I Am the Youngest Disciple of the Martial Arts World’s Mastermind
Chapter 11
Chapter 11
I am the Youngest Disciple of the Murim’s Hidden Mastermind
Episode 11
“Yeees!!”
Master explained the cultivation method in a low, quiet voice.
The process of opening my acupoints was exactly like the settings in a common martial arts game. Moreover, because I had a guide like Master, I was able to follow along, albeit with some stumbling.
I took a deep breath and concentrated my mind along the acupoints that ran in a straight line from my back, through the center of my chest, and down to my navel.
Then, something strange happened.
“…….”
I furrowed my brow and suppressed a groan.
It felt like a hot earthworm was wriggling around inside my body.
“Ugh.”
When my shoulders shuddered at the unfamiliar sensation, Master let out a faint chuckle.
“Concentrate.”
“Yes.”
As I barely managed to steady my mind, Master began to infuse his qi once more.
His gentle voice lingered in my ear.
“Ordinary people circulate the qi they have taken in through their acupoints, but you have no need for that. Your body itself is already no different from pure qi. Therefore, rather than taking it in, what matters is through which acupoints and with what intention you move the energy that is already there.”
Master’s instructions continued for several shijin.
In the end, it took a full half-day before I could finally sense, control, and move that subtle feeling within my body.
“Shall we stop here for today?”
“Yeeeeeess….”
Finally!
Having sat upright for hours listening to complex instructions, I felt as if steam were fizzing out of my head.
“Well then, until tomorrow at this same time.”
“…Yes! Thank-you-very-muuuuch!!”
I gave a deep bow and practically scampered out of the Inner Courtyard as if I were escaping.
Danhwi, who had come to the Inner Courtyard where Cheong-ui Sanin resided with a dinner tray, asked with a look of absurdity.
“Wait, you didn’t just teach her theory on the first day, but actually helped her with cultivation?”
“I did.”
Cheong-ui Sanin nodded.
“Oh, boy.”
Danhwi repeatedly struck his chest with his fist as if he were about to burst from frustration.
“I’m going crazy.”
Cultivation. No matter if her body already possessed internal energy, making that energy complete a full circulation is a matter on a completely different level.
It was like taking a mountain path that had never been used and treading it down into a trail, then further paving it into a grand road where carriages could gallop.
And he did that in a single day?
“Is the kid still alive?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Do you even have to ask?”
In short, it meant it was an agonizing task for a mere eight-year-old child to endure.
“She hasn’t even reached the age of fifteen yet; you were too hasty.”
“Why are you acting like this when you know better than anyone? Isn’t it better for everything to be faster?”
“What if she runs away because of this?”
“Then our fate ends there. It’s not as if there haven’t been those who fled before…. Seeing you make such a fuss, it seems you’ve taken quite a liking to the youngest, haven’t you?”
When Cheong-ui Sanin asked with narrowed eyes, Danhwi swallowed a sharp breath and feigned ignorance.
“Well, of course…! …No, she’s just a brat. I’m just worried, that’s all. It’s a bit late to use memory-erasing techniques now….”
“Hmm.”
Though he didn’t want to admit it… at some point, Danhwi had begun to feel a sense of kinship with that audacious brat, much like Hyeonhak Sahyeong or Gwang-eum Saje did.
Furthermore, unlike the somewhat prickly Gwang-eum, the way she acted so charmingly was, honestly….
Cute. Yes, she was cute.
The fact that she was the first girl to ever ascend Cheongsanbong played a part, but for some reason, he found himself caring more about Soyoung.
Thus, Danhwi continued to make an unprecedented fuss.
“Normally, since people don’t have internal energy, they wouldn’t suffer from Qi Deviation…. But in Sogae’s—no, Soyoung’s case, she has latent energy, so we don’t know what might happen.”
If you suddenly force someone who has never run a full sprint in their life to race, their heart won’t be able to withstand it.
What Cheong-ui Sanin had guided Soyoung through was, metaphorically speaking, a similar task.
‘Of course, there’s no way Master didn’t consider that….’
But the fact that he went ahead and taught her cultivation for several shijin meant one thing.
“No way….”
A possibility Danhwi had never considered suddenly crossed his mind.
“…Did she endure it?”
Heh, Cheong-ui Sanin gave a low laugh and nodded.
“Indeed. You underestimate your junior sister too much.”
“How could that little thing…?”
“She had my guidance, but she herself possessed the talent. She opened every single acupoint in just a few shijin.”
Speaking calmly, he added as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Therefore, Soso will be able to accept any mantra of any internal cultivation art. It would be best to have Gwang-eum choose the first one for her to learn.”
“…….”
After pondering Master’s words for a moment, Danhwi asked in a trembling voice.
“…Master, then isn’t she practically a Heavenly Martial Body?”
The Heavenly Martial Body.
To be able to operate internal energy in every possible way was no different from being able to master every kind of martial art.
But previously, after examining the child’s constitution, he had clearly said she wasn’t….
As expected, Cheong-ui Sanin shook his head.
“It is not that her physical constitution is such, but rather something made possible by the unique nature of the internal energy she harbors. Thus, if she cannot handle it properly, it will become a poison worse than having nothing at all. There is a long road ahead.”
Listening to him, his tone suggested it wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
“But….”
That child has taken you as her Master.
If that were the case, no matter how bizarre the internal energy she possessed, she would be able to master it.
Because Cheong-ui Sanin was just such a singular eccentric.
“…….”
Danhwi steadied his startled heart and reorganized his thoughts.
A girl who received the name Soyoung from Master and naturally came to be called by the nickname Soso.
She possessed excellent innate potential, the judgment to play the fool when her situation was dire, and a brilliant comprehension that allowed her to make the first lesson her own….
The brat’s very existence was already no different from a miraculous encounter.
He had thought she was a professionally trained spy, but it turned out she was a genuine beggar.
What was it that Hyeonhak Sahyeong, who was called the Divine Physician in the secular world, had said?
‘Was there really not a single trace of her having practiced martial arts? Sahyeong, she followed my lightfoot technique like a madman. At the very least, some form of air-walking….’
‘As I already told Master, her body was weak and pure, having never practiced martial arts.’
‘What about anything strange? Is there really nothing?’
‘…If I had to say, the young lady said she lived as a beggar on the streets. Living such a life, no matter how young, a certain amount of turbid qi is bound to accumulate…. Yet, she was as healthy as if she had lived a Taoist life since she was an infant.’
‘…….’
‘Perhaps if Danhwi Saje reduced your intake of cooked food by half, you might obtain a body as pure as that. And cut back on the alcohol.’
‘Hmph.’
Danhwi, who selectively erased the last part from his memory, shook his head.
From where did such a peerless talent appear, miraculously reaching Master, who stayed in seclusion and only influenced the world through his disciples?
“…….”
No, was all of this truly a coincidence?
Danhwi had very sharp instincts.
Sharp enough that he had saved his own life hundreds of times by relying on them before coming under Cheong-ui Sanin to become a disciple.
A chilling assumption flashed through Danhwi’s mind.
He had met Soyoung on a journey he took by Master’s command.
But did Master really not know about Soyoung beforehand?
“…Master.”
“Heh.”
Meeting Danhwi’s eyes, which transparently reflected his thoughts, Cheong-ui Sanin did not deny Danhwi’s unspoken question.
He merely sipped his tea with a faint smile.
“I am glad you seem to like your junior sister.”
I woke up at the crack of dawn and tidied my bedding.
“Up we go.”
Even though I had managed to become an official disciple of the Murim’s hidden mastermind and was receiving lessons, I couldn’t let my guard down yet.
“Alright. Let’s work hard today too!”
At least until Master and the other Sahyeongs grew fond enough of me that they couldn’t kick me out….
So, do you know what method I chose?
“Sahyeong! Soso is here!”
Clatter!
As I passed the pond where lotuses were in full bloom and entered Buyonggak, white steam carrying a delicious scent puffed into my face.
“You’ve come even earlier today.”
“Yes!”
I stuck my chest out and answered with a spirited shout.
At that, the eldest Sahyeong, Hyeonhak, looked back at me and gave a thin smile.
I wondered how long he had been standing in front of the stove; I could feel a wave of heat just by stepping near him.
I pretended to be a little dejected.
“But I’m still always much later than you, Sahyeong….”
