I Am the Youngest Disciple of the Martial Arts World’s Mastermind
Chapter 10
Chapter 10
The Youngest Disciple of the Murim’s Hidden Mastermind
Chapter 10
I shouted with a broad grin.
“Greetings, Sahyeong!! My name is Sogae, and as of yesterday… no, as of today, I have been initiated as a disciple of the Great Master Cheong-ui Sanin!!”
At that, he muttered reflexively.
“What? Some filthy beggar….”
Huh? How did he know?
“I really was a beggar until a few days ago!”
“…Hah?”
The young master’s face contorted into a very strange expression.
Regardless of his reaction, I pointed at the small tray that had passed into his hands and shouted energetically.
“Hyeonhak-daesahyeong told me to deliver this and give my greetings, so that’s why I brought it!!”
“Hyeonhak-sahyeong did? Doing unnecessary things as usual….”
As he grumbled, I raised my voice even louder to ask.
“May I also ask for Sahyeong’s name!!”
The young master bit his lip hard, his eyes flashing sharply like a ghost’s as he glared at me….
“…Get lost!”
Bang! He slammed the door shut right in my face.
I was left standing there all alone.
As I blinked blankly, a chilly breeze brushed past me.
Ugh, it’s cold.
“…….”
I used to think Danhwi had a peculiar personality, but I should take that back. The one with the temperament of a true Chihuahua was right here.
Just as I was staring at the closed door with dead eyes, I heard a dry cough from behind. It was a familiar voice.
“…! Danhwi-sahyeong!”
“He’s always been like that.”
Danhwi looked beautiful even in the morning. I wondered who he was trying to impress with those flamboyant robes out here on this mountain peak.
“How long have you been watching?”
Clearing his throat, Danhwi replied.
“Was it from the part where he said, ‘What is this ugly thing…?’”
So you’ve been listening from the very beginning. Seriously.
I knew it; there was no way he wasn’t awake yet.
“…….”
“Ahem.”
When I just stared at him with a pout, he struggled to wipe the smirk off his face and patted my back.
“Don’t take it to heart. You finished your greetings, didn’t you? Go pay your respects to Master.”
“But… I didn’t even get to hear the third Sahyeong’s name….”
“Is that the problem?”
As if he couldn’t stand to see me looking so dejected, Danhwi told me instead.
“His name is Gwangeum. It hasn’t been long since he climbed Cheongsanbong.”
“Aha.”
“To be honest, I didn’t think Master would actually take you in right away.”
“How old is he? He looks about my age.”
“He’s probably about seven years older than you. There’s an eight-year gap between Hyeonhak-sahyeong and me, and about five years between me and Saje Gwangeum. Master’s age is double the sum of all three of our ages.”
“Uh….”
Why do you have to say it so complicatedly?
“You do the math.”
Having said his piece, Danhwi took off one layer of his flamboyant robes, draped it over my shoulders, and began heading down the stairs first.
I was left there in a daze.
This is a bit….
‘Hyeonhak is eight years older than Danhwi, and Danhwi is five years older than Gwangeum. Master’s age is equal to double the sum of all three. If Gwangeum is fifteen, find Master’s age.’
Isn’t this a math problem?
And so, I finally finished introducing myself to all three Sahyeongs.
To summarize: Hyeonhak-daesahyeong mainly handled medicine and the management of Cheongsanbong.
Danhwi-sahyeong was in charge of Master’s errands with his exceptional lightness techniques.
And Gwangeum-sahyeong seemed to be researching sound arts and mechanisms and formations.
Even though the three of them served the same Master, their personalities were strikingly different.
Hyeonhak-daesahyeong was very courteous not only to me but to the other Sahyeongs as well, while Danhwi-sahyeong had teased me by calling me ‘squirt’ since the moment we met. And Gwangeum-sahyeong… seemed to hate me.
‘Stop being a nuisance and get lost! You look like an idiot.’
It was only natural, considering I was turned away at the door every time I visited him after that.
Gwangeum—even his name was weird, and his temper was just as foul.
When I tentatively mentioned this to Master, he only wore an enigmatic expression and said, “Everything has its time.”
In any case, what the three had in common was that they each excelled in their respective fields to the point where age was meaningless, and also….
“They all came to me after abandoning their clans, their affiliations, and their families.”
None of them had a surname.
On the third day since I was initiated as the youngest disciple of Cheong-ui Sanin on Cheongsanbong.
I sat on Master’s lap, nodding along as I listened to his stories.
“I don’t have a surname either.”
“Indeed. You share that commonality with your Sahyeongs.”
“Did everyone ask you to take them as disciples like I did, Master?”
“Some did, and some did not.”
Then, Master suddenly asked.
“By the way, do you like your name?”
“Huh? My name?”
I tilted my head.
Sogae. A name that meant ‘little beggar.’
Ever since I woke up in this world, everyone had called me Sogae, so I had naturally accepted it as my name.
“Yes.”
Master explained calmly.
“The ‘Gae’ in your name is the character for ‘beggar.’ Just hearing the name, people will assume you are from the Beggars’ Sect, so it is no different from a surname. Why don’t you discard that in place of a family name?”
“Then… will my name just be So?”
Just being named ‘So’ sounded a bit strange.
When I tilted my head up to look at him, Master spoke softly.
“If you are alright with it, I would like to give you a new name.”
“Really? I…!”
I was getting all excited and about to urge him to name me quickly, but Master continued.
“Gwangeum also received a new name from me. Though for that child, it is a moniker… but the heart of the one who calls it is bound to be reflected in it. It is no different from a name.”
I paused for a moment.
“…Oh.”
I see.
That ‘Gwangeum’ name I had been thinking was so strange in my head until just now was a name Master had given him.
“…….”
I fell silent for a moment.
I didn’t know if it was ‘Gwangeum’ meaning ‘time’ as in sun and moon, or ‘Gwangeum’ meaning ‘mad sound’ in the sense of dealing with ferocious sound arts.
Either way… isn’t it a bit weird?
Is it really okay to leave my naming to a Master like this…?
While I was lost in worry, my Master, who knew everything, chuckled softly.
“Why? Do you find me untrustworthy?”
“…No!”
I made up my mind and looked down.
Right. Now that I’m a disciple, how could I not sacrifice a name for my Master?
Even if he gives me a name like ‘Salamander,’ I’ll accept it!
“Are you prepared?”
“Yes!!”
I answered energetically.
After a brief silence, Master slowly opened his mouth.
“Soyoung. How does that sound?”
“……!”
It was a much more normal name than I had braced myself for. If it was this much, I could certainly live with it.
“I like it! What does it mean?”
Seeing that my reaction wasn’t bad, Master smiled broadly and said.
“I kept the ‘So’ for ‘small’ and used the character ‘Young’ for ‘flower’ or ‘glory.’ You can take as many powerful titles as you like later as monikers. For a given name, a precious one that shows you are loved by someone is best.”
A name that shows one is being loved.
It was a phrase that suddenly made one side of my chest feel ticklish.
“Why that expression?”
Master asked, poking my chubby cheek with his finger.
I rubbed my cheek and mumbled my answer.
“Uh, being loved… it’s the first time I’ve heard those words, so I was a little embarrassed.”
“…Hehe. Shall I show you something interesting?”
With a faint smile, Master opened his palm.
As I focused my gaze on his hand, I saw a crimson qi shimmering at the tips of his long, slender fingers.
Every time his fingers moved, an afterimage of red energy remained, drawing a picture in the air.
“Woah, wahh.”
Judging by the intense heat I could feel, it seemed to be a high-tier martial art of the Samadhi True Fire.
From his boldly moving fingertips, the trunk of a flowering tree rose, branches stretched out, and flowers bloomed in full, fluttering away.
“When you reach the Great Completion in the future, flowers like fire will bloom upon the wood, brightly covering the whole world.”
As he spoke, Master smiled radiantly.
He was as beautiful as a bright full moon rising over an elegant face.
“In that sense, it is ‘Young.’”
I looked back and forth between the sight unfolding before me and Master’s face as if possessed, then clung to Master and asked.
“…Can I do things like this later too?!”
“Of course.”
The embers he had drawn had already faded away. Master lifted me up and moved me from his lap to the seat beside him.
“Until you are able to train alone, I shall guide you.”
“Yes, sir!”
I quickly turned my back to Master and sat down, and a large hand covered my back.
“Today, I will teach you how to circulate the inner energy you possess. I will guide you by infusing my own energy, so feel it step by step.”
