Murim Login - Chapter 292

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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 292
Ding.
Sudden Quest generated:
[Take only half of the energy I’ve digested.]
has been created.
Will you accept?
Y / N
Damn it. Of all times?
I desperately wanted to check the Quest window.
But I was in the middle of energy circulation right now. If this were solitary breathing exercises, it would be different, but if I released control here, I’d suffer internal injuries.
– The Quest will be automatically cancelled if you don’t respond within 5 seconds.
– Five, four, three….
Should I do this or not?
The Quest title itself suggested I touch that thing in Choi Team Leader’s dantian. Even at a glance, the energy far exceeded the first-tier level.
– Two, one….
Hell, I don’t know. It’s not like I’ll die anyway.
‘Accept!’
Ding.
That was close. With the notification that the Quest was accepted, I understood what I had to do.
– The mysterious energy has slumbered for a long time, and the body’s owner lacks the power to control it. Now is the time for you to step forward!
As expected. I’d experienced this situation before, long ago.
I dredged up an old memory from my time in the Murim.
‘Hundred-Year Snow Ginseng.’
From the moment I first opened my eyes in the Murim, the energy of Hundred-Year Snow Ginseng had been coiled in my dantian.
It was energy that the third-rate ruffian Jin Tae-kyung had failed to digest.
That’s when I first learned that even if you consumed elixirs, if you couldn’t process them, they wouldn’t become your own.
‘Just like Choi Team Leader now.’
Compared to a third-rate ruffian, he was certainly talented, but without knowledge of the Mana Cultivation Method, Choi Team Leader lacked the ability to control such massive energy reaching the first-tier level.
The Quest had assigned me the role of a digestive aid.
‘But how does Choi Team Leader possess such enormous energy?’
Now that I thought about it, it was infuriating.
I’d crawled through the Murim like a dog, struggling and clawing my way to barely accumulate slightly over first-tier, yet this man had such an absurd amount of energy deposited in his dantian. What had he done?
‘Ah, his maternal grandfather was Cheon Tae-min.’
Was this what they called being born with a silver spoon?
I gave up thinking. Right now, I needed to focus on breaking down this mysterious, unknowable energy.
And this time, I was confident.
‘Let’s see.’
The Yeolyang technique, shot like a spear, pierced into the solid mass of energy. Over two tiers worth of energy collided and tore at each other.
Rumble. From the collision in the dantian, Choi Team Leader’s body began to convulse violently.
* * *
The hospital room had transformed into an impregnable fortress that no one could enter.
Kim Butler, Lim Hyuk-jun, and Song Song-i watched the two young men with fascinated eyes.
“Hnngh.”
“Haaah.”
“Ughh.”
“Kuh.”
Each time a vein bulged across Jin Tae-kyung’s forearm, Choi Team Leader’s body trembled violently.
Soon his back arched, and groans escaped through his clenched teeth.
“Haaagh!”
Song Song-i, who had been observing the scene, murmured.
“His back bent like a bow….”
Lim Hyuk-jun, lying on the bed, asked.
“What did you just say, Song?”
“Nothing. It’s just so filthy and strange.”
“Ah, you mean that black sweat?”
“…Yes.”
Song Song-i had much more to say, but she held it back and nodded.
The black sweat flowing from Choi Team Leader’s entire body was equally filthy and strange.
“Good heavens, what in the world is that….”
Living as a Hunter, one sees all manner of peculiar sights. Yet this was the first time I had witnessed someone sweating black.
It was jet-black and viscous, and while the quantity itself was not substantial, it emanated a truly abominable stench.
“Ugh, the smell.”
“That smell is absolutely vile.”
Just as the two of them pinched their noses, Kim Butler spoke.
“That is the body expelling accumulated waste matter through perspiration. It is one of the effects of the Mana Cultivation Method.”
“Waste matter?”
“Kim, is that really such a remarkable thing?”
“Of course it is. Even healing magic does not possess the efficacy to remove bodily waste matter.”
Song Song-i paused briefly before responding.
“It is possible. If they are a truly top-tier Healer. But if what you say is true… that is extraordinary. It means it can even cleanse the faint toxicity that remains in potions used for treatment.”
“That is precisely one of the remarkable aspects of the Mana Cultivation Method.”
“Exactly who created this Mana Cultivation Method, and how?”
Despite Song Song-i’s considerable Hunter experience, she had never heard the term “Mana Cultivation Method” before. Lim Hyuk-jun, with twenty years of experience, was equally unfamiliar with it.
“That’s what I’m saying. In all my years as a Hunter, this is the first time I’ve heard of such martial arts or mystical techniques or whatever you want to call it.”
“During the Great Cataclysm, the Elder first established the Mana Cultivation Method. It is treated with such utmost secrecy that it is only natural you both are unaware of it.”
“The Elder you mean….”
“Yes, the person you are thinking of.”
Cheon Tae-min. The hero who saved all of humanity and the world’s greatest Hunter.
Kim Butler continued slowly.
“The Mana Cultivation Method is a formidable weapon in itself. Many incidents have surrounded it, and most of them have vanished from history. Truly, it was an age worthy of being called a time of great upheaval.”
What had happened, and why had Cheon Tae-min’s Mana Cultivation Method fallen into the hands of Lee Jung-yong, an ambitious man who wasn’t even a blood relative?
Though Song Song-i and Lim Hyuk-jun had more questions they wished to ask, they fell silent.
It wasn’t merely because Kim Butler’s expression had turned unbearably bitter. An unusual transformation was occurring the moment his words ended.
“Ugh!”
“Hah!”
Jin Tae-kyung and Choi Team Leader simultaneously let out groans.
Thick veins bulged prominently across their exposed skin, and deep furrows carved themselves between their brows.
Choi Team Leader’s reaction grew increasingly violent. His entire body trembled as though an earthquake were tearing through him.
“Choi Team Leader!”
“Isn’t this dangerous?”
Kim Butler extended his hand, blocking Song Song-i and Lim Hyuk-jun, who had instinctively stepped forward.
“It cannot be. During Mana Cultivation Method practice, no contact whatsoever is permitted.”
“But….”
“Young Master Jin Tae-kyung would never endanger the young lord.”
Kim Butler regarded the two with eyes that mingled concern and trust.
The trembling intensified, accompanied by groans laden with pain.
Before long, his faith manifested as reality.
“Haaah….”
At some point, Choi Team Leader’s lips parted, and steady breathing flowed forth.
It was a signal that the Heavenly Circulation—the first cycle of energy cultivation—had just concluded, and it meant he had become a martial artist who had mastered the Jin Family Heart Method.
“Young lord?”
At Kim Butler’s call, his closed eyes slowly opened. His pupils were suffused with astonishment and joy.
“This is…!”
Choi Team Leader, Choi Min-woo, clenched his fists with all his strength.
A tremendous force surging from his dantian coursed through him unobstructed.
Unlike before, he could now freely manipulate the mana that would normally have been scattered throughout his body.
Moreover, the quantity of mana had nearly doubled.
‘This is the Mana Cultivation Method.’
Choi Min-woo, quietly observing his own state, reconsidered.
No. It wasn’t the Mana Cultivation Method, but the power of the Jin Family Heart Method. And it had only been possible because of one person’s ability.
“Jin Tae-kyung.”
Choi Min-woo slowly turned around. Jin Tae-kyung remained with his eyes closed, breathing deeply.
He could feel the air surrounding him trembling. An active volcano ready to erupt at any moment existed there.
‘He’s strong. Unbelievably so.’
Was he truly this powerful?
Now that he could properly control mana, Choi Min-woo could glimpse even a fraction of the power Jin Tae-kyung possessed.
Each time he exhaled, the fire energy that burst forth heated the hospital room intensely.
November. Despite the fact that the first snow had fallen a week prior, people felt parched, and heat shimmer rose from the ground.
It was then that Choi Min-woo’s eyes slowly widened.
‘What on earth is that…?’
A mirage created by heat shimmer? Or reality?
I couldn’t tell. Before I knew it, not just Choi Min-woo but everyone in the hospital room had their mouths agape, staring at the spectacle unfolding before their eyes.
Whoooosh.
My body, seated in lotus position, was rising into the air. Slowly, without pause, inch by inch.
Above my head, blazing blue flames took the shape of flower petals.
One petal, two petals. And just as the final third petal was about to complete, my eyes snapped open.
Whoosh! Thud!
Like a shot bird, I plummeted helplessly, my rear end slamming against the floor. A piercing scream tore from my throat.
“Ugh, damn it! My tailbone!”
The air in the hospital room froze solid.
* * *
I let out a scream with all my might.
“Aaaahhh!”
It hurt. My tailbone throbbed from hitting the floor, and the pain of losing a golden opportunity was ten times worse.
“I was so close! I was right there!”
Damn it all. With just one final step remaining, the pinnacle of mastery slipped away into the distance.
I couldn’t tell if my understanding of martial arts was insufficient, or if there was some other reason.
Perhaps it was both. But what mattered was that I had no idea when such an opportunity would come again.
“Nooooo!”
I could have achieved the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown in one go and become a supreme master!
As I wailed and beat the ground, system notifications pierced through my ears.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
–
[Selfless State]
has been deactivated!
–
[Internal Energy]
has increased to 100 years!
– You have achieved a remarkable Accomplishment! You have obtained the title
[Master of My Own]
!
– Sudden Quest,
[I’ll Take Only Half of the Internal Energy I’ve Digested]
has been completed successfully!
– Repeatable Quest,
[Back to Back, Let’s See Your Back!]
has been completed successfully!
–
[Flame Divine Art]
has advanced to the seventh stage!
– You have acquired a massive amount of experience points!
– Level Up!
.
.
.
“Leave me alone!”
Everything had been perfect. I’d absorbed half the energy that had solidified in Choi Team Leader’s dantian, my mind turned brilliantly white, and I’d momentarily fallen into a state of absolute emptiness.
But….
“Why! Why can’t I be happy!”
I’d gained nearly half a decade’s worth of martial power? Excellent!
A title acquired, a quest completed, the Blazing Divine Art advancing a stage higher, and a level up—everything was good. Everything was good, but why!
“Why can’t I reach the pinnacle!”
As I cried out toward the empty air, whispered voices pierced my ears.
“Is something wrong with Jin Tae-kyung?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but I’ve heard there are cases where people become crippled while cultivating the Mana Cultivation Method….”
“Wait, more importantly, did everyone see those petals just now? Did only I see them? Why isn’t anyone saying anything?”
“Song saw them too? I thought we came to a flower exhibition in Goyang City.”
Hearing their worried and astonished voices, my mind suddenly cleared.
Right. It wasn’t over yet. If those three people gained even half of what Choi Team Leader had, there was a possibility of reaching the pinnacle.
‘I still have three test subjects.’
I opened my mouth with the heart of Admiral Yi Sun-sin facing the Battle of Myeongnyang.
“Everyone, pay attention.”
“…?”
“…?”
“I’m removing my shirt immediately. Begin.”
Ding.
– Repeatable Quest,
[Behold the back, behold the back!]
has been created!
“Behold the back, behold the back!”
The people stepped back hesitantly, their faces filled with fear.

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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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