The Matriarch's House
Seomun Cheong lived separately from the others. She was Seomun Su-rin's direct disciple, but that didn't make her a formal member of the Goddess Sect. Because of her bizarre position as the Grand Elder's outer disciple, she couldn't reside in Hwadam Hall where the other disciples lived. The reason was simple: she was simply too high-ranking.
Seomun Su-rin, who had reached the realm of reversing age and returning to youth, was a figure from the previous generation. She had already passed the position of sect leader to her eldest disciple long ago, which made her direct disciple Cheong the youngest sworn sister of the current sect leader. Within the Murim world, there was a culture of "we're all family here," where sects roughly shared and respected each other's generational ranks. But when it came to the major orthodox sects, you could exclude just Shaolin and Mount Emei from the Nine Great Schools. The influence of the Nine Great Schools was essentially synonymous with the righteous Murim itself. In the end, this meant Cheong's rank carried authority that extended to every sect classified as part of the orthodox faction.
At first, Cheong hadn't understood this strange system of generational ranks. Once she learned about it, she realized it was basically like military hierarchy. The kind that certain branches obsessed over when their goal was to land on a beachhead. Normally it followed the order of entry, no different from the modern world, but exceptions occasionally popped up. That was because high-ranking masters with discerning eyes would occasionally snatch up promising new recruits, thinking, This kid looks like she'll be something special if I raise her right. When someone became a direct disciple, they were immediately slotted into their master's generational rank. For this reason, within the Goddess Sect, Cheong stood on equal footing with all the highest elders except for Seomun Su-rin herself!
And so this was what happened.
A wild pack of Goddess Sect disciples appeared! Cheong found herself surrounded by a group of them.
Seomun Su-rin had deliberately hammered in the nail by declaring to the disciples that Cheong would be the greatest under heaven of the next generation. It was the minimum justification needed for the sect's leadership to accept her as a direct disciple, even taking generational rank into consideration. That said, Cheong was neither arrogant nor annoying. She had a natural talent for being friendly and polite with her elders. The lower-ranking disciples were the same. Cheong wasn't a difficult person to approach, and since she was technically an outsider to the sect, there was no need for overly stiff formalities. After she had humored the young disciples—who had grown up sheltered within the sect and retained their girlish innocence—several times when they pestered her with questions about the outside world, this was the result.
For these reasons, Cheong was incredibly popular.
"I'm busy. Move."
At that moment, Jin Jangmyeong stepped forward as if to protect her.
"Ah, the Little Martial Aunt is here..."
"Ugh, we're screwed."
"We'll be going now, Grand Martial Aunt!"
"See you later, Little Martial Aunt!"
The Goddess Sect disciples left with disappointed expressions. Cheong was easygoing. They instinctively knew she found them strangely intimidating. However, when the Little Martial Aunt was by her side, the story changed. Normally, the Little Martial Aunt was gentle, quiet, and adorable. But they all knew that when she stuck close to the Grand Martial Aunt, she turned into a beast—growling and baring her fangs at anyone who approached.
Of course, Jin Jangmyeong got along with them just fine too. Cheong witnessed the Goddess Sect disciples carrying the small, dainty youngest sworn sister around like a doll several times a day. It was understandable. The little thing was always walking around with a pouty, sullen expression on her face. It was cute. Since she didn't dare touch the body of a middle school girl without permission, Cheong could only watch from the sidelines.
"Well then, kiddo. Work hard today too."
"You too, Unni."
Cheong parted ways with Jin Jangmyeong in front of the Divine Sister Hall and headed toward Seomun Su-rin's Moonlit Water Pavilion.
The main gate of the Moonlit Water Pavilion was always wide open. However, almost no disciples dared to come and go. It was difficult to casually visit the Grand Elder's personal residence, and within the Goddess Sect, Seomun Su-rin was known as an incredibly fiery and terrifying person. But from Cheong's perspective, it was a little sad. The obvious reason for leaving the gate wide open was clear. It meant anyone was welcome to enter. Yet with the way the Goddess Sect disciples froze like mice before a snake whenever they saw Seomun Su-rin, who would dare visit?
That said, she couldn't blame the disciples. In modern terms, it was like seeing the chairman looking lonely and barging into the chairman's office. The only kind of person who could pull off such outrageous behavior would be something like an outside director who had suddenly parachuted in without any roots or background.
And that rootless outside director strode boldly into the Moonlit Water Pavilion.
"Master, I'm here~"
"Hah. How can a proper martial artist act so coquettishly with that nasal voice? My disciple, as the representative of female martial artists, you must always maintain proper conduct and—"
"This girl doesn't know about that stuff. This girl only knows martial arts. Please teach me martial arts. I'm getting dizzy here."
"Ugh... You're not even pretending to listen anymore."
Seomun Su-rin grumbled in disapproval, but she couldn't quite erase the faint hint of laughter in her voice. Cheong clenched her fist tightly. Whenever she successfully acted cute, the power of the nuclear noogie would drop to the level of a mere tactical nuclear noogie.
The lessons with Seomun Su-rin now consisted solely of continuous sparring. Cheong, who had painfully learned that internal energy was better the more you had, had instantly raised the Western Empress Heart Art to the tenth stage. Naturally, Seomun Su-rin had been astonished to see the girl who had been walking just yesterday suddenly flying through the air.
At that time, Seomun Su-rin had been debating whether she should pass on the sect's divine arts to this strange disciple—who was technically an outer disciple, making even that claim feel embarrassing. However, seeing her achieve great success in a relatively simple mental cultivation method in just one night, she thought, As expected of the next greatest under heaven, and passed on the foremost female mental cultivation method.
It was the Primordial Yang World Heart Scripture. A divine art said to have been created by the Flame Emperor, Shennong, for his daughter Yaoji.
Cheong had gleefully dumped all her practice points into the purple-bordered martial art. That very night, a phoenix had risen from Cheong's thatched hut. The Primordial Yang World Heart Scripture had reached the twelfth stage. Great Success. Cheong's internal energy had swelled at a terrifying rate.
But that was all.
Seomun Su-rin's worries had begun then. The quantity of internal energy was enormous. Despite the insufficient size of her dantian, the internal energy was somehow residing throughout her entire body in an incomprehensible manner. In terms of sheer volume, it already rivaled the mid-stage of the Transcendent realm. So why couldn't she break through the wall of the Transcendent realm?
However, a high-level master was a high-level master for a reason. Seomun Su-rin had eventually discovered the cause.
"My disciple, all your forms are coming from your head."
"Then where should they come from?"
"Naturally, they must rise purely from the heart. Goodness, it seems your head is simply too good for your own sake. They say excess is as bad as deficiency."
Originally, the higher the level of martial arts, the more vague and abstract they became. If it were swordsmanship, instead of simply saying "raise your sword high and strike down quickly," it would be written like this: "Striking down from a mountain soaring into the heavens toward a hill, its momentum is akin to a storm..." That sort of thing.
The problem was that martial arts weren't composed solely of internal energy manipulation and form. They had to harmonize with mental imagery as well. Ordinary martial artists would enter a state of no-self upon fully comprehending the meaning of the formulas and thereby reach the Peak realm. Advancing further and completing one's own interpretation was precisely what formed one's mental imagery. It was when one fully internalized and melted even a single form to fit oneself that a martial artist would enter no-self and reach the Transcendent realm.
"Mental imagery..."
"Since you only understand sword arts with your head, it's only natural that you cannot reach the next realm."
That was obvious. The way Cheong learned martial arts was simply by having it forcefully crammed into her brain.
"Then what should I do?"
"What else? You have no choice but to swing your sword until mental imagery arises and takes form."
And so it was sparring, and more sparring, and still more sparring.
In truth, it was incredibly difficult. Because—
Thwack!
"Has your head not been scrambled? Hurry and organize your thoughts. What a sloppy disciple you are."
Thwack!
"There were six clear paths to life, yet you roll on the ground because you couldn't find them? I have told you time and again that a female master must be graceful above all else."
Thwack!
"Is your front not completely exposed! There is a clear distinction between men and women—must you reveal your undergarments over a mere scuffle!"
Cheong clutched her head with a miserable expression.
"Ugh. At this rate, your disciple's head is going to crack open."
"Head? Goodness, how on earth has that foal-like vulgar speech of yours not been corrected yet..."
Whenever Cheong whined that she was going to die, Seomun Su-rin would soften her attitude somewhat and stroke her head.
Seomun Su-rin moved her hand as she gazed at Cheong. When she had first climbed the mountain to the Goddess Sect, her appearance hadn't been bad, but it couldn't exactly be called beautiful either. The Western Empress Heart Art was exceptional for a woman's beauty. The Primordial Yang World Heart Scripture, the Goddess Sword Art, and the Goddess Lake Step were all Daoist Fairy Arts that enhanced one's beauty the more familiar one became with them. As a result, her facial features had gradually settled into place, leading to her current state. Now, she had reached the point where she would be called a beauty no matter where she was presented. Hardly anyone would remember the shabby girl she had once been.
At this point, I suppose I don't need to hold onto her any longer.
Having made up her mind, Seomun Su-rin spoke.
"It is time for you to go out into the world."
"Huh? Really?"
"Even if I keep you here, the Transcendent realm remains distant. What you need now is not this kind of sparring, but real combat experience. I have taught you everything there is to teach. There would be little meaning in you staying any longer."
"Ah..."
Cheong had seen the preliminary mission before. If there was a preliminary mission, it meant a main mission would eventually follow. She had to confirm it.
Life in the Goddess Sect was satisfying. But she couldn't just sit around laughing and chatting without knowing anything. She had to settle things with this status window somehow. Only by seeing the end of this game could the emptiness that followed make Cheong a complete person. Whether that meant returning to reality or remaining a person of the Central Plains forever.
"Though my disciple is an outer disciple, there is not a single person among the sect members who considers you an outsider."
"I know that too."
"Yes. It is fortunate that you know."
Seomun Su-rin stroked Cheong's head as she continued.
"Since my disciple's thatched hut is here, come back and rest whenever you wish."
"Um... Is that really okay?"
"Of course. What kind of question is that?"
Seomun Su-rin smiled warmly. It was a motherly smile.
"This is your home. Where in the world is there a person who needs permission to come and go from their own house?"