Murim Login - Chapter 524

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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 524
Hyuk Moo-jin stirred awake roughly a quarter hour after Moon-kyung had departed.
The fellow poked his head cautiously through the cracked doorway, and the moment our eyes met, he opened his mouth with a solemn expression.
“Your breathing cultivation has concluded, I see.”
“Yeah. And soon your life will too.”
“Hyuk Moo-jin, Deputy Commander of the Dragon Corps of the Great Tae Won Jin Family. Following the team leader’s orders, I’ve been preventing even a single ant from entering.”
“…Are you actually insane?”
Look at this bastard spouting lies with such confidence after letting everyone but the ants through.
It was absurd, but I had to give him high marks for the audacity to brazenly fabricate excuses while his nose was practically broken.
“Close the door and get out of here.”
“Yes, sir.”
Apparently feeling guilty about something, he didn’t even offer a single word of protest before scrambling to leave.
As Hyuk Moo-jin moved to shut the door, I suddenly remembered something to ask him.
“By the way, what about the others?”
“The others? Whom exactly are you referring to…?”
“Everyone.”
Hyuk Moo-jin paused in thought before speaking.
“First, the Patriarch has been holding meetings with sect leaders and family heads from other martial factions.”
“Sect leaders and family heads?”
“Yes, the frequency of these meetings seems to have increased over the past day or two.”
A day or two ago—that was when I and Jeok Cheon-gang, along with several others, had headed toward the Martial Alliance.
‘It’s about time this conversation started.’
At minimum, word must have reached the leaders of the Nine Major Sects and the Five Great Families.
With various information and issues concerning Dark Heaven surfacing, it was only natural they would pool their heads together to devise countermeasures.
“Oh, and we’ve handed over Sam-gwe’s body to the Martial Alliance. I hear they’ve summoned some master to interrogate him…”
“Is that so?”
Sam-gwe, the third of the Snow Mountain Three Demons who had drenched Sichuan in blood under the Western Heavenly Demon Lord’s command, possessed a stubborn grip on life.
Despite numerous incidents during his capture and journey to Hanan, the fact that his neck remained intact—unlike his two elder brothers—was proof of his good fortune.
Though other parts of him had been severed instead.
‘If he claimed ignorance even while his testicles were being cut off, there probably isn’t much more to extract through interrogation.’
Even for supreme masters, testicles are precious to everyone.
Gung Ki-bang and Hyuk Moo-jin had once engaged in a hundred-minute debate about whether life, the dantian, or testicles were most important.
‘In any case, since I’ve handed over Sam-gwe’s body as instructed, the Martial Alliance will handle the rest.’
Well, that’s not my concern. I simply hope the Martial Alliance extracts more information about Dark Heaven through further interrogation.
“So that’s settled with the Patriarch. What about the others? I haven’t seen them around.”
“Gung Ki-bang has relocated.”
“Relocated? When?”
“About an hour or two ago. Since you were in the midst of breathing cultivation, I received the report in your stead.”
“…You weren’t sleeping then?”
“What are you saying? I stood guard like an iron fortress.”
“Tch, this bastard just opens his mouth and out comes nonsense.”
As I raised my fist, Hyuk Moo-jin hurriedly continued speaking.
“The Beggar Clan! I’ll be at the Beggar Clan in Hanan with Bun-ta, so if anything comes up, feel free to visit anytime.”
I stopped mid-punch.
“The Beggar Clan? Why is he going there?”
“Pardon?”
Hyuk Moo-jin, who had been staring at me with a bewildered expression, continued.
“Could it be that you don’t know which sect the team leader belongs to?”
“What kind of ridiculous question is that? Obviously the Taewon Jin Family or the Yeolhwa Sect.”
“What about Gung Ki-bang?”
“…Ah, damn. That’s right. That bastard was from the Beggar Clan, Hu Gae.”
I’d forgotten because he’d been sticking to me like gum. Besides, he had his own master and sect, so it was unreasonable for him to stay with me even in Hanan.
“Wait. Did Chung Poong leave too?”
“Of course.”
“…Really?”
Hmm. Things will be quiet for a while.
But somehow it feels bittersweet. Of course, I’ll keep running into both of them in the future, but without those two who were always so rowdy, I feel an unexpected emptiness.
“Still, they should at least say goodbye.”
At my muttering, Hyuk Moo-jin looked me up and down as if I were a strange fellow.
“Why would they say goodbye?”
“Why are you so cold-hearted? We’ve spent time together until now—they’re just leaving without even saying goodbye?”
“But… they just went out for a bit. Do they really need to say goodbye before leaving?”
“…?”
“They went to Market Street to buy candy and dumplings.”
“…!”
Damn it. Give me back my feelings.
As I stood speechless for a moment, Hyuk Moo-jin gave me a subtle look.
“Team leader.”
“Shut up.”
“I haven’t said anything yet.”
“That’s why I’m telling you to shut up.”
“No matter what happens, I’ll always be by your side.”
“…Please, just stay away.”
“Aw, you like it really.”
This is infuriating, and damn embarrassing too.
As I sighed, Hyuk Moo-jin, who had been pestering me from the side, suddenly asked as if remembering something.
“By the way, you’re not asking about Moon-kyung?”
“I’ve already seen him.”
“Really? He’s been pretty busy lately. He’s been gathering strange medicinal herbs, boiling them, grinding them—he looked frantic. When did you see him?”
“While you were sleeping, you bastard!”
Smack! Smack! Crack!
“Ugh! Argh! Gasp!”
“Go! Go! Get out this instant!”
Hyuk Moo-jin, thoroughly beaten, looked up at me with glistening tears in his eyes.
“Do you despise me that much, sir?”
I shook my head immediately.
“No, I want to kill you.”
“You’re being too harsh, sir. Truly.”
“I left you as a dharma protector for one moment and all you do is sleep? If you slept that much, you’d have dreamed of the Butterfly Lovers’ tale. You bastard.”
“Why do you hate only me, team leader! I hate you too!”
….
Patter, patter, slam!
Watching Hyuk Moo-jin disappear in a spray of tears, I was left speechless.
‘This is infuriating, truly.’
A man well into his mid-twenties acting like this—is this really happening? My fists clenched with frustration.
Just as I was exhaling a deep sigh from the depths of my heart, the door opened again and Hyuk Moo-jin poked his head back in.
“Um, well….”
“Welcome back. Our Moo-jin has found his manners.”
“No, sir. I’m worried you might misunderstand.”
“Misunderstand what?”
“I didn’t slam it on purpose. The wind just blew it shut hard.”
….
“Then I’ll take my leave. Work hard, sir. Loyalty.”
I really might kill him.
He’s doing exactly what an elementary school student does after being scolded by his mother. I stared at the door, which had closed with the gentlest touch imaginable, and shook my head in disbelief.
Then I turned my gaze back to the empty space I’d been watching before Hyuk Moo-jin woke up.
Item Window
[Moon-kyung’s Specially Crafted Jin Tae-kyung Custom Elixir Pill]
Type
: Elixir
Grade
: Peak
Restriction
: None (However, effects amplified if user is [Jin Tae-kyung])
Description
: An elixir pill focused on stability and recovery rather than raw power increase. When consumed while one’s cultivation is unstable, it stabilizes one’s energy and greatly enhances recovery.
Special Notes
: Since it was crafted with [Jin Tae-kyung] in mind, the designated individual will receive significantly enhanced effects upon consumption.
“…Hmm.”
I gently caressed the crimson elixir pill—the so-called Moon-kyung’s Special Jin Tae-kyung Custom Pill—before placing it into my neck pouch.
‘Inventory open, store.’
A system notification appeared confirming the item had been stored.
But my mind was already drifting back to the conversation I’d had with Moon-kyung before he left.
‘Your training ends here.’
‘Pardon?’
‘What, are you disappointed?’
In that moment, a torrent of emotions seemed to wash over me. After hesitating, I answered like this.
‘…To be honest, it’s not exactly welcome news.’
‘Why is that?’
‘I want to become stronger. Far stronger than I am now.’
‘Greedy bastard. Aren’t you already strong enough?’
‘No matter how much you fill a cup, it never stays full—that’s the nature of the human heart, isn’t it?’
Moon-kyung, who had been staring at me intently as I countered, let out a soft chuckle.
It was the first smile I’d ever seen from him.
‘Now you’re starting to sound like a true martial artist.’
‘Because I am one.’
‘Then let me ask again. Do you want to become an assassin, or do you want to become a martial artist?’
‘I want to become strong. So strong that no one would dare touch me. Strong enough that my very existence alone would guarantee the safety of everyone around me.’
‘An undefeated one… you dream big.’
Undefeated. A distant and grandiose word.
Even that Martial God had enemies. The Heavenly Demon, master of the Demon Cult, and the hundred thousand demonic forces he commanded—they were the Martial God’s true adversaries.
‘You certainly dream big.’
‘Even if reality is a cesspool, dreams should soar high and far.’
‘Amusing, truly. It’s clearly an absurd boast, yet coming from your mouth, it somehow feels convincing.’
‘Pardon?’
‘It’s nothing. And for that very reason, you must not learn my martial arts.’
‘Why is that?’
‘Excess becomes poison. You don’t need two wells right now.’
‘…You’re saying I should dig only one well?’
‘Did you just drop the honorific?’
‘No, that’s not what I meant.’
‘This is a decision I’ve made after long deliberation. Remember that.’
‘Is it because my talent is insufficient?’
A question I threw at Moon-kyung as he turned to leave.
His answer was brief and concise.
‘The opposite.’
‘Pardon?’
‘If you were lacking in talent and weak, I would have taught you far more. Because to survive, you’d need to grasp at anything you could.’
Those words suddenly brought back memories of my days as an F-rank Hunter.
No matter how carefully I chose my position or approached combat, danger always lurked somewhere.
Without a tank’s protection or support from mages and archers, it ultimately comes down to individual combat.
When I accidentally dropped my spear, I slit a goblin’s throat with the dagger I carried; when that broke, I picked up a rock and smashed its skull.
I did whatever it took to survive.
The reason I took up the spear wasn’t because I possessed any special talent with it, but because using a spear increased the distance between me and monsters, which meant a higher probability of survival.
‘Looking at his expression, it seems he’s grasped something.’
‘…I think I understand what you’re saying, somewhat.’
‘The martial arts I’ve learned and those of the Yeolhwa Sect are fundamentally different. I was raised as an Assassin from the beginning, and I’ve lived as one for more than half my life. The starting point itself is different. Therefore, even if I were to teach you martial arts, there’s a high probability they wouldn’t integrate properly according to your foundation.’
‘Is that why you’re stopping the training? I thought we were only just beginning.’
‘Beginning? You already know everything.’
‘Pardon?’
‘What matters is not martial technique but martial principle. That is everything I possess, and it is the foundation upon which the name Kill Star was forged.’
I still remember that gaze from back then. Moon-kyung’s eyes, their intent utterly inscrutable. And his voice.
‘At first, there were three hundred. All learned the same martial arts and received the same training. After ten years, only twenty of the three hundred trained as Assassins remained, and after another ten years, only one person was left.’
I didn’t need to ask who that final person in the story was.
Moon-kyung, whose unfathomable eyes traced through the distant past, turned away. With one final word.
‘I taught you the most essential martial principle above all else. Merging martial techniques with different foundations is nearly impossible, but principle has no such distinction. Infuse that principle into the martial arts you’ve learned. This is your final task.’
Knock, knock!
I suddenly awakened from my reverie. A familiar presence was knocking on the door from outside.
“Hyuk Moo-jin?”
“Team Leader. It’s time. You should come out.”
Time? Already?
The question that flashed through my mind vanished almost as quickly as it came.
I suddenly realized what day this was.
‘The Martial Alliance.’
Today was the day the martial world of all under heaven would stand beneath a single banner.

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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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