Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Chapter 264:

Heavenly Net

Mu-jin and the Shaolin disciples traveled with Jegal Muhwan towards Shaolin.

However, they did not move straightforwardly.

On the route from Qinghai Province, where they departed, to Henan Province, where Shaolin was located, lay Shaanxi Province.

In the outskirts of Shaanxi Province, the Martial Alliance was present.

To avoid the gaze of the Martial Alliance, Mu-jin and his companions disguised themselves with wigs and clothes, concealing their identities, and used martial arts to navigate through paths seldom used by people.

However...

“It seems we are being followed.”

Even though they tried their best to hide their identities, there were still limits.

The fortunate part was that they had already passed through the outskirts where the Martial Alliance was located and entered the path from Shaanxi to Henan.

Mu-jin’s words about being tracked made the group look at him curiously.

“Since a while ago, I have sensed someone’s gaze from afar.”

In a village, someone might simply look out of curiosity.

But they were currently passing through a deserted mountain path to conceal their movements.

“In that case, let’s increase our speed.”

“Are you saying we should leave the observer alone?”

When Mu-jin asked back, Jegal Muhwan replied in a calm tone.

“Since you are the best at Shaolin Dragon’s martial arts and lightness skill, pretend to move with us, then secretly hide. Can you deal with the pursuer and then catch up with us while cleaning up the traces?”

Mu-jin nodded to Jegal Muhwan’s question.

Then they all increased their speed simultaneously.

‘As expected, they are following us.’

Mu-jin, who had sensed the observer from afar, could feel the pursuer’s movements.

While moving with the group, Mu-jin used Shadow Art and Ghost Step to discreetly slip away.

He waited, hiding on the path where the pursuer was following.

Shortly after, he ambushed the pursuer who was chasing the group.

Thud!!

He knocked out the pursuer in one blow, but Mu-jin’s expression was not entirely relieved.

‘As expected, it’s a pursuer from the Martial Alliance.’

The pursuer was dressed in the distinctive martial attire of the Martial Alliance.

And Mu-jin knew.

Though the leader Wi Ji-hak and some of the upper echelons might be from Shinchun, most of the ordinary warriors in the Martial Alliance were from just regular orthodox sects.

So, Mu-jin only knocked the opponent out, without taking their life.

He pressed the paralyzing points of the unconscious opponent, making sure they would be immobilized for a few hours.

Then he followed and erased the traces of his companions, soon rejoining them.

“Capture them!”

Thud!

While Mu-jin was dealing with the pursuer and rejoining, his companions encountered more enemies. These enemies were also dressed in the martial attire of the Martial Alliance.

Fortunately, there weren’t many of them, so by the time Mu-jin rejoined, Mu-gung and Mu-yul, along with the Shaolin disciples, had easily subdued them.

“You returned quickly. Did you identify the observer?”

Jegal Muhwan asked, to which Mu-jin replied.

“They were pursuers from the Martial Alliance.”

“Hmm, as expected. It seems Wi Ji-hak has decided to deploy the Heavenly Net.”

Mu-jin nodded.

Meeting more Martial Alliance warriors shortly after dealing with the observer indicated that a significant number of warriors had been deployed.

“There they are!”

“Capture them!”

At that moment, voices were heard again from the rear.

“Let’s move. We might get swarmed by more of them if we stop to deal with these.”

Following Jegal Muhwan’s direction, Mu-jin and the group used their lightness skills to run.

“Get on my back.”

Mu-jin offered his back to Jegal Muhwan, who was slower compared to other Shaolin disciples.

On Mu-jin’s back, Jegal Muhwan constantly surveyed the surroundings to grasp the situation.

* * *

How long had they been running, ignoring the shouts and presences of those pursuing them from behind?

“It’s about time we take a break.”

Hearing Jegal Muhwan’s words, Mu-jin nodded and put him down.

Everyone’s stamina and internal energy were nearly depleted after continuous battles and using their lightness skills.

“I’ll stand guard, everyone else start gathering your energy.”

At Mu-jin’s words, those who were visibly exhausted immediately sat down and began meditating to restore their energy.

“Shaolin Dragon, are you sure you don’t need to meditate?”

“Thanks to the walking meditation I learned, I can recover bit by bit without having to meditate.”

Mu-jin replied to Jegal Muhwan’s question as he sat on the ground and regulated his breathing.

Although he wasn’t meditating, he still needed a minimum amount of rest.

They rested for about fifteen minutes.

Mu-gung, who had recovered a bit of his internal energy, was the first to open his eyes. Mu-jin spoke.

“Stand guard for a while. I’ll see if I can find something to eat.”

Leaving Mu-gung to guard, Mu-jin quickly gathered some edible herbs based on his experience.

Meanwhile, most of the Shaolin disciples finished meditating and opened their eyes.

Mu-jin distributed the herbs he had gathered, and the Shaolin disciples took out some emergency rations and water to eat together.

Mu-jin also took out some dried food from his pouch and shoved it into his mouth, mixing protein powder into his water.

‘Hah. At least my muscles won’t waste away.’

The protein powder was not just for preventing muscle loss but for quick energy replenishment.

They quickly finished their meal in less than a quarter of an hour.

“We should get moving again.”

Mu-jin said as he stood up.

Though he thought they had lost the pursuers, he could feel their presence surrounding them again after just a short rest.

* * *

A day had passed since they started being chased by the Heavenly Net.

Mu-jin and his companions had to constantly change directions, fight Martial Alliance warriors, break through encirclements with their lightness skills, take short rests, and repeat the process.

As a result, within just one day, the Shaolin disciples had become extremely worn out compared to when they started.

However, this was only possible because Jegal Muhwan was with them.

If he hadn’t been guiding them, Mu-jin and his group would have long been trapped by the Heavenly Net, unable to rest for even a second, and would have died from exhaustion.

‘Damn it. Heavenly Net, Heavenly Net. I only heard about it.’

Even Mu-jin, who had experience being chased by the Green Forest, was now astonished.

The Heavenly Net deployed by the Martial Alliance was on a different level from the brute force tactics of the Green Forest.

Though the individual strength of the Martial Alliance warriors wasn’t particularly threatening to Mu-jin, the constant pursuit without proper rest was driving them crazy.

Mu-jin felt deeply the subtlety of the Heavenly Net, which was designed to slowly wear down the opponent.

‘Hah. This reminds me of when I used to train the Zhongnan Sect disciples.’

Reflecting on the past, Mu-jin realized he was now experiencing the harsh survival and endurance training he had put the Zhongnan Sect disciples through.

However, he did not regret it because he believed it was necessary for their growth.

What Mu-jin regretted now was...

‘I should have made the Shaolin disciples go through that training as well. Damn it.’

He regretted not subjecting the Shaolin disciples to the same rigorous training.

Because the Shaolin disciples had never experienced such training, they were now on the verge of collapse.

While being pursued by the Heavenly Net, their stamina and internal energy were nearly depleted, forcing them to take breaks to recover even a little.

“We need to get moving again.”

As usual, Mu-jin, who was standing guard, sighed and spoke.

The Martial Alliance warriors were closing in on them.

This time, instead of slowly wearing them down from a distance, the enemy was closing in for a direct confrontation.

And Mu-jin could easily guess why they made that decision now.

It could be because Mu-jin and his group had reached their physical limits.

“Long time no see, Leader.”

The Martial Alliance leader Wi Ji-hak had appeared at this very moment.