Thousand-Year Ice Crystal
When I didn’t immediately take the fragment of the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal and just stared at it instead, Baek Jin-ah took my hand and said, “Since Lady Baek has learned the Ice Soul Divine Art, this will be a better elixir than anything else in the world. Go on, take it. You have to circulate the cold of the Ice Soul Divine Art through your hand, or it’ll freeze solid.”
I did as she said, and Baek Jin-ah placed the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal in my palm.
It was only a fragment no bigger than a thumbnail. And yet even that tiny piece held so much concentrated cold that it was almost impossible to imagine.
“The same applies to your mouth. While you’re circulating the Ice Soul Divine Art, toss it in and swallow it. Quickly.”
It felt a little excessive, but there was no reason to refuse a stroke of fortune like this.
Besides, it was true that I was the one who’d found the manual for the Ice Soul Divine Art in the first place, so this was only a fair payment.
Without hesitation, I put the fragment of the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal into my mouth.
Ugh.
The chill of the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal was brutal. It felt like sitting naked in the middle of a snow-covered tundra.
I was already forcing the Ice Soul Divine Art to run at full power, but that cold was still so biting, so merciless.
“Good. Sit in a cross-legged position. Yes, that’s right. Now circulate the heart method of the Ice Soul Divine Art. Yes. Just like that. You’re doing well. Keep going until all of the crystal’s energy has been absorbed.”
I closed my eyes and sat cross-legged, following Baek Jin-ah’s instructions.
Her voice sounded almost dreamlike.
It felt like a warm blanket wrapping around my body, to the point where the cold no longer hurt.
And then, out of nowhere, I thought of ramen broth.
The kind of broth from a cup ramen I’d eaten after standing night watch in the winter military barracks. That feeling.
Ah. But my imagination was really pathetic, wasn’t it? Why did it have to be cup ramen, of all things?
Now I wanted it like crazy.
“Clan Lord. May this girl stand guard here until Lady Baek finishes circulating her qi?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to do that somewhere more comfortable?”
“Ah… I thought too shallowly. I’m sorry.”
“You must have been in a hurry. Haha. Still, if we remain here, we’ll only distract Lady Harin from her circulation. Let’s step out for now. Senior Byeokunja, Extremity One, I’ll have a place prepared for you to rest. Please, get some rest.”
I heard the others leaving, but I could still clearly feel that Baek Jin-ah was by my side.
And strangely enough, the simple fact that someone was beside me felt absurdly reassuring.
Weird. I’d lived twenty-five years and never once felt anything like this.
Did getting a woman’s body make my thoughts become more feminine too?
Or was it because I was meditating?
While I was mulling over that, I realized I shouldn’t let my mind wander and forced myself back into circulation.
Then, even though I still knew next to nothing about internal energy, this time I could feel a cold current racing through my body.
An energy unlike anything I’d felt from the elixirs I’d taken before.
And because of that, I could tell for certain now.
The things known as the body’s meridians and the main channels throughout the body.
The things I’d only ever known from books.
But when I’d taken the Yangga Soyeongdan and the Cheonokdan, I hadn’t felt anything like this.
Was this because the crystal was something as extraordinary as the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal? Did it just get absorbed straight away…? No, wait.
How much time had passed?
I could feel that the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal I’d swallowed had been fully absorbed into me.
My body felt different from before. It was as if vitality were surging through me from within.
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Baek Jin-ah standing with perfect, upright posture.
She was simply standing there. And yet I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
So that was it. Just standing like that, she was already breathtakingly beautiful.
Then it suddenly occurred to me.
Baek Jin-ah and I had almost the same looks.
In that case, if I stood up straight and composed myself, would I give off that kind of presence too?
But I quickly understood it wasn’t just a matter of posture.
Of course, bearing mattered. But what mattered even more was what kind of thoughts you carried inside.
A woman standing guard beside me while I meditated.
That mindset of protecting someone. That devotion.
That was what made her even more beautiful.
“You finished beautifully,” she said, smiling as she looked at me.
What a strange feeling. She was the kind of woman whose martial arts and hair color should have made her seem cold from head to toe.
And yet her smile was so warm.
“Thanks to you. Ugh. My body’s completely stiff. How long was I even like that?”
“Two days.”
At that, I stared at Baek Jin-ah in shock and nearly shouted, “What!? You stayed by my side for two whole days too!?”
“I know the most about the Ice Soul Divine Art and the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal among everyone here.”
“No, but still…”
“It’s fine, Lady Baek. So, how does your body feel?”
“Amazing. Compared to before, it feels like I’ve finally taken off a ton of sandbags I’d been carrying around!”
“I thought so. Then you should go eat something and rest. And we ought to clear out of here soon. Because of us, Clan Lord spent two whole days handling his work somewhere else.”
“Oh. That does sound a little bad. I should go apologize.”
“Lady Baek is kind-hearted too.”
As I got to my feet and said that, Baek Jin-ah laughed and answered me.
Then we left the clan lord’s chamber in order to meet Clan Lord Jegal and get something to eat.
...Approved.
That was why Baek Harin didn’t hear Baek Jin-ah mutter those words.
“Hoho. So it really was the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal. Your energy has changed completely. Yes, after sitting there for two days, this isn’t the time for a long conversation. Hurry along now. I’ll have the servants outside prepare something soft for you.”
“Thank you, Clan Lord. I’ve imposed on you.”
“Haha. What burden is there to speak of? Don’t trouble yourself over it. And never forget that you are an honored guest of our family. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Clan Lord.”
I had a rough idea why he kept speaking to me while looking at Baek Jin-ah.
Still, Baek Jin-ah remained composed. Probably because she was the one who had given me the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal.
After that, Baek Jin-ah also returned to her own lodging, and I went back to the guest quarters.
Moyong Jua and Paeng Jeon-ho looked like they had plenty of questions, but they seemed to hold back, perhaps because they knew I’d been sitting there for two days.
So I was finally left alone, and after quickly finishing the meal that had been brought to me, I could at last open my skill window.
Ohhh….
I let out an involuntary gasp.
True Origin Heart Method had jumped straight to 11 stars. Moonlight Divine Art had reached 2 stars, and Ice Soul Divine Art had risen to 4 stars.
The others hadn’t changed.
Probably because Splitting Light Sword Arts, Chaeryeojepseon Art, and Seven-Star Step weren’t martial arts that included a heart method.
Still, even though I’d only eaten a thumbnail-sized fragment of ice crystal, the fact that the Ice Soul Divine Art had risen this much was astonishing.
Then if I ate a bigger one, would it rise even more? Probably, right?
Instead of water, I picked up the teacup that had been brought out. I tried circulating the Ice Soul Divine Art through my hand.
After a short while, the cup grew cold, and frost began to gather on the tea itself.
Nice. This. Yes, this was it.
One of the things I’d been dissatisfied with ever since coming here was this: nobody here drank cold water.
If they saw tea being made this cold, they’d probably all have something to say.
But I had missed this. Ice water that hit you like a blow to the head. Ah. Well, this was iced tea, really.
After gulping down the tea, I felt the heat inside me get cleanly washed away.
Great. Summer was dead.
I’d been worried about how I was supposed to survive summer in a world without air conditioning, but being able to learn the Ice Soul Divine Art was honestly a blessing.
Oh. Then wouldn’t winter stop feeling cold too? It should, right? If you practice an ice art, it’d be ridiculous to still be sensitive to the cold in winter.
So this was the legendary immunity to heat and cold!? Was the Ice Soul Divine Art actually the best martial art of all?
With those ridiculous thoughts, I finished eating and lay down on the bed.
It felt unbelievably comfortable.
I’d gained a stroke of fortune in a perfectly safe place, increased both my internal energy and my heart method a ton, eaten my fill, and now I had a soft bed beneath me.
It was so comfortable I couldn’t even think of a mattress.
And since I hadn’t slept for two days, a pleasant exhaustion washed over me.
So I fell asleep easily, in a really, really good mood.
The next morning.
As soon as I woke up, Moyong Jua bombarded me with questions, so I told her everything that had happened inside.
“Wow! The Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal!? I heard ordinary people can’t even touch that thing!? Then, Lady Baek! Doesn’t that mean you’ve gotten insanely stronger!? You were already strong as it was!”
“Honestly, I’m not even sure how strong I am now.”
“Huh? Really? Then should we have a light sparring match?”
Moyong Jua asked with sparkling eyes.
And surprisingly, Paeng Jeon-ho looked interested too when he heard the word sparring.
“Shall we?”
I was curious myself about how much I could do now, so I accepted right away, and we headed to the training yard in the rear courtyard of the guest quarters.
Neatly laid flagstones. Tall trees planted around the edges to block the view.
It was the kind of place where you could tell they’d carefully prepared even the training grounds for their guests.
“Will Lady Baek use a fan? Or a sword?”
“I’m not all that skilled with the sword. And I like this iron fan.”
“Ah, I see. It was a gift from Clan Lord too, so it has meaning. Right?”
“Yes.”
So I took up the iron fan and set my stance, while Moyong Jua also drew her sword and took a starting posture.
Paeng Jeon-ho watched the whole thing seriously.
He’d probably be next once Moyong Jua was done.
“Here I go!”
“Yes!”
And so Moyong Jua and I swung our iron fan and sword.
This was a duel, not a fight meant to hurt one another. A sparring match.
So at first, we started quite lightly.
Moyong Jua’s sword was fast.
Since I’d seen her fight many times before, I had a rough idea of her usual level.
Which meant this sword should still be at the stage of loosening up.
But what was surprising was that I, holding an iron fan, was actually blocking that sword of hers with ridiculous ease.
My body was different.
Compared to when I first came here, it was like heaven and earth.
To the point that the strength from the Iron Body Weight-Adding Force was almost hard to control.
“Huh? The tip of your iron fan is getting heavier and heavier!? Okay! Then I’ll get serious too!”
Moyong Jua’s sword sped up. Even so, my iron fan blocked it without any trouble.
Wow. This works? It feels like playing a rhythm game.
Wait. I really shouldn’t be thinking that!
And then Moyong Jua’s sword brushed against my arm with a sharp flick!
“Ah!”
What startled her instead was Moyong Jua.
She hurriedly stopped her sword and looked at my arm.
But I was calm.
Of course I was. There wasn’t a single scratch on my body.
“Huh? I definitely just grazed you! Ah! The Ice Soul Divine Art!? Wow! That’s amazing!”
I had no way to explain external martial arts to them, so I just let it go.
As expected, the Ice Soul Divine Art. Thanks.
And so Moyong Jua and I swung our iron fan and sword again.
Paeng Jeon-ho watched with a restless, itching look in his eyes, as if he were getting more and more eager to try it himself.