Wudang Sacred Scriptures

“Instructor Hyeonik, I saw a record stating that you once took Kwak Yeon’s pulse.”
Instructor Hyeonik, looking puzzled by the unexpected visit from the head of Eternal Wudang, wore an even more bewildered expression at the mention of Kwak Yeon’s name.

“You certainly keep close tabs on things. Has that boy caused some kind of trouble again?”
“‘Again’? Has he caused problems at the training hall before?”
“He’s never caused any trouble directly. If he had, he wouldn’t have made it up to the main mountain. You, of all people, should know that, Senior Hyeonmun.”

“Then what did you mean by ‘again’?”
“Well… I suppose I said that because trouble seems to follow him around. That’s why I ended up taking his pulse in the first place.”
Instructor Hyeonmun, seeing no ill will in Instructor Hyeonik’s expression, asked calmly.

“So, what were the results when you examined him?”
“If you’re asking as a physician, I’d say he was perfectly normal.”
“But there was something else?”

“Why don’t you go first?”
“…”
“A man of your position must have a good reason to visit in person, no?”

“Fine, I’ll be honest. That boy hasn’t been able to accumulate any internal energy at all. His body seems perfectly healthy, but…”
“Not being able to form internal energy, even with Taiji Internal Arts—which is basic, safe, and reliable? That is surprising.”
“That’s exactly why I came to see you. You examined him as a physician, so I wondered if you might’ve noticed anything different.”

“There was one thing that’s been bothering me. I actually flowed a little internal energy pressure into his body. Ah—don’t look at me like that. I had no intention of harming him. I just wanted to see how his heart meridian would respond.”
“You’re a physician, so I’m sure you had your reasons. So what happened?”
“The internal energy pressure dispersed and vanished in an instant. At the time, I thought maybe I had miscalibrated the flow. But the fact that it still bothers me… I don’t think that was the case.”

“…”
“And now that you tell me he can’t accumulate internal energy at all, I’m even more certain.”
Instructor Hyeonmun swallowed hard and asked,
“What do you think the reason is? Blocked meridians? A chronic condition?”

“If his meridians were blocked or he had an illness, do you think he could’ve endured such grueling training?”
“Then what?”
“Well… isn’t it possible his vessel is simply too large?”

“No matter how large a vessel is, to not feel even a sign of energy by this point is unheard of.”
“Still, there’s always a possibility that the vessel is so enormous, it defies expectation.”
Recalling the conversation, Instructor Hyeonmun shook his head.

Kwak Yeon was gifted, yes, but not a prodigy. He wasn’t born with one of those exceptional constitutions like the Sun Yang Body or the Pure Yin Body.
“You never know…”
In any case, it wasn’t a good situation for an Eternal Wudang trainee.

If he couldn’t pass Surface Palm training, he wouldn’t even be recognized as a proper disciple.
And time was running out.
“Sigh…”

Just as Instructor Hyeonmun let out a low sigh—
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone was at the door to the Eternal Wudang Head’s Office.

 
****
It’s been a while.

Kwak Yeon looked up at the night sky, quietly drawing the Celestial Meridian Map in his mind.
It felt like reuniting with an old friend.
Memories from the training hall came rushing back.

The Celestial Meridian Map had made his weak body healthy. It helped him endure fatigue and continue harsh training.
But there were times when he had wondered if he’d ruined his body by playing around with something that resembled fire as a child.
“That can’t be right.”

Innate energy couldn’t be circulated through forced methods.
At this point, the Celestial Meridian Map was so deeply imprinted in his body that he didn’t even need to look at the stars to draw it.
He was always seeing it.

Whenever he practiced Energy Conduction, he would visualize himself floating ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) through his own body.
That’s why his energy channels naturally opened, and his internal pathways began to flow.
He could clearly see countless forms of strength manifesting.

Someday, he’d be able to accumulate internal energy pressure, too.
“As long as I don’t give up.”
Kwak Yeon slowly began to regain his confidence.

He had left the Surface Palm training ground because he didn’t want to place a burden on the other boys.
He would’ve only been in their way.
Without internal energy pressure, no matter how many times he struck the wall with raw muscle, it wouldn’t break.

Nine Palaces Palm was achieved using pure muscle strength, but this was different.
If all he wanted was to break the wall, it wouldn’t have been impossible.
But what would that change about entering Surface Palm training?

The training bricks used for Surface Palm had a thin piece of paper attached. Even the slightest touch would tear the paper.
To pass, one had to destroy the brick without tearing the paper.
That was why it was impossible without internal energy pressure.

“You have to accept reality.”
That was why Kwak Yeon had left the training ground.
He decided to focus solely on Taiji Internal Arts.

Once he built up enough internal energy, he was confident he could crush bricks using the Weight Transfer Method with ease.
Not only did he understand the principles of strength completely, but he was also able to open energy channels at will. As long as he had internal energy pressure to respond to his intent, it would all work.
Kwak Yeon entered a standing posture and began Energy Conduction.

At this point, there was no real difference from sitting meditation, so he insisted on standing cultivation.
It was harder, yes—but that difficulty made it more enjoyable.
Traveling a wide, open road was easy, but boring.

With standing cultivation, he had to keep opening energy channels constantly.
The pace at which he opened and closed them kept increasing, and mastering that rhythm brought joy.
While deeply absorbed in this standing meditation, Kwak Yeon suddenly thought of Moving Meditation.

Moving Meditation was said to be a hundred times harder than standing cultivation. And yet, its effect was the same as seated practice.
Its advantages must be tremendous.
After all, people were always in motion. During that time, one couldn’t practice energy conduction.

But he didn’t have the luxury of wasting time.
He had to build internal energy—no matter what.
He had already succeeded at standing cultivation; there was no reason he couldn’t do the same with Moving Meditation.

The problem was, when the body moved, energy channels and internal vessels moved with it.
There were too many variables.
“What if I minimize the variables?”

In other words—what if he moved in predictable, repeatable ways?
Take a basic forward punch, for example. That movement was always consistent. The associated energy channels would also move the same way every time.
“That way, I can definitely reduce the variables.”

Kwak Yeon began slowly performing the Surface Palm movement sequence.
“Open the danjeon in the Horse Stance. In the Forward Palm Position, the Phoenix Tail Point shifts behind the tendons and muscle. Accordingly, the meridian path moves slightly—just a quarter step to the left…”
 

For years, Kwak Yeon had etched the Celestial Meridian Map into his body so deeply that he could examine it as if he were looking into himself.
That was what made this possible.
As he continued observing the position of his internal pathways and the shifting of meridian lines, a shiver ran down his spine.

“Unbelievable... This is exactly the principle of internal energy cultivation.”
The core idea behind internal cultivation was that, through certain movements and postures, the energy channels would guide the flow of internal energy through the body’s gates in a specific sequence.
“Passing through an energy gate means opening and closing it. Energy gates are the checkpoints along the meridian paths.”

Humans are born with open energy gates, but as impurities accumulate in the body, they begin to close. That’s why it becomes harder to build internal energy with age.
This is also why newborns receive cleansing massages—to prevent that process.
But that doesn’t mean one should keep all energy gates open at all times.

The gates exist to regulate energy flow and prevent internal energy from reversing course or going astray.
“Then is it possible to practice Energy Conduction even while using internal strength techniques?”
What Kwak Yeon didn’t realize was that he had just grasped the martial principle of Borrowed Energy, Amplified Energy.

Borrowed Energy, Amplified Energy is a highly advanced martial principle that allows one to absorb another’s internal energy and transform it into their own.
It’s not possible to store another’s energy directly in the danjeon. The energy must be circulated through the full-body meridian system—the Great Circuit—and only then refined into personal internal energy.
Which means, to even attempt Borrowed Energy, Amplified Energy, one must be able to practice Energy Conduction even while activating internal strength techniques.

Regardless, Kwak Yeon had now realized that based on the principles of strength, Moving Meditation was not only possible—it was viable.
Given his deep studies in internal energy, it was only natural that his progress in Moving Meditation would accelerate.
After repeating the Surface Palm forms dozens of times, observing and memorizing the changes in his energy pathways, Kwak Yeon finally began to apply Taiji Internal Arts through movement—through Moving Meditation.

And with that realization, his anxiety surged.
“If I still can’t accumulate internal energy pressure after seated meditation, standing meditation, and even Moving Meditation…?”
There would be no other method left to try.

Wouldn’t that prove that his body was cursed—physically incapable of forming internal energy?
“What the hell am I even thinking right now?”
At some point, Kwak Yeon shook those thoughts off entirely.

“There’s a saying—‘Do all that you can, and leave the rest to heaven.’ As long as I don’t leave behind any regrets in this moment, that’s enough.”
 
****

“What brings you here at this hour?”
At Instructor Hyeonmun’s question, Seok Jangsan answered without hesitation.
“I’m here because of Kwak Yeon.”

“What about him?”
“You know he’s the only one left who hasn’t broken the training wall. Please… help him.”
Instructor Hyeonmun responded with a cold tone.

“As head of Eternal Wudang, I must not treat trainees with personal favoritism.”
“But that doesn’t mean you’re forbidden from looking after your students.”
“…”

“Kwak Yeon isn’t lacking. He’s working harder than anyone. He even took up standing meditation just to save time.”
“Standing meditation…?”
Instructor Hyeonmun flinched.

He recalled moments where he’d seen Kwak Yeon standing with his eyes closed.
“If he’s gone that far and still can’t form internal energy, then that’s a bigger problem.”
“That’s exactly what I’m asking you to help him with. When a disciple is stuck at an impasse, isn’t it a teacher’s job to find a way through it?”

“That’s something a master does. A teacher. I’m not your master—I’m just your instructor.”
“If you only saw yourself that way, then instead of letting me in, you should’ve turned me away.”
“…Are you telling me to give him elixirs or pass on internal energy techniques? Those things are useless if the boy can’t even form the seed of energy himself.”

It would be like pouring water into a bottomless pot.
Which meant the danjeon itself might be defective.
“There has to be a way. If anyone could find it, it’s you, Instructor.”

Instructor Hyeonmun looked long and hard at Seok Jangsan.
“Is your friendship that deep?”
“It’s not just about friendship.”

“…?”
“It’s because Kwak Yeon is going to be a great man—greater than any of us.”
Instructor Hyeonmun fell into a moment of quiet thought.

A great man…
He had never considered that. He’d only looked at Kwak Yeon’s talent—nothing more.
Not the person.

Just like the Wudang Sect itself now did.
As Seok Jangsan turned to leave, Instructor Hyeonmun called after him.
“You’re not half-bad yourself, you know.”

Watching Seok Jangsan’s retreating figure, Instructor Hyeonmun felt a warm pride stirring in his heart.
There was hope for Wudang’s future.
“Alright, then!”

This wasn’t something that could just be left to the kids.
It would be a bitter, pride-wounding struggle—but no matter how he looked at it, there was no other way.