Murim Troubleshooter Dan Mujin

Chapter 60: Midnight Training

The Beggars’ Union was an intelligence organization in the Central Plains that rivaled the Hao Sect.

They often dispatched Beggars’ Union disciples across the land to build their information network efficiently.

Sometimes, they even infiltrated agents while hiding their identities as members of the Beggars’ Union.

This was exactly one of those cases.

‘So, that young man is the successor that the Dragon Head Sect Leader has marked?’

Park Chil, one of the Four Disciples, recalled the conversation he had with Elder Ilhogae before he was sent here.

A story about a young man who beat up ruffians with a club as if he were thrashing a mad dog.

Though his club was an ordinary stick with no knots, the way he swung it resembled the Dog-Beating Staff Technique, beating the ruffians like dogs.

‘Quietly follow him and verify whether he is indeed the successor.’

‘Yes, sir.’

And if he was the successor who had learned the Dog-Beating Staff Technique, Elder Ilhogae instructed him to also assess whether he was fit for the position in both character and talent.

‘And whatever it takes, find out the whereabouts of the missing Dragon Head Sect Leader.’

‘Got it.’

The position of the Beggars’ Union leader had been vacant for years now.

The return of the Dragon Head Sect Leader was a wish shared by all Beggars’ Union disciples.

And yet, the command was simply to “find out, somehow.”

‘However, during the process, do not incur the displeasure of the next Dragon Head Sect Leader. Handle that part on your own.’

So… was he supposed to find out, or not?

Anyway, recalling Elder Ilhogae’s advice, Park Chil carefully approached the group while portraying a bold and cheerful chivalrous hero.

“I am Ma Jungcheon. Pleased to meet you, Dan Mujin Sohyeop.”

“Ah, yes……”

Of course, he never imagined that his cover would be blown the moment he infiltrated.

The mystic energy of the Starfall Heart Cultivation Method surged through my body, burning fiercely.

After finishing my breathing techniques, I assessed the amount of internal energy—around twenty years' worth. At this rate, I might hit half a cycle by the end of the year.

It was thanks to the risk I took in stealing the energy of the stars that I had achieved such growth.

At the same time, it also meant I kept getting caught up in all sorts of incidents and accidents by fate.

“Still, it’s not enough.”

In terms of sheer amount of internal energy, I wasn’t lacking compared to heirs of other prestigious clans who grew under their family's full support.

Unfortunately, I started learning martial arts far too late, so my martial proficiency inevitably lagged behind.

Especially the Dog-Beating Staff Technique, which I had recently crammed into my head while being pounded.

I had only just become familiar with its basic moves, reaching First Mastery. There was still a long way to go.

But as the Heaven-Slaying Star, I had one way to shorten that path.

“More real combat, more battles!”

During escort trips, I declared that any bandits or attackers should be left to me.

Since Leader Jo paid the same wage whether I worked hard or not, he had no reason to stop me.

So every time attackers showed up, I excitedly danced with my Dog-Beating Staff Technique.

“Guhk!”

“Who the hell is this guy! Gah!”

Red arcs slashed messily across my field of vision. The staff slipped between incoming lethal techniques and struck the enemy's vital points.

Twisting this way, curving that way—its strange movements made enemies scream in pain and shock.

‘Evil Dog Blocks the Road!’

Indeed, what raised the Heaven-Slaying Star wasn’t training but bloody real combat.

The more I immersed myself in the killing aura and exchanged attacks, the more I felt the Dog-Beating Staff Technique improving rapidly.

And amidst the frantic battles, the staff began to feel like an extension of my limbs—a strange sensation.

“Almost there, but not quite.”

It felt like just a little more and something would click, but like a mirage, it kept slipping away.

Also, since a city near Shaolin Temple was coming up, no more thugs were popping out like grass-type monsters.

The current situation was tantalizing in many ways.

Still, with the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, which promised wealth and fame, just around the corner, I used every bit of free time to practice my staff techniques with vigor.

Then, one of the Beggars’ Union agents, hiding his identity, approached quietly and clapped his hands as he spoke.

“Such mysterious staff movements. Does it have a name?”

He had been staring at me the entire time I fought the bandits. It was quite uncomfortable.

And every time I smacked a villain with my staff, he clenched his fists excitedly along with Jo Harang.

I couldn’t figure out his intentions—he was a truly troublesome fellow.

“It’s called the Hell Demon-Slaying Bee Technique.”

Roar, Hell Demon-Slaying Staff.

I had deliberately altered the form and couldn’t call it the Dog-Beating Staff Technique in front of a Beggars’ Union disciple, so I gave it a temporary name.

But… I actually kind of liked it.

“…Huh, quite the fierce name.”

Ma Jungcheon let out a hollow laugh, impressed by my brilliant naming sense.

“It’s a technique to send the wicked to hell.”

Though I hadn’t sent anyone there yet… I planned to.

And that too only those evil ones beyond redemption.

“Sohyeop, with that level of skill, surely you must have an alias?”

There was a beautiful female wanderer carrying a greatsword nearby, and even Leader Jo’s daughter seemed curious about the new young master.

And yet, he pushed past them just to show interest in me.

If I hadn’t known he was from the Beggars’ Union, I might have seriously misunderstood his identity.

“They call me the One-Man Hero of Fortune among the people of the Murim.”

Not that I liked it much, but it was my alias.

“Th-that’s quite the creative alias.”

He tried his best to sound complimentary.

But I paid it no mind. Once I racked up more achievements and made a name for myself at this Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, it’d be replaced with something better.

“Oh, Leader. Because you beat up all those human traffickers and handed them over to the Magistrate Office last time, your alias has changed.”

Oh? That was some welcome news.

Ilhong had been busily going back and forth to the Black Spot and other places after that incident. Seems he picked up something.

“What are they calling me now?”

Looks like the kids I rescued then had spread word of my deeds just as I asked.

I waited for Ilhong’s answer with a faint look of expectation.

“Now people call you the Seven-Luck Three-Hero.”

“……”

Kids, if you were going to spread it, you could’ve tried a little harder.

Why does this nickname stick so stubbornly?

Do other people’s aliases also go up in stages by just swapping out the numbers?

“Pfft, Seven-Luck Three-Hero?”

A female wanderer with a greatsword, utterly lacking in empathy, burst out laughing.

“Don’t laugh, Soho.”

“But I’ve never seen an alias change so little by little like this.”

Look at her laughing so freely just because it’s not her story.

I shot a sharp glance her way.

“Maybe if I pull off a bit more, I could become the Five-Luck One-Hero. Let’s keep pushing, Mujin.”

“Shut it.”

So this is why first impressions—and first aliases—are so important.

Now I had even more reason to make a big impact at the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Thus continued the sweat-soaked journey.

Gritting my teeth, I threw myself even harder into training the Dog-Beating Staff Technique.

There’s an old idiom: “Wolmyeongseonghui” (月明星稀).

It means that when the moon is bright, the stars become scarce.

It also implies that when a great figure appears, lesser ones lose their shine.

“Tonight, the moonlight has hidden the stars.”

It felt just like my current situation.

There were so many masters in the world—Jo Harang, the later-generation prodigies of the orthodox sects...

Meanwhile, I, born under the Evil Star as a Murim killing machine, was struggling against the wall of First Rate Martial Artist.

“Phew.”

I exhaled a deep sigh as I gazed up at the stars.

Then Jo Harang approached me and spoke.

“Mujin, why are you sighing like that?”

Was she sleepless too? Judging from the sweat trailing down her neck and her disordered breathing, she must have been training just as hard.

“I also like training under the starlight. So what’s the issue?”

I told her that the problem was that this Dog-Beating Staff, made specifically for the successor, wasn’t accepting my internal energy.

To be exact, even pouring over twenty years of internal energy into it, it dispersed like smoke. It just wouldn’t form properly. Like pouring water into a bottomless dam.

“Looks like you’re going through the same thing I did when I was at the threshold of Peak Master Level.”

Jo Harang gave a faint smile and drew her greatsword.

She brushed off the cold sweat and began slicing through the moonlit air with her greatsword.

Whoom!

The powerful qi wave resonated with her internal energy flowing through the sword.

“Actually, channeling internal energy into a weapon isn’t that difficult. Just treat the weapon like it’s part of your body and let it flow.”

Like treating it as an extension of your limbs, she said. I did feel something like that from time to time while swinging my staff nonstop.

“But this isn’t my arm or leg, is it?”

Just because you think of yourself as a super-handsome boy doesn’t make it so. Likewise, this Dog-Beating Staff wasn’t part of my body.

“You have to think of it that way and circulate your qi. Just like circulating qi through the Conception and Governor vessels.”

As I scratched my cheek at her vague explanation, Jo Harang told me to touch her greatsword.

When I did, I naturally felt the qi circulate—from the greatsword into her body and then back again, as if she was performing the Small Heavenly Cycle.

“Ah, so that’s what you meant!”

It wasn’t about forcefully cramming internal energy into the weapon. Qi was like flowing water—so I had to treat the staff like an arm and let the internal energy circulate.

I immediately tried channeling my qi delicately into the Dog-Beating Staff, forming irrigation-like qi pathways within it. Then, like a battery with both terminals connected, the qi began to flow naturally.

“It’s working. I can feel the qi!”

Once I got the hang of it, the rest went smoothly.

Like a breached dam, my twenty years’ worth of internal energy began gushing through the Dog-Beating Staff. The potent power filled it completely.

I tried swinging it at a thick nearby tree as a test.

Bang!

The tree’s side shattered into splinters. Shards of wood flew in all directions.

The noise was loud enough to wake the escort guards who wondered what had happened.

And despite the destructive impact, the Dog-Beating Staff remained flawless thanks to the internal energy’s protection.

“Huh, what is this…?”

Until now, I had just poured qi into my body to “swing harder,” but this attack was something beyond that.

“Congratulations on becoming a First Rate Martial Artist, Mujin.”

Jo Harang congratulated me beside me, as if it was her own achievement.

She felt a bit embarrassed, saying that it should’ve been my master who taught me this, not her.

“No… it’s totally fine. My so-called master sucks at this kind of thing.”

That’s how it always was with people born with innate talent.

They just beat you up and expect you to figure it out on your own.

“But is it really okay for you to teach me this kind of thing?”

Most martial artists didn’t share their enlightenment or martial knowledge with people they’d only recently met.

It would be like handing over their business secrets in merchant terms.

And even stranger was the fact that I had received this help from a woman who had declared her intent to kill me.

“What’s the problem? It’s not like this is some secret martial art of my sect. I’m just giving advice.”

“Still though… why are you being so good to me?”

Jo Harang looked up at the dazzling moon and answered.

“Because good people need to be stronger than bad ones. That’s the only way to uphold justice, right?”

She gave guidance to a mere escort companion based on that single line of thinking?

“Hey, I’m not a good person.”

“Sure, sure. That’s what all the good people say.”

On the other hand, bad people always tried to present themselves as good.

Seems like she had the wrong idea about me. I was just a supreme opportunist who acted based on benefit.

Right now, accumulating good karma helped me extend my life and improve my martial arts, so that’s what I was doing.

“Anyway, I’ll pay you back for this someday.”

Like Eun Hwaran said, I return what I receive. Be it a grudge or a favor.

“Okay, I’ll look forward to it.”

As the round moon slipped behind the clouds, the stars finally began to shine.

And beneath the now radiant starlight, Jo Harang stood smiling mysteriously.

The next day, we arrived at a city called Deungbong, located near Mount Song and the Shaolin Temple.

After passing through the city gates, Leader Jo once again gave only the assembly time and disappeared with his family.

For me, even Mount Geumgang comes after eating.

Mount Song, where the Shaolin Temple stood, was rugged and short on proper food. First, I had to fill my belly.

Thanks to the human traffickers I’d beaten up, my purse was heavy, so I could afford a luxurious inn.

Thinking that, I visited a high-end inn—and there I saw a familiar face.

“Huh? What the—why are you popping out from here?”

That sharply cut bob brushing past the ears, and those piercing red eyes.

“Dang Yeo-hye…?”

“Hey, am I your buddy? You call me way too casually.”

The rude girl of the Sichuan Tang Clan, Poison Sparrow Mountain Blood, Dang Yeo-hye, glared at me while gnawing on a chicken drumstick.