The Wizard Who Endured the World of Murim - Chapter 99

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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 99
Two rumors had begun spreading rapidly throughout Kangho in recent times.
The first was none other than.
“Have you heard that rumor?”
“What rumor?”
“I heard the Emperor who ascended the throne not long ago is dead?”
“Ah! I heard about that ages ago.”
“From what I gather, the Black Dragon Master stormed the Imperial Palace alone and slaughtered every master protecting the Emperor. They say he even killed the Hwagyeong Master—you know, that eunuch expert?”
“The Zami Blood King?”
“Yeah, that castrated bastard among the Twenty-Three Stars of Divine Realm—he killed him too.”
“Wow… I heard the Emperor was dead, but I didn’t know it was for such a reason.”
The Imperial Court naturally attempted to suppress these rumors, but it was futile.
Far too many people had witnessed the spectacle firsthand.
Inevitably, the uncontrolled rumors grew increasingly exaggerated as they spread.
By the time the whispers reached the rural outskirts,
tales claimed that the Black Dragon Master Ilhyang had split the Emperor’s Palace with a single finger and carved his name into it.
Others insisted the Emperor had died by accident during a four-day-and-night battle against the Imperial masters.
As various fabrications intermingled, the Black Dragon Master’s infamy grew to terrifying proportions.
Yet those who truly understood what had transpired fell silent.
The actual events were far too absurd to comprehend.
“I always thought such things might be possible if one mastered martial arts to their absolute limit.”
“But the Black Dragon Master is utterly preposterous.”
“Is he even a martial artist of Murim? Or is he a Celestial Watcher?”
The masters of Kangho’s Murim felt awe at Ilhyang’s overwhelming and unprecedented accomplishments,
yet they could not suppress their curiosity about the martial techniques he had displayed.
While the gossip in the market streets continued to swell,
another rumor emerged from the Martial Arts Alliance.
“I hear the Martial Arts Alliance is recruiting people.”
“The requirement is supposedly at least Peak Master rank?”
The Martial Arts Alliance.
The dominant force of Kangho and a martial coalition that even the Imperial Court could not easily oppose.
This time, they had officially distributed formal invitations to the prominent families and factions of Kangho,
and the contents were nothing short of extraordinary.
[The Martial Arts Alliance wishes to share secret methods for ascending to the Upper Realm exclusively with masters of Peak rank and above. Interested masters are invited to undergo a simple examination at the designated location.]
The Upper Realm.
There were still quite a few people who knew of its existence.
Yet most had dismissed it as idle talk.
This was inevitable, however.
The rumors surrounding the Upper Realm typically described it as a world of Immortal Sages.
It felt like the kind of place that served as the backdrop when adults told children fairy tales to nurture their dreams.
However, since the Martial Arts Alliance—the most credible organization in Kangho—had directly mentioned it.
Naturally, Kangho was thrown into upheaval.
“Is this truly the case? Are they really sending people to the Upper Realm?”
“Please, tell me something. If we go to the Upper Realm, can we return? Our sect’s junior disciples are clamoring to ascend to the Upper Realm every single day, and it’s driving me to madness.”
“I… I also have no knowledge regarding that matter.”
From the branch leaders overseeing each Guild Branch of the Martial Arts Alliance to the masters wielding actual martial power.
Everyone was desperately scrambling to gather information about this affair.
And for good reason—it concerned the Upper Realm.
The Emperor who had died not long ago was, after all, a person from another world, so whether he lived or died.
It was not a matter of great concern to the martial artists.
Merely trivial gossip to chew on?
But the matter of the Upper Realm was entirely different.
“Is it truly the case that if one ascends to the Upper Realm, the celestial energies overflow so abundantly that one’s cultivation realm can rise in an instant?”
“I heard that the Upper Realm is strewn with spiritual medicines and sacred herbs everywhere—is that really true?”
“Is it true that if one goes there, the peerless secret manuals that the Mysterious Sect had hidden away are scattered about in the marketplace?”
The lower-ranking administrative masters of the Martial Arts Alliance felt as though they were being crushed to death by the endless stream of visitors each day.
So they attempted various methods, such as writing answers to the most frequently asked questions on large sheets of paper and posting multiple copies at the entrance gate of the Martial Arts Alliance.
But it was all in vain.
Even if they processed people every single day, even more people flooded into the Martial Arts Alliance.
Without a doubt, it must have set a record for the highest number of visitors in the history of the Martial Arts Alliance.
“Eh? But I still have more questions—where are you going?”
While the masters of the Martial Arts Alliance were spending each day in what felt like warfare.
The expressions of the highest leadership were surprisingly serene.
The reason they could remain so calm was simple.
“So you’re saying the Black Dragon Master can truly send people to the Upper Realm?”
“That is precisely correct.”
Namgung Jincheon, the Sword King.
He had generously shared all the information about the Black Dragon Faction that he had directly experienced with the leadership of the Martial Arts Alliance.
“Hehe, a master capable of defeating the Sword King in a single exchange… have I lived too long?”
No one currently in the Martial Arts Alliance could demonstrate such prowess.
The martial strength of Namgung Jincheon, the Sword King, was said to be equal to or even greater than that of Wi Do-hak, the Golden Heaven Sword Emperor and Alliance Master.
Among the Twenty-Three Stars of Divine Realm, who were counted as the strongest in Kangho.
He was an absolute powerhouse ranking within the top four.
That was precisely who Namgung Jincheon, the Sword King, was.
“He said only Peak Masters and above could be taken there. Below that rank, one’s body would burst apart the moment they ascended, or so I heard.”
“Well, if the Upper Realm is as the rumors suggest, it would be difficult for anyone below Peak Master to endure it.”
Information about the Upper Realm was widely known among the martial sects.
Not the sort of baseless gossip circulating in the streets.
Rather, accurate information with considerable substance.
“So how many masters has the Namgung Clan decided to send to that Black Dragon Master?”
“Now that I think about it, isn’t the Namgung Clan closest to him? So it seems the Black Dragon Master and you shared some kind of understanding?”
Namgung Jincheon did not answer the people’s questions.
He sat silently for a moment, still as a mountain.
Only when the murmur of voices had subsided somewhat did he slowly open his mouth.
“All of them.”
“Hmm? What do you mean by that?”
“I have decided to send every peak master within my family’s reach to the Upper Realm.”
“No! How can you possibly trust the Black Dragon Master’s word! He is nothing but a water bandit, after all!”
Namgung Jincheon responded with an expression that showed he paid no mind to the alarmed gazes from the other sects.
“First, he is not a water bandit. And he is not a man capable of lying. That much I can trust.”
“There is nothing more foolish than trusting a person so easily.”
Peng Docheon, the Family Head of the Hebei Peng Family, retorted with a sneer.
Namgung Jincheon gazed directly at him and spoke.
“What would a lion or tiger gain from deceiving a rabbit? Have you not heard the rumors of the Black Dragon Master, Family Head Peng?”
“…Well, I have heard them.”
The Emperor’s assassin.
Or rather, the Emperor’s slayer—for he had marched forward boldly and struck him down with his own hands.
The Dark Demon Emperor Ilhyang.
That was the new epithet recently used to refer to the Black Dragon Master.
“The Black Dragon Master explained all his conditions to me beforehand. And I intend to leave only a skeleton crew in the family while sending everyone else to the Upper Realm.”
The conditions the Black Dragon Master had set forth were simple and straightforward.
First, they must be peak masters.
And once they ascended to the Upper Realm, they would serve under him for at least ten years.
“Of course, he cannot issue unjust commands or orders that would bring dishonor.”
The Black Dragon Master.
Or rather, Ilhyang, now called the Dark Demon Emperor, had come to occupy an absolute position in Kangho.
And for such a master, the conditions he had set were remarkably reasonable.
Which made them all the harder to believe.
Had the conditions been harsh or demanded great compensation instead,
the martial sects would have considered the Black Dragon Master’s proposal far more seriously.
“As you all know, these are extraordinarily generous terms. Ten years? Certainly it seems long, but there is far more to be gained in return.”
“But ten years nonetheless… Isn’t that too harsh a condition?”
Human greed knows no bounds.
Yet Namgung Jincheon persevered in persuading them.
“In the Upper Realm, they say spiritual medicines and herbs are scattered about in unbelievable abundance. Ten years of service is hardly a waste when one can acquire such treasures so easily, and he has even promised access to spiritual veins.”
Namgung Jincheon’s conviction appeared unshakeable.
But the other sects belonging to the Martial Arts Alliance hesitated.
In truth, their lives in the Lower Realm were not unpleasant.
Why would one live as the tail of a dragon
when one could live as the head of a snake?
While they harbored such thoughts in silence,
at the elongated table in the Martial Arts Alliance Conference Hall,
the Old Monk in a saffron robe, who had been sitting quietly with his eyes closed in the seat directly to the right of the Alliance Leader, finally opened his mouth.
“Namo Amitabha Buddha… Shaolin too intends to share purpose with the Namgung Clan.”
“…Hah! Even Shaolin!”
Until now, Shaolin Temple had kept its doors half-closed, exercising extreme restraint in external activities.
Yet suddenly, they had expressed active participation in outside affairs.
And that was precisely the matter of the Upper Realm’s ascension this time.
The Alliance Leader and everyone in the conference hall could not hide their expressions of shock.
At that same moment, the Old Daoist of Xianfeng Daoggu, who had been sitting in the upper seat to the left of the Alliance Leader and listening quietly, spoke softly.
“Infinite Buddha… Wudang Sect shall also follow the path of Shaolin and Namgung.”
“Even Wudang!”
“What on earth is happening!”
While the Martial Arts Alliance Conference Hall was engulfed in turmoil at that very moment,
* * *
Ilhyang, who had barely broken through the Heavenly Tribulation in the Lower Realm and ascended to the Demon Immortal Realm,
found himself face to face with an unexpected sight and momentarily wore a bewildered expression.
“I’m certain I found the right place… but why has it changed so much?”
Shhhhhh—
Black spider webs filled every direction.
And gazing at the crimson spiders the size of adult men hanging like fruit throughout the webs that blanketed the entire Gorge, Ilhyang finally contorted his face in disgust.

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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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