Murim Login - Chapter 475

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

Chapter 475
The mutated Water Dragon.
When you think about it, this bastard is still a dragon.
Though it never soared through the heavens, and seeing that it lacks a Yeouiju, it seems closer to a proto-dragon than a true dragon.
The problem, however, was that this identity-blurred creature knew how to use Breath.
And an absurdly powerful Breath at that.
Kwaaaaaaah!
I watched with gaping mouth as an enormous sphere of water engulfed a radius spanning dozens of zhang.
The ground that had accumulated over countless ages, flowing from the Yangtze River and layering upon itself, collapsed nearly in half in a single instant.
‘This is insane.’
A force that far transcended ordinary water pressure.
This wasn’t merely an enormous volume of water gathered and unleashed all at once.
Since the mutated Water Dragon’s formidable qi now dwelt within the sphere of water, from this moment forward it deserved to be called a Water Breath.
‘A Water Breath in the Murim.’
It would be more natural for some insane undead monster to insist it hailed from Atlanta, Georgia in the United States.
I watched with eyes wide in shock as the Water Breath exhaled by the Water Dragon reduced everything to powder.
In the next moment, three divine forms were hurled away, evading the devastated terrain.
“Mi-mi, burst the water sphere!”
“…You’re genuinely insane. I almost felt a moment of mercy without realizing it.”
“That’s normal. I’ve wanted to kill you about five times already.”
One madman causing trouble for a horned serpent, one rejuvenated old master, and one old master who now looked even older. Three figures.
Confirming their presence, a sigh of relief escaped me.
‘Thank goodness they dodged.’
A direct hit from a Breath with this much destructive power would be fatal even to the greatest masters.
The Water Breath unleashed by the mutated Water Dragon was that formidable, carrying a presence that far surpassed that of the Black Wyvern whose life I had personally extinguished in the past.
‘What is this? It was strong before, but not to this extent…’
Was it the effect of the rampage? Or had it now drawn forth all the power that lay dormant within?
Regardless of the exact cause, those eyes stained with blackness were undoubtedly connected to this somehow.
And my current objective was to bring down this creature by any means necessary.
– Grrrrrrgh.
Eyes completely dyed pitch black gleamed with malice.
The monster, having uttered a low growl toward the humans who evaded its attack at lightning speed, opened its maw once more.
Goooong.
Along with a tremendous surge of qi, the waterspout swirling around it was drawn upward like being sucked into the gaping jaws.
‘Already…!’
A second Water Breath.
Even the Wyvern, the representative dragon-type monster of the modern era, couldn’t unleash Breath this rapidly or frequently—this creature operated on a different level entirely.
Before the completed Water Breath could be released, I struck the creature’s bridge of nose with all my might as its jaws slowly opened.
“You gaping bastard!”
Crack!
A tremendous roar accompanied the massive head as it shook.
As the body suddenly convulsed, the sphere of water that had been rapidly nearing completion faltered, but my face hardened with grim satisfaction at achieving my objective.
‘It’s different.’
A punch driven by all my strength.
Yet the recoil felt through my fist was incomparable to what I’d experienced mere moments before.
The transformation that had befallen the mutated Water Dragon encompassed not merely its breath, but also a fortification of its physical form.
To illustrate simply: a punch that should have shattered ten wooden boards now stopped at five.
I clenched my teeth.
‘Damn it.’
My approach needed to adapt to the changing circumstances, yet my thinking had been far too naive. I seized the White Flame I’d wedged between the creature’s scales.
‘Inventory storage. Open. Summon.’
Whoosh!
In an instant, the White Flame that had dissolved into the void reappeared in my grasp, drawn from the inventory.
Every motion minimized to its essence—something impossible without the system, and a technique I myself had only recently begun to master.
The moment the shaft of the White Flame settled in my grip, I was already executing my strike with all preparations complete.
Crackle—!
Above the translucent blade, cyan-white flames erupted, scorching the air and evaporating the moisture that saturated the surroundings.
At the end of the path carved by flames that split through thick mist, lay the snout of the monster cloaked in black scales.
“Close your mouth.”
Heavenly Strike.
Kwaaaaa, crunch!
Mighty flames summoned by burning my inner force tore through the scales, incinerating flesh and shattering bone. Even the extraordinary resilience of the creature’s hide could not withstand a strike fused with ten-thousand-year-old iron and concentrated force.
Behind everything that split left and right along the blade’s path lay the sphere of water, mere moments from completion.
‘I’ll cut it down.’
The Water Dragon’s breath that had existed for centuries collided with the Fire Dragon’s claws descending like lightning from the heavens.
No—they clashed.
Goooong—
With a deafening roar that numbed the ears, crimson and azure flashes flooded my vision.
* * *
That day, it was not only those present at that location who heard the inexplicable roar.
All who dwelt in the vicinity of Dongting Lake could hear that sound.
Kuguguguung!
At the tremendous roar, far exceeding thunder and lightning in magnitude, the mountains and forests bowed their heads.
Common folk hiding to escape the ominous atmosphere were startled and threw themselves to the ground, while government soldiers patrolling near Dongting Lake in investigation of the incident dropped their spears and fled in panic.
Elderly men patted their weeping grandchildren while gazing skyward with worried expressions, muttering softly.
“It is a divine spirit. The spirit has grown wrathful and visited heavenly punishment upon someone. What will become of this wretched world…”
Half truth, half falsehood.
From the distant past until now, the divine spirit transmitted through countless generations across centuries had indeed existed.
Yet the sacred creature once revered as a spirit had now degenerated into a vile abomination, and the heavenly punishment descended by the enraged mutated Water Dragon was intercepted by a single human.
Deep within Dongting Lake, in a place no one would ever find, the battle between human and abomination raged on in that very moment.
– Kraaaaaahhh!
A cry of anguish that shook the heavens and earth in all directions. The monster with its torn maw thrashed about wildly, hurling its massive form onto the waters of Dongting Lake.
Crash-crash-crash-crash!
The river waters, mingled with dark crimson blood, surged to a dizzying height in an instant.
Waves rose as if summoned from some distant ocean, sweeping across all directions. Against such a colossal form, three figures—mere specks in comparison—moved with preternatural speed, one step ahead of the deluge.
Whoooosh!
Three silhouettes shot forward like arrows. Yet one man chose a direction entirely opposite to the other two.
Rather than evade, Jeok Cheon-gang charged directly at the monster alone. Moon-kyung’s voice pierced through the air via transmission.
– Fire King!
But Jeok Cheon-gang answered not with words. Instead, he extended his palm toward the incoming wave.
Boom!
With a heavy sound of air splitting, the center of the massive wave that sought to swallow the diminutive elderly frame tore open, transforming into water vapor that dissipated instantly.
As the anguished monster continued its endless thrashing, the second and third waves surged forth in succession. Yet in the next moment, they were cleanly severed.
Slash!
It was a brilliant beam of white light that had precisely cut through the waist of the wave.
As Chung Poong’s sword energy scattered among the spray, pulverizing the gravel that flew between the water droplets, Moon-kyung shook the moisture from his small blade and opened his mouth toward Jeok Cheon-gang.
“I have several questions. Did you perhaps master water techniques while I wasn’t looking?”
Jeok Cheon-gang glanced at Moon-kyung and spoke curtly.
“Do you know what I despise most in this world?”
“…?”
“First, getting wet. Second, mountains catching fire. And third, watching a burning mountain while soaked. These three things.”
“What does that have to——”
“It was about fifty years ago. I’d just finished an unwanted bath in a nearby valley when I emerged to find Jiuhua Mountain ablaze. In the end, I hunted down and killed every last one of those damned beasts.”
Every martial artist in the Murim knew this tale.
From that day forward, an old man who had been cultivating his martial arts deep within Jiuhua Mountain earned the name Fire King.
“Well, things worked out well enough, and people around me praised me as the Fire King and such. But some fools whispered behind my back—calling me a killing demon, an old man who wouldn’t bat an eye after slaughtering a thousand.”
Jeok Cheon-gang spoke without even glancing at Moon-kyung, merely saying what he wished. Moon-kyung’s brow furrowed.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. This is some nonsense——”
“Nothing much. Simply put, I loved Jiuhua Mountain. It was my first true home in this lifetime, which made it all the more precious. Through the Zheng Ma Great Hall, I made it clear to every beast in the realm that anyone who dares touch what is mine will be exterminated by any means necessary. And yet…”
Jeok Cheon-gang’s eyes blazed like infernos as he stepped toward the thrashing monster and continued.
“That damned creature seems ignorant of this fact. Well, since it didn’t know, it had the audacity to lay hands on my disciple.”
“Truly willful. It sounds like you never learned water techniques after all.”
“Damn it. I’ll manage somehow.”
“We share no friendship, but I felt compelled to warn you. Be careful.”
“What need have I for water techniques to deal with a mere eel? By whatever means necessary, I will capture and annihilate it.”
Chung Poong interjected with an innocent voice.
“Wow. Do eels grow that large? Are they all really about fifty zhang long?”
“The killing intent is palpable.”
“If you’re going to kill it, get permission from the Sword Saint and handle it discreetly. Of course, lend a hand beforehand.”
Moon-kyung, adjusting his small blade lightly, suddenly spoke.
“Could it be that Jin Tae-kyung learned water techniques?”
“I remember training that bastard in the deep valleys of Jiuhua Mountain. I’ve never seen anyone so terrible at swimming.”
“…We need to drag that monster onto land immediately.”
“Agreed. I have no intention of losing another disciple.”
If combat erupted underwater, it was only natural that the Water Dragon would gain the advantage.
Yet there was no other choice available.
If they didn’t intervene, Jin Tae-kyung would drown.
And just as Jeok Cheon-gang and Moon-kyung locked eyes with resolute expressions, Chung Poong suddenly spoke up.
“Huh? No, that’s not right. My benefactor is actually an excellent swimmer.”
“…?”
“…?”
“Really. On the way here, my benefactor—oh, that’s right. He asked me to call him Aquaman.”
What kind of nonsense was this?
It was precisely when confusion flickered across the eyes of the two masters that it happened.
– Gwoooooooah!
Splash-hhhhh!
A monstrous cry echoed from the depths of the river, and a figure burst through the surface of the water.
Jeok Cheon-gang’s mouth fell open as he recognized the familiar face amid the cascading spray.
“You, you….”
“Hup, formation!”
“What, what did you say?”
There was no time to resolve the confusion.
Before the words even finished, a massive shadow rippled across the churning surface.
Simultaneously, a thunderous command erupted from Jin Tae-kyung’s lips as he landed on solid ground.
“Combat formation, now!”
What blazed in those burning eyes was not the gaze of a martial artist, but that of a seasoned Hunter.

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