MTL NOVEL Chapter 30
After dismissing Jin Woo-yong.
“Ugh….”
Byul Rak, uncharacteristically pressed his forehead and swayed.
He usually doesn’t feel fatigue easily, but now he appeared quite weary.
“Haa….”
Stepping into the realm of reflection was fine.
No matter how broken he may be, his mental strength isn’t weak enough to be impacted to that degree.
However, opening the realm of memories was something even he couldn’t ignore.
“…Ugh.”
With fragments of memories surfacing, Byul Rak let out a groan, quickly lay down on the bed, and pressed his sleeping acupoint.
Ploof-.
Like that, he slipped deeply into sleep.
Completely forgetting that the Moonlight Division containing Jin Woo-yong’s soul was right beside him.
– Are you sleeping?
Upon seeing Byul Rak close his eyes, Jin Woo-yong asked a question.
It was a question thrown out without expecting an answer.
– Kid, you’ve already fallen asleep.
After confirming Byul Rak was asleep, Jin Woo-yong gently exited the Moonlight Division.
With the intention to take the chance while he was sleeping to review the memories he hadn’t seen earlier.
– How disrespectful not to answer an elder’s question.
‘Though it’s unclear if he can still be called an elder nowadays.’
Jin Woo-yong is a figure from Ancient Martial Arts world.
Even then, there were exceptional martial artists and mysterious recluses whose origins were unclear, often called “eccentric knights”.
Among them were ancient hermits who lived for immeasurable ages, almost like immortals.
However, the span of time he saw in Byul Rak’s memories far exceeded even the combined lifespans of all these individuals.
– One cannot simply leave someone with an unknown origin next to one’s descendant, understand?
In reality, pure curiosity was the only reason.
Without a second thought, Jin Woo-yong penetrated Byul Rak’s body again.
Entering the unconscious world he originally intended to enter, meant for Jin Gayoung.
“Where might the door of memories be?”
Although slightly lost due to the unusual darkness and being in a different place from the space of reflection he visited earlier, it didn’t take him long.
“Oh, of course.”
Since consciousness itself is continuous, Jin Woo-yong soon found the memory space he had seen previously.
Creak-.
Upon entering the door, another scene of intricate patterns unfolded.
“Heavens… it truly seems endless.”
In Byul Rak’s memories, scenes were displayed like paintings everywhere, and from each painting, fountains of blood would spout—a sight that inevitably induced aversion.
As Jin Woo-yong walked step by step, he grabbed and opened a random memory.
It was a memory concerning his father’s nemesis, ‘Blood Sea Grandmistress’, and a ‘pink-haired girl’.
Coincidentally, it was the closest to Jin Woo-yong’s location.
“….”
While watching the replay of Byul Rak’s ‘fragmented memory’, Jin Woo-yong once again found himself being pulled into a deep silence.
—
—
In the repeated deaths, I somehow naturally came to understand the method of killing emotions.
Beginning to act while excluding emotions like reason as something luxurious, I started acting.
Because only by doing so could I endure without succumbing to corruption while making myself, a ‘person’, a ‘tool of regression’.
After preventing the ‘Blood Sea Grandmistress massacre’ 2 years after the ‘regression point’ and saving her daughter, it was for this reason.
Originally, the righteous Blood Sea Grandmistress would kill indiscriminately, and after she slaughtered countless martial artists sent to punish her, she would join the Blood Cult.
It wasn’t due to loyalty to the Blood Demon or because she was touched by the Blood Cult’s doctrine.
It was to avoid the wrath of the divine monk whose disciple was killed.
Having become a subordinate of the Blood Demon, the Blood Sea Grandmistress proceeded to commit countless acts of unspeakable evil under him.
In order to stop the source, I began participating in the hunting and massacre of the Blood Sea Grandmistress, known as the divine sword.
Because this happened before the regression, the irreparable ‘father’s death’ hatred was forgotten.
Considering only efficiency and justice.
Anyway, by killing the Blood Sea Grandmistress, I found out there was a nine-year-old girl.
The girl resembled the Blood Sea Grandmistress with an unusually pink hair, hidden because of her infamous reputation, and thus unknown.
Had there been any leftover hatred due to being an enemy of my father, I might not have saved the girl.
Because anyone with familial love would inevitably think it’s justified to kill the family of the one who killed mine, even if it goes against justice.
But to me, who had killed his feelings, she was just ‘an innocent child.’
And an innocent weak person is someone worth protecting, even at the cost of one’s life.
With this in mind, I saved the child, even going against the other martial artists in the process.
For a while, things flowed the same way.
I killed Blood Sea Grandmistress as the divine sword and emotionlessly saved the innocent daughter, reciting predetermined lines like a machine.
It was during one such routine regression that a crack appeared.
In a certain countryside village where Blood Cult followers had indiscriminately murdered innocents and passed by.
It was here that I discovered the body of the pink-haired girl.
Though I saved her from the righteous martial artists, ultimately my inadequacies led to her death where I couldn’t see her.
From the next regression cycle onwards, I sometimes took her with me.
However, there were limits to this also, and being with me only exposed her to more dangers.
Thus, from a certain point, I began preparing pre-made martial arts techniques and giving them to her.
I didn’t give the martial arts a specific name.
They were designed without any esoteric concepts, focusing purely on practicality.
It wasn’t difficult. While on the way to confront the Blood Sea Grandmistress, scribbling the essentials of the martial techniques in a notebook and handing it over was sufficient.
Repeating this routine without any emotion.
Because I’m just a machine returning.
Whether fortunate or not, since I began doing so, the girl’s body has never been found again.
Even if she will die in the end, I’ve done my utmost, so I’m content.
Even in this current cycle, with infinite regresses ending, it was the same.
How is that pink-haired girl doing?
—
—
“…That’s unbelievable.”
Jin Woo-yong’s voice trembled.
Even after the video he had just seen ended, he couldn’t pull himself out of its residue.
“Regression? Cycle? What on earth are these?”
It wasn’t something like a rejuvenated old master.
A truly unique existence, unparalleled in the history of martial arts spanning thousands of years.
That is, assuming his memories are unaltered.
“It’s not delusion. It’s too meticulous.”
Jin Woo-yong’s gaze swept across the space of memories.
There, tens of thousands of ‘scenes’ similar to what Jin Woo-yong had just seen were displayed all around.
“Are you really insane?”
Looking at them with disbelief, Jin Woo-yong slowly moved towards others.
And began dissecting them one by one.
Starting from ‘family’ with Yu Soeun, Namgung Soa, son, Namgung So-so, Namgung Bin, to ‘comrades’, ‘allies’, ‘long-time enemies’, ‘villains’, and even ‘friends’ like the divine monk, Jade Flower, and East Emperor Invincible.
If it were in real space, it would have taken decades just to skim through such vast memories, but
“Ha, hahaha….”
Jin Woo-yong within the subconscious absorbed all this within a few hours.
“Truly… an amazing one, he is.”
The exclamation escaped his widened lips.
“That friend of mine eventually gave up too…”
Suddenly, Jin Woo-yong thought of his old friend, the sword master.
It was about the sword master who single-handedly blocked the ambitions of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect eyeing the Central Plains.
And that day he came to reveal the power of regression and pleaded, holding onto his pants and crying that he couldn’t do this anymore, eventually stabbing himself to death.
Back then, the sword master had revealed that the current world was on ‘the ninth cycle’.
That is, the sword master went insane on the ninth round.
“How about this guy?”
By the looks of what Jin Woo-yong had seen just now, he must have turned back time no less than several thousand times.
Without once giving up, through countless regressions.
Without ever once falling into corruption.
Killing those he had to kill, again and again and again.
Saving those he needed to save, over and over and over.
Repeating countless thousands of years of living hell, where he died, and died, and died again.
All while never losing ‘justice’ and ‘fortitude’.
As a result, he ultimately saved this world which seemed to have no dreams or hopes.
Well, it’s true that he eventually fell victim to false accusations from his younger brother, despite some sketchy parts.
“What an incredible guy, truly incredible.”
A madman, no doubt.
A madman of justice.
Someone whose greatness is beyond words, perhaps even too crazed to be comprehended even by learning demonic powers.
“Mr. Jin, what exactly are you doing inside my consciousness?”
At this moment, Byul Rak, awakening from sleep, entered the room of reflection he had seen yesterday.
Jin Woo-yong saw Byul Rak, with parts of his flesh mangled and covered in blood — a horrifying sight.
But in the eyes of Jin Wu-yong, who had now uncovered the hidden facet of him, it was merely a glorious badge of honor.
Regardless of how reckless he might have been, Jin Woo-yong’s core remains one of unwavering justice, and seeing someone who never surrendered to adversity and eventually achieved glorious enlightenment evoked not just admiration but deep reverence.
“Son-in-law.”
Jin Woo-yong sat cross-legged on the ground.
“I’ve already told you that I am not your son-in-law.”
Realizing he was inside his consciousness but no longer angry, Byul Rak smiled slyly and responded.
“Relax. This sovereign approves of you.”
“…?”
“This sovereign approves of you to take his descendant.”
He was genuinely pleased at having gained the best possible son-in-law.
*
“I’ve greatly indebted to you.”
A woman with her brown hair tightly tied up in a bun bowed respectfully.
She was none other than Namgung So-so.
“Go well, but do not overexert yourself. Your health is not fully restored.”
The woman receiving the bow was wearing an old bamboo hat, the pink strands flowing from under it revealing her identity.
It was Hong Ryun.
“Yes, I will surely repay the great favor I owe.”
“Go and do your duties well.”
“…I hope your matters with my brother proceed well.”
“Don’t say things you don’t mean. Do I look like such a fool to you that I can’t read the human heart?”
“…”
“Take care of yourself. If you feel the lack of vitality, feel free to seek me. I’m not so destitute as to begrudge my sister-in-law such vitality.”
“Yes, thank you for everything.”
Lost in thought about whether to head to the Sword Lord or the Namgung Clan first, Namgung So-so departed from Hong Ryun.
As she watched Namgung So-so’s retreating figure, Hong Ryun muttered softly to herself, with a hint of killer intent.
“Come out.”
“…”
“I’ll make you limbless and cripple you if you don’t.”
“I humbly greet Pavilion Master.”
From behind the cottage where Namgung So-so and Hong Ryun had spent their days, a man crawled out.
It was Baiying Shadow King, known for his narrow slit-like eyes and white hair.
“So, I guess we’ve finally needed to talk at some point.”
The former leader of Baiying Alliance in the Martial Arts Alliance, and now working as the left hand of Namgung Bin.
And, unbeknownst to anyone, also a ‘first-tier assassin’ of the Execution Pavilion.
“…Sorry.”
“Where should we start?”
Taking out a small knife from her sleeves, Hong Ryun stepped forward.
With a twisted smile of killing intent stretching to her ears.
“Our adorable traitor boy.”
“Sorry.”
“By chance, I have something I need to pass on to Namgung Bin. Glad you came.”
“Sorry, please spare my life.”
“Did you have any idea how shocked I was when I first saw you? A run-away from the Execution Pavilion coming back to take assassination orders?”
“Sorry, sorry.”
“Did you find the Execution Pavilion amusing, is that it?”
Her crooked eyebrows glanced at Baiying Shadow King’s limbs.
Each time they did, Baiying Shadow King’s arms and legs trembled like they were possessed.
“Make your choice.”
“Sorry…!”
“Where should I cut you from?”