Chapter 011 : Legacy
‘I must have been crazy.’
To think it was ‘Gaga’, even if it is a political marriage, isn’t the title too sudden?
However, since they spent the first night in the same room, as the saying goes that boys and girls should not sit together after the age of seven, the only word Seol Ye-rin could come up with in her head was ‘Gaga’.
That did not mean she acknowledged Hyeokryeon Yeom.
No matter how critical her condition was, to think he undressed her and infused Yang Qi.
If he wasn't her fiancé, he would have been executed without questions or answers.
Seol Ye-rin was thinking about all of this as soon as she woke up and then her father entered the room.
So, she ended up blurting out the word ‘Gaga’ without realizing it.
“He is truly… a grateful person, but……”
It was enough to make her father, the Ice Palace Head, faint.
Seol Ye-rin, who was lying alone on the bed with the excuse that she needed to rest, muttered.
“Starting tomorrow, absolutely not!”
I will not fall for that face and eloquence.
***
The deep embrace of the North Sea Ice Palace.
The gathering of the Ice Palace’s Elders, the Ice Council.
“The Young Palace Head recovered?”
At the question of the Ice Council’s Chairman, Seol Un-gang, those sitting around the round table spoke one word each.
“I heard so. It is truly a relief.”
“Hoho, it seems the Ice Palace Head brought in a good live-in son-in-law.”
At the praise of Choi Han-rim, an elder from the Guardian Squad, Han Bing-ok frowned.
“It is a good thing that he recovered the Young Palace Head, but there are rumors that he is a lecher. If the day comes when tears fall from our Ye-rin’s eyes.”
Crack-
A chill began to soar.
“I still cannot understand bringing in someone who is not of North Sea blood and even a demonic practitioner from Xinjiang, as a live-in son-in-law.”
At the remark of Gwak Tae-san, an elder from the Snow Tiger Squad.
“He wiped out the Horse Bandits who invaded the Ice Palace this time by himself. His ability seems sufficient.”
Baek Seol-pung, an elder from the Ice Wolf Squad, answered.
The Chairman, Seol Un-gang, realized that opinions about the live-in son-in-law, Hyeokryeon Yeom, were divided even among the elders of the Ice Palace, and added a word.
“I heard Ye-rin called that fellow Gaga.”
“What?!”
“Hoho, we must set a date.”
“Th-That lecherous rascal!”
“…I will meet with the Palace Lord.”
Seol Un-gang was quite satisfied with the fact that the elders, who usually had no emotional fluctuations, were showing abnormal reactions to the news of the Young Palace Head.
It was all thanks to the fellow named ‘Hyeokryeon Yeom’ brought from the Demonic Cult.
“I heard the Palace Lord gave the fellow a mission to sweep out the Horse Bandits.”
“It would be good if he just dropped dead while fighting the Horse Bandits.”
“For the Young Palace Head to live, that fellow is needed. Bing-ok.”
“…That makes it difficult.”
“He is a fellow who didn’t have a good reputation even within the Demonic Cult. Will he really be able to sweep out the Horse Bandits?”
Seol Un-gang raised his hand to calm the elders.
“The fellow’s ability will be revealed through the test. Whether the Horse Bandit sweeping is a success or a failure, I will judge by the result. Since the priority of the Ice Council is to protect the safety of the Young Palace Head and the tradition of the Ice Palace, we must not move due to simple emotions.”
The elders nodded their heads in silence.
***
Having finished Seol Ye-rin’s treatment, I was currently racking my brain.
“To think the Horse Bandits would directly ambush the Young Palace Head. They have grown bold.”
“That is correct. Using this incident as a pretext, it seems we must move quickly to sweep out the Horse Bandits.”
At Baek Mu-yong’s words, I looked around.
Blocking the raid of the Horse Bandits this time was purely luck.
Baek Mu-yong, Wi Ji-yeong, Eun Bin.
Even including me, it was realistically unreasonable for the four of us to sweep out the Horse Bandits.
On top of that.
‘My martial prowess is too weak.’
Although I have undergone Regression, compared to the knowledge I possess, my martial arts were too insignificant.
I had to devise a way to become stronger than now.
Through Yin-Yang Unification, my Inner Qi did increase due to the harmony of Yang Qi and Yin Qi, but.
That was the end of it.
Especially since the Yin Qi side was something I had never handled before, I was very cautious.
I had to learn effective martial arts against the martial artists of the North Sea or look for other methods.
“Baek Mu-yong.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“What method is there to become stronger in the North Sea?”
Not a method of becoming stronger by constantly training Inner Qi and fighting Horse Bandits.
I was asking if there was something more practical.
Baek Mu-yong looked at me for a moment and then spoke.
Since he took quite a long pause, I wondered what he was going to say.
“It is a cautious story that should not be known to those who are not people of the Ice Palace, but……”
“What is it?”
“Have you heard of the Four Martial Gods?”
At the unfamiliar title, I shook my head.
“Externally, it is known only to a very few, but there were four great Martial Gods who protected the North Sea. It is said that those Ancestral Masters left behind their respective trials.”
“Trials, you say……”
Baek Mu-yong nodded his head.
“If you pass the trials of the Four Martial Gods… you might be able to become stronger.”
“The Martial Gods of the North Sea?”
“Yes. Originally, this story should only be told to martial artists of the North Sea. But since Young Master can also be called a person of the North Sea as of yesterday, I will tell you.”
It is said that four Martial Gods exist in the North Sea.
The Martial God who founded the Ice Palace, Ice Emperor Seol Cheon-u.
The Martial God of three hundred years ago, Snow Wind Sword Venerable Baek Un-han.
The one who rose to the rank of Martial God as the first woman two hundred years ago, Cold Snow Demon Queen Jang So-ryeong.
And the Martial God of one hundred years ago, Ice Soul Spear Saint Seol Yeong-jin.
It is said that these four Martial Gods are called the Four Martial Gods.
Starting from the Ice Palace, trials left by the Martial Gods are arranged in the East, West, South, and North.
“Trials for the descendants?”
“Yes. They are trials where everything of the Martial Gods is said to be left behind.”
“Then did my father-in-law pass all those trials?”
“No, he could not pass them.”
“Huh?”
“Since the founding, including each of the Martial Gods, not a single person has passed all the trials of the North Sea. The Palace Lord is the same in that regard.”
Not a single person has broken through?
Come to think of it, if it had been known that someone who inherited the true teachings of a Martial God appeared in this generation, would Hyeokryeon Geuk of the past have left them alone?
He would not have.
He would have tried to kill the person who inherited the true teachings by any means necessary.
If so, it means a Martial God was not born in my past life either.
‘Wait.’
Then if I just pass the trials of the Four Martial Gods…….
I might be able to defeat Hyeokryeon Geuk.
If I refine the knowledge I possess, it would be possible to recover the martial prowess of the past.
However, it was uncertain whether that alone would be enough to defeat Hyeokryeon Geuk, who is scheduled to get his hands on the Demonic Cult in the near future.
Therefore, I needed slightly stronger martial arts.
“But there is a bigger problem.”
“What do you mean by a bigger problem?”
At Baek Mu-yong’s words, I tilted my head.
“That is… the fact that no one knows the locations of the arrangements left by the four Ancestral Masters.”
“…No one has found them?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not helpful.”
The guy called a Squad Leader was sitting there talking about useless things.
I was contemplating whether I should discipline the Snow Squad.
“If we just find them… the Third Young Master will also be able to undergo the trials.”
We turned back at the voice that suddenly came from behind.
The Young Palace Head, Seol Ye-rin, who had not come out of her lodging, was opening the door and entering.
“Miss Seol. Is it alright for you to move this quickly?”
“I am fine.”
At the sight of Seol Ye-rin speaking without even meeting my eyes, I tilted my head.
First of all, that is not what is important.
“Are you saying I can also undergo the trials of the Martial God?”
“Yes, it is possible. However, the problem is……”
“The fact that no information remains on where, how, or in what form the trials left by the Ancestral Masters are left.”
“That is accurate, Squad Leader Baek.”
“How can that be?”
To think it is a trial that can only be undergone if the location of the trial is discovered.
I wondered why the Ice Palace had not challenged the trials that would contain everything of the Ancestral Masters called Martial Gods in the past.
‘It’s not that they didn’t do it, it’s that they couldn’t.’
Then it made sense.
“Can we find them?”
At my question, a cynical reaction returned.
“There is no way we can easily find what hasn’t been found until now.”
I have to find it even if I mobilize all my magical knowledge.
‘If I can find a way to become stronger in the North Sea, I can get one step closer to revenge.’
There are four Martial Gods.
In other words, there are also four legacies of the Martial Gods.
If I found all of them, wouldn’t I become four times stronger than now?
As for the method…… There are actually many.
‘I didn’t know my research track record would be this helpful.’
If I recall the memories of being stuck in the lab every day studying only theory, over fifty thousand kinds of analytics come to mind.
Among them, ‘Spatial Studies’ also existed.
‘Ultimately, the arrangements of the Martial Gods buried in the North Sea would also not have left the North Sea.’
If I can just detect the topography, it seems I could find where they are.
“I think there is a need to try searching once.”
At the word search, Seol Ye-rin’s ears pricked up.
“That… may I also go with you?”
“I am grateful, but I will decline.”
“Pardon?”
If Seol Ye-rin, the Young Palace Head of the Ice Palace, tagged along, it was clear that things would get noisy again.
On top of that.
‘If I search with Seol Ye-rin, I can’t swallow the legacies of the Martial Gods all for myself.’
Although they say a married couple is one body and soul.
Since we haven’t even held the wedding ceremony yet.
I could not share everything with Seol Ye-rin yet.
Of course, I didn’t know if she would believe it straight away even if I told her.
“You might think you have recovered for a moment. However, since we don’t know when it might recur again, I think it would be best to refrain from going outside the Ice Palace.”
When I even gave the excuse that there might be another raid by the Horse Bandits, Seol Ye-rin’s expression softened.
“Then who do you intend to move with?”
“Naturally, the Snow Squad.”
Eun Bin, Baek Mu-yong, Wi Ji-yeong.
These three were now always together.
The only person not present here.
Seol Ye-rin thought of him.
“I am very curious… what kind of expression Vice Captain Eun will make.”
***
The expression of the Small Snow Squad Vice Captain, Eun Bin, was distorted.
“Just now… what did you say?”
“I said we are going out to find the legacy of the Martial God.”
“Why are you finding that, Captain?”
“Well… to inherit the orthodoxy of the North Sea?”
Eun Bin’s expression was distorted even more.
It looks like an expression asking, ‘Why are you trying to inherit that?’.
“Vice Captain, if the Captain says let’s go, shouldn’t you follow?”
“…It is not a Horse Bandit sweeping operation.”
“We are proceeding with it concurrently.”
“A-Are we going out again!”
Wi Ji-yeong was restless.
I heard it was because whenever she went outside, the martial artists of the Ice Palace would open their eyes fiercely and observe Wi Ji-yeong.
“I heard Ji-yeong is very popular?”
“Pardon? Who said that!”
I looked back at Baek Mu-yong.
“Isn’t there only one person who would talk about Ji-yeong in the Ice Palace?”
“Ahem. If you are going out, let us go out quickly.”
Baek Mu-yong decided to follow me even though it wasn’t a Horse Bandit sweeping operation.
Does it feel like he has sort of half given up?
It seemed he had developed an immunity no matter what I did now.
“Look, Squad Leader Baek just follows along.”
“He gave up knowing it would be a wild goose chase.”
A wild goose chase.
That might be true.
Since I don’t know the geography of the North Sea well yet.
However.
Wooooong-
Inner Qi rides down my feet and seeps into the snow.
However, it is somewhat different from using general Inner Qi.
‘Magic begins by occupying space.’
Magic has points of resemblance with martial arts, but what is clearly different is that recognizing and occupying the ‘space within nature’, not the contemplation of my body, plays an important role.
What was derived from there is ‘Spatial Studies’.
It is also the reason I decided to find the arrangements of the Martial Gods.
Spatial Studies is like a type of map exploration that scatters mana to grasp and recognize a specific range of space.
This is like the so-called ‘radar’ spoken of in modern Earth.
‘If I utilize this, I will be able to grasp spaces that others haven’t grasped first.’
If this is possible, finding the legacy of the Martial God was a matter of time.
I intended to leave marks like this while going around every nook and cranny of the North Sea.
And I intend to continue searching places I haven’t gone around.
Then eventually, the legacy of the Martial God would have no choice but to appear before me.
‘Although it isn’t as delicate as magic, carrying out a search operation using Inner Qi is nothing.’
I took the three people and stepped out of the Ice Palace.
East, West, South, North.
A herd of Horse Bandits is stationed in the South.
Even if there is a place where the legacy of the Martial God is buried in the South, since we cannot cause friction with the Horse Bandits, the South is abandoned for now.
We decided to go up furthest to the North first rather than the East and West.
“Is this… correct?”
The problem is.
As the saying goes, bad timing.
The fact that snowflakes began to blow severely.
“Are we going even like this?”
“Of course!”
There was no giving up in my dictionary.
“It would be best to cooperate if you want to return to the Ice Palace quickly again, Vice Captain Eun?”
I asked because I thought Eun Bin, who had lived in the Ice Palace for a long time in his own way, might know something.
“…This is confidential, but the Palace Lord has also gone around to find the legacy of the Martial God.”
“Oh, really?”
“He searched the North like combing through it for lice.”
“And?”
While continuously marching North, piercing through the blizzard, I continuously initiated conversation with Eun Bin.
“He ultimately couldn’t find it.”
“You accompanied him, didn’t you?”
“…….”
“Then that’s even better. The places you couldn’t check back then. Would there be such places?”
“There are, but……”
We marched North toward the place Eun Bin guided us to.
And a while later.
Whiiish-
We were able to arrive in front of a sheer cliff.
“So you mean it is here……?”
“Yes. But I know that he has probably searched below here several times as well.”
At Eun Bin’s confident assertion, I looked down below the cliff.
Wind was soaring from below the cliff toward the sky.
I, who was staring below the cliff with an interested expression, closed my eyes and released my Inner Qi.
Zwoooosh-
Soon, my Inner Qi, which spewed out from the qi center to the Bubbling Spring acupoint, began to sprint toward the bottom of the cliff.
I closed my eyes too.
The moment I focused solely on my five senses and sharply pulled up the senses of my whole body!
-Whiiish.
I could feel that a tailwind with a completely different texture from the wind until now was blowing.
That ‘Warm Wind’, which was like a gentle breeze, awakened the senses in my whole body.
Eventually.
‘I feel a heterogeneous energy.’
This needed to be checked.