The Ice Flower and the Cursed Child
Na Hye-mi, the Ice Flower.
She was a concubine's daughter of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, one of the Twelve Demonic Families that had once led Matian.
As the illegitimate child of the Northern Sea Demonic Sovereign, rumors had whispered that her martial talent far surpassed that of the legitimate heirs.
However, she had vanished before anyone could verify the truth of those rumors.
To think the subject of those legendary rumors had ended up as his older brother's wife.
Even in her simple, unadorned attire, the Ice Flower exuded an undeniable aura of noble elegance and beauty.
"You are the reason all of this started."
Yoo-sung narrowed his eyes at her words.
"Was the woman being pursued back then... you?"
Yoo-sung had once roamed the wide world as if it were his personal playground.
Drawn by tales of the Northern Sea's breathtaking frozen landscapes, he had traveled to the far north, only to clash with the demonic martial artists of the region.
What began as a minor dispute quickly escalated until he found himself directly opposing the direct heirs of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
In the ensuing chaos, several of the Ice Palace's heirs were severely injured, throwing their succession struggle into absolute disarray.
"Thanks to that distraction, I was able to escape the Northern Sea safely," she admitted.
Yoo-sung clicked his tongue at her confirmation.
"But why come all the way here?"
"I never imagined I would settle down like this either."
Determined to sever all ties with the Jianghu, she had fled blindly toward Yunnan.
It was during that journey, while hovering on the brink of death after an ambush, that she crossed paths with Do Yoo-chan.
"My husband saved my life, and I was able to settle here under the protection of Father and Mother."
"I see."
Listening to his brother's love story, Yoo-sung fell into deep thought.
"And the people stationed around the estate—can they be trusted?"
"Yes. They are loyal to my mother."
"Are your feelings for my brother genuine?"
"Of course. He is the father of my precious child, and the only man I have ever loved. If it were otherwise, I would never have stayed here to rebuild this academy."
Yoo-sung nodded slowly at her response.
It was undeniable that her intelligence and resources had transformed the Heavenly Sword Academy.
However...
That transformation isn't entirely a blessing.
There would always be those who looked upon such rapid growth with envy and malice.
Surely his parents and brother were not blind to the enemies lurking in the shadows.
For now, I'll just watch and see.
"I look forward to working with you, Sister-in-law."
Sensing the shift in Yoo-sung's tone and demeanor, Na Hye-mi smiled and bowed her head.
"I truly welcome you home, Brother-in-law."
The moment the two acknowledged each other as family—
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.
Light, hurried footsteps came rushing toward the room.
"...?"
Seeing Yoo-sung's puzzled expression, Na Hye-mi chuckled.
"This will be your first time meeting her. It's your niece, Soso."
The moment the words left her mouth, the door burst open, revealing a lovely little girl.
"Whoaaaa!"
Soso stared at Yoo-sung in wide-eyed wonder, and Yoo-sung found himself unable to tear his eyes away from her.
It was quite a boisterous introduction.
Despite meeting her uncle for the very first time, Soso showed absolutely no shyness.
"Are you really Soso's uncle?"
"Why did you only come back now?"
"Are you not going to leave again?"
After listening to Soso's endless chatter for a while, Na Hye-mi excused herself to prepare breakfast.
With Soso eagerly trailing after her mother, Yoo-sung finally had a quiet moment to speak with his brother.
"Brother."
At Yoo-sung's quiet call, Yoo-chan offered a gentle smile.
"Soso is adorable, isn't she?"
"She is."
The child's pure, warm nature—showing such immediate affection to a complete stranger—was truly endearing.
And that was precisely why his eyes lingered on her condition.
"Is Soso the reason your dantian is unstable?"
At Yoo-sung's direct question, Yoo-chan's smile widened.
"Yes. If it is for Soso, what does a mere dantian matter?"
It had happened last year.
To pull Soso back from the brink of death, Yoo-chan had recklessly poured his own internal energy into her.
Though his dantian had been severely damaged as a result, he did not regret it for a single second.
Yoo-sung let out a silent sigh.
To a martial artist, the dantian was as precious as life itself.
Even the lowliest third-rate martial artists guarded their dantians with their lives and refused to give up on them.
Yet his brother had surrendered his without hesitation.
Of course, Yoo-sung could understand his brother's heart to some extent.
For a man who prioritized family over his own life, sacrificing his dantian for his daughter was an easy choice.
Though to any ordinary martial artist, it would seem like absolute madness.
"Can you explain her condition to me?"
Even a cursory glance told him something was deeply wrong with Soso, but he needed to know her exact state to find a cure.
At Yoo-sung's inquiry, Yoo-chan calmly began to explain Soso's affliction.
The Heavenly Yin Body.
A female born with an overwhelming abundance of Yin energy from birth. In martial clans, it was often revered as a constitution of supreme talent.
However, the sheer density of Yin energy completely shattered the body's delicate balance of Yin and Yang.
This imbalance carried fatal consequences.
She would either die incredibly young, or become a bloodthirsty monster driven to slaughter in a desperate pursuit of Yang energy.
"From what I have gathered, children with the Heavenly Yin Body rarely live past their twentieth year."
And that was not all.
"Even if they escape an early grave, they are destined to become mindless killers seeking Yang energy."
When they first learned of this, the hearts of Yoo-chan and Na Hye-mi had shattered into pieces.
Their parents had been equally devastated.
Soso, whose birth had been celebrated by so many, was handed a death sentence just days after entering the world.
"We were fortunate that my wife's cultivation technique proved somewhat helpful."
Naturally.
It was the cultivation technique of the Ice Flower, a daughter of one of the Twelve Demonic Families.
The freezing internal cultivation of the Northern Sea Ice Palace would indeed be highly compatible with Soso's cold-attributed body.
The problem, however, was that even the Ice Palace's techniques could not fully overcome the limits of the Heavenly Yin Body.
At best, it merely staved off the worst of the curse, allowing her to live slightly longer than other afflicted children—but that was the absolute limit.
The Northern Sea's cultivation could not grant her a normal lifespan.
"With luck, she might live ten years longer than most."
Even so, that meant she would barely reach thirty.
She would be plagued by constant illness, and any attempt to use internal energy in an emergency would only shave years off her life.
She was, quite literally, living with a ticking time bomb inside her.
Hearing of the tragic fate awaiting the niece he had just met, Yoo-sung felt a cold anger stir within him.
"Is there a cure?"
"The most definitive cure known so far is a legendary herb called the Thousand-Year Herb."
"The Thousand-Year Herb..."
Yoo-sung had heard of it before.
It was a mythical herb said to grow somewhere in Yunnan or the Nanman region—a plant of pure, intense heat whose very existence was shrouded in mystery.
A concentrated heat nurtured over a thousand years would theoretically neutralize the icy curse and restore the balance of Yin and Yang.
But could he find it in time, let alone secure it against the countless martial artists who would surely covet such a treasure?
No. I will secure it.
Yoo-sung had spent his life turning the impossible into reality.
He made a silent vow.
He would never abandon Soso to the whims of fate.
"By the way, what of Sister?"
"Ah, Sister married into a prominent family."
Despite his words, Yoo-chan's expression darkened.
"Is it really a good family? Your face says otherwise."
"At the very least, our brother-in-law is the kindest, most decent man in the world."
"Which means the people around him are the problem."
Yoo-chan gave a bitter smile at Yoo-sung's sharp, immediate grasp of the truth.
"It would be best to hear the details directly from Sister when you see her. Even if we are family, it is not my place to speak of another's household affairs."
"Still as upright and stubborn as ever."
Clicking his tongue, Yoo-sung let the matter rest.
He had returned home, after all. There would be plenty of time to catch up.
"Let's head in for breakfast. Soso must be waiting."
"Alright."
"This is nice."
Three days had passed since his return to the academy.
Yoo-sung's days began much later than everyone else's.
He would wake up just as the rest of the Heavenly Sword Academy finished their early morning routines and gathered for breakfast.
After sharing a warm meal with his family, he would return to his room and sink into light meditation.
"Aaaargh!"
Within his meditation, Yoo-sung was forced to listen to those agonizing screams and desperate wails every single day.
He calmly accepted the cries of the countless souls whose blood stained his hands.
Even if they were wicked men who deserved death, the weight of their blood was never light.
Furthermore, the souls of those they had slaughtered clung to Yoo-sung as well, making the burden even heavier.
To an outsider, Yoo-sung's efforts to soothe the resentment bound to his soul looked like nothing more than idle laziness.
Yet, no one in the Heavenly Sword Academy dared to speak of it openly.
He was the youngest son of Do Sang-woon, returning after a long ten years. Surely he deserved a few days of peaceful rest.
That was what everyone assumed.
During this time, Yoo-sung quietly explored the transformed academy.
Though many places filled with his childhood memories had vanished, the remaining relics allowed him to reminisce about the past.
Looking at the newly erected buildings, he realized just how much time he had lost.
It is a pity I could not be here to witness the academy's transformation.
This was his genuine feeling.
Contrary to his initial worries, the Heavenly Sword Academy had grown far stronger than before.
It was reassuring to know that his sister-in-law, the Ice Flower, was at the center of this change.
After speaking with her, he had come to understand her true intentions.
Her devotion to her daughter Soso, her respect for his parents, and her love for Yoo-chan were woven into the very fabric of the academy.
The rumors of the Ice Flower's exceptional talent were indeed true.
Though she had suppressed the distinct cold energy of the Northern Sea, weakening her raw power, she was still more than capable of subduing ordinary intruders.
Furthermore, the academy's martial artists had become remarkably strong, likely because they practiced techniques compatible with the Hyeonmu Gong.
Of course, by Yoo-sung's standards, they were still far from satisfactory.
Step.
As Yoo-sung stood surveying the grounds, Na Hye-mi quietly approached him.
"So this is where you were."
Yoo-sung was perched atop the highest roof of the Heavenly Sword Academy.
Na Hye-mi had sought him out while Do Sang-woon and Do Yoo-chan were temporarily away.
I must prepare myself. There is no telling what the future holds.
Yoo-sung's sudden return had filled her with deep apprehension.
She was glad for her husband and parents-in-law, who had yearned for his return.
But if his true identity was indeed the scourge of Matian and one of the Three Calamities of the Jianghu, the situation was entirely different.
And the greatest of those Three Calamities stood right before her.
Seven years have passed. Just how much stronger has he become?
To be completely honest, she feared him.
It was partly because he knew her secret, but also because she knew that absolute power inevitably dragged trouble in its wake.
That was why she had been so cautious when sharing her knowledge with the academy.
If too much changed too quickly, the people of the Heavenly Sword Academy would not be able to handle the transition.
By carefully pacing the changes, she had successfully fortified her sanctuary.
In the process, Do Sang-woon had broken through his limits, and her husband had done the same.
Even if his devotion to their daughter had ultimately cost him his dantian.
Na Hye-mi had never once mocked Yoo-chan's choice.
Had he not done it, she would have sacrificed herself in his stead.
"I must make you quite uncomfortable."
"To be honest, yes."
Yoo-sung smiled, thoroughly pleased by her candid admission.
"As I said before, I only view you as my sister-in-law. Your past does not matter to me. Of course, it would be a different story if you ever chose to become the Ice Flower of the Northern Sea once more."
"Even if a moment comes where I must draw upon the power of the North, I will never return to being the Ice Flower."
Sensing the absolute conviction in her voice, Yoo-sung nodded.
"When you have the time, would you brief me on the changes to the academy? Now that it has grown this much, the wolves in the area won't just sit idly by."
Na Hye-mi nodded in agreement.
"That is precisely why I came to find you. However..."
"It seems you have a prior engagement today."
Patter, patter!
Hearing the tiny footsteps rushing toward him, Yoo-sung smiled in spite of himself.
"Soso."
"Uncle!"
With a cheerful cry, Soso threw her small arms around Yoo-sung, burying herself in his embrace.