Murim Login - Chapter 435

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

Chapter 435
In the deep of night, swallowing even the sunset, a young man sitting at the bow of the boat suddenly broke his silence, his gaze fixed upon the darkened waters of the Yangtze River.
“Is something the matter?”
“I came to gaze upon the Yangtze River and drink some wine. I didn’t realize there was a passenger aboard.”
From behind the young man, an old master from the Five-Foot Stronghold materialized like a phantom without a sound, shaking a gourd flask with a chuckle.
“What do you think? Care to join me?”
“Excessive drinking harms the body. I would advise against it.”
“Come now, why not share a cup? The ambiance is perfect for it.”
“I believe I would prefer solitude.”
“My, what an impudent little brat you are. I’ve been speaking this whole time, yet you haven’t even looked at me.”
In that instant, the young man’s brow furrowed. Dark clouds gathered across his once-luminous face like a clear blue sky, and lightning descended.
Then, in place of his clear voice, a deep and resonant tone flowed from between the boy’s lips.
“Know your limits.”
Bluish eyes gleamed with light in the darkness.
In this young man, there was no trace of the cheerful and bright Divine Physician Moon-kyung from before.
What took his place was a legendary martial master bearing the epithet Sal-sung, a beast with bared fangs.
Yet this transformation was not limited to him alone.
“My, how frightening.”
Before such a terrifying aura that would freeze even a master of considerable skill into stone, the old man casually curled his lips upward. Fire King Jeok Cheon-gang hurled the gourd flask.
“Drop the act of playing a child who doesn’t suit it. Just wet your throat.”
Moon-kyung caught the slowly approaching gourd flask and answered in a dry voice.
“I have no desire.”
“Why? Because you’re not old enough to drink?”
“I quit long ago.”
“Since your days as a Divine Physician, I presume.”
“…Can’t you sleep?”
“When you grow old, sleep abandons you. Like someone I know.”
Moon-kyung shook his head slightly. For someone so taciturn and reserved in emotional expression throughout his entire life, Jeok Cheon-gang was a difficult person to converse with. If one wished to avoid him, it was best to do so.
“Are you leaving?”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“The wine?”
Moon-kyung threw the gourd flask in his hand into the river. The rippling waters of the Yangtze River swallowed it in an instant.
“I’ve finished it.”
“…If you didn’t want to drink, you could have simply returned it. What a disagreeable old man you are.”
Moon-kyung’s eyes sharpened as he passed by Jeok Cheon-gang.
Sal-sung is a person who no longer exists. What stands here now is merely an ordinary young Divine Physician seen anywhere.
“Your tongue is loose.”
“And your ears don’t listen anyway. Besides, you’ve already followed me this far—why bother hiding your identity in the first place?”
Moon-kyung did not answer. Or rather, could not answer.
Why was it so? Had it been merely a momentary impulse?
It was something that could not be explained even by the cold rationality that remained unshaken through countless acts of killing.
“I see. You haven’t found the answer yourself yet.”
Moon-kyung, who had been silent at Jeok Cheon-gang’s words, finally spoke.
“It is merely companionship.”
“I understand. In the beginning, I was the same. But then I met one peculiar fellow, and my twilight years became complicated.”
Moon-kyung had a sense of who this “peculiar fellow” was, and simultaneously thought it was perhaps the most fitting description.
Even with his experience of countless human types and incidents throughout the turbulent Murim, this man was a stranger unlike any he had encountered before.
“Jin Tae-kyung.”
“As expected, you know. How could you not?”
“A strange one indeed. He has reached a remarkable level for his age.”
The corners of Jeok Cheon-gang’s mouth twitched.
“Hmph. Remarkable? He’s just a lucky bastard. In pure martial talent, he cannot match the Sword Saint’s disciple. Though he doesn’t seem to realize it yet, he has already completed his preparations to open the Middle Dantian.”
Moon-kyung recalled the young man who had performed tricks with a serpent throughout the journey.
The image of him in the Sichuan Tang Family, scattering brilliant sword energy at barely past his twenties.
“That boy was also remarkable—no, rather insanely talented. If we’re talking purely about talent, he surpasses Jin Tae-kyung by a notch.”
“What!”
“…?”
“Ah.”
Moon-kyung, who had been staring intently at Jeok Cheon-gang, clicked his tongue.
“You are quite devoted to your disciple.”
“Disciple?”
Jeok Cheon-gang, who had paused momentarily, let out a dry cough.
“Ahem. Well. He could be a disciple, or perhaps not….”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“No, it’s just. There are somewhat complicated circumstances. You see, it’s like this….”
Moon-kyung suddenly felt a headache coming on.
It was only days ago that these Dark Heaven fellows, whom no one had ever heard of, dyed Sichuan in blood.
With his mind already cluttered, listening to this strange tale of master and disciple was beginning to make him feel nauseous.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be taking my leave. I hope there won’t be another day like today.”
It was just as Moon-kyung tossed out those words and turned toward the cabin.
“Thank you. For saving him.”
“….”
“I mean it.”
Moon-kyung did not respond and opened the cabin door. He could hear Jeok Cheon-gang’s voice grumbling about being a cantankerous old man, but he ignored it completely and sat upon the hard wooden bunk.
On the adjacent bunk a few steps away lay a passenger who had claimed the spot long ago, deep in slumber.
Moon-kyung gazed at the motionless Jin Tae-kyung and pondered.
‘Truly a peculiar fellow.’
Perhaps that’s why his sleep is equally peculiar. At first, his breathing was so faint that Moon-kyung had suspected he was practicing the Turtle Breath Technique.
And that was not all. He was also the owner of a Heavenly Flawless Body, one that appears perhaps once in several centuries.
Earlier, Jeok Cheon-gang had even spoken the unbelievable words that his body was becoming increasingly perfect.
‘Nonsense.’
Why was the Heavenly Martial Body called the Heavenly Martial Body? Because it was the most perfect form for learning martial arts—a martial bone bestowed by heaven itself.
Perfection was a word that could not be added to or subtracted from in the slightest. The Eightfold Unexcelled Master’s eyes must have been clouded with bias, leading to this grave misjudgment.
‘Still, they’re formidable. Or should I say, they are?’
On the bed directly beside Jin Tae-kyung lay Chung Poong, drooling as he slept.
His mouth was moving as if chewing something, and upon closer inspection, he was sucking on the head of the snake he always carried with him, muttering in his sleep.
“Dumplings, roasted duck, mooncakes too…”
“…”
“More, give me more…”
What in the world had transpired during my absence?
Moon-kyung regarded Jin Tae-kyung and Chung Poong in turn with a bitter expression.
‘These wretches are to be the beacons illuminating the Martial World’s future?’
In Moon-kyung’s assessment, the two had already transcended the level of post-period prodigies by an immeasurable distance.
Unprecedented geniuses who had shattered the absolute peak in their early twenties.
If either of them opened the Middle Dantian before reaching thirty…
‘This is…’
In that instant, Moon-kyung’s eyes trembled as he observed Jin Tae-kyung and Chung Poong intently.
‘When? How, exactly?’
Moon-kyung sprang from his seat like lightning and urgently pressed his fingers to Jin Tae-kyung’s pulse as he lay sleeping soundly.
As he channeled his inner force through the Mingmen point, an utterly unbelievable reality unfolded before his eyes. In his frozen mind, a single fact continued to circle endlessly.
‘The Middle Dantian… has opened?’
Even the unshakeable equanimity cultivated over long years proved useless. And in that very moment when Moon-kyung stared into the void with vacant eyes.
“What are you doing?”
Lowering his gaze, Moon-kyung could see a pair of eyes looking up at him.
Jin Tae-kyung opened his mouth, his eyes moving from Moon-kyung’s two hands—one resting on the Mingmen point of his lower back, the other on his chest where the Middle Dantian lay.
“What the hell.”
Moon-kyung spoke with genuine sincerity.
“It’s a misunderstanding.”
“Sure it is.”
“Just calm down and listen to me for a moment…”
And Jin Tae-kyung answered his sincerity.
With a shout so tremendous it woke everyone aboard the Fast Ship.
“Old Master Noya!”
Crash!
The cabin door crumbled to ash as Fire King Red Sky River appeared.
In the deep of night when all slept, the tranquility of the Yangtze River shattered in that moment.
* * *
Moo-song, disciple of the Sea King who led the Yangtze River Water Bandit Alliance, master of the Water Dragon Stronghold that commanded the rivers of Sichuan, cried out with a face as if the heavens were collapsing.
“No! My Fast Ship!”
I quietly averted my gaze, and Sal-sung—or rather, Moon-kyung—suddenly departed, claiming he needed to prepare medicinal herbs.
And after burning down a Fast Ship, Jeok Cheon-gang patted Moo-song on the shoulder.
“It’s fine. We can always build another ship.”
“No! No, we can’t!”
“Now, now, it’s alright. With people and money, ships are built in no time at all.”
“It’s not that simple! This isn’t just any ship—it’s a specialized Fast Ship that only our Yangtze River Water Bandit Alliance can construct! To rebuild it, we’d have to request craftsmen from headquarters, pour in a fortune…!”
Moo-song’s frantic voice gradually diminished. It was because Jeok Cheon-gang was regarding him with an unsettling smile.
Somewhere along the way, flames were flickering in his clenched fist.
“Pour in a fortune, and then what?”
Moo-song fell silent.
He was clearly deliberating whether to pour a fortune into rebuilding the Fast Ship, or pour his own blood into the Yangtze.
In the end, it came down to money or life. The choice wasn’t difficult.
“…I was merely trying to say that even after pouring in a fortune, there would still be profit remaining, Great Jeok.”
“Right? Business is thriving here, isn’t it?”
Moo-song twisted his fearsome face. It would make ordinary people’s organs quake to see it, but that was his smile. His expression was simply crude due to his appearance as a Kill Star of the bone lineage.
He rubbed both palms together in a way that didn’t match his massive frame.
“Ah, what can I say. We can’t take what isn’t there.”
“Right, right. Good then. Since it’s come to mind, take what’s reasonable. It’s not my concern, but those people need to eat too.”
“Yes, yes.”
“I apologize once more for this incident. I made a slight mistake during my training, you see.”
“Of course. That’s only natural. Are you injured anywhere?”
“No. But my energy feels depleted lately. I wish I had something to chew on….”
“Some fine he shou wu root recently arrived, and it seems it’s finally found its owner.”
“The owner is you. I’m merely a guest. Hehe. Still, I’m grateful to receive it.”
After patting Moo-song’s shoulder and turning away, Jeok Cheon-gang shot me a glare.
“Damn it. Why did you have to cause such a ruckus in the middle of the night?”
I answered calmly.
“I woke up from sleep, and imagine finding some man touching Old Master Noya’s chest and lower back.”
“I should have burned him to ash.”
“Yes, that’s what happened. What judgment could I make in that situation? And before I could even stop it, everything was destroyed.”
The result was spectacular.
Moon-kyung, living up to his epithet of Kill Star, evaded Jeok Cheon-gang’s attacks with phantom-like movements, while the flame deity form infused with extreme heat spectacularly incinerated the Fast Ship.
Jeok Cheon-gang frowned and muttered.
“I thought he’d gotten over that old habit.”
“Well, old habits from age three do follow you to eighty.”
“He passed eighty long ago, didn’t he?”
“Then let’s say old habits from age three follow you to a hundred.”
Moon-kyung, who had been hurrying about checking on those who fell in the water, whispered as he passed by.
“Keep your mouth shut if you want to live.”
Instead of closing my mouth, I shouted loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Moon-kyung, what did you say?”
“Y-yes, yes?”
“No. Didn’t you just say something to me?”
“That’s… impossible. I believe you’ve misheard, sir.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Then continue with your work. You’ve labored hard.”
“Thank… you.”
This is the final fate of those bound by their own pretense.
Regardless, what a spectacular welcome back this is.
‘This is the Murim.’
I gazed out at the endless expanse of the Yangtze River and shook my head slowly.

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