I Am the Youngest Disciple of the Martial Arts World’s Mastermind
Chapter 57
Chapter 57
The Youngest Disciple of the Murim’s Mastermind
Episode 57
“…….”
Deung So-han remained fixated on the silhouette that had emerged from the collapsed ground.
Its presence was truly overwhelming.
“Could it be…?”
Baekri Hyuk also felt the hair on his body stand on end. His hand instinctively moved to draw his sword.
In that instant.
Flash! With a burst of light, the child’s form vanished.
Simultaneously, a violent surge of momentum rushed toward Baekri Hyuk.
Boom!
“Ugh!”
Before he could even grasp his sword, a clash of palm energy occurred in a heartbeat, and it was Baekri Hyuk who was sent flying into the cave wall.
“Urgh…!”
This was not the internal energy of a mere child.
Baekri Hyuk’s palm throbbed with a searing heat, as if it were burning.
Just what is this power…?
Then, Dang Cheong-a cried out once more, her voice infused with internal force.
“It’s the Medicine Immortal! It’s the soul of the Medicine Immortal…!”
Baekri Hyuk raised his head blankly. What?
“It’s the soul of the Medicine Immortal…!”
“……!”
While the crowd stirred at Dang Cheong-a’s shout.
I simply withdrew the palm that had exchanged energy with Baekri Hyuk and thought blankly.
“…….”
Is this right?
I want to cry.
“Ha. I wonder which little rat crawled in here after hearing news of the treasury…!”
Namgung Ryeong-hwa, who seemed to have failed to grasp the situation, drew her twin swords and lunged at me.
“Ryeong-hwa, wait! Their internal energy is deep!”
Thankfully, because Baekri Hyuk shouted that, Namgung Ryeong-hwa faltered and stopped just before swinging her sword at me.
“……!”
Perhaps her intuition as a martial artist told her it was dangerous, seeing as I stood perfectly still as if I wouldn’t even bother to counter.
‘Phew.’
To put it simply, Namgung Ryeong-hwa’s intuition was correct.
I had only stepped out of the secret passage after setting up mechanical traps that would instantly counter-attack if I were struck.
“You are lucky.”
I spoke nonchalantly, but in truth, my inner thoughts were…
‘I really want to cry….’
I’m so terrified.
I was scared that the sound of my heart thumping would reach the ears of these rising stars.
However, did my appearance look mystical to them—emerging suddenly through the air amidst the shaking earth and spreading red mist inside the pitch-black cave?
Baekri Hyuk, who had briefly glimpsed an internal energy as deep and vast as the ocean during our exchange, looked particularly tense.
His expression was frozen, and even his fingertips showed a slight tremor.
He spoke in a low, wary voice.
“…Who are you? Reveal your identity.”
His eyes glittered in the darkness.
However, it was closer to fear than suspicion.
I took a short breath.
“…….”
And without hesitation, I pulled out my iron fan and flicked my wrist.
Shlak—! The iron fan, imbued with a faint light, unfurled smoothly.
The beautifully crafted design of the iron fan likely resembled the carvings on the stone door they saw when entering this cavern.
Recognizing it, Baekri Hyuk’s eyes began to tremble even more violently.
I lightly raised the iron fan, pointing at each of the rising stars one by one, and declared.
“I intended to see what kind of fools had entered another’s treasury to cause such a commotion.”
No matter how I lowered my voice, it still sounded youthful, but the acoustics of the cave and the situation added several layers of mystery to my tone.
It felt as if a great roar were echoing from deep within a mountain.
It was then.
“It is said that the legendary Medicine Immortal also used an iron fan as a weapon…!”
Yoo Chwi-san shouted urgently. His voice was a mix of fear and wonder.
I maintained a brief silence.
‘…He did?’
I didn’t know that. Good for me.
However, my expression remained calm without a single flicker of emotion.
This was because the thick human skin mask that Senior Brother Hyeonhak had specially prepared for this mission concealed my feelings.
‘I never imagined I’d have to step out in front like this, but…’
I snapped the iron fan shut with a flick of my wrist.
Originally, I planned to just disguise myself as an eccentric master and exit quickly.
But the moment I saved the falling Dang Cheong-a and Deung So-han, Dang Cheong-a’s eyes met mine.
Judging by her expression and her words now, she had undoubtedly mistaken me for the ‘Soul of the Medicine Immortal’ mentioned in the cipher.
“Huu.”
This is daunting.
I let out a quiet sigh.
“……!”
At that single sound, I saw the rising stars in front of me flinch.
“…….”
Oh, hmm?
This might actually be a pretty good opportunity.
A flash of intuition crossed my mind.
‘Since it’s come to this, what if I properly act the part of the Medicine Immortal?’
Coincidentally, I had an excellent role model to imitate. My Master, who could put even the Medicine Immortal to shame.
“Come and sit.”
When I spoke while subtly imbuing my voice with internal energy, the youths hurriedly scrambled to their feet, likely due to the pressure of the situation. Then, in a flustered and awkward manner, they stood before me with their heads bowed low.
Even Namgung Ryeong-hwa sheathed her twin swords and stood before me with a pale face.
To see these rising stars, who were much older than me, acting so helpless.
‘This feels pretty good.’
Back at Cheongsanbong, I’m constantly pushed around by Gwangeum and teased by Danhwi… but in the jianghu, I’m the soul of the Medicine Immortal?
‘Pfft.’
I suppressed the urge to laugh and maintained a solemn expression.
And then…
“Seeing you all rolling around like lazy donkeys was quite a sight.”
I wore a thin smile.
‘I don’t know if this is right…!’
But there was no turning back now.
I had to take full control of this stage.
Baekri Hyuk looked down at his still-stinging palm.
The center of his palm, the acupoint, was swollen red.
His hand only became like this when he practiced internal energy in earnest with his father, the head of the Baekri Clan, known as the King of Many Swords.
And yet, this mysterious child who had just appeared from thin air. To think his hand would end up like this after only a brief clash with that small hand….
“…….”
Thus, Baekri Hyuk became certain.
‘That truly is the soul of the Medicine Immortal.’
A being said to have ascended to heaven long ago.
A figure who remained only in legends.
That Medicine Immortal was now looking down at them.
The Medicine Immortal scanned the lined-up rising stars with piercing eyes before speaking.
“Are you certain you are worthy of being here?”
“…….”
No one could easily open their mouth. It was because of what had transpired earlier.
But above all, the mere presence of the Medicine Immortal made them swallow their words.
Even Baekri Hyuk, the eldest and the one who boasted the strongest internal energy, kept his head bowed low as if he had committed a crime.
“…….”
Namgung Ryeong-hwa bit her lip behind him.
Her expression was complex.
She clearly had much to say, but she didn’t dare speak up before a being stronger than anyone else.
An overwhelming pressure weighed down on her body. It silenced her.
A moment of silence passed.
The Medicine Immortal slowly lowered his gaze.
“I carved words into the center of this place. Does anyone remember them?”
Dang Cheong-a murmured as if possessed.
“Yes. To the descendants who have found their way here… I congratulate you on entering the treasury where the soul of the Medicine Immortal resides….”
“And after that?”
Deung So-han, who had remained silent throughout, quietly continued.
“If you do not forget the teachings of the Medicine Immortal until the end, the treasury will grant the descendant what they desire. That is what was written.”
“What do you think my teachings are?”
Something flashed through Baekri Hyuk’s mind.
The cipher he had read with his own hands.
“Do not covet treasures, but benefit the world of men. The teaching of the Medicine Immortal lies not in greed, but in salvation….”
With every word he spoke, Baekri Hyuk felt his cheeks and ears burning hot.
‘How shameful….’
The Medicine Immortal had already shown the way.
“Do you understand why you have fallen into hardship?”
They had abandoned that path themselves.
“…Yes. We should have properly tended to the remains.”
When Baekri Hyuk spoke in a somber voice, only then did Yeong-do and Yoo Chwi-san let out groans of realization.
Dang Cheong-a’s eyes sparkled more and more, as if she were worshipping the Medicine Immortal.
The Medicine Immortal let out a sigh.
“From what I heard, it was quite a spectacle. If they are thieves or from the Black Way, will you not even tend to their remains?”
A cold gaze turned toward Namgung Ryeong-hwa.
“…….”
It was Namgung Ryeong-hwa who was being criticized, but it was Baekri Hyuk whose head bowed even closer to the ground.
In the end, he had failed to control Namgung Ryeong-hwa in the slightest.
“…….”
He couldn’t bring himself to lift his head.
