Murim Login - Chapter 509

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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 509
Ding.
– Linked Quest,
[Fake Martial World – Stage 2]
has begun!
– This Quest will proceed forcibly regardless of acceptance!
– Quest has been forcibly accepted!
“…?”
What the hell.
My thoughts had laid bare across my face. Moon-kyung’s eyebrows twitched as he watched me.
“I’m certain I mentioned there would be another training session. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”
“Pardon?”
Forgotten? What am I forgetting? Is he joking with me right now?
Bewildered, I turned to Moon-kyung and countered.
“How could I forget when I’ve been coughing up blood how many times over these past weeks? Even thinking about it now makes my rear end twitch.”
“…That’s enough. Spare me the details. It’s vulgar.”
“Seriously.”
The mind may forget, but the body remembers.
Even now, the moment I close my eyes, memories of coughing up blood day and night come flooding back.
To exaggerate a bit, if I collected all the blood I’ve expelled over the past seven weeks into a basin, every mosquito in Hubei Province could gather for a feast.
‘It was horrific.’
Such memories refuse to fade no matter how hard I try to forget them.
The linked Quest that the system had announced on the day of my final sparring match with Moon-kyung was no different.
If I forgot something so recent and important, I wouldn’t be in my right mind.
“In any case, I haven’t forgotten. I remember everything you said back then.”
“Is that so?”
Moon-kyung stared at me intently and asked.
“If what you say is true, then your current reaction makes even less sense. I warned you in advance, so why do you look as if you’ve been struck from behind?”
“…Well.”
That’s because I feel like I’ve been struck from behind.
I knew another training session was scheduled, but I was certain it wouldn’t be now.
The space available on this Fast Ship, narrower than a typical vessel, severely limited what could be taught here.
‘At most, perhaps cultivation techniques?’
But cultivation techniques, which form the foundation of martial arts and inner strength, cannot be swapped out as easily as spare parts.
‘Especially not in my case.’
The Yeolhwa Divine Art was the very root of the Yeolhwa Sect.
It transformed the nature of inner strength into fire energy and emphasized amplifying that power, making cultivation techniques far more significant than in other sects.
Moon-kyung, a master of his caliber, couldn’t possibly be unaware of this fact…
I asked with a hint of uncertainty.
“Surely you’re not planning to teach me cultivation techniques, are you?”
Whoosh, splash!
As I turned my head at the sound of the wind, a flying blade shot forth like a beam of light, grazing perilously past my neck and slicing through the river waters behind me.
“…I heard your answer loud and clear.”
“Don’t waste my time with such nonsense.”
“Ah, well. I was just asking on the off chance, you know.”
So what was it then? Could it be another poison-tasting session?
A sense of foreboding and curiosity assailed me simultaneously, but I decided to set the matter aside for now.
Not for any particular reason, but because Moon-kyung had grown noticeably distant.
Whoooosh.
The favorable wind and the presence of the Water Thieves, seasoned in their craft, certainly played a role, but the Fast Ship’s speed was undeniably several notches above that of ordinary vessels.
Seeing how far ahead he’d gotten with barely a few words exchanged, I half-suspected the Yangtze River Water Bandit Alliance had installed a motor on the thing.
‘Damn, it’s fast.’
Even the top student in the class has one weak subject. For me, it was lightness techniques.
For all my pretense of being a supreme master, I was managing to keep up using the Water-Treading Method, but I was unfamiliar with it and the energy expenditure was considerable.
And unlike that time at Dongting Lake, there was nothing solid to step on here.
“I’ll come aboard first and listen from there. I can’t keep going like this.”
Moon-kyung nodded readily.
“Do that.”
“You’re not planning to surprise me with a hidden blade, are you?”
“I understand, so stop talking nonsense and get up here.”
“Yes.”
I concentrated the gathered energy to my feet.
The greatest advantage of the Yeolhwa Divine Technique is the explosive power it can unleash. A single leap would be more than enough to get back onto the Fast Ship.
One, two.
‘Now.’
Boom!
The energy released from my feet struck the water’s surface. The shockwave sent the river water surging upward like a massive wall, and a fierce wind swept across my entire body.
In an instant too brief to even measure, I closed a distance of over ten zhang and landed on the stern of the Fast Ship…
Smack!
What the hell?
Bouncing back at a speed even faster than when I’d first closed the distance, I hastily channeled energy through my soles while flipping my body mid-air.
My form, which had been plummeting toward the water, regained its balance and managed to stand once more upon the surface.
‘What is this, déjà vu?’
I stared at Moon-kyung, who stood firmly at the stern, with a bewildered expression.
“What was that just now?”
“What do you mean?”
“That thing you’re holding. You hit me with it.”
“Ah, this.”
Moon-kyung swung the large object he held in his hand.
“This is an oar. It’s mainly used for rowing a boat.”
“I wasn’t asking because I didn’t know that.”
“I thought you were asking because you didn’t know.”
“Didn’t you promise not to do anything strange?”
“To be precise, I said I wouldn’t throw my hidden blades. This isn’t a hidden blade.”
“Ah, I see. So you used a weapon instead of hidden blades.”
“That’s one way to put it.”
Is he insane? Truly.
Moon-kyung gazed at me with an unfathomable expression as I stood speechless. Or rather, at the water’s surface rippling around me.
“The Yangtze River remains calm, yet chaos erupts wherever your feet touch.”
“If you keep playing these games, things will really get out of hand.”
“Do you know why you alone are particularly prone to this?”
“I don’t know that, but why are you doing this?”
Moon-kyung continued without acknowledging my question.
“It’s not because your movements are clumsy and rough.”
“You’re making my temper rough.”
“A master who has reached a certain level has reasons and meaning behind every movement. In your case, it’s because your inner force itself is explosive. This is one of the chronic problems inherent in the Yeolhwa Sect’s martial arts.”
“Ugh, this is frustrating. Let me climb back up first, so please put down that oar you’re holding—”
I stopped mid-sentence.
I had realized this wasn’t mere spite or jest.
“Wait, what did you just say?”
“Your ears have finally opened. I said the reason your movements were rough on the water is a chronic problem of the Yeolhwa Sect’s martial arts.”
A chronic problem….
This wasn’t something I could dismiss lightly.
After a moment of thought, I spoke again.
“How does that relate to Levitation Technique? Isn’t it just that I’m clumsy because I’m unfamiliar with it? Aren’t you judging too hastily?”
“Fool. It’s not such a simple matter.”
“What do you mean….”
“The stability and precision of inner force.”
“Stability and precision….”
“Levitation Technique is merely one measure for judging those two things. Those whose inner force movements are stable and refined can deploy Levitation Technique freely. Though it’s called an ascending technique, even among supreme masters, those with deep mastery can unfold it without great difficulty.”
Moon-kyung, speaking without pause, suddenly leaped from the stern.
For an ordinary person, the distance would have made it impossible to discern facial features clearly, but I, possessing senses honed to an extreme edge, could see and hear everything distinctly.
Whoosh.
Moon-kyung landed on the water’s surface light as air. And as if nothing had occurred, not a single ripple disturbed the water.
Moon-kyung’s dry gaze turned toward me.
“Now, how about you?”
“…!”
I reflexively lowered my head to look at my feet. But it was a futile gesture.
The path I had taken chasing the Fast Ship was filled with white foam, as if another vessel had passed through.
Splash.
With each carefully measured step, dozens of ripples cascaded outward in overlapping waves. Even compared to Moon-kyung, the disparity was staggeringly severe.
“It seems you already know the answer yourself.”
It would have been less humiliating if his tone had carried mockery or disdain.
When I heard Moon-kyung’s flat, emotionless voice—as if saying, “Yes, that’s about your level”—my face burned with shame.
“Now do you understand what I was saying?”
“…To some extent, I believe I do.”
As Moon-kyung had explained earlier, the stability of one’s footsteps on water was a crucial measure for assessing the stability and precision of one’s inner force.
Depending on how well one distributed and controlled their power, the water surface beneath their steps could churn like a tempest or remain as serene as a deserted lakeside.
“Then tell me directly—what should you gain from this?”
“Well, I suppose I could handle my inner force more efficiently.”
“That answer displeases me.”
“Beyond stability and precision, I could reduce the consumption of my inner force while maintaining the same output.”
“Slightly better. But still insufficient.”
In that stretch of time where one second felt like one minute, I fell into contemplation before finally parting my lips.
“Amplification.”
“Elaborate.”
“What you mentioned earlier are the conditions for exerting precisely the right force at precisely the right moment. And if I can control my inner force with such refinement… it also means I can amplify my inner force far more powerfully than before.”
“And?”
“Rather than merely pursuing stability and precision, the potency of my martial techniques becomes far more formidable. Is that correct?”
Moon-kyung, who had been staring at me in silence, finally spoke.
“…You’re not entirely a fool, then.”
That’s it. The correct answer.
But the subtle exhilaration I felt wasn’t because I’d earned Moon-kyung’s acknowledgment, however modest.
‘If I can complete this training successfully… I can become stronger than I am now.’
Currently, I was trapped in a state of stagnation. Perhaps because I’d grown too rapidly, my martial progress—which had been surging forward—had plateaued at some point, and I could feel the towering wall blocking my path.
But with this method, even without achieving some grand enlightenment, I could make technical progress.
‘There was still plenty of room to grow without relying on sudden insight.’
When had I begun thinking so wrongly?
Rather than filling what remained, I’d been chasing after something newer and more extraordinary.
‘How foolish.’
It was like owning a one-terabyte external hard drive but only filling it with five hundred gigabytes of content and then whining that it wasn’t enough.
Moon-kyung had just shown me that truth.
That I still had five hundred gigabytes of space to fill, and that there was no need to purchase an additional external drive when capacity remained.
‘Ah, Master Moon-kyung.’
It seemed as though a halo was shining behind Moon-kyung’s shoulders.
Moon-kyung opened his mouth in response to the reverent light in my eyes.
“Keep your eyes open. Before I gouge them out.”
“…Ah, yes.”
“In any case, it seems you’re finally grasping the concept.”
“Yes. I think I understand now.”
“So you’ve got a sense of what kind of training you need to do from here on out, right?”
Of course I do. I spoke the very thing I’d been anticipating.
“Leveling Water Technique. Is that correct?”
“Precisely. Hearing about it a hundred times and thinking it over pales in comparison to experiencing it directly with your own body. And fortunately, with the Yangtze River right here, the location is perfect. Start immediately.”
So that’s why he’d thrown me into the water so abruptly—he’d clearly planned this from the very beginning.
But I felt neither irritation nor resentment.
Nothing in this world could be obtained without a price.
‘It’s a bit daunting with nothing but river all around, but I suppose I’ll grow accustomed to it as I practice.’
Having settled my thoughts, I answered without the slightest hesitation.
“Understood.”
“More obedient than I expected. Maintain that attitude going forward.”
“Yes.”
If it meant growing stronger than I am now, there was nothing I wouldn’t do.
And as I bowed my head toward Moon-kyung, I realized in the next moment that I’d forgotten to ask the most crucial question.
“Um, but…”
“Hmm?”
“How long do I need to do this?”
“A foolish question.”
Moon-kyung spread both hands as if asking why I’d ask such a thing.
Ten stars… no, ten double-hours?
“Wait, please. Even for someone like me, ten double-hours is impossible. As you know, I have to follow the Fast Ship using Leveling Water Technique, and if I do that, my energy consumption will…”
“What are you talking about? Ten days.”
“Pardon?”
“Not ten double-hours—ten days. Keep up with the Fast Ship until we arrive in Hanan.”
“…Pardon?”
In the moment I turned to stone, a familiar notification pierced my ears.
Ding.
–
[Fake Martial Artist – Stage 2]
training method has been newly configured!
– The Instructor has set your training deadline to
[10 days]
! This deadline may shorten or lengthen depending on your arrival time at your destination!
– Counting begins now! Give it your all, you!
– Time remaining: 9 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds.
“…”
Damn it, I was speechless.

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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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