Chapter 15 — Hall of Martial Law
The heart of Kunlun. A cluster of training grounds and grand pavilions stacked upon one another.
In the center of it all stood one seemingly ordinary building.
Gray walls and a black-tiled roof. From the outside, there was nothing particularly striking about it. Yet every single person living under the shadow of Kunlun knew the truth.
Behind that plain exterior lay a crushing, solemn weight.
Hanging above the main gate was an old, weathered plaque.
Two characters were carved roughly into it:
[Mu-heon (æ¦æ†²)]
The Hall of Martial Law — the symbol of Kunlun’s iron law and feared authority.
Everyone who walked past this building naturally lightened their steps. Lowering their heads and keeping silent had become an unspoken rule.
And right now, I was walking straight toward the main gate of that very hall.
Surprisingly, I wasn’t alone.
A few members of the Affairs Hall, including Yi Sogwang and Wang Dusik, followed nervously behind me.
“Th-this is… the Hall of Martial Law?”
“Ugh, I’m getting chills down my spine…”
“M-Mujin. Are you really going in there?”
Their voices trembled with fear.
I glanced back and spoke casually.
“If you’re that scared, why did you follow me all the way here? I told you to just wait quietly at the Affairs Hall.”
“B-but… if something happens to you while you’re inside…”
“Y-yeah. If we all go together and explain properly, maybe nothing will happen.”
Yi Sogwang and Wang Dusik looked around anxiously as they answered.
I waved my hand dismissively.
“It’s fine. There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll handle everything.”
“B-but this is the Hall of Martial Law! They say you walk in on your own two feet and come out as a half-corpse—”
“Half-corpse? I haven’t even committed any crime. What’s there to worry about?”
“Still…”
“Stop talking nonsense. If you’re going to follow me, then shut up and stay behind me.”
At my words, the Affairs Hall members nodded vigorously.
After giving them that half-hearted warning, I turned forward again.
Though I had spoken bluntly, I actually felt a little touched inside.
‘They really decided to come with me despite being this scared.’
They had overcome the instinctive terror that the name “Hall of Martial Law” carried, all because they were worried about me.
‘These guys definitely have a strong sense of loyalty.’
For a moment, memories from my previous life flashed through my mind.
The days I spent as a test subject in the Shadow Corps’ underground prison.
Back then, I couldn’t form deep bonds with anyone.
Even if I occasionally met someone who shared my thoughts, those relationships never lasted long.
The person I dreamed of escaping with today could easily become a cold corpse tomorrow.
I had always longed for human connection, yet the fear of loss was even greater.
It was a truly lonely and cruel time.
Perhaps that was why.
Seeing the members of the Affairs Hall follow me here, despite their fear, made something stir deep in my chest.
“Huu…”
I took a deep breath to steady my mind, then continued walking forward.
Soon, we arrived in front of the main gate of the Hall of Martial Law.
There wasn’t even a single gatekeeper.
It was only natural. Almost no one ever came here willingly, so there was no need to guard the entrance.
Most people were too afraid to even step near the threshold.
I reached out with both arms and pushed the thick, ancient wooden doors open.
Creaaaaak—
Without hesitation, I stepped inside.
***
The moment I crossed the threshold, a bone-chilling cold brushed against my face.
What greeted me first was an interior far simpler than the hall’s terrifying reputation suggested.
Plain gray walls with not even a single hanging scroll. The cold air inside only intensified the eerie atmosphere.
In the center of the wide space sat a single chair made of rosewood.
A person was seated upon it.
In front of the chair stretched a long rectangular space, resembling a courtroom.
On both sides of this space stood rows of martial artists wearing gray uniforms. The crimson bands wrapped around their sleeves stood out sharply.
Every Kunlun disciple knew what those red bands meant.
They were the symbol of the enforcers of Kunlun’s laws — the warriors of the Hall of Martial Law.
Despite the plain interior, the heavy, solemn aura radiating from them created a suffocating tension in the air.
At that moment, a sharp yell erupted from the front of the hall.
“That’s him! That’s the bastard who ambushed me in the Martial Training Hall and used bizarre sorcery to harm my fellow disciples!”
I turned toward the source of the voice and saw a familiar face.
The man screaming as if in agony from the opposite side of the rosewood chair was none other than that damn Myeong-hoon.
He was surrounded by the same group of lackeys who had fled earlier.
‘He recovered surprisingly fast.’
The guy who had been foaming at the mouth and passed out was already up and running to the Hall of Martial Law to rat me out.
‘Maybe I should’ve broken his jaw so he couldn’t speak.’
I felt a slight regret for holding back earlier.
“Everyone behind him is in on it too! They conspired with that Han Mujin guy and attacked us—”
Myeong-hoon’s pointing finger froze mid-air as his eyes met mine.
His face instantly turned deathly pale.
‘Look at this coward.’
The moment our eyes locked, it seemed all the memories of what I had done to him came flooding back.
It looked like Myeong-hoon needed another round of proper “education.”
I shouted at him.
“Hey, you. Stay right there.”
The instant I tried to step toward him, the Martial Law enforcers standing along the edges moved forward in perfect unison.
Their hands were already gripping the hilts of the swords strapped to their backs. One wrong move and they looked ready to draw and sever my head.
Just as I was considering my next action—
“Enough. Stand down.”
A low, heavy voice echoed throughout the building.
At his command, the enforcers who had been blocking my path silently retreated.
I turned my head toward the source of the voice.
It was the man seated on the rosewood chair.
‘So he’s the one in charge of the Hall of Martial Law.’
Since the enforcers were no longer blocking me, I had no reason to hesitate.
I strode forward confidently. The Affairs Hall members followed carefully behind me.
As I drew closer, the man’s appearance became clearer.
He was a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his mid-forties. Streaks of gray mixed into his black hair, and the deep furrows between his brows spoke of burdens far heavier than his years.
He rested his chin on one hand, staring at me with an indifferent gaze. His eyes were clear yet ice-cold, exerting a subtle but powerful pressure.
Unlike the other enforcers, his uniform had not one, but three crimson bands on the sleeve cuffs.
Every Kunlun disciple knew exactly what that meant.
The red bands on the sleeve indicated rank within the Hall of Martial Law.
One band for regular enforcers, two for mid-level officers, and three for the Hall Master himself.
‘So he really is the Hall Master.’
My gaze naturally shifted to the side.
Next to the Hall Master stood a young martial artist.
He looked to be in his late teens, around my age, with strikingly handsome features.
While his appearance was undeniably attractive, that wasn’t what caught my attention.
‘…Two bands?’
Two crimson bands were wrapped around his sleeve cuffs.
That signified a mid-level officer position within the Hall of Martial Law.
For someone so young to already hold such a position… it was impossible not to notice.
At that moment, the Hall Master seated on the chair spoke.
“Is that the one? The person you claimed used sorcery.”
Myeong-hoon nodded frantically when the Hall Master looked at him.
“Yes, that’s him! He’s the one who ambushed me and my fellow disciples using wicked sorcery!”
“Hmm… sorcery, you say.”
The Hall Master paused for a moment in thought, then straightened up from his chair and turned his gaze toward me.
“I am Hyeon-yul, the one in charge of the Hall of Martial Law.”
His voice carried a deep, imposing weight.
I didn’t answer immediately and waited for him to continue.
“According to Daoist Myeong-hoon here, you ambushed him during a lesson at the Martial Training Hall a week ago. And today, you attacked his fellow disciples as well.”
Ambush? Attack?
What a load of bullshit.
They were the ones who started everything, yet here they were playing the victim.
“Furthermore, there are testimonies that you used sorcery during the incident.”
Hall Master Hyeon-yul gestured with his finger toward the group behind Myeong-hoon.
I turned my head and glared at them.
“Hiiik!”
The moment our eyes met, Myeong-hoon’s group recoiled in terror, stumbling backward.
‘Pathetic fools.’
I snorted in disdain at their reaction.
Hall Master Hyeon-yul and the young enforcer beside him watched both me and Myeong-hoon’s gang with sharp, unreadable eyes.
A moment later, Hyeon-yul spoke again.
“Even though these are merely testimonies, the suspicion of sorcery cannot be taken lightly. Moreover, ambushing a Daoist in charge of a Martial Training Hall class is a serious offense that directly defies Kunlun’s laws.”
The moment Hall Master Hyeon-yul finished speaking, the air inside the hall grew as cold as ice. Several enforcers’ hands drifted back toward their sword hilts.
If things continued this way, I would clearly be branded a criminal and face immediate judgment.
But I didn’t shrink back in the slightest.
I looked Hall Master Hyeon-yul straight in the eyes and spoke clearly.
“Everything they said is a lie. The same goes for the Martial Training Hall incident. It wasn’t me who ambushed anyone — that Myeong-hoon bastard tried to ambush me, only to be subdued by my master.”
“…Master?”
Hall Master Hyeon-yul’s eyebrows rose slightly.
Immediately, Myeong-hoon screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Master?! That’s nonsense! A mere Affairs Hall servant claiming to have a master? Preposterous!”
At Myeong-hoon’s outburst, Yi Sogwang stepped forward from behind me and raised his voice in protest.
“That’s not true! Mujin is telling the truth! Someone else subdued Daoist Myeong-hoon!”
Hall Master Hyeon-yul tilted his head toward Yi Sogwang.
“Who was it? The person who supposedly subdued Daoist Myeong-hoon.”
“That… I don’t know exactly. It was someone I’d never seen before. A massive giant with the build of a bear knocked Myeong-hoon down, then carried Mujin on his back and vanished into the sky. Everyone who was in the Martial Training Hall that day saw it.”
Yi Sogwang looked genuinely regretful that he didn’t know the identity of the person who had taken me away.
Of course he wouldn’t know. Jin Gwang-ung was an extremely reclusive figure, and ordinary Affairs Hall members rarely, if ever, had the chance to see one of Kunlun’s highest authorities.
My situation, however, was different.
From the moment I reincarnated into this Murim world, I had been obsessed with learning martial arts and shaking the world. So I had spent every spare moment gathering information about Kunlun’s major figures and power structures.
Regardless of the situation, I felt a surge of gratitude toward Yi Sogwang for stepping up and speaking on my behalf.
Even most ordinary Daoists would freeze in fear the moment they stepped into the Hall of Martial Law. For a regular person like Yi Sogwang to overcome that pressure and testify was no easy feat.
“Do you have anything to say? According to them, there was another person who attacked you in the Martial Training Hall, and there are even witnesses.”
Seeming to find Yi Sogwang’s words plausible, Hyeon-yul turned back to Myeong-hoon.
Myeong-hoon answered with a sly, contemptible smile.
“Hall Master Hyeon-yul. If what they just said is true, then this Han Mujin could pose a truly great threat to Kunlun.”
“A threat?”
“Yes, didn’t you hear? There was someone else who attacked me, and that person took this bastard away.”
Myeong-hoon pointed at me and raised his voice dramatically.
“This guy is nothing more than an Affairs Hall servant. How could such a worthless nobody knock me and my fellow disciples down in a single blow? On top of that, he used some bizarre sorcery I’ve never seen before.”
Hall Master Hyeon-yul’s eyes wavered slightly.
Noticing this, Myeong-hoon grew even more excited and continued.
“After that bastard disappeared from the Martial Training Hall, we searched every corner of Kunlun for a whole week. But we couldn’t find a single trace of him. That means Han Mujin was outside of Kunlun during that time.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Myeong-hoon let out an exaggerated sigh.
“Huu… Surely you know, Hall Master. The ones secretly building their power near Kunlun, those who covet the peace of the Murim…”
“You mean…?”
“It’s the Heavenly Demon Cult.”
Myeong-hoon spoke with a meaningful, calculated expression.
“Han Mujin is a spy of the Heavenly Demon Cult. And the so-called ‘master’ who took him away must be one of their operatives as well!”
The instant those words left his mouth, the air inside the Hall of Martial Law turned bone-chillingly cold.
In an instant, every single gaze in the hall locked onto me.
Eyes filled with fear, shock, and deep suspicion.
I met all those gazes head-on and let out a short, internal sigh.
‘Haah… that son of a bitch really…’