bladder control.
—Frightened Wang O served as Dan Yeop’s errand boy.
The claim that ‘Wang O lost bladder control’ was a malicious slander, but it spread because many harbored ill will toward Wang O.
Yet not everyone believed in Dan Yeop’s achievement.
Still, most accepted as fact that Dan Yeop had displayed the feat and that Wang O had been frightened by it.
***
Afternoon training time.
Amun Training Hall.
Instructor Dan Bul Wi, spotting Dan Yeop, looked at him with hopeful eyes.
Sure enough.
From the lips of Dan Yeop as he approached came the title he had been longing to hear.
“Father, how long has it been since I returned?”
“Since I met Dunae Dan Yeop yesterday morning, it’s been a day and a half.”
“He said he was tormented by Wang O all morning at the Seonmun Training Hall. It seems likely to continue in the afternoon, so he must have passed the burden to me.”
“So that’s how it was. By the way, that scar on your neck…”
“Yes, what did he say about it?”
“I asked, but he evaded answering. I could sense the wound ran deep in his heart. Nine times out of ten, it must have been inflicted by someone close to him.”
“It might not have been his parents. He could have been living with grandparents or other relatives.”
Dan Yeop, who had learned about the world through books, could not easily accept that parents were responsible.
Instructor Dan Bul Wi did not contradict him, as it was a matter he did not understand.
“There’s little more I can do about that matter, I’m afraid.”
“Yes, thank you for your efforts.”
Dan Yeop did not press further.
He sensed that once his connection with Dunae Dan Yeop deepened, the truth would reveal itself naturally.
“By the way, there may be a Graduation Test held this winter.”
“That’s soon. Are conditions outside that dire?”
“They’re growing worse by the day. There’s even talk of hiring ronins.”
“Even if we count the Byungma Chong trainees, there wouldn’t be many immediately usable numbers.”
“Still, the Byungma Chong trainees excel above ordinary Hao Moon disciples. Haven’t they been locked away training in martial arts for eight or nine years?”
“It sounds like they’re struggling so much they’re resorting to drafting children… Can they really bring the Hao Moon across all Ten Paths under unified control that way?”
Dan Yeop looked at Instructor Dan Bul Wi with puzzlement.
He had thought Hao Moon held overwhelming power throughout the region, but it seemed otherwise.

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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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