Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 253

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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 253
Isn’t that a rather strange thing to say?
“Is there anything else?”
“…No, there isn’t.”
“Then let’s go.”
Jang I-cheong raised his cupped fist salute quietly toward the departing Hwa Mu-nyeom.
“Travel safely.”
After all, he had once served as a member of the Muk Se-hoe.
He owed him at least this courtesy.
Thus Hwa Mu-nyeom departed from Gangbuk Province.
In his mind, only one question lingered.
Who would be the one to emerge alive from the Demon Realm?
From the beginning, Jang I-cheong’s words were not wrong.
Using Seol Woon-hwi as a blade was correct, but he too must be tested.
The path he has walked thus far might suffice, but this is the Murim.
It was only natural that the nature of the test changed with each moment.
If Seol Woon-hwi defeated Jang I-cheong…
His worth would pierce the heavens and touch the nine heavens beyond.
This was a reasonable conclusion.
A martial artist of the Heaven-Human Realm operates on a different plane than ordinary martial artists.
They are those who aim for the heavens.
Yet if an ordinary martial artist were to kill such a being, that would be no mere genius.
It would be either a calamity sent by heaven or the birth of a true tyrant.
One or the other.
Even after Hwa Mu-nyeom vanished, Jang I-cheong remained seated for a long while.
A peculiar unease began to writhe in a corner of his heart.
Until just moments ago, Jang I-cheong had believed Seol Woon-hwi would flee—judging it similar to the Beggar Sect Leader’s case, done to preserve face and elevate reputation. But observing Hwa Mu-nyeom’s demeanor, something felt amiss.
Could it be entirely unrelated to the Beggar Sect Leader’s situation?
Jang I-cheong rested his chin on his hand.
He considered himself clever.
As Seol Woon-hwi once said, such people occasionally made mistakes, though they were usually called self-contradiction.
Jang I-cheong was now caught in self-contradiction.
No matter how much he thought about it, he could not shake the feeling that Seol Woon-hwi would not truly engage him in a life-or-death duel.
By his common sense, such a thing was impossible.
Tsk.
He clicked his tongue.
It didn’t matter.
Regardless of how events unfolded, the choice of whether to kill him or not rested in Jang I-cheong’s hands.
No matter what tricks he employed, no matter how much of a genius he was, there were limits.
Four martial artists of the Harmony Realm dispatched from the Ihwageomseonchong and Baek Mu-jin had already fallen—there was no way to overlook this.
Seol Woon-hwi will die within the Secret Realm.
Control? A leash? Such things were only effective before conflict arose.
Not anymore.
I will beat him until he begs for his life, and in the end, I will tear his limbs apart and rip out his throat.
* * *
Jang Seok’s transfer from Branch Chief of the Yang-ryeong Beggar Sect Branch to Branch Chief of the Seongchakju Beggar Sect Branch was nothing out of the ordinary.
He, famous as one of Seol Woon-hwi’s men, had just arrived in Seongchakju.
The sensation was entirely new.
The air was pleasant and the sky was clear.
Though I had never been here before, by holding onto the thread called Seol Woon-hwi, I had already come to oversee such a vast region.
That’s right.
This expansive territory was now under Jang Seok’s jurisdiction.
A moment from when I was briefly in Yang-ryeong came to mind—a private audience with Kang Gyeol-jin, a Seven Knot Beggar of the Beggar Sect and one of the Eight Grand Elders.
He had said this.
-Remember this well. You are temporary. The Sect Leader holds Seol Woon-hwi in high regard, but ability verification is another matter entirely. Your promotion to Four Knot Beggar has been discussed for some time, so that promotion will proceed. However, if you do anything in Seongchakju that would bring great shame upon the Beggar Sect’s honor, I will immediately return you to Yang-ryeong. Do you understand?
What was there to understand?
After all, coming here was entirely thanks to Seol Woon-hwi.
As a member of the Beggar Sect, I follow the Beggar Sect’s path, but I have a debt of gratitude to Seol Woon-hwi.
This is clearly not a master-servant relationship. It is a relationship of exchanged debts and grudges. Isn’t that how the world has always worked—different words, same meaning?
“Hah….”
When I was in that backwater hamlet called Seol-ap, frankly, there was no future, yet even now it didn’t feel real.
Rather than heading straight to the branch office, I turned my steps toward Cheon Ryong Palace.
There I found Seol Woon-hwi sitting in the pavilion, and beside him, Manager Seong wore an expression of concern.
Jang Seok smiled. Only about a month had passed, yet it felt like seeing him after more than a decade.
But as I approached slowly, Jang Seok’s expression hardened.
The state of Seol Woon-hwi, who held a spoon, was beyond imagination.
Setting aside the long scar etched across his forehead, his body was terribly emaciated. Even his eyes were lifeless like those of a dead fish—it was chilling.
“You’ve come.”
The moment Seol Woon-hwi set down the spoon and spoke briefly, Jang Seok was startled. He immediately took the Embracing Fist salute and spoke.
“It has been a long time, Great One!”
“Has it been a month?”
“Yes. To be precise, it has been a month and four days.”
“I see. Come, sit.”
Jang Seok approached carefully and sat, then asked.
“Your complexion… does not look well. Is there perhaps something troubling you?”
Seol Woon-hwi shook his head.
“As long as I am breathing, I am alive. That is enough.”
Though his tone was calm, the weight behind those words left Jang Seok breathless.
Moreover.
“Is there any pain?”
At Seol Woon-hwi’s question, Jang Seok swallowed hard.
Though Seol Woon-hwi claimed his body was fine, anyone could see he was far from well. Yet the way he prioritized others’ welfare over his own condition seemed truly remarkable.
Was this what they meant by dignity?
“I am well, Great One.”
“I see. And how fare the people of Yang-ryeong?”
Jang Seok felt his chest tighten.
Even in this state, the way Seol Woon-hwi’s first concern was for his people overwhelmed him with an emotion beyond words.
Jang Seok spoke clearly.
“There has been a tremor of such magnitude that heaven and earth themselves shook.”
“Heaven and earth shook?”
“Yes. Ju So-ah, the leader of Yang Woon Dan, has ascended from the Five Qi Toward Origin to the Harmony Realm, and Namgung Won Yang, a unit leader of Yang Woon Dan, has entered the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown. Han Mu-rin has also risen to the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown.”
This was hardly earth-shattering, but he did not mind.
Seol Woon-hwi smiled faintly.
“Fortunate indeed.”
“Are you not surprised?”
“I had faith in them.”
Seol Woon-hwi spoke as though it were obvious.
From the beginning, I knew well why their cultivation progressed so swiftly.
The secret manuals I had given them before coming to the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance were crafted with meticulous attention to each of their unique characteristics.
I had instilled in them every insight necessary to ascend from their current realm to the next, and with No Cheon-myeong, a master of Heaven-Human Unity whom I had trained alongside, guiding them separately and forcibly directing their enlightenment, their advancement was inevitable.
Above all, I harbored no doubt in their talents.
Ju So-ah would eventually reach the pinnacle of the Heaven Earth Four Realms, and Won Yang and Han Mu-rin would follow a similar path.
Beyond that, it would depend on their own discretion, though I trusted in that as well.
And.
“Soon there will come a time when I must summon them here to Seongchakju.”
“To this place, you say?”
Though the caliber of Cheon Rak Bu was high, what I was ‘planning’ required something more.
I needed more hands.
“So write them a letter.”
“As you wish, Great One.”
As Jang Seok nodded, Seol Woon-hwi poured wine into his cup and spoke.
“You have now taken charge of the vast organization that is Seongchakju. The Beggar Sect appointed you provisionally, but do not worry. You are not provisional—you are permanent.”
Jang Seok’s pupils gleamed.
The rumors circulating outside claimed that Seol Woon-hwi had been overwhelmed by Hye Jung-san, and that he had at least preserved his dignity by refusing to bend his spirit in the process.
But who was Seol Woon-hwi?
Was he not the man who had single-handedly transformed the remote hamlet of Seol-ap into Yang-ryeong, and who had slaughtered the traitors within Snow Palace? Moreover, he was known throughout the world as the genius of Snow Palace, and such a man had suffered complete defeat at the hands of the Beggar Sect Leader?
Jang Seok respected Hye Jung-san and did not doubt his abilities, but he did not believe them to surpass Seol Woon-hwi’s.
To speak plainly, if Hye Jung-san were Seol Woon-hwi, the Beggar Sect would have already reshaped the power structure of the Murim.
The man before my eyes could not be measured by something as simple as martial cultivation level.
That Hye Jung-san came here in person was likely something I had calculated as well.
It occurred to me that my negotiation with Hye Jung-san might be entirely different from what the world believed it to be.
In this situation, Jang Seok’s words were already predetermined.
“I will serve you faithfully.”
Rather than answer, Seol Woon-hwi broached a different subject.
“I have issued an order that no one is to lay a hand on the beggars wearing belts in Seongchakju, so do not worry and focus on rebuilding the branch first.”
“I shall obey your command.”
Seol Woon-hwi shook his head at those words.
“It is not a command. It is a request.”
“…Pardon?”
“You are my person, but not my subordinate.”
“…Great One…”
“Your name is registered with the Beggar Sect and mine with Snow Palace. If I, as someone of Snow Palace, were to command you and you were to obey my commands, those within the Beggar Sect would not view you favorably.”
It was not an incorrect assessment.
Though I had said earlier that small differences matter greatly, to those who heard it, Jang Seok would already appear to be my puppet.
“Are you disappointed?”
“…Somewhat, yes.”
“There is no need to be. I am placing my trust in you.”
Jang Seok’s eyes widened considerably.
“What does it matter where we belong? You and I have already maintained continuous contact since Seol-ap. At this point, it is only natural that we trust each other. Am I mistaken?”
“Not at all.”
“Then nothing will change going forward. I will pay you fairly for information and purchase it from you, and you may likewise sell my information to outsiders for coin.”
“…That is…”
“However, if the information you are about to sell carries significant weight, you must inform me of it. Naturally, I will compensate you fairly for that as well.”
Jang Seok nodded.
“I understand perfectly what you mean. You will forever be the Great One to me until the moment I draw my last breath.”
Jang Seok rose, offered a deep cupped fist salute, and departed Cheon Ryong Palace.
Watching his retreating figure, I raised my cup once more and drank.
Manager Seong carefully opened his mouth.
“Young Master, would it not be wise to rest this evening?”
I shook my head.
“Do I appear exhausted?”
“…Yes. And I am deeply concerned.”
Such words were only natural.
The repairs to Cheon Ryong Palace had already been completed.
All the members of Cheon Rak Bu could move in and reside here, but I had prevented that.
I had issued an order that no one was to enter Cheon Ryong Palace for the time being—there was good reason for it.
I was preparing myself.
Twenty days remained.
Within that time, I had to complete the Three Mysteries Ice-Fire Formula.

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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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