265 - Murim Login

Chapter 265 Undoubtedly, I thought he was dead. Even if he hadn't completely stopped breathing, I was sure he was in a state where he could no longer be called a living human. But... *Rustle* *Crack!* The spectacle before me was unbelievable, even as I witnessed it. The skin, charred black as if it would crumble at a touch, was suddenly covered with a smooth, pale layer, and the bones that jutted out found their rightful place and disappeared from view. 'What is this?' What should one call this? Recovery? No, this was regeneration. A monstrous regeneration beyond human limits. Witnessing this astonishing sight, Cheongpung let out a short cry of disbelief. "Ah, ah..." In the meantime, the final changes were complete. The face, which had been stripped down to the muscles, was rapidly restored. *Crunch.* The man, rubbing his neck bones, grinned slyly at us. "You should have smashed my head. To be sure." Jeok Cheon-Gang, who had been frozen like a statue, barely parted his lips. "How...?" The blood lord replied nonchalantly. "Let's just call it demonic arts for now. After all, to chumps like you from the orthodox sects, it's all the same, right?" "You, you... *Cough.*" "Grandmaster!" Startled, I rushed to support Jeok Cheon-Gang. His face was pale, and red blood dripped down his jaw. It's over. Jeok Cheon-Gang had exhausted all his strength. With even his final technique, Hwasin Guimu, rendered futile, the figure in my arms was not the Fire King but a weary old man. "Hurry, escape..." Jeok Cheon-Gang couldn't finish his words and slumped his head. Hastily feeling his pulse, I found it faint but still beating. 'It's not over yet.' However, it was too soon to breathe a sigh of relief. "Looks like the mighty Fire King has reached his limit." The blood lord took a step forward with a pleased expression. "It was more amusing than I anticipated. Honestly, it was terrifying. I never imagined it would come to this." "You reek of crap. Shut your trap." I picked up Baek-Yeom, which I had momentarily set down, and stood up. Jeok Cheon-Gang was already incapacitated. If I expended any more energy here... truly irreversible consequences would follow. "Do you think you can stop me alone? What a noble thought." "Did you sell one of your eyes for some candy? There are two of us." The blood lord shook his head. "No, just one. I don't count a terrified little mouse as a person." A terrified little mouse? I turned my head to the side. Cheongpung was frozen, his pupils trembling uncontrollably. His hand clutching the sword hilt was shaking. 'Fear.' That was the only emotion emanating from Cheongpung at this moment. "Sending such a greenhorn into the martial world, the Sword Star spoiled his disciple too much." *Step* Still over fifty steps away. Yet as the blood lord took a step, Cheongpung flinched backward like he'd touched a flame. 'This is...' My heart sank. I understood precisely what this meant. Cheongpung was now treading the delayed path that I'd walked, one experienced by many. 'Of all times, now.' For warriors, for hunters, it's a growing pain everyone endures, but for this genius, it came too late. The blood lord, reading my thoughts, smirked. "You understand, don't you? He's already gone. Once trapped by overwhelming helplessness, the fear of death, it's hard to escape." "Jong-rye-choo." It must be because of Jong-rye-choo. He was the one who planted the seed of fear in Cheongpung. And that seed had met another formidable opponent in the blood lord, blossoming with dread. "Yeah. Wherever he came from, that guy caused a big uproar. He caught the eyes of those orthodox sect fools and even messed with the Sword Star's disciple. Haha!" My mouth felt parched as if I'd eaten sand. Cheongpung remained terrified, and the blood lord was lazily closing the distance, step by step. 'Damn it.' Fortunately, I still had one last move. The problem was that it truly was the 'final' move. Even if it succeeded, the outcome was uncertain, and if it failed, only death awaited. 'But I have no choice.' With a sliver of inner energy left, I began to draw upon it. Only by focusing all my strength into a single strike, a one-shot attack, could I hope to shatter his head. Could I do it? I shoved aside any doubts. 'I must. No matter what.' I needed to act with conviction, not questions. With desperate resolve instead of certainty. Only by staking everything on each movement, however small, would I have even a slim chance. "Cheong-Sohyeop." *Tap-tap.* *Tap-tap.* I didn't need to look to know. The sound was from Cheongpung's chattering teeth. I shouted with all my might. "Cheongpung!" Gasping for breath, Cheongpung jerked his head up. "Listen carefully, I won't say it twice. You decide for yourself." "Ye-yes?" "You have two choices left. First, carry the Grandmaster and run as far away as you can." "B-but, my savior!" "I'm not done speaking. Second, stop quaking like a coward and fight with me against him with all your might." In Cheongpung's trembling breath, I sensed a shift. His retreating footsteps advanced once more. *Step.* We stood side by side in front of the unconscious Jeok Cheon-Gang. "Answer. I haven't heard it yet." "This is my answer." "Be honest." "I'm scared, savior." "Damn, brutally honest." "But I'm truly terrified. This kind of feeling is a first for me." Keeping my eyes fixed on the approaching blood lord, I asked. "If you're that scared, why not run?" "I don't know why, but if I ran away... I think I'd regret it for the rest of my life." That regret, I understand it. I stole a glance at Cheongpung. Still gripped with fear and trembling hands, but his steps forward were firm. Rooted deeply, they didn't back down. Yes, for now, this was enough. At that moment, a nod of acknowledgment rose to my face. "Regret? Runaway?" Twenty steps ahead, the blood lord halted. He laughed aloud as if he'd heard the most fantastic joke. "Such audacity from greenhorns with bold words. But it's I who decide such things. That is the privilege of the strong and the inevitability for the weak." "Well, there's some truth in that…" I raised my spear, aiming it at him. Under the sunlight, the transparent blade of Baek-Yeom shattered into a thousand pieces. "Why does everything that comes out of your mouth sound like utter crap?" "Truth tends to be uncomfortable. Especially for the weak." "Enough. Open wide, patient. The circumcision is about to begin. Without anesthesia, so it might sting a bit." "Ha!" "Laughing? Think you're immune? Life's all like that. Should've realized when your mom said, 'let's go eat something good.'" A deeper smile spread across his face. "The Hidden Dragon of the North. The more I see you, the more amusing you get. Strange martial arts of unknown origin, yet full of spirit... I like you." "And if you like me?" "Join me. I might even spare the Fire King's life." "Eat shit. Today will be the last time I have any dealings with scum like you." "Someone once said: a single encounter is chance, twice is fate, thrice is destiny." "The bastard's writing romance novels now?" The blood lord shrugged. "Well, it's not a romance between a man and a woman, but if we meet twice in this vast world, wouldn’t you call it fate?" "Twice?" For a moment, it didn’t make sense. What was this bastard going on about? "Have you seen me before at the Grand Martial Gathering?" "Of course. I have." The voice continued with mischievous tones. "At Palchun-gorge." "What?" "It was quite the sight. Bodies piling like mountains, rivers of blood flowing... You taking Jin Baek-yang's life was particularly memorable. Wasn’t it from then you were called the Hidden Dragon of the North?" "What are you talking about…" “The Fiery Blade Jin Baek-yang. A fool. Started with promises as if he'd offer his very entrails, but as he aged, he let despicable doubts taint him and ruined things. Wonder who recruited such an inept creature. Tsk.” I stared blankly at the blood lord clicking his tongue. Every word out of his mouth felt empty and foreign. “Oh, and is that so-called Hangsan Sword Sect still around? Heard from a subordinate that they killed the sect leader's son. But I lost interest in it after Palchun-gorge.” "......!" A shiver, as if struck by lightning, traveled down my spine. "So, it was you?" “I told you.” The blood lord’s eyes curved into crescent moons. A voice, oddly gentle and completely out of place with the man, followed. "Once is happenstance. Twice is fate. Thrice is destiny. Wouldn't you call it fate for us?" For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. The man standing before me was the instigator of that very war. The blood lord saw my expression and laughed out loud. "Why the face? Everything neatly fell into place because of it. The Tae-won Clan became the top in Shanxi. And you, becoming a disciple of the Fire King, even won the Grand Martial Gathering, shouldn't you be thanking me?" I did not respond. My mind was consumed by a single thought. 'How many died?' I couldn’t remember. A thousand? Two thousand? Countless people died in a war without meaning. No absolute winners or losers emerged. Only warriors who wielded weapons as instructed, farmers unrelated to anything, and war orphans bloomed afterward. With the martial world of Shanxi destabilized, bandits from the plains rose. History repeated itself shortly after the war ended. 'Thank him, huh.' I licked my parched lips. My grip on the spear tightened instinctively. An unknown force filled my exhausted body. Was it a power not shown on any system window? It was rage. "Hey." "Hmm?" "About that nonsense of happenstance, fate, and destiny." I took a deep breath. If not, firewords might burst from my mouth. "You and I? We're skipping all that. Let's call it destiny." "Destiny?" "Yeah. One where one of us dies." Before finishing my words, I pushed off against the ground. In the blink of an eye, the distance closed and I saw the grin fade from his face. 'One Flash.' With a whoosh. The spear blade cut through the air. Crash! "Aaargh!" An arm broke, the white bone piercing through the skin. The youth howled in pain unlike any he’d experienced. The blood that spurted splattered on his face. The acrid smell of blood made him retch. As he bent over to gag, a heavy leg crashed into his abdomen. Whack. Crash! “You pathetic fool. The Sword Star must be ashamed to have a disciple like you.” As the youth, Cheongpung, was flung away, he struggled to turn over. It hurt. He wanted to collapse. His whole body screamed in agony, and a deep despair weighed him down. 'My body, it won't obey.' Unable to rise, he slumped back down. Through his hazy vision, the sky spread wide above him. The sky from atop the Volcano’s Yeonhwa Peak was always clear and beautiful. During the day, clouds shone, and at night, stars lit the sky with vigor. Deer and rabbits roamed fearlessly. Yet. 'Why is the sky so red here?' The sky here was different. Red, and grim. As he blinked, Cheongpung realized the blood vessels in his eyes had burst. It was a first that his vessels ruptured, yet he wasn’t surprised. 'My bones broke for the first time, and I've lost a lot of blood too.' Thinking of his current state made his breath catch involuntarily. Collapsed and panting heavily, a chilling sound pierced Cheongpung’s ears. Whisk! Crack! “Gahh!” "This bastard!" Cheongpung twisted his neck towards the source of the noise. Within his tilted field of view, two figures were engaged in fierce combat. No, it could no longer be called a fight. Whack! Whack! Thud! "How are you not dead? Even after all this?" Smash! Crash! Nasal bones sank, ankles snapped, and shoulders twisted. Once, thrice, ten times... But no matter the injury, no matter how many times he fell, he rose again. Even a hundred times over, it would be the same. The youth Cheongpung knew was such a person. 'My savior.' Yet, contrary to hope, reality was harsh. The duel was quickly decided. Though I didn't know what martial art it was, Jin Taekyung's strike was unparalleled in its power, shattering the blood lord's crimson blade filled with sword energy and landing a blow on him. But within mere moments, the blood lord recovered and drove them into a corner. "Madman... There's no other like him." Now, everything seemed to be ending. The blood lord, shaking his head with a pale face, was covered in blood from head to toe. Unlike before, he couldn't heal his wounds. The previously constant, relaxed smile was gone, replaced by ragged breaths as he pulled Jin Taekyung's spear from deep in the ground. "Huff, puff, fine. I’ll kill you." To kill. At those words, Cheongpung's hand pushed against the ground. The pain from his broken arm and leg, even the scent of blood, seemed to fade. Only a floating sensation took over his entire being. 'What is this?' He couldn't understand. At the end of his stumbling steps, the blood lord stood. "Heh, and what's this? You wish to die too?" Facing those ferocious eyes, his hands shook violently. However, the sight of Jin Taekyung crumpled behind the blood lord gradually steadied Cheongpung's trembling. "My savior, my savior." "What a bunch of madmen..." The blood lord let out a dumbfounded laugh and swung his spear. Slash! Blood gushed from Cheongpung's chest as he twisted his body, staggering. 'It hurts.' Yet his steps didn't halt. He didn't fall. The grip he'd long lost control over had let go of the sword hilt some time ago. "What is this?" Watching this sight with incredulity, the blood lord grabbed Cheongpung's throat with a forceful hand. "Gah!" "Why? Why go to such lengths, unable to even die first?" A voice genuinely filled with curiosity. In his fading consciousness, Cheongpung spoke, a heavily strained voice spilling out. "If I retreat... I'll regret it for the rest of my life." "Is that your reason? That a coward like you has such a petty excuse not to back down?" The bloodlust grew more intense. Yet strangely, none of it was frightening. It felt as though Cheongpung had returned to those days at Yeonhwa Peak, and he unwittingly raised the corners of his mouth. "Hehe. Yes." The blood lord's face contorted with anger and laughter. To laugh in front of him—an impossible, impermissible occurrence. "I've heard your last words." At the moment he was about to thrust the spear into Cheongpung’s chest, a clear voice resonated. "You've broken through the shell." A voice akin to the blue skies of the volcano, of which Cheongpung held remembrance. A voice he finally began to understand.