Myth of Martial Arts - Chapter 14

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 14
What’s more, Jang Wook had given them not one but six.

Each one was worth a staggering 180,000 hwang bi.

Not once had they doubted Mu Jin’s words.

Why would the most dignified powerhouse in the Imperial City ever bother to deceive small fry like them?

Yet a gentle smile still hung on Jang Wook’s face, as though the matter hardly concerned him at all.

He glanced over Im Myeong’s group and spoke in a warm tone.

“Just train diligently and don’t let my expectations down. That is the finest reward I could ask for!”

In that moment, he looked every bit the refined, gentle-hearted master.

Inwardly, though, he was grumbling like a madman.

‘What’s so precious about this? I could make as many of these as I want.’

Of course, outsiders had no way of hearing his inner thoughts.

At that moment, Im Myeong and the others raised their heads in unison, their eyes burning with a resolve they had never shown before.

“Since you care for us this much, Director Jang, we will never fail your expectations and will never forget your teachings!”

Without realizing it, they had come to feel a sense of belonging to Changung Academy, and they found it warmer, closer, and more worthy of reliance than what they had once called ‘home.’

Director Jang felt like family to them, someone they could truly trust.
* * *
In the blink of an eye, a month slipped by.

Changung Academy remained as quiet as ever, yet it had transformed so completely that it now brimmed with life.

Where weeds once grew thick, the ground was now neatly tended, and every flower and tree had been lovingly cared for by students who volunteered their time, so that merely looking at them lifted the heart.

On a clear, bright day, a handsome young man carrying an iron shovel over his shoulder walked slowly into Changung Academy early in the morning.

He stopped before the academy gate and fixed his gaze on the massive stone tablet. His expression was somewhat rapturous, and he looked deeply moved.

“If I hadn’t come to Changung Academy, I’d probably be running the family shop by now, wouldn’t I?”

Changung Academy had given him a second life.

“Im Myeong, you’re here early today!”

Suddenly, a bright laugh rang out behind the young man, and a neatly composed girl hurried over to him.

“So are you, Yo Mok Wan.”

Im Myeong turned around, smiling as he looked at the girl.

“Principal Jang is teaching the sixth-stage Extreme Flawlessness Cultivation Method today. Of course I’d come early.”

Yo Mok Wan giggled, a sly smile spreading across her fair face.

“I never thought the day would come when a lazybones like you would get up early.”

At this, Im Myeong rolled his eyes and pouted.

“I’m not lazy, you know.”

Far from being lazy, he was diligent to the point of excess.

On the surface, he looked a bit lazy, since he arrived at the academy later than almost every other student nearly every day.

But he wasn’t sleeping in. He rose earlier than the others and trained at home for a full half hour before setting out.

Compared with the others, he treasured this rare opportunity all the more and did not want to waste a single minute or second of it.

He had no need to explain any of this to anyone. It was enough that he alone knew.

“Come on, let’s head to the classroom first.”

Knowing that the Director would lecture on the sixth stage of the Extreme Flawlessness method today, Im Myeong grew a little restless.

Yo Mok Wan gave a slight shake of her head.

“Don’t rush. Mu Oppa and the others will be here any moment. Let’s go to the classroom together once they arrive.”

Over the course of a month of interaction, Mu Muk, Mu Heon Heon, and Im Myeong’s group had grown very close.

In particular, Im Myeong’s group had gone through similar experiences and hardships, and their personalities were alike, so being together came naturally and felt warm.

A sense of recognizing one another hung palpably in the air.

Because of this, though they had spent only a single month together, they had forged a deep and sturdy friendship. It was not a bond that would easily break.

Im Myeong thought for a moment and nodded.

“Right. They’ve always waited for me before, so this time I suppose I’ll have to wait for them.”
“Im Myeong. Mo Oppa says you’ve already reached the 4th Stage of the Gyeseon Realm. Is that true?”

Yo Mok Wan blinked her long lashes and looked at Im Myeong with curious eyes. A trace of envy colored her gaze.

“It’s only the Gyeseon Realm 4th Stage, nothing special. Before long, you’ll all reach it too.”

Im Myeong said it calmly.

In the span of a single month, under the twin push of a condensed Extreme Flawlessness and the Gyeseodan Pill, Im Myeong, who had no talent whatsoever, had all but been forced to reach the Gyeseon Realm 4th Stage.

Had he not experienced it himself, Im Myeong would never have believed that in a single month he could go from an ordinary person without True Energy to a small master of the Gyeseon Realm 4th Stage!

Breaking through four stages in one month—he was truly a genius among geniuses.

Searching the entire Jujo, it would be hard to find anyone who could rival him.

Yet within Changung Academy, Im Myeong’s achievement was merely decent, and there were still those who surpassed him.

“That’s easy to say, but nobody can guarantee when you’ll be able to break through, can they?”

Yo Mok Wan let out a sigh, then asked with a puzzled look.

As far as I remember, the Director said at first that your talent was the weakest of the eight of us. So why do you keep breaking through before the rest of us? Be honest, you must have some secret technique!
“What secret technique could I possibly have?”

Im Myeong held back a laugh as he spoke.

“If I had to name one secret technique, I suppose it would be ‘effort,’ wouldn’t it?”
“Effort?”

Yo Mok Wan gave him a suspicious look.

Not a single student at Changung Academy went without training, so it struck him as odd that Im Myeong, who had the least talent of them all, could keep pulling ahead of them time after time.

All sorts of outlandish theories flooded Yo Mok Wan’s mind. Could the Director have been secretly giving this kid special lessons?

But Im Myeong said:

“Please. Compared to Mu Hyung and Heon Heon, I’m still a long way off.”

He shook his head once, then sighed in admiration.

“When Mu Hyung switched over to ‘Extreme Flawlessness,’ his cultivation realm dropped to the 3rd stage of the Gyeseon Realm, but before long he’d climbed back up to the 5th stage. No one can gauge how deep his strength runs. And Heon Heon is even more astounding. She’s younger than me, and she’s already reached the 5th stage of the Gyeseon Realm…”

The Mu siblings were truly frightening, each one of them.

Mu Muk, of course, had already been a master of the 6th stage of the Gyeseon Realm.

After training in the miniature version of ‘Extreme Flawlessness,’ his cultivation realm had fallen to the 3rd stage of the Gyeseon Realm, but before long he had climbed back up to the peak of the 5th stage.

If Jang Wook had not yet taught him the sixth-stage cultivation method of the miniature ‘Extreme Flawlessness,’ Mu Muk would surely have reached the 6th stage of the Gyeseon Realm by now.

Compared to him, Mu Heon Heon had far surpassed the realm of mere genius.

Practicing the same miniature ‘Extreme Flawlessness,’ she had dropped to the 1st stage of the Gyeseon Realm, yet within barely a month she had broken through one threshold after another, reaching the peak of the 5th stage before Mu Muk did.

The most terrifying thing was that the True Energy produced by the miniature ‘Extreme Flawlessness’ was so pure, and its power was beyond imagination.

Though Mu Muk and Mu Heon Heon were only at the peak of the 5th stage, they could hold their own for dozens of exchanges even against Mu Jin, who stood at the 9th stage of the Gyeseon Realm.

Once they reached the 6th stage, they would probably be able to fight Mu Jin on equal footing, and might even beat him.

Mu Muk was frightening. Mu Heon Heon was frightening. The Mu Clan was frightening.

But of course, the most frightening of all was Jang Wook, the one who had made all of this possible.

“Honestly, the most frightening one isn’t Big Brother Mu or Heon Heon. It’s the Director.”

Stars sparkled in Yo Mok Wan’s eyes as she spoke with something close to worship.

From what I’ve heard, the Director is only twenty-three years old, yet his strength is so deep it can’t be measured. Even Patriarch Mu can’t match him.

She hesitated for a moment, then lowered her voice.

“I think the Director has already reached the… legendary Waseon Realm.”
“Shh…”

Im Myeong raised a finger to his lips, signaling for silence, then spoke seriously.

“Yo Mok Wan, I don’t think we should be talking about the Director’s affairs behind his back.”

As he spoke, a look of respect settled across his face.

In Im Myeong’s heart, Jang Wook was not only the benefactor who had changed his fate, but also a teacher worthy of his reverence.

Whether Jang Wook was a powerhouse of the Waseon Realm or of the Gyeseon Realm made no difference to the gratitude and respect Im Myeong held for him.

Hearing this, Yo Mok Wan rolled her eyes and pouted.

“Don’t be so stiff about it. The Director won’t mind that sort of thing at all!”

Im Myeong shook his head without a word and stared straight at Yo Mok Wan. Only then did Yo Mok Wan speak.

“Fine, fine. I’ll do it your way. I won’t say another word. Happy now?”

Yo Mok Wan let out a sigh, as if she had no other choice.

At last, a smile spread across Im Myeong’s solemn face. He looked thoroughly pleased with Yo Mok Wan’s concession.

“Well, look at this. Im Myeong, a lazy bones like you, what brings you here so early today?”

When Mo Jang Bong, So Yeol, and the others arrived at Changung Academy, they spotted Im Myeong at a glance and froze, wearing expressions of surprise.

So Yeol, teasing as well, spoke up.

“This isn’t like you at all!”

Im Myeong could barely suppress a smile.

“Brother Mo, Brother So, do I really look that lazy to you two?”
“Ha, I’m kidding. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I know. You work harder than anyone.”

Mo Jang Bong laughed heartily. He didn’t say it aloud, but in his heart, he knew it well.

Despite having no talent to speak of, Im Myeong had outperformed them because he was the one who trained the hardest.

In fact, the effort he poured in was more than twice theirs.

Shortly after, Mu Jin, Mu Muk, and Mu Heon Heon’s family arrived as well.

Everyone set off together toward the academy grounds, their hearts stirred with excitement and anticipation.
* * *
At the foot of the stone steps leading up to Changung Academy stood a towering stone pillar gate. Not far from the gate, a suspicious young man was watching it intently from a distance.

After seeing Mu Jin, Mu Muk, and Mu Heon Heon’s family walk into Changung Academy, the young man’s expression shifted subtly, and he hurried off, vanishing into the passing crowd.

About thirty minutes later, the young man appeared at the grand Conference Hall of Sinwang Academy, dazzling as the morning sun.

Some dozen people were seated inside the Conference Hall, gathered from two factions.

On one side were Sinwang Academy’s Director Im Hae Ae (林海崖), Deputy Director Jeon Pung (展風), and instructor Mak Cheon Gu (莫天仇); on the other were Unsan Academy’s Director Na Ak San (羅嶽山) and Deputy Director Na Gun (羅軍).

“Jin Cheon (甄川), speak. What information did you just obtain?”

Im Hae Ae, Director of Sinwang Academy, gazed at the young man calmly and asked in a hoarse voice.

At that moment, every gaze in the room fell on the young man without exception.

Feeling the weight of so many eyes pressing down on him, Jin Cheon drew a deep breath against the invisible pressure. After steadying himself, he answered in a grave voice.

“Director, just as you instructed, I witnessed several individuals entering Changung Academy. Moreover, Mu Jin, the Mu Clan’s Patriarch, personally led Mu Muk and Mu Heon Heon into the academy.”

The moment those words left his lips, the atmosphere in the Conference Hall grew heavy in an instant.

“I can understand Mu Muk and Mu Heon Heon enrolling at Changung Academy. But why on earth would Mu Jin, the Mu Clan’s Patriarch, be coming and going from Changung Academy every single day?”

Na Gun, Deputy Director of Unsan Academy, knit his brows deeply and spoke.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————