Chapter 109
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: One Yang Divine Art
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The vast open field at the heart of Bingju Valley.
With numerous elders gathered, Seol Hwa-un stood alone before them.
He looked around at the elders and spoke calmly.
“I’ve resolved it.”
“Hm?”
The elders wore puzzled expressions.
“What exactly have you resolved all of a sudden?”
Those assembled at his request exchanged glances.
“You haven’t forgotten already, have you? It’s the issue with our palace’s inner arts.”
The eyes of the Elder Council Leader and the others widened as if they might split open.
“Already?”
“Weren’t we promised three years? Not even a year has passed, let alone half...!”
Seol Hwa-un smiled faintly.
“I apologize. I deceived you elders.”
“...?”
“The three-year timeline was real enough as a deadline, but I deliberately set it long to put your minds at ease.”
“What?!”
“I could have solved it in two months originally, but learning a new technique took a bit more time.”
The elders found it utterly unbelievable.
“This is what took longer?!”
Seol Hwa-un asked with a serious expression.
“What is the fundamental reason our palace’s martial arts weaken in the Central Plains?”
“Well...”
The Elder Council Leader answered.
“It’s because our core divine arts are all biased toward extreme yin.”
“Exactly. That’s the key difference from the Central Plains’ various yin-based arts. In other words, to resolve the issue, even if it’s a yin-based art, a touch of yang energy is needed for harmony.”
Those present nodded.
“Most attempts so far forced yang-related formulas into our palace’s divine arts. But our extreme yin inner energy rejected them.”
Nor was creating an entirely new divine art feasible.
The North Sea Ice Palace’s divine arts were more powerful than any supreme techniques—aside from their weakness to the climate—so they were too valuable to abandon.
“I tried a change in perspective. Do we really need to alter our palace’s art formulas?”
“...?”
Seol Hwa-un smiled and beckoned. Dong Ho-won and Eom Mu-hwi stepped forward.
“These two have been cultivating a new divine art for the past month.”
“A new divine art?”
Seol Hwa-un pulled a bundle of papers from his bosom. He scattered them into the air, and they flew in all directions.
Whirrr!
The papers naturally flew right to the hands of the surrounding elders. It was a masterful display of Void Grasping.
Scattering papers isn’t hard.
But sending multiple sheets precisely to each person required exquisitely precise true energy control.
Seol Hwa-un’s single move was thus a profound technique. Yet what astonished the elders even more was something else.
“It’s a straightforward yang strengthening art. I call it the One Yang Art.”
“One Yang Art?”
“I refined the One Yang Divine Art that our palace’s strategist knew.”
“...!”
“This is what these two have cultivated.”
At Seol Hwa-un’s signal, Dong Ho-won raised his spear.
“Ha!”
He unleashed a splendid spear technique before the elders.
Shuu shuu shuu shuk!
Pa pa pa pa!
It was indeed the work of a prodigy, a brilliant spear art. But to the elders’ level, it wasn’t shockingly advanced.
“...!”
Even so, most elders gaped in disbelief.
“Well done, Dong Won.”
Once Dong Ho-won’s demonstration ended, Eom Mu-hwi stepped up.
Shuu shuu shuu shuu!
Pa pa pa pa pang!
He too displayed flashy hand techniques.
“...!”
Eom Mu-hwi’s demonstration concluded.
But no one opened their mouth easily. A heavy silence enveloped the gathering.
“Did you feel it?”
Even to Seol Hwa-un’s question, there was no reply. But all the elders had clearly sensed it.
The faint yang energy flowing through Dong Ho-won’s spear ki and Eom Mu-hwi’s hand qi.
“As you see, the One Yang Art causes no issues even when cultivated alongside our palace’s divine arts. You can even operate them together.”
One elder spoke.
“How is that possible? Even if you can cultivate them together, you can’t move both energies when unleashing a technique.”
“That’s why I created the Harmony Heart Formula.”
Seol Hwa-un scattered more papers.
“This is the formula that harmonizes the two divine arts. It achieves yin-yang harmony leaning toward either—usually the yin art side.”
If mastered, it would be based on the North Sea Ice Palace’s predominantly yin arts. But the formula’s utility didn’t end there.
“Depending on how you cultivate it, the reverse is possible too. For example, basing it on this One Yang Art.”
It might seem useless in the yin-based North Sea Ice Palace.
But for those whose constitutions couldn’t handle yin arts, it opened the door to the palace’s martial arts.
A prime example was Yu Gong-seon.
“Of course, there’s a drawback. You have to cultivate the One Yang Art separately.”
“...”
“But once cultivated to a certain level, it fully offsets our palace arts’ weaknesses and even amplifies their power.”
“Cultivating yang arts in the North Sea won’t be easy. How do you plan to handle that?”
Seol Hwa-un nodded at another elder’s question.
“A valid point. That’s why I have a request for you all.”
“A request?”
“The yang energy rising from the ground here in Bingju Valley makes cultivating yang arts much easier.”
“...!”
“So please open part of this place as a training ground for our palace warriors.”
Seol Hwa-un’s gaze deepened.
“It won’t be too disruptive. They’ll only come while cultivating the One Yang Art to a certain level.”
“Well...”
The elders looked troubled and tried to respond, but Seol Hwa-un spoke first.
“I called it a request, but you must grant it. Didn’t the Elder Council Leader promise? If I resolved the inner art issue, you’d support our palace’s advance into the Central Plains to the fullest.”
Cheok-ro, one of the Five Great Dharma Protectors standing off to the side, burst out laughing.
“Ha ha ha! What a complete checkmate! As expected of the young palace lord. To achieve in such an effortless way what no one has for centuries!”
Seol Hwa-un stared straight at the Elder Council Leader.
“I’ve kept my promise, so now you must keep yours.”
His eyes gleamed.
“And of course, hand over the Bingcheon Corps too.”
* * *
The North Sea Ice Palace bustled with activity. Along with One Yang Art training for the Central Plains advance, preparations for the branch in Shanxi Province accelerated.
After careful deliberation, the location was set for Taegu in Shanxi Province.
Taegu was a city south of Taiyuan, home to the Shanxi Sword Sect, with excellent transportation and a large population.
Originally under the Shanxi Sword Sect’s influence, but too distant for them to manage easily.
With help from the Shanxi Sword Sect and the West Gate Clan, the North Sea Ice Palace bought land in Taegu and began constructing a manor.
As the key branch for the Central Plains push, its scale was immense—three or four times that of an average mid-sized sect.
The Taegu branch leader was undecided, but for now, Bing Family Chief Steward Bing Cho-pung was dispatched with warriors who had completed One Yang Art training to manage it.
One day, as everything progressed smoothly, a letter arrived from the Taegu branch.
It was the summer of the year Seol Hwa-un turned twenty-four.
Seol Wi-myeong, Seol Hwa-un, and Yu Gong-seon sat together.
“...”
In that time, Seol Hwa-un’s build had grown even more solid, his gaze deeper.
He had clearly achieved much in the past two years.
Seol Wi-myeong spoke with a grim expression.
“There’s a problem at the Taegu branch.”
Yu Gong-seon, now showing a strategist’s poise, asked.
“What is it?”
Instead of answering, Seol Wi-myeong handed over the letter.
“Read it.”
Yu Gong-seon scanned it quickly.
“Hm... Just as we expected.”
“Bing Cho-pung phrased it politely, but it’s more serious than thought.”
It had been an issue since starting construction on the manor.
Rumors of it being a North Sea Ice Palace branch spread, and laborers refused to work. They didn’t want to serve outer realm folk.
They paid several times the usual wage to proceed. Even so, dozens quit daily.
People who learned of their work on the branch harassed them. Simple bullying.
“Without the Shanxi Sword Sect’s active support, construction wouldn’t have started.”
But that wasn’t the only problem. The branch needed warriors too.
Core experts could be dispatched from the North Sea Ice Palace, but not every ordinary warrior.
They were recruiting and training North Sea warriors, but it would take at least seven or eight more years for them to be useful.
Even with training, supply was limited this way. They needed to recruit decent local warriors somehow.
Seol Hwa-un, having read the letter, murmured.
“No applicants for warrior recruitment at all.”
They offered two or three times the standard salary, yet this. Definitely serious.
“It’s not a money issue. Even if it were, we can’t sustain such excessive spending on the palace’s finances.”
“...”
“What’s your take, Strategist Yu?”
Even Yu Gong-seon had no sharp solution.
“There’s nothing to do from here. I’ll go myself.”
“Hm.”
“I was planning to install formations at the branch anyway. Entrust it to me, and I’ll do my utmost to resolve it.”
Yu Gong-seon had accomplished much in the past two years, deepening Seol Wi-myeong’s trust.
“If the strategist handles it, that’s ideal.”
The silent Seol Hwa-un spoke up.
“Strategist Yu, do you have some plan in mind?”
“I have a few ideas, but it’s not time to voice them yet. I’ll assess the situation firsthand and report back.”
Seol Wi-myeong said.
“The best way is the orthodox one: build rapport with Central Plains folk.”
“Indeed.”
To last not just decades or centuries beyond establishing the branch, shortcuts had limits.
But Seol Hwa-un thought differently.
“That takes too long.”
Yu Gong-seon readily agreed.
“It does.”
“So, I’ll go with you.”
“...!”
He requested earnestly.
“Palace Lord, convene a temporary Five Peaks Council.”
Seol Wi-myeong’s eyes widened slightly.
“The Five Peaks Council?”
“I have an urgent proposal.”
Seol Hwa-un’s gaze sharpened.