WeTried Translations
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Editor: Abstract
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Closing Episode: Afterstory (Complete)
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One year later,
Changcheon Martial Academy held the graduation ceremony for its third-year cadets.
In a deserted area not far from the grand hall where the ceremony had taken place, Ma Yeon-hwa stood before Mumu with a somewhat nervous expression. She wore a beautiful formal uniform with a faint crimson hue.
Seeing her hesitate, Mumu smiled warmly.
“Senior, congratulations on graduating as Top Graduate.”
Ma Yeon-hwa.
Just a year ago, she had ranked third among the third-year cadets.
However, Kang Mu-i's second-place position became vacant, and after working tirelessly, she eventually graduated as the top third-year cadet.
Still hesitant, she finally spoke in response to Mumu's congratulations.
“Congratulations to you too, on becoming a Special Master.”
A Special Master.
That was right.
Mumu had completed the essential basic courses over the past year and had begun serving as a Special Master this year.
It was Changcheon Martial Academy's desperate measure to keep Mumu there.
The Special Masters previously called the Six Stars of Heaven had their titles changed to High-Rank Masters.
The title of Special Master belonged to Mumu alone.
“I didn't have much choice if I wanted to stay at the academy.”
Mumu scratched his head as though it were nothing.
Ma Yeon-hwa smiled at him.
He spoke casually, but Mumu was now called the pinnacle of the martial world.
The very idea of someone like him remaining a cadet was absurd. Even the classes he had attended for the past year had only been under the pretext of completing the basic courses needed to teach academy cadets.
“By the way, Senior, what did you want to say?”
At Mumu's question, Ma Yeon-hwa's face flushed slightly.
Since she would be leaving the academy now, she believed today was her only chance.
‘Those foxes.’
For the past year, she had made countless efforts to seduce Mumu, but her many rivals had always gotten in the way.
On top of that, unlike ordinary men, Mumu had little interest in women.
He trained his muscles every day as if they were his lovers. He was an impenetrable wall.
She had failed every time, but today, the day of her graduation, was her last chance.
In a tense voice, she began.
“You know...”
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At the same time, two people were secretly watching them.
They were Tang So-so and Gu Yang Seo-rin.
Having become third-year cadets this year, they were the very “foxes” Ma Yeon-hwa had been thinking about.
When Ma Yeon-hwa and Mumu ended up alone together, they had hidden nearby to see what was happening.
“Can you hear them?”
At Tang So-so's question, Gu Yang Seo-rin clicked her tongue.
“No. They said she reached the peak of the Master level, and that senior really has become a monster.”
It seemed Ma Yeon-hwa had used life energy to block out the surrounding sounds.
If they moved closer, their martial prowess would let them hear the conversation, but that would make their interference too obvious, so they held back.
“...Don't tell me that senior is determined to seduce him because it's her last chance. Tch. That's unfair if she uses that method.”
“Probably. It's a method you can't use.”
“What did you say?”
Tang So-so's face turned bright red, and she raised her voice.
Gu Yang Seo-rin quickly gestured for her to be quiet.
Tang So-so lowered her voice to a whisper.
“I-I can seduce him too if I set my mind to it.”
“Pfft. Who could you possibly seduce with a childlike figure?”
“You bitch, are you trying to settle this once and for all today?”
-Flinch!
Gu Yang Seo-rin, who had been teasing Tang So-so, stiffened at those words.
The truth was, they had once truly come to blows while competing for Mumu.
At that time, Tang So-so had revealed her hidden martial prowess, and Gu Yang Seo-rin, who had underestimated her, suffered a thorough defeat.
Gu Yang Seo-rin had thrown herself into training out of spite, but overcoming the wall of the Body of Ten Thousand Poisons was not easy.
She still wanted to avoid a rematch.
“Want to try it?”
“Try what? Ha!”
Gu Yang Seo-rin fanned herself as though she were hot.
She could not back down now, not with her pride at stake.
Just then.
“Huh?”
“What do you mean, huh? Give me a clear answer...”
“Look over there.”
Tang So-so followed Gu Yang Seo-rin's gaze.
Ma Yeon-hwa, whose face had been red moments ago, now looked bitterly disappointed.
* * *
On the way to clear out her belongings from the dormitory, a young man approached Ma Yeon-hwa, who was walking with a bitter expression.
“How did it go?”
“He rejected me.”
“...Ahhh.”
A sigh escaped the young man's lips.
He had known for the past year that she wanted to win Mumu's heart, so he had hoped she would succeed, especially since this was her final chance.
It seemed things had not gone well.
“There's nothing to be done. His heart is like the wind.”
Ma Yeon-hwa had wanted Mumu to be with her.
From now on, she would have to devote everything to the revival of her main cult, so it truly had been her last opportunity.
Yet contrary to her hopes, she had been rejected.
“...”
The young man looked at her with pity.
It was strange.
He was saddened by the sight of her failing to achieve her wish, yet a part of him was happy about it.
‘I'm selfish too.’
Perhaps he could not help being a man.
After watching her for a while, the young man comforted her in a gentle voice.
“Please don't be too discouraged. I will remain by your side and protect you.”
“...Thank you, Baek-wol.”
“Once we leave the academy, I will play the Xiangyang Morning Pine Melody for you, so you can collect yourself.”
The Xiangyang Morning Pine Melody.
It was her favorite huqin piece.
Ma Yeon-hwa took a deep breath as she looked at the young man called Baek-wol.
Then she spoke with determination.
“I'm glad I have you.”
As she said that, Ma Yeon-hwa patted something inside her robes.
“Still, now that I've finally obtained the Crimson Profound Great Luo Art, it's time to speed up the restoration of the main cult.”
The Crimson Profound Great Luo Art.
It was the secret manual of the Crimson Profound Sacred Cult, which had lain dormant on the third floor of the Underground Martial Archive.
Her true purpose in entering Changcheon Martial Academy had been to obtain this secret manual.
Now that she had recovered the lost manual, she would revive the main cult.
“You will definitely succeed.”
“I have to. I must rebuild the cult and exact blood revenge.”
She would make the New Mighty Conqueror Council, revived half a year ago, and the force of justice, which still held dominance over the martial world, pay the price.
Filled with determination, she spoke to Baek-wol.
“If we're going to establish the cult again, should we change its name?”
“Change the cult's name?”
“Yes. Sacred Cult sounds too much like the force of justice, and it feels too soft. No, it sounds weak.”
“Do you have a name in mind?”
“I don't know. Wouldn't a strong name be better? Something that means we will walk the tyrant's road and make them pay in blood. Blood...”
-Bang!
‘!?’
Before she could finish, the wall of one of the training halls on the right side of the path leading to the dormitory burst open.
Someone flew out and unintentionally blocked their path.
-Swoooooosh!
Steam poured from the person's entire body.
It was a muscular boy whose skin had turned bronze from the heat.
Ma Yeon-hwa's eyes lit up when she saw him.
He looked very much like someone she knew.
“Ah... I'm sorry. I lost control of my strength while training. Did either of you get hurt...!?”
The boy froze when he saw Ma Yeon-hwa.
He seemed entranced by her beautifully dressed appearance.
Ma Yeon-hwa gave a small laugh and asked, “What is your relationship with Mumu?”
“Huh? You know my older cousin?”
His older cousin?
Then this must be the younger cousin Mumu had said was entering the academy this time.
Ma Yeon-hwa naturally looked the boy over.
He really did resemble Mumu.
“Is there anyone at the academy, no, in the Central Plains, who doesn't know your older cousin?”
The boy scratched his head.
“I suppose that's true.”
“What's your name?”
“Hae Mu-a. My name is Hae Mu-a.”
‘Hae Mu-a...’
Ma Yeon-hwa repeated the boy's name in her mind.
For some reason, it felt like she should remember it.
She asked Hae Mu-a, who still could not take his eyes off her, “Did you learn that from Mumu?”
“Ah! This? I guess you could say that. But I don't think I can do it as well as my older cousin. He can do it through pure muscle control alone, but I have to use internal energy too. You could say I improved it in my own way.”
“What? You improved it yourself?”
If that was true, he possessed considerable talent.
He was only seventeen, yet he already showed the qualities of a martial arts master.
Perhaps pleased by her interest, Hae Mu-a smiled.
“Yes. I named it the Golden Blood Body. Doesn't that sound fitting?”
Ma Yeon-hwa stared at Hae Mu-a as he proudly drew his shoulders back.
Then a smile appeared on her lips.
“It's impressive.”
“R-really?”
“You said your name was Hae Mu-a, right?”
“Yes!”
“After you graduate, if you ever want to make your mark as a martial artist, come find me.”
‘Ahhh!’
Hae Mu-a's eyes sparkled at Ma Yeon-hwa's offer.
Was this the inescapable fate described in The Lonely Genius Inspector's Chronicle of the Martial World that Mumu had passed down to him?
Hae Mu-a's heart raced.
* * *
Eight years later.
.
.
.
At a Manor in Kaifeng, a tall, handsome man paced restlessly across the courtyard.
It was Mumu.
Two beautiful women watched him with sympathetic expressions.
They were Tang So-so and Gu Yang Seo-rin.
“Our husband must be very worried about our older sister.”
“She is having a child at an advanced maternal age, and she has the Heavenly Yin Body. The child could be in danger.”
“That's true. Still, it's strange. We never decided an order, yet Dan Baek, no, Seol Yeon, was the first to become pregnant.”
Dan Baek-yeon, no, Seol Yeon.
That was her true name.
In the Northern Seas Ice Palace, male blood relatives who inherited the position of Palace Lord were given the surname Dan Baek, while female blood relatives were given the surname Seol.
As its sole survivor, she had used the surname Dan Baek to steel her resolve to rebuild the Northern Seas Ice Palace.
“Perhaps the ancestors of the Northern Seas Ice Palace helped her, so she could rebuild it.”
Gu Yang Seo-rin spoke as she fanned herself.
Tang So-so nodded as if she agreed.
At the same time, she watched the anxious Mumu and imagined the day she would give birth.
When that time came, their husband would surely be just as worried about her.
She needed to get pregnant soon.
‘Ahem. I should work harder.’
-Drip!
Just imagining it made her feel good.
Gu Yang Seo-rin clicked her tongue inwardly as she looked at Tang So-so.
‘...What was she imagining this time to make her nose bleed again?’
Tang So-so's tendency to have nosebleeds still had not improved much.
Just then.
-Waa! Waa! Waa!
A baby's cries burst from the room where the midwife and physician had entered.
Soon, Hae Ha-rang, their mother-in-law, came out.
Mumu, who had been nervously stamping his feet, swallowed hard and asked, “How is she?”
Hae Ha-rang smiled brightly.
“Yeon is safe. And our beautiful granddaughter has safely entered the world too. Congratulations, my son.”
‘!!!!!!!!’
Everyone who had been waiting broke into smiles at her words.
It was wonderful news.
The birth of a new life.
It meant their family had gained another member.
‘Welcome, little one.’
Mumu's face shone with happiness.
(Complete)
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-A short extra story.
In the distant future.
A world dyed in five-colored light.
Some called this place, which resembled a paradise, Beyond the Boundary. Others called it the Immortal Realm, the world beyond ascension.
The laws of time and space in Beyond the Boundary were completely different from those of the present world.
Because of that, everything could be a fleeting instant or an eternity.
-Clench!
Mumu clenched his fist and looked at someone.
The man was tall and handsome, with a face so white it seemed pale and sharp eyes.
The instant Mumu saw him, he felt great shock and exhilaration for the first time in his life.
He had never encountered such a monster, either in the present world or beyond the wall.
The paradoxical black radiance flowing from the handsome man before him flooded the surroundings, stretching so far that its end could not be seen.
His strength was beyond imagination.
“This is why men are all the same.”
The woman beside the handsome man, with flowing golden hair and golden eyes, gave a small laugh. Then she floated into the air and moved away, as if making room for them.
“Since we've met, may I learn a move from you?”
The pale-faced handsome man silently nodded at Mumu's words.
Mumu seemed to bring out a strong competitive spirit in him as well.
Then he lightly raised his hand.
-Crack! Crack! Crack!
-Whoosh! Whoosh!
-Crackle!
Countless swords of ice, flame, and lightning filled the five-colored sky.
From far away, the peerlessly beautiful blonde woman murmured with interest, “Heaven-Piercing Flash...”
It had been a long time since she had seen that.
‘He's going hard from the start.’
She understood why.
That muscular, handsome man with his clenched fist looked absurdly strong, enough to remind her of the monstrous monkey bastard born from the gathered energy of heaven and earth, one of the Three Demons.
-Swish!
When the pale-faced handsome man lightly lowered his hand, blue streaks of Projectile Sword Ki Manifestation shot from the swords filling the sky, ready to rain down on Mumu like a storm.
‘This is fun.’
For the first time, he had met someone against whom he could fight with all his strength.
No, even then, he could not guarantee victory.
His heart pounded wildly.
Mumu's lips curled up as he clenched his fist, his forearm muscles swelling, and drove strength into the soles of his feet.
-Kwaaaang!
The ground Mumu braced himself against collapsed across hundreds of jang.
At the same time, Mumu threw a punch toward the countless blue streaks raining down on him.
-Paaaaang!
The instant the two enormous forces collided, the surrounding space warped.
(Complete)
Footnotes:
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