0020 : Thunder Dragon Emergence
I decided to stay at Mangnyang Seonsa’s place for three years, and fortunately, there was an annex about twenty paces away from his thatched cottage. It seemed he had made a substantial amount of money from fortune-telling, as he had built a separate house for his lover, intended for later use. From what he mentioned, it appeared he had one lover within Jinrang Valley and several more in different regions.
This guy certainly has an eye for the ladies.
Could it be that he left the Imperial Palace just to indulge in womanizing?
Of course, I had no intention of provoking my ally with such remarks, so I kept quiet for the time being. I promised to help Mangnyang Seonsa with his work from time to time while living in the annex to cover my board.
“First, it might be a hassle for you to call me Mangnyang Seonsa every time, so from now on, just call me Mangnyang.”
“That works.”
“Can I call you Baek Woong then?”
“Of course.”
After establishing our mutual titles, the study began the following day.
At first, I was unsure about what to study, but suddenly Mangnyang handed me an extremely thick book. The title read “Ten Thousand Character Text.” Startled by the book’s unexpected thickness, I glanced at Mangnyang, who then said,
“Baek Woong, the foundation of all study lies in Chinese characters. Starting today, you will memorize the Ten Thousand Character Text.”
Ten Thousand Character Text.
I had seen this book before. Unlike the Thousand Character Text that children learn to begin their studies, this was a serious text for scholars preparing for the imperial examinations, requiring them to memorize detailed vocabulary thoroughly. Kim Manje had a copy at home, but after flipping through a couple of pages, it had collected dust.
“Mangnyang, why are we skipping the Thousand Character Text?”
“If you master the Ten Thousand Character Text, you will automatically memorize the Thousand Character Text. Instead of wasting time, let’s dive in hard from the start.”
“Even so, ten thousand characters seems a bit…”
As I trailed off negatively, Mangnyang responded as if questioning my words.
“It’s not actually ten thousand characters; what are you talking about?”
“Oh, I see, it must be less in reality.”
“This actually contains thirty thousand characters.”
“……”
I almost swore out loud in disbelief. Given its thickness—equivalent to three of my arm’s girth—I finally understood the reason behind it. For someone like me, who was far from proficient in the proper memorization and usage of even 500 Chinese vocabulary words, facing a thirty-thousand-character text was an enormous pressure.
“There’s no choice. The Qimen Dunjia and military strategy texts are filled with old scripts and unique terms that are hardly used nowadays. Unless you are someone proficient in all kinds of classics, even a regular scholar would need to interpret them like a foreign language. It’s not an option; it’s essential.”
“Sigh… you could just interpret it for me.”
“Of course, I will help, but given the volume, I can’t go over everything daily.”
It seemed Mangnyang wasn’t purposely trying to make things difficult for me. I resigned myself with a sigh.
“… How many characters should I memorize each day?”
“You should aim for at least a hundred each day. Spend all your time studying, except for eating and sleeping.”
“Damn…”
Even though I tried to hold back, a curse slipped out unavoidably. I had hardly ever studied literature in my life and saw no need to do so. Yet, having to focus on text that made my head spin for several hours was pure torture.
Mangnyang added,
“Of course, expecting desk stamina from someone with no prior study experience is a bit much. So, let’s use the Thunder Spirit Classic as a trick.”
“Thunder Spirit Classic? I’ve heard it enhances brain vitality. Does that actually work?”
“It activates your mental waves. It will greatly help with restoring focus.”
My daily schedule was set like this. Aside from eating and sleeping, nearly all my time was devoted to memorizing the Ten Thousand Character Text, and I practiced my internal energy for an hour each day. Additionally, during breaks, I would recite the Thunder Spirit Classic to recover from mental fatigue and enhance my concentration.
Yes, in theory, it was a perfect study method.
Mangnyang claimed that with this approach, even someone as clueless as I was could confidently pass the minor exam of the imperial examination.
“……”
I felt overwhelmed.
On the third day of studying the Ten Thousand Character Text, I was lying down, staring at the empty ceiling of the annex, feeling the limits of my patience. The volume of material and progress were no joke, and sitting at my desk all day long was driving me mad. At least when I practiced martial arts, my body was so strained that I could forget trivial thoughts, but the process of building study stamina was no laughing matter.
I understand how Kim Manje feels now.
After all this intense study, even mastering the Ten Thousand Character Text wouldn’t guarantee success in the imperial examination. The life of scholars seemed weaker than that of martial artists, yet in reality, they were fighting a fierce battle against themselves more than anyone else.
But thinking of Kim Manje reignited my motivation.
If I lay here lamenting and avoiding study, how was I any different from him? I couldn’t afford to sink to the level of a scoundrel who squandered his time on debauchery and neglected his integrity.
All those years I spent rolling in despair and repeating death, striving to attain the Thousand Year Bloodline, flashed before my eyes like a rushing river. All of that was a desperate and grueling time for me to take control of my life.
I couldn’t break under such pressure!
I would push myself further.
The cry from within urged me to study once more. Gritting my teeth, I began to read the characters aloud in the quiet annex.
It didn’t matter whether it was ten thousand characters or thirty thousand characters.
As long as I kept memorizing, I would eventually know all of it, wouldn’t I?
Thinking this made my heart feel a bit lighter.
It had been half a year since I started studying. I truly had been eating, sleeping, and studying only, putting in tremendous effort to memorize a hundred characters each day.
Thanks to my overflowing internal energy, I didn’t suffer from a lack of physical stamina, but my concentration often fell short. Each time that happened, I would recite the Thunder Spirit Classic to bring my mind to a state of tranquility, and I would quickly regain my focus.
Curious, I asked Mangnyang what exactly the Thunder Spirit Classic was to have such a recovery effect, and his answer was straightforward.
“It’s a Buddhist mantra transformed into Taoist style.”
“So it’s originally a recitation?”
“Most religious chants are like that. Even seemingly meaningless babble can influence the mind.”
After saying this, Mangnyang checked my homework and remarked,
“As of today, you’ve reached the level of learning in a village school. Let’s familiarize ourselves more with the characters you’ve memorized.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Let’s read the Four Books and Five Classics.”
“What? How could I possibly read something like that…”
The Four Books and Five Classics were texts that typically required a considerable amount of scholarly background to understand. Mangnyang then smiled slyly.
“By the way, Baek Woong, do you know how many Chinese characters exist in total?”
“How would I know?”
“Neither do I.”
I shot him a look, momentarily thinking he was joking, but Mangnyang answered calmly.
“Chinese characters are the only open set among the world’s scripts. This means that anyone can create a new character at any time. In contrast, phonetic characters from other countries don’t increase unless new phonemes are introduced to the language. However, since ideograms, as the origin of characters, contain specific meanings in each one, whenever a new concept that didn’t previously exist arises, a new character must be created.”
“……”
I had no idea what he was saying. I figured I should just sit quietly and listen.
“That’s precisely why no one knows how many Chinese characters exist. Even though it’s called the Ten Thousand Character Text, it far exceeds thirty thousand characters. It’s because all kinds of obscure characters have been gathered, and there’s no other way around it.”
I replied bluntly to Mangnyang, who had imposed this knowledge on my brain.
“I see. But what does that have to do with me reading the Four Books and Five Classics?”
“The Four Books and Five Classics are canonical texts that are unaffected by those generative characters. In other words, no matter how much time passes, you can study them using only the foundational characters. Given what you’ve studied so far, there shouldn’t be any problem reading the Four Books and Five Classics.”
“Hmm…”
“And as you read the Four Books and Five Classics, you’ll become more adept at using the characters you’ve memorized.”
Could it really be true?
I had no choice but to doubt Mangnyang’s words.
After all, the Four Books and Five Classics refer to the core Confucian texts, totaling seven or nine volumes, and among all those scholars, the number who managed to read all of them was less than a tenth. It was said that the deeper one delved into them, the more difficult they became, with some even claiming that mastering them was enough to pass the minor examination. I couldn’t imagine that a person who had spent their life in menial tasks would have the capability to read such texts.
But Mangnyang’s assertion turned out to be true.
In just three days, I managed to read one of the Four Books, the Analects, in its entirety. After finishing, I sat there for a while in disbelief. A person like me, who had only engaged in menial tasks and sword fighting for my entire life, had accomplished this without Mangnyang’s help.
Upon relaying my achievement to Mangnyang, he grinned.
“The rest will be no different. If I assist you, you could read all of the Four Books and Five Classics in a month.”
That too turned out to be accurate.
With Mangnyang interpreting and helping me, I was able to finish them not in a month, but in three weeks. I was bewildered—never did I expect to read the Four Books and Five Classics, which were considered essential studies for scholars, so easily. Admittedly, it might sound arrogant to say this, but I felt like there wouldn’t be any books I couldn’t read at this point.
“How did this happen? Don’t scholars usually take years to read the Four Books and Five Classics?”
“They are simply inefficient in their studies,” Mangnyang replied, as if mocking the scholars.
“They sit at their desks day after day, clutching their heads in frustration, yet the foundation of all study lies in the characters. In the past six months, the number of characters you’ve examined must be at least ten thousand. Even if we consider you’ve only memorized half of that, that’s still five thousand characters. While they are struggling to interpret the principles of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom, you’ve already covered the foundational studies, so there’s no need for additional learning. Well, of course, it’s also because they try to force interpretations of those doctrines.”
“Indeed…”
I felt I had found the right person.
His grand self-introduction was far from empty bravado; he was genuinely a genius who ranked third overall in the national examination, where the greatest literary talents gathered to compete.
“And it seems your memorization ability is somewhat excessively good.”
“Hmm?”
“I’ve been observing your studies lately, and you seem to perfectly memorize about four out of ten things on the spot. If you see something three or four times, you remember it all. Of course, it might not be at the level of a genius, but it is undeniable that your memorization abilities are significantly better than average.”
“I’ve never really been good at memorization…”
When I spoke honestly, Mangnyang tilted his head and replied,
“Could it be that the recitation effects of the Thunder Spirit Classic resonate with your internal energy? That’s the only explanation I can think of.”
“Hmm…”
That might be true.
Certainly, when I recited the Thunder Spirit Classic, my mind went blank, and I felt my internal energy boiling throughout my body. There was also a slight sensation of my skin pulling. At the time, I thought it was just a feeling, but now I realized it was the reaction of my internal energy to the Thunder Spirit Classic. It was a sign that my intellect had improved, which pleased me somewhat.
After finishing my studies of the Four Books and Five Classics, I was able to dedicate most of my time to mastering the Ten Thousand Character Text. When I had completed about 80% of the memorization, a year had passed since I started studying, and it took another six months to finish the rest.
Only then was I able to delve into the Taegukgisul and the true principles of divination. I sighed as I looked at the first page of those books.
“Hmm… this is difficult.”
During my earlier days, when I only viewed the black as the characters and the white as the paper, I had no idea what they meant. However, having mastered both the Ten Thousand Character Text and the Four Books and Five Classics, I found that the divination texts were entangled to an incomparably greater degree than typical scriptures. The interpretation of meanings was tough, and there were many complex characters rarely used. It was hard to believe this was a book intended for reading.
I glared at Mangnyang.
“Mangnyang, did you really just throw me such a challenging book to study on my own?”
Mangnyang, looking taken aback, averted his gaze and muttered,
“I thought you were the ultimate secret weapon of the orthodox sect. I assumed you were a prodigy capable of both literature and martial arts…”
“Seriously?”
“Nevertheless, if you start now, you should be able to finish most of the studies within a year.”
Mangnyang’s words were not wrong.
As a result, I was able to complete both the Taegukgisul and the true principles of divination within a year, thus stepping into the basics of strategic formations and Qimen Dunjia.
However, the journey to that point was truly arduous. Eventually, I was so overwhelmed that I scarcely found the time to train my internal energy. The process of memorizing, thinking hard, and studying became relentless. In particular, arithmetic and numerology were extremely challenging, forcing me to cram them into my head under Mangnyang’s constant pressure.
So much so that I began to forget ‘why’ I was studying, becoming entirely absorbed in my studies in a separate building. It was during one of those mindless moments of rote memorization that I suddenly had an awakening.
“Ugh… What the hell am I doing?”
It had almost been three years since I began studying under Mangnyang. At this rate, I felt like I might spend my entire life just studying. Thinking I had learned enough, I approached Mangnyang and said,
“I believe it’s time for me to acquire the Nameless Ritual Book.”
To which Mangnyang replied,
“Excellent. I will teach you the strategy for breaking into the Imperial Palace.”
And three days later, I left for Jinrang Valley.
Time seemed to fly by, yet a profound emptiness lingered. It was not only because my martial skills had hardly improved during this time, but also due to the grueling effort I had put into my studies. I shook my head.
“I’ve only crossed one hurdle.”
I resolved not to overthink it.
In my hand was the scroll of the map to the Imperial Palace that Mangnyang had given me, and a method for breaking the palace’s Qimen Dunjia carefully written by Mangnyang was packed in my bundle. Having thoroughly absorbed the strategy over the past three days, I was certain of my success.
My goal was to retrieve the Nameless Ritual Book from the Naehwanggak in the Imperial Palace!
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