Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 94 - Reducing (2)
Chapter 94 – Reducing (2)
===================
Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
===================
The five boys stood before a room door with somewhat tense expressions.
As they stared at the door, they swallowed dryly with nervous eyes.
[We’re going to be quite busy from now on. Before the gate begins, we have to break the legs of every other group member except ours.]
At first, they had been bewildered by Mok Gyeong-un’s words.
The very idea of breaking the legs of other trainees before even taking the gate made them click their tongues.
But when they thought about it, to some extent this strategy made sense.
The longer the gate went on, the fiercer the competition would become.
But what if they eliminated most of the majority of the competitors beforehand?
‘The odds would rise.’
Only a very small number could receive the executives’ selection.
Taking that into account, there was indeed no need to be picky about means and methods.
One boy spoke in a whisper.
“Will it work?”
“It should.”
There were five of them, and inside this room were two people.
Since they held the numerical advantage, if they launched a surprise attack, they should be able to subdue them easily enough.
[All of you move together as five.]
[As five?]
[Then do you think you can do it alone?]
[T, that’s not what I mean, but…]
[Do it as five.]
[Wait. Then are you, Yeom-ga, and Mo Ha-rang going to move together? If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better for us to support the three of you one or two at a time…]
[Why make it bothersome? We are enough even alone.]
[……..]
Well, they had reached the peak realm, so they should be able to handle someone at around first-rate level even by themselves.
It was no different from a puppy worrying about a tiger.
The boys looked at one another and exchanged glances.
“Let’s do it.”
Then they opened the door.
* * *
As the door opened, the eyes of the two boys inside, who had been discussing how to gather group members, naturally turned toward it.
“Who is it?”
A handsome boy entered through the door.
The expression of one boy who recognized his face twisted.
“You…..”
The boy was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.
Because he had left such a strong impression from the iron-bead snatching battle, which had been the first gate, many of the boys would naturally remember Mok Gyeong-un.
One of the boys looked puzzled, then asked as if struck by a thought,
“Are you perhaps going around gathering group members?”
“Aaah. Something like that, I suppose.”
With those words, Mok Gyeong-un quietly closed the door.
Seeing this, one of the boys said without relaxing his frown,
“Hey. I have no intention of being in the same group as you.”
“Is that so?”
“So get out.”
“Hmm. That’s a problem.”
“What do you mean, a problem? Go find some bastards who actually want to be your group members. I have no intention of being with you…”
-Flash!
Before he could even finish speaking, Mok Gyeong-un moved in an instant, grabbed the boy by the head, and smashed him down onto the floor beside the bed.
-Thud!
“Urk!”
Then he seized the boy’s right arm, which was trying to resist, and simply,
-Crack!
wrenched it backward.
“Guhhh!”
The boy whose arm had broken tried to scream, but by then Mok Gyeong-un had already clamped a hand over his mouth, so only a groan of pain leaked out.
At this sight, the other boy, who had been sitting across from him, could not hide his shock.
Who would have expected an attack to come so suddenly, while they were off guard?
“W, what is the meaning of this?”
“What do you think it is?”
Mok Gyeong-un smiled brightly, then pressed his foot firmly onto the suffering boy’s left leg as well.
-Craaaack!
-Crack!
The ankle bent, and bone pierced through flesh.
“Guhhhhh!”
The boy’s eyes widened until they nearly seemed to split, blood vessels standing out, as he writhed in agony.
Then, unable to endure it, he lost consciousness.
Seeing Mok Gyeong-un do such a thing without even blinking, the other boy seemed afraid and hurriedly said,
“I, I’ll join your group. I’ll join, so ple…”
“It’s fine.”
“What?”
“We’ve already gathered all our group members. I only came to break your limbs.”
‘!?’
What the hell was wrong with this bastard?
Then from the beginning, his purpose had been to injure them.
For a moment the boy was dumbfounded, but he knew that if he did not flee at once, he would end up like that unconscious bastard, so,
-Flash!
he leaped toward the door.
But,
-Whack!
“Guhk!”
The body that had been flying toward the door suddenly bent backward and was yanked by something.
Then the back of his neck ended up seized in Mok Gyeong-un’s hand.
‘W, what the hell is this…?’
“I’ll make it painless.”
“W, what do you…”
-Tap tap tap tap tap!
Before he could even finish, the boy’s acupoints were struck, and he lost consciousness.
With the boy laid on the floor like that, Mok Gyeong-un then stomped down on his right ankle.
-Crack!
Because he had not merely been knocked unconscious but had his sleeping acupoint sealed, the boy did not wake even though his leg had broken.
Looking at such a boy, Mok Gyeong-un twitched his lips and muttered,
“Four.”
That was the number he had broken so far.
-Are you really thinking of breaking them all one by one?
Blue Spirit’s voice rang by Mok Gyeong-un’s ear.
To that question, Mok Gyeong-un answered as if it were nothing.
“Of course.”
Rather than drag the gate out and waste time, if he eliminated most of them now, there would be no need to go all the way to the later gates.
-Honestly, you wretched mortal. Tsk tsk.
Blue Spirit clicked her tongue.
To begin with, it was hard to even come up with such an idea, and even if one did, one would likely stop after targeting only a few troublesome people.
But Mok Gyeong-un’s way of thinking itself was different.
He intended to spend the time given for resting and choosing group leaders on eliminating all the trainees.
In a way, it could be said that the trainees of Corpse Blood Valley’s current intake had already become unfortunate the moment they wound up with Mok Gyeong-un.
“Now there are sixty-four left.”
There had originally been eighty in total.
Among them, four had been taken away as spies, four had their limbs broken by Mok Gyeong-un’s hand, and lastly there were the eight members of Mok Gyeong-un’s own group, including himself.
Excluding all of them, sixty-four remained.
* * *
Mok Yu-cheon was immersed in the samadhi of circulating qi.
After circulating qi for a long while and opening his eyes, for an instant there had been a strange aura in his gaze unlike his usual righteous energy.
But it soon vanished.
‘What was that just now?’
After circulating qi for a long time, Mok Yu-cheon had been swept up for a moment by a bizarre feeling.
Ordinarily, when he circulated qi, he felt his mind and body becoming clear, but just now he had been seized by a pleasure unlike anything he had ever experienced before.
The moment he surrendered his body to that pleasure, something astonishing had happened.
‘My qi suddenly surged.’
With a half-uncertain heart, Mok Yu-cheon checked his dantian.
‘!?’
Then his eyes widened.
Because he always circulated qi, he knew better than anyone how large his dantian normally was and how many years of internal energy he had accumulated.
But the size of his dantian had grown, if only slightly, beyond the usual.
‘This can’t be…’
What in the world had happened?
No matter how much it was an advancing cultivation method, could internal energy truly increase this quickly?
At this rate, if he continued circulating qi steadily, it seemed he could shorten by more than half the time it normally took him to gather power.
He had been about to feel pleased, but instead became uneasy.
For some reason, the strange pleasure he experienced for the first time while circulating qi made him anxious.
‘Is this really all right?’
Because it was so different from the basic arts, a baseless doubt rose in him.
Then he soon shook his head.
This was not just any art but an advancing cultivation method only the lord of Yeon Mok Sword Manor could learn.
Naturally it would differ clearly from the basic arts.
‘Right. There’s no way.’
He was worried, perhaps, that if he circulated qi incorrectly he might head down the path of an inner demon, but his mind was still upright and clear.
Therefore, he judged that as long as he did not waver, there would be no problem.
Just as he was about to begin circulating qi again,
-Knock knock!
someone knocked on the door.
“Who is it?”
There was no one who would be coming to find him right now.
While he was wondering, someone opened the door and came in.
‘Ah?’
It was a boy with looks mature enough to seem almost like a young man.
The only thing on his face that might be called a flaw was his narrow, sharp eyes, but apart from that he was rather handsome.
‘This bastard is…’
It was a face he had seen before.
That was only natural, because in the second gate, after losing his companions and fleeing separately, there had been a time he fell into danger.
This was the friend who had appeared then while leading a group and helped him.
His name was surely…
“Mu Jang-yak!”
“Hello. I’m surprised you remembered.”
“You saved my life. How could I fail to remember?”
Mok Yu-cheon rose from his seat and greeted him with clasped fists.
Then Mu Jang-yak waved his hand dismissively and said,
“That’s enough. Why act so out of place and stand on such ceremony between people of the same age? Just greet me like a friend.”
“Even so, if it hadn’t been for you, I…”
He truly might have lost his life right there.
So he was sincerely grateful.
Looking at Mok Yu-cheon with interested eyes, Mu Jang-yak said,
“You… but your complexion doesn’t look too good.”
“My complexion?”
At that, Mok Yu-cheon wanted to inspect his own face, but this room literally contained only two beds, so there was no way for him to check.
“Is it that bad?”
“You seem to have a bit of a brown tint?”
“Brown?”
At those words, Mok Yu-cheon furrowed his brow.
This time he had practiced the Wood-Transforming Heart Cultivation Method without stopping midway, and it seemed that side effect had come up again.
It bothered him, but since there was nothing he could do about it at once, Mok Yu-cheon shook his head and said,
“It’s fine. Maybe it’s just because I’m very tired.”
“If it’s only that, then that’s a relief.”
“But why are you here?”
At Mok Yu-cheon’s question, Mu Jang-yak closed the door and then said with a somewhat serious expression,
“A bit of a problem came up.”
“A problem?”
“There was a friend who had agreed to be in the same group as me. We had planned to meet in the evening after circulating qi. But he never came, so I went to his room and found him unconscious with a broken leg.”
“What?”
What in the world was that supposed to mean?
To the puzzled Mok Yu-cheon, Mu Jang-yak said in a meaningful tone,
“On a hunch, I checked a few other rooms, and there too I found bastards with broken legs.”
“Don’t tell me…”
“It seems someone has stirred things up.”
“Why would anyone do such a thing?”
“It’s rather absurd, but I think they’re trying to reduce the number of competitors as much as possible in advance.”
“By breaking all their legs?”
“Probably. There’s a ban on killing, but there isn’t any restriction saying they can’t injure each other.”
“Ha!”
At that, Mok Yu-cheon clicked his tongue.
It truly seemed there was no such thing as fairness in this place.
Everyone was desperate to strike someone in the back whenever they had the chance.
“Insane…”
“Yes. He certainly seems like a madman. So because of this, I came to make you an offer.”
“An offer?”
“Have you already found a group? Or are you thinking of becoming a group leader?”
At Mu Jang-yak’s question, Mok Yu-cheon shook his head.
Since he had no greed to become a group leader anyway, he had simply been circulating qi with the thought of joining any group.
At this, Mu Jang-yak gave a faint smile and said,
“If you haven’t found a group yet, would you like to join mine?”
“What?”
“Unfortunate as it is, I think the friend who had been in the same group as you got taken away as a spy?”
“……….”
At these words, Mok Yu-cheon closed his mouth.
Apparently he had seen that.
Then Mu Jang-yak waved one hand and said,
“Aaah. I’m not suspecting you. If I were, I wouldn’t have made an offer like this in the first place. Besides, I made you the same offer back then too.”
“Yes. You did.”
After saving him, Mu Jang-yak had once offered him the vacant spot in his group.
But back then, he had refused, saying he needed to stay with the scattered members of his original group.
This time, however, the situation was different.
“I…”
“In truth, it’d be better for you to become a group member. Because of that mad bastard’s actions, I already told all the group members to gather in one room.”
“Ah…”
“That way we can protect each other’s safety. So, what do you say?”
At Mu Jang-yak’s rational proposal, Mok Yu-cheon quickly saw no reason to refuse.
No matter that he had reached the peak realm, there were several trainees among whom he had seen bastards at a similar level, so he could not let his guard down.
In that sense, as Mu Jang-yak said, perhaps it would be better to stay with them.
“All right. If you’ll have me, I’ll do my best.”
At Mok Yu-cheon’s words, Mu Jang-yak extended his hand.
“No, I’m the one who should be grateful. To have someone as outstanding as you with us.”
-Clasp!
Thus the two of them clasped hands.
But the moment their hands met, Mok Yu-cheon inwardly could not hide his surprise.
‘…….This bastard.’
He had not realized it before, but the qi he felt from that hand was, if anything, above his own, and absolutely not weaker.
He had learned this because the other had also revealed his qi for an instant, perhaps to gauge his level as well.
“As expected, you’re strong.”
“So are you.”
At Mu Jang-yak’s words, Mok Yu-cheon nodded and agreed that the same was true.
Then he asked in puzzlement,
“But are you left-handed?”
The hand Mu Jang-yak had extended was not his right hand but his left.
At Mok Yu-cheon’s question, Mu Jang-yak let out a short laugh and said,
“Who knows.”
* * *
Thus one night passed.
Early in the morning at the beginning of the Dragon Hour.
The time for choosing group leaders and group members had ended, and it was time to gather in the square behind the lodging area.
Someone knocked hurriedly on the door of the Corpse Blood Valley Master’s office.
-Bang bang!
-Valley Master! Valley Master!
At that knocking, the senior martial artist assisting at his side said,
“It seems they are ready.”
“So it seems. Enter.”
Soon a young martial artist wearing a red belt hurriedly entered.
From the stiff expression on the martial artist’s face, the senior martial artist sensed that something was strange and asked,
“What is it?”
“W, well, a bit of a problem… no, a very serious problem has arisen.”
“A problem?”
“I think you need to go to the square at once.”
What in the world had happened for him to be like this?
Wondering, Yi Ji-yeom, the Corpse Blood Valley Master, nodded and rose from his seat.
Thus Yi Ji-yeom and the senior martial artist left the office, following the young martial artist.
In any case, they had to confirm who had become the group leaders and proceed with how the sword formation test, the third gate, would be conducted.
So they went to the rear of the lodging building, and then,
‘!?’
The Corpse Blood Valley Master Yi Ji-yeom and the senior martial artist both halted where they stood in utter disbelief.
That was only natural, because there were only sixteen people outside.
There were only exactly two groups.
The senior martial artist frowned and asked the martial artist,
“Why are only these bastards out here?”
“T, that’s…”
“Speak quickly.”
Pressed by the senior martial artist, the martial artist looked awkwardly toward the lodging area and said,
“All the rest have broken legs and cannot participate in this gate.”
“What?”
For an instant, the senior martial artist doubted his own ears.
All of the ones who had not come out had broken legs?
“What are you talking about?”
“…….We checked a few rooms, and truly, all the ones who couldn’t come out had broken legs.”
“What in the world…”
The senior martial artist was dumbfounded, but unlike him, the gaze visible through the slit of Yi Ji-yeom’s mask turned toward someone standing in the square with his hands clasped behind his back.
That person was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.
Yi Ji-yeom recalled the words he had spoken yesterday.
[Would it be all right if I reduced the number of people a little?]
He had wondered whether there were perhaps some people in the gate he wanted to check or restrain.
Well, if it was something like that,
[If you keep to the restrictions, it will not be a serious problem.]
[Hooh. Then that is fortunate.]
he had said, but to think the bastard had caused trouble on this level.
‘This is what he called a little?’