A Black Inkstick Makes You Black (1)
After the martial arts exchange between the Shaolin and Wudang disciples was over, it was nearing evening.
Mu-jin and a few second-class disciples were heading towards Jasogung under the guidance of Wudang’s first-class disciple.
Upon reaching the main hall of Jasogung, several elderly Wudang elders, including Yun-heo Zhenren and Wudang’s head, Yun-song Zhenren, were already present.
The expressions of the Wudang Yunja-bae mbers, who were waiting for Mu-jin and the Shaolin second-class disciples, were varied.
Taking the lead for the gathered senior brothers, Yun-heo Zhenren spoke first.
“They are disciples experiencing symptoms similar to mine. Could you take a look at them?”
“I will do so.”
The reason why Mu-jin carefully visited Jasogung in the evening was to treat the Wudang swordsn, which was the original purpose of his Wudang trip.
“First, please extend your affected arms.”
As he spoke, Mu-jin walked around the hall, examining each of the elderly swordsn one by one.
So had carpal tunnel syndro, others had tendonitis. So, like Yun-heo Zhenren, were suffering from both conditions.
There were those with mild symptoms and those with severe ones, so Mu-jin provided appropriate close-range spear techniques and acupressure thods suited to each individual.
“To those who have completed their check-up, please provide heat therapy.”
“We shall do so.”
At Mu-jin’s words, the second-class disciples who had accompanied him to Jasogung began to administer heat therapy using heat energy.
After completing the heat therapy, he wrapped cloth around their wrists like wrist guards and prescribed dicine, just as he did for Yun-heo Zhenren.
After taking care of dozens of patients over the course of about an hour, Mu-jin and the Shaolin second-class disciples were about to leave Jasogung.
“Mu-jin Dou!”
Cheong Shui Dojang greeted Mu-jin with a bright face and drew his sword.
Looking at Cheong Shui Dojang’s Songmun sword, which glead sharply in the moonlight, Mu-jin thought.
‘Is he really as crazy as Mu-gyeong?’
The sight of him drawing his sword with a smile in the moonlight looked exactly like that of a maniacal assassin.
However, contrary to Mu-jin’s thoughts, Cheong Shui Dojang spoke in a cheerful tone while drawing his sword.
“I’ve been waiting to challenge you to a spar once again, Mu-jin Dou. Hahaha.”
‘Hmm. Unlike Mu-gyeong, he’s crazy about swords.’
Thinking to himself, Mu-jin responded to Cheong Shui Dojang in a kind tone.
“I cannot.”
“Why not!?”
“It’s ti for my lower body workout.”
“Excuse …?”
Cheong Shui Dojang, unable to understand Mu-jin’s words, asked again, but Mu-jin didn’t care.
‘Not even a day can pass without exercise. No way.’
Mu-jin, who had been busy with martial arts exchanges, sparring, and wrist treatnts since the morning, hadn’t done his weight training yet.
Rejecting Cheong Shui Dojang’s proposal, Mu-jin returned to the quarters provided by Wudang for the Shaolin disciples.
Cheong Shui Dojang followed behind Mu-jin with a face like a puppy.
“I clearly declined, so why are you following ?”
“Hahaha. I’m just curious.”
After briefly looking at Cheong Shui Dojang, Mu-jin decided to ignore him. It wasn’t as if he could chase away a Wudang disciple while at Wudang.
Eventually, upon reaching the quarters, Mu-jin lightly ward up his body and approached the exercise equipnt he had prearranged in the yard.
Various weights boasting substantial sizes were lined up. Without wasting any more ti, Mu-jin began lifting the weights in earnest, torturing his lower body.
As Mu-jin lifted various weights in different postures for a long ti, Cheong Shui Dojang, who was silently watching like a puppy, approached the weight Mu-jin had just used.
Like a puppy encountering a new toy, he poked the weight several tis with his finger, then assud the sa posture as Mu-jin and tried to lift it.
“Hoo!”
Barely lifting the weight using all his internal energy, he quickly set it down and exhaled heavily.
Turning his head at the sound of tal, Mu-jin soon realized what Cheong Shui Dojang had done.
“Using internal energy to lift it defeats the purpose of the exercise. Amitabha.”
“Hmm, that’s a new Buddha saying I’ve never heard. Hahaha.”
Cheong Shui Dojang burst into laughter for a mont, then suddenly stopped laughing like a broken machine and asked chanically.
“……Are you saying that you lifted this without using internal energy?”
“Yes.”
Mu-jin nodded as if it were obvious in response to the extrely awkward question.
However, despite Mu-jin’s firm answer, Cheong Shui Dojang still seed broken.
‘……Lifting this without internal energy? Is that sothing a person can do?’
As he briefly entertained such thoughts, Cheong Shui Dojang soon realized an important fact.
‘Because it was possible, he could exert such strength!’
The sparring match from earlier in the day replayed in Cheong Shui Dojang’s mind.
It was a match he had reviewed dozens of tis before requesting a rematch with Mu-jin.
Yet, despite all that, there were still inexplicable aspects, which is why he had sought out Mu-jin again under the moonlight.
‘That trendous power ca from physical strength.’
What he couldn’t comprehend was the sheer weight of Mu-jin’s martial arts.
Countless attacks that he could barely deflect without making full use of all the intricacies of the Liu Sword techniques he had learned.
Just deflecting Mu-jin’s attacks made Cheong Shui Dojang feel as if his swordsmanship was improving.
In the end, he couldn’t deflect the final blow and lost, so it was only natural that he was curious about the source of that strength.
But to think the source of that power was simply brute strength.
‘No, it’s not natural strength.’
Yet, like the genius he was, Cheong Shui Dojang quickly corrected his thoughts.
‘I’ve heard that Mu-jin Dou knows training thods to strengthen muscles and bones. He even ntioned during wrist training today to gradually increase the weight as one gets used to it.’
In that case, the crude weights Mu-jin was lifting now were the result of…
‘Years of continually increasing the weight!’
Reaching this conclusion, Cheong Shui Dojang looked at Mu-jin with a face full of admiration.
“Truly amazing, Mu-jin Dou!”
“……What are you talking about?”
Mu-jin couldn’t understand why Cheong Shui Dojang suddenly found him amazing, especially after he’d been standing there with a blank expression like a broken machine.
“Ah, sorry. I sotis blurt out my thoughts, and it often surprises my senior brothers. Hahaha.”
Laughing as he answered Mu-jin’s question, Cheong Shui Dojang then explained his reasoning.
“Mu-jin Dou, you must have been continuously strengthening your muscles to lift such heavy weights, correct?”
“Well, that’s true.”
“That’s really incredible! Ah, if you can lift such heavy weights so easily, your muscles must be very sturdy!”
“Mm. Yes, my muscles are quite sturdy.”
Mu-jin couldn’t help but feel a bit proud at Cheong Shui Dojang’s sudden praise.
After all, what gym enthusiast doesn’t like complints about their muscles?
“Could you perhaps show ?”
“Hmm. Alright.”
At Cheong Shui Dojang’s request, Mu-jin took off his top as if to ensure smooth movent during exercise and struck various poses.
“Wow!!”
With every change in Mu-jin’s posture, Cheong Shui Dojang unconsciously exclaid at the sight of his rippling muscles.
‘Hmm. It’s a sha I trained in the Jade Vajra Technique at tis like this.’
If he hadn’t trained in it, his muscles would have been at least 1.5 tis more massive.
On the other hand, Cheong Shui Dojang, obsessed with martial arts and swords, observed Mu-jin’s muscles from a functional perspective.
‘Indeed! With all the muscles developed like that, no wonder he can exert such power!’
In that case, perhaps…
‘If I build muscles too, wouldn’t I be able to handle my sword more freely?’
Eyes gleaming with the desire to further improve his swordsmanship, Cheong Shui Dojang was deeply engrossed.
Noticing Cheong Shui Dojang’s bright gaze, Mu-jin asked,
“Do you want to learn how to exercise?”
“Yes!”
His response was imdiate and loud.
With a sowhat peculiar expression, Mu-jin spoke to Cheong Shui Dojang,
“However, the weights I use are suitable for soone with a professional level of strength, so they might not be appropriate for you. Therefore, I’ll start by teaching you a few exercises that can be done with just your body or a sandbag.”
“Thank you, Mu-jin Dou!”
The young man, known as Wudang’s most talented disciple, bowed at a right angle and expressed his gratitude.
Watching him with satisfaction, Mu-jin began teaching a few simple bodyweight exercises.
“It’s late today, and I have my own workouts to do, so I’ll teach you new exercises again tomorrow.”
“Mu-jin Dou, your heart is as vast as the sea!”
As he watched Cheong Shui Dojang leave, brightly smiling and bowing in martial arts etiquette, Mu-jin thought,
‘Even if his role in the novel is small, he has talent, so if I nurture him, he could be useful.’
For so reason, Mu-jin’s lips kept twitching into a smile.
‘Anyone who appreciates the beauty of muscles can’t be a bad person. Yep.’
He looked unmistakably like a gym enthusiast who had found a promising follower.
* * *
Early the next morning.
As always, the Shaolin disciples were awake early.
As soon as they woke up, following their ingrained habits, they loosened their bodies with close-range spear techniques and gathered at the entrance of the quarters.
“We’re a bit late today.”
“Our bodies seed a bit stiff, so we did close-range spear techniques a bit longer.”
The reason was simple. The exercise equipnt they had brought in, even by cart, was laid out there.
“Today, this monk plans to train chest muscles.”
“Oh, then you should use this first, Senior Brother. I’ll start with the one next to it.”
They shared their exercise routines and took turns using the limited weights efficiently. Naturally, Mu-jin and the three mbers of the Muja-bae were also included.
As they imrsed themselves in their weight training for a while,
“Mu-jin Dou!”
An unexpected visitor ca to see Mu-jin early in the morning.
“Hahaha. Sorry for being late. I had to slip out of Wudang’s early morning training, so it took a bit of ti.”
“…Is it alright for you to slip out of that?”
Mu-jin asked, incredulous, and Cheong Shui Dojang replied with a clear laugh.
“I finished my allotted morning training early and just slipped out. Hahaha.”
Not only Mu-jin but also Mu-gung and Mu-gyeong had similar thoughts at his bright deanor.
‘That’s not the point…’
If it was morning training, the elders of the sect would conduct it. How could a third-class disciple just slip out on his own?
Naturally, Mu-gung and Mu-gyeong turned their gaze to Mu-yul. It was a familiar way of thinking, more precisely, a way of not thinking at all.
But that wasn’t the most important thing right now. Realizing another oddity, Mu-gung asked,
“But what brings you here at such an early hour, Cheong Shui?”
“Ah! It’s because Mu-jin Dou said he would teach exercise. Hahaha. I heard he exercises even at dawn, so I matched the ti.”
At Cheong Shui Dojang’s answer, each of the Muja-bae trio had different thoughts.
‘Cheong Shui Dojang, huh. I won’t lose.’
‘A new victim.’
‘Hehehe.’
Seeing Cheong Shui Dojang’s enthusiasm for exercise early in the morning, Mu-jin smiled and spoke.
“Yesterday, I taught you wrist and arm exercises, so today I’ll show you so abdominal and core exercises.”
Afterward, Mu-jin guided Cheong Shui Dojang through bodyweight exercises.
He taught Cheong Shui Dojang the proper postures and proceeded with his own workout, lifting objects weighing over 100 pounds beside him, without much hindrance.
Among the Shaolin disciples in their crimson kasayas, Cheong Shui Dojang stood out in his fluttering white robe.
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