Murim Login - Chapter 359
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I will re-publish the earlier chapters to fix those issues with the translation. I apologize in advance if it did not meet your standard. Please comment the chapters you find that is lacking in quality so I can fix them ASAP. Thanks for understanding!
Current re-published chapters (270 - 305)
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Seo Cheon-Ma (West Heaven Demon Lord), brushed off the debris clinging to his body and twisted his neck side to side, the sound of bones cracking accompanied by a grimace on his face.
“You’ve got quite a punch. If it weren’t for my protective energy, I might have really been hurt.”
I sighed deeply, watching Seo Cheon-Ma get up unscathed despite taking my full-powered Flame God Palm and Annihilation Fist.
“Forget the protective energy. Isn’t it cheating for someone like you to be wearing armor?”
“Armor? What’s that?”
I pointed to the black-scaled armor visible through his torn yellow robe.
“That thing you’re wearing inside. You bastard.”
“Oh, you mean the Black Dragon Armor.”
“Black Dragon Armor?”
What a flashy name. I didn’t know exactly what it was, but its performance as protective gear must be top-notch. It withstood two full-powered attacks and only a few scales fell off.
‘With that level of defense, using fists and palms is pointless.’
The armor worn by the ordinary warriors of Amcheon was considerable, but it couldn’t compare to the Black Dragon Armor.
‘An eye for an eye. To counter a divine artifact, you need a divine artifact.’
As long as that Black Dragon Armor exists, at least to inflict a fatal wound on him, I’ll need White Flame.
‘If not…’
Seo Cheon-Ma smirked as he noticed my searching gaze.
“You are indeed a very interesting young man. Your strange sorcery aside, I admire your unwavering determination.”
“So, how about we get together?”
“I’ll respectfully decline. I already have a long-time partner.”
Seo Cheon-Ma gently stroked his curved sword. From the severed blade emerged a dark sword energy.
“Since I’ve seen all your tricks, now it’s my turn.”
With a low murmur, Seo Cheon-Ma took a step forward. His overwhelming presence rippled like wings behind him. Only then did I realize that Seo Cheon-Ma’s martial arts were at a level far beyond what I had imagined.
“…Damn it.”
Ding.
It was as if I heard a bell signaling the start of round two from somewhere. But this wasn’t a boxing match that ended in twelve rounds. There were no cheering or lamenting spectators, no staff to throw in the towel.
This was a match that ended only with lives on the line.
‘Open inventory. Summon.’
I grasped the cold spear shaft. Taking a deep breath, I pointed the spearhead at Seo Cheon-Ma.
“Come at me.”
Seo Cheon-Ma didn’t hesitate.
* * *
Seo Cheon-Ma thrust his foot forward.
Body Shift. He disappeared, only to reappear above my head.
I leaned back, sensing the hair-raising danger.
Swish! Bang!
By a hair’s breadth, his heel missed my nose and struck the ground. The earth dented, and stone fragments scattered everywhere.
My nose, grazed by the wind pressure, bled, but there was no time to wipe it.
Shhh!
Dark sword energy rained down from all directions. It slashed and cut indiscriminately at my waist, ribs, and everywhere.
In the past, I would never have avoided those attacks. But not anymore.
I could see them. In this slowed-down world, I sensed the sword energy aiming at me.
I could visualize where the destructive energy would move and how I needed to move to dodge it.
My body moved ahead of my thoughts.
Bang! Bang!
I dodged some, deflected others with my spear. The battlefield was filled with clouds of dust and craters like a scene from a war movie.
And then…
Whoosh!
A dark sword energy, dull and ominous, sliced through the dust clouds. Seo Cheon-Ma, with a cold glint in his eyes, slashed diagonally.
I couldn’t tell what martial art it was, or what technique. But one thing was clear. If I retreated here, only death awaited me.
‘I have to counter it.’
I needed the strongest move I could muster. The answer had been clear from the start.
[‘One Strike.’]
Creak.
My entire body tensed like a drawn bowstring. My foot moved forward, my bent waist straightened, and the rotational force traveled through my shoulders and arms to the spearhead.
Boom!
An enormous concentration of energy too powerful to call simply spear energy.
The spearhead, engulfed in blue flames, advanced. It scorched the air and devoured the dust clouds, shooting towards Seo Cheon-Ma.
“Huh?”
Seo Cheon-Ma’s eyes widened. At the same time, his sword trembled, unleashing an even greater sword energy.
In the next moment, blue flames clashed with black darkness.
Boom!
An unprecedentedly loud noise erupted, shattering everything within a ten-meter radius. The ceiling collapsed, and the sturdy rocks crumbled into dust.
Amidst it all, one man stood tall.
“Damn it.”
Even my full-powered One Strike wasn’t enough.
Seo Cheon-Ma shook his head at my disappointed look. Blood trickled down his shoulder, the only mark left by One Strike.
“Don’t be disheartened. It was a sufficiently powerful move. It even made my heart skip a beat.”
“Just one question.”
“Ask anything.”
“If I had launched that strike from the beginning without wasting my strength… could I have killed you?”
Seo Cheon-Ma pondered before answering.
“You might have taken an arm, maybe more. But you would still die.”
“Damn it. I knew it.”
“It’s time to end this.”
Whoosh.
I wasn’t even surprised anymore. Like an inexhaustible spring, sword energy surged up and swung like a whip.
I gritted my teeth, feeling the extreme fatigue from the energy drain.
“It’s not… over yet.”
I gathered all the remaining energy and used Fire Dragon God Spear. Unlike before, the significantly reduced blue flames aimed at Seo Cheon-Ma’s exposed neck.
Swish!
And in the next moment, I realized, facing Seo Cheon-Ma’s unwavering eyes.
‘He read it.’
By the time the realization struck, it was too late. The sword energy that seemed about to cleave me in two abruptly turned and struck my spear.
Boom!
A thunderous crash echoed. I gripped the violently shaking spear and clenched my teeth.
Sword energy slashed at me from thirty-six directions.
With my entire body on edge, I swung my spear frantically.
Bang! Boom!
Each parry made my body stagger, my breath catch. It wasn’t a matter of speed or strength.
Martial arts and energy.
Seo Cheon-Ma’s martial arts were far beyond my reach, and the terrifying energy transmitted through my spear wreaked havoc on my body.
‘This bastard…!’
Blood splattered from between my clenched teeth. My torn hands were long since covered in blood.
With all my might, I swung my spear at the sword energy aiming for my chest.
Fire Dragon God Spear, first move. Heavenly Strike.
Swish, Boom!
But the dragon’s claw was now pathetically weak, and Seo Cheon-Ma’s dark sword energy didn’t lose any power.
Crash!
As I retreated, leaving a long furrow in the ground, I saw the shaking prison and the thick dust clouds around me.
He’s gone.’
Seo Cheon-Ma was nowhere to be seen, neither ahead, nor to the sides or above.
That left only one possibility. I turned and struck with my palm.
Bang!
Two sounds erupted simultaneously.
The heat of Fire Flame Palm scorched the air, and Seo Cheon-Ma’s palm hit my chest.
My vision turned white, pain slicing through my heartstrings. I swallowed the blood rising in my throat and steadied my rebounding body.
“Impressive. Truly.”
It was instinct.
Before I knew it, a low voice whispered beside me, and my arm moved on its own. The hand knife aimed at my neck struck my forearm.
Crack!
The sound of bones dislocating, followed by pain. Seo Cheon-Ma’s foot, swinging like a whip, dug into my side.
Thud, Bang!
As I crashed into the wall, breaking through rock, Seo Cheon-Ma slowly approached me.
His eyes were filled with admiration and joy.
“Amazing. Truly amazing. Do you realize what you just did?”
I spat out blood and answered.
“I don’t know, you bastard.”
“You should be proud. You lasted over three hundred seconds against me at full power.”
“Three hundred seconds. How heartwarming.”
“You don’t seem pleased, so let me put it differently. How about enduring five hundred seconds against Gyeong Cheon-Shin and those elders?”
No, not at all.”
“Why?”
Seo Cheon-Ma looked genuinely confused.
“Because they died anyway.”
Whether you endure three hundred, five hundred, or a thousand seconds, if you lose the fight, death is all that awaits the loser.
Gyeong Cheon-Shin and Dokwang couldn’t escape that fate either.
And… neither could I.
“Cough.”
Blood trickled from my parted lips.
I wanted to stand up nonchalantly like Seo Cheon-Ma did earlier, but my condition was too bad for that.
‘Internal injuries aside, my left arm is fractured, and my chest bones are cracked.’
I was truly beaten up. No wonder it was hard to breathe.
I took a labored breath and used White Flame as a cane to stand.
Seo Cheon-Ma’s eyes glinted as he watched me.
“Do you still have more to show?”
“Mu Luo?”
“Is that also the power of the supernatural? Show me. Show me!”
“I was going to anyway.”
I pointed my spear at Seo Cheon-Ma, who looked like an excited child.
And that was all the action I took.
“What are you doing, not coming at me?”
Seo Cheon-Ma asked, confusion clear in his eyes.
“What do you mean? I’m showing you the supernatural power you wanted to see.”
“Huh?”
“I’m good with my body, but my brain? Not so much. I even failed a level-one hanja test. But I read this word ‘supernatural’ in a martial arts novel and looked it up. I didn’t know what it meant, so I had to search for it.” [1]
Even if I explained, he probably wouldn’t understand half of what I said.
My vision wavered. Every breath felt like needles piercing my lungs, and the spear I usually wielded lightly now felt as heavy as a boulder.
However…
“Supernatural. It means something inexplicable, something beyond reason.”
I didn’t stagger or fall. I simply stared at Seo Cheon-Ma and continued speaking slowly.
“What’s supernatural? A guy like me, in this state, still standing and fighting. That’s supernatural.”
Remaining stat points? None.
Condition? It’s a miracle I’m even standing.
With everything drained, all that was left wasn’t hope.
‘Determination.’
Hope makes people rise, but also weakens them. But if determination remains, if the will to fight to the end exists, then I won’t fall.
No, I chose not to fall.
I had people to protect. Hwa-Wang and Cheong-Pung fought for me, so I must stop this guy, even if it means becoming a ghost instead of a supernatural being.
“So…”
I gathered every last bit of energy left within me. The faint aura formed around the spear, glowing weakly in the darkness like a firefly.
“Stop talking crap and come at me, you supernatural-obsessed bastard.”
Seo Cheon-Ma fell silent.
Various emotions flickered across his face before settling into a pair of deeply calm eyes.
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Footnotes:
[1] Hanja (한자) are Chinese characters used in the Korean language. While not commonly used in everyday writing in modern Korea, knowledge of Hanja is important for understanding historical texts and scholarly literature. Hanja tests are exams that assess proficiency in these characters, with level-one being an advanced level of proficiency.