Chapter 78 – Northern Sea Ice Palace (2)

“Oh my? It’s warm.”

Bukri Eun smiled faintly as she gripped the blade of the Raging Fire Saber.

Cheol-ak tried with all his might to pull the saber away, but it wouldn’t budge, as if frozen in place.

Then, Cheol-ak witnessed a strange sight: the flames freezing over. No, they weren’t truly freezing, but that’s how it appeared to his eyes.

Soon, Cheol-ak, along with his saber, turned into a block of ice and lost his life.

“Cheol-ak!”

Sama Heun cried out in anguish, but even as he shouted, he didn’t stop running. He knew all too well that to stop here meant certain death.

Besides, charging at that woman, Bukri Eun, would be a pointless death. However, he couldn’t escape for long. In an instant, Bukri Eun caught up, grabbed Sama Heun by the neck, and slammed him into the cold, icy ground.

“How foolish, trying to flee from a warrior of the Ice Palace on this land of ice. Well then, farewell.”

Kwwaaaaang!

A pure white light swallowed Sama Heun, and his consciousness was extinguished. Soon, all the fleeing fortune hunters had lost their lives.

This was the story from two months before Yu-jin set out for the Northern Sea Ice Palace.

* * *

Because thorough preparations were necessary for the journey to the Northern Sea Ice Palace, Yu-jin was busy gathering various supplies with the women.

By the time they finished their preparations, a considerable amount of time had passed. Deciding to leave for the Northern Sea Ice Palace the next day, Yu-jin drank with his women at the edge of the Central Plains.

Just then, an interesting story caught Yu-jin’s ear.

“Those guys who left for the Northern Sea Ice Palace last time… I hear they’re all dead.”

“No matter how good the fortune, you have to know which places to go and which to avoid. I can’t imagine what they were thinking, going to the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”

“Weren’t they just desperate because business has been bad lately? Of course, no matter how bad things were, trying to go to the Northern Sea Ice Palace was a reckless move.”

The men continued to chatter and drink. Hearing their words, Yu-jin let out a small smirk. He could understand why the fortune hunters had tried to go to the extreme northern lands.

‘I’ve taken all the good stuff, so what other choice did they have?’

Yu-jin had only been able to reach his current level because of the countless fortunes he had acquired.

The number of fortunes Yu-jin had found was truly staggering, and as a result, many fortune hunters had been left in a state similar to unemployment.

‘They should have found them before I did.’

After finishing his drink, Yu-jin went into the room with the women.

* * *

The Northern Sea, where everything freezes. On that land stood a massive palace that ruled over it.

A palace covered entirely in ice.

A palace that stood aloof, even as the four seasons changed endlessly.

This place, which not only established and decreed the laws of the Northern Sea but also ruled over all its people and the surrounding foreign tribes, was the Northern Sea Ice Palace.

And within it was a grand hall. Inside the hall, a man sat on an ornate chair, and a woman bowed her head before him.

“I hear you’ve been working hard lately.”

A man with the body of someone in their twenties and the face of someone in their thirties. But his true age was well over ninety.

This man was none other than the ruler of all in the Northern Sea, the hegemon of the north, the Ice Dragon Emperor, Bukri Hwan.

And the woman bowing before him was his one and only daughter, the Ice-White Divine Maiden, Bukri Eun.

“I only did what was necessary.”

Punishing those who trampled on the will of the Northern Sea was a matter of course for her. Bukri Hwan nodded with a small smile at her demeanor.

But Bukri Eun did not smile.

“Father, I believe we can delay no longer. We must advance into the Central Plains as soon as possible and teach its people to fear us.”

This was the common desire of Bukri Eun and all the other young warriors of the Ice Palace.

The land they lived on was so cold and harsh that even the warriors of the Ice Palace found it difficult to endure. That was why they yearned for the warm and bountiful lands of the Central Plains.

However, their ruler, Bukri Hwan, showed little interest in invading the Central Plains.

“Do you think we can win?”

Bukri Hwan asked, looking down at Bukri Eun. Without a hint of hesitation, she nodded and replied.

“Of course. No matter how strong the Central Plains are, they cannot possibly defeat the warriors of the Ice Palace and the thousands of nomads. And above all, are there any masters among them who could stop you and me? Father, you have reached the highest level even among the Ten Great Heavenly Masters.”

At her confident answer, Bukri Hwan shook his head. Of course, it wasn’t that he didn’t know of the desires held by the warriors of the Ice Palace.

No, he knew of that desire better than anyone. For he too had wanted to escape this frozen land in his youth.

But upon realizing it was not the right path, he had given up on advancing into the Central Plains. He sighed, looking at his daughter, who was intoxicated by her own power.

“I should not have given you the Ice Crystal.”

The Ice Crystal was a small gem formed under immense pressure over countless ages, deep beneath the coldest part of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.

The amount of extreme yin energy contained within this small gem was so great that it surpassed that of the Ice Dragon Emperor, who had reached the Profound Realm. Bukri Eun had consumed this very Ice Crystal.

If someone who had not mastered ice arts were to consume the Ice Crystal, they would instantly turn into a block of ice, but Bukri Eun had mastered the Ice-White Divine Arts, which were more potent than any other ice technique.

With the Ice-White Divine Arts, she had completely absorbed the Ice Crystal, undergoing two rebirths and becoming an absolute master.

“I don’t regret taking the Ice Crystal. And with the power we possess, we can certainly conquer the Central Plains.”

“You are mistaken. Do not underestimate the underlying strength of the Central Plains. The Divine Sword Emperor, the Illusory Emperor, the Hegemon Heaven Saber Emperor, the Thunder Sword Emperor, the Plum Blossom Sword Emperor, the Taiji Sword Emperor, and the Sword Empress are all far stronger than you think.”

These are the seven members of the Ten Great Heavenly Masters currently in the Central Plains martial world. The Central Plains possessed more absolute masters than any martial world beyond the borders.

Beneath the Ten Great Heavenly Masters were the Twelve Kings, who were composed entirely of martial artists from the Central Plains, not from beyond the borders. Attacking such a powerful Central Plains was an incredibly difficult task.

“But the average skill of our warriors is far superior. And the strength of the foreign tribes is more than enough to fill the power vacuum you speak of.”

“You are underestimating the underlying strength of the Central Plains too much.”

“I think you are the one underestimating our power too much, Father.”

Bukri Eun retorted, not backing down an inch. In truth, she wasn’t wrong. The warriors of the Ice Palace, trained in the brutal cold, were at least first-rate masters, even the weakest among them.

There were a thousand such warriors, and at the highest level, there were even three masters of the Transformation Realm. That was not all. The Northern Sea Ice Palace had subjugated the surrounding nomadic tribes, including the Mongols.

At their command, ten thousand nomads would move. Bukri Eun firmly believed that this was a force the likes of the Central Plains could not possibly handle.

“Hmph, I know what you’re thinking. If you’re so confident, then try it. I will grant you full authority.”

Hearing Bukri Hwan’s words, Bukri Eun broke into a wide smile. However, upon hearing Bukri Hwan’s next words, she could no longer smile.

“However, I will not go.”

“Why! Father, you are the Palace Lord! You are the lord who must fulfill the desire of everyone in the Northern Sea Ice Palace!”

“The Palace Lord is one who protects the Ice Palace and its warriors, not one who leads invaders. Is it wrong for me to entrust what you desire to you? If you lack the confidence, then give up.”

At Bukri Hwan’s words, Bukri Eun clenched her fists. But only for a moment. She unclenched her fists, looked at Bukri Hwan, and then turned away.

Just by gaining full authority, she had already obtained enough of what she wanted. Bukri Hwan watched the retreating figure of Bukri Eun with a calm expression.

“What you desire will not be easily achieved. No, you may be stopped before you can even begin. Before this immense power.”

Bukri Hwan could see it. A being of immense power was approaching, so powerful that the ripples of its energy could be felt even from his location, though it was still far away.

And he realized that this being possessed the power to destroy the Northern Sea Ice Palace. Perhaps the Ice Palace would fall during his reign.

“It is not the Heavenly Demon. Then who in the world could it be?”

If the Heavenly Demon had made a move, the skies of the Northern Sea would already be shrouded in darkness. But there was no sign of that now. This meant it was someone else entirely, but he couldn’t venture a guess as to who it might be.

* * *

Five figures were crossing the frozen lands of the Northern Sea. Of course, they were not alone. There were also dogs pulling a dogsled.

The group consisted of one young man and four women. They were bundled tightly in fur clothes, circulating their internal energy to maximize their body heat, yet they still shivered in the cold.

“To think I’d be shivering like this after achieving imperviousness to heat and cold.”

Every time he opened his mouth, a puff of white breath escaped. Yu-jin now knew what it meant to be chilled to the bone.

With every breath he took, it felt as if his insides were freezing solid. On top of that, the cold wind felt like a blade, threatening to slice his skin.

Only Yu-jin and So-un, who had reached a level beyond the Profound Realm, managed to maintain a healthy complexion. In contrast, Ran, the weakest in martial arts, was deathly pale, clearly suffering from the intense cold.

Noticing this, Yu-jin infused Ran’s body with warmth. Only then did a bit of color return to her pale face.

‘It’s truly cold here.’

Even Ye-jin, who had been active in the martial world for many years, had never experienced such a brutal cold.

She was resisting by circulating her internal energy, but the penetrating cold was so severe that even she, a master of the Transformation Realm, found it unbearable. Yet she and the other women had to press on. For Yu-jin, who was carrying out the Emperor’s command.

And there were those who had sensed the presence of Yu-jin’s group. This was the land of the Northern Sea Ice Palace. No matter how far, once someone entered the territory of the Northern Sea, the warriors of the Ice Palace could detect the intruders.

The fortune hunters who had been annihilated by Bukri Eun before had been unaware of this fact, and had offered up their lives to her all too easily.

“Have they come to welcome us?”

Yu-jin, whose senses were unimaginably vast, smiled. It seemed things were working out better than he’d expected.

“Everyone, keep one thing in mind. Don’t kill anyone. Prioritize subduing them. After all, we’re here to negotiate.”

At Yu-jin’s words, the women nodded. They were, for now, envoys, and they couldn’t run rampant in enemy territory. Doing so would surely put the Emperor in a difficult position.

‘Though I doubt this will end quietly.’

It was a premonition he felt as an absolute master.