Wudang Sacred Scriptures

Just as its name—Beating the Mad Dog—suggests, the Dog-Beating Staff Technique was the pinnacle of continuous attacks.
Once unleashed, the staff surged forth in a ceaseless storm from front, back, left, right, up, and down. What’s more, its acceleration compounded layer by layer, doubling its force with every beat.
Because of that, whenever a Sect Leader or Rear Beggar of the Beggars’ Guild wielded a staff, martial artists kept a distance of at least one jang.

By conceding the initiative, Kwak Yeon had effectively stepped into the heart of the Dog-Beating Staff’s continuous onslaught.
Of course, the fact that Chwi Dugae began with such a secret, supreme art of the Beggars’ Guild was a sign of respect for Kwak Yeon.
After all, how else could one contend with a master of the Transformation Realm without seizing the upper hand with the Dog-Beating Staff Technique?

“Cha-at!”
—KUAANG!
The seventeenth form of the Dog-Beating Staff, Tami Bakchim, came crashing down toward Kwak Yeon’s head.

With acceleration added, the fierce, hard blow was powerful enough to shatter anything it so much as grazed.
Kwak Yeon's Cheonggang Sword erupted with a blinding flash of light.
—JJEOONG!

Though he hadn’t managed to sever the staff, he had deflected it about halfway.
Had he gone all out, he could have sliced through it entirely. But Kwak Yeon had resolved to always reserve thirty percent of his inner energy. He felt no regret.
Rather, he was thrilled—he could finally unleash the true essence of the Taiji Sword Art to his heart’s content.

Had it not been for Chwi Dugae, when else would he have experienced such a battle that felt like real combat?
Perhaps it was because his level in the Primordial Harmonious Art had risen—his Taiji Sword Art had grown that much more powerful.
‘I’ve held back thirty percent of my internal energy, and it’s still this strong.’

And as the sword forms of Taiji became more refined, he felt as though he and the sword were one.
‘Unity of sword and body... in the end, it refers to reaching the flawless essence of a perfect form. After all, a man cannot enter a sword, and a sword cannot possess consciousness. In a faultless void, the sword naturally follows the path of the form—so it can be said that I’ve become the sword itself.’
It aligned with the core realization of Sword Guided by Qi: “The mind gives rise to technique.”
‘At the peak of martial understanding, all things converge into one—indeed, all things return to origin was correct.’

It was at that moment, as Kwak Yeon immersed himself in the rapture of the duel—
“Hurrah!”
Chwi Dugae unleashed the first form of Crushing Mount Tai.

It truly struck like hoisting a mountain and slamming it down.
Now that he’d somewhat adapted to the Dog-Beating Staff’s fierce attacks, Kwak Yeon twisted his Cheonggang Sword upward to block the incoming blow.
—KAAAANG!

A sharp metallic clang rang out as a flash of light split the air.
Kwak Yeon's Sword Qi Manifestation collided head-on with Chwi Dugae’s full-powered strike, releasing actual sparks and a burst of blinding light.
In that instant, Kwak Yeon felt a gust of piercing wind rush through him. Though such wind had always accompanied the Dog-Beating Staff, this time the energy was different.
—CHWARARARAK!

His clothing, caught in the swirling wind, tore apart, and the exposed skin was compressed by the force.
‘It wasn’t even a direct hit, just wind... how?’
There was no inner energy infused like with Sword Qi or Fist Qi.

While Kwak Yeon was puzzled—
“Yuh-heup!”
Chwi Dugae’s staff attacks resumed without pause.

He unleashed the Dog-Beating Staff’s chaining technique: Eighteen Blows of Mist and Smoke (Yeongi Sippalbong).
—PAPAPAPAPAT!
Like a sudden downpour, the staff rained down on every inch of Kwak Yeon’s torso in a single breath.

A relentless beating with no room to breathe.
Yeongi Sippalbong was the most intricate and profound sequence within the Dog-Beating Staff.
It was said to blend the essence of the Beggars’ Guild’s ultimate technique, Eighteen Subduing Palms of the Dragon, into staff form—only a true martial prodigy could master it.

And Chwi Dugae was exactly that kind of prodigy.
It was precisely why the Dragon-Head Leader of the Beggars’ Guild had gone so far as to boil and feed him yellow dog meat just to convince the stubborn Chwi Dugae, who had refused the position of Rear Beggar.
This supreme staff art, honed by Chwi Dugae over a lifetime and powered by four cycles of internal energy, descended like summer thunder and lightning all at once.

Even so, Kwak Yeon deflected it without much trouble using Flowing Cloud Sword Art, one of Wudang’s transforming sword styles.
The problem was the wind pressure charged with intent.
A real, physical staff could be blocked regardless of circumstances—but a raging gust of wind? That was a different matter entirely.

His robe was shredded to ribbons, and the wind compressed his muscles with force enough to bruise.
With muscles constantly hammered like that, even the smallest meridian would eventually suffer.
There’s a reason even the strongest warrior falls to endless blows.

—PAPAPAPAPAT!
Just as Kwak Yeon was fending off the Eighteen Blows of Mist and Smoke nearing their peak, a sudden realization struck him.
He felt a foreign energy rise in the acupoints exposed to the wind.

‘...Huh?’
Then it spread along his meridians.
‘It’s the effect of the Primordial Harmonious Art!’

Suddenly, Kwak Yeon grasped the principle of Protective Strength (Ho-gyeong)—the mechanism of Guardian Qi.
It was what he’d witnessed back when Daoist Cheongmu had slipped and slammed into a boulder at Seonggiam without so much as flinching.
‘If that’s the case, I can’t just leave it to the outer meridians.’

The exact energy flow Cheongmu had described for triggering Protective Strength replayed clearly in his mind.
The moment he thought it, it took effect—such was the realm of Transformation.
Internal energy surged from his lower dantian, flowing outward in response to the external energy.

As Guardian Qi activated, a white aura emanated from the tears in his clothing.
In an instant, the bruising wind pressure dissipated completely.
Chwi Dugae flinched in surprise at the sight.

“Guardian Qi manifestation!”
Realizing that wind pressure would now be completely ineffective, Chwi Dugae ceased his barrage.
“Damn. What the hell are you, really?”

“You recognized it as the Transformation Realm, didn’t you?”
“Even for someone in the Transformation Realm, to manifest Guardian Qi, you have to be at its height.”
“It’s thanks to you, big brother. You helped me awaken it. My thanks.”

Chwi Dugae’s expression twisted with disbelief.
“This won’t do. I’ll have to bring out my hidden move.”
—CRACK!

As Chwi Dugae stretched out his entire frame, his body appeared to double in size.
It was Descending Dragon Divine General—a physical reinforcement technique that stretched every muscle to draw out maximum strength.
“Then I’ll begin my counterattack now.”

“Fine! Come at me!”
Without hesitation, Kwak Yeon took a single explosive step forward—and vanished.
An explosive Movement Art.

As if two dragons were clashing, blinding flashes filled the air and thunder shook the Aknyang Temple’s ancestral shrine.
—KWARUNG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
It didn’t look like a spar—it was a life-or-death battle between mortal enemies.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of exchanges erupted.
Gradually being pushed back, Chwi Dugae was cornered at the edge of the shrine—then revealed his trump card.
Drunken Eight Immortals Step (Chwipalseonbo).

It staggered like the gait of a drunken immortal, but with just eight steps, he could slip free from any deadly crisis.
It was a clever strategy, devised after Chwi Dugae noticed that Kwak Yeon’s footwork was relatively simple for someone at his level.
‘Damn it. If I can’t match him in level, I’ll have to resort to technique.’

He had to use a lifesaving secret move that made him look ridiculous—but thanks to it, he dodged the sword net of flashing white light and even circled behind Kwak Yeon.
“Little brother, take this.”
Chwi Dugae showed no mercy as he struck toward Kwak Yeon’s back with his staff.

—SHUAAK!
Figuring Guardian Qi would protect him anyway, he added full force to the blow.
But just as the staff touched him, Kwak Yeon’s figure blinked out like a dying flame.

“…What the hell?”
Chwi Dugae, seeing the flash of white light flying straight at his face, hastily pulled back his staff to block it.
—KWAANG!

The Dog-Beating Staff rebounded from the force of the blinding energy—and smacked him right on the forehead.
Dizziness washed over him, and Chwi Dugae fell flat on his back.
He had burned up all the inner energy he had left on that final defensive move.

Lying there, he looked up at the sky.
A pale yellow sky.
‘Ah, how humiliating.’

He’d gone down without landing even a single hit.
‘God damn it!’
Against the backdrop of the yellow sky, Kwak Yeon appeared, reaching out his hand.

“Let’s get you up.”
“You stay lying there too long, your mouth’ll start drooping.”
“Better the mouth than the mind.”

Kwak Yeon plopped down beside Chwi Dugae.
“You’re the first person to ever push me this far, Brother Hu-gai.”
“No need to flatter me. Damn it, just like my master said—I’ve done nothing but get old.”

“That wasn’t meant as flattery. Look at me—my clothes are in rags.”
“That’s just ‘cause you went easy on me.”
Kwak Yeon shook his head.

“Not entirely.”
“…?”
“That last strike was truly dangerous. If I hadn’t trained in Lazy Donkey Roll, I would’ve taken the hit.”

“You really rolled on the ground with Lazy Donkey Roll?”
The Lazy Donkey Roll referred to the ridiculous movement of a donkey rolling around on the ground. Martial artists considered it shameful to perform such a motion before an opponent, which is why Chwi Dugae was so surprised.
“Yes, I did.”

Only then did Chwi Dugae understand why Kwak Yeon’s body had blinked out, and why that flash of white light had suddenly surged up right in front of his nose.
‘So Lazy Donkey Roll, when performed at the Transformation Realm, becomes no different from a divine technique…’
Still, the fact remained—he’d forced a master of the Transformation Realm to roll on the ground. That brought little comfort.

‘Shit.’
Just then, Kwak Yeon asked casually,
“When did you first come face-to-face with the wall?”

At the question, Chwi Dugae’s face darkened.
“Around your age.”
“Then… you’ve been up against it for nearly ten years?”

“What do you mean, nearly? Some folks have been staring at it for fifty.”
“…?”
“My master. The Dragon-Head Leader. That’s why his temper’s so damned nasty. His disciple’s no different either. Hoo…”

Chwi Dugae sighed before continuing.
“Breaking through the wall of the human body isn’t easy. Honestly, reaching the Peak Realm is already something to be grateful for. The wall of the Transformation Realm? Unless you’ve got a miraculous stroke of fortune, it’s simply impassable.”
“…”

“That’s why I insisted on this duel with you. I thought if I pushed myself to the limit, maybe I’d see a way through. Shit—now all I see is the wall even more clearly.”
“Maybe seeing the wall is the beginning?”
Kwak Yeon’s reply made Chwi Dugae look at him like he’d said something ridiculous.

“I was just lucky. I didn’t even have the chance to notice the wall. I rose through the ranks smoothly, without ever tasting real frustration. That lack of hardship… I regret it.”
Kwak Yeon wasn’t trying to provoke Chwi Dugae.
Because he, too, was standing before a wall.

The wall of illusion.
Because he’d climbed the ranks without encountering true barriers, this wall struck with even greater despair.
“Yes. I gained it easily through fortune. But you, Brother Hu-gai—you stood before that wall with your own feet. That’s something worthy of respect.”

“…”
Chwi Dugae stared at Kwak Yeon, then slowly nodded.
“…Mm. That… actually comforts me a little.”

He sat upright.
“You’re not about to tell me what kind of fortune you had, of course. But things happen for a reason, so it must’ve been meant to be.”
He meant it as a token statement.

But—
“I acquired Wudang’s True Scripture.”
“Wudang’s True Scripture?”

“But I haven’t yet reached it.”
“So that’s your wall—Wudang’s True Scripture.”
“Yes.”

“Heh. A wall beyond the Transformation Realm, huh… Good! That’s damn good!”
Chwi Dugae burst into laughter.
“This older brother of yours will have to work hard too. Not that I’ll ever catch up to Brother Kwak’s heels, of course.”

Kwak Yeon could sense that Chwi Dugae had, at least for the moment, set aside his obsession.
He’d learned through Daoist Hyeonhae that sometimes, stepping back from the wall and looking at it was itself a {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} method to overcome it.
Now that Chwi Dugae had gained that space in his heart, Kwak Yeon knew he would one day find his way to scale the wall.

Truthfully, he was nearly there already.
He just didn’t realize it yet.
Still, one must realize it themselves to cross that threshold.

And today, he’d just cut away one heavy burden—soon, he’d soar.
Kwak Yeon said,
“How about a drink?”

Chwi Dugae looked at him in surprise.
“I figured I should start learning how to drink. After sweating like that, my throat’s dry.”
“I’m all for it!”

Chwi Dugae smiled faintly.
“You’re buying, of course.”