Chapter 246: Young Palace Master Baek Seo-jun (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 246: Young Palace Master Baek Seo-jun (4)
In the past, whenever Seo-jun disguised himself as Baek Seo-jun, he had often manifested a pseudo-domain.
He would project his inner core outside his body, using a hundred and eight ice pillars as axes to mimic the effects of a true domain.
But such tedious preparations were no longer necessary. It was only natural—he had now reached the complete Transcendent Realm.
Standing in the middle of the vast ocean, Seo-jun dipped a hand into the seawater.
"Eight Cold Hells."
A single mental image given a name. A mere fragment of his true domain, the Ideal World, began to dye the North Sea pure white.
Creeeeeak—!!!
The sea froze over without a hint of resistance. Since the spreading frost was essentially an extension of Seo-jun’s domain, the cold piercing into the depths sensed a massive object swimming beneath the surface.
"Found you."
Seo-jun smiled, concentrating all the cold energy toward that exact spot.
Deep in the abyss, a portion of the pitch-black water flickered white. At that exact moment—
Crack!
The sea froze solid from the depths up, and the surface beneath his feet surged. The sheer volume of instantly freezing seawater caused it to violently expand.
—Kieeeeeeeeee!!
A desperate shriek erupted. The demonic beast writhed its long body, suddenly uncoiling like a spring as it launched itself toward the surface.
Crash!
The frozen sea shattered into pieces. Light scattered chaotically through the flying shards of ice. Amidst the debris, a long shadow soared into the sky.
Seo-jun raised a hand to his brow, shielding his eyes as he watched the creature ascend.
"A dragon...? No, I guess it’s more of an imugi."
He didn't know if an imugi was supposed to be able to fly, but this one clearly couldn't.
Rumble—!!
The beast that had soared into the sky crashed back down onto the frozen sea. Hiss! It let out a pained breath from the brutal impact.
The sea was already frozen solid deep below. Slamming that massive body into hard ice without any protection was bound to hurt.
—Shhh!
The beast writhed in agony, but soon realized it could no longer swim. It raised its head and glared down at Seo-jun.
—Shaaa!
Its momentum was considerable. It was roughly around the Super Peak Realm.
Seo-jun approached the beast with a relaxed stride.
"Why did you have to pop up here and go through all this trouble?"
The exhausted beast swung its massive tail. A bluish Qi gathered around the appendage.
With such a massive body and immense Qi, its destructive power was easy to imagine.
Whoosh—!!
Seo-jun reached out toward the incoming tail. Thud. He caught it easily, rendering the sheer power behind the strike completely meaningless.
Crack!
Simultaneously, the frozen sea beneath Seo-jun’s feet shattered. He had redirected the beast's force entirely into the ice below.
No matter how much he claimed to be unskilled in physical combat, the Transcendent Realm was still the Transcendent Realm. A feat of Neutralizing Force like this was child's play.
Gripping the beast's tail, Seo-jun poured in the cold energy of the Ice Soul Divine Art.
Snap!
Without even a chance to resist, the beast froze solid. In an instant, a lifelike ice sculpture was created.
It stood frozen with its maw wide open, as if trying to swallow Seo-jun whole.
Seo-jun tapped the ice statue, which was venting a faint white mist, and then leaped off the frozen sea.
He reached the beast's towering head. With a swift strike of his palm-blade, the head fell off with a clean thud.
If a creature like this lives long enough, does it end up like Nok So-pyeong?
For now, it didn't seem to know how to handle its power properly, but if it had survived for a few hundred more years, the story would have been different.
Seo-jun clicked his tongue, picked up the beast's severed head, and returned to the Ice Palace.
"Huh? You're back already?"
Baek Seol-hyang, who had been lounging in her chair, blinked blankly.
"How did you find that thing so quickly in that vast ocean?"
"I froze the whole sea, and it popped out."
"...How barbaric."
Seo-jun tossed the beast's head into a corner.
"What's next?"
"Wait a moment. There aren't that many tasks that require the hands of a Transcendent Realm martial artist."
"I don't have that much time."
At Seo-jun's words, Baek Seol-hyang’s eyes widened.
"I-I knew it...! You plan to leave the Ice Palace as soon as you get the information!"
"My wife gets lonely easily, you see."
"What? You're a married man?"
"Is there a problem with that?"
"Well, no, but..."
Clicking her tongue, Baek Seol-hyang waved her hand.
"Anyway, today is a banquet. We can't just let the return of the Young Palace Master pass by quietly."
True to her word, a lavish banquet was immediately held at the Ice Palace.
The vast majority of the Ice Palace's martial artists were women. A banquet filled with alcohol, fine food, and the exotic beauties of the North Sea was something practically no man could refuse.
"Young Palace Master, do you happen to know of the technique called Dual Cultivation among the Ice Palace's training methods?"
"Dual Cultivation?"
"Yes. Since the Ice Palace is mostly comprised of women, its efficiency has been quite poor until now. But with your return, the story has changed."
However, Seo-jun found the whole situation uncomfortable. What banquet?
The elders of the Ice Palace constantly hovered around him, trying to strike up conversations. Having more than a few of them doing it at once was incredibly annoying.
"What kind of training method is this Dual Cultivation?"
"Through the harmony of Yin and Yang between a man and a woman—"
"Ah, you women should just work hard at it amongst yourselves."
He had wondered why the North Sea felt a bit warmer than his last visit. He wouldn't be surprised if the whole place melted by the time he came back next.
As Seo-jun sat there indifferently, sipping his wine, Baek Seol-hyang clicked her tongue.
"A man who doesn't appreciate elegance."
"That's rich coming from you."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You've probably never even held a man's hand. Do you even know anything about men?"
Pfft...!
An elder sitting nearby burst into laughter.
"It is true that the Palace Master is quite ignorant regarding the relationship between men and women."
"S-Shut up...!"
"Isn't this a great opportunity? Why don't you take this chance to firmly grab hold of the Young Palace Master?"
"How impudent...! Haven't I told you repeatedly to show respect to the Palace Master?!"
The banquet ended on a decent note, mostly consisting of the elders teasing Baek Seol-hyang. It seemed her "unfortunate" romantic nature wasn't exactly a secret within the Ice Palace.
That night, some elders visited the room assigned to Seo-jun to suggest Dual Cultivation again, but they left without much fuss when he flatly refused them.
The next day, Seo-jun went straight to see Baek Seol-hyang.
"So, what's the next task?"
"Ugh... You don't like banquets, you don't like women, and since you're in the Transcendent Realm, you probably don't lack wealth..."
Even if he had wanted wealth, the North Sea Ice Palace didn't have enough to satisfy a Transcendent Realm martial artist. So, bribery was out of the question.
Martial arts? He had already mastered the Ice Soul Divine Art and the Beiming Divine Art. Having learned those two, he had essentially mastered the very essence of the Ice Palace.
Is there really nothing that would tempt him...?
Baek Seol-hyang sighed deeply. For now, she needed to understand him better.
To do that, she needed time. If he wanted the next task, it had to be something that would take a while...
Suddenly remembering something, Baek Seol-hyang spoke up.
"I hear the elders are researching a new formation."
Previously, the elders of the Ice Palace had deployed the Ice and Snow Heaven Net Formation to stop the Sword Demon, but the result had been disastrous. Far from stopping him, one of the elders had been killed.
Since they couldn't afford to be so helpless again, the elders had devoted themselves to researching formations ever since.
However, a formation wasn't something that could be whipped up overnight. They had only just started, and their progress was already stalled.
"You want me to help them finish the formation?"
"Yes."
"Hmm..."
Seo-jun looked at Baek Seol-hyang with a strange expression.
Completing a formation? Honestly, it wasn't a difficult task.
The framework would already be in place. Simply finishing it wouldn't take long, but...
Should I help them?
The North Sea Ice Palace was technically an enemy. If they recovered their strength, they could become a threat to the Righteous Faction in the future.
I suppose I could just create a counter-method at the same time...
After some thought, Seo-jun asked, "I want to ask you one thing."
"What is it?"
"Why is the Ice Palace considered an Evil Sect?"
Usually, the sects belonging to the Black Lotus Union would stop at nothing to achieve martial progress.
But the North Sea Ice Palace he had seen so far wasn't like that. Since they cultivated using a sacred object called the Ice Crystal, they didn't really have a reason to sacrifice people.
"Mmm... It's because of things that happened in the past."
"Oh? Did you commit a mass massacre or something?"
"It's nothing like that. Have you heard of the term 'Outer Martial Arts World'?"
The Outer Martial Arts World referred to the martial world located in the remote regions outside the Central Plains.
"The Outer Martial Arts World was originally treated as part of the Evil Sect. When the Martial God Ju Un-cheon unified the Central Plains, the Outer Martial Arts World was also suddenly treated as part of the Central Plains' martial world, and somehow we just got lumped in with the Evil Sect."
"I see."
In short, they were treated as an Evil Sect simply because of their location.
"We don't want to get involved with those stuffy old men of the Righteous Faction anyway. Being part of the Black Lotus Union is fine since they don't interfere much."
He had never heard of the North Sea Ice Palace actively participating in wars against the Righteous Faction.
Though Ice Palace martial artists were occasionally spotted on the battlefield, that was unavoidable since they were part of the Black Lotus Union.
Having organized his thoughts, Seo-jun nodded.
"Well, I get the gist of it. I'll finish the formation for you."
"Hah, quite the arrogant attitude. Even for a Transcendent Realm martial artist, it won't be an easy task."
Baek Seol-hyang sneered. She wore a rather irritating expression on her face.
But regardless of her outward attitude, she was inwardly cheering.
Yes! This will do for now.
With this, she could buy at least a few months. That would be enough time to fully understand him.
Based on that, she would somehow force the Ice Palace onto him...!
A devious smile played on Baek Seol-hyang’s lips.
* * *
Around the same time, on the outskirts of Hefei, Anhui Province.
Chun-bong grumbled as she walked down the street.
"It's a problem when your husband is too capable."
"Huh?"
Namgung Su-ah, who was walking beside her, chuckled. "Because he's too busy?"
"Yeah. I finally reached the Super Peak Realm, but I can't even help him."
This was a matter separate from raw martial power.
After all, was it even possible to change the nature of one's internal energy at will?
If the assassins of the Central Plains heard of this, they would be rolling on the floor in envy.
"In my opinion, if he had been even slightly twisted, he would've been known by some terrifying title like the King of Assassins."
"Hmm, then would I be the Queen of Assassins?"
"No, you're supposed to think about stopping him!"
"Is that so?"
Chun-bong shook her head as she looked at the giggling Namgung Su-ah.
This unnie didn't use to be like this.
"Sigh."
In any case, it was a real shame. Baek Seo-jun, was it? Since Chun-bong herself obviously couldn't use something like the Ice Soul Divine Art, it was impossible for her to infiltrate alongside him.
In the end, with her playmate gone, Chun-bong had grown bored. That was why she had come out for an excursion to the outskirts of Anhui.
"By the way, this is really amazing."
The so-called Namgung Discriminator. Its new name was the Heaven-Chosen Talent Art.
A technique meant to pick out those with heavenly talent, it had already been confirmed to work properly after several experiments.
"This is a total life-changing opportunity."
The kid struggling in the back alleys was actually a martial arts genius?
She couldn't pass this up. As soon as the idea struck her as fun, Chun-bong had dragged Namgung Su-ah out of the Namgung Clan.
She excluded central Hefei, where the Namgung Clan was located. Most people there were well-off anyway.
Hope always shines most brilliantly in the midst of despair.
For that reason, Chun-bong deliberately came out to the outskirts of Anhui and entered the back alleys.
"Step right up! A life-changing opportunity! You can do it too!"
People began to show interest one by one at her street-vendor-like soliciting.
To be precise, the interest was directed at Chun-bong and Namgung Su-ah.
Although Anhui was considered one of the better places to live in the Central Plains, the wealth gap existed everywhere.
With such beautiful women soliciting in the back alleys, people couldn't help but be curious.
"If your eyes glow, it means you have talent for martial arts?"
"That's nonsense. They're just trying to rip us off."
"They said they aren't taking any money."
"You cowards. I'll give it a try."
Chun-bong grabbed the wrists of the grimy alleyway folk and activated the Heaven-Chosen Talent Art.
How many people had she checked by now? Suddenly, the eyes of a man whose wrist Chun-bong was holding began to glow blue.
"W-Wait...!"
"Is that for real?"
As the crowd buzzed, the chosen man grinned.
"Heh, heh-hahaha...! I knew it!"
The man looked at the woman who was watching him with curiosity. She was the woman with the largest breasts he had ever seen in his life. He gulped, his mouth watering involuntarily.
"Anyway, this means I'm someone amazing, right?"
"Exactly! A total life-reversal!"
Chun-bong giggled.
This was fascinating no matter how many times she saw it. Just what principle did it use to determine talent?
Lee Seo-jun might be lacking in other areas, but when it came to martial arts, he was truly second to none. Thinking of her husband again, Chun-bong’s shoulders squared with pride.
However, having come out to play without much thought, she had momentarily forgotten one thing.
The average personality of the back-alley crowd.
"You there, wench! Since I am so great, I shall specially take you as my concubine!"
The man pointed at Namgung Su-ah and laughed boisterously.
"Eh?"
Chun-bong blinked. This was a development she hadn't expected.