Chapter 524
Hyeok Mu-jin woke up about an [Ikgak] after Moon Kyung had left. (T/N: Ikgak (一刻) is a traditional time measurement, roughly equivalent to 15 minutes.)
Peeking his head through the slightly open door, he immediately adopted a dignified expression the moment our eyes met.
“You’ve finished your Qi circulation and breathing, I see.”
“Yeah, and soon, your life will be finished too.”
“Hyeok Mu-jin, Vice Leader of the True Dragon Unit of Taewon Jin Clan. As per your orders, not even a single ant made it past my guard.”
“…Are you actually insane?”
The bastard let everyone except ants walk right in, and yet he was standing there acting all proud.
I had no words. But honestly, I had to respect his sheer audacity—snoring away on duty and still having the guts to lie with a straight face.
“Close the door and get lost.”
“Yes, sir!”
Maybe he felt guilty, because he didn’t even argue. Instead, he hurriedly scurried off.
Just as he was about to shut the door, a thought occurred to me.
“Wait. Where is everyone else?”
“Who exactly do you mean by ‘everyone else’…?”
“All of them.”
Hyeok Mu-jin paused for a moment to think before answering.
“The Young Lord is meeting with the heads of other sects and clans.”
“Sect leaders and clan heads?”
“Yes, the meetings have been happening frequently for the past two days.”
Two days ago—that was the day I, Jeok Cheon-Gang, and a few others headed to the Murim Alliance.
‘It’s about time the discussions started.’
At the very least, the Nine Great Schools and the Five Supreme Clans should have received word by now.
With all the information about Dark Heaven coming to light, it was only natural for them to gather and strategize.
“Oh, and we handed over the Three Monsters to the Murim Alliance. I heard they’re bringing in a grandmaster to interrogate him…”
“Is that so?”
The third brother of the Three Monsters of the West, who had bathed Sichuan in blood under the Western Heavenly Demon, was a tenacious bastard.
Despite everything that had happened on the way to Henan, he was still alive—unlike his two older brothers, who had lost their heads.
Well, technically, he did lose something else instead.
‘If he still claimed ignorance even after losing his balls, I doubt any interrogation will get more out of him.’
Even to the strongest martial masters, their balls were precious.
Gong Gi-bang and Hyeok Mu-jin once had a heated debate over what was more important—one’s life, Dantian, or balls.
‘Whatever. We handed him over like we were told, so the Murim Alliance can handle the rest.’
At this point, it wasn’t my problem. I just hoped they could squeeze more Dark Heaven intel out of him.
“Fine. So that takes care of the Young Lord. What about the others? I haven’t seen them around.”
“Gong Sohyeop has relocated.”
“He moved? When?”
“About two [Shichen] ago. You were in the middle of your Qi circulation, so I received the message in your stead.” (T/N: Shichen (時辰) is a traditional time unit, with one Shichen equaling approximately two hours.)
“…So you weren’t sleeping then?”
“What do you mean? I was keeping perfect watch!”
“Oh, for the love of—”
I raised my fist, and Hyeok Mu-jin quickly continued before I could swing.
“He’s at the Henan branch of the Beggars’ Sect. He said you can visit if you need anything.”
My fist froze midair.
“The Beggars’ Sect? Why would he go there?”
“Uh… excuse me?”
Hyeok Mu-jin looked utterly confused.
“Commander, which sect do you belong to?”
“What kind of stupid question is that? Taewon Jin Clan and the Fiery Flame Sect, obviously.”
“And what about Gung Sohyeop?”
“…Oh. Shit. Right. He’s a Beggars’ Sect disciple.”
That damn leech had been sticking to me for so long that I completely forgot.
Come to think of it, he had a master and a sect to return to. It would’ve been weird if he didn’t go back while we were still in Henan.
“Wait. What about Cheongpung? Did he leave too?”
“Of course.”
“…I see.”
Hmm. Looks like it’ll be quiet for a while.
Still, I couldn’t help but feel a little bittersweet.
Sure, I’d see them again soon enough, but their constant chatter had become so familiar that their absence felt… noticeable.
“They could’ve at least said goodbye.”
At my muttering, Hyeok Mu-jin gave me a weird look, as if I were some strange creature.
“Why would they say goodbye?”
“You seriously don’t get it? We spent all this time together, and they just leave without a word?”
“They were just stepping out for a bit. Do you say goodbye every time you go buy snacks at the marketplace?”
“…They went to buy candied fruit and dumplings?”
What the hell.
I want my sentimentality back.
For a moment, I was speechless.
Hyeok Mu-jin smirked knowingly and spoke up.
“Commander.”
“Shut up.”
“I haven’t said anything yet.”
“Exactly. So shut up.”
“No matter what happens, I will always stay by your side.”
“…For the love of God, get away from me.”
“Aw, come on, you love it.”
I hated it.
More than the anger, the sheer embarrassment was killing me.
Just as I sighed in exhaustion, Hyeok Mu-jin, who had been smugly teasing me, suddenly asked—
“Aren’t you going to ask about Moon Kyung?”
“I already saw him.”
“You did? He’s been looking really busy lately. Gathering all sorts of weird medicinal herbs, boiling them, crushing them—seems totally consumed by it. When did you see him?”
“When you were sleeping, you idiot!”
Smack! Smack! SMACK!
“Argh! Ack! Urgh!”
“GET! OUT! NOW!”
After getting his ass thoroughly kicked, Hyeok Mu-jin looked up at me with teary eyes.
“Do you… really hate me that much?”
I immediately shook my head.
“No. I just want to kill you.”
“This is too cruel. Truly.”
“You dare say that after sleeping on the job? With all the time you had, you could’ve dreamt an entire novel, you bastard!”
“Why do you only pick on me, Commander? I hate you too!”
Tap tap tap! SLAM!
With tears streaming down his face, Hyeok Mu-jin ran out of the room.
I was left speechless.
‘What the actual hell.’
A grown-ass man in his mid-twenties acting like some tragic heroine?
My fists itched to beat some sense into him.
Just as I let out a long, deep sigh, the door creaked open again, and Hyeok Mu-jin peeked in.
“Uh… Sir?”
“Ah, welcome back. Have you found a suitable grave plot for yourself?”
“No, no! I just didn’t want you to misunderstand something.”
“What now?”
“I didn’t slam the door on purpose. It was the wind that made it close hard.”
“…Seriously?”
“Alright then. Take care, sir!”
I glared at the softly closed door—the smoothest damn door-closing in history—then shook my head.
Hyeok Mu-jin had just barely avoided getting beaten to death. The way he scurried off was identical to a kid who just got scolded by his mom.
With a sigh, I turned my gaze back to the empty space I had been staring at before Hyeok Mu-jin woke up.
—
[Moon Kyung’s Specially Crafted Danwan, Customized for Jin Taekyung]
– Type: Elixir
– Grade: Supreme
– Restriction: None (However, effects are amplified for [Jin Taekyung])
– Description: A Danwan focused on stability and recovery rather than direct Qi enhancement. Consuming it during unstable Qi conditions will not only stabilize energy but also greatly accelerate recovery.
– Since this was crafted specifically with [Jin Taekyung] in mind, its effectiveness will be significantly enhanced when he consumes it.
—
“Hmm…”
I rolled the reddish Danwan—nicknamed [Moon Kyung’s Special Custom Elixir]—between my fingers before placing it back into the wooden box.
‘Inventory open. Store item.’
With a system notification, the Danwan was successfully stored.
But my thoughts had already drifted back to my last conversation with Moon Kyung before he left.
—
– ‘This concludes your training.’
– ‘…Why? Are you disappointed?’
A flood of emotions surged within me at that moment.
After a brief hesitation, I answered honestly.
– ‘…If I’m being completely honest, it’s not exactly good news.’
– ‘And why is that?’
– ‘I want to become stronger. Far stronger than I am now.’
– ‘You’re a greedy bastard. But aren’t you already strong enough?’
– ‘People always crave more, no matter how much they have.’
Moon Kyung watched me in silence for a long moment before smirking.
It was the first time I had ever seen him smile.
– ‘Now you’re finally starting to sound like a real martial artist.’
– ‘I am one.’
– ‘Then answer me this—do you want to become an assassin, or a martial artist?’
– ‘I want to be strong. So strong that no one would dare touch me. I want to be a force that guarantees the safety of those around me, simply by existing.’
– ‘So, an Invincible One, huh?’
A lofty, distant word.
Even the Martial God had enemies. His adversary was the Heavenly Demon, the ruler of the Demonic Cult, and the hundred thousand demonic soldiers under his command.
– ‘A big dream, indeed.’
– ‘Even if reality is a shithole, we should still dream big.’
– ‘Ridiculous… And yet, when you say it, it almost sounds believable.’
– ‘…Huh?’
– ‘Nothing. But if that’s your reason, then you absolutely cannot learn my martial arts.’
– ‘Why not?’
– ‘Because anything in excess becomes poison. You don’t need two wells right now.’
– ‘…You’re telling me to focus on one path?’
– ‘Did you just drop honorifics?’
– ‘No, that’s not what I meant—’
– ‘I came to this decision after much deliberation. Accept it.’
– ‘Is it because I lack talent?’
Just as he was about to leave, I threw out a final question.
His answer was short and absolute.
– ‘The opposite.’
– ‘…What?’
– ‘If you were weak and talentless, I would have taught you more. Because in order to survive, you would’ve needed to learn everything possible.’
At that moment, I recalled my time as an F-rank Hunter.
No matter how carefully I planned my role in battle, danger was always lurking.
If the tank fell, or the mage or archer couldn’t cover me, it always came down to a fight for survival.
When I dropped my spear, I used my dagger. When my dagger broke, I grabbed a rock and caved in a goblin’s skull.
I did whatever it took to survive.
The only reason I chose a spear wasn’t because I had any special talent for it—it was simply because a longer weapon increased my chances of living.
– ‘Judging by your face, you’ve realized something.’
– ‘…I think I understand what you mean.’
– ‘The martial arts I’ve mastered and the Fiery Flame Sect’s techniques are fundamentally different. I was trained from birth to be an assassin and have lived as one for over half my life.’
Our starting points were worlds apart.
– ‘Even if I taught you my techniques, they wouldn’t blend naturally with your foundation.’
– ‘So that’s why you’re stopping my training? I thought we were just getting started.’
– ‘Started? You already know everything.’
– ‘…What?’
– ‘What’s important isn’t martial arts, but martial reasoning. That is my greatest lesson to you—the foundation upon which killing intent is formed.’
—
I could still recall his expression from that moment.
Moon Kyung’s unreadable eyes.
And his voice—
– ‘There were three hundred of us at the beginning. We all learned the same martial arts, received the same training.’
– ‘After ten years, only twenty remained.’
– ‘After another ten years, only one survived.’
I didn’t have to ask who that one person was.
As Moon Kyung traced the distant past with unfathomable eyes, he turned his back to me and left me with a final message.
– ‘I’ve already taught you what you truly needed—the fundamental martial reasoning behind all techniques.’
– ‘While blending martial arts from different styles is nearly impossible, martial reasoning has no boundaries.’
– ‘Incorporate it into the techniques you already know. That is your final task.’
—
Boom. Boom.
I snapped out of my thoughts as a familiar presence knocked on the door.
“Hyeok Mu-jin?”
“Commander, it’s time. You need to come out now.”
Time?
For a split second, I wondered what he meant.
Then—
I remembered.
Today was the day.
Murim Alliance (武林盟).
Today, all of Murim would unite under one flag.
Well