Murim Login - Chapter 472

‘Puk!’

The searing heat that pierced through his pupils burned fiercely, and the ensuing pain was chilling enough to numb his senses.

The mutated Water Dragon let out a roar filled with agony as the pain spread like wildfire.

– “Kroaaaar!”

The massive body, as thick as a bundle of over ten mature trees and over thirty jang in length, was reminiscent of a small mountain. As the monstrous form thrashed wildly, an overwhelming impact swept through the surroundings.

‘Bang! Boom! Boom-boom-boom!’

The bizarre rock formations launched earlier shattered into hundreds and thousands of pieces, while barriers of earth and water erupted into the air.

Amid the chaos, where everything resembled a zone of concentrated bombardment, some moved swiftly to traverse the turmoil.

‘Swish, swish!’

Some charged toward the monster, while others retreated to avoid its frenzied movements. Among them was Zhuge Pung, the current family head of the Zhuge clan, who fell into the latter group.

Finally regaining his composure, he looked at the scene before him with a dazed expression.

‘Not only is the natural order itself distorted, but now we face beings of unimaginable power.’

Zhuge Pung was well-versed in creatures known as divine beasts or malevolent entities, yet this dragon-like monstrosity defied all conventional understanding.

If word of what transpired here were to spread, it would surely shock not just the Murim world but all under heaven.

‘How could such a thing…’

Still trembling with lingering fear, Zhuge Pung heard someone address him.

“Stay here with the others. Hide behind cover and ensure your safety as much as possible.”

For someone of the Murim world, hearing those words was a blow to one’s pride. After all, Murim practitioners were those who staked their lives on their martial arts and a single sword as they roamed the treacherous path of the blade and forest.

Zhuge Pung, his face stiff with indignation, responded coldly to the speaker.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked if you know who I am.”

Cheongpung replied, “Yes. Zhuge Pung, the Great Hero.”

“It’s Zhuge Pung, not Zhuge Fong. Anyway, you must know that I am the head of the Zhuge clan.”

“Y-yes, I do, but…”

“But you’re telling the head of the Zhuge clan to hide like a coward?”

After some hesitation, Cheongpung nodded. “It’s much safer that way.”

“Very well. Then I suppose you must stay here too.”

“What?”

“You said this place is safe, didn’t you? Better to be a coward than die needlessly.”

“…”

“There’s no need for that look. It’s just that today’s battle isn’t one for me to partake in. It’s the same logic as when our ancestor, Zhuge Wuhou, didn’t personally take the vanguard.”

Zhuge Pung knew his place and his role perfectly.

He was too rational a person to stake his life on martial pride, especially as the head of a large family with numerous dependents to protect.

“This great turmoil is only just beginning. A time will come when I can prove my worth in the battles to come. So, go on now. I’ll ensure their safety here.”

Cheongpung gave Zhuge Pung a peculiar look before offering a slight bow and turning away.

As Zhuge Pung watched the young man disappear into the distance like a gust of wind, his gaze sank deep.

‘Yes, another age of chaos begins.’

The fifty years of peace had come to an end. The sky, darkened and heavy with storm clouds, signaled the arrival of a new wind from every direction.

Even Cheongpung, speeding toward the battlefield, was part of that wind.

‘Wuhou, at least for today, it seems this unworthy descendant has no place to step forward.’

As Zhuge Pung muttered quietly to himself, the voices of bewildered people behind him pierced his ears.

“Is that monster real? Or am I dreaming?”

“I don’t think it’s a dream… No, maybe it is.”

“But, hey, why are your pants so wet, Hyuk?”

“It’s raining, isn’t it? Must’ve gotten soaked.”

“But it’s awfully yellow for rainwater.”

“Well, things happen.”

“Really? That’s odd. Anyway, are we sure this isn’t a dream?”

“I don’t think it’s a dream… Or maybe it is.”

“But, hey, Hyuk, why are your pants…”

Hearing the nonsensical conversation, Zhuge Pung subtly moved away from the smell of urine.

On a mound formed by accumulated dirt and sand, he looked ahead. There, a scene resembling a mythological battle unfolded.

—

‘Shhk! Swish!’

A streak of silver light cut through the air, slicing apart everything in its path.

‘Pop!’

Moon Kyung’s form, like a phantom, leapt skyward, stepping off floating fragments of stone as a gigantic figure surged toward him.

It didn’t take long to recognize the massive black-scaled tail hurtling toward him.

‘Fast. Faster than expected.’

Despite its enormous size, the creature moved with astonishing speed. Moon Kyung gripped his short sword tightly as he exhaled.

‘Ch-ch-ch-ch!’

Quiet but rapid like thunder, his inner energy surged, wrapping around the blade.

A destructive and razor-sharp power unmatched by anything in the world coursed along the sword’s edge.

In a single instant, he unleashed the profound art of extreme speed, honed to perfection by the greatest assassin of past and present.

‘Cut it down in one strike.’

In the next moment, Moon Kyung slashed diagonally at the oncoming tail, only to realize his miscalculation.

‘Slice!’

Though the blade struck true, the recoil was unexpectedly strong.

The energy imbued in the short sword wasn’t just meant to cut through the black scales.

Beneath the scales lay iron-like flesh, sinew, and bones of extraordinary density.

‘Damn.’

Moon Kyung inwardly clicked his tongue.

This energy, forged with the enlightenment of the greatest assassin, should have been enough to cut through anything.

But the problem wasn’t its toughness; it was its thickness.

The tail, with a diameter spanning two jang, was of monstrous thickness.

Adding to that, its tensile strength far exceeded expectations.

‘It’s impossible to sever it in one strike.’

Under normal circumstances, it might have been possible. However, Moon Kyung knew better than anyone that he had not yet fully recovered from the remnants of “Piao” and could not wield his martial prowess to its fullest extent.

‘If that’s the case…’

The moment he made his decision, Moon Kyung twisted his wrist, which was holding the sword.

The blade that had been slicing through the scales, flesh, and muscle smoothly rotated, redirecting the force of the tail’s impact across the flat of the blade.

‘Clang! Whoosh!’

The slender figure of Moon Kyung was flung into the air.

‘Boom!’

In mid-air, Moon Kyung flipped his body and landed with a movement uncharacteristically rough for someone famed for the “Phantom Ghost Killing Steps.” Watching him dissolve a flying boulder with a single blow of energy, Jeok Cheon-Gang muttered teasingly.

“Rejuvenating your youth, yet your skills regress to that of a child?”

“Strength and speed—it far exceeds my expectations. Even with the principles of ‘Four Liang Moving a Thousand Jin,’ I couldn’t completely deflect it.”

“Your tongue has grown sharper too.”

Moon Kyung glanced dryly at Jeok Cheon-Gang.

“If you’re trying to provoke me, stop it here. This isn’t the time.”

“It’s not provocation; it’s fact. Didn’t you see the beast collapse earlier when I landed a blow on it?”

“That was after I first cut its horn…”

‘Crackle! Boom!’

A deafening explosion swallowed Moon Kyung’s retort.

As if by agreement, the two shot their bodies into the air simultaneously, clicking their tongues as they observed the writhing streak of energy moving like a living thing.

The spot where they had been moments ago was now entirely devastated.

“The more I see it, the more bizarre it becomes. A malevolent creature, yet it wields internal energy?”

“It’s too crude to be internal energy, and too powerful to be sword energy. It’s neither my martial technique nor yours. The very fact that it can use such techniques just from accumulated energy over countless years is unfathomable.”

Harnessing energy and wielding it are entirely different disciplines.

In that sense, the creature before them shattered every preconceived notion the two martial masters held.

‘Was this the beast that annihilated the Yangtze Saber and Dongting Faction?’

Dodging another incoming attack, Moon Kyung observed the monster with deep contemplation.

Previously, he had deduced that at least two supreme masters had attacked the Dongting Faction. Yet now, facing this unimaginable beast, the truth became apparent.

‘Those strange whiskers, that massive body… No doubt about it. It matches the traces found on the corpses.’

Scenes of the tail and whiskers crushing and slashing through everything in sight played vividly in his mind.

Moreover, the mystery surrounding the Yangtze Saber’s corpses—initially thought to have been ravaged by a school of fish—was finally resolved.

‘They weren’t eaten after death. They died because they were eaten alive.’

Who could have imagined such a possibility?

A colossal, dragon-like monster had wreaked havoc in the deep tributaries of the waterway—accessible only to aquatic creatures.

Since it never surfaced, it made sense that there were no eyewitnesses.

“That is no ordinary beast.”

He had to acknowledge it. The creature possessed power comparable to hundreds of peak martial artists or two to three supreme masters.

Jeok Cheon-Gang nodded in agreement with Moon Kyung’s lamentation.

“Indeed. It’s a monster.”

“To think such an incomprehensible being truly exists.”

“Each time I see it, I’m astounded. And it stirs regret—thinking about what might have been if only I had more time, just a bit more…”

“What are you rambling about now…”

Only then did Moon Kyung recall something and look at Jeok Cheon-Gang. The old man’s wrinkled face bore a wide smile, his years unhidden.

“Hey, Killing Star. Do you know something?”

Before he could answer, a massive shadow descended with an overwhelming presence, as if it could split the heavens themselves.

Jeok Cheon-Gang, staring up at the colossal black-scaled tail hurtling toward his diminutive frame, spoke slowly.

“That thing… is the strangest and most terrifying monster I’ve ever encountered in my life.”

“Danger—!”

Moon Kyung’s eyes widened in alarm.

‘BOOOOM! CRASH!’

The deafening roar and the resulting shockwave covered a radius of several dozen jang.

At the center of it all, Jeok Cheon-Gang stood tall, not a hair out of place.

In stark contrast, the massive tail had slammed into a spot far removed from its intended target.

“Well, well. As expected, only a monster can deal with a monster.”

Jeok Cheon-Gang chuckled heartily, even as the monster’s dark blue blood, mingled with rain, poured down onto his head.

As Moon Kyung and Cheongpung, freshly returned to the battlefield, turned their gazes toward the massive creature, they finally saw it.

– “Grooooooar!”

The monster writhed in pain, and high above, dangling from its head, was a figure grasping its whiskers barehanded, yanking them out.

“Baldy! Shiny head! Slick and shiny!”

‘Pop! Pop! Pop-pop-pop!’

– “Kruaaaaaargh!”

The anguished cries of the Water Dragon pierced through the storm.