Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Racoon Hunt

“Please, spare me! Didn’t you say you would spare me if I didn’t come closer?!”

Mr. Jang, who ran a fabric shop in Woe-hyeon, knelt and pleaded with the man dressed in Wudang attire.

“Hmph. You might have colluded with the Martial Alliance, so why would I spare you?”

But the Wudang swordsman, with a merciless expression, swung the Songmun Antique Sword.

Slash.

“Urgh…”

In an instant, Mr. Jang, with his abdomen slashed, tried to hold his spilling intestines, but soon lost his life with a faint groan.

Meanwhile, from the second floor of a nearby inn, a waiter secretly watching the scene through the window covered his mouth with both hands, trembling in fear.

However, even though a common person might try to hide their presence, it’s impossible to conceal it from a skilled martial artist.

The Wudang swordsman, aware that the waiter was hiding, for some reason just flicked the blood off the Songmun Antique Sword and turned to leave.

* * *

“Run! The Shaolin and Wudang are killing people!!”

Suddenly, screams and unexpected shouts echoed throughout Woe-hyeon.

For the Shaolin and Wudang disciples who were on their way to the Martial Alliance, it was a baffling situation.

“Did it come to this, Alliance Leader.”

Jegal Muhwan had anticipated this outcome.

If he were the Alliance Leader, he would have chosen the same method.

Even the seasoned monks and warriors of Shaolin and Wudang, who had not expected this, started to understand the situation.

“General, what should we do?”

At Abbot Hyun-cheon’s question, Jegal Muhwan clicked his tongue lightly and spoke.

“The best option is to cut down all the civilians blocking our way and charge towards the Martial Alliance as quickly as possible.”

“?!”

Despite the shocked faces of the Shaolin and Wudang disciples, Jegal Muhwan continued his explanation.

“The reason they are acting this way is to scatter us. They are killing civilians everywhere in Shinchun disguised as Shaolin and Wudang disciples. To stop them, we would have to scatter. And if we scatter, we will walk right into the enemy’s traps.”

Of course, ignoring the deaths of civilians would lead to bad rumors about Shaolin and Wudang spreading.

The enemy was killing civilians disguised as Shaolin and Wudang.

Jegal Muhwan had also prepared a countermeasure for this.

“And finally, after taking control of the Martial Alliance and killing Alliance Leader Wi Ji-hak as quickly as possible, if we kill all the civilians in Woe-hyeon to erase the evidence, we can also stop the bad rumors about Shaolin and Wudang.”

“Jegal General!!!”

“Wh-what nonsense are you spouting?!”

Abbot Hyun-cheon and the elderly members of Shaolin and Wudang shouted in outrage, unable to accept it.

Jegal Muhwan opened his mouth again, looking them straight in the eyes.

“The more we try to save the civilians, the more our losses will increase. Also, since the enemy has massacred disguised, the probability of bad rumors spreading about us is very high if we save the civilians. We will be engulfed in bad rumors even after sacrificing ourselves for the civilians, do you still want to make such a sacrifice?”

Abbot Hyun-cheon averted his gaze for a moment at Jegal Muhwan’s question.

Not to avoid Jegal Muhwan’s gaze.

His gaze was directed at Mu-jin.

That was the way of Shaolin in the past.

Fearful of public opinion, they always secluded themselves in the mountains, living a life of patience and endurance without flexibility.

But now they knew.

That it ultimately meant ignoring the suffering of the people.

They had realized this after running a clinic for muscle and bone treatment in collaboration with the Cheonryu Sangdan years ago, all thanks to Mu-jin.

So his decision was already made.

“We don’t care about rumors or losses! We are out here to save the people!”

“Our Wudang is the same!”

Right after hearing the resolute answers from Shaolin and Wudang.

As if he had anticipated this answer, Jegal Muhwan snapped open his fan and pointed to the sides.

“From now on, the Palgwae Units will split up and deal with the attackers in Woe-hyeon! Each unit should advance to their assigned directions!”

He swiftly gave instructions to the Shaolin and Wudang disciples.

Before coming to Woe-hyeon, he had already organized eight units named after the Palgwae (Eight Trigrams).

The units moved immediately upon his command.

The Qian Unit headed northwest of Woe-hyeon, while the Xun Unit started moving southeast.

“After moving to your assigned directions, split into teams and secure your areas!”

Each unit was further divided into eight teams, also named after the Palgwae.

Each team consisted of six members, with Wudang and Shaolin disciples mixed together.

In terms of efficiency, it was not the best arrangement. Since they hadn’t trained together for long, coordinating formations was inconvenient.

It would have been better if Shaolin stayed with Shaolin and Wudang with Wudang.

“If you see anyone in Wudang or Shaolin attire you don’t recognize, dispose of them immediately!”

The disciples were mixed to handle such situations.

Wudang disciples didn’t know all the Shaolin disciples, and vice versa.

Watching Jegal Muhwan rapidly give orders, Mu-jin wore a dumbfounded expression.

‘Is this why he organized the units using the Palgwae?’

He had wondered why the units were organized this way, but now it was clear that Jegal Muhwan intended to take control of all Woe-hyeon from the start.

It meant he had foreseen that such a battle would take place in Woe-hyeon, not the Martial Alliance.

So Mu-jin asked Jegal Muhwan.

“Then, what should the rest of us do?”

Six members formed one team, and eight teams formed one unit.

With eight units moving to take control of Woe-hyeon, 384 people had left the formation.

But even with that number gone, there were still over 300 people gathered in one place.

Initially, the combined numbers of Shaolin and Wudang were about 700.

Jegal Muhwan responded as if it was obvious.

“We need to support the areas where we are being pushed back and also face the Martial Alliance that will soon start moving.”

* * *

Alliance Leader Wi Ji-hak and the members of the Martial Alliance were all gathered near the entrance of the Martial Alliance.

“Run! The Shaolin and Wudang are killing people!!”

Upon hearing that shout, Alliance Leader Wi Ji-hak had to quickly manage his expression.

Otherwise, he might have unknowingly smiled.

The shout was actually made by a subordinate he had placed in Shinchun.

And the effect was clear.

“Alliance Leader! Let us go out now!”

“We must punish those vile Shaolin people with the iron hammer of the Alliance!”

The young members of the Alliance, believing they were on the righteous path, were fired up.

All that remained was to time it right and let these naive Alliance members clash with the Shaolin people.

And that moment came quickly.

“Alliance Leader! They have started to spread out across Woe-hyeon!!”

At the shout from the subordinate watching from the wall, the Alliance Leader responded.

“It seems certain that those Shaolin bastards are planning to massacre the residents of Woe-hyeon to lure us outside the walls!”

As soon as his shout fell, the members looked at their leader with anxious faces.

Then, with a grim expression, the leader cried out.

“Abandon the defense!! Open the gates!! Even if it means our deaths, we must stop the treacherous Shaolin from slaughtering the innocent!!”

“Yes, sir!!!”

Answering vigorously, the members, fueled by their enmity towards Shaolin, began to march out the gates.

‘Heh heh heh.’

Watching his members head to their doom, unaware of the truth, the leader laughed inwardly.

‘When I first played the role of a righteous sect, it didn’t suit me at all.’

That damned justification, justification.

As someone from Shinchun, he found the ways of the righteous sects extremely disagreeable.

However, having lived as a warrior of the righteous sects for decades, and having served as a leader for over ten years, he had grown quite accustomed to exploiting that justification.

‘As long as I have justification, I can manipulate things this easily. Compared to struggling in the unorthodox factions, this suits me much better. Hahaha.’

* * *

“Waaahhh!!!”

“Let’s deliver the league’s judgment to these treacherous monks!!”

“Kill all the monks and baldies!!”

Watching the martial arts league members charging with eyes rolled back and screaming, Mu-jin couldn’t help but laugh.

“Wow. No matter how much you need a scapegoat, isn’t that a bit too brazen?”

Just by looking at their expressions and tone, one might really think they had committed a massacre of the innocent.

Feeling an itch to immediately slaughter those shameless bastards, Mu-jin was answered by Jegal Muhwan.

“Heh heh heh. Of course. They truly believe it’s the truth.”

“…What do you mean?”

“There are many among them who have no ties to Shinchun. They’re foolishly playing into Shinchun’s hands, believing they’re righteous.”

“!!!”

His words drew the attention of everyone around him to Jegal Muhwan.

While it was one thing for those who had allied with Shinchun, fighting against the innocents who were being used by their enemies without knowing the truth was another matter.

“Foolishness is also a sin in this world. Heh heh heh. Trying to save them might lead to our own losses. Just as you divided your forces to save civilians, will you now sacrifice more of your troops to save them? By the way, among those fools, there are Shinchun warriors mixed in.”

To his question, Master Hyun-hyeon responded confidently.

“Buddhist teachings are about repentance and atonement. Unless they have committed grave sins, foolishness can be corrected!”

“Even if Shinchun warriors are among them, you won’t kill them?”

“We will subdue them all and then identify the Shinchun warriors!”

“Does Wudang share the same sentiment?”

“Yes.”

Following Hyun-hyeon, Yunheo Zhenren, who was leading the Wudang disciples, answered.

“If that’s what the two of you have decided, so be it.”

Having received firm answers from the two, Jegal Muhwan opened his fan and began to issue commands again.

“There are innocents among them! Subdue them alive! The Noyang unit, advance to block the enemy’s charge! The Soyang unit, support the Noyang unit and immobilize those who have been subdued!”

No sooner had his command been given than those remaining in the center swiftly took formation.

Even those in the center were divided into four groups of eighty each. Noyang, Soyang, Noyum, and Soyum units.

However, unlike the previous eight groups, they were not further divided into smaller squads.

Initially, they had only been divided into small squads to spread out widely.

Jegal Muhwan knew very well that it would be foolish to operate in small squads with those who had no experience in coordinated training.

Meanwhile, Mu-jin, the only one not assigned to a specific unit or group, felt something strange.

And as Jegal Muhwan’s commands took shape into a rough formation, Mu-jin asked what had been puzzling him through a telepathic message.

– Strategist. Why did you reveal all these facts?

The Jegal Muhwan Mu-jin knew would have concealed such information.

It would have been more efficient to let Shaolin and Wudang massacre them, believing they were Shinchun warriors.

To Mu-jin’s question, Jegal Muhwan looked at him with a peculiar smirk.

– Heh heh heh. The Shaolin Dragon indeed doesn’t seem to fit well with Shaolin.

– Stop with the nonsense and reveal your reason. If you don’t, I’ll assume you intended to trap us.

At Mu-jin’s threat, Jegal Muhwan snorted.

– It was for the future.

– Future? What future?

– Tsk. Even if I hid this truth, I couldn’t hide it forever. They would eventually realize they had killed innocents. When that time comes, would they still be able to fight properly?

– Ah…

Mu-jin understood what Jegal Muhwan was getting at.

Both Shaolin and Wudang placed great importance on their mission to save all living beings.

Conversely, discovering they had slaughtered innocents would deal a massive psychological blow.

– So you said it to boost morale?

– Heh heh heh. Indeed, you’re quick-witted.

To Mu-jin’s question, Jegal Muhwan gave a mischievous smile, unsuited for the urgent battlefield.

Jegal Muhwan had always proposed the easier route of killing everyone first, yet he deliberately presented the harder task to Shaolin and Wudang.

He made them choose the “difficult but righteous” path themselves.

‘Heh heh heh. Leader, if you come with justification, I shall counter with justification as well.’

Justification. It was both the weakness and strength of the righteous sects.

While it constantly shook them, they also gathered individuals willing to die for that single justification.

Moreover, those who believed they were doing the right thing tended to draw out greater strength.

Jegal Muhwan, though cold and unswayed by justification himself, knew how to use it to motivate his warriors.

‘Now, let’s see. The strength of Shaolin and Wudang, who have been hailed as the North Stars of the martial world.’

He watched the battlefield with eyes full of expectation.

Jegal Muhwan had one secret he didn’t disclose to Mu-jin.

Though he claimed he revealed the truth to boost morale, subduing without killing would still be difficult even with high morale.

Therefore, this battle was also a test for Shaolin and Wudang from Jegal Muhwan.

He intended to see if they had the strength to uphold their lofty ideals and overcome this challenging battle.

It was a test to see if those who refused to use underhanded methods could withstand Shinchun’s ruthless attacks.

And as Jegal Muhwan surveyed the battlefield with gleaming eyes, he addressed the final part of his test.

“Shaolin Dragon, it’s your turn to step forward.”

With those words, Jegal Muhwan pointed his fan towards the battlefield.

While the league members and Shaolin and Wudang disciples had just begun to clash, he wasn’t pointing at the front lines.

“There, Wi Ji-hak has revealed himself. Shaolin Dragon, you handle him.”

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