"Your father seems to have entered a deep state of realization. You must not shake him or try to wake him. Understand? Otherwise, he could be gravely harmed."

I could hear the voice of the Abbot, Master Hyewon, near my ear.

He was telling the children not to disturb me, since I was supposedly in the midst of enlightenment.

But he was wrong.

What was wrong, you ask?

I wasn’t in enlightenment at all.

That’s why I could still hear what he was saying.

If I were truly deep in enlightenment, would I be able to catch bits of conversation like that?

I had simply closed my eyes for a moment while deep in thought, but the Abbot had misunderstood.

I thought about opening my eyes and telling him it wasn’t so, but it was too embarrassing, so I decided to just pretend to be enlightened for now.

The kids had already entered full alert mode around me — it would be mortifying to call them back with, "Hey kids, Daddy’s not actually in enlightenment."

Not to mention, the Abbot himself would feel embarrassed too.

The highest monk in Shaolin had just told everyone, "That young hero seems to have fallen into enlightenment," and then for me to pop up saying, "Nope, not enlightened," would be utterly humiliating.

'I'll just pretend to be enlightened for now. Since I’ve closed my eyes anyway, I might as well think a bit deeper.'

Thus, for the sake of my and the Abbot’s social honor, I kept my eyes closed and began recalling each of my children one by one in my mind.

Cho, the Heavenly Flying Centipede based spirit creature.

Hyang, the Little Bloodflower Venomous Centipede.

Bini, the Silent Black Ghost Centipede.

Seol, Bing, and Dong — the lizards, Snow-Ice Stone Lizards.

Yoha, the Human-Faced Spider.

Hwayang, the Azure Fire Magma Toad.

Hongdan, the Black-Clawed Red Earwig.

Moji and Soji, the Silver Cocoon Moths.

Yeondu, the Heavenly Spirit Snake.

Juhwang, the Earth Swimming Divine Snake.

Cheongyu, descendant of Nuwa, the Golden-Crowned Death King.

Cheongwol, the Ten-Thousand-Year Stone Armored Scorpion.

Jeokwol, the Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly.

Geumdo, the Millennium Golden Turtle.

Sandan, the Twin Blossom Orchid Mantis.

Ranghyang, the Scarlet-Black Earth Millipede.

And the little rascal, Yeolbi, the Hot-Fart Beetle.

As the images of the children flitted through my mind one by one, I hadn’t expected anything, but suddenly Cheongyu Sojeo’s words surfaced.

『It was left behind that if your bond with the venomous creatures grows stronger, the gate will open.』

'The bond with the venomous creatures will grow stronger.'

But as I mulled over Cheongyu Sojeo’s words, a doubt emerged.

'Do you normally use "grow stronger" to modify a bond?'

Usually, you’d say the bond grows deeper, not stronger.

'A deep bond,' 'the bond deepens' — that’s the typical expression.

Yet here, it said stronger.

『It was left behind that if the bond with the venomous creatures grows stronger, the gate will open.』

Wasn’t it supposed to be:

『It was left behind that if the bond with the venomous creatures deepens, the gate will open.』

instead?

A bond growing stronger?

The phrasing made me tilt my head.

'Something about this feels off.'

Why was it "stronger"?

I wrestled with it for a while, but couldn't figure out anything further.

So I decided to set that question aside for now and work through what I had just learned.

Bond with venomous creatures.

According to Master Hyewon, everything in existence moves according to the principle of cause and condition: "cause" being the internal cause for a result, and "condition" the external one.

Applying that to the phrase...

Bond with venomous creatures.

Meaning, if the internal and external causes connected to the venomous creatures grow stronger, the gate will open.

Simplified further, it's like nurturing a tree: water it, fertilize it, and when it grows strong, it blossoms.

If you think of the venomous creatures like that tree, then when they're nurtured well, the gate will open.

'Wait, what...? Something feels wrong here.'

Feeling like I'd taken a wrong turn somewhere, I retraced my steps back to:

"If the internal and external causes connected to the venomous creatures grow stronger, the gate will open."

That still seemed plausible.

Just then, a voice echoed in my mind — Hwa-eun’s voice.

『So-ryong, how are things going?』

Usually, her voice would startle me, but right now it felt like salvation.

Because frankly, I was bored out of my mind and really needed someone to discuss this with.

Perfect timing — I decided to talk it over with Hwa-eun.

『I met Master Hyewon and received some teachings. I’m thinking through them now, but... it’s still pretty difficult.』

『Ah, so you met him and received the teaching?』

『Yeah, but even after hearing it, I’m still not sure. Hwa-eun, could you help me figure it out a bit?』

『Of course! I’d love to! What did he tell you?』

Hwa-eun sounded strangely delighted at my request for help.

I explained the gist of what I had just learned.

『He explained that karma and fate are the principles by which all things move — divided into cause and condition. Cause is the internal reason for a result, and condition is the external one. He used the example of raising a tree: the seed is the cause, the water and soil are the conditions.』

『Hmm... internal and external causes... the seed, the water, the fertilizer.』

『Right, so I tried applying it: if the internal and external causes regarding the venomous creatures grow stronger, the gate will open.』

『Ah, so you rephrased it based on his explanation? That’s a very unique approach.』

Hwa-eun sounded like she was half-praising me.

Of course.

That’s mathematical thinking for you.

Though honestly, such structured thinking came to me much later in life — no wonder it felt a bit sophisticated.

Still, I was getting nervous.

In my past life, I’d been terrible at math.

'Please tell me I didn't mess this up... Oh wait, I forgot to mention something.'

As I worried a little, I remembered.

That "grows stronger" part.

『Oh, and Hwa-eun, remember what Cheongyu Sojeo said? That if the bond with the venomous creatures grows stronger, the gate will open. I thought about it, and... isn’t that a bit odd? Usually, after “bond,” you’d expect "deepens," not "grows stronger."』

『Ah, you’re right! Why would it be "grows stronger"? Cheongyu Sojeo wouldn’t have said it wrong though. Hmm...』

『Hmm...』

Hwa-eun agreed with me, and then fell silent, lost in thought.

'Maybe I should open my eyes now? My legs are starting to fall asleep.'

I was kneeling properly in front of Master Hyewon earlier, but now, after sitting too long, my legs were numb.

If I stood up and stumbled, it would totally blow my "enlightenment" act.

Should I pretend the enlightenment ended naturally?

Or secretly smear saliva under my nose?

I was hesitating when Hwa-eun's voice came back.

『Ah! So-ryong. Maybe it’s not "the bond with the venomous creatures grows stronger," but rather "the venomous creatures’ karma and fate grow stronger"?』

『The venomous creatures’ karma and fate?』

『Yes! If it’s about the venomous creatures’ own causes and conditions growing stronger, it makes a lot more sense.』

『The venomous creatures’ karma and fate...』

Her words were cryptic, but then Hwa-eun quickly explained.

『You said earlier that cause and condition are internal and external causes, right? So if the venomous creatures' internal and external causes grow stronger, then the gate would open.』

Exactly.

Rather than "the bond with the venomous creatures" growing stronger, interpreting it as "the venomous creatures' karma and fate" growing stronger made a lot more sense.

That way, it naturally became:

"If the venomous creatures’ internal and external causes grow strong, the next gate will open."

Hwa-eun was much smarter than me.

'Yeah, what was I thinking about mathematical reasoning... I guess I really am hopeless at math after all.'

Ashamed of having shown off earlier about "solving it mathematically," I asked Hwa-eun.

It was a good idea, but there was still something bothering me.

『"Ah, I see! But... haven’t the kids who have reached maturity already grown stronger?"』

I understood what Hwa-eun meant.

If you interpreted it as "the venomous creatures grow stronger internally and externally," it became very simple.

But there was that doubt — if they were fully grown, weren’t they already strong?

However, after hearing Hwa-eun’s explanation, I realized that wasn’t exactly the case.

『"Yes, So-ryong. Some of the kids have reached adulthood, but that just means their bodies matured. It doesn’t necessarily mean they became stronger, right? There are adults among humans too — some weak, some strong."』

Indeed, if you took the matured spirit creatures as examples, it was awkward to say they had become stronger.

They were originally strong because of their species' natural traits, not because each individual had personally grown stronger.

Take Cheongyu for instance — she had gained the natural strength of a matured Golden-Crowned Death King upon reaching adulthood, but when it came to her personal growth, she was still soft-hearted and endearingly childlike.

It was the same for the others.

Especially when considering both internal and external factors, the children were definitely still lacking.

『"Sounds like I need to help the kids grow stronger..."』

Meaning I had to train them now.

It seemed I had to start drawing up a training regimen.

People think insects are strong simply because of their exoskeletons, but that’s a misconception.

Inside the exoskeleton, insects also have muscles, and like human muscles, those can grow stronger through exercise.

I remembered reading research where scientists found that applying exercise to a fly’s flight muscles caused the muscles to develop much faster.

It gave me the idea to immediately start designing a training course.

『"There must be training methods for strengthening beasts in the Beast Palace."』

『"That’s probably true. In that case, it’s best to consult Sister Seol."』

As Hwa-eun suggested, Sister Seol might have good methods.

With most of my questions cleared up, I was ready to end this "enlightenment" act and stretch my legs — but realized I couldn’t feel them.

'Ugh.'

Emergency!

While debating, I quietly reached out to Bing.

'Bing, quietly climb onto Daddy’s body and lick my nose without anyone noticing.'

'-Kkuu? Huh?'

Bing, being a lizard with a wide tongue and plenty of saliva, was the best candidate for a stealthy nose lick, but I could feel waves of confusion crashing from her.

Meanwhile, waves of numbness were crashing into my legs.

***

『"Kids, cover me for a second!"

-Chrr? (Huh?)

-Kkugu? (What?)』

As I snapped out of pretending to be in enlightenment, my legs were so numb that I couldn't move.

After asking the kids to shield me, I massaged my legs from behind them and barely managed to recover.

"Ooh! Looks like he's about to awaken from his enlightenment!"

"The spirit creatures must have sensed it and formed a protective circle!"

As the kids surrounded me and spun around, the outside went wild with excitement.

Meanwhile, I was crouched inside, busy massaging my legs.

After finally recovering from the numbness, we stood at the Shaolin gate.

Just as they had come out to greet us at the entrance when we arrived, now Master Hyewon personally came to see us off at the gates.

"Congratulations on attaining enlightenment."

"Thank you. It’s all thanks to the grace you bestowed upon me here at Shaolin."

"Haha, such humility."

"Ah, we’re already at the gate. Then, we will take our leave now."

"Thank you very much."

Upon reaching the gate, I quickly cupped my fists in a bow.

I was just about to finish saying goodbye to Hyungnim and head toward Hwa-eun, who was waiting in the distance, when—

"Ah, young hero. Please wait a moment."

Just as I was turning my head, I heard Master Hyewon’s voice.

Turning back, I saw Master Hyewon speaking with a serious expression.

"I heard through our Beggars’ Union that you are currently battling against the vile group called the Five Venoms Sect."

"Ah, yes."

As I nodded at the mention of the Five Venoms Sect, Master Hyewon subtly raised one hand.

At his signal, a fairly young monk who had followed us to the gate stepped forward from behind the others.

Solid muscles.

A firm face.

Not a huge frame, but his body ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) looked tightly packed with muscle.

As he walked up, he bowed to me with a respectful clasp of his fists.

"Nice to meet you. I am Jaheo."

"Ah, yes. I’m So-ryong."

He looked about Hyungnim’s age.

Caught off guard by the sudden introduction, I returned the greeting, and Master Hyewon, still serious, continued speaking.

"Our duty at Shaolin is to teach the great compassion of Buddha to the evildoers of the Central Plains.

Since you are undertaking such an important task, how could we not lend a hand?

Take him with you. He will be of great help."

"Eh?"

It felt like they had taken a fake Taoist and turned him into a real monk.

When I looked at Hyungnim, he spoke in an encouraging tone.

[Jaheo is an old friend of mine. He’s Shaolin’s greatest prodigy and much stronger than me in martial arts.]

Meaning, he was someone extraordinary.

Well, the more fighting strength the better, and if Hyungnim recommended him this strongly, it wasn’t a bad idea to bring him along.

"Hmm... It’s a little surprising, but thank you, Master."

I agreed, and Jaheo smiled warmly at me.

"Young hero, you are undertaking a great mission. From now on, I will accompany you as your personal guard, wherever you may go."

It sounded like he was going to follow me everywhere — even to bed or the toilet.