Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 160 - Choice (1)
Chapter 160 – Choice (1)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Mok Gyeong-un was holding up Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang’s eyeball with a ghastly smile.
For an instant, Lord Annihilation Poison King Baek Sa-ha was left speechless, then hastily stopped the bleeding from Na Yul-ryang’s right eye and demanded,
“What are you doing?”
Baek Sa-ha was sincerely dumbfounded.
It was not as if saying not to kill him meant everything else was permitted, so what in the world was this?
To him, Mok Gyeong-un said with a smile,
“Exactly as I said. This one is a little troublesome.”
“Troublesome?”
At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Baek Sa-ha suddenly recalled something Thunderbolt Fist King Won Byeong-hak had said a few years ago.
[Elder Baek. Have you perhaps ever sparred with the Great Young Master?]
[The Great Young Master? No, I have not. I hear his martial ability has advanced markedly of late?]
[Yes. So I crossed hands with him in sparring, and it was astonishing. It is difficult to compare him to how he was before.]
[Ho. To that extent?]
[Yes. But beyond his martial ability, he possesses a peculiar eye.]
[A peculiar eye?]
[Yes. Once one of his eyes took on a silver light, he read my forms much more easily.]
[Read your forms more easily? Are you saying that eye has some unusual power?]
[That is what I think. Of course, Great Young Master himself would never reveal it.]
Thunderbolt Fist King Won Byeong-hak had been Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang’s bare-handed master.
By the benefit of obtaining three head plaques in Corpse Blood Valley, he had requested instruction from that man.
Thus, among the Five Kings, he was also the one who knew Na Yul-ryang best.
So Baek Sa-ha clicked his tongue and said,
“I think I may have heard something in passing about the Great Young Master’s eyes, but if it truly is a special eye, then he will be all the more frantic because he could not kill you.”
“It does not matter. We became enemies anyway.”
Mok Gyeong-un was holding up the eyeball because he had felt kinship from Na Yul-ryang, he could tell.
The moment that fellow woke, he would devote all his strength to killing him one way or another.
He would probably stop at neither means nor method.
‘What a pity.’
‘It would have been better for the future to kill him now.’
But as Baek Sa-ha had said, if he killed the Society Leader’s disciple, he would immediately become enemies with that man.
Because there were still things he had to learn from the Society Leader, he could not kill him right now.
That was why it was better to weaken his strength as much as possible.
Then suddenly a thought occurred to Mok Gyeong-un.
Blue Spirit.
-Speak.
-How would it be if Blue Spirit took over this man’s body?
Come to think of it, if Blue Spirit took over this man’s body, it seemed it would kill two birds with one stone.
He was not just anyone, but Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang, the Society Leader’s first disciple.
If he could control him, he might be able to approach the Society Leader, and at the same time deal with the troublesome enemy called Na Yul-ryang in one stroke.
But Blue Spirit said something unexpected.
-Impossible.
-Pardon?
-Did I not say it was impossible?
-Why?
-Once one breaks through the wall through enlightenment and reaches the realm of transformation, the energy within pierces essence, qi, and spirit and hardens not only the flesh but even the soul, so possession becomes impossible.
-…Have you ever tried it?
-Do you think I have not?
-Judging from Blue Spirit’s tone, it seemed she had indeed tried once.
If so, the plan to possess Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang and control him was finished.
It was regrettable, but it could not be helped.
Then Lord Annihilation Poison King Baek Sa-ha stood up and said,
“I do not know how matters came to this, but you have crossed a river from which there is no return. To become mortal enemies with Great Young Master, of all people.”
Baek Sa-ha shook his head from side to side.
To him, Mok Gyeong-un lowered his head out of courtesy and said,
“I am sorry. Because of me, Master too has been put in a difficult position.”
“Difficult? Yes. If you say difficult, then difficult it may be. But what can be done about something that has already happened? This old man absolutely does not abandon his own people.”
“At those words, a strange light entered Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes.”
The other party was not anyone else, but Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang, the Society Leader’s first disciple.
Quite apart from his madness and coldness, even the number of those supporting him was said to reach forty percent within the Heaven and Earth Society.
He had created the greatest possible enemy.
If viewed coldly, then even just now, had Baek Sa-ha not helped him and simply expelled him there, there would have been no need to become enemies with Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang.
Moreover, even now this remark was unexpected.
‘He does not abandon his own people.’
‘Contrary to his appearance, it seemed Baek Sa-ha valued loyalty greatly.’
Did he view him too, now that he had taken him as a disciple, as one of his own people?
As he was wondering, Baek Sa-ha said,
“Hoo. We have no time, so let us settle things quickly.”
“Settle things?”
“Yes. I will ask exactly three things. If you trust this master, then answer.”
At those words, Mok Gyeong-un nodded and answered,
Understood.
Mok Gyeong-un trusted no one at all.
But Baek Sa-ha had opposed Na Yul-ryang for his sake, so it was no exaggeration to say that for now they were riding in the same boat.
If so, then it was right to share information to an appropriate degree and draw him to his side.
At that moment Baek Sa-ha asked,
“How was it that you came to fight Great Young Master?”
“Great Young Master attacked me first.”
“What? Great Young Master attacked first? For what reason?”
Although Great Young Master admittedly had aspects that differed from others, Baek Sa-ha knew him as a rather rational person.
Why would such a man suddenly attack Mok Gyeong-un first?
“Well. I do not know either.”
“…Are you asking this master to believe that?”
“It truly is so. There is one thing I can guess, however…”
“A guess? Speak.”
“Mok Gyeong-un shrugged and answered,”
“It seemed he was wary of me.”
“Wary?”
At those words, Lord Annihilation Poison King Baek Sa-ha frowned and repeated the word.
Then he alternately looked between the faces of Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang and Mok Gyeong-un, and soon, stroking his beard, let out a hum.
“Hmm.”
In truth, he could understand it to some degree.
Had he not himself just been shocked at Mok Gyeong-un’s present martial ability?
Barely one shijin ago, he had been in the peak realm, yet now he had already broken through the wall and become a master of the realm of transformation.
No matter how he thought about it, this was something almost impossible by common sense.
How many years had it taken even Baek Sa-ha himself to break through the wall?
After training for close to several decades, he had only now barely broken through that wall.
Yet Mok Gyeong-un, a mere seventeen years old, had accomplished it.
He had entered the domain of peerless masters at nearly the youngest age in the current murim.
‘Ah!’
‘Come to think of it, it had been Mok Gyeong-un who had given him the clue to enlightenment.’
If so, then had he already been in the realm of transformation?
So Baek Sa-ha asked,
“When did you break through the wall?”
“Not long ago.”
“May I ask exactly when?”
“In the midst of fighting Great Young Master.”
‘!!!!!!!!’
At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Baek Sa-ha’s jaw dropped open before he even realized it.
His expectation that he must already have broken through the wall had missed the mark.
Then was he saying that, while fighting an opponent stronger than himself, he had attained enlightenment in the middle of the battle?
“Ha…”
The whole thing was so absurd that only admiration came out.
Had this child been born carrying heavenly fortune itself?
No, even heavenly fortune was not enough to explain it.
Without inborn aptitude, it was impossible to gain enlightenment while crossing swords with another.
Baek Sa-ha suppressed his excitement and then asked,
“…This relates to my second question. How in the world did you learn the Wave Demon Poison Scripture?”
This was something he had been extremely curious about all along.
He had only shown him the secret manual once.
His purpose in doing so had simply been to inform Mok Gyeong-un of the excellence and greatness of the Wave Demon Poison Scripture.
At the question, Mok Gyeong-un pondered for a moment.
“Hmm.”
‘Ordinarily he would have hidden this talent, but Baek Sa-ha had already seen everything.’
There was no way to hide it anyway.
So, since there was no helping it, Mok Gyeong-un answered casually,
“I learned it after seeing it once.”
“…What?”
Baek Sa-ha’s expression hardened.
He had only shown him the secret method once, and he had learned it just by seeing it?
At that instant Baek Sa-ha’s thoughts became complicated.
Once one had practiced martial arts for a long time, it was true that one could quickly understand the principles of most martial arts upon encountering them.
But if one asked whether a person could master a martial art from seeing it only once, then the meaning changed.
Martial arts were not made up merely of forms.
The more advanced the martial art, the less it could be perfectly learned without grasping the intention or meaning contained in each form.
Baek Sa-ha steadied himself and asked,
“Are you truly saying that you learned it after seeing it only once?”
“It is difficult if one merely reads it. While looking at the secret manual, I read the traces of the forms contained in the handwriting into a mind-image and stored them in my head.”
“A mind-image? Huh…”
Baek Sa-ha let out a gasp of admiration.
Was he saying that a mere seventeen-year-old brat could even form mind-images?
It was truly astonishing.
Even he himself had only become able to see the traces of forms and draw them in his mind after reaching the limit of the peak realm, yet this young fellow could do it?
…He truly is a monster.
‘Baek Sa-ha had no choice but to acknowledge it.’
This child stood in a domain that ordinary people could never hope to approach.
It was a domain that could truly be called genius.
Baek Sa-ha glanced at Na Yul-ryang.
“I understand.”
‘He thought he understood why Na Yul-ryang had been so wary of Mok Gyeong-un.’
If an awl is sharp, it will burst through the handle.
The talent of this child was precisely like that.
He had monstrous comprehension enough to grasp a secret method after reading it only once, and on top of that, absurd progress in martial ability enough to gain enlightenment in the middle of battle and break through the wall.
It was martial talent enough to inspire fear, no, even a shiver.
‘Perhaps this old man is witnessing the birth of a monster the likes of which murim history has never seen.’
‘If his monstrous progress continued like this, then perhaps within twenty or so years he might reach the domain of the Six Heavens, called the summit of murim.’
When his thoughts reached that point, Baek Sa-ha could not hide his excitement.
“Heh heh.”
His hands and feet were trembling of their own accord.
If he had met Mok Gyeong-un as an enemy, he would absolutely have had to kill such talent, but he was not.
Had he not taken this fellow as his disciple?
It felt as though good fortune had entered his declining years in double measure.
‘Following this old man, there are now two who have mastered the Wave Demon Poison Scripture. The main house has no further reason to worry about its successor.’
‘He had originally intended to be satisfied merely with taking him as a disciple.’
But now he truly wanted to receive Mok Gyeong-un as a member of the Baek family.
Since the boy had already abandoned both the righteous sects and his family, there would be no problem even if he were made an adopted son of the Baek family.
‘This fellow is a treasure. The greatest treasure.’
‘He was so happy that he felt as though he wanted to shout aloud at once.’
But this was not the time.
They were still facing a problem that had to be resolved.
“Heh heh heh. Good. This master’s curiosity has been satisfied. Now for the final question.”
“You really are curious about many things.”
“It is only natural that I would be. This master and you are now practically in the same boat. Must we not rely on one another to overcome this crisis?”
“…A crisis.”
It could indeed be called a crisis.
He had made a troublesome enemy.
“What this master wants to ask is only one thing. What will you do now?”
“What will I do now?”
“Yes. Since Great Young Master has become our enemy, there is only one path for us to take.”
“One path?”
‘It seemed that Baek Sa-ha already had something in mind.’
So Mok Gyeong-un asked,
“Master, do you have something in mind?”
“Whether I have thought of something or not is beside the point. Once Great Young Master becomes the successor, then both you and our Baek family will find your positions endangered.”
“…Well, that is true.”
“If so, then what must be done?”
“Someone other than Great Young Master has to become the successor.”
-Snap!
-Baek Sa-ha flicked his finger and said,
“Exactly! That is precisely what this master wished to say. If we push someone other than Great Young Master, then our master-and-disciple pair can survive and overcome this crisis.”
“…”
“Ordinarily, Great Young Master’s supporting forces were so powerful that the other two successors had essentially no chance, but now the situation has changed.”
“In what way?”
“At Mok Gyeong-un’s question, Lord Annihilation Poison King Baek Sa-ha twitched his lips, then said in a meaningful voice,”
“It means that, depending on your choice, the balance of power may change.”