"Could you perhaps tell me the weakness of the Indestructible Vajra Body?"
"…Has the Shaolin Temple done something to wrong you, benefactor?"
Great Master Jeonghyeon's face went pale white. I couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking, but I had a rough idea.
He must have imagined me swinging my sword at a Shaolin martial artist.
"It's a misunderstanding."
"Then why ask about the weakness of the Indestructible Vajra Body all of a sudden?"
"Well…"
The reason was simple. Soon, he might have to cut down a martial artist who had achieved the Indestructible Vajra Body.
But he could not say that outright.
The Shaolin Temple, as a member of the Murim Alliance, had sent several martial artists to the Alliance.
How could he possibly say that one of them, a martial artist strong enough to hold an elder position, would one day suddenly achieve the Indestructible Vajra Body, and then, as if possessed, spew curses at everyone around him and unleash indiscriminate killing moves?
It hadn't even happened yet, and it was such an unbelievable story that it would be hard to convince anyone.
Moreover, the moment he tried to mention his regression, the seal would clamp down and he wouldn't be able to utter a single word.
Still, he couldn't just let it go.
He didn't know exactly what had happened, or why the man had suddenly gone mad and run amok.
He had always been a man of good standing, and the Murim Alliance had quietly covered it up, claiming that he hadn't fallen into Qi Deviation but had a plausible reason for his actions.
It was only when the Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance was on the verge of collapse that I heard the surviving Murim Alliance members talking about it, passed along by word of mouth.
There must have been a reason they had to cover it up so thoroughly.
But what mattered to me wasn't the circumstances behind it. What mattered was only what might happen in this very period.
The Heavenly Demon had hinted that something would erupt within the Murim Alliance. Naturally, I had assumed it meant a Demonic Cult spy had infiltrated their ranks.
Under normal circumstances, that would be the right response. …The problem is that the Heavenly Demon is also a regressor.
I know this well, having navigated countless events myself using knowledge from before my regression.
A regressor's actions lack a coherent before-and-after. They already know the answer from the start and force the process to fit it, so it can only look contrived.
If I were the Heavenly Demon, planting a spy inside the Murim Alliance would be my last resort.
They could be discovered, fail to climb to a high position, or one day change their mind and side with the Murim Alliance instead.
It's risky, full of variables, and impossible to control. That isn't a plan. It's closer to a wish.
So if it were me, instead of causing incidents myself, I'd use the incidents that were already destined to happen.
I'd blow up a small disturbance into a big one, or strike while the enemy is in chaos.
…No. Given the hidden schemes the Heavenly Demon has shown so far, it could be both.
Either way, what matters is that I'll soon face a martial artist who has achieved the Indestructible Vajra Body.
I picked out what I could say and spoke slowly, careful not to trip any seals.
"It's because I may need to cut something that cannot be broken."
"…Hoh."
Perhaps because he already knew about my seal. Great Master Jeonghyeon, realizing this was the best answer I could give, opened his mouth after a moment of deliberation.
"I have no idea what the White Moon Sword Lord has realized, or what he is planning."
"I won't ask you to trust me."
"Are you trying to tell me to trust the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva who placed the seal upon you? You have a rather brazen side to you."
With a dry laugh, Great Master Jeonghyeon fiddled with his prayer beads before finally nodding.
"Very well. I will tell you the weakness of the Indestructible Vajra Body. However, this is not because I blindly trust the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, nor because I am uneasy about your sword pointing toward Shaolin. It is simply because I believe in the deeds of the man named Cheon Hwi that I have witnessed so far… in the sight of one who harbored killing intent rivaling the Heavenly Killing Star yet was never swayed by it."
"…Thank you."
I bowed deeply toward Great Master Jeonghyeon.
I had met many martial artists who, even after reaching the Harmony Realm, diligently trained their External Arts.
The Green Forest Chief I had recently faced was one, and the Lord of the Black Alliance had also achieved considerable prowess in External Arts.
Among the Orthodox Sects, the clan head of the Hebei Peng Clan was renowned for his extraordinary physique and the External Arts that perfectly bloomed from it.
At the time, I was a Transcendent Peak martial artist, so I could not precisely gauge the extent of the Blade King's External Arts, but at the very least, he would not have fallen short when compared to the Green Forest Chief or the Lord of the Black Alliance.
There were quite a few martial artists who achieved great success not only in internal energy but also in External Arts, yet among them, none had truly reached the Indestructible Vajra Body.
That was only natural, for the Indestructible Vajra Body was a term used to describe those who could block Aura without relying on Protective Qi. It was by no means a level to be taken lightly.
In the history of the martial world, there had been a few who achieved the Indestructible Vajra Body, but most of them came from the Shaolin Temple.
And indeed, the one who had now achieved the Indestructible Vajra Body and was running amok was also from the Shaolin Temple, so he was bound to know something.
My eyes, fixed with intense concentration so as not to miss a single word, caught sight of Great Master Jeonghyeon's lips slowly opening.
"The Indestructible Vajra Body certainly has its weaknesses. That is…"
"That is?"
"The Indestructible Vajra Body simply has not been broken yet."
"?"
I blinked, wondering what on earth he meant, and Great Master Jeonghyeon continued with an awkward expression.
"It's true. The Indestructible Vajra Body is not invincible, as the rumors spread throughout the martial world would have you believe. It's simply that its External Arts have been cultivated to such a degree that no one of this generation can easily break through it."
"So you're saying… it just breaks if you hit it hard enough?"
"That's right. And do you know that not all Indestructible Vajra Bodies are the same to begin with? It is not a realm."
"No. Until now, I believed the Indestructible Vajra Body was a kind of realm. Just as there are realms defined by the union of Essence, Qi, and Spirit—like First-Rate or Peak Realm—and realms reached through enlightenment, like Sword-Mind Unity, wasn't the Indestructible Vajra Body a realm reached through tempering the body?"
"The knack of moving the body can change with a single moment of enlightenment, but pure physical strength can only advance through long and arduous training. The only thing that suddenly strengthens the body, as if leaping past a step, is at most a Bone-Exchange Rebirth. And even that, strictly speaking, is not a realm of the body."
That was true. Bone-Exchange Rebirth was when Essence, Qi, and Spirit became one, and the body was readjusted to fully contain lofty enlightenment and internal energy.
It wasn't about becoming stronger—it was about being able to wield the power one already had more effectively.
"You look rather taken aback, don't you?"
"You seem to still be at a loss, since this must be quite unexpected."
"Heh heh. Then let me give you an easier example. From what I saw last time, the Lord of the Black Alliance seems quite fond of alms-giving… But do you know this? If your external arts had existed three hundred years ago, they would have been called the Indestructible Vajra Body."
"…Excuse me?"
"Just as those living today can build taller towers than the people of three hundred years ago, martial arts have also naturally developed with the passage of time."
"That's true, but… is that really all there is to it?"
"You need to look at the bigger picture. Not just external arts—all martial arts have generally risen in level."
"Ah."
If the Indestructible Vajra Body meant an external art that was difficult to deal with by the standards of its era, then the Indestructible Vajra Body of the past wouldn't have needed to be as solid as I imagine it to be now.
"Think about it. When describing the amount of internal energy, one doesn't say 'years' worth of internal energy.' Once that amount exceeds sixty years, it's called 'several gapja.' But is that internal energy truly accumulated by training the Mental Cultivation Method for that many years?"
"Not at all."
In my case, upon reaching the Harmony Realm, I was able to hold over three gapja of internal energy in my Dantian.
However, that doesn't mean I actually trained for over a hundred and eighty years.
Even excluding the internal energy filled with Spiritual Medicine along the way, it's an amount that would require nearly a hundred years of training the Mental Cultivation Method alone.
This internal energy amount, so greatly inflated beyond reality, isn't a peculiar boast of Martial Artists—it's because the standard is set by the Samjae Mental Cultivation Method.
The most widespread Mental Cultivation Method, and the first martial art to be disseminated.
Nowadays, it's a basic art that can be bought on Market Street for a few coins, barely even worthy of being called a Third-Rate martial art.
In the distant past, countless Martial Artists must have devoted their entire lives to the Samjae Mental Cultivation Method alone. Back then, there simply weren't that many martial arts to choose from.
The Martial Artists of that era went through trial and error, organizing and refining various things, and as a result, the custom of defining internal energy levels based on the Samjae Mental Cultivation Method naturally took root.
"Let me give you a few more examples—Taijiquan or Liuhequan, for instance. Both predate the current Taoist sects by a long margin. In the past, when the Quanzhen Sect was still thriving, they were regarded as outstanding, peerless martial arts. But what about now?"
"They're not treated as shabbily as the Samjae Mental Cultivation Method, but they're now considered Third-Rate to Second-Rate martial arts, learned before moving on to the next art."
"Correct. And this applies to the External Arts as well… even to the Indestructible Vajra Body that people hold in such awe."
As time flows on, the energy of heaven and earth diminishes, yet the martial arts of those who wield it develop beyond that decline.
Perhaps even the current Indestructible Vajra Body will, in the future, amount to nothing more than a decent External Art.
"I understand. But isn't it a bit much to call that a weakness of the Indestructible Vajra Body?"
"What is swift is easily broken, what is heavy is easily avoided, and what is flashy is easily scattered. But one who is simply plain and solid leaves no way to overcome him."
Unlike the mysteries of speed, weight, and Hwanui Myori, a body trained patiently and solidly over time has no weakness to speak of.
Indeed. I thought the same myself. If there are no distinguishing features, how could there be a weakness?
My slight disappointment lasted only a moment. Great Master Jeonghyeon's words were not yet finished.
"Therefore, young benefactor, you need only face him plainly."
"Plainly… you say?"
"How does one break something that is ordinarily solid?"
"Why, by striking it harder."
"So we've come back to the beginning. Not bad. But what if it won't break no matter how hard you strike it?"
"Then I'd strike it again."
"And if it still doesn't break?"
"Is there any other way but to keep striking until it does?"
At my words, Great Master Jeonghyeon curled the corner of his mouth into a smirk.
"Correct."
"…!"
Only then did I realize what Great Master Jeonghyeon had been trying to say all along.
The weakness of the Indestructible Vajra Body. It meant not to be intimidated by the name and seek other paths, but to wield the sword believing that one day it could be broken.
One might think that changing one's mindset would change nothing, but surprisingly, quite a lot changes.
Intent is the power that drags the impossible into the realm of the possible. The moment my Intent surpasses the history of training that the Indestructible Vajra Body's physique has accumulated, the Indestructible Vajra Body ceases to be the Indestructible Vajra Body.
"Thank you for your teachings."
As I bowed my head once more, Great Master Jeonghyeon shook his head with a wry smile.
"It's nothing. I spoke grandly, but in the end, as the White Moon Sword Lord said, it's hardly something worth calling a weakness. However, if you truly feel grateful, would you grant me one request?"
"Please speak."
"…You truly hold no particular feelings toward Shaolin Temple, do you? If not, then for the sake of today's events, I would ask that you speak your words first, before your sword, just once."
"Just what does the Abbot think of me…?"
"A rare talent who, had he not met the young lady of the Tang Clan, would by now have seized the position of the next Alliance Lord of the Black Alliance?"
"…"
I had nothing to say, because before my regression, I had indeed received similar treatment.
Such a method of reading a person.
It seemed one did not become the Abbot of Shaolin Temple by chance.