Chapter 64

Slowly. Don’t rush.

Jin Wikyung steadied his breathing. This was a crucial moment. One mistake could ruin everything.

I’ve done well so far. I just need to keep it up.

A bead of cold sweat slid down his cheek, but Jin Wikyung was concentrating so fiercely that he didn’t even notice.

His pupils contracted. His faint, trembling breath stopped.

Now!

It was the instant Jin Wikyung’s eyes flew open and his hand shot out like lightning.

Bang!

“My lord!”

Wipeng burst into the study amid a thunderous crash and spoke with an urgent expression.

“There’s chaos outside… What’s wrong?”

A trembling voice escaped Jin Wikyung’s lips.

“I was almost finished.”

“What?”

“I poured my heart and soul into it for two hours. All for this one moment.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but that’s not important right—”

“It is important!”

With a cry that sounded almost like a scream, he tore at his hair.

“It was important! Who are you to decide that?”

Tremble, tremble.

Jin Wikyung looked so sorrowful and full of resentment that Wipeng forgot about the urgent situation and stared at his lord.

I was too hasty.

It had been five days since the war ended. Jin Wikyung had been buried under an unprecedented workload dealing with the aftermath. Of course his nerves were frayed. If Wipeng had driven a normally generous man to such anger, the fault had to be his.

“I apologize. I was in such a hurry that I lost my head.”

Wipeng’s sincere apology softened Jin Wikyung’s anger.

“Please be more careful next time.”

But it did nothing to ease the sorrow saturating his voice. Feeling even guiltier, Wipeng said, “If it’s something I can take care of, let me help.”

“No need. The water’s already spilled. I’ll have to start the drawing over from the beginning.”

“I can draw it for you inst—what?”

Wipeng approached Jin Wikyung with a trembling heart. A huge sheet of paper completely covered the table.

“What is this?”

His voice was drier than desert sand, but Jin Wikyung didn’t notice.

“I tried to capture the battle from five days ago in a painting.”

“Not the battle. The Third Young Master.”

“Same thing. Anyway, it would have been perfect once I finished Taekyung’s eyes…”

“I came in and ruined the brushwork.”

“No. Come to think of it, this is for the best.”

Jin Wikyung sighed.

“Heaven must have refused to let my paltry skill portray Taekyung. Don’t you agree?”

“…”

Wipeng silently picked up the painting.

Rip! Rip-rip-rip!

“No! My Birth of a Hero!”

“You even gave it a title?”

Wipeng pressed a hand to his forehead as Jin Wikyung wailed in anguish. Whenever—very, very occasionally—his lord acted like this, Wipeng felt the urge to retire to the countryside.

Should I just open a martial arts school?

Seeing his lord gather up the scraps of paper with a devastated expression made him feel even more desperate to retire.

“I was going to keep it in my private collection!”

“To hell with your private collection—you need to get outside right now.”

“Why?”

“Young Master Jin has returned.”

Jin Wikyung stopped picking up the scraps and tilted his head.

“Did the youngest go somewhere?”

“Not that Young Master Jin.”

At the disbelief in Jin Wikyung’s eyes, Wipeng nodded.

“Yes. The Second Young Master has returned.”

“Mukyung!”

His face lit up. His second younger brother had returned after three years. He wanted to run out and greet him at once.

“All right. Where is he now?”

“At the Third Young Master’s residence.”

“That Mukyung, who hated the youngest so much, went to find him the moment he arrived? Maybe he’s finally going to act like an older brother. He’s grown up. Hahaha!”

That was when Jin Wikyung burst into hearty laughter.

Rumble-rumble-rumble.

A sudden thunderous crash shook the estate, followed by screams.

—The building is collapsing! Everyone, get out of the way!

—Get people over here!

—The Third Young Master’s residence is collapsiiiing!

Jin Wikyung blinked.

“I think I just heard that the youngest’s residence collapsed.”

“Brothers grow up by fighting, don’t they?”

“What are you talking about… Don’t tell me—”

“It’s nothing. Just draw a new one.”

Wipeng answered with an expression of enlightenment and spread a fresh sheet of paper over the study table.

“I think you should call this one The Hero Getting Beaten Like a Dog by His Second Brother.”

Whoooosh!

Using a Peak movement technique, Jin Wikyung dashed away like the wind. Wipeng watched his back disappear and sighed.

Should I really open a martial arts school?

His worries had only been growing lately.

Jin Mukyung.

Twenty-three years old. Known by the epithet Heaven Shaking Sword.

A martial arts genius who had reached the Peak realm at barely twenty.

But more important than that was the fact that he was this body’s—Jin Taekyung’s—second older brother. So, naturally, I was curious.

I can’t remember what Jin Mukyung—or rather, my second brother—was like.

Amnesia was an excellent excuse. When I asked Jin Wikyung that question, he told me everything about him.

You won’t be able to see him right away. He’s very far away.

Where is he?

At Heaven’s Gate Temple in Henan. That heartless brat hasn’t shown his face once in three years.

Despite his words, Jin Wikyung had looked proud.

Like a parent whose child had gotten into Harvard.

What’s his personality like?

Hmm. He’s kind. People often misunderstand him, but he’s definitely a good kid.

Were we close?

…You were. I think you were? Yes, you were close.

Ah. Right.

I hadn’t thought much of it at the time. Once I learned how far Henan was from the Jin Family of Taiyuan, I lost interest altogether.

What, was I seriously going to still be in Murim by then?

It was a distance that required several weeks of nonstop travel on horseback.

That was also why Jin Mukyung hadn’t shown so much as the tip of his nose before the war ended. And yet…

I never expected to meet him like this.

His appearance had caught me completely off guard.

I gave him an awkward smile and held out my hand.

“Long time no see, hyung.”

The “hyung” who had been gazing at me steadily took my hand.

“Yes. It’s been a long time.”

This guy seems nicer than I expected.

Just as Jin Wikyung had said, people must have misunderstood him because of his fierce eyes.

Thinking that eased my tension, and I was able to smile more naturally.

“How’ve you been?”

Jin Mukyung gave me a faint smile in return.

“Well enough. But, youngest.”

“Yeah?”

“Your speech has gotten casual.”

Whoom!

The next thing I knew, I was flying toward the wall. Jin Mukyung had hurled me with tremendous force.

What the hell?

I twisted my body in midair. Then I lightly stepped off the wall and landed on the ground. Jin Mukyung watched me and gave a quiet snort.

“Well, well.”

I didn’t like where this was going.

I scratched the back of my head.

“Weren’t we close?”

“We were. My fist and your body.”

“Ah.”

I was insane to believe Jin Wikyung. The man doted on his younger brothers like his life depended on it.

Shit. He should’ve explained that properly.

Jin Mukyung held out his fist.

“This is your oldest friend. Say hello.”

“Hello.”

Ominously, his smile widened.

“Our youngest has grown a lot. Acting cocky in front of your big brother.”

Whoooosh!

Jin Mukyung charged like lightning and threw a punch. The air tore before his fist.

He’s serious?

The blow carried no internal energy, but the raw force behind it was immense.

I jerked my head aside in alarm.

Bang!

The wooden wall exploded. Fists rained down through the splinters scattering in the air.

Bababang!

Face, chest, shoulder, stomach.

The punches seemed wild and random, but his movements flowed smoothly, and the area they covered was as tightly woven as a net.

“A fist technique?”

“Been a while since you had a taste of the Reformation Fist, hasn’t it?”

Fuck, what kind of name is that for a fist technique?

As I cursed inwardly, a move from the Reformation Fist slammed into my abdomen.

Whump!

“Hup.”

“It’s not over yet.”

I fought through the breath-stealing pain and blocked the incoming punch with my forearm. The dull impact made my bones throb.

“You blocked?”

Babababam!

It hurt. It hurt like hell.

Jin Mukyung outclassed me in every way—strength, speed, everything.

But how should I put it…

This is more manageable than I expected.

Was it because he wasn’t using internal energy?

At first, all I could do was take a one-sided beating. But after a while, his attacks slowly began to come into focus.

Whoosh!

Jin Mukyung’s fist sliced through empty air. A precise read. A clean dodge.

He looked at me in surprise.

“You’ve improved quite a bit.”

I steadied my breathing and grinned.

Since things had come to this, I figured we might as well have a satisfying fight.

“Not quite a bit. A lot. Haven’t you heard the rumors?”

“I have. Until I’m sick of them.”

Jin Mukyung gave a quiet laugh.

“Then prove how much of them is true.”

Shwaaak!

With a sharp sound of air being split, his hand shot toward my wrist.

Like hell!

I widened my eyes and slapped the incoming hand away.

Or tried to.

Tap, tat-tat-tat!

Five attacks and defenses passed between us in less than a second. Then the match was decided in an instant.

Clamp!

“What the hell is this pathetic grappling technique?”

Jin Mukyung finally twisted my wrist into a lock with a strange movement, then spoke as though I were hopeless.

Being caught so helplessly already had me seething, but his next words set my chest on fire.

“Again.”

“…What are you trying to do?”

“I already knew the rumors were nonsense. Now I need to correct the habits of a little brother who doesn’t know his place.”

Jin Mukyung released my wrist and crooked a finger.

“Come at me. I won’t go easy on you this time.”

I stared at him in silence.

Jin Mukyung was unquestionably a master far beyond me. The wall of the Peak realm was too high for my current abilities to overcome.

I knew that. I knew all of it.

This is pissing me off.

And suddenly, I was curious.

How far could I go?

Just how strong was Jin Mukyung, the genius whose reputation had spread so far?

This was competitive pride—not as a Hunter, but as a martial artist of Murim.

Let’s do this.

Jin Mukyung was the first to notice the change in me.

“I didn’t know you could make a face like that.”

“This is my normal face.”

He laughed as though he found it amusing.

“Fine. That’s all well and good… but are you still talking so casually?”

At that moment, Jin Mukyung’s fist blurred.

Whoosh! Whump!

My vision flashed. Even though I had been concentrating to the extreme, I hadn’t managed to avoid the attack completely.

Jin Mukyung looked from his fist to me and back again.

“That shouldn’t have happened.”

The punch had been aimed at my temple. If it had landed cleanly, that would have been the last blow.

Even though he hadn’t used internal energy, I had managed to partially evade a Peak master’s full-powered One Strike.

“See? I’ve improved a lot.”

“I admit it. But you’re not even a quarter as good as the rumors claim.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll catch up little by little from here on.”

“You’ll catch up to me? How long do you think that’ll take?”

I answered.

“Starting this very moment.”

“Hold out for a quarter of an hour. Then you’re my big brother.”

Jin Mukyung’s form blurred once again. But this time, I was a step faster.

Assign ten points to Agility.

Ten level-ups gained through the war. A hundred points lying dormant in my Status Window.

Some of them answered my command.

Shwaaaak!

The change was instantaneous. At the same time, certainty filled me.

I could perfectly evade Jin Mukyung’s fist as it flew toward my face.

Whoosh!

Too slow.

Without hesitation, I turned my head.

Whump!

…Damn it. I should’ve used ten more points.