Chapter 43: Betting Broadcast (1)

The Constellation of Sacred Flame, Scarlet.

She was originally a transcendent being who possessed unparalleled authority over flame and bore a constellation of eight stars.

The fact that she had eight stars was significant.

Considering that even constellations depicted as chief deities in their respective mythologies usually had only around ten stars, Scarlet’s rank as a constellation was by no means low.

If she wished, she could turn an entire continent into a sea of fire.

Conversely, she could twist the laws of nature to snuff out flames before they ever appeared.

Quite literally, she was the master of all fire—the incarnation of sacred flame.

Thanks to that immense power, Scarlet was worshipped in the world where she was born.

Priestesses passed down sacred flames blessed with her starlight for generations,
and countless people across the continent revered her.

“It’s… Scarlet, yeah.”

– Why is she using polite endings after talking informally? lol

– She totally sounds like a foreigner.

– Looks like she’s not used to formal speech.

– It’s cute though, cheers~

She had once descended in divine form and received honor, not mockery, never someone meant to play the clown like she was now.

“Seems like the young lady’s not used to polite speech.”

“You’re seriously gonna die, yeah.”

How did she end up like this?

Holding back the urge to cry, Scarlet ground her teeth furiously.

– She’s so cute lololol

– How does the great master always bring in people like this?

– Look at that face—who wouldn’t fall for it with that level of realism?

– Total beauty hunter confirmed lol

“I want to just burn everything.”

“Use polite speech when speaking to your teacher.”

“…Yes, sir.”

In just a few minutes, both her dignity as a constellation and her pride as a human had been chipped away mercilessly.

If she could, she’d incinerate the man next to her and all the noisy ones babbling beyond that strange device.

But even as Scarlet ground her teeth in frustration, she had no choice but to swallow her thoughts.

Cheon Hwi, who stood beside her issuing commands, was far stronger than she had initially expected, and more importantly, they had already made a contract not long ago.

“Hurry up and teach me that martial art thing, yeah.”

“Shouldn’t you learn proper speech before martial arts?”

“I don’t need that, yeah.”

With a fierce glare, Scarlet boldly demanded martial arts training.

Her attitude reminded Cheon Hwi of a spoiled young lady, and after hesitating briefly, he let out a long sigh.

“Fine then. We’ll start with the basics.”

Scarlet felt like she was going to lose her mind at how he kept treating her like a child.

Why had Scarlet ended up learning martial arts from Cheon Hwi on his broadcast?

To find the answer to that question, we must go back a few days.

“You’re asking me to become your disciple?”

Do you desire power?

It was a provocative line, one you might expect from a devil, but its meaning was entirely straightforward.

There were no lies or tricks hidden in the question.

It was a pure and direct inquiry.

Do you want power?

There’s hardly anyone in the world who dislikes being strong.

Especially for a constellation like Scarlet, who was being hunted by the Dragon of Chaos, strength was more important than anything.

So, Scarlet nodded.

The moment she agreed, Cheon Hwi—almost as if he had been waiting—asked if she would become his disciple.

“Why?”

“You said you needed power, didn’t you? I can give you more than enough. Enough to beat that so-called Dragon of Chaos—or whatever kind of overgrown lizard it is—into the ground.”

It was definitely a tempting offer.

And Scarlet, having directly witnessed Cheon Hwi’s absurd strength, knew just how serious he was.

What if all the constellations who had descended to Earth joined forces against him—
would they stand a chance?

It was a thought experiment that played out in Scarlet’s mind.

And for a constellation, such combat-focused simulations weren’t far off from reality.

The outcome was obvious.

‘At the very least… equal to the Dragon of Chaos. Maybe even stronger…’

There’s no way I can win.

Unless the Dragon of Chaos itself shows up to fight him, it might actually be Cheon Hwi who ends up with the upper hand.

Becoming the disciple of someone like that, no matter how she looked at it, it was a deal with no downside.

If what he promised was true, she might really gain enough power to take down the Dragon of Chaos.

Most people would’ve bowed their heads and accepted on the spot.

But instead, Scarlet narrowed her eyes and asked the one thing others would’ve ignored.

“What do you gain by taking me as your disciple?”

“Oh?”

A proposal that most would’ve accepted with excitement and gratitude, yet Scarlet stayed calm and sharp.

In any proper deal, both sides should benefit.

Whether it’s goods for money or a promise of future influence and power, mutual gain is at the core of any exchange.

But right now?

She would be training under him to gain strength, so what was she offering him in return?

Sensing something fishy, Scarlet became wary.

She knew she couldn’t stop him if he used force, but she also had no intention of being underestimated as some thoughtless woman.

She wasn’t going to be easily tricked.

If he planned to use her, he’d have to come clean with his intentions.

That was the meaning behind the glare she sent at Cheon Hwi.

“As expected of a constellation. Not so easily swayed, are you? You’re thinking you won’t agree to any deal unless both the benefit and the motive are clear.”

A smirk crept across Cheon Hwi’s lips.

“Alright, I’ll be honest. While you’re my disciple, you’ll assist me with my work—wholeheartedly.”

“…Work? What kind of work?”

“Broadcasting.”

Broadcasting?

At the unfamiliar word, Scarlet’s eyebrow twitched.

Seeing her confused expression, Cheon Hwi added an explanation.

“You could think of it like a type of performance.”

“…Ha. So you’re telling me to become a clown now?”

“You could see it that way, but it’s not as shallow as you think.”

Sure, there were plenty of silly, clownish broadcasts out there in cyberspace, but Cheon Hwi’s stream was far removed from that kind of content.

Fully aware of this—and proud of it—Cheon Hwi calmly continued.

“I don’t really mind, but you’re not exactly in a position to be picky about the methods, are you? If stepping into the spotlight means gaining true strength, I don’t think it’s such a bad deal.”

“Grr…”

As frustrating as it was, he had a point.

Scarlet let out a breath through her nose and frowned, her face flushing with humiliation.

“Well, the choice is yours. It’s only a suggestion. Whether you accept it or not, I’m not going to force you.”

Curse him—if that’s not forcing, then what is?

Grinding her teeth in frustration, Scarlet glared fiercely.

“Did you memorize everything?”

“I memorized it all, yeah.”

He had made her recite several lines of strange phrases called gugyeol.

She wanted to complain and ask why they were even doing this, but the annoying part was, it actually worked.

He’d called it the Samjae Technique or something like that.

Grumbling inside, Scarlet recalled the phrases she had memorized and began to speak.

“Heaven covers the earth and watches over mankind. Earth supports mankind, and man stands alone between heaven and earth. To stand on one’s own two feet is the foundation of martial strength, and to gaze toward the heavens and dream is the destiny of humankind.”

“Well done.”

Just from reciting a few lines, an image—the mindscape—was formed.

A vast land unfolded, she stood atop it, and a deep blue sky stretched endlessly above, coloring her thoughts.

Scarlet gave a small, hollow laugh, quietly impressed.

The situation was so unfamiliar and absurd that even though she was doing it herself, it didn’t feel real.

All constellations were capable of forming and manipulating imagery, but could something like that really be woven into a few written lines?

And it wasn’t just the mental image that was affected.

While she didn’t yet have enough magical energy to form a danjeon—the core of internal power, external energy, drawn in by the imagery of the gugyeol, was clearly circulating through her body and beginning to accumulate.

Not only was she accumulating magical energy, she was altering its nature to match the very landscape of her mind.

Was there even a constellation capable of doing something like this?

Not even that Constellation of Pioneering guy could pull this off… could he?

To command the power of stars using written phrases.

It defied all logic.

But now that she was experiencing it herself, it was hard to deny, no matter how absurd it sounded.

As Scarlet moved her lips, sensing the magical energy gathering through the Samjae Technique, Cheon Hwi finally spoke.

“You’re learning fast—must be the talent.”
“Don’t state the obvious, yeah.”

Cheon Hwi smirked as he watched Scarlet marvel at the martial art.

Perhaps because she had once mastered the domain of controlling imagery, she had a natural knack for grasping the principles embedded in the gugyeol-based martial techniques.

Though all of her rank and power as a constellation are now sealed within Seo Ye-rin,
had she been in her complete state—she might’ve reached the Realm of Blossoming.

Once a martial artist reaches the Life-and-Death Realm, they become capable of using Simjeukmu—where mind becomes martial art.

Techniques like the mental sword or mind-powered strikes fall into that category.

It was a legendary realm of martial arts, said to exist only in theory.

But Cheon Hwi, having personally reached that level and used Simjeukmu, had found himself frowning at what he discovered.

Who would’ve thought?

That Simjeukmu wasn’t a perfected state or a complete ultimate technique, but rather a half-finished husk.

The imagery of Simjeukmu could affect the world, yes, but it was little more than hurling one’s inner vision at reality with brute force.

Without any law or order behind it, it merely crashed against nature’s flow and left a crack.

That’s how Cheon Hwi instinctively knew.

That there was a realm beyond even the Life-and-Death Realm, and that Simjeukmu would only be perfected within that higher state.

That realm was what Cheon Hwi later discovered and named the Realm of Blossoming.

The Realm of Blossoming, which Cheon Hwi was the first to enter and name, was the stage where Simjeukmu—mind becoming martial art—was completed and reached its peak.

A culmination of one’s lifelong martial training and lived experiences, forged into a singular principle and embedded into one’s mental imagery— the ultimate form of martial will.

The completed mental image was like a painting, containing the entirety of a martial artist’s essence.

A picture (hwa) drawn by a mind (shim) pushed to its limits (geuk).

Hence the name Simgeukdo, the Diagram of the Ultimate Mind.

And the realm where this mental painting is projected onto the world is called Dohwagyeong, the Realm of Blossoming.

It was a transcendent state, surpassing even the Sky-Beyond-Sky (Cheonoecheon) realms.

From that elevated perspective, Cheon Hwi judged that the constellations, while powerful—probably hovered somewhere just under or around the edges of the Dohwagyeong.

“I’ll form a danjeon within a week and crush your smug face, yeah.”

“Oh ho, I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Seeing Scarlet so fired up—and progressing much faster than expected, Cheon Hwi let out a small laugh.

He was genuinely curious to see how far a being like a constellation could go through martial arts, and to his surprise, there was something entertaining about watching it unfold up close.

“Ah…!”

– LMAO old-school meme alert

– That joke’s ancient lol

– Wait, people still say that?!

– Where’s Murasaki when you need her?

Still, even Cheon Hwi’s amused reaction came off as condescending to Scarlet,
and she continued grumbling under her breath.

“Just wait, yeah. I’ll definitely make you eat your words, yeah.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

If only I could use my full power…

I’d have slapped him across the face at least once by now.

Scarlet found herself really missing her old strength today.