Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Chapter 226:

Small Palace

Why did Mu-jin insist on dragging Mu-gyeong to find Ou-yang Pae?

It was because he needed to gain enlightenment from the match with Mu-gyeong to overcome the impending crisis when they went to the Southern Barbarians.

“Cough.”

However, if he was in such a half-dead state, enlightenment or not, the moment they went to the Southern Barbarians, a journey to the afterlife was guaranteed.

‘Damn. I unknowingly thought of him as the Heavenly Demon.’

Meeting the blood successor was supposed to be around the middle of the storyline. He was not yet the fully realized Heavenly Demon.

Even his invincible Primordial Chaos Divine Art was only in its nascent stage, yet Mu-jin, shocked alone, had used his full strength to unleash the Invincible Divine Fist.

But regret aside, saving him was the priority.

As Mu-jin hurriedly approached him and shouted, Ou-yang Pae, spitting blood, responded in a solemn tone.

“Kill me.”

“Kill you? What nonsense.”

There was no way to overturn the novel’s plot. If you die, who will purify the Demon Cult?

“…Are you, a warrior of your caliber, trying to mock me? Kill me cleanly, like a true warrior. Cough.”

“Stop talking nonsense, you crazy bastard. I’m not going to kill you. You must have some internal injury medicine! Where is it? Huh?”

After rummaging through Ou-yang Pae’s clothes, Mu-jin managed to find a pill.

“Is this for internal injuries?”

“…”

Seeing the Shaolin monk trying to save him, Ou-yang Pae looked at Mu-jin with a confused expression.

From Mu-jin’s perspective, he was desperate to save him as soon as possible.

“Damn it! Is it the right medicine? If it is, take it! Take it first and then decide whether to die or live.”

In response to Mu-jin’s urgent words, Ou-yang Pae, seemingly wanting to live, accepted and swallowed the medicine.

Mu-jin supported Ou-yang Pae, helping him sit in a position conducive to conducting Qi.

Whether it was the efficacy of the internal medicine or the quick Qi circulation, color gradually returned to Ou-yang Pae’s pale face.

“Mu-jin, what are you doing?”

Meanwhile, the rest of the group, who had witnessed the whole scene, were puzzled.

He had turned the successor of the Heavenly Demon into a half-dead state, and now he was trying to save him.

“Aren’t you going to kill him? Isn’t he the successor of the Heavenly Demon?”

At Mu-gyeong’s words, the face of Ou-yang Pae, who was stably conducting Qi, suddenly turned pale.

“You, a disciple of Buddhism, why are you talking about killing everyone?”

“Aren’t you a disciple of Buddhism?”

“That’s why I’m trying to save him.”

“I bet the number of people you’ve killed would be in the triple digits.”

“Eh, they were all people who deserved to die.”

“And he doesn’t?”

As Mu-jin argued with Mu-gyeong and Mu-gung over whether to kill or save him, Ou-yang Pae’s face alternated between red and pale as he conducted Qi.

“There’s no law saying that just because someone is from the Demon Cult, they are a bad person. Considering he came here and killed the bandits, he might actually be a good guy.”

“Then why did you tell me to fight him?”

Though it was to give Ou-yang Pae enlightenment, Mu-jin couldn’t say that directly.

“Well, since he’s from the Demon Cult, I thought it’d be safer to subdue him first and then talk.”

As Mu-jin continued to spout sophistry, Mu-gyeong and Mu-gung sighed and gave up trying to persuade him.

They assumed there must be some reason behind his actions.

How long had the Muja Quartet and Ling-ling been silently watching Ou-yang Pae’s Qi circulation?

“Whew.”

With a deep sigh, Ou-yang Pae opened his eyes and spoke.

“Whether you kill me or save me, please make a decision.”

Despite his severe internal injuries, he was conducting Qi with reckless demonic arts.

In a situation requiring absolute stability, the constant talk of killing or saving him nearby was a miracle that he hadn’t fallen into Qi Deviation.

No, it was because he was Ou-yang Pae that he hadn’t fallen into Qi Deviation. Any other demonic practitioner would have died a hundred times from Qi Deviation in this situation.

Of course, Mu-jin was unperturbed.

“See? I saved you.”

“…Whew.”

Realizing that it was impossible to have a normal conversation with this man, Ou-yang Pae sighed deeply.

“Thank you for your mercy. If I ever meet a Shaolin monk in the future, I promise never to draw my sword first.”

As Ou-yang Pae made a vow with a clasped fist, Mu-jin nodded and looked at his companions.

“See? He looks like a decent guy to me.”

“What if he’s lying?”

Mu-jin made a disappointed face at Mu-gyeong’s question.

“Mu-gyeong, since when did you become so mistrustful of people? Always suspecting first is a bad habit.”

Mu-gyeong felt a headache coming on. Was this the same guy they worried about for being too naive in Guangxi Province?

Surprisingly, Ou-yang Pae stepped in for Mu-gyeong.

“I swear on my name. I, Ou-yang Pae, would rather die than deceive someone to save myself.”

Mu-gyeong asked.

“How can we trust the words of a demon practitioner?”

“Did you not say that martial arts are just tools? Are you condemning me as a demon just because I practice demonic arts?”

“…”

“I learned demonic arts to become stronger, but I have never lost my sanity to demonic energy, nor have I oppressed the innocent. I thought you, who exchanged techniques with me, would understand.”

Indeed, after experiencing Ou-yang Pae’s exceptional talent through a life-and-death match, Mu-gyeong couldn’t easily refute.

However, Mu-gung, who had been watching, couldn’t accept it and questioned back.

“That’s sophistry. Mu-gyeong modified the demonic arts to suit Buddhist martial arts, so there are no side effects. But demonic arts inherently have side effects, don’t they? He might be fine now, but who knows when he’ll be consumed by demonic energy?”

“That’s the real sophistry. If you punish people for the potential to become murderers, are you planning to kill every human in this world?”

“…”

“Also, whether you believe it or not, I despise those who are consumed by demonic energy. Those who mortgage their soul to a tool don’t deserve to be called warriors.”

When even Mu-gung had no retort, surprisingly, Mu-jin countered Ou-yang Pae’s words.

“Stop the nonsense.”

Even though he had just been helping to save Ou-yang Pae.

* * *

“That’s something only you and Mu-gyeong, being geniuses, can say. Damn it. If only one out of ten thousand survives and the rest die, it’s not a miraculous elixir but poison.”

For Mu-jin, the second protagonist Dao Yuetian and the first protagonist Ou-yang Pae approached him differently.

When he first encountered wuxia novels as a middle schooler, Ou-yang Pae was the embodiment of romance.

Born as an illegitimate child, suffering all sorts of persecution and assassination attempts, he overcame all obstacles with innate talent and seized the throne.

However, meeting him in his mid-thirties left a different impression.

‘Honestly, he’s just a privileged guy, right?’

Despite all the discrimination, his ridiculous talent itself was a privilege.

Although he faced countless assassination attempts and hardships, in the end, he lost nothing.

Unlike Dao Yuetian, who lost his entire family and grew stronger by enduring hardships for revenge.

It felt like…

Reading an autobiography cum self-help book written by someone with an IQ over 150, who, despite being from a poor family, worked hard to enter Seoul National University and then continued to succeed and become a billionaire.

Of course, while reading it as a novel, one might think, ‘Wow, I wish I were like that too.’

But meeting him in person, if he started saying, ‘I was also unhappy, but I overcame it with effort!’, you’d just want to punch him in the face.

‘Damn it. He’s even good-looking.’

It was definitely not because of his movie-star looks. Definitely not.

“So, have you decided to kill me?”

Ou-yang Pae asked, with a face that showed no shame, as if saying, ‘Kill me if you can; I’m confident.’

‘Is this guy filming a movie?’

Despite the cringe-worthy lines and expressions, when he did it, it felt like a scene from a film.

“Kill you? What nonsense. Just change your thinking. Stop thinking that those who can’t do what you did are trash. You’re smart, right? Fix the side effects of demonic arts and teach them to your subordinates? Huh? Teach safer martial arts to those who seem likely to lose their minds. Do you understand?”

“…So, you mean my thoughts were arrogant. I’ll do as you say for those under my influence.”

Realizing that he understood his words, Mu-jin nodded and asked,

“Anyway, where are you planning to go now?”

“Why do you ask about my destination?”

“To escort you. You’re not fully recovered yet. If you die while traveling alone, it would seem like we killed you.”

Inflicting severe internal injuries, helping him with Qi circulation,

Criticizing him just moments ago, and suddenly showing kindness.

Due to Mu-jin’s inconsistent attitude, Ou-yang Pae began to understand why demonic practitioners get consumed by demonic arts.

He felt that if this continued, he too might fall into Qi Deviation.

* * *

Somehow, Mu-jin managed to persuade the group and Ou-yang Pae, and they crossed the mountains with him in a carriage.

Before long, they arrived at Zangnan (Arunachal Pradesh), but the members of the Red Tiger Group were not there.

“It seems they have already left.”

The place they had promised to meet was not Zangnan.

Moreover, the Red Tiger Group was not a small group of just a dozen people.

Originally consisting of fifty members, they were divided into four groups, each using different methods to illegally enter the Southern Barbarians for safety.

Naturally, the rendezvous point was much further south, and the group leader had given three days, meaning they should head there if they couldn’t join at Zangnan.

“From now on, I’ll travel alone.”

Ou-yang Pae, indicating he couldn’t owe them any more, said this, but Mu-jin refused to accept it.

Ou-yang Pae had suffered severe internal injuries.

Although emergency treatment was done with internal injury medicine and Qi circulation, he needed at least a few more days to recover enough to perform martial arts normally.

Sending him off alone in this state could lead to his death, causing all sorts of trouble.

“We’ll escort you until you reunite with your comrades, so just shut up and focus on recovering.”

Thus, Mu-jin and his group’s unintended journey to the Southern Barbarians began.

‘I never got to travel Southeast Asia even in modern times, and now I’m doing it here.’

The language, culture, and of course, the food were different.

The only fortunate thing was that Ou-yang Pae knew the Southern Barbarian language to some extent.

“I studied it for this mission.”

“How long?”

“About a day.”

“…Damn it. How can an ordinary person live like this?”

After just a day of studying, he had memorized most of the Southern Barbarian characters and language.

Although his conversation and pronunciation were awkward without practice with the natives, it was still something.

Of course, Ou-yang Pae was dumbfounded by the constant scolding.

‘Ordinary person?’

Considering the one who broke his martial arts and turned him into a half-dead state called himself ordinary, what did that make him? A martial arts idiot?

However, knowing that conversing with this person could lead to Qi Deviation, Ou-yang Pae kept silent.

In any case, for this reason, Mu-jin’s group used Ou-yang Pae as an interpreter to find their way, order food and drink, and continue their journey.

On the second day of crossing the Southern Barbarians.

“#@$!”

Some savage-looking individuals, with red-painted faces and accompanied by beasts, blocked Mu-jin’s group.

“What are they saying?”

“They’re telling us to stop.”

Mu-jin, with a puzzled expression, said,

“Ask them why they stopped us.”

Ou-yang Pae, now serving as an interpreter, sighed and translated Mu-jin’s words.

“@#$@#$#!$#”

“!!@#$#$%#$^”

After exchanging a few awkward sentences with the savage, Ou-yang Pae frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“They said, ‘How dare you try to steal our friend.’”

“Friend? What nonsense?”

Ou-yang Pae moderately softened Mu-jin’s words and relayed them.

“What friend are you talking about?”

“Are you pretending not to know when it’s right there in plain sight?”

The savage, with a furious face, pointed somewhere with his finger.

Although he couldn’t understand the Southern Barbarian language, Mu-jin understood the situation thanks to the gesture.

“Woong?”

The savage was pointing at Ling-ling, who was playing on Mu-yul’s shoulder.

Seeing that they called Ling-ling ‘friend,’ it wasn’t hard to guess their identity.

“This must be the territory of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace…”

Mu-jin felt things getting increasingly complicated.