Murim Login - Chapter 465

With a resounding impact, the spear’s blade was deflected, twisting violently out of its path. A beam of light, erratic and serpentine like a living creature, surged downward from above.

‘Swish, swish, swish!’

A torrent of destructive energy illuminated the dark cave in an instant. In the face of this overwhelming force, I smoothly twisted my body.

‘Whoosh, thud, crash!’

The beams narrowly missed vital points on my shoulders, neck, waist, and chest, instead shattering the solid cave floor beneath.

Had my reaction been even a fraction slower, I would have been struck down instantly.

But Dongting Fisherman’s attack didn’t touch even a hair on my body, and the fleeting crisis turned into an opportunity.

Like now.

‘Whirr!’

The spear’s blade, which had wavered from the earlier shock, swung sharply in midair, aiming straight for Dongting Fisherman’s neck.

His ash-gray eyes widened as he turned his body, and a brilliant beam of white light desperately intercepted the oncoming spear.

But…

“That won’t be enough.”

If Dongting Fisherman was an old master who had accumulated vast martial power over his long life, I was a monster forged through countless battles and the system’s rewards, surpassing the limits of mere experience.

Even if our martial powers were equal, my body housed strength beyond the human threshold.

‘Boom!’

The moment the bluish-white flames of my spear collided with his light, a deafening crash echoed through the cave as though the heavens were splitting.

Dongting Fisherman’s body was flung back, slamming into the solid rock wall and shattering part of it. The entire cave trembled as massive stalactites rained down.

Staring at his ash-gray eyes through the settling debris, I spoke in a measured tone.

“Get up. Stop pretending you’re dead.”

The limbs that had been limp moments ago moved vigorously.

Dongting Fisherman rose from the dented wall, cracking his neck from side to side.

‘Crack, crack.’

A slender fishing rod appeared in his gnarled hands, its surface dark and polished.

‘The Blackwood Fishing Rod.’

It wasn’t as durable as Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, but its strength was comparable to meteoric iron, and it possessed extreme flexibility.

Despite its damaged state, the rod extended to an impressive length of one jang. At the tip, a faintly glowing fishing line and hook dangled.

“That’s… I’ve heard of it but never seen it before.”

The fishing line was made from ‘Heavenly Silkworm Thread’, a treasure said to rival the Sichuan Tang Clan’s famed single-use poison needles. The mythical silkworms that produced this thread were considered divine creatures, and their silk was known for its unbreakable strength and razor-sharp edges.

The fishing line connected to the Blackwood Rod was crafted from this Heavenly Silkworm Thread.

“I’ll have to be cautious.”

Even though the Fire Dragon Armor was a divine weapon, it wasn’t invincible.

I fixed my gaze on Dongting Fisherman, who stood three jang away, and opened my mouth.

“You have two choices. First, die here by my hands. Second, confess everything you know and atone for the victims. Which will it be?”

Instead of answering, his ash-gray eyes simply stared at me.

That gaze, devoid of any emotion, sent a chill racing down my spine.

“…What is this feeling?”

Every living being has emotions.

But Dongting Fisherman was different. Despite his breathing and the faint traces of life emanating from him, he felt hollow, like an empty vessel.

“What in the world…?”

I didn’t have time to ponder further. Suddenly, I tightened my grip on the spear.

A few steps away, a fish moved abruptly.

Its body, with its flesh torn and bones exposed, twitched a few times before becoming still.

Its body bore the unmistakable marks of sharp teeth.

“No way…”

I narrowed my eyes at Dongting Fisherman. The red stain on his wrinkled lips and the glimmering scales gave me the answer.

Only then did I realize the origin of the sounds I had heard earlier and what he had been doing.

“He was eating it raw. A live fish, no less.”

What kind of lunatic was this old man?

The image of a monster from an old fantasy film flashed through my mind. Dongting Fisherman’s hunched back, sparse hair, and small frame bore an uncanny resemblance to that creature.

Clicking my tongue, I spoke to him.

“This is turning into a whole different genre… By the way, you’re not after some mythical ring this time, are you?”

“Fine, don’t answer. I’ll pluck out the few strands of hair you have left and make you talk soon enough.”

“Grr…”

Dongting Fisherman’s reaction made me widen my eyes.

I had just been spouting nonsense, but had I somehow struck a nerve?

Or perhaps it wasn’t the threat to his hair but something else entirely.

Before I could say anything further, his pale gray eyes widened as he let out a thunderous roar.

“Graaaaahhh!”

‘Boom!’

This wasn’t the cry of some old man venting his frustrations on a mountain at dawn.

The roar, charged with immense martial power, rippled through the air, striking me like a hammer. The walls and floor shook, and everything around me trembled or shattered.

Before the shockwave could reach me, Dongting Fisherman’s figure blurred into motion, rushing toward me like a streak of light.

‘Whoosh!’

His eyes, now entirely black, burned with intensity.

Facing the oncoming Dongting Fisherman and his radiant onslaught, I spoke in a low, firm voice.

“Turn down the volume, you crazy bastard.”

‘Whoosh! Boom!’

Bluish-white flames enveloped my spear as I stepped forward.

‘Flash!’

Three jang wasn’t a short distance, but for martial artists who had stepped into the realm of transcendence, the gap vanished in an instant.

Our clash erased the space between us, leaving only the sound of the air tearing apart.

The searing heat of my spear’s blade collided with the living, writhing fishing line of the Heavenly Silkworm Thread, both infused with immense power.

‘Swish, swish, swish!’

The Heavenly Silkworm Thread, undulating like waves, surged toward me with unparalleled speed and precision.

The erratic movements of Dongting Fisherman’s weapon were unlike anything I had encountered before. Memories of the corpses that once littered Dongting Lake surfaced, their scars vivid in my mind.

“So, this was the technique… used to slaughter innocent civilians.”

I’m not a person of great compassion, nor am I a saint. I have no reason to defend the river pirates of the Yangtze Waterway League. They were a band of marauders who stole lives and wealth in pursuit of their own gains.

But there is a difference. Unlike them, my actions—when I took lives—were for survival, not for greed.

Even so…

“People shouldn’t die that way.”

Hundreds were trampled like ants, slaughtered like livestock. Hundreds more were drowned in the middle of Dongting Lake. Most of them weren’t martial artists. They were civilians, ignorant of martial techniques, unable to even write their names—some were merely children.

People like that shouldn’t die like that. Humans shouldn’t kill each other in such a way.

“Do you understand, you bastard?”

In the slowed flow of time, my voice was lost in the howling wind.

Gripping my spear tightly, I felt Scorching Yang Energy boil through my entire body. Angling the blade downward, I slashed in a sweeping motion.

‘Fwoosh, slice!’

A flicker of fire bloomed in the air, scattering the threads of light.

Following the arc of my spear, a segment of the Heavenly Silkworm Thread was severed, fluttering to the ground.

Dongting Fisherman, realizing his technique had been broken so easily, let out a furious screech and swung the Blackwood Fishing Rod again.

‘Shing! Swish, swish, swish!’

Beams of light tore through the air. The Heavenly Silkworm Thread, infused with martial energy, slashed and pierced everything in its path.

But I evaded every attack, wielding my spear with calm precision.

‘Slice! Slice! Slice!’

I could see it clearly—every movement of the peculiar weapon shaped like a fishing rod, every direction the Heavenly Silkworm Thread would take to target me.

Half-open eyes took in every detail, while my heightened senses read each successive attack.

“If my middle dantian had still been sealed, this would’ve been much harder.”

Perspective changes with one’s position. The opening of my middle dantian had expanded my awareness, granting me a new clarity, and it was this clarity that illuminated the path forward.

“It’s coming.”

Strange weapons like the Blackwood Rod are challenging to master at first. But if one trains diligently and pairs the weapon with a complementary martial art, they become formidable opponents.

Even so, I accurately predicted the trajectory of the incoming blow and swung my spear.

‘Slice!’

“Arghhh!”

Another sharp strike severed the Heavenly Silkworm Thread. Now, nearly half of the original five-jang length was gone, and Dongting Fisherman’s aura grew even more ferocious.

“Finally, you’re starting to act like a human.”

But martial arts are most effective when the mind and body are in harmony. If the mind wavers, the body falters, and movements become larger and sloppier.

Finding gaps in a weakened net was easy for me.

‘Fwoosh!’

Flame Path of Destruction.

A single streak of fire blazed across the damp cave floor.

While it consumed a significant amount of energy and its movements were simple, the Flame Path of Destruction shared the key traits of most techniques from the Fiery Flame Sect—it was both swift and devastating.

‘Boom!’

The air grew hotter as all surrounding moisture evaporated. The ground beneath me crumbled to ash as I propelled myself forward like an arrow.

‘Whoosh!’

I twisted my head, narrowly avoiding the Heavenly Silkworm Thread aimed at my neck.

Dongting Fisherman, realizing his attack had failed, quickly redirected the thread in an attempt to ensnare me. But I was half a beat faster, driving my foot down.

‘Boom! Slice!’

A chilling sensation ran through my foot, followed by a searing heat. The tip of my big toe, which had been bare, was cleanly severed.

For an ordinary person, the pain would have been excruciating enough to elicit screams. But I accepted it with calm composure.

“This is nothing.”

I had endured countless injuries and agonies while traveling between the modern world and the martial world. I had writhed in pain as if every nerve in my body had been severed, wishing for death at times.

Compared to that, this injury was insignificant. If anything, it was a cheap price to pay for the opportunity I had gained in this life-or-death struggle.

“Now!”

My body flowed like water, following the commands of my mind. Swift and precise, I swung the spear with all my might.

‘Wham!’

The White Flame, unleashed with lightning-like ferocity, struck Dongting Fisherman as he tried to retreat. The blow shattered his shoulder and embedded him into the wall.

“Arrrghhh!”

As his scream of pain echoed, I clenched my fist and raised it toward him.

“I told you to turn down the volume.”

‘Thud!’