The Zhurong Palace Lord must have noticed the same thing I did, because a crease formed between his brows.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Just as he rose from his seat, a voice rang out from outside.
“Father! As of this moment, I will no longer live as a member of Zhurong Palace!”
The Zhurong Palace Lord opened the door and stepped outside, and the rest of us followed him.
Young Palace Lord Maeng Hyeon stood in the courtyard, shouting toward the conference hall.
“You may have stripped me of my position as Young Palace Lord, Father, but don’t misunderstand! I’m leaving of my own free will.”
Whew…
When Young Lady Seohyang told me about this, I’d simply brushed it off. Hearing it with my own ears, though, left me speechless.
So he still couldn’t let go of his pride, even at the bitter end…
I glanced at the Zhurong Palace Lord. He was pressing a hand to his forehead as he let out a heavy sigh.
I could practically feel the man’s fury rolling off him.
More importantly, I could sense Unorthodox Qi coming from Young Lord Maeng Hyeon.
That meant he had already made contact with the Unorthodox forces.
That was probably why he could act so brazenly.
The Young Palace Lord of Zhurong Palace had joined the Unorthodox Sect…
Well, this ought to be quite the spectacle.
Few places were as sensitive to Unorthodox Qi as Zhurong Palace, aside from the North Sea Ice Palace.
The fact that he felt no aversion to it meant he was already far from normal.
In any case, I had to deal with him first.
Zhurong Palace was a concern, but this matter could also directly threaten my own safety.
I had only been able to attend this conference as the Young Palace Lord of Snow Wind Palace because this was such an isolated place.
It seemed he had contacted the Unorthodox forces while I was inside the library yesterday.
Given the timing, he couldn’t have told them much yet.
From the look of things, he had no idea I was the Handsome Young Hero or that I belonged to the Eunhae Merchant Group.
That was a relief.
I asked him,
“So, what did the Unorthodox forces offer you?”
“…!”
“Did they promise to help you take Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin as your wife? Or did they offer you the position of Zhurong Palace Lord?”
“…”
His eyes flew wide open.
“I was only throwing out a guess, but it looks like I hit the mark.”
At the sight of his reaction, the Zhurong Palace Lord finally exploded with rage.
“You insolent wretch! Have you completely lost your mind? Of all the places you could go, you dare throw yourself into the arms of the Unorthodox Sect?”
Even then, Young Lord Maeng Hyeon merely snorted and shot back.
“Ha! I’m the son you cast aside! Why should it matter to you where I go?”
Wow…
What an utterly disrespectful little bastard.
Fwoosh!
Flames erupted from the Zhurong Palace Lord’s body. He must have been well and truly furious.
Damn, that little shit…
He was about to get beaten half to death.
But could Maeng Hyeon really be unaware of that?
If he was still acting this way despite knowing what would happen, he had to have something he was counting on.
“And Father, I wasn’t merely planning to join them. I already have.”
That was when it happened.
“Aaaargh!”
“Stop them! We’re under attack!”
At the distant shouts, the Zhurong Palace Lord clenched his teeth.
“You bastard!”
Just as expected… the Unorthodox forces had begun their attack.
This must have been what Young Lord Maeng Hyeon was relying on.
Honestly, when Young Lady Seohyang first told me about this, I wanted to prevent the attack.
But she had said otherwise.
She said allowing them to invade would be the far better choice in the long run.
She had also told me not to worry, because everything would work out.
Even so, I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.
The future could change at any moment, after all.
That was why I’d asked Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin to have the North Sea Ice Palace elites prepare for battle.
But… one question still remained.
Young Palace Lord Maeng Hyeon knew that the North Sea Ice Palace elites had come here for the Ice-Fire Conference.
He must have passed that information along to the Unorthodox forces as well.
Yet they still went ahead with the attack?
There was definitely more to this.
At that moment, a tremendous surge of Qi began pouring from Young Lord Maeng Hyeon.
There was no chance the Zhurong Palace Lord would fail to notice it.
“You! What in the world have you done?”
“Ah, you mean this? The people who agreed to work with me gave me a wonderful gift. It was an Elixir that turned me into a Transcendent master in a single step.”
An Elixir that could instantly turn a Peak master into a Transcendent master?
It wasn’t as though such Elixirs didn’t exist.
Not if someone stumbled upon a legendary opportunity.
But when someone advanced through an Elixir gained from such an opportunity, their Qi would be perfectly pure.
It wouldn’t feel this revolting!
In other words, he had consumed an Elixir that the Unorthodox forces had created through methods no one should ever use.
And I knew about Elixirs like that.
There was one in particular that had the strongest effect.
But it was already appearing now?
It hadn’t emerged until several years later in my previous life.
Back then, an Unorthodox sect had gained infamy throughout Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi.
That was all thanks to an Elixir they had created, known as the Extreme Martial Awakening Pill.
“Aaaargh!”
“W–We’re being pushed back!”
“Stop them! I said stop them!”
Judging by the screams in the distance, the battle wasn’t going well for our side.
It seemed they had given the Extreme Martial Awakening Pill to some of the attackers as well.
Since it wasn’t easy to produce, they had probably only given it to a select few.
At that moment, one of Zhurong Palace’s disciples came running toward us.
“Palace Lord! The battle is going badly! Several of the attackers are Profound masters or stronger!”
I could see the conflict on the Zhurong Palace Lord’s face. Zhurong Palace or his son…
Neither was something he could easily abandon.
Even if that son was a hopeless delinquent who had strayed from the proper path.
In that case…
“Palace Lord, leave that good-for-nothing son of yours to me.”
“What are you saying?”
“They need you over there right now. Are you going to stand here and let Zhurong Palace fall?”
“…”
“I’ll beat some sense into that bastard, even if I have to pound it into him with my fists. Hurry and go.”
“Damn it!”
The Zhurong Palace Lord clenched his fists and said,
“I’m ashamed to ask this of you, but please take care of him.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll do my absolute best to beat him senseless.”
Then I turned toward Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin.
“You should join the North Sea Ice Palace martial artists as well, Young Palace Lord.”
“Are you truly certain we can leave you here alone?”
“Yes.”
I confidently nodded.
“…”
Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin stared at me for a moment, then sighed and nodded.
“Very well. Please be careful.”
“Don’t worry about me. Both of you need to hurry.”
“I leave him to you.”
“Do not die.”
After leaving me with those parting words, the two of them rushed away.
I then spoke to Palgap and the Escort Guards who had come running over.
“Escort Guard Seo Wu, please protect Young Lady Seohyang. Everyone else, put some distance between yourselves and this place.”
“My lord!”
“That’s an order. I won’t hear any objections.”
There were several reasons I gave that command.
First, fighting a Transcendent master with several people was often harder than facing one alone.
My companions would only get in the way.
It was better for me to fight him by myself.
Second, I had a way to crush him.
The problem was that it would have a rather large effect on the surrounding area.
“Well, I suppose you are the sort of person who would run away before anyone else if you didn’t have a plan.”
Palgap was the first to move.
That was Palgap for you. He knew me far too well.
Only then did the other Escort Guards follow him away.
I turned toward Young Lord Maeng Hyeon and said,
“Looks like it’s just the two of us now.”
“Hah! It makes no difference! Once I kill you, I can take care of the rest.”
Shing.
I drew my sword and said,
“Shouldn’t you first consider whether you’re capable of defeating me?”
“I suppose you’re right.”
He looked at me with a sneer.
“I never liked you from the very beginning. Especially after you interfered between Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin and me.”
Whoosh!
The next instant, his body shot toward me like an arrow.
Shhk–!
Blood welled from my arm, and I bit down on my lip.
He had used a shortcut, but there was no denying he had become stronger.
I took a deep breath and tightened my grip around the Silver Mist Sword.
I discarded any thought of underestimating him.
My opponent might have been an incomplete master, but he had still reached the Transcendent realm.
He was probably weaker than my master, but that only made him far more dangerous.
My master swung his sword to encourage my growth, while this man swung his for the sole purpose of killing me.
Tap–!
He shot toward me once more, and I desperately defended against his attacks.
Clangclangclangclangclang–!
The relentless clash of sword against sword echoed in every direction.
Wounds appeared all across my body, but none were fatal.
After exchanging dozens of moves with him, I realized my prediction had been right.
He was undoubtedly far weaker than my master.
There was less power behind his sword, and he was considerably slower. His swordsmanship and Internal Power were clearly working against each other instead of together.
Naturally, possessing a vast amount of Internal Power alone didn’t make someone a true Transcendent master.
Only after gaining the necessary enlightenment, completing the proper training, and achieving Sword-Body Unity could someone be considered truly Transcendent.
Thanks to that, facing him wasn’t as difficult as I had expected.
Of course, less difficult than expected didn’t mean easy.
Fwoosh! Roar!
The power behind his flame-wreathed sword was tremendous.
My clothes had been scorched and burned in several places, leaving them in tatters.
I had practiced an Ice Art that kept me from sweating even in the hottest weather, yet sweat was now running down my skin.
Which meant it was time to use the Extreme Ice Sword.
After encountering the arrangement the Patriarch had left behind, I’d hoped that nothing would happen this time.
Nothing would happen, my ass.
Look at this. I had to use it the very next day.
Good grief… what a miserable life.
But I could complain about my rotten luck later. Right now, I needed to beat that bastard down and subdue him.
Hoo…
I raised my sword.
To use the Extreme Ice Sword, even someone like me, who almost never sweated, needed to be drenched in it. I had to use the water in my sweat to lower the temperature of my Internal Power to its absolute limit.
“Hoo…”
I inhaled and fixed my gaze on Young Lord Maeng Hyeon.
Tap!
He charged at me again.
His eyes had begun to lose focus. It seemed his reason was gradually fading, leaving his body to move on instinct.
In other words, his inferiority toward me and the instincts embedded in his body were now controlling him.
Shhk!
I calmly assumed the opening stance and drew my concentration to its peak.
Once I focused to the absolute limit, his movements seemed to slow.
The Silver Mist Sword began glowing blue.
The tip of Young Lord Maeng Hyeon’s sword approached my chest.
Now.
I unleashed the Extreme Ice Sword’s power.
Booooom!
The opposing forces collided, and the impact swept outward in every direction.
The Extreme Ice Sword’s blazing heat met Young Lord Maeng Hyeon’s fire art head-on, drastically weakening the flames.
At the same time, the Extreme Ice Sword’s frigid cold spread in every direction and froze the surroundings solid.
Swish.
Amid the white mist curling through the air, I lowered the Silver Mist Sword.
Crackle.
The ice covering my body fell onto the frozen ground and shattered into countless fragments.
I looked down in front of me.
Young Lord Maeng Hyeon was staring up at me in disbelief, using his sword to support his half-frozen body.
“H–How? How did you defeat me when I’m Transcendent…? Are you Transcendent too?”
“No.”
Had I already reached the Transcendent realm, I would have subdued him with a single blow.
“Th–Then how?”
“Because your cultivation wasn’t that of a true Transcendent master.”
“What? I’m unquestionably Transcendent… Cough!”
He suddenly covered his mouth and vomited blood.
“As I thought, you’ve reached your limit, and the side effects are beginning.”
“Side effects?”
“Yes. It was inevitable.”
I nodded.
“You said that swallowing the pill they gave you made you Transcendent in a single step, didn’t you? But did you truly believe a body and mind unprepared for the Transcendent realm could endure its power?”
I continued with an indifferent expression.
“Judging by your reaction, they never told you about the Elixir’s limits or side effects.”
“Wh–What are you talking about…? Th–Then what’s going to happen to me?”
“Based on my estimation, the meridians throughout your body will rupture, your muscles will tear apart, and your dantian will shatter. Your Internal Power will scatter, leaving you unable to cultivate it ever again, much less use what you currently possess.”
“…!”
“You’ll be lucky if you can ever walk again.”
His eyes widened at my words.
“N–No! That’s impossible! Do you have any idea how much I did to reach this level…?”
Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t merely my estimation.
It had actually happened in my previous life.
The stronger the martial art someone used, and the more frequently they used it, the sooner the pill reached its limit and the more severe its side effects became.
That was why the Unorthodox sect that created the Extreme Martial Awakening Pill had quickly reached the end of its expansion despite possessing it.
At first, they had won every battle and grown without restraint, but how many people would willingly swallow the pill after seeing those side effects?
No matter what it was, devouring something too hastily was bound to make you sick.
The Murim Alliance had eventually stepped forward to resolve the situation, significantly expanding its influence throughout Yunnan in the process.
If I resolved this incident quickly, I could also prevent the Murim Alliance from gaining that influence.
Just as Young Lady Seohyang had said, everything would work out well.
Crrk, crack.
Young Lord Maeng Hyeon’s muscles began twisting beneath his skin, and he screamed from the pain.
“Aaaargh! Aaaaaaargh! S–Save me! Aaaaaaargh!”
Clicking my tongue, I struck his mute acupoint.
His screaming was hurting my ears.
“Tsk, tsk. This is why you shouldn’t swallow strange things people hand you.”
In Young Lord Maeng Hyeon’s case, the side effects had arrived even sooner because he had consumed an excessive amount of Internal Power while trying to counter the Extreme Ice Sword.
Still, what in the world had twisted this man so badly?
The thought suddenly left a bitter taste in my mouth.
As soon as the attackers had been dealt with, the Zhurong Palace Lord came rushing back.
I pointed toward Young Lord Maeng Hyeon, who lay collapsed on the ground, and said,
“Fortunately, his life isn’t in danger.”
“Are those the side effects?”
“Yes. You knew?”
“I suspected as much.”
He sighed and dragged both hands down his face.
“I removed that boy from the position of Young Palace Lord for the sake of Zhurong Palace’s future. Yet that very decision nearly placed the entire palace in danger.”
“No. You made the right choice. He invited the Unorthodox forces into Zhurong Palace simply because he lost his position as Young Palace Lord. What do you think would have happened if someone like that became Palace Lord?”
“Ah… You’re right.”
I couldn’t tell him this, but Maeng Hyeon had driven Zhurong Palace straight into ruin.
But that future would never come to pass now.
And this was no time for him to stand around wallowing in despair.
“Palace Lord, this is no time for that.”
“Hmm?”
“You need to hunt down the bastards who passed Zhurong Palace’s secrets to the Unorthodox forces.”
–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