Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Chapter 18:

Group PT (Group Physical Training) Supervision (1)

Evening free time.

Mu-jin and his companions were at the training field, each occupying their own space and swinging their fists.

What they were practicing was the One Cycle Heart Punch that they had learned during the morning training session.

Although it was the most basic introductory martial art, it was complex content for the children, so on the first day, they were only taught the internal energy operation method of the One Cycle Heart Punch.

Mu-jin was guessing that perhaps one more technique would be added each day from now on.

Thanks to practicing only the One Cycle Heart Punch repeatedly for an hour during the morning training, Mu-jin was now able to use the One Cycle Heart Punch quite stably.

When he assumed the posture and raised his internal energy to throw a punch, the sound of air being torn apart would inevitably burst forth.

Next to Mu-jin, Mu-gung, who was also able to use the One Cycle Heart Punch without much difficulty, was standing.

For Mu-gung, who came from a martial family and already had experience in handling internal energy, the One Cycle Heart Punch was not a difficult level.

Mu-gyeong, who had been throwing punches into the air for a while, watched the two of them and then hung his head low.

Noticing that Mu-gyeong had started to dig himself into self-pity again, Mu-jin casually approached him.

“What’s not going well?”

“Mmm. It seems like I could do each part, but it’s a bit hard to distribute the internal energy to my arms and legs.”

Although the rest was left unsaid, it was clear that he was muttering to himself, ‘I guess I just can’t do it.’

“Everyone’s like that. Look around. How many kids are doing it right now? Hardly any, except for those who are from martial families or secular households like Mu-gung.”

Mu-jin pointed out the other children around them as he spoke.

In fact, the training field wasn’t only occupied by them. This time, which was originally for free activities, had become a compulsory ‘training’ time due to the last incident.

They could either train their bodies like in the early morning or polish their martial arts skills like in the morning session, but either way, they had to train under the supervision of Second-class Disciples.

And among the novice disciples around them, only about ten could use the One Cycle Heart Punch properly like Mu-jin and Mu-gung.

All those children were from martial families and had experience in handling internal energy.

Evening among the seventy children, about thirty still hadn’t even mastered the Buddha Mind Technique, let alone the use of Qi.

For nearly twenty days, they still couldn’t feel the Qi.

In other words, Mu-gyeong, who thought poorly of himself, was still relatively in the upper ranks.

‘He’s meant to be a blood successor in the future, so it’s only natural.’

If only his timid nature improved, he could soar high.

Swallowing such regrets internally, Mu-jin then pointed to Mu-yul, who was standing to the side.

“Still, you’re doing better than Yul, aren’t you? You said you could do each part.”

Mu-gyeong also managed an awkward smile at the sight of Mu-yul, who looked like he was either practicing martial arts or dancing.

It was funny, but he restrained his laughter, as if worried about upsetting him.

“Anyway, Gyeong, you’re doing well, so just practice a little more. I’ll go help that fool.”

After sufficiently comforting Mu-gyeong, Mu-jin approached Mu-yul.

“Yul, what have you been doing since earlier?”

“Ah! I can’t quite remember the sequence that Master Uncle Hye-jeong taught us. Hehe.”

“Hmm. Can you tell me what you do remember?”

“Um… It starts from the Danjeon, then to the Great Abyss, Sea of Qi, Middle Cavity, right?”

“…It’s Sea of Qi, Middle Cavity, Great Abyss in that order.”

“Ah, right! Hehe. Then after that, divide the Qi, and seven parts go to the Qi points on the left shoulder, Gisa and Gyeonu…”

“Seven parts are on the right.”

“Oh! Is that so?”

“…”

“Hehe. I’m confused.”

At that innocent look, Mu-jin unknowingly raised both hands and rubbed his face dry.

‘This is too much, even for the Buddha.’

Mu-yul was indeed talented in sensing Qi, having felt it quite early, even though slower than Mu-jin, and he had excellent physical skills.

But he was too foolish in the head.

‘Hmm. Should I make it so he doesn’t have to use his head as much?’

After a moment’s contemplation, Mu-jin decided to approach it in a simple way. He decided to use the method he applied when training members with poor coordination as a trainer.

“Okay. Don’t worry about the names of the meridian points for now, can you bring your internal energy up to here?”

As Mu-jin pressed the starting point of the Revolving Fist Technique, the Sea of Qi point, and asked, Mu-yul brightly smiled and answered.

“Yes!”

“Then can you pass it through here to here?”

“I can do it!”

Mu-jin pointed from the Sea of Qi to the Middle Cavity, and then to the Great Abyss with his finger, and Mu-yul confidently responded.

“Just try going up to there.”

“Okay!”

“…Is it done?”

“Yes! I did it! Hehe.”

“Then withdraw your internal energy for a moment, and this time, don’t worry about the names of the meridians. After you bring up your internal energy to that point again, simply divide it and send it through here. It should travel through the meridians in both sides of your chest to your shoulders.”

Leaving out the names of the meridians, Mu-jin pressed each point in order and explained, and soon Mu-yul nodded as if he understood.

“Wow! I was confused about the names and locations of the meridians, but this way, it seems so much easier!”

“That’s good to hear. Ah, and if you get confused or forget again, just ask. I have a feeling you might forget again.”

“Yep yep! Huh? Did you say it goes from here to there?”

“…No. Not there, this way.”

Seeing Mu-yul forget in just a few seconds, Mu-jin was now sure.

He understood why the name Mu-yul did not appear in the novel.

* * *

Forty days had passed since Mu-jin began learning the internal energy operation of the Revolving Fist Technique.

As Mu-jin had predicted, Master Uncle Hye-jeong and the Second-class Disciples taught one more technique each day, but since it was a basic martial art, there weren’t many techniques, and the entire transfer was completed in just ten days.

After that, each child continued training at their own pace, and now another month had passed.

Not only Mu-jin and Mu-gung, but also Mu-gyeong and Mu-yul had managed to learn all ten techniques of the Revolving Fist Technique.

Among the seventy novice disciples, only about thirty managed to learn all ten techniques of the Revolving Fist Technique.

However, the most notable change in Mu-jin was not that he had learned all ten techniques of the Revolving Fist Technique.

During the usual early morning training time…

While Mu-jin was doing squats with several sandbags tied together on his shoulders in place of a barbell…

Beob Gang, who had been wandering around aimlessly watching the training of the novice disciples, tilted his head in wonder.

‘Has Mu-jin’s body gotten a bit stronger?’

With a sense of curiosity, Beob Gang rubbed his eyes once and then looked again at Mu-jin, who was still exercising.

‘Wait. How many sandbags is Mu-jin holding right now?’

Realizing he hadn’t been mistaken, Beob Gang couldn’t hide his surprise.

Building muscle through exercise does not bring about change overnight. It’s like building a tower—daily efforts accumulate, and eventually, the results gradually appear.

Now, more than two months had passed since Choi Kang-hyuk had possessed Mu-jin.

Finally, the results began to show.

Of course, it was just the result of two months. It wasn’t that he had returned to the body he had when he was originally Choi Kang-hyuk, or that he had become extremely muscular.

However, Mu-jin’s body, which until two months ago had been just an ordinary neighbourhood kid’s body, now had muscles that, although not large, clearly outlined his physique.

Especially when compared to other children, the change was even more pronounced.

The body of Mu-jin, who had been the last to enter the temple among this group of novice disciples, had now started to surpass the other Novice Monks.

‘…Could it really be true what Mu-jin said?’

The thought that Mu-jin’s words about Shaolin’s training methods being foolish might actually be true, emerged as a blasphemous thought that Beob Gang, as a disciple of Shaolin, should not even consider.

* * *

Are Shaolin’s training methods wrong?

Captured by such a question, Beob Gang spent several hours pondering alone.

Given his straightforward nature, he could not dare ask anyone about the topic, as it seemed like denying Shaolin, which was his root.

And Hyun Seong, who oversees the Arhat Faction, could easily read the worries etched on Beob Gang’s face.

“Beob Gang. It seems deep worries have taken root in your heart.”

“Ah… Greetings, Master Uncle Hyun Seong.”

Lost in thought, Beob Gang belatedly greeted Hyun Seong, having not even noticed his approach.

“People’s worries, once spoken out loud, often turn out to be nothing much. So, don’t worry and speak up. What is it that troubles your heart so?”

“It’s just that…”

Beob Gang hesitated uncharacteristically.

Encouraged by Hyun Seong’s benevolent smile, Beob Gang decided to share his concerns about realizing the changes in Mu-jin and his blasphemous doubts regarding whether Shaolin’s training methods might indeed be flawed.

“Huh… So Mu-jin has developed that much in the meantime.”

Hyun Seong also let out a low exclamation of wonder upon hearing Beob Gang’s words. Although he had been paying attention to Mu-jin, it was merely regarding his disposition and talent in martial arts, not his training methods. In fact, he had considered the training a waste of Mu-jin’s disposition and talent.

Therefore, Hyun Seong felt the need to see for himself if what Beob Gang said was true.

“Can you bring Mu-jin to the Ban-dangju’s hall?”

“Mu-jin, you mean?”

“Yes. It seems this problem won’t be solved by our worries alone. So, wouldn’t it be proper to see and talk to the child in question directly?”

“…Understood, Master Uncle.”

Beob Gang saluted Hyun Seong with one hand and then moved towards the quarters of the novice disciples.

Watching Beob Gang’s departing figure for a while, Hyun Seong, too, headed towards the Ban-dangju’s hall with a face that seemed to have taken on the worries.

* * *

‘Did I unwittingly cause some trouble?’

This thought involuntarily came to mind when Beob Gang suddenly came saying, ‘The Abbot is looking for you.’

But Mu-jin, who prided himself on having behaved since returning from the wall-facing meditation, wondered if that was indeed the case.

As expected, Mu-yul, Mu-gyeong, and Mu-gung, who were training beside him, shook their heads and said to Mu-jin.

“Mu-jin, did you hit someone again?”

“Mu-jin, this time, when you go, you just have to say you’re sorry, okay?”

“Tsk. Did you cause trouble again?”

“……”

It seemed that these children had already forgotten the kindness of being raised and taught, speaking so prettily to each other.

“What are you doing? The Ban-dangju is waiting, let’s go.”

“Yes, Beob Gang.”

Mu-jin gave a warning fist bump to the trio and then followed Beob Gang toward the Ban-dangju’s hall.

“Master Uncle Hyun Seong. Second-class Disciple Beob Gang has arrived with Mu-jin.”

“Come in.”

After Hyun Seong gave permission, Mu-jin entered the Ban-dangju’s hall with Beob Gang.

“……”

“……”

But why was it that Hyun Seong, who had summoned him, was now silently staring at him with a strange expression without saying anything? Moreover, he wasn’t looking at Mu-jin’s face but inspecting various parts of his body.

“Cough. I’m still embarrassed by the lack of muscles.”

Considering his body was still far from the physique of Choi Kang-hyuk, Mu-jin felt embarrassed and subtly changed his posture, inflating his muscles with strength.

“…What are you doing?”

“Side chest… No, I was just trying out a pose for a moment.”

Trying to emphasize his modest muscles, Mu-jin had adopted a bodybuilding pose.

Thanks to his odd behavior, the silence swirling around the Ban-dangju’s hall was broken, and Hyun Seong continued the conversation.

“It has been quite some time since we talked face-to-face like this.”

“Yes. It seems to be the first time since the last incident, Ban-dangju.”

“Ha ha ha. That last incident wasn’t exactly a pleasant one.”

“Have you called me again because of that incident?”

To Mu-jin’s bold question, Hyun Seong shook his head.

“It’s not because of that. I called you to confirm something with my own eyes. And now that I have, it seems I can tell.”

Mu-jin tilted his head, puzzled by Hyun Seong’s cryptic talk.

“What do you mean?”

“I heard from Beob Gang. Your body has been growing at a much faster rate compared to other novice disciples. And seeing it for myself now, it seems to be true.”

Mu-jin made an awkward expression at Hyun Seong’s words, feeling embarrassed to receive such praise for his small amount of muscle growth.

“But I didn’t call you just to see your growth. More than that, I was curious if your growth really comes from the training methods of your clan.”

Mu-jin easily caught on to where the situation was heading.

“Are you saying you wanted to check if the training method I’m following is truly superior to Shaolin’s?”

“Exactly.”

Hyun Seong nodded to Mu-jin’s question and added.

“However, we can’t say that the training method is superior just because your body has grown quickly. It could be that you are particularly talented.”

He was about to suggest that Mu-jin try Shaolin’s training methods for a while.

If Mu-jin still showed rapid progress while practicing Shaolin’s methods, then it would simply mean that it was his talent that was exceptional.

And incidentally, Hyun Seong also had the ulterior motive of applying Shaolin’s training methods to Mu-jin during this opportunity.

But before Hyun Seong could speak, Mu-jin took the initiative.

“Then there is a simple solution.”

“A simple solution?”

“Yes. Why not select a few other disciples, and I will lead their training? If we compare the disciples trained by me to those trained by Shaolin, group against group, wouldn’t the results be clear?”

“Hmm.”

Hyun Seong pondered over Mu-jin’s suggestion for a moment.

‘It’s a pity I can’t impose Shaolin’s training on this child, but…’

Indeed, comparing groups rather than just Mu-jin individually would yield a more accurate comparison.

“Then you can choose the children you will teach.”

“I already have some in mind.”

“You have some in mind?”

“Yes. I choose Mu-yul, Mu-gyeong, and Mu-gung.”

Finally, the opportunity had come to rescue the trio from the dreadful Shaolin-style training.

‘I’ll make sure to give them a proper workout, you little ones.’

It was definitely not because he had chosen them for treating him as a problem child.