Murim School Record - Chapter 22

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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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Episode 22: Okmuun Gate (2)

Seol Yeochul’s brow furrowed.
“But that’s impossible, isn’t it?”
“Impossible things become possible through cunning. Watch yourself, I Mobaek.”
“Don’t worry, sir.”
The two of them quickly drove the carriage away from the provisions house.
Their destination was Okmuun Gate, where the Vice Alliance Leader and over a hundred martial artists from the Murim Alliance had been slaughtered.
The investigation team dispatched by the Murim Alliance numbered some three hundred members.
The Nine Major Sects and Five Great Clans had sent representatives.
Gansu Province, where Okmuun Gate stood, lay thousands of leagues away.
Even traveling without rest using Divine Footwork would take at least ten days, and U Mu had instructed them to rest at three locations along the way.
Two days after departure came Gangxi, two days later Honam, and six days from the Murim Alliance’s start, they would reach Dugyon Village at the border between Sichuan and Gansu.
They were to rendezvous near their destination, Okmuun Gate, on the eighth day.
Horses would be resupplied at the closest Murim Alliance branch in each rest region, but he doubted it was feasible for a person to arrive in eight days.
Yet once an order was given, there was no choice but to follow it.
“Let’s go.”
I Mobaek took the reins from the coachman’s seat.
Seol Yeochul remained inside the carriage, and they had agreed to switch positions at appropriate intervals.

With the Vice Alliance Leader and his entire retinue murdered in this urgent crisis, the vacant seat of Alliance Leader bred numerous speculations and suspicions.
A massive investigation team had been rushed to the scene, yet the sect leaders gathered at the Murim Alliance showed no sign of leaving.
“The Alliance Leader approaches.”
As they deliberated the matter in the great hall of assembly, the doors opened, and two of the Wuggeuk Guardians—Pung Gun and U Gun—stepped inside.
All turned their heads toward the entrance in surprise at the sudden announcement of the Alliance Leader’s arrival.
These were leaders who had already been warned through Cheong Ak Seonsa that trouble had befallen the Alliance Leader.
Tap-tap!
The sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Flicker.
The white eyebrows of Cheong Ak Seonsa, seated in stillness, trembled ever so slightly.

‘A steady gait.’

From footsteps alone, one could fully gauge the physical condition of the one approaching.
“Infinite Buddha!”
At that moment, Tae Geuk Geomdo, the sect leader of Wudang seated beside him, muttered the exclamation under his breath.
And he glanced sidelong at Cheong Ak Seonsa.
It was a question—how does the Alliance Leader’s gait appear to the Shaolin sect leader?—but Cheong Ak Seonsa made no reply.
If he had made his own judgment, that sufficed; seeking the other’s assessment might be a subtle probe to gauge the depth of martial prowess.
Cheong Ak Seonsa did not believe Tae Geuk Geomdo’s glance was meant to divine his martial capability.
What was clear was that Shaolin and Wudang were no longer as they had been before.
Wudang’s voice grew steadily louder while Shaolin’s grew steadily quieter.
A white-clad man of middle years walked in.
His lustrous black hair was gathered neatly; his deep brows and clear, transparent gaze seemed immovable even by any shock.
His nose rose like Taishan, his lips pressed firmly shut, and he seated himself quietly in the place of honor.
It was Mo Yongcheon, the Alliance Leader.
He was also the patriarch of the Mo Yong Clan, one of the Five Great Clans.
Silence fell.
The Nine Major Sects, the Five Great Clans, and the leaders of a dozen or so lesser schools occupied the great hall of assembly.
Mo Yongcheon, as though seeing their faces for the first time in ages, slowly scanned each person seated before him one by one.
“Welcome, Seonsa.”
He spoke to Cheong Ak Seonsa of Shaolin.
Cheong Ak Seonsa stiffened.
He had appeared unexpectedly and addressed him directly.
“Amitabha Buddha! I heard the Alliance Leader was in Closed Cultivation?”
“When Closed Cultivation is halted abruptly, what consequences arise, you all know well. The martial prowess accumulated until that moment must be abandoned. Of course, not all Closed Cultivation is like this.”
He meant that he had given up everything to attend this assembly.
Moreover, by singling out Cheong Ak Seonsa instead of the sect leaders, Mo Yongcheon was signaling that this entire situation was his doing.
But Cheong Ak Seonsa was hardly the sort to sit there and take a beating without response.
“Then are you saying, Alliance Leader, that you did not come to this assembly to discuss the massacre of the Vice Alliance Leader and his escort upon their return from meeting the Dalai Lama?”
He had wanted to meet with Mo Yongcheon beforehand, but U Gun, one of the Wuggeuk Guardians, had blocked him with the excuse of closed cultivation.
“So you suspended your closed cultivation and came out to meet this old monk? I hardly know what to make of such courtesy.”
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.”
Mo Yongcheon burst into loud laughter.
His booming laugh echoed through the chamber for a long moment before gradually subsiding.
Snap.
Then his expression snapped back to its original state entirely.
“All things considered, all things considered indeed. Ha-ha-ha-ha.”
Mo Yongcheon laughed once more.
His successive bouts of laughter were making the air in the great assembly hall decidedly strange.
“Tae Geuk Geomdo.”
He abruptly called upon the sect leader of Wudang.
“Infinite Buddha, what do you wish to say, Alliance Leader?”
“You must take on the role of Vice Alliance Leader. I need not belabor the law of the Murim Alliance, which states that in the event of the Vice Alliance Leader’s unexpected death, the Alliance Leader may appoint a successor.”
A sharp intake of breath.
Tae Geuk Geomdo, taken completely by surprise, could not hide his shock.
Vice Alliance Leader.
In the orthodox martial world, it was the absolute seat of one below heaven and above ten thousand.
The highest position save the Alliance Leader himself.
Yet Tae Geuk Geomdo’s face showed no joy whatsoever.
On the contrary, it hardened.
“Do you object?”
Mo Yongcheon asked if anyone had objections to appointing Tae Geuk Geomdo in place of the deceased Vice Alliance Leader, Tae Eul Jinín of Huashan.
The Alliance Leader was elected by the heads of each sect, including the sect leaders, but the Vice Alliance Leader was appointed by the elected Alliance Leader.
Unless a grave personal crisis arose, the person designated as Vice Alliance Leader could never refuse.
Moreover, even if someone objected, their concerns would be heard, but the appointment would not be withdrawn.
“Infinite Buddha… that is…”
Tae Geuk Geomdo seemed to have something to say, but he hesitated, and Mo Yongcheon rose from his seat.
“I trust that, centered on the newly appointed Vice Alliance Leader, we shall handle this crisis well. Then I shall return to my closed cultivation, relying on all of you.”
It was as Mo Yongcheon stood up from his seat.
Cheong Ak Seonsa let out a powerful cry.
“Alliance Leader, what is the current situation? More than a hundred escorts and the Vice Alliance Leader, returning from meeting the Dalai Lama, have lost their lives without even knowing who killed them. I must ask whether closed cultivation is truly justified in the face of such a catastrophe.”
A sudden chill.
The temperature plummeted.
Cold water drenched the assembly in an instant.
Cheong Ak Seonsa did not stop.
“I stand corrected—an investigation team has been dispatched, but we still do not know the identity of the attackers. Even if you are in closed cultivation, is this not a critical moment demanding you abandon everything and emerge? Do any of you find fault with this old monk’s words?”
“We do not.”
“Most reasonable words indeed. I too find myself in complete agreement with Cheong Ak Seonsa’s point.”
Sect leaders and dignitaries throughout the chamber voiced their opinions and gave their support.
Uncertainty crossed Mo Yongcheon’s face.
It was an unexpected turn of events.
But another unexpected development followed.
“Forgive me, but I cannot possibly accept the position of Vice Alliance Leader.”
Tae Geuk Geomdo had no grievance with the Alliance Leader’s appointment, but he argued that at such a grave hour, and with age nearly at the century mark, it was unreasonable for an old man to take on the position of Vice Alliance Leader.
Tae Geuk Geomdo was ninety-eight years old.
All nodded in agreement with his words.
There was truth to what he said.
Mo Yongcheon paused, collecting his breath.
There was one reason he was trying to conceal his injury.
Broadly speaking, it was his fear of the rise of the Demonic Martial Arts Sect.
If word of his wound spread, the demonic forces that had been lurking in the shadows, holding their breath before the Murim Alliance’s dominance, would rise up like a volcanic eruption, sensing their moment had come.
But what truly concerned him was the situation within the Murim Alliance itself.
The seat above ten thousand.
Even now, countless blades coveted that position, their edges whetted sharp.
To them, news of his wound would unleash an unstoppable torrent of blood.
A serious internal injury.
He showed his body to renowned physicians, but they all said that without legendary elixirs like the Eternal Three Kings Elixir or the Public Clear Stone Jade, at minimum a full year of treatment would be required.
The Heaven’s First Assassin, Bun Gwang Kwae Geom, had inflicted a wound so deep it could not be reversed.
Urrgh!
Blood.
Crimson blood poured from Mo Yongcheon’s mouth.
“My lord!”
Pung Gun and U Gun swiftly steadied him and hurried from the council chamber.
Gack!
Hack!
The sound of Mo Yongcheon spewing blood continued to echo through the hall.
The council chamber fell into shock.
The reality that could not be denied or refuted.

‘The Alliance Leader’s injury is real.’

Even Cheong Ak Seonsa could not deny the fact of Mo Yongcheon’s wounds.
Had he not appeared at this grave council deliberating the massacre of the Vice Alliance Leader’s party, they would have concluded that the rumor of his injury from an assassin’s attack was truth, not fabrication.
Yet he had appeared with such assurance that all such worries—and certain hopes—had vanished.
But the sight of fresh crimson blood, flecked and clotted, that he had just expectorated proved beyond doubt that the injury was no lie.
Moreover, every person gathered in this chamber was an absolute master of martial arts, capable of gauging the severity of internal injury with precision.

‘If the blood’s hue approaches black ink, the condition is severe indeed.’

No one needed to speak it aloud; all felt the same.
Yet it was remarkable.
The Alliance Leader bore wounds that drew blood from his throat, yet not a single countenance betrayed dejection.
He did not smile, yet those who showed concern through a melancholy expression were exceedingly few.
Among them, the expression of Tae Geuk Geomdo, the master of Wudang who had refused the appointment as Vice Alliance Leader, grew notably brighter.
An entirely different face from the one he had worn moments before when he spoke of his advanced years rendering him unfit for such grave responsibility.
As though he had encountered starlight breaking through a labyrinth of darkness.
Vice Alliance Leader—
For the headmaster of an orthodox sect like Wudang, that position was shame and dishonor.
Nothing short of the Alliance Leader’s seat carried true honor.
The Vice Alliance Leader receives orders from the Alliance Leader.
Every martial sect under the Murim Alliance and their leadership are subordinates of the Alliance Leader.
Yet the Nine Major Sects and Five Great Clans do not issue commands to their lords.
They make requests.
However, should one become Vice Alliance Leader, there exists a statute in the Alliance’s law: one must obey the Alliance Leader’s commands.

‘The Vice Alliance Leader receives orders from the Alliance Leader and may act in his stead.’

To receive orders—for the headmaster of Wudang, such a thing was utterly incompatible with pride.
But suddenly, the board had shifted.
A path had opened.
The council chamber began to grow noisy.
“Quiet, quiet now, please.”
Tae Geuk Geomdo rose and restored order to the clamorous chamber.

He arrived at Seok Gyeong in Gangxi Province precisely on schedule.
They had arranged to meet at the Wu Hour, but he arrived somewhat early at the Si Hour, set up a cauldron, gathered wood, built a fire, and completed the meal preparations.
U Mu and the main contingent of Shaolin had not yet arrived.
Since he had to arrive first and prepare the meal, he had driven his horse madly for the past two days.
U Mu was not one to overlook even the smallest speck of dust without consequence.
Grinding his teeth and cursing profusely the entire way, he had made the journey.
“Why aren’t they coming?”
I Mobaek grumbled while gazing up at the sun in the sky.
Thwack!
Thud-thud-thud!
At a distance away, Seol Yeochul extended his fists, diligently practicing the Arhat Fist.
Seol Yeochul seemed to grasp the true importance of martial prowess.
The people of the kitchen quarters were never forbidden from training, nor was their practice obstructed.
So long as it did not cause significant harm or interference to their duties, they were permitted to cultivate as much as they wished.

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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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