Murim Login - Chapter 505

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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 505
Returning to Youth is the realm that all martial artists dream of achieving.
When vast cultivation and enlightenment converge, the human body is reconstructed, and one regains the vigor of youth.
But if Returning to Youth were so simple, countless martial artists wouldn’t have spent their lives merely dreaming before death claimed them.
It was impossible without the aid of heaven itself, and now walking beside me was a single person who, after years of arduous effort, had finally obtained that very blessing of fate.
“Jeongal Family, assemble.”
Blazing crimson hair scattered in the wind.
A solid frame of taut muscle and a height approaching seven feet. His voice carried the weight of a steel rod.
‘…I really can’t get used to this.’
Could a person change this drastically?
The more I looked, the stranger I felt—there was no helping it.
The Fire King Jeok Cheon-gang I had known was an elderly man so aged that it would be difficult for him to grow any older, not a muscular middle-aged man who appeared to be in his mid-to-late forties.
Noticing my gaze, Jeok Cheon-gang paused mid-stride and muttered softly.
“What, what again.”
“No, I mean, how is this even possible? What age does this appearance correspond to?”
“It would have been before sixty. Though my hair was never red even once back then.”
“How exactly did you age so much? It’s natural for one’s height to diminish with age, but… did someone perhaps cut off your legs around your eighties?”
“My legs were never cut. But if it’s the legs of whoever’s been rattling on irritatingly since earlier, I think I could manage that.”
Jeok Cheon-gang, who had been glaring at me, suddenly licked his lips.
“In any case, don’t stare like that. Even I find it strange.”
“Old Master Noya himself finds it strange too, but… calling you Old Master Noya feels odd.”
“Then what will you call me?”
“Mister?”
“….”
“Hey, Red Sky River?”
“…Do you want to die?”
Good. The vicious tone confirmed it was indeed Jeok Cheon-gang.
As I felt an odd sense of relief, the familiar faces that had drawn near were regarding us with puzzled expressions.
“Huh?”
“Captain, who is this person beside you?”
An entirely normal reaction. But Moon-kyung and several others who knew the full circumstances were different.
“Well, youngest.”
“Ah, benefactor. Could it be that beside you….”
Jin Wi-kyung and Chung Poong. These two grasped the situation quickly.
Jin Wi-kyung was someone who always maintained composure while assessing circumstances, and Chung Poong was the second strongest supreme master among them after Moon-kyung, so it was hardly strange for them to deduce it.
And the last remaining person, Je-gal Poong, fixed me with a heavy gaze.
“Red hair and red beard—according to the information I’ve received, among all those who have frequented this place thus far, there has been no martial artist with such distinctive features. What particularly catches my attention is that you arrive alongside each other, suggesting a considerable intimacy, yet you have no friends.”
“…It’s rather irritating, but you’re not wrong. So?”
“Therefore, using my brilliant intellect, I’ve deduced that the martial artist beside you might be the Senior Brother who once achieved Returning to Youth… haha, what do you think? Rather plausible nonsense, wouldn’t you say?”
“You’re correct.”
“No, that’s nonsense.”
“What do you mean no? I’m telling you it’s true.”
“Please, call it nonsense.”
“It’s true.”
This time, the answer didn’t come from me. As Jeok Cheon-gang stepped forward with those terse, forceful words, the air around us trembled violently.
“Gasp!”
“B-but, Half-Reversion Transformation…?”
“Then could it be that this person’s true identity…!”
Around the hastily constructed Ferry Dock were martial artists from the Wudang Sect and the Je-gal Family Estate, dispatched to guard and investigate the area—quite a throng of them.
Added to that were Sun Hwa-ah Moo Song and the sailors from the Water Dragon Stronghold who would escort us out.
With everyone’s eyes widening, Je-gal Poong’s pupils trembled.
Why was the Fire King emerging from there…?
It was written plainly in his eyes. Amid the crowd’s agitation, Je-gal Poong, who had been silently observing Jeok Cheon-gang, respectfully raised his fists in salute.
“I pay my respects to you, Senior. You cannot imagine how deeply I’ve been troubled, wondering if something had befallen you…”
“I wondered why those Demon Cult bastards would bypass so many roads and come to Jiuhua Mountain—so this is the reason.”
At his blade-sharp tone, Je-gal Poong laughed awkwardly.
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Pretend ignorance one more time, and you won’t like what happens.”
“…May I ask from where you learned of this?”
“From the moment your grandfather made his wise and judicious decision.”
“Ah. So you heard everything.”
“Everything.”
“If I were to tell you that everything I said was merely a misunderstanding…?”
“Then I’d have to burn the Je-gal Family Estate to the ground.”
“Ah…”
“No wonder those dog-like Demon Cult bastards would bypass so many roads and come here.”
Jeok Cheon-gang clenched his fists with a desolate gaze.
Even in those days when he seemed on death’s door, everyone would lower their tails when he looked like that—but now that he’d even regained his youth, the very aura of it made one’s legs tremble.
“I woke from a nap to find Jiuhua Mountain ablaze. What are your thoughts on this matter?”
“I believe it was most unfortunate.”
“And?”
Je-gal Poong swallowed hard.
“I suspect your mood must have been greatly disturbed.”
“It was absolutely infuriating. If I hadn’t rushed over, my residence would have been reduced to ash as well.”
“Your residence was spared, then. That is fortunate.”
“Everything but my residence burned. Including my peace of mind.”
“Ah…”
“Now, I give you two choices.”
Jeok Cheon-gang extended one finger as he continued.
“First. I round up every last one bearing the Je-gal name, line them up in a row, and beat their ears until they bleed.”
Just as I was thinking that would be quite a spectacle, Je-gal Poong answered without even drawing breath.
“I will accept your second proposal.”
“Do you even know what it is?”
“Regardless, I choose the second option.”
If I were in his position, I’d pick option two as well.
Among the things martial artists hold as dear as life itself, pride ranks foremost.
If word spread that the Fire King Red Sky River had struck down an entire household of the Je-gal Family, that sect would have to take down its signboard that very day.
Even as a member of the Five Great Families, the Je-gal Family was no exception to this truth.
From that perspective, Je-gal Poong’s choice was wise. Yet a lingering unease was unavoidable, no matter how sound the decision.
“But what exactly is it, sir?”
“You mean my second proposal?”
Red Sky River stroked his short crimson beard thoughtfully, his gaze sweeping slowly across everyone present, including myself, before he spoke.
“Do well from now on.”
“Senior Red Sky River, forgive me, but what exactly do you mean by—”
“The war has already begun. So perform as the Je-gal Family has in the past during great conflicts, or better yet—perform as your grandfather did.”
“…!”
“Besides, your grandfather didn’t collude with the Demon Cult to set fire to Jiuhua Mountain on his own. It would be absurd to harbor anger toward a man already dead and buried. You can’t very well dig up his grave and overturn it again, can you?”
Red Sky River continued, his eyes fixed upon me.
“And had those Demon Cult dogs not set fire to Jiuhua Mountain that day, different connections would never have formed…. So why do you have that expression on your face?”
I hastily composed my features and replied.
“It’s my usual expression, sir.”
“…There’s something off about it, but I’ll let it pass.”
In truth, if I’d answered that I’d go piss on the previous family head’s grave, Red Sky River would have tried to kill me.
Looking at the others’ expressions, it seemed this thought wasn’t mine alone.
‘Still, to think of it this way. I’m actually moved.’
As Red Sky River said, had he remained a recluse on Jiuhua Mountain, none of what we do together now would exist.
We would have lived in separate worlds, unaware of each other’s existence.
But fate’s pendulum guided me to the Murim and connected me with Red Sky River.
And whether this too is destiny, we must advance once more toward our next destination.
‘Hanan.’
The moment that single word filled my mind.
Moon-kyung, who had stood apart with an inscrutable expression throughout, suddenly opened his mouth.
“The sun is setting, it appears.”
The western mountains had turned crimson.
And Red Sky River, whose hair burned even redder than those mountains, flashed me a grin.
“Let us depart now.”
“Yes.”
Yes, let us go.
To Hanan. To the New Martial Alliance.
* * *
“So, they’ve all left?”
The first to speak was No Do-sa, whose complexion bore the clarity of a sage.
His skin, unmarred by a single blemish, was taut as a young man’s, and the long sleeves of his Taoist robe hung brilliantly white.
The bearer of this new tidings to No Do-sa was equally aged, yet his patched and worn garments spoke volumes of his unpretentious nature.
Clack.
Xuangong Zhenren, dressed in humble robes, set down his teacup and answered.
“Yes, Sect Leader, Senior Brother.”
Two boys who had studied under the same master since childhood had become revered immortals and pillars of the Wudang Sect.
Xuangong Zhenren, who had devoted himself solely to martial arts, had ascended to the pinnacle of mastery and earned great renown, while his senior, seven years his elder, had succeeded their master to become the Sect Leader of the great Wudang Sect.
He was none other than Hyun Cheon Jin-in, the sage-like No Do-sa.
“I had hoped to meet with him once before his departure.”
To the regretful lament of his senior, Xuangong Zhenren replied.
“It was unavoidable, Sect Leader. You did not send me in your stead because you disliked meeting with him.”
“That may be true, but the regret remains. The Two Dragons of whom the Taewon Jin Family and Hua Mountain Sect boast, and Senior Jeok achieving enlightenment as well—I should have seen him. Alas.”
“Haha, do not lament so deeply, Sect Leader. We shall meet again soon.”
“Yes, that should be the case. If the contents of this letter are true.”
Hyun Cheon Jin-in gazed down at the letter resting upon the table.
On the face of the envelope containing the letter was written in bold, commanding script:
Martial Alliance.
Merely three characters, yet the weight they carried was undeniably immense.
The Martial Alliance symbolized the very authority of the Orthodox Martial Arts World itself, and it was also evidence that a conflict rivaling the Righteous-Demonic War was approaching.
‘So it truly begins in this manner.’
Hyun Cheon Jin-in’s expression grew heavy. The screams of countless senior brothers and disciples who had fallen bleeding in the past Righteous-Demonic War seemed to brush past the old sage’s ears.
The horrific memories of his youth threatened to repeat themselves.
‘Unworthy disciple that I am, only now do I understand my master’s heart.’
It was at that very moment when Hyun Cheon Jin-in recalled his master, who had succumbed to injuries sustained in the Righteous-Demonic War long ago.
“Sect Leader!”
An urgent cry echoed from outside the pavilion.
Sensing something amiss, Hyun Cheon Jin-in flicked his sleeve, and a gentle stream of inner force burst open the pavilion’s door.
Upon recognizing the familiar face, Xuangong Zhenren’s brow furrowed.
“You…?”
The source of the urgent cry was a second-generation disciple of the Wudang Sect, one who had been pursuing Sal-gwi as part of the chase.
As Xuangong Zhenren observed the second-generation disciple gasping for breath, his eyes suddenly widened.
“Could it be?”
“Yes, we have captured him.”
“Excellent news! At last we have apprehended Sal-gwi, who committed such heinous acts worthy of universal condemnation…!”
Xuangong Zhenren’s words trailed off. Unlike himself, his senior brother Hyun Cheon Jin-in’s expression was deeply troubled.
And Xuangong Zhenren’s suspicion proved accurate.
Hyun Cheon Jin-in, who had been silently regarding the bewildered second-generation disciple, spoke in a low voice.
“You have captured Sal-gwi, and you should rejoice, yet your countenance is dark. What troubles you?”
“That… that is.”
“Has someone died or been injured again?”
“No, that’s not it…”
The second-generation disciple, unable to continue speaking and hesitating, lowered his head.
“We are bringing Sal-gwi’s corpse here, so it would be best if the Sect Leader examines it directly and makes a judgment.”
“What is this.”
Hyun Cheon Jin-in’s bewilderment did not last long.
Barely an hour later, after confirming the true nature of Sal-gwi’s body that the Wudang Sect disciples had brought, he remained silent for a long while before finally speaking.
“It seems… I have one more reason to go to Hanan.”
Reflected in No Do-sa’s clear eyes was something that was neither beast nor human.

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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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