Wudang Sacred Scriptures

At last, Kwak Yeon was able to lift all nine bricks, lined up neatly between his hands.
“Whoa! Congrats!”

“Knew you’d pull it off in the end!”
The Eternal Wudang disciples all cheered together, congratulating Kwak Yeon on his achievement.
It was a noticeable shift from before.

Somewhere along the way, a genuine camaraderie had formed among them.
But for some reason, Kwak Yeon’s expression wasn’t all that bright.
The Grand Elder’s promised investigation by the Precepts Hall had somehow fizzled out without explanation, so there was no longer any real cause for concern.

Seok Jangsan tried to lighten the mood.
“Hey, that’s enough already, guys.”
“What? What do you mean ‘enough,’ Jangsan?”

When Jeong I-chu gave him a puzzled look, Seok Jangsan muttered with a sulk.
“You clapped like maniacs every time he added a brick. Keep that up and you’ll spoil the kid.”
Jeong I-chu chuckled.

“There he goes again. Getting salty ‘cause no one clapped for him.”
“Hey, not gonna lie, I do feel a little underappreciated. No one makes a big deal about the top student. How’s that supposed to motivate anyone?”
“There it is again. The elite student ego. Just like back at Byeonggeup Training Hall. You’ve got a serious condition, man.”

“You’re the ones discriminating. All lovey-dovey over Kwak Yeon, but when it comes to me? Nothing.”
“Dude! Don’t you feel bad at all for always coming in first?”
“What’s there to feel bad about? If you can’t keep up, that’s on you.”

“I give up! We surrender!”
Jeong I-chu raised both hands and burst into exaggerated applause.
“Here! Take your applause!”
The others laughed and joined in, clapping and cheering.

Though they played it off as a joke, their applause was sincere.
Seok Jangsan had always been the one leading the way, showing them the path. Not only that, he often subtly showed them tricks so they could follow along more easily.
Even so, none of them had ever really praised him for it.

Because the gap between him and the rest of them had felt too wide.
In contrast, Kwak Yeon had always been someone they could root for.
Despite his weaker physique compared to them, he somehow kept pulling ahead, and they’d worked hard trying to follow his example.

They all understood how much of their own growth had been thanks to Kwak Yeon, though none of them had put it into words before.
That recognition was now showing in their enthusiastic support.
Once the playful banter died down, the Eternal Wudang disciples dispersed to focus on areas where they were still lacking.

Seok Jangsan approached Kwak Yeon.
“Come on, relax that face a little.”
“What’s there to be happy about?”

“You completed the Nine Palaces Palm Technique, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, somehow. Pretty much by brute force.”
“Wait, brute force? Don’t tell me… you still can’t feel any internal energy pressure?”

Kwak Yeon nodded.
“Not even a hint.”
“But the Nine Palaces Palm Technique can’t be completed unless you connect the line between the bricks using internal energy pressure.”

“Exactly.”
The Nine Palaces Palm was designed to enhance visual acuity and help a practitioner locate the balance point of force. But its real purpose was to awaken internal energy pressure in beginner-level students of internal energy cultivation.
By aligning the nine bricks in a straight line and connecting them using internal energy pressure, a disciple could directly experience and recognize the flow of that power.

It was the gateway to full-scale internal energy training.
Holding all nine bricks in a line between both hands was extremely difficult. The effort to create a connecting line between both arms pushed the body to its limit, and at that peak, internal energy pressure would naturally flow from the danjeon.
Moreover, Kwak Yeon had realized that spreading his arms wide in the Mabo stance opened all the key blood vessels.

At that moment, he’d been quietly amazed at how Wudang had made the Nine Palaces Palm a foundational technique.
No wonder they’re called a prestigious sect.
They had accumulated deep anatomical understanding and extensive martial knowledge over generations, and trained their disciples using a truly systematic method.

They say all martial arts under heaven originate from Shaolin, but true martial philosophy lives in Wudang—it was no exaggeration.
Taiji Internal Arts were stable and reliable, making it nearly impossible to fail in energy {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} circulation. And their training of pressure points and energy channels was methodical.
And yet, Kwak Yeon felt a growing sense of worthlessness knowing that he still couldn’t feel a single trace of internal energy pressure.

“Then how did you complete the Nine Palaces Palm?”
“I used the line of force. Instructor Hyeonmun said it, remember? ‘Don’t try to feel it—see it and use it.’”
Seok Jangsan was vaguely familiar with the concept. He’d seen the line of force before too.

Still, the human body’s raw strength alone shouldn’t have been enough to finish the technique.
“The trick is to keep shifting the balance point of the force.”
Hearing that, Seok Jangsan suddenly had an epiphany.

“Ah! Movement doesn’t fall?”
“Exactly! It’s basically like Taiji Sphere Techniques.”
“You’re insane! You discovered the principle of Taiji in the Nine Palaces Palm?!”

“Actually, I think the principle of Taiji is in every martial art.”
“…What are you even saying now? Isn’t that pushing it?”
“No. There’s a reason Taiji is called the origin of all things—one source.”

“…?”
“Didn’t we learn that all motion returns to finding the balance point of force? That’s why we train with the sphere—to understand how to find that balance.”
“So martial arts… are about constantly moving to find that point of equilibrium?”

“Yeah. Because the moment you stop, you fall.”
“Ah! Then if you can locate the balance point of force, you could even predict your opponent’s movements.”
“In theory, yeah.”

Kwak Yeon let out a sigh and continued.
“I managed to finish the Nine Palaces Palm with sheer will and muscle, but from this point on, the Surface Palm training is all about internal energy pressure. That worries me.”
“Hey, what you did is seriously impressive. I bet you’re the first person to ever complete the Nine Palaces Palm using just muscle. Imagine what you’ll be like once you do have internal energy pressure.”

“Jangsan, there’s something I haven’t told you.”
“…Huh?”
Kwak Yeon finally admitted that ever since returning from the Disciplinary Hall, he’d been practicing Standing Energy Cultivation every day.

Seok Jangsan looked at him, wide-eyed.
“I thought you were just depressed when you didn’t answer sometimes… Turns out I was worrying for no reason.”
“I didn’t want to pressure you. You’ve been doing so well, and besides, I couldn’t even guarantee it would work. And now we know—it doesn’t.”

“Come on, it couldn’t have been completely useless.”
“Since I started practicing it, I do feel less fatigue and more refreshed. But… that’s all. That’s the problem.”
By now, Kwak Yeon had become pretty proficient at Standing Cultivation.

His circulation speed was nearly on par with those doing Seated Cultivation.
That’s why he had hopes—but even now, his danjeon still felt completely dormant.
“Still, thanks to that, you managed to complete the Nine Palaces Palm.”

“And what good is that? The whole point of energy circulation training is to accumulate internal energy pressure, isn’t it?”
“Kwak Yeon, sure, you’re a little behind. But you’ve still got time. Studying the Surface Palm formula takes a while too.”
Even as he said that, Seok Jangsan felt frustrated. If Kwak Yeon couldn’t awaken his internal energy pressure, then there was nothing he could do to help him.

“Why the hell isn’t your danjeon accumulating energy?”
Seok Jangsan, being from a martial family, knew about severed meridians.
Was that what Kwak Yeon was dealing with?

But he couldn’t bring himself to say it. That would mean cutting off all of Kwak Yeon’s hope.
“I think it’s probably a side effect of recklessly practicing the Celestial Meridian Map.”
“Dude, you only ever imagined that was the cause.”

“That’s what I thought at first too. But no matter how I look at it, that’s the only thing I did differently from the rest of you.”
Seok Jangsan asked, concern written all over his face.
“You’re not still practicing that, are you?”

“Of course not. Now that we’re learning proper internal cultivation, there’s no reason to.”
“Good. That’s a relief.”
 

****
Once the Surface Palm Main Lecture began, Kwak Yeon’s sense of despair only deepened.
Just as he’d feared, the entire training was now focused on internal energy pressure.

“From this point on, you will learn how to manipulate internal energy. This is the true beginning of Wudang martial arts. You must not take it lightly.”
Instructor Hyeonmun went straight into the lecture, without preamble.
“The energy accumulated in the danjeon is called internal strength (naegyeong). Energy accumulated in each muscle joint is called external strength (oe-gyeong). Internal energy pressure encompasses both. However, external strength is difficult to build unless using advanced methods. So for now, as beginners, you will focus only on internal strength. From this point on, when I refer to strength (gyeong), I mean internal energy pressure. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”
Kwak Yeon shouted louder than anyone. He was determined to reach energy accumulation no matter what.
“When humans move, they always use a certain degree of physical strength. That means internal energy pressure alone isn’t enough to move the body. In other words, gyeong is the fusion of internal energy pressure and physical strength. Now you know why I’ve emphasized physical training so much until now.”

The Eternal Wudang disciples’ eyes gleamed. They now understood all the harsh physical drills had been preparation for this moment.
“When you sincerely will your internal energy to assist where muscle is used, you’ll unleash far greater power. That is gyeong. You’ve probably heard this over a hundred times: 'Where the mind goes, the energy follows; where energy flows, strength manifests'. Do you know why I’m bringing it up before we even begin?”
“……”

“Seok Jangsan, answer.”
“Because it’s the core of all internal cultivation methods?”
“Not enough. Jeong I-chu?”

“Because it forms the foundation of studying internal strength?”
“That’s the same answer. Kwak Yeon?”
Because he had long been obsessed with meridian theory and muscular movement, Kwak Yeon didn’t think about what Instructor Hyeonmun might be trying to ask—he simply spoke from his own understanding.

“Since gyeong is a combination of muscle strength and qi, I assumed you were about to explain how the proportions of that blend define the level of strength.”
“A close answer. But not only the proportions—the classification of gyeong also changes depending on how it’s applied.”
Nodding with satisfaction, Instructor Hyeonmun continued.

“When the ratio favors muscle strength, the resulting power is called Hard Strength. When the ratio favors qi, it is called Soft Strength. Even if two techniques have the same destructive power, the one that uses less muscle and more qi is considered the higher grade. Kwak Yeon!”
Instructor Hyeonmun called on him again.
“Have you ever considered why that is?”

He chose his words carefully. Rather than asking what do you think?, he asked have you thought about it?—because he already sensed that Kwak Yeon’s knowledge of meridians and energy flow was exceptional.
This kind of exchange between master and disciple—question and response—was a traditional Wudang teaching style, and it subtly revealed Hyeonmun’s growing regard for Kwak Yeon.