Chapter 55: Anger
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 55: Anger
Ice Emperor Seol Cheon-woo.
That was the title of the first Martial God of the North Sea.
Why is that name appearing here?
A sudden, intense curiosity surged within him.
"Young Master?"
Just then, Weizhi Young called out to Hyeok Ryeon-yeom.
"Yes?"
"Did something good happen?"
"Why do you ask?"
"There’s a smile on your lips..."
I must have let a smile slip without realizing it.
He quickly composed his expression.
Cheon Deung-jin, his curiosity piqued, showed even more interest.
I can’t exactly show this to them right now...
In the martial world, asking about someone else's martial arts was considered extremely rude. However, since this wasn't Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s personal technique but a secret manual he had discovered, it was only natural for them to be curious.
"Lady Cheon. May I look through this first and then let you know?"
"Oh, pardon? You’ll tell me?"
"Yes. I didn't obtain this alone, so I’ll learn it first and then share it with you."
"No, I was merely curious. You don't have to go that far..."
"I’ll have to check to be sure, but since it’s a divine art, I need to see if it can be learned alongside other techniques. Even just knowing the mnemonic will likely benefit your existing martial arts rather than hinder them."
"Are you going to teach us as well?"
Tae Un-seo’s eyes sparkled.
"It seems like a technique that might be useful for cooking, in a way."
"I shall remain forever loyal to you, Captain!"
"To think we might learn the martial arts of one of the Ten Great Masters..."
Baek Mu-yong also stared at Hyeok Ryeon-yeom with an expression of disbelief.
"Squad Leader Baek, your mouth is hanging open."
"Ahem."
Watching them, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom realized that martial artists were truly martial artists at heart. They seemed to possess a deep thirst for new techniques.
Perhaps even more so because they are warriors of the Ice Palace.
To survive in the North Sea, their bodies were essentially forced to learn techniques based on ice arts. Naturally, they couldn't help but long for something different. There was a world of difference between practicing a technique out of necessity and practicing one out of genuine desire.
In that sense, the Iron Blood Divine Art is...
[I hope the practitioner first understands that the Iron Blood Divine Art, created by the Ice Emperor and refined by this Cult Leader, is a technique designed to forge a sturdy body.]
It was a technique for health(?).
He took a brief look at the mnemonic.
吾身卽鐵 氣貫百骸 (My body is as iron; let my qi pierce through every bone.)
A technique that injects true qi into the bones rather than the acupoints?
萬物皆虛 唯我實存 (All things in the world are void; only I truly exist.)
It emphasized focusing solely on one's own body and essential strength, without relying on the external environment or material things.
In other words:
The Iron Blood Divine Art itself is simply a divine art to make the body sturdy.
It could be integrated into any martial art.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom began to pore over the book even as he ran.
*
At the same time Hyeok Ryeon-yeom was returning to the Ice Palace with the Little Snow Unit and Cheon Deung-jin...
A carrier pigeon arrived at the Martial Alliance.
"Strategist, a message has arrived from Kunlun."
Zhuge Myeong, the Strategist of the Martial Alliance who managed the organization's vast affairs, took the message from his subordinate.
"From Kunlun?"
As it bordered the Outlands, the Kunlun Sect of Qinghai Province was considered a strategic location in the martial world. However, in this era of peace, it was often dismissed as a minor, remote sect among the Nine Sects and One Clan.
Still, since they had sent a message, it needed to be checked. Zhuge Myeong unfurled the scroll.
[A massacre has occurred at Jade Tower Peak on Kunlun Mountain. Requesting investigation.]
—Respectfully, Taoist Cheongpung, Sect Leader of Kunlun.
It was a message sent directly by the Sect Leader of Kunlun himself.
A massacre?
"It says a massacre occurred at Kunlun. What information do we have?"
"...I will check immediately."
It seemed they were unaware.
"Summon the Head of the Pavilion of Myriad Forms at once, and send a request to the Beggars' Sect."
A massacre at Kunlun was dangerous. Zhuge Myeong knew well from the history of the Jianghu that Kunlun was often the starting point of every great war. His instincts as the Strategist of the Martial Alliance were ringing alarm bells; this was something he could not afford to miss.
"What information has been reported regarding the Demonic Cult and the Outlands?"
"Ah, I did receive a report a while ago that an Ice Palace member from the Demonic Cult caused a disturbance at Kunlun."
"Why wasn't this reported!"
"My apologies. I felt the authenticity of the information still needed verification."
Zhuge Myeong’s expression hardened at his subordinate's report.
"Track the movements of the Demonic Cult and the Ice Palace."
"Regarding the Ice Palace, we received a report via an anonymous carrier pigeon recently."
"I am aware of that one."
It was the news that the son of the Heavenly Demon and the Young Lady of the Ice Palace were to be engaged. While it was news that suggested a strengthening bond between the two groups, most sects and families didn't pay it much mind. After all, the martial sects and families of the Central Plains were too busy to worry about the affairs of the Outlands.
However...
The timing of the massacre and the arrival of this information is too perfect.
If the massacre at Kunlun was also the work of that Ice Palace member from the Demonic Cult...
Perhaps, using this engagement as a catalyst, the Demonic Cult and the Ice Palace were planning a joint invasion of the Central Plains.
I have no choice but to report this to the Alliance Leader...
The current Leader of the Martial Alliance, one of the Ten Great Masters—the Buddhist Venerable, Master Hyegwang—was currently in secluded meditation. Normally, Zhuge Myeong would never disturb him, but this situation seemed to demand urgency.
"I think we also need information on the League of Four Tyrants."
"You should ask the Head of the Pavilion of Myriad Forms about that."
"Strategist, the Head of the Pavilion of Myriad Forms has arrived."
Rattle—
The door opened, and Mok Gyeong-un, the head of the Martial Alliance's intelligence agency that supposedly collected all information under heaven, entered the office.
"You summoned me?"
"Pavilion Head, I would like the latest information on the League of Four Tyrants."
Mok Gyeong-un marveled at the Strategist’s request for information on the League the moment he walked in.
"I came to report exactly that, but it seems you already knew, Strategist."
"Hmm?"
"There is news that the treasure map of the former leader of the League of Four Tyrants, Jang Bo-do, has appeared. We have obtained information that a man with the title 'Jang Seo-gaek' is currently fleeing toward Qinghai Province with the map."
"...The treasure map of the former leader?"
Zhuge Myeong looked back and forth between Mok Gyeong-un’s information and the message from Kunlun before crumpling the scroll. He had realized the current state of the Martial Alliance's intelligence.
"...Pavilion Head Mok. Immediately request the latest information on the Demonic Cult, the Ice Palace, and the League of Four Tyrants from the Chief of the Beggars' Sect, and summon all members of the Pavilion of Myriad Forms."
"Pardon? What is the matter?"
At that foolish question, Zhuge Myeong slammed his fist onto the desk.
Slam!
"You, of all people, should know best how slow the Martial Alliance's intelligence has become! A massacre has already occurred at Kunlun, so why are you only now reporting on the treasure map!"
"I-I am sorry."
"Send a carrier pigeon to Kunlun immediately and tell them to keep this quiet, and block all information through the Beggars' Sect's informants! The events at Kunlun must not leak out!"
Thus, the events at Kunlun began to transform into a secret history.
However...
Because of this Kunlun Secret History, a wind of change began to blow through the Martial Alliance.
*
One month.
Thirty days, to be exact.
She had waited for thirty days with bated breath.
"Young Lady. Are you alright?"
Eun-bin asked the Young Lady, Seol Yerin.
"I-I'm fine."
"There are only a few days left. Didn't you agree to hold the engagement ceremony as soon as the Captain returns?"
Seol Yerin was currently holding a horse stance.
Han So-young had explained that blood, sweat, and tears were necessary to look one's most beautiful for the engagement ceremony.
Drip— drip—
It had already been two hours. Seol Yerin was drenched in sweat as she maintained the posture.
"...He is coming back within a few days, right?"
"He will. Isn't that right, Deputy Squad Leader?"
"Of course."
Eun-bin rubbed his bald head as he thought of Hyeok Ryeon-yeom. He was a man who always kept his word.
"He’ll arrive right on time. More importantly..."
"Is there something more important?"
"Most of the preparations are finished, but the most vital thing hasn't been prepared yet."
At the mention of the "most vital thing," Seol Yerin’s eyes sparkled.
"What is it?"
"The Unity Wine."
"Ah."
Though it wasn't a full wedding, the engagement ceremony itself was a promise for the future. Since ancient times, it was custom for a couple promising marriage to share wine from the same cup.
"We don't have any suitable wine. Usually, the man is supposed to provide it."
"He will bring it."
Eun-bin began to talk up the Captain, breaking into a cold sweat. He could see the expectant glint in Seol Yerin’s eyes.
Will he... actually prepare it?
This was something that needed to be conveyed to him somehow.
"I just wish he’d get here quickly. To make someone wait like this..."
"We received word of their return through Squad Leader Baek a while ago. He said they are coming to the Ice Palace with the Young Palace Lord of Potala. They’re likely exhausted from pushing their lightness techniques to the limit to get here."
The moment he said that...
Bam!
Someone burst into the Young Lady’s Hall.
"Young Lady! The Captain has arrived!"
At the guard's words, Seol Yerin’s legs gave out, and she slumped to the floor.
"Please stand up, Young Lady. You must go out to meet him."
Han So-young gently reached out a hand to her.
Nodding, Seol Yerin tried to stand up quickly. However, her trembling legs wouldn't move as she wished.
"We will assist you."
Supported by Eun-bin and Han So-young, Seol Yerin moved toward the main gate of the Ice Palace.
—Grrr.
Tam Ya poked its head out from the front of Seol Yerin’s robe. It seemed to have reacted to the fact that its master had returned.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom.
Her heart began to thrum at the thought that she would see him in just a few more steps.
Thump— thump—
"I see them over there."
"Weizhi Young, Baek Mu-yong, and even Tae Un-seo... they’re all collapsed. It looks like their legs gave out after using lightness techniques for so long."
"What about the Third Young Master?"
"He is standing."
As they drew closer, the figures of three people became clear.
One was the Chief Officer, Seol Su-hyeok.
Another was the Captain of the Little Snow Unit she had waited a month for, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom.
And the other person...
"Are you alright?"
She saw snow splattered on Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s head.
The person brushing the snow off his head...
That person must be the Young Palace Lord of Potala, Cheon Deung-jin.
She had clearly heard he was a man.
Snap—
'Why... am I getting angry?'