Ding, ding.
A bell rang.
That must be the signal for lunch.
When I rose from my seat and stepped out of the archive, a simple meal had been laid out on the table I had seen earlier.
A Zhurong Palace disciple respectfully bowed his head.
“Given where we are, the meal is rather modest. I hope you’ll understand.”
Well, bringing in soup or noodles would be a little risky in a place like this.
The table held nothing but tea and dumplings.
I hadn’t come here to indulge in fine cuisine anyway, so this was more than enough.
I smiled and said,
“I wouldn’t want a lavish feast laid out in a place where books are stored, either. This is perfectly fine.”
“Thank you very much for your understanding.”
Besides, dumplings were a common lunch food.
Most people couldn’t afford to eat lunch at all. Simply being able to have a midday meal was a sign of wealth.
“Ah, have my Escort Guards outside eaten?”
“To my knowledge, they haven’t.”
“Please prepare something for them as well.”
“Understood.”
“And they’ll probably keep standing the entire time, so please bring them chairs and tell them to sit.”
“Yes.”
I quickly finished the dumplings and returned to the archive.
There were still plenty of books left to read.
.
.
.
It was only after the sun had set that I finally managed to finish all the books Young Lord Maeng Cheon had selected for me.
Whew, that was exhausting.
I rose from my seat and stretched.
It was about time I headed back.
The conference was tomorrow, so I couldn’t stay up all night.
Before leaving, though, I needed to return all the books I had read to their proper places.
I had hoped Young Lord Maeng Cheon might help me, but he had already left.
Nothing I could do about that.
Fortunately, I remembered where every book belonged.
Not to brag, but I’ve always had a pretty good memory.
I pushed the cart through the archive and returned each book to its original shelf.
That was when it happened.
“Hmm?”
One particular book caught my eye.
[Nine Ways to Screw Over Zhurong Palace]
Hmm? Why was a book like this sitting in their archive?
The title was so blatant that anyone from Zhurong Palace would have destroyed it on sight.
But as someone closely connected to the North Sea Ice Palace, how could I possibly ignore a book like this?
After glancing left and right, I pulled it from the shelf.
Then I opened it.
“Urgh!”
The book suddenly began forcibly draining my Qi.
Was this a demonic tome?
It had to be.
Why else would it forcibly absorb someone’s Qi?!
I immediately tried to fling the book out of my hands, but…
[It has been a long time, successor.]
Words appeared across the pages.
At the same moment, my vision changed.
.
.
.
“It has been a long time.”
I looked up at the familiar voice. The Patriarch was gazing down at me.
“Patriarch?”
“Yes. It is me.”
I scratched my head as I rose to my feet.
“I’m certain I was inside Zhurong Palace’s archive. Did you leave one of your legacies there too?”
“I suspected that whoever inherited my will would eventually visit that place.”
“Even so, ‘Nine Ways to Screw Over Zhurong Palace’? If anyone else had seen that, they would’ve destroyed it immediately.”
“But it certainly caught your attention, did it not?”
“W-Well, yes.”
I couldn’t deny that.
“And there is no need to worry. The title appears differently to everyone else.”
“What?”
“Something along the lines of An Examination of the Ancient Language for the Advancement of Zhurong Palace’s History and Traditions… What was it again?”
“That sounds like a book no one would ever touch.”
“Heh heh heh. Exactly.”
So that was how it had survived until now.
I said to the Patriarch,
“By the way, that book suddenly started draining my Qi. It nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“As you know, those Zhurong Palace bastards are rather sensitive.”
That was probably why they had sensed the stench of blood around the Doyeon Sect and the Blood Heaven Sect.
“Because of that, I could not leave my own Qi inside the book. If it contained cold Qi, they would have found it suspicious.”
“So it absorbed my internal power to activate the legacy you left behind?”
“That is correct.”
I nodded. At least that part made sense.
“But why did you summon me this time?”
Through the Patriarch’s legacies, I had grasped the true essence of the True Snow Twelve Form Sword and properly learned both the Ice Sea Assimilation Cultivation Method and the Ice Sea Water-Severing Art.
I had also learned the Extreme Yin Soul Ice Combat.
Honestly, it felt as though I had already learned everything… Could there still be more?
“Did the book’s title not tell you?”
“What?”
“I summoned you to teach you how to screw over Zhurong Palace.”
There was obvious hostility in the Patriarch’s voice.
Then again, it seemed a little too mild to be called hostility… Was it wariness?
“Patriarch… was the Ice-Fire Conference already being held in your time?”
“Of course. Why else would I have left this legacy here?”
“R-Right. That makes sense.”
“I was the one who created the Ice-Fire Conference in the first place.”
I hadn’t known that. Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin had never mentioned it.
“The Zhurong Palace Lord’s brat kept strutting around and provoking me, so I beat him once and forced them to hold a conference.”
Had the Patriarch truly beaten him only once?
He had probably pounded the man into a bloody pulp.
That would explain how two forces that despised each other and possessed mutually opposing arts had ended up agreeing to a truce.
“Is it not irritating when you are trying to deal with pests, only for another one to keep hovering around and bothering you?”
“…Yes. That would piss me off.”
“However, even if the two sides agree to a truce and meet for regular conferences, there is no telling when their relationship might collapse again. That is why I left this behind.”
“You want me to make sure Zhurong Palace doesn’t get any foolish ideas?”
“Do you believe Zhurong Palace is the only one capable of that?”
“What?”
“The North Sea Ice Palace might entertain such thoughts as well. I suppose I can tell you now, but the North Sea Ice Palace Lord also refused to accept the truce. It was quite troublesome to calm that one down.”
“You handled the North Sea Ice Palace Lord much more gently, then.”
Since they were friends, I imagined he had reasoned with the Palace Lord and shown a somewhat warmer side of himself.
The Patriarch’s next words shattered that image completely.
“Of course not. I told her I would kill her if she refused to listen.”
“…”
I was left speechless.
“Ahem. In any case, that is why Snow Wind Palace’s role is so important.”
In other words, Snow Wind Palace had to ensure that neither faction entertained foolish ambitions and started a pointless conflict.
“What I will teach you this time is a martial art called the Extreme Ice Sword.”
“What? I’ve never heard of the Extreme Ice Sword.”
“You have not? I knew it! Thank goodness I left this legacy behind! Snow Wind Palace nearly lost the greatest of its ultimate techniques.”
“Is it truly that remarkable?”
I tilted my head.
“Isn’t the Snow Soul Sword Art Snow Wind Palace’s greatest technique?”
“The Snow Soul Sword Art?”
At the Patriarch’s puzzled response, I carefully explained.
“Yes. From what I understand, the Snow Soul Sword Art is taught only to the Palace Lord and Young Palace Lord…”
I explained everything I knew about the Snow Soul Sword Art.
It was said to allow its wielder to display their full ability in any environment, and its power became especially tremendous when snow was falling.
The Patriarch nodded as he listened.
“Ah, I know that one. Though it was not restricted to the Palace Lord and Young Palace Lord in my time.”
So that was how it had been.
“It is certainly exceptional enough that later generations might have restricted it to those two, but it is also extremely difficult to comprehend. Properly wielding it requires far more than ordinary training.”
“Is that so?”
I told him about the training I had been doing.
I explained how I practiced beneath the pouring rain, or climbed into a barrel filled with something resembling a swamp…
After hearing the tale of my tearful suffering, the Patriarch grinned.
“You are training properly.”
“What?”
T-That was actually the correct way to train?!
“Even with that training, however, the Snow Soul Sword you wield will remain incomplete. And what I am about to say may sound strange to you…”
The Patriarch continued.
“The truth is, the Snow Soul Sword Art is not a sword art.”
“What?”
It wasn’t a sword art? What was that supposed to mean?
“It is not a sword confined by forms and stances. You will likely require many years before you comprehend that.”
Ah, was that why it had only one technique?
“Hmm. I have left another legacy concerning that matter, so you will encounter it eventually.”
The Patriarch continued,
“Furthermore, learning the Extreme Ice Sword I am about to teach you will bring you one step closer to that realization.”
Did his legacies have a specific order?
“Understood. I’ll listen carefully to your teachings.”
“That is the proper attitude.”
The Patriarch gazed at me seriously.
“Child, what do you believe you must do to suppress Zhurong Palace?”
Hmm?
Had he just called me child?
When had the way he addressed me changed…
“Your answer is slow.”
“Ah! My apologies. I was thinking. I believe we would need even more powerful cold Qi.”
“Wrong.”
“That isn’t it?”
“No, it is not. The best way to suppress fire is with an even stronger fire.”
I couldn’t help but stare at him in confusion.
An even stronger fire?
“But Patriarch, Snow Wind Palace’s martial arts are all based on cold Qi. How are we supposed to produce a stronger fire? Wouldn’t we need to learn a fire art?”
“No. Snow Wind Palace’s martial arts alone are enough to wield the power of fire.”
The Patriarch extended his hand.
Before I realized it, the Silver Mist Sword at my waist was already in his grasp.
As the Patriarch gathered his true Qi, waves of power spread through the surroundings.
The Silver Mist Sword began to glow.
However, the white light gradually turned blue.
“Touch the blade.”
I cautiously reached out and tapped the blade with one finger.
“Ah! Hot!”
I immediately snatched my hand back and shouted. Then I blinked.
Wait. Had I just said it was hot…?
“It felt hot, did it not?”
“Yes. It was hot.”
“When cold is layered upon cold, then layered again and driven all the way to extreme yin, the sensation becomes one of heat instead. Strictly speaking, it is frostbite. However, when the frostbite becomes severe enough, your body perceives it as a burn.”
“I see.”
“And fire’s defining property is also heat. In other words, you will be pitting heat against heat.”
“So it’s a matter of mental imagery?”
“Precisely!”
The Patriarch looked pleased with my answer.
“However, because it remains an ice sword, it also serves as a natural countermeasure against Zhurong Palace’s fire arts.”
“So it punches them in the face and stabs them in the back at the same time.”
The Patriarch nodded at my summary.
“And it will prove extremely useful when fighting people from the North Sea Ice Palace as well.”
That was certainly true.
From what I had seen, Snow Wind Palace’s martial arts were exceptional, but they still fell short of the North Sea Ice Palace’s.
I had wondered why the two palaces were treated as equals despite that… Apparently, there was a reason.
“We do not have much time. Draw your sword.”
The Silver Mist Sword had already returned to me.
Shing.
I drew the sword.
Just how long would it take this time?
The thought alone was already making me miserable… probably because I could sense that this round of training would be every bit as long and grueling as the others.
Ah, why were tears coming to my eyes?
.
.
.
I opened my eyes.
Bookshelves packed tightly with books filled my vision.
I was back.
I looked down at my hands.
The strange book from earlier had vanished without a trace.
While learning the Extreme Ice Sword, I had been burned countless times… Though saying I had been burned by ice sounded rather strange.
In any case, every place that had been burned was completely unharmed.
Even my torn clothes had returned to normal.
Well… it wasn’t as though my physical body entered the legacy space. Only my soul went there.
I had expected as much, but this training had been truly brutal.
From my perspective, hadn’t it lasted nearly three years?
When I complained about how long and grueling the training was, the Patriarch had roared, ‘Did you truly expect to learn an ultimate technique like this in a mere six hours?’
Whew…
I let out a quiet sigh and sank to the floor.
Come to think of it, whenever I learned something through one of the Patriarch’s legacies, an opportunity to use it always appeared shortly afterward…
No way.
No, calm down. Nothing is going to happen.
After calming myself, I finished returning the books and left the archive.
When I dragged my exhausted body outside, Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am and Escort Guard Chang Un quickly rose from the chairs where they had been sitting and came to greet me.
I was overjoyed to see their faces again after three years.
Of course, neither of them had any idea how I felt.
“Are you finished?”
“Yes. Let’s head back.”
I returned to my quarters and ate a simple dinner.
“Did you accomplish anything today?”
At Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin’s question, I nodded.
“Yes. It was a meaningful day in more ways than one.”
I continued,
“The conference is tomorrow, yet I left for the entire day to handle personal business. I apologize.”
“Personal business?”
Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin gently shook her head.
“Had it truly been personal, Young Palace Lord Eun would not have remained away for the entire day. Am I wrong?”
“…”
She was unnecessarily perceptive.
I gave a faint smile and changed the subject.
“Shall we discuss tomorrow’s conference, then?”
“Yes.”
At that moment, Young Lady Seohyang, who had been eating dinner with us, suddenly developed a vacant look in her eyes.
What was that?
After a brief wait, her eyes returned to normal. She looked at me and said,
“Um… there’s something I need to tell you.”
.
.
.
The next morning.
After breakfast, I changed into ceremonial robes for the conference.
The North Sea Ice Palace had tailored them for me. They were made of white silk and decorated with elaborate embroidery in silver thread.
The robes were intended both to make my affiliation with the North Sea Ice Palace unmistakable and to maintain the dignity expected at the conference.
When I stepped outside in my ceremonial robes, Palgap exclaimed in admiration.
“Wow! That’s our Young Master! You’re so dashing, even the clothes themselves are shining!”
“I am rather handsome.”
Palgap’s expression instantly turned stern.
“Young Master, when I compliment you, you’re supposed to stand there quietly and accept it.”
Why was I the one getting scolded?
I scratched my cheek and left the quarters.
After waiting in the courtyard for around eight minutes, Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin emerged.
She looked beautiful in her white ceremonial robes as well.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
We followed the people who had come to escort us and headed toward the conference hall.
Then we sat in the chairs prepared for us.
A short while later, the doors opened and the Zhurong Palace Lord entered.
“My apologies. Something has happened to our palace’s Young Palace Lord, so he is unable to attend today. Therefore, I will be attending in his place.”
However, neither Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin nor I was surprised.
Young Lady Seohyang had warned us the previous night. There was one more thing she had told us as well.
And that was…
Ah… here it comes.
–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