Tale of a Scribe Who Retires to the Countryside

Description

A scholar who failed the national exams is picked up by a martial arts master and given the task to record his life into a book. Through their journey, Son Bin meets many great people and soon finds himself following the same path as the master, as the Martial Arts King.

Original Novel:
Naver Novel, Naver Series

Original Webtoon:
Naver Webtoon, Naver Series

Official Translations:
Thai, T.Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese

Type

Manhwa

Associated Names

Nakhyangmun Dictionary

Tales of the Martial Scribe

นักเขียนตำราผู้สอบตก

落郷文士伝

落鄉文士傳

낙향문사전

Groups Scanlating

Latest Release(s)

c.234-235 by LSComic 10 months ago

c.233 by LSComic 11 months ago

c.232 by LSComic 11 months ago

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Status in Country of Origin

235 Chapters + Prologue (Ongoing)

S1: 63 Chapters (Complete)
S2: 172 Chapters (Complete)
S3: TBA

Completely Scanlated?

Anime Start/End Chapter

N/A

User Reviews

N/A

Forum

0 topics, 0 posts

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User Rating

Average: 7.4 / 10.0 (139 votes)

Bayesian Average: 7.2 / 10.0

18%

16%

19%

22%

Last Updated

November 4th, 2025 8:06am PST - 1 month ago

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Genre

Action Adventure Fantasy Harem Martial Arts Shounen
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Categories

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Category Recommendations

Liu Yao: The Revitalization of Fuyao Sect (Novel)

Legend of Exorcism: Tianbao Fuyao Lu (Novel)

Ghost King

The Reincarnated Armed Escort

Yi Gwol: The Grand Commander

Recommendations

N/A

Author(s)

Barking Dog

CHOI Hyun-woo

Artist(s)

Gogi Sanjeok

Team Pegasus [Add]

Year

2020

Original Publisher

Daily Books

Naver

REDICE STUDIO

Serialized In (magazine)

Naver Webtoon (Naver)

Naver Series (Naver)

Licensed (in English)

English Publisher

N/A

Activity Stats (vs. other series)

Weekly Pos #774

(-2)

Monthly Pos #1271

(-316)

3 Month Pos #2481

(-29)

6 Month Pos #2666

(-31)

Year Pos #2888

(+383)

List Stats

On 883 reading lists

On 190 wish lists

On 13 completed lists

On 41 unfinished lists

On 144 custom lists

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User Comments [ Order by usefulness ]

none of these women passes the Bechdel test.

by TiredandDeadInside
2 years ago

Rating: N/A

Disappointing. This is a harem without the tag. EVERY woman is intrigued or falls in love with MC. They even live together or VERY frequently visit each other in a countryside school waiting for him like the good, obedient, little sister-wives that they are. 🙄😒

Their first, second and last thoughts these women all have are always about the MC after they meet him. No individual agency. They all look for him like heat seeking missiles.

It wouldn't be so offensive if they had their own storyline AND keep to it. They do not.

This MC doesn't have a single male character around his age to be a companion in the 90 chapters I've read either. It's only beautiful young women, very young children and VERY old men.

If a powerful young person who looks male with a clean-shaven, pretty appearance has come into contact with MC they will 99.9% turn out to be female despite how ambiguous the artwork is. Oh, and any beautiful men are not just villainous but creepily so.

The Jade Dragon was elegant, morally corrupt and grossly obsessed so of course he had to die. Good looking evil dudes who are queer coded aren't given redemption arcs like a bunch of other male characters who start off acting all shitty and even dangerously towards the MC or MC's party. The NO HOMO/Queers Are Degenerates is just unbelievably loud with this writer's works.

EDIT: Ooh, Seorin is actually male? Good. Despite the translations calling him female all this time I've always thought of him as a man. Finally. A young man. It only took 94 chapters jfc author.

It's okay for men to have deep, male friendships. It IS.

... Last updated 9 months ago

Was this comment useful? Yes

A Deep and Wonderful Story (don't worry about MC's change in S2)

by crazyazn69
3 years ago

Rating: 7.0 / 10.0

... I was a bit worried when I read all the comments about how MC's character took a sudden (and seemingly problematic turn) in Season 2, but I found myself so immersed in the story that I completely missed that "transition". In retrospect, I realize the MC's personality did change a lot, but it felt plausible enough for me given the plot progression and changes in his situation.

Anyhow, this is a super compelling story. Great MC. Wonderful perspective. Lots of the plot changes seem so much more natural and feasible than in 95% of manga out there that have similar tropes. This has been a breathe of fresh air!
Overall great!

Art is great
Cast of characters are well developed and interesting
The plot is satisifying
Good guys win in a way that doesn't feel too cliche or overdone
Story progression and character development are fairly well paced (MC's power up was a bit sudden, but also fits the story well!)
Interesting ideas & concepts regularly introduced

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WTF happened with season 2?

by Gottesurteil
4 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

Did both the artist and author change? The MC's character design changed notably between chapters 63 and 64, which is really bad considering there's no time skip. It's literally a matter of second (season 1 didn't have a climax, it just paused mid scene).

Also, the MC himself has drastically changed... he used to be intelligent and frankly one of the greatest MCs in the genre. I.. really don't know what happened during the 3 month break between seasons, but this went from top-tier to near droppable.

What happened😕

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Wtf is happening in chapter 64 - 66?

by Tyronuslevauxis
4 years ago

Rating: N/A

Like man.. why.. im very angry about those chapter. Why? After the hiatus you forgot about your mc? Man... that's really stupid.

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Slow but not

by Helbrassen
4 years ago

Rating: 7.0 / 10.0

The manga has a Story that moves forward in a good pace and is engaging and interesting: The manga is slow in showing the main characters growth, this is good in my opinion since there are to many Weak to Strong mangas out there that makes the main character go from weak to strong in just a few chapters, i'm currently on chapter 29 and the main character isn't strong yet but you are able to seem him improve and grasp the concept of the martial arts hes been observing.

I like it.

... Last updated 4 years ago

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A fresh take on murim stories.

by Psy472
5 years ago

Rating: N/A

A scholar with no experience in martial arts, due to coincidence was employed to record the life of a master martial artists like the intro said. However, if you read beyond that simple intro, you will see a complex hidden plots and relationships among characters. Our MC may not be a simple scholar as he appears. The pace is relaxed, the character development intricate, and the action is good.

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The meaning of being a martial artist

by Samken
5 years ago

Rating: 9.0 / 10.0

Name is as it implies, a Failed Scholar is recruited by a Martial Arts Master to follow him around on the intent of writing his will/biography to leave it for future generations, this, in turn, changes the scholar as well since he needs to understand what it means to be a martial artist to make sense of what the martial arts master wants to leave it behind.

This takes a more physiological approach on what it means to be a martial artist then it's current peers, highly recommended.

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A poetic take on the martial arts genre

by OneTruePancake
5 years ago

Rating: 8.0 / 10.0

This story is about a scribe who follows a middle aged martial artist and writes his biography. It revolves around their interactions and conversations about the abstract ideas of martial arts. An engaging read that has amazing art and battle scenes. I personally found it to be less cliche than other reads in that the main character is also watching along side the reader.

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