I Kidnapped the Youngest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Clan

Each time the massive serpent moved, the earth overturned, and a freezing snowstorm raged outward, icing over everything in sight.

Perhaps a spirit beast that absorbs immense natural energy eventually becomes a part of nature itself.

As the Azure Cold Serpent—a living natural disaster—unleashed its fury, everyone in the room held their breath.

No, even without seeing it directly, one could sense it. Surely those watching from other parts of the palace were thinking the same.

When humans encounter something overwhelmingly beyond their reach, they inevitably feel fear... and awe.

Most of the martial artists who had resolved to remain at the North Sea Ice Palace no longer clung to their determination as they once had.

But now, in this very moment, there were two more beings commanding awe.

Cheon Hwi and Seo Mun-Hwarin.

Each time a streak of white sword energy from Cheon Hwi cut through the air, everything in its path—and even beyond it—was sliced cleanly.

Buildings, debris, raging snowstorms, the massive serpent’s thick scales, and the thick ice shielding them— Cheon Hwi’s sword—or more accurately, the force of his will—cut through it all.

A surreal scene, as if a beautifully painted masterpiece was being torn apart with reckless abandon.

Seo Mun-Hwarin was no different.

Perhaps due to her rejuvenated body, her small fists still appeared delicate even when wreathed in forceful energy—but the power they carried was anything but small.

Heaven-shaking, earth-shattering might burst from her fists, as if to prove the meaning of true strength.

Every time her crimson-black energy exploded outward, the resulting roar hurt the ears, and even her glancing blows left gaping craters in the ground.

In this battlefield filled with incomprehensible phenomena, Seo Mun-Hwarin was the one person producing unmistakably visible destruction.

That’s what a true master of the Flowering Stage was. A being clad in human skin, but no longer bound by human limits.

And yet, even with the combined power of these two masters, they couldn’t easily bring down the Azure Cold Serpent.

Cheon Hwi’s blade could cut through virtually anything it touched—but the creature’s scales and the layers of ice covering them were too thick.

Even sword strikes sharp enough to chill the spine at a glance couldn’t fully cleave its massive body.

Worse still, unless they kept cutting it down regularly, the swirling snowstorm would regenerate and freeze everything it touched, constantly disrupting their assault.

Seo Mun-Hwarin’s punches were undeniably powerful. She could shatter the serpent’s thick scales and even the ice atop them in a single blow.

A direct hit could stagger the enormous serpent’s entire body.

But that alone wasn’t enough to end it.

Unlike humans, snakes were notoriously tenacious creatures—and this one was no ordinary snake, but a spirit beast.

Even with broken bones and shattered scales, the Azure Cold Serpent wouldn’t die so easily.

Given its sheer size, even serious wounds were little more than scratches.

And the creature didn’t simply take hits—it retaliated with brutish force, its counterattacks a serious threat even to Cheon Hwi and Seo Mun-Hwarin, despite their protective inner energy.

It was a battle where both sides were a threat to each other, yet neither could land a decisive blow.

An endless stalemate—a quagmire where victory could not be discerned.

Watching it all unfold, Seol Lihyang bit her lip. There was nothing else she could do.

She still remembered the first day she met Cheon Hwi. How he overturned an entire Hao Clan branch to protect her, then helped her escape in the middle of the night.

“That day, I swore I’d one day become someone who could repay Cheon Hwi’s kindness. That next time, I’d be the one to help him.”

Fueled by that determination, she threw herself into her training. Even with her natural talent, she’d started martial arts relatively late—and reaching her current level was only possible thanks to her resolve and fierce grit.

She had trained tirelessly and recently received full support at the North Sea Ice Palace, the homeland of yin-based techniques.

Yet despite all of this, the gap between her and Cheon Hwi hadn’t closed. It had only widened.

“Not just today… I’ve always only been protected.”

Seol Lihyang bitterly resented her own weakness.

She always had.

Her cold, sunken gaze stared out the window toward the battle.

It was all happening so fast she could barely follow it with her eyes.

But even so, she was one of the few who had watched Cheon Hwi fight from the closest distance for the longest time.

She could instinctively tell—he might be fine for now, but as time dragged on, Cheon Hwi would be in danger.

This wasn’t a conclusion based on reason, but intuition. And it was correct.

Though Cheon Hwi had reached the Flowering Stage and had become fairly adept at wielding sword energy...

Seo Mun-Hwarin was someone who had reached the Flowering Stage long ago and fully mastered her strength.

The Azure Cold Serpent had fought the previous Ice Palace Lord—meaning it had possessed this strength for at least over a decade.

But Cheon Hwi was different. He might wield sword energy with ease, but it hadn’t even been a full year since he reached the Flowering Stage.

He might be managing for now, but as time wore on, his situation would become different from the others.

From the start, the sword technique he was using now had been devised solely to counter this unnatural monster.

It might work temporarily, but in the long run, it was not sustainable.

And when the delicate balance broke, the one in greatest danger would be the one pressing the fiercest—Cheon Hwi.

Lost in thought, Seol Lihyang stared silently out the window. Perhaps sensing something unusual in her demeanor—

Bing Yerin lightly patted her shoulder in reassurance.

“Don’t worry too much, Miss Seol. I don’t know how the Azure Cold Serpent became this strong, but it doesn’t seem to be in a stable state. If we drag this out, they’ll win.”

“No... Before that happens, Cheon Hwi will be in danger. Sister Tang... what do you think?”

“I think the same. If only I could spread more poison...”

“What’s the main problem?”

“That snowstorm, obviously. Even though Cheon Hwi is cutting it down regularly, at its core, it’s just a berserk force of icy qi barely held together.”

Tang Sowol’s poison arts specialized in refining internal energy into toxins.

But thanks to Cheon Hwi’s earlier interruption, her poison didn’t spread far. And breaking through a rampaging, unrefined force like that snowstorm was no easy task.

Seol Lihyang nodded quietly.

“So, if we could just do something about that cold energy...?”

“For now, yes. The wind remains a problem, but I’ve spent the past few days preparing a stronger Deathlonging Venom just for this.”

“Do you think there’s a way?”

“I’m about to find out.”

Her eyes still shone sharply, and with a light shrug, Seol Lihyang cleared her throat.

Then she opened her mouth—facing the distant Azure Cold Serpent battling Cheon Hwi and Seo Mun-Hwarin.

“Ah—”

A song rang out.

Uniquely, her cold energy began to resonate with the surrounding chill.

Then her internal energy rapidly swelled.

Her sonic arts rode her voice outward. Combined with the Glacial True Qi she had refined, and the still-frigid North Sea environment...

And for the first time, she fully utilized the martial arts of the North Sea Ice Palace.

Everything Seol Lihyang had cultivated until now came together in a single, unnamed melody that echoed across the world.

Her cold qi, carried by sound, wasn’t enough on its own—so it began drawing in the natural energy around her, expanding its form.

She began to consciously invoke a resonance phenomenon, one that had surprised not only Bing Yerin but all the North Sea martial artists who had ever experienced it firsthand.

As her own internal energy fused with nature’s, the resulting force grew exponentially.

Qi exists to enhance one’s essence.

Just as focused internal energy makes a punch harder or a step lighter...

Her voice, now infused with the greatest energy she could muster, became clearer—reaching far farther than usual.

And then, the moment her sonic attack reached the snowstorm surrounding the Azure Cold Serpent—

Puuhk!

“Kyaaahhh!”

Perhaps because that storm was a forcibly amassed and berserk energy enhanced by inner deviation, the moment her voice touched it, it was instantly torn apart.

All that remained was the pain of having her technique violently shattered.

Seol Lihyang coughed up a mouthful of dark blood.

“Ptuh!”

“Hyang-ah?!”

Startled, Tang Sowol rushed to lift her up, but—

“I’m fine, Sister Tang.”

“Eh...?”

Pushing her away, Seol Lihyang stood up by her own strength.

A fierce smile tugged at her lips.

It was a smile eerily reminiscent of Cheon Hwi. The kind of expression he made when he found a path in the middle of danger.

“It’s not too bad. And I figured something out—so I’d say this was a fair price.”

“What exactly are you planning, Hyang-ah?”

“It’s simple. I infuse my voice with internal energy, gather the surrounding cold, and add it to my technique, right?”

“Don’t tell me...?”

“Yes. The Azure Cold Serpent’s energy is still cold. I might not be able to completely wrest control away—but I can definitely disrupt it.”

“Just like how Cheon Hwi keeps cutting away the blizzard?”

“Exactly. Only for a moment, but I can create a definite opening. In theory.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“It’s simple. I confirmed that my technique can interfere with the Azure Cold Serpent’s internal energy. But naturally... I’ll need a lot of energy.”

“Ah.”

Even if a single drop of dye can blacken a pond, you need far more to color an ocean.

The Azure Cold Serpent’s energy was massive—and disrupting it required a similarly massive amount of energy.

But Seol Lihyang didn’t have that much on her own.

That is—if she were alone.

Then Bing Yerin, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.

“You’re planning to use the Ice Essence.”

“If the North Sea Ice Palace permits it.”

“Can you truly absorb its power in such a short time?”

“Of course not. I’m not going to absorb it. I’ll just circulate it according to the Glacial True Qi formula—use it without fusing it.”

“That’s... possible, but dangerous. Your meridians might not withstand it.”

“And what about Cheon Hwi and Sister Seo Mun? Are they not in danger?”

They were holding their own for now—but that wouldn’t last forever.

Realizing Seol Lihyang’s resolve, Bing Yerin nodded heavily.

“I’ll ask the Palace Lord—”

“There’s no need for that.”

The Ice Palace Lord, who had been tending to her wives, stepped forward and cut her off.

Though she had always presented herself with the dignity befitting the Ice Palace Lord, this moment was different.

With a desperate expression, she opened the special box containing the Ice Essence.

Just opening the box unleashed a bone-chilling cold. Even Tang Sowol, who had reached Sub-Perfection and had long since grown resistant to cold, felt a shiver.

“I’ve never liked the Ice Essence. No matter how sacred it is, I’ve always hated that it’s sustained by sacrificing people—and that the Ice Palace Lord depends on it.”

“So use it if you must. Just—”

“I won’t blame you, Palace Lord, even if things go wrong.”

If you only do what you can, then you’ll never do more than what’s possible. But when you want—or need—more...

You must be willing to throw yourself into the impossible.

Maybe it was because she’d learned from watching Cheon Hwi for so long.

But Seol Lihyang’s mindset now was remarkably similar to his.

She exhaled briefly, then picked up the Ice Essence without hesitation.

A shard of ice the size of two fingers—enough to freeze anyone else down to their bones just from touching it.

But Seol Lihyang, born with a Pure Sound-Frostflower constitution, was the exception.

Instead, she felt vigor fill her body and swallowed it whole.

Zzzeok.

The sound of her blood vessels freezing—heard only by her.

It was a sensation she hadn’t felt in a long time.

And one that she missed.