WeTried Translations
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Editor: Abstract
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Episode 39: The Grandmaster's Title (6)
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At Mumu's casual words, all three stood there stunned.
The Eastern River Sword Sage was injured and in the infirmary?
No one could fail to understand what that meant.
Though they were enemies, Kang Mu-i and the Eastern River Sword Sage's disciples, Yeong Ga-dong and Yeong Chu-seo, all wore the same expression.
Their first reaction was shock.
'...Master lost to that bastard?'
'The Eastern River Sword Sage lost?'
It was not just anyone. One of the Four Immortal Masters, said to stand at the peak of the current martial world, had been defeated.
That alone was enough to shake the entire martial world.
After the shock came denial.
"That's impossible! Master lost to the likes of you?"
Howling Sword Yeong Chu-seo, the most combative of them, shouted at Mumu.
The Eastern River Sword Sage was his master, but to Yeong Chu-seo, he was also an unshakable Mount Tai, someone he hoped to stand beside one day.
He could not believe that his master had lost to a mere seventeen-year-old.
"What's impossible about it?"
Mumu asked, tilting his head.
That only made Yeong Chu-seo even more exasperated. His face flushed red.
"How could a brat like you defeat him..."
"Chu-seo!"
Martial March Battle Sword Yeong Ga-dong sharply stopped him.
"Senior Brother? That bastard's absurd claim..."
"Enough!"
Yeong Chu-seo looked ready to rush in at once, but Yeong Ga-dong had already exchanged blows with Mumu. He knew his junior brother stood no chance against him.
And if Mumu had truly defeated the Eastern River Sword Sage, neither of them could possibly be a match for him.
Then Kang Mu-i spoke.
"...You defeated the Eastern River Sword Sage?"
He found it just as hard to believe.
From the beginning, Kang Mu-i had hardly expected Mumu to win. It had only been a desperate measure to escape the situation.
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
Gulp!
Kang Mu-i swallowed hard at Mumu's answer.
Was there a problem?
This was far beyond that.
'How can this be happening?'
The oppressive aura, which had exceeded expectations and stimulated Mumu's five senses, had made Kang Mu-i think there might be a brief exchange.
Still, he had naturally assumed the Eastern River Sword Sage would win.
Yet the result had been completely reversed.
The repercussions would be enormous.
Not immediately, but before long, word that Mumu had defeated the Eastern River Sword Sage would spread rapidly throughout the Central Plains.
They had not merely fought evenly. Mumu had won. It would only be a matter of time before Mumu was ranked among the Grandmasters.
'Damn it...'
If that happened, the head families of the House of the Eight Villains that had decided to follow Kang Mu-i would switch sides the moment they learned Mumu carried that person's blood.
Mumu had achieved what even that monstrous Mu Il had yet to prove.
'...No.'
While Kang Mu-i's thoughts twisted into a mess, Mumu narrowed his eyes and asked,
"But what are you doing right now?"
"What?"
"Didn't you agree to wait quietly?"
"Th-that..."
"Were you fighting?"
Kang Mu-i was at a loss for words.
What was he supposed to do?
Anxious and confused, his thoughts soon reached an answer he should never have considered.
'I need to get away from him.'
If he did not escape now, he might end up completely bound to Mumu.
Kang Mu-i stared at him.
Mumu looked fine on the surface, but he had fought one of the Four Immortal Masters. He must have suffered some degree of internal injury.
'This is my chance.'
Mumu still did not know Kang Mu-i's true strength.
With the power of the artifact Three Spirit Beasts, it would not be an exaggeration to say Kang Mu-i surpassed the Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice.
'I need to use thunder ki.'
The artifact Three Spirit Beasts allowed him to wield flame ki, cold ki, and thunder ki.
Of the three, thunder ki was by far the most useful.
It could scatter Force of ki and stiffen the muscles, paralyzing the body.
'I'll mix thunder ki into Force of ki at the tenth level, paralyze his body, then escape through the hole in the ceiling.'
Kang Mu-i formed his plan in an instant.
To carry it out, he quickly considered how to draw Mumu's attention away.
Kang Mu-i looked at Howling Sword Yeong Chu-seo and shouted,
"Hey! Are you trying to launch a surprise attack?"
"A surprise attack?"
Mumu naturally turned toward Yeong Chu-seo.
'He fell for it!'
Kang Mu-i did not miss that opening.
Crackle!
He launched a lightning-fast kick filled with thunder ki at Mumu.
The kick struck Mumu squarely in his thick neck.
Thud!
'Got him!'
The deception had worked.
But then,
'!?'
Crackle!
Kang Mu-i's eyes narrowed.
Thunder ki sparking with blue light should have entered Mumu's body, but Mumu showed no change in expression, as if he felt no pain at all. He only stared at Kang Mu-i as though asking what he thought he was doing.
'...No. The thunder ki definitely entered his body.'
Since the kick had landed cleanly, Mumu's muscles should have stiffened from the thunder ki.
Kang Mu-i assumed Mumu was simply angry about the surprise attack and hurried to leap toward the ceiling.
Whoosh!
At that moment,
Smack!
"Gah!"
Mumu's hand grabbed his ankle.
Startled, Kang Mu-i hurriedly tried to kick Mumu away and shake him off.
But,
Boom!
Mumu, still holding his ankle, slammed Kang Mu-i into the floor.
Kang Mu-i was driven spread-eagled into the black iron floor, air rushing out of his lungs.
The pain was one thing, but he understood one fact clearly.
Not even the energy of the Three Spirit Beasts had any effect on Mumu.
"What was that just now?"
'That?'
"It felt tingly."
Even masters on the level of the Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice could not afford to let their guard down against thunder ki.
Yet to Mumu, it had only felt tingly.
A deep sense of emptiness washed over Kang Mu-i.
'Where in the world did a monster like him come from?'
He could not understand it at all.
Compared to Mumu, even the one he had considered a monster seemed like nothing.
'...Neither that one... nor I... was the true owner?'
Kang Mu-i wore an utterly aggrieved expression before finally losing consciousness.
After knocking him out, Mumu released his ankle and looked at Howling Sword Yeong Chu-seo.
"Don't touch Kang Mu-i, as you promised."
'...What a monster.'
Yeong Chu-seo swallowed hard.
Kang Mu-i had seemed dangerous enough while wielding three opposing types of ki, but after watching Mumu knock him unconscious with a single slam, Yeong Chu-seo could no longer deny the truth.
The young man before him was a new Grandmaster of the martial world.
'Master...'
Yeong Chu-seo and his eldest senior brother Yeong Ga-dong could not hide their complicated feelings.
* * *
Rumors spread frighteningly fast.
In just one day, the rumor had swept through the entire academy.
The story that a new cadet, who supposedly had not even properly learned Martial Arts, had defeated the Eastern River Sword Sage, one of the Four Immortal Masters said to stand at the peak of the martial world, reached everyone's ears in a single day.
It was enough to shock every cadet at the academy.
[Didn't they say he hadn't learned Martial Arts?]
[Then how did someone who hadn't learned Martial Arts defeat the Eastern River Sword Sage?]
[A ton of people saw it.]
[Really?]
[And that guy has caused quite a stir since he entered the academy.]
[Caused a stir?]
[There were rumors that he passed the entrance examination with physical strength alone, and that he stepped in to catch the culprits in that dormitory arson case.]
[How could someone with no internal energy, who only trained his muscles, do all that?]
[Hey, can't you tell?]
[Tell what?]
[Do you think that would be possible with simple muscle training alone?]
[Did he learn some kind of supreme divine art after all?]
[That's what I heard. Even Do Yang-woon, the dorm head of Northern Heaven Residence and grandson of the Northern Heaven Fist Hero, supposedly entered the Muscle Training School.]
[...So it wasn't just muscle training?]
[Hey, how could simple muscle training alone let someone defeat the Eastern River Sword Sage with just his two fists?]
[Now that you mention it, that's true. Huh. Then can anyone enter the Muscle Training School?]
[It seems that way, judging by what Do Yang-woon says. I was thinking of entering the Muscle Training School too.]
[Amazing. I need to enter it too.]
The rumors were unintentionally creating a strange atmosphere.
Rather than focusing solely on Mumu, who had defeated the Eastern River Sword Sage, people focused on the Martial Arts he had learned. What kind of Martial Arts could make a seventeen-year-old this strong?
The academy's cadets were not the only ones discussing it.
Rumors about Mumu also spread among the academy's instructors, quickly stirring their curiosity and interest.
[What Martial Arts allowed that child to defeat the Eastern River Sword Sage?]
[Rather than Martial Arts, it appears to be a type of external energy training, like muscle training.]
[What? You're saying this is possible through external energy training alone, without internal energy?]
[It must be possible, or this would not have happened.]
[Huh.]
[He defeated two Special Master Grade instructors who bear the title of the Six Stars of Heaven, and even Great Hero Shin Ui-gyeom, the Eastern River Sword Sage. That means the child's external energy training method is far from simple.]
[What sort of external energy could cause such a miraculous thing?]
[It seems the cadets are calling it an external energy art known as the Muscle Training School.]
[Muscle Training School?]
No matter how they heard it, it sounded like someone had simply attached the word school after muscle training.
Yet human psychology was strange.
If it had been something learned by an ordinary cadet, they would have assumed it was nothing special, just empty boasting.
But once it became something practiced by someone who had defeated the Eastern River Sword Sage, their perspective changed completely.
[There was something to it after all.]
[Simple muscle training alone truly could not achieve this.]
[I am curious which great master passed such an incredible discipline down to him.]
[I feel the same. But there is something more concerning.]
[Concerning?]
[It seems Cadet Mumu said he would teach the Martial Arts called the Muscle Training School to anyone, and now there is a craze among the cadets.]
[He'll teach it to anyone? Is that true?]
[...Master Gwak. Surely you aren't thinking of learning it yourself? No matter what, from a cadet...]
[What does that matter?]
[Pardon?]
[Can he still be considered a cadet? The moment he defeated the Eastern River Sword Sage, Mumu became someone worthy of being called a new Grandmaster.]
[A Grandmaster!]
[Do you think chances to receive instruction from a supreme master at the level of a Grandmaster come often? Would Master Jo let such an opportunity pass?]
[That is...]
[This might even be an opportunity for the academy. If I were part of the academy administration, I would offer every kind of wealth to keep a master of the Grandmaster level here.]
Even the academy's instructors had begun taking an interest in Mumu's Martial Arts.
It had taken only two days for this atmosphere to form.
The matter was gradually becoming a topic of formal discussion within the academy itself, moving beyond simple rumors and gossip.
* * *
A small village about two and a half miles from the city where Changcheon Martial Academy stood.
Two unfamiliar travelers entered an inn in the village.
They could not help drawing attention. One face was hidden beneath a bamboo hat and the other behind a veil, and they carried an unusual air.
The old man with dark blue hair and a long white beard leaned on a snake-headed staff that appeared to have been carved from spiritwood. The woman carrying what looked like a pipa on her back also seemed far from ordinary.
After taking an empty table, they called over the server and ordered with practiced ease.
"I'm thirsty. Bring us your strongest liquor."
"Father, what would you like to eat?"
"Duck soup will do. What would you like, my dear?"
"I'll have the same."
"Yes, please wait just a moment."
After taking their order, the server hurried into the kitchen.
Once the server was gone, the woman set down the bundle and pipa from her back, then spoke to the man in the bamboo hat.
"By late afternoon, we'll finally get to see Seo-han and Seo-rin again."
"Hehehe. Yes, we will."
"I'm glad we'll see the children after so long, but I hope nothing has happened to them."
The old man removed his bamboo hat and said,
"Don't worry. That Shin fellow is more cautious than he looks. Until he understands the situation, he won't recklessly lay a hand on the Imperial Uncle's daughter."
"I hope so, but I'm worried after hearing that he lost his youngest disciple."
"Ahem. Then let us finish our meal quickly and go. We came all this way without resting even once for several days."
"Yes, yes. What can I do when you say you're hungry?"
The old man groaned and shook his head at her words.
His daughter-in-law had kept him firmly in hand for over seventeen years.
With his wife absent, she was even worse.
The woman smiled faintly at him.
"Seo-han and Seo-rin are already eighteen."
"Hehehe. That is true. Those children have grown so much already. It feels like only yesterday they were wriggling in my hands."
"It does. Eighteen means they are all grown up. If they had been outside, they would be old enough to marry. They might even have found good partners at the academy..."
Bang!
Before she could finish, the old man struck the table with his palm.
He seemed to have hit it hard, but strangely, the table did not move even slightly.
That alone showed he was no ordinary master.
The old man's beard trembled as he said,
"A partner for Seo-rin!"
"Oh my, Father. At her age, she could find someone she likes."
"No. Not until this old man is dead and buried..."
"Are you going to keep her by your side until the day you die?"
"Ahem, ahem."
When the woman shot him a reproachful look, the old man cleared his throat repeatedly.
Then he spoke in a serious voice.
"I cannot keep her by my side forever, but marriage is an important matter. Anyone who wishes to become Seo-rin's partner must at least win this old man's approval."
"And what are your standards for approval?"
"At the very least, they must have looks, refinement, and family background. But if they are a martial artist, should martial prowess not come first? At the very least, they must withstand five techniques from this old man's Wind Manifestation Kick Art..."
"You should just tell her to live alone. What academy cadet could block your Wind Manifestation Kick Art? You ask for far too much."
"Ahem, ahem. They must be at least that capable to protect Seo-rin in this dangerous martial world."
The woman clicked her tongue at the old man.
It seemed Seo-rin would not be getting married or finding a partner anytime soon.
Which academy cadet could withstand five techniques from Gu Yang-gyeong, the Western Wind Lone Angle and one of the Four Immortal Masters?
Footnotes:
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