Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 252

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 252
“He’s been bedridden for nearly five days. A large scar has formed on his forehead, and he’s sustained severe wounds to his arms and legs—the physicians say he’ll need at least two weeks of recovery. However, since there’s a gap in our intelligence, this requires verification.”
It was highly likely to be true.
In the end, Hye Jung-san had obtained everything he sought.
He’d beaten the Ten Thousand Year Snow Palace’s prodigy Confucius into a half-cripple, restored his honor by reestablishing a branch in Seongchakju, and Seol Woon-hwi had earned the reputation of being a madman who would never back down, even against the Beggar Sect Leader himself.
The more Jang I-cheong heard, the worse his mood became.
“We’ll settle this in the Secret Realm soon enough, yet he’s scrambling up to Hye Jung-san during a time when even constant training wouldn’t be enough, only to come away wounded and bedridden? I don’t understand.”
Was he being mocked, or did he simply view the situation he was about to face as trivial?
Perhaps.
“…Is he trying to avoid the fight by using friction with the Beggar Sect as an excuse?”
This possibility was surprisingly plausible.
When he thought about it, they had agreed to settle things in the Secret Realm, but they hadn’t explicitly agreed to fight to the death.
Depending on how one interpreted the context, there had been no mention of killing anyone in their exchanges.
If Seol Woon-hwi claimed he’d misunderstood, Jang I-cheong would have nothing to say in return.
“He must have been intimidated by your reputation, Lord Jang Cheonsu-sa.”
Jang I-cheong turned his head at his subordinate’s words.
“If a Five Qi Toward Origin martial artist dares bare his fangs to a Heaven-Human Realm master, it’s clearly not a genuine fight but merely a scheme to preserve his own honor.”
“You believe so?”
“Yes. Realistically, no matter how many martial artists of higher realms he’s defeated, your case is different, is it not?”
It was different.
He wasn’t an ordinary Heaven-Human Realm master.
“I believe this incident has proven it. By not yielding to the Beggar Sect Leader, he preserved his honor. Similarly, he’ll bare his fangs at you and employ another scheme to save face, so pay it no mind.”
He nodded.
“Your words have merit, but he must enter that Secret Realm. Go to Seongchakju at once and investigate anything that might reveal his true intentions.”
Jang I-cheong’s subordinate.
Yang Su-pyeong nodded.
“Yes, I shall do so.”
After Yang Su-pyeong departed, Jang I-cheong sat alone and raised his cup to drink.
Exactly twenty days remained until the Secret Realm appeared.
Was he truly trying to avoid it?
Even if he was, it didn’t matter.
Jang I-cheong still couldn’t forget the reckless words that had spilled from that man’s mouth, even now.
Whether he received an apology or compensation.
He had to see that man bow his head. If his goal was merely to preserve his honor, then Jang I-cheong would extract something far greater than what the Beggar Sect Leader had obtained.
He was prepared to act however necessary to achieve that.
Then it happened.
An unusual aura emanated from behind him.
Jang I-cheong slowly turned his gaze.
There stood an old man in a black robe. His face was serene, but his eyes held depths as fathomless as an abyss.
He released a quiet sigh and rose from his seat.
“It has been a long time, Vice Leader.”
It was Hwa Mu-nyeom, the Vice Leader of the Muk Se-hoe and the Flame King.
“Indeed it has, I-cheong.”
“If you don’t mind the humble surroundings, please sit.”
“I shall not decline.”
As Hwa Mu-nyeom settled into the empty seat, Jang I-cheong placed a cup before him and filled it with wine.
“What brings you to this place?”
“That boy.”
“By that boy, you mean Seol Woon-hwi?”
Hwa Mu-nyeom nodded.
“The rumors speak of him slaughtering the Beggar Sect’s vagrants and confronting the Beggar Sect Leader.”
Jang I-cheong chuckled softly.
“Confronting? He was utterly suppressed. Completely.”
“Is that so?”
Jang I-cheong hesitated.
There was a barb hidden in Hwa Mu-nyeom’s words.
“It seems Vice Leader holds a different perspective.”
When Hwa Mu-nyeom did not answer, Jang I-cheong pressed further.
“Even if Cheon Rim’s direction and the Muk Se-hoe’s direction align, moving as one body would defy that person’s will.”
At this unexpected remark, Hwa Mu-nyeom froze mid-sip, his cup suspended before his lips.
“Using Seol Woon-hwi as a blade is clearly that person’s intention, so why have you moved directly? As I understand it, this matter was to be handled exclusively by Cheon Rim, with the Muk Se-hoe’s Earth-ranked Martial Artists providing support from behind.”
It was the truth.
Why had I never known of the Muk Se-hoe’s existence throughout my previous life?
Because their very existence was classified.
Yu Cheong was no fool. Precisely because he was not, he sought to extract maximum efficiency from the exposed organizations, yet Hwa Mu-nyeom had appeared unexpectedly.
This was something Jang I-cheong had not anticipated either.
Originally, Jang I-cheong had been a member of the Muk Se-hoe.
Finding their ideology incompatible, he had switched his allegiance to the Ihwageomseonchong, and thus knew of the Muk Se-hoe’s existence—something even I remained ignorant of.
Above all, Jang I-cheong had once been a promising Earth-ranked Martial Artist of the Muk Se-hoe. To such a man, Hwa Mu-nyeom posed a question.
“And?”
“I can hazard a guess. It concerns your daughter.”
“So then, and?”
Jang I-cheong gathered his wits as best he could before this man.
This man does not revere the Demonic Path, yet he believes in the “order” that the Demonic Path represents.
It is no ambition that an ordinary person could harbor, and it is an ambition that can only be held through some form of madness.
Jang I-cheong understands Hwa Mu-nyeom’s essence.
This man is dangerous.
The fact that he remained alive despite mentioning the daughter was surely due to past connections.
He changed the subject.
“If you have resolved to face reproach from that person, then so be it. But I dare say this: Seol Woon-hwi is sufficient as a blade, yet he is far too willful.”
“Is that so.”
“Just look at what happened with the Beggar Sect this time. Massacres that weren’t part of the plan, a direct confrontation with the Sect Leader—he’s completely beyond control.”
Hwa Mu-nyeom sighed and asked.
“What are you trying to say?”
Jang I-cheong picked up his teacup again and continued.
“He needs a leash around his neck. A blade must be sharp, after all.”
“Is this the will of Cheon Rim?”
“Yes. Though Seol Woon-hwi and Seo Hyo, our Wise Lord, share a close relationship, the Rim Lord judges that alone is insufficient. And.”
Jang I-cheong’s eyes gleamed.
“You know well what Seo Hyo’s fate will be, don’t you, Vice Leader?”
No one was ignorant of Seo Hyo’s abilities.
He was a man whose position no one could deny.
An orphan who once sold medicinal herbs gathered from mountains in the streets, he had climbed with bare hands all the way to becoming Cheon Rim’s Wise Lord.
He lacked no ability. Above all, he possessed will.
He was a protruding nail.
The Rim Lord of Cheon Rim had already squeezed everything from Seo Hyo and was now thinking of disposing of him, and Yu Cheong did not object.
Therefore, his future was already sealed.
If Seo Hyo were to die, Seol Woon-hwi would likely go mad, so he had to be controlled one way or another.
Hwa Mu-nyeom, who had been listening quietly to Jang I-cheong’s words, sighed.
“So you intend to enter the Demon Realm with him.”
“Yes. We will go.”
“Do you truly intend to kill him?”
“Why should we not?”
“….”
“If he dies by my hand, then he is merely a martial artist of that caliber, is he not?”
Hwa Mu-nyeom’s expression shifted subtly.
“If he is to be a blade for the restoration of the Thousand Year Demon Cult, he must naturally be strong. How could someone who dies to the likes of me ever accomplish the restoration of the Thousand Year Demon Cult?”
Hwa Mu-nyeom detected anger in Jang I-cheong’s tone.
This was ultimately a matter of pride between martial artists.
Jang I-cheong clearly intended to kill Seol Woon-hwi.
“This is a test. A test to confirm whether he is truly worthy as a blade.”
Hwa Mu-nyeom fell silent for a long while.
A martial artist who was not even at the ordinary Heaven-Human Realm, with only half a step remaining before entering the Five Realms of Martial God, engaging in a life-or-death battle with a mere Five Energy Harmonizing Origin martial artist?
This was a fight that made no sense from the start. Yet the stage was already set, and neither of them seemed inclined to back away.
Having thought this far, Hwa Mu-nyeom slowly rose from his seat.
“Then….”
He looked down at Jang I-cheong and continued.
“Do well.”
It was unexpected.
Jang I-cheong grabbed Hwa Mu-nyeom as he turned to leave.
“Vice Leader.”
“Do you have more to say?”
“…I do not regret leaving Muk Se-hoe, even now.”
“And?”
“But my conviction that Muk Se-hoe’s methods are flawed remains unchanged.”
“Is that what you believe.”
“Cheon Lim moves with purpose. It is an organization that exists in shadow yet transcends shadow itself. In the light, it holds a formidable reputation as one of the Five Great Families, and in darkness, its position as Cheon Lim’s master is unshakeable. But Muk Se-hoe…”
“Does nothing.”
“Precisely. It does nothing, merely existing within shadow. It stirs only when support is requested. From what I recall, more than ten seniors have passed away without accomplishing anything.”
Hwa Mu-nyeom’s expression remained unchanged.
“Why do you remain idle?”
“I wait for the time.”
“…”
“I believe that time will surely come. You feel the same, I imagine. So I hope you harbor no regrets in your choice.”
Jang I-cheong asked.
“Have you captured the one called Mu Myeong?”
Hwa Mu-nyeom regarded Jang I-cheong in silence. It was answer enough.
“You have not. I conducted my own investigation, and that man is likely from the Central Plains. His realm is at minimum Divine Transformation Stage, and while he clearly walks the Demonic Path, he presents himself as one who reveres the Righteous Path.”
“…”
“If you revealed yourself directly to Seol Woon-hwi to extract information from Ju So-ah, who survived Yangling’s Secret Realm, I must respectfully say that was a miscalculation.”
“How so?”
“You are surely aware that the Valley Master of Poison Snake Valley, who no longer exists in this world, sent a disciple.”
“I am aware.”
“Before that disciple died, Ju So-ah sent word that she knew nothing. Since the inquiry was made after dominating her mind, the accuracy approaches absolute certainty. Which means…”
“I am barking up the wrong tree.”
“Yes. According to Cheon Lim’s assessment, that person is likely from the Five Great Families, the O-dae Geom-jong, or someone active in the Murim Alliance Main Headquarters. Investigation has already begun, and we have narrowed it down to ten individuals from hundreds of martial artists. As we dig deeper into their backgrounds, something will surely emerge.”
Hwa Mu-nyeom let out a soft laugh.
“Unfortunately, I am not searching for someone called Mu Myeong.”
“…You are defying his orders?”
“Not defiance. There is simply no reason to search.”
At those words, Jang I-cheong tilted his head in confusion.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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