Murim Login - Chapter 622

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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 622
Counting only the time I had spent in the Murim, it had already been well over a year.
Entangled unexpectedly in various incidents, I found myself wandering beyond Shanxi Province to distant lands, visiting countless martial sects and encountering diverse individuals along the way.
Yet I could say with certainty that no matter how grand any sect claimed to be, none could compare to the spectacle unfolding before my eyes now.
“Huh.”
“Insane….”
Exclamations burst forth from all around.
Even from the mountain peak, I had grasped the immense expanse, but I never imagined it would be this vast.
As the mist dissipated and we drew ever closer to our destination, my jaw dropped lower and lower.
‘No, this is a sect?’
I was astonished in two different ways.
The first astonishment came from the sheer vastness as I mentioned, and the second….
Southern Barbarian Beast Palace
It stemmed from the fence encircling the vast expanse and the wooden sign scrawled with someone’s clumsy handwriting.
Not towering, fortified city walls or iron gates, but literally a fence. A fence.
‘…No. This is a sect?’
The same thought. Different meaning.
Moreover, the fence wasn’t even intact.
Staring at the half-crumbled fence, I turned to Nam Ho with a question.
“Old Master Nam, surely this isn’t really….”
“The Southern Barbarian Beast Palace?”
“Ah, yes.”
As I nodded, Nam Ho spoke calmly.
“Can you read characters?”
“Of course.”
“Then read that sign. No, I’ll read it for you instead.”
Nam Ho pointed to the sign written in clumsy characters and continued.
“Southern. Barbarian. Beast. Palace.”
“….”
“It’s written exactly as it says. This is where the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace begins.”
I understood, certainly. The problem was that reality deviated far from the image I had anticipated.
From above, I had thought there must be some enormous structure, but now that I had emerged from the mist and witnessed it up close, this was nothing but a desolate wasteland.
“Leader, isn’t this the Southern Barbarian Pasture rather than the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace? There’s nothing but fences all around.”
Ju Hwa-ran, who had been surveying the surroundings, nodded at Hyuk Moo-jin’s disgruntled remark.
“Since this is my first time at the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, I’m not entirely sure… but it does seem lacking to be called a palace.”
Song Il-seom and Sa Ma-pyo, who had been silently observing the situation, each added their own comments.
“There’s certainly something odd about this.”
“As Hyuk Moo-jin said, the absence of people is troubling. And there aren’t any other pavilions or buildings either. Isn’t that right, Tae-san?”
“Master. Tae-san is hungry. Can I eat that mushroom?”
Sa Ma-pyo immediately shook his head.
“That won’t work.”
“Then what about the ox? That one walking over there looks delicious.”
“Isn’t he supposed to be some rumored figure from the Black Dragon Demon Gate? I’m asking you as a favor—could you please shut that beast’s mouth? If I hear one more word like that, I think I’ll burst from sheer exasperation.”
“…I understand.”
“One more thing. Every blade of grass and creature visible to your eyes right now belongs to the Southern Beast Palace. Do not forget that. And neither should you forget my patience, which is on the verge of snapping.”
Nam Ho, his face bearing the weight of sudden age, delivered a grave warning to Sa Ma-pyo before gesturing across the vast expanse of land.
“And while I understand your thoughts well enough, I never said this place was the Southern Beast Palace.”
“Pardon? But you clearly said so just a moment ago.”
“I did not.”
“Ah, could it be that your memory is failing you?”
“….”
Watching his expression darken rapidly, the truth became unmistakable. I regarded Nam Ho with a measure of compassion.
“Oh dear. But it should be fine. I know someone close to me who once suffered from memory loss, and they’ve recovered almost completely now.”
“I wish to say three things. First, I do not suffer from memory loss. Second, this question arose while listening to you, but how did this acquaintance of yours overcome their condition?”
“The Half-Reversion Circulation Technique.”
“…That is indeed an excellent method. If only I were not an eighty-year-old man who never learned martial arts.”
“Isn’t life supposed to truly begin at eighty?”
“I would end your life right here and now, but I lack the strength, so I shall refrain.”
Nam Ho, suppressing the rising fury within him, continued speaking.
“The third point is identical to what I said before. I never said this place was the Southern Beast Palace. I said ‘from here onward’ it is the Southern Beast Palace.”
“Ah.”
Similar words, yet the meaning was distinctly different.
Only now grasping what Nam Ho meant, I asked for clarification.
“Then?”
“Correct. This place is one of the lands under the Southern Beast Palace’s dominion. Unlike other regions of the Southern Wilderness, it would be easier to understand if I called it directly administered territory—a place the Palace Master governs personally.”
“It’s similar to how an emperor stations feudal lords or city lords throughout the realm. This place is like the capital of a nation.”
“Precisely. Though there is the difference that the Palace Master’s authority does not match that of a celestial emperor, and the authority of various tribal chiefs within the Southern Wilderness exceeds that of a city lord.”
Ju Hwa-ran, who had been listening to Nam Ho’s explanation, let out a soft exclamation and spoke.
“Now that you mention it, I once read such a passage in records left behind by my grandfather long ago. That the Southern Wilderness is a single kingdom, and the Southern Beast Palace is like a vast ranch encompassing five districts.”
“You are indeed the granddaughter of Pyo Wang. Yet even that master Ju Gong-san has never reached beyond this fence. Those who are not of foreign descent cannot enter.”
“To that extent?”
“To that extent.”
If Nam Ho spoke truth, even the Sichuan Tang Family—a sect second to none in the realm for its exclusivity—would have to yield to the Southern Beast Palace.
I clicked my tongue and gazed beyond the endless fence and pastureland.
“But we must enter, mustn’t we?”
“Indeed.”
“Is there perhaps another way? Could it be that you, Old Master, being of foreign descent, are able to enter…?”
“I said outsiders cannot enter, not that those of foreign descent can do so easily.”
“Ah.”
“Here, I am merely a powerless and ordinary Miao Clan elder. Had Dark Heaven not extended its claws across the realm, and had you not sought me out, I would have quietly ended my days… you cursed fox!”
Nam Ho’s sudden outburst startled me awake, my eyes snapping wide open.
“No, Old Master Nam Ho. Why are you blaming yourself? Quietly ending one’s life doesn’t make one a—”
“Not me! That bastard! Grab that damned beast!”
At Nam Ho’s cry, as though his very breath might give out, we turned our heads and saw a massive rear end crawling awkwardly over the fence.
And before it, a yellowish calf peacefully grazing.
“Huh. Huh?”
“That thing, surely not…”
“When did that bastard get over there!”
“Tae So-hyup!”
“Tae-san!”
Following the voices of the others, Sa Ma-pyo’s final shout rang out, and in that instant, Tae-san flinched.
Moo?
The calf, sensing something amiss, suddenly jerked its head up.
As Tae-san drew near, exclamation marks flashed in the calf’s large, clear eyes, and simultaneously, its not-yet-fully-grown hooves trampled the grass.
Thud-thud-thud!
Swift assessment and an attempt to flee. But Tae-san was one step faster than the calf.
“Beef! Stay right there!”
With a cry laden with iron resolve, Tae-san’s massive frame launched through the air.
Not a tiger or leopard, but how could an underdeveloped calf possibly evade a peak master moving with deliberate intent?
With a dull thud, the calf pinned beneath him let out a wail.
Mooooooo!
It was a pitiful cry that would dampen anyone’s eyes, but for Tae-san—whose belly had been turned inside out by relentless forced marches and meager rations—it was a sound to make his mouth water.
“Tae-san! Beef!”
“Grab that bastard right now!”
Before Nam Ho’s shout had even finished, my Elder Brother had already vaulted over the fence and reached Tae-san’s very nose.
Snatch.
“Let go! Raw beef!”
“Stop it, you heartless madman. Haven’t you seen Woranjeongsori?”
“Haven’t seen it!”
“…Ah.”
Well, that made sense.
For a moment I understood, but that was that and this was this. Seizing Tae-san by the scruff of the neck, I pulled back with measured force.
As the massive bulk tumbled backward, the beef—no, the calf—barely escaped with its life, scrambling to its feet and bolting.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Grass flattened mercilessly in its wake, dust rising in clouds.
Watching the calf’s rear end disappear beyond the pasture, Tae-san whimpered mournfully.
“No good. Tae-san’s stupid…”
This bastard—was his hometown really Majang District?
As I was questioning the creature’s origins, Nam Ho erupted with a furious cry, thrashing about wildly.
“Old Master!”
“Old Master Nam, please calm yourself.”
“Does it look like I can calm down?! I warned you repeatedly not to touch anything in the Southern Beast Palace’s territory! And this oversized insect of a fool didn’t listen to a word and caused trouble?!”
Sa Ma-pyo rushed over and positioned himself between Nam Ho and Tae-san.
“My apologies, Old Master Nam. I took my eyes off him for just a moment and… Tae-san, you fool, shouldn’t you apologize at once?”
Tae-san stared directly at Nam Ho and responded.
“Tae-san hungry.”
“You bastard. Let go of that right now. Let go. You won’t? Did you think I waited over fifty years in the Southern Wilderness getting bitten by mosquitoes to see this spectacle?”
Indeed, life truly begins at eighty. Just watching Nam Ho, who hadn’t even mastered martial arts yet radiated an aura that made even Jeok Cheon-gang yield a step, proved it.
The elderly Shadow Pavilion agent, who had been raging like an active volcano, finally calmed down after a quarter hour had passed.
“Phew. Now that it’s settled, let go.”
“Are you truly certain you’re alright, sir?”
“My five organs and six viscera did flip once in that brief moment, but it’s not enough to kill me outright.”
A 180-degree rotation would be problematic, but 360 degrees is acceptable.
At my nod, Hyuk Moo-jin released his grip, and Nam Ho exhaled with the face of someone awaiting their final breath.
“Yes, fortunately nothing happened. If someone from the Southern Beast Palace had witnessed that spectacle, everything would have gone wrong from the start.”
If this were another sect from the Central Plains, one might think a single cow was nothing, but this ultimately came down to cultural and human differences.
Just as the nomadic tribes of the Steppes treasured horses like their own lives, in this land where inter-tribal discord and vigilance were pronounced, livestock represented significant wealth.
‘The very name is Southern Beast Palace, after all.’
Just hearing it, one could sense an animal-friendly aura emanating from it.
Nam Ho’s initial warning not to touch anything had been no idle caution.
“So what do we do now? We can’t simply wait here until someone appears.”
“Trespassing into the Southern Beast Palace’s territory without permission would cause a disturbance. Then we must naturally seek another method.”
Nam Ho, answering Hyuk Moo-jin’s question, retrieved something from his bundle.
“What is that?”
“A signal firecracker for emergencies. If this goes off, at least someone should come out to investigate.”
Nam Ho lit the fuse with a confident smile using flint and steel.
Sizzle, sizzle. The fuse burned rapidly toward the end.
Simultaneously, the firecracker shot upward with a loud sound.
Screeeee, boom!
The problem was that the sparks from the firecracker fell not into empty air but onto the grassland.
“…Huh?”
“…Huh huh?”
Whoosh, kaboom!
The grassland engulfed in flames as vacant voices escaped the group.
I stood dumbfounded, watching livestock scatter in all directions, and muttered.
“…Well, someone will definitely come out to investigate.”
“…This wasn’t… supposed to happen.”
Like hell it wasn’t. We’re completely screwed.
And it was at that moment, as I gazed upon the burning grassland with a devastated heart.
A tremendous roar erupted!
With the fierce roar of a beast, a silhouette emerged from beyond the burning grassland hillside.

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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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