Chapter 73

A cool breeze brushes past the neck.

From the moment he appeared, trying to set the mood, something felt off, but I didn’t expect him to throw such a direct question.

Anyway, if I answered that question with, “Yes! I’m a disciple of the Martial Arts Outlaw!!” it would’ve been a death sentence for sure.

“Master, I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you later.”

After enjoying the last supper together, just like Jesus being captured by the Roman soldiers.

The next morning, before the rooster crowed, I was about to deny my connection to my master, just like Peter denied Jesus three times.

“It’s fine. Don’t be scared. I’m also that guy’s disciple.”

“…Huh?”

“I came to see the face of Sososo’s benefactor… What a strange connection.”

“…Huh?”

I asked again in a dumbfounded voice at the absurd statement from Jaro, the Martial Alliance Leader.

“Why would I lie to a brat like you? I don’t want to waste time. Drop your guard.”

Jaro casually spoke of a secret that would shake the entire Martial World and sat down on a rock of appropriate size.

“So… I heard that the Taoist Master Jang Sam-bong appeared in your dream and taught you peerless martial arts?”

Yes, even I, who don’t know much about the current state of the Martial World, have heard this legendary tale through rumors.

Back when Jaro, the Martial Alliance Leader, was still a hot-blooded young disciple of the Wudang Sect.

In his dream, after being severely injured while fighting bandits who tried to assault a woman, Jang Sam-bong appeared and taught him martial arts, revealing the location of a cave containing a secret manual of his techniques.

“Of course, that’s a lie. The one I met in that dream wasn’t Jang Sam-bong, but my master, Confucius.”

Jaro chuckled like a jaded adult telling a child that Santa doesn’t exist.

“Why would Jang Sam-bong, of all people, appear in the dream of a mere lay disciple like me, not even a direct descendant or disciple of the Wudang Sect?”

I was so shocked that I couldn’t speak. Of course, I knew my master had other disciples.

But I never expected one of them to be the Martial Alliance Leader.

Sure, it could be a leading question to make me admit that I’m a disciple of the Martial Arts Outlaw, but even if I just flailed my arms around with “Martial Arts – Arm Swinging,” I could still slaughter people. There’s no reason for the Martial Alliance Leader, one of the top ten martial artists in the world, to lie to a weakling like me.

Given that he knew the alias “Confucius,” which my master uses instead of his abandoned name, rather than the widely known nickname “Eight-Foot Old Monster.”

He was undoubtedly a real disciple.

Anyway, since he revealed his identity first, saying he didn’t want to waste time, I decided not to drag it out any longer and boldly stepped forward.

“…Then can I call you Senior Brother?”

Jaro, raising an eyebrow with amusement, carefully observed Mantian’s face.

“I told you to drop your guard, but you’re quite the straightforward junior. Call me whatever you’re comfortable with.”

Despite his rugged appearance, he had a refreshingly open attitude, acknowledging the master-disciple relationship.

In the Martial World, the master is like a parent, and fellow disciples are like siblings.

For Mantian, who had just entered the Martial World alone, this was the moment he gained a senior brother he could rely on.

***

“…But how did you know I was Master’s disciple? Was it because of my martial arts moves?”

As the tension eased a bit, I asked what had been on my mind, and Jaro snorted before answering.

“That’s part of it. Watching you practice, it was clear. Definitely that guy’s work. No doubt he made you practice the basics to death while laughing ‘Hehe~’.”

Though Jaro mocked Master’s characteristic friendly laugh, he wasn’t truly dismissive.

“It’s obvious. It was the same for me back then.”

A hint of nostalgia for his master appeared on the face of the hardened Martial Alliance Leader.

Respect for his master was evident.

If he hadn’t had good feelings, he wouldn’t have revealed his identity first, even if he had recognized me as a fellow disciple.

“Heh~ So, did you learn a thousand martial arts from Master back then?”

The title “Martial God” comes from mastering over a thousand martial arts.

If the background of that title was Master, who had mastered almost all the martial arts in the world, it made perfect sense.

“No, the ‘thousand martial arts’ thing is a misunderstanding from my usual behavior and the martial arts I use. Well… since we’re fellow disciples, it’s better to show you directly.”

Jaro stood up from the rock and slowly demonstrated some of the martial arts he had used during the day, adjusting them to my level.

“……”

Watching the various profound basic forms of Taoist martial arts being fed to me right before my eyes, I realized why Jaro was called the Martial God.

I understood why he was said to have mastered over a thousand martial arts.

The martial arts that even Master, who always said there’s no such thing as the best martial art in the world, acknowledged as the closest to being the best.

The martial arts that once opened the era of the Great Martial World, turning the Central Plains into a bloodbath.

The comprehensive martial arts manual that condensed the teachings of 5,481 volumes of Taoist scriptures into one.

“…The Nine Yin True Classic.”

As the answer flowed from my lips, Jaro stopped his demonstration and gathered his energy.

“You’ve got a good eye for martial arts. You haven’t been slacking off.”

And then, like a hungry dog rushing to a food bowl, I reflexively knelt down and bowed to Jaro.

My body moved faster than my thoughts at the feast laid out before me.

“Senior Brother, please accept my bow.”

“What… Why are you suddenly doing this?”

In a serious voice, I asked for his teachings, not wanting to look as pitiful as I did today.

The master-disciple relationship is a good thing. Let’s share good martial arts together.

“This humble junior seeks the teachings of the great senior of the Martial World.”

Clang-!?

Before Jaro could even open his mouth, the sound of something glass breaking echoed through the night.

‘…Who’s there?’

I awkwardly got up and turned my gaze toward the sound.

A broken medicine bottle, liquid soaking the ground, and a small, cute hand hanging limply in the air.

The golden eyes of Wang Miaoyang, shaken by the shocking sight of her only precious disciple kneeling before another master, seeking teachings.

“I… I heard you had woken up… so I brought medicine good for recovering internal energy…”

Wang Miaoyang began to step back unconsciously from the scene she didn’t want to see.

“But… you’ve found a new master, huh… Well… it can’t be helped… After being struck by the pressure point… and showing such a pathetic side…”

She wanted to call him an ungrateful wretch, but her voice caught, and the words wouldn’t come out.

The sense of loss was even greater because she had dreamed of reviving the Jeonjin Sect with Mantian, her first disciple, who, though weak, was oddly dependable.

An unfamiliar emotion she had never felt before stabbed at her heart, thump-thump.

In the end, Wang Miaoyang could no longer withstand the overwhelming, unfamiliar sensation and turned to flee.

“What? Who’s that? Why’s she like that?”

Jaro, seeing Wang Miaoyang muttering with a face on the verge of tears before running away, asked with a puzzled expression.

“Uh… She’s my Jeonjin Sect martial arts master.”

At my ridiculously nonchalant reply, he smacked the back of my head.

“You’re like a damn Lu Bu!”

“Gah-?!”

“Hey, you idiot! Your master didn’t disappear, she’s right there! Kneeling before someone else and asking for teachings, is that what a disciple should do?”

True, as a reincarnator, my mindset was to learn from various people whatever I wanted to learn.

But from the perspective of martial artists who value the master-disciple relationship, my actions were nothing short of betrayal.

“Go after her right now and apologize properly-!!”

Anyway, judging from the atmosphere that I was in the wrong, I chased after Wang Miaoyang.

Jaro frowned as he quietly watched Mantian’s retreating figure.

‘If there’s something you want to learn, don’t discriminate by age or gender, and seek teachings by honoring them as your master.’

His master’s words, which he had forgotten, came to mind.

Whether for better or worse, this young disciple had been too influenced by that crazy old man.

“That kid… is going to have a tough road ahead.”

It would’ve been better if I hadn’t gotten involved or paid attention from the start.

But he was a fellow disciple, and maybe because he was a cripple, he reminded me of my second disciple, making him an annoying brat I couldn’t help but notice.

…Still, thanks to him, Sososo seems a bit brighter.

It’s fine to look after him a little.

***

Hehe~ I thought it might be nice to have a short comic at the end of the episode sometimes, so here’s a short, no-kill comic.