Murim Login - Chapter 250

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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 250
The Demon Cult.
Had they not existed—those who called themselves the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult—the martial world would never have unified as one.
But when Qinghai, Gansu, and Sichuan fell under the Demon Cult’s control in merely four months, everything changed.
The leaders of the Orthodox Martial Arts World, including the Nine Major Sects and One Alliance and the Five Great Families, gathered in one place, and powerhouses from the heterodox sects and Black Path—the Yangtze River Water Bandit Alliance, the Green Forest Alliance, and others—lent their strength.
And at the center of it all stood Mu-shin.
An unparalleled master bearing the title of the greatest under heaven. An invincible warrior who belonged to no faction.
“Let us raise a single banner. That alone is the only way.”
Thus the Orthodox sects, Black Path, and heterodox factions—which had endlessly formed and dissolved alliances over the ages—united beneath one flag.
The birth of the Martial Alliance.
Not long after the fierce ten-year great war ended, the Martial Alliance disbanded with Mu-shin’s disappearance, yet the grounds where those old heroes once stood remained, continuing on.
In new forms, with new people.
“Phew, it’s absolutely packed.”
The middle-aged man gazed at the long queue stretching before the Martial Alliance, his expression weary.
This was just the outside, and he hadn’t even entered yet. Imagining the chaos within made his vision swim.
Moreover, the hangover from yesterday’s drinking still hadn’t worn off.
“Dear, let’s just take a stroll through the Market Street instead, shall we?”
At the middle-aged man’s earnest whisper, his wife shook her head firmly.
“No. The child has been looking forward to this so much. He’s been pestering me about it since the first day of the preliminaries, all four days straight.”
“No, no. It’ll be fine. A walk through the Market Street and some sweets will keep him quiet, I’m sure. What’s so special about watching martial artists fight anyway—huh.”
The middle-aged man swallowed his words. The boy, who had been sleeping in his wife’s arms, had suddenly awakened and was staring at him.
His large eyes glistened as though tears might spill at any moment.
“Dad. Aren’t we going to watch Seongnae Daeyeon?”
“No, son. It’s not that—”
“Sniff, sniff sniff.”
“Wait, just listen to me for a moment.”
“Waaaaaahhhhh!”
“…My boy certainly has a set of lungs.”
Moments later, the child’s hands held sweets and a wooden figurine the size of an adult’s palm.
The middle-aged man grumbled at the unexpected expense.
“Bah, these bandits! What makes a chunk of wood worth so much?”
Yet he too was a helpless parent. Seeing his child’s beaming smile, his irritation melted away.
“You like it that much?”
“Yes! Jin Tae-kyung is so cool! Shanxi Sleeping Dragon is the best!”
“Jin Tae-kyung? Shanxi Sleeping Dragon? That wooden figurine is named Jin Tae-kyung?”
“Dad, you don’t know Jin Tae-kyung?”
“Ah, of course I do.”
“Really?”
“Naturally. Your father knows everything.”
A parent cannot lose dignity over a mere wooden figurine.
The middle-aged man barely escaped the crisis, avoiding his child’s gaze as he quietly asked his wife.
“Dear, who is this Shanxi Sleeping Dragon Jin Tae-kyung? You don’t know either, right?”
“Why wouldn’t I know?”
His wife looked at him with eyes full of exasperation.
“I came here today to watch that man’s match.”
“….”
“Shanxi Sleeping Dragon Jin Tae-kyung. Our Hyuk has mentioned several times that he’s on a three-match winning streak in the preliminary rounds… Don’t you, as a father, take any interest in what your child says?”
As her nagging continued, the middle-aged man thought to himself.
He hoped this Shanxi Sleeping Dragon or whoever would just lose spectacularly today.
* * *
Screeeech!
I watched the whirling blade with calm focus. Swift as an arrow, fluid as a serpent.
After techniques that shifted and transformed, a crimson sword aura erupted outward.
Whoooosh!
I reversed my body. Letting the sword aura pass by at less than a hand’s breadth away, I extended my fist forward.
A blue flame flickering with each punch—the first form of the Extinguishing Flame Divine Fist.
Boom!
A tremendous collision.
Sword aura and fist energy clashed, a deafening roar echoing across the Tournament Arena. Stone dust swirled upward, obscuring the view.
Planting my feet, I struck again. Once more.
Boom, Crash!
The shockwave erupting from my fist split the air. The flames of the Extinguishing Flame Divine Fist consumed the dust cloud.
At the center stood a man.
Blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his complexion ashen. Gripping a broken blade, his eyes widened in shock.
“How… how is this possible?”
“Well done.”
With that reply, I kicked off the ground.
Crack. The moment my foot left the surface, spider-web cracks etched themselves into the solid blue stone. Tearing through the fierce wind, I threw my third punch at him when—
“I yield!”
A cry torn from his throat like a scream. My fist stopped just before his face. The tremendous force and speed generated a wind pressure that sent his hair flying backward.
The hero’s headband that had slipped from his forehead fluttered away from the Tournament Arena and fell with a soft thud.
“Shanxi Sleeping Dragon… wins!”
Roaaaar!
With the referee’s proclamation, the suppressed cheers erupted from all directions.
Hundreds, thousands of spectators rose from their seats, throwing flowers and objects into the air.
“Yeaaaah! Shanxi Sleeping Dragon!”
“Dad! I can’t see! Give me a piggyback ride!”
“You’re the best, man! I even bought a wooden figurine of you!”
The stands were filled not only with martial artists. A considerable number of common folk had also come from Hanan or distant places to witness the Seongnae Daeyeon.
I waved my hand toward the particularly boisterous father and child among them, then turned away.
Ding.
–
[Heuk Soo-pyo]
You have achieved victory in the duel!
– An overwhelming triumph! All who witnessed the match shower you with unreserved praise!
– Your fame has increased by 500!
– Your fame has increased by 430!
– Your fame has….
Hearing the familiar notifications, I descended from the Tournament Arena. At that very moment, a figure landed before me with a peculiar divine technique.
Thud!
“Ah, what a lot of dust on your robes. Allow me to wipe them clean for you.”
Sigh, this fool has come again.
No matter how many times I tell him not to come, he refuses to listen. There’s no helping it. I snatched the towel from his hands and spoke.
“If you’re going to come, at least arrive normally. Don’t use the Konryun Un-ryong Eight Technique or the Five Pagoda Technique.”
Baek Woo of Kunlun answered with a dejected expression.
“It is the Konryun Un-ryong Eight Technique. Even so, it’s the supreme technique of Kunlun Sect—surely you could remember its name….”
“Right, if your master saw you delivering towels with that supreme technique, how disappointed he’d be. He’s probably watching from the upper seats right now.”
“He told me to stay on good terms with you.”
“….”
“I heard that Fire King Red Sky River once saved my master’s life….”
No wonder he’s been unusually affectionate since the day after I arrived. He must have run off to his master to report, only to receive a thorough scolding in return.
And watching the last three duels—no, including this one, four duels in total—he must have felt it clearly.
That my strength far surpasses his own.
And the same held true for the other two fools.
“The Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms of this school are among the eighteen supreme palm techniques under heaven.”
“Right. But you’ve only mastered up to the fifth form?”
“That’s correct.”
“So that’s why you brought this?”
“Indeed.”
Gung Ki-bang approached with a serious expression, a basin of water in his hands.
“….”
Though inwardly exasperated, I thanked him and washed my face, then dried myself with the towel Baek Woo had provided.
Hu Gae of the Beggar Clan bringing wash water, and Konryun Un-ryong, one of the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes, providing a towel—what a sight this must be to onlookers.
Wait. Now that I think about it, one person is missing.
“Where’s Gyun?”
That fellow who came running long ago, going on about his ancestor Jegal Mu-hu or some such, has vanished without a trace.
Baek Woo answered my question.
“Jegal went to participate in another duel.”
“No wonder I haven’t seen him.”
There are five hundred contestants advancing to the main rounds alone. As a result, the duels are being conducted sequentially across multiple arenas.
On the fourth day, once all the scheduled matches concluded, roughly thirty competitors would remain.
‘More injuries than I expected, actually.’
Every one of them possessed considerable martial skill.
Consequently, some degree of injury was unavoidable, and there were instances where competitors forfeited even after securing victory in grueling, edge-of-the-cliff confrontations.
‘I’m the anomaly here.’
Including the victory I’d just claimed, I’d won four times total, yet none had exceeded a single watch of time.
The longest lasted roughly two hundred breaths, but that was solely to experience my opponent’s unique martial technique.
‘Participating in Seongnae Daeyeon was the right choice.’
From what I’d observed, several of them possessed a deeper understanding of certain martial arts than I did.
Yet I surpassed them in multiple respects, and I was gaining experience by confronting unfamiliar martial techniques I’d never encountered before.
‘Had I remained only in Yeolhwa Cave, I would never have gained such experience.’
My gaze drifted naturally toward the upper seats. Fire King Red Sky River, who was carefully managing his expression, and Jin Wi-kyung, who was barely containing his joy, came into view.
And beside them….
“That gentleman is here again today.”
“Who?”
“Who?”
“Thousand-Faced Tiger Song Ho. He hasn’t missed a single day.”
Baek Woo and Gung Ki-bang, who had been about to turn their heads at my words, froze.
“Why? Is he someone remarkable?”
“Song the Great Swordsman?”
“You mean the Thousand-Faced Tiger?”
The two of them, speaking simultaneously, lowered their voices.
“Of course he’s remarkable. Or rather, should I say frightening?”
“The Shadow Pavilion of the Martial Alliance was once an organization whose intelligence network could rival our own headquarters, if not exceed it.”
“The Shadow Pavilion?”
Gung Ki-bang nodded.
“I’ve heard they achieved tremendous feats during the Righteous Demon Great War. Of course, much of the Shadow Pavilion’s success was due to the efforts of its director, the Thousand-Faced Tiger.”
In modern terms, perhaps equivalent to an FBI director?
If Hu Gae of the Beggar Clan spoke of him in such terms, the Shadow Pavilion’s intelligence capabilities must have been formidable indeed.
Given the past tense, it seemed the organization naturally followed the same course after the Martial Alliance’s dissolution.
‘The leader of a retired intelligence organization….’
Just as I was observing him intently, Song Ho rose from his seat and disappeared somewhere.
As my eyes followed his retreating figure, the roar of the crowd suddenly erupted in my ears.
“Waaaaah!”
“The Lifeline Blade wins again!”
Following the cheers, I turned to see Jong Ri-chu descending from the Tournament Arena, his clothes reduced to tatters, his entire body glistening with sweat as he breathed heavily.
At the sight, the two of them murmured.
“The Lifeline Blade, huh. Whoever gave him that epithet has a real flair for naming.”
“Still, he keeps winning by the skin of his teeth. In that sense, the Rising Blade is indeed the Rising Blade.”
The epithet “Lifeline Blade” was earned because he barely scraped by with victory in each match, clinging to life with each win.
I never expected Jong Ri-chu to advance four rounds either, but he appears to be the type who excels in actual combat.
‘Given that he’s made it this far, he clearly possesses real skill.’
I couldn’t fathom how he was fighting to earn the epithet “Prolonging Life Sword.”
A quiet chuckle escaped me as I watched Jong Ri-chu gulp down cold water desperately.
‘Perhaps we might meet on the Tournament Arena later.’
Since four days ago, I’d had no significant contact with Jong Ri-chu—just the occasional nod when we passed each other.
If our next meeting were on the Tournament Arena, I might feel somewhat apologetic toward him.
“Anyway, thanks for the towel and water. While you’re at it, could you clean this up too?”
Baek Woo and Gung Ki-bang, each receiving a towel and basin, asked a question.
“Where are you headed?”
“The Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms of our sect are among the finest under heaven… Where are you going?”
“Gyun’s watching the matches.”
I’d heard that Jegal Gyun had uniquely mastered fan techniques—a method of combat using the fan. I thought this was a good opportunity to observe the matches and broaden my understanding of martial arts.
As I was about to move toward another Tournament Arena, I suddenly stopped in my tracks.
“Oh, but who was his opponent again?”
* * *
‘Invincible Divine Sword.’
Jegal Gyun breathed heavily.
When he first heard the opponent’s epithet, he had inwardly laughed, thinking it far too grandiose for an unknown, nameless fighter to bear.
But….
‘Why has such a person remained unknown until now?’
His hand gripping the fan trembled slightly. His legs, already half-drained of strength, could barely maintain their stance, and his wide-open eyes ached from trying to read sword strikes too swift to properly perceive.
The inner energy in his dantian had long since been depleted.
Here he was, one of the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes, in such a state, yet Invincible Divine Sword remained utterly composed—nay, even appeared to be enjoying himself.
“Wow! This is the first time I’ve seen someone use that fan technique! Is there anything else? Anything else?”
“…!”
At the innocent, childlike voice flowing from beneath the deeply worn bamboo hat, Jegal Gyun hurled his fan away.

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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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