Chapter 6
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: At the Ice Family Manor
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The frozen earth of the North Sea was a harsh environment. Yet people lived there.
Among them, the Five Great Families with their power banded together to form the current North Sea Ice Palace.
The Snow Family, the strongest in influence, took the position of palace lord and became the center of the Five Great Families. The remaining four families positioned themselves in the four cardinal directions around the North Sea Ice Palace.
To the north was the Yan Family, to the south the Winter Family, to the west the Ice Family, and to the east the Cold Family, guarding the Ice Palace like sentinels.
Seol Hwa-un, having left the Ice Palace, followed his escort guards westward.
It wasn't unheard of for Ice Palace warriors outside the palace lord to learn the signature arts of other families. They had steadily exchanged knowledge for the advancement of their martial arts.
The Cold Family's Cold Ice Sword Method, the Snow Family's Snow Flower Heavenly Flow Sword, and the Winter Family's Dong Family Soul-Falling Spear were often shared and compared.
All three families shared the commonality of using weapons.
The Yan Family's Yan Family Soul-Hooking Hand and the Ice Family's Ice River Nine Splits Divine Fist were studied and learned intimately for similar reasons.
However, exchanges between the former three families and the latter two were extremely rare.
Thus, there was a high chance the Ice Family Head would not take kindly to the palace lord's request to teach Seol Hwa-un fist techniques.
‘Ten Thousand Battles Ice Fist, Bing Jin-won.’
The Ice Family Head had an unusually strong competitive spirit; virtually every notable expert in the North Sea Ice Palace had sparred with him two or three times.
Even after becoming family head, he frequently challenged the other family heads to spars, bewildering everyone.
Even Palace Lord Seol Wi-myeong was no exception.
“The Ice Family Head's fist techniques are certainly impressive, but they couldn't withstand the Snow Flower Heavenly Flow Sword. After losing to my sword several times, he never challenged me again. He's probably grinding his teeth, determined to surpass me.”
In Seol Hwa-un's view, Seol Wi-myeong was not merciful toward challengers.
Even if the Ice Family Head was strong, there was a clear gap with the Outer Realm Venerable Seol Wi-myeong, so he must have been overwhelmingly defeated.
‘Thanks to that, I've probably earned his ire too. This won't be easy.’
Seol Hwa-un soon arrived at a massive manor. A large plaque reading ‘Ice Family Manor’ hung above the grand gate.
The escort guard, having fulfilled his duty, bowed and departed.
Two burly gatekeepers stood before the Ice Family Manor, their well-honed physiques and sharp auras evident at a glance.
‘As expected of the Ice Family's gatekeepers.’
Seol Hwa-un could tell at once they were fist masters of considerable skill.
The gatekeeper on the left spotted him and approached. Scanning Seol Hwa-un up and down, he tilted his head.
‘Judging by his attire, he's from the Snow Family... but was there such a pretty boy among them?’
“This is the Ice Family Manor, young master. Do you have business here?”
Seol Hwa-un cupped his fists in a polite greeting.
“Greetings. I am Vice Palace Lord Seol Hwa-un.”
“……!”
The startled gatekeeper immediately dropped to one knee and bowed his head.
“G-Greetings, Vice Palace Lord!”
Hearing his voice, the other one hurriedly knelt on one knee toward Seol Hwa-un as well.
“I've come to see the Ice Family Head. Could you inform him inside?”
“Yes! Please wait a moment.”
One dashed into the Ice Family Manor while the other remained kneeling.
“That's too much. Rise.”
“Yes, Vice Palace Lord.”
Finding the wait boring, Seol Hwa-un struck up a conversation.
“May I ask your name?”
“Yes, I am Bing Ju-sang.”
“You seem to practice fist techniques. Could you tell me which of the palace's martial arts you've learned?”
Bing Ju-sang found it odd but answered readily, as it wasn't a great secret.
“Yes, I've mastered all six basic fist forms and am currently focusing on the Broad Cold Fist.”
‘Broad Cold Fist.’
The Broad Cold Fist was an intermediate art learned after mastering basic fist techniques like the Six Harmonies Fist and Plum Blossom Fist.
A step above the Shaolin's Arhat Fist, it marked the true signature arts of the North Sea Ice Palace.
“Then when do you learn the Full Snow Flow Fist?”
The Full Snow Flow Fist was a soft fist technique learned just before the Ice River Nine Splits Divine Fist, comparable to the Wudang Taiji Fist.
Bing Ju-sang looked somewhat surprised.
‘I heard the Vice Palace Lord stayed cooped up in his room, estranged from martial arts...’
“You know our family's training sequence well. My Broad Cold Fist is still immature... Once it improves, I plan to challenge for it then.”
“I see.”
Seol Hwa-un had obtained ample information from Seol Wi-myeong before coming to the Ice Family Manor.
Thanks to that, he knew all the types, characteristics, and training order of the North Sea Ice Palace's fist techniques.
Soon, the gatekeeper who had gone inside reappeared with a scholarly-looking man.
“Vice Palace Lord!”
The man hurried over and bowed.
“It's been a while, Vice Palace Lord.”
The man acted as if they knew each other, but Seol Hwa-un naturally didn't remember him. Unfazed, he calmly assessed the man.
‘This one is...’
He had prepared for such cases by memorizing the appearances of key Ice Family Manor figures.
“You're Chief Steward Bing Cho-pung. It's been a while.”
Bing Cho-pung beamed.
“Haha, you remember me. I rushed over as soon as I heard you'd come, Vice Palace Lord.”
Bing Cho-pung was the third son of the Ice Family Head and served as the manor's chief steward.
He too had once been in a position similar to Seol Hwa-un's in the family. Born with a frail body and poor martial talent, he was meticulous and shrewd with numbers, earning the steward position at a young age.
Thus, he felt a sense of camaraderie with Vice Palace Lord Seol Hwa-un. That was why he came out personally to greet him.
“Please, come in.”
“Yes.”
Creak.
The gates of the Ice Family Manor fully opened, and Seol Hwa-un followed Bing Cho-pung inside.
“To think the Vice Palace Lord would visit our family too. Life has its surprises.”
There was no sarcasm or hidden intent. It was simply Bing Cho-pung's pure thought.
‘He doesn't ask why I'm here.’
This proved the Ice Family Manor already knew the reason.
As Bing Cho-pung walked ahead, he casually asked,
“I've heard you visit the palace lord's quarters frequently. Were you learning martial arts from him, after all?”
“I won't deny it.”
“I suspected as much after hearing about your Absolute Meridian Syndrome being cured... Congratulations, anyway. Better late than never—you'll finally learn the martial arts you've always wanted properly.”
“I don't think it's too late. I had a stroke of fortune, and it'll depend on my own efforts.”
Bing Cho-pung's eyes sparkled.
“Oh, that's quite a meaningful statement.”
“…….”
Seol Hwa-un could tell the Ice Family took considerable interest in him.
‘Not just the Ice Family—the other three families as well, probably.’
No family had approached openly yet, but they were surely monitoring his every move.
‘Well, the Vice Palace Lord, once thought irrelevant, suddenly stirring—it's natural they'd react.’
Following Bing Cho-pung, he sensed someone approaching.
‘Hm?’
Sure enough, moments later, he spotted a girl in palace attire walking toward them.
‘Ho.’
Seol Hwa-un was inwardly impressed. The girl's appearance was extraordinary.
Around fifteen or sixteen, perhaps. Her beauty was like a flower in full bloom under the moon—flawless white skin, sharp features, mysterious eyes, and alluring red lips.
The only regrettable point was her perfectly expressionless face, devoid of any emotion.
‘A peerless beauty. Even more stunning than my sister Seol Eun-ji.’
Moreover, she exuded the aura of someone well-versed in martial arts, at a considerable level.
‘She looks young, but impressive.’
She seemed on par with the gatekeepers from earlier. Remarkable for her age.
The girl was a beauty who could make one's eyes pop, but Seol Hwa-un's admiration ended there.
After maturing and becoming the Martial Alliance Leader, he no longer felt much stir at the sight of beauties.
Besides, a man who always pursued the righteous path could never harbor impure thoughts toward a girl young enough to be his granddaughter.
That said, he didn't deliberately avert his gaze. He regarded her as one might appreciate a particularly beautiful flower.
Bing Cho-pung spotted her too and called out.
“Ah, Su-hye!”
The beauty gave Bing Cho-pung a slight bow of her head.
“Uncle.”
Her voice was stiff, almost devoid of emotion. But Bing Cho-pung, accustomed to it, didn't mind.
“Where are you off to?”
“Father called for me...”
“Big Brother did?”
Bing Cho-pung chuckled.
“Brother's hopeless when it comes to you. He can't stand even a moment without seeing you.”
“…….”
“Ah, Su-hye. This is...”
As Bing Cho-pung moved to introduce Seol Hwa-un, the girl called Su-hye cut him off.
“Then.”
Passing Bing Cho-pung, she soon came face-to-face with Seol Hwa-un.
“…….”
Their eyes met, but no words were exchanged. The girl gave a light nod, and Seol Hwa-un returned it.
With that, she walked past Seol Hwa-un.
‘Su-hye... Who is she? No such girl in the info I had.’
Seol Hwa-un, having glanced her way out of curiosity, didn't turn away in case she might speak.
“What a temperament that one has.”
Curious, Seol Hwa-un asked,
“Who is she?”
“Ah, first time seeing her, right, Vice Palace Lord? She's Big Brother's daughter, Su-hye. Her personality's so cold, it's hard to get close even as her uncle.”
“…….”
“She's quite talented in martial arts too, and her looks—well, as you see, the future top beauty of the Ice Palace.”
“I see.”
Seeing Seol Hwa-un ask no more, Bing Cho-pung looked at him curiously.
‘Not that interested in such a beauty?’
“Shall we continue, Vice Palace Lord?”
“Yes.”
Seol Hwa-un and Bing Cho-pung soon reached the largest, most ornate hall within the Ice Family Manor.
The guards at its front spotted them and bowed.
“Greetings, Vice Palace Lord.”
“Greetings.”
‘This must be the family head's quarters.’
The guard opened the hall's doors, and Bing Cho-pung said,
“Please, enter.”
“Yes.”
Seol Hwa-un stepped inside without hesitation. As he did, the doors to the family head's quarters closed again.
“…….”
Bing Cho-pung stared at the doors with an odd expression.
‘He's definitely changed. I heard he overcame his heavenly affliction, but... what on earth happened in that one month?’
The room was spartan. No decorations—just bookshelves, furniture, and stacks of documents covering a large desk.
Behind the desk sat a diminutive elderly man with graying sideburns.
At a glance, he seemed ordinary, but his sharp gaze and subtly emanating pressure revealed he was no common man.
He was Bing Jin-won, head of the Ice Family.
Having partially recovered his senses through the Ice White Divine Art, Seol Hwa-un could read the aura hidden in the Ice Family Head's body.
‘As expected of one of the Five Great Families' heads.’
Among the experts he'd encountered since awakening in this body, he was second only to Seol Wi-myeong.
“…….”
Even with Seol Hwa-un entering, he pretended not to notice, continuing to sift through documents.
Seol Hwa-un calmly cupped his fists in greeting.
“Greetings, Ice Family Head.”
Only then did the Ice Family Head's gaze turn to him.
“It's been a while, Vice Palace Lord.”
That was it. His eyes returned to the documents.
“Mind waiting a bit?”
“Of course.”
Seol Hwa-un sat in a nearby chair. Tea soon arrived. The maid poured for him and withdrew.
Seol Hwa-un sipped his tea leisurely. But the Ice Family Head's work showed no sign of ending.
“…….”
Before long, an hour had passed since Seol Hwa-un entered. Fresh tea had been brought twice in that time.
The Ice Family Head glanced at him. Seol Hwa-un sat in the exact same posture, drinking tea.
‘...Not bad.’
Realizing prolonging it further was pointless, the Ice Family Head cleared the documents aside and fixed his gaze on Seol Hwa-un.
“Vice Palace Lord.”
“Yes, Family Head.”
“I hear you wish to learn our family's fist techniques?”
“Yes, I seek to learn the palace's fist techniques.”
A subtle difference in wording. The Ice Family Head's eyebrow twitched.
“Grateful that the Vice Palace Lord shows interest in our family's fist techniques.”
“As a man of the Ice Palace, isn't it natural to be interested in its martial arts?”
“...Can't argue with that.”
The Ice Family Head continued with a coldly set face.
“However, I refuse your request.”
His tone was icy, but Seol Hwa-un calmly asked,
“May I ask why?”
“Our family's fist techniques aren't something to learn on a mere whim.”
“And if I'm serious?”
“Locked in your room for over a decade reading books, and now you want to learn fist techniques... How am I to believe that's sincere?”
“…….”
“Our family's fist techniques can't be half-learned. Only with bone-grinding effort can one achieve any real accomplishment.”
The Ice Family Head's eyes gleamed coldly.
“So leave. If you want to learn martial arts, just stick to the Snow Family's sword techniques.”
‘As expected.’
Seol Hwa-un said nonchalantly,
“Ice Family Head, how about a little wager?”
“A wager?”
“No internal energy, just pure fist forms. Against anyone from the Ice Family— even you, Family Head.”
The Ice Family Head looked incredulous.
“Hah!”
“If I lose, I'll never bother you again. If I win, you personally guide me with all your heart.”