Murim Login - Chapter 495

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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 495
In infancy, it’s actually unusual to have control over urination.
Seven years old? A kindergartener can be forgiven. An elementary school student might feel some embarrassment, but for the lower grades, it wasn’t entirely uncommon.
But I’m twenty-seven years old.
The twenty-first century modern media vies to praise me as a new hero, and the martial artists of the world call me the successor of the Fire King and a saint destined to reshape the landscape of the Murim.
And yet, and yet….
‘Damn it.’
I’d thoroughly soiled myself. At twenty-seven. Not urine either, but feces. Right in front of Moon-kyung, no less.
‘Ah, ah ah. Anastasia!’
‘…Clean yourself up slowly and come back.’
Moon-kyung, who had been silent for quite some time, left with just that one remark.
It was clear his concern wasn’t so much for my plight as it was worry that feces might soil his precious blade. The damned old fool.
Every time I recalled what had just happened, I wanted to log out of Dark Heaven and never return again.
‘Maybe I should just leave the Murim altogether.’
As I sat by the waterside, seriously contemplating this, someone approached me with an amused expression.
“Commander. What are you doing there all alone….”
Upon recognizing the familiar face, I unleashed a sincere barrage of curses.
“Hyuk Moo-jin, you bastard.”
“Why are you suddenly cursing at me?”
“Stay out of my sight for a while. Please.”
“Even for a commander, that’s harsh. Is there such a thing as spitting in the face of someone who’s smiling?”
“Hack, ptui!”
“Ugh!”
Hyuk Moo-jin narrowly dodged the phlegm and looked at me as if I were a lunatic.
“What on earth happened?”
“Nothing happened. So please shut your mouth and disappear from my sight.”
“Something seems off about this.”
“Want me to make your limbs positions strange?”
Because of that water he brought, I’d lost my abilities and my dignity as a human being.
Knowing that Moon-kyung was the true culprit, I barely managed to restrain my fist from flying.
Hyuk Moo-jin, unaware of these circumstances, looked bewildered.
“Goodness. Anyone seeing this would think you’d soiled your pants because of me.”
“…!”
“What’s with that reaction?”
“…It’s nothing. But why did you come?”
Hyuk Moo-jin, eyeing me suspiciously, pointed toward the distant crowd.
“The rough classification is complete, but something seems odd, they said.”
“Odd? What?”
“It appears the quantity of the imoogi’s bones and scales is less than expected. I think you should go check it yourself, Commander.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Given the Water Dragon’s size, far too little material has emerged. The furious Xuangong Zhenren is currently searching this place like a madman. If someone stole it, he swears by the Original Heavenly Ancestor’s honor that he will expose the culprit.”
“….”
What, was I some kind of shamanic detective now?
I had helped by even using the Taegeuk Wisdom Sword just to obtain some bones, and now that I thought someone had brazenly taken them, I felt my irritation flare.
As I listened, bewilderment overtook me, and I questioned Hyuk Moo-jin.
“How could anyone possibly pilfer something like that? And it’s not a small amount either—easily over a thousand jin. How could anyone hide it right under our noses?”
“Exactly. Besides, only a handful of people even knew about this location….”
Hyuk Moo-jin trailed off, then asked in return.
“But how did you know?”
“Huh?”
“The amount that disappeared. You said it would easily exceed a thousand jin.”
“I just made an educated guess. Besides, those people over there have been making quite a racket.”
I answered as calmly as possible, but in that instant, I felt a pang of guilt.
Because….
‘Sharp-eyed bastard. I need to watch my words.’
The culprit that Xuangong Zhenren vowed to find by the Original Heavenly Ancestor’s honor was none other than me.
Every time I thought of the byproducts stacked high in my inventory, I felt my belly swell with satisfaction.
‘Hmm. Now that I think about it, I did take quite a lot.’
It had been easier than lying in bed touching a smartphone.
The Water Dragon’s corpse was so massive, and I had processed more of it than anyone else, sweeping the choicest portions into my inventory.
The sharpest tail bones, the unusually hard scales from the neck region, even flesh scraps I had taken just in case.
If I were to stack all that I had diverted in one place, it would be large enough to fill even a modest manor house.
“…Why are you smiling so contentedly?”
“Me? When did I?”
“Just now. You looked positively sinister.”
The joy of having successfully committed the perfect crime had apparently written itself plainly across my face. I straightened my expression and replied.
“I did no such thing.”
“….”
“Anyway, don’t worry about that situation over there. Go and start preparing.”
“Preparing for what?”
“We need to leave. Are you planning to live here forever?”
The already-sorted Water Dragon corpse would be moved gradually and with utmost discretion by trustworthy individuals.
And most of it would become the Taewon Jin Family’s share.
‘It will be a tremendous asset for the battles that lie ahead.’
Having organized my thoughts, I rose from my seat.
Watching Hyuk Moo-jin’s receding figure as he dashed off the moment my words ended, I murmured inwardly.
‘Inventory open. Summon.’
Whoosh.
At the command, the Water Dragon’s bones, scales, and flesh scraps materialized in my hand. An involuntary smile bloomed across my face.
‘Appraise item.’
Ding.
Item Window
[Water Dragon’s Bone]
Type
: Material
Grade
: Supreme
Restriction
: Only Master Craftsmen can refine it
Description
: The bone of the Water Dragon, an imoogi that lived through countless ages. Possesses tremendous hardness and harbors mysterious spiritual energy. If it passes through the hands of a master craftsman who has reached enlightenment, its true power can be unleashed.
Though there were slight differences, the system window’s description of the scales was similar.
The gist was that they were supreme-grade materials with mysterious spiritual energy and incredible hardness, and the flesh, if consumed regularly, could increase my cultivation and stats.
‘This is like winning the lottery.’
But the real jackpot was something else.
If the bones and scales were the lottery and the flesh was a premium bond, then this was the Super Bowl with a different prize pool altogether.
With a racing heart, I pulled ‘it’ from my inventory.
‘Item Appraisal.’
Ding.
Item Window
[Water Dragon’s Primordial Core]
Type
: None
Grade
: None
Restriction
: None
Description
: The Primordial Core of the Water Dragon, an imoogi that lived through countless ages. Damaged by magical corruption, yet extracted according to the Water Dragon’s will—a form of inner elixir. It possesses utterly pure yet immense spiritual energy, differing fundamentally from ordinary spirit pills. However, should one lack the fortitude to withstand the energy contained within the core… [Remainder omitted].
‘This is incredible.’
I carefully caressed the [Water Dragon’s Primordial Core] in my hand.
Though the final line was ominous, this was undoubtedly the greatest harvest from my journey to Hubei.
‘Differing fundamentally from ordinary spirit pills… just how potent is it?’
Because it had been tainted by magical corruption, it couldn’t match the original power the Water Dragon possessed, but it was still tremendous nonetheless.
The Water Dragon had lived for over five hundred years, which by simple calculation meant it had accumulated at least ten full cycles of cultivation energy.
In that sense, the diminished power of the core was actually a blessing in disguise.
‘When the vessel is too small, water overflows.’
As the item description’s final line suggested, even for someone like me, accepting such immense energy all at once would cause me to burst like a balloon.
‘The real question is when and where to use it.’
Several faces came to mind, and among them, one elderly visage kept flickering before my eyes.
‘Old Master Noya.’
My recollection of Fire King Red Sky River was not merely because he had grown old.
The reason, absurdly enough, stemmed from Moon-kyung’s poison.
As an aftereffect of Chilbo Chuhon Mountain, my stat points had been slashed by ten, and after suffering severe abdominal cramps, a thought flickered across my mind.
‘If Chilbo Chuhon Mountain is this severe, what state must Old Master Noya be in after suffering the Formless Ultimate Poison?’
Chilbo Chuhon Mountain was certainly a supreme toxin, but not potent enough to threaten the life of a master who had transcended to the highest realm.
However, the Formless Ultimate Poison that Fire King Red Sky River had contracted in Hanan possessed a toxicity incomparably greater than something like Chilbo Chuhon Mountain.
Even the Luoyang Eccentric Physician, counted among the finest physicians under heaven, could not find an answer and advised seeking the Divine Physician instead—and even then, because the toxin had spread so extensively, he needed to obtain the Antidote Pellet of Ten Thousand Poisons.
‘Fortunately, with the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, the treatment was completed….’
Had he truly been cured without any lingering aftereffects?
I gazed at the [Water Dragon’s Expedition] with eyes clouded by doubt and concern.
Perhaps this item had been predetermined for a specific purpose from the very beginning.
“Youngest!”
Opening inventory. Storing.
At Jin Wi-kyung’s call from behind, I quickly stashed the [Water Dragon’s Expedition] into my inventory and turned around with a forced smile.
“Yes, I’m coming now!”
Today had been a day of considerable and satisfying gains.
Yet despite that, a heaviness lingered in one corner of my heart, and for some reason, my stomach felt twisted and unsettled.
Grrrrrumble.
“…Sigh.”
Ah, the status ailment still hasn’t worn off.
* * *
The instinct to seek out water and settle nearby was not unique to humans. Animals in nature possessed it equally.
Beginning with birds that nested along the cliffs lining the vast Dongting Lake’s waters, wild boars, foxes, wolves—and even tigers.
If the Dongting Lake below the cliffs belonged to the realm permitted to humans, then the cliff above belonged to the beasts.
A peaceful space untouched by human footsteps.
Thus, the Great Tiger, who could be called the king of this domain, was displeased by the sudden arrival of this uninvited guest.
– Grrrrrowl.
A growl flowing between sharp fangs carried the creature’s displeasure plainly.
Its nostrils flared ceaselessly, still pursuing the lingering scent of humanity.
And it did not take long for such keen olfaction to locate its target.
– Grrr.
At the very edge of the sheer cliff, the Great Tiger snorted derisively upon discovering the uninvited intruder.
What an audacious creature, it had thought—yet the intruder proved far smaller and more pitiful than anticipated.
An elderly human, scarcely worth a single bite, was the true identity of this unwelcome visitor.
Sssslide.
It was precisely as the massive body, weighing hundreds of pounds, moved swiftly toward the old human.
“There was a tiger, then.”
– …!
The Great Tiger’s stealthy approach came to an abrupt halt.
At some point, the old man rose from his seat on his short legs and stared intently at Great Tiger.
“So you’ve grown old as well, have you?”
– Grrrowl.
Great Tiger bared his fangs as if to make a show of it, but the old man merely let out a soft chuckle.
“Make no fuss and come here. Be an old man’s companion for a while.”
– Kwaaaaang!
“You striped mutt, you want to die? I said come here.”
Flinch!
For reasons he could not explain, Great Tiger felt the fur across his entire body stand on end as he cautiously approached the old man.
When the wrinkled hand gently scratched his jaw, his mood lifted without his realizing it.
– Grrrrumble.
Fire King Red Sky River, watching Great Tiger’s contented growls, murmured softly to himself.
“Yes, I too have already grown old.”
The sky spread wide above the cliff was clear, yet his heart was shrouded in darkness.

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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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