Murim Login - Chapter 56

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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 56
The Grand Elder was the first to notice Lee Cheon-baek’s arrival.
‘The leader himself has come.’
The fierce aura and palpable killing intent that swept across the gorge were unmistakable, even without seeing him.
As expected.
“You wretches!”
With a thunderous roar, Lee Cheon-baek appeared. His salt-and-pepper hair whipped like a mane, and his eyes burned crimson with fury.
Immediately after, the core forces of the Hengshan Sword Sect arrived—first-rate martial artists and three peak masters!
“Sweep away those Taewon Jin Family dogs!”
“It’s the Sect Leader! The Sect Leader has arrived!”
“Uwaaaaah!”
With the roar, the waning morale ignited once more. Lee Cheon-baek surged forward along the suddenly opened path.
“Kill those treacherous Taewon Jin Family bastards!”
Jin Wi-kyung was not one to simply watch this unfold.
“It is time.”
The Grand Elder responded.
“I concur.”
In truth, he was displeased by Lee Cheon-baek’s appearance. A prolonged war of attrition would have made cleanup easier.
However, the current casualties on both the Taewon Jin Family and Hengshan Sword Sect sides were not yet substantial.
‘It matters not. They will emerge regardless.’
Though both powers aspired to dominate Shanxi Province, they were insignificant compared to ‘them.’
How could the Taewon Jin Family, once treated as mere provincial warriors even in their former glory, possibly stand against them?
‘Mere provincial warriors…’
The Grand Elder swallowed a bitter smile and drew his sword.
Shing.
For countless years, he had carried two blades—one at his chest, one at his waist. Now, words were no longer necessary.
“I shall face Lee Cheon-baek.”
“So it shall be.”
Blood Wolf Sword Lee Cheon-baek—who else? The man who built the Hengshan Sword Sect with a single blade and now seeks to dominate an entire city. A peak master worthy of recognition, even as an enemy.
‘I wish to test myself against him.’
Yet Jin Wi-kyung suppressed his burning spirit. This was a battle upon which the family’s fate rested. Pride must be set aside.
“Wi Paeng.”
“Yes.”
Wi Paeng, who had already drawn his keen narrow-blade sword, took his place at Jin Wi-kyung’s side.
“You and I shall handle the rest.”
“I shall obey.”
His answer was without hesitation. Jin Wi-kyung smiled faintly and drew his blade—the family’s treasured sword, passed down through generations of the Taewon Jin Family.
It was the only thing his father left behind before he vanished one day.
I’m going to take a little tour of the Central Plains.
Use it in the meantime.
Jin Wi-kyung recalled the contents of the letter hastily stuffed into the sword sheath, and his blood surged backward in fury.
‘Touring the Central Plains? After indulging yourself for a lifetime.’
He had no idea where the Family Head was or what he was doing, and his second brother, thousands of leagues away, would only now be receiving the letter.
‘I must protect them.’
Warriors, servants, attendants, children.
Now, Jin Wi-kyung alone was the Family Head of the Taewon Jin Family. Their deaths and survival rested entirely upon his shoulders.
‘I will win. Without fail.’
Jin Wi-kyung’s eyes blazed open. As he raised his sword, a dragon’s roar erupted from his lips.
“Leave not a single one alive!”
Whoosh!
The masters of the Taewon Jin Family launched themselves skyward, their feet tearing at the earth. At that signal, a flaming arrow soared high from behind them.
It was then that dozens of figures rose to their feet atop the cliff.
“Fire!”
Beneath a downpour of arrows, the battle between masters that would determine the fate of this conflict had begun.
* * *
Lee Cheon-baek, the Blood Wolf Sword, was born a warrior.
With innate talent for martial arts and bestial instincts, he had cut down his enemies and realized his ambitions one by one.
He had founded the Hangsan Inspection Bureau, absorbed neighboring sects in succession, and gathered strength. He sought to lay the foundation for a great clan that would one day be recognized even in the Central Plains.
‘Sect Master! This young master….’
Then one day, his second son returned as a corpse. It was not from a fair duel. He had died vomiting blood from the Seven Gates, poisoned by an extreme toxin.
Lee Cheon-baek swore an oath: he would slaughter and burn everything connected to the Taewon Jin Family.
And now Jin Wi-kyung appeared before his eyes. Fire poured from Lee Cheon-baek’s gaze.
“You worm!”
Lee Cheon-baek lunged like a beast. His sword gleamed milky white, brimming with a decade’s worth of martial power.
With such force, he could sever any armor, any divine weapon.
‘That man will surely die!’
It was the very moment Lee Cheon-baek was about to swing his blade.
“Oh, sword energy?”
A soft voice from behind. Lee Cheon-baek’s heart sank.
‘How?’
To expose his back so shamefully. Lee Cheon-baek’s reaction was instantaneous. He twisted his sword and thrust it backward.
Shwik.
The blade pierced empty air, but it bought him time. Now he could see his opponent’s face.
A beard grown long to his chest, an unhurried smile playing at his lips.
An old man with white hair. Lee Cheon-baek recognized his identity in an instant.
“The Flame Yang Sword?”
The Grand Elder nodded.
“It has been long since I heard that name. And you must be Lee Cheon-baek?”
“That is correct.”
Even as Lee Cheon-baek answered, he felt a chill run down his spine.
I couldn’t even bring myself to check where Jin Wi-kyung was or how the battle was unfolding. If I took my eyes off my opponent for even a moment, it felt as though my head would be severed from my shoulders.
‘Coincidence? No.’
I’d grown overly excited upon seeing Jin Wi-kyung, that much was true. My heart had been impatient. But Lee Cheon-baek was a master of the highest caliber.
More specifically, a master who had transcended into the realm of sword energy mastery.
The answer was already clear.
‘A true master!’
Whether it was one move or half a move, the old man before me was a master of a higher tier than Lee Cheon-baek. I gripped my beloved sword tightly.
“I’ve heard much of your reputation.”
“Reputation? I’m merely an old man lingering in the shadows.”
“Then why not remain in those shadows? What brings you out?”
“You’re still young, so you don’t understand. As one ages, one must occasionally stretch their limbs.”
At the Grand Elder’s glib attitude, I ground my teeth.
‘Damn this old fool.’
I had been observing the movements of the Taewon Jin Family for a long time.
I knew there was a faction centered around the Grand Elder that opposed the Family Head. That’s why I had secretly hoped for internal division within the Taewon Jin Family.
But the situation had unfolded in the exact opposite way.
‘So when external enemies invade, they unite as one?’
My heavy gaze fixed on the Grand Elder as I spoke.
“How strong are you?”
“As strong as you believe me to be.”
“Word games.”
“When I was called the Blazing Flame Sword, I was thirty years old.”
At thirty, the Grand Elder was already a master of the highest caliber. Now, as a man in his seventies, how had his martial prowess evolved? As I pondered this briefly, a rueful smile crossed my lips.
‘I’ve grown old too.’
Blood Wolf Sword.
In my youth, I was relentless. With exceptional lightness of step and no proper master to guide me, I carved my own path through everything alone.
Even when facing an opponent of superior skill, I never retreated. I lunged forward like a wolf, tearing at their throat.
‘I lived that way for half my life….’
At some point, I began to be called the Sect Leader instead of the Blood Wolf Sword.
Blood relatives, subordinates, wealth. Things I needed to protect accumulated like mountains.
Administrative duties replaced training, and when action was required, I used my mind instead. Like now.
“Why do you smile?”
I answered the Grand Elder’s question.
“I smiled at my own pathetic state.”
“You fear me.”
I nodded silently.
“Is it death you fear?”
“Only for a brief moment.”
“And now?”
“I will kill you.”
“You’re not capable of that.”
“Surely we should test the long and short of it?”
“That’s what the shorter ones always say. They don’t realize that even after testing, the outcome never changes.”
“Your tongue is quite sharp.”
“That’s not all that’s sharp.”
The Grand Elder drew his blade. It appeared to be nothing special—a simple azure sword—but the moment it left his hand, it began to emanate a sinister aura.
“You may strike first.”
Lee Cheon-baek did not refuse. The sword infused with a decade of accumulated power blazed with shimmering light.
The realm of Sword Qi Frost Blade that countless martial artists dreamed of achieving.
Tssss.
The moment the sword qi rose three inches, Lee Cheon-baek’s form shot forward. His unique martial technique, perfected through countless real battles, unfolded from his fingertips.
Whoosh, shhhhhwhoosh!
Boom!
The sword qi slashed in all directions. Amid the suddenly erupting clouds of earth, screams tore through the air.
“Aaaahhh!”
The cries came from martial artists caught in the gap. All young voices. A red warning flashed in Lee Cheon-baek’s mind.
‘Behind!’
Lee Cheon-baek spun and swung his blade. He caught sight of white whiskers fluttering in the wind. And the sword in the Grand Elder’s hand.
Crash!
‘Ugh.’
With a thunderous boom, Lee Cheon-baek staggered backward in disarray. He wasn’t even given a moment to feel the pain in his wrist.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
Each time the two blades collided, thunder and lightning roared across the sky.
Streams of sword qi erupted continuously, shattering the earth and tearing through the wind.
Shhhwing!
“What in the world….”
The martial artists from both sides forgot they were fighting. They simply stared at this tremendous life-and-death duel with vacant expressions.
In this moment, everyone shared the same thought.
‘Are they even human like us?’
Endless explosions of sound and a feast of sword qi that mesmerized just by watching. The movements of the two figures at its center were faster and more powerful than anyone they had ever seen.
Someone murmured like a groan.
“This is the pinnacle master….”
In their eyes, it was a battle where either could emerge victorious.
Yet the advantage in power was unmistakable. After exchanging roughly three hundred blows, the Grand Elder’s blade shifted.
Whoosh, scrape!
“Ugh.”
Lee Cheon-baek bit his lip. Blood flowed freely from his forearm where the Grand Elder’s blade had grazed past.
The strength drained from the hand gripping his sword.
‘Of all times.’
He quickly switched his grip, but he was naturally right-handed.
Even pouring out a full ten-tenths of power would fall short, and with my sword arm wounded, the outcome was already decided.
Crack!
Snap.
My wrist shattered in a single blow. The weakened sword energy from severe energy depletion couldn’t withstand the Grand Elder.
But Lee Cheon-baek refused to yield.
‘Not yet, it’s not over yet.’
I’d endured far worse injuries countless times. I wielded my sword using the strength of my arm, waist, and legs.
Or rather, I tried to.
Screech!
This time, my knee. The severed tendons gave way regardless of my will, crumbling beneath me.
My blade cut uselessly through empty air.
Thud. Thud, thud, thud.
Ribs, shoulder, chest.
Lightning-like sword energy pierced and tore through my entire body. The ferocious blade didn’t merely sever flesh and bone—it ravaged everything within.
“Gaaahhh!”
Vomiting blood mixed with organ fragments, Lee Cheon-baek looked up at the Grand Elder with dimming eyes.
The old man’s expression remained unmoved. There was no exhilaration at felling an opponent, no joy at war’s end.
For him, all of this was merely the inevitable result.
“Cough… the greatest swordmaster of Shanxi stood before me.”
“If one isn’t the greatest under heaven, then one is merely a provincial warrior. Neither you nor I are of such limited caliber.”
“State your desire. I’ll give you my head. I’ll have my subordinates surrender and seal the gates for ten years, a hundred years if you wish. So…”
“Impossible. What I desire is complete annihilation. Not a single blade of grass left standing.”
“Why…!”
“Don’t ask such questions. Had you emerged victorious, it would have been the Main Residence facing annihilation.”
Lee Cheon-baek glared at the Grand Elder with bloodshot eyes.
I wanted nothing more than to snap that wrinkled neck right then. But gravely wounded as I was, all I could manage was to squeeze out words.
“Taewon Jin Family. You started this, didn’t you? You killed that boy, my son!”
“Ah, Lee So-gun. Yes, that child was the beginning.”
The Grand Elder smiled coldly.
Even the master of the Hangsan Inspection Bureau, which divided Shanxi Province in two, hadn’t detected ‘their’ involvement. Not even now, as death approached.
– Ask Yama when you meet him. Who killed Lee So-gun.
At the transmission that burrowed into my ears, Lee Cheon-baek’s eyes widened.
“What does that…!”
It was an impulsive act. Perhaps compassion for Lee Cheon-baek, who would die knowing nothing. Or perhaps merely the whim of an old man.
– A coin for the ferryman’s toll. Think on it during the long journey ahead.
The Grand Elder raised his blade. The sunset beyond the winter ridge shattered into fragments along the sword’s edge.
‘Thus…’
With the death of the giant Lee Cheon-baek, the Hangsan Inspection Bureau would crumble.
Those who resist will die, those who surrender will be captured. And so one war ends… and a new war begins.
In that moment when all are drunk on victory.
‘It’s over.’
At last, the Grand Elder’s blade moved.
Shrieeek!
A sharp cutting sound pierced the air.
Sensing his final moment, Lee Cheon-baek closed his eyes. The sword gleamed with azure energy, tracing a beautiful arc.
Scrape.
Yet both the cutting sound he’d heard and the sword’s trajectory defied Lee Cheon-baek’s expectations.
The Grand Elder’s blade suddenly split a spear that came flying toward his back, and an enraged voice erupted from his lips.
“Who dares!”
The next moment, an answer came.
“It’s me, you bastard!”
Standing atop a low hillside, the Grand Elder recognized the young man’s face and let out a groan.
“Jin Tae-kyung?”

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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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