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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: A Song of Ice and Fire
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I pushed my concentration to its absolute limit.
This was different from merely guiding her qi flow through qi induction.
This time, I had to draw the overflowing internal energy into myself.
If I made even the slightest mistake, I could end up pulling in the internal energy that was originally rooted in Elder Sister Seol's body.
Committing such an atrocity in this situation...
The delicate balance, which had already been strained by my intervention, would instantly collapse.
The future that awaited me after that...
If I ran, I'd become a public enemy of the martial world; if I couldn't run, it would be execution.
Even the Demonic Cult, given their current mood, would surely reject me, thinking, 'Oh, this is a bit much.'
Should I call it a coincidence?
Or was it inevitable?
The Moon-Shattering Divine Eye played a truly significant role in this process.
I could clearly see the internal acupoints, the internal energy originally within Elder Sister Seol's body, the true qi I infused, and the chaotic struggles of the Ice Crystal's energy.
There was a vast difference in controlling power between merely feeling and actually seeing.
Slowly, very slowly.
While protecting Elder Sister Seol's dantian, I absorbed the unmanageable surges of energy into my palm.
Was this a side effect of trying to do too many things at once?
Capillaries in my eyes burst, blurring my vision.
Blood trickled from my nose as well.
But little by little, little by little.
As I continued to absorb the Ice Crystal's energy, I felt the strain on my body gradually lessen.
Icebergs plopped, plopped into the vast ocean.
Those icebergs didn't melt immediately; instead, they carved out their own territory in a corner of the sea.
I no longer felt the cold.
The sweat that had poured like rain, creating frost, also stopped flowing.
Elder Sister Seol's pale complexion gradually regained its color.
Once stability returned, I instinctively felt it.
This was a fortunate encounter for me as well.
Given the inherent constitution of a man, which is strong in yang energy, it's not easy to accumulate yin energy, even with a Heavenly Martial Physique.
However, the Northern Sea Divine Art embraced this, incorporating it as well.
...Though it wasn't my intention.
While assisting with qi induction, I was also able to learn the qi circulation pathways of the Ice-White Divine Art that Elder Sister Seol practiced.
Although I didn't know the full incantations, so I couldn't perform the proper forms, it felt like I could wield ice arts sufficiently now.
Wield it, it's already within me...!
As I had enough leisure to even indulge in such random thoughts...
Elder Sister Seol's condition rapidly stabilized.
Now, I just needed to gradually stop absorbing the Ice Crystal's energy and help the remaining energy harmonize within Elder Sister Seol.
I removed my hands from her lower abdomen and chest, quickly scurried behind her, and placed my palms back on her back.
What if.
Just in case.
'My naked body, even my modest, palm-sized breasts, have been defiled... *sob*, take responsibility!' She might say something like that.
Given the rigid Confucian chastity ideals of ancient, primitive, uncivilized China, such a thing could absolutely happen.
...Let's just assume Granny Sundeok is from the Blood Cult, so her brain is already fried.
Anyway.
I couldn't possibly hinder Elder Sister Seol's marriage prospects.
* * *
About an hour passed in that state.
"Hoo-woo..."
Finally, I felt Elder Sister Seol roughly consolidate her internal energy.
No further qi induction would be necessary.
I carefully removed my hands from her back.
Was it because I had continuously infused her with my strong yang energy, or simply because my palms had been pressed against her for so long?
On Elder Sister Seol's back, there was a large imprint of my palm, as if the Rulai Divine Palm had been slammed onto it.
"Oh, wow..."
That must have hurt.
Elder Sister Seol's silver hair, which had fluttered wildly as her true qi surged, gradually settled back into place.
And then.
"Hoo-woo..."
After seeing her let out a long sigh...
"W-well then, I'll be going."
True enlightenment, by its nature, is something one must process alone.
I didn't want to make eye contact with Elder Sister Seol now that she had regained consciousness, so I quickly bolted.
* * *
After brushing off all the thin ice clinging to my clothes and using my yang energy to quickly sun-dry myself, I headed to my personal training cave.
The wall I had previously shattered was neatly repaired, and the black steel plates I had ordered with my own money had also arrived.
Once is a mistake.
But twice is intentional...
Perhaps because I had just seen Elder Sister Seol's back, Ruri's back also popped into my mind.
It's one of the few side effects of my perfect recall ability.
Shaking off the inner demons, I extended my hand and slowly began to circulate the ice art energy as I had felt it earlier.
One circulation.
Two circulations.
Three circulations.
At first, there was no change.
Slowly, a damp sensation began to be felt at my fingertips.
A piece of iceberg floating in my dantian melted into my acupoints and flowed gently.
The freely swirling dance became a current, and that current, embracing stillness, froze solid.
Putting on my most arrogant expression, I majestically intoned in a pose cool enough to rival an Admiral of the Navy.
"Ice Age."
I chanted the spell for an ultimate technique that could even freeze the ocean, but...
Plink, plink-plonk.
As the surrounding atmosphere turned chilly, a few embarrassing ice fragments, too small to even call icicles, dropped from my palm onto the floor.
"..."
Feeling awkward, I looked around.
Thankfully, there was no one around.
Well, I only learned the basic mental cultivation method; there's nothing I can do about it. If I can get my hands on a proper ice art and truly engrave its incantations into my mind, I'll be able to improve further.
For now, I'll be satisfied with being able to conjure this much water release even without water present.
At least I won't die of thirst if I ever get stranded.
Even if, by some chance, I suddenly returned to modern times like this, I could probably get a part-time job at a cafe as an ice machine or air conditioner specialist.
* * *
In the extreme cold that felt as though it would freeze everything.
Even in a state where her five senses were completely lost, Murong Seol concentrated desperately.
She was startled by the pure yin energy, which was far more powerful than she had anticipated, but thankfully, a warm current was flowing through her body.
Following its guidance, she slowly, little by little, assimilated the Ice Crystal's energy.
Before she knew it, the warm energy had enveloped not only her acupoints but also her dantian, reinforcing her certainty that she would absolutely not die here.
How much time had passed?
"Hoo-woo..."
After consolidating all the energy herself, Murong Seol opened her eyes and observed herself.
She had an intuition that she had been closer to death than ever before.
Yet, she felt her internal power increase more than with any Ice Crystal she had ever absorbed.
Enough that if she grasped even a little more insight, she could instantly leap from the initial stage of Transcendent Realm to a full-fledged Transcendent master.
"Sihyeon?"
She looked for Geum Sihyeon to express her gratitude, but...
He was nowhere to be seen.
He had probably left the spot after providing all the help, allowing her to consolidate the energy herself.
A feeling of apology welled up within her.
She had only intended to ask for a little help, but now she felt like she owed him her life.
"Haa..."
Murong Seol sighed and bowed her head.
And then.
She saw it.
Near her middle dantian, on her chest—which she considered modest but not particularly large—was a distinct palm print.
Looking a little further down...
Just above her lower dantian, another incredibly clear palm print remained.
Only then did she fully realize the situation she had just been in.
And how Geum Sihyeon had helped her.
Before being a woman, she was a martial artist.
For the sake of cultivation, showing her back was nothing.
But not her back...
"H-h-huh...!"
Murong Seol's face flushed crimson.
She hastily put on her undergarments, overwhelmed by the surging embarrassment, but there was no stopping her pounding heart.
Of course, she couldn't blame Geum Sihyeon.
If he hadn't helped her in that way, she would have already passed away.
But.
But, but, but...!
As time passed, why did her face feel so hot?
He was a new student at the academy, a distant junior, and she quite liked his sturdy physique and cheerful personality. But he was just like a younger brother – well, he was her younger brother's friend, after all. There was an eight-year age difference, too.
When she first picked up a sword and began arduous training...
Geum Sihyeon was probably just taking his first wobbly steps, crawling and toddling. He must have been cute even as a child...
Wait, wait, wait, wait...!
Murong Seol's thoughts began to spiral wildly.
* * *
After spending the weekend comfortably—or rather, not so comfortably thanks to my eccentric father—at my family home, I returned to the academy.
"Long time no see, Geum. How are things going with Sundeok?"
As soon as our eyes met, I wrapped my arm around Murong Taek's head and choked him, for spouting such nonsense.
I should've just let Sundeok kill him back then.
The youngest, Unhak, who should have greeted his elder brother with a deep bow, was instead impudently engrossed in a mental sparring match, sitting cross-legged.
"Why's he like that? He doesn't usually do it."
"You're behind on the news."
Murong Taek handed me a flyer.
[The 1st Mental Sparring Festival for Rising Talents]
Those crazy VR Tekken addicts are really escalating things.
No, wait.
They're all our esteemed customers at Mangum Hall, after all.
"What is this for?"
"It's literally a tournament held through mental sparring. Only young martial artists under the age of 40 can participate, and the grand prize is none other than a Low-Grade Great Rejuvenation Pill!"
"What?!"
When they say 'low-grade,' it usually means impure ingredients were mixed in during the manufacturing process, or a mistake occurred, so it doesn't achieve its full efficacy.
Still, it's a Great Rejuvenation Pill.
The elixir of elixirs that helped me become the Strongest Under Heaven.
How thrilling it was to succeed in infiltrating the sect leader's chamber with a 5% chance, and then breaking through another 3% to successfully steal the Great Rejuvenation Pill!
My mouth watered.
Elder Sister Seol's... *ahem*, anyway, what I felt while 'nom-nomming' and 'scooping up' the Ice Crystal's energy from beside her was...
There was definitely a hierarchy among elixirs.
Unlike the low-grade elixirs I'd guzzled down by pouring all my family's money into them, my internal energy surged dramatically.
What if I ate a Great Rejuvenation Pill too?
A man who reached the Transcendent Realm at twenty.
If I were to write a self-help book, it would be a magnificent achievement, instantly becoming a martial world bestseller.
I snatched the flyer from that rascal Yongtaek and began to read it thoroughly, as if possessed.
Cultivation level restricted to Peak Realm.
How dare a Transcendent try to defeat a Peak Realm practitioner?
Trying to use sword qi in a 3D sparring match?
I gave it an overwhelmingly positive review.
Preliminaries are single-elimination, advancement based on accumulated points.
The main tournament is a multi-game series based on the bracket.
What particularly caught my eye was...
[For fair play, the Mental Sparring Festival will be conducted anonymously using dedicated devices provided by our sponsor, Mangum Hall. Participation with existing personal devices is not permitted.]
"Anonymous, huh."
Then it means I can use demonic arts—no, divine arts—without consequence, doesn't it?
This is a guaranteed win.
Winner of the 1st Mental Sparring Festival for Rising Talents: Geum Sihyeon.
The Great Rejuvenation Pill smiled before my eyes, like a Buddha.
"Where do I sign up for this?"