Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 98 - Treasure Vault (1)
Chapter 98 – Treasure Vault (1)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Mok Gyeong-un inwardly could not hide his surprise at the quantity of bookshelves surrounding the whole cavern and the amount of secret manuals that filled them.
Leaving martial arts aside, it seemed this was the first time in his life he had seen such a quantity of books.
And to think all of these were secret manuals.
Some kind of sword art, some kind of blade art, some kind of palm art, some kind of cultivation method…
There were so many that it was hard even to get a sense of what he ought to touch first.
‘One shijin…’
Before seeing this place, he had thought they had given him quite a generous amount of time.
But now that he saw the vast quantity of martial texts, he felt that the time might not be generous after all.
Then Blue Spirit’s voice rang by his ear.
-All of them are nothing but useless things.
“Pardon?”
Mok Gyeong-un replied in a whisper.
Then she said,
-All the things stuck around here are secret manuals that only bastards aiming from third-rate to, at best, first-rate would covet.
“Is that so?”
-Can you not see it at a glance?
“I can’t see it at a glance at all.”
-……..Well, of course a mortal who only just entered the gate would have no eye for such things.
Blue Spirit clicked her tongue as she said this.
But this was not because Mok Gyeong-un was at fault.
It was only because he had grown at a speed incomparable to ordinary martial talents thanks to his various strokes of fortune, his unimaginable memory, and the body that could embody it all. If one considered how recently he had entered martial arts, there was no way his eye could already be broad.
-You should be grateful to me, mortal.
“Should I?”
-With your pitiful eye, you would have no way of distinguishing even the somewhat usable martial arts.
“Well, that’s true enough.”
Mok Gyeong-un admitted it quickly.
At his answer, Blue Spirit lost her momentum.
In truth, from Mok Gyeong-un’s standpoint, there was no reason to put on pride over something like this.
“Will you pick them out for me?”
-Did I not say so? Because with your eye you would do nothing but dither forever, I will choose the usable ones for you.
“That is indeed something to be grateful for.”
-For now, go up to the upper floor.
“Upper floor?”
Was there such a thing as an upper floor here?
As he was wondering, Blue Spirit spoke.
-Can you not tell from the way the bookshelves reach the ceiling?
“Ah.”
Looking closely, there were supports between the bookshelves that one could walk on, at a height of roughly the second or third floor.
But from the way she had been speaking for some time, it sounded as though she knew this place’s structure very well.
So as he moved, Mok Gyeong-un asked,
“Have you been here before?”
-As if.
“But you seem to know it rather well. Seeing as you’re telling me to go upward without even properly looking through the secret manuals.”
How could she be telling him to go up when she did not know what was there?
At this, Blue Spirit let out a short laugh and said,
-Looking at the structure here, it seems they copied the treasure vault of the main stronghold exactly.
“The main stronghold?”
-Yes. There is also a treasure vault in the main stronghold. Judging by what I see, it seems they made copies of the secret manuals there and brought them here.
“Ah. Is that so? It seems bothersome, given that not even a few people would properly get to see them.”
He felt that it would have been enough just to bring only the decent secret manuals.
At that, Blue Spirit let out a snort and said,
-Ha! If you do not know, then simply keep quiet.
“Pardon?”
-The fact that they dug into a cliff in a deep mountain like this and made a treasure vault of copied texts rather than keeping them in the main stronghold means they were likely preparing for a contingency.
“A contingency?”
-It would be preparation against a possible invasion, would it not?
“An invasion? In case the main stronghold might be attacked?”
-Yes. Think about it. No matter how powerful a force of murim may be, there have been countless cases where, in the flow of years like the order of nature, it weakens and collapses as it passes down to later generations.
“Ah. So they made copies in advance?”
-That would be it. If the main stronghold were to fall, then naturally the proper course would be to burn or destroy the treasure vault so that it would not fall into the enemy’s hands.
“Destroying it would be easy, but moving or guarding it would be difficult, so they prepared in advance.”
-Yes. I do not know whose idea it was, but it is a decent strategy.
“It is.”
Mok Gyeong-un nodded as though he agreed.
Because he had come to understand to some extent how terribly martial artists cherished and coveted secret manuals of martial arts, he recognized this as a great asset to them, and from that point of view, considering that it would be impossible to move this enormous treasure vault all at once, it was the correct choice.
-Creak.
“……It seems they didn’t manage it as much as I expected.”
The wooden frame leading upward creaked and shook.
Unlike the main stronghold, the treasure vault inside Corpse Blood Valley was not something used often, so perhaps that was why.
-What are you going to do?
“What do you think I’m going to do?”
-With your nature, you won’t be satisfied with one or two things you need.
“Since I’ve come this far, it’d be good to look over things that might be useful in all sorts of ways.”
At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Blue Spirit gave a short laugh.
His memory, which surpassed imagination, was helpful anywhere, but in a situation like this it was truly the best.
‘This is fortunate, since I was curious.’
Blue Spirit had been curious about what the limit of Mok Gyeong-un’s memory was, given that he could perfectly memorize something after seeing it once.
It seemed good to confirm now how much he could memorize.
As that was happening, below, near the entrance to the treasure vault, Unit Leader Yang Mu-won, the keeper of the treasure vault, was about to light incense and measure the time, but looked at Mok Gyeong-un with a puzzled expression.
‘That bastard…’
How had he gone straight up there?
In the lowermost shelves of the treasure vault there were in fact secret texts suitable for basic arts and for martial artists from third-rate to around first-rate.
It was from the second-floor shelves that the genuine things began, but the moment he entered he had barely cast any glance at the lower level and climbed up.
‘Hmm.’
To anyone watching, it might have looked as if he had come here several times before.
Puzzled, Unit Leader Yang Mu-won soon decided not to concern himself with it.
In any case, his duty was to keep the treasure vault, and all he needed to watch for was whether the child tried to smuggle out an unauthorized secret text.
Then,
‘Did he find something usable?’
Yang Mu-won saw Mok Gyeong-un pull out one secret manual from the shelf.
No matter how good one’s eyesight became through internal energy, at that distance it was impossible to tell exactly what he had drawn out.
However, from the second floor onward there were quite a number of advanced martial arts.
Since there were secret manuals intended for those aiming beyond the peak realm, whatever he chose would benefit the bastard.
-Flip flip flip flip flip!
Mok Gyeong-un could be seen turning the pages as though skimming the manual.
He was flipping quickly, but if he looked at it like that, could he really properly read what was written inside?
Then after skimming through the whole book, he simply put it back in the shelf.
‘Hm?’
Had the bastard even read it properly?
Why was he skimming through it so quickly?
Even if he had only one shijin, if he had an eye good enough to come straight to the second floor, then he could still choose carefully starting there…
-Thud!
Mok Gyeong-un pulled out another secret manual.
Then, just as before, he turned the pages with astonishing speed, the paper whispering.
‘…….What is he doing?’
At that speed, he was not skimming it at all. He was just turning the pages.
Could he even know what was in it by reading like that?
But Yang Mu-won was not the only one thinking this.
‘This bastard?’
Was he really examining them properly?
He was turning the pages so quickly that it was not even skimming. It was closer to opening the book and instantly flipping onward.
Blue Spirit asked just in case,
-Mortal. Are you really memorizing it? If you turn it that quickly…
-Flip! Flip! Flip! Thud!
At once Mok Gyeong-un closed the final page of the manual and whispered,
“Yes. Naturally I’m memorizing it.”
-!?
He was… memorizing it?
No matter how good one’s memory was, surely one had to read the writing to some degree in order to memorize it.
To Blue Spirit’s eyes, Mok Gyeong-un was not even skimming it. He simply opened it and immediately turned to the next page.
And yet,
“If I’m not trying to understand it immediately, then just looking at it is enough for it to be memorized.”
-What?
At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Blue Spirit was for a moment left speechless.
He read the contents almost in passing, no, at a level closer to merely seeing them, and yet he had memorized it all?
For an instant she found it absurd.
Even she, though her memory as a vengeful spirit differed from a human’s, could not have done that.
‘……..That memory is beyond words.’
She had already thought his memory was absurd, but this had gone beyond human limits.
To her, who was too stunned to speak, Mok Gyeong-un asked,
“What other usable secret manual is there?”
-Another? You truly…
“Truly what?”
For a moment she nearly asked whether he was even human.
His ability to accept the aura of death, and now this memory as well, were not merely better than an ordinary human’s but transcendent.
Though it was odd for a vengeful spirit like herself to say it, he truly did not feel human.
After staring fixedly at Mok Gyeong-un, Blue Spirit regained herself and said,
-N…ext… ah? Why is that there?
“What are you looking at?”
-Yes, there where you’re looking. Look at the third lower shelf on the right.
“Profound Flow Kick Art?”
Since it said leg method, it seemed to be a martial art that used the feet.
Blue Spirit said to Mok Gyeong-un,
-It is the kicking art of a sect called Bright Flow Kick Sect. It was offered by a sect that joined the Heaven and Earth Society in its early days. It is a kicking art marked by speed and change, and if a little were refined, it would be worthy of classification as a top-grade advanced martial art.
“Top-grade advanced?”
According to Blue Spirit, martial arts that could aim at the peak realm or the transcendently high realm were called advanced martial arts.
And martial arts that held the possibility and enlightenment to look beyond even the transcendently high realm should be classified as top-grade advanced martial arts.
So if this was top-grade advanced martial art,
“Then why is this here?”
She had said it would only be on the third floor.
At this question, even Blue Spirit muttered as though she did not understand.
-Who knows? There is no way to know. To begin with, I classified the Profound Flow Kick Art as a top-grade advanced martial art and placed it on the third floor.
But the fact that it had come down meant,
‘……..That bastard.’
That possibility was not impossible.
He had denied and overturned all that she had done.
Letting out a scornful snort, she said,
-In any case, it would be better for you to memorize the Profound Flow Kick Art. I guarantee you that throughout the Heaven and Earth Society, it would be difficult to find a kicking art of this level.
It was just that diverse in changes and swift in speed, making it especially suitable for fighting empty-handed.
At those words, Mok Gyeong-un flipped through the Profound Flow Kick Art and memorized it.
Blue Spirit clicked her tongue as though no matter how many times she saw it, she could not get used to it.
His memory was truly insane.
He could memorize nearly an entire volume in the time it took to count to about fifteen.
-Flip! Thud!
“What’s next?”
-The fifth one below on the right.
“Yes.”
At this rate, it seemed he might be able to memorize dozens, no, hundreds of volumes before leaving.
She was not sure whether there was really any need to memorize that much, but if he knew them, it would certainly become a chance for his eye for martial arts to grow much broader.
Had there not once been an imperial official named Hwang Sang in ancient times, who merely by reading thousands of Taoist secret texts had opened the Governor and Conception Meridians, reached an orthodox understanding concerning qi, and become a peerless master?
Each secret manual contained its own enlightenment, so if the mortal bastard really had talent, there would surely be things for him to gain.
-Flip! Flip! Thud!
“Next.”
She truly could not get used to it.
It was instantaneous.
-The one next to it… hmm.
“What’s wrong? Is there another martial art like the Profound Flow Kick Art?”
-No, not that. The Taiji Soft Palm there is a palm art of the Wudang Sect.
“Wudang Sect? Is that place also a sect?”
-…….Every time, I am reminded of the limits of your knowledge.
He truly knew too little about murim.
So Blue Spirit said,
-The Wudang Sect is a place that may be called the highest peak of Taoist martial arts, a sect that is called not merely famous but the greatest even within the righteous path.
“It sounds like a tremendous place.”
-Yes. It is not one of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang for nothing.
“What is the Nine Great Sects and One Gang?”
-There is no time to explain each thing one by one, so to speak roughly, among the righteous path there are nine sects and one gang called the greatest. The Wudang Sect is one of them.
“I see. Then it would be better to memorize this too.”
-No. In truth, I was about to tell you not to memorize it.
At that, Mok Gyeong-un asked in puzzlement,
“Why? If it is a martial art from such a tremendous place…”
-Naturally it would be useful. However, the Taoist line of martial arts may instead become… hm.
“What is it?”
-I worry it may become poison for you.
“Poison?”
-Most of the aura occupying your body is the aura of death. But Taoist martial arts are based on the current of nurturing life. Therefore, if you learn them carelessly, they may clash with the death aura, and that is why I hesitated.
“Ah, so that is it.”
It seemed natural enough that Blue Spirit would hesitate.
If that was the case, then perhaps it would be better not to memorize it, but,
“…….Still, I’ll memorize it.”
-What? There is no need…
“No. How do we know whether there may be a time to make use of it?”
-A time to make use of it?
“Didn’t Blue Spirit tell me before?”
-Tell you what?
“That only from wounds or traces left by martial arts, one can tell which sect they belong to or what line they come from.”
-I did say that.
“Then if I make good use of this too, wouldn’t it be possible?”
-You can’t possibly mean…
Mok Gyeong-un smiled brightly.
Seeing that, Blue Spirit clicked her tongue inwardly.
Whenever this bastard learned something, the direction in which he thought to use it was always something others would never even imagine.
He truly was the sort who should never be made into an enemy.
So while Mok Gyeong-un pulled out the secret manual of the Wudang Sect’s Taiji Soft Palm,
“Uh… hmm?”
he looked at the book and found it strange.
That was because part of the secret manual was dark red, as if stained with blood.
Moreover, the manual seemed rather old.
So Mok Gyeong-un asked,
“Didn’t you say they only gathered copies?”
At Mok Gyeong-un’s question, even Blue Spirit felt there was something strange.
The book in Mok Gyeong-un’s hand seemed no matter how she looked at it…
-…….like the original.