Murim Login - Chapter 489

The moment I heard those words, the phrase “dumb idiot” was wiped clean from my mind.

Blinking a few times, I stammered out my response.

“Secret… martial arts? You’re saying you’re going to teach me secret martial arts?”

To a martial artist, secret martial arts are as precious as life itself—no, they are even more important than life.

In martial arts novels, there were always characters swarming around like moths to a flame, risking everything just to get their hands on a secret manual.

Now that I’ve experienced the martial world myself, I realized the reality was even more extreme than those stories let on.

‘But they’re going to teach me secret martial arts? And not just anyone, but a grandmaster-level assassin?’

Even though I heard it directly, it was a story too unbelievable to accept. But before that, one big question hovered in my mind.

“Why?”

At my question, filled with confusion, a deep crease formed on Moon Kyung’s smooth forehead.

“What do you mean, why?”

“No, I mean, why are you suddenly doing this for me?”

“Just as I thought, that old man Fire King really didn’t give you any sort of explanation.”

“Does that mean…”

“Yes, your guess is correct. Fire King…”

“Am I some sort of trade? Did I transfer from Yeolhwa Gate to the Killing Star’s sect or something?”

Moon Kyung, who had been looking at me with an expression that seemed ready to kill, let out a sigh as he spoke.

“Fire King personally came to me and asked. He requested that I teach you martial arts.”

“…What?”

While I was relieved that it wasn’t some sort of sect-to-sect trade, this story was still hard to believe.

I looked at Moon Kyung skeptically.

“What’s with that look?”

“No matter how much I think about it, this feels like a lie.”

“A lie?”

“First, our senior, Fire King, has a terrible temper and a lot of pride. He’s not someone who would go asking anyone for a favor.”

A warm hint of amusement briefly touched Moon Kyung’s face, which had been cold as ice.

“Hmm, you’ve got him pegged pretty accurately. Go on.”

“Second, the person receiving that request has an equally terrible temper and pride, so there’s no way they’d teach someone their secret martial arts willingly.”

…

“To sum it up, for those two reasons, I couldn’t believe this even if you held a knife to my neck.”

“I see. That’s what you think, is it?”

Moon Kyung muttered softly, his eyes cooling.

“Even if a knife was held to your neck, huh? Duly noted.”

In that moment, something gleamed at the edge of Moon Kyung’s sleeve. When I realized it was a small blade, I quickly changed my tone.

“I believe you completely!”

“All of a sudden?”

“I’ve actually believed you from the very beginning.”

“You crazy bastard, is there something wrong with your personality?”

“Ow!”

“…You’re crazy in every possible way.”

Oh, his face says it all—he really wants to kill me.

Moon Kyung fiddled with the small blade, torn, before finally speaking.

“On second thought, what you said isn’t entirely off the mark.”

“…Excuse me?”

“First, as you said, Fire King does have a terrible temper and a lot of pride. But when it comes to matters involving his disciples, he seems to make exceptions.”

“Although you’ll probably argue you’re not officially his disciple, Fire King clearly cares for you. A lot.”

…

I didn’t know what to say. For some reason, my chest felt warm, and my throat tightened. It was just… something like that.

Moon Kyung continued in a dry voice, addressing my silence.

“Second, I’m not exactly the most soft-hearted person, either. But if there’s a good enough reason, I don’t mind teaching my secret martial arts to a crazy guy like you.”

“Even though I’m crazy?”

“That crazy guy is going to be a major obstacle in Dark Heaven’s plans.”

Moon Kyung’s calm voice spread into the night air. He gazed out at the gently flowing waters of Dongting Lake as he continued.

“I’ve spent more than half my life in the martial world. No, I’ve lived as an assassin. It wasn’t the life I wanted, but the life I was given. The path I walked was one paved with blood and corpses.”

The title of “Killing Star,” the greatest assassin, wasn’t something achieved overnight. He killed and killed again until no one could deny or ignore him anymore.

But everyone has their reasons.

And this world holds more secrets than I can imagine.

Looking past the darkness, Moon Kyung’s gaze was filled with complex emotions as he murmured.

“If there’s even a small chance of helping with the great calamity at our doorstep, teaching you my martial arts doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. That’s all.”

He said it casually, but it couldn’t have been an easy decision.

Receiving from others is easy, but giving up something of your own is hard.

If those who lived through the Great Demonic War had acted like Moon Kyung now, half the martial artists in the world would have learned the Nine Schools’ martial arts.

In that sense, Moon Kyung seemed anew to me.

“Isn’t that… what they call righteousness?”

“Righteousness?”

“You’re making a decision for the sake of others, sacrificing yourself for them. Isn’t that what righteousness is?”

Hearing my words, Moon Kyung shook his head.

“Righteousness isn’t something someone like me can speak of. A killer who once murdered others just to survive shouldn’t utter such words—it’s shameful.”

“But senior Fire King said this about you before. He said you only kill those who deserve it, so you’re quite the decent assassin.”

“To forge a sword, you must hammer and temper it hundreds of times. It was the same for me. Before becoming the Killing Star, there was a time when they called me the Killing Demon. That’s why I can’t claim righteousness.”

“In that case…”

I met Moon Kyung’s eyes directly as I spoke.

“What about righteousness as a matter of faith, not as the Killing Star?”

Moon Kyung’s slender figure stiffened. Unlike the tranquil waters of Dongting Lake, his eyes rippled like waves.

After a moment of silence, a deep, subdued voice broke through.

“Faith… I’ve never liked that nickname.”

“Why is that?”

“Being called ‘faith’ doesn’t erase my past. If my past became known, they’d despise and fear me instead of respecting me.”

“But you’ve saved countless lives. They’ll never forget their gratitude.”

Moon Kyung remained silent, his gaze fixed on the river as if lost in thought. Then, suddenly, he whipped his head toward me.

“Ah! You scared me. What is it?”

“I was wondering what to do with you for daring to say something so presumptuous.”

“…Most people would call that comforting.”

“Comfort? From someone like you?”

The sharpness in his gaze was enough to make my insides freeze.

Yeah, screw it. No matter what titles like Blazing Fire Dragon I might have, to someone like him, I’m just some punk.

Rather than arguing and inviting disaster, I decided that changing the topic might be the key to survival.

“Wow, the moon sure is bright tonight.”

My attempt at distraction made Moon Kyung’s eyebrow twitch.

“I don’t know how the conversation wandered this far, but watch your words from now on.”

“The breeze feels so refreshing, too.”

“Want me to refresh your shoulders as well?”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

With a soft swish, the blade that had been partially exposed retreated back into his sleeve.

Returning to his usual stoic demeanor, Moon Kyung spoke once more.

“Let me ask you, what are your intentions?”

“Intentions about what?”

“Are you dense or deaf? About me teaching you martial arts.”

“…I wasn’t expecting you to give me a choice, honestly.”

“Why would I bother forcing someone who doesn’t want to learn?”

His words made sense, but hearing such logical reasoning from someone as infamous as him felt bizarre. Of course, I kept that thought to myself. Saying it aloud would be asking for death.

“So, what’s your answer?”

At his insistence, I scratched the back of my head.

‘Secret martial arts from the Killing Star…’

Of course, I wanted it.

Martial arts are highly individual; what suits one person might harm another. But this was the secret martial art of the Killing Star, one of the most powerful masters in the world.

Even if I could grasp just a fraction—no, even a tenth of the essence infused into his martial arts—it would elevate my level significantly.

Still, there was one thing that weighed on my mind…

“You’re still hung up on Fire King, aren’t you?”

“…Do you have mind-reading powers or something?”

“I don’t need mind-reading. Your thoughts are written all over your face.”

Moon Kyung looked at me with a mixture of pity and annoyance.

“A proper martial artist should learn to hide their emotions. Fire King must be something else, neglecting to teach you even the basics.”

“Take that back, please.”

When I frowned, his gaze turned colder.

“Am I wrong?”

“Yes. Even if you insult me, you should speak the truth. Fire King didn’t neglect to teach me—he couldn’t. He’s worse at hiding his emotions than I am. How could he teach what he doesn’t know?”

“…Unbelievable.”

Moon Kyung sighed and shook his head.

“In any case, don’t worry so much about Fire King. He personally requested this, and I have no intention of forming any sort of formal master-disciple relationship with someone like you.”

“Ah, I see.”

Wow, “someone like you,” huh? That stung a little, but his reassurance did put me at ease.

‘So why does it feel like I’m betraying Fire King?’

Fire King himself had made this request, and considering the challenges ahead, this was clearly the right choice.

Still, the nagging feeling wouldn’t go away.

As I thought of Fire King, who had disappeared without a word, I let out a sigh and finally nodded.

“Alright.”

“Make sure you’ve thought this through. The decision to start is yours, but the end is not.”

“Wait, what does that mean?”

“It means everything depends on my judgment. But if you complete this training, you won’t be the same martial artist you are now.”

What was this ominous feeling?

The idea of learning martial arts from him was intimidating enough, but something about his words sent a chill down my spine.

I swallowed hard as the familiar sound of a system notification echoed in my ears.

[You may be a skilled warrior, but there’s a difference between a warrior and a true martial artist. You’re still incomplete. I’ll turn you into a real martial artist.]

‘Ding!’

– Sudden Quest: [Fake Martial Artist] has been created!
– Do you accept [Fake Martial Artist]? Evil / No

Why is there “No” instead of “N” and “Evil” instead of “Y”?

As I stared dumbfounded at the quest window, I unconsciously muttered, “Evil?”

‘Ding!’

– Quest accepted. Evil.

“…Oh.”

This is going to be a nightmare.