Chapter 9: A Desperate Crisis
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 9: A Desperate Crisis
Jang Roe, the "Black Wind" and right-hand man of the Great Plains bandit leader, Blood Wolf Gwak Do-han, stared in horror at the flames erupting in the darkness.
Was the information that the Demonic Cult’s Third Young Master was a good-for-nothing wastrel false?
Flames bloomed from Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s fingertips, incinerating the incoming hidden weapons before piercing through the foreheads of the bandits in rapid succession.
“Two.”
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom muttered lowly, once again launching daggers forged of pure fire.
“How dare you!”
Another voice roared from the shadows.
A bandit wielding a curved saber lunged at Hyeok Ryeon-yeom.
“These daggers are more than enough to incinerate moths like you who are so eager to die.”
Whoosh!
The flaming daggers began to weave through the air with a life of their own.
Blade Control Art?
The fire daggers hovered in the void, hunting down the bandits with lethal precision.
Jang Roe realized he had picked the wrong opponent. He had no way of knowing that Hyeok Ryeon-yeom was performing a flying dagger technique by applying the principles of the mana circuits he had mastered in his past life to his martial arts. Jang Roe gritted his teeth.
They had already infiltrated deep into the North Sea Ice Palace. He thought they only needed to hold out until Gwak Do-han finished assassinating the Young Palace Lord and returned.
Swish!
Jang Roe dodged desperately, but the heat of the flames scorched his clothes, sending up a plume of acrid smoke.
“Urgh!”
Jang Roe groaned and retreated.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom did not stop. Not satisfied with just the daggers, he flicked his fingers, sending out small embers with the force of a finger-flick strike. The embers traced a circuit in the air, amplifying in size before exploding at the bandits' feet.
Boom!
“Aaaargh!”
Engulfed in flames, Jang Roe screamed as he rolled across the snowy ground.
At that moment, a sharp aura surged from the left. A bandit armed with a spear charged at Hyeok Ryeon-yeom, the tip aimed straight for his throat.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s eyes flashed.
He twisted his body slightly to evade the spear and reached out to seize the shaft. The searing heat of his Extreme Yang Qi traveled through the wood and into the bandit’s hands.
“Gah!”
The bandit shrieked and let go of the weapon.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom caught the falling spear and swung it with brutal force.
Crack!
The bandit’s head shattered instantly.
“That makes four,” Hyeok Ryeon-yeom muttered, catching his breath.
Flames roared along the length of the spear in his hand. Though he wasn't holding a sword, the sight of him slaughtering bandits with a mere spear made him look like a Yaksha from the depths of hell.
“And this… is the end.”
Vroom—
As he gathered his True Qi into his left hand, a sphere of fire manifested. He struck the sphere with the spear.
Clang!
With a sharp, resonant sound, the fire sphere shattered into fragments that accurately struck the remaining bandits.
“Aaaagh!”
One by one, the bandits went up in flames amidst agonizing screams. The area around Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s quarters was soon filled with burning corpses and thick smoke.
“Young Master!”
He saw Weizhi Young running toward him. He was about to scold her—the person he’d brought along as a guard showing up only after the fight was over—when she shouted:
“Young Master, flames are rising from the Young Palace Lord’s hall as well!”
At the news that the bandits were targeting Seol Yerin, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s figure shot forward like an arrow.
*
Meanwhile, near the Young Palace Lord’s hall.
A massive shadow loomed over the cold snow. The leader of the bandits, Blood Wolf Gwak Do-han, stood with a heavy axe resting on his shoulder.
“I didn’t expect the Ice Palace’s defenses to be this pathetic.”
It was likely because the Demonic Cult’s Third Young Master was visiting, drawing attention elsewhere.
One of his subordinates stepped forward. “Boss, the Young Palace Lord is inside.”
Gwak Do-han nodded. “Good. Break down the doors and kidnap her. She’s the perfect weakness to use against the Ice Palace Lord.”
“Yes, sir!”
The bandits charged toward the doors of the hall. Thud! Boom! The heavy axes and hammers slammed against the wood, creating a thunderous din.
Inside, Seol Yerin let out a faint, ragged breath and whispered, “It’s starting again…”
Sitting on her bed, she looked down at her hands, where ice crystals were forming once more. It hadn't even been a few hours since Hyeok Ryeon-yeom had melted them with his Yang energy, yet the power of the Extreme Yin Body was already shackling her again.
Her eyes widened at the noise coming from outside.
Crash!
The door shattered, and Gwak Do-han stepped inside. His massive axe reflected the moonlight, emitting a chilling glint.
“Young Palace Lord Seol Yerin. We finally meet.”
Seol Yerin scanned Gwak Do-han from head to toe and let out a sigh. “What business does a bandit have with me?”
“I’m not just any bandit. I am the Blood Wolf, Gwak Do-han,” he said with a smirk. “As for my business, I’m going to use you as leverage to threaten the Ice Palace Lord.”
“I don’t have much longer to live. Do you really think I’ll make for good leverage?”
“Hahaha! I heard the Ice Palace Lord is desperate, even bringing in a matrilocal son-in-law with the Extreme Yang Body to try and cure you. By now, that son-in-law of yours has probably been torn to shreds by my men.”
“Hyeok Ryeon-yeom… is dead?” Seol Yerin’s voice trembled.
That couldn't be. He was a strong man, wasn't he? A man capable of melting even the ice of her Extreme Yin Body.
‘Young Palace Lord, I hear the Palace Lord is bringing the Third Young Master of the Demonic Cult as your suitor.’
When she had first looked into him, wondering what kind of man he would be, she had heard:
‘A lecher and a wastrel. He’s the scum of the earth, but since he was born with the Extreme Yang Body, he’s our only hope.’
A lecher… a wastrel. She had been prejudiced against him.
But after actually meeting him, she realized those were nothing but rumors. Hyeok Ryeon-yeom was a man like a blazing fire.
But… was he actually strong in martial arts?
Was he someone who could fend off an assassination attempt by bandits? She didn't know. If the bandits had truly moved to kill him…
“Yes, he’s dead. So come along quietly. I’ll use you as the hostage to bring the Ice Palace Lord to his knees.”
Gwak Do-han slammed his axe onto the floor and stepped closer.
Seol Yerin’s gaze turned frigid.
Cr-crack—
Her entire body began to freeze over once more.
“You think emitting a little chill is going to stop me?”
“It’s fine if you target me,” Seol Yerin hissed through gritted teeth.
Fury burned in her chest. The words that Hyeok Ryeon-yeom was dead kept echoing in her ears. She realized then that the man she had met only two hours ago had left a deeper mark on her heart than she had thought.
“What the…?”
A massive explosion of frost erupted from Seol Yerin’s hands. The interior of the hall froze instantly, frost crawling up the walls in the blink of an eye.
“What is this?!” Gwak Do-han recoiled, squinting his eyes.
The Yin Qi radiating from Seol Yerin’s body was growing out of control.
“If Hyeok Ryeon-yeom is truly dead… you won't get off with just becoming an ice statue.”
Cr-crack!
Seol Yerin’s Extreme Yin Qi surged to the point of near-explosion.
*
No.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom had been continuously transferring Extreme Yang Qi into Seol Yerin, so her Extreme Yin Qi should have been weakened. If she tried to use martial arts now by drawing up that energy, there was a high probability she would go berserk. If that happened, the frost of the Extreme Yin Body would spread uncontrollably through her entire system.
Pushing his lightness technique to the limit, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom reached the hall and bit his lip at the sight of the frozen building.
“Is this bitch crazy?!”
A man’s voice he didn't recognize shouted from inside. Gwak Do-han raised his axe and roared, “Stop! Or I’ll take your head!”
Seol Yerin ignored him. Frost exploded from her hands. The walls of the hall froze and cracked, and several bandits were turned into ice statues where they stood.
Gwak Do-han gritted his teeth and swung his axe. “I’ll kill you!”
The axe flew toward Seol Yerin, but the intense cold froze the weapon mid-air, halting its momentum.
“Say it again. You said Hyeok Ryeon-yeom is dead?” Seol Yerin’s voice sounded like cracking ice.
Gwak Do-han let out a bloody laugh. “Hahaha! So, you’re this angry because I killed that brat? You must have fallen for him in a single night! Aye, by now his corpse is probably rotting on the frozen ground of the North Sea—”
At that moment, a flash of fire erupted from beyond the shattered doors.
Whoosh!
“Seol Yerin!”
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s voice thundered through the hall.
He kicked the doors open, drawing his sword and unleashing a wave of heat. The flames surged toward Gwak Do-han.
Boom!
Gwak Do-han blocked the heat with his axe but was blown backward by the impact.
“You…!” Gwak Do-han’s eyes widened.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom stepped in front of Seol Yerin. “The only corpses rotting on the frozen ground of the North Sea are your subordinates.”
Flames roared to life in Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s hand once more.
Seol Yerin looked at him, her voice trembling. “…You were alive?”
“Were you worried?” Hyeok Ryeon-yeom managed a small smile.
But his expression quickly hardened as he checked her condition. The Yin Qi radiating from her was far too powerful.
“Can you control it? You’re in danger at this rate.”
Seol Yerin tried to regain her composure and suppress the energy, but once the Yin Qi had exploded, it was nearly impossible to bring back under control.
There’s no time.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom turned back to Gwak Do-han.
“You said you took care of my ‘brothers’?”
Gwak Do-han tilted his head. Jang Roe wasn't someone who would be defeated easily.
“You must have a hidden trump card, but I’ll end this quickly.” Gwak Do-han bared his teeth in a grin.
Sizzle—
Gwak Do-han’s axe began to glow with a crimson light.
Blood Wolf Gwak Do-han. As a leader who commanded bandits across the Great Plains, he was a master capable of manifesting Astral Qi.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom took a deep breath and drew up his Yang energy. Dealing with a master who used Astral Qi was, in truth, a heavy burden for his current level of strength. He hadn't even mastered a fraction of the martial arts he knew in his past life. Right now, all he could do was give it his absolute all.
The blade-light of the axe lunged at him. Using his incredible kinetic vision, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom evaded the strike and swept his hands forward.
Roar!
A whirlwind of fire engulfed Gwak Do-han.
“Sorcery?!”
Right now, this was all Hyeok Ryeon-yeom could do.
“Burn. Burn more. Burn even stronger!”
Keen—
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s pupils turned a deep, blood-red. He forced his Extreme Yang Qi into the flow of energy he saw through his eyes. As the Extreme Yang Qi touched the ambient energy of the world—
Fwoosh!
An even more powerful pillar of fire erupted. Gwak Do-han tried to block it with his axe, but the flames melted the metal and swallowed his body whole.
“AAAAAARGH!”
Gwak Do-han’s screams echoed through the hall.
But Hyeok Ryeon-yeom didn't stop. He was about to continue unleashing his Extreme Yang Qi when—
“Young Master! We’ve finished off the rest of the bandits!”
Weizhi Young’s shout snapped him back to reality. The chilling frost that had surrounded the hall was now replaced by a sweltering heat.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom panted for breath and turned to Seol Yerin.
“Yerin! Are you alright?!”
At that moment, the Ice Palace Lord arrived with the Chief Officer, Seol Su-hyeok, and a contingent of troops. It seemed the Palace Lord’s hall had also been attacked by bandits.
“Yerin!”
“Stop.”
Cr-crack—
As if declaring that no one but Hyeok Ryeon-yeom could approach, a terrifying amount of frost erupted from Seol Yerin’s body. She had reached her limit. The Extreme Yin Qi was refusing to stop its rampage.
“…I’m sorry, Father-in-law, but I must ask everyone to leave.”
“Young Master!”
“Young-ah, you go outside too.”
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom walked slowly toward the collapsed Seol Yerin. He picked her up in his arms and looked directly at the Ice Emperor, Seol Baek-ho.
“I will save her, no matter what.”
At the sincerity in his voice, Seol Baek-ho muttered, “Everyone… out.”
“Yes, Palace Lord.”
Under Seol Baek-ho’s command, all the warriors of the Ice Palace exited the hall. Hyeok Ryeon-yeom laid Seol Yerin down on the bed. He knew instinctively that simply holding her hands would no longer be enough to treat her.
“This is going to be a headache when she wakes up.”
Even though he knew it was the only choice to save her life, he hesitated for a brief moment. But soon, his mind was made up.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom began to undress Seol Yerin.