The Disciple Has Been Initiated
“…?”
Even with her own eyes wide open, she could hardly believe what she was witnessing.
It had been a mere week since he first picked up a sword. Could a mortal truly manage to unleash sword qi and command its shape within such an absurdly brief span? Granted, he enjoyed the guidance of an unrivaled instructor in Yeong So-so, he had been provided the ideal crucible to temper his experience, and while he slept, she had even slipped into his quarters to perform the delicate art of Marrow Cleansing upon his flesh. Even taking all that into account, his achievements shattered her wildest expectations.
On the first day, he had barely managed to put down a single beast.
By the third, five.
By the fifth, seven.
And now, on the exact stroke of a week, he had pulled off the astounding feat of slaughtering fifty beasts all on his own, right before her eyes.
At first, she had merely intended to drag him to the brink of death so he might comprehend its weight. Yet he had conquered it. He had not merely chewed through the adversity thrown in his face—he had torn it to bloody ribbons. In the context of an examination, he had not only provided the correct answers, but had also laid out the pedagogical philosophy behind why each question was devised in the first place.
And what was more…
“Hahaha—! Hahahahaha—!”
Far from trembling after kissing the threshold of death, he threw his head back in wild, roaring laughter.
Was it madness? Or was it sheer, unfathomable talent? Could a gift exist that eclipsed even her own Heavenly Martial Body?
When she had first probed his acupoints, there was not a solitary speck of internal energy to be found. His bone structure and sinew were utterly pedestrian. For that reason, she had only bothered teaching him the barest fundamentals. He was a fellow compatriot she had encountered after weeks of isolation, and she had harbored an idle curiosity to see how far an ordinary man could climb—a passing diversion, nothing more. Yet that little diversion had yielded an entirely unforeseen harvest.
Her mind was changing.
Watching him grin with unbridled delight atop a field of butchered corpses only stoked her fascination. If someone blessed with unmatched, world-shaking genius—namely herself—were to truly take him in hand, just how powerful could this man become?
Wearing an expression that would have terrified him to his core had he witnessed it, she stepped toward him.
Of course, at that exact moment…
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
Despite gaining two whole levels, every fiber of my being throbbed with excruciating agony.
“Everything aches…! Ugh, seriously, I feel like I’m gonna drop dead…!”
My entire body screamed in protest. In martial arts novels, slipping into the state of selfless transcendence usually required weeks of bed rest to recuperate. Apparently, my cultivation was so pitiful that I didn't even get the luxury of a dignified recovery.
“You still have enough breath left to chatter?”
“Hardly… If I lose focus for a second, I’m actually gonna kick the bucket…!”
“Seeing how freely that tongue wags, you appear quite whole.”
Like hell I am! Can’t you see blood spewing out of me like a damn fountain? It took everything in me not to smack her—not that I had the strength to even if I wanted to.
Did she read the curses in my eyes? The girl jabbed her fingers straight toward my eyeballs, stopped just short, and produced a smooth round bead from her robes.
“A bead?”
“Produce your monster essence at once.”
“Why now of all times…? I’m literally dying here…!”
“Would you prefer to die figuratively, or shall I make it literal?”
“…Yes, ma'am.”
I dragged the essence out of my inventory and handed it over. She doused the bead in the fluid without missing a beat and shoved the whole concoction straight down my gullet.
“Cough—! Hack—! You crazy woman! What the hell are you doing?!”
“Shut up and open your mouth.”
“Bleeegh—! What does this even taste like?! Apple flavor—change it to apple flavor this instant or else…!”
“Do you desire death?”
“……No, ma'am.”
I wasn't keen on taking a beating from a girl roughly my age, so I swallowed the bead without even inspecting it. Closing my eyes, I settled into a cross-legged position.
Wait…! Why is my stomach getting so damn hot…?!
It felt as if I had swallowed liquid magma. A scorching heat flared in my lower abdomen, and my innards twisted into agonizing knots. Just as I scrambled to my feet to throw the whole foul mixture up—
“Sit.”
“What I am about to perform is the True Qi Guidance. Keep your mouth shut.”
“Align your consciousness with the flow and follow it.”
Her voice echoed directly inside my skull through sound transmission.
I wanted to tell her to piss off, but contrary to my grumbling, that searing wave of energy began coursing through every nook and cranny of my body under So-so’s deft control. My head, my chest, my abdomen, down to the tips of my toes. After how many full heavenly circulations, the burning torment gradually subsided, replaced by a profound, solid sensation settling warmly in my lower abdomen.
Stat: 'Internal Energy' has been unlocked.
You have consumed 'Black Blood Pill (B+)'.
You have consumed 'Refined Essence (B+)'.
Internal Energy +15
Excuse me?
Internal energy?
Me? Internal energy?!
Unable to believe my own eyes, I whipped around. Yeong So-so was leaning against the stone wall, drenched from head to toe in sweat, thoroughly drained. Normally, I would have tossed out some cheeky quip about her sultry, disheveled state, but knowing full well she had reduced herself to this wreck on my behalf, my expression turned solemn. Rushing over, I yanked salt and water from my inventory and helped her drink.
She remained collapsed in sheer exhaustion for quite a while before finally coming to her senses. The moment her eyes fluttered open, she fixed me with a sharp, scolding glare.
“Just how on earth have you been living your life for your flesh to be clogged with so much turbid qi…? That was genuinely the first time in my existence I thought I might die while performing True Qi Guidance.”
“Well… I lived a pretty ordinary life, you know…”
“Bloody hell… Fine, what's done is done. I shall speak no more of it.”
Having drained the water canteen dry, she pushed herself up.
“Our objective here has been met. Let us make our exit.”
“Huh…? Leaving already? We haven't even found the boss room yet.”
“Rest easy. I located it while you were busy fighting. Most of my internal energy has recovered anyway, so you need only stand by and watch.”
“Sure… Why would I worry about someone several times stronger than me…”
“Allow me to correct you. Not several times—several hundred times. Were I facing opponents of your caliber… I could slaughter at least two thousand without breaking a sweat.”
“Right, right. You’re hot shit, we get it.”
Having spent a week with her, I had come to learn that beneath that severe exterior, she had a bit of a dry sense of humor. Granted, whenever she let slip hints of wherever the hell she grew up, it sent genuine chills down my spine.
Not my problem.
It wasn't my business anyway. At any rate, fully recovered, she strode purposefully forward. At the end of the corridor, a colossal iron door loomed before us.
BOOOOOOM—!
Yeong So-so blew the gates apart in magnificent fashion.
Grrrrrrr—!
And making an equally dramatic entrance was the dungeon boss.
Level:35
Judging by the level alone, this was a lair that demanded a party of dozens of seasoned adventurers. Yet she simply sauntered forward with an amused smirk.
“Watch closely. For you, this swordsmanship is merely a taste of the realm you must one day attain.”
With that, her lips curved into an arch smile, and she drew her blade. With that single, fluid motion, the very atmosphere inverted.
Guuu—!
The monster, which had been lumbering aggressively toward us from across the chamber, suddenly froze. Every coarse hair on its body stood on end as it stared at the speck of a woman before it. She was diminutive enough that a single punch ought to paste her into red mist. Yet even the Minotaur possessed enough instinct to understand: in this arena, it was not the hunter, but the prey. If it dared lash out, death would be instantaneous and absolute.
Terror.
Sheer, suffocating terror.
That overwhelming dread stripped away every shred of its pride as a dungeon boss. It turned tail and bolted toward the dungeon exit. Yeong So-so, however, had no intention of permitting its retreat.
Her sword unfurled.
Searing Yang energy erupts, manifesting into dragons of pure flame.
A blistering aura of pure Yang energy engulfed her blade. Unlike my meager sparks, hers possessed an incinerating force that felt capable of reducing all creation to cinders. It burst forth—
Dozens of dragons manifested in the air.
Each one was fully shaped, roaring with tangible substance. Perhaps because I had awakened to magic, I could instantly perceive it: a single one of those flaming beasts held more destructive energy than my entire mana pool combined. Those monstrous dragons unhinged their jaws and slammed squarely into the fleeing Minotaur.
KAAAA-BOOOOOM—!
Impaled by the fiery dragons, the Minotaur disintegrated completely. Yet even after the beast had been turned to ash, the dragons continued to ravage the space as if intent on erasing the very memory of the dust.
When the fiery serpents finally dissipated into the air…
“Oh… Amen.”
Not a single tuft of fur remained of the Minotaur. And this had occurred despite her utilizing a Yang-aspected sword art—the exact polar opposite of her signature Yin-aligned arts.
I almost pissed my pants just watching that.
Only now did I finally comprehend why my parents always warned me never to play with fire as a kid. The spectacle was so overwhelmingly dominant that my jaw hung slack of its own accord.
“Well? Does a shred of reverence finally stir within your breast?”
“May I serve you as my Master?”
“………”
Wait, what?
Apparently taking the proposal with absolute gravity, she lowered her head and remained in deep contemplation for a long while. Presently, as if her decision was made, she looked up.
“I permit it. Now, offer your respects to your master.”
“Respects…? What kind of respects? Like at a wedding hall or what…”
SMACK—!
Before my eyes could even register the motion, a blow clobbered my head. Half-forced by the violence, I dropped to the floor and began performing the Nine Kowtows before her. Just as my forehead was about to touch the ground for the fourth time—
“GAL——!”
WHAM—!
Accompanied by that thunderous disciplinarian roar, another heavy fist crashed into my skull.
“What the fuck—?! Why the hell are you beating the shit out of me?!”
“Have you lost your wretched mind?! Why in the heavens are you bowing four times?!”
“It's the Nine Kowtows! That means you bow nine times, doesn't it?!”
“Wow… Ha… Hahaha… I am speechless. Utterly speechless.”
Was I wrong? If it was called the Nine Kowtows, shouldn't you bow nine times because of the 'nine' in the name? I had no idea why she was having an absolute fit, but since she commanded me to stop, I stopped.
And so, exactly one week after being transmigrated into another world…
I became the disciple of a 7-star character hailing straight from the Murim.