Chapter 99
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: The Five Great Protectors
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Following the warrior, Seol Hwa-un quietly observed him.
‘He looks to be in his mid-thirties... Not bad. Probably on the level of the Ice Sword Brigade Leader.’
It was hard to tell exactly, but he seemed like a warrior trained by the Elder Council.
Following him through the winding crevice between cliffs, a vast open plain came into view.
Seol Hwa-un couldn't hold back his admiration.
‘Whoa, terrain like this!’
Indeed, the terrain of Bingju Valley was unique. A massive valley encircled the wide plain like a folding screen.
Surprisingly, the plain featured green grasslands, forests, and even a small pond. A quick glance suggested plenty of animals lived there too.
‘Above all, the temperature is high. Even surrounded by the valley, it's much warmer than the Ice Palace!’
It was a world apart from the North Snow Mountains outside the valley.
The warrior spoke.
“This is the Elder Council of the main palace.”
“I had no idea a place like this existed in the North Sea.”
The warrior nodded.
“Considering the outside environment, it's certainly special.”
“How can the weather be this good?”
“There’s a volcano not far away. Thanks to it, the geothermal heat is considerable.”
“Ah.”
Natural terrain with underground magma flows transmitting heat had naturally formed this environment.
“This is North Sea winter; in summer, it even gets hot.”
“...!”
“Shall we continue?”
Unexpectedly, the warrior led him to a pond inside Bingju Valley. There, five old men with an immortal aura were casting long fishing rods.
Uniquely, the elders wore long robes of different colors: azure, green, red, black, and white.
“...”
Each exuded an extraordinary aura.
‘These must be the elders.’
Elder Council.
In other sects, it was much the same, but for the North Sea Ice Palace, the heads of the Five Great Families and the Palace Lord were mostly of the same generation.
When a Palace Lord of the same generation passed away, the family heads and leaders of each martial organization would step down into retirement.
This was to avoid becoming obstacles to the new Palace Lord.
The place they retired to was the Elder Council. It wasn’t wrong to say it was where the North Sea Ice Palace’s highest elders gathered.
The warrior bowed respectfully toward the elders.
“I’ve brought the Little Palace Lord.”
“...”
Even at the warrior’s words, they showed no reaction. The elders kept their eyes fixed on their fishing rods as if by prior agreement.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
Familiar with the routine, the warrior turned and left Seol Hwa-un behind.
“...”
Seol Hwa-un quietly observed the elders. Most had white hair and long white beards, making it hard to guess their ages.
‘Hmm.’
They were concealing their auras, but they couldn’t fool Seol Hwa-un’s senses.
‘At this level... in the main palace, there’s no one who could match them except my father.’
They were far more impressive than he’d expected.
‘These might be the ones actually leading the Elder Council.’
Seol Hwa-un slowly formed a fist salute toward them.
“Little Palace Lord Seol Hwa-un pays respects to the elders.”
“...”
Silence again. Seol Hwa-un continued as if unperturbed.
“I heard the elders wished to see me.”
Still no reply, but Seol Hwa-un pressed on calmly.
“If you have business with me, please speak. I’m curious what matter warrants summoning me to the Elder Council.”
By principle, the Elder Council did not interfere in North Sea Ice Palace affairs.
Unless it was truly exceptional, it was an entity that seemed to exist yet barely did.
Yet this Elder Council had now interfered in internal matters for the second time.
“...”
At Seol Hwa-un’s words, the red elder’s eyes turned toward him.
But sharp glares from the other elders made him quickly look back at his fishing rod.
One corner of Seol Hwa-un’s mouth twitched upward.
‘You’re playing it like this...’
It was a blatant intent to crush his momentum from the start. But Seol Hwa-un had no intention of playing along.
“...”
He crouched down and touched the ground with his palm.
‘As expected. Faint, but I can feel the heat.’
If this heat rose across the entire vast plain, it was more than enough to transform the barren North Sea lands into what they were now.
“Nice.”
Seol Hwa-un slowly sat cross-legged.
It was warmer than the Ice Palace, but North Sea’s unique chill still lingered.
‘And faint yang energy is rising from the ground.’
It was perfect for cultivating his renewed Ice White Divine Art.
‘...This might even be a clue.’
Seol Hwa-un closed his eyes and silently recited the Ice White Divine Art formula.
“...!”
No one spoke or looked away, but all five elders were focused intently on Seol Hwa-un.
Naturally, they didn’t miss his actions.
The azure elder muttered unwittingly.
“What an absurd brat...”
The eyes of the other four elders turned to him.
“What? Look at what that kid’s doing. He’s going to keep at that pointless nonsense?”
“...”
“See? I said we shouldn’t do this!”
“Tsk!”
The red elder finally stood up.
“I said from the start I didn’t want to.”
As he moved, the other elders reluctantly lifted their heavy frames.
They approached Seol Hwa-un. The green elder spoke.
“Pleased to meet you, kid. We are...”
“...”
Even as the five elders approached, Seol Hwa-un remained cross-legged, immersed in his cultivation.
“Huh? What?”
“Look at this guy.”
The azure elder shook his head.
“What guts. He’s actually cultivating.”
“Whoa, truly no ordinary fellow. No wonder he’s captured the family heads’ hearts.”
“You punk, get up!”
As the red elder frowned and reached for him, the black elder grabbed his arm.
“What are you doing?”
“You’re just going to leave him? We need to make him stand.”
“What if he enters qi deviation? Will you take responsibility?”
The red elder flinched at his words. But he soon scowled.
“See why I said not to bother with this nonsense!”
“...”
“What is this? Standing here like scolded kids in front of a brat!”
The white, black, and green elders turned away and pretended not to notice. It seemed those three had pushed for this.
“Acting like this at our age.”
Seol Hwa-un cultivated for a full half hour before finally rising.
Looking around at the five elders standing before him, he said innocently.
“Hm? Looks like you’ve decided to talk with me now.”
The elders were dumbfounded.
“Whoa, listen to this guy.”
“But why did you suddenly start cultivating?”
“You all seemed busy, so I didn’t want to waste time waiting. I cultivated instead. This place turned out perfect for building inner energy.”
In that short time, he had indeed gathered a meaningful amount of inner energy.
“What boldness.”
The white elder’s eyes gleamed.
“Good for building inner energy...? If that’s true, it’s intriguing.”
His final words were so low they were barely audible.
The green elder continued.
“Pleased to meet you, Little Palace Lord. We are the Five Great Protectors, lingering in the Elder Council because we can’t die yet.”
Seol Hwa-un was inwardly startled.
‘These are the Five Great Protectors?’
From what he’d heard, the Five Great Protectors had been the Elder Council’s top elders even during Seol Wi-myeong’s time as Little Palace Lord. He hadn’t known they were still alive.
“Then how many generations back are you...?”
The azure elder burst into laughter.
“Hahaha, who knows. We forgot our names and ages long ago.”
“...”
Even conservatively, the Five Great Protectors were easily over a hundred years old.
‘No wonder I can’t read their auras.’
The green elder said.
“Then let’s get to the main topic.”
“Everyone, sit.”
The Five Great Protectors plopped down on the ground without ceremony. Seol Hwa-un followed suit.
“Titles might be awkward, so here’s how: call us by robe color—Green Elder, Azure Elder, Red Elder, and so on.”
“Understood.”
The red elder scowled as he spoke.
“We wouldn’t normally step in, but those previous family heads made such a fuss...”
The white elder checked him.
“Hey now, they have their pride too.”
“Did I say anything wrong? Retired folks worrying so much... Tsk tsk.”
The black elder spoke up for once.
“They begged so earnestly, we had to listen. Little Palace Lord, you know the rule: the Elder Council doesn’t meddle in main palace affairs.”
“...”
“I’ll be direct. The previous family heads oppose the main palace advancing into the Central Plains.”
Seol Hwa-un nodded.
“I know that.”
Palace Lord Seol Wi-myeong had harbored grand ambitions since youth.
The previous family heads had noticed early and disapproved, but with Seol Wi-myeong’s outstanding talent, they could do nothing.
When the previous Palace Lord died, he naturally ascended.
That’s when the invisible power struggle began.
Though retired to the Elder Council, their influence didn’t vanish overnight.
The previous family heads constantly checked Seol Wi-myeong and obstructed his Central Plains initiatives.
Seol Hwa-un asked.
“Why do they oppose the main palace’s advance into the Central Plains?”
“As expected, you think like your father.”
“Yes.”
“They have reason to worry. We suffered a great wound two hundred years ago.”
“...!”
Realizing what he meant, Seol Hwa-un felt a pang inside.
“When we tried advancing into the Central Plains, the Heavenly Collapse Fist Emperor came for retribution right away. If the Palace Lord hadn’t perished with him, our palace would have been destroyed too.”
“...”
“The situation’s different now, but can you guarantee it won’t happen again?”
“That’s...”
The black elder’s eyes sharpened.
“I agree. The North Sea is barren, but our efforts have made survival sufficient. Why risk it for the Central Plains?”
‘As expected, the inquiry was just an excuse. This is the real issue.’
Seol Wi-myeong was already too strong to handle directly. So they summoned the Little Palace Lord to pressure him indirectly and sway the still-young Seol Hwa-un.
‘Clever to ask the Five Great Protectors without stepping forward themselves.’
Their rank was so high even the Palace Lord couldn’t touch them, giving their words weight.
They calculated a young Little Palace Lord would have no choice but to listen.
If one of the Five Great Protectors shared their view, it would be perfect.
Seol Hwa-un looked around at the Five Great Protectors and asked.
“Do the others think the same?”