The Wizard Who Endured the World of Murim - Chapter 82

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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 82
The origin of all martial arts under heaven.
Shaolin Temple.
Before Shaolin Temple, traces of martial arts existed, certainly.
Yet they were nothing more than fragments.
Beginning with Shaolin Temple, all martial arts began to take systematic form.
The body and mind could be cultivated, and one could learn to protect oneself.
In the deepest reaches of Mount Song, where Shaolin Temple stands.
There existed stone pagodas that Shaolin had painstakingly accumulated over more than a thousand years.
As if humans had carefully carved stone after stone, paying the price of long patience, offering fervent prayers to the divine.
Each stone pagoda bore the marks of meticulous devotion.
In this place where pagodas of every shape and form stood in rows.
This sacred sanctuary of Shaolin.
Was called the Pagoda Forest.
* * *
“At last, the first sign has appeared. The timing and form match precisely what was mentioned in the Celestial Mandate.”
“….”
“Heh heh, surely we were not alone in awaiting this prophecy? All must have yearned for it equally.”
“….”
“The Patron has endured much hardship these years. How weary you must be, spending entire days in idle chatter with a blind old fool who cannot see the path ahead? I understand your burden well. You severed your own tongue to read the heavenly secrets with precision—how could I not comprehend such resolve? I, who sacrificed my eyes, understand your heart best of all.”
In the deepest part of Shaolin’s Pagoda Forest stood a humble thatched hut.
It had been inhabited since ancient times.
Though the occupants changed roughly every fifty years.
The hut was never left vacant.
More precisely, it could never be left vacant.
Before heaven closed.
From the time when the boundary between the Upper Realm and Lower Realm grew dim, an ancient legacy passed down through Shaolin remained there.
A sacred staff that some great being from the Upper Realm, taking pity on the humans of the Lower Realm, had planted like a needle into the earth.
Remarkably, nothing of a supernatural nature could approach the vicinity of the staff.
Even those who were not human could not draw near.
This was where Shaolin Temple truly began.
“….”
A middle-aged monk busily gesturing with his fingers.
He was earnestly conveying sign language into the hands of the blind old monk before him.
“Heh heh, did not the Tathagata teach that all things arise from a single thought? Therefore, there is no need to cling to life and death.”
Curiously, within the humble thatched hut lay a naturally formed stone.
And upon that stone, something protruded needle-like.
From what was embedded there, a faint staff-like form could be discerned, yet strangely, its appearance was not distinct.
The sacred staff called by Shaolin the Staff of Bodhi Without Shadow, possessing this mysterious quality where form and shadow could not be seen.
It was being carefully managed by the most accomplished monk in Shaolin’s deepest, most secret place.
The Staff of Formless Barley was not revered merely because its form lacked clarity.
This staff carried prophecies passed down through generations.
Remarkably, those prophecies themselves possessed no form—formless celestial mechanisms.
Thus, a blind man capable of reading those formless prophecies with perfect accuracy was required.
And a mute man was needed to transmit those painstakingly deciphered prophecies to future generations with absolute precision.
For the past fifteen hundred years.
The two monks counted among Shaolin’s most eminent had remained secluded in this thatched hut, never venturing beyond its walls for the remainder of their lives, quietly managing the prophecies.
To prepare for the future that approached.
Shaolin had invested tremendous effort across vast stretches of time.
“….”
“Heh heh, quite right. Soon you’ll be able to ascend to the Upper Realm. Once there, what is the first thing you wish to do?”
“….”
“Blast it! A man who doesn’t even appreciate wine wants to taste it in the Upper Realm!”
As the two exchanged such jests and chatter between themselves.
Through the prophecies they had transmitted, the eternal pillar of the Murim—the great peak that would never crumble.
Shaolin Temple.
The colossus that had remained silent for nearly a thousand years began to move, slowly and deliberately.
* * *
“Did you not say your formation array was flawless from the start? Now you’ll need to explain yourself properly.”
“The formation array has been installed flawlessly from the beginning until now. Look for yourself—not even a mouse could pass without authorization, could it?”
“Hm? Then how did that treacherous dog, worthy of universal condemnation, manage to breach the Imperial Palace? Have you not heard of the catastrophic incident from not long ago?”
Sung Yu-gok, the Celestial Inquiry Bureau’s chief and master of formation arrays, furrowed his brow as he fixed his gaze upon his counterpart.
Though the other man was merely mortal in nature.
He was among the Imperial Court’s most formidable masters—or rather, now that Byeok Gonggong had fallen, he stood as the foremost Hwagyeong Master in all the Imperial Palace.
Na In-gyeol, the King of Life and Death.
As Sung Yu-gok met the frigid anger radiating from his entire being with an expression of discomfort, he exhaled a deep sigh.
“I myself remain puzzled. If that traitor had forced his way through the formation array by sheer strength, there should inevitably be traces of tearing or destruction somewhere. Yet there was nothing of the sort.”
“Then you are incompetent, are you not? In the Imperial Court, incompetence is itself a crime.”
“Alas, hear me out, Judge Na. I understand you find me amusing because I am a Celestial Watcher yet serve the Imperial Court, which is why you speak so carelessly. But my cultivation is not so shallow. In fact, if we measure skill alone, I would confidently rank within the top five among all formation masters operating in the Kangho. Yet I could not identify the problem. What do you suppose this suggests?”
“…That the opponent is a Celestial Watcher of a realm beyond even your comprehension?”
“Precisely. I cannot even gauge the strength of that vicious creature.”
A faint tremor appeared in Na In-gyeol’s cold eyes.
Celestial Watchers.
They were a race unto themselves—embodiments of an arrogance that deemed humans beneath contempt.
The reason Sung Yu-gok, known to possess considerable prowess among such beings, had installed and maintained the formation arrays while outwardly pledging loyalty to the Imperial Court was simple.
The Imperial Court had provided him with comprehensive support and resources throughout.
A relationship where the exchange was clear and explicit.
Yet it was not a relationship where loyalty or greater responsibility could be demanded.
Na In-gyeol withdrew his hand from the hilt of his sword.
“Then what am I to make of this situation? If such a monster can slip in and out of the Imperial Palace so effortlessly, what method could possibly protect His Majesty? Or how could we stop him next time?”
Sung Yu-gok stroked his white beard and suddenly bowed his head deeply as he answered.
“To be honest, I lack confidence. It’s certain that he employed a technique unknown to me… yet he left no trace whatsoever. I cannot even fathom what he did or how. I apologize. It seems I was truly incompetent.”
“….”
That pride-laden Celestial Watcher bowed his head before a mere criminal.
Witnessing the scene directly, Na In-gyeol felt as though a stone had been placed upon his chest, suffocating him with frustration.
“Then such atrocities could occur again?”
“…Indeed.”
“Hmm….”
As Na In-gyeol rubbed his temples with his hand.
Song Yu-gok carefully opened his mouth.
“But didn’t he say it himself? It seems it would suffice if we simply don’t trouble him.”
“The very fact that there exists one whom the Emperor must tread carefully around on his own land is the problem. Moreover, he is an uncouth brute who dared to threaten and trample the Imperial Court’s authority with force. Can you guarantee that he will make no greater demands in the future? Therefore, we must punish him preemptively.”
Song Yu-gok tilted his head at Na In-gyeol’s resolute answer.
“That’s rather peculiar logic. If one is weak, they must unconditionally submit. Even if they grow stronger later, if they act recklessly now, they will surely die. This seems true not only in the world of Celestial Watchers but also by the standards of commoners. Am I misunderstanding something?”
“That would be correct in general circumstances. But not for the Imperial Court. The Imperial Court’s authority stems from its dignity. If that crumbles, the Empire is finished.”
Na In-gyeol sighed and gazed upon Song Yu-gok, whose expression still showed disagreement.
“In any case, since even you have no answer, I must seek out others.”
“Who else remains?”
“Only one place is left.”
“Where is that? It’s somewhat embarrassing to say from my own mouth, but finding someone more skilled than myself in all of Tianxia would be difficult.”
Na In-gyeol slowly turned his body as he spoke.
“I intend to visit the Murim Alliance.”
The Imperial Court and Murim had maintained non-interference throughout, pretending not to know of each other’s existence.
Yet with this unprecedented crisis unfolding, the Court was now reaching out to Murim for the first time.
* * *
Ilhyang arrived at Sungwha Island once more via teleportation.
Having expended nearly all the spirit stones he carried on the journey, traveling in one stretch proved difficult, and this time there were intervals for resting and recovering mana.
‘There was somewhere I needed to visit anyway.’
It was a slight detour.
But debts are best settled as quickly as possible.
Ilhyang thus arrived at the village he had first visited upon coming to this world.
Giyang County.
And upon visiting the Wanderer’s Guild Branch in Giyang County, Ilhyang smiled at Mak Chung, the guide of the Giyang County Wanderer’s Guild Branch who did not immediately recognize him.
Mak Chung gazed back at him with a smile.
“It has been a long time.”
“…Your eyes seem familiar, yet I cannot recall who you are. I apologize.”
Mak Chung answered cautiously.
A young man who had just descended the steps of the Wanderer’s Guild Branch.
Judging by the black silk robes he wore and that composed yet smoldering gaze.
He seemed unmistakably the son of a well-bred influential family or the descendant of a powerful great clan.
Thus, Mak Chung racked his memory urgently, but he had no recollection of ever exchanging pleasantries with a late-stage expert bearing such features.
Yet, strangely enough, there was something distinctly familiar about that aura.
“I’ve changed considerably, so it’s understandable you didn’t recognize me. I received my Wanderer’s Guild badge for the first time here.”
Ilhyang placed an iron badge he carried onto the table with a soft tap.
Reading the name inscribed upon it, Mak Chung’s eyes widened as he spoke.
“Ah! Aren’t you the Black Dragon Master!”
“Do you remember now?”
“Of course! Absolutely! You’ve grown tremendously since then… haha, now I remember clearly. It’s truly wonderful to see you.”
As Mak Chung smiled brightly and welcomed him warmly, Ilhyang nodded in response to his unguarded demeanor.
“I’ve come to repay an old debt. So I’m offering you the right to choose.”
“I have no memory of owing you any debt.”
Surely Mak Chung could see that Ilhyang’s social standing had risen considerably since those days.
Yet Mak Chung appeared genuinely uninterested in receiving anything in return.
But when Ilhyang first fell into this world.
When he sought out the Wanderer’s Guild, still unfamiliar with this place.
The small kindnesses that Mak Chung, who was attending to guests, had shown him were certainly not trivial.
Yet Mak Chung seemed to regard such things as truly insignificant.
That was precisely why he wished to repay him all the more.
“I felt indebted then, so I must repay it. Is there anything you desire?”
Mak Chung’s expression flickered with momentary confusion.
His face showed discomfort as the other insisted on repaying a debt regardless.
Then, unexpectedly, a savior appeared from beside him.

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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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