Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 115
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 115
Woo Rin’s eyes widened.
“Oh ho, this… she’s really a crazy bitch.”
“Yes, I’m that crazy bitch.”
Her legs were trembling, but she endured it with willpower.
She slowly swept her hair up. The sight looked quite seductive.
“Play with me and let the rest go. I have no special skills, but I’ll do my best.”
Woo Rin snorted.
“Don’t fuck around.”
“…”
“Why should I do that? If I kill all of you and leave, I’ll have more to demand from Lee Ja-gyeom.”
Woo Rin took another step closer.
“And you know what? I don’t eat things with thorns.”
“…Really?”
“That’s right.”
Woo Rin smiled coldly.
“Of course, if I remove the thorns, I can eat it somehow. In this case…”
He reached his hand toward Ju So-ah.
“First, I’ll pluck out your two eyes and the meridians of your limbs, lay you down, then kill everyone else. That way, all the thorns in you will be completely removed, won’t they? Then I think I’ll eat very well.”
Black flames rose from Woo Rin’s hand. Like a viper’s tongue, they stretched toward Ju So-ah’s face.
Ju So-ah closed her eyes. She prepared for death.
It was a moment’s instant.
Woo Rin’s hand stretched toward Ju So-ah’s two eyes. The black flames were just about to touch her skin.
Then, Woo Rin flinched.
From beneath his hand came a thin but clear Air-Rending Sound.
It was a sword.
He immediately withdrew his arm and kicked backward.
His instincts had warned him of danger.
When Ju So-ah opened her eyes, ice crystals were scattering in all directions.
The pouring heavy rain melted the ice crystals and soaked the man’s clothes.
A long robe wet with rain.
That man’s back was strangely familiar.
* * *
“Excellent.”
At Woon-hwi’s brief words, the Branch Members’ legs nearly gave out.
“Facing an enemy of the Body Establishment Boundary, this time you didn’t run away.”
To be honest, Woon-hwi had arrived here quite some time ago.
Precisely, he had arrived when the Black Flame Demon Beast Woo Rin began confronting them.
So he was able to watch the entire process.
“You were afraid but did not flee, you were in despair but did not abandon hope.”
Woon-hwi’s voice was calm, but within it dwelt a storm. It reached everyone’s ears clearly even through the heavy rain.
Ju So-ah could feel it.
Though Woon-hwi’s gaze was fixed on Woo Rin, his senses were spread among the Branch Members.
“All beings make a choice when faced with fear. Either flee, or confront it.”
His senses shifted to Han Mu-rin.
The faint Demonic Transformation was not broken but rather burning brighter.
“Fear itself is not shameful. What is shameful is surrendering to that fear and abandoning one’s own path.”
The fierce downpour could not block Woon-hwi’s voice.
It was so clear it even pierced Woo Rin’s ears.
“In Yang-ryeong you abandoned your given duties, but today you did not stop walking even before the shadow of death.”
Woo Rin crossed his arms as if to watch more, and Woon-hwi silently continued speaking.
“For those who do not rely on fate, what is fear? It is merely another mountain to overcome. True strength is not the sharpness of a blade, nor the depth of internal energy, nor the height or lowness of one’s realm.”
Woon-hwi’s eyes sank.
Hearts pounded, and blood flow increased.
“True strength is not breaking one’s will even if everything is lost. Today you have shown that strength.”
All the Branch Members knelt down.
Even though a master of the Body Establishment Boundary was before them, at this moment their hearts were incredibly at peace.
Woon-hwi had once said.
That if they were with him, there would be nothing to fear in the world.
As everyone bowed their heads, Woon-hwi spoke.
“Raise your heads. You are no longer those who abandoned their duties. Now you are those who know how to find a path even in darkness.”
Woon-hwi turned around.
A small smile could be seen on his lips.
“I forgive you.”
“…Branch Leader…”
“Step back.”
As the Branch Members all stepped back in unison, clap clap clap, the sound of applause was heard.
Woon-hwi turned his head.
It was the Black Flame Demon Beast Woo Rin.
“Haha… Really good words. I like them. I like them very much.”
“I’m truly glad that senior likes them.”
Surprisingly, Woon-hwi’s tone was polite.
“Ice crystals, and movement, plus that ashen hair on a face that doesn’t even wear a black hat to hide its identity…”
“…”
“Among the polar descendants of Snow Mountain, there’s one who’s said to be truly excellent at baduk. That’s you, isn’t it? Snow Mountain Demon Lord Seol Woon-hwi.”
“The senior who says this must be the Black Flame Demon Beast Woo Rin, Great Master of Hwasung Division of Hondo Maryeom Palace.”
“Haha… That’s right.”
“I’ll greet you. I am Seol Woon-hwi, Branch Leader of Yang-ryeong.”
“Yes, yes, I accept your greeting.”
Woo Rin’s gaze instantly turned cold after saying that.
“But you know what? You’ve caused trouble that’s hard to just overlook.”
“You mean me?”
“Not just here, but you’ve already massacred five merchant groups… I owe Lee Ja-gyeom a debt, so I absolutely cannot turn a blind eye.”
A strange smile appeared on Woon-hwi’s lips.
“It sounds like you’re asking for something.”
“…They say you play baduk well, and indeed your reputation is well-deserved.”
Since he wasn’t a fool, from the moment he received the letter from Jang Seok of the Beggar Sect, Woon-hwi had grasped the entire situation.
Lee Ja-gyeom of Jeok An clearly intended to dominate this entire surrounding region in the name of the Sichuan Sect, but he thought that alone was insufficient.
Not the Martial Alliance, nor the Origin Blood Sect, yet not antagonistic to the Sichuan Sect either, and reasonable to deal with.
Moreover, it had to be a sect with someone who had personal connections with Lee Ja-gyeom and harbored great ambitions for territorial expansion.
Hondo Maryeom Palace.
Woon-hwi asked.
“Bong Rae?”
“…Did you perhaps plant spies?”
Woon-hwi shook his head.
“It’s simple. From Hondo Maryeom Palace’s perspective, swallowing a city like Yang-ryeong carries too much risk. But if it’s Bong Rae, the story changes.”
“…Because Divine Ginseng Valley is ahead, and Yang-ryeong is beyond that?”
“Yes. Above all, Bong Rae is Martial Alliance territory. If the Sichuan Sect clears it out, it will become ownerless land, but if Hondo Maryeom Palace, one of the Four Evil Sects, devours Bong Rae, it will only check the Martial Alliance.”
“Well… that doesn’t quite add up. According to your logic, wouldn’t it be right for our Hondo Maryeom Palace to take Yang-ryeong? If we capture you and then trade with Ten Thousand Year Snow Palace using your life as collateral, the situation would flow more smoothly.”
Woon-hwi burst into laughter.
“You know this, so why are you pretending not to? Below Bong Rae are two counties, and beyond them lies Geonkon Castle. Seong Tae-su Song Hak is someone even the Martial Alliance finds difficult to touch easily, and everyone knows that the Palace Lord of Hondo Maryeom Palace is Song Hak’s fellow alumnus from ‘Cheongmun Hakkwan’. And Song Hak has one concern. The tax issue. As you well know, the Martial Alliance and Sichuan Sect don’t pay taxes.”
“….”
“But Hondo Maryeom Palace would be different. To deepen their relationship with Song Hak, they would pay a certain amount of taxes, and if that happens, it creates a situation where the Martial Alliance absolutely cannot target them.”
“….”
“They would have to face Yang-je Kingdom’s military forces, Hondo Maryeom Palace, and even the Sichuan Sect, so the Martial Alliance will remain silent, and as Hondo Maryeom Palace slowly expands their territory from Bong Rae… the highest position among the Four Great Evil Sects will change.”
Woo Rin was not impressed at this moment.
He was shocked.
“…Truly… you are a dangerous one.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“…No, don’t take it as a compliment. You are… no, if someone like you….”
He trailed off.
He couldn’t bring himself to say it.
That if someone like you gained power in the Ten Thousand Year Snow Palace, the Snow Palace’s influence would become greater than it is now.
Woon-hwi planted his sword in the ground.
“Most regrettably, senior went missing while heading to Jeok An to meet Lee Ja-gyeom.”
“….”
“Hondo Maryeom Palace will search for senior, but they won’t find even a trace. Because there won’t be a single witness.”
“…Huh….”
“They might discover that Yang-ryeong’s Branch Office members were mobilized in the process of cutting off Jeok An’s supply routes, but they won’t be able to make the connection. Even if they inquire everywhere and gather information, all of it will ultimately lead to one conclusion.”
“…Conclusion…?”
“Yes. The conclusion that it’s just another tragic incident added to these chaotic times. As senior well knows, dead people don’t speak. That’s what will happen from now on.”
Woon-hwi ran his hand through his hair.
Haah….
His breath scattered into the air.
Although he had killed several Harmony Realm warriors so far, strictly speaking, there’s a very large difference between Body Establishment Boundary and Harmony Realm.
Usually, about four Harmony Realm warriors are needed to face one Body Establishment Boundary master.
That’s the difference between Harmony Realm warriors who have just awakened to natural energy and use it crudely, and Body Establishment Boundary masters who have fully awakened to natural energy and use it skillfully.
Therefore, it was unavoidable.
“Ju So-ah.”
“Yes?”
“Block the path. If anyone approaches, whoever it is, cut off their head.”
“…I obey.”
“Cheon Pung, you take the side path next to the supply route, and Won Yang, you wait in the grass above. And Han Mu-rin.”
At Woon-hwi’s call, the man who had been glaring at Woo Rin with burning eyes looked at Woon-hwi.
The moment he saw that calm face, his mind became at ease.
The Demonic Transformation subsided.
“Watch carefully. What weaknesses exist in Hondo Maryeom Palace’s Demonic Transformation that you’ll have to face.”
“…Yes.”
“What you see here today must never be revealed to the outside.”
Even Woo Rin frowned.
“…Goodness, the preparation time is long.”
He ignored it.
“Keep silent. That’s better for you too.”
He didn’t listen for an answer. It was only right that way.
He had thought never to use it again, but today was an exception.
The vibration that started in his dantian resonated throughout his body.
Blood Demon Soaring Heaven Art.
This was the second time since he first used it in Seol-ap.
The vibration that started in his dantian resonated throughout his body. Blood Energy began to writhe and surge, and it soon began to spread throughout Woon-hwi’s entire body.
“First Gate, Blood Gate Gasping Qi.”
The restraints that had been binding Woon-hwi’s body flowed away as if chains were being released. His eyes became clearer, and each breath vibrated the surrounding air.
Woo Rin’s eyes widened.
“…You… wait a moment… wait… that…?”
Looking directly at such Woo Rin.
Woon-hwi quietly murmured.
“Second Gate. Blood Body Yellow Exchange.”
The Blood Energy that had been surrounding Woon-hwi’s body slowly flowed outward. Manifested so clearly that it was visible to the naked eye, it took the form of a rising dragon, displaying tremendous power.
Normally, it would be impossible for a Flame Qi Four Stages warrior who cannot use Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy to open the Second Gate.
But Woon-hwi could do it.
Because Heo Hyeon Energy is not ordinary Internal Energy, nor Natural Energy, nor Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, but rather an energy close to the source of qi itself.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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