Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special-Chapter 128: Shaolin (1)

The speed of the Primordial Step was beyond even Seojun’s control.

CRASH────────!!!

With a thunderous blast, Seojun shot across the sky like a cannonball.

The sheer force was overwhelming. His body felt as though it might shatter, and he had to reinforce it with both the Supreme Force Monstrous God Style and the Giant Spirit Divine Art.

As the clouds whipped past his face, Seojun broke into a bright grin.

“Haha...!”

His heart pounded from the sheer thrill.

Faster. Just a bit faster.

He continued adjusting the martial art mid-flight, refining it in real time.

As the Primordial Step became more attuned to his body, the speed climbed... and so did the strain.

Eventually, he felt it: a sense of completion.

At least for now.

Smiling, he triggered the Primordial Sun-Moon Art beneath his feet.

CRASH────────!!!!

At that breakneck velocity, the world around him became streaks of color.

Maybe it was because he hadn’t completely mastered it yet... but his direction veered slightly.

By the time Seojun noticed, the ground was rushing toward him.

“I’m fucked...!”

WHOOSH────────

The surrounding qi flared violently.

A formation? Why a formation here?

No time to question it. His body reacted on instinct.

He unraveled the formation’s pressure and batted away flying metal nets with his fist techniques.

In an instant, the surrounding scenery changed.

An illusion?

This too was part of the formation.

Twisting in midair, Seojun focused. He tracked the qi structure, located its core, and injected his own inner qi.

Thud!

With a light sound, the illusion shattered, and Seojun’s body slammed into something solid.

CRASH────────!!

A massive plume of dust exploded outward.

“Cough...! Ugh, what is this?”

Seojun waved off the dust, his body still stiff from the impact. A casual sweep of his hand summoned wind to clear the air.

What appeared through the dust made him blink.

Monks. Dozens of them.

“Huh?”

“Deploy the 108 Arhat Formation!”

In perfect unison, the monks moved, encircling him.

One hundred and eight arhats formed a ring around Seojun, and in the next instant, a crushing pressure bore down on him.

The 108 Arhat Formation?

He recognized it. It was one of Shaolin’s famous formations.

Why use it against me?

Before he could ask, his gaze pierced into the structure of the formation.

It resembled an intricate mesh of interlocked gears. He sent his inner qi into it and twisted.

“Guh...!”

“Ugh...!”

Several monks staggered, but the formation didn’t break.

Others quickly filled the gaps to maintain it.

“Oh.”

Seojun’s eyes gleamed.

This 108 Arhat Formation is quite impressive. It wasn’t just martial arts. It also blended formation techniques and even sorcery.

Though he didn’t know much about formations, he understood they generally manipulated ambient qi using fixed axes.

Moreover, he happened to know martial arts and sorcery quite well.

He was proficient in two out of three requirements, while the third was the study of manipulating qi?

At that level, the method to break it became visible.

His gaze glowed gold as he traced the formation’s fundamental design.

“Like this?”

Click.

A sound like a padlock snapping open.

Simultaneously, the formation’s axis twisted. All 108 monks flinched.

“Th-this...!”

“Stop it...!”

But it was too late.

They tried to maintain the collapsing formation, but Seojun’s qi set off a chain reaction. Every “gear” in the system tangled and reversed.

“Kuhak...!”

All 108 arhats dropped to their knees.

Now serving as part of the structure itself, the monks took direct backlash when the system collapsed.

Seojun stood at the center of the formation, completely unharmed, glancing around.

A massive crater had formed where he had fallen. Shattered buildings surrounded it.

The Primordial Step, it seemed, also doubled as a human missile.

It looked as if the area had been bombed.

“Oh my...”

“Enough.”

The voice was calm, resonant. With it, the monks’ expressions eased.

Seojun turned toward the source of the voice.

A half-destroyed building.

An old man who had been sitting inside rose.

“Who are you to cause such a disturbance in the middle of Shaolin?”

“Shaolin?”

Seojun’s eyes flicked around.

Now that he took a proper look, the broken structures did resemble a temple complex.

And right beside the old man, a familiar bald nun was staring at him with wide eyes.

That woman... the Emei Sect nun.

“Uh...”

Having grasped the situation roughly, Seojun let out an awkward laugh.

“Um... Haha. Well... I didn’t do it on purpose? It could be called an unfortunate accident...”

He realized. He was just one step away from being completely screwed.

Judging by how the old man’s aura blended seamlessly into his surroundings, he had to be in the Unrestrained Realm.

An Unrestrained Realm master from Shaolin?

No good. If things went south, an army of bald guys would descend on him like a tidal wave

That kind of major incident wasn’t what he wanted.

“You see, I was testing a new movement technique, and, uh... lost control of the speed...”

The old man’s gaze flicked toward the collapsed monks.

His expression said, And they all just happened to end up like that?

For this, he had an excuse.

“Well, when the formation suddenly activated, I reacted instinctively...”

That didn’t sound convincing even to him, so he quickly added:

“Also... it looked kinda fun, so I got a little too into it. And... haha... this thing falls apart way too easily...”

“Huh...”

The old man pressed his palms together.

“Amitabha...”

Seojun looked away.

“Abbot!”

At that moment, monks came rushing in.

Abbot?

As far as Seojun knew, the leader of Shaolin was called the Abbot.

“Oh...”

Yep. Definitely one step from disaster!

Should he just blow something up and run?

Before he could decide, a savior arrived.

“Oh! This benefactor?”

Seojun’s head snapped around.

Jibaek stood there, staring at him in shock.

“O-Old master...!!”

With the appearance of an acquaintance, Seojun seized the chance and blurted out the whole story.

He’d created a new movement technique, the Primordial Step, lost control of it during testing, and crash-landed here. In the process, he’d accidentally broken some buildings and... somehow ended up breaking the 108 Arhat Formation, leaving the monks with minor internal injuries...

It wasn’t much different from the excuse he’d given the Abbot, but now that someone vouched for him, his words carried more credibility.

He introduced himself as the Namgung Clan’s elder and son-in-law, then scratched his head sheepishly.

“I sincerely apologize for this incident. I’ll compensate for the destroyed buildings from my personal funds.”

“Hmm... If there was no malice involved, it’s alright.”

“No, really, I insist. I seem to have destroyed quite a lot.”

Plus, he had inflicted internal injuries on the arhats.

Arhats were a significant force in Shaolin.

It wasn’t that the arhats were weak and had all collapsed at once.

Had they attacked him head-on instead of relying on the formation, it might’ve gone differently.

But since he’d unraveled the whole structure like tangled thread, they looked far too easily defeated.

Honestly, it wasn’t the monks’ fault. It was the formation’s.

Martial formations are usually tactics for the weak against the strong. But compared to its reputation, this one had way too many flaws in Seojun’s eyes.

And that realization gave Seojun... an idea.

“I don’t mean any harm. I’m sorry for injuring people, but... would you like me to improve the 108 Arhat Formation?”

“The 108 Arhat Formation?”

The Abbot’s brow furrowed as he shook his head.

“That won’t be necessary. We cannot reveal the 108 Arhat Formation to outsiders. Besides, it is already near perfection.”

Perfect? It doesn’t seem that way...

Seojun had plenty to say, but Seojun kept his mouth shut.

If they declined, he wasn’t going to force the issue.

Just then, a loud voice rang out.

“Big Brotheeerrr...!!”

“Huh?”

It was Chunbong.

Looking over, Seojun saw several figures racing toward him.

Needless to say, they were people from the Namgung Clan.

Chunbong, rushing in like a madwoman, leapt into the air, twisted her body mid-flight, and landed beside him.

She immediately drew her sword and surveyed the surroundings warily.

“What’s the situation...? Are we fighting?”

Her eyes scanned the surroundings as she whispered quietly.

She whispered under her breath, eyes scanning the monks surrounding Seojun, the half-collapsed temple building (which anyone could see was quite important) and the old man standing in the middle.

Seojun, fully grasping her misunderstanding, lifted her with both arms.

“As expected of Chunbong! You came to rescue me...!”

“W-what are you...!”

But Chunbong quickly caught on. This isn’t actually a serious situation?

Then her next move was obvious.

“You dumbass! Didn’t I tell you not to cause trouble, you idiot!”

A spinning kick straight to his face, delivered mid-air.

“Oof...!”

Seojun hit the ground hard. Chunbong promptly jumped on him and began stomping.

Meanwhile, more monks arrived on the scene.

It wasn’t anything serious.

Chunbong’s group had, in their panic, somewhat forcefully smashed through Shaolin’s main gate.

In other words, the Namgung Clan had just stormed into Shaolin.

“Oh my...”

This might’ve been the biggest mess Seojun had ever made.

Having roughly grasped the situation while still sprawled on the ground, Seojun chuckled.

“Are we screwed?”

“Looks like it.”

“Then let’s use the old men.”

With Pae Jingwang and Namgung Hyeok on their side, surely they could smooth things over?

He hoped so.

*Muhye, Cheongsong, and Wolmang, who had followed shortly behind, gave a brief, matter-of-fact summary of what had happened.

Confirming that their account matched what Seojun had said earlier, the Abbot nodded slowly.

“I understand this was an unavoidable accident. And since the injuries to the arhats are not severe, and may be due to their own lack of practice, I will not press that issue. However, I cannot ignore the forceful entry into Shaolin.”

“Don’t be so stingy. What were they supposed to do when things looked urgent? No one was seriously hurt anyway.”

It was Pae Jingwang.

The Abbot’s eyes narrowed.

“Fist King. I’ve been wondering, why are you involved in this?”

“I’m kind of friends with that guy.”

He pointed at Seojun.

The Abbot’s gaze shifted to him, and Seojun gave a thumbs up.

“That’s what he says.”

“Hmm... What do you think, Bohyeon Divine Nun?”

The one he addressed was the bald nun from Emei Sect.

She had been quietly frowning this whole time, clearly trying to piece everything together. But when her eyes met Seojun’s, her expression turned complicated.

“...Personally, I think leniency is reasonable. There was no malice, and no lasting harm was done, so there’s no particular reason for severe punishment.”

Did she take my side because she feels guilty about last time?

She had probably figured out by now that he’d tricked her during their meeting, but she was surprisingly broad-minded.

...Or maybe she was planning to pay him back later...

Either way, Seojun appreciated it.

Still, he couldn’t help but wonder.

Wasn’t Shaolin supposed to be off-limits to women?

Then how were Bohyeon Divine Nun, Chunbong, and Big Sis Suah allowed here?

Especially Suah, who didn’t seem good for the monks’ mental health...

But on second thought, this didn’t look like Shaolin’s main temple but rather the outskirts, which might explain it.

Well, it wasn’t really his business anyway.

“But the rules of Shaolin were still broken. I cannot simply let it go.”

Even as Seojun pondered, the discussion continued.

Pae Jingwang grumbled at the Abbot’s words.

“You monks seriously don’t know how to let things slide, huh? People mess up sometimes.”

“If a mistake is made, it should be addressed properly, so it doesn’t happen again..”

“don’t care about Shaolin politics, but those are Namgung Clan kids. Are you sure about this? Namgung Jincheon’s not someone you want to mess with.”

“He would understand if the situation was explained. Besides, I don’t intend to be unreasonable.”

Suddenly, Pae Jingwang’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, I just thought of something.”

He grinned and said,

“Shaolin’s participating in the Dragon Phoenix Tournament, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then how about this? Since it was the youngsters who caused trouble, wouldn’t it be best for youngsters to resolve it?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“We settle it the martial artist’s way. A duel between under-thirty fighters from both sides. If our side wins, you let it go. It could be good practice for the Dragon Phoenix Tournament.”

The Abbot’s expression became intriguing.

“It’s an absurd suggestion... but not bad.”

“Right? This isn’t exactly serious enough to escalate anyway.”

It would normally be a serious matter, but with heavyweights like Shaolin and the Namgung Clan involved, the situation changed slightly.

The Six Noble Clans and Nine Sects One Union were on decent terms. No one wanted to escalate the issue, so resolving it at this level would be beneficial for both parties.

Above all, as someone reluctantly serving as the Abbot, he didn’t want to create a major incident.

He’d prefer to sweep it under the rug, but he couldn’t do that either...

“Very well. Let’s do that. But if Shaolin wins, what will happen?”

“That’s up to him.”

Pae Jingwang pointed at Seojun.

Seojun tilted his head in mild confusion, then gave a nod.

It was his fault the Namgung Clan had barged into Shaolin. Trying to shift the blame onto Chunbong or Namgung Suah would just make him look pathetic.

“Given the situation, I’m guessing Shaolin’s a bit short on manpower. I’ll take care of a few tasks for you.”

The Abbot gave a silent nod.

The assistance of a master who had broken through the 108 Arhat Formation was not something Shaolin would refuse.

“Agreed.”

The Abbot turned to the gathered monks and called out,

“Hyeun, you shall step forward.”

At his command, a monk stepped out and pressed his palms together.

“Amitabha... I shall obey.”

Then Pae Jingwang broke into a grin.

“Then this guy will represent our side.”

With a thud, he clapped his hand on Seojun’s shoulder.

“Huh?”

Seojun blinked at him like he’d lost his mind, then realized.

“Ah!”

I’m not thirty yet either?