Murim Login - Chapter 466

Even though I didn’t use my inner energy and adjusted my strength, my raw physical power alone had already surpassed human limits by far.

‘Smack!’

My fist struck squarely in the center of his face, causing Dongting Fisherman’s entire body to flinch. To him, it must have felt like being struck by an iron club.

His pupils, darkened like ink, trembled violently, and from his gaping mouth spilled blood-soaked yellow teeth, clattering to the ground.

‘One more hit.’

‘Thwack!’

Dongting Fisherman staggered, blood gushing like a waterfall from his mouth and nose as he flailed his arms aimlessly.

Even in his small movements, my sharp senses registered everything happening around me with perfect clarity.

‘Swish!’

A faint, sharp sound cut through the air behind me. I already knew what it was.

‘Heavenly Silkworm Thread.’

Instead of dodging, I twisted Dongting Fisherman’s wrist, which was gripping the Blackwood Fishing Rod.

‘Crack!’ His bone snapped, and the rod slipped from his now limp grip. At the same time, the thread infused with energy fluttered harmlessly to the ground.

“Trying some cheap tricks, huh? Do I look like a pushover to you, you bastard?”

What responded to me wasn’t words, but a heavy blast of force.

‘Whoosh!’

Dongting Fisherman launched a palm strike with terrifying momentum. However, I was already prepared. Without flinching, I reached out to meet it.

‘Boom!’

A swift and precise ‘Flame God Palm’ collided with his attack.

Two energies, one white and the other blue, clashed in midair, sending razor-sharp winds roaring in all directions.

Through the strands of my wildly whipping hair, my cold gaze locked onto Dongting Fisherman.

“What’s wrong? Bald-headed bastard.”

Words were unnecessary.

I already knew what to do. My lightning-quick kick struck Dongting Fisherman’s knee.

‘Crunch!’

The sound of his bone shattering echoed as his body staggered, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

The shock was severe enough to disrupt the flow of his energy momentarily, and the energy gathered in his palm began to dissipate.

“Well then, I guess we’re a pair now.”

The scales of power had already tipped. I interlocked my fingers tightly with his, gripping them firmly, and bent them back with all my strength.

‘Snap!’

Damn it. All these years, I’ve never even held a woman’s hand, but here in Murim, I’ve interlocked fingers with more men than I can count.

Of course, since my grip carried the frustration of a lifelong single, the effect was always undeniable.

Just like now.

“Aaaaargh!”

The piercing scream of pain erupted from Dongting Fisherman’s mouth, breaking the silence.

I rained down punches at his face, relentless and unyielding.

‘Thud! Smack! Thwack-thwack-thwack!’

Under the continuous onslaught of strikes, his resistance gradually slowed. Or so I thought in that brief moment.

“Kuuuuurgh!”

What was the cause?

Was it my complacency, believing the fight was already won? Or the confidence that I could capture him alive instead of killing him?

Whatever the reason, I had let my guard down, creating a gap in my defense.

‘Splat!’

A crimson haze filled my vision. The sticky blood spat out by Dongting Fisherman splattered across my face, briefly freezing me in place.

And the counterattack of a cornered martial arts master—desperate to survive—was far more ferocious than I had anticipated.

‘Boom!’

With the sound of compressed air exploding, a surge of energy bypassed the surface of my ‘Fire Dragon Armor’ and struck my upper body.

For a moment, my vision dimmed. As the scenery around me blurred, one thought crossed my mind.

‘Damn it. Internal Energy Heavy Palm Technique.’

Even in this state, he still had this much strength left.

Suppressing the blood rising in my throat, I swallowed hard and focused my inner energy.

Though I had been caught off guard by the unexpected strike, the state of Dongting Fisherman was far worse. That I had sustained only minor internal injuries was evidence enough.

‘Whoosh!’

I quickly redirected the disrupted energy through the meridians of my limbs. The damaged acupoints protested with sharp pain, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.

Like removing a bucket of water from a pond without killing the fish, I could recover just as easily.

‘This ends now.’

I flipped my speeding body in mid-air, landing softly on the opposite cave wall that loomed ahead. Using the tip of my toes, I channeled my energy and propelled myself forward.

‘Crash!’

With a deafening roar, the solid rock of the cave wall exploded into fragments.

Hundreds, thousands of shards flew in every direction, but I was no longer there.

‘Whistle!’

My body shot through the air with a weight heavier than stone and a speed faster than wind.

“Dongting Fisherman!”

My shout echoed, shaking his dilated pupils. The overwhelming intensity of the scorching yang energy in my voice pressed against water and rock alike, clearing the path.

And at the end of it, I found him.

Dongting Fisherman, pulling a burning white flame from his shoulder and the wall, turned his wide eyes toward me. His dark pupils wavered, and the whites of his eyes momentarily flickered.

His quivering, gaping mouth revealed a single, pitiful front tooth trembling precariously.

“Oh, oh, oh, oh, don’t…”

“Don’t what? Screw you.”

This maniac, who had acted like a lunatic moments ago, was now trembling in fear. I didn’t know what caused such a shift, but I had already made up my mind.

‘I wanted to take him alive… but that’s no longer an option.’

Regret would change nothing now. Dongting Fisherman should have repented long ago.

Before he took Dark Heaven’s hand. Before he mercilessly slaughtered innocent villagers and children.

There was no room for repentance here. What remained was punishment for his sins.

‘You’re done for.’

Breaking his limbs was fair game. Ripping out his teeth and hair and impaling him on a stalactite—so long as he remained alive—was all that mattered.

I would extract every detail about Dark Heaven from him before taking his life.

Just enough to keep him breathing. And just enough to quell the rage I felt over his actions.

With that in mind, I charged, my fist cutting through the slowed world around me.

‘Flame Extinguishing Divine Fist.’

‘Whoosh!’

The blazing blue-and-white flames engulfed Dongting Fisherman’s broken hand as he desperately attempted to strike back.

The murky energy that coated his palm shattered and evaporated under the scorching yang energy. Beyond the whipping winds and brilliant flashes, my flame-encased fist shattered the protective energy surrounding him.

‘Crack! Boom!’

His bloodshot eyes widened as every blood vessel burst. Dongting Fisherman coughed up blood and slammed into the wall.

The once-solid cave wall cracked like a spiderweb, forming deep fissures that spread all the way to the ceiling.

‘Rumble! Crash!’

The ceiling collapsed, and the ground split apart.

The rock formations that had endured the immense water pressure of Dongting Lake began crumbling, releasing torrents of water from all directions.

‘It’s collapsing.’

This space, whose origin was unknown, was crumbling beyond recovery—much like its owner.

‘I need to hurry.’

I stopped the bleeding on Dongting Fisherman’s unconscious body by pressing his vital points. For good measure, I sealed his energy flow, leaving him completely immobile.

Then I hoisted his small frame onto my back and punched forward without hesitation.

‘Crash! Boom! Boom!’

Beneath the sinkhole-like opening, the rushing current of water became visible. I took a deep breath and dove into the torrent.

‘Splash!’

As the icy river engulfed me, a familiar message echoed in my ears.

‘Ding. Ding. Ding.’

– The effects of the [Water Rescue Squad Member] title have been activated!
– The title’s special skill is now in effect!
– [Water Rescue Squad Member’s Webbed Feet] has been generated!
– [Water Rescue Squad Member’s Gills] have been generated!
– [Remaining Duration: 18 hours, 43 minutes, 32 seconds.]

There was plenty of time. I propelled myself through the current with powerful strokes.

Not long after, I realized something I had momentarily overlooked when I saw Dongting Fisherman’s face, endlessly blowing bubbles through his nose and mouth.

‘Oh, right… this.’

No matter how skilled one was in water techniques, it only worked when they had energy and consciousness to use it.

Unlike me, with gills, Dongting Fisherman couldn’t breathe underwater. If he stayed here too long, he might die.

‘Wait. If that’s the case…’

The realization struck me like lightning.

I swam with all my might. No way in hell was I about to lose my first kiss to this deranged old man.

Especially not to a lunatic pushing a hundred years old!

—

‘Rumble!’

The tremors, originating deep beneath the water, were powerful enough to reach those above ground.

The old boatman curled into himself, trembling in fear, while the other three stood frozen with grim expressions.

“Hey, something’s…”

“It seems it’s finally begun. Or perhaps it’s already over.”

Cheongpung’s muttered words were met with Gong Gi-bang’s heavy response.

Hyeok Mu-jin, who had been nervously watching the cliffs and the river, suddenly spoke up.

“I have to go.”

Gong Gi-bang frowned deeply.

“What?”

“Something must have happened to the team leader. I don’t feel good about this.”

“But Jin Taekyung told us…”

“To stay put and wait, I know.”

“Then why?”

“Because I’m terrible at listening to orders.”

“Damn it, you’re proud of that?”

“Isn’t it better than just sitting here twiddling our thumbs?”

Hyeok Mu-jin’s words made Gong Gi-bang bite his lower lip hard.

Truth be told, he, too, had been feeling uneasy for a while now. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly when it started, but his chest pounded, and his senses were on high alert.

‘Why do I feel like this? Did something really happen to him?’

A face flashed before his eyes.

The Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi, no, the Blazing Fire Dragon, Jin Taekyung.

A man tougher than demons and someone who seemed capable of clawing his way back even from the depths of the underworld. Someone who could knock out the King of Hell himself.

‘I’ve never once imagined that guy dying… No, nothing is absolute, but still, could it be?’

Gong Gi-bang didn’t take Jin Taekyung’s instructions lightly. From their time together, he knew the man always had a reason behind his words.

But now, he found himself conflicted.

‘What the hell is this mess? The weather’s garbage, and now this? What am I supposed to do?’

‘Boom! Crash!’

Just as the old boatman had predicted a couple of hours ago, the weather around Dongting Lake had become horrendous, beyond description.

A raging storm. Relentless lightning strikes.

Gong Gi-bang glanced around with a complex expression before finally opening his mouth. Or rather, just as he was about to.

“It’s fine.”

“Huh?”

“…What?”

Gong Gi-bang and Hyeok Mu-jin turned their heads simultaneously.

Standing there, smiling brightly, was someone they hadn’t noticed.

At the edge of the small island they stood on, Cheongpung, who had been lying on the ground listening to something, brushed the sand off his ears and grinned.

“He’s coming.”

And the next moment—

‘Splash!’

Amidst a high spray of water, a figure burst forth, landing heavily on the sandy shore.

A muscular young man carrying a small elderly figure on his back.

It was none other than Jin Taekyung.

“Team Leader!”

“You’re back!”

“Benefactor!”

“Don’t come near me, you little bastards. If any of you try to hug me, I swear I’ll kill all three of you today.”

Jin Taekyung silenced the trio rushing toward him with a sharp tone, his demeanor turning serious.

“We don’t have much time, so let’s get straight to the point. Who here has kissed someone before? Raise your hand if you have—or if you want to.”

The trio froze. Two of them were quick to retreat a step, while one, tragically oblivious to the mood, cheerfully raised his hand.

“Me! Me! I’ve never kissed anyone before!”

“Thank you, God.”

“…Huh?”

Jin Taekyung, beaming brightly, handed over Dongting Fisherman to the bewildered Cheongpung.

“Your wish has just been granted.”

‘Boom! Crash!’

Thunder roared across the heavens.