I wanted to start this chapter by thanking you for the comments and asking for even more feedback. The author here is starved for comments and reviews, which is what rewards me for writing. I don't gain anything tangible from writing this, only the satisfaction of creating something enjoyable and the recognition from all of you. So, it might not seem like much to you, but for me, it's both fun and rewarding to read your comments.
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The shock in response to Yujin's words was not insignificant.
Mito and Tsunade were still trying to understand the situation, and Yujin quickly reached an absurd conclusion.
He reached this conclusion because he could read what was written on the walls of the cave. The fact that the handwriting was the same as his, and it was signed by him, was just enough to confirm the written content.
"Are you sure you wrote this?"
Tsunade took a deep breath and asked in a trembling voice. Yujin nodded slowly and replied flatly.
"I never wrote this, and I would never write something like this. It's blasphemy. But the handwriting is mine, the content is something only I would know, and it has my signature below, so it's hard to deny."
He seemed irritated by the written content; Tsunade had never seen him like this. At the same time, she could sense confusion in his voice. Mito could sense Yujin's emotions even more easily and knew he wasn't lying, making the situation even more absurd.
"What does it say? You said only you would know."
Yujin looked at Tsunade in silence for a few seconds, then took the photo and began to read aloud.
'I leave these words for anyone who wants to inherit my martial arts.
There are thirteen caves like this scattered throughout the world; find them.
Collect all the fragments, and you will have my complete martial arts.
To find the caves, I will use riddles to test you.
Intelligence and determination will be necessary.
This is cave number five.
Below are the riddles for caves six and four, as well as fragment five.
...
...
...
43rd Grandmaster of Yin-Yang Harmony school, Yi Yujin, the God of Martial Arts.'
The more he read, the more Yujin's voice conveyed the anger he was feeling at that moment.
What blasphemy!!!
There was so much wrong with what was written that Yujin didn't even know where to begin.
"Are these caves a way to choose a disciple? Is that what I understand."
Tsunade tried to deduce the meaning, choosing her words carefully not to further infuriate Yujin. She didn't understand why he was so furious, but she knew it was better to tread carefully.
"Maybe. But I have never done anything like this before, and I never would. Disciples are important and should be chosen carefully. Turning it into a game is the last thing I would do. It disrespects the past Grandmasters as well as disrespects my skills and reputation. I would never do that!"
Yujin respects his master a lot, as well as the masters who came before. He, better than anyone, knows how deep the martial art he learned is. Although he doesn't like to boast, he has never seen a martial art so profound where, even after becoming a Grandmaster, he is still constantly improving, as if there is no end to his progress.
Typically, after a martial artist achieves the rank of Grandmaster, they start refining and enhancing the skills they have developed, further strengthening their expertise
You can try to teach these skills to others, and others may even learn, but it is very difficult, as reaching Grandmaster level depends a lot on the person's understanding of where they will go in their martial arts.
That's why there is no "stage" above Grandmaster. After Grandmaster, it is highly subjective, each with a different understanding.
While before Grandmaster, there is a method to reach that level with training and skills created by martial artists of the past, after that, it depends a lot on the person.
But Yujin's martial arts are different.
He can still perfect it, as if there is no limit to the level he could reach.
Because of this, the creation of his own skills is still in the early stages; he has not completely perfected the skills he learned from his master.
And it's also because of this that...
'Wait!'
Yujin quickly grabbed the photos again to read more carefully.
'Yi Yujin? The God of Martial Arts?'
Tsunade was finishing noting down what Yujin had translated from the walls of the cave when she noticed his strange reaction. She approached and saw that he was again looking at the photos of the cave.
"What happened? Did you find out anything else?"
"It doesn't make sense... It doesn't make sense... How could I write this?"
Yujin muttered softly, as if he couldn't hear Tsunade's question. She looked at Mito, as if searching for what to do, but the old woman just smiled.
After several minutes, Tsunade finally caught Yujin's attention, and he responded.
"I found something. Actually, several things. First, as I mentioned, I don't remember writing these things in this cave; let's establish that. Second, the content of the so-called 'fragment' is indeed a fragment. It includes various concepts of my martial arts and concepts that I created myself. There's even a passage talking briefly about a martial art I'm currently creating. The passage briefly talks about things about this incomplete martial art that I hadn't even thought of. There are also basic skills from my martial arts school. It's basically a basic guide to the skills of my martial arts school, mixed with philosophical and skill concepts that I haven't finished creating yet."
The more he explained, the more bizarre Yujin felt as he let his thoughts come out of his mouth. It is truly inexplicable what was written in this cave. He is almost starting to believe that he wrote it all, even though he doesn't remember. There are things written that he didn't even know, such as his incomplete martial art, which makes everything even more confusing. Although there was no complete explanation of the martial art, it was enough to scare him.
"Third, the name that is written. I don't have a surname. I became an orphan at six. I don't know if I didn't know or if I forgot at some point, but when I realized it, I didn't have a surname. My master didn't give me a surname either because it's customary in our martial arts school to inherit the 'Yi' surname when we completely master the martial arts, something my master didn't achieve. I am still a little far from completely mastering my abilities, so I have not inherited that surname, and therefore, I would never use it."
Tsunade didn't know what to say when she heard this. It didn't make sense. If Yujin wrote it, and there is a lot of evidence that he did, why doesn't he remember? Why would he use a surname that wasn't his? Why would he know things that the current Yujin doesn't know? She couldn't imagine any situation where this would make sense.
"Fourth, and last. At the end, it says 'God of Martial Arts.' That is a famous title in my world. Only one person in history has inherited that title, and it's not me, although my master believed that one day I would achieve that title. The person who achieved that title lived two hundred years before I was even born, and his name wasn't 'Yujin.' In addition to writing a surname I shouldn't be using, I also wrote a title that is not mine. I would never do that!"
Although he said that, Yujin was already treating it as if he had written the words in the cave. Deep down, he knew he wrote it, even though he didn't remember.
After many minutes in silence, Yujin finally took a deep breath and apologized deeply to Tsunade and Mito.
"I apologize. I got so absorbed in this enigma that I forgot that this meeting is not about me or what this cave means, but about you."
Mito again looked at Yujin's hands making the Baoquan Li gesture for a few seconds, then looked into Yujin's sincere eyes with a gentle smile.
"No problem, all of this is fascinating. I'll leave this world tomorrow, but I don't mind leaving with an enigma to ponder in the other world. Although for you, it must be something stressful since it involves you directly, for me, it's just another mystery among the many I've seen in this world during all the time I've lived. Although this mystery is the most extraordinary of all I've seen."
In the end, the old woman chuckled softly to try to dissolve the tense atmosphere in the room.