[The trick of this technique is dispersing incoming force. To use it, one must have a strong foundation. If you master and embody it, you can disperse great power.]

Those were the words of Jo Il-ryang, who taught Yu Jin-hyuk the technique.

Although Il-ryang had a slender build, he could survive for half a day on one foot while ten people tried to push him down.

And Jin-hyuk, who learned that skill, was confident that he could somewhat replicate that.

no way.

The skill he was proud of shattered.

By a simple force.

Even Lady Jang, who told her husband to watch proudly, was shocked and bewildered.

Mumu Mumu is really strong.

I told you.

They whispered quietly.

Yu Jin-hyuk wanted to show them something, but now they were afraid that he would lose his spirit because of the failure.

At that time, Yu Jin-hyuk said with a red face.

L-Lets do it again.

Again?

I made a mistake. I havent fully mastered the technique my teacher showed me, so you were able to push me away.

He didnt want to disgrace his teacher.

This kid

Yu Yeop-kyung felt proud when his son didnt succumb to the failure and asked for another try.

His son had grown up right.

Even though he didnt know what martial arts was, he was proud of his son, who stood tall.

The quarrel between Yu Jin-hyuk, who wanted to regain his lost self-esteem, and Mumu, who thought it was bothersome, continued for some time.

Yu Yeop-kyung, who was worried that the fight would become huge if Mumu didnt say yes, convinced Mumu to retry.

And thus, the familys reconciliation was carried out in a noisy manner until late at night.

Early the next morning.

In a training hall not far from Yu Yeop-kyungs house.

A boy was sitting cross-legged. It was Yu Jin-hyuk.

He was gathering qi from the air and putting it into his dantian and body by inhaling and exhaling.

This is cultivation.

And Yu Jin-hyuk was practicing it.

But

I cant concentrate.

Usually, he would be in a state of thoughtlessness at this point.

However, he wasnt able to do that and he couldnt concentrate.

Just thinking about yesterdays events, he couldnt hold back his resentment.

What about the effort I put in until now?

From a young age, he admired his older brother and constantly practiced martial arts.

For that reason, he was praised by his teachers.

And they told him that there would only be a few people his age who could compete with him, and those people would be from the 9 Great Sects and the 6 Great Clans.

But how was Mumu able to beat him?

I got pushed back by just strength.

To be honest, he wasnt just blown away by his strength.

He was shocked by those huge, densely developed muscles.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldnt understand.

How can muscle strength be stronger than internal energy?

Internal energy followed a concept of Qi.

The internal energy generated by accumulating qi would incredibly strengthen ones external power.

However, Mumu, with his muscle strength, overwhelmed him.

It wasnt like he was the strongest Murim warrior, but Yu Jin-hyuk couldnt accept it.

It was then.

Tak!

Huh.

Yu Jin-hyuk opened his eyes in shock.

In front of him stood a slender middle-aged man with a goatee.

It was Jo Il-ryang, one of his three teachers.

When he was young, the man was famous, but now he took in disciples and nurtured them.

Your breathing is haggard. Why arent you concentrating?

I-I apologize.

Improperly executing cultivation is dangerous, but most people couldnt notice inconsistencies in others cultivation.

However, teachers like Jo Il-ryang, who had good ears, could tell if one was breathing properly or not, so he hit the kid with a stick.

Yu Jin-hyuk touched his aching head.

And then Jo Il-ryang continued.

In three days, the entrance test for the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy will be held. Everyone is working hard with their eyes wide open to prepare for it, but what are you doing?

At those words, Yu Jin-hyuk bowed his head in embarrassment.

What the man said was right.

He was actually in a state of anger about whether he would pass the test or not.

Seeing the disciple who was reflecting on his emotional state, Jo Il-ryang laughed inside.

This one. Hes someone who isnt this distracted usually, but he seems upset as he met his father and adopted brother for the first time.

Jo Il-ryang knew about the familys circumstances.

So, even without Jin-hyuk saying anything about it, he knew what Yu Jin-hyuk was going through.

But now, the kid had to prepare for the entrance test.

Come on and focus already. If your brother got a top rank, then youll have to aim for an even higher one.

Alright.

For the teacher, his students admission to the academy was important.

Because if he succeeded in enlisting them, then his small training school could be famous for sending their disciples to the academy.

So he wanted his disciple to focus and do his best.

At that time, Yu Jin-hyuk said,

Teacher.

Uh. Cant concentrate?

About that is it possible to break the Mystery of the Four Way Foot Extreme Weight technique with just physical strength?

Jo Il-ryang laughed at the question.

The question was childish, but he was thankful that the kid seemed alright.

He laughed and said,

If you can master the technique properly, even if one applies multiple tons of force, you will be able to disperse the force and hold your ground. However, if you want to use it perfectly, you have to Shift Flowers to Trees.

Shift Flowers to Trees.

It means to turn a flower into a tree. Its a high-level technique that returns an opponents attack to hit the opponent back to them. (1)

Such a technique would be difficult to perform unless ones a Super Master and learned the technique properly.

Yu Jin-hyuk nodded at those words and said,

It must have been me who didnt learn it properly.

Jo Il-ryang was puzzled by it.

Have you had the chance to compete with someone else?

If that wasnt the case, such words wouldnt have come out.

Hesitating, Yu Jin-hyuk spoke about what happened last night.

Upon hearing the story, Jo Il-ryang frowned.

So youre saying that a child who didnt learn martial arts pushed you away with his strength?

That was impossible.

If it was someone else, it might be possible, but Yu Jin-hyuk was on the verge of completing the technique.

It would be tough for him to cope with someone his teachers level, but he wasnt lacking too much, and it was impossible for someone who didnt know martial arts to even do that.

I cant believe it either, but Im not able to shake my thoughts.

After hearing his disciples story, Jo Il-ryang thought that it wasnt impossible.

So he asked him.

That child, where is he now?

There was a small forest ten miles west of Yu Yeop-kyungs house.

Mumu, who was there, was looking for a suitable place to train.

He eventually found a little valley surrounded by bushes and large and small boulders around it.

To Mumu, those rocks were nothing more than training tools.

He brought a few iron rods with him, but Mumu just tied a massive rock to his back and squatted repeatedly.

982 983 984

Mumu was happy training again after a long time.

He was smiling.

During the period of not training his heart ached because his muscles he protected like children would decrease, but while stretching again, it felt like he was flying.

I need to make up for what Ill miss.

He heard about the academys entrance test.

If he passed, he would live in a dormitory, and then he might not have the freedom to train.

Mumu decided to work out for any days he might miss.

Nice.

He went to squat again, but he suddenly heard a small noise from a distance.

He ignored it at first, but as it got louder it seemed like something was approaching, so he decided to look.

He turned his head towards the noise, annoyed that something was interrupting his training, and what he saw was slightly surprising but anticlimactic.

He saw two people coming through the bushes.

One of them was a man with a goatee, it was his first time seeing him, and the other one was the second son of his father.

Ah, annoying.

Why did he come all the way over here?

He did ask where the nearest mountain was, but he didnt expect the second son to come find him.

Unlike Mumu, who was annoyed by it, Yu Jin-hyuk was shocked.

W-What is that?

Mumu squatted with that huge rock on his back.

He wouldnt be able to stand with that rocks weight on his back, even if he mastered internal energy, let alone squat that weight.

Shockingly, Jo Il-ryang was surprised too.

Ha

He did hear from his disciple about the kid.

But this was beyond what he was expecting.

Its no exaggeration to say that even an adult wouldnt be able to tie a large rock to their back and repeat that movement.

What was even more shocking were the words coming out of the kids mouth.

998 999 1000

So he squatted with it that many times?

It was a type of training he never did because it overuses the bodys muscles.

He wasnt sure who taught him such an ignorant way to train his body, but he was convinced that training like that would damage the body.

However

Gulp!

Jo Il-ryang gulped.

Indeed, Mumu didnt learn martial arts just as his disciple said, and he only had physical strength; it could be said that he was a natural martial artist.

The muscles which were visible through the sweat-soaked clothes were spectacular.

Hes amazing. If he trains and pushes himself to this extreme, he would do better than his teacher.

It was his first time finding a gem after Yu Jin-sung.

Jo Il-ryang liked him.

He even thought about taking the adopted son Mumu as his disciple.

This is a good opportunity.

Jo Il-ryang knew that it would be impossible to enter the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy despite his physical strength if he didnt master martial arts.

Physical strength had a limit.

And martial arts was literally a way of dealing with others.

But if one could handle others with strength, then why learn martial arts?

It wouldve been better if I met him when he was younger, but still, it would help me display the school.

Jo Il-ryang made his decision.

He was going to make Mumu his disciple and enlist him in the academy after a year.

If that happened, then there was a chance more strong people would come to train under him.

He, who was full of dreams, spoke to Jin-hyuk.

Watch. I will show you how the technique is done.

Phat!

With that, Jo Il-ryang moved very lightly.

Mumu watched the man, who was approaching him from a long distance.

In an instant, he got in front of Mumu.

Hes fast!

He never saw anyone move so fast.

He did see a few fast people in the bandits he killed, but this man was faster.

Mumu asked.

Who are you?

Are you Mumu? Im Jo Il-ryang, one of your brothers teachers.

Ah really? Hello. Im Mumu.

At Mumus remark, Jo Il-ryang smiled.

He didnt just have a strong body; he also had a pretty face which would make any woman fall for him, but his tone and expressions were innocent.

Since he lived in the mountains his whole life its possible that hes innocent.

But what are you doing here?

Huhu. I heard about you from Jin-hyuk.

Jin-hyuk?

Since last night, he seemed pissed off and didnt even look at Mumu.

Is he actually a nice guy?

He wasnt sure about that.

Regardless, Jo Il-ryang approached him and then drew a circle around himself, just like Yu Jin-hyuk did yesterday evening, and stood on one foot.

What are you doing?

Jin-hyuk said that he couldnt show you the perfect form yesterday, so this mister is going to teach Jin-hyuk how its done and show you too.

Ahh you mean that thing where someone tries to push you out of the circle?

Yes. Thats it. Can you push me out?

Why me?

Jo Il-ryang frowned at Mumus response.

He thought Mumu was nave, but it didnt seem like that.

And he said,

If you can push me out like you did to Jin-hyuk, I will give you a nice present.

Present? What present?

You will only find out when you push me out of the circle, okay?

Jo Il-ryang changed his method to make Mumu act.

After Mumu failed his attempt, his greatness would be shown and he would then ask Mumu to be his disciple.

While he was thinking ahead, Mumu asked.

You wont go back on words, right?

Huhuhu. Im your brothers teacher, would I lie to you? Come on.

But youll stand on one leg?

Yes.

Well, youll be out soon then.

Jo Il-ryang smiled.

Hahahaha. Dont worry. No matter how strong you are, pushing me out wont be easy.

He thought Mumu had too much confidence.

Jo Il-ryang concentrated his internal energy and then directed it to the foot he was standing on.

The technique he used kept his center of gravity on his foot.

Kay, push.

Okay.

Mumu placed his strong hands on Jo Il-ryangs chest.

And pushed.

Push!

His feet, which were pushing, went into the ground.

Jo Il-ryang was shocked by Mumus power.

He heard about it from Yu Jin-hyuk and he saw Mumu train his body, so he knew about it, but feeling it was different.

Oh.

Mumu was surprised.

He did his best, but he couldnt push him.

Jo Il-ryang was like an old tree with roots deep in the ground.

Yu Jin-hyuk, who watched it, was shocked.

Amazing.

No matter how many times he tried it with Mumu, he kept getting pushed back.

However, his teacher could endure Mumus strength on one foot.

Jin-hyuk looked at his teacher in a new light.

Teacher was right. I must be lacking.

Jo Il-ryang, who confirmed the two peoples reactions, smiled.

He was a Super Master and had pretty strong internal energy; he was confident that he could handle Mumu.

Despite that, seeing Mumus feet dent the ground still shocked him.

If Mumu had mastered even basic energy cultivation, he would have lost.

Still, he wanted to shine in front of Mumu, so he would accept his offer of being his disciple.

Did you see that? This is the Mystery of the Four Way Foot Extreme Weight technique where I become one

Mister.

Huh?

You must keep this a secret from my father.

What do you mean?

At that moment, Mumu turned the dial on his right wristband.

It went from eight to six.

Jo Il-ryang couldnt understand what he was doing.

And then, Mumu placed his hands on the mans chest.

Ill try again.

Jo Il-ryang laughed at Mumus words.

The child had a cute side.

He didnt like losing, so he tried again.

The desire to win was one of the things that Murim warriors had.

And there was nothing bad about it.

Huhuhu. Give it another try.

Then I will push.

Do whatever you

Dudud!

At that moment, Mumus right sleeve tore, showing off his muscles.

!?

Jo Il-ryangs eyes widened as the muscles on the right arm grew.

What the! His muscles are getting bigger

It was then.

He couldnt hide his shock at the tremendous force which pushed against his chest.

He ended up using more internal energy to stabilize himself.

However, the moment Mumus arms stretched out.

Thud!

Euk!

His connection with the earth was cut off, and Jo Il-ryangs body, unable to withstand the force, was thrown back.

Tatatak!

It was only after getting thrown 20 steps back that Jo Il-ryang was able to stop.

What in the world, such an unbelievable power

Kuak!

Jo Il-ryang started coughing up blood.

T-Teacher!

Yu Jin-hyuk, who was watching that, was confused.