The First Lesson of My Second Master

The proposal to spar had come right after dinner. It was the historic first lesson under my second master.

Normally, a first lesson wasn’t about diving straight into the curriculum. The proper etiquette for a master was to begin with a grand, impressive overview. And so, the Divine Thief, acting in his capacity as master for the first time, spoke thus:

“Hmph. Didn’t I treat you pretty decently, all things considered? And you went and spilled everything? I didn’t take you for such a disloyal little wench.”

It was the kind of pointed, lingering remark that would have left an ordinary disciple fidgeting, at a complete loss for how to respond. But Cheong had already earned more than enough qualifications to be called a giant in this particular field.

Cheong offered a sweet, placating smile as she soothed the sulking adult.

“Why not look at it in a positive light? It just shows how much loyalty I kept toward you, Master. And now you really are my master, right? Doesn’t that make sense?”

“Ahem. Even so, when the Daemo gave her permission, did you really have to step forward and say it wasn’t necessary?”

“Aww, come on. If I’d just said ‘Thank you!’ right there, wouldn’t that have made Master, the Daemo, me—everyone—look like lightweights? I was cheering inside, but there are times when you just have to do that, you know? Don’t you agree?”

The Divine Thief’s expression softened considerably.

“Ahem, ahem. By the way, you call the Daemo ‘Master,’ yet you call me just ‘Master’?”

“Isn’t it better than ‘Little Master’? Or would you prefer ‘Little Master’? How about ‘Second Master’?”

“Ahem. Can’t you drop the ‘little’? I wanted to hear ‘Master’ from you. There are already plenty of people calling me that.”

“Oh? You already have that many disciples?”

“You ignorant girl. Didn’t you hear what the Daemo said? I’m a Hanlimwon Lecturer, remember?”

If the Creator Goddess Nüwa had molded Cheong, one could say she had poured all her effort into the exterior, but had used the wrong materials or botched the firing—because the inside was completely hollow.

When Cheon Yuhak saw Cheong’s expression, he felt a ominous premonition. ‘Did I pick the wrong disciple?’

“……You don’t know?”

“……Should I?”

The Hanlimwon was the greatest educational institution in the Central Plains, the pinnacle of higher learning. During the Tang Dynasty when it was first established, it was powerful enough to handle the Emperor’s own education and held enough authority to involve itself in every aspect of government—inspection, administration, and justice. However, as dynasties changed and personnel were replaced, it now devoted itself solely to education, compiling books, and research as the heart of Central Plains scholarship.

The positions within the Hanlimwon could roughly be compared to Cheong’s hometown terms: the principal was the Hanlim Scholar, and the two vice-principals were the Poetry Reading Scholar and the Poetry Lecturing Scholar. The Poetry Reading Scholar, as the name suggested, oversaw research, while the Poetry Lecturing Scholar was the head of the educational field.

Hadn’t Seomun Su-rin said that even being a Hanlimwon Poetry Lecturing Scholar was enough to be called a giant based on scholarship alone? Yet the fact that such a giant was moonlighting as the Divine Thief was truly absurd.

“Wow. Master, you really are an incredible person. You’re not like some Great Master, True Master, or Big Master or anything, right?”

Even if Cheong’s head was empty, her appearance was the real deal. The uncle’s heart melted slowly in the face of his pretty disciple’s coquettish charm.

“Ahem, well, that’s enough idle chatter. First of all, the Divine Thief… No, wait. You little wench, you knew my identity and still pretended not to? No, how did you even find out in the first place?”

“Um… because you showed me the Shadowless Divine Hand manual?”

“As I thought! You did recognize it!”

“I never said I didn’t recognize it. And seriously, why did you turn the manual into a spring book? It wasn’t even drawn well, either.”

“Not drawn well?! It is the greatest masterpiece in the history of art, personally painted and compiled page by page by the Painting Immortal, Master Geum Jo-hyeon!”

“Even if you call a dirty book that…”

“Ahem.”

Cheon Yuhak cleared his throat in embarrassment.

“The most important quality the Divine Thief looks for in a successor is sharp senses. That’s why it was made that way—so that even while looking at the greatest spring paintings in the world, one wouldn’t be shaken and could spot the tiny engraved letters with their eyes, or have senses keen enough to feel them by touch.”

“Ah. So that’s what it was.”

Cheong had simply touched it and gotten registered, so she had no idea it carried such meaning. If Cheon Yuhak had known, he would have beaten the ground in frustration.

“Ahem. Maybe I should have engraved the Tao Te Ching instead of spring paintings.”

Cheon Yuhak thought to himself. The downside of having a female disciple was that it made casual dirty talk feel awkward.

Of course, he was underestimating Cheong far too much.

“I don’t know who this Painting Immortal is, but isn’t the style a bit too refined for a spring book? It needs more raw, primal appeal. It’s not like you’d hang a spring book on the wall.”

“Hmm?”

“Something more like… this? Hmm, it’s not coming out right…”

Cheong drew on the floor with her Blue Porcelain Sword. Using one of the most famous sharp swords in history to scratch at a stone-mixed floor was an act that would make anyone who saw it gasp and slap her across the face. However, since Cheong treated weapons like disposable goods and the Divine Thief treated treasures like mere rocks, neither felt any particular emotion about it.

“Hmm? This style? It’s poorly drawn, but still… the lines. Oho. Isn’t it a bit too bold? The human body isn’t actually like this.”

“Come on, it’s just a drawing. It can be a little exaggerated.”

“……? What kind of bizarre logic is that?”

In Cheong’s hometown, the existence of a device called a camera made “it’s just a drawing” a valid excuse for artistic freedom. But such a thing didn’t exist in the Central Plains, so it was natural that Cheon Yuhak couldn’t understand.

“Still… it has a certain feel to it. It would be good if you learned to draw properly.”

“Come on, why would a martial artist learn to draw?”

“It’s what the Daemo said. She told me to teach you some forbidden books and paintings. She said you’re already good at playing music and your calligraphy is the greatest under heaven, so I only need to teach you Go and painting. That’s right. Let me see your writing. How do you write that it’s called the greatest calligraphy under heaven?”

With that, he pulled out paper, a brush, and an inkstone from his robes and held them out. Cheong obediently wrote four characters: “Our master is the best in the world.”

Thanks to corrections, Cheong’s writing took the form of modern Korean standard regular script. Each stroke was thick yet without any dullness, soft and gracefully extended. The beautiful strokes filled the page completely, leaving no empty space. And because the height and width were perfectly consistent, to the eyes of people from the Central Plains, it was a beautiful handwriting that didn’t exist in this world—enough to make one faint from shock.

“No, by the heavens. Each and every stroke carries the weight of a thousand pounds and settles perfectly in place. You have already completed an entire style with the Eight Laws and reached the realm of a great master—no, a grandmaster! The spirit is so magnificent that it unfolds a majesty like Mount Tai. This is the heaviest calligraphy under heaven! How is it that with such precious writing, you have not made a name for yourself in calligraphy?”

He must have been truly shocked, because the refined speech of a Poetry Lecturing Scholar had slipped out. After all, not many people had seen Cheong’s writing, and martial artists didn’t feel the same intense appreciation for calligraphy that scholars did.

In the end, the lesson was pushed to the back burner as the two of them enthusiastically played and chatted. It was a very enjoyable time for both master and disciple, so there was no problem at all.

Thus, the main point the Divine Thief had originally intended to bring up only came out at the very end, when the night had grown late.

“The Divine Thief is not just any thief. He is a thief who benefits the world. Doing righteous deeds is good, and satisfying personal desires is fine too, but the Divine Thief must take on the role of removing things harmful to the world.”

“Harmful things?”

“Yes. By harmful things, I naturally mean objects that harm the world. Demonic swords, demonic arts, or perhaps horrifyingly extreme poisons.”

“Whoa, there are demonic swords? Do they, like, talk and stuff?”

“……? What kind of bizarre thing are you saying now? Hmm. Actually, it’s not entirely wrong.”

There were demonic weapons that, after drinking human blood for a long time, or due to deep-seated ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grudges, or created through human sacrifice, bewitched people. Once you held one, the urge to cut people was so strong you couldn’t resist it, so they were sometimes said to whisper to their owners.

“I’ve never held a demonic sword, so I wouldn’t know. Anyway, other harmful objects include famous treasures. These treasures fan the flames of human greed and cause great disasters, because those whose eyes are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠red with desire won’t hesitate to spill blood.”

“……So basically, steal anything that looks good?”

“That’s why they’re called the greatest thieves under heaven. But if the world can be at peace because of it, isn’t it fine for one person to be called a thief?”

Cheon Yuhak was a man who had accumulated good karma. If someone with evil karma had said it, Cheong would have snorted and called it nonsense, but since it came from someone with good karma, it was strangely persuasive. After all, she had personally witnessed him dropping his good karma points by forcing people to buy books. If he had been dropping good karma like that, one could infer that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he must have originally possessed an incredibly high amount of it.

“This is the work you will have to inherit in the future. As for the stolen goods, you can dispose of them however you like. You can burn them, bury them, or find suitable owners for them. I used to melt down gold items and spend them as gold leaf.”

“Steal all the good stuff. Steal it and do whatever you want with it. Not doing it would be a loss.”

“And you must not forget to find the most talented successor and pass it on. Honestly, this is even more important. Treasures can be stolen anytime, but the lineage of the Divine Thief must not be cut off.”

“Got it. Raise the best disciple.”

The Divine Thief nodded in satisfaction.

“The martial arts passed down by the Divine Thief are four in total…”

The Shadowless Divine Hand, a technique of pickpocketing and sleight of hand. The peerless light footwork Void-Piercing Instant Movement, which made absolutely no sound yet boasted the greatest speed at short distances. The external cultivation Flowing Softness Softening Refinement, which dramatically increased the range of motion of the body’s joints. And there was an internal energy cultivation method, but that was just something to memorize; there was no need to learn it. This was because the Divine Thief usually held a side job, so most already possessed at least one internal cultivation method.

“Now that I think about it, the Daemo said it was fine for you to learn multiple cultivation methods at once. She said you inherited the legacy of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden?”

“Yes. That’s what she said.”

“Indeed. The Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden is a master of martial learning and the incarnation of moderation who oversees the harmony of the nine realms. It could truly be called the greatest divine art among all martial arts.”

This was one of the things Cheong and Seomun Su-rin had coordinated in advance. It was the excuse to use if it was ever discovered that she was using multiple internal energies. Cheong had wondered if it would actually work, but seeing that it did, she thought, As expected of Master. She really does have a plan for everything.

“That’s convenient. Then you can learn the Awakening Divine Art. It’s an internal cultivation method that fits the Divine ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Thief perfectly. Originally, if we couldn’t find a suitable disciple, we were supposed to pick up even a child and teach them.”

Cheong subtly checked with a search. Strangely, there wasn’t a single purple martial art. Shadowless Divine Hand gold, Void-Piercing Instant Movement gold, Flowing Softness Softening Refinement gold, Awakening Divine Art gold. They were all golden. Cheong felt a little disappointed. Those guys at Shaolin Temple had purple for everything she overheard…

Well, since Shaolin claimed that all martial arts under heaven originated from them and proudly called themselves the progenitor of martial arts, it was only natural.

“Here. From now on, these are yours.”

Cheon Yuhak held out the books. The moment Cheong touched them, the martial arts window popped up with a notification, proving they were flawless manuals.

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll teach you properly, so today just skim through them and get the general idea into your head. Think of it as not sleeping tonight. That’s how studying is supposed to be done. Hehe.”

The laugh Cheon Yuhak let out was impure. It was the sound of someone telling her to suffer quite a bit. However, for Cheong, it was instantaneous. Even including the time to roll her eyes back and make choking noises from the aftereffects, one quarter-hour was more than enough.