Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 115 - Disciple Recruitment Battle (1)

Chapter 115 – Disciple Recruitment Battle (1)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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‘This is troublesome.’

It was Yi Ji-yeom, the Corpse Blood Valley Master, who had climbed onto the platform intending to announce that the martial contest had ended.

Yet he had not expected a situation in which two of the Five Kings, the senior executives with the greatest influence in this place, would begin a contest of nerves.

‘…I understand their intent, but they looked far too excessive.’

Yi Ji-yeom clicked his tongue inwardly as he glanced at Mok Gyeong-un.

In truth, even he himself had been unable to hide his astonishment when he saw Mok Gyeong-un copy the profound principle of Right Fist, Left Palm in a single attempt while fighting Mu Jang-yak.

It was only because he knew his lord was possessing that body that he could accept it. Had that not been the case, he too would have been desperate to take such a heaven-gifted martial talent as a disciple, just like them.

In any case, for matters to proceed smoothly, he had to stop this clash between them.

“Ahem. You two…”

But just as he was about to speak, the Shadow Sect Master’s voice was heard from the left side.

“Oh ho ho. Forgive me for speaking while you two are conversing, but may I offer a word?”

When the Shadow Sect Master stepped in as if to mediate, the two Five Kings, who had been on the verge of letting their emotions flare, both turned their gazes toward him at once.

Of the two, Son Yun, the King of the Fate Blade, who was the more aggressive one, spoke in a somewhat sharp voice.

“What is it you intend to say?”

“Nothing much, except that I wonder whether there is any need for two such highly esteemed figures of our Society to let their feelings sour over a single talent.”

Under ordinary circumstances, those words would have brought them both back to their senses quickly.

But this time, the situation was exceptional.

If someone had passed every gate of Corpse Blood Valley, that meant most of the qualities a martial artist ought to possess had already been proven, and it also meant he possessed fierce powers of survival.

Yet that alone was not all. At the age of seventeen, he had not only reached the peak realm, but also possessed such heaven-given martial talent that he could watch once and then reproduce a profound principle that even transcendent masters could not treat lightly.

Who would willingly let such a person slip away?

“I understand what the Shadow Sect Master is saying, but this is a matter between the Thunderbolt Fist King and myself, so do not interfere.”

Son Yun, the King of the Fate Blade, gave a stern warning.

On the other hand, Won Byeong-hak, the Thunderbolt Fist King, said nothing.

That was not because of his gentlemanly disposition, but because the previous night he had gone to see the Shadow Sect Master and asked him not to touch the boy from the Secret Gate Sect.

“Ahem.”

He had shamelessly pushed forward because he felt he absolutely could not let a righteous-path talent of that level go, but naturally he could not help being self-conscious.

Fortunately, he had made no such request of the King of the Fate Blade, but he could only hope the Shadow Sect Master would refrain from bringing it up.

Just then, the Shadow Sect Master smiled faintly and said,

“But even if the two of you decide here who will take that talent, what meaning would it have?”

At those words, one of Son Yun’s brows rose.

Could it be that the Shadow Sect Master himself intended to join this scramble for talent?

So Son Yun spoke as if warning him.

“Surely you do not mean that you, too, want that child…”

“Ah, ah, ah. That is not what I mean. What I mean is that, by the rules of the completion ceremony, it may be pointless for you two to be exchanging words like this.”

“Pointless? What do you mean by that?”

To the two puzzled Kings, the Shadow Sect Master pointed at Mok Gyeong-un with his hand and said,

“It is hard to say for certain without seeing the other trainees’ martial contests, but if that trainee passes the final gate in first place…”

‘!!!!!’

Though he trailed off, everyone understood what the Shadow Sect Master meant.

Now that they thought about it, if that was the level of righteous-path martial talent he possessed, there was an extremely high chance he would also pass the final gate in first place.

If that happened, the right to choose would belong to the trainee.

In the end, all this argument over who would take Mok Gyeong-un as a disciple might turn out to be completely pointless.

‘Right. It is pointless for us to argue among ourselves.’

Unlike those who agreed with the Shadow Sect Master’s words, Hang Yeo-ryang, the Sound-Summoning Valley Master, stared at Mok Gyeong-un with shining eyes.

* * *

Mok Gyeong-un sat on the ground with his arms crossed, watching the next martial contest.

The next match was between Mo Ha-rang of Mo Hwa House, number three, and Yeon Mu-ung of Mirrored Scenery Gate, number four.

They were already fighting fiercely.

The nature of the battle between Mo Ha-rang, who based her combat on speed and assassin throwing-blade arts, and Yeon Mu-ung, who used fierce fist strikes grounded in an external art called Iron Manifestation Skill, was quite interesting.

Should it be called a contest between lightness and heaviness?

-Papapapapak!

So far, the consumption of true qi had been low and both still had ample stamina, so the two were evenly matched.

However, if one judged only by the pattern of the fight, Mo Ha-rang, whose movements emphasized speed, was moving two or three times more than Yeon Mu-ung, so it felt as though she would tire first.

While he was watching the duel,

-Who do you think will win?

Blue Spirit asked.

At that, Mok Gyeong-un muttered quietly without the slightest hesitation.

“Mo Ha-rang.”

-Ho. Your eye has grown considerably.

She too shared Mok Gyeong-un’s opinion.

At a glance, one might think that Yeon Mu-ung, who was moving steadily and throwing hard punches, would gain the advantage as time passed, but the gap in level between the two was stark.

To Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes, Yeon Mu-ung still had not caught up to Mo Ha-rang’s movements even after exchanging some twenty forms, whereas she was gradually attacking the openings in his defense.

That alone was enough to show that Mo Ha-rang was one level above Yeon Mu-ung.

“Damn it!”

Just as Mok Gyeong-un had expected, Yeon Mu-ung was gradually growing impatient.

For Yeon Mu-ung, who had only reached the seventh star of Iron Manifestation Skill, there were still three vulnerable areas.

They were the face, the armpits, and the ankles.

Once Iron Manifestation Skill reached the utmost level, the whole body became as hard as stone, and at that point most vulnerable areas were resolved.

But Yeon Mu-ung still had weaknesses.

-Pak!

“Hup!”

Before he knew it, one of Mo Ha-rang’s daggers drove into one of his weak points, his armpit.

Yeon Mu-ung, who had been standing his ground stubbornly, finally used footwork and pulled his body back.

At that, she became certain.

‘Found it.’

An incomplete external art inevitably had weak points.

Now that she had found it, she could throw her winning move.

‘You’re finished.’

-Tak! Paaaaaaak!

The moment she let go of the dagger in her hand, it moved like a living snake by means of the silver thread attached to it and pursued Yeon Mu-ung as he tried to widen the distance.

It tormented him by relentlessly aiming for his armpit.

“Damn it!”

The enraged Yeon Mu-ung tried to knock away the silver thread, but it tangled around him like a spiderweb and wrapped around his arm.

Seeing that, Mok Gyeong-un let out a snort.

The match would be decided soon.

His opponent was at a higher level than he was, and now his weakness had been found as well, so it would be hard for him to endure.

At that moment, Yeom Ga of Crimson Kill Valley, no, the Demon Monk possessing him, came beside Mok Gyeong-un and whispered in a small voice.

“Master, what should I do?”

The Demon Monk glanced sidelong at someone.

It was Mok Yu-cheon.

He knew Mok Gyeong-un held no special feelings toward him, but outwardly they were still brothers, so he was asking how he should handle things.

At that, Mok Gyeong-un spoke without much thought.

“Deal with him at the level of that body’s original owner.”

“Understood.”

The Demon Monk, who had taken over the body of Yeom Ga of Crimson Kill Valley, could have displayed far greater martial prowess than that, but if he did, he might stand out for no reason, so there was no need.

And even at Yeom Ga’s level, the Demon Monk’s skill would make it easy for him to defeat Mok Yu-cheon.

One could not ignore the experience of his previous life.

Just then,

“Hrk!”

Mu Jang-yak, who had been lying there as if dead and unconscious, woke up.

It seemed difficult for him to regulate his breathing as soon as he came to. He jerked his upper body upright and started coughing.

“Cough, cough.”

Seeing him like that, Mok Yu-cheon approached and spoke.

“Jang-yak. Are you all right?”

“Cough, cough… I-I’m all right.”

After coughing a few more times, Mu Jang-yak finally steadied his breathing and raised his head.

Then he opened his mouth, his eyes bitter.

“As expected… I lost.”

“…You fought well enough.”

Mok Yu-cheon spoke in a regretful voice.

He wanted to comfort him somehow and help him recover his spirits, but there was no way to do it.

Not only had he reached the extreme limit of the peak realm, he had even mastered the mysterious method of Right Fist, Left Palm, which even absolute masters could not imitate, and still he had lost.

His opponent had seen his method only once and then reproduced it exactly.

His opponent had simply been the worst possible kind.

‘Mok Gyeong-un…’

Just what are you?

He had thought something about him had changed since Yeon Mok Sword Manor, but this was someone who had become entirely different, a human being of another domain.

Even he, who had been called a genius, felt inferior compared to Mok Gyeong-un’s martial talent.

That thing was simply a monster.

“Hoo.”

At that moment, Mu Jang-yak laboriously got to his feet.

Mok Yu-cheon tried to stop him.

“Do not push yourself. Sit down and circulate your qi to regulate your breathing. You took blows to the jaw and face, so you must be very dizzy.”

The fact that he had woken up this quickly at all was already impressive.

At Mok Yu-cheon’s recommendation, Mu Jang-yak shook his head, saying he was fine, then soon rose and walked over to Mok Gyeong-un.

Mok Yu-cheon looked at him in puzzlement.

Was he acting like that because he could not accept the result?

Thinking there was a chance trouble might break out, Mok Yu-cheon moved closer to stop him, but then,

-Thud!

Mu Jang-yak sat down beside Mok Gyeong-un and said in a low voice,

“I lost. No, I have lost. As promised, my lord…”

“Ah, ah, ah. That is not it. I think your form of address is wrong.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Mu Jang-yak’s cheek twitched, and then,

“…I will serve you as my master. Please forgive me for not being able to show proper courtesy of loyalty with so many executives watching.”

‘!?’

Mok Yu-cheon, who had been about to step in lest trouble break out, could not hide his bewilderment when he heard their conversation.

‘Master?’

No, what was this?

Why was Mu Jang-yak addressing Mok Gyeong-un as master and lowering himself so humiliatingly?

Could it be because of that promise they had spoken of earlier?

As he stood there in puzzlement, Mok Gyeong-un looked at him with a smile and pointed somewhere with a finger.

It was the training ground in the middle of the square, where the martial contest was taking place.

‘Ah?’

When he turned his gaze there, the outcome of the match had already been decided.

“Haah… haah… I lost.”

Holding his blood-soaked right armpit, Yeon Mu-ung of Mirrored Scenery Gate, down on one knee on the floor, admitted defeat before Mo Ha-rang’s dagger.

That meant it was now his turn for his martial contest.

He wanted to know what in the world had happened between those two, but for the moment he had to prepare for his match.

‘Tch.’

Mok Yu-cheon soon turned around to leave.

Then,

“Do well and come back.”

“Yes, Master.”

‘!?’

Mok Yu-cheon halted in place at the voice of Yeom Ga of Crimson Kill Valley, answering Mok Gyeong-un with Master.

What in the world was this?

He had known that bastard had been sticking close to Mok Gyeong-un for some time now, but Master?

Was that not the sort of title slaves or servants would use?

So Mok Yu-cheon turned around and spoke to Mok Gyeong-un in an incredulous tone.

“…Just what did you do?”

“What do you mean, what did I do?”

“Why are these people calling you master? What in the world did you do to them?”

At Mok Yu-cheon’s question, Mok Gyeong-un gave a short laugh and said,

“I didn’t do anything much.”

“What do you mean you didn’t do anything? Then why are these people calling you master and acting like that…”

“Mok Yu-cheon!”

At that moment, the voice of Yi Ji-yeom, the Corpse Blood Valley Master, rang out.

Mok Yu-cheon bit his lip hard, then turned his body and walked toward the center of the square.

After going through all of this with that bastard here in Corpse Blood Valley, he had come to realize his true face was that of a demon.

That bastard had definitely pulled some kind of trick.

Just then he saw Mo Ha-rang, who had won her match, walking back toward the place where the trainees were gathered.

Since they had been in the same group during the flag-seizure battle, he spoke to her out of old familiarity.

“Congratulations on your victory.”

“…Thank you.”

-Step, step.

As the two drew close to one another, Mok Yu-cheon warned her in a whisper.

“Stay away from that bastard Mok Gyeong-un. I don’t know what kind of trick he used, but it looks like he is making the trainees around him revere him as their master.”

Because they had once been in the same group, he was telling her this out of a trace of lingering goodwill.

But then,

“…That advice has already come too late.”

‘!?’

At Mo Ha-rang’s voice brushing past his ear, Mok Yu-cheon’s expression hardened.

Then did that mean she too served Mok Gyeong-un as her master?

Mok Yu-cheon turned his head and stared at Mok Gyeong-un with trembling eyes.

You are supposed to be the hostage who was brought here, so what in the world have you been doing in this place?

* * *

Thus, the martial contest between Mok Yu-cheon and the Demon Monk possessing Yeom Ga of Crimson Kill Valley began.

While he watched it like a spectator, a certain someone’s voice rang beside Mok Gyeong-un’s ear.

-Hello.

‘!?’

Mok Gyeong-un’s brow furrowed slightly.

What was this?

It was not Blue Spirit’s voice.

The sound had entered his ear, yet rather than echoing through the surroundings, it sounded as if someone were whispering directly into his ear.

Mok Gyeong-un lightly swept his gaze around, and his narrowed eyes grew sharper.

Where in the world had that voice come from?

Then,

-Hehe.

He heard laughter.

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un, who had raised his guard, sensed the faint shape of true qi riding along with the sound’s reverberating vibration.

-Whip!

Mok Gyeong-un turned his head and looked toward Hang Yeo-ryang, the Sound-Summoning Valley Master, who was seated as an observer beside the platform.

‘Ha!’

At that, a strange light flickered in her eyes.

Ah, ah, ah.

That brat truly was beyond even what she had imagined.

When one sent true qi along with sound from far away, it was difficult to tell the position of whoever was speaking.

Yet at this distance he had located her in a single attempt.

‘I really must have him.’

He was not a vessel she could possibly yield to anyone else.