Chapter XLIV - Beomeosa Temple

The students made their way into the Beomeosa Temple, but before entering, they passed by one of the treasures the temple had. It was known as the One Pillar Gate because when viewed from the side, it appeared to be supported by a single pillar symbolizing the one true path of enlightenment which supported the world.

The temple’s corridors were vast and required climbing up numerous stairs as they made their way deeper into the complex. The color red dominated the temple as every building was painted in it. Arthur couldn’t help but be amazed at the architecture which shared no similarity with Seoul. It reminded him of places he visited in the past that were focused more on balance and tranquility.

The flat open space appeared to be the training grounds, and his suspicion was proven correct as the teacher explained that the fighting monks within the temple practice Sunmudo martial art techniques.

Sunmudo being a Korean Buddhist martial art based on Seon, which got revived during the late 20th century. The formal name of the martial art was Bulgyo Geumgang Yeong Gwan, and now was recently given the name Sunmudo by a Buddhist monk Jeog Un in 1984.

Like Arthur, they were proficient in using swords, knives, and spears, but he never used throwing stars. What he found most impressive was that the monks were famed for defeating Japanese invaders during the late 16th century and again during the Japanese occupation of Korea in the early 20th. Sadly, the temple was burned by the retreating troops out of revenge, but Arthur couldn’t see any signs of arson.

The several buildings and other objects within the temple complex were designated as official treasures. Each one of them breathtaking in their own way.

What attracted Arthur the most to the temple was the unusually high amount of natural energy that surrounded the place, which served as proof of how harmonious it truly was. However, all his expectations were blown out of proportions when the group walked across a rocky path during a short break, at the rear of the temple.

The wondrous plant life surrounded them as the place hardly had any visitors due to its rough terrain. Due to unknown reasons, an absurd amount of energy formed between a cluster of smaller rocks. An unusual phenomenon that was usually called a veil or spring, a perfect location for a martial artist to cultivate Qi.

Focusing on visualizing the energy, it appeared as a stream of light blue and violet colors forming a spiral shape like a slow moving miniature tornado that had no physical power behind it.

In all his years of training, he had seen only two such locations, but in terms of intensity, the one before him as of that moment was by far the largest.

The energy itself was invisible to the naked eye unless one had awakened what was known as the third eye. This allowed Arthur the ability to notice how far someone progressed, as well as notice when Qi is being channeled and utilized, such being the case during his spar with Tjay who used outer Qi.

Qi itself consisted of inner and outer energy. The inner served as life force and in terms of potency was always far superior. However, using it drained the body vastly and was even life threatening for those who didn’t properly utilize it. Due to this, often martial artists trained it by cultivating as to increase the strength of both body and soul, but abstained from learning how to wield it. It was indeed a double edged sword.

Unlike the inner Qi which utilized the main meridian path, needed to be unlocked through purification of ones’ body, the outer passed through the “side” pathway, consisting of countless meridians. It was a depletive source of power that through meditation would restore itself rather quickly. The amount one possessed was limited only by the method of cultivation, talent which dictated the speed of growth, and time. It served as the foundation of many techniques, all of which were used for either fighting or healing.

The inner, unlike its opposite, had a hard limit which Arthur reached at the peak of his power. He unlike most utilized the full potential of both inner and outer, risking his own life in exchange for extraordinary power that far surpassed anyone who just utilized the outer. Such was the path he chose to take. The cap was different for everyone, and there was no natural way of increasing that limit.

Ever since reincarnating, Arthur hadn’t touched upon the outer Qi, nor his inner Qi, outside of unlocking the main meridian pathway. It reminded him of his former life too much, and he didn’t see a purpose in doing so. However, all that changed as he stood before the spring which woke within him the desire to feel that energy once more. It wasn’t for the sake of power, but the feeling of peace that it gave. Had he enough time, he would’ve loved to sit and bathe in it.

Their tour continued and the lecture Miss Seong gave managed to captivate most of the students, a far more impressive feat than most would give it credit.

“Enjoying the tour?” Irene asked Arthur as she nudged him gently.

“It’s astonishing,” he said smilingly. “What about you?”

“It leaves me in awe whenever I think about how people used to live, so I can’t say I’m not impressed.”

“Honestly, I didn’t expect there to be martial arts here.”

“When I watched you fighting Tjay, it left me in disbelief when Sophie told me you never trained martial arts. Left me wondering if you had any interest in doing something like that.”

“I’m not sure, but it might be something to consider.”

Even though Arthur said so, he never intended to train anything other than Kaisa, the martial arts he mastered. However, he didn’t lie either as he had full intention of one day practicing it once more.

Kaisa was a martial art which mixed hand to hand combat with sword fighting techniques. It had various forms which were designed for combating different enemies, as Arthur was often forced to fight beings that came in all shapes and sizes.

“Mind if I ask you a few random questions?” Irene whispered as the lecture was still ongoing.

“You don’t need to ask for permission. . .”

“Fine, fine. Anyway, if you were born in the past, what would you say you’d be?”

It indeed was an unexpected question, but one that matched the theme of their trip.

“I would’ve been stuck as a soldier,” he answered with a look of disappointment.

“Is that not something you’d want?”

“Nope, but you asked what I’d be.”

“What makes you so sure you’d be a soldier?”

“Intuition. . .” he sighed.

She looked at him puzzled, before pondering for a better question. “Well then, let me rephrase it. . . What would you want to be had you been born in the past?”

“Uh. . .” he paused momentarily as it was something he thought about often but never managed to truly answer. “A traveler. . . Yes, that’s what I’d want. To see the beauty of the world that I’ve never had the chance to experience.”

“That’s. . .” she chuckled again, his words left her with a placid smile. “Beautiful. . . But what a weird way of putting it. . .”

“Oh right. . .” he laughed realizing that he spoke quite literal.

“So,” she looked at him deviously as she formed fists all while bending her knees slightly, placing herself in a fighting stance. Irene threw a powerless punch towards his shoulder. “Who do you think would win in a fight, you or me?”

Arthur couldn’t help but chuckle as he looked at her ferocious appearance, but surprisingly her technique was better than Tjay’s and Max’s.

“You’d win, no doubt about it.”

“Talk about giving me the benefit of the doubt. What? Did my punch scare you that much?” she smiled brightly while gazing into his eyes.

“I’m not kidding though,” he looked at her somewhat serious. “It would take a lot to make me hit a girl, and afterwards I’d feel like shit. So I’d rather just lose. Besides, I could never hurt you.”

She had no comeback to that, as she simply let out a sigh lowering her fists and leaning into his shoulder.

“You’re too kind for your own good,” she mumbled. “Don’t change.”

“Not planning on it,” he said remaining quiet for a bit. “Irene. . . You train martial arts, don’t you?”

“What gave it away?”

“You mentioned you fought before, your punch had proper technique, and your fitness matches it quite well.”

“Well, I’d like to say that I still train, but I haven’t in the last year or two. I used to train Taekwondo, same as my mother, but I stopped due to an injury and never got back to it.”

“Doesn’t Taekwondo only utilize kicking?”

“It does, but that doesn’t mean I’ve never learned how to throw a punch,” she chuckled. “I’m not big on fighting though. Only had one real fight and I’m not too proud of it, apart from sparring obviously.”

“Why not?”

“It was against another girl. She kept trying to bully me and I snapped when she brought my family into the mix, so I kicked her really hard. It wasn’t exactly a fight. . . But we were kids so I can’t say that I’m proud of doing so.”

“Blah, she obviously deserved it,” he reassured her jokingly.

“I guess. . .” Irene shook her head. “Anyway, final question. What do you think you want to be now?”

Arthur chuckled helplessly as it was the only question he couldn’t answer. “I don’t know. . . It feels strange not having a specific goal.”

Answering left him looking lost.

“Hey,” she whispered. “It’s okay not knowing. Even I’m not too sure, and for me the world isn’t as new as it is to you. You’ve had a life changing event happen to you not that long ago. If you already knew what you wanted to do, I’d just feel silly.”

“Unbelievable,” he mumbled letting out a sigh. Somehow her words managed to ease a weight on his shoulder that he wasn’t even aware of. The more he thought about it, the more he appreciated the feeling of being lost, believing that only when lost, would he be able to find a path he wished to walk. It also served as proof that his fate had finally been changed, and no longer was he bound to one purpose. “Thanks. . .”

“Any time.”

The tour continued for another half an hour before they finally settled down to have lunch after which they’d have the freedom to roam around as they pleased. Tjay and Max were relentlessly yapping how they’d train to be the strongest warriors and found themselves inspired by the temple grounds.

“Iseul just called us over to meet up with her and a few of her friends,” Irene said looking at the phone.

“No way,” Max interrupted. “We’re going to the training grounds. I also wanna see the main temple hall.”

“Fuck yeah, that sounds fun,” Tjay added.

“I also want to see the Three Story Stone Pagoda again,” Don said.

“We can do that on the way,” Max pointed out.

“I’ll join you Irene,” Nabi joined the conversation.

“Ari, Sophie? You coming with us?” Irene asked.

“I’d like to,” Sophie looked towards Ari.

“I don’t see why not,” Ari chuckled.

“Art, who you coming with? The boys or the girls,” Max crossed his arms grinningly.

Arthur took a deep breath before exaggeratedly exhaling. “Neither. I have something I’d like to talk to Miss Seong about and it might take a while so I’ll find you guys.”

It was a lie, but a passable one. He planned to return to the spring but he couldn’t really explain it.

“Alright, then I guess we’re splitting up for now,” Irene said while looking at her watch. “We could meet up a few minutes before the rest at the first gate.”

“Sounds good to me,” Max said looking at his phone.

“Agreed,” Arthur added. “Oh, before you go Sophie, grandpa told me to give you this.”

He handed her over the money Ryung gave him.

“Oh, I completely forgot!” she chuckled.

“Though I should charge you for my services,” he joked.

“Hmm,” Sophie approached him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Would that suffice as payment by your adorable little sister?”

“Cringe. . .” Tjay said rolling his eyes.

“Somebody’s jealous,” Irene teased, making Tjay shake his head while dragging Max and Don away.

“I guess that’ll do,” Arthur pulled her in for a hug before going his own way.

Now that he was alone, he could finally go back.

Returning to the cluster of rocks, he glanced around and noticed that he was indeed alone. Now that the tour was no longer ongoing, nobody had interest of returning to the randomly secluded location.

Taking a deep breath, Arthur sat down cross-legged while taking off his t-shirt remaining topless. With the sun still shining brightly, it was hotter than he expected. Though, the reason he took it of was to remove any unnecessary boundaries between him and nature.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he began to channel the energy. With how potent it was, it took less than a few minutes of peaceful meditation, surrounded by chipping birds, a light breeze, and the sound of rustling leaves before his other meridian paths began to open. His focus was on gathering both inner and outer Qi with his advanced cultivation technique taught to him by a martial artist that had achieved ascension to lesser divinity.

He slowly achieved tranquility, as even the sound of voices was unable to take him out of his trance. Other students eventually made their way there, getting lost during their exploration. Most visitors ignored Arthur as it looked natural, even some students wondered how it felt, but there were always those that called him weird for it. Though, nothing could disturb him.

His breathing stabilized and whole body relaxed. Arthur would often compare the feeling of natural energy passing through him as if wind was water, but felt as pleasant as the warmth of the sun passing through his entire body, making him feel as if he was floating mid-air. A feeling so divine that it often made it hard to describe accurately, leaving one feeling peace of mind.

Had he had time, maybe a year or two to meditate daily at the source, he wondered how far he could push his cultivation.

Arthur heard faint footsteps approaching. They were different from the rest, barely audible. Opening his eyes, before him stood an older man in his late fifties. Bald and wearing white robes, he appeared to be a monk belonging to the temple.

“I meant not to disturb you young one,” he spoke with a fruity voice.

Arthur looked at the monk and with a single glance recognized that he was brimming with inner Qi, yet showed no sign of outer. It was as if he devoted his entire life to bettering his body and soul. Had he not fought Tjay who showed signs of outer Qi, he would’ve safely assumed the possibility that the world he found himself in had simply not been aware of outer energy.

“You’ve done no such thing. I was merely enjoying the passing of time,” Arthur answered soft spoken.

“Are you a practitioner?”

“You could say that.”

“It is always good to see young people knowing how to appreciate the world that surround us while seeking enlightenment. However, may I ask why you’ve chosen that specific spot?”

He was probably the only person Arthur could openly talk to about the subject. Granted, he wished he had more time to himself, but it was getting late anyway.

“It felt unique.”

“Unique you say. So you cannot see it, but you can feel it. Interesting. . .”

“What exactly?” Arthur tested the monk.

“Would you like to hear a story about this place? Though it requires an open mind to accept my words.”

“It would be my honor to listen and learn,” Arthur showed respect. “The world is full of wonders yet to be discovered. I refuse to stay ignorant to that which I can’t see.”

“Well said,” he laughed. “Well then. . . Long ago, when I was still around your age, my master used to take me here to train day and night. At first I failed to see what was so special about it, but he told me that only with time I’d finally understand. He meditated for over seventy years at that exact spot you now sit in. My master often described the flow of energy that passed through here as an unusual phenomenon where true harmony in nature is achieved and a flow is created. It took me thirty years to finally feel what my master saw, and hopefully one day I shall attain the ability to perceive things for what they are. Only then, will I achieve enlightenment.”

“So you’re saying that your master was able to see the source of this power?”

“When I asked my master about it, he explained to me that when he was young, he was drawn to this place. Much like us, he could feel the energy flow at a young age, but only through time could he perceive it.”

“Sounds like an impressive master.”

“He was. You remind me of him. That look in your eyes and the talent you possess.”

“How do you know I possess talent when I haven’t even shown what I know?”

“With age comes wisdom, and with it comes the ability to see the world for what it is. You don’t need to display your talent for it to be noticed. That’s why I was intrigued and approached you in the first place.”

“I am honored by your words.”

While it was a short interaction, Arthur now gained a better grasp at the world around him. While the old man did possess a talent, it was far from what he’d expect.

“There you are,” Irene said with Iseul walking next to her. “Why are you shirtless?”

“Ah. . .” Arthur looked down lost for words.

The monk glanced at them and smiled gently.

“Good day, sir,” Iseul said respectfully.

“Good day.”

“My apologies,” Irene said smiling back. “Good day, and pleasure to meet you. I hope our friend over here hadn’t caused any trouble.”

“No such thing,” he chuckled with his hands behind his back. “If anything it was me who disturbed your friend while he was meditating.”

“You were meditating?” Iseul asked.

“Something like that. I found this place quite peaceful and since I haven’t gotten out of the city before, I was enjoying myself.”

“Are the three of you here with the school that came to visit our temple?”

“We are,” Iseul answered. “I must say that it has been nothing but breathtaking.”

“Agreed,” Irene added. “Even the air itself feels otherworldly.”

“Leaving the city from time to time would do well for both your body and soul,” the monk preached.

“I wish we had more opportunities to do so,” Iseul chuckled, taking in the beautiful tree line.

“Guys,” Irene said looking at her watch. “If we want to meet up with the rest, we should get moving.”

“Alright,” Arthur said putting his t-shirt back on. “Thank you for the kind words.”

He performed a respectful bow to the monk.

“Enjoy your youth kids and have a great day,” he said giving them a slight bow as well.

Waving goodbye, the monk took his leave as the three went back to the first gate.

“Didn’t know you were into meditation,” Irene said.

“A fit body and a sound mind is worth the patience and training.”

“Could you tell Max that?” Iseul chuckled, making the other two laugh along.

Eventually they met up with the rest.

“I told you he’d join them,” Max said.

“We just met moments ago,” Iseul explained.

“Likely story. . .”

“Oi Art! Before we go, let’s spar at the training grounds!” Tjay challenged him, making everyone simultaneously sigh.

“Maybe next time that we visit,” Arthur declined awkwardly smiling at him.

“Damn. . .” Tjay chuckled being rejected. “Well, next time it is.”

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.