The Wizard Who Endured the World of Murim - Chapter 35

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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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Surviving in the Martial Realm as a Mage: Episode 35
“No!”
Jin Yu-seong screamed, drawing his sword as he clung to the railing.
Ilhyang climbed onto the railing as well, finally able to observe the form of the intermediate-rank wind spirit that had revealed itself.
“This is….”
A crimson three-tailed fox floating quietly upon the river’s surface.
Observing the creature, Ilhyang found himself uttering a genuine exclamation of wonder.
“How… is this even possible? A spirit mixed with a demonic beast?”
I was aware that this world differed from the Lower Dimension in many ways.
But this was a combination I had never imagined.
Could it be that all spirits in this world took such forms?
‘Spirits are fundamentally composed of spiritual essence—that’s common knowledge.’
Along with the vertical circle pattern inscribed upon the heart,
another fixed notion I held shattered.
Originally, spirits were beings closest to divinity, formed when the essence of great nature coalesced.
Since they possessed no physical form, they lived eternally.
It was said that high-rank spirits could not be destroyed by any means whatsoever.
That such beings with boundless power would deliberately form contracts with humans and lend their strength
was, ironically, because they lacked physical form and could not fully draw upon their true power.
‘They needed a lever through which to exert their strength.’
Yet remarkably, in this world, spirits openly possessed physical bodies.
‘But that’s a complete imbalance, isn’t it?’
If all spirits in this world were like this,
could spirit contracts even exist in the first place?
What would spirits with physical forms lack that would drive them to contract with humans?
‘Ah! So that’s why the Earth Spirit King never responded.’
There would have been nothing for it to desire.
Now everything made sense.
By the time I had swiftly assessed the situation,
the crimson fox with three tails
lightly touched the river’s surface and began licking its soft fur with its tongue.
As if taunting us directly before our eyes.
It leisurely began grooming itself.
“Seize that beast!”
“Fire arrows at once!”
“Who’s going to fire arrows! The net! Yes! Throw the net over there! Hurry!”
The Guk-ju and the surviving bounty hunters and transport masters of Jinseong Transport Company
despite their severe injuries, rushed about the deck at the Guk-ju’s command, attempting every method they could devise.
Yet upon the river’s surface,
the fox, floating with an arrogant expression, effortlessly evaded every arrow and net hurled toward it, rendering Jinseong Transport Company’s efforts futile.
“Move the ship closer!”
“No, ram it head-on!”
I observed the chaos erupting all around me.
Yet I remained perfectly still, watching the fox’s movements with careful attention.
‘As I suspected, that is indeed a mid-tier wind spirit.’
Around the fox, the currents of wind shimmered with subtle undulation.
‘I kept hoping it wasn’t true.’
No matter how I examined it, this was unmistakably a spirit possessing a physical form.
My head spun.
It felt as though my mind might scatter entirely.
What a terrifying hybrid this was.
Vargas, the Spirit King of Earth who had once contracted with me.
What if that creature had possessed a physical form back then?
‘Could Vargas alone have faced the Demon King?’
No, even if that were an exaggeration.
It was certain he would have become something far more terrifying than any dragon.
Merely imagining it.
Made my head reel.
‘Come to think of it, I too have been bound by preconceptions.’
Since arriving in this world, my creativity had somehow withered.
As I was quietly reproaching myself.
The fox, which had been nimbly evading the bounty hunters’ attacks on the river as if toying with them, turned its gaze toward me.
Then, for a moment, its eyes widened.
And its mouth curved upward.
‘Is it… smiling?’
Whether it was an illusion on my part, I couldn’t say.
But I felt as though that creature was indeed smiling.
The fox swayed its luxuriant crimson tail several times, as if in greeting.
And sent me several inexplicable winks.
Then it vanished, soaring skyward.
“No… this can’t be…!”
“Catch it! I said catch it!”
Jin Yu-seong, Lord of Jinseong Transport Company, and Kyungcheon Sword Namgung Min of the Namgung Clan cried out toward the heavens.
Then, with vacant expressions, they lifted their heads and stared with hollow eyes.
“We’ve lost it…”
“Ah…”
The most crucial target of this escort mission had slipped through their fingers right before their eyes.
They had barely survived a desperate crisis.
What manner of nightmare was this?
The bounty hunters, along with the water bandits who had been slowly pursuing the command ship, also…
Everyone who saw the three-tailed fox understood precisely what had just transpired.
“Wait, wasn’t that a spirit creature just now?”
“It definitely had three tails, so it must be a spirit. Isn’t that the Sam-mi-ho?”
“So… the cargo headed to the Namgung Clan was that creature? Then where’s the Demon Core?”
“Kid, that must be stored somewhere else separately.”
Excluding the peak masters of the Yangtze River Bandits who were subdued and locked in the cabin, the remaining water bandits were divided between the command ship and the sailing ship.
They couldn’t escape from the vessels and were awkwardly trailing behind the Jinseong Transport Company.
Witnessing such a rare spectacle, chaos erupted among them.
Regardless, Ilhyang stroked his smooth chin thoughtfully.
‘That creature definitely made eye contact with me and smiled.’
Why? Simply because it had high affinity with spirits?
Could it have sensed the Circle magic I possess?
I couldn’t fathom the reason.
Then, from far away.
A voice etched clearly in my mind, as if through message magic.
[See you again.]
Though the message was brief.
It carried considerable meaning.
Ilhyang narrowed my eyes.
And gazed upward toward the direction where the fox had vanished.
“…What an adorable creature.”
The beast was boldly declaring it would come find me.
Ilhyang deliberately ignored Jin Yu-seong and Namgung Min, who were drowning in despair, and chuckled softly.
‘Perhaps this turned out well after all.’
To advance to the 4th Circle, a spirit’s assistance was essential.
Lower-tier elixirs were expensive and difficult to obtain, so I was pleased with this development.
‘That’s why I deliberately let the fox escape earlier.’
If I’d used magic, capturing it would have been simple.
But I didn’t want to make the creature harbor hostility toward me needlessly.
‘If it truly comes to find me, I’ll coax it skillfully.’
Yet a question arose.
I needed that creature to advance to the 4th Circle.
But why would it come to find me?
What could it possibly want?
“Ah… ahhh.”
“W-what should we do?”
Jin Yu-seong and Namgung Min, their minds completely shattered, were groaning beside me.
But their worries.
Meant nothing to me whatsoever.
* * *
“Listen here, Commander. I hear we ultimately let the Blood Cult and Mansizong slip away.”
“That is correct. It happens often enough. Even when those bastards reveal themselves, we lack sufficient sorcerers to pursue them effectively.”
“Still, we can’t keep doing this every time. I’ve run out of ways to convince the elders. I’m thinking we should pressure the Moshan Sect to dispatch personnel. What do you think?”
“The Moshan Sect genuinely lacks manpower. What can they do about that?”
“Couldn’t they simply recruit more disciples? If the Alliance provided greater material support accordingly….”
“Alliance Leader, have you forgotten what Yuk Ji-no-goe of the Moshan Sect once said?”
“You mean that cursed talk about how without this thing called ‘immortal root,’ even accepting ten thousand disciples would be useless?”
“Precisely.”
Immortal root.
The fundamental essence that allows one to become an immortal, as spoken of in Daoist teachings.
Or rather, talent itself.
It refers to the spiritual aptitude one possesses from birth.
Without it, no matter how brilliant a genius might be, they cannot learn sorcery.
A middle-aged man with half-white beard and hair.
The Martial Arts Alliance’s foremost strategist, the Divine Calculator with Marvelous Wisdom, Jegal Hwi-myeong, brought his teacup to his lips before speaking with a bitter expression.
“It is a limitation that human effort cannot overcome, so even the Moshan Sect finds themselves helpless.”
“Tsk, when you speak of it as a matter of spiritual aptitude, there’s no arguing against it. Very well. I’ll need to focus my explanations on this matter at the next elder’s council.”
“Still, it appears the Moshan Sect has not squandered the funds we’ve provided them all this time. In fact, not long ago, they brought forth something quite intriguing.”
“Something intriguing?”
Click—
Jegal Hwi-myeong withdrew from a drawer a round jade disc roughly the size of a palm.
“What is that? It looks similar to a compass.”
“Yes, it functions much the same way. The Moshan Sect has labored over it for a considerable time. Apparently, they created this using the funds our Alliance has supported them with.”
“An artifact crafted at great expense… it surely does more than merely indicate direction.”
An elderly man with white hair and a refined, serene countenance.
The current leader of the Martial Arts Alliance, the Golden Heaven Sword Emperor, Wi Do-hak.
He gazed at the jade disc resting carefully upon the table and smiled faintly, without even touching it.
“So, in your assessment, does this artifact seem useful?”
“Yes. It will fill precisely what we need most.”
“Hmm? How so? Your evaluation is quite favorable.”
For Jegal Hwi-myeong, who was ordinarily ruthlessly pragmatic, to speak in such terms meant something.
That small jade disc possessed genuine utility.
“How is it used?”
“To explain simply: it indicates the direction of the person with the highest magical power in the vicinity. They call it the Celestial Escape Disc.”
“…What?”
Astonishment crossed the face of Martial Arts Alliance Leader Wi Do-hak.
The Martial Arts Alliance’s foremost strategist.
Jegal Hwi-myeong opened his mouth with a grim expression.
“In short, with this Celestial Escape Disc alone, we can now hunt down those damned Celestial Watchers to the very end.”
“Is… is that truly possible?”
The greatest difficulty the Martial Arts Alliance faced when confronting the Murim’s public enemies was not their bizarre martial prowess or their incomprehensible sorcery.
It was that their bizarre martial prowess or their incomprehensible sorcery was not the issue.
Rather, when these criminals deliberately fled, there was simply no adequate method to pursue them.
But with this device, the Martial Arts Alliance could henceforth track down and capture those Murim public enemies.
“Unfortunately, mass production of this is impossible. At least, not at present.”
“Why not? If it’s a matter of funding, we can simply increase the budget. I can persuade the elders right now….”
“It’s not a question of money. According to reports, Yuk Ji-no-goe and his disciples must personally conduct a full month of meticulous handwork to create even one of these Celestial Concealment Discs. That’s why we currently have only six of them.”
“Hmm… that’s quite unfortunate, isn’t it?”
“Still, it’s remarkably promising. We can track targets within a hundred li—roughly forty kilometers—around us.”
“A hundred li… that seems far too short, doesn’t it?”
How vast is all of Tianxia?
Merely a hundred li.
“We plan to improve that gradually. One mustn’t expect too much from the very beginning.”
“Well, that’s certainly true.”
“Ah! And though I’m a bit late in mentioning it—I’ve already sent one Celestial Concealment Disc to the Namgung Clan. Perhaps they’ll be able to recapture the trail of the Mansizong or Blood Cult.”
“Heh heh, that’s an excellent decision indeed. The Namgung Clan will certainly know how to make excellent use of this device.”
The foremost family under heaven, acknowledged by all in Kangho.
That is precisely the Namgung Clan.
They possess the Spear of Eternal Freedom, spoken of as the greatest technique in all Kangho.
And they have consistently produced numerous supreme masters across generations.
Among the twenty-three absolute masters called the supreme beings of this age—
the New Sovereign’s Twenty-Three Stars.
They possess Namgung Jincheon, the Sword King, one of their number.
The Namgung Clan was truly the most formidable family imaginable.
“Let those damned rats show their tails again, just once more.”
Wi Do-hak, the Martial Arts Alliance Master and the Golden Heaven Sword Emperor.
He believed that perhaps this time—
the Martial Arts Alliance would finally have the opportunity to demonstrate concrete results to all of Tianxia, and he ground his teeth with anticipation.

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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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