episode_0012

Isn’t it commonly said, “Monarch, Master, Father are One” [a saying emphasizing the equal grace of monarch, master, and father]?

This means that the grace of the monarch, master, and father are equal, which ultimately means to serve your master as you would your father.

In short, the relationship between a master and disciple is not temporary.

“A master for a day,” even if you only served him for a single day. “A father for life,” treat him like a parent for your entire life.

That is, master and parent are of equal status!

And is that all? Supporting parents is a child’s duty.

What does that mean?

It means the disciple must support their master for their entire life!

What if a disciple dares to deceive or dishonor their master?

Being excommunicated from the sect immediately is a given.

They would be charged with the gravest crime, “deceiving the master and destroying the ancestor” [a grave crime against one’s master or predecessors], resulting in severed tendons and meridians… that is, their tendons would be cut, their dantian abolished, and their meridians severed, rendering them unable to practice martial arts for life, and they would be cast out as cripples.

Rebelling against one’s master is treated as a more heinous act than treason or collusion.

Even if one successfully deceives their master and escapes safely, they immediately become an enemy of the Murim world, doomed to be hunted for the rest of their life.

This is what was learned after being transmigrated here and struggling for several years.

“Do you intend to become my disciple?”

So, when Cheongun first heard those words, he couldn’t answer easily.

To put it bluntly, becoming a disciple is no different from becoming one with your master for life!

The master’s enemy is my enemy.

My enemy is also the master’s enemy.

In other words, they share each other’s debts and grievances!

Suddenly, conversations Cheongun had overheard while begging one day flashed through his mind.

‘Becoming a disciple? That fellow, now his path of hardship begins.’

‘What? Is a disciple’s life that hard?’

‘Haha. If he shows promise, he might learn a little martial arts, like picking up crumbs. But if he doesn’t even have that, he’ll be no different from a servant for life. Then if a war breaks out between sects, he’ll be used as a meat shield and die.’

‘…But still, won’t he be able to learn martial arts?’

‘Of course. But do they just teach it? “Entering the gate does not mean entering the inner chamber, entering the inner chamber does not mean transmitting skills” [a proverb about the difficulty of truly learning advanced martial arts]. Even if you enter the sect, you can’t immediately enter the inner chamber, and even if you enter the inner chamber, you don’t immediately receive skill transmission. You have to serve for years, doing all sorts of chores, before you even qualify to learn a few moves.’

At that moment, chills ran down Cheongun’s spine.

If one has enough patience and ambition, then this opportunity is indeed a fortuitous encounter.

But what about Cheongun?

He certainly had no patience, nor did he have enough ambition.

Cheongun’s only ambition was money, but following that man didn’t seem like it would bring him any.

Of course, if this were a game, he would have accepted the offer without hesitation.

But was this a game? No, it was reality.

In a game, a single ‘click’ brings formidable martial arts, but this was not a matter to be decided so easily.

‘What should I do?’

He needed to think carefully about his answer.

After all, the old master before him was one of the Ten Great Masters of the world, and a martial artist belonging to the orthodox faction.

Stubbornly insisting, ‘Stop!’, ‘No, I’m scared, I’m not interested in martial arts!’ would only pique his curiosity.

Cheongun asked in a low voice.

“You already have a disciple, don’t you?”

“Hoo, how do you know that?”

“Because I heard stories.”

He didn’t know exactly who it was.

He only knew that there was one disciple, and that they had died one day.

Starting from the death of his disciple, Red Night Sword Sovereign slowly fell into depravity.

At some point, he began to be called a ‘Killing Ghost’, and in the middle of the story, there’s a brief appearance of Red Night Sword Sovereign single-handedly slaughtering at Ilwoldaesan.

The disciple’s identity was never revealed until the end.

The entire Murim was simply moved by Red Night Sword Sovereign’s love for his disciple, which caused him such fury merely because one disciple had died.

At that moment, Red Night Sword Sovereign slowly approached Cheongun, examining him.

Soon, he placed a palm on Cheongun’s shoulder and closed his eyes.

“I’ll be honest. For a fellow not even in his twenties to have reached the early stages of the Peak realm, his talent is truly exceptional. And that’s not all. Seeing no trace of fundamental training, he reached this level without a proper master, making him a martial prodigy unmatched in the world.”

“That’s right.”

Cheongun nodded, as if satisfied.

It was worth dumping all those achievement points into his stats.

“And how pure his qi is! The family martial art he claims to have learned on his own is no less than a divine art of the Daoist lineage.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course! Do you know the name of the divine art you’ve learned?”

“Heaven and Earth Primordial One Qi Art.”

“Hoo, a cultivation method that gathers the qi of heaven and earth into one! The principle of unifying heaven and earth is in perfect alignment with the Daoist concept of Taiyi!”

Red Night Sword Sovereign was so excited he was making a fuss.

“This is a fortuitous encounter, a destiny forged not by a simple meeting, but by true recognition.”

“Huh?”

“I promise you on this old man’s honor. Become my disciple. I will pass down my mantle and impart all my martial arts and Dao to you.”

“Can’t you just give it to me?”

“Do you think I can?”

Cheongun thought Red Night Sword Sovereign was truly persistent.

It wasn’t a well-developed beauty, but some old master being obsessive, which was annoying in many ways.

Cheongun answered firmly.

“No.”

“Why!”

“Because it’s troublesome.”

“Hmph! What nonsense!”

This was a big problem.

Red Night Sword Sovereign’s desire for a disciple was unrivaled under heaven.

Cheongun, young and vibrant, yet naturally gifted, was like a treasure of the ages to Red Night Sword Sovereign.

He leaped a distance of about 30 cm and blocked Cheongun, who was turning away.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

“No, just move aside!”

“Even if you can easily reach the Peak realm, do you think it will be easy to go beyond that without a Master? Beyond the Peak realm, it’s impossible without enlightenment!”

“I know that, actually?”

“And a guy who knows that rejects such a fortuitous encounter! Will you ever have such an opportunity again in your life?”

“Something will work out, somehow. Because I’m a genius.”

“Hmph, you impudent fellow.”

Red Night Sword Sovereign followed behind Cheongun.

“Why are you following me?”

“Following? Our paths simply happen to be the same.”

“Coercion is also violence.”

“Shall I show you real violence?”

“…”

Cheongun felt a strong will to go his own way.

Cheongun sighed heavily and returned to Mount Qingcheng.

****

The spy was caught.

And a spy sent by the Demon Cult at that!

However, Cheongun, who could be said to be the one who caught the spy, had disappeared.

“Haa…”

Namgung Yul briefly reflected on her connection with Cheongun.

He was a benefactor. A benefactor who had saved her life, no less.

He even caught the spy whom no one else had noticed.

He had saved everyone from danger.

She owed him too much.

But to waste his time by not giving him just one golden ingot on time. It was truly disgraceful.

She had been on her way, insisting to her older brother that compensation must be paid swiftly, feeling very sorry about that point.

But then, Cheongun disappeared.

‘Ah, you mean that person? I remember him being in the underground Golden Chamber last.’

Namgung Yul rushed to the underground Golden Chamber in a hurry.

Cheongun had been a guest, rolling around in his room without a single day of rest.

For him to suddenly disappear in the middle of the night like this?

Perhaps he had fallen victim to the spy’s wicked schemes.

Of course, that probably wouldn’t happen, but she couldn’t help but worry.

But then.

“???”

Upon arriving at the Golden Chamber, the single spy had clearly multiplied into two.

Namgung Yul asked Baekseol, who was lying and rolling next to Hong Soyeon.

“Who are you?”

“Can’t you tell by looking? I’m a spy.”

“There should only be one spy, though?”

“Ta-da! Now there are two. Satisfied?”

Baekseol picked her ear with a finger, then blew on her finger.

“Where is Great Hero Cheong?”

“How would I know that, being confined in the Golden Chamber?”

It was a lie. Baekseol knew. It was Baekseol who had told Cheongun his location.

However, because Cheongun had threatened to abolish her dantian if she spoke carelessly, she was only pretending not to know.

“He was in the Golden Chamber until the very end and then disappeared; how can you not know anything?”

“We can? Right, Senior Sister Hong?”

“Of course, Junior Sister Baek. Anyway, those Orthodox sect women are the best at stubbornly insisting on their ignorance, aren’t they?”

“Hoho! Such a fuss over one man disappearing.”

Hong Soyeon chewed with her mouth full of bikkeokdan, which could be called the best human rations in the Central Plains, while Baekseol rolled around and giggled.

Namgung Yul blinked, utterly dumbfounded.

How could they be so nonchalant despite being confined?

Still, just in case, she asked several more times, but the answers remained unchanged.

Namgung Yul left the Golden Chamber and searched for Cheongun all night.

Naturally, there was no gain.

Moreover, having wandered all night without sleep, her head felt dizzy and her stomach churned.

Though a master of Great Hero Cheong’s caliber wouldn’t be in danger, she still worried unnecessarily.

Just as she was wandering aimlessly around the entrance of Mount Qingcheng.

“Great Hero Cheong!”

Great Hero Cheong, walking in the distance, faintly appeared.

How could she be so glad!

Namgung Yul unconsciously activated her footwork and rushed out.

She had used her footwork so hastily that her qi and blood pulsed painfully.

However, Cheongun wasn’t alone.

“…”

Behind Cheongun, there was another shadowy figure.

The figure slowly became clearer.

An old man with strikingly white hair stroked his beard as he followed behind Cheongun.

Namgung Yul knew the old man.

She couldn’t not know him.

“…Master?”

Red Night Sword Sovereign, Jin Mooseong.

For Namgung Yul was his disciple.