Murim Login - Chapter 721

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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 721
Nearly ten days had passed since ‘that day’, and the Southern Beast Palace continued its reconstruction efforts.
The Inner Palace, which could be called the heart of the realm, lay completely devastated, and the Outer Palace had suffered considerable damage from the aftermath of battle.
Fortunately, by mobilizing warriors and beasts alike, most of the debris had been cleared in a short time, but when I considered the houses and pavilions that needed to be built for the displaced tribespeople, the road ahead seemed endless.
“Alright, on three we lift together. One, two.”
“Hnngh!”
Crack!
Combining our strength, we hoisted the massive boulder and shouldered thick timber across my bruised shoulders.
Yet despite the relentless heavy labor, no one uttered a single complaint as the work continued.
This was for everyone’s sake.
The Southern Beast Palace was the symbol of all who lived in this land—a spiritual homeland inherited from our ancestors.
Which tribe the people working beside me belonged to, what they wore or ate, which local deity they worshipped—none of that mattered anymore.
Everyone here had come for a single purpose: the reconstruction of the Southern Beast Palace. It was the same reason a certain middle-aged man had walked three hundred miles to arrive here.
Thwack!
The axe blade came down with force, only to rebound off the thick timber, sending a sharp sting through my palm.
A young man approached the middle-aged man who had instinctively winced.
“That’s not how you swing it. Here, let me see your hand for a moment.”
The middle-aged man extended his hand without thinking. His palms, worn from a lifetime spent as a merchant following his family trade, were now covered in blisters and blood.
“Oh my, that must hurt. You haven’t done this kind of work much, have you?”
“Well, no, not really.”
“It’s not just about strength. You need to feel your weight settling into the axe blade, following the grain of the wood in one clean stroke—like this. Would you like me to show you?”
The middle-aged man studied the young man who spoke with such easy familiarity.
Despite his approachable manner, something about him felt subtly unfamiliar.
Not merely because his face was new to me, but his appearance itself. And even his somewhat childlike, halting way of speaking.
Then a thought suddenly occurred to me.
“Could you be…?”
“Han Clan? Yes, that’s right.”
“Ah, then you’re the one I’ve only heard rumors about…?”
“Yes. I’m that person.”
“Oh! Oh my!”
The young man turned to the middle-aged man’s exclamation with a serene smile and spoke.
“I’m Hyuk Moo-jin.”
“Yeolhwa Shinryong Jin Tae… what Moo-jin?”
“Hyuk Moo-jin. The right arm of the famous Yeolhwa Shinryong Jin Tae-kyung! The pillar of the Great Tae Won Jin Family! A proud vice-captain of the Martial Alliance Fire Dragon Division!”
What is this guy?
‘Hyuk, what?’
Was there even such a name among the Han Clan?
I was about to reach for the axe again, regarding the verbose Hyuk Moo-jin with a skeptical gaze, when it happened.
Patter. Pitter-patter.
Raindrops suddenly began to fall.
A sigh escaped from among those working simultaneously. With mountains of work to be done, it was only natural that the pace would slow when rain arrived.
“Damn it. Now rain falls from a clear sky, of all things.”
“What can we do? We just have to think of it as a passing shower.”
“Come on, everyone! Just a little more effort!”
The Middle-aged Guard glanced up at the sky.
The weather had been perfectly clear just moments ago without a single dark cloud, yet here came rain. Even in the Southern Wilderness, known for its unpredictable climate, such occurrences were rare.
‘Still, a brief shower should be manageable.’
Perhaps because his entire body was already drenched in sweat, the sudden rain didn’t feel entirely unwelcome.
In fact, the raindrops striking his palms felt pleasant, as though washing away his wounds.
‘How refreshing.’
It was the moment the Middle-aged Guard unknowingly closed his eyes in contentment.
A sudden grip.
A powerful force seized his wrist. Startled, he opened his eyes and witnessed it—
“…What is this?”
Hyuk Moo-jin’s face, rigid with tension, and the transformation occurring in his own palms where the man’s gaze remained fixed.
It faded. No—it was healing.
The blisters covering both palms, the skin torn and crushed by the axe strikes—
Where the blood had been washed away by the rain, fresh, pale, and hardened muscle and flesh awaited him.
“…!”
“…!”
As though bound by an unspoken promise, both men’s eyes widened simultaneously as they looked up at the sky.
Boom. Boom. Boom!
Through the rain-streaked sunlight, the sound of a drum announcing someone’s return began to echo.
* * *
A miracle.
Those two characters could explain everything. No, it was a phenomenon that could only be described in such terms.
Patter. Whoooosh.
From some point onward, the rain began to fall.
Carrying warmth within it, the drops soaked countless buildings and earth, coaxing flowers and sprouts to bloom, falling upon the heads of all living things.
Washing away their wounds and fatigue.
“The wounds—they’re healed!”
“My body feels light!”
“What, what is this…?”
– Roooaarrr?
And it was a lion’s roar that awakened those left dumbfounded before this incomprehensible reality.
– By the authority of the Palace Master of the Southern Beast Palace, all of you come outside!
The mighty proclamation, infused with formidable power, spread throughout the Outer Palace, and those who moved as though enchanted by the command beheld an enormous white tiger and three figures standing before them all.
Jeok Cheon-gang. Beast King Miao Wang. And Jin Tae-kyung.
“I’ve gathered everyone as you instructed, but what now?”
“I’ve gathered everyone like you said, but what’s the plan now?”
“Why not just have them go out and get rained on? They’ll understand once they experience it firsthand anyway.”
To the whispered words of Jeok Cheon-gang and Beast King Miao Wang, Jin Tae-kyung shook his head without hesitation.
Unlike those two, who could be called warriors to the very marrow of their bones, he had been born and raised in the Modern World and understood just how potent the effects of marketing could be.
“Does one rain suffice? Before that, we need to package it beautifully and present it properly.”
“Package it? Present it?”
“What in the world are you talking about?”
“Well, it’s complicated to explain. In this case, you could call it a form of political maneuvering.”
Warriors, as a breed, remained distant from politics even unto their dying breath. But one born in twenty-first century South Korea operated by different rules.
A merciless world where a single failure at a game could mark you for death.
Jin Tae-kyung, who had been orphaned dozens of times in games he’d accessed for amusement, understood the importance of politics better than anyone.
‘Make the skilled appear unskilled, the unskilled appear skilled. And…’
Make the skilled appear even more skilled—that was politics, that was modern marketing.
Jin Tae-kyung had no intention whatsoever of letting this golden opportunity slip away.
‘If I just leave it at “wow, a miracle!” it’ll feel incomplete.’
Muttering to himself, Jin Tae-kyung took a deep breath. Then he unleashed a cry infused with his inner strength toward the gathered people.
“Hear me all! This is sacred rain bestowed by the Great Earth Mother Goddess!”
The Great Earth Mother Goddess?
The people blinked at the unfamiliar name, while Beast King Miao Wang whispered with a displeased expression.
“What is that?”
“A deity.”
“We have no such god in our lands.”
“We do now.”
“…?”
What the hell is this guy?
Just as Beast King Miao Wang, thrown into utter confusion, lost his words, Jin Tae-kyung continued his proclamation.
“The Great Earth Mother Goddess is the mother of this land, and the one true deity!”
“…!”
“…!”
One true god.
The people, who had been listening blankly to Jin Tae-kyung’s words, gasped at those three syllables.
What manner of place was the Southern Wilderness?
A land where thirty-two tribes coexisted, and where over a hundred indigenous deities existed—more gods than there were tribes.
Yet now he spoke of a single true god.
No matter how much calamity they had endured and how chaotic the Southern Beast Palace had become, the faith they had cherished their entire lives remained steadfast. Angry voices erupted from all corners.
“How dare you speak such nonsense!”
“The Great Earth Mother Goddess? I’ve never even heard of her!”
“We know you’ve worked hard for the Southern Wilderness, but how dare you utter such blasphemy! The Wood God I serve is the one true deity!”
“Don’t you dare invoke the Wood God! The Fire God is the true divine one!”
“You bastard!”
The hall had descended into absolute chaos. Yet as Jin Tae-kyung watched the believers grappling and fighting with one another, his expression was deeply satisfied.
‘Idiots.’
The religious landscape of the Southern Wilderness was as chaotic as the Sixteen Kingdoms of old. And that chaos would make my task considerably easier.
Unlike them, my claims carried both justification and substance.
“How foolish you are! To be blessed by this sacred rain and yet fail to feel the grace of the Earth Mother Goddess!”
The stern rebuke rang out with such force that the clamor vanished as if washed away.
A tribesman who had been about to throw a haymaker at a follower of another faith looked up at the sky with confusion.
Whoooosh.
Rain cascading down from a clear sky. Watching it heal the sick and coax new sprouts from the earth, my heart grew complicated.
“B-but the Wood God—”
“So what was the Wood God doing ten days ago? When I was setting fires on the mountains, it did nothing.”
“That is—”
Jin Tae-kyung silenced the stammering believer with a shout.
“All of you gathered here witnessed it! That brilliant radiance! That warm embrace!”
“…!”
“Both yesterday’s miracle and today’s miracle are blessings bestowed by the Earth Mother Goddess, who takes pity upon you!”
The people’s eyes wavered.
Just as Jin Tae-kyung said, they were living witnesses who had seen and experienced everything. Even the raindrops falling upon their heads were nothing short of an incredible miracle.
“Earth Mother Goddess…”
Even the name itself was warm and endearing. Simply uttering those four characters brought to mind the embrace of one’s mother.
Moreover, she was the one true god. The only god that existed.
“Then, what of all the other gods we have served until now?”
At someone’s question, Jin Tae-kyung answered without the slightest hesitation.
“One cannot possibly compare mere minor deities to the great Earth Mother Goddess.”
“M-minor deities…!”
“The Earth Mother Goddess spoke as she granted her miracle: ‘Useless minor deities.’ She commanded that you be protected from these worthless gods.”
“Ohhh! Ohhhhh!”
“Incredible! A miracle followed by divine revelation!”
The atmosphere grew fervent as the crowd became unified in wonder and awe.
Jin Tae-kyung seized the moment and raised both hands high.
“All together now! Chant the Earth Mother Goddess!”
“Earth Mother Goddess! Earth Mother Goddess!”
“Louder!”
“Earth Mother Goddess! Earth Mother Goddess!”
“Repeat after me: Believers reach heaven! Non-believers fall to Hell!”
“Believers reach heaven! Non-believers fall to Hell!”
“Those of the Southern Wilderness who believe in the Earth Mother Goddess shall be saved even in death, while those who do not shall plunge into the fires of damnation!”
“Ahhhhh! Blessed Mother!”
“Save us! Save this land!”
Watching the tribespeople transform into children of the Earth Mother Goddess, Beast King Miao Wang stared at Jin Tae-kyung with vacant eyes.
‘What in the name of madness is this lunatic doing?’
I need to stop this. I must stop this.
I don’t understand politics or rhetoric, but one thing is clear—everyone’s eyes have lost all reason.
The sky and earth trembled at the sound of voices crying out to the Earth Mother Goddess as if spitting blood.
“Goddess of Earth reigns! Disbelievers burn in hell!”
“Where’s that bastard who said he believed in the Wood God earlier!”
“There! That’s him! Throw him into the flames!”
“No! Please! I’ve already converted!”
“Prove it!”
“G-Goddess of Earth reigns! Disbelievers burn in hell!”
“He’s one of us! Stop restraining him! Now find whoever still believes in the Fire God!”
A wave of conversion swept across all directions.
Even Jeok Cheon-gang, who had been contemplating whether to believe in the Fire God himself under the crushing pressure emanating from tens of thousands of people, fell silent. Beast King Miao Wang desperately wanted to stop this mad frenzy.
“P-Please, that’s enough….”
And the moment Beast King Miao Wang barely managed to squeeze out those words, Jin Tae-kyung’s voice rang out.
“Everyone, silence! The Palace Master of the Southern Beast Palace and the High Priest chosen by the great Earth Mother Goddess has something to say!”
“Stop… what?”
“Please speak, High Priest.”
What priest?
‘High Priest? Me?’
Before Beast King Miao Wang could even comprehend the meaning of that word, countless gazes descended upon him.
A suffocating silence settled across the entire realm.
Even he, a Palace Master of considerable renown, had never witnessed such gazes—eyes brimming with love and trust as never before.
“…!”
In the next moment, the lips of the Beast King Miao Wang, frozen like a stone statue, parted.
“Goddess of Earth reigns. Disbelievers burn in hell.”
“Waaaaaaah!”
It was a historic moment—the true unification of the Southern Wilderness achieved under the benevolent protection of the great Earth Mother Goddess.

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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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