Murim Login - Chapter 150

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 150
The Training Ground stretched wide and desolate, so barren it seemed cursed. Sweat dripped from the forehead of a young man sitting in lotus position.
‘What should I have done differently?’
Eyes closed, I sank into contemplation. And a single person came to mind.
His crude sword technique and footwork. I recalled the smile that vanished the moment he unleashed his martial arts.
Finally, from the pitch-black darkness, a figure wreathed in violet flames burst forth.
‘Chung Poong.’
Grandson and disciple of Sword Saint Mae Jong-hak. The title mattered little.
What mattered was that four days ago, I had crossed martial arts with him—and lost.
Since that day, Jin Moo-kyung had confined himself to the Training Ground and his Quarters, never stepping outside. I filled hunger with Qi-Sustaining Pills and chased away sleep through cultivation.
Now I needed neither warm meals nor the honey-sweet comfort of rest.
‘I lost. Utterly.’
Barely three hundred breaths. Even accounting for my body’s abnormal state, I had crumbled far too easily.
Who was I? A genius who had reached the pinnacle in his mere twenties, setting the Central Plains ablaze with his name.
‘Jin Cheon Sword, Ten Dragons and Phoenixes… ridiculous. Was I truly only this strong?’
The grandiose titles attached to me seemed laughable, false honors—yet I had secretly held myself in high regard. How hypocritical of me.
‘Who said it? That the world is vast.’
The Nine Provinces Eight Wastelands, the Four Seas and Five Lakes.
How many masters must be hidden across this boundless continent?
Only after meeting Chung Poong did I grasp the true meaning of those words.
‘I was a frog in a well.’
The Cheon-mu Academy was certainly the finest educational institution of the Orthodox Martial Arts World, yet not all talents of the realm walked its halls.
The direct descendants of the Five Great Families and the true disciples of the Nine Major Sects and One Alliance were too occupied inheriting their sects’ secret techniques.
Chung Poong was one of them. They… were born beyond the well and had dwelt there since ancient times.
‘Wait, Chung Poong. And all the others too.’
The instant my eyes opened halfway, my body shot upward like lightning, and light erupted from my waist.
Whoooosh!
Sword Qi. The silver blade energy that relentlessly slashed in all directions was denser and more vivid than four days ago—more so than ever before.
The sparring with Chung Poong had granted me enlightenment and fighting spirit. My vague goal of simply growing stronger had finally come into focus.
Shwish, shwish, shwish, shwish, shwing!
After that, my sword never ceased. Not until exhaustion felled me like a withered stalk….
* * *
In the Martial World, the dantian is called the Sea of Qi.
Sea of Qi. The ocean of vital energy. The place where all inner power originates and gathers. Whoever named it chose perfectly apt words.
Ding.
–
[Qi Circulation and Breathing Technique]
has begun.
–
[Jin Family Heart Method]
Follow the incantation and circulate your inner force.
The Jin Family’s core technique had already reached the eighth stage. I channeled forty-five years of accumulated power along that path, one I’d traversed hundreds, thousands of times before.
‘It’s scorching.’
The Blazing Yang Energy I obtained from consuming the Flame Heart Pill amounted to nearly half a storage vessel’s worth.
A tremendous surge of power, roiling like molten lava, swept through every blood vessel in my body. Witnessing its unstoppable momentum kindled genuine hope within me.
‘Perhaps now I can succeed….’
Every time I practiced breathing circulation, there was always a bottleneck. Two meridian pathways sealed shut like iron gates, refusing passage to my inner force.
I learned only recently that these were called the Conception and Governing Vessels.
‘The Conception and Governing Vessels. I’ve read about them plenty in novels.’
Isn’t this a stage every martial arts protagonist encounters at least once?
In martial arts novels, breaking through the Conception and Governing Vessels is basic, and rebirth through bone replacement is optional. Of course, being neither protagonist nor supporting character, I’d always had to retreat.
‘That was then. Until now.’
Fifteen years of cultivation had been insufficient. Like crashing a compact car without airbags into a boulder.
But now things were different. With half a storage vessel of Blazing Yang Energy added, that compact car transformed into a military tank.
‘This is worth attempting.’
No—I had to succeed.
This was an unavoidable barrier to reach higher realms.
I drew up my power at its peak intensity and unleashed it in two directions—through the Conception Vessel and the Governing Vessel.
Boom!
The collision between meridian and power thundered like lightning. Simultaneously, a searing pain electrified my spine and lower abdomen.
The stronger the collision force, the fiercer the backlash. Yet I couldn’t surrender here. I gritted my teeth and struck again relentlessly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
‘Damn. What is this?’
I’ve roughed up my body plenty in my time. Sword wounds were routine, and I’d even had my organs damaged before.
But this pain was of a different category entirely.
‘My lower back I can handle, but why does that hurt too?!’
The region as vital to a man as life itself throbbed. As if someone were repeatedly clenching and releasing it with all their strength.
Breaking through the Conception and Governing Vessels promised tremendous rewards, and enduring this seemed the price of reaching peak mastery, but as I collided my power again and again, my vision began to blur.
“Ugh!”
Beep beep!
–
[Breathing Circulation]
has failed.
– Your inner force has scattered, and your meridians have sustained minor damage.
–
[Muscle Meridian]
decreases by 1.
On top of the aching in my groin, my muscle meridian had dropped too. I collapsed face-down on the bed, clutching that still-throbbing region.
“Ack! Ugh ugh!”
As rice bows its head when ripe, so too does a man bow his waist when his vital point aches.
I lay prostrate with a prayer in my heart, and gradually the pain subsided.
“Huff, huff.”
I’d nearly become Hong Jin.
As I lay on the bed drenched in sweat, urgent footsteps sounded and uninvited guests burst through the door.
“Squad Leader!”
“Benefactor!”
Hyuk Moo-jin and Chung Poong, who had kicked open the door and rushed in, froze when they saw me.
“What’s going on… whoa.”
“Benefactor, what are you doing?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
After asking back, I realized it.
What state I was currently in.
“Ah.”
A sealed room. Despite the dead of winter, somehow drenched in sweat, lying on the bed with my hand gripping that area—a vigorous young man in his twenties.
Yes. Certainly there was room for misunderstanding.
I opened my mouth calmly.
“It’s a misunderstanding.”
After a moment of silence, Hyuk Moo-jin smiled with his eyes.
“I understand. I know everything.”
“I’m telling you it’s not that.”
“Oh my, why are you like this, among fellow practitioners.”
“Fellow practitioners? You crazy bastard.”
“You keep pretending not to know. Do I seem so narrow-minded to you?”
“I’m telling you it’s really not!”
“Did you enjoy it? How about it—if you haven’t finished yet, should I step aside?”
“I haven’t even started!”
“Ah, so you were about to start now. Should I come back after you’re done?”
“No! I’m not going to!”
“It’s fine. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. On good days, I do it five times a day myself, so what.”
“Is that really true… no wait, this bastard.”
Chaos. Destruction. Ruin.
As the conversation grew more misunderstood with each passing moment, Chung Poong tilted his head in confusion.
“What misunderstanding? What do you know?”
“Chung, you really don’t know? Why the Squad Leader is like this?”
“I don’t know. Is it because he needs to use the toilet?”
“Goodness, how can this be. I’ll tell you just once, so engrave it in your heart. This becomes blood and flesh. Your life changes, I’m telling you.”
“Yes!”
“Now, where is the Squad Leader’s hand? Answer me.”
“On his lower body.”
“Right. So what could be in the lower body?”
“The Conception Vessel.”
“The Conception Vessel! Excellent. We’re almost there. So what lies within the Conception Vessel?”
“Ah? But right now it’s not in the lower abdomen.”
“What?”
“My benefactor’s hand is moving this way.”
“Ugh.”
Crack! Thud.
A perfectly aimed blow to the lower jaw—a resounding slap. Chung Poong caught Hyuk Moo-jin as he crumpled gracefully to the ground with a serene expression.
“You hadn’t finished explaining yet.”
“…And what good does listening do you now?”
“You said that once you hear it, it becomes blood and flesh and transforms your life. Isn’t that a good thing?”
“…”
Come to think of it, that wasn’t entirely wrong.
Chung Poong, gazing down at the already-unconscious sex education instructor with a gloomy expression, asked a question.
“But what were you doing grabbing your lower abdomen like that?”
“…”
If anyone else heard this, they’d definitely get the wrong idea.
* * *
“…This is how it happened.”
Once my explanation—packed solid with facts—concluded, Hyuk Moo-jin, who had regained consciousness by then, muttered with a sullen expression.
“Then you should have said so from the beginning.”
“Sigh, do you really want to get beaten to death today?”
“Ah, I’ll have to pass on that. My head is already ringing.”
Hyuk Moo-jin squinted and shook his head.
“But why did you suddenly touch the Governing and Conception Vessels? You’re not at the peak realm, and you’re not the type to take risks like that either.”
“…I just tried it once.”
“What?”
“Enough. Be quiet and close your mouth.”
I waved my hand dismissively at Hyuk Moo-jin, whose eyes had gone wide.
Admitting that after watching Jin Moo-kyung and Chung Poong’s sparring match four days ago, I’d felt the desire to become much stronger than I was now—that was far too embarrassing.
“Anyway, just know that I failed spectacularly. That area was hurting, so I couldn’t do it properly. Why is this happening?”
“I wouldn’t know either. I’m not a Physician, and I’m not a peak-realm master like a certain someone.”
My gaze and Hyuk Moo-jin’s naturally shifted to the side. The “certain peak-realm master” mentioned earlier blinked and opened his mouth.
“Hmm, I’ve heard about it from grandfather.”
By now, even Hyuk Moo-jin knew Chung Poong’s identity. We both let out exclamations of anticipation simultaneously.
“Ooh.”
“Oooh.”
Sword Saint Mae Jong-hak was among the finest masters under heaven. When it came to martial arts, anything he said could be trusted even if he claimed beans could be made into soy sauce.
“What did he say?”
“He said the Conception Vessel, if mishandled, could render a man incapable of manhood, and the Governing Vessel is the same. And what else did he say? Ah, that’s right!”
Chung Poong, who had been lost in thought, suddenly slapped his forehead.
“He said to leave it alone since it would naturally open with time, and that touching both would make me crippled.”
“…?”
“…?”
What in the world was he talking about?
My gaze and Hyuk Moo-jin’s collided almost simultaneously.
“So the Governing and Conception Vessels naturally open with time?”
“I’m not sure either. This is the first I’m hearing of it.”
“But it can’t be nonsense. He’s a Sword Saint, after all.”
“That’s true. Could it require an exceptionally long time?”
“How long?”
“I wouldn’t know. My father’s turning sixty soon—should I ask him?”
“So, did you open your Governing and Conception Vessels?”
“Yes.”
“Are you a martial artist?”
“I’m the owner of the Hyuk Family Fabric Shop.”
“Try not to speak if you can help it. People’s heads explode from listening.”
“Yes.”
I pitied myself for keeping such a man as my subordinate.
I exhaled deeply and spoke to Chung Poong.
“Could you explain in more detail? Surely your grandfather didn’t say only that….”
“That’s exactly all he said.”
“…Really? Not a single word different?”
“I don’t lie to my benefactor.”
True enough—Chung Poong wasn’t cunning enough to lie.
Whether by nature or upbringing, he was so honest and pure-hearted that he seemed almost foolish.
Chung Poong added with an aggrieved expression.
“And my grandfather doesn’t lie either. I waited and it opened. Not both the Governing and Conception Vessels, just the Conception Vessel.”
“I’m not saying the Sword Saint lied…wait, what did you just say?”
“Chung Poong. What did you just say? You opened your Governing and Conception Vessels?”
“Well, just the Conception Vessel for now. I think it’s because I’m still young.”
I asked hesitantly.
“H-how did you open it?”
“The year before last, I was just training when something felt strange, and—boom!”
“Boom?”
“That’s how it opened.”
“….”
“….”
“I thought it was strange, so I asked my grandfather, and he said it was enlightenment. Hehe.”
This wouldn’t do. He was far too different.
The Sword Saint’s words proved accurate—given time, the Ren and Du meridians would naturally open.
The problem was that this principle applied only to Chung Poong.
This bastard grinning so brilliantly before my eyes was fundamentally a different species from someone like me—a new breed of human altogether.
‘A genius. Heaven-sent talent. That’s what this is.’
Both Chung Poong and Jin Moo-kyung possessed innate gifts that differed from mine from the start, so there was no point in comparison.
I fell silent, at a loss for words, and Chung Poong began stealing glances at me.
“Benefactor, did I do something wrong?”
“No. You did nothing wrong.”
“That’s a relief.”
Watching Chung Poong release a breath of relief, I licked my parched lips.
“But there’s something…”
“Yes?”
“Could I ask you for one favor?”
“Please, ask anything.”
Damn it, why is it so hard to get the words out now?
I have thick skin. I’ve been called shameless before, and I’ve heard worse.
But why is this single request so difficult?
“Benefactor?”
With great difficulty—truly great difficulty—I forced the words out.
“Could you help me with my training?”
“Of course. Absolutely.”
“What?”
“I’ll help you with your training.”
The moment I gazed into his transparent eyes, I finally understood why I had hesitated.
It was pride.
A stubborn refusal to accept help from this one person alone.
Not because I disliked him, but because I wanted to overcome him through my own strength—that was the emotion driving me.
“Aren’t you agreeing far too easily?”
“I owe you a great debt, benefactor. I’ll teach you many good things. Of course, excluding the martial arts Grandfather warned me about!”
Teach me?
A small corner of my petty heart grew uncomfortable. And then it became clear.
I want to surpass this bastard. I want to stand as his equal.
But to do that…
“Then I’ll be in your care.”
I’ll have to learn, that’s all.
I’m thicker-skinned than I thought.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————