Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: What is a Master?
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The relationship between master and disciple is deeply intertwined with Confucian thought in ancient Chinese society.
They often say "lord, master, and father are one," right?
It means the grace of the lord, the master, and the father is equal—in other words, treat your master like your father.
In essence, the bond between master and disciple is not temporary.
"One day as master, lifetime as father"—even if it's just a single day under a master...
Treat them as parents for life.
In other words, master and parents are equals!
And that's not all? Supporting one's parents is a child's duty.
What does that mean?
It means the disciple must support the master for life!
If a disciple dares to deceive or dishonor their master?
Expulsion from the sect is the baseline.
They'd be charged with the supreme crime of deceiving the master and extinguishing the ancestors—severing tendons, crippling the dantian, and slashing meridians, turning them into a lifelong cripple unable to cultivate martial arts, then cast out.
Rebellion or collusion with enemies is treated as lesser than raising arms against one's master.
Even if you successfully deceive the master and flee, you'd instantly become a public enemy of the martial world, hunted for life.
This is what I'd learned over the years since possessing this body.
"Would you like to become my disciple?"
So when he first said it, Cheongun couldn't answer easily.
Frankly, becoming a disciple was no different from binding yourself to the master for life!
The master's enemies are mine.
My enemies are the master's.
In other words, you share each other's grudges and debts!
Suddenly, conversations he'd overheard while begging one day flashed through his mind.
"Taking him as a disciple? That guy's stepping onto the path of suffering now."
"Huh? Is disciple life that harsh?"
"Heh heh. If you've got potential, you might learn a bit of martial arts like scraps from the table. But if not, you're no different from a lifelong servant. And if war breaks out between sects, you'll be used as a meat shield and die."
"...But you do get to learn martial arts, right?"
"Sure. But do they just teach you? 'Enter the gate but not the chamber, enter the chamber but not the arts.' Even after entering the sect, you can't enter the inner chambers right away, and even then, no techniques are passed on. You serve for years doing every chore before barely qualifying for a few moves."
Cheongun suddenly felt chills.
If he had enough patience and ambition, this opportunity was indeed a fateful encounter.
But what about Cheongun?
He had no such patience, nor sufficient ambition.
Cheongun's only ambition was money, and following this guy didn't seem like it would lead to any.
Of course, if this were a game, he'd accept without hesitation.
But was this a game? No, reality.
In games, one click gets you supreme martial arts, but this wasn't so simple.
'What to do?'
He had to think carefully about his answer.
Either way, the old master before him was one of the Ten Great Experts of the world, a righteous faction warrior.
Just stubbornly yelling "Stop!" or "No, I'm scared, not interested in martial arts!" would only pique his curiosity.
Cheongun asked softly.
"You already have a disciple."
"Ho, how did you know that?"
"I heard the story."
He didn't know exactly who.
Just that he had one disciple who died one day.
From that disciple's death, the Crimson Night Sword Sovereign began to gradually fall.
At some point, he started being called a fiend, and midway through the story, there's a brief scene of the Crimson Night Sword Sovereign dominating Moonlit Peak.
The disciple's identity was never revealed to the end.
The entire martial world was moved by the Crimson Night Sword Sovereign's love for his disciple, raging so fiercely over just one death.
At that moment, the Crimson Night Sword Sovereign slowly approached, scrutinizing Cheongun.
Soon, he placed a palm on Cheongun's shoulder and closed his eyes.
"I'll be frank. For a kid not even twenty to have reached the early pinnacle stage, your talent is worthy of being called a prodigy. And not only that—no signs of flawed foundational training means you reached this realm without a proper master, a once-in-a-generation martial bone."
"That's right."
Cheongun nodded in satisfaction.
It was worth dumping all those achievement points into stats.
"Your qi is so pure, the family art you claim to have self-taught could pass as a Daoist supreme art without shame."
"Is that so?"
"Of course! Do you know the name of this supreme art you've cultivated?"
"Heaven-Earth Primordial Unity Qi Art."
"Ho, a method to unify heaven and earth's qi! In the principle of fusing heaven and earth into primordial unity, its roots align perfectly with the Daoist Supreme Unity!"
The Crimson Night Sword Sovereign was so excited he made a fuss.
"This is fate—not mere chance encounter, but recognition-bound destiny!"
"Huh?"
"I stake my honor on it. Become my disciple. I'll make you my robe-and-bowl successor, passing all my lifelong martial arts and Dao to you."
"Can't you just give it to me?"
"You think that'll fly?"
Cheongun thought the Crimson Night Sword Sovereign was awfully persistent.
Not some busty beauty, but this old master clinging—troublesome in every way.
Cheongun answered firmly.
"No."
"Why!"
"Too much hassle."
"Bah! Nonsense not worth a penny!"
Oh no.
The Crimson Night Sword Sovereign's disciple obsession was the world's greatest.
Young, fresh, and innately talented— to him, Cheongun was a treasure beyond measure.
He leaped a chi (about 30cm) to block Cheongun, who was turning to leave.
"Where do you think you're going!"
"Hey, move aside!"
"You can easily reach pinnacle, but beyond that without a master? Impossible without enlightenment!"
"I know."
"You know and still refuse this fateful chance? Will you get another in your life?"
"I'll manage somehow. I'm a genius."
"Heh heh, insolent brat."
The Crimson Night Sword Sovereign followed Cheongun.
"Why are you following?"
"Following? Our paths just align."
"Forcing is violence too."
"Want real violence?"
"......"
His iron will to go his own way was palpable.
Cheongun sighed deeply and headed back to Mount Qingcheng.
They'd caught the spy.
A Demonic Cult spy, no less!
But Cheongun, the one who'd caught the spy, had vanished.
"Haa..."
Namgung Yeol briefly reflected on her connection with Cheongun.
He was her benefactor. One who'd saved her life.
He'd even sniffed out a spy no one else noticed in an instant.
He'd saved them all from danger.
She owed him too much.
Yet she'd wasted his time by not giving him the Gold Ingot Note on time. What a shameful thing.
She'd been on her way back from insisting to her brother that they compensate him swiftly.
But Cheongun was gone.
'Ah, that gentleman? Last I recall, he was in the underground vault.'
Namgung Yeol rushed to the underground vault.
Cheongun, who'd entered as a freeloader, hadn't rested a day, rolling around his room.
For such a man to vanish in the dead of night?
Maybe he'd fallen victim to the spy's vile tricks.
Unlikely, but worry gnawed at her inescapably.
But...
"???"
Upon arriving at the vault, the single spy had doubled to two.
Namgung Yeol asked Baek Seol, who was rolling around next to Hong So-yeon.
"Who are you?"
"Can't you tell? A spy."
"There was only one spy."
"Ta-da, now there are two. Satisfied?"
Baek Seol dug her ear with a finger, then blew on it.
"Where's Hero Cheong?"
"How would I know, locked in here?"
A lie. Baek Seol knew. She'd even told Cheongun the location.
But threatened with dantian destruction if he blabbed, she played dumb.
"He was here till the end then vanished— you two not knowing makes no sense."
"It does? Right, Sister Hong?"
"Of course, Junior Sister Baek. Righteous faction girls are world champs at stubborn denial."
"Ho ho! Making a fuss over one missing man."
Hong So-yeon stuffed her mouth with wall-grain pills—prime Central Plains human bait—while Baek Seol giggled rolling around.
Namgung Yeol blinked in disbelief.
Locked up and yet so nonchalant?
She asked several more times just in case, but the answers stayed the same.
Namgung Yeol left the vault and searched all night for Cheongun.
Naturally, no luck.
Plus, no sleep left her dizzy and nauseous.
A master like Hero Cheong wouldn't be in danger, but worry persisted anyway.
As she wandered the Mount Qingcheng entrance aimlessly...
"Hero Cheong!"
Far off, Hero Cheong approached faintly.
How welcome the sight!
Namgung Yeol unwittingly unleashed her lightness skill and dashed forward.
She stepped so hastily her qi and blood throbbed.
But Cheongun wasn't alone.
"...?"
Behind him loomed a dark silhouette.
It gradually sharpened.
A hoary elder with flowing white hair stroked his beard, trailing Cheongun.
Namgung Yeol knew the elder.
How could she not?
"...Master?"
Crimson Night Sword Sovereign Jin Mu-seong.
Namgung Yeol was his disciple.