Chapter 28: Rooting Out
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 28: Rooting Out
Clang!
Sword and spear collided.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom gave it his all from the very beginning.
This was the Imagery World.
His physical body was undoubtedly standing frozen in front of the Ice Crystal. Therefore, he needed to settle things with the Ice Soul Spear Saint, Seol Yeong-jin, as quickly as possible.
"Demonic Cultist..."
"I told you... you should listen to a person until they're finished!"
Whoosh!
Flames erupted.
Memories of the moment he met his death at the hands of Hyeok Ryeon-geuk began to resurface.
—I have no intention of letting my rivals live.
—You... you know I could never be your rival, brother.
—Curse the fact that you carry the blood of the Heavenly Demon.
He had cursed it.
He cursed having experienced a life in the modern world. He cursed having lived as a scoundrel in the martial world. And even in his third life, where he couldn't use magic, he had struggled desperately to survive.
'It was all to land a blow on the bastards who made me this way.'
He had returned to make that happen.
"...You're just..."
A mere ghost.
"Whether I'm from the Demonic Cult or the Ice Palace..."
The place Hyeok Ryeon-yeom intended to make his home now was the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
"Flame Wind!"
Roar!
He countered the spear strike with a storm of soaring flames.
Sizzle—
In the hand holding the sword, he wielded the Snow Extreme of the Snow Wind Sword Venerable.
In his other hand...
Crack!
He unleashed the Small Hand Ice Art of Han Seol-bi.
Handling Extreme Yang and Extreme Yin simultaneously within one body was an incredibly difficult feat.
"I know that a hundred years ago, there was a Martial God in the Ice Palace famous for his spear."
He also knew, through stories passed down to descendants, that the Martial God had been utterly crushed by the Heavenly Demon of two generations past—the former leader of his Cult.
The Heavenly Demon had shattered the Ice Soul Spear, the weapon that could freeze the soul itself.
How did he break it?
'I don't know that part.'
Boom!
However, one thing was certain.
If Hyeok Ryeon-yeom couldn't achieve what his ancestor, the Heavenly Demon, had done, he would only end up dying by Hyeok Ryeon-geuk's hand once again.
'To hell with that.'
Starting with Seol Yerin, he didn't know how many times he had already faced off against ice. And every single time, the winner had been Hyeok Ryeon-yeom.
"Ice Crystal or whatever, I am also one of the people who wants to protect the Northern Sea Ice Palace!"
Fwoosh!
The Extreme Yang Qi reacted to his shout.
The energy surged violently, fueled by his anger. The danger of Extreme Yang Qi lay in 'emotion.' The more one felt anger, the more one revealed 'emotion,' the more the Yang Hard Qi Gong would consume that will, burning itself as it flowed.
'Ugh.'
At the moment when the heat and bloodlust felt as if they would incinerate his very meridians, the rapidly flowing Yin Qi began to navigate through his blood vessels, following the path of the Yang Qi.
In that instant, the searing, agonizing pain vanished.
Furthermore...
'The energy is responding to my will much more freely.'
Drip! Drip!
The frozen spear strikes began to melt away under the flames.
At that moment, the Spear Saint's eyebrows twitched.
"...A demon artist of the Demonic Cult who handles both Extreme Yang and Extreme Yin Qi simultaneously."
"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm the Ice Palace's matrilocal son-in-law."
Changseong turned to look at the Sword Venerable and the Demon Empress, who were watching the battle.
—Tsk, tsk. What are you glaring at?
—Hmm? Master, it looks like that fellow's spirit is quite damaged...
The moment the Sword Venerable and the Demon Empress finished their murmuring...
Flash!
The spear strikes vanished completely.
"If it's you... it might be worth entrusting it to you."
"...?"
The pure white snow began to melt. As the spear strikes dissipated, the Extreme Yang Qi began to thaw the surroundings.
"Check the Ice Crystal."
Only then could Hyeok Ryeon-yeom, along with the Sword Venerable and the Demon Empress, examine the Ice Crystal.
The Ice Crystal, shimmering with a blue light, seemed to be struggling to emit cold air, as if it were breathing faintly and with great effort.
Startle.
The Sword Venerable and the Demon Empress froze as they checked the state of the crystal.
—This... since when has it been like this?
"It has been a hundred years. It is also the reason why I have no choice but to remain here in this form."
"What's wrong with it?"
—The Ice Crystal... is strange. It's in an incomplete state, neither fully going berserk nor remaining stable.
An odd state where it wasn't going berserk, but wasn't stable either? What did that mean?
—Someone must have done something bizarre to the Ice Crystal. Did you catch the culprit?
At the Sword Venerable's question, Changseong shook his head. It was clear that some calamity had occurred at the Ice Palace during the time Changseong was known as a Martial God.
"There were those who tried to seize the Ice Crystal. They invaded all the way to this chamber in an instant. Well, I caught the culprit who laid hands on it directly... but they committed suicide, so I couldn't uncover the mastermind. There were several suspicious individuals, but..."
Changseong looked at Hyeok Ryeon-yeom with a grim expression. It seemed the Demonic Cult had also been a target of suspicion.
"That alone wasn't enough to identify them."
—Tsk.
"...But there must still be spies planted by them within the Ice Palace. That is also why I had to imbue my spirit into the Ice Crystal. Fortunately, their tails seem to be quite long..."
—Even so.
Whoosh—
As the Sword Venerable swept his hand around the Ice Crystal, unstable cold energy flowed along his sleeve.
—What do you plan to do in this situation?
"Yes. Without me, the Ice Crystal is dangerous right now."
Wait.
"Then, Elder Changseong..."
"The moment I let go of the Ice Crystal, it will explode."
Not a rampage, but an explosion.
The Extreme Yin Qi contained within the Ice Crystal appeared to be hundreds of times greater than what Seol Yerin possessed. In other words...
'If this thing blows, everything really will freeze over.'
No one would survive.
"How... how can it be stopped?"
The Ice Soul Spear Saint, Seol Yeong-jin, had definitely said he would entrust something to Hyeok Ryeon-yeom.
"Find the first founder, the Ice Emperor Seol Cheon-woo, and bring him here."
*
Blink, blink.
When he opened his eyes again...
"Are you awake?"
Hearing his father-in-law's voice from behind, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom realized he had returned to reality.
"Did you see it?"
He asked his father-in-law.
"If you're talking about being mesmerized by the Ice Crystal, those who see it for the first time often show the same symptoms as you."
"Does that mean you've met him too, Palace Lord?"
"Met whom?"
"...No, it's nothing."
—Heh heh, I guess he didn't find him trustworthy.
—Isn't it because he's the Palace Lord? It would have been difficult to ask a descendant for such a favor.
After a brief internal exchange, he realized his father-in-law had not met Changseong. Therefore, he likely had no idea that the Martial God from a hundred years ago was slumbering here.
"So, tell me your impressions. You must have had a purpose for wanting to see the Ice Crystal."
"It contains an immense amount of Extreme Yin Qi, enough to make me freeze for a moment. Please ensure that Lady Seol does not come near the Ice Crystal."
Bringing Seol Yerin in front of an explosive that could go off at any moment was a suicidal act.
"Surely... Yerin didn't end up like that because of the Ice Crystal, did she?"
"That's not it."
The Extreme Yin Body was simply a matter of constitution. More importantly...
"By the way, Palace Lord, has anyone else besides me been shown the Ice Crystal?"
"Only direct descendants of the Seol family are permitted to see the Ice Crystal through the generations. I have never shown it to anyone other than you."
Never shown it, huh? Well, his father-in-law wouldn't even have been alive a hundred years ago.
'The first founder...'
It was good to hear about the first founder of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, the Ice Emperor Seol Cheon-woo, thanks to Changseong, but...
'How am I supposed to find the tomb of the greatest man in history, someone even the people of the Central Plains feared?'
—Who knows.
—Shouldn't we first root out the spies who tampered with the Ice Crystal?
The Demon Empress was right.
"If you've seen enough, let us return. As for the merchant group matter, I've sent a carrier pigeon stating that I will take you to the border of Liaoning Province in a week."
He had gained some time.
"That's a relief."
"A relief?"
"I think I need to flip the Ice Palace upside down once."
"What do you mean by that?"
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom hesitated for a moment before speaking. Seol Baek-ho, his future father-in-law, was practically family now, wasn't he? He had thought it was strange ever since the mounted bandits managed to enter the Ice Palace so easily.
"Perhaps someone is thinking of overthrowing the Ice Palace."
He had heard it from Changseong. A hundred years ago, there was a group that tried to steal the Ice Crystal. The culprit, who possessed enough martial prowess to hold his own against Changseong, had failed to steal the crystal and ended up damaging it instead.
The aftermath of that damage was the current state of the Ice Crystal.
If someone had been infiltrating and watching the Ice Palace ever since, they would surely view Hyeok Ryeon-yeom as a thorn in their side.
"Spies... you think there might be spies?"
"Yes. I became certain after seeing the state of the Ice Crystal."
At this rate, the Ice Palace is in danger, Father-in-law.
"I've let many things slide while focusing on Yerin's treatment."
"I will root them out, Father-in-law."
Everything was just a deduction. Since a lot of time had passed, he couldn't be certain based solely on Changseong's words. However, at the end of that causality stood the past-life Hyeok Ryeon-yeom, who knew how the Ice Palace had moved in the previous timeline.
If time continued to pass without doing anything, the Ice Palace would...
'It will end up being burned to the ground by Hyeok Ryeon-geuk.'
"Third Young Master!"
As he stepped outside, he saw Seol Yerin holding Tam Ya, standing with Chief Officer Seol Su-hyeok.
"Lady Seol?"
"Yerin!"
"Father! How could you take the Third Young Master to the place where the Ice Crystal is!"
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom made an awkward face as he watched his father-in-law get scolded the moment they emerged.
"He's the one who wanted to go in."
"But still!"
"It's alright. I had a good experience thanks to him."
He had acquired information that would be helpful to the Ice Palace.
Pant, pant.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom took Tam Ya from Seol Yerin's arms.
Sizzle—
As if it had been consuming Extreme Yin Qi again, Tam Ya began to suck in Extreme Yang Qi the moment it entered Hyeok Ryeon-yeom's arms.
"Stop eating. You'll get an upset stomach."
Grrr!
Tam Ya snorted as if telling him to mind his own business, whether it got an upset stomach or not.
"I'll head back first, Father-in-law."
"Right. Let's talk more about the rest later."
"Yes, Father-in-law."
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom bowed to Seol Baek-ho and Seol Su-hyeok before leaving the Palace Lord's Hall.
"I'll go with you."
"Wait, Yerin, you stay. Let's have a quick chat with your father."
"Eh? ...Alright."
Seol Yerin, who was about to follow, seemed to be held back by his father-in-law. Hyeok Ryeon-yeom waved his hand at her.
—Heh heh, where do you plan to go now?
At the Sword Venerable's question, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom stroked his chin.
"First, I plan to hear what those guys think."
—Those guys?
"Who else can I trust in this treacherous Ice Palace?"
When Hyeok Ryeon-yeom returned to the quarters...
"Kyaak! Warrior Tae! I told you not to just put anything in!"
"I'm sorry!"
Clang, clang!
"Squad Leader Baek, you're still lacking in many areas!"
"Deputy Squad Leader! Can White Night join in too?!"
—Roar!
He found Tae Un-seo and Weizhi Young making a mess of the kitchen while cooking, and Eun-bin and Baek Mu-yong in the middle of a duel.
While the Captain was out busting his tail, the members seemed perfectly at ease.
"Assemble."
At Hyeok Ryeon-yeom's single word, the members of the Little Snow Unit stopped what they were doing.
*
Slurp—
"Oh, it's delicious today too. Did Young make this?"
"Warrior Tae played a big part as an assistant."
"Thanks, Tae Un-seo. I'll enjoy the meal."
"Th-thank you!"
Sitting around the table, they began to talk while eating the noodles prepared by Weizhi Young and Tae Un-seo.
"I heard you went to see the Palace Lord?"
Eun-bin asked, his eyes slightly narrowed.
"I did."
"Is it another mission to go outside?"
At Baek Mu-yong's question, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom shook his head.
"This time, I plan to look inside."
"...?"
Question marks appeared over everyone's heads at his answer.
"Look inside? What does that mean?"
"It means I need to clean up the interior thoroughly."
Eun-bin's eyes opened more than halfway.
"Did I hear that correctly?"
"You did."
"...It won't be the Snow Tiger Unit or the Ice Wolf Unit. The remaining places are... the Guardian Corps and the families excluding the Seol family?"
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom shook his head.
"I plan to meet those who need to take their hands off the Ice Palace's affairs."
"Then..."
There was only one place left besides the Snow Tiger and Ice Wolf units. Eun-bin, having thought of it, spoke up.
"Captain, are you crazy?"
Pfft.
He almost spat out his food.
"Deputy Squad Leader, what kind of thing is that to say to the Captain..."
"You're saying this knowing that no one who touched them within the Ice Palace has survived, right?"
Hearing that, they sounded even more malicious. Which meant they were even more likely to be festering and rotten to the core.
"We're going to the Council of Elders."
Because those who lived through the previous generations would know the past best.