68 - Murim Login

Chapter 68 Ultimately, the winner was Jin Wiyoung. With her tearful eyes and persistent pleas, saying, "Just for a fortnight. No, just live with me for ten days, won't you?" she managed to conquer both Jin Mukyung and me. That's how we ended up in this current situation. After Jin Wiyoung left, the underground training ground was enveloped in silence with just the two of us remaining. It was Jin Mukyung who first broke the silence. "I'll tell you the rules." "Rules? What kind of rules when it’s just us guys living together?" "First, you must be respectful and speak formally to me from now on." "What if I refuse?" Jin Mukyung swung at the steel training dummy beside him. Boom! Crack! The steel dummy flew through the air and crashed into the wall of the training ground. A clear handprint was embedded into its sunken chest. "What was the first rule again?" I glared at Jin Mukyung. I’ve been through countless hardships. If he thinks this is enough to dampen my spirits, he’s sorely mistaken. "I’m supposed to speak formally, you said." ...Yet, a mature adult knows how to avoid unnecessary conflict. This is how adults fight. Heh. 'But why do I feel like tearing up?' Ah, I miss my mom. "Good. Now, the second rule: live as quietly as a mouse. If you make a noise that wakes me up or disrupts my training... Boom! Crack! Seeing the second steel dummy fly off, I nodded my head quickly and uncontrollably. "The third and final rule: you may use the training ground as you wish, but if I tell you to move, you move without complaint. Understood?" "Yes, yes." "Looks like you finally get it." Satisfied, Jin Mukyung nodded and gestured towards the exit. "Now get out. Your room is on the third floor." As I quickly exited the underground training ground, shouts of exertion echoed in the background. Being treated like baggage stirred a defiance within me. I glanced back and made a resolution. 'Wait for it. I’ll catch up soon enough.' Swish! Slash! The sword aura split the third steel dummy. Watching its head fall powerlessly, I revised my thoughts a bit. 'Wait for it. I'll catch up eventually.' The room was starkly bare. Unlike my previous room, which was lavishly decorated to the point of being opulent, this room had only the most essential furniture. "No matter how you look at it, this is too harsh." Typical of Jin Mukyung, perhaps? I had only known him for a day, but it was enough to understand Jin Mukyung’s nature. He detests anything cumbersome and values efficiency. He’s also a hard worker who doesn't slack off in training. The more I think about it, the more I realize he’s a remarkable guy. He might be a bit extreme, like when he beats his younger brother like a dog for not using formal speech, but if you think about it, it’s self-defense. Put yourself in his shoes. It's basic human interaction. 'If I had a brother like that, I’d have beaten him up too.' While the older brothers strive to elevate the family, the youngest brother ignores his martial arts and is absorbed in booze and women. Jin Wiyoung is a saint for putting up with it, while Jin Mukyung’s instinctual fist is the normal reaction. 'He's also strong in martial arts.' Who knows? Seeing a reformed younger brother might make him inclined to teach me martial arts himself. 'This is... an opportunity.' My eyes sparkled. Unlike Jin Wiyoung and Wipeng, whom I occasionally glimpsed due to their busy schedules, Jin Mukyung was always holed up in the training grounds. With these ten days of living together, if I could receive one-on-one tutoring from a master, my martial arts could advance significantly, couldn't it? 'More than now. Much more.' From deep within my heart, a hunger emerged. No, this was starvation. A starvation for everything I’ve never had. Wealth and honor? I desire them. Yet, they are merely a part of what I wish to achieve. 'I want to become stronger.' I thought I had become strong enough, but I wasn't. To protect those I care for, I'm still woefully inadequate. I felt it while facing Jo Pil before, and this time while watching the Grand Elder. The overwhelming difference in power. At my current level, it's barely enough to protect my own life. I'm just a frog that has barely poked its head out of the well. 'I don’t know how long it will take, but I’ll catch up soon enough.' From third-rate to top-notch, from F-rank to C-rank took merely two months. My determination now is no empty talk. The war is over, so there's plenty of time. Before logging out, I plan to elevate my skills as much as possible. 'Should I consider reassessment as soon as I return?' If my energy can keep up, I should easily rank up to B-rank. Lost in these delightful fantasies, I was grinning when it suddenly hit me. "Huh?" What is it? A feeling that I’d forgotten something crucial. A sense of having overlooked something I shouldn't. The same unease I felt before meeting Jin Mukyung yesterday. It didn’t take long to realize what was bothering me. “Quest, open quest window.” Ding. - There are no current quests in progress. No quests in progress? Seeing the system message made my head spin. I knew exactly what that meant. '...Logout quest?' The sole method to move between the martial world and reality. The logout quest was nowhere to be found. In this unexpected situation, I stared vacantly at the system message. Ding. With the sound of a clear bell, a new window unfolded in the air. - Achievement [Return] accomplished! - Title [Returnee] acquired! - A new function has been activated! "Returnee? New function?" What’s this? Hastily opening the status window, there it was—shining brightly—the word "Returnee." “Check title.” Ding. [Returnee] Description: It is easy to leave but difficult to return. We commend your sacrifice and bravery. Effect: All stats increased. Activates [Logout], [Login] functions. In that moment. Pop! Fireworks went off in my head. * * * Jin Mukyung was breathing. He breathed through his nose and mouth, utilizing his entire body. The energy from the dantian and the world’s energy mixed in. Swishing. Another name for the dantian is the sea of qi. A sea where energy gathers and flows. Jin Mukyung felt the waves of energy flowing through his body’s meridians. And he reveled in it. 'This is it.' When I first held a sword at the age of five, it was a wooden sword roughly carved by Jin Wiyoung. I loved the rough texture and the sound of the wind dispersing each time I swung it. Since that day, I never missed a single day of training. "You're a genius, a natural." "He's just born with it." People expressed admiration and envy. Though their intentions differed, the comments were the same: a martial arts prodigy, a natural talent. Despite the chatter among them, Jin Mukyung confined himself to the training grounds, continuing his practice. Training wasn't a burden to him but a joyful process of becoming stronger. Exhaling slowly, he released not only turbid energy but also the clutter in his mind. He needed to focus solely on his internal energy circulation. 'Will today be the day?' It was time to challenge the adversary he had fought relentlessly for three years: the Ren and Du meridians. Though he had retreated many times before, Jin Mukyung hadn’t given up yet. Just one victory, and he could break through those meridians and step into a new realm. 'Let's see what happens.' At the moment Jin Mukyung gathered his energy with determination, he heard a chilling scream. - Hoooooooooo! What is this? A demon? The sheer sound sent shivers down his spine, like the gleeful laughter of a demon. Jin Mukyung hastily tried to calm his energy when the voice came again. - Strip and shout! Hoooooooooo! It wasn't a demon. There was only one person who could yell such nonsense in the restricted hall. “Jintaegang, you little… Kugh!” His rising anger scattered his gathered energy. “What? Taewon Jin family?” I was just about to lay down. In the dead of night, the unexpected report from the overall manager completely woke up the head of the Song Sword Sect. “Are you sure?” “How would I know? I’m not part of the martial world.” Listening to the manager, who came from a scholarly background, made the Song Sword Sect’s leader rub his temples in frustration. Asking someone with nothing but ink and nonsense in their head was a mistake. “How did you know it was someone from the Taewon Jin family?” “The gate guards came rushing to tell me. They said people from the Taewon Jin family are outside. And one of them, someone named Wi-, Wi… something, asked if they could meet with you.” Wi-something? The leader of the Song Sword Sect swallowed hard. “You don’t mean Wi Paeng, do you?” “Ah, that's it. Wi Paeng." The leader nearly smacked the manager's head with a pillow. 'Wi Paeng, the Ghost Sword himself, came in person?' He is the right-hand man to Jin Wiyoung and a core master of the Taewon Jin family. The very visit of this renowned master, who made notable contributions in the recent war, seemed to drain the leader's spirit. “Wake up everyone who’s asleep right now!” It was an emergency. As the leader rushed outside, countless thoughts swirled in his mind. 'Revenge?' The Song Sword Sect is a medium-sized martial sect located in the central part of Shanxi. With less than fifty members, most remain as second or third-rate. Although they received aid from the Taewon Jin family due to their closeness in the past, they quietly withdrew when the war broke out. Perhaps today's visit was inevitable recompense. 'Still, for the Ghost Sword himself to come. And at this time of night.' Though Taewon Jin family is known for its fairness, if their aim was to eliminate us, we stand no chance. Even I, the strongest in the Song Sword Sect, might not last against Wi Paeng for even three seconds. “Master!” The gatekeepers’ anxious faces brightened at the sight of their superior. However, unlike them, the sect leader could not express joy. With a stiff expression, he respectfully greeted the uninvited guests. "I’m Hwang, leading the Song Sword Sect." Simultaneously, thirty mysterious visitors wearing bamboo hats parted on either side. Under the faint moonlight, a single figure stepped forward. “Pleased to meet you. I am Wi Paeng.” He was as young as they said, and even ruder than expected. No matter how insignificant a sect the Song Sword Sect was, his attitude towards its head was surprising. However, no grievance could be voiced. The young, impolite man was Wi Paeng, backed by the name of the Taewon Jin family. If this was the extent of their response to us ignoring their calls for aid, we were getting off lightly. The leader moistened his parched lips. “I’ve heard much about the infamous Ghost Sword. Had you sent word ahead, I would’ve personally come to welcome you…” “Do not trouble yourself, Master. I was only here to deliver a letter from our young master.” “A letter, you say?” Wi Paeng nodded and handed over a sealed letter. Under the torchlight held by the gate guards, the distinctive seal of the Taewon Jin family was clearly visible. “This is…” “An invitation. We’re asked to visit the main family on the upcoming New Year.” Having spent years in the martial world, the sect leader quickly understood the underlying message. 'An invitation?' This was a summon and a warning simultaneously. Failure to comply with this invitation could mean being sidelined in the future affairs of Shanxi’s martial world. The New Year would mark the day when the victorious lord embraced new vassals. 'The Taewon Jin family has drawn their sword.' After a brief silence, the sect leader spoke. “I have always wanted to meet the young master… This seems like a wonderful opportunity.” “We would be honored by your presence, Master.” Wi Paeng bowed courteously. Noticing a change in Wi Paeng’s demeanor, the leader bit his lip. “The journey must have been tiresome. Why not come inside and shake off the fatigue?” “Appreciate the gesture, but I must decline. There's someone I need to apprehend.” “One pursued by the great Wi Paeng must be quite infamous.” “Indeed, a wicked assassin. He dared to harm our third young master.” “The third young master, you say? Who would dare target the hidden dragon of Shanxi?” “It’s suspected that someone opposing our main family sent the assassin.” “Heh.” Wi Paeng’s eyes flashed momentarily. His sharp gaze meticulously scanned the Song Sword Sect’s premises. “As it happens… I found my way to the Song Sword Sect in pursuit.” “That, that cannot be. Surely a misunderstanding?” Just as the leader of the Song Sword Sect’s heart dropped and he was about to hastily offer explanations, Wi Paeng waved it off with a smile. "Haha, of course, it must be a misunderstanding. The world knows well of the deep friendship between the Taewon Jin family and the Song Sword Sect, so how could that be?" "......" "Thank you for your hospitality. We shall meet again during the New Year. Hyah!" Even after Wi Paeng and his subordinates disappeared into the darkness, the leader of the Song Sword Sect remained standing in place for a long time.