Wudang Sacred Scriptures

Master Hyunam, who had been gazing silently at Kwak Yeon, finally relaxed the stiffness in his expression and spoke.
“If that is truly your resolve, then quietly follow behind. It is not to blame you for any crime, but to quell the storms that may yet rise. No matter how lofty your cultivation may be, you still lack experience and discernment to navigate the perils of the martial world.”
“……”

“I am not unaware that you have faced many hardships in the past. There were elders of the sect who acted small-mindedly. They now feel shame for having failed to recognize a treasure, for not giving you proper instruction.”
The gaze Master Hyunam cast upon Kwak Yeon was deep and thoughtful.
“I also know that the Grand Elder has yet to abandon his narrow-mindedness. That there is intent behind ordering your return to the main sect—I do not ignore this. But you are no longer who you once were. Your standing within Wudang has reached the level of the Wudang Seven Swords. You are more than capable of withstanding the Grand Elder’s narrow designs.”

“……”
“Take this time to learn and refine the seasonal techniques of the main sect that you’ve yet to study. Once that is done, should you seek to walk your own path, no senior of the sect shall block your way.”
Once again, Kwak Yeon felt the true breadth of Wudang.

There were indeed narrow-hearted ones among them, but beneath that, many elders upheld the foundation.
“Wudang is a Great Mountain,” he said. “Weeds may flourish, but it is because it is a great mountain that even weeds can grow upon it. Yet when the season changes, the weeds wither, and the mountain’s true majesty is revealed. That is the enduring might of a thousand-year Wudang.”
These were the words Elder Jang Noya had once spoken proudly.

Naturally, Kwak Yeon understood the meaning behind Master Hyunam’s words. It was also a chance to learn those rising techniques of Wudang that he had regrettably never encountered.
But his path was already firm.
“I understand your meaning, but I will not return to the mountain.”

“……”
“Because the Immortal Master once told me not to become the sword of Wudang—but the sword of the world.”
Kwak Yeon dared not invoke the phrase “kill the Buddha, slay the patriarch.” In the present circumstances, it could come off as grossly disrespectful.

Master Hyunam replied,
“If you seek to become the sword of the world, then all the more reason to master Wudang’s seasonal techniques.”
“There is nothing more I can learn by returning to Wudang.”
Truly an arrogant statement—one that could be interpreted as belittling Wudang, the grand patriarch of martial disciplines under heaven.

But Master Hyunam, knowing the level of Kwak Yeon’s cultivation, did not reprimand him. Instead, he asked,
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I have already attained Wudang’s True Scripture.”

“Wudang’s True Scripture?”
Master Hyunam’s eyes visibly flinched.
The phrase “True Scripture” was not one that could be spoken lightly.

Now he fully understood why Grand Elder Yunhak Jin-in had ordered that Kwak Yeon be brought back at all costs.
Understanding now where Kwak Yeon’s level stemmed from, Master Hyunam nodded.
“I now understand your intent. However, as the Head of the Disciplinary Court, I have received a Sectmaster’s Decree to bring you back.”
“I am fully aware of that. And I know that you, Master Hyunam, more than anyone, would uphold a Sectmaster’s Decree to the letter. However…”

Kwak Yeon met Master Hyunam’s eyes directly and continued.
“There was once a time when you made an exception at the Instruction Hall, was there not?”
“……!”

“I heard it from Chief Instructor Kang Ik-yu himself. He said it was a tremendous relief that you did not pursue the cause of the trainees’ stomach troubles any further.”
Master Hyunam’s eyes widened.
“Why would Instructor Kang have told you such a thing…? Ah. So it was you who caused that whole mess at the Instruction Hall that day?”

Kwak Yeon nodded.
“If you had not overlooked it that day, Master Hyunam, I would have had no choice but to confess the truth. I couldn’t just stand by while Chief Instructor Kang or Assistant Instructor So suffered on my behalf.”
“……”

“You made an exception once. I thought perhaps you could do so again, and that’s why I came to you.”
“Otherwise, you would have left quietly?”
“Whether I informed you or not, my departure was already decided. I simply didn’t want to leave you, Master Hyunam, with disappointment in your heart.”

Master Hyunam gave silent assent in his heart.
With Kwak Yeon’s current level, there was no way to stop him from leaving. He was not being held against his will, after all.
Perhaps… he had even been hoping for this outcome.

Kwak Yeon spoke.
“The reason I intend to leave is so I won’t forget the comrades from Wudang who passed away yesterday.”
“……!”

“Just earlier outside, I heard the verdict from the Palace Lords’ Conference—that I must immediately return to Wudang.”
“You mean to confront the enemies of the Cult of the Evil Way alone?”
“You know full well that I am not lacking in ability, do you not?”

He did.
The collapse of the annex wasn’t mere coincidence. It had happened after a certain wave had passed through, rousing every meridian in the body.
And that wave had originated from Kwak Yeon, who stood beside him.

Even amid sorrow, Master Hyunam had been astonished.
“However, it has already been decided that the dispute between Wudang and the Cult of the Evil Way is to be ended. That was the decision of the Murim Alliance’s Representative Assembly. We cannot ignore it.”
To this, Kwak Yeon immediately replied.

“Wasn’t that decision specifically about the conflict between Wudang Sect and the Cult of the Evil Way? It never said that a lay disciple couldn’t settle his own personal grievances.”
Master Hyunam’s eyes widened.
He was right.

Kwak Yeon, having returned to secular life, was no longer a formal member of the Wudang Sect.
After a moment’s thought, Master Hyunam said,
“Then I never met a disciple named Kwak. The young hero I brought from Aknyang yesterday was merely a companion I happened to travel with.”

“That companion yesterday is Cheolga-hyung of Hyeongmun in Hangzhou.”
Kwak Yeon once again invoked the false identity he had adopted from the Beggars’ Guild to deceive the clerks of the Seomyeon Office.
“I was simply returning after attending the Hwayeong Assembly.”

“Hmm. I never got the young hero’s name. Thanks to you, I now know.”
A small breeze of warmth passed between the two men.
Then Master Hyunam straightened his expression and said,

“Kwak Yeon, will you do me a favor?”
“……”
“Make sure not a single person involved in this ambush remains alive.”

“I’ve already made that vow—before the body of my fallen friend.”
Seeing the calm light in Kwak Yeon’s eyes, Master Hyunam was at last able to shed the sorrow that weighed on his heart.
 

****
“I’m sorry I can’t go with you, Kwak Yeon.”
Seokjangsan spoke as he accompanied him for the send-off.

His eyes were still swollen.
“And… thank you.”
“You didn’t leave the sect formally. There’s nothing you could’ve done.”

“……”
“But aren’t you even a little worried about me?”
“What’s there to worry about? Master Hyunam himself acknowledged you. That’s why he’s letting you go.”

He said that, but the worry in his tone was clear.
“Just… be careful.”
“Yeah, I’ll always be careful.”

“Still, what are you going to do all alone? It’s already been a while since those bastards covered their tracks.”
“I’ve thought of a way to find them. And… I have somewhere I can turn for help.”
“You mean the Rear Beggar of the Beggars’ Guild?”

Kwak Yeon nodded. There were others too, but he didn’t say it.
“You really are something. Sworn brothers with the Rear Beggar himself… and they say he’s practically impossible to deal with.”
“I’m not exactly easygoing either, you know. Like attracts like.”

“Kwak Yeon, you? Difficult?”
Kwak Yeon nodded again.
“Now that I’ve stepped into the martial world, I realize I’ve got my own rough edges.”

“You’re not difficult—you just have too much of a sense of responsibility.”
Seokjangsan couldn’t bring himself to add what he was really thinking: That’s why I’m worried.
A man’s nature doesn’t change, and that was precisely what made Kwak Yeon who he was.

“……!”
Kwak Yeon could read those thoughts clearly in Seokjangsan’s eyes.
‘You haven’t changed. Still so pure.’

“I need your help.”
The large boy he once met in the archive of the Instruction Hall had long since become a strapping young man.
Kwak Yeon shook off the wave of emotion and asked,

“How’s Samnyeonggung?”
He truly missed Daoist Hyeonhae and Daoist Cheongmu.
“There hasn’t been much news since I left the mountain. Oh, but I heard the Palace Lord of Samnyeonggung is now frequently attending the Palace Lords’ Conference.”

No news is good news, or so they say.
“Any word about the Supreme Patriarch?”
“None. So little news that everyone’s worried, honestly. But then again, he’s always been like a drifting cloud.”

“What about the Sectmaster?”
“He shows himself from time to time. Still leaves the big and small affairs to the Grand Elder, though.”
Once the questions started, they flowed out like a burst dam.

“Have you seen Master Hyeonmun often?”
Seokjangsan shook his head.
“I haven’t seen Master Hyeonmun at all. He completely cut off contact with Ujingung. Our master tries to mediate, but it seems there’s too much built up between Master Hyeonmun and our patriarch.”

Kwak Yeon fell silent. He knew he was the cause of it.
“How’s your household, the Seok Family?”
“Still the same.”

“You still thinking of going back home someday?”
He was asking because Seokjangsan had never taken a Taoist name.
“I haven’t decided yet. My mother wants me to come back.”

What mother would ever wish for her son to become a monastic?
Mothers want their children to build a family and live in peace.
Seokjangsan was caught between Wudang and his family.

‘It’s a blessed kind of dilemma.’
In contrast, Kwak Yeon had already imprisoned himself in the haze of Ultimate Enlightenment.
When they reached a quiet mountain path, Kwak Yeon spoke.

“I’ve gained the inner realization left behind by Patriarch Zhang Sanfeng. I’ve never told anyone… but I didn’t want to keep it from you.”
“Ah! So ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) that’s how you crossed the river. Congratulations.”
“An inner realization isn’t something you can really put into words. That’s why I can’t share it with you—and that’s what I regret.”

He meant it.
Seokjangsan was the kind of friend he wanted to share everything with. And truthfully, they had shared everything over the years.
It wasn’t just that it was an inner realization that made it unshareable—he wouldn’t have passed on the vision even if he could.

Because it would sentence him to a life of hardship.
The realm of Ultimate Enlightenment was a fate meant for him alone.
Seokjangsan said,

“I don’t expect anything like that. If Patriarch Zhang Sanfeng’s insight reached you, then that’s because it was meant for you. I know better than to crave what wasn’t fated for me.”
Kwak Yeon nodded.
He had his own path. And Seokjangsan had his.

“In the end, all paths return home. We’ll cross again.”
At those words, Kwak Yeon replied,
“You sounded like an older brother just now.”

“When was I not?”
Kwak Yeon gave a faint, bitter smile.
“When do you think we’ll meet again?”

“I’m still on Mount Wudang. What kind of question is that?”
“True.”
He didn’t say that he might never return.

He didn’t know when he would fulfill the Immortal Master’s final will—or if he’d ever complete the Ultimate Enlightenment.
“I can’t pass on the inner realization, but I’ve learned a few things.”
The three divine arts of the Western sect’s master were soaked in killing intent—he couldn’t bring himself to pass them on.

And besides, Wudang already had refined ascending techniques derived from them through the legacy of Patriarch Zhang Sanfeng.
Instead, Kwak Yeon explained the workings of external arousal—and why inner cultivation of the mind was crucial to strengthening it.
“When the heart gives rise to qi, the energy it stirs is unlike ordinary internal qi. It elevates the body’s vitality as a whole. The vitality stirred from within momentarily amplifies one’s strength.”

Humans sometimes exhibit bursts of extraordinary strength. Most often, this happens not for their own sake—but when witnessing someone else in danger. Especially when parental instincts come into play.
“If you store that vitality in the acupuncture points, your external arousal grows.”