Chapter 40
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Isn't It Broken? (1)
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The sound of slicing through the wind battered his ears.
The instant his foot brushed the ground, his body had already shot forward several zhang.
It was lightning-fast.
The scenery vanished from view, leaving only intangible lines, with leaves and rocks scattering as afterimages.
"Huff... huff..."
Won Yu-hwa spat out ragged breaths as she pushed off with her toes.
Her thighs trembled from the exhaustion, but she couldn't slow down. Kang Moo-jin was already far ahead.
Just how fast is he?
The Silver River Steps she had learned came from her grandfather, Won Jong-do, and were a supreme lightness skill rare even in the Central Plains.
Once renowned in its glory, it was a lost art of the now-extinct Silver River Sword Sect.
Yet even unleashing the Silver River Steps to its utmost, Won Yu-hwa couldn't catch up to Moo-jin.
The fact that the gap wasn't widening further was only because Moo-jin was holding back for her sake.
The more I see, the more amazing he is.
A glint flashed in Won Yu-hwa's eyes amid her panting breaths.
And at that moment.
Boom!
Moo-jin slammed his foot down hard, halting his body abruptly.
He had delivered a powerful shock to the ground to stop precisely when he wanted.
"Let's rest here for today."
After days of traveling together, Moo-jin had dropped the formal speech as he scanned the surroundings.
A small grove right beside them seemed perfect for hiding. With that judgment, he headed straight toward it.
"Yu-hwa, you rest a bit. Meditate if you want."
"What about you, Brother?"
"I don't really need it."
Crack!
Moo-jin yanked out a tree thicker than an average man's torso and laid it on the ground.
This massive trunk would serve as the pillar for their campsite tonight.
"Hup!"
He took a light breath and tapped the felled tree with his fist.
Thud!
A clear ring filled the grove,
and crack!
moments later, the huge tree had become dozens of pillars, each about the thickness of a palm.
"...!"
Won Yu-hwa was left speechless by the astonishing feat, even seeing it again.
To turn a whole tree into dozens of perfectly uniform pieces with one punch.
She couldn't even fathom what kind of power made that possible.
One thing was certain: few in the Central Plains could do it.
"I'm getting faster bit by bit. Guess it's coming back with practice."
Moo-jin deftly crossed the wood pieces into a triangular shelter with practiced hands.
He had spent most of his days in the Linked Qi Realm camping, building sites like this by hand, so he was quite adept.
Having crafted a spacious shelter big enough for three people, Moo-jin looked around and uprooted another tree roots and all.
"Wh-what are you going to do with that?!"
"It's getting cold, so I need to wrap the shelter in leaves."
"...?"
Won Yu-hwa tilted her head in confusion.
If he needed leaves, he could just pick them up or snap branches.
Why uproot a whole tree?
Crunch!
Kang Moo-jin answered her unspoken question with action.
"...!"
He had shaken the massive tree over the shelter, causing leaves to rain down in a shower.
"Ah, no way..."
Won Yu-hwa's jaw dropped at Moo-jin's ability, which far exceeded her expectations.
If it had been her, she would have racked her brain figuring out the most efficient way to gather leaves.
They say if your body's strong, your brain doesn't have to work hard...
The saying was usually the opposite, but this moment felt like it fit perfectly.
Snap! Crack!
After that, Moo-jin split trees into firewood with single punches, crafted simple chairs for comfortable seating, and finished various tasks in a flash.
He was so quick that he wrapped up before Won Yu-hwa could even finish her meditation.
"Every time I see it, it's amazing. To think it could be this warm."
Won Yu-hwa's eyes widened in wonder inside the shelter.
Made of mere wood and leaves, it was as cozy as a high-end inn room.
It felt like no cold air from outside could seep in.
"You get used to it with practice. I used to shiver at first too."
"No way, you're lying. I can't imagine you trembling from the cold."
"Hmm. Come to think of it, it was the person next to me who was shivering. I was fine."
Correcting his memory, Moo-jin sat by the campfire.
"How's the lightness skill? Not too tiring?"
Won Yu-hwa nodded as she approached him.
"I can manage."
"Tell me if it's tough. We'll rest more in between."
"I know you're already going easy on me."
Her lightness skill lagged behind his, but she wasn't oblivious.
She knew Moo-jin occasionally turned to check on her while running.
"But how do you never get tired, Brother? You don't even sweat."
Lightness skills consumed both stamina and inner energy—a demanding art.
Even the toughest warrior would tire, sweat, and cramp after long use, but not Moo-jin.
His muscles seemed forged from the finest steel wires; he never fatigued.
"I used to run harder than this back then."
In the Linked Qi Realm, Moo-jin had faced humans wielding martial arts, sorcerers casting spells, colossal yokai reaching the heavens, and beasts that absorbed entire mountains—foes of every variety.
"Back then, even running till I dropped wasn't enough."
At that time, Moo-jin had been fleeing a yokai stronger than him: the White Marsh.
A mountain-sized beast resembling a lion with eight eyes, it was shockingly fast for its bulk.
To survive, Moo-jin had run with every ounce of strength, nonstop.
He ran all day without rest, even handling necessities on the move.
After thirty days of that, he had gained speed that even super-fast yokai couldn't match.
"Compared to that, this is just a light stroll. That's why no sweat."
"Wow... You really went through hell, Brother. Must've been tough."
Every Linked Qi Realm tale from Moo-jin filled Won Yu-hwa with awe.
The world itself was astonishing, but that a mere third-rate like him had survived through sheer effort was miraculous.
"Well, thanks to it, I got strong enough to come back."
If he hadn't innovated his martial arts through brutal struggles in the Linked Qi Realm, reaching the pinnacle there, Moo-jin never would have returned to the Diamond Escort Agency he missed.
He wouldn't have seen his father again, his eldest brother would have died in Repentance Cave, and his niece Kang Soo-yeon would have starved or been sold off by fiends.
All that had changed because Kang Moo-jin returned to the mortal realm.
"Night's deepening. Get some rest. I need to meditate a bit too."
"Yes! Go ahead, Brother. I'll stand guard."
"Alright."
Warriors meditating focused inward, vulnerable to external shocks.
Most qi deviations happened from interruptions during meditation, tangling their energy.
No real need, but...
But a master of Moo-jin's caliber didn't require a guard for meditation.
Upon reaching such heights, the boundary between inner and outer expanded.
The inner self versus the outer world.
The mindscape influenced by dantian energy blurred with the unaffected world as cultivation rose.
For Moo-jin, inner and outer lost all meaning.
In simple terms, he could embrace the entire world as "self."
"Thanks, then."
"Yes, Brother."
Not wanting to refuse her kindness, Moo-jin let her stand guard and closed his eyes.
Concentrating fully on his mindscape—a barren world without a single tree—he examined his martial arts.
Recovered quite a bit.
The Immortal Diamond Qi Art—both sorcery and martial art that made him the Linked Qi Realm's apex.
Crossing realms, he'd lost most of his power.
But it was returning steadily, if slowly and surely.
Of course. It's only natural.
The power he'd lost was once achieved through his own efforts.
Like rainwater refilling an empty basin, it would return naturally without training.
No need to rush.
Time was plentiful. At twenty-five, he had ages ahead.
Plus, no yokai or evil spirits here.
The Linked Qi Realm teemed with monsters who could turn the world to hell with a breath, but his world was peacefully free of them.
"Whew."
Finishing meditation, Kang Moo-jin exhaled and opened his eyes.
"All done?"
Won Yu-hwa approached with a bright smile.
"Shall we have a drink?"
"...? Where's the..."
"I brought some."
Won Yu-hwa pulled out a bottle of Hundred Flowers Dew—uncertain when she'd packed it—and sat beside him.
Didn't they say sharing drinks on a good night brought people closer, body and soul?
Today, she wanted to get closer to Moo-jin.
That's why she'd snuck the liquor in her luggage.
"Nice night, warm fire. One drink won't hurt, right?"
"Hmm..."
Moo-jin's gaze drifted to his muscles.
"Don't tell me you're going to say alcohol hinders muscle growth and causes loss again?"
Won Yu-hwa pouted at him.
She'd heard it so often, she could recite it by heart.
"Nah. We had a deal, so let's drink tonight."
Kang Moo-jin and Won Yu-hwa thus shared a few drinks, filling the night's silence with talk.
The space between them gradually shrank,
and clink
when the bottle emptied, Won Yu-hwa's flushed face rested on Moo-jin's shoulder.
"N-no... Brother. Not the lips..."
Whatever dream she was having, she mumbled strangely.
"Hm."
Moo-jin gently slipped a hand under her head, the other under her calves, and lifted her effortlessly.
She was light as a feather. Astonishing she wielded martial arts with such a delicate frame.
Swish
He laid her, face pink like spring plum blossoms, deep inside the shelter.
Confirming she was fast asleep, Moo-jin quietly stepped out and sat by the fire again.
"Fun."
It had been ages since he'd had such deep conversation with someone.
When was the last time?
Too long ago to recall clearly.
"Probably Seo-rin."
The skilled sorceress had always aided him in danger, even sending him back to the mortal realm at the end.
Thinking on it, camping like this with someone was also first since her.
"Seo-rin would lean on my shoulder sometimes too."
Recalling those memories, Moo-jin suddenly widened his eyes and glanced at his shoulder.
He'd just remembered how Seo-rin often drooled on his Plum Wind Robe, causing trouble.
"Phew."
Fortunately, Won Yu-hwa hadn't stained his Plum Wind Robe with drool.
Kang Moo-jin sighed in relief and looked away from his shoulder.
"Gotta protect the Plum Wind Robe."