Murim Login - Chapter 471
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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 471
Fire King Red Sky River had lived for over a hundred years.
The boy who once wandered as a beggar met a master one day and became the eighteenth successor of the Yeolhwa Sect, and as time passed and his master returned to dust, he became the sect’s sole disciple and patriarch.
From boy to young man, from young man to middle age, and finally to old age—it had taken an eternity.
In that span, great wars erupted that determined the fate of the realm, and new dynasties rose with emperors bearing different surnames.
Five floods and earthquakes struck, plague ravaged the land, and bandits wrapped in crimson cloth rose up everywhere to plunder and pillage.
Through all that he had witnessed, there were calamities wrought by human hands and divine punishments sent from heaven.
Yet the event that left the deepest and most profound mark upon Red Sky River’s entire life was something else entirely.
The Great War Between Orthodox and Demonic Sects.
An era when corpses piled into mountains and blood flowed like rivers.
In the maelstrom of that conflict, Red Sky River glimpsed a vast world of the Demonic Heretical Way unlike anything he had ever encountered before.
The demonic martial arts of the Divine Teaching, which rivaled the Shaolin Temple—the pillar of the Orthodox Martial Arts World—were profound and boundless, yet bizarre and grotesque.
But now, Red Sky River understood.
Even if he combined everything he had seen and experienced throughout his entire life, it would amount to nothing compared to the spectacle unfolding before his eyes.
Kuuuuuuung!
‘What in the world is this…!’
And the moment he witnessed that colossal entity finally reveal itself, Red Sky River felt the blood in his entire body freeze.
‘What on earth could that possibly be!’
He was a master who had far surpassed the age of a hundred—a figure of the previous generation.
With the years he had lived and his station, he had witnessed no small number of spiritual beings or malevolent creatures that an ordinary martial artist would never see once in a lifetime.
But this existence… was different. It transcended all the experience and knowledge Fire King Red Sky River possessed.
What was crumbling now was not merely the cliff.
The very laws and rules of this world that he had steadfastly believed in were collapsing along with the jagged rocks, utterly destroyed and scattered to the winds.
And this shock was not something Red Sky River alone felt.
“Hah.”
“Ah, ahhh!”
Sal-sung, the greatest assassin of all time, could not suppress his sigh, and Je-gal Poong, the Crouching Dragon Guest whose intellect and genius rivaled the Je-gal Moo-hu of old, was left speechless.
Yet the shock they felt did not end there.
– Kraaaaaaagh!
The roar that erupted from the colossal monster’s maw pushed back the rain and tore through the wind.
Simultaneously, an eerie aura radiating from the monster engulfed the three figures who stood over a hundred paces away.
Shwooooosh!
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
The bodies of all three froze as if by mutual agreement. In the three pairs of eyes that had opened wide without their knowing, undisguised terror blazed forth.
‘This cannot be!’
Their bodies had grown heavy as water-soaked cotton, and their hands clenched involuntarily with strength they did not command.
Je-gal Poong, who still remained at the pinnacle of his power, let out a faint groan accompanied by tremendous chills, while even Red Sky River and Moon-kyung, who stood at heights far beyond compare, momentarily gasped for breath.
‘This… this cannot be!’
‘This is absurd.’
The two legendary martial masters known as Fire King and Sal-sung immediately grasped the nature of the alien sensation that had descended upon them.
It was an emotion they had forgotten for an eternity—an ancient feeling they could not have experienced after becoming a powerhouse whom no one dared approach.
Fear.
While this stemmed partly from the formidable fear emanating from the mutated Water Dragon, the greater source lay in the ignorance of Jeok Cheon-gang and Moon-kyung.
Though their martial prowess surpassed even modern S-rank Hunters by several degrees, the sudden appearance of a colossal monster they had never encountered before was enough to shake the unshakeable spirits of two people who had spent eons constructing their own domains and understanding of the world.
– Kwaaaaaaah!
The monster seized the opening and rampaged without restraint.
Each time its body, covered in black scales, lashed against the cliff face, massive jagged boulders filled the sky and cascaded downward.
Crash-crash-crash-boom!
An endless downpour of jagged stones fired toward some unseen location hidden by the terrain.
Flames streamed from Jeok Cheon-gang’s eyes as he beheld the spectacle.
‘No!’
I already knew what that incomprehensible monster was attacking with such fury.
The sole successor of Yeolhwa Sect and my disciple. Or rather, my temporary disciple—Jin Tae-kyung, without question.
As that truth resurfaced in my mind, a surge of molten energy erupted from my entire body, which had frozen under the influence of fear.
Kwaaaah!
Hundreds of streams of scorching yang energy surged through the twelve primary meridians and eight extraordinary vessels, repelling the aura emanating from the mysterious entity.
Though only for a fleeting moment, my body, which had been rigid, was suffused with ultra-high heat, and I immediately unleashed a battle cry as thunderous as lightning and thunder.
“Hah-!”
Boom!
The force contained in that cry was so tremendous that the raindrops and air filling the space around the three of us exploded outward.
Though I had not yet completely escaped the influence of fear, I had freed myself without anyone’s aid despite being exposed to it for the first time.
A sight that would have made modern Hunters doubt their own eyes.
Yet the one accomplishing such a remarkable feat was not Jeok Cheon-gang alone.
While Jeok Cheon-gang dispelled part of the fear through his fury, Moon-kyung overcame the oppression of fear through cold reason and enlightenment at the half-step realm above.
‘An evil creature unheard of and unseen throughout all of history, east and west. It must be felled here and now.’
The young Divine Physician who always tended to the sick with warmth was not present in this place.
As the ancient assassin feared by all under heaven stepped forward with eyes that had grown cold, his slender frame scattered like a phantom.
Thud, shiiiiick!
Sal-sung’s forbidden martial technique—the Phantom Illusion Killing Step perfected to its apex—surged forward, treading upon the water’s surface and the raindrops.
His form advanced like a beam of light, leaving only pale afterimages in its wake, beneath which a single streak of flame raced forward, evaporating all moisture in its path.
Kwaaaaaaah!
A furious roar erupted from between Jeok Cheon-gang’s lips.
“What manner of heaven-defying eel spawn is this! Can it not be separated from that whelp at once!”
* * *
Rumble-rumble-boom!
Piercing the relentless lightning and thunder came sharp cries, and two figures charged toward the colossal Water Dragon at speeds rivaling flashing blades.
Now at last it made sense. Why this Quest’s difficulty was at the absolute peak.
‘Alone, it would be difficult, but with things as they are now, the story changes.’
Chung Poong stands before me—a genius whose talent in martial arts application and learning capacity surpasses even my own despite wielding the system, and an undeniably supreme master radiating absolute confidence. And then there are two beings who require no embellishment whatsoever.
Fire King and Sal-sung. Sal-sung and Fire King.
Even by modern standards, where average lifespans have skyrocketed dramatically, they should be playing gateball in Silver Town at their age, yet these two monsters can flick the heads clean off supreme masters with a single finger.
‘Their movements seem heavier than before, somehow….’
Could these two also be slightly affected by the Peer?
Regardless, this adds two humanoid monsters capable of confronting the colossal beast.
Though I sustained some damage in the initial clash, aside from minor internal injuries from my encounter with Dongjeong Fisherman Elder and a cut on my shoulder, I remain intact.
‘Without my insane physique and Dragon Fire Armor, my limbs might have shattered.’
Movements deceptively swift for such a massive frame, and attacks utilizing those whiskers.
It was then I thought that Water Dragon, while similar to the Sea Serpent I’d read about in the [Monster Encyclopedia], possessed distinctly different characteristics.
– Grrrrr…!
In that fleeting instant, Water Dragon’s eyes finally gleamed as it sensed something amiss with the situation.
And I did not miss that brief opening.
“Chung Poong!”
“Yes, my benefactor!”
Sometimes, a single brief word or an exchange of glances suffices for understanding between two souls.
Chung Poong and I, charging toward Water Dragon in unison with my cry, were precisely such a pair.
Shrieeeeek!
Whoooosh!
Twice the speed of when we’d been knocked back by its tail.
As blue and crimson energy surged forth along spear blade and sword edge toward the creature, Water Dragon’s whiskers thrashed with violent intensity.
Shhhhiiiick!
Those whiskers were the most troublesome aspect. Though the power infused in each strand didn’t quite match a supreme master’s energy, they possessed destructive force and sharpness exceeding ordinary sword qi—far too dangerous to ignore.
Moreover, each whisker stretched roughly three zhang in length, and their combat application was as bizarre and unpredictable as Dongjeong Fisherman Elder wielding his black wood staff.
I’d allowed that first attack only because I hadn’t anticipated the creature could manipulate hundreds of whiskers in such a manner.
But….
‘Come at me again, you bastard.’
Streams of light imbued with Water Dragon’s energy poured down from all directions. I angled my spear blade diagonally forward.
Whoooosh! Crack!
The light strands caught in the trajectory traced by the cyan-white flames lost their force and were severed.
Yet Water Dragon proved no easy opponent. Nearly as many light strands as I’d just cut were already converging on my rear.
Shrieeek!
I’d sensed it from the start—this creature was cunning. Whether it instinctively perceived the Dragon Fire Armor’s durability or not, it drove its attacks toward exposed flesh not covered by the plating.
My lower back felt the chill of approaching killing intent. But half a beat before it struck, a powerful energy arrived first.
Whoosh, crack!
Resplendent violet energy dispelled the darkness and illuminated the light—the secret technique passed only to the direct disciples of Hua Mountain Sect, the Purple Mist Divine Art.
‘Chung Poong.’
I felt the killing intent aimed at my back vanish.
I didn’t need to turn and confirm. Chung Poong had fulfilled his role perfectly, and now it was my turn to unleash my full power.
No, let me correct that. Not my turn—’our’ turn.
– Crrrunch!
The mutated Water Dragon hastily raised its head, but it was already too late—the damage was done.
My failure to swiftly intercept myself and Chung Poong. That was the creature’s greatest blunder, and already two humanoid monsters were closing in behind its massive body.
Shwip!
Silent and concealed. Simultaneously, with speed surpassing all else, a single streak of lightning descended from the void.
And in the next instant, the sound of severance rang out.
Screech!
One of the Water Dragon’s black horns was cleaved in half by the silver aura, and from its maw erupted a bestial cry—whether of agony or rage, I could not discern.
– Grraaaaaaah!
“Hup!”
Moon-kyung’s form wavered as he attempted to drive a small blade between the Water Dragon’s scales.
‘My prediction was correct.’
Unlike myself, accustomed to the murderous aura of monsters, or Chung Poong, who was simply mad, the others—though varying in degree—had not yet fully escaped the influence of that killing intent.
But that did not stop the fist that Jeok Cheon-gang had already unleashed.
“You wretched bastard—!”
The punch from Jeok Cheon-gang, who spewed curses like incantations, struck the Water Dragon’s waist.
Whoosh, crack!
– Craaaaaaash!
An enormous torrent of flame and steam erupted as the Water Dragon’s colossal body tilted toward the ground.
And at the end of the direction it was falling, I charged forward with all my might.
Shiiiiing!
– Crunch!
Reflected in the vertically torn, massive crimson pupil was my form, driving the White Flame wreathed in blue fire.
“I told you not to open your eyes like that. You damned creature.”
Squelch!
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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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