Chapter 340
Chapter 340
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 340
Chapter Title: The Counter-Trap
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‘He’s really injured!’
The Dong Family Head was a suspicious man.
If there had been any sign that Bu Eun-seol was faking his injury, he would never have shown himself.
But fresh blood flowed from the wound on Bu Eun-seol's chest, and his face was deathly pale.
It was clearly a fatal sword wound, and judging by his complexion… he had undoubtedly been struck by Bing Han-pung's Five Thunder Palm of Icy Cold.
‘Hehehe.’
Dong Yu-gak suppressed the urge to dance with joy and approached Bu Eun-seol.
*Step, step.*
As he slowly drew near, the huddled Bu Eun-seol struggled to open his eyes.
"You are."
Bu Eun-seol looked greatly surprised as Dong Yu-gak revealed himself, struggling to get up.
But there was no escape route.
The only way out was to fly up the towering cliff… unless he could sprout wings and soar into the sky, escape was impossible.
"Surrender quietly."
At Dong Yu-gak's words,
*Shing.*
Bu Eun-seol drew his Ink Sword.
But due to the heavy blood loss, his gaze was hazy, and his breathing came in short, ragged gasps.
"Do you think you can face me in that state?"
Dong Yu-gak stared intently at Bu Eun-seol before suddenly unleashing the ultimate technique of the North Sea's Dong Family, the Snowy Yin Palm.
He had thrown the Snowy Yin Palm with all his might from a distance, not daring to get close, to confirm if Bu Eun-seol was truly injured.
*Swoosh!*
As the palm energy, imbued with a chill that could freeze the very sky, rushed forward, Bu Eun-seol swiftly dodged.
*Shiver.*
However, unable to completely escape the palm's range, his body trembled slightly.
‘It's real!’
To tremble from the cold of the Snowy Yin Palm.
It was a biological reaction that could not be faked, proof that he lacked the internal energy to block the cold.
"Hahaha!"
Finally casting aside all his doubts, Dong Yu-gak closed the distance, pouring out palm energy with all his strength.
*Whoosh! Whooosh!*
Bu Eun-seol, continuously dodging the chilling Snowy Yin Palms, struggled to execute his swordsmanship.
The sword forms were exceptionally sharp, but perhaps because he couldn't properly use his internal energy, their power wasn't very great.
‘But this too could be a trap.’
Dong Yu-gak was not only cautious but also extremely suspicious.
He judged that Bu Eun-seol might have a decisive sword form up his sleeve and decided to employ another tactic.
"Fall!"
Finally seizing an opportunity, Dong Yu-gak sent a powerful palm strike toward the top of Bu Eun-seol's head.
*Fwip.*
Just as Bu Eun-seol swiftly dodged and prepared to counterattack,
*Wooooom!*
he swelled the palm energy with both hands and pressed down on Bu Eun-seol's head.
Convinced that Bu Eun-seol was suffering from a severe internal injury, he intended to deal with him safely through a contest of internal energy rather than palm techniques.
‘I'll make your meridians burst!’
A triumphant smile on his face, Dong Yu-gak poured out his internal energy with all his might.
At that, Bu Eun-seol's face turned even paler. As the extreme yin energy invaded his body, his meridians began to freeze over even more.
‘So this is the successor of the Demonic Cult. His internal energy is considerable.’
Amazingly, even with his meridians freezing, wasn't Bu Eun-seol effortlessly withstanding the three sixty-year cycles of internal energy he was pouring out?
‘He's this strong even when injured?’
Dong Yu-gak felt a chill run down his spine.
If Bu Eun-seol had been unharmed, he would have been an opponent he could never defeat.
‘Why aren't those guys coming?’
A considerable amount of time had passed, but there was no sign of the subordinates who were supposed to be following him.
Moreover, despite his injuries, wasn't this bastard tenaciously holding on, matching his own three cycles of internal energy?
At this rate, even if he could subdue him, he himself would suffer severe internal injuries.
‘I have no choice.’
He couldn't just wait for his men forever.
Having made a decision, Dong Yu-gak began to circulate a certain heart law.
*Woooong!*
Half of his body's skin began to turn blue.
In the murim, there are techniques like using both hands for different purposes, but there is no secret art that allows one to use two different internal energy heart laws simultaneously.
But what if one possessed a heart law that could handle both yin and yang energy?
It would be possible to temporarily emit two different types of true energy at the same time.
*Shwiiiiik!*
Dong Yu-gak swiftly extended his left palm, in which he had secretly gathered his internal energy.
Small, blue-tinged bolts of lightning instantly covered Bu Eun-seol's body.
*Crack, crackle.*
At the same moment, Bu Eun-seol's body instantly turned into a block of ice.
The ultimate ice art that could freeze a person solid in a single move. He had used the Five Thunder Palm of Icy Cold, a palm technique only the Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace could use.
"Hehehe... Hahahaha!"
Dong Yu-gak burst into triumphant laughter.
Now that he had captured Bu Eun-seol, the next Palace Lord would come from the Dong Family.
When that happened, the world he had always desired would finally unfold.
"I should get rid of this one quickly."
What if the other family heads or his subordinates who followed him discovered traces of the Five Thunder Palm of Icy Cold?
They would instantly realize he was the culprit who had ambushed Han Ja-uk.
"Farewell."
Dong Yu-gak looked at Bu Eun-seol and gathered his Snowy Yin Palm.
He was about to shatter his frozen body in a single blow.
"It was true."
Just then, an aged voice echoed from the cliff above.
"Who's there!"
Greatly startled, Dong Yu-gak looked up.
*Whoosh, thud.*
A middle-aged man in white robes slowly descended from the air.
It was none other than the Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace, Bing Han-pung, who was supposed to be bedridden.
"Palace Lord, how?"
Just as Dong Yu-gak's mouth fell open,
*Swish. Thud.*
four more shadows appeared behind Bing Han-pung.
They were the heads of the four families of the North Sea Ice Palace, excluding the Bing Family.
"You all, too…"
Dong Yu-gak rubbed his eyes.
This was impossible.
How could the family heads who had been pursuing with him have arrived here first?
"The chase itself was a trap from the beginning."
Han U-sang glared at Dong Yu-gak with hatred.
Before him stood the villain who had not only turned his own son into a cripple but had also kept the North Sea Ice Palace divided for so long.
"It seemed like we were chasing in different directions, but in reality, we all gathered here. We knew you would follow that man's tracks to this place."
For a moment, Dong Yu-gak's face stiffened.
In other words, did that not mean that the attempted assassination of Bing Han-pung and Bu Eun-seol's escape were all staged?
"But I don't understand."
Bing Han-pung's injury was no act.
Above all, wasn't Bu Eun-seol, the successor of the Demonic Cult, currently frozen to death by the Five Thunder Palm of Icy Cold?
How could this be called a scheme?
"You'd sacrifice the successor of the Demonic Cult just to catch me? Did you want the Palace to be annihilated by the Demonic Cult?"
Dong Yu-gak shouted, dumbfounded, but Han U-sang just sneered.
"Do you think you're the only one in this world who can wield both yin and yang energy?"
As soon as he finished speaking,
*Crack!*
a faint crack appeared on the ice encasing Bu Eun-seol's body, and then,
*Boom! Ruuumble.*
with a loud explosion, the hard ice covering his body shattered completely.
*Sizzzle!*
At the same time, white steam began to rise profusely from Bu Eun-seol's body.
He was drawing up intense, scorching yang energy to shatter the ice in an instant and restore his frozen meridians.
*Flash!*
When Bu Eun-seol opened his eyes again, the Counter-Polar bloodlight in his pupils blazed like the sun.
"You, you bastard. You weren't injured from the start!"
At Dong Yu-gak's cry, Bu Eun-seol shook his head.
"Didn't you see for yourself?"
"Lies! Then how!"
Instead of answering, Bu Eun-seol raised both his hands.
*Sizzzle!*
From his left hand, scorching hot yang energy emerged.
*Swoooosh!*
And in his right hand, icy cold energy gathered.
The Counter-Polar Heart Law is a heart law of great nature, encompassing both yin and yang energy.
After learning the ice arts passed down from Bing Han-pung, he had become able to perfectly separate and unleash the ice-cold extreme yin energy and the Counter-Polar energy.
"Since one ember remains alive, I can instantly melt the icy energy, and even recover quickly from severe internal injuries."
This was why Bu Eun-seol had learned the martial arts of the North Sea Ice Palace, and it was the second trap laid to catch him.
"Dong Yu-gak!"
Before Bu Eun-seol could even finish, Han U-sang stepped forward and spoke, his voice like he was coughing up blood.
"Though the six families of the North Sea have not always been harmonious, we have joined forces for generations. How could you commit such a cruel act!"
"A cruel act?"
A crimson resentment erupted in Dong Yu-gak's eyes.
"Nonsense! I should have become the Palace Lord long ago! Bing Han-pung only became the Palace Lord by a stroke of luck, did he not!"
"What?"
"And yet your son dared to prance around, claiming to be the next Palace Lord, so I had no choice but to turn him into a cripple."
"Dong Yu-gak. Have you finally lost your mind?"
"Lost my mind?"
Dong Yu-gak cried out with a resentful expression.
"While I was busy defeating the First Division of the North Heaven Demonic Palace, Bing Han-pung took the opportunity to cut off the head of the North Heaven Demonic Palace's Lord. And with that achievement, he became the Palace Lord."
At that time, the North Sea Ice Palace was engaged in an all-out war with the North Heaven Demonic Palace, a battle for survival.
And the heads of the six families, all potential candidates for the next Palace Lord, had each made significant contributions.
In particular, Bing Han-pung of the Bing Family took the head of the North Heaven Demonic Palace's Lord. Dong Yu-gak of the Dong Family crushed the North Heaven Demonic Palace's First Division, setting the stage for a great victory.
Bing Han-pung and Dong Yu-gak.
Both had achieved great merits, but the position of Palace Lord naturally went to Bing Han-pung.
Because he had fought the North Heaven Demonic Palace's Lord in single combat and taken his head.
Not only that, but the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal was needed to treat the severe internal injuries Bing Han-pung had sustained. In other words, his ascension to Palace Lord was like destiny.
"Giving him the Palace Lord's seat just because he was injured!"
Dong Yu-gak's body trembled as he screamed.
"How could such a thing be tolerated?"
"Wasn't that the obvious choice?"
Unable to watch any longer, Seol Se-geuk, the head of the Seol family, shouted.
"Family Head Dong, did you defeat the First Division by yourself? Wasn't it only possible because our Seol Family protected your rear?"
"So?"
"What do you mean, so? Palace Lord Bing fought the North Heaven Demonic Palace's Lord one-on-one and took his head, did he not?"
"Nonsense!"
Dong Yu-gak screamed in a fit of rage.
"It was because I, and our Dong Family, single-handedly annihilated the First Division of the North Heaven Demonic Palace that our Palace was able to win! I achieved the greater merit!"
He then pointed a finger at Bing Han-pung.
"But Bing Han-pung, that cunning bastard, took the head of the North Heaven Demonic Palace's Lord while I was busy wiping out the First Division!"
Watching the raving Dong Yu-gak, the five family heads shook their heads with bewildered expressions.
Dong Yu-gak.
He had harbored his resentment for so long that he was now altering his own memories of the past.
"Family Head Dong, it is time to let go of that grudge."
Bing Han-pung said in a lonely voice.
"It's all over now, isn't it?"
"Hehehe. Over?"
But Dong Yu-gak, who they thought would hang his head in anguish, suddenly broke into a sinister smile.
"Bing Han-pung, did you think I was that careless?"
"…"
"Did you think this long-laid plan would crumble just because you caught me?"
He then suddenly pulled a signal flare from his robes.
*Peeeeek!*
As the signal flare painted the white sky red, the men felt a sense of foreboding.
"I have already infiltrated the main palace with outside forces."
"What?"
As Han U-sang frowned, Dong Yu-gak let out a sinister smile.
"I may not get everything, but if I can just capture the young lords of the five families, wouldn't they make for proper hostages?"
The family heads' eyes widened in unison.
They themselves were already old. The future of the North Sea Ice Palace now rested on the young lords of each family.
But what if an outside force took the five young lords hostage?
Even if they had the military power to annihilate them, they could never fight back.
"Dong Yu-gak! Have you no shame as a family of the North Sea?"
At the Baek Family Head's shout, Dong Yu-gak smirked.
"Baek Jin-yu. Are you qualified to say such things?"
"What did you say?"
"You, who have been profiting off the dispirited Palace Lord all this time, not to mention contacting other outside forces to swallow the Palace whole? You dare speak of the families of the North Sea?"
Instantly, Baek Jin-yu's face turned beet red.
"Nonsense! Do you have proof?"
"Hmph, the Palace will be mine soon enough anyway."
He looked at Bing Han-pung and said,
"Bing Han-pung. If you hand over the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal quietly now, I will not harm the young lords."
"There is no need to listen to him."
Just then, Bu Eun-seol stepped forward calmly.
"That place will be fine."
"How?"
"Thinking something like this might happen, I had the young lords evacuate to the Ice Crystal Pavilion and asked for protection."
Dong Yu-gak had been plotting to bring down the North Sea Ice Palace for a long time, so he must have planted forces inside to cooperate.
He had predicted that the forces of the Eight Desolations' Three Stars were also inside and would surely try to take the five young lords hostage.
"In that case."
"Un-ryong and she are there, so they should be able to hold out for a while."
With those words, Bu Eun-seol instantly unleashed his Extreme Speed Formless Movement.
*Tsk!*
As his figure instantly drew a star in the distant sky and vanished,
"Let's go together!"
Bing Han-pung also soared into the air, following Bu Eun-seol.
*Swish!*
The direction the two flew, instantly unleashing their movement techniques, was toward the North Sea Ice Palace.
*Swiiish!*
What Bing Han-pung unleashed was the ultimate movement technique of the North Sea Ice Palace, the Glacial Lightning Flash Shadow.
Even so, he could not catch up to Bu Eun-seol's form shooting forward.
"Let's go together!"
Unable to keep up, Bing Han-pung finally shouted, and Bu Eun-seol glanced back and yelled.
"Palace Lord, you must quickly lead the family heads and command the troops to block the forces that have entered the palace. There is no need for you to follow me!"
"Understood!"
*Krakooom!*
In that time, Bu Eun-seol arrived inside the North Sea Ice Palace.
*Clang! Claang!*
As expected, the gates of the North Sea Ice Palace were wide open, and warriors clad in shimmering red were rapidly advancing.
The forces hidden within the Dong Family had coordinated with the outside to open the gates.
However, the number of invading warriors was about a thousand. In truth, compared to the forces of the North Sea Ice Palace, it was not a significant number.
But their martial arts were too superior, and with the Dong Family's forces cooperating from the inside, the masters of the other five families were in disarray.
"The five families, excluding the Dong Family, listen!"
Bing Han-pung, who had entered right behind Bu Eun-seol, shouted loudly.
"The Eom and Seol families will block the forces entering the palace! And the remaining three families will subdue the forces of the Dong Family, who have betrayed the Palace by colluding with outside forces!"
As the Palace Lord's solemn command fell, the disciples of the North Sea Ice Palace finally began to move in an orderly fashion.
Especially when it was revealed that the enemies wreaking havoc inside were from the Dong Family, the forces of the remaining families moved systematically to suppress them.
"Yu Un-ryong!"
Bu Eun-seol spotted Yu Un-ryong and So Ok-rim engaged in a bloody battle in front of the Ice Crystal Pavilion, where the Palace Lord resided.
In fact, it was Yu Un-ryong who had first noticed the signs of rebellion.
While Bu Eun-seol was handling various matters, he had been constantly monitoring the Dong Family's movements and had gathered information from many disciples.
He had figured out that the Dong Family had already gathered outside forces inside the North Sea Ice Palace and had informed Bu Eun-seol.
"Bu Eun-seol! We have to deal with these guys first!"
Yu Un-ryong pointed at the warriors pushing their way into the Ice Crystal Pavilion.
"Out of my way!"
Hearing his words, Bu Eun-seol drew his sword and leaped into the center of the two hundred warriors.
*Clang!*
However, when the Ink Sword struck their bodies, a dull sound rang out with a shower of sparks.
It turned out they were wearing unique protective armor underneath their clothes, capable of withstanding a divine sword.
‘He armed that many men with armor that can block a divine sword?’
Bu Eun-seol's eyebrows shot up.
The warriors flocking to the Ice Crystal Pavilion numbered at least two hundred.
Not only were they all highly skilled in martial arts, but they were also equipped with unique protective armor all over their bodies.
‘So this is why they were struggling.’
So Ok-rim and Yu Un-ryong could easily defeat not just two hundred, but even five hundred troops.
But they were having a hard time because the warriors, clad in armor impervious to weapons, were employing a unique battle strategy.
"Not a chance!"
As their assault intensified, Yu Un-ryong changed his Ten-Section Staff technique.
*Whirl!*
The Ten-Section Staff, writhing like a whip, penetrated the gaps in the armor, striking the warriors' vital points.
"Agh! These bastards are annoying!"
So Ok-rim also changed her strategy, unleashing a technique that bypassed defenses on the armored men.
*Thump! Thump!*
With a strange vibrating sound, the force of her fists passed through the armor and directly struck the warriors' internal organs.
—Unleash the Force-Severing Turtle Repulsion Formation!
As Yu Un-ryong's and So Ok-rim's techniques grew more ingenious, the warriors crouched down and huddled close together.
Maintaining their internal energy, they blocked the incoming attacks and began to advance toward the Ice Crystal Pavilion, one step at a time.
Their appearance was like that of a giant turtle moving slowly.
"Agh! They're trying everything!"
So Ok-rim unleashed her fist technique, but perhaps due to the formation's effect,
or perhaps because they had learned a martial art like Iron Shirt, her attacks were no longer effective.
"Fine!"
Furious, she extended her arms toward the sky and the ground and began to gather her internal energy.
She was unleashing the most powerful exterminating fist art in the world, the Galaxy-Sundering Style.
*Krakoooooom!*
When the massive fist energy finally struck them, the armor that had blocked divine swords shattered into pieces.
The twenty warriors at the front were blown to bits, scattering in all directions.
"This is it?"
Seeing the result, So Ok-rim's eyes widened.
To think that the Galaxy-Sundering Style, said to be able to pulverize Mount Tai, had only taken care of twenty of them?
But she was mistaken about one thing; the enemies' skills were far from that of mere rabble.
Furthermore, they wore protective armor, had mastered external martial arts to protect their bodies, and had deployed a strange formation that repelled force.
To have shattered twenty of them despite all that… in reality, her fist technique had reached the level of the strongest in the murim.
*Step. Step.*
Even after Yu Un-ryong and So Ok-rim had unleashed their powerful techniques one after another, they continued to approach, step by step, like a turtle.
"Dammit!"
The Galaxy-Sundering Style and Yu Un-ryong's Ten-Section Staff technique consumed a great deal of internal energy.
If they rushed in, ready to sacrifice their lives, they might eventually break into the Ice Crystal Pavilion.
*Thud.*
Just then, Bu Eun-seol stood before the warriors charging toward the Ice Crystal Pavilion.
As he fiercely drew up his internal energy, his hair began to turn white.
*Crack.*
Simultaneously, Bu Eun-seol's entire body began to be enveloped in a white, cold aura.
He was drawing upon the ultimate martial art of the Glacial Great Emperor, the Glacial Heavenly Flow Art.