The door didn't stand a chance. With one kick, Mu Jang’s boot connected.
BOOM.
Jinhu's door flew off its hinges and shattered against the wall. Wood scattered across the room. One piece hit Jinhu, he shot out of bed and stared at Mu Jang. His head was poking through where the door once was.
"You have 60 seconds to get down to the courtyard. 59... 58... 57..." he counted as he walked away.
Jinhu stared at his door for a second. "Seriously?"
Jinhu made his way to courtyard. He stopped in front of Mu Jang and bowed. Mu Jang wasted no time. He immediately started to demonstrate the footwork required for the techniques he would learn later. At the end Mu Jang threw a punch, a shockwave left his fist. BOOM. The next second a crater appeared in the eastern wall.
Jinhu froze in horror, awe, and dismay. "You want me to learn that?"
Mu Jang laughed. "You will learn as I did."
"Is there a scroll or something I can study?"
"A scroll?" Mu Jang laughed. "I can't read or write."
Jinhu sighed. Mu Jang noticed. "You want a scroll... fine."
Mu Jang got into his stance. He went through the steps slow. Deliberate. Each step left imprints in the courtyard floor.
After he finished he stood beside Jinhu.
"There, a scroll. It's called Earthshaker. It's based off my old master's footwork. Now, go read." Mu Jang slapped Jinhu on the back and he stumbled forward staring at the imprints left behind.
Jinhu stumbled between the steps. "I don't understand damn it."
Mu Jang laughed. "Neither did I... at first. He stepped forward and adjusted Jinhu's body. Where does the strength of a mountain come from?"
"The rock?" Jinhu looked confused.
Mu Jang slapped him. "The base man, it's the base. You’re trying to be ten steps ahead." He touched Jinhu's abdomen. "Let your qi flow through your legs. Stabilize them. Your legs are your root, when they become the base needed to carry the weight of a mountain. That is when you've learned earthshaker.
The rest of the day Jinhu slowly understood what he meant.
Before the day ended, Mu Jang had recruits drag two slabs of stone into the courtyard.
He stood on one. "You'll know you're doing it right when you can do this. He went through the earthshaker footwork. As he finished, Jinhu stared at him confused. "What exactly is supposed to happen?"
Mu Jang laughed. The stone slab crumbled to pieces.
"What the hell? There's no way I can do that."
Mu Jang picked up a piece of the rubble and threw it at him. "Stop yelling! And you have to." Mu Jang approached Jinhu. "And I believe you can."
The next morning, Jinhu's door exploded again.
BOOM.
"Seriously? It took me an hour to put that door on damn it." Jinhu yelled.
Mu Jang laughed. "Stop yelling! 59... 58..."
As Jinhu walked out of his room he saw heads poked out of their rooms. No one dared to speak. They liked their doors too much.
That day Jinhu was seen duck walking all around the Silent Edge compound. He had a log stretch across his shoulders. His arms wrapped up and around. On each end a bucket of water.
"Each drop of water that spills extends this little drill. Stabilize yourself." Mu Jang yelled.
Wu Jin appeared behind Mu Jang. "How's he doing?"
"Better than any others who've tried. He's dumb, but it works to his advantage. He doesn't overthink, he just moves." Mu Jang looked back. "He will be ready."
"See to it he is." Wu Jin disappeared. Mu Jang continued yelling as Jinhu duck walked.
The next two weeks were just as brutal. Every morning began with a door being blown to pieces. Every morning Jinhu braced. The days bled into each other, lower body training. Core training. Other third-rates who failed to learn from Mu Jang looking on toward Jinhu. Jealous and also confused. Everyone knew by now, Jinhu wasn't the brightest apple on the tree.
The last day of the training Jinhu woke up an hour early. He slid his dresser in front of the door. Threw his trunk on top. He grabbed his bed and picked it up by one end and slid it behind the dresser. He sat in the corner and waited. Today, his door would survive.
Mu Jangs footsteps could be heard before he ever reached Jinhu's room. Jinhu rubbed his hands together and laughed.
BOOM.
The bed flew away first, the dresser and door followed. His trunk bounced off the bed and landed at his feet. Jinhu's once excited look turned to horror, then dismay, then sadness. Jinhu now sat in the corner of his room, everything but his trunk destroyed.
"That's going to be a pain to replace. 59.. 58..." Mu Jang laughed all the way to the courtyard. A few other recruits peeked into Jinhu's room, made eye contact and shook their heads.
Jinhu walked down to the courtyard. There was a visible difference in his body. His legs were thicker. His core more defined.
The morning started with duck walks. Mu Jang added buckets every 200 meters. That turned into practicing stabilizing his core. Flowing his qi into his legs and feet, until nothing could move him. "You’ve become an immovable object. Good."
Then they both felt it. Both men spun and noticed three figures dashing around on the tops of the buildings. One figure landed right in front of Jinhu.
The man tried to shove Jinhu. "He feels like he's about ready." Cheng said.
"He is elder." Mu Jang replied and bowed. As he did he grabbed Jinhu's head to force him to bow as well.
"Good, I'm going to check on Sa Gwan and the other boy. We will see you all tomorrow." Cheng disappeared.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Mu Jang looked at Jinhu, who still looked confused.
"That was Blue with them wasn't it?" Jinhu kept staring.
"I believe it was, now come. Time to prove you have become the mountain."
Jinhu jumped onto the slab. He took a deep breath. He moved, his qi flowed, step by the step. Leaving imprints in the stone.
As Jinhu went through the movement, a smile came across Mu Jang's face. "Master, I wish you could see this. I preserved your legacy as best as I could." Mu Jang looked on.
Jinhu hopped off the slab and landed next to Mu Jang. "I don't think I did it ri-"
The stone slab crumbled. Jinhu shouted. "Fuck yeah!"
Jang slapped him. "Stop yelling, but yes, you did it. You have become a mountain. You have mastered earthshaker." Mu Jang turned to Jinhu and patted him on the head. "Thank you."