The Martial God's Treasure
Descending the stairs revealed a long corridor. A faint glow emanated from within.
"This... don't tell me these are all night-luminous pearls?" Han Yeoreum exclaimed in shock, staring up at the ceiling.
"Probably."
"Let's rip them off and sell them."
"Don't touch them. They could be traps."
I stopped Han Yeoreum just as she reached out. Thanks to technological advancements, night-luminous pearls weren't as rare as before, but they were still treated as precious treasures. They traded at high prices, almost like gemstones. These were an entirely different kind from the ones in reality. I'd only seen them in the game's settings, so seeing them in person felt strangely novel.
After walking a bit further, we entered a wide cavern. It was astonishing that such a place existed beneath Namhan Mountain.
"Kyaaak!" Han Yeoreum let out a shrill scream as she looked straight ahead. In the spot where light poured down sat a mummified corpse in a seated posture.
"...The Martial God."
This wasn't merely the resting place of the Martial God's treasure.
"That person is the Martial God?" Han Yeoreum peeked out from behind me.
"Almost certainly."
The Martial God's corpse, hands clasped in an elegant pose, looked vividly alive. The mysterious radiance shining from somewhere made it feel unreal.
"Pay your respects. We should at least show some courtesy."
I took Han Yeoreum's trembling hand and offered a light bow. We approached the Martial God's corpse step by step. In front of it stood a low table. On it lay a single book and two wooden boxes.
Martial God's Secret Record. That was the title of the book.
"Is this a manual?"
"We'll know once we look."
I carefully opened the book, which hadn't gathered a speck of dust despite the passage of time. It didn't contain the Martial God's martial arts. Instead, it held something that might be even more valuable to a martial artist—the insights the Martial God had gained in his later years.
When I flipped to the middle, my consciousness flickered for an instant.
[Successor.]
In a space where everything had frozen, an aged man's voice echoed.
'Are you the Martial God?'
[If you can hear this voice, then you are no evil person. Truly, the heavens have helped.]
The voice, unmistakably the Martial God's, continued. It didn't respond to my question.
[I foresaw a future doomed to despair. I tried to prepare for it. But the heavenly principles would not allow me to remain on this land any longer. I established an academy before departing, but it didn't feel sufficient.]
This confirmed it. The owner of this voice was the Martial God. He had mentioned founding the academy.
[Thus, I resolved to squeeze out what little time remained and entrust everything to my successors. But if the wicked were to obtain what I left behind, there was a high chance they would misuse it.]
...In the game, it had indeed been faithfully misused. To a regrettable degree.
[Therefore, I shattered even my innate qi to obtain one final insight, ensuring my legacy would not continue to the wicked. It was a miracle made possible because I had reached the Refining Void and Merging with the Dao realm and could separate my primordial spirit.]
I didn't fully understand up to this point. However, the Martial God's next words made my heart pound wildly.
[The Martial God's Secret Record, the Ten-Thousand-Year Extreme Blood Treasure, and the Amitabha Holy Water. These are nothing but illusions meant to obscure the truth.]
The Ten-Thousand-Year Extreme Blood Treasure and Amitabha Holy Water were legendary elixirs. Hyeokri Ak's rapid rise in power must have been due to consuming both the extreme yang energy of the Ten-Thousand-Year Extreme Blood Treasure and the extreme yin energy of the Amitabha Holy Water simultaneously. And on top of that, the Martial God's Secret Record. But according to the Martial God, even these tremendous treasures were merely decoys to hide the truth.
[Successor, if you obtain all that is mine, I hope you will act with righteousness and chivalry.]
The Martial God's words ended, and a round orb of light emerged from the corpse and was absorbed into me. Some of it even reached Han Yeoreum. My consciousness flickered again, and the frozen world began to move.
"Did you hear that too?" I immediately looked at Han Yeoreum and asked.
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?" She tilted her head, clearly indicating that what had just happened was only for me.
"The Martial God's voice."
"W-why are you being so scary?" Han Yeoreum's eyes widened as her body trembled.
...She seemed to have misunderstood that I was talking to a ghost.
"No, wait a moment."
Instinctively, I felt something had changed from before. It was still a complicated feeling, but I immediately opened my status window. Sure enough, a new trait had been added.
What is martial arts?
The description was surprisingly concise, and even the grade was a question mark. I could barely hold back the twitch at the corner of my mouth. It reeked of something huge.
"You talked to a ghost?"
"More like a recording playback than a conversation. Just in case, check your status window."
"Huh...?"
Suddenly, Han Yeoreum started mumbling.
"Why are you hesitating like that?"
"Uh... d-did you get something called Martial Soul?"
"How did you know?"
"It... says it's shared."
"Why hesitate over just saying that?"
"S-shut up!"
Han Yeoreum clenched her fists and whipped her head away. She must have fixated on something weird again by herself.
"Let's at least pay our final respects. He left us something good."
I performed a proper fist-palm salute and took the two wooden boxes. The Martial God's Secret Record and the Martial God's corpse simultaneously turned into light particles and began to scatter.
Rumble—
At that moment, a faint vibration echoed.
"Hey, let's get out of here fast."
"Why?"
"Can't you hear the vibration? There's only one reason this would happen."
We had no time. I grabbed Han Yeoreum's hand and sprinted outside.
BOOM—!
Just as we exited, the Martial God's tomb was buried into the ground, including the stone statue at the entrance. Now covered seamlessly by grass, it had transformed into a place no one would ever find again.
"...You're sharper than I thought?" Han Yeoreum murmured in admiration as she looked at the leveled ground.
"Now do you understand this husband's greatness?"
"You're not my husband."
"Oh come on, playing hard to get."
"Whatever. What's that?"
Han Yeoreum pointed at my chest and asked.
"This? The Ten-Thousand-Year Extreme Blood Treasure and Amitabha Holy Water."
"Huh? What did I just hear?"
"Elixirs."
"No, I know that, but is it really those?"
Han Yeoreum's eyes widened. They were elixirs that were practically the pinnacle of yang and yin energy respectively.
"Yeah."
"Honestly, until just now I was only thinking about how much of a waste those night-luminous pearls were...."
"Let's leave the night-luminous pearls. We might dig them up and get some pointless curse."
"I-I was thinking the same thing. You said you talked to a ghost."
Aigoo, this cute kid. How old are you to be scared of ghosts? I patted Han Yeoreum's head. Unlike before, she didn't resist.
"Normally we'd have to consume them together to balance the yin and yang energies, but...."
"We're already broken, remember?"
"So it's even better. We can just split them. You eat first."
I opened one of the boxes. Inside was a bottle containing a red liquid close to blood color.
"Here, sit in lotus position and drink it all down. Once you finish, immediately circulate your cultivation method."
Han Yeoreum followed my instructions with a tense expression. Even though it contained extreme yang energy, it probably wouldn't completely remove the penalty of the Moon Yin Physique. But it should alleviate it to some extent. The same went for me. More importantly, even if it had no effect in that regard, the explosive increase in internal energy was guaranteed.
Han Yeoreum alternated between grimacing and relaxing her face, then at some point settled into a comfortable state. After waiting for a while, her eyelids slowly lifted.
"Did something change?"
"...Yeah. Right now, I feel like I could smash anyone's head like a watermelon."
This girl, even her examples are something else.
"It's my turn, so stand guard properly. Don't do anything weird."
"I won't."
Han Yeoreum pouted her lips. I opened the other box. Inside was the milky-white Amitabha Holy Water with a faint blue glow. I sat down and immediately opened the lid and drank it down. An icy energy so cold it took my breath away began to wrap around my entire body.
***
"...."
Han Yeoreum sat facing Kim Mugong. Seeing her close her eyes so seriously made her look quite presentable. The way she kept grimacing and relaxing was strangely cute and amusing.
"Haa...."
Han Yeoreum looked again at the status window she hadn't been able to tell Kim Mugong about.
Till Death Do Us Part. As a token of love, shares the Martial Soul with Kim Mugong.
It had become even more explicit than "One-Minded Devotion." Instead of "the person I love," it literally had Kim Mugong's name embedded in it. Was this also the Martial God's intention? I could barely hold back my face from turning bright red the moment I saw the trait.
'The Ten-Thousand-Year Extreme Blood Treasure was just as the legends said....'
Han Yeoreum let out a deep sigh. She didn't know what the Martial Soul was, but the elixir's effect was incredible. Just looking at the status window, her internal energy, which had only been 30(D), had increased to 50(B). Moreover, the "Yin-Yang Harmony" with Kim Mugong was still necessary. She'd worried the penalty might disappear, but it seemed everything had simply been converted into internal energy. For Han Yeoreum, it was the best possible outcome.
Lost in thought while staring blankly at Kim Mugong's face, she noticed his eyelids twitching. Han Yeoreum immediately stood up and pretended to keep watch around them.
"...It feels amazing."
Kim Mugong stood up while clenching and unclenching his fists.
"Right?"
Han Yeoreum smiled brightly and scurried over to stand in front of Kim Mugong.
"More importantly, I understand what the Martial Soul is."
After pondering for a moment, Kim Mugong spoke up.
"What is it?"
Kim Mugong spread his hand open. Red energy shimmered on his palm. It was the energy of the Blood Water Demon Art.
"...How did you do that?"
"Try recalling the mnemonic chants from the Heavenly Mountain Divine Maiden Art to the Minor Demon Art."
Following Kim Mugong's words, Han Yeoreum closed her eyes and slowly recited the chants in her mind.
"...No way."
"Did you understand?"
"...Yeah."
Han Yeoreum nodded slightly. The previously incomprehensible martial arts chants now made perfect sense. She opened her palm and converted the dense energy sleeping in her dantian according to the Minor Demon Art's chant. A pure white energy began to shimmer on her palm.
Just as the name "Martial Soul" suggested, an overwhelming increase in comprehension of martial arts. That was the first ability of the Martial Soul.
"Let's head down. We've gotten everything we can from here."
Before they knew it, the sunset was painting the sky. Even though home was right in front of them, the academy strictly enforced dormitory living. Of course, there was also a curfew.
Holding Kim Mugong's hand tightly, Han Yeoreum descended the mountain path with a small smile on her lips.
***
"I hate the dorms."
Han Yeoreum stuck out her lips in a pout.
"I hate them too, but what can we do? The rules are the rules."
Han Yeoreum sighed deeply while tapping the ground with her toes.
"I really hate it... Why are they so desperate to separate us?"
"Let's think positively. Since we have to live in this world anyway, try making some friends. It might help later."
"...I guess I should. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah. Don't cry because you miss your husband."
"What do you think I am...!"
Han Yeoreum elbowed Kim Mugong in the side and stormed off, huffing. What a handful. Still, it hurt. Maybe because she'd eaten something good—Han Yeoreum's attacks seemed to hurt more than before.
After taking a deep breath to ease the pain, I headed toward the dormitory I'd been assigned to in advance. Naturally entering the dorm room, I lost my words.
"Are you my roommate?"
A golden-haired handsome man gestured elegantly. No, not a handsome man—a beautiful woman.
My roommate was....
The Young Heavenly Demon, Cheon Hayeon.
For reference, this academy's dormitories strictly separated men and women by principle.