The Wizard Who Endured the World of Murim - Chapter 51

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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 51
“So, Elder, do you possess any special talents?”
“Keke, I’ve mastered the Icy White Demon Art to its absolute limit. As you just witnessed, my entire body is protected by an unbreakable guardian force. The Icy Demon Body shields me completely.”
“You mean the one I just shattered a moment ago?”
“Indeed.”
“Then it’s nothing special.”
“…That’s only because you’re a monster. Keke, a divine technique that suppresses shadows? I’ve never heard of such a method in all my days. Which sect do you belong to?”
“I thought we agreed that only I would ask the questions?”
Moon Won, Yaksha Lord of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
He found himself unable to close his mouth at the spectacle unfolding before his eyes.
From nowhere.
A young boy in black silk robes had appeared, which was strange enough.
What astonished him further was that this boy commanded a red fox with four tails—clearly a spirit-class creature—as easily as one would move their own limbs.
But what truly shocked him was that the boy, despite being an elder-class master of the Heavenly Demon Sect and a Radiant Realm expert, had subdued Gu Sang-hak, the Ice White Demon Army, using some bizarre shadow-manipulating technique.
And now, having seated nearly a hundred peak-stage masters on the ground, he was interrogating this elder in such a manner.
Throughout the interrogation, the boy’s expression remained utterly indifferent.
When all his questions were finally answered, he let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“I heard rumors that the Heavenly Demon Sect reigns supreme in the Lower Realm, but it seems far less impressive than expected. I’m quite disappointed.”
“…!”
The boy paid no attention whatsoever to the shock-stricken masters of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
He withdrew a brush from his robes and inscribed incomprehensible characters upon Gu Sang-hak’s forehead.
That was all.
The Radiant Realm expert remained utterly suppressed, unable to move even a finger.
“Now, why don’t you bring out all the spirit creatures you’ve collected from the Secret Realm so far?”
And so the boy, in one fell swoop, stripped away every spirit creature the Heavenly Demon Sect had gathered since entering the Secret Realm.
He then turned to the elderly man beside him.
Chul Mu-geuk of Heaven’s Way Three Absolutes, and shook his head while opening his mouth.
“Sigh, it seems there’s nothing more to gain here, Senior. Contrary to my expectations, the Heavenly Demon Sect has little of value. I thought there might be new techniques or knowledge, but I’m greatly disappointed.”
“Keke….”
Chul Mu-geuk laughed with a somewhat complicated expression, then spoke quietly.
“So you intend to kill them all?”
“What should we do? It would certainly be convenient for me.”
Chul Mu-geuk regarded the boy with a quiet gaze.
Then eyes of striking black and white met his directly.
In the boy’s pupils, there appeared to be not the slightest hesitation.
Chul Mu-geuk, who had been lost in thought for a moment, opened his mouth.
“Could you not place a seal upon them instead?”
Though they were disciples of the Demonic Sect.
He felt an inexplicable discomfort at the thought of slaying enemies who were already subdued and unable to resist.
This suggestion came from Chul Mu-geuk’s compassionate heart.
The Young Boy paused mid-stroke as he caressed the Red Fox’s luxuriant tail, then his eyes sparkled as he replied.
“It’s not particularly difficult. Come to think of it, they might prove useful after all. I should take them with me and put them to work. They’re valuable labor, after all.”
“Then do so. They certainly have their own utility, it seems.”
Gu Sang-hak, the Frost White Horse Army commander.
With his shadow pinned down, he listened to their conversation with complicated feelings, then slowly opened his mouth.
“If you don’t kill us, the Martial Arts Alliance won’t stand idle. Are you truly comfortable with that?”
The Young Boy, who had been adjusting his clothes, paused for a moment.
And soon, a subtle smile played across his lips.
“Won’t stand idle? What exactly could they do?”
“What, what did you say? You don’t even care about their attention?”
“Why should I?”
A small scoff.
That attitude gave the distinct impression that the Martial Arts Alliance didn’t even register in his mind.
He was certainly a strong one.
Could he really be this audacious against the Martial Arts Alliance?
Wasn’t the Martial Arts Alliance the force currently dominating all under heaven?
“Hmm… surely that old master is one of the pillars of Heaven’s Way Three Absolutes, which is part of the Martial Arts Alliance?”
“That would be your position, Senior. It has nothing to do with me. But then again, old master.”
“Hmm?”
Ilhyang walked slowly right up to Gu Sang-hak’s nose and smiled brightly.
“Do you think I’m easy to push around? Or have I perhaps been treating you too courteously all this time?”
Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.
The faint madness glimmering in the Young Boy’s eyes was something no ordinary Celestial Watcher could possibly display.
‘It won’t end with mere death.’
A Celestial Watcher of that caliber could, if he wished, extract a person’s soul and turn it into an inner elixir.
Beyond that, he could inflict eternal suffering—a state neither living nor dead.
Gu Sang-hak quickly opened his mouth in a grave tone.
“This old fool was impertinent and presumptuous. I offer my deepest apologies.”
“When you show respect, do it properly. There won’t be a second chance.”
“I shall remember.”
Hierarchy mattered everywhere.
Especially when one intended to subdue and command such a large number of masters.
From the start, it had to be made clear who held the upper hand.
“Then I trust you won’t cause any trouble.”
Ilhyang lightly patted Gu Sang-hak’s stiffened shoulder and rose to his feet.
“I’m counting on you to control the remaining martial lords as well.”
And that was that.
The masters, originally the elite military force of the Heavenly Demon Sect, submitted to Ilhyang’s command without any resistance.
With their numbers thus increased, the party moved slowly once more to wander through the Secret Realm.
* * *
I watched as Chul Mu-geuk drove his sword into the skull of the colossal wolf before us.
Ilhyang tilted his head and opened his mouth slightly.
“That’s strange. These creatures look similar to Geum-ok and you on the surface, yet they’re not spirits at all? I can’t sense any spiritual energy from them. Are the demonic beasts encountered in the Secret Realm fundamentally different from spirits?”
[They’re different. These ones are trapped here. They lack bloodline.]
“Ah? So they lack fundamental essence. Interesting nonetheless.”
Conversing with the Red Fox Geum-ok,
I continued working without pause, kneading something for several days now.
[But what is that? I’m sensing an unusual power now that I look closer.]
“Oh, this? It’s an artifact. They call it a dharma instrument here.”
[That can’t be right. An artifact of that caliber is rare in the Lower Realm. It looks more like a dharma treasure.]
“You’re generous with your praise.”
[I’m serious.]
…It was comparable to what Cheonho, the Nine-tailed Fox from the Upper Realm, wore.
Geum-ok swallowed hard, watching what I was currently ‘molding’ with my own hands, her words trailing off.
[You’re making this from the spiritual creatures gathered here, aren’t you?]
“Yeah, the materials are thinner than expected, so it’s taking more effort. It’s taken quite a while too.”
I had judged that I wouldn’t need to exert myself directly for some time, so I was pouring all my energy into the artifact.
Besides, the masters of the Heavenly Demon Sect following behind were handling the surroundings with keen awareness on their own.
And Chul Mu-geuk and his disciples were moving with surprising diligence as well.
“Well, I’d say it’s mostly complete now.”
Click—
The artifact I had created.
It was a bracelet of intricate design.
A bracelet that appeared to be made of dark metallic material.
At first glance, it had enough slack to be worn as a necklace,
‘but I made it with the intention of wrapping it around two or three times.’
With that thought, I slowly began wrapping the bracelet around my right arm.
The moment I finished wearing it,
Geum-ok, who had been coiled around my neck, suddenly flinched.
[Huh?]
My aura had suddenly diminished.
To roughly one-tenth of what it was.
[Was that… a sealing artifact? Your power suddenly became so much weaker.]
“Something like that. Though it’s slightly different.”
An object that could compress and store power normally.
In moments of need, it could release all that stored power at once,
or alternatively, it could return the stored power to the heart for recovery.
‘Normally, I wouldn’t have bothered making such a low-grade instrument.’
My eyes felt like they might rot from the tedium.
Still, I had done meticulous work to give it aesthetic beauty at least.
There was nothing I could do about its primitive functionality.
But what else could I do?
Given the environment I had now, this was truly the best option available.
Just as I was thinking that.
Blood Wind Spear Yang Cheon-jo approached after stripping the spiritual wolf’s hide completely and securing its blood and inner core.
He hesitated before opening his mouth.
“I’ve finished cleaning up.”
“Good work.”
“Um… well, but Ilhyang.”
“What?”
“We… we have to keep traveling with those people, right?”
I could read the anxiety in Yang Cheon-jo’s voice.
So I pulled my sleeve down to hide the bracelet and spoke.
“What? Are the guys bothering you? Should I go teach them a lesson?”
“No? That’s not it?”
“Then why do you look so scared?”
“…Did it show?”
“Completely.”
Yang Cheon-jo scratched the back of his head for a moment.
Then he sighed and spoke.
“Phew, you wouldn’t understand, but the kids from the Demonic Sect… they’ve always been completely incompatible with our Orthodox Sects. We’re like cats and dogs.”
“I’ve heard that.”
“Normally, we wouldn’t even share a meal—just making eye contact would have us charging at each other to kill…”
“Tell that story to Senior Chul Mu-geuk, not me. You remember that Senior said to keep them alive, right?”
“…Of course that’s true, but.”
“Then just trust me and follow along. You won’t have anything to fear.”
The Heavenly Demon Sect?
Their reputation must truly be formidable.
For Yang Cheon-jo, who usually only spoke his mind, to seek me out like this.
Even in my mind, shaped by my origins on the Street, my memories of the Demonic Sect remained vague.
‘It’s like a monster under the bed—something whose true form I don’t know.’
To me, one enemy was much like another.
But for Orthodox Sect martial artists like Yang Cheon-jo, who had heard the Heavenly Demon Sect’s dark reputation for so long, they were worthy objects of terror.
In the meantime.
“Hm?”
“What? What is it now?”
I pulled dried meat from my sleeve and chewed on it while gazing quietly beyond the Sand Dune to my left.
“People. Twenty of them.”
“What?”
“At this pace, they’ll reach us in about half a day.”
Gradually, a mischievous glint appeared in Ilhyang’s eyes—the gleeful spark of a troublemaker who had discovered a new plaything.

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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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