Myth of Martial Arts - Chapter 23

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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 23
The teachers of Sinwang Academy still stood outside the archive like fools, unable to lift so much as a finger.

Just as they began to feel their bones stiffening in the cold night wind, Jang Wook’s voice finally drifted out from within the archive.

“That’s enough. Everyone, come in now.”

The men exchanged glances and, steeling themselves, filed into the archive.

The moment they stepped inside, every one of them nearly lost their eyes to the shock.

The vast archive held not so much as a scrap of paper. The shelves and floor around them looked as though they had been turned over again and again, and there was hardly a spot left intact.

Was this really the archive they remembered?

‘This is too brutal!’

The Taoists of Sinwang Academy swallowed hard and spoke.

“Did you leave nothing behind, not even the Mortal-tier lower Cultivation Methods and the Mortal-tier lower Martial Arts?”

They had heard talk of what happened at Changung Academy back then, and a few of them had even taken part in it themselves.

But Jang Wook’s methods were far more merciless than theirs had been, and his plundering far more thorough.

He had not left a single sheet of paper in the entire archive.

The only difference was that Jang Wook had not laid a hand on the innocent students and teachers. Every person he had killed deserved to die.

“Take these sacks and crates and follow me.”

Jang Wook gestured at the dozens of burlap sacks and wooden crates lying nearby, then slowly looked over the teachers, his expression somewhere between a smile and a sneer.

“Of course, you’re free to refuse.”

The teachers of Sinwang Academy felt as though their lungs might burst with fury. He had robbed us of our belongings, and now he wants us to haul them home ourselves?

Was there ever a more outrageous thing in the world?

But… refuse him?

Once they considered what refusing might cost them, the teachers of Sinwang Academy hung their heads and consoled themselves.

‘Let’s just carry it. Dignity and face matter less than staying alive.’

As expected, the teachers of Sinwang Academy were remarkably “eager.”

One after another, they scrambled to hoist the burlap sacks and shoulder the wooden crates, terrified that if they moved even a moment too slowly, Jang Wook might assume they had refused.

Along the main road, the teachers of Sinwang Academy marched in a long procession, bearing loads large and small, and drew curious stares from passersby.

“Aren’t those Sinwang Academy teachers? Where could they be heading at this hour?”
“I wonder what’s inside those sacks.”

They became a spectacle, hemmed in on all sides like birds in a cage. The saddest part, though, was that they didn’t even dare to scold the onlookers.

In the end, the reputation of Sinwang Academy was nearly ruined because of them.
* * *
About an hour later, Jang Wook stopped in front of a mansion gate, and the teachers of Sinwang Academy halted behind him.

The gatekeeper at the manor entrance jolted at the sight, instantly wary, and studied Jang Wook with suspicious eyes.

Jang Wook ignored the gatekeeper’s stare and spoke calmly.

“Go tell your patriarch. Jang Wook has come.”

The gatekeeper hesitated. Then he glanced at the Sinwang Academy teachers standing behind Jang Wook, drew a deep breath, and dashed into the manor.

Before long, Mu Jin came out to greet them, with Mu Muk and Mu Heon Heon at his side.

“Director.”

Mu Jin stepped up to Jang Wook and greeted him with a respectful bow of the head.

Mu Muk and Mu Heon Heon also flanked Mu Jin on either side and spoke with equal deference.

“Director!”

Seeing the three of them show Jang Wook such deference, the gatekeeper went pale and flustered, not knowing where to put his hands.

But Jang Wook paid no mind to what the gatekeeper thought. He gave Mu Jin a slight nod and spoke.

“I’d like to leave some things here. I’ll come back for them in a while.”
“Things, you say?”

Mu Jin, faintly puzzled, followed the direction Jang Wook indicated and promptly went blank.

“Are those… teachers from Sinwang Academy?”

Every academy has its own distinctive uniform. Thanks to that, Mu Jin recognized their affiliation at a glance, even though he had never met these men before.

Just then, one of the middle-aged teachers gathered his nerve and asked.

“So, since we’ve already brought the goods… may we go back now…?”

When Jang Wook shot him a glare, the man snapped his mouth shut at once.

“Enough. Go on, now.”

Jang Wook waved a hand and let the group be, no longer pressing them.

Though he knew full well that some among them had surely taken part in the turmoil at Changung Academy.

In truth, so many had joined that chaos that Jang Wook could never have killed them all.

If he had truly done so, the Imperial City would have become a sea of blood in an instant, and he would have become a Demonic Fiend who takes lives without so much as a blink.

And so he could only hold the leaders accountable, as far as he was able.

The moment he spoke, the Sinwang Academy teachers, as though they’d been granted a pardon, dropped their sacks and wooden crates and scattered like frightened rabbits.

The Mu Clan members watched the scene unfold, utterly dumbstruck, not knowing what to make of it.

“I just paid a short visit to Sinwang Academy.”

Jang Wook rarely offered any explanation, yet this time he added one.

“Everything in here is cultivation methods and martial arts, and I took every last one from Sinwang Academy. To be precise, these were Changung Academy’s to begin with, and now they’re only being returned. Consider whatever they’ve kept as interest.”

Mu Jin’s face hardened.

“Sinwang Academy?”

One man stormed Sinwang Academy alone?

Not only did he storm it, he recovered this many treasures.

This academy head is truly formidable, isn’t he?

“Then… did you see Im Hae Ae?”

Mu Jin asked carefully.

“Im Hae Ae? I didn’t see her.”

Jang Wook shook his head, sounding regretful.

“That old man was lucky. He happened to be away from the academy when I arrived. But it’s fine. I may have missed Im Hae Ae, but I met Mak Cheongu. If I recall, he was one of the ringleaders of that chaos back then. Dealing with him is almost like collecting interest on an old debt.”
“Gulp.”

Mu Muk swallowed hard. He glanced at Mu Jin once before speaking.

“I’ve seen Mak Cheongu before. He was extremely strong. He’s most likely a Gyeseon Realm 8th Stage powerhouse.”

His eyes burned with fervor. His voice trembled with excitement as he went on.

“To think Jang Wook stormed Sinwang Academy alone and slew their chief instructor… it’s truly, truly satisfying!”

Just thinking about it set Mu Muk’s blood boiling. He resented not having witnessed the scene himself.

“Jang Wook, you’re truly amazing!”

Mu Heon Heon instantly became an ardent fan, her eyes shining with adoration as she gazed at Jang Wook.

“Satisfying?”

Jang Wook smiled and said,

“If I told you I’d dealt not just with Mak Cheongu but with someone stronger still, would you find it even more satisfying? Oh, that’s right. I believe those instructors called him ‘Grand Elder’…”
“Grand Elder of Sinwang Academy!”

Mu Jin’s pupils contracted, and he cried out in a low voice.

“You even slew him as well?”
“What, is there a problem?”

Jang Wook asked, puzzled.

“Of course there’s no problem. It’s only that… his strength was no ordinary thing.”

Mu Jin shook his head and forced a bitter smile.

“Though I’ve never met him myself, I’ve heard a fair amount about him. He entered Sinwang Academy a very long time ago, and his cultivation is unfathomably deep. Rumor has it he reached the peak of the Gyeseon Realm 9th Stage even before Im Hae Ae did. Had his temperament not been so lazy and so averse to worldly affairs, the post of academy head would never have fallen to Im Hae Ae’s turn.”

Having finished, Mu Jin let out a long sigh. For a master of that caliber to die like this was truly a pity.

Shaking off the thought, Mu Jin looked at Jang Wook again.

“Now Sinwang Academy’s deputy head, Grand Elder, and chief instructor have all fallen by your hand, leaving only petty men who couldn’t stir a breath of wind. If Im Hae Ae learns of this, she may well die of rage while still alive!”

Though he said nothing aloud, Mu Jin’s reverence for Jang Wook grew even deeper in his heart.

Three Gyeseon Realm 9th Stage powerhouses and one Gyeseon Realm 8th Stage. Four lives had thoroughly cemented Jang Wook’s authority.

“That was truly magnificent, Director. Ah, I hope that someday I can become that strong as well.”

Mu Muk looked up at Jang Wook with unabashed admiration, a glimmer of longing in his eyes.

From beginning to end, the three of them never doubted Jang Wook’s words. He had no reason to deceive them, and he truly had the ability to back them up.

Above all, the group of Sinwang Academy instructors they had just encountered explained most of the problems well enough.

“We’ll talk about the Sinwang Academy matter later. Keep these here for now. I’ll come back for them shortly. Of course, you’re welcome to wait here as well. I don’t expect it will take very long.”

Jang Wook said this with a calm smile.

After Jang Wook left, Mu Jin immediately ordered the guards to keep watch over the area. The formidable guards sent a chill through the passersby, who all gave the Mu Clan’s gate a wide berth.

“Patriarch…”

The Mu Clan gatekeeper, who had been about to speak, swallowed hard and choked the words back down.

He had heard every word of the conversation between Jang Wook and the three of them. What was said had terrified him, and his head was still spinning.

The way that young man had calmly spoken of killing, the sheer presence he carried, was something the gatekeeper would never forget for the rest of his life.

Most alarming of all was that every one of those the young man had killed was a figure of great renown.

The Sinwang Academy deputy head, the Sinwang Academy Grand Elder, the chief instructor of Sinwang Academy… not one of them was a small name.

Ordinarily, when these men stamped their feet even once, the Imperial City would tremble three times over.

Yet now they were all dead. They had died at that young man’s hands, silently, without so much as stirring a ripple.

“You alone need to know what happened today.”

Mu Jin said this evenly, looking the gatekeeper in the eye.

“Otherwise, I won’t be able to protect you either.”

What to say and what not to say. He trusted that the gatekeeper would understand.

“Yes!”

The gatekeeper answered at the top of his voice, as though that booming sound alone could hold down the turmoil churning inside him.
* * *
Half a shichen later, Jang Wook returned.

Accompanying him was a large group, strikingly similar to the Sinwang Academy instructors who had appeared at the Mu Clan’s gate earlier.

Their cultivation realms were all far from weak. The highest had reached the Gyeseon Realm 8th Stage, and even the lowest was at the Gyeseon Realm 4th Stage. Moreover, all of them wore the distinctive garb of Unsan Academy.

The arrival of this group stirred up a commotion, just as expected.

“These people… are instructors from Unsan Academy.”

Mu Jin glared at the Unsan Academy instructors, feeling his eyelid twitch violently, and sighed inwardly.

‘The Director has swept up Sinwang Academy and Unsan Academy in a single net!’

In the end, even the instructors of Unsan Academy could not escape the clutches of fate.

What was most astonishing was how unbelievably quick Jang Wook’s work had been. From the moment he set out to the moment he returned, only half a shichen had passed.

“So you went to Unsan Academy, Director.”

Mu Muk’s eyes went wide with surprise as he spoke.

“And you wrapped it up that fast!”

Since when did the proud Unsan Academy turn into a roadside stall that anyone could walk into? Are all the people of Unsan Academy nothing but worthless scrap?

Just then, Jang Wook walked over unhurriedly, came to stand beside the three of them, and spoke with an apologetic air.

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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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