MTLNOVEL Chapter 17
17. Sometimes It's Best to Let Things Be
“I’ve heard that, as a Retainer, you’re free to act as you wish, except for approaching the clan’s secret garden.”
Muhwa fell silent. Her tone was reproachful.
“But the way you’re watching me like this… Did you take me in as a hired hand, not a Retainer?”
As the oppressive aura that had weighed down his entire body faded, Sun Wukong realized just how awkward this situation was.
Sun Wukong had been accepted as a conditional Retainer.
If he cooperated with the Namgung Clan’s affairs, he’d be welcomed as a Retainer.
Sun Wukong had readily agreed.
But just now, that look—there was no mistaking it. It was the gaze of someone keeping watch.
Even if it was conditional, a Retainer was a partner, not a subordinate to be given orders.
Surveillance had no place in such a relationship.
If word got out that the Namgung Clan spied on its Retainers, there’d be more than a few who’d take offense.
Muhwa bowed deeply.
“I apologize. I sensed a powerful energy and came to check if something strange was happening. I ended up watching you.”
A flicker of interest crossed Sun Wukong’s eyes.
“You sensed a powerful energy?”
“…Does that have something to do with you, Master Sun?”
“I was training.”
Muhwa bowed her head again.
Watching someone else’s Martial Art Skill training without special permission was a serious taboo.
As he watched Muhwa apologize repeatedly, Sun Wukong fell into thought.
‘Even if it was just for a moment, she sensed demonic energy from afar.’
Humans can’t sense demonic energy.
Even if Internal Qi ultimately originates from Demonic Power, they’re fundamentally different.
That much is certain.
It’s why even the most renowned Taoist priests and Buddhist monks have been fooled countless times by demons disguised as humans.
Humans, by nature, cannot sense demonic energy—except in rare cases, like Tripitaka, who enjoyed the Heavenly Realm’s favor. And even Tripitaka was deceived by demons more than once.
But she sensed it…
A pure white String of Karma touched Sun Wukong’s vision.
‘Who are you, really?’
Are you Tripitaka, or someone else?
Even peering with his Flaming Golden Eyes, he couldn’t see her true form.
Sun Wukong clicked his tongue.
To uncover Muhwa’s true identity, he’d have to lower the mental barrier now towering in her Upper Dantian.
In other words, he’d have to get closer to her.
Sun Wukong gradually withdrew the subtle pressure he’d been emitting.
“I’ll accept your apology. But in return, can I ask you a favor?”
“A favor?”
Meow—
Sun Wukong scooped up the cat.
“This stray doesn’t seem to have an owner. Mind if I keep it?”
“…”
A moment ago, her gaze had been icy enough to freeze someone in place, but now her eyes were filled with a childlike mischief.
Muhwa was left bewildered.
*
‘A little surveillance doesn’t bother me.’
Sun Wukong didn’t care whether people watched him or not.
Hadn’t he spent his whole life under the watchful eyes of the Heavenly Realm?
But right now, he needed to avoid prying eyes.
So he’d gently sent Muhwa away with the excuse of training.
Sun Wukong quietly sensed the Demonic Power within him, always ready to burst forth.
‘Martial Art Skill, huh.’
He’d seen a few martial artists in action.
From Zhu Bajie, to the Blood-Iron Fiend, the Namgung Clan, and finally Namgung Jin-Baek.
‘It’s all just moving with the flow. But the trick is to move efficiently and with intent.’
Mental Cultivation.
Moving Qi as you wish, enforcing your will upon it.
‘The nature of Demonic Power is at least as potent as their Internal Qi, if not more.’
It’s wild, brutal, and unruly.
Demonic Power dominates both body and mind. Demons become more savage, more destructive. Breaking and trampling is their calling.
But higher-level demons—even Great Demons—can handle Demonic Power so well that they sometimes seem more rational than humans.
Cunning, wise, and able to toy with the gods of the Heavenly Realm—Great Demons have appeared throughout the ages.
A demon who can enforce their will upon Demonic Power.
Sun Wukong was the prime example.
Yet even the great Sun Wukong struggled at times.
‘When I lost control and rampaged in the Heavenly Realm, or when I showed Killing Intent to Tripitaka…’
There were rare, fierce battles where he’d been swept away by rampaging Demonic Power.
Like in the palm of Shakyamuni Buddha. And then…
A frown creased Sun Wukong’s brow.
‘Never mind the Buddha—even my big brother was terrifying.’
That fight with the Bull Demon King. Tch, if I hadn’t lost my focus, I could’ve won.
Sun Wukong shook off the memories.
‘If I could use it as efficiently as they do…’
He’d erase the weaknesses of Demonic Power.
A force more primal than Internal Qi, with none of its flaws.
‘Mental Cultivation, huh…’
Sun Wukong’s eyes blazed with determination.
‘Why shouldn’t I be able to create it?’
Humans managed it, after all.
“The Great Sage Equal to Heaven can’t possibly fail.”
Sun Wukong slowly recalled everything he’d seen.
Every Martial Art Skill he’d witnessed came vividly to mind—not just the techniques, but the flow of Qi itself.
‘Zhu Bajie’s Water-Fire True Qi.’
The skill that cornered two Namgung Clan martial artists underwater.
‘The flow of Qi was completely different from what the Namgung Clan’s fighters showed.’
Breathing isn’t just important for gathering Qi in the Dantian.
It’s essential for sensing, condensing, and forming the Dantian—every step of the process.
The very operation of Qi depends on breath. Inhale, exhale—the flow of Qi moves smoothly through it.
‘But Zhu Bajie was different.’
The Flaming Golden Eyes pierced through appearances to the essence.
The flow of Qi was as clear as day.
Sun Wukong grasped the core of Water-Fire True Qi.
It might sound odd, but he thought of animals.
‘A turtle.’
Swimming underwater on a single breath.
‘It uses the True Qi stored in its Dantian, moving it naturally and at will, even without breathing.’
That’s the heart of Water-Fire True Qi.
Of course, Sun Wukong didn’t know the exact sequence or method for mastering it.
It was a secret technique—Zhu Bajie wouldn’t just hand it over.
But he understood the direction.
‘The secret lies in the extreme precision of its use.’
Humans didn’t originally have Internal Qi. So how hard must it have been to control such power at will? The secret of Mental Cultivation is making it easier to handle.
But Water-Fire True Qi goes further, almost eliminating breath from the equation.
It maximizes precision through sheer will and the user’s senses.
‘No wonder Zhu Bajie is so good at it.’
Underwater, all senses are dulled or restricted.
Hearing, touch, sight—when the basics are dulled, humans naturally sharpen other senses.
All senses focus on controlling Qi. Every ounce of potential is drawn out.
It fit Zhu Bajie’s nature perfectly—his affinity for water carried over from his past life.
‘Back then, no one could match Zhu Bajie in the water.’
His underwater movements were so natural that even Sun Wukong had to yield.
Even in this new life, his nature shone through—Zhu Bajie could move freely underwater, using his heightened senses to master Water-Fire True Qi.
‘Whoever taught Zhu Bajie that skill had a keen eye.’
Ordinary humans couldn’t do it. Focusing and maximizing all senses for Qi control is beyond human ability. That’s why Zhu Bajie is so different in and out of water.
Sun Wukong decided to use the essence of Water-Fire True Qi as his foundation.
Whether in water or on land, it made no difference to him.
With a smile, Sun Wukong absorbed the secret into himself.
‘Control Demonic Power with nothing but senses and will.’
Delicate and precise.
The once wild Demonic Power now moved according to Sun Wukong’s will.
It flowed through his veins, fierce yet never straying from its path.
Unbeknownst to Sun Wukong, this was much like what martial artists called One Full Circulation.
He repeated it, again and again.
The speed increased, his senses grew sharper.
‘Is this about right?’
But he didn’t stop there. A new idea sparked in his mind.
‘Blood-Iron Fiend.’
He wasn’t sure if it was his Martial Art Skill or something else, but the memory was vivid.
‘Like a serpent—no, a viper.’
His breath reeked—not just his mouth, but the sinister stench of True Qi itself.
Poison.
A single, venomous strike.
That was the essence of the Blood-Iron Fiend’s Internal Qi.
Sun Wukong remembered those merciless attacks—sudden, deadly blows in the midst of a relentless onslaught.
He’d brushed them off at the time, but they were truly dangerous.
Amid countless ordinary strikes, there were hidden Killing Moves.
Sun Wukong recalled that flow.
He applied the secret of Water-Fire True Qi, adding a new current to the Demonic Power that now moved in the pattern of One Full Circulation.
“…”
Anyone who could have glimpsed Sun Wukong’s thoughts would have been utterly shocked.
Has no one in the long history of the martial world ever tried this?
Taking the best parts of various Martial Art Skills to create a new, supreme technique.
Countless Martial Masters and eccentric geniuses have tried.
When it works, a supreme technique—an unrivaled skill—is born.
But considering how few such skills exist in Murim, it’s clear how mad such an attempt is.
Almost all end in failure.
Usually in the form of Qi Deviation.
KWA-SUSUSUSUSU—!
Demonic Power was no exception. It surged violently, breaking free of its flow. Far more intense than Internal Qi. His veins tore and burst open in an instant.
“…”
For a human, this would be the limit—coughing blood, eyes rolling back, clutching at their throat.
But Sun Wukong only furrowed his brow for a moment, maintaining his composure.
He simply swallowed the agony that tore through his body.
—You must not waver, Wukong. Your anger comes from the demons within your unsettled heart. Find your center, and do not be shaken. Your center stands tall, wherever you are.
A solemn voice echoed in his mind.
Sun Wukong had learned much from Tripitaka.
Not just Buddhist Dharma. He was a stubborn fool who always got them into trouble, but the sharp words he’d spoken when Sun Wukong couldn’t control his savage nature as a Great Demon were still branded on his heart.
Immovable Mind.
The greatest ability that allowed Sun Wukong, after all his Asceticism, to become the Victorious Fighting Buddha.
Sun Wukong does not waver.
He simply observes and acts.
The Demonic Power that had threatened to tear his veins apart gradually calmed.
Slowly, it moved according to Sun Wukong’s will.
A lethal venom was added to the precise, calculated flow.
The two currents mixed and mingled.
But they never became one.
They coexisted.
Sun Wukong stopped the One Full Circulation, dissatisfied.
‘Still not quite right.’
He twirled a lock of hair around his finger.
He recalled the powerful Internal Qi stored in Namgung Jin-Baek’s Dantian.
He was already mixing two flows—now he considered adding a third.
‘Sometimes, it’s best to let things be.’
If you take only the best from each, isn’t that a good thing?
It was the kind of idea only someone like Sun Wukong, with no prior knowledge of Martial Art Skill, could have. But he soon stopped.
‘…Hmm. This isn’t easy.’
Zhu Bajie’s Internal Qi reminded him of a turtle. The Blood-Iron Fiend’s, a viper’s fangs.
But the Namgung Clan?
‘The sky, perhaps.’
A vast, blue sky.
Sun Wukong couldn’t easily blend that concept in.
‘For now, this will have to do.’
Feeling the Demonic Power flowing in two separate streams, Sun Wukong slowly picked up the cat and headed back to his room.