Myth of Martial Arts - Chapter 30

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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 30
Everyone looked bewildered. The Director had never actually said such a thing, yet somehow they all sensed in their subconscious that he wanted them to hide their true strength. Why?

Watching them all wear that dazed expression, Jang Wook experienced a sudden realization, and his face grew troubled.

‘Could it be the effect of the Changung Contract?’

He could think of no other explanation.

‘If it truly is because of the Changung Contract, then this contract must be far more powerful than I realized!’

The shock rippled through Jang Wook’s mind.

He shook his head to clear it, then glanced around the room before speaking.

“Let me be clear once more. I have never demanded that you conceal your strength. Not before, not now, and not in the future. Of course, since the Yellow Abyss Trial will begin soon, it’s true that waiting a bit longer and revealing your abilities when the trial starts might yield better results. But understand—this is merely a friendly suggestion, nothing more. The choice is yours to make.”

With that, Jang Wook gestured dismissively.

“Now, all of you may leave. Mu Muk, you stay.”

Outside the classroom, Mu Heon Heon, Im Myeong, Mo Jang Bong, and Yo Mok Wan immediately surrounded Mu Jin, bombarding him with questions about the Yellow Abyss Trial.

“Patriarch Mu, is it true that the participants in the Yellow Abyss Trial are the most exceptional students from Sinwang Academy and Unsan Academy?”
“Patriarch Mu, what are their cultivation realms? Are they really that strong?”
“Patriarch Mu, what kind of results can we expect with our current abilities?”

Mu Jin’s head throbbed at the barrage of chatter from Im Myeong and the others. He hastily raised his hand.

“Enough, enough!”

When everyone fell silent, Mu Jin exhaled in relief and spoke.

“You are all students of Changung Academy now, so stop calling me Patriarch. Yes, I’m older than all of you, but if you don’t mind, you can call me Senior Mu Jin.”

Mu Jin had come to understand something: Changung Academy would only grow stronger with time, and as a student here, he needed to truly belong to this place. It would be better to shed his dignity now than to awkwardly change later.

But everyone stood stunned, none daring to speak.

Mu Jin frowned at their reaction.

“What’s wrong? Am I not worthy of being called Senior Mu Jin?”
“No, no, that’s not it at all.”

Im Myeong hurriedly shook his head and explained carefully.

“It’s just… well… you are the Patriarch of the Mu Clan and a generation above us. Calling you Senior Mu Jin feels… improper, doesn’t it?”
“What do you mean improper? Just call me that. I don’t care, so why are you worrying?”

Besides, Mu Jin had even worked as a servant in So Family Residence before, so he paid little mind to such formal etiquette.

At that moment, Mu Heon Heon’s eyes widened and he let out a giggle.

“Father, then what should I call you?”

Mu Jin shot his son a look and answered curtly.

“Of course you call me ‘Father.’ Do you really want to call me Senior Mu Jin like the rest of them? Have you grown so confident that you think you can now disrespect your father?”
“Um…”

Mu Heon Heon lowered his head in disappointment.

“It’s such an interesting matter, and I can’t be part of it!”
“Interesting?”

A dark line creased Mu Jin’s brow.

While people outside the classroom surrounded Mu Jin, inside the room, Mu Muk’s elixir refinement had reached a critical point.

‘Calculating the time, it’s already the final day. If this fool doesn’t produce the elixir today, the quest fails.’

Jang Wook chewed on a Gyeseodan Pill and thought grimly.

‘Mu Muk, you’d better pull yourself together. If this quest truly fails, don’t complain even if I torment you afterward.’

So far, the system had announced five main quests and one auxiliary quest.

But the time Jang Wook had invested in Main Quest 5 exceeded all other quests combined, and there was even a possibility of failure.

In other words, the reward of ‘Two-Star Elixir Refinement Technique’ was not something to be obtained so easily.

Unaware of what Jang Wook was thinking, Mu Muk stood before the furnace, holding his breath, watching the elixir gradually taking form within with tense eyes. In his heart, he prayed desperately.

‘It must succeed!’

Over the past several days, he had already practiced hundreds of times, and the value of wasted materials alone had reached three million Hwang Bi. If he continued to fail like this, he would be ashamed to even call himself someone learning alchemy.

There was good reason why alchemists were called a wealthy profession.

Even if ordinary people possessed such talent, they could not afford the sufficient Hwang Bi needed to learn alchemy.

Mu Muk sat in a cross-legged position and stared at the furnace with wide eyes. His nerves were drawn so taut that he could hear the sound of his own heartbeat.

As the elliptical elixir inside the furnace began to emit a faint fragrance, Mu Muk sensed something. He immediately struck the furnace wall lightly with his palm infused with True Force.

Thud!

With a clear ringing sound, the elliptical elixirs suspended in the center of the furnace lost their balance and flew out.

Mu Muk caught three elixirs at once in a box he had prepared beforehand, and a smile of excitement bloomed across his face.

“I succeeded!”

A smile of joy appeared on Jang Wook’s face as well.

Completing it on the very last day of the quest deadline was no small feat.

A mechanical voice from the system rang in his mind.

“Quest completed. Will you claim your reward?”

‘Yes!’

“The reward ‘Two-Star Elixir Refinement Technique’ has been granted. Please verify.”

Just as when he had received the One-Star Alchemy reward before, a massive torrent of information flooded into Jang Wook’s mind.

All information about Two-Star elixirs and the methods to create them poured into his head without a single gap.

In this brief moment, Jang Wook leapt from One-Star Alchemist directly to Two-Star Alchemist.

A Two-Star Alchemist held no small amount of influence across the entire Jujo.

‘A month of hardship has finally paid off!’
Now that Jang Wook had obtained the reward of the Two-Star Alchemy technique, he felt the profound depths of Pill Crafting even more acutely.

Setting aside whether he himself lacked talent for Pill Crafting, or even supposing he had possessed outstanding talent, it would have been nearly impossible for him to become a Two-Star Alchemist through self-study alone, even after twenty years.

What caught him off guard, however, was that the moment he completed the mission, another task was immediately triggered.

“The system has detected that Mu Muk has become a One-Star Alchemist. A mission is now issued.”

【Main Quest 6: Cultivate one Two-Star Alchemist】

【A great academy must unearth the potential of its students, nurture them in the most proper direction, and enable every student to maximize their unique talents.】

【Mission Reward: Three-Star Alchemy】

【Time Limit: 6 months】

【Failure Penalty: None】

‘Another cultivation mission?’

Jang Wook couldn’t say whether he felt joy or sorrow. The mission reward was undoubtedly tempting, but based on his experience, this task’s difficulty would be no less than the previous cultivation mission.

‘Even if failure brings no penalty, the reward is this generous—I should at least try.’

Three-Star Alchemy, no less. If Jang Wook were to obtain this reward, he would join the ranks of Grade 3 Alchemist Masters.

From what he knew, even across the entire Jujo, Three-Star Alchemists could be counted on one hand.

In other words, completing the mission would allow him to become, in the truest sense, the finest alchemist.

The Jujo’s greatest alchemist.

This title held considerable appeal for Jang Wook as well.

At that moment, Mu Muk turned his head to look at Jang Wook, unable to hide his excitement.

“Director, did you see? I succeeded! I truly succeeded! I’ve finally become an alchemist!”

Strictly speaking, he was the first alchemist to achieve success through his own efforts in the Imperial City.

“Yes, yes, don’t get so excited now. I saw everything.”

Jang Wook spoke, struggling to suppress a smile.

“You’re only a One-Star Alchemist—there’s no need to be this enthusiastic. You can celebrate when you’ve advanced to Two-Star.”

Yet despite Jang Wook’s words, Mu Muk laughed with childlike innocence.

“I’m satisfied simply to have become a One-Star Alchemist.”

Indeed, Mu Muk, being from the countryside, knew little of worldly affairs and harbored no great ambitions. He was more than content with becoming merely a One-Star Alchemist.

“You need to have some ambition. A student of the proud Changung Academy, and yet you’re satisfied with a lowly One-Star Alchemist?”

Jang Wook shook his head in resignation, speaking with clear disapproval.

“If you’re not ashamed of yourself, I’m ashamed enough for both of us.”

Mu Muk gave a dry laugh—several times over—but said nothing.

“Where are the elixirs you made? Let me see them.”

Jang Wook gave the command.

Mu Muk gazed at the elixirs in the wooden box with a look of reluctance, then carefully handed it over to Jang Wook.

Jang Wook took the box with an indifferent air, rolling his eyes, and examined the three oddly shaped elixirs inside with meticulous care.

Then he offered his critique without mercy.

“The quantity is substandard, the shape is substandard, the potency is substandard. Calling these things elixirs at all is actually giving elixirs too much credit. To be honest, these are the most pathetic elixirs I’ve ever laid eyes on. I’d worry about diarrhea if someone actually ate them—and yet you’re bragging about them.”

All of Mu Muk’s excitement evaporated in the face of Jang Wook’s merciless assault.

Though he had been in contact with Jang Wook for a long time, this acerbic side of him was something Mu Muk was seeing for the first time.

Mu Muk forced a smile, his expression stiffening, and spoke.

“The appearance is certainly rather crude, isn’t it.”
“That’ll do. Keep practicing. When you finally produce an elixir that satisfies me, then I’ll teach you the Two-Star Elixir Refinement Technique.”

Seeing the pathetic look on Mu Muk’s face, Jang Wook found himself regretting pushing further criticism.

He returned the wooden box to Mu Muk and spoke.

“Handle these items yourself. Just make sure outsiders don’t see them. If other people found out that my disciple had produced such low-quality elixirs, I couldn’t bear the shame.”

By the time he finished speaking, Jang Wook had slipped back into his acerbic mode. Mu Muk was on the verge of tears.

What should have been an exciting moment had lost all its luster after hearing Jang Wook’s words.

So Jang Wook waved his hand toward the downcast Mu Muk and spoke.

“You’ve already mastered the One-Star Alchemy fundamentals. What’s lacking now is experience. That’s something I can’t teach you—from here on, you’ll need to practice extensively on your own.”

Jang Wook patted Mu Muk on the shoulder, then turned to leave. Before departing, he said:

“Remember this. Don’t come find me until you’ve crafted a Grade-1 Three-Door Elixir.”

Manufacturing a Grade-1 Three-Door Elixir was the minimum requirement for advancing to the rank of Two-Star Alchemist.

Mu Muk was still merely a novice in the field of Alchemy. Any ordinary One-Star Alchemist would outshine him.

His only real strength was the comprehensiveness of his knowledge.

When it came to Grade-1 elixirs and One-Star Alchemists, there was almost nothing he didn’t know, and his foundation was remarkably solid.

This was entirely thanks to Jang Wook’s generous instruction.

“Y-yes, I understand.”

Mu Muk answered dejectedly.

After Jang Wook left the study, Mu Muk finally let out a long sigh, wiping his chest.

“A Grade-1 Three-Door Elixir, no less…”

Suddenly, he found himself envying Mu Heon Heon, Im Myeong, and the others.

How good was such a simple life — attending classes every day, cultivating in peace?

But they would never know how treacherous the path of an Alchemist truly was.

Yet Im Myeong and his peers were envying Mu Muk just as much.

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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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