Chapter 25
Chapter 25
Episode 25
I turned off the stream and returned to reality.
Jegal Yu-yeon greeted me with a neat posture.
『Sect Leader, welcome back.』
"Yeah. Did you finish cleaning?"
『Yes. While you were broadcasting, I inspected the house. We were also running low on ingredients, so I ordered groceries.』
"Oh? You went and did it yourself?"
Surely an android hadn't gone strolling through a supermarket with a shopping basket?
Actually, I kind of wanted to see that.
『No. I had it delivered.』
"Ah. Delivery."
Right.
These days, even grocery shopping can all be done through delivery apps.
There's no need to go shopping in person.
『These days, even large supermarkets provide delivery services. I replenished the ingredients we were short on and completed the cleaning as well.』
"Wow......."
I couldn't help being impressed.
House inspection, grocery shopping, and cleaning.
She'd done all of that while I was off streaming?
"As expected of a high-performance android!"
This was enough to put human secretaries to shame.
No, it's not just putting them to shame—it's on a completely different level.
She doesn't sleep, doesn't complain, and does everything she's told.
Come to think of it, I'd heard that the manufacturing sector was already in an uproar.
I'd heard that a lot of jobs had disappeared because of androids.......
"If I cared about my health, home-cooked meals were definitely better."
Hadn't I been surviving on delivery food like fried chicken and beer all this time?
A man once called the Martial God in his previous life was now running on delivery food.
Maybe I should change my eating habits while I'm at it.
"Jegal Yu-yeon. Set the table with kimchi stew and three side dishes."
『Executing the task.』
Swish.
Jegal Yu-yeon headed to the kitchen with precise, efficient movements.
I watched her for a moment, then went into my room and flopped onto the bed.
"Hmm. Should I browse the community until the food's ready?"
I connected to the Dimensional Tower Community.
The community had been full of talk about me lately, which made it fun to browse.
And.
It was even noisier than I'd expected.
[Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign's stream hit legendary status again today lololol]
[Big-Spender Ajusshi = Kim Yu-han confirmed?? Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign signed exclusively with Haneulnuri]
[Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign making a palanquin support lololol looks like he's really going for the emperor concept]
[Honestly the funniest thing about Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign]
[I feel bad for Cheokcheok Seoksa lolololol]
Several posts had gone up, so I clicked on one of them.
[I feel bad for Cheokcheok Seoksa lolololol]
Author: ㅇㅇ
Spent the whole stream spoon-feeding Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign the basics of being a Necromancer, then got so worked up they left, lol.
-Honestly I feel so bad for Cheokcheok Seoksa.
-Ah, that cures low blood pressure, cheers~
-LOLOLOLOL
"Heh."
That Cheokcheok Seoksa fellow had a rough time today because of me.
Anyway.
There's more than one or two posts like this, huh?
No matter how far I scrolled, the talk about me never ended.
"Heh heh. Have I really gotten this famous?"
It occurred to me.
It felt like I was more famous in this life than I'd ever been in my previous one.
Was it just my imagination?
In my past life, I had been called the Martial God.
The strongest under heaven and the pinnacle of the martial world.
I was someone whose name alone could make experts tremble.
But back then, how many people actually knew my face?
And how many people under heaven had ever heard stories about me?
Even the martial world was, in the end, a narrow society of people who practiced martial arts.
Among ordinary commoners, how many would even know about the Martial God?
They were too busy worrying about their next meal.
But now?
The name Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign was widely known.
Because billions of people around the world watched in real time through GodTube.
Tens of thousands of viewers pile in for a single stream, and the community gets plastered with talk about me.
Even foreigners.
In my previous life, I had been the Martial God of the martial world.
Now, I was the Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign.
Which one is more famous?
"......This life wins by a landslide, doesn't it?"
The Martial God from my past life would have lamented if he'd heard that.
I devoted my entire life to martial arts and became the greatest under heaven.
And yet in this life, controlling corpses and riding around on a palanquin is more famous.
Well...... it's not a bad thing, though.
Actually, it's fun.
While I lay there chuckling,
A savory smell seeped into the room.
『Sect Leader. The table is set.』
"Oh. Already?"
I got up and left the room.
On the dining table sat a bubbling kimchi stew and three neatly arranged side dishes.
Rolled omelet, seasoned spinach, stir-fried anchovies—a three-dish set!
The color coordination was clean, and the presentation was tidy.
It looked like a carefully prepared home-style set meal.
"Wow......."
First, I took a spoonful of the kimchi stew.
Slurp.
"......!"
The spicy yet deeply savory broth made my eyes widen at once.
The sourness of the well-fermented kimchi and the rich savor of the pork blended exquisitely.
The seasoning was just right—neither too salty nor too bland.
Is this really regular store-bought kimchi? Why is it so good?
I tried the side dishes one by one, and not a single one fell short.
The rolled omelet was fluffy, the seasoned vegetables were dressed just right, and the stir-fried anchovies were crispy with a pleasant sweetness.
"This......."
I was genuinely impressed.
"I really should thank Big-Spender Ajusshi for this. Well done, Jegal Yu-yeon."
A single meal had made me this happy.
This android is truly something else.
『Thank you for the compliment, Sect Leader.』
Jegal Yu-yeon answered calmly.
Listening to her, I scooped up more rice and ate.
The Martial God who had once survived on a single fasting pill in his previous life...
was now grinning ear to ear over a home-cooked meal prepared by an android.
Well, I'll be.
The world really had changed.
"This is happiness."
I emptied my rice bowl while beaming for a good while.
What else was happiness? This was happiness.
* * *
After the meal, I lounged around for a while when—
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
"......Who is it now?"
There sure are a lot of visitors today.
When I opened the door,
Yoo Hye-yeon was standing there.
She wasn't wearing the workout clothes I'd seen before. Instead, she was dressed in ordinary casual clothes.
Oh. This.
I had a rough idea.
"Miss Hye-yeon. You didn't have to come all the way here......."
"I said I would come see you in person."
Right.
That's what makes her different from Park Kang-chan.
Park Kang-chan was the type to bang on my door shouting first thing in the morning.
Yoo Hye-yeon was the type to give notice in advance and show up properly.
"Come in."
I let Yoo Hye-yeon inside.
Jegal Yu-yeon greeted her politely.
『Welcome.』
"......?"
Yoo Hye-yeon hesitated for a moment.
She must have seen the [ANDROID] mark on her forehead.
"An android...... secretary?"
"Yes. She's called Jegal Yu-yeon. Bring us some tea, please."
『Executing the task.』
Yoo Hye-yeon accepted it without any particular fuss.
That was the kind of composure I'd expect from the Yuseong Group's ace.
If Park Kang-chan had seen her, he would have made a scene like, 'Master! Where did you get this!? I could have bought one for you!'
"So. What brings you here?"
I sat on the sofa and got straight to the point.
I had a rough guess, but I should hear it first.
Yoo Hye-yeon adjusted her posture slightly, then spoke.
"I would also like to become a formal disciple."
......As expected.
She must have heard about Park Kang-chan.
News sure traveled fast in this line of work.
"Hmm."
I lightly tapped my knee with my fingers.
In fact, I'd already been preparing to close down the martial arts school.
That morning, I'd sent a message to the group chat for all the students.
'I'm sorry, but due to circumstances, the martial arts school will be closing soon. Thank you for everything.'
Something like that.
The actual message was longer (because that's proper courtesy toward the students), but in essence, that was it.
The martial arts school was closing.
Then the students sent replies one after another.
'Instructor, thank you for everything.'
'It's a shame, but I understand. Good luck climbing the Dimensional Tower!'
'I'll see you again sometime.'
Most of them said their goodbyes cleanly and that was that.
Since I'd emerged as a super rookie, everyone must have thought closing the martial arts school was only a matter of time.
And honestly, that was true.
I'd run the martial arts school partly to make money, but in truth it was also a way to remember my past life.
I hadn't been able to forget that feeling, so I'd been recreating it as best I could in that cramped martial arts school.
But now there was the Dimensional Tower.
A real stage had opened where I could once again experience what it was like to be the Martial God of my past life.
There was no reason to stay tied to that cramped martial arts school anymore.
In the middle of all that,
I took Park Kang-chan as a disciple, and the moment Yoo Hye-yeon heard about it, she came rushing over too.
This one is just as sincere as Park Kang-chan.
"So you heard about Mr. Park Kang-chan, Miss Hye-yeon."
"......Yes. I heard."
Yoo Hye-yeon lowered her gaze slightly, as if embarrassed.
"I regretted not asking you on the spot. So I came in person."
"Hmm."
I thought for a moment.
I had taken Park Kang-chan as a lay disciple for now.
I'd said I would teach him first and then decide whether he truly had what it took.
What about Yoo Hye-yeon?
This one.
In terms of skill, she was the best student at my martial arts school.
In martial arts, she was a cut above Park Kang-chan.
She was serious by nature, and her attitude toward martial arts was sound.
She was on a different level from someone like Park Kang-chan, who still threw telegraphed punches around.
"Fine."
Yoo Hye-yeon's eyes widened slightly.
"Then from now on, you too are a disciple of the One Extremity Martial Origin Sect."
The One Extremity Martial Origin Sect.
That was the name of the sect I founded in my past life.
I had been its sect leader in my era.
It was a sect I created myself, with only one disciple—me.
To think I'd bring that name out again now.
"......One Extremity Martial Origin Sect."
Yoo Hye-yeon repeated the name as if savoring it.
Then.
Swish.
She rose from her seat and stepped back.
Then slowly, and respectfully.
She bowed toward all four directions—east, south, west, and north—and finally toward the front, which is to say, toward me.
Then she spoke in a clear, ringing voice.
"I declare this before the spirits of heaven and earth. I, Yoo Hye-yeon, humbly announce that from this day forth I have become a disciple of the One Extremity Martial Origin Sect."
Oh.
My eyes went round.
Where did she learn that?
"You learned it properly."
"I looked it up separately. I heard this is how martial sects do it...... Was I mistaken, Master?"
In that moment, Park Kang-chan's ninefold prostration came to mind.