Chapter 313
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 313
Chapter Title: How Should I Erase It?
Han Seol-bing rode without rest.
Until her horse collapsed from exhaustion.
When it did, she abandoned it and unleashed her lightness skill toward the next village.
She bought the finest steed from the nearest horse market.
Then rode until it collapsed again from exhaustion.
When it did, she unleashed her lightness skill once more.
The urgent report she'd received.
Since it lacked details,
she hurried even more.
What in the world...
The Tak Clan stirring up trouble?
Just over a decade ago,
when Han Seol-bing had left the Ice Heaven Palace to join the Martial World Conference,
the Tak Clan hadn't possessed the strength to even dream of such insolence.
Back then, the Tak Clan's power had slightly exceeded one-tenth of the Ice Heaven Palace's total forces.
The Han Clan's strength had been around two-tenths of the palace's overall power, while the Bing Clan—as palace lord—held three-tenths.
The remaining less-than-four-tenths was divided among the lesser families.
Moreover, the Bing and Han Clans were practically allied,
meaning more than half the palace's total forces moved as one.
On top of that, the lesser families overwhelmingly supported the palace lord.
That was why the Tak Clan could never harbor treacherous thoughts.
Yet during her absence, the power balance had shifted dramatically, or so she'd heard.
She'd confirmed as much when inquiring about palace affairs amid the Im Dae-chi incident.
And now the Tak Clan was stirring?
Stirring.
Literally, it meant disloyal elements making a fuss.
Yes,
just noisy movements.
But for it to warrant an urgent report,
it couldn't be mere word-for-word unrest.
It had to be a grave threat to the palace.
That was why Han Seol-bing minimized her sleep and raced northward with all her might.
'Tak Clan.'
If the palace was in such dire straits, they likely hadn't honored the request she'd sent her family.
That weighed on her too.
She'd told Im Dae-chi to trust only her and worry not.
She feared the family's inability to fulfill her request stemmed from the emboldened Tak Clan's actions.
In the current crisis, though, that was a minor concern.
What if the Tak Clan's unrest escalated into rebellion—no, outright revolt?
That was the true pressing issue.
She had to reach the palace as soon as possible.
She had to lend her strength.
Han Seol-bing gritted her teeth and spurred herself faster.
The cadets diligently maneuvered their shields and swung their swords.
Ha Mu-baek watched closely, issuing commands, giving instructions,
and pointing out improvements as he led the Fierce Dragon Corps' group training.
Yet
his mind was filled with other thoughts.
Even so, his eyes missed no errors, and his mouth offered apt advice.
'Blood scent.'
The phrase dominating Ha Mu-baek's thoughts.
'How should I erase it?'
He knew he had to, but no method came to mind.
It had been over a year since he'd distanced himself from bloodshed.
He rarely took lives or stained his hands these days.
He'd holed up in the forge, forging swords to dispel the scent.
Yet remnants lingered, demanding complete eradication.
During a brief rest, Ha Mu-baek examined his own body.
Where was this deep blood scent embedded?
What separated him from his master?
Ha Mu-baek pondered his master's aura deeply.
Then his own.
This differed from checking one's reflection in a mirror.
No tool existed to mirror one's own aura.
He had to reconstruct it from his own sensations in his mind's eye.
'Not easy.'
Here he stalled.
Accurately recreating his aura in his mind's eye.
He'd thought it simple until now, but attempting it proved otherwise.
This too was training.
Thus, Ha Mu-baek oversaw the cadets' drills while focusing on self-examination.
Gauging how much blood scent clung to him.
He deemed that the first step.
"Instructor seems off, doesn't he?"
Dang Jin-san whispered to Baek Ri-pyeong beside him.
Baek Ri-pyeong nodded.
He certainly did.
As if burdened by grave worries.
"Totally different from yesterday?"
Right after returning to the Dragon Training Pavilion and drilling them.
He'd been his usual self.
Yet in just one day, this change.
"What happened yesterday?"
Dan Mok Un-roe's words.
But
what in the Dragon Training Pavilion could alter Ha Mu-baek so drastically overnight?
No clue.
"Doesn't seem like the key issue, though..."
Nak Woo-jin chimed in.
He was still swinging his shield vigorously.
His internal energy suppressed, naturally.
The seven cadets of Squad Seven tilted their heads at Nak Woo-jin's words.
"Year Two, Squad Seven cadets! Ten repetitions! Completely off!"
Ha Mu-baek's bellow rang out.
"See?"
Yeon Ha-min murmured softly.
Their shield formation had drifted due to chatter.
Only Nak Woo-jin and Yeon Ha-min had noticed.
Thus, Ha Seol-ran and Joo Woo-myeong joined for ten reps too.
With only two in their squad.
They trained shields with Squad Seven's seven.
From afar,
Wi Ji-gun watched.
"Heh heh. Not easy, is it? Even I don't know how. You've surpassed me, so find your own path."
Wi Ji-gun turned with a pleased smile.
Much remained to be swept.
Even yesterday's spots.
Dust accumulated overnight.
An endless daily task.
His routine.
'But to encounter one who's faced the Abyss... Heh. That explains it. Why that fiend shook the world.'
Wi Ji-gun remembered Hyeonhwang—no, Gwangsa Gwasaeng's rampage across the martial world.
As his infamous deeds piled up and Wi Ji-gun moved to eliminate him,
word came that Gwanghae Seungseng had taken him to Shaolin.
Wi Ji-gun had never met Hyeonhwang.
He never imagined he'd gained a fragment of the primordial shard and encountered the Abyss.
'The Abyss...'
Truthfully, Wi Ji-gun didn't know its nature either.
The Infinite Sword Sect's Infinite Free Heart Method lacked it.
Or rather, it had once, but no longer.
One ancestor had excised the Abyss-tainted part and refined it anew.
He hadn't told Ha Mu-baek this.
He'd learn naturally in the Ancestor Hall.
'Hurry and erase the blood scent. Only then will the door open.'
The door to the Ancestor Hall.
Only the Infinite Free Heart Method at its peak could unlock it.
It wouldn't respond to a blood-scented heart method.
Tak Mu-jeon brimmed with confidence.
After the Summer Combat Festival ended, he'd fled back to the Ice Heaven Palace.
He'd confessed their cowardly deeds to his father.
Of course.
Son of the Ice Heaven Palace Lord—even as a bastard—how could he serve as an attendant?
He'd sought his father to nullify the bet.
He'd never forget his father's rage.
That contemptuous glare calling him a fool...
But
when Tak Mu-jeon mentioned Instructor Han Seol-bing, the reaction shifted dramatically.
His treatment changed too.
The final justification the Tak Clan needed.
He'd returned with it.
His attitude shifted with his improved status.
He swaggered through clan and palace alike.
Now, Tak Mu-jeon headed to avenge his humiliation.
That bastard wasn't in the palace.
Of course not.
After causing such trouble, what face could he show returning?
He lingered at the Dragon Training Pavilion.
But his absence didn't mean no others.
Im Dae-chi.
Damn orphan brat.
But he had siblings.
Two, even.
Unusual.
Orphans usually stood alone, yet these three siblings clung together entering the palace.
Im Seo-wol.
Unlike her brother, a decent-looking girl.
Fifteen this year.
Im Jang-mu.
A kid looking just like that bastard.
Eleven this year.
Tak Mu-jeon had already secured his father's permission for his plan.
Thanks to his merit bringing justification.
"Heh heh. Can't wait to see that punk's face. Kekeke."
Tak Mu-jeon leered wickedly.
He'd come to this filthy place himself.
To fetch her personally.
The sister among the siblings.
"Im Seo-wol! Come out!"
The shabby building housing orphan laborers.
Hardly a building.
A collapsing warehouse.
North Sea's knife-like winds whistled through.
Tak Mu-jeon flung open the door and shouted.
Only fearful glances met him.
No sign of his target.
"Uh... Sister went to clean the Palace Lord's quarters a few days ago..."
A child spoke cautiously amid the terrified group.
Im Jang-mu.
Im Dae-chi's youngest brother.
At the reply, Tak Mu-jeon's brows twisted angrily.
"Fuck."
The curse slipped out.
Of all places, the Palace Lord's quarters.
Fury surged.
"Why the hell there?"
His question laced with rage.
"W-well, um... About half a month ago—no, a bit more—the Han Clan's chief steward told Sister to go clean there..."
Im Jang-mu stammered.
A bright kid normally, but terrified by Tak Mu-jeon's menacing aura.
Unable to speak properly.
Tak Mu-jeon's face twisted at the answer.
The Han Clan's chief steward: Na Hong-ryeon.
'That bitch dares...'
Interfering in his affairs like this.
And the Palace Lord's quarters, no less.
Currently blockaded by the Tak Clan's armed forces.
No entry or exit.
Impossible to extract a mere cleaning girl now.
Even his father wouldn't allow it.
'Damn it. Got permission to take her as concubine, and now...'
Just fifteen.
Developed, but not yet of age.
Clans married young for politics,
but concubines at fifteen were rare.
Tak Mu-jeon shamelessly aimed for fifteen-year-old Im Seo-wol as concubine.
Revenge on Im Dae-chi, of course.
Her striking beauty helped too.
Already this good; matured fully?
'Yeon Ha-min. She wouldn't lose to that girl at all. What a shame.'
He'd wait for the blockade to lift.
Permission secured; fetch her after.
Tak Mu-jeon turned away regretfully.
Im Jang-mu.
This one too, Im Dae-chi's brother.
He could vent on him.
But an eleven-year-old boy? What fun?
Im Jang-mu had been beneath notice.
Yet seeing that face just like Im Dae-chi's fueled rage.
Thwack!
He backhanded Im Jang-mu and stormed out of the ramshackle warehouse.
Suddenly struck and rolling on the floor, Im Jang-mu clutched his face, trembling.
Fortunate it ended with one blow.
Terrified of this life of beatings.
His face mixed emotions.
'Brother...'
Tears welled in Im Jang-mu's eyes.
Her eyes were sunken.
Dark circles blackened beneath.
Exhaustion permeated her whole body, plain to see.
Yet Han Seol-bing rode with all her might.
Sleeping perhaps one hour every two days?
She poured everything into reaching the North Sea.
Leaving the Central Plains northward, ever northward.
Blade-like winds grazed her cheeks.
Yet Han Seol-bing's face brightened.
This frigid, icy gale.
Proof she'd entered the North Sea.
The Ice Heaven Palace was near.
Far off.
Very far.
Faintly.
The shadow of the Ice Heaven Palace seemed visible.
'Please...'
Han Seol-bing prayed fervently in her heart.
For the Ice Heaven Palace.
For her clan.
Nothing amiss, please.