Translator: FenrirTL
Editor/Quality Checker: Saphartlantis
Murim Term Consultant: Kopke
========================
Chapter 363: In the martial world, my heart was the most impatient
Geom Mugeuk returned to the safe house.
Bih Sa-in had been anxiously waiting the whole time for his return.
“How did it go?”
Bih Sa-in was dying to know how the meeting between Geom Mugeuk and the Unorthodox Alliance Leader had gone. He was so curious he felt like grabbing him by the collar and shaking him until he talked.
“Let me catch my breath first. It’s not just anyone—I just came back from meeting that terrifying Alliance Leader. Let me drink some water.”
“As if you were ever scared. What happened?”
Bih Sa-in, frustrated, limped after Geom Mugeuk.
“Soon you’ll be using light footwork again.”
“I’m in pain, damn it. So stop teasing and just tell me what happened.”
After drinking his water with relief, Geom Mugeuk turned to Bih Sa-in.
“As you can see, I didn’t come back all beaten up.”
“So? What did the Alliance Leader say when you explained? Did he trust us?”
“He’s half-and-half.”
Of course, it would have been better if the Alliance Leader had trusted him completely, but considering the current situation was so much against him, he thought being believed halfway was fortunate.
Still, it was Geom Mugeuk who went—how could he not have done well? He believed in him. If he couldn't believe in this man, who else could he trust? He truly believed Geom Mugeuk had explained everything better than he ever could have.
“How was the Alliance Leader? Was he hurt anywhere?”
Bih Sa-in’s voice trembled slightly.
From his rough expression, one could feel how much he worried about his master.
“The Alliance Leader is safe, so don’t worry.”
Only then did Bih Sa-in let out a breath of relief. Now that Hyeok Sagun was clearly confirmed as the enemy, it was impossible not to worry. Deep down, he wanted to rush to his master's side right away, but reality didn’t allow for that—such was his regret.
“You’ve done well. Rest now.”
He wanted to ask, ‘Did the Alliance Leader say anything about me?’ but couldn’t bring himself to say the words.
If he heard, “Nothing was mentioned,” it would sting for no reason. Of course, it was natural since his innocence hadn’t been fully cleared yet. That’s just how people’s hearts worked.
Just as Bih Sa-in was about to turn away, Geom Mugeuk said the words he had been desperately waiting for.
“There was something the Alliance Leader told me to tell you.”
Bih Sa-in turned back in surprise. His heart swelled with a mix of hope and fear.
“What did he say?”
Staring straight at Bih Sa-in, Geom Mugeuk relayed the Alliance Leader’s words exactly.
“Don’t get used to it.”
At first, Bih Sa-in didn’t understand and tilted his head slightly.
“That’s what the Alliance Leader told me to tell you. He said you’d know when you heard it.”
“‘Don’t get used to it’? ‘Don’t get used to it’...”
The moment he repeated those words, Bih Sa-in flinched. The instant he remembered when he had heard those words before, a storm of emotion surged across his face.
“The Alliance Leader wishes for your swift recovery.”
He could have said ‘must have wished’, but Baek Jagang was clearly worried about Bih Sa-in. Since he could feel that much, no explanation was needed.
“Thank you.”
Bih Sa-in felt it. That Geom Mugeuk had gone alone had been the best possible outcome. The words spoken by his master proved it. If the Alliance Leader had been displeased, he would never have said something like that.
Bih Sa-in returned to his room.
Once inside, he took the medicine he had cooled beforehand.
The day when the Alliance Leader had said those words came back to him. That day, too, he had been in a room filled with the smell of medicine like this.
It had been the day he returned from a mission outside the alliance, injured. Back then, he was still only a trusted disciple of the Alliance Leader, and the failure had been more of a blow to his heart than to his body.
The Alliance Leader had come to the medical room.
Standing by his bedside, the Alliance Leader had spoken.
—Don’t get used to failure.
That moment came back to him vividly. The moment his master looked at him and spoke those words.
—If you get used to failure, your life becomes third-rate.
At those words, tears had burst from his eyes.
More than gratitude that the Alliance Leader had come to see him, it was the shame of having failed the mission that consumed his heart. That overwhelming shame that dulled reason—that’s the age he had been.
—Are you frustrated?
—Yes.
He had wiped away his tears and tried to sit up.
—I’ll go back and succeed. This time, I’ll definitely make it.
Then, his master gently forced him to lie down again and said this:
—Who wouldn’t be frustrated after losing? But listen, if you act out just because you’re frustrated, that too makes you third-rate.
—Then how do I become first-rate? How can I keep winning?
Instead of replying with words, his master had fed him the medicine sitting nearby and changed his bandages.
He hadn’t understood it back then. But now he thought he finally did.
Don’t get swept away by emotion—take care of your body first. It’s not about drawing your sword; it’s about rewrapping the bandages. When you learn to calmly manage your emotions and care for yourself, only then can you become first-rate. That was the answer his master had given, shown through the act of wrapping his wounds. 1
“Ah! Master.”
Back then, he hadn’t grasped the deeper meaning. All he had felt was shame and frustration and the desperate desire to complete the mission.
Just like now. He felt the exact same way now. Hurry, hurry, hurry. I have to go defeat them. I have to go prove my innocence to the Alliance Leader.
Realizing that the emotions he was feeling now were no different from the impatient emotions of his youth sent chills down his spine.
“Master!”
Tears welled up and spilled over. That day, he cried out of frustration. But today, he cried because he missed his master. He cried because his master had remembered a day that he himself had long forgotten. He cried out of overwhelming gratitude. He cried out of deep regret.
Slowly, Bih Sa-in unraveled his bandages and applied new medicine. As he calmly examined his wounds, the fight from that day came back to him, and new ideas arose—how he should have fought, what he should have done.
Even without charging in like a madman out of anger, the wounds told him how he could become first-rate.
“……Master.”
Bih Sa-in slowly wrapped new bandages around his wounds.
* * *
Baek Jagang was silently seated on the Dark Tyrant Throne in the Alliance Leader’s Hall.
Since returning from his meeting with Geom Mugeuk, he had been deeply thinking about one person.
Geom Woojin.
That was what it felt like—meeting Geom Mugeuk had felt like this.
To be honest, it hadn’t felt like meeting Geom Mugeuk, but rather Geom Woojin.
It was as if Geom Woojin had extended his sword not to ask, “What do you think of my swordsmanship?” but “What do you think of my child?”
Naturally, the image of Geom Mugeuk came to mind.
―Please, buy me a meal.
He wondered whether Bih Sa-in could really handle such an absurd fellow. Someone needed to knock him down a peg.
Of course, that would only be the case if, as Geom Mugeuk had said, Hyeok Sagun was truly the one behind all of this.
Just then, from the void above, the voice of the escort leader, Ingung, rang out.
“Hyeok Sagun has arrived.”
“Let him in.”
Moments later, Hyeok Sagun entered the hall.
Baek Jagang silently observed the man approaching him with those small but proud eyes of his.
“How long has it been since you joined the Alliance?”
“This year marks the seventeenth year.”
“How long have you been acting as Chief Strategist?”
“It’s been almost two years now.”
“Already?”
Hyeok Sagun sensed that Baek Jagang was different than usual. But he didn’t find it strange.
In times like these, wouldn’t it be stranger if he were acting exactly the same as always?
“Where have you been? I came to see you earlier and was told you’d left the Alliance grounds.”
“Went out to eat for the first time in a while.”
Hyeok Sagun knew well that Baek Jagang had a favorite stall he frequented.
“The situation is getting dangerous. Please be careful for the time being.”
He had been keeping an eye on the Alliance Leader’s movements. But when he moved as discreetly as today, accompanied only by the escort leader, there was no helping the fact that he lost track.
Hyeok Sagun was displeased. Everything should have been falling neatly into place under his control, but unexpected developments kept popping up—and that wouldn’t do.
“I’ve identified the one who ordered the surprise attack on the safe house.”
This was the very matter Geom Mugeuk had urged him to monitor carefully.
“Who was it?”
“It was the Division Leader of the Extreme Forces Brigade.”
At those words, Baek Jagang’s qi exploded from his body like a detonation. Normally composed, he openly revealed his fury for all to see.
The Extreme Forces Brigade.
The elite corps under the direct command of the Alliance Leader.
Yaryuhan, the former Division Leader, had ‘stepped down’, and the newly appointed leader, Beoncheon, was someone well known for his exceptional loyalty to Baek Jagang.
‘He’s naming Beoncheon?’
If Beoncheon was implicated, it would be the same as having his right arm cut off. At the very least, what Geom Mugeuk had said was proving to be true. He’s going to use this as a chance to take down his political enemies, just as he had warned.
“Where’s the evidence?”
“Right here. The Dark Cult was behind it.”
Hyeok Sagun climbed the stairs and handed over the documents to Baek Jagang.
He was far too calm for someone branded a traitor. There wasn't even a shiver in his ear. That meant either he wasn’t lying—or he was someone this kind of instinct didn’t work on.
After handing over the evidence, Hyeok Sagun returned to his place and bowed his head with an expression of guilt.
“It seems the Young Leader has fallen to the Demonic Cult’s Young Cult Leader.”
Had he not met with Geom Mugeuk beforehand, he would have received this report with a different heart.
With the evidence so clear, would he not have suspected that Bih Sa-in had been framed?
He doubted it. He would have better believed that Bih Sa-in had fallen under the sway of Geom Mugeuk.
The thought gave him chills.
Whether it was that Hyeok Sagun had betrayed them, or that Geom Mugeuk had wrongly accused Hyeok Sagun of treachery.
Of course, Baek Jagang still stood in the middle. It was still entirely possible this was all part of a grand scheme by the Demonic Cult.
“What do you think we should do?”
“He should be stripped of his position as Division Leader and removed from the Extreme Forces Brigade.”
“Do that. But only after I meet with the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.”
“As you wish. Then, I shall take my leave.”
Just as Hyeok Sagun bowed politely and turned to leave, Baek Jagang spoke.
“I still can’t believe it. That Sa-in would side with the Demonic Cult.”
“Nor can I.”
“Prepare a report with your recommendation on who should be chosen as the next successor.”
“Understood.”
A faint smile formed on Hyeok Sagun’s face as he turned and walked away.
But of course, he didn’t realize it.
That the eyes Baek Jagang had fixed on his back were not those of an Alliance Leader, but of the Death King, holding scales and watching to see which way they would tip.
* * *
Geom Mugeuk stood on the cliff behind the main division of the Unorthodox Alliance.
He looked down into the endless depths—and without hesitation, hurled himself from the cliff’s edge.
Shhhhhk.
He plummeted fast. Like he’d blacked out, he let his body fall completely unguarded. No matter how skilled he was, falling from this height without resistance would only lead to death.
He took on this absurdly dangerous challenge to see how the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique would react in such a situation.
‘Body Protection Technique, if I fall like this, I’ll die. Are you just going to let it happen?’
Geom Mugeuk believed in the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique.
But it didn’t activate. Was it trusting him? Or could it tell this wasn’t a true crisis? Or maybe it only saved his life after he crashed and was half-dead?
It was time to activate his internal energy and use light footwork.
Geom Mugeuk held out until the very end.
‘I’m really going to die like this!’
And just then, at the very last moment—
His inner energy stirred on its own.
Whiiirr.
His body twisted in midair, uprighted itself, and his limbs moved of their own accord.
Using the Heavenly Demon Flight Technique which had already reached Ten Star Greatness, he rapidly slowed his fall and soon landed lightly on the ground. The perfected Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique had moved on its own.
“Whew.”
Geom Mugeuk let out a sigh of relief.
“You bastard, I almost died from the shock.”
But then, Geom Mugeuk let out a cheer. He had smiled in front of Baek Jagang too, but that had barely been a tenth of the joy he was feeling now.
At the bottom of the cliff, Geom Mugeuk jumped up and down with excitement.
“This is the martial art of the Heavenly Demon!”
His voice echoed powerfully across the air. No matter what kind of life he had lived before the regression, Geom Mugeuk was still a martial artist. And nothing brought greater joy to a martial artist than the full mastery of martial arts. Especially when that martial art was none other than the exclusive technique of the Heavenly Demon—the joy was indescribable.
Now that he had reached the stage of mastery, even if he fell into a deep sleep, he would wake up instinctively at the slightest sense of killing intent. In moments of danger, the technique would react more decisively to protect him.
And beyond that, there were surely other benefits of reaching mastery he hadn’t even experienced yet.
“From now on, I’m counting on you, Body Protection Technique.”
His father once said—
That once you reach mastery of the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique, you would never die.
That meant he had gained another life.
He also believed that the mastery of the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique would have a positive influence on the Nine Calamities Demon Art. The two arts were fundamentally very closely related.
Now, only the Twelve Star Greatness of the Nine Calamities Demon Art remained.
If only he could bring forth the Heavenly Demon Spirit before his eyes. Not the ten-star version, but one that had reached twelve-star mastery.
To reach that moment, he had to push the realm of the Heavenly Time Secret Art even further. As things stood, there simply wasn’t enough time.
Step by step, I’m moving forward like this.
Was it because he had achieved full mastery of the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique? For some reason, he missed his father more than ever today.
If he could tell his father that he had achieved mastery, his father would probably say, “Shall we put it to the test?” and ball up his fist. And even if he got hit by that monstrous fist—it would be worth it.
Father, I miss you!
* * *
The next day, Geom Mugeuk left the safe house to meet the Alliance Leader.
“Be careful.”
“Your eyes are really swollen.”
“There you go again with nonsense! We don’t know what Hyeok Sagun may have plotted!”
“It’s not that we don’t know—he’s already done it. He’s probably handed over evidence to the Alliance Leader claiming that you and I plotted this scheme together. That way, he can drive you away from me.”
Bih Sa-in let out a small sigh.
“If I could go, I would’ve followed you.”
He wanted to see the Alliance Leader. Ever since he had first met Baek Jagang, he had never longed to see him this much.
“Don’t rush. The enemy spent decades carefully crafting this scheme. Don’t try to catch up all at once.”
Bih Sa-in could see that Geom Mugeuk and Baek Jagang shared something in common.
The more critical the moment, the more they tried to stay calm. They didn’t look for answers elsewhere. They trusted themselves—and found the answer within.
“If there’s a chance, please tell the Alliance Leader for me. Tell him I’ll live as he instructed me to.”
“I will.”
And with that, Geom Mugeuk left the safe house.
Bih Sa-in didn’t go back to his room but stood there watching him walk away.
That was when Monster Evil came and stood beside Bih Sa-in.
“Don’t be too anxious. Your chance will come soon, Young Leader.”
“It’s fine if it doesn’t. Just two days ago, I had the most impatient heart in all of the martial world. But now, I’m no longer in a hurry.”
Not understanding what he meant, Monster Evil looked at him curiously.
Bih Sa-in offered him a calm smile.
“Because right now isn’t the time to draw my sword—it’s the time to wrap bandages. And a sword drawn by someone who’s wrapped bandages will be far more terrifying.” 2
1 : Only by creating a solid foundation can you improve. Don’t let impulsive decisions dictated by others ruin your path.
2 : Yes, because you will have taken the time to collect yourself and sharpened your will.