Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Shaolin

Even though it was a surprise attack in the dead of night, the Shaolin disciples were waiting in front of the mountain gate.

Despite the failure of their ambush, the assassins from Salmak who had come to Shaolin showed no signs of panic.

From the beginning, their emotions seemed suppressed, and it appeared they were incapable of feeling surprise.

As the assassins began to enter Shaolin through the mountain gate, and when dozens of them confronted the Shaolin martial monks:

“Advance.”

As soon as the words fell from a man dressed in night gear, the assassins moved.

It was a bizarre sight.

Clearly, the men in black were moving, but not a single sound was made.

Moving without a sound and appearing and disappearing faintly, they seemed almost ghost-like.

“You’re just showing off petty tricks.”

Hye-dam, having returned to his usual emotionless expression, shouted.

From his hand burst forth the essence of Shaolin that he had silently built up over the decades.

A massive crimson flame, a mix of Shaolin’s unique golden energy and the essence of the sun, began to devour the approaching assassins using their stealth techniques.

But even in the excruciating pain of their flesh burning, the assassins did not utter a single groan.

Despite the grotesque sight of human-shaped shadows burning, Hye-dam spoke in a blunt tone.

“Deploy the Arhat Formation!”

As soon as the leader of the 108 Arhats gave the command, six groups, each divided into eighteen, began to form a massive formation.

Among the countless formations in the martial world, there are numerous formations deployed through human movements.

Among them, the greatest formation, created by 108 people, is the best in the central plains.

The assassins rushing at the 108 Arhat Formation were like moths flying into a deadly flame.

Thud!

The sound of flesh and muscle being crushed and bones shattering as fists, feet, and staffs collided resounded from all around.

Like a giant swamp, the formation crushed the approaching assassins for a moment.

“Ugh…”

For the first time, a groan echoed through the Shaolin scriptures.

However, it was not the groan of an assassin.

While the assassins were falling dead, one assassin, who had completely hidden in the darkness, stabbed a dagger into the side of one of the 108 Arhats.

And that assassin was the same one who had initially commanded the other assassins to attack.

“I will personally deal with that one.”

Hye-dam, who was directing the movements of the 108 Arhats, said this and leaped.

He had noticed that this assassin’s skill was far superior to the others.

* * *

The ones fighting the assassins were not only the 108 Arhats.

Crash!

Mu-gyeong, who had crushed the face of an approaching assassin with a single punch, caught his breath and surveyed his surroundings.

Mu-gyeong had chosen to stay in Shaolin to await the assassins from Salmak instead of going to help Mu-jin.

This was partly to avenge his master, Hye-gwan, but also because he could not easily imagine Mu-jin being defeated.

“As long as one guards against oneself, one can also be considered a proper Buddhist,” he had said.

As long as he wasn’t consumed by murderous intent, he was no monster.

Crash!

Even as he granted death to the assassins, he was fighting the impulses rising within him.

He wanted to rush out and slaughter all the assassins in the midst, but he managed to maintain his composure.

“Hm?”

Thanks to that composure, Mu-gyeong realized something important.

The countless assassins being drawn to the 108 Arhat Formation like moths to a flame.

There were those using their shadows to bypass the formation and head deeper into Shaolin.

Mu-gyeong, familiar with their stealth techniques from numerous confrontations, noticed this.

“They’re aiming for the inside!”

Realizing their goal, Mu-gyeong was inwardly shocked.

Of course, if they bypassed the 108 Arhats and moved inside, they could target Shaolin’s numerous traditional halls or sacred texts.

And they could also target the monks who had not left Shaolin.

But for a few assassins to bypass the formation, dozens or hundreds of them were being sacrificed to the 108 Arhats.

The assassins casually throwing away their lives and those who gave such orders were incomprehensible to Mu-gyeong.

But now was not the time to be surprised by their insane actions.

“Assassins are heading inside!”

Informing the 108 Arhats of the situation, Mu-gyeong turned and chased after the assassins who had infiltrated.

Since he was not part of the 108 Arhats, moving alone would not affect the formation, allowing him to make this decision.

Even after Mu-gyeong moved, the 108 Arhat Formation remained unchanged.

“Since there are disciples inside, clean up here first and then deal with those who infiltrated!”

This decision was made by Hye-seung, the first disciple, who was commanding the 108 Arhats in place of Hye-dam.

And as Hye-seung said, there were still martial monks inside Shaolin.

“Hah!”

As Mu-gyeong chased the assassins inside, the martial monks inside also came out of the halls and began fighting the assassins.

Crash!

Surprisingly, the martial monks not part of the 108 Arhats were also easily dealing with the assassins.

Shaolin is considered the pinnacle of the martial world. It might seem natural, but it wasn’t necessarily so.

“How dare you!”

What caught Mu-gyeong’s eye first was the robust bodies of the martial monks revealed through their movements.

It had been nearly ten years since Mu-jin introduced strength training to Shaolin.

Now, no Shaolin disciple neglected weight training.

Moreover, the aura exuded by the martial monks was overwhelming the assassins.

The enormous wealth Shaolin earned in partnership with Cheonryu Sangdan.

Shaolin allocated more than half of it to the salvation of all beings, but they also steadily purchased medicinal herbs.

To further their salvation, they believed they needed to strengthen Shaolin.

Thus, Shaolin had become much stronger than it was a decade ago.

While practicing the same Shaolin martial arts, they effectively developed their external skills thanks to Mu-jin’s strength training.

And with the income from Mu-jin’s rehabilitation therapy, they produced So-hwan-dan to enhance the internal energy of the disciples.

“Shaolin is a place where the uninvited cannot enter!”

Members of the Salmak, one of the Seven Evils, considered equals to the Five Great Families and the Nine Sects, were falling one by one to the Shaolin martial monks.

Of course, the assassins’ specialty was not direct confrontation but ambushes.

Though the Shaolin disciples were more skilled, they were struggling to locate the assassins.

Some monks even got injured by failing to dodge the first attack from the darkness.

Realizing what he had to do, Mu-gyeong brought forth his internal energy.

Golden droplets formed around him and spread in all directions.

But this wasn’t to attack the assassins.

“There they are!”

Wherever the droplets aimed, assassins were hiding in the darkness.

As the Shaolin disciples charged towards the area where Mu-gyeong had launched his golden rain, the clashing sounds of metal and blows soon filled the air.

Mu-gyeong, who was controlling dozens of water droplets to signal the positions of the assassins, observed the battlefield with a calm gaze, or at least tried to remain calm.

‘Calm down. Calm down. The Sasook and Sabaeks can handle those bastards! I just need to indicate their positions!’

While moving dozens of water droplets, he revealed the hidden locations of the assassins.

If he were to go on a rampage to kill the assassins himself, he might be able to kill many of them.

‘But doing that would put everyone at risk of the assassins’ ambush.’

For now, the best help he could provide was to reveal the enemy’s locations rather than directly engaging in the fight.

As Mu-gyeong had thought, the golden water droplets scattered in the air guided the martial artists in their advance.

And at times, when inexperienced martial artists were in danger of being caught by the assassins’ ruthless tactics,

Ching!!

The guiding water droplets would intercept the assassins’ attacks.

“Drive out those who have defiled the temple!”

Bolstered by Mu-gyeong’s support, the martial artists began to push back the assassins.

* * *

The man in black who had initially given orders to the assassins was now moving stealthily among the statues of the 108 Arhats.

Unlike the other assassins who were detected by the energy waves emanating from the formation, he moved as if he belonged there.

It was only natural. As the deputy head of the Salmak, second only to the head known as the King of Assassins, he was a master of stealth.

Although his martial arts skills might not be on par with other masters, his stealth techniques allowed him to hide even in broad daylight.

Swish!

He drove his short blade into the side of one of the Shaolin warriors and then disappeared again.

“You bastard!!!”

He saw a burly man leave the formation in pursuit of him.

‘He’s called the Diamond Guardian, but it seems he can’t endure the deaths of his comrades.’

The frenzied Hye-dam was raging madly.

The deputy head continued to wound or kill the Shaolin warriors and hide, driving Hye-dam into a blind fury, making him crush the assassins’ heads without regard for his own defense.

The increasingly shallow wounds on Hye-dam’s body were a testament to his reckless attacks against weaker assassins without defending himself.

However, the deputy head felt no emotion as he watched Hye-dam’s rage.

Having been trained to suppress his emotions through torturous methods, he did not understand the feeling of ridicule.

He only made a cold assessment.

‘Now, I can kill him.’

If the head of the 108 Arhats fell, the formation would also collapse.

In his frenzied state, now was the perfect time to kill him.

Bang!!!

Hye-dam unleashed another Buddha’s Palm, shattering an assassin’s head.

Swish!

The deputy head seized the opportunity and struck at Hye-dam’s side with his short blade.

It was an astonishing sight. Even while striking, he remained hidden in the darkness.

The only visible thing was the faint, dark shadow of his short blade.

And as the blade pierced Hye-dam’s side,

“…….”

The deputy head realized too late that something was wrong.

Hye-dam, pierced in the side by his blade, was looking down at him.

Unlike his earlier frenzied shouts, Hye-dam now wore an indifferent expression.

“So, there you were.”

Despite the blade lodged in his side, Hye-dam muttered impassively and launched a palm strike.

The deputy head tried to evade, but Hye-dam’s attack was faster.

Crack!!

After a dreadful sound, the deputy head realized he had moved far less than he intended.

Then came the all-too-familiar sensation from his torturous training—pain.

“Both legs broken and yet you don’t make a sound.”

Looking down at him, Hye-dam remarked as the deputy head glanced at his lower body.

Hye-dam’s description was an understatement.

His legs were more shattered than broken, with bones protruding grotesquely and blood pouring out.

Realizing that stealth was meaningless with his blood pouring out, the deputy head abandoned his stealth and hurled his hidden weapons at Hye-dam.

Ching!

Hye-dam, with an impassive expression, deflected the hidden weapons and approached the fallen deputy head.

‘……A kindred spirit?’

The thought flashed through the deputy head’s mind.

Hye-dam’s face, approaching to kill him, seemed utterly indifferent.

“Atone for your sins in hell.”

As Hye-dam delivered the final palm strike,

The deputy head realized it was a misconception.

In Hye-dam’s eyes, he saw the reflection of his own body burning in the flames of Buddha’s Palm.

And beyond those eyes, he sensed an emotion he would never understand.

* * *

After dealing with the most troublesome assassin,

Hye-dam, who was looking down at the burning assassin, turned his gaze to his own wounds.

“Poison…”

The assassins’ weapons were all poisoned.

The blood flowing from his pierced side was turning black.

But Hye-dam, still indifferent, used his fiery qi to expel the poison.

After finishing a simple first aid, Hye-dam shouted with immense inner strength.

“Open the killing formation! I will bear all the sins, so eliminate every intruder in Shaolin!”

After delivering an unusually long speech, Hye-dam, ignoring his injuries,

Leaped towards the assassins once more.

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