Murim Login - Chapter 512

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

Chapter 512
“…Have I ever seen such a madman?”
A voice dripping with bewilderment, and crimson hair that stood out even in the thick darkness.
Faced with an unexpected person, I widened my eyes in surprise.
“What? What brings you here?”
“That is…”
Jeok Cheon-gang hesitated for a moment, his words trailing off.
“I got seasick and came ashore for a bit.”
“Ah, seasickness. Old Master Noya with seasickness.”
Not just some supreme master, but the Fire King himself.
Jeok Cheon-gang suffering from seasickness was far less believable than Spider-Man retiring due to acrophobia.
“What’s with that smile?”
I forcibly suppressed the corners of my mouth that had risen unbidden.
“My face is just naturally smiling.”
“Should I give you a face to match your fate?”
“No, sir.”
“If you have complaints, speak them plainly. Don’t scheme in the shadows like that.”
“No, when did I ever complain? But what are you hiding behind your back?”
“H-hiding? What could I possibly be hiding?”
“That thing in your hands clasped behind you. What is it that you’re embarrassed enough to hide? Are you the leader of the Martial World high school girls?”
“I’m not hiding anything!”
Jeok Cheon-gang burst out at my sharp observation, awkwardly releasing the hands he’d clasped behind his back.
From the hands that fumbled with something wrapped in a large leaf, I sensed conflict.
‘That smells like food, and what a smell it is.’
The aroma of meat carried on the wind was extraordinary. My stomach, which had been filled with nothing but raw fish and grilled fish for more than half a day, churned naturally.
Grrrrowl.
“Is it pork?”
“Beef.”
“You didn’t catch it fishing, did you?”
“Of course not. I brought it aboard beforehand. The Water Thieves grilled it with spices, and it turned out quite tasty.”
“That looks delicious.”
“Two can eat it, and five can die without knowing.”
“That’s extremely poisonous.”
“That’s how delicious it is.”
“Then give me some too. Let me taste it.”
“Ha, really. You’re not even funny. Did you think I brought this for you?”
“Ah, so you packed it for yourself?”
“Of course.”
“So Old Master Noya got severe seasickness and deserted the Fast Ship, left it abandoned in the middle of the river you despise, and the Fast Ship sailed on without you, yet you still made sure to bring food with you…”
I looked at Jeok Cheon-gang and nodded slowly.
“That does make sense.”
“…!”
“Give it to me.”
Jeok Cheon-gang answered in a blunt voice.
“Here. Eat up.”
“Oh my, thank you.”
“I was originally going to eat this myself, but I’ve lost my appetite, so I’m giving it to you instead.”
“I know. I know all about it. Why do you keep bringing up something the whole world already knows?”
“…Damn it.”
I let Jeok Cheon-gang’s grumbling go in one ear and out the other as I devoured the meat with single-minded focus.
By the time our brief but voracious meal had ended, the four sharks that had been circling cautiously and the Fast Ship that had been faintly visible in the distance had both vanished from view.
“Ah, I missed them.”
“The sharks?”
“No. I was planning to let them go soon anyway.”
“Then, the Fast Ship?”
I sucked on my finger, wiping away the sauce as I answered.
“Yes.”
“You don’t seem very regretful about it, though.”
“There’s no reason to regret it.”
“You’re a strange one. Didn’t you chase after them all this way by commanding the sharks to catch up with the Fast Ship?”
Yes, that was true. I couldn’t deny it.
But…
“I was starting to regret it.”
“Regret?”
“Yes. Regret.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s no meaning in doing it this way.”
I had captured the sharks under the pretense of replenishing my energy and come this far, but as I drew closer to the Fast Ship, I couldn’t ignore the discomfort that grew within me.
And perhaps that was because it contradicted the way I had lived until now.
‘I had grown slack without realizing it.’
I had already obtained power that my past self could never have imagined. My name now carried immense wealth and fame, the world’s attention trailing behind it like a tag.
Perhaps I had become intoxicated by these rewards that had come my way.
‘I would never have done this back then.’
To obtain something, one must pay an equivalent price.
As an F-rank Hunter who had secured a house for my family in an expensive Safety Sector that didn’t match my circumstances and had clung to raids without rest to pay for my Mother’s hospital bills, I would never have resorted to such tricks with sharks.
The me of that time, who had endured a year of harsh training on Jiuhua Mountain without ever fleeing to reality, was no different.
“I should have just held onto a reef back there instead.”
At my self-pitying quip, Jeok Cheon-gang frowned.
“Then the distance to the Fast Ship would have grown even greater.”
“What does a little distance matter? I would have learned something from that distance.”
“You may never catch up before we reach Hanan.”
“That’s fine. Catching up was never the goal.”
Jeok Cheon-gang’s rigid expression softened gradually.
“You grasped the most essential truth in half a day.”
I bowed my head toward him. For now, I lacked the composure to meet his gaze.
“It took me half a day. I apologize.”
“At first, I waited for you out of concern, and then I intended to scold you harshly.”
From Jeok Cheon-gang’s perspective, it must have been infuriating. I’d been sent away for training, yet I’d assembled a shark water-skiing unit and resorted to shortcuts.
But now, his voice flowing between his lips was gentle.
“I certainly intended to do so, but this will suffice. From now on, try to catch up with your own strength.”
Jeok Cheon-gang took a step forward. The ripples dispersing from his footsteps were incomparably calmer than mine.
Noticing my gaze, he spoke abruptly.
“The martial techniques of the Main Sect have unusually turbulent flow. I wasted years trying to calm this tempest on my own.”
“Years….”
“You already know this as well. That it cannot be learned in a single day.”
“I know. Not just a single day, but that I still have ten days remaining.”
I shrugged and added.
“However, beside me are two excellent advisors who can show me which path to take. So it will be far easier than the process Old Master Noya endured.”
Fire King and Sal-sung. They were stronger than me and had already walked the path I’m treading, far ahead of where I stand.
Wasn’t this a far better position than Jeok Cheon-gang, who had to comprehend everything alone without anyone’s help?
Hearing my words, Jeok Cheon-gang let out a soft laugh.
“What a cunning fellow. You’re brazenly admitting you’ll resort to shortcuts again.”
“If you call it a shortcut, I’d feel slighted. Usually, people call this sort of thing providence.”
“Ha, your tongue flows like a river.”
“Yet you’re not denying it.”
“Well, when I think about it, you’re right. But the difference between me and you isn’t just that.”
“…?”
“Martial talent. With that extraordinary physique and gift of yours—something even heaven and earth would acknowledge—you’ll sprout at least one seedling before reaching Hanan.”
Even the mightiest trees and the most brilliant flowers begin as a single small sprout.
It took Jeok Cheon-gang years to bloom, but I would be different.
After staring at me silently for a while, he suddenly spoke.
“I can’t see the boat. I need to hurry and chase after those damned fellows.”
“Travel safely. If you encounter a shark on the way, try catching one and riding it.”
“That means you won’t be coming with me.”
The mischievous old man. Even though he’d already guessed my intention, watching him test me drew a chuckle from my lips.
“I’ll follow shortly after.”
“Shortly? That will take half a day.”
“I’m just feeling unsettled. That’s my plan.”
“Tsk, tsk. There are many ways to bring hardship upon yourself.”
Even as he spoke those words, the corners of his mouth, already raised, could not be hidden.
Jeok Cheon-gang, who had been gazing at me intently, turned his body and shot toward the dense darkness.
Even after his silhouette faded into a speck and vanished, I remained standing in that spot for a long while.
And finally, as the sun rose and its light warmed the river waters.
Splash.
I took a step forward into the rough current.
My destination was the Fast Ship—or rather, Hanan.
* * *
The entire Martial World seethed like water in a cauldron.
What had begun as mere rumor spread in all directions through the mouths of gossips, and one day, from Songshan in Hanan, dozens and hundreds of carrier pigeons took flight, each bearing a message that would transform that rumor into fact.
We proclaim to the Martial World of all under heaven.
The brief message that began with those words was delivered across the realm, and those who learned its contents understood.
An era of upheaval that none could escape had arrived.
The New Martial Alliance.
No Gang-ho, whose entire body bore the scars of countless battles, recalled the Great Righteous War where corpses piled into mountains and blood flowed like rivers, while young martial artists born in peaceful times, who had never experienced such horrors, were seized by conflicting emotions.
“The time has come.”
“Finally…!”
Turbulent times birth heroes.
Some could not hide their excitement at the thought that an opportunity to make their names known had arrived.
“This, this cannot be!”
“So. So it has come to this.”
Others trembled with fear of the death that would soon descend upon them.
Yet the Orthodox Martial Arts World of this age was a victor proven by history.
Decades ago, had not even the mighty Demon Cult failed to seize the Central Plains and been forced to retreat?
Though a bloody tempest had swept through Shaolin and Sichuan, for most martial artists, this was reason to grow angry and stand and fight—not something to fear and retreat from.
“Let all those with spirit and courage, all warriors bearing arms, stand beneath the banner of the Martial Alliance!”
A cry that echoed across all under heaven.
And… there were those who answered that call.
“Shaolin seeks to join the Alliance.”
“Huashan too shall join the Martial Alliance.”
The Nine Major Sects and One Alliance. The Five Great Families.
The fifteen pillars that upheld the Martial World of this age began to move.
Among them, Shaolin Temple and Huashan Sect raised the banner of the Martial Alliance first, and the remaining great sects vied with one another to seek admission.
Gossips who crowded the Market Streets, Giru, and Inns were busy discussing nothing but this day after day.
“Have you heard? All of the Nine Major Sects and One Alliance and the Five Great Families have joined.”
“It’s only been a day since the news broke, and already?”
“You’re slow with your information. Of course that’s how it is. The real question is what the other sects will do.”
“I heard the Shandong Ak Family is planning to join as well.”
“That’s rather unexpected. Their position between the Martial World and the government has always been ambiguous.”
“What news of the Hahou Sword Family?”
“I believe their previous patriarch fell during the Great Righteous War. The current patriarch will likely participate to avenge his father’s death. By now, everyone knows that Dark Heaven is the successor to the Demon Cult.”
“The Martial Alliance is the symbol of the Orthodox Martial Arts World. The real problem lies with the Demonic Heretical Way and Sae Oe.”
Even as the connoisseurs exchanged their discourse, movements were unfolding across the martial world—each faction stirring with its own agenda.
And within the fervor that spread like wildfire, ten days passed.

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