The Farmer Who Ended Up Teaching the World’s Greatest Martial Artist - Chapter 13

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

| Chapter 13

“Young Master. Would you like to learn a few martial arts techniques from me?”

“Martial arts? Why all of a sudden…?”

“This is also for your sake, Young Master. Right now, this place…”

So Bi-won, who was about to say ‘Cheonhwangpaeundae might come,’ hesitated. He thought it might be better if Yoo Eun-hyun didn’t know about what was to come.

‘The Thousand-Year Demon Lord will likely send Cheonhwangpaeundae to destroy this place. If he can’t take him directly, he’ll try to create that opportunity by turning this place into ruins. How could he think of such a thing… Amitabha.’

Sa Un-sik’s use of ‘Cheonhwangpaeundae’ as a means was surprising, but if he sought the same benefits as So Bi-won, it was understandable. Wasn’t he too valuable a talent to be stuck in a place like this?

The only problem was that his method was befitting of a Maegyo leader. He had called Jeongeumtae as a precaution, but there was no telling what would happen if they clashed with Cheonhwangpaeundae.

At the very least, he wanted to give Yoo Eun-hyun enough power to protect himself for his safety.

“Dosa-nim?”

When So Bi-won stopped mid-sentence, Yoo Eun-hyun asked as if wondering why, but So Bi-won changed the subject.

“No. The reason I recommend that you learn martial arts, Young Master… is simply because this old man wants to try teaching you once.”

This wasn’t a lie either. Like Sa Un-sik, So Bi-won was also amazed by Yoo Eun-hyun’s abilities and was curious about what would happen if he learned martial arts.

“Hmm…”

And having heard So Bi-won’s words up to that point, Yoo Eun-hyun also fell into thought. He hadn’t had much desire for martial arts, but hearing him say this much made it impossible not to be interested.

Since he had already learned an internal cultivation technique, wouldn’t it be good to also learn martial arts that could utilize it? Even the internal cultivation technique alone had so many uses, so if he learned martial arts too, there would be much more he could do.

‘If I learn martial arts from Dosa-nim, I won’t have to cling to the Master…’

Whether that day would come or not was unknown, but the fact that he wouldn’t have to seek out Sa Un-sik when he wanted to learn martial arts was an attractive enough proposal.

“You don’t need to feel burdened. I’m not asking you to become my disciple, just lightly teaching you a few techniques.”

Hearing that much, even his worry about being tied down after learning just a few techniques had greatly diminished.

It was true that he felt burdened when offered repayment despite never having given anything, but since something had apparently been given, he thought this much would be fine.

“Alright.”

In the end, Yoo Eun-hyun also nodded.

Actually, the decisive reason Yoo Eun-hyun decided to learn martial arts was that Soo Hwa-seon still hadn’t returned.

He had no intention of abandoning his farming and leaving immediately, but if Soo Hwa-seon continued not to return like this, he would have to go look for her.

That meant he would eventually have to go out to the Central Plains, and if so, having some martial arts skills might help with travel.

‘I should prepare for self-defense.’

In the end, Yoo Eun-hyun decided to learn martial arts from So Bi-won.

“The martial art I’ll teach you, Young Master, is called Mu Dong-hwan-mu. It’s this old man’s secret technique.”

“A secret technique? Is it alright to teach such a thing to someone who isn’t even a formal disciple?”

It wasn’t unreasonable for Yoo Eun-hyun to be flustered when So Bi-won, who had said he would teach trivial martial arts, suddenly said he would teach a secret technique.

He had heard that these were martial arts passed down through sects or individuals for generations, and weren’t taught to anyone who wasn’t a direct disciple.

“Hehe. Don’t worry. This old man only knows Mu Dong-hwan-mu, so I’m teaching this… but Mu Dong-hwan-mu cannot display its true power without its paired internal cultivation technique, Hwandong Simgong.”

Usually, martial arts with special abilities like flame techniques or ice techniques required special internal cultivation methods that could build the appropriate internal energy.

“But I’ve learned a different internal cultivation technique?”

Actually, Yoo Eun-hyun didn’t know what internal cultivation technique he had learned from Sa Un-sik, but it definitely wasn’t the Hwandong Simgong that So Bi-won mentioned.

“That’s why it would only be a part.”

“Will I be able to use it properly? It’s the same with farming – if you learn something half-heartedly, it’s worse than not learning at all… If you’re going to touch crops wrong and kill them all, it’s better to just leave them alone and they’ll grow better.”

No matter how partial it was, a part that couldn’t be used was worse than nothing, so Yoo Eun-hyun’s doubt was natural.

“Hehe. You’re right, Young Master. But what you learn depends on how you use it, doesn’t it?”

“That’s true too.”

If what he learned turned out to be mediocre, he just wouldn’t use it. There was nothing bad about learning it for now.

“And the techniques I’ll teach are only three basic techniques out of a total of twelve. The others couldn’t be used even if taught without learning Hwandong Simgong.”

“Three…”

“But you don’t need to worry. If they’re basic techniques, even if you’ve learned a different internal cultivation technique, you might be able to reach first-class martial artist level with consistent training.”

“How long is this ‘consistent’ training?”

“If you train for about 30 years, it might be possible. Hehehe.”

At So Bi-won’s laughing words, Yoo Eun-hyun naturally made a disgusted expression.

Thirty years was almost a lifetime. If he trained martial arts for that long, it seemed like he could reach first-class level with any martial art that wasn’t truly useless third-rate stuff, not just what So Bi-won was teaching.

Anyway, hearing this, it seemed the secret technique wasn’t something to think too seriously about.

Yoo Eun-hyun nodded and listened to So Bi-won’s words again.

“Mu Dong-hwan-mu is basically a martial art that uses weapons, but its characteristic is that there are no restrictions on those weapons. Simply put, it’s a unique martial art that can be performed with any weapon.”

“Then can’t it be used without weapons?”

Yoo Eun-hyun’s question was a natural progression. So Bi-won smiled and answered his question.

“How could that be? Young Master isn’t a martial artist so you wouldn’t know, but for martial artists, fists, feet, legs, even the head become excellent weapons. Mu Dong-hwan-mu’s characteristic is flexibility that can be used under any conditions, so there’s no problem even without weapons.”

“Even with things like these?”

At So Bi-won’s words, Yoo Eun-hyun picked up an axe and sickle that were nearby. So Bi-won nodded as if it were obvious.

“Of course. Axes and sickles are also excellent weapons.”

“I see.”

“Then what do you think it should be like to apply to everything?”

At So Bi-won’s question, Yoo Eun-hyun fell into thought.

As far as Yoo Eun-hyun knew, martial arts were specialized for specific weapons.

But since So Bi-won’s Mu Dong-hwan-mu wasn’t like that, it was certainly a unique martial art that Yoo Eun-hyun couldn’t help but be quite interested in.

“Should it become like water? If it’s like water that changes shape to fit wherever it’s placed, it could become anything.”

Since water was also important in farming, Yoo Eun-hyun thought of what was most familiar to him. And at such an answer from Yoo Eun-hyun, So Bi-won’s eye wrinkles twitched slightly.

“Oho, indeed… About half of that is accurate. To be more precise, it’s formless. Because it has no form, it can be converted into anything.”

“So that’s why you can use any weapon?”

“To be precise, it doesn’t matter what weapon you use, but that should be enough for you, Young Master. Now, shall we begin?”

When Yoo Eun-hyun nodded at So Bi-won’s question, So Bi-won stepped back slightly to make more space. Before he knew it, he was holding an appropriately sized tree branch he had picked up nearby.

“First, the first series technique. Explosive Vertical-Horizontal.”

Despite the grandiose name of the technique, So Bi-won simply slowly swung the branch vertically once and horizontally once.

Naturally expecting something more to follow, Yoo Eun-hyun stared at So Bi-won with a stupid expression for a moment before asking back.

“Is that all?”

“Hehe. Like this old man did, the question from those who first encounter Explosive Vertical-Horizontal remains the same even after decades.”

Apparently not just So Bi-won, but everyone had the same doubt. And rightly so, as Explosive Vertical-Horizontal looked like too plain a technique.

“Though Explosive Vertical-Horizontal is the first technique of Mu Dong-hwan-mu, in terms of power alone, it’s the strongest technique among the three basic techniques of Mu Dong-hwan-mu.”

“Really?”

Though he asked back like this, naturally Yoo Eun-hyun wasn’t asking because he knew something.

“What I just showed was mere swinging. You wouldn’t need to learn martial arts for that, but martial arts require internal energy… When internal energy is applied, it becomes like this.”

Saying that and looking around, So Bi-won approached a tree of appropriate size and said to Yoo Eun-hyun.

“May I cut down this tree?”

“If you’re going to cut it, please use that tree over there.”

Yoo Eun-hyun immediately realized that without the tree So Bi-won pointed to, the afternoon shadow would be too short and cast over the field, so he pointed to a different tree.

And So Bi-won approached that tree and lightly raised the tree branch.

Then what looked like heat haze rose from the tree branch So Bi-won was holding, and the branch momentarily disappeared.

Crack!

Thud!

With the sound of crushing wood, the large tree instantly fell over.

Yoo Eun-hyun could only stare blankly at the sight in great surprise.

‘Even if it’s martial arts, to cut down that big tree with a tree branch?!’

From what he could see, it felt less like cutting and more like smashing it with some giant hammer.

His surprised expression was brief, as Yoo Eun-hyun separately had another thought.

‘I won’t need an axe when cutting trees.’

Actually, he could have made a better evaluation if there had been something visible, but since there wasn’t anything particularly visible, it wasn’t unreasonable for Yoo Eun-hyun to make such an assessment.

But soon after seeing the base of the fallen tree carved deeply in a cross shape, he couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

Even though he had learned internal energy cultivation, he didn’t think he could perform such a feat.

“Hehe. Young Master will also be able to do this much if you train for about 30 years.”

In other words, So Bi-won had shown him the end goal he needed to reach. Of course, the person in question, Yoo Eun-hyun, was thinking somewhat differently.

‘Isn’t it 300 years, not 30? Even if you gave me a real weapon instead of a tree branch and told me to do it, I don’t think I could.’

It wasn’t unreasonable for Yoo Eun-hyun, who was a complete novice regarding martial arts, to think this way. Perhaps reading the signs, So Bi-won raised the tree branch once more.

“I’ll show you slowly. This time in a different form.”

Heat waves began rising again from the tree branch So Bi-won had lifted. Standing still in that position for a moment, So Bi-won’s appearance seemed as if he was telling Yoo Eun-hyun to watch carefully.

Then Yoo Eun-hyun could see it clearly. The tree branch So Bi-won was holding became blurry and then disappeared. More precisely, it was closer to the form changing, but to Yoo Eun-hyun’s eyes, still lacking in internal energy, it could only be described as having vanished.

‘This is formlessness… Does it mean it can become anything?’

And as Yoo Eun-hyun stared intently at that sight, So Bi-won slowly swung the tree branch at a nearby rock—once vertically, once horizontally.

The tree branch amazingly swept across the rock leaving traces, and the tip of So Bi-won’s branch after swinging it was pointing toward the center of the rock.

Crack!

“Huh?”

The rock at the intersection point of the cross formed by the vertical and horizontal swings was deeply gouged as if it had received some powerful impact. To Yoo Eun-hyun, who was staring blankly at that sight, So Bi-won said.

“Do you now understand what it means that weapons are meaningless?”

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