The Wizard Who Endured the World of Murim - Chapter 67

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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 67
Wi Do-hak, the Golden Heavenly Sword Emperor and leader of the Martial Arts Alliance.
He stroked his well-maintained white beard and twisted his lips into a grimace.
“How am I supposed to accept the death of Yuk Ji-no-goe?”
“…It was an unfortunate accident, sir.”
Jegal Hwi-myeong, the Divine Calculator with the Wondrous Fan.
The Martial Arts Alliance’s foremost strategist.
He swept back his salt-and-pepper hair and released a weary sigh.
“My apologies, sir. It was an unforeseen tragedy.”
“Tsk, according to the Azure Dragon Faction leader’s account, a master from the Blood Cult killed Yuk Ji-no-goe. Does that sound plausible to you?”
“Impossible, sir.”
“Exactly. Yuk Ji-no-goe is a monster I myself cannot contend with. That old master was killed by some mere foot soldier from the Blood Cult? That’s the kind of nonsense that would get you beaten in the streets.”
Wi Do-hak, the Martial Arts Alliance leader, regarded Jegal Hwi-myeong with an expression full of displeasure.
“The elders are growing restless. Especially Shaolin and Wudang are speaking out forcefully—it’s reached a point where I can barely manage them.”
“….”
“Fine. Since you have nothing to say, we’ll drop the matter. I trust you’ll handle the aftermath yourself. Now, let’s move on to the Namgung Clan issue.”
“Previously, the Sword King of the Namgung Clan came in person to seek our understanding regarding this matter.”
Namgung Jincheon, the Sword King.
The Family Head of the Namgung Clan and one of the twenty-three supreme masters of the New Generation—the strongest in all under heaven.
One among them.
“Does he really need to go so far as to make an enemy of the Imperial Court?”
“There is an old debt, or so he said. He claimed it was unavoidable.”
“The Imperial Court’s movements this time are far from ordinary. There’s a possibility they’ll act even if it means breaking precedent.”
The Officials and Martial Realm shall not encroach upon each other.
Neither the government nor the martial world shall violate the other’s domain.
An ancient convention of Kangho.
“The Namgung Clan says they will handle it themselves.”
“Hmm, I’ve felt this for some time now, but that Namgung Jincheon fellow’s confidence is excessive. The Imperial Court has capable people too.”
The Imperial Court had two masters who had ascended to the Transformation Realm.
Two positions among the twenty-three supreme masters.
One is called the King of Life and Death, or the Judge of Life and Death—a master of the Transformation Realm who came from the judiciary.
Na In-gyeol, the Judge of Life and Death.
The other is the Purple Violet Blood King.
Or, as he is called, the First Sword of the Inner Palace—a master of the Transformation Realm who rose from the eunuch ranks.
The Grand Eunuch Byeok Nan-seok.
Within the Imperial Court, he was known as Eunuch Byeok and served as the shadow blade moving at the very center of power.
The Purple Violet Blood King Byeok Nan-seok was already backing the Fifth Prince during this imperial succession struggle.
The King of Life and Death Na In-gyeol, as always, maintained his neutrality.
“Then the Judge of Life and Death’s decision will be crucial.”
“He is a man of integrity and will not be easily swayed by the currents of the world. He has no hostile relationship with the Namgung Clan, and since he is at odds with Eunuch Byeok, he will likely remain as inactive as possible.”
“Still, one can never predict the ways of men. If the Fifth Prince ascends to the throne as emperor as expected, the Imperial Court will move without hesitation at his command, just as it always has.”
“Time is running short, I’m afraid.”
Jegal Hwi-myeong exhaled deeply.
Given his personal closeness to the Namgung Clan,
the crisis that had befallen them did not feel like someone else’s problem.
Yet he could not allow personal sentiment to cloud his judgment in matters of the Martial Arts Alliance, nor could he openly defend the Namgung Clan.
“If the Imperial Court mobilizes its armies, can the Namgung Clan withstand it?”
“It would be difficult.”
No matter how much the Namgung Clan was called the greatest family in all the Kangho,
that did not mean they possessed the strength to stand against the Imperial Court itself.
“A troubling situation indeed.”
“The Namgung Clan are no fools—they will have devised countermeasures. With so many allies in their circle, the Imperial Court will likely proceed with caution.”
As Jegal Hwi-myeong continued his report on the matter,
a sound came from beyond the conference chamber, prompting him to speak on behalf of the Martial Arts Alliance Leader Wi Do-hak.
“Enter.”
Tap tap—
The conference chamber door opened.
A portly, middle-aged man rushed in and assumed a formal stance.
“Shim Dae-un, Vice-Commander of the Jujak Division, pays his respects to the Alliance Leader and the Military Strategist!”
“I see. It must be urgent.”
“Yes, it is!”
As Vice-Commander Shim spoke, he extended a document.
Jegal Hwi-myeong, being the subordinate, received it and immediately passed it to Alliance Leader Wi Do-hak without reading it.
Wi Do-hak took the document, read it, and his eyes widened in surprise.
“The Military Strategist should read this as well.”
“Understood.”
Jegal Hwi-myeong took the document with a puzzled expression and read it,
and found himself involuntarily opening his mouth.
“The Yangtze River Bandits… or rather, the Black Dragon Faction? They handed over the Seventh Princess to them? The Namgung Clan did?”
“Yes! That’s correct! This is the fastest intelligence we’ve received, just arrived by messenger hawk!”
“This is remarkable… Alliance Leader, the Namgung Clan has indeed acted brilliantly.”
Jegal Hwi-myeong spoke while observing Vice-Commander Shim, who remained standing rigidly.
“Well done. You may return to your duties.”
“Yes, sir!”
Vice-Commander Shim of the Jujak Division bowed respectfully and promptly exited, the door closing behind him.
Martial Arts Alliance Leader Wi Do-hak let out a soft chuckle and spoke.
“They’ve managed to pass the hot potato along. I never imagined they’d handle it in such a manner.”
“If all goes well, it could prove to be a masterstroke for the Namgung Clan—eliminating two troublesome obstacles at once.”
“Those two obstacles being the Seventh Princess and the Black Dragon Faction, I presume?”
“Precisely. From the Namgung Clan’s perspective, the Black Dragon Faction, which has been growing its power on the Yangtze River, must have been quite the thorn in their side.”
At Jegal Hwi-myeong’s words, Wi Do-hak stroked his beard once before responding.
“True, but actually driving the water bandits into a corner and punishing them would be difficult. From a position of having received their favor, they would naturally hesitate.”
The Murim Alliance understood the relationship between the Namgung Clan and the Black Dragon Gang.
Or more precisely, they already knew what kind of relationship existed with Ilhyang, the rising master recently called Janggang Heukryong.
“The people of Kangho are particularly sensitive to such matters. Even the Namgung Clan, which champions justice, must have been troubled by it.”
“But if we can resolve it this way, it’s not bad. However, what exactly did they offer as compensation to accept the Seventh Princess so readily? They must have known well enough that she was a poisoned apple.”
The Fifth Prince was inevitably destined to become the next emperor.
The hostile forces had already been nearly eliminated from within the Imperial Palace.
The imperial bloodline who had barely escaped to the outside and survived were too busy fleeing to pose any threat.
In a situation where even survival was difficult, would they dare covet the throne of the next emperor?
It was impossible even in dreams.
“I will investigate what the Namgung Clan offered to the Black Dragon Gang.”
“Ahem, it’s merely idle curiosity, so there’s no need to expend too much effort.”
“No, sir. Perhaps that compensation itself might be the key to seeing through this entire situation.”
“I’m grateful. For packaging an old man’s curiosity so eloquently.”
In one corner of the Murim Alliance.
One current of Kangho’s flow was moving in that direction.
* * *
Crack—crack—crack—
The earth screamed, and two figures suddenly burst forth from a black hole.
One was Ilhyang, draped in a black martial robe.
The other was Yu Ga-ye, brought along blindfolded with no information whatsoever.
“We’ve arrived as expected.”
Having safely reached the Upper Realm, I surveyed my surroundings with a satisfied expression.
The Upper Realm Immortal Cultivation Realm.
This place felt entirely different from the Demon Cultivation Realm.
“Hmm, I should send this one back first.”
“Wait, I want to look around this place too!”
“That wasn’t part of our contract. Go back for now. And don’t lose the spirit stone you’re holding. Without it, there’s no telling where you’ll fall.”
“Kyaaaah!”
Yu Ga-ye protested and struggled, but I simply grabbed her lightly and tossed her into the dimensional rift, then leisurely rolled my shoulders and sat down.
“It was a good decision not to bring Geumok along just in case.”
Not long after throwing Yu Ga-ye, I saw flying objects approaching rapidly from the sky.
There were three flying objects in total.
Each carried about five people.
“You! You’re the one who just ascended from the Lower Realm!”
Whether they were patrol forces or something, they surrounded me in an instant with guarded attitudes.
And observing my rather leisurely expression, they spoke.
“Which faction do you belong to?”
“I don’t have one.”
“Hmph, I couldn’t sense any distinctive aura, so you’re telling me you’re a rogue cultivator?”
“How long has it been since a rogue cultivator reached the Immortal stage?”
“Well, at least not in the past three hundred years.”
Ignoring their murmurs, I stretched luxuriously and spoke.
“Anyway, I’m starving. Do you have anything to eat?”
“Ahem, we need to investigate your background further, so come with us obediently.”
I nodded in agreement.
Since I knew nothing of the Upper Realm, my plan was to follow them for now and gather information.
“Board this one.”
“What? Why are you trying to take the new recruit to the Purple Cloud Sect? This one should be interrogated by the Taiyi Sect.”
“Hmph, wouldn’t the Ten Thousand Sword Sect be more suited for this sort of thing?”
The man who spoke first.
The one who had made the suggestion.
Man Chong of the Purple Cloud Sect barely managed to compose his flushed face before addressing me.
“As you can see, things have come to this. You choose directly.”
I touched my soft chin and surveyed the people around me.
‘The representatives are around the Ascension Realm level.’
The leaders of each faction seemed to be at roughly the same Ascension Realm tier.
The rest of them appeared to be around the Foundation Establishment Realm.
‘In that case….’
I then examined the flying artifacts they had arrived on.
Three flying artifacts in total.
One was shaped like a giant disc,
another resembled flower petals,
and the last one looked like a cloud.
After glancing at them, I spoke.
“This one is the most expensive. I’ll take this.”
When I selected the petal-shaped flying artifact,
Man Chong, the representative of the Purple Cloud Sect, beamed with delight.
“Hahahaha! You’ve got a good eye for quality, boy!”
“Tsk… This is why I keep saying we need to invest more in flying artifacts.”
“Ah… To think we’d lose a new recruit this way.”
While the representatives of the other two sects sighed in regret,
Man Chong quickly helped me onto the petal-shaped flying artifact and glanced around.
“Hehe, you all seem to have nothing urgent to do? We’ll be leaving first.”
“Damn it….”
“How am I supposed to report this to my superior!”
Leaving the other sect members with bitter expressions, Man Chong turned to me with a grin.
“That was an excellent choice, recruit. You have quite refined taste.”
From my perspective, all three flying artifacts looked like garbage.
I held back from voicing that thought separately, driven by curiosity about the secrets of this world.
“So what happens to me now?”
“Ah! I haven’t even introduced myself. I’m Man Chong, an external patrol squad leader of the Purple Cloud Sect. My cultivation realm is early Foundation Establishment. What’s your name?”
“Ilhyang.”
“A fine name. Easy to remember too. Your cultivation stage is… hmm? Why can’t I sense it? Wait, could you possibly be a Senior beyond Foundation Establishment? No, that can’t be right. Judging by your recent ascension, you should naturally be in Qi Gathering stage…”
Watching Man Chong’s flustered expression, Ilhyang spoke quietly.
“My cultivation method is unconventional. I’m currently in the middle stage of Qi Gathering.”
“Hmm, yes, that makes sense. Growing without affiliation to any sect, you must have achieved Qi Gathering through an unusual path. No matter. As long as you have the skill, that’s what counts.”
“I’m confident in my abilities.”
“Oh? What’s your specialty? Pill Refinement? Weapon Forging? Or could it be Talisman Crafting?”
Man Chong asked with a noticeably excited expression.
This mysterious newcomer didn’t seem suspicious or threatening to them in the slightest.
They simply felt anticipation at the prospect of someone with skills.
‘Their security awareness is practically nonexistent.’
Looking at them again, their robes didn’t appear particularly impressive either.
I had harbored vague expectations about the Upper Realm sects.
Those expectations were beginning to fade.
Ilhyang sighed inwardly before speaking quietly.
“I have skill in Weapon Forging.”
“Ooh!”
“If it’s Weapon Forging, the Beobgi Dangjoo will be absolutely delighted!”
“Right, the Dangjoo has been making such a fuss about not having a suitable successor!”
With that, they all returned to their sect in cheerful spirits, laughing merrily.
As they flew, Ilhyang examined the landscape below with a tilted head.
‘Unlike the Demon Cultivation Realm, they seem to properly control the spirit veins here.’
The Demon Cultivation Realm, whether it was 2nd Realm or 4th Realm spirit veins.
Simply maintained and used them in their original form, but the Immortal Cultivation Realm was different.
They drew formation arrays upon massive spirit veins, perfectly controlling that power to use it as intended.
The form of the magic circles called formation arrays in this world became distinctly visible.
Moreover, with this method of arrays, a small number of people could monopolize entire spirit veins.
‘This is already interesting.’
The differences between the Demon Cultivation Realm and the Immortal Cultivation Realm became apparent the moment I arrived.
Aboard a petal-shaped flying artifact.
Ilhyang smiled brightly like the others.
Of course, the meaning behind that smile was entirely different from theirs.

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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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