Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Something's Off
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The mechanisms began to activate.
At the same time, astonishingly, the statues started to move.
Han Ibi muttered,
"It really works."
That was when it happened.
"Ahahahahaha!"
It was Wang Qinglin's laughter.
"Oh man, how childish. Who are you supposed to take down with attacks like these? Even a snot-nosed kid could breeze right through this."
By then, Mun Won-bi had already passed the statue at the very front.
That statue depicted Mahoraga, a serpent demon with multiple grotesque faces fused together.
Its reptilian vertical pupils were rendered with eerie precision.
In any case, the naked new recruit was right.
It was an incredibly straightforward assault.
Mahoraga was swinging its snake tail to lash at the intruder.
But... that was it.
As Wang Qinglin said, it might not be snot-nosed kid level, but any trainee from the Flame Society who had trained to a decent level in lightness skills and footwork could easily read and dodge these simple, repetitive attacks.
Baek Mi-hu also seemed relieved as she followed behind Mun Won-bi with a smile.
"Looks like this trial won't be too tough. What a relief."
Next up was Kinnara, a half-human, half-bird form.
To Han Ibi, it looked comical—like a chimera or a photoshopped mashup of a human face slapped onto a bird's body.
'Human-faced bird... wait... this feels familiar. Like something I saw in a sports broadcast once... where was it...'
Kinnara's attack was its talons.
It raked them viciously at anyone passing through the corridor... but it was just as monotonous as Mahoraga's.
Mun Won-bi easily defended against it and pressed forward.
Wang Qinglin was practically rolling on the floor, clutching her belly.
"Oh man, I'm dying. This is hilarious!"
After that, more of the same followed.
Gandharva swung what looked like a pipa-like instrument to pressure passersby, and occasionally hidden weapons popped out from it—making it slightly trickier than the others.
But the standout was Asura.
Asura had a goblin-like form with three faces total, and arrows fired periodically from the bow it held.
But they came at such close range that dodging wasn't all that easy.
"Eek!"
An arrow from Asura pierced Wang Qinglin's sleeve.
Han Ibi, following behind, chuckled.
"Looks like the divine guardians got mad because you were mocking them too much, Wang junior sister."
"Hmph! You think it's fun watching me get hit, huh? Keep it up and..."
At that moment, Baek Mi-hu, who had cleared all the trials, shouted,
"Qinglin! Hurry over here. Time's running short."
Hearing that, Wang Qinglin shut her mouth and bared her teeth as she charged toward the Yaksha that looked ready to devour her.
Han Ibi thought,
'This trial's a piece of cake.'
As he prepared to deal with the statue in front of him.
But the one about to attack Han Ibi now felt a bit different.
Amid the parade of bizarre beasts and monsters, this statue astonishingly looked the most human.
'This normal appearance actually stands out.'
The statue was of a plain young man dressed in simple, breezy clothes like hemp or linen cloth.
To capture wrinkles and texture like that in solid metal—truly remarkable craftsmanship.
But what stood out even more was one thing.
A frog the size of two grown fists perched on his shoulder.
'What god is this supposed to represent?'
Then he saw the young man statue raise its hand and swing.
Just another monotonous punch.
Han Ibi dodged the palm strike effortlessly without even drawing his Hanjo Sword.
But the frog...
This frog suddenly opened its mouth and spat out what looked like a stone projectile.
A bit unexpected, but something any ordinary martial artist could block easily.
'Hahaha. A human-frog combo attack? The Demonic Cult folks sure have some weird ideas.'
Han Ibi chuckled inwardly as he tried to slip past the young man.
'But... was there a god like this among the Eight Legions...'
He pondered briefly, but since he didn't even know what exactly made up the Eight Legions, he dismissed it as pointless.
That was when it happened.
Han Ibi felt like his gaze met the young man's statue's eyes.
A faint shiver ran through his body, like eye contact sending a chill.
Han Ibi activated Eagle's Eye Technique to inspect the statue closely and soon realized why.
The young man's eyeballs—specifically the pupils—were gleaming with crystal-clear transparency.
'They made real human-like eyeballs. Tsk tsk. The guy who made this should've been an artist, not a mechanism engineer...'
That was when it happened.
"Ow!"
Han Ibi yelped involuntarily.
Distracted by the young man statue, he'd walked right into the skewer held by Asura's arm—right in the butt.
Witnessing the scene, Wang Qinglin burst into laughter.
"What are you doing? How embarrassing. You couldn't even dodge a simple attack like that?"
'That... freaking...'
Han Ibi inwardly cursed in frustration.
Mun Won-bi said,
"Hurry over here, Brother Jongri."
Han Ibi deflected an arrow from Asura and replied,
"Got it."
As he approached the final statue of this trial, the Yaksha, a nagging feeling hit him.
'But what is it... this unease... something's... off...'
Then Wang Qinglin said,
"What are you doing right now? Greeting each of the twelve monsters one by one?"
Han Ibi said, as if realizing something.
"Twelve?"
"Yeah. Can't even count? There are twelve statues."
"It's called the Eight Legions, but there are twelve?"
Then Baek Mi-hu said,
"Of course, because there are four Sea Dragon Kings. Hurry over before we waste more time."
Han Ibi nodded as if it made sense.
'They count the four Sea Dragon Kings as a set. Eight plus four makes twelve...'
Then another thought struck him.
'Wait, no. Four as one group means eleven total. So that means there's something extra besides the Eight Legions.'
His gaze suddenly locked onto the young man with the frog on his shoulder.
'That statue's the suspicious one.'
Han Ibi called out to Baek Mi-hu's back.
"Something's bothering me. I'll check it out real quick."
Wang Qinglin asked,
"Check what?"
Han Ibi suddenly reversed course through the mechanism.
Mun Won-bi asked in surprise,
"Brother Jongri! What are you doing? Why are you going back in?"
But Han Ibi didn't answer, instead backtracking through the Eight Legions toward the young man statue.
Was it just his imagination?
The torchlight flickering in its eyes seemed to welcome Han Ibi warmly.
The young man statue activated again, swinging its palm.
Han Ibi dodged nimbly with Eight Trigrams Steps.
Come to think of it, what he'd thought was a palm technique...
'It's less martial arts and more like beckoning me closer. That's why it felt off.'
He activated Eagle's Eye Technique again to observe the statue closely.
And then...
'Whoa! There's writing here. Tiny as flea print.'
Yes.
Eerily, letters were engraved on the hem of the young man's sleeve.
- Mok-in (穆絪)
Han Ibi jolted in shock.
That name was identical to Nam Mok-in, the monk-disguised leader who ran a Demonic Cult branch.
Which meant...
'What the hell kind of twisted hobby is this? Slipping his own image in among the Eight Legions... deifying himself? Or is there some meaning I'm missing?'
Wang Qinglin shouted irritably,
"Hey! What the heck are you doing?"
But Han Ibi just blankly watched the hand gesture from young Nam Mok-in's statue.
'You're not trying to drive me away... you're inviting me in.'
At that instant, he noticed the frog's eyes sparkling just as beautifully as the statue's—surely the same material.
Without thinking, Han Ibi touched the frog's closed mouth seam at the eye.
That was when it happened.
The frog's pupil suddenly glowed crimson.
'D-did I just see that wrong...'
Then a massive rumble echoed, the ground shaking with thuds.
Thunderous noise!
Wang Qinglin yelped in alarm,
"W-what is this?! What did you touch?!"
But the real shock was yet to come.
In an instant, the young man statue and Han Ibi vanished behind the wall.
Wang Qinglin's eyes bulged as she screamed,
"What the hell just happened?!"
Mun Won-bi also jumped in shock and backtracked through the mechanism.
Astonishingly, the statues had frozen, no longer moving.
Mun Won-bi tapped the wall where Han Ibi had disappeared.
"Young Hero Jongri! Young Hero Jongri! Can you hear me?"
No response.
Was this what they meant by "even ghosts would wail"?
Having turned half a rotation with Nam Mok-in's statue and crossed to the other side of the wall, Han Ibi couldn't hide his bewilderment at the current situation.
A massive night pearl hung in the air, illuminating everything.
'Wow, what a bright night pearl. These things never cease to amaze me.'
A quiet, cramped secret chamber.
A musty smell.
Cobwebs everywhere from years of neglect, dust piled thick.
Judging by the state, even the Chaoyang Sect folks clearly had no clue about this mechanism.
Han Ibi muttered toward the statue,
"Nam Mok-in... why did you bring me here?"
Of course, a mere statue wouldn't answer.
That was when it happened.
The frog with the red eyes suddenly gaped its mouth wide.
Han Ibi startled and drew his Hanjo Sword into a defensive stance.
But what popped out with a "thunk" wasn't a hidden weapon.
Han Ibi cautiously examined the object on the floor without lowering his guard.
A small scroll.
A tiny rolled-up silk piece tied with string.
Han Ibi quickly picked it up, untied the string, and unrolled it.
- O one fated by karma, welcome. I, Nam Mok-in, have reached the pinnacle of martial arts under heaven...
Whoa. Check out this old man.
Diving straight in without a hint of hesitation...
What's with this baseless confidence...
- ...and in the art of mechanisms, I too achieved the highest realm, yet I could find no place for my heart. After long wanderings, I pledged myself to the North Star Cult, but seeing its current depravity...
After that, it droned on boringly about the background of joining the North Star Cult and his disillusionment with its internal politics.
Grandpa...
I'm busy here—can you just get to the point?
- ...I decided not to leave the essence of my mechanism arts to the North Star Cult. However, following the dying wish of my master 'Ananda' to pass them only to the virtuous...
Huh?
Why 'Ananda'?
Guess the mechanism arts teacher wasn't Chinese...
Anyway, I'm the epitome of that 'virtuous one.'
Sure. He'd approve.
Then a "ding" rang out.