Murim Login - Chapter 233

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 233
The middle-aged man gazed down at the transparent blade with unwavering focus.
His sharp, blade-like features and tightly sealed lips reflected in the sword’s surface, along with hair beginning to show streaks of silver.
It was only moments later that he finally spoke.
“You’ve endured quite the wait.”
His voice, soft yet resonant with authority, echoed through the spacious chamber. Yet nowhere within sight was another soul present.
The response came from above the middle-aged man’s head—from the ceiling itself.
“It is my duty.”
The whispered voice belonged to one known as Bi-seon, a figure who had existed in generations past and generations before that. Since the family’s founding centuries ago, Bi-seon had always existed.
Sworn to absolute loyalty to the family head alone, they were the hidden thread, living embodiment of the name Bi-seon itself.
The countless secrets flowing along that thread could either fade into quiet oblivion or become a weapon to strangle someone’s throat.
“I see. Is there new information?”
“Yes. Heaven-grade.”
“Heaven-grade, you say.”
The middle-aged man’s fingers traced across the blade’s surface.
All information Bi-seon had conveyed thus far was classified, divided by severity into Heaven, Earth, and Man grades.
Heaven-grade was the highest among them.
For the middle-aged man who had led the family for nearly two decades, such occurrences were far from commonplace.
“It has been a long time. The first since the Hwang-san Sect incident?”
The Hwang-san Sect was a prestigious major faction with a storied history. Yet now it was a name slowly fading from people’s memories.
Survival of the fittest.
The Martial World was a merciless realm that showed no mercy to the obsolete. The middle-aged man had eliminated the Hwang-san Sect and devoured their corpse.
“There should still be considerable time before the seal breaks.”
“The Hwang-san Sect has already collapsed. Even if the seal breaks, recovery is impossible.”
“Then what?”
“The Mountain Master has returned.”
At that terse answer, the fingers caressing the blade went rigid.
“…Is that truly so?”
“Without question.”
Mountain Master—the master of the mountain.
Some might tilt their heads in bewilderment, asking what nonsense this was. They might even scoff, questioning how one could speak of ownership when countless mountains existed beneath heaven.
Yet here, in Anhui City, the master of the mountain referred to a single person alone.
“Fire King Red Sky River….”
An unprecedented master who had faced a thousand martial artists single-handedly.
Jiuhua Mountain was his domain, the sacred ground of the Yeolhwa Sect inherited across centuries.
On the day the Demon Cult set fire to Jiuhua Mountain, an ordinary old man aging in peace became the Fire King.
Thus the people of Anhui City, having preserved their precious home, began calling him the Mountain Master with reverence.
“When and where was this information obtained?”
“A report came in two hours ago that he passed through the North Gate.”
“His destination?”
“Jiuhua Mountain.”
“I see.”
The middle-aged man, who had been nodding slightly, suddenly sensed something amiss.
Ever since assuming the position of family head, he had received countless reports from Bi-seon and sought his counsel, yet the man had never once made an assertion with such certainty.
But this time was different.
Bi-seon, sensing his lord’s unspoken question, spoke first.
“He traveled with a disciple. Going to the sect is only natural, is it not?”
“A disciple?”
The middle-aged man’s brow furrowed. The Yeolhwa Sect was a lineage of single succession. If he were the Fire King’s disciple, there could be only one person.
Though it had been nearly twenty years, he remembered everything related to the Fire King with perfect clarity.
“Could it be that brutal wretch has returned?”
“Not the person you are thinking of. According to confirmed reports, he died three months ago.”
“And he has found a new disciple?”
“Yes.”
Bi-seon’s monotone voice continued.
“Jin Tae-kyung, who turned twenty-one this year and is a direct bloodline of the Taewon Jin Family.”
“The name and family are both unfamiliar to me.”
“He shares the same bloodline as Hwa-yang Geom, who distinguished himself in the Jeong Ma Great War, and Jin Cheon Sword, who has recently gained prominence as one of the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes.”
“Ah, so it is that Jin Family.”
“Yes.”
Fortunately, the two names that flowed from Bi-seon’s lips were reasonably familiar to the middle-aged man as well.
“Hmm, so that is how it is.”
The middle-aged man fell into deep contemplation, even forgetting Bi-seon’s presence.
Jin Tae-kyung of the Taewon Jin Family. The Fire King Red Sky River’s new disciple. No matter how he pondered it, the name remained unfamiliar. Yet he would have to grow accustomed to it now.
‘A bloodline from a frontier martial clan has been chosen by the Fire King.’
Taking a young man past his prime years as a new disciple was impossible without some compelling reason.
‘It must be one of two things. Either he has leverage over the Fire King, or he possesses martial talent so extraordinary that age and origin are irrelevant.’
As his thoughts progressed, the picture became clearer.
By the time the contemplative middle-aged man spoke again, considerable time had passed.
“Mobilize all the minor threads.”
The minor threads were the countless informants who operated under Bi-seon.
Those who transmitted information from every corner of the realm flowed through Bi-seon to reach the middle-aged man.
“All of them, my lord?”
In Bi-seon’s questioning voice lay a faint surprise unlike anything before.
The middle-aged man’s command meant pouring half of the family’s intelligence resources onto a single person.
Yet the surprise was brief. Bi-seon, realizing his duty, answered hastily.
“I have been discourteous.”
“Never mind. I will give you one month. By whatever means necessary, learn everything about that disciple.”
“I obey.”
“You shall be quite busy from now on.”
Catching the hidden meaning behind those words, Bi-seon’s presence vanished as if washed away.
The Concealment Art, perfected to its absolute pinnacle. He would spend the next fortnight in relentless, uninterrupted cultivation.
‘I cannot afford to idle away my time either.’
The middle-aged man rose slowly from his seat.
Unlike his father, whose very bones were forged from a warrior’s essence, he carried the blood of a leader.
From his days as the young patriarch, he had guided the clan and solidified his position as a supreme hegemon—authority radiated from every fiber of his being.
Step, step, step.
Crossing the vast space with long strides, the middle-aged man threw open the Pavilion doors. A dozen guards stationed around the structure dropped to one knee in salute.
“We greet the Patriarch!”
The middle-aged man gave a slight nod. Each of them was an exceptional master swordsman and shared his blood as kinsmen.
A vast organization gathered beneath the Nam-goong surname, an ancient tree with roots stretching across the entire Martial World.
“Summon the household. The weather is fine—we should share a drink together.”
“As you command!”
The middle-aged man, Nam-goong Yong, lifted his gaze toward the heavens.
An endless expanse of azure sky stretched above, unmarred by a single cloud.
* * *
I opened my mouth with the most earnest expression I could muster.
“I have harbored a wish for a very long time.”
Red Sky River replied in an equally grave tone.
“I too have a wish.”
“Would it be terribly presumptuous if I spoke first?”
“It would be quite presumptuous.”
“Then I shall commit this one presumption.”
“Do you want to soil your pants? Not just once—I’ll have you pissing and shitting yourself for the rest of your miserable life.”
“…Ah.”
If my mother had witnessed this scene, her heart would have shattered.
Though tears threatened to spill from the sting of it, I held them back and spoke again.
“Please, just hear me out once.”
“Fine, I know exactly what’s on your mind, but I’ll listen this once.”
I swallowed hard and voiced my wish.
“Could we stop at an inn, just once?”
“That is your wish?”
“Yes.”
“Then I shall speak of my wish.”
Red Sky River fixed me with a terrifying gaze.
“Shut your mouth and follow.”
“…No, why?”
“You said you wanted to train, didn’t you? So why do you whine and complain so much on the way to training?”
“When did I ever refuse? We’re going to be stuck on that mountain for half a year, so I’m just asking—just once, just this one time—to eat our fill and bathe before we go!”
My cry echoed through the darkened mountain, resonating into the depths of the forest.
That’s right. The place where we stand now is the entrance to Jiuhua Mountain, located in Anhui City.
“Seven days and nights from Shanxi Province to Henan! Another seven days and nights from Henan to Anhui. I haven’t slept properly during all that time.”
At least until we arrived in Henan, they let me sleep for an hour or two at a time, but after leaving Hongdao’s residence, it was nothing but relentless.
I ran without time for meals, chewing on dried meat the entire way.
“I wanted to eat Shaolin Temple’s mountain vegetable bibimbap!”
During the half-month forced march, the only proper meal I had was at the inn in Luoyang.
“And even then, that old man ate all the legs himself! Left me nothing but the tough meat on one wing!”
Just when I thought I’d finally get to eat a few pieces of meat, some Black Path swordsmen suddenly appeared to cause trouble, and then some armored monk showed up and dragged me off to Shaolin Temple.
“I asked you so earnestly to stop at an inn, and what did you say? That we were almost there. You said we should go and rest!”
“And we’re here now. Jiuhua Mountain.”
Red Sky River, picking at his ear with a dirty pinky nail, blew out the earwax.
“Go rest. Once you go up, you can eat your fill, wash, and sleep.”
“Eating my fill just means dried meat and qi-sustaining pills. Not even hot water, just endless forest bathing, and you’ll only let me sleep half an hour a day!”
“Hehehehe!”
Red Sky River, who had been laughing heartily, suddenly stopped. At the same moment, a desolate aura flowed from his entire body.
“This is why I dislike kids with good instincts.”
“…!”
Not “Big Brother Ed”… but chills ran down my spine.
An ice-cold voice spilled from his lips.
“Yes, your guess is correct. I plan to let you sleep only half an hour a day and work you like a dog.”
“Gasp.”
“After wringing out every drop of fat clinging to your body with qi-sustaining pills, I’ll put you through half a year of training at the maximum intensity a human can imagine, without a single day off.”
“Ah, you demon.”
“Did you just call me a devil? I’ll have to raise the training intensity.”
“Ah, this can’t be. This is a scam.”
“Why don’t you know that by the time you realize it, it’s already too late?”
“Wait, just a moment. I need to use the latrine real quick.”
Toward me, backing away slowly, the Fire King opened his wrinkled palm.
“You may come freely, but leaving is another matter.”
Whoooosh!
An irresistible, unprecedented force transformed into rope and bound my entire body tight.
My superhuman physical abilities and martial power equivalent to a decade of cultivation—neither could exert any strength.
I tried to resist with all my might, but it was already too late. Following his gesture, my body floated up into the air.
“Wh-what? Grasping objects through the void?”
“If you understand, come here at once.”
Whoooosh!
The next instant, I was shot toward Red Sky River faster than an arrow. And at the same moment, his wrinkled finger brushed against somewhere on my neck.
A sharp pain accompanied by an ominous sound piercing my ear.
Beep beep!
–
[Acupoint Strike]
I’ve been hit!
–
[Sleep Acupoint]
You cannot resist sleep!
– 5 seconds, 4 seconds, 3 seconds, 2 seconds….
As the system’s countdown progressed, drowsiness washed over me.
Through my dimming consciousness, Red Sky River’s voice gradually faded into the distance.
“Today, I’ll let you sleep for two hours as a special favor.”
“….”
Damn, that’s actually pretty generous.
I couldn’t voice the words lingering on my tongue before I surrendered to sleep.
* * *
Snore. Snore.
“The boy certainly has impressive physical strength.”
Red Sky River gazed at the soundly sleeping Jin Tae-kyung and clicked his tongue.
Ethereal Grasping and acupoint strikes were not omnipotent. The force required varied depending on the opponent.
It was fortunate he’d discovered this boy’s nature; had he been careless and been countered, he would have lost face without question.
“It feels like only yesterday when we first met in Shanxi Province, yet he’s already reached this level… Truly, a peculiar one.”
Just as Red Sky River exhaled a weary sigh tinged with exhaustion, his vision suddenly blurred and his legs gave way beneath him.
“Gasp!”
Thud.
Barely regaining his senses, he grasped a nearby tree.
His heart pounded as if he’d been drenched in ice water, and his mind snapped into sharp clarity.
“This… this is troublesome.”
Was it from expending too much power at once? Or perhaps his aging body simply couldn’t endure the rigors of this arduous journey.
Red Sky River bit his lip. Though his prime as a martial artist had long passed, he remained a supreme master who had reached the pinnacle of the martial world.
What had aged was not his body, but something else entirely.
‘I must hurry. Time is running short.’
Perhaps his old friend Hongdao had urged him to depart immediately for this very reason.
Composing himself, Red Sky River hoisted Jin Tae-kyung onto his back. Despite being over a hundred years old, the young man’s massive frame felt light as a feather.
“Not yet. It’s still too soon.”
Muttering in a voice grown noticeably older, he began to move.
With each step, he covered a dozen zhang, the landscape blurring past in streaks.
Soon, thick mist descended and erased all trace of his passage.

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