Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Human Experiment

After finishing his workout as usual, Choi Kang-hyuk momentarily indulged in the pleasure of admiring his muscles in the mirror in Tokyo.

He was simply delighted with the growth of his muscles, but soon returned to being Mu-jin, not Choi Kang-hyuk.

What caught his eye was a man in the early stages of transforming into a muscle-bound freak with square-shaped muscles.

As a muscle enthusiast, this was still not enough, but he was a martial artist before a muscle enthusiast.

Barely regaining his senses, Mu-jin raised his arm and reached behind his back with a feeling of concern.

It was a common pose to scratch his own back, but he felt his shoulder’s deltoid and his arm’s bicep hindering the motion.

Fortunately, he could barely touch his back with his fingertips, despite the uncomfortable sensation.

“Phew, that was close.”

“I almost ended up like Mu-gung.”

Recalling Mu-gung, the epitome of stiffness, Mu-jin decided to revise his future plans.

“For now, I need to focus on Jade Vajra Technique for a while.”

He decided to prioritize compressing his muscles and additionally focus a bit more on flexibility.

However, he had no intention of completely stopping weight training. After all, how could he abandon the muscles he had painstakingly built?

* * *

The next day.

“Uh?”

Seeing Mu-jin stop his weight training earlier than usual, those who were watching his workout simultaneously exclaimed in surprise.

Typically, Mu-jin would train for a full two hours, but for some reason, he started putting away the weights about 30 minutes early.

“Are you already stopping your workout?” Jegal Jin-hee asked, unable to hide her disappointment as Mu-jin started to put his shirt back on.

“I seem to have overbuilt my muscles, so I am considering taking a break.”

“Are you planning to reduce your muscles?”

Mu-jin replied with a startled expression.

“Muscle loss? What a dreadful thing to say.”

“Then, what are you planning to do?”

Feeling embarrassed by Mu-jin’s response, Jegal Jin-hee asked.

“Ahem. I plan to maintain my muscles while increasing my proficiency in Jade Vajra Technique to compress them. For a while, I’ll reduce the time spent on weight training and increase my time practicing the Jade Vajra Technique.”

“Oh, I see.”

Jegal Jin-hee smacked her lips in disappointment. It wasn’t just because she would see less of his muscles.

To be precise, it wasn’t solely because of that.

Although Mu-jin had openly practiced external martial arts techniques, he did not train the Jade Vajra Technique in front of others.

Since it was a martial art taught by Hyun-gwang, he had no intention of revealing it carelessly.

In other words, saying he would practice the Jade Vajra Technique was akin to issuing an order to those present to leave.

But since he didn’t mean they had to leave immediately, Jegal Jin-hee swallowed her disappointment and asked a ‘public’ question.

“So, the training you did today was solely to maintain your current state?”

“That’s right.”

“Then, could you explain the maintenance routines later?”

This was an important issue.

Unless Mu-jin revealed the Jade Vajra Technique, most martial artists would find maintaining rather than growing more important at a certain point.

Once one’s physique and muscle quality were optimized for their martial arts, changes in muscle could become detrimental.

“Hmmm. It’s actually a matter of experiential intuition. If muscles become overly developed, one should reduce the intensity of training a bit, and if they are insufficient, gradually increase the intensity to create the most appropriate routine.”

“……So, trial and error are inevitable?”

“Yes. I’m going through the same process, aren’t I?”

Jegal Jin-hee lightly exclaimed in realization at Mu-jin’s answer.

“Ah. Then, it might be a good idea to also research the method for determining the appropriate routines during this opportunity.”

“I don’t mind, but…… it will take quite some time.”

“No need to worry about the time. We plan to stay at Shaolin for a year to observe the seasonal changes affecting the formations.”

Half was truth, half was a lie.

Given that the formations utilized nature, subtle issues could arise from the seasonal climate changes.

However, the Jegal family’s formations were designed to account for that.

It was just an excuse to stay by pointing out the slight chance of failure.

Of course, Mu-jin, who was almost ignorant about formations, simply accepted it as such.

* * *

That evening.

After finishing his Jade Vajra Technique practice and Close-Range Spear Technique training, Mu-jin, taking a break, happened to encounter Mu-gung within the Shaolin Temple grounds.

Since returning to Shaolin, Mu-jin and the other members of the Muja Quartet had been busy training, leading to rare meetings.

Seeing Mu-jin after a long time, Mu-gung was quite surprised.

‘This lunatic has grown even more muscle?’

Well, given how obsessed he was with muscles, it would be strange if he didn’t grow them.

But why?

After looking Mu-jin up and down, Mu-gung felt him muttering something strange before leaving.

“Wow. I almost ended up like that.”

“Like that? What do you mean by that? Huh?”

Mu-gung, feeling inexplicably annoyed, asked back, but Mu-jin hurried away as if fearing he might catch an illness.

Watching Mu-jin’s retreating figure with a dumbfounded expression, Mu-gung soon stopped caring.

It was a waste of life to pay attention to the antics of a madman every time.

However, sometimes that madman did show behaviors worth learning from.

‘Hmm. Should I grow more muscle too?’

Mu-gung thought of Mu-jin, who seemed to be catching up to him.

‘Yes! Master said that it’s important for my martial arts to build up endlessly rather than learning new things!’

Then, what if I add muscle strength to the depth of my internal energy and Tathagata Palm?

In any case, finesse or elegance didn’t suit him.

Thus, Mu-gung headed to the training ground filled with weights.

* * *

Another month passed.

To maintain his muscle strength while increasing his proficiency in the Jade Vajra Technique, Mu-jin had succeeded in achieving some level of accomplishment in the Jade Vajra Technique.

Since then, Mu-jin carefully balanced the ratio between practicing the Jade Vajra Technique and weight training, adjusting his workout whenever he started to turn into a muscle-bound freak, gradually increasing his strength little by little.

* * *

One day, after some time had passed.

Mu-jin, who happened to run into Mu-gung, asked with a bewildered expression.

“…Mu-gung. Did you eat something wrong?”

“Eating something wrong? Why?”

“I mean, unless you ate something really weird, how could a guy who’s already ridiculously big get even bigger?”

Although Mu-jin hadn’t noticed during their occasional encounters, today Mu-gung’s body suddenly caught his eye.

However, contrary to Mu-jin’s confusion, Mu-gung responded with a triumphant face.

“Looks like you finally noticed. Hehehe. But why do you seem thinner than the last time I saw you?”

There couldn’t be a more provocative remark for a workout addict. Veins popped out on Mu-jin’s forehead.

“I compressed my muscles on purpose. But why did you, who haven’t learned the Jade Vajra Technique, grow your muscles even more?”

“Hmph.”

Instead of answering directly, Mu-gung snorted and assumed the Tathagata Palm posture.

And the moment Mu-gung extended his palm.

Whoosh!

A flame of much stronger intensity than before erupted.

“How about that?”

Mu-gung spoke in a very triumphant tone after demonstrating, but Mu-jin stood in front of him, sighing deeply.

Then he raised his left hand to make it align with Mu-gung’s right hand, as if holding a pad in boxing training.

“Try hitting this palm with the Tathagata Palm without using internal energy. Extend your right hand straight.”

Although puzzled, Mu-gung still performed the Tathagata Palm’s first move.

But the result left Mu-gung exclaiming, “Huh?”

He thought he had extended his hand straight, but his palm barely touched the edge of Mu-jin’s left palm.

“Did you move your hand?”

“Hey, you fool. With those oversized biceps and pectoral muscles, how can your arm go straight? Of course, your muscles will push your arm sideways.”

“Calling me Mu-yul, that’s too harsh!”

“Didn’t I tell you? If you keep growing your muscles from there, just maintain them and focus on Close-Range Spear Technique. If you can’t remember my advice, how are you different from Mu-yul?”

Speechless at Mu-jin’s criticism, Mu-gung blushed and retorted.

“Hmph! I did it with a plan!”

Saying so, Mu-gung slightly turned his body and extended the Tathagata Palm towards Mu-jin’s palm.

He compensated for his arm going sideways by twisting his body the other way.

“How about this? It’s okay, right?”

“Would you do that in a real fight too? When your opponent is right in front of you, would you twist your body just to use the Tathagata Palm? Are you a flounder?”

At Mu-jin’s relentless barrage, Mu-gung eventually hung his head in defeat.

‘Damn it… How can I be compared to Mu-yul.’

Seeing Mu-gung’s dejected look, Mu-jin sighed and gave him advice.

“For a while, ease up on the weights and focus on Close-Range Spear Technique training. Use the extra time to increase your internal energy through meditation. If you continue training the Tathagata Palm in your current state, you’ll really end up like a flounder.”

After giving Mu-gung advice that would help him, Mu-jin went back to his quarters for the day’s training.

After finishing his muscle-punishing weight training, Mu-jin was writing in his exercise journal, also known as his research on external martial arts techniques, when Jegal Jin-hee smiled and asked.

“Looks like you’ve found some balance now?”

Unlike his stern demeanor with Mu-gung, Mu-jin responded with a hearty laugh.

“Hahaha. It was a bit tricky at first, but I think I’ve got the hang of it now.”

Initially, it had been quite a struggle to balance the progress of the Jade Vajra Technique and muscle development, but recently, he seemed to have found a good balance.

Yesterday, he had felt his muscles were slightly overdeveloped, but today, he maintained a perfectly balanced physique.

‘Maybe yesterday, my muscles looked pumped because it was right after a workout?’

Mu-jin thought optimistically.

* * *

The next morning.

Mu-jin, who invariably checked his body in the mirror every morning, froze in place.

Whether it was his imagination or not, he felt a bit leaner than yesterday.

The conversation he had with Mu-gung floated back into his mind.

‘Damn it. Was it because I talked about muscle loss yesterday?’

Could he be experiencing muscle loss as a result of suggesting it to someone else?

‘Or did Mu-gung curse me somehow?’

Although the thought was superstitious, Mu-jin soon shook his head.

‘Come on, even in martial arts, a curse? It’s probably just my imagination.’

He might just look a bit leaner in the morning. The difference wasn’t significant enough to be glaring.

Repeating to himself that it was just his imagination, he focused on his training for several days.

* * *

“It’s not just my imagination!!”

No matter how he looked at it now, his body was definitely leaner than the day he met Mu-gung.

Grit. Grit.

Gnawing his nails like someone tormented by paranoia, Mu-jin fell into deep thought.

“Why? Why am I losing weight? Is it just weight loss? Could it be muscle loss?”

Pacing around the room so intensely that even the onlookers felt anxious, he finally had a flash of insight.

“Could it be…?”

Though not certain, it was the most plausible reason considering his current condition and recent lifestyle.

Based on Mu-jin’s knowledge and experience in exercise physiology, it was the likeliest explanation.

Sadly, this issue was not something he could easily resolve on his own.

Mu-jin sat down abruptly, ground some ink, and began scribbling something on a piece of paper.