Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Chapter 176:

Twisted Fate

Dao Ji-hwan, who was flustered by the sudden appearance and unexpected actions, belatedly bowed to Mu-jin.

“I am Dao Ji-hwan, the master of Cheon Seom Moon. Thank you for saving our sect.”

“If I had come half a moment earlier, I could have protected the disciples. I apologize for being late.”

“There are many questions I have, and many things I need to hear, but could we have a conversation after we tidy up the manor first?”

“We will help as well.”

After quickly exchanging words, the two began giving instructions to their disciples and companions to start cleaning up Cheon Seom Moon.

They checked if there were any surviving black-clad men, gathered the corpses of the black-clad men and the Cheon Seom Moon disciples, and cleaned up the blood and entrails.

Dao Ji-hwan, who had a complicated expression on his face at the sight of the disciples who had turned into corpses overnight, steadied his mind and spoke to Mu-jin.

“Since the immediate danger has passed, how about we go inside and have a conversation?”

“Let’s do that.”

“Wolcheon, you come along too.”

“Yes, Father.”

“I’ll be back after a conversation, so you all finish up the cleanup with the disciples here.”

Mu-jin, having entrusted the cleanup to his companions, followed Dao Ji-hwan’s lead, heading to the master’s hall with them.

Upon arriving at the master’s hall, Mu-jin recalled the expression he had seen on Dao Ji-hwan’s face a little while ago and took a seat.

“If I had come a bit earlier, the damage could have been reduced. I apologize for being late. Amitabha.”

“Thank you for the help. Despite warning us through Wolcheon, we could not properly defend ourselves and now have no face to meet the Shaolin Dragon.”

The master’s hall fell silent, perhaps due to the deaths of the disciples within a single day.

Not wanting to seem ungrateful to his benefactor, Dao Ji-hwan forced himself to speak.

“Ah, and thank you for helping my Wolcheon on top of the warning.”

“Dao Yuetian Shiju-nim must have put in a lot of effort. From what I saw earlier, Dao Yuetian Shiju-nim’s skills have significantly improved since the Yongbongji Conference.”

“It’s still insufficient, Mu-jin Seonim.”

At Mu-jin’s praise, Dao Yuetian hung his head lower.

Despite his improvement, he had failed to protect the disciples.

If Mu-jin and his group hadn’t come to help, they would have been annihilated, just as Mu-jin had foretold.

Seeing his dejected appearance made Mu-jin feel a bit bitter.

After all, Dao Yuetian had been Mu-jin’s idol during his school days.

He was the epitome of perseverance, overcoming a lack of talent with relentless effort.

And realistically, it was unreasonable to expect that a mere six months of training could fend off this attack.

“Don’t be too disheartened, Dao Yuetian Shiju-nim. To achieve such growth in just six months is something only a handful across the continent could accomplish.”

Eventually, Dao Yuetian, who would succeed in his revenge after repeated efforts and opportunities, would take five more years to reach that level.

Expecting him to achieve in six months what would take five years was unreasonable.

Perhaps finding some solace in Mu-jin’s words, Dao Yuetian asked a question he had been curious about.

“Since Mu-jin Seonim can see my fate, may I ask if you know the identity of those who attacked us today?”

“…Simply reading Dao Yuetian Shiju-nim’s fate does not reveal that.”

Feeling awkward as he recalled how he had pretended to be a fortune teller to Dao Yuetian, Mu-jin gave a hesitant answer, and Dao Yuetian couldn’t hide his disappointment.

However, his expression quickly changed with Mu-jin’s next words.

“But by tracking another fate, I have been able to roughly identify their identities.”

“What are their identities?”

“They operate under the name Shinchun, an organization lurking in the shadows of the martial world. They have infiltrated even the righteous sects and are also hidden among the demonic forces.”

“Ah! So that’s why the Shaolin Dragon, who had supposedly returned to Shaolin, was rampaging in Guangxi Province?”

Dao Ji-hwan, who had wondered why the Shaolin Dragon had been active in Guangxi Province, finally understood and exclaimed.

“Yes, that’s correct. Additionally, I discovered the reason Shinchun attacked Cheon Seom Moon.”

“And what is that reason?”

“They came for Cheon Seom Moon’s treasured sword, the Cheon Seom Do.”

A sword sharing the name of the highest martial art of the sect. Shinchun’s operatives had moved to seize it.

“They came for the Cheon Seom Do?”

“Yes.”

“Though it holds great significance for our sect, it does not seem like a weapon that those operating throughout the martial world would target.”

“Could you bring the Cheon Seom Do here? If you do, I will reveal the reason to you.”

Without much suspicion, Dao Ji-hwan took out the Cheon Seom Do, which was hidden in a corner of the master’s hall.

“Our first master and founder left instructions for future generations. He permitted the use of the Cheon Seom Do only after mastering the Cheon Seom Do technique, instructing the master to keep it safe until then.”

Handing over the Cheon Seom Do, Dao Ji-hwan explained its unique appearance.

“As you can see, it looks like an ordinary sword, but in fact, it does not match our sect’s martial arts.”

Cheon Seom Moon’s sword techniques emphasized speed.

However, the treasured Cheon Seom Do had a blunt and thick form, suitable for techniques focusing on power.

Receiving the Cheon Seom Do from Dao Ji-hwan, Mu-jin gathered his internal energy just like when he had found the Dragon Scale Thread.

Naturally, immense energy gathered in Mu-jin’s hands, radiating golden light.

“Hyaah!”

Mu-jin swung his fist, wrapped in qi, with all his might, striking the blade of the Cheon Seom Do.

*Clang!*

The treasured Cheon Seom Do of Cheon Seom Moon shattered into pieces.

* * *

“What… what have you done?!”

“Mu-jin Seonim, why would you do such a thing?!”

The father and son stared at Mu-jin in shock. Had he not been their benefactor, they would have drawn their swords immediately.

Ignoring their reactions, Mu-jin tilted the broken sword to the side and showed it to them.

“Look closely.”

“What am I supposed to see?!”

“It’s not broken.”

“What do you mean?!”

Just before Dao Ji-hwan could shout, “Nonsense!”, Dao Yuetian realized something and exclaimed.

“Father! There’s something inside.”

Sure enough, as his son pointed out, a black object was visible inside the shattered blade.

“This is the secret hidden within the Cheon Seom Do.”

Mu-jin, having said that, once again wrapped his fist in qi and struck the surface of the Cheon Seom Do with all his might.

*Clang!*

Each time he struck, there was the sound of metal shattering, and fragments of the Cheon Seom Do flew off.

“Please, stop it, Mu-jin Seonim!”

“If you keep doing that, you’ll destroy what’s inside as well.”

Despite their warnings, Mu-jin smiled faintly and continued to pound on the Cheon Seom Do. The reason for his smile was simple.

“Don’t worry. Even if I hit it with all my strength, the contents inside will remain unscathed.”

With these words, he repeatedly struck the sword until finally, the outer metal shell of the Cheon Seom Do was completely peeled away.

Revealed within was a black sword that seemed to absorb all light, thin and sharp, fitting the style of Cheon Seom Moon’s quick sword technique.

“The Cheon Seom Do is actually made from the legendary Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.”

“What?! Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron? Is that really true?”

To Dao Ji-hwan’s astonished question, Mu-jin nodded.

Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron is renowned as the toughest metal, impervious to being cut by sword or blade. Only those who have mastered their qi to a high degree can break it.

However, the true secret of this black sword wasn’t just its material.

“Both of you, use your inner energy to enhance your eyesight and examine the blade closely.”

Dao Ji-hwan and Dao Yuetian, who had been staring at the sword in a daze, enhanced their eyesight with inner energy as instructed.

“Ah!!”

“It looks like there’s something written on it, Mu-jin Seonim!”

As they said, tiny inscriptions were barely visible on the blade when viewed with enhanced vision.

Reading the inscriptions with their focused eyesight, Dao Yuetian and Dao Ji-hwan soon noticed something peculiar.

“Father, the inscriptions on the blade seem to resemble…”

“Yes, they look very similar to the mnemonics of our family’s Cheon Seom Dao technique.”

“But the content seems slightly different, Father.”

Mu-jin, observing their conversation, spoke to clear their doubts.

“The mnemonics inscribed on this black sword are the true Cheon Seom Dao technique. To be precise, it is the Heavenly Lightning Sword Technique.”

A technique meant to slice through the heavens, paired with a swift blade made of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron. This was an arrangement by an ancient master, whose name is lost, to pass down his martial arts to future generations.

A high-level master had intricately inscribed these mnemonics so finely that they could only be seen with enhanced vision.

“Why did our ancestor hide such a treasure so thoroughly?” Dao Yuetian, unable to understand the current situation, asked his father, but Dao Ji-hwan also could not comprehend it.

Thus, Mu-jin spoke on behalf of Dao Ji-hwan.

“Probably to protect both the black sword and future generations.”

“To protect us and this sword?”

“Yes. Simply possessing such a powerful weapon would make one a target for masters. Just like the attack earlier.”

“Ah… Then why did the ancestor leave this technique hidden and pass down the current Cheon Seom Dao technique?”

“Forgive me for saying this, but perhaps the first master lacked the skill to fully master the technique.”

“What do you mean?”

“He may have obtained the black sword and the Cheon Seom Dao technique by chance but failed to fully master it. Like powerful weapons, supreme techniques also attract many who covet them, so he left behind only what he could comprehend.”

Finding Mu-jin’s explanation plausible, Dao Ji-hwan and Dao Yuetian nodded in agreement.

‘It’s strange to explain to Dao Yuetian something he deduced in the novel,’ Mu-jin thought.

In truth, Mu-jin could not be sure if his explanation was the actual truth. The novel never explicitly mentioned the secret of the black sword.

It was merely a deduction made by Dao Yuetian and Baek Ga-hwan through their conversation in the novel.

The main basis for their deduction was the level of Cheon Seom Moon’s martial arts and the fact that only the Cheon Seom Dao technique was inscribed on the black sword.

Despite being a technique that could be called supreme, the internal energy techniques, stepping techniques, and movement techniques of Cheon Seom Moon were only at the level of first-rate martial arts.

Far from being supreme techniques, they were not even worthy of being called ascending martial arts.

The second basis for their deduction was the ancestral message left by the founder of Cheon Seom Moon.

“That’s probably why he left such a message. He required someone with the talent to fully master the half-formed technique he left behind in order to truly learn the technique inscribed on the black sword.”

“Then shouldn’t he have left a message to break the sword once it was mastered?”

“Leaving such a message could have tempted someone to break the sword out of curiosity or prompted someone to steal it out of suspicion.”

“Ah…”

“Besides, the metal shell around the Cheon Seom Do wasn’t very sturdy. It means that once someone skilled enough to break it appeared, the true secret of the black sword would be revealed. Perhaps it was a plan to create a twist by revealing the black sword in a critical moment.”

This was the exact scenario that Dao Yuetian experienced when he discovered the secret of the black sword.

After completing five years of secluded training and setting out for revenge, Dao Yuetian found and avenged the traitor who had destroyed Cheon Seom Moon.

He then traced the shadowy forces, attacking bases like the Bukpoong Escort Agency.

After plundering several bases, he finally reclaimed the Cheon Seom Do.

However, until then, the Cheon Seom Do retained its original form.

Even the shadowy forces that had attacked Cheon Seom Moon to steal the sword were unaware that the true form of the Cheon Seom Do would be revealed only when it was broken.

Afterward, Dao Yuetian continued to demolish various places such as Baekyangmun, So-cheongmun, and Paedobang, eventually reaching the Cheonryu Sangdan.

The Cheonryu Sangdan, true to its reputation as one of the top five merchants in the world, had hundreds of first-rate or higher warriors, despite lacking supreme masters.

In the midst of a massacre, when Dao Yuetian’s internal energy was depleted, the outer shell of the Cheon Seom Do began to break, revealing the true black sword and saving Dao Yuetian at his limit.

Of course, the important thing now was not how the secret of the black sword was revealed.

“Therefore, Dao Yuetian Shiju-nim, it would be wise to start learning the technique inscribed on this black sword from now on.”

In the second part of the novel, “Legend of the Evil Emperor,” Dao Yuetian is the protagonist.

After mastering the technique inscribed on this sword, he truly begins to display the might of an emperor.