Murim Login - Chapter 523

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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 523
A deep, steady breath.
Heat. The scorching yang energy surging from my dantian spread through my limbs and meridians, flooding every vessel with vitality. Everything felt serene and vivid.
I channeled my cultivation through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
Once, twice, thrice…
Circulating qi through breathing was like rolling a snowball down a high hillside. With each repetition, it grew larger.
Yet impurities—soil, stone, twigs—could become mixed within it.
These were the turbid energies that clouded the purity of my cultivation, and through repeated circulation, I burned away these impurities until only pristine power remained.
‘More, more, more.’
I murmured to myself like one entranced, sustaining the flow of qi.
Power accumulated over sixty years transformed into the shape of a fire dragon, swimming freely through my body without obstruction.
Within the mental image I conjured, the dragon’s form grew ever more colossal, its heat blazing with fierce intensity.
And in that moment, I understood.
‘Now.’
A brilliant eruption.
At my will, the yang energy burst outward in all directions. Truly overwhelming heat—as though a miniature sun had detonated within my body.
My closed eyes grew scorching, and from my nostrils flowed not breath but flames.
No—not merely seemed to flow, but surely did.
As water overflows when too abundant, the power filling my body now streamed outward.
From my eyes, nose, mouth—the seven orifices as they were called—heat poured forth, searing the air around me.
The same phenomenon occurred across countless pores throughout my entire body.
A sharp, rushing sound.
I felt it—the immense torrent of qi converging above my crown. Simultaneously, I painted upon the blank canvas of my mind.
I am my own master. Every meridian within my body, every strand of energy flowing outward—all belong to me, and none can defy their master’s will.
Though I could not see it with my eyes, I felt it—the yang energy gathering above my head taking the form my master desired.
One, two, three.
Three petals, crimson as if aflame.
‘The Three Flowers Converging at the Crown.’
The fruit born from enlightenment added to the realm of the Ultimate Peak.
This alone was a state every martial artist in the world dreamed of achieving, yet I had merely crossed one hillside.
A long exhale.
The breath released between my lips carried the remnants of turbid energy filtered through my circulation.
Having expelled the last traces of impurity and cleansed both my power and mind, I took a step toward the next hillside.
‘The Five Qi Returning to Origin.’
Even after opening the lower dantian, I had attempted this realm several times but ultimately failed. Another wall blocking my path.
‘I will break through. Right now.’
With firm resolve, a sharp tingle resonates through my chest.
I must not release the tension I now held. Recklessly striking a wall with bare fists only bruises one’s knuckles.
To even crack the wall, I must read the precise flow within this tension.
‘The slightest carelessness could cause my cultivation to reverse and flow backward.’
Walking a path already laid out is easy.
But this is a process of forging my own new path. I must move boulders, clear away brush and undergrowth. There were times when climbing the cliff, my foot would slip.
A reversal of inner energy leads to internal injuries, and continuing recklessly while wounded was a perfect recipe for falling into demonic cultivation—a state from which there was no return.
According to what Jeok Cheon-gang told me, it was not one or two martial artists who had died or become crippled in such a manner.
I had no intention of spending my days in a wheelchair while Dark Heaven was taking massive dumps all over the Murim.
‘Slowly. Carefully.’
Fortunately, my training with Moon-kyung had proven invaluable.
The heat-yang qi I had accumulated through the Yeolhwa Sect’s foundational inner cultivation technique, the Blazing Fire Divine Method, possessed strength and explosive power surpassing even the profound techniques of other renowned sects, but the movements were admittedly rough and crude.
However, through this training, I was able to fill in at least some of those imperfections.
‘I can do this. If I just keep my mind sharp, it’s entirely possible.’
It’s warm. The Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown trembles above my head. But don’t worry. My inner energy is faster than my hands.
‘First, the first ring.’
It was precisely when I began carefully circulating my inner energy.
“Stop circulating your energy. It’s pointless right now anyway.”
“…!”
Crack!
As my concentration shattered at the sudden voice, the inner energy that had been taking the form of the Five Qi Convergence scattered into pieces.
Simultaneously came the backlash of reversed energy. I spewed out bile surging from deep within my body.
“Ughhhh!”
Splash.
A small amount of vomit mixed with blood spattered onto the floor.
Damn, so this is what Niagara Falls looked like in those photographs.
After expelling what had surged up in that moment and gasping for breath, the side dishes I had eaten this morning were waving at me from the floor.
“Ugh, bleeegh!”
Ah, I couldn’t hold this back.
After retching repeatedly and finally coming to my senses, I glared at the owner of the leather shoes who had by now distanced himself considerably.
“What are you doing right now?”
Moon-kyung carefully examined the leather shoes he was wearing and answered.
“These shoes are only four days old. It would be troublesome if they got dirty.”
“That’s not what I meant. Why did you speak while I was circulating my energy?”
“I didn’t even shake you. At a level you’ve reached, your equanimity shouldn’t crumble from mere words. You’re simply lacking.”
“You startled me!”
“I was startled too. What on earth have you been eating these past two days that produced so much….”
Moon-kyung frowned as he looked at the messy vomit on the floor.
“The more I look at it, the more disgusting it is. By its appearance alone, it does resemble the form of the Five Qi Convergence.”
“Hey, Moon-kyung!”
“What ‘kyung’?”
I met Moon-kyung’s cold gaze without flinching.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
Hmm. This should be sufficient.
“My apologies. It seems I’ve sustained rather severe internal injuries.”
“…Looking at you makes my qi channels throb with pain.”
I hastily changed the subject, avoiding Moon-kyung’s cold, piercing gaze.
“But what brings you here so suddenly? Actually, how did you even enter this place?”
“Why do you think doors exist?”
“But Moo-jin should be guarding the door….”
The moment I trailed off.
Whoosh, thud!
A figure tumbled through the half-open doorway and collapsed with a soft thump.
I couldn’t help but recognize that unmistakably familiar back of the head, my eyes snapping wide open.
“Moo-jin! Hyuk Moo-jin!”
As I cried out, Moon-kyung opened his mouth with a chilling tone.
“Leave him be. He won’t wake even if you shake him.”
Won’t wake even if I shake him?
So this blood-crazed demon has finally done it.
I shouted, my voice trembling with fury.
“You heartless murderer! You’re just like Sal-sung!”
“He was blocking the door and sleeping, so I tried to wake him, but he wouldn’t budge… What did you just say?”
“Pardon?”
“I asked what you said.”
“Huh?”
What the hell.
Right on cue, Hyuk Moo-jin’s body—not corpse—stirred. Accompanied by a robust snoring sound.
Snoooore.
“….”
“….”
Our gazes collided silently in the air. I opened my mouth with a charming smile.
“It appears there was a slight, trivial misunderstanding.”
Moon-kyung replied with a withered expression.
“It doesn’t seem like a misunderstanding. And it wasn’t trivial.”
“But isn’t it good enough that things turned out well?”
“Dead is dead, you’re saying?”
“How… could things have become like this?”
“There’s no reason they couldn’t. Do you have a complaint?”
I had complaints, and it seemed my inner ear had serious issues as well, but I lacked the courage to point such things out.
“I apologize.”
“Does an apology settle everything?”
“I believe sincere dialogue can resolve all grievances.”
“Good then. Go have that dialogue with the Heavenly Master of Dark Heaven. Wipe that irritating smile off your face before he tears your mouth apart.”
“The ancients said it well—one cannot spit upon a smiling face.”
“Ptooey.”
Splat.
Hmm. The ancestors were wrong about this.
But in moments like these, I must reclaim my composure. I calmly wiped the spittle from my cheek.
“Your projectile velocity is quite impressive. I thought it was a hidden weapon technique.”
“If you channel your inner strength into it, you can burst a man’s eyeball.”
“Remarkable. Might you be of the Zerg race, by any chance?”
“I’m a Reaper.”
“…I must apologize once more for the misunderstanding.”
Moon-kyung, who had been staring at me with eyes that seemed to calculate how many pieces I’d need to be cut into to be considered properly dead, clicked his tongue softly.
“Enough. Every time I converse with you, my vitality drains away.”
“…”
What could I say? My lifespan was hemorrhaging by the second.
I’d wager Hyuk Moo-jin’s left ventricle that this conversation alone had shortened my life by at least four days.
‘That bastard Hyuk Moo-jin was told to stand guard, but he couldn’t resist and is causing trouble again.’
Moon-kyung was one thing, but that one was equally remarkable in his own way.
“But what brings you to this place…?”
“That sounds like you’re asking what dog-like nonsense I’ve come to do.”
“Oh.”
“Oh?”
“Oh…yes. I was simply curious and thought I’d ask.”
“I have a feeling your pronunciation has become quite strange in the time we haven’t seen each other, but that’s probably just my imagination.”
“Yes, it must be your imagination.”
Moon-kyung sighed softly and tossed the pouch he was holding.
I caught it reflexively, my eyes widening.
“What is this?”
“A Vital Pellet.”
“A Vital Pellet?”
A spring Santa Claus? Why the sudden gift?
Skeptically unwrapping the pouch, a small, sturdy-looking wooden box emerged.
Simultaneously, a peculiar fragrance seeped deep into my nostrils.
‘This is…’
They say you can discern the effects of spiritual medicines like Vital Pellets before even seeing them directly, and this was precisely such a moment.
Before I even opened the wooden box, I realized the Vital Pellet inside possessed considerable potency.
Click.
As I opened the box, a single reddish-hued Vital Pellet revealed itself. At first glance, it was no ordinary treasure.
Staring blankly at the pellet, I lifted my gaze to Moon-kyung.
“Why do you stare so?”
“I was wondering why you’d suddenly give me something like this.”
“It contains considerable fire essence, so it should prove beneficial to you.”
“Pardon?”
“Did you get wax stuck in your ears? Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“No, I wasn’t asking about its effectiveness….”
Moon-kyung’s face crumpled suddenly. It was an expression so rich with emotion that it was hard to believe this was the same Moon-kyung who usually wore such a barren countenance.
“I picked it up on the way.”
“…?”
“Let me correct that. I saw it while passing by and bought it. Are you satisfied?”
Satisfied? What’s there to be satisfied about, you fool.
I reached out and touched the crimson ring pill nestled inside the leather case.
‘Item check.’
Ding.
[Moon-kyung’s Specially Crafted Jin Tae-kyung Custom Ring Pill]
Would you like to view more detailed information?
Y / N
Yeah. No. Never mind. This is enough.
After closing the simple system window, I fixed Moon-kyung with a lukewarm gaze.
“You saw it while passing by and bought it. I see.”
“…What’s with that look in your eyes?”
“Nothing at all. In any case, I’ll accept it gratefully.”
What I felt toward Moon-kyung right now was precisely half gratitude and half dread.
‘I’m grateful he gave me such a fine ring pill, but what in the world is this next training going to be….’
This feels like I’m being well-fed before my execution.
Noticing the meaning hidden in my trembling gaze, Moon-kyung opened his mouth.

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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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