Chapter 24

A-Qing’s eyes widened.

Even with her limited understanding, she knew that to learn martial arts, one must become a disciple and to become a disciple, one must join a sect.

Honestly, she hadn’t realized this at first.

At the start of her journey, she had considered exploring various martial arts and then figured it out.

“Do I have to join the Divine Maiden Sect?”

“Let me tell you straight. A girl under twenty who has reached the peak of her talents is quite an enticing catch. There isn’t a single teacher in the martial world who wouldn’t be interested.”

A-Qing was taken aback.

“Am I really that young?”

“Little girl?”

“Isn’t it a bit too much for me to look like a young girl…”

After all, her looks were pretty much at rock bottom.

“Girl, do you not know your own age?”

“Maybe not.”

“Is ‘A-Qing’ the name you came up with yourself?”

“Yup.”

To be precise, it was a controlled CV. She had cut and pasted it together.

Because they said it would give her purple martial arts.

“So what’s your original surname?”

“I don’t even know that…”

Seomun Sulin’s expression turned to one of pity.

It was just like that misunderstanding with someone from Hebei.

It wasn’t that Ms. Pengmo was foolish, but anyone thoughtful in this era would arrive at the same conclusion.

“Oh dear, how did you grow up so well amidst such difficulties? Truly commendable and lovely.”

A-Qing, at a loss for words, just chuckled awkwardly.

“Well, it seems you’ve at least been lucky in finding a master.”

“A master?”

“…You don’t have a master? Then where did you learn your martial arts?”

“Just kind of picked it up by chance…”

“Self-taught?”

“Guess so?”

A-Qing responded with uncertainty.

She hadn’t learned martial arts in the proper way.

Seomun Sulin’s expression turned to one of shock.

“The flow was clear and dignified, clearly indicating orthodox Daoist veins. Isn’t that adept inner strength, worthy of being called divine skill? What’s the name of this encounter?”

“Moon Lady Heart Method.”

Seomun Sulin slapped her knee in realization.

“Oh! So you are A-Qing! What a surprise! I thought that divine skill only existed in legends, yet the owner is right here. Indeed, the martial world is vast and there are so many things unknown! However—”

*Thwack!* A-Qing received a whack on the crown of her head.

It was a honey hit that flew at the speed of light.

A shock that shook her skull.

Literally, a nuclear honey hit shot from an intercontinental ballistic trajectory.

As tears welled up in A-Qing’s eyes, Seomun Sulin spoke sternly.

“Do you think you can just answer casually when asked? You foolish girl, if anyone knew of your martial arts, everyone in the world would be chasing after you. It’s a wonder you’re still alive until now. Tsk, tsk.”

“Wow.”

Yet again, she gained some valuable knowledge.

She felt like a knowledge vending machine.

Just a little poke, and important information gushed out.

“Wow? That messed up way of speaking! Is that really something a girl should say?”

“It just slipped out…”

“Right. If it’s a girl, I guess that makes sense.”

Whatever it was didn’t really matter.

A-Qing nodded nonetheless.

“Sigh. You’re just like a girl thrown into the waters. If you go out into the world like this, it’s obvious your life won’t last long.”

“Me?”

“You’ve already made an enemy out of the Seong Chang Yang family. That dark one by your side is definitely an assassin.”

A-Qing knew nothing at all.

Her blank stare was a dead giveaway.

Seomun Sulin sighed heavily.

“Sigh. What a shortcoming.”

Despite the harsh words, she understood the worry behind them.

A-Qing just offered an awkward smile.

“By the way, that girl ate the Great Elixir from the Shaolin Sect.”

“Great Elixir?”

A-Qing asked back.

It was clear that she had no clue about it.

Seomun Sulin chuckled.

“The Great Elixir is known as the finest elixir in the world, produced by the Shaolin Sect. They say even a fortune of gold couldn’t buy it.”

“Oh…”

So that was why Yang Sowol scammed her out of money.

“Sigh. Sowol, that girl.”

“Hey, do you know Jang Myung’s mother?”

“Of course, who wouldn’t remember a child that was once family?”

The Divine Maiden Sect was a sect for women.

And in the Divine Maiden Sect, marrying was not allowed.

However, it is human nature to want to see one’s own child, so they were allowed to take in a girl as an adopted daughter.

“Then, could it be that Jang Myung is…”

“No, she’s definitely that girl’s daughter. That girl ran off with a man.”

“Oh.”

That said, the Divine Maiden Sect wasn’t some extreme feminist group that yelled not to marry and stop marriage altogether.

Did you fall in love with a man and want to marry him?

All you had to do was drop what you received from the Sect and leave. In other words, you had to break through the dantian and exit.

Seomun Sulin frowned.

“She was a greedy girl.”

Yang Sowol ran away because she didn’t like that.

But she didn’t just run away without a plan.

She thoroughly ransacked the Sacred Maiden Sect’s storerooms for her dowry.

And she must’ve done so with great determination.

She picked only valuable items and took everything.

That would explain why Jin Jangmyung remembered a prosperous past.

A-Qing felt incredulous.

Wait, that woman? I didn’t see her that way.

“At that time, you should have chased her to the ends of the earth and made a fuss about it. Lengthening what you held onto. How could you let such a selfish girl, eating off her Sect, live so well?”

That was the root of the problem.

A child born with Pure Yin Blood died before reaching twenty.

It was a cruel curse.

However, for a martial artist, that curse could become the greatest blessing.

Because it was the best quality to potentially become a master in the world.

A child born with Pure Yin Blood could become a renowned master.

The catch was that once born with Pure Yin Blood, mastering martial arts became nearly impossible.

The body was weak, and only the energy was fierce, causing issues right from the initial stage of forming the Dantian.

“So what then?”

“You need the help of a master. Specifically, a true master within the realm of transformation.”

A true master in the Realm of Transformation could forcibly inject Qi into you using their overwhelming energy, helping you form your Dantian.

However, that overwhelming energy was traded for decades of a master’s inner strength.

“So could that girl have brought her child along? A girl who broke her Sect’s rules and stole?”

That’s why she had fed her the Great Elixir.

If the elixir’s effects could substitute for a master’s help, there was no need for the master to incur a loss.

They could directly utilize the elixir’s effects to help form the Dantian.

“She probably resolved to put her life on the line. Asking for her child to be saved, since her child had already consumed the elixir, she just wanted them to guide her through.”

“Ah…”

“Damn girl! Leaving the Sect, how would that old grandmother know of what accomplishments she made! Hah!”

The grandmother had achieved great accomplishments ten years ago.

She had reached the realm where she could stabilize the overwhelming Yin energy and create a Dantian.

In fact, overwhelming energy wasn’t even necessary.

Had she just brought the child, the grandmother would’ve saved Jin Jangmyung.

“Ultimately, it was unnecessary.”

Had she known about Jin Jangmyung’s physique and brought her in immediately.

No matter how despicable her crimes were, the grandmother wouldn’t have the heart to kill the child whose mother she saved.

The child’s father wouldn’t have lost his life either.

The head of the Seong Chang Yang family would ultimately face an injury from fighting off the Cannibal Demon, but the child would’ve already been tied to the Divine Maiden Sect.

Then there would be no way for the mighty clan that had defended the East Sea against Japanese invaders for long to be deceived…

“This is truly karma. One evil deed has plunged many into the abyss of sorrow, showing just how wicked karma can be.”

Seomun Sulin sternly advised.

“So, you must also remember this, little girl. Especially since you bear the most ominous star.”

—-

A-Qing didn’t know much about martial arts.

So, she didn’t quite grasp the relationship between teachers and disciples in the Central Plain.

In the Central Plain, a teacher is equivalent to a master.

A master holds the same status as a parent.

However, for modern Koreans who don’t differentiate between a teacher and a master, the disciple-master relationship can feel quite trivial.

This perception was the main reason A-Qing casually brushed off the idea of becoming a disciple.

Plus, A-Qing was subtly yearning for warmth.

It was only natural for her to be smitten by Seomun Sulin, who radiated the energy of a grandmother.

And so, she bowed deeply to Seomun Sulin.

Therefore.

“If you go out into the martial world like this, your life as a disciple will quickly be in jeopardy. So, for now, the priority is to hide your identity.”

“Hide my identity?”

“Yes. Your face has already been recognized. Especially since you’ve made enemies with those at the supreme level, you’ll need to reach the same level to have any hope of survival. Until then, it’s wise to keep your identity under wraps.”

“Ah.”

She hadn’t thought of it in that way before.

She just thought she would fight if it was easy or run if it wasn’t, that was about it.

A-Qing was quite confident in her skills.

“So from now on, you’ll be called Seomun Qing.”

“Qing. Then I’ll just use that name from now on. You mean we share the same surname?”

After all, Seomun Qing and A-Qing were pretty much the same thing.

Giving her a surname felt a bit heavy, but since it seemed everyone in the martial world called each other by surname, it felt odd being the only one to use her name, so whatever.

So, I’m now a Seomun, huh?

When she thought about it, she could have just used her original surname.

*Whack!*

“Ouch!”

A-Qing screamed in sheer pain.

It was an involuntary scream that escaped her lips.

A hit that was worse than a honey slap.

Seriously, what kind of hit was that!

Was her head split open? Was she bleeding?

A-Qing rubbed her head, checking her fingertips in between.

But surprisingly, there was no blood. She thought she was bleeding.

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