Myth of Martial Arts - Chapter 12

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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 12
In this moment, Im Myeong’s heart was a tumult of contradictions. There was the lightness of newfound freedom, a sense of liberation—yet beneath it churned anxiety about what lay ahead, a confusion he couldn’t quite name.

‘Changung Academy… Can I truly learn anything of value from a school that’s been left in ruins for years?’

His resolve wavered, and a wave of tension and unease washed over him.

“Has everyone arrived?”

A voice spoke from behind them—authoritative, tinged with an unmistakable weight. Whoever spoke carried the bearing of someone accustomed to command.

All eight turned, and a composed middle-aged man came into view, his presence commanding the space around him.

“The Mu Clan Patriarch!”

Their pupils contracted sharply, eyes widening with undisguised shock.

Why had the Imperial City’s foremost master appeared here, of all places?

Mu Jin approached slowly, Mu Muk and Mu Heon Heon flanking him on either side.

He regarded the eight young people standing before him with a steady gaze, his words weighted with significance.

“Changung Academy is no ordinary institution. To become a student here is a fortune you’ve earned through countless lifetimes of virtue. Treasure this opportunity well. Such a chance will not come again.”

All eight young people, Im Myeong among them, exchanged uncertain glances, their confusion evident.

“You don’t understand?”

Mu Jin smiled faintly, untroubled.

“That’s all right. You’ll learn soon enough.”

A master of the Wa Seon Realm, arcane and potent cultivation methods—even the glimpses Changung Academy had revealed were enough to set imaginations ablaze.

Moreover, when Mu Muk had returned yesterday, he’d brought news that left Mu Jin astounded: Jang Wook possessed strength beyond measure, and was himself an Alchemist capable of crafting pills.

Upon hearing this, Mu Jin immediately understood how Jang Wook had achieved the Wa Seon Realm at such a young age.

Beyond doubt, there was one critical factor at work—one that eclipsed even the power of his cultivation method. It was the pills themselves.

An academy taught by an Alchemist. Its students would be blessed with exceptional fortune indeed.

“Come. Let’s head to the classroom.”

Mu Jin said nothing more, turning with Mu Muk and Mu Heon Heon toward the academy grounds.

Im Myeong followed the three men of the Mu Clan in silence, but his mind churned with questions.

‘Why did the Mu Clan Patriarch appear here? And what did he mean by words I can’t begin to interpret?’

Changung Academy, it seemed, was far more intricate than he’d imagined.

The relationship between the Mu Clan Patriarch and the academy was clearly deeper than what Im Jeon had told him.

There were secrets buried here—secrets he sensed but could not yet grasp.

And with that realization came a spark of anticipation.

The other seven young people harbored similar suspicions, each lost in their own conjectures about what lay ahead.

And without exception, they all felt a sudden rush of hope for this academy that had been abandoned for seven years.

Moreover, each of them sensed they were touching upon something momentous—a secret not meant for casual knowledge.

As Mu Jin entered the classroom, he sat in the front row and addressed the eight young people gathered there.

“Find yourselves a seat wherever you like.”

Seeing Mu Jin seated in the front row alongside Mu Muk and Mu Heon Heon, Im Myeong and the others were thrown into confusion.

‘What is this situation?’

Im Myeong’s mind struggled to piece things together.

‘Could Mu Muk and Mu Heon Heon also be students of Changung Academy, and did the Patriarch of the Mu Clan come to investigate whether he’s a suitable teacher?’

Not only Im Myeong but all the young people from the other families reached the same conclusion.

But they were only half right. The other half of the answer would be nearly impossible to believe.

“One thing—let me warn you all. Nothing you see or hear in this place leaves these walls.”

Mu Jin turned to face the eight young people seated in the second and third rows, his eyes glinting with cold promise.

“If you do otherwise, I cannot guarantee what I will do to you.”

He had no intention of letting word spread that he was a student of Changung Academy.

Im Myeong and the others started in alarm and quickly bowed their heads in deference.

“Yes. We will absolutely keep our silence.”

Moments later, Jang Wook appeared slowly, carrying a stack of blank forms.

Seeing the unfamiliar young faces seated below the lectern, Jang Wook raised his eyebrows slightly, registering mild surprise.

‘This fast?’

But suppressing his astonishment, he looked toward Mu Jin and offered praise.

“Eight of them. One more than I asked for, and you’ve cut the timeline in half. Efficiency—just as I’d expect from the Patriarch of the Mu Clan.”
“It is only natural.”

Mu Jin glowed beneath Jang Wook’s commendation, his delight barely concealed.

Listening to their exchange, Mu Muk and Mu Heon Heon wore expressions of familiarity, but Im Myeong and the others were so stunned their jaws nearly dropped, their eyes threatening to bulge from their sockets.

Was the Patriarch of the Mu Clan… flattering the young man on the lectern?

Before Im Myeong and his companions could think any deeper, Jang Wook handed the stack of forms to Mu Jin and spoke.

“Have them fill in their names.”

Taking the forms, Mu Jin distributed them one by one to each person, then returned to his seat. His movements and demeanor were no different from any ordinary student.

After a short while, everyone had finished signing their applications and submitted them to Mu Jin in turn, who then handed them directly to Jang Wook.

All of them sat quietly below the lectern, tense yet expectant, their eyes fixed on Jang Wook. And in that moment, a mechanical chime sounded in Jang Wook’s mind.

“Mission complete. Will you accept your reward?”

‘Yes!’

“The reward ‘Changung Contract’ has been granted. The host is advised to confirm it.”

In the next instant, a white scroll materialized in Jang Wook’s mind.

The mysterious scroll emanated a faint white radiance and gave off an otherworldly aura.

Inside, there were no characters at all, and beside it hovered a brush—untouched by a single drop of ink—as if alive in the air.

Jang Wook’s eyes glimmered as he murmured aloud.

“So this is the Changung Contract?”

The moment his will stirred, the Changung Contract and brush vanished from his mind, then appeared in an instant upon his palm.

To the eye, they seemed nothing more than an ordinary scroll and brush, yet Jang Wook sensed an uncommon presence emanating from them.

They seemed to possess no weight at all—as if they did not belong to this world.

Jang Wook turned his attention away from the mystery before him and cast his gaze toward the people watching intently below the platform, holding their breath.

In their eyes shone both tension and anticipation in equal measure.

With an unhurried motion, Jang Wook handed the Changung Contract and brush to Mu Jin, speaking as he did.

“This is the Changung Contract—you might call it an enrollment application form reserved for the future of Changung Academy. No academy besides ours can replicate it. Now, sign your names as well.”

Mu Jin wore a momentarily dazed expression before addressing Jang Wook.

“Must I sign as well?”
“You must.”

A confident smile bloomed at the corners of Jang Wook’s mouth.

“Only those whose names are inscribed upon the Changung Contract shall be recognized as true students of Changung Academy. Without this, the Academy recognizes nothing.”

Just as Jang Wook had anticipated, Mu Jin hesitated for a moment, then clenched his teeth and signed his name first.

To become a master of the Wa Seon Gyeong realm, to earn Jang Wook’s favor—Mu Jin had wagered everything.

Witnessing this scene, Im Myeong and his companions felt their minds go completely blank.

“A… a s-student?”

The young man on the platform had just announced it.

That anyone who signs the Changung Contract becomes a true student of Changung Academy.

But did that mean Mu Jin—the Clan Patriarch, the strongest in the Imperial City, a master at the peak of the Gyeseon Realm 9th Stage—had become a student of Changung Academy?

Had he not come here to investigate whether the teachers of Changung Academy were suitable?

In this moment, every mind present descended into chaos.

‘The strongest in the Imperial City has become a student of Changung Academy?’

Their entire worldview and philosophy of life had been completely overturned in an instant.

‘Were we really just made juniors to the Imperial City’s strongest?’

The shock of this reality nearly froze their minds. But there was no time to dwell on it.

Mu Muk and Mu Heon Heon had already signed and were pressing the contract forward to the young man behind them.

“Stop standing there dazed. Sign it quickly.”

At Mu Muk’s urging, the young man mechanically accepted the Changung Contract, wrote his name, and passed it to the person beside him.

Once Jang Wook saw that everyone had signed, he collected the Changung Contract and spoke with a radiant smile.

“Considering we have a new student enrolling, I intend to re-explain the first-stage cultivation method of Extreme Flawlessness today, so the new student can keep up. Mu Jin, Mu Muk, Mu Heon Heon—you three will review it once more and deepen your understanding.”

In that instant, the smile of anticipation on Mu Jin’s face froze in place.

“Why? Mu Jin, looking at your expression, it seems you have something to say?”

Jang Wook raised his brows and turned a sharp gaze toward Mu Jin. His eyes carried authority and weight.

Feeling Jang Wook’s stare, Mu Jin broke into a cold sweat and hastily shook his head.

“No, sir. No opinion at all.”

Even if a thousand, ten thousand words churned in his heart, he lacked the courage to bare his soul before Jang Wook.

“I understand your feelings. But don’t be impatient. As long as you remain in Changung Academy, the day will come when your wishes are fulfilled.”

Jang Wook smiled and surveyed all those below the platform. His smile was as refreshing as a spring breeze.

“The same applies to all of you. Now that you are students of Changung Academy, your lives will no longer be ordinary.”

Jang Wook paused briefly, then began his lecture on the first-stage cultivation method of Extreme Flawlessness, utterly indifferent to the crowd’s reaction.
* * *
‘This cultivation method…’

Though Jang Wook taught only the first stage of Extreme Flawlessness, Im Myeong and his companions listened as if entranced, excitement rising unstoppably from deep within their chests.

‘It’s incredibly powerful!’

According to Jang Wook’s explanation, True Force cultivated through Extreme Flawlessness was refined several times over compared to what was produced through ordinary methods—reaching Gyeseon Realm 1st Stage alone would allow one to stand against an ordinary Gyeseon Realm 3rd Stage master.

More astonishing still was that Extreme Flawlessness demanded almost no inborn talent and cultivation speed was remarkably fast.

He claimed that even an ordinary person could break through to Gyeseon Realm 1st Stage in a very short time and become a formal martial cultivator.

Though Jang Wook’s words sounded exaggerated, for some reason Im Myeong’s group felt certain he was not lying.

Not only Im Myeong’s group, but Mu Jin’s trio also harbored no doubt of Jang Wook’s words.

In their hearts dwelt a trust that transcended words—a trust that was almost blind.

Thus the remarkable effects of the Changung Contract were gradually revealing themselves.

After delivering a condensed lecture on the first stage of Extreme Flawlessness, Jang Wook activated Insight and examined the information of eight students one by one. Then he slowly shook his head.

First!

【Im Myeong】

【Gender: Male】

【Age: 15】

【Constitution Aptitude: None】

【Five-Star Aptitude: None】

【Special Aptitude: None】

【Cultivation Realm: None】

The second one!

【Mo Jang Bong
】

【Gender: Male】

【Age: 20】

【Constitution Aptitude: Ordinary Bloodline, One-Star Inferior】

【Five-Star Aptitude: None】

【Special Aptitude: None】

【Cultivation Realm: None】
* * *
The eighth one!

【Yo Mok Wan
】

【Gender: Female】

【Age: 16】

【Constitution Aptitude: None】

【Five-Star Aptitude: One-Star Inferior】

【Special Aptitude: None】

【Cultivation Realm: None】

‘Where on earth did Mu Jin dig up these oddballs?’ Jang Wook wondered, his mind sinking into helplessness.

The talent of these students was uniformly abysmal. Particularly that Im Myeong — the boy was barely a step above a cockroach from his own household.

‘Though Extreme Flawlessness scarcely demands natural talent, even so, these friends’ abilities were far too wretched.’

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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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