Murim Login - Chapter 291

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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 291
“If you rolled a snowball the size of a fist down a hillside, what would happen? Does anyone know?”
Song Song-i snorted at my question.
“Even a kindergartener could answer that.”
“Then go ahead and answer.”
“Well, obviously it would get bigger as it rolled down, wouldn’t it?”
“Why?”
“Why? Because the snow piled on the hillside would stick to it, that’s why.”
“Right. Just like how my feelings for you keep growing.”
“Ugh, bleeegh!”
This was oddly addictive.
I continued speaking, using Song Song-i’s renewed retching sounds as background music.
“What Song-i said is correct. However, the premise is different. This isn’t a snow-covered hillside—it’s a hillside where the snow has melted. No matter how hard you roll the snowball down there, it won’t grow much larger.”
“The snowball you’re describing is mana, isn’t it?”
“Choi Team Leader grasps things quickly. Yes, mana cultivation methods work the same way. If your foundation is dust, no amount of rolling will change that.”
“The lower the rank, the greater the limitations. Is my understanding correct?”
“Precisely.”
There’s a saying: once F-rank, forever F-rank.
Breaking free from an established rank is as difficult as plucking a star from the sky.
Yet with infinitesimal probability, there are those who pluck that star.
Second Awakeners. That’s what they’re called, and it’s the mask I’m currently wearing.
“After my Second Awakening as a C-rank Hunter, my abilities increased dramatically. Only then did snow finally accumulate on that barren hillside.”
“Now that you mention it, the results at that time were….”
“My mana reserves were C-rank. But even then, my control ability was A-rank. You know why, don’t you?”
“The Jin Family’s core technique.”
Choi Team Leader groaned.
“It wasn’t the Hunter Association’s mistake after all.”
As I became famous and my past actions came to light, that discrepancy was officially ruled a measurement error.
As a result, the Bucheon Association, which had conducted the remeasurement at the time, took considerable criticism, though they must have felt quite wronged by it.
“The Jin Family’s core technique, which you and the butler call mana cultivation method, has two effects. First, an increase in mana reserves. And second….”
Kim Butler took over the explanation.
“Mana control on a different level.”
“Correct.”
Mana, or what’s called internal force—how you utilize it makes all the difference in the world.
The Jin Family’s core technique is a supreme martial art. The speed of accumulating internal force is slow, but its stability rivals even transcendent martial arts.
“Simply learning it will yield dramatic results. The rookies should observe for now… but those of you here should focus on mastering the Jin Family’s core technique for the time being. Of course, this must proceed in absolute secrecy.”
“….”
“….”
What? Why are they reacting like this?
A heavy silence descended upon the hospital room. The four of them stared at me with their mouths agape, dumbfounded.
“Are you saying you’ll teach us the mana cultivation method right now?”
“Not a mana cultivation method—the Jin Family Heart Technique.”
“Yes, yes. The Jin Family Heart Technique, of course.”
Choi Team Leader’s eyelids trembled visibly.
“You’re giving that to us?”
“Of course. Why else would I have brought it? To show off?”
I glanced around at the assembled group and continued.
“As you all know, at our current level, we won’t last much longer. Lee Jung-yong won’t touch us immediately because of recent events, but it’s only a matter of time. However… what if we had the Jin Family Heart Technique?”
Lim Hyuk-jun, whose mouth had been hanging open, suddenly shouted.
“The! Jin! Family! Heart! Technique!”
“Ah, excellent reaction. In any case, I’ve made this decision after careful deliberation, so I ask that you follow my lead without question for the time being. Understood?”
These four people here were the first batch, and next would be the newly hired rookie hunters.
I would select them through rigorous screening, and I intended to transform them into both hunters and martial artists of the Murim.
Elite enough to easily handle two or three hunters of equivalent rank.
“Well then…”
I scanned the still-dazed faces one by one. Then I pointed a finger at one person.
“Let’s start with you, Choi Team Leader.”
In that instant, a hologram window materialized above his still-shocked face.
Ding.
– Quest,
[Show Me Your Back, Show Me Your Back!]
has been generated!
“…”
For some reason, I disliked the title.
* * *
Quest
[Show Me Your Back, Show Me Your Back!]
Unlike the Murim, modern life had been peaceful.
But reality is a cesspool!
Sensing the crisis in such circumstances, you resolved to impart martial arts to trustworthy companions.
Whether this choice becomes poison or gain… that depends on your decisions and abilities.
May fortune in martial arts smile upon you!
Rank
: Peak
Restriction
: Jin Tae-kyung
Objective
: Guide the mastery of [Jin Family Heart Technique] (Incomplete)
Reward
: Substantial experience points

Repeating Quest

???
Failure
: Worst case scenario: falling into [Demonic Cultivation Deviation]
“….”
Who the hell came up with this Quest title?
I need to teach him how to channel his mana through the Gate of Life acupoint on his lower back to circulate his energy, which means I’ll have to see his back… but now that I’ve read the title, I suddenly don’t want to do this at all.
“Sigh, Choi Team Leader.”
“Yes.”
“Your back.”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, never mind. From now on, assume the posture I’m about to teach you. Kim Butler and the others, please guard the hospital room so no outsiders can enter. And most importantly, no one is to touch our bodies under any circumstances. Understood?”
“Of course.”
Kim Butler nodded firmly and began casting magic. With each incantation, as he swept his staff through the air, an invisible barrier unfolded, enveloping the hospital room.
In the meantime, Choi Team Leader, having removed his upper garment, awkwardly crossed his legs and presented his back to me.
“What exactly do you intend to do with me from this point forward?”
“…You certainly have an odd way of speaking.”
Demonic Cultivation Deviation, just like that. Boom.
I placed my hand on Choi Team Leader’s Gate of Life acupoint.
From now on, I need to be extremely careful. No matter how skilled a master of the Murim might be, they’re completely defenseless when performing energy circulation techniques.
“Close your eyes now and focus on the mana within your body. You must endure no matter what happens. Is there any discomfort right now? If so, tell me now.”
“The right side of my shoulder blade feels a bit….”
“Does it hurt?”
“It’s itchy, actually.”
“…Ugh, this is driving me crazy. Here?”
Scratch, scratch.
As I reached over and scratched the spot, Choi Team Leader’s voice became noticeably more relaxed.
“Yes, that’s it. That feels wonderful.”
“My nickname used to be the Filial Piety Hand.”
“And my underwear is a bit too tight around the….”
“Are you insane? That’s something you need to handle yourself. Did I put handcuffs on you or something?”
“Ah, I didn’t think of that approach. I’m just very nervous right now.”
“Sigh, it’s fine. I apologize for getting worked up over nothing.”
“It’s not your fault, Tae-kyung. I should have worn briefs if I’d known this would happen.”
Does this guy even know how to wear underwear properly….
I warned Choi Team Leader, who was rambling nervously, with a sharp, cold voice.
“If you open your mouth from this point on, you’re finished. Focus on one thing only: where and how the mana flows within your body.”
“Understood.”
“Even if your armpits itch, you endure it. Even if something gets stuck in your underwear, you bear it. Understood?”
“May I ask exactly what we’re about to do?”
“I’ll manipulate your mana through True Qi Channeling. After that, I’ll perform the Minor Circulation following the Jin Family’s core techniques, and conclude with Qi Regulation and Breathing.”
“….”
“Did you follow that, more or less? Be honest.”
“Honest?”
“Yes.”
Choi Team Leader, who had been silent for a moment, answered.
“I don’t understand True Qi Channeling from the start.”
“Then just close your eyes and keep your mouth shut. If you start fidgeting your backside while spouting nonsense about something being stuck in your underwear, I’ll kill you before I die myself.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
A resolute answer. I felt Choi Team Leader’s body, which had been rigid with tension, gradually relax and soften.
He was a complete novice, taking his very first step into the unfamiliar world of martial arts.
How much social experience Choi Team Leader had accumulated, how many languages he spoke, or what knowledge he possessed—none of it mattered now.
“Then, let’s begin.”
Everything depended on me.
I steadied my breathing, drew up my inner strength from my dantian, and channeled it through my palms into Choi Team Leader’s Mingmen acupoint.
Slowly. And carefully.
Whoosh.
The moment the heat-yang qi bearing the mark of extreme yang invaded his interior, the system shot up a signal flare as if it had been waiting.
Ding.
–
[True Qi Channeling]
has begun.
* * *
I had once removed the accumulated waste products from within my mother’s and Ha-yeon’s bodies.
But in terms of difficulty, it was a world of difference.
True Qi Channeling meant guiding the qi within another’s body in the direction I desired.
The qi that Choi Team Leader possessed was incomparably abundant compared to an ordinary person.
‘And cleaner than I expected.’
No, let me correct that. It wasn’t just cleaner than expected—it was actually at an exceptionally high standard.
His sturdy bones and meridians, his qi pathways as clear as a highway at dawn, contained virtually no waste products.
‘What’s this? He said he hadn’t learned mana cultivation techniques.’
Choi Team Leader’s hunter license was Grade B. The qi I normally sensed from him was exactly at that level.
The only differences from an ordinary Grade B hunter were his combat sense honed by a sharp mind and the power of premium equipment.
‘In truth, as Cheon Tae-min’s sole bloodline, there were aspects that fell short.’
Outstanding leadership. Possessor of a brilliant mind and decisive judgment.
Yet inevitably, underestimation clung to him regardless.
Before the name of Cheon Tae-min, the hero who saved all humanity, anyone’s light would fade.
But my thoughts had shifted somewhat now.
‘At this rate… with just a bit more help, he’ll reach that realm in no time.’
An A-rank Hunter? No. I intended to make Choi Team Leader a peak master. It would be a waste of his fundamental hardware to let him rot away like this.
‘If the others were even half as capable as Choi Team Leader, everything would go so much more smoothly.’
Entertaining such comfortable thoughts, I sent the Blazing Yang technique flowing through him. Before long, my internal energy—now exceeding a full cycle’s worth—began to coil around his body and advance.
Kwaaaaa.
I felt his body tremble slightly where my palm made contact. By now, he must be experiencing heat unlike anything he’d ever felt before.
Undeterred, I gathered his scattered qi from throughout his body and broke through dozens of meridian pathways.
Choi Team Leader must remember this. Because ahead lies a path he’ll have to traverse thousands, tens of thousands of times on his own.
‘Once the body remembers, the rest becomes easy.’
The progress was remarkably swift.
Before long, the qi I was guiding had reached half a cycle’s worth, and the remaining impurities were cleanly incinerated by the Blazing Yang technique’s heat.
‘Now for the final step.’
With his scattered energy organized, it was time to store it in his dantian. Then the Microcosmic Orbit would be complete, and he would have taken his first step as a martial artist.
But then…
‘What is that?’
Upon reaching Choi Team Leader’s dantian, I came to an abrupt halt.
A massive chunk of qi occupying half the dantian. And a system notification.
Ding.
Sudden Quest,
[I’ll take only half of the internal energy I’ve digested.]
has been generated.
Do you accept?
Y / N

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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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