The Lightning I Harbor Is Too Strong - Chapter 28

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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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Chapter 28
[……thus the hand becomes the Dharma Seal, and the Dharma Seal becomes the Buddha Heart. Through Vow Power rather than mere strength, one breaks iron. May it be thus―]
The ink that had been flowing steadily across the page came to a halt.
Jeong I-sin stared at what he had written, his brow furrowing. After hesitating several times, he finally set down his brush.
“Hmm…….”
A deep hum resonated as he lifted his hand.
Warm amber light blazed forth from his palm, rippling with an auspicious glow.
This deceptively serene radiance contained a rare property.
A repulsive force circled in his grip—the kind that thrust everything away with its counter-pressure.
Which meant the incantation for this would…….
“Ah! I remember now.”
With a brief exclamation, Jeong I-sin scattered his energy and seized the brush once more.
[……and thus that strength becomes the Great Strength, which is named the Great Strength Vajra Hand.]
A period marked the end of a considerable passage of text.
Jeong I-sin’s expression bloomed with satisfaction.
“Yes……!”
Since passing the incantation of the Muscle Tendon Change Classic to Deok-hyeon, Jeong I-sin had harbored one lingering concern.
There remained an unfulfilled wish of Gong-heon’s—a wish that was not quite a wish.
He had not forgotten the words Gong-heon had spoken in passing: that one day, the martial arts he had restored should be conveyed to Shaolin.
‘I wasn’t sure which arts to pass on…….’
But this, too, required no real deliberation.
He could simply share everything he knew of Shaolin’s teachings.
Most of it would surely be housed in the Scripture Repository Hall, but it was better to transmit what he knew than to risk omitting something through his own selective choosing.
‘The Great Strength Vajra Hand—it must be there.’
Deok-in, one of the Four Vajra Kings, bore the title of Great Strength Vajra precisely because of that art.
And it was only this morning that he had sweated through training alongside him.
A Great Strength Vajra who didn’t know the Great Strength Vajra Hand? That was impossible.
He would compile the Secret Technique Records steadily and pass them all on the day he left Shaolin.
The day he would leave Shaolin.
Life at Baekun Hermitage had been nothing short of tranquil, yet Jeong I-sin knew there were two other places he must visit.
‘The Namgung Clan. The Dang Clan of Sichuan.’
Great houses situated in Anhui Province and Sichuan Province respectively.
Just as he had conveyed news of Gong-heon to Shaolin, so too must he carry word of Namgung Baek and Dang Mu-jeong to these two families.
He would need to consult with the monks about his exact route, but that was his present thinking.
He felt no reluctance. He now understood that Shaolin was family.
Knowing he could return whenever he wished, he harbored no regret in leaving.
And yet, if he were to search deliberately—deliberately—for something he would miss…….
“I wish I could see the other disciples once more.”
So the monks said: others his age were abundant at the main temple far below.
By distance, the main Shaolin lay far more remote than what could be seen from Baekun Hermitage, yet Jeong I-sin already regarded them as something akin to brother-disciples.
“I’d like to observe the junior disciples in their training too.”
It was a modest wish.
Much of Shaolin’s martial arts—including what Jeong I-sin had learned from Gong-heon—required a foundation built through External Training.
That is to say: one needed a strong, resilient body to manifest such arts, which meant naturally the training was harsh, demanding, and drew tears without mercy.
What was known as Shaolin-style training.
Jeong I-sin wanted to witness it firsthand.
Could there truly be someone who possessed such unwavering resolve as to undertake such training?
“……Should I take a look? I could examine it with Qi Scanning from the visitors’ quarters.”
In truth, descending from Baekun Hermitage to survey Shaolin was possible even now.
Days ago, Deok-myeong had instructed him on the identity he could assume.
He need only claim to be a disciple of a man called Manga-gaek, an old acquaintance of Deok-myeong’s.
This man was a lay disciple of Shaolin origin—a martial artist of such remarkable talent that even Mu-sang acknowledged him, though he had long since left the martial world to live in nature.
‘A lay disciple’s disciple. With a name like Manga-gaek, most wouldn’t pry too deeply.’
‘Would it be acceptable if I claimed to be his disciple? Might he take offense…….’
‘That fellow?! Ha! Impossible! Absolutely not—worry not about it.’
Deok-myeong had shaken his head with unwavering confidence, then added something more.
‘If trouble arises despite all this, remember one thing only.’
The memory of his words made Jeong I-sin grin.
“To invoke the name of Mu-sang himself, no less.”
“And what would you do by selling me out?”
“Gasp!”
Jeong I-sin jumped at the unexpected response, and in that same motion quickly hid the scroll behind his back before addressing the newcomer with awkward courtesy.
“Oh, you’ve arrived?”
For some reason, Mu-sang had O-seo perched atop his head.
And atop O-seo sat a black-scaled snake.
The sight was so peculiar that it had somehow become natural enough that he didn’t dare ask about it.
Mu-sang, seemingly oblivious to what rested on his head, opened his mouth with the same expressionless face as always.
“Have you finished your studies?”
“Yes? Ah… yes. Haha….”
“It’s been nearly a month since you left Baekun Hermitage.”
“Has it been that long already?”
“Starting tomorrow, go down to the main Shaolin temple.”
“…What?!”
Mu-sang had never forced anything upon Jeong I-sin except when teaching him Qi Sense.
In that moment of carefully gauging whether he himself had become a burden, a thought crossed his mind.
“Qi Sense ultimately serves to perceive the traces of life. Here, among beasts and those clinging to a living death, it cannot fulfill that purpose.”
“Ah, that’s right! Why did you….”
“Training is much the same. Wielding Qi Sense while mingling among people is another matter entirely.”
“….”
“Go and experience it directly. You are a child who grasps things with remarkable speed.”
“I’m fine here….”
Though he spoke in terms of Qi Sense, it was clear he was concerned for this boy who spent so much time alone.
Jeong I-sin could feel Mu-sang’s heart.
It was surely no different from the monks who sought him out each day.
His chest tightened, and his lips naturally pressed into a straight line.
Chirp—
O-seo leaped down from atop Mu-sang’s head.
Watching O-seo disappear into Jeong I-sin’s embrace, Mu-sang spoke again.
“I’m not fine. Go down.”
“Really… you don’t need to care for me like this—”
“You must take those creatures with you as well.”
“Yes, I understand. …Thank you for your concern—”
“You must take them with you.”
“….”
“Better yet, go from today. Now, leave at once.”
* * *
The Abbot’s chamber, thick with the aroma of incense.
The voices that passed between its occupants were calm.
“Last of all… a letter from the Mengs, requesting that you accompany the entrance ceremony for Cheonmu Academy next year.”
At Deok-hyeon’s words—the current Abbot of Shaolin—a voice tinged with puzzlement emerged.
“Hmm? For what reason?”
“It’s an odd request. If the child is to enter on the Mengs’ recommendation, he should be from a prominent family.”
“Indeed, that’s what one would think.”
The elders’ opinions were all sound.
The Nine Sects and One Lodge and the Eight Great Families.
Though all existed under the name of the Orthodox Martial World, there existed subtle distances between the factions.
The situation was less one of displeasure or discontent than simple bewilderment.
Deok-hyeon held the same view as the others, but upon seeing the postscript appended to the letter’s end, he nodded.
“The escort is Gwang-geom-gun.”
“Ah, well then.”
“…That makes sense.”
Reactions of understanding and exasperation mingled together.
Having consolidated the elders’ opinions, Deok-hyeon brought the meeting to a close.
“This matter can be settled by inquiring of Mu-jin’s intentions. Very well, let us adjourn.”
Those who were to leave departed, and what remained were the current pillars of Shaolin—the elders.
Soon after, the dispute that had been brewing for days commenced anew.
“You’d do well to drop any talk of the Scripture Repository Hall Master, brother, while you’re still in a good mood.”
“Ha! As if that’s funny!”
“If you both find fault, then the succession to the Arhat Hall—!”
The subject of the dispute was, of course, Jeong I-sin’s fate.
In the stories, Jeong I-sin had become the next Scripture Repository Hall Master, then the next Dharma Academy Master, then occasionally the next Arhat Hall Master—a cycle that repeated endlessly.
In truth, the successors to those positions were already determined to some degree.
Yet the reason they deliberately discussed those posts was not simply because Jeong I-sin’s talent was exceptional.
Deok-in, the Great Strength Vajra Hand who had been listening to the story in silence, voiced the reason aloud.
“There is nothing left to give him, Shaolin.”
“……Ahem.”
“Mmph! Well…… is there really more to say about it, Master? ……Not that you’re wrong, but.”
The elder circle. Those who now led Shaolin.
They were also the ones who had rebuilt Shaolin after it nearly fell with Mu-sang.
It seemed there was nothing they could not bestow upon a boy not yet of age—and yet when they tried to select something worthy for Jeong I-sin, everything paled before him.
“Most troubling, even the Great Restoration Elixir is gone.”
“Fan-tian took it, and what we gave to Cheonmu Academy was the last we had…….”
“The Grand Patriarch also said there was nothing new to teach him.”
“Hmm…….”
Sighs accumulated above the scent of incense.
Just when it seemed the story would end as it always did, Deok-in blinked his simple eyes and spoke.
“What if we recommended him to Cheonmu Academy instead?”
“Hmm?”
“Eh?”
“Don’t you remember what the child said? Shaolin is not all that fills his heart. The legacy of the Sword of Reversal and the connections to Yanluo’s lineage were there as well. But isn’t it difficult to approach both families at present?”
Deok-hyeon nodded first.
Not much had been revealed, but considerable time had passed since Namgung and the Dang Clan had scaled back their external activities.
Moreover, contact with either family’s head or anyone of comparable standing had become impossible.
Even Shaolin’s name had been met with refusal.
Before the excuse of internal family matters, even the Abbot’s name held little weight.
So it seemed they had no choice but to wait for now.
“Deok-in is right. The Sword of Reversal and Poison Butterfly still remain at Cheonmu Academy.”
“Indeed!”
“Those two could even make direct contact with the family heads.”
A flat tone cut through the elders’ murmurs of admiration.
“But Abbot, Cheonmu Academy is…….”
Though Deok-myeong left his thought unfinished, all understood what came after.
Deok-hyeon offered a bitter smile.
“Yes, Jegal Gi-cheon founded it.”
Cheonmu Academy.
After the Celestial Demon’s defeat, an educational institution that Jegal Gi-cheon poured all his remaining life into establishing.
A place that stood at the vanguard of vanquishing the Celestial Demon, existing for the future of the Orthodox Martial World.
A ‘separate realm’ containing all of the greatest Formation Master of the age.
It had been that way until now.
For those who had learned the truth, there was now a hesitation in simply recommending Jeong I-sin without reservation.
Then a dry voice rang out.
“I will ask him.”
“……!”
“Grand…… Grand Patriarch!”
Mu-sang, who had entered at some point unnoticed, now sat beside Deok-in.
His eccentricities being nothing new, the commotion was brief.
Only Deok-in glanced up at his head with a subtle question.
“That…… is the leaf in your hair intentional……?”
“……Tsk.”
Mu-sang clicked his tongue, brushed away the leaf, and let out a long sigh.
Though Mu-sang rarely displayed emotion, these days he showed it with noticeable frequency.
Of course, from the perspective of the Sangha’s elders, this was far preferable.
Just because Mu-ui was inhuman did not mean the man had to be.
Deok-hyeon opened his mouth amid the lightened atmosphere and the elders’ gentle smiles.
“If I understand correctly, you mean to ask I-sin his thoughts on Cheonmu Academy?”
“Yes.”
Mu-sang nodded lightly and turned to the person beside him.
“What are your thoughts on this?”
“……?”
Following his gaze, the elders’ heads turned as well.
They immediately jumped to their feet when they noticed the figure standing beside Mu-sang.
“I-I-sin!?”
“Cough! When—when did you arrive?”
“There was no sign of your presence. How is this possible……?”
Beside Mu-sang stood Jeong I-sin, his expression complicated, offering an awkward smile as he lowered his head.
* * *
Following Mu-sang’s urging to descend at once, I set foot in Shaolin.
Natural Concealment Qi enveloped them both. Thanks to it, no one perceived either Mu-sang or Jeong I-sin.
A violent application of Qi Sense.
Through it, Jeong I-sin grasped what it meant to suppress Qi Sense with Qi Sense itself.
Only after Mu-sang stepped into the abbot’s quarters did he withdraw the energy he had been channeling.
After his aura faded, Jeong I-sin mimicked it for a brief moment.
Then came word of Cheonmu Academy.
“What are your thoughts?”
With Mu-sang’s question came a gaze laden with surprise.
Jeong I-sin himself felt equally taken aback.
‘Cheonmu Academy…….’
Why should he set foot on land his enemy had built, when he could not even contact the Namgung Clan or the Dang Clan of Sichuan?
“To be frank with you…… I’m not terribly keen on it. Couldn’t we simply wait?”
“Then do so.”
…….
Even Jeong I-sin immediately regretted the petulance that escaped his lips, but Mu-sang’s response cut deeper still.
He seemed utterly indifferent.
“Wait ten years or a hundred—your waiting is yours alone, your connection is yours alone. My concern, however, lies elsewhere. After such a long vigil, when you finally face them with your words, your truth…… will they believe you?”
That is a different matter from your believing them.
Mu-sang’s intent was clear.
…….
This was something Jeong I-sin had never considered.
He had assumed they would naturally believe him. He had entertained no doubt whatsoever.
‘I know the sword forms of Namgung and the striking techniques of the Dang. I can provide proof…….’
While he had no wooden tablet like Gong-heon’s, he had Gwang-ya and Mu-hun.
Yet the more he pondered it, the less likely such proof seemed.
If I were in their position?
He could understand Jegal Gi-cheon’s betrayal. Surviving beneath the Abyss of Ignorance might, with some effort, also be accepted.
But crossing the space rent asunder by the Celestial Demon and traversing a hundred years?
Someone who claims to have appeared after a century unfurling the secret techniques of their family line?
‘My meeting with Shaolin…… truly did unfold remarkably well!’
Jeong I-sin suddenly grasped the reality before him.
From the outset, his encounter with Shaolin had been orchestrated by Mu-sang.
It was Mu-sang who had read the Celestial Pattern and sent Deok-myeong to Jeong I-sin’s side.
When he stopped to think about it, he himself had done nothing. He had simply met Deok-myeong by chance while robbing bandits.
Given these circumstances, the thought that now arose was rather audacious.
“Hmm! Mu-sang, could it be that…….”
“The ignorant believe that if one can read the Celestial Pattern, one might know all things. What think you? Can such a gift be granted to a mote of dust existing as mere points beneath the heavens?”
“……yet isn’t it precisely because you read that Celestial Pattern that I stand here now?”
“Shaolin’s ventures across the Central Plains were not unique to that time, nor was Deok-myeong the only one sent.”
There had been countless attempts.
Yet that Jeong I-sin had returned alongside Deok-myeong was itself a matter of true karma, or so it was said—threads the heavens had woven together.
“Ah…….”
As Jeong I-sin’s gaze grew distant, Mu-sang quickly changed the subject.
“Though I spoke thus, the path that originates from you and continues onward is not without substance.”
“Really! Is it the Namgung side? Or the Dang Clan?”
Mu-sang did not answer at once, regarding Jeong I-sin instead with a rare, enigmatic expression.
“Whichever it may be, be assured of this. I shall confront them directly―”
“Cheonmu Academy.”
…….
The lightning I harbor is far too fierce
Author |
Woo San Yu
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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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