Chapter 25

A bolt of lightning struck.

“What on earth is going on in your head! Don’t you even know your teacher’s surname? Just because it’s Heeseong, I really begin to doubt your common sense!”

“Uh, wasn’t it Seo?”

“It’s Seomun. Hmph. This dim-witted girl…”

“Ah.”

A-Qing felt a bit wronged. She had seen names of people from the Central Plain with up to five characters. They hadn’t even told her if it was Seo or Seomun.

“Qing Ah. You’re a disciple.”

“Oh, I see… That sounds much better.”

Qing was definitely better than A-Qing. A name like A-Qing was just kinda off, anyway.

“Alright. Now that we’ve got the name sorted, it’s time to pass on some important martial arts skills.”

“Ow, ah!”

Qing tried to speak her mind but quickly changed her tune. But it was too late.

*Thwack!* A surprise hit landed squarely.

“Such clumsy talk… What this old hag will teach you is the Seohuchun Aeshim-gyeong, a meditation technique. It’s from the same school so it shouldn’t be too hard to learn.”

“Seohuchun Aeshim-gyeong…”

“If you master the Seohuchun Aeshim-gyeong, you’ll achieve the greatest success as a disciple.”

Qing gulped. The name sounded pretty cool, and since it was being passed down by the Best Female Martial Artist, it couldn’t be normal.

“What kind of success?”

Seomun Sulin answered, “You’ll become beautiful.”

“…What?”

“It will help you cultivate your beauty.”

“Uh… Is that really it?”

*Thwack!* Another surprise hit.

Qing held her head and was on the verge of tears. Was she… going crazy?

“The best way for a woman to conceal herself is through beauty, of course. Now, listen closely, I’ll recite the secret technique for you: Sang-go-yeo-il An-myeong-wi-ji…”

Seomun Sulin began to recite the secret technique of Seohuchun Aeshim-gyeong.

Qing tensed up and focused intently on the words.

But could she even learn martial arts the way a Martial World Individual would? Well, if not, she could always ask to see the secret manual or request it in writing.

Suddenly, as soon as she finished hearing the technique, another notification popped up in her status window.

There was one new item added to her Martial Arts Inventory.

One new blue-bordered Inner Strength Meditation Technique was added.

She felt a little disappointed that she was only learning a blue-level skill—

Oww, my head!

The words violently drilled into her mind.

“…Did you memorize it all?”

“Yes. I memorized it all.”

“You memorized it all? All at once?”

Seomun Sulin asked in surprise, taken aback. This girl seemed like such a simpleton, and suddenly she surprises her?

“Can you share it with me?”

“Well, historically, the thing held most precious is a bright face, and having talent to be loved without even making an effort. That is called beauty. During the time of the Divine Farmer and the Flame Emperor, there was a beautiful daughter among his many offspring who achieved virtue through her beauty…”

A-Qing recited the words that filled her head like it was nothing.

It was an outright act of cheating.

Not knowing the circumstances, Seomun Sulin nodded in satisfaction.

It seemed that all her talent funneled straight into martial arts. So this child, who should still be crawling, must already be close to the peak of mastery.

“Then I shall teach you True Energy. Sit down.”

True Energy involves guiding another’s Qi to directly experience the proper use of True Energy.

Half the praises that came from the teacher were rooted in this.

No matter how slow-witted someone is, what they experienced inside their own body is hard to forget.

The True Energy sparked and flowed wildly in her body. It felt magical.

The gentle pull made a circuit around the Dantian and circled back, back to the Dantian.

At that moment, another notification popped up in her status window.

It announced the achievement of the first level of Seohuchun Aeshim-gyeong.

Despite the annoyance of the status window, she saved her free training points.

“Do you want to try a Heavenly Circulation? Yes, that’s right. You’re picking it up right away. Good job. Truly impressive.”

Seomun Sulin kept throwing around her praises. Truly, she was the next Number One in the World.

Now it was about time for a female warrior to emerge as the Number One.

Originally, martial arts belonged to women. Teaching people the Dao of Nature to master True Energy all began with the wise Gucheon Hyeon-Nyeo.

When Gucheon Hyeon-Nyeo descended to this world, she concealed her appearance and introduced herself as just an ordinary woman, which led people to call her simply the Moon Lady, or Wolnyeo.

The coincidence of A-Qing sharing her name with that legend was not lost on her.

Her potential had already pierced through the heavens.

Now it was time to teach her the dignity of being a female master.

How on earth to shape this wild child into a proper person was beyond her.

With a torrent of praise that felt like a drug, Qing was taken aback. If Seomun Sulin had known what Qing was thinking, she probably wouldn’t have been smiling so widely.

“Now, let’s learn how to manage your hair.”

“Manage my hair?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of study is that?”

“Literally, it’s about how to manage your hair, which is a woman’s lifeline.”

“…What?”

Qing blinked in confusion. Why are we suddenly talking about hair?

No matter how baffled Qing felt, Seomun Sulin continued speaking.

“I will teach you forty-two different ways to style your hair. You must memorize them and be able to do them naturally.”

“Um… Will knowing how to style my hair help with martial arts?”

“It seems that’s all you think about.”

Seomun Sulin’s expression turned serious.

“You are already a skilled female martial artist. But the world’s perspective on a female warrior is quite unkind.”

If a woman warrior is weak, they’ll say a frail woman can’t do much. If she is strong, they’ll say something else entirely.

If she lacks beauty, they’ll say she needs to work on her martial arts. If she’s exceptionally beautiful, they’ll question how many masters she charmed to reach that level.

If a warrior slaughters their enemy to let their blood rain down, they’ll be praised for their bravery. But if a female warrior does the same, they’ll call her cruel and atrocious, as if she’s the epitome of evil.

Even pretending to give alms to a starving beggar gets the same treatment.

If it’s a man, he is magnanimous. If it’s a woman, they say she is weak-hearted and cannot bear the cruelty of the martial world.

“Um…”

Qing could sense that something was seriously wrong.

“Teacher? Is it really okay to veer off this course so suddenly?”

What a dangerous statement to make.

“Therefore, a disciple wandering through the martial world must represent all female martial artists. To do this, you must uphold not only your skills but also maintain the demeanor of a refined and beautiful woman.”

Me… the representative of female martial artists?

Qing was aghast. Among all the women in the world, she was surely the one person who should not be on that list.

“Umm… Master?”

“Now, let’s learn.”

A tremendous willpower that brooked no arguments was palpable in her words.

Qing nodded with a begrudging look on her face.

—-

I need to escape this place!

As quickly as possible!

Seomun Sulin claimed that her disciple’s nature was akin to that of a wild horse that could never be tamed.

So she needed to engrain the essence of womanhood into her as a habit over the next six months.

Thinking six months might be bearable turned out to be a huge mistake.

And so began Qing’s tribulations.

The torment was delivered in the form of surprise hits.

If a single hair fell loose, *thwack!*

If her clothing wasn’t neat, *thwack!*

If her walk was too loud, *thwack!*

If her words were sloppy and blunt, *thwack!*

If she didn’t eat politely and instead munched away, *thwack!*

If her legs rested wide apart while sitting, *thwack!*

It was enough to make one think of a dictator who believes they can solve the nation’s economy, culture, and livelihood with just sheer force.

It was no mere slapping game.

One hit made her involuntarily clamp her mouth shut.

The heat would rise to her eyes, a fissure would crack in her skull, and the pain would tear through her scalp.

Qing hadn’t fled so far only thanks to Jin Jangmyung.

“Sis, are you okay?”

“I feel like I’m dying. At this rate, I might actually die.”

“What should we do, sis? That head of yours is already a mess.”

Jin Jangmyung gently patted Qing’s head.

“Don’t pat it. My hair will come undone.”

A-Qing untied her hair and then quickly fixed it back up.

That made twenty-three times today. Two hairpins and one ribbon.

She did it almost instinctively without thinking about it.

After five months of this, of course she was like that.

Jin Jangmyung plopped down in front of her and presented her back.

“Me too. Do it for me.”

“Ugh, it’s annoying. You do it.”

“I don’t want to.”

Jin Jangmyung flopped down and started pushing her head onto Qing’s stomach.

Qing sighed and asked, “How many times?”

“Thirty-five times.”

“Why thirty-five?”

Qing grasped Jin Jangmyung’s hair.

It was a style that required her to braid the side hair into two sections and wrap it around, which meant thirty-five braids.

It was exceedingly annoying and tedious.

In just five months, Jin Jangmyung had transformed from a scruffy ten-year-old kid to a petite schoolgirl.

The change was closer to evolution than growth.

Those born with rare innate qualities like Pure Yin Blood typically achieved martial accomplishments in leaps and bounds once they had their Dantian.

Plus, she had absorbed the effects of the Great Elixir completely.

In terms of Inner Strength alone, she’d already surpassed the peak level of first-rate fighters.

As her health improved, she grew taller and filled out more. However, according to Seomun Sulin, she’d likely missed her growth window, so she wouldn’t become any taller from here on.

“Are you going to miss me? I have to go train this afternoon.”

“Yeah.”

Qing stepped out of her space.

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