Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Education
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Everyone already knew that Cheongun was going to teach Yeon Baek martial arts.
So they were all curious.
Since not much was known about Cheongun to begin with, it was only natural that the news of him teaching martial arts to someone would be astonishing.
What kind of martial arts would he teach?
The only martial art of Cheongun's that was widely known was the Crimson Night Heaven-Severing Sword, but he had rarely demonstrated it in front of others. Moreover, transmitting the Crimson Night Heaven-Severing Sword to an outsider would require Jin Mu-seong's permission.
Cheongun had plenty of worries himself.
There were martial arts everywhere, but he couldn't just teach any random one carelessly.
There was a famous incident from the past: a rogue martial artist had stolen a basic heart method from a small sect, wandered around recruiting disciples, and made money off it.
His greed got the better of him—he even hung up a sign advertising it openly—and he got caught. He became a public enemy of the murim and spent his life on the run, only to end up crippled by the Heaven-Severing Meridians technique.
That was the price of brazenly stealing a sect's martial arts!
That's what exclusive sect martial arts were like.
No matter how insignificant the martial art, once prefixed with "exclusive," no one could touch it carelessly.
Surprisingly, martial arts had an implicit copyright-like protection.
Teaching some random martial art without thinking could get him blacklisted by various sects and dragged into endless disputes.
Cheongun sat still, scrolling through the martial arts entries floating in the air before him.
Crimson Night Heaven-Severing Sword. No way his master would allow that.
Four Seasons Sword Art. That was Jeomchang Sect's secret technique.
Taiji Beneficent Sword, Phantom Light Sword Art, Plum Blossom Sword Art, Cheongun's Autumn Sword...
They were all representative martial arts of various sects.
Whoosh, Cheongun kept scrolling down endlessly.
After filtering out exclusive sect martial arts and sect secret techniques, only lost martial arts came into view.
Wind-Thunder Palm Art, Flowing Water Sword Principles, White Heron Divine Art...
Ah, these are a bit iffy too.
Wind-Thunder Sect had collapsed long ago, but some descendants still lingered in the jianghu.
Cheongun scrolled further.
Heavenly Sword Heart Principles, Shadowless Step, Harmony Palm...
These were completely lost martial arts.
No descendants to pass them down, and their sects had vanished ages ago.
Among them, one caught his eye perfectly.
Its name was Fishing Rod Divine Art.
Cheongun was momentarily stunned.
Fishing rod?
Something felt off.
Why was a martial art named after a fishing rod?
Even he, who had played the original game for over 20,000 hours, had never heard of it.
Of course, using a fishing rod as a weapon wasn't unheard of.
But a dedicated martial art just for fishing rods?
Not that he knew of, at least.
Cheongun read the description with a bewildered expression.
It was a mess of complicated scribbles mixing this and that; honestly, he couldn't make much sense of it and skipped through.
Then, at the very end, he spotted the tiny name of the grandmaster who created it.
Grandmaster: Cheongun.
What? This was a martial art I made?
But I don't remember creating any martial art?
Cheongun fell into thought.
A martial art he'd never made was suddenly registered in the system under his name.
And get this?
The name was ridiculous, but its rank was quite high.
Shining gold—that meant it was a divine art.
A single divine art was a massive framework.
It was the culmination of every heart method, external art, qi circulation technique, subtlety, footwork, and movement method that Cheongun had devised and practiced to beat enemies with a fishing rod.
Naturally, creating a divine art required profound theoretical understanding of martial arts.
But Cheongun had no such thing.
Which meant this damn system had arbitrarily fleshed out his random flailing with a fishing rod into a full divine art.
Those capable of creating martial arts were called grandmasters.
And those who created not mediocre arts but divine arts—at minimum on par with the Nine Great Sects and Eight Great Clans—were great grandmasters.
Thus, Cheongun's heart raced.
Divided into 10 stages, he meticulously copied the first stage into a manual without missing a thing.
Then Cheongun summoned Yeon Baek.
"Deputy Branch Chief, Yeon Baek reporting."
Yeon Baek arrived at the training grounds with a voice full of discipline.
Was learning proper martial arts that exciting? Unlike usual, his eyes brimmed with loyalty and respect as he gazed at Cheongun.
Thud—
Cheongun tossed a fishing rod and a manual in front of Yeon Baek.
"Take it."
"What is this?"
"A martial arts manual."
"Pardon?"
Yeon Baek was slightly flustered.
"Then what's this fishing rod?"
"That's the weapon you'll use from now on."
Weapon?
This fishing rod?
"But Deputy Branch Chief, this isn't a weapon—it's a fishing rod."
"A fishing rod is the most perfect form of weapon."
"Pardon?"
...What nonsense is this?
He'd expected sword arts, but instead got a fishing rod insisted to be a weapon. It was baffling.
Yeon Baek's face paled.
"The martial art I'm teaching you is called Fishing Rod Divine Art. As the name suggests, it's a martial art that uses a fishing rod."
"Y-You're serious?"
"I'm always serious."
Yeon Baek tried to persuade Cheongun as carefully as possible.
"But Deputy Branch Chief, I've trained in sword arts for years now. Switching weapons suddenly..."
"A fishing rod is also a sword."
"How is that a sword?"
"You only say stupid things like that because you've never pondered weapons beyond the sword."
Cheongun genuinely believed that.
Why did each weapon have different usage and counters?
Because each had its own martial principles.
A whip's principle was variability in its curving strikes.
A spear's was thrusting penetration.
A blunt weapon's was smashing dominance.
A sword's was swift cutting slashes.
Once proficient in those principles to a degree, one could swing a blunt weapon like a sword or a whip like a blunt weapon.
"From that perspective, no weapon beats the fishing rod."
"How so?"
"Look closely. The pole can be swung like a staff by nature, and if you sharpen the tip, it can thrust like a spear. And that's not all? The fishing line at the end—depending on how you use it, you can yank distant enemies and slam them down, infuse it with sword qi and shoot it out like a sword, or even whip it around like a flail."
"......"
Yeon Baek was momentarily intrigued by Cheongun's explanation.
A single fishing rod could do all that?
Now that he thought about it, if mastered properly, no weapon seemed better.
"Above all, it's rare."
"Rare...?"
"Exactly. Think about it. No matter how well you master common sword arts everyone uses, it lacks flair. But look at the fishing rod. Just carrying it around draws everyone's eyes."
Indeed.
As a man, Yeon Baek couldn't help but nod at Cheongun's emphasis on style.
"Plus, it's great for making opponents drop their guard. Has any martial artist in the world ever faced a fishing rod style?"
"That makes sense."
"And it's perfect for provoking them too."
"True. If an opponent swung a fishing rod at me claiming it's a weapon, I'd lose my temper."
"Exactly. A martial artist's most important trait is composure, and this gives you the edge there from the start."
"Ooh."
"And look how romantic it is."
At that, Yeon Baek tilted his head.
"But Deputy Branch Chief, last time you said romance is born from idealization and reality has none..."
"Shut up."
"Ah, yes."
Yeon Baek closed his mouth.
Cheongun asked him,
"Decide now."
"Decide what?"
"Whether you'll learn it or not."
"Are there no other options?"
"Other options? Ugh, you idiot. Do you think you're in a position to be picky? A third-rate like you whining like you're full. Shut up and learn."
Yeon Baek pondered.
His level was barely third-rate anyway.
The sword arts he'd learned were just Three Disasters Sword Art.
Meanwhile, the martial art the Deputy Branch Chief offered was bizarre in origin, but it had already proven its absurd power in the branch meeting and beyond.
Being taught anything at all was a blessing.
He wasn't in a position to be choosy, as the Deputy Branch Chief said.
Yeon Baek dropped to one knee, bowed his head low.
"I'll learn it."
"Good choice."
Cheongun smiled contentedly.
"From now on, you're my disciple."
"Yes."
"You know this as a martial artist, right? What are a master and parents?"
"They are equals."
"Well said."
In murim, a disciple was akin to a legal slave.
Like a grad student in modern terms?
If the master said jump, you jumped—no resistance allowed.
Perfect.
Cheongun grinned and offered a handshake to Yeon Baek.
"Looking forward to it."
"Understood. Deputy... no, Master."
"Call me Deputy Branch Chief."
"Ah, yes..."
The next morning.
As Cheongun sat meditating and circulating his qi, someone visited.
It was the Justice Alliance Leader, Geum Myeongju.
Cheongun took a sip from his teacup and asked,
"What brings you here without notice?"
"Amitabha, forgive the intrusion. I haven't seen my disciple lately, so this old monk came to see his face."
His disciple could only be one person: Bang Jongdae.
Cheongun nodded.
"If that's the reason. Follow me."
Cheongun guided Geum Myeongju.
The escorts they passed on the way bowed respectfully to Geum Myeongju, who responded each time with a gentle smile.
They arrived in front of a room.
It was Bang Jongdae's quarters.
Through the door crack, Bang Jongdae's figure was faintly visible.
The moment Cheongun opened the door, a savory meat aroma assaulted their noses.
Bang Jongdae was frantically shoveling a table full of meat dishes into his mouth.
Cheongun and Geum Myeongju were both at the realm of Non-Action Return.
Thus, Bang Jongdae—unaware of their presence—kept laughing heartily while devouring the meat.
Geum Myeongju watched his disciple with his usual benevolent smile.
Wait, was that a smile?
Now that he looked, the eyes were smiling, but the mouth was stern.
That was when it happened.
"...?"
Bang Jongdae paused mid-bite, sensing a subtle killing intent, and whipped his head around.
In that instant.
Their eyes met.
"......"
"......"
An eerie silence hung in the air.
Caught off guard, Bang Jongdae broke into a cold sweat.
He desperately scanned for Cheongun to beg for help, but Cheongun had already slipped away.
Then, Geum Myeongju spoke.
"Disciple."
Bang Jongdae swallowed hard.
"Is it tasty?"
"M-Master."
"You've put on some nice weight since I last saw you."
"Misunderstanding—it's all a misunderstanding! Please calm down. Your foolish disciple will explain everything..."
"Begone!"
Clang—!
A wooden fish mallet embedded in Bang Jongdae's forehead.
The clear bell-like tone, signature of Shaolin initial transcendence arts, rang out.