Chapter 198
"We found the Young Palace Lord...!"
"Ah."
Startled, Seol Lihyang quickly hid behind Seo Mun-Hwarin, who stood next to her.
But since Seol Lihyang had now grown taller than Seo Mun-Hwarin, she wasn’t exactly well-hidden.
Seo Mun-Hwarin flailed her arms, trying in vain to shield Seol Lihyang, so I stepped forward to stand between them and examine the group.
Unlike the black-haired people typical of the Central Plains, their hair was a pale bluish-white.
Their eyes were blue, their noses high-bridged, and their skin snowy white.
By this point, I was starting to guess who they were.
To confirm, I looked at their clothing. Though similar to martial attire, it had distinct features—everything bleached pure white with obsessive uniformity.
On their hems was embroidered a single character: 氷 (ice). As expected, they were from the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
I nodded inwardly, then slightly raised my presence—
Not enough to threaten, but just enough to show my cultivation and issue a warning.
“What brings the people of the Northern Sea Ice Palace here, and why are you calling someone in my group the ‘Young Palace Lord’?”
“T-that…”
One of the men, making eye contact with me, flinched and faltered.
Then a woman beside him stepped forward and gave an awkward cupped-fist salute.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Bing Yerin. By any chance, has that young lady learned the martial arts of our Northern Sea Ice Palace?”
Her tone wasn’t broken, but there was something off about it—a slight dissonance.
Considering the Northern Sea Ice Palace is one of the more isolated sects in the outer regions, their manner of speaking made sense.
What caught my attention was how she recognized Seol Lihyang’s martial arts at a glance.
I glanced toward Seol Lihyang. For a moment, her eyes were confused, but then they filled with a kind of resolve, and she gave a slight nod.
Still, perhaps she wasn’t ready to step forward just yet. She slipped out from behind Seo Mun-Hwarin, then behind Tang Sowol, and finally came to hide behind me.
After steadying her breathing, she finally stepped forward and saluted Bing Yerin.
“I’m Seol Lihyang. It’s true that I’ve learned martial arts from the Northern Sea Ice Palace, but I—there’s a reason for that…”
“Seol!”
“Eh?”
Upon hearing Seol Lihyang’s surname, the warriors from the Ice Palace burst into beaming smiles and even leapt up.
Startled by their overreaction, Seol Lihyang flinched, and the group quickly reined themselves in with a few awkward coughs.
“Ahem. Please, continue. Ah—just to be clear, we’re not here to accuse you for learning our martial arts. You can rest easy.”
“O-oh, thank you... So, the reason I had to learn the Glacial True Qi is because—”
“Glacial True Qi?!”
Whatever composure they had regained was immediately shattered. Bing Yerin and the others began to tremble with excitement, grinning from ear to ear.
It was clear they couldn’t contain their joy—but from our perspective, their glee looked unsettling enough to make Seol Lihyang’s eyes twitch in discomfort.
Noticing this quickly, Bing Yerin smacked each of her comrades on the head, finally restoring some calm.
She had also been the one pleading with the Murim Alliance Leader earlier. She must be the highest-ranking among them.
“My apologies. Please, go on.”
“Ah... yes. So, I was born with a Pure Yin Physique, and to manage the side effects—”
“Pure Yin Physique...!!”
This time, their reaction was even more dramatic, enough to make it seem one of them might faint—and in fact, one of the women behind Bing Yerin did collapse in shock, only to be caught by a fellow companion.
But such repeated reactions only made Seol Lihyang more anxious.
Worried she’d said something strange again, she fidgeted in place.
Seeing this, Bing Yerin shook her head so vigorously it looked like it might fall off.
“We know the side effects of the Pure Yin Physique all too well! It may not be as fatal as the Extreme Yin Pulse, but you suffer from chills and all sorts of ailments for life! To suppress them, mastering Yin-based internal techniques is essential! Yes! We, the Northern Sea Ice Palace, understand Lady Seol!”
“Th-thank you. But... why exactly are you calling me the Young Palace Lord?”
“Because you are a candidate to be our Young Palace Lord. No—in fact, it’s nearly a certainty.”
“...Young Palace Lord?”
"Yes."
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?!”
“Because you’re more than qualified—and we’re in desperate need of a capable Young Palace Lord.”
“But I clearly look like someone from the Central Plains! I’m not like you at all.”
“We’ve heard that bloodline matters in the Central Plains, but in the North, we value strength above heritage.
You’ll be welcomed without issue.”
“I mean... huh? Wha—uh...?”
Seol Lihyang’s eyes spun as she tried to grasp the situation, which was clearly beyond her understanding.
Seeing this, Bing Yerin offered a bitter smile and continued.
“Come to think of it, we've only been pressing you for answers. Let us explain our side.”
Though she had said “candidate” earlier, Bing Yerin now referred to Seol Lihyang plainly as “Young Palace Lord.” She cleared her throat.
“Ahem. It all began thirty... no, forty years ago. After the previous Palace Lord, Heavenly Ice Lord, passed away—”
***
About forty years ago, the previous Palace Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, the Heavenly Ice Lord, died, and chaos followed.
Why?
Because there was no successor.
The Ice Palace's martial arts are largely based on Yin and cold energy.
But whether it was because the sect had grown too large, or they'd stagnated in the same location for too long—or perhaps just due to the natural flow of time—The frozen northern lands had begun to thaw.
In other words, the Yin energy their warriors needed was gradually disappearing.
Naturally, the average martial level across the sect declined.
Some techniques, like Glacial True Qi, even fell into disuse—not because there weren’t manuals, but because no one could learn them.
The current Palace Lord, pushed into power amidst the upheaval, took bold steps to ensure the sect’s survival.
She opened the vaults and made most martial arts available to everyone—from junior warriors to commoners.
Anyone who achieved excellence would be granted the appropriate rank. She even promised that if someone surpassed her as a Sub-Perfection master, she would hand over the position of Palace Lord.
Though this raised the overall standard, it didn’t solve the root issue.
The Yin energy was still fading. Not a single Flowering Stage expert had emerged in all of Ice Palace since.
That’s when the five noble houses of the Ice Palace—Eom, Dong, Seol, Baek, and Bing—persuaded the Palace Lord to take even more drastic action.
They proposed adopting a talented heir from a renowned Central Plains clan to become the next Young Palace Lord.
“Adoption?”
“Yes. I heard succession by the eldest son is a big deal in the Central Plains. So we thought to adopt someone from a respected house—someone with talent, character, and ambition—as a candidate.”
“But wouldn’t that dilute the Ice Palace’s bloodline?”
“The Palace Lord’s position has never been about blood. It goes to the most capable. And since the adopted heir would marry into a noble house of the Palace, their children would be true descendants of the Ice Palace.”
“O-oh… is that so?”
Seol Lihyang tilted her head, clearly unsure.
She had only just gotten used to the customs of the Central Plains, so this was a bit much.
Understandable. Even Tang Sowol, born into a martial household, and I, who had wandered through Murim before and after regression, were shocked at the boldness of it.
Now I saw why the Murim Alliance Leader had looked so troubled.
This kind of plan could easily spark political tension, and if mishandled, even blame could fall on the Alliance just for letting the Ice Palace poke around.
Yet from another view, some families or individuals might see it as an opportunity, which only complicates matters further.
For the Alliance Leader, rejecting the Ice Palace’s proposal and maintaining the status quo was the wisest choice.
But then... Seol Lihyang appeared.
She bore the surname Seol, one of the five noble houses of the Ice Palace—even if she wasn’t truly part of it.
She had mastered the difficult and symbolic Glacial True Qi, the technique that had nearly vanished.
She’d reached the Peak Stage at a young age, unshackled by the dwindling Yin energy of the Ice Palace.
And, most importantly, she possessed the Pure Yin Physique, one of the rarest talents in Yin-based martial arts.
To Bing Yerin and her group, it was like the heavens had handed them the perfect successor.
They had no need to travel farther or risk conflict with Central Plains families—the ideal candidate had appeared right before them.
Bing Yerin, eyes sparkling as if she were looking at a lifesaving deity, spoke again.
“Miss Seol Lihyang. No—Young Palace Lord.”
“I’m not the Young Palace Lord yet...”
“You soon will be!”
“I have no such intention!”
“The Ice Palace might be far from the Central Plains, but we have everything you could need! If I may exaggerate, the authority of the Palace Lord is no less than a provincial lord’s in the Central Plains!”
“I’m not interested in power.”
“Then men—?”
“Even less interested!”
At that, Seol Lihyang gave me a quick glance and quietly added:
“…Except for one.”
“Ah! I thought it might be a difference in customs between North and Central Plains—but now I see the real reason.”
Nodding in understanding, Bing Yerin lowered her voice slightly.
“Then… how about power?”
“Power?”
“Yes. You must need strength, right? Your opponent doesn’t seem like an ordinary man.”
“Our entire collection of martial arts manuals has been preserved. We just haven’t had anyone to learn them—until now. Of course, the new Young Palace Lord would be free to master them all. Even the Flowering Stage is within reach. In fact, excluding the current one, every Ice Palace Lord in history was a Flowering Stage master.”
“Flowering Stage… mmph?!”
Seol Lihyang’s eyes wavered. I quickly covered her mouth with my hand.
She squirmed briefly, then quietly leaned into me.
With Seol Lihyang calmed down, I pulled her close and half-embraced her, At which point Tang Sowol stepped up beside me and stood in front of Seol Lihyang protectively.
Wearing a gentle but firm smile, she shook her head.
“Lihyang is not up for negotiation.”
...Her phrasing was... a little intense, no?