The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group – Chapter 239

How much time had passed since I started training?

It felt like several months had gone by.

When I first entered this space, I’d worried whether people around me would be concerned about my disappearance.

But now I know.

Even if I spent years, decades here, only a fleeting moment would have passed in reality.

“Huff… huff…”

I lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath.

Actually, thanks to Master’s stamina training all this time, I’ve never been told I have weak stamina anywhere.

I now have enough stamina to hang from a beam for ten days.

Yet the ancestor’s training was so grueling that someone like me collapsed like this.

The ancestor’s hands were merciless, and there was absolutely no holding back.

No wounds remained on my body, but the pain was real, so there were more than one or two times I thought I’d really die like this.

Watching me like that, the ancestor said.

“It pains my heart to beat you. But there’s no time, and real combat is the best training method, so there’s no helping it.”

Someone whose heart pains them is smiling?

But I couldn’t help but agree that real combat was the best training method.

I’d almost completely learned Extreme Yin Soul Ice Combat, which supposedly takes years to learn.

But right now, I didn’t even have the strength to move a finger.

“You don’t even have the strength to move a finger… Get up.”

Damn!

Can the ancestor read my thoughts?

Grumbling inwardly like that, I struggled to raise my upper body.

But this really is the limit.

“Ancestor, I can’t get up right now. Just kill me.”

“Stop whining…”

But the ancestor knows my condition precisely. So that’s why the ancestor pushed me this far.

Just enough not to die.

Ah…

The ancestor said you can’t die here.

During this time, I’d learned ninety-nine moves of Extreme Yin Soul Ice Combat.

There are a total of a hundred moves, so I was facing just one more move.

I’d wondered what kind of martial art has a hundred moves, but learning it, I understood.

It meant it was that practical a martial art.

Now only one passage remained of the golden letters that had filled my surroundings.

When I completely learned a move, the letters corresponding to that move disappeared.

My intuition was telling me.

Once the last move’s passage disappeared too, I’d be able to leave this place.

“Kui.”

Geumryeong was making kui sounds while looking at me from my lap.

Only Geumryeong comforts me.

“Now only the last move remains.”

“That’s right.”

I looked at the last move’s remaining passage.

[Mutual Death, Leave Life Leave Name]

“Do you know what it means?”

“Doesn’t it mean dying together with the enemy, leaving life and leaving a name?”

“Correct. And there’s no hidden meaning here. It’s truly a straightforward move.”

“…”

It was said Extreme Yin Soul Ice Combat was a move for Snow Wind Palace’s Palace Lord.

In other words, the Palace Lord dies together with the enemy to save Snow Wind Palace’s disciples and leaves their own name behind.

Ha… what bullshit.

I put strength into my legs that had no strength and stood up from my seat.

My legs trembled, but I struggled desperately to stand straight.

“I don’t like this move.”

“Hm?”

Perhaps my words were unexpected, as the ancestor tilted their head.

“You don’t like it? It’s a move that’s truly fitting for Snow Wind Palace Lord’s final moments, though?”

“What do you mean fitting for final moments? If the Palace Lord dies to save disciples, do you think the surviving disciples will be happy?”

I sneered and continued.

“They won’t be happy at all. And leaving a name? What use is fame when you’re dead anyway?”

I gritted my teeth.

How do I know this?

Because in my past life, there were those who died for me.

Not just those who rushed at enemies to save me on the day I died.

During merchant travels, there were those who died after being ambushed, making me escape, and there were those who died without saying anything until the end despite enduring brutal torture.

Because of their sacrifices, Eunhae Merchant Group rose to become one of the Three Great Merchant Groups Under the Heaven.

Was I happy each time that happened?

No, I was grief-stricken. I screamed and shed bloody tears at how powerless I was.

Baekcheon Merchant Group and the Murim Alliance trampled on all their sacrifices.

My revenge on Baekcheon Merchant Group and the Murim Alliance isn’t just my personal grudge.

It’s also revenge for those who died for me, for the merchant group.

In this life, I’m living more fiercely than my previous life to ensure there are no such sacrifices.

Right, this time I’ll become the Number One Merchant Group Under the Heaven without their sacrifices.

“Mutual Death, Leave Life Leave Name. That’s all bullshit.”

“Bullshit… Even so, it’s one of the greatest martial arts Snow Wind Palace’s Palace Lord learns, so your words are harsh.”

“No! This move deserves such words. If I had my way, I’d tear it down and rewrite it.”

“Then if you were to change the last move’s passage, what would you change it to?”

“If it were me… phew.”

I caught my breath.

Oops, I got too worked up.

But the bullshit needs to stop.

Calming my mind composedly, I glared at the letters and continued.

“If it were me, I’d change it like this. I Live All Live, Proclaim Victory to Heaven.”

Meaning I survive and everyone survives, proclaiming to all the world that we are victors.

At that moment,

Rustle—.

The last move’s passage before my eyes had changed.

[I Live All Live, Proclaim Victory to Heaven]

The ancestor laughed very heartily.

“Ha ha ha ha ha! Look at this outrageous fellow! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

No, if you’re going to laugh, at least tell me why before laughing.

How else can I decide whether to laugh or not?

Soon the ancestor stopped laughing and spoke with a serious expression.

“Actually, Extreme Yin Soul Ice Combat’s last move exists but doesn’t exist.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Because the last move is about Extreme Yin Soul Ice Combat’s true purpose. Didn’t you wonder why Extreme Yin Soul Ice Combat was quite tyrannical yet had strong defensive aspects?”

“Uh… come to think of it, that’s true.”

Every move necessarily contained elements for defense.

“It’s to save the disciples and ultimately for the Palace Lord to return alive as well. You must realize this to leave this space.”

“What if you don’t realize it?”

“…”

The ancestor said no more, but cold sweat ran down me.

I’d almost been unable to leave this place for hundreds of years.

Instantly, the passage ‘I Live All Live, Proclaim Victory to Heaven’ before me was absorbed into me, and my internal energy increased.

My vision began to blur.

“Now it’s time to go. See you again next time.”

“Yes, Ancestor.”

I clasped my hands while looking at the ancestor’s fading form.

“Always remember your current heart. Survive even when death’s moment comes.”

“I will, without fail.”

And so everything before my eyes turned white.

.

.

.

“Huh?”

Before my eyes was a book.

Here is… ah, North Sea Ice Palace’s library.

I’d been reading a book and entered the ancestor’s arrangement.

Looking around, I saw tightly packed bookshelves.

I looked at the book placed before me. It was just a book with a common story written in it.

Extreme Yin Soul Ice Combat…

Its contents were engraved in my mind.

I plan to make those contents into a book and give it to Master.

The ancestor never said it shouldn’t be recorded.

And since Master and I are both busy, this is the best method. If anything, Master can burn it later.

And eight characters that emerge clearly.

I Live All Live (我生諸生), Proclaim Victory to Heaven (天下證勝).

That will be the last move of Extreme Yin Soul Ice Combat I’ll write down.

I won’t write the move Mutual Death (同歸於盡), Leave Life Leave Name (留命留名).

Because Master, who might think that’s Snow Wind Palace Lord’s final mission, shouldn’t harden their resolve.

Just then, the disciple attending to me approached carrying a tray.

“I’ve brought snacks.”

“Ah, thank you.”

• * *

The Ice Palace Lord was listening to a subordinate’s report.

“Still at the library?”

“Yes.”

Since he’d wanted to enter the library, she gave permission.

Actually, she was someone who’d read all the enormous number of books in the library.

The Ice Palace Lord’s life, so strong that it was hard to find a match, was unbearably boring, and books were a good way to alleviate such boredom.

To such a person, Eun Seo-ho’s visit was refreshing.

‘The Silver Mist Sword and the Ice Guardian Beast…’

It seemed the world had chosen him as Snow Wind Palace’s new Palace Lord.

‘But there’s one thing lacking.’

That was martial arts.

The martial arts passed down through generations that only Snow Wind Palace’s Palace Lord could learn.

Those had no secret manuals.

Because Snow Wind Palace’s Palace Lord passed them down to the next generation’s Palace Lord.

Because the martial arts were so tyrannical, if someone with insufficient training learned them, they’d be stained by evil.

It was an understandable reason, but that created a problem.

If Snow Wind Palace’s Palace Lord suddenly died, those martial arts’ lineage would be severed.

Therefore, Snow Wind Palace’s Palace Lord usually chose a successor early and steadily passed down the martial arts. Then after passing down all the martial arts, they’d officially hand over the Palace Lord position.

So it was regrettable.

Before Snow Wind Palace was annihilated, that friend had been planning to choose eldest son Gwak Myeong-hyeon as successor.

So now Gwak Myeong-hyeon was Snow Wind Palace’s Palace Lord, but a half-complete one without the three things symbolizing the Palace Lord.

Actually, setting all that aside, she always felt regretful watching Snow Wind Palace.

Because of that very natural truth that martial arts achievement inevitably differs according to talent.

The person with the most outstanding talent for martial arts in Snow Wind Palace was the one called Snow Wind Palace’s ancestor.

Snow Wind Palace ancestor’s martial arts in the records were truly remarkable.

But the Palace Lords who followed after had somewhat inferior martial arts power, perhaps because they lacked that level of talent.

But then,

Like fate, someone possessing two of the three things symbolizing the Palace Lord appeared before her.

Moreover, despite being only twenty years old, they’d already reached Peak realm.

Also…

‘The same constitution as me!’

Though Eun Seo-ho doesn’t seem to know it yet.

Anyway, this time she couldn’t lose him futilely like the previous Snow Wind Palace’s Palace Lord.

She had to protect Eun Seo-ho from those wicked ones.

‘But I can’t move easily…’

After thinking for a moment, she asked her subordinate.

“What about Young Hero Eun Jin-ho?”

“He’s currently lying in bed recovering.”

“They really are cunning beyond measure. They could have just asked him in words to stay longer… Though, he’s not someone who’d listen to words.”

“The protectors and elders are taking turns visiting him now.”

“His face will wear thin, so thin. So how long will recovery take?”

“About three days, it seems.”

“Three days…”

That seemed perfect.

• * *

That night.

After dinner, I visited the Ice Palace Lord again.

Sitting in the crystal room that always seemed mysterious, I thought the Ice Palace Lord was truly a beautiful person.

Not just appearance, but she exuded an air that naturally inspired reverence.

“I heard you called for me.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

She offered me a seat.

“Have some tea.”

“Thank you.”

This time it was different tea from yesterday. It tasted like peaches, but more fragrant and fresh…

“It’s tea made from ice jade peaches.”

Ice jade peaches—the ones Master tried to pick and fell from when young…

Ahem…

Fortunately, I didn’t spit out the tea.

“How is it?”

“It’s quite a mysterious taste. A taste I’ve never had before.”

“The tea tastes good, but it also has the effect of cleansing blood vessels and purifying energy. Of course, since you’re learning Snow Wind Palace’s martial arts, that internal energy must be extremely pure already.”

“Wouldn’t adding something good make it even better?”

“That’s true.”

The Ice Palace Lord took a sip of tea and gently continued.

“Your older brother got alcohol poisoning?”

“Kup!”

I choked.

“Cough! Cough!”

“Oh my! Are you alright?”

“Ah, yes! I apologize for the disgraceful display.”

“Not at all. And you’ve probably already noticed, but this palace’s disciples have a mischievous side. Let me apologize on their behalf.”

“It means they cherish him that much. Ha ha ha.”

“Recovery will take about three days. So I was thinking…”

Now for the main point.

I tensed up and focused on her words.

“Won’t you try learning some martial arts?”

“What? Martial arts… you mean?”

“The martial arts Young Hero is learning are Snow Wind Palace’s martial arts. And Snow Wind Palace’s martial arts won’t be easily recognized by people.”

I nodded.

Master said so too.

“But you never know about worldly matters. And I heard Young Hero works in commerce.”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“Then while you may not be a martial artist per se, you’ll inevitably meet various martial artists traveling here and there. Among them might be those who recognize Snow Wind Palace’s martial arts.”

Actually, I’d been worried about that too.

I hadn’t yet faced an opponent requiring my full strength, so I hadn’t fully shown that martial art, but there’s no guarantee that won’t happen in the future.

“So that’s why I’m proposing this. Learn North Sea Ice Palace’s martial arts instead of Snow Wind Palace’s martial arts. Disguise yourself as having learned different ice arts, not Snow Wind Palace’s martial arts.”

The Palace Lord smiled and continued.

“I’ll personally instruct you.”

–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won’t get any ads!

If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame

Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt