Murim Login - Chapter 518

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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 518
A middle-aged guard, his face flushed with drink, suddenly raised his hand high.
“Innkeeper, bring us a bottle of Fire Liquor!”
“And roasted duck!”
“Look at these petty fools. With the momentous founding of the Martial Alliance ahead, and we’re drinking Fire Liquor with roasted duck? Since we’ve come to Hanan, we should be drinking Dukang Wine at the very least!”
“Well, we’re happy enough, but aren’t you pushing yourself a bit too hard?”
“It’s fine. We’re splitting the cost anyway.”
“…You’re not in your right mind. Switch it back to Fire Liquor.”
The inn along the Main Road near Songshan was packed with countless patrons. Of course, the vast majority of them were martial artists.
From green-faced bandits to seasoned rogues who had wandered the rivers and lakes for anywhere from ten to several decades.
Those gathered here differed in purpose, age, and gender.
And as it always goes, where people gather, conflict follows. Especially when martial artists heavy with drink congregate in one place.
“Wait, you…!”
“Oh ho, isn’t this the Master Disciple of the Soha School? And those severed fingers still missing, I see?”
“You bastard! So you’ve come looking for a place to die!”
No matter how vast the world, enemies meet even on a single-log bridge.
In such tangled webs of grudges and debts, chance encounters inevitably led to bloodshed.
Clang! Screech!
Sharp weapons flashed toward each other, and blood sprayed. The fierce exchange unfolding before their eyes drew roars from the surrounding martial artists.
“Waaaaah!”
“A fight!”
“I’ll wager a silver coin on the Soha School Master Disciple!”
“Then I’ll bet two coins on Jang Chung-do!”
As the saying goes, the most entertaining things are watching someone else’s house burn and watching a good fight.
A tiny minority with no connection to the martial world grimaced and quietly slipped away, but the martial artists—regardless of sect, school, or faction—who lived for combat shouted and applauded without hesitation.
And in this chaos, few noticed the middle-aged man who had just pushed open the inn’s weathered door.
Clang! Crash!
Waaaaah!
A fierce battle raged in the center of the inn, yet the middle-aged man spared it not a glance, flicking a silver coin to the innkeeper.
“Two bottles of Fire Liquor and one roasted duck. Find me a seat with a good view outside. Oh, and cook the duck until it’s crispy.”
“Um, sir.”
“Hmm?”
The innkeeper bowed and scraped before the middle-aged man.
“I’m terribly sorry, but there are no suitable seats available at the moment.”
“No seats?”
“Yes. As you can see, so many heroes of the martial world have been coming that…”
The middle-aged man glanced around, then suddenly looked up toward the upper floor. Several faces peered down from the mezzanine level.
“There seems to be space up there.”
“Ah, forgive me, but that floor is occupied by other guests…”
“That will do nicely.”
“Please, wait just a moment. Dae-hyeop, Dae-hyeop!”
The innkeeper’s desperate pleas fell on deaf ears as the Middle-aged Guard continued his ascent.
Striding up the stairs with measured steps, he muttered to himself, brushing past the sharp gazes that suddenly converged upon him.
“Much better. Quieter.”
This floor of the inn was reserved for patrons of higher standing.
Though separated from the ground level by merely twenty steps, the atmosphere here carried a gravity entirely absent from the raucous commotion below, and those seated at the tables were far removed from third-rate martial artists.
“D-Dae-hyeop! You cannot go up there!”
The innkeeper’s pursuing cry silenced the hushed conversations that had been flowing between the tables.
A silver-haired man of middle years, seated at the table nearest the staircase, furrowed his brow and spoke.
“How noisy. What is the meaning of this?”
“I-I apologize, Dae-hyeop. This hero has simply mistaken his floor and….”
“Send him down. And silence the lower level as well.”
“Yes, of course.”
Yet the Middle-aged Guard’s footsteps were already moving elsewhere.
“That window seat looks suitable.”
“Gasp, Dae-hyeop!”
It was not the terrified innkeeper who stepped forward, but rather the silver-haired man of whom I had just spoken.
“Stop right there.”
The Middle-aged Guard turned slowly, his body pivoting with deliberate grace.
“Are you speaking to me?”
“Who else would be in this room besides yourself?”
“You?”
“You appear considerably younger than I, yet you stir up needless trouble. Return downstairs.”
The silver-haired man added his words with measured courtesy.
“Since you seem to lack proper understanding, allow me to enlighten you. I am Bang Ga, known throughout the martial world by the epithet Moon-Beautiful Blade.”
“I see.”
“This should suffice for comprehension. Now, abandon any thought of further disturbance and descend quietly.”
The Middle-aged Guard blinked for a moment before speaking.
“Is what you just said truly accurate?”
Moon-Beautiful Blade chuckled softly.
Who was he, after all? A premier rogue who had long since ascended to the realm where sword energy wounds from a distance—a master of the highest caliber.
He was an entirely different breed from common rabble like Hyul Gon, who merely boasted of having reached the threshold of perfection.
“Heh. Why would I lie? Though I suppose it’s understandable you wouldn’t believe me. You hardly expected to encounter me in a place like this.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. Do I truly appear that way to you?”
“…?”
What was this man saying?
Moon-Beautiful Blade regarded the Middle-aged Guard with a bewildered expression, his brow deepening.
“What do you mean? I don’t understand your words at all.”
“When you said I appeared younger. That must be the truth, yes?”
“…!”
“Hmm. Not a bad mood at all. Fine. I understand perfectly.”
Before Wol Mi-do could even open his mouth, the Middle-aged Guard laughed heartily and pointed toward the window with a raised hand.
“Don’t mind me. Keep drinking. I happen to know someone here.”
“I heard this fellow was….”
“Well, well! Great Master!”
At the moment when both Wol Mi-do and the innkeeper’s cries rang out simultaneously, the Old Master sitting alone by the window suddenly spoke.
“I was growing lonely drinking by myself, but this works out well. Please, come sit.”
“…!”
“…!”
Both the innkeeper and Wol Mi-do fell silent, rendered speechless.
The innkeeper had nothing to say since his guest approved, but Wol Mi-do was taken aback by the Old Master’s demeanor, which had seemed peculiar from the start.
‘He looks like just some wealthy old man, yet also seems like someone of considerable standing… What connection could he possibly have with this short-sighted fool?’
Part of him wanted to teach the Middle-aged Guard a lesson right then and there, yet something about the situation felt unsettling.
Whether the Old Master knew Wol Mi-do’s thoughts or not, the Middle-aged Guard who had plopped down across from him immediately tilted a wine bottle to his lips.
“Ah, excellent. Is this Daughter’s Red?”
The Old Master nodded.
“According to the innkeeper, it has aged for at least twenty years.”
“Fine wine indeed. But among all wines, fire wine reigns supreme. The innkeeper will bring some shortly—do try it.”
“I shall decline. Wine is not something I typically enjoy.”
“What a pity. But then, why are you alone in a place like this?”
“Nothing special. I simply thought I might immerse myself among others for a change.”
The Old Master suddenly turned his gaze toward the window.
The crowds passing through the streets and the bustling noise—he observed and listened to it all in silence for a moment before continuing.
“Now that I’m here, it’s not so bad. Being alone like this.”
“You don’t appear to have come alone.”
“Of course I have children and grandchildren. Just as you have disciples.”
“I have one who might be a disciple or might be an enemy—I’m not sure which. But how did you know?”
“How could I not? I’ve seen him with my own eyes.”
Thud.
The Middle-aged Guard set down the wine bottle with a sound.
Wine that had spilled from the corner of his mouth dampened his beard, which gleamed an unusually crimson hue in the soft lamplight.
“Damn it. I knew it would be like this. But that bastard kept denying it to the very end.”
“You have trained your disciple well, Fire King.”
The Middle-aged Guard, Fire King Red Sky River, wiped his beard with his sleeve and regarded the Old Master intently.
“Last time, my disciple caused you trouble. So I’ve come in person to apologize, Chang Cheon Geom-wang.”
The Old Master—no, Namgung Tae-sang, the Patriarch of the Namgung Clan and one of the Ten Kings—smiled faintly.
“Those are welcome words indeed.”
“I thought you would recognize me, old friend.”
“I nearly didn’t. Half-step Returning to Stillness… it was worth the wait.”
“The promise we made back then—though late, might I fulfill it now?”
“I have been waiting for those very words. For such a very long time.”
Chang Cheon Geom-wang’s eyes gleamed with delight.
Some twenty years prior, he had entrusted a life to Red Sky River in exchange for a promise of a martial duel.
Today’s meeting was the fruit of that long vigil finally come to bear.
“What a shame. The host should be arriving soon.”
“Let those standing do the drinking.”
“A blade? You need nothing else?”
“A blade is enough.”
Chang Cheon Geom-wang reached out and grasped the two chopsticks arranged neatly upon the table.
“This shall suffice.”
Red Sky River smiled faintly and gazed out the window.
“The sky is blue, and you have taken up a blade.”
“The sun hangs in the heavens as well—perfect timing indeed.”
Whoooosh.
The wind stirred. Invisible waves of qi erupted from both their bodies, sweeping across all directions.
And before anyone within the inn could even register what was happening, the two absolute masters moved toward each other.
BOOM!
* * *
CRASH! CRASH! KABOOM!
“Good heavens.”
What in the world was that?
I stood frozen at the window, my mouth agape at the spectacle unfolding in the distance.
No—it wasn’t merely the successive deafening roars and the towering plumes of black smoke that held me transfixed.
Mu-myeong, realizing it a heartbeat after I did, opened his mouth with a grave expression.
“You sense it as well, Master?”
I nodded quietly.
Despite the considerable distance, the fluctuations of qi reached us here. This was unmistakably a clash between supreme masters of the highest caliber.
“If such a thing has occurred, then perhaps….”
“Amitabha Buddha. Yes, it appears to be an assault by Dark Heaven.”
“Dark Heaven, those damned bastards!”
“Despite all our precautions, trouble erupts once more. In that case, I too must venture forth and unleash the Killing Precept with all my strength against them.”
“I’ll join you. Unleashing the Killing Precept against Dark Heaven—it’s become something of a hobby of mine.”
And it seemed I was not the only one who harbored such a hobby.
DONG, DONG-!
“Dark Heaven! Dark Heaven attacks!”
“Slay them and restore righteousness!”
“Strike down those wicked Demon Masters!”
With the alarm bells ringing out across the city, the martial artists traversing Main Road surged forward like a pack of hounds.
It was a sight to set one’s blood ablaze.
‘Ah, so this is the Murim crusade.’
Our side is incredibly strong. Overwhelming numbers.
For someone like me who has endured countless hardships facing Dark Heaven with numerical disadvantage and disparities in power until now, tears threaten to spill.
I can’t afford to sit this one out.
“Follow me! Follow me!”
Those who caught sight of me leaping through the window and standing tall opened their eyes wide.
“The Crimson Divine Dragon!”
“It’s the Crimson Divine Dragon of the Taewon Jin Family!”
“Ooooh!”
Even if I say so myself, I’m quite the legendary figure in the Martial World.
Living proof that even from a cramped backwater like Shanxi Province, dragons can emerge! The young icon of the Orthodox Sects!
“Waaaah!”
“Let’s go! Sweep away Dark Heaven!”
“The Crimson Divine Dragon stands with us!”
Whoooosh!
Martial artists emboldened with courage charge forward with thunderous roars.
Needless to say, Mu-myeong and I led the vanguard.
“Damn it all! Crush them!”
As I unleash a shout infused with my full power, the roars grow even louder.
With so many martial artists at my side, I’m certain we can annihilate whoever stands before us.
“A holy war!”
“Jin Dae-hyeop declares a holy war!”
“Slay those demons!”
“Atimabuul!”
You Dark Heaven bastards! Stay right there! I’m bringing a Martial World crusade down on your heads. Your heads…
“Ah.”
My mind froze in an instant. A figure emerged from within the building engulfed in terrible flames.
“What in the world is this?”
“…”
A demon—but one on our side.

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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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