System
Status Window
Lv. 71 Jin Taekyung
Class: Peak Master
Fame: 2,400 (+250)
Titles: 5 (Title effects active)
Returnee (All stats +10)
Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi (All stats +15, Fame +200)
Scion of a Prestigious Family (All stats +5, Fame +50)
Gambler (Combat-related stats +10% in one-on-one combat)
Intermediate Trainee (Training speed +20%)
Strength: 255 (+30)
Stamina: 207 (+30)Agility: 250 (+30)
Intelligence: 40 (+30)Charm: 40 (+30)
Internal Energy: 45 yearsToughness: 200 (+30)
Remaining Points: 70
- Distribute your remaining points.
I checked my Status Window more than ten times a day, but it still made me grin every time.
Who knew the four characters meaning “Peak Master” could make me this happy?
The System calls me a master. A Peak Master.
Only a few hours ago, the Class field had read First Rate Martial Artist. But now I was a Peak Master. Not just a martial artist, but a master.
I had become a genuine master, recognized even by the System.
And I’m already Level 71.
The rewards had been incredible.
Seven level-ups, a one-stage increase in both the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique and Qi Sense, and…
I even got something money couldn’t buy.
Open Inventory.
As soon as I entered the command in my mind, a familiar System notification chimed and a translucent holographic window appeared.
My Inventory was packed with all kinds of junk I had collected in the Murim, but my gaze went straight to one item.
Summon Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.
Whoosh.
A heavy sphere suddenly popped into existence in midair. It was about the size of a bowling ball, its unpolished surface rough and jagged, with lumps jutting out in every direction.
At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a useless lump of metal or rock. But anyone who looked a little closer would recognize its true value.
Inspect Item.
Ding.
System
Item Window
Unprocessed Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron
Type: Material
Grade: Supreme Peak
Restriction: Master Artisan
Description: Ten-thousand-year-old cold iron is harder, sharper, and rarer than any other mineral in existence. Only a craftsman who has reached the level of Master Artisan will be able to work with this precious material.
“Now, this is the real deal.”
Personally, I was happier about obtaining the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron than I was about leveling up. I was a Hunter and a martial artist. Everyone in this line of work dreamed of owning great equipment.
I had simply never had the means to make that dream a reality.
I had no money in the real world, and in the Murim, I didn’t have a decent spear.
The Jin Family of Taiyuan’s roots lay in sword techniques, not spear techniques.
Supply followed demand. Most of the family’s members, from its lowest-ranking martial artists to its leadership, were swordsmen. Naturally, both the family’s martial arts and the weapons in its armory favored swords by a wide margin.
If Jin Wikyung hadn’t looked out for me, I might have ended up fighting with a cheap wooden or bamboo spear.
How many times had my guts twisted whenever I swung an iron spear while leaving the [Unnamed Sword], made from Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, at my side?
But that humiliation is over now.
I had obtained the finest mineral in the world. Now I could have a weapon of my own made from it.
Of course, there was one prerequisite.
The Quest I had just received was related to that.
Inspect Quest.
Ding.
System
Quest
Find the Master Artisan
Forging Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron requires tremendous experience and skill. Only an exceptionally skilled artisan will be able to draw out the full power of this precious material.
Grade: Peak
Restriction: Jin Taekyung
Mission: Commission a Master Artisan to make a weapon (Incomplete)
Reward: ???
Failure: ???
I smiled contentedly and closed the Quest Window.
Of course. I can’t entrust something as valuable as Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron to just anyone.
Even without the Quest, I would have looked into it myself.
Just as a famed sword only revealed its true brilliance in the hands of a master, the same was true of a precious material like Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.
Although the Quest was graded Peak, the mission itself didn’t seem particularly difficult.
Finding someone shouldn’t take long.
Surely there had to be at least one Master Artisan in this enormous land.
The Jin Family of Taiyuan had branches throughout Shanxi. If I asked Jin Wikyung to send out word, we would soon know where to find one.
And if that doesn’t work, I can ask the Lower District Sect.
I even had a powerful connection in Wolhwa. With eyes and ears planted throughout Shanxi Province, finding someone like that would be a piece of cake for her.
Whatever it takes, I’m completing this Quest before I leave.
A month in the Murim was only three hours in the modern world.
I still had plenty of time.
“Hehehe. A spear made from Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron. A spear made from Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron…”
Just as I was grinning from ear to ear—
Bang!
The door blew apart with a deafening crash. Someone rushed in like lightning, charging toward me with both arms spread wide.
“Youngest!”
Yep. I knew it would be you.
I let out a deep sigh and asked Jin Wikyung, “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean, what’s going on? I heard the wonderful news that you broke through the wall and rushed here at once!”
“…How did you hear about that?”
It had only happened an hour or two ago, but the speed of the information network was no joke. Had this guy attached a Familiar to me or something?
As I stared at him in bewilderment, I spotted Hyuk Mujin standing in front of the blown-open doorway with a proud smile. He rubbed beneath his nose and said, “Shouldn’t such wonderful news be delivered first by one’s closest aide?”
“…”
Not a Familiar. A Hyuk-miliar.
That bastard had definitely used my name to score points with Jin Wikyung.
“Our youngest broke through the wall! He reached the Peak realm!”
Sure enough, Hyuk Mujin quickly cut in.
“Lesser Family Head, I stood guard over him!”
“Thank you. Truly, thank you. Your contribution was enormous!”
“Not at all. As your right arm, I merely did what I was supposed to do. I had not a shred of selfish intent. However, I noticed that the position of Master of the Gatekeeper Pavilion is still vacant…”
“It’s yours without question! No, you’ll be the next Family Head of the Jin Family of Taiyuan!”
“W-Whaaat? Is that really true?”
“…”
Of course it wasn’t, you dumbass.
Did it make any sense to appoint someone Family Head just because he had stood guard? Besides, all that bastard had actually done was snore.
But the two men, blinded by joy and power, were already out of their minds.
“Hyuk Mujin. You said your name was Hyuk Mujin, right?”
“Yes, Lesser Family Head!”
“Our Mujin can do whatever he wants! Become Family Head! Smash the Nine Sects and One Gang! Smash the world!”
“Smash!”
“…What are you smashing, you lunatics?”
The future of the Jin Family of Taiyuan looked bleak.
Once the commotion died down, Jin Wikyung finally managed to calm himself and looked at me with moist eyes.
“Your brother is proud of you.”
“I’m proud of you too, Captain. But if I hadn’t stood guard over you…”
“Mujin, let’s keep quiet unless you want your pot cracked. And by ‘pot,’ I mean your head.”
“Yes, sir.”
Hyuk Mujin, now sporting a lump on his forehead, answered at once. As expected, he only listened after getting hit.
“Your useless older brother couldn’t even look after you properly, and yet you grew up so well all on your own. Sniff.”
“…”
Look at this human weapon getting all sentimental.
Whenever Jin Wikyung acted like this, I was grateful that this world had no social media. If it did, a post tagging every member of the Jin Family of Taiyuan would have gone up on Outstagram.
Complete with a teary-eyed selfie and hashtags.
#JinFamilyofTaiyuan #UselessOlderBrother #OurYoungestIsAPeakMaster #KeepYourChinUpToday
Wolhwa: Oh my! Young Master Jin? Congratulations!
Cheongpung: Wow, I’ve never clicked Like before!
Wipeng: Don’t lie.
Hyuk Mujin: I stood guard over him.
Jin Mukyung: Is this what you call a country?
Zhu Bao: An autograph, please.
Imagining the reactions from countless Shanxi Province celebrities made my vision swim.
I hurriedly pushed the horrifying thought from my mind and tried to soothe Jin Wikyung.
“Please stop crying. How old are you?”
“Sniff. How did my immature youngest brother grow into such a fine man?”
Jin Wikyung gazed at me with a mixture of emotion and pride, then wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve.
“No, this won’t do. I need to go right now and…”
“You’re not planning to write ‘Jin Taekyung has become a Peak Master’ on a gigantic banner like last time, are you?”
“Gasp.”
“…”
I knew it. Judging by everything Jin Wikyung had done until now, there was no way he would let this opportunity pass. I had to make myself perfectly clear.
“Don’t do anything like that. It’s cringe.”
“Cringe? What does that mean?”
“It means embarrassing.”
Jin Wikyung looked shocked.
“Are you saying you’re embarrassed by me? By your own brother?”
“No, that’s not what I…”
This was driving me insane.
Before I could answer, Hyuk Mujin, who had been sitting quietly with his shoulders hunched, suddenly cut in with a baffled look.
“Huh? Captain, you usually like getting attention.”
“When have I ever?”
“You don’t? If I remember correctly, you seemed to love it. When we returned from the Mount Heng Sword Sect, you stood at the very front and waved like crazy.”
“…Ahem.”
If he had made that up, I would have punched him. But it was true, so I had nothing to say.
I quietly avoided Hyuk Mujin’s gaze and replied, “That was different. I had my reasons.”
“What reasons?”
“There were reasons. You don’t need to know.”
“Wow, there he goes again.”
I ignored Hyuk Mujin’s muttering and turned back to Jin Wikyung.
“Anyway, we’re not doing anything like that. The attention I’m getting now is more than enough.”
“Hmm. If that’s truly what you want…”
Jin Wikyung couldn’t hide his disappointment, but I was so firm that he reluctantly nodded. That let me breathe a sigh of relief.
What’s the point of advertising that I became a Peak Master? I’ll only attract a whole swarm of flies.
There had been a time when I would have risked my life for Fame, but not anymore.
If anything, Fame now felt ominous.
Why does it feel like the higher my Fame gets, the stronger the people it attracts become?
My life’s motto was to live a quiet, long life. Of course, living large and long would be even better, but people who tried that rarely had peaceful lives.
Constantly fighting battles where my life hung in the balance had also left me exhausted in both body and mind.
I need to make at least the bare minimum of preparations.
I planned to make one hell of a spear from the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron and hone my martial arts. To do that, I absolutely needed Jin Wikyung’s help.
“Could you do me one favor?”
Jin Wikyung was not the sort of person to refuse. He nodded confidently.
“Say the word.”
“I need information.”
“Information? About what, exactly?”
“Two things. First, the whereabouts of a Master Artisan skilled enough to work with Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron. Second, news about the Fire King.”
“The first is understandable, but the Fire King… Surely you aren’t thinking of learning that?”
That referred to the Flame Divine Palm.
I had never told Jin Wikyung directly, but he already knew everything.
It made sense. The Flame Divine Palm was the Fire King’s signature martial art, and touching it carelessly was no different from holding a bomb that could put the entire family at risk. I had already assumed Jin Mukyung would have reported it to Jin Wikyung, the Lesser Family Head, long ago.
“Taekyung.”
Hearing the concern in his voice, I waved a hand.
“I’m not planning to learn it right away. I just want to confirm whether the Fire King is alive or dead before I decide.”
“Hmm.”
After a brief silence, Jin Wikyung spoke.
“Will you promise me one thing? Before you do that, you’ll consult with me first.”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s settled.”
Jin Wikyung nodded decisively and rose from his seat.
“Information about the Fire King may take some time, but I can tell you about the first matter right now.”
Already? That was the Jin Family of Taiyuan for you. They seemed to have a handle on almost everything.
The progress was much faster than I had expected. My butt practically itched with impatience to go find the man immediately.
“He must be nearby?”
“Yes. He has been living in seclusion, hidden from everyone. Even our family only learned of his existence recently.”
“And his skill?”
“I guarantee that even if you scoured every inch under heaven, he would rank among the ten best.”
If Jin Wikyung could speak that confidently, then the man’s skill was beyond question.
A Master Artisan capable of handling Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron. I had found him much faster than expected.
“I’ll go back and confirm it once more, then send word. Now, get some rest. Ho ho, you broke through the wall. A Peak Master at twenty!”
Jin Wikyung disappeared with a broad grin. Hyuk Mujin opened his mouth, looking as though his curiosity might kill him.
“What is it?”
“Hm? What is what?”
“What on earth is that ‘thing’ related to the Fire King?”
“Oh, that? The Flame Divine Palm.”
“The Flame Divine Palm?”
He looked utterly bewildered. Of course. He wasn’t a martial arts expert like Jin Mukyung, so it was only natural that he didn’t know.
“Yeah. The Flame Divine Palm. It’s the Fire King’s signature martial art.”
“…What?”
“Why are you so surprised?”
“H-How did you get it? No, before that, is it really all right to tell me something this important?”
Despite the shock and confusion on his face, I kindly answered him.
“Yeah. You even saw it yourself.”
“…What?”
“What do you mean, ‘what’? You’ve seen the Flame Divine Palm martial arts manual before. No, you didn’t just see it—you almost ended up owning it.”
“I did?”
“Yeah. Don’t you remember? Before the battle at Eight Spring Gorge, we stayed behind as the rear party. With those Samdo Sect guys—Gwak Jun or whatever his name was, and the others.”
Hyuk Mujin sank into thought, and his mouth slowly fell open.
“Don’t tell me it was that thing back then…”
“That’s the one. The thing you refused when I told you to take it.”
“…!”
“Whew. Good thing I didn’t give it to you back then.”
Hyuk Mujin’s face twisted miserably.
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