The Wizard Who Endured the World of Murim - Chapter 76

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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 76
Why do the Celestial Watchers of the Lower Realm hold mortals in such contempt?
Because they’re weak?
Well, that could certainly be one reason.
But the most decisive reason is their short lifespans.
A short lifespan means limited absolute time for cultivation.
And when cultivation time is limited?
There’s naturally a ceiling to how strong one can become.
‘The typical limit for mortals is considered the Flame Realm.’
Generally, only a rare few geniuses can reach the Flame Realm.
And even that alone earns them recognition as the strongest among mortals.
But from the Celestial Watchers’ perspective?
A master of the Flame Realm is, at best, merely at the Qi Accumulation stage.
And at the Qi Accumulation level, such cultivators are practically strewn about like pebbles in the Upper Realm.
This was the absolute ceiling for mortals without celestial roots.
Sip—
Namgung Jincheon brought the teacup to his lips, his gaze settling steadily upon Ilhyang.
I’d heard that Namgung Jincheon was supposedly around eighty years old.
Yet his appearance suggested he was barely in his early forties.
The first impression Ilhyang had of Namgung Jincheon was of a middle-aged man radiating an aloof, coldly composed aura from every inch of his being.
Indeed, before earning the title Sword King, Namgung Jincheon had made his name throughout Kangho under the epithet “Bloodless Swordless”—a fitting assessment.
“I’m aware you’ve been quietly gathering Celestial Watchers. I’ve also ascertained that most of them are wanted by the Murim.”
Ilhyang gazed at Namgung Jincheon, his fingers tracing the rim of his teacup.
So what?
Was this a threat?
Yet his tone and demeanor seemed far too measured for coercion.
So I responded with deliberate delay.
“They’ve chosen to follow me, so their disposition rests solely with me. There’s no reason for outside interference.”
“Do as you wish.”
An answer without hesitation—refreshingly straightforward.
So I leaned forward slightly and addressed Namgung Jincheon directly.
“Then stop dancing around it and tell me your purpose.”
“Indeed, as I’ve heard—a refreshingly candid temperament.”
Tap—
Namgung Jincheon withdrew a small jade pendant shaped like a compass from his robes and tossed it onto the table.
“This is something crafted by the Murim Alliance. It was designed to track Celestial Watchers like yourselves. It’s called the Heavenly Escape Compass.”
“Hmm, the craftsmanship of this dharma instrument is remarkably crude. Visually unappealing as well. The functionality is equally abysmal.”
Though I offered this harsh assessment without even touching the jade pendant, merely glancing at it, Namgung Jincheon continued without any change in expression.
“The Murim Alliance officially sponsors a Celestial Watcher sect called the Moshan Sect. Their sect master is a venerable master named Yuk Ji-no-goe and Gao Shiji. This is that venerable master’s handiwork.”
“Judging by the epithet, this venerable master apparently has six fingers, yet even those with five fingers produce better finishing work. It seems the Murim Alliance has been wasting funds all this time.”
“I agree with that.”
“Then it seems we’ve heard enough preamble. Shall we get to the main point?”
“Do you know anything about Yuk Ji-no-goe’s death?”
A question that struck suddenly, without warning.
This wasn’t among the anticipated questions.
But Ilhyang wasn’t naive enough to fall for such an obvious leading interrogation.
“It seems that old master has passed away?”
“…He died after entering the Saheol Secret Realm that appeared recently.”
“How unfortunate.”
“But coincidentally, most of the forces that accessed that secret realm overlap considerably with those you’re currently leading.”
He’d conducted quite a thorough investigation.
Or perhaps this too was merely speculation on his part.
Ilhyang carefully managed his expression and responded naturally.
“So what is it you’re trying to say? I still haven’t heard the main point, it seems.”
“If the Moshan Sect’s power weakens now, our position becomes considerably difficult. We’d have no proper way to check the other Celestial Watchers.”
Ilhyang gazed out the reception room window for a moment, watching the sunset fade beyond the glass.
Then he turned his gaze back, fixing his eyes on Namgung Jincheon.
For some reason, the corners of his mouth curled upward as he smiled playfully.
“The Sword King is lying right now.”
“That’s quite an unpleasant misunderstanding. I’m a rather truthful person.”
“But truthfulness is ultimately a matter of perspective, isn’t it? Omitting important facts and glossing over them is a form of deception—and viewed broadly, that too is a lie.”
Right at this point in the conversation.
A subtle shift appeared in Namgung Jincheon’s otherwise expressionless face.
It was a peculiar emotion, as if observing a most fascinating creature.
“How did you know? I’m no silver-tongued orator, but I thought I controlled the situation rather well.”
Ilhyang glanced around at Namgung Jincheon’s straightforward acknowledgment before speaking.
“How could I not notice when the air reeks of blood in every direction? It seems even common criminals have found ways to deal with Celestial Watchers now.”
“Hmm. You have a keen sense of smell, it appears.”
Namgung Jincheon stroked his beard with a somewhat regretful expression, then addressed Ilhyang with a serious look.
“Would you consider joining the Martial Arts Alliance even now? This is the best offer I can make on my authority. I guarantee with my name that it would be no bad bargain for you either.”
“It seems the Moshan Sect’s role in the Martial Arts Alliance has been quite significant. I never expected such an earnest proposal. But unfortunately….”
Ilhyang felt the blade-like pressure bearing down on him from all directions and smiled broadly.
“A tiger cannot crawl beneath a dog, can it?”
“Crude in expression, but I appreciate the confidence shining through.”
The conversation between them ended there.
It could progress no further.
Between the two of them.
Both brimmed with confidence.
In such circumstances, a clash of hands became inevitable.
Only after the hierarchy was clearly established through combat could the next conversation begin.
And then, at some point.
Crack-crack-crack―!
A massive, thick bolt of lightning descended from the sky, piercing through the ceiling of the Reception Room and striking directly onto Ilhyang’s head.
* * *
I needed a secret technique to face the Celestial Watchers.
From the perspective of mortals, the Celestial Watchers were overwhelming predators.
They were unknowable monsters that could only be feared unilaterally.
From ancient times until now, continuously.
Mortals had never known a single moment of peace.
Then, at some point.
A barrier appeared in the sky.
The number of monsters visibly decreased.
Thus, even among mortals who had harbored no hope whatsoever until then, a glimmer of resolve began to kindle, and a focal point that bound them together emerged.
“In the Murim, Shaolin and Wudang, Huashan and the other Nine Great Sects united their will. And our Five Great Families joined their cause.”
The Murim Alliance.
I never expected to learn the true story of its founding in this manner.
Ilhyang simply listened intently to Namgung Jincheon’s words.
“Let us find a way to defeat the Celestial Watchers through martial arts. Let us no longer submit to them. Let us discover their weaknesses.”
Among the mortals in the Lower Realm, there were extensive discussions.
They secretly shared their knowledge with one another and created a unified martial technique at its core.
“So this is it, it seems.”
Even as electric currents coursed through my entire body.
Ilhyang gazed at Namgung Jincheon with an expression of mild surprise, without any particular emotional turbulence or wavering.
“It’s called the Falling Divine Blade. It’s our family’s hereditary martial art infused with the Law of Slaying Immortals and Destroying Dharma. Since it incorporates the mightiest thunder qi under heaven, I truly hadn’t anticipated that it would fail.”
Namgung Jincheon’s entire body, with his sword extended forward, trembled finely as though he had suffered a stroke.
He had expended all his strength.
And remaining upright at this very moment was perhaps nothing short of a miracle.
This was still an incomplete, unfinished martial technique.
The price of squeezing it to its limits was far too steep.
His dantian bore cracks like a spider’s web, as though scraped by a sharp blade.
“It was quite exhilarating, I must say. Had I been anyone else, the Celestial Watchers would have perished from this alone.”
This was the truth.
For once, Ilhyang offered sincere praise without a hint of mockery.
Honestly, from Ilhyang’s perspective, there was nothing but shock and alarm.
‘If I hadn’t been prepared, it could have been dangerous.’
Anti-magic.
Or dispel.
The primordial force that collapses the very structure of mana—the ultimate antithesis to magic itself—had.
Permeated Namgung Jincheon’s strike just moments ago.
‘And it wasn’t merely dispel alone, but qi infused with thunder essence at that.’
Tch, these fools.
I’d stake my life that this is an incomplete martial technique.
Who in their right mind would think to mix other energies into Dispel like that?
‘The concept was sound, but it has inherent limitations because of it.’
Dispel is a formidable offensive spell in its own right.
The moment you blend it with something else, it becomes neither one thing nor the other.
These fools almost certainly didn’t realize that.
“Hmm.”
Should I enlighten them?
But why bother?
Crackle—
Ilhyang gazed silently at the electricity crackling across his fingertips and the hem of his robes, then fixed his eyes on the gaping void above.
How long had he stood there?
Ilhyang slowly lowered his head.
And he spoke to Namgung Jincheon, who was barely managing to stay upright.
“It seems the hierarchy has been sufficiently established. If there’s anything else you’d like to demonstrate, I wouldn’t mind seeing it.”
Namgung Jincheon desperately regulated his inner energy, then fell silent in thought for a moment.
He laughed hollowly and shook his head.
“If you’ve dismantled this so effortlessly, I doubt anything else I show you would pose any real threat.”
A complete defeat.
In truth, when Namgung Jincheon first arrived at this place—Sungwha Island, the base of the Black Dragon Faction—and saw so many Celestial Watchers gathered here, he’d harbored dark premonitions.
But he never imagined their leader’s strength would be this formidable.
Namgung Jincheon’s expression grew increasingly grim.
‘Who under heaven could possibly stand against this monster?’
A sigh escaped him unbidden.
For thousands of years since ancient times, mortals had gathered the finest essence of every sect, all to contend with the Celestial Watchers.
Through painstaking effort across generations, they had wrung out the ultimate techniques from absolute masters and geniuses of each era—killing blows forged in blood and sweat.
‘Until now, we’ve used these to annihilate every Celestial Watcher we’ve faced.’
Yet here, I have failed.
If Shaolin or Wudang were to intervene, could they capture this monster?
Namgung Jincheon, lost in thought, soon reached a conclusion: unlikely.
They would be no different from him.
Shaolin and Wudang had likewise infused the teachings of the Meditation Annihilation Method into their secret supreme techniques.
Yet he did not believe their martial arts surpassed the Namgung Clan’s Heaven Thunder Sovereign Sword Technique in rank.
“What is your purpose?”
Suddenly, he was curious.
If this monster were to act as it had before the barrier of heaven was erected—
capturing humans alive to refine them into elixirs—
could humanity even resist?
‘Tens of millions, perhaps hundreds of millions of lives could perish at the whim of a single being.’
This is clearly just the beginning stage.
Currently, I was merely hiding within a small unorthodox faction called the Black Dragon Faction.
But what if I continued capturing more Celestial Watchers and making them my subordinates?
What if I then crushed all the Celestial Watchers in Tianxia beneath my feet and targeted humanity itself?
Would any force dare to stand against me?
A monster against whom even techniques refined over thousands of years prove useless.
“It seems you’ve developed quite the misunderstanding. I have absolutely no interest in the Lower Realm.”
“…What?”
“Isn’t this meager level of power the best one can manage beneath the Sky?”
The Sky.
More precisely, the Dimensional Barrier.
As long as it loomed overhead.
Wielding true power in the Lower Realm was nearly impossible.
‘Except for me.’
Except for a mage, to be exact.
All Celestial Watchers were bound by the Sky’s chains.
The same held true for the monsters of the Upper Realm.
So the Lower Realm was merely a safe haven for Ilhyang.
And a place to cultivate the strength to seize the Upper Realm.
“Therefore, I have no intention of engaging in such childish games as conquering Tianxia or using humans as sacrifices to grow stronger.”
What he was imagining.
What he was worried about.
It was all so transparent that I laid it bare without reservation.
Whether he believed it or not was now his problem.
As Ilhyang’s true intentions reached him, Namgung Jincheon’s eyes lost focus, wavering back and forth.

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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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