Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 262

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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 262
The next stone tablet read: 【Poison Demon Cheong Rin-seol】.
The secret manual was the Thousand Poison Ten Thousand Flower Palm.
It was a palm technique that freely secreted thousands of poisons from the fingertips, but it was clear this could only be used after reaching the Ten Thousand Poison Immunity.
I turned my head to the side. I could see a few more figures, but there were no secret manuals.
What could I say about this?
By the feel of it, this place was not yet the final gate of the Secret Realm. Years of experience told me so.
Yet I had already obtained four Martial God Grade secret manuals. The grades were diverse too.
Low Grade, Medium Grade, High Grade.
From what I could see, they were not in incomplete condition either.
If one desired the reconstruction of the Demon Cult, these would certainly be necessary. Divine techniques and secret knowledge.
Their value would be outstanding both to collectors and to those who wished to practice them.
At this moment, my brow furrowed slightly.
Kuuuuuu—!
A strange sound echoed from deep within the cave. Simultaneously, black energy began to swirl, and it soon took on the form of a person.
That Thought Entity, composed entirely of black smoke, wore a demon crown on its head, held a short sword in its right hand, and gripped a long sword in its left hand—it appeared to be left-handed.
It was just before it rushed toward me.
Kwaaang—!!
A thunderous roar shook the entire cave.
The Thought Entity’s head was cleanly split in half.
“Too late.”
A cold voice accompanied the appearance of a man.
Manhwa Geom-je Jang I-cheong.
The sword in his hand was wrapped in distinct Demonic Energy, and his face bore an arrogant smile as if the strike just now was nothing.
“Now, bare your true intentions.”
At Jang I-cheong’s abrupt words, I tilted my head in confusion.
“You are certainly a most mysterious existence even within the entire Murim. Just looking at the path you’ve walked shows you are no ordinary person.”
“….”
“No one has been able to grasp you, and no one has properly discerned what you are after. But I am different.”
“Different, you say… Do you believe yourself different from the others?”
“I am different. If one thinks deeply about it. I can not only discern your intentions but also deduce what you ultimately seek. Yes, I see right through you.”
I still wore an uncertain expression. I didn’t think Jang I-cheong was a fool, but could he really grasp what I intended to do and see beyond that?
“That’s surprising. You didn’t seem to possess such insight.”
Jang I-cheong chuckled.
He read my attitude as ‘anxiety’.
“It’s obvious. What you seek is ultimately honor.”
“Is that so.”
“In reconstructing the Thousand Year Demon Cult, you are certainly one sharp enough to wield as a blade. Your background is like that, your nerve is like that, and you even possess drive. And looking at it broadly, all of this stems from your ‘honor’.”
“….”
“You don’t harbor grand ambitions about the Thousand Year Demon Cult’s reconstruction, but you are full of thoughts of greatly aiding in that reconstruction. If that happens, your honor will rise to shake the Murim. And as a Cheonsu-sa, you challenge me, you challenge the Beggar Sect… Yes, in the end it’s all about honor.”
To be honest, Seol Woon-hwi was internally astonished.
Nothing he’d predicted had come to pass.
He hadn’t dismissed the possibility that Jang I-cheong might have grasped his true intentions, but now it seemed dismissing it was the right call.
“With that honor, you’ll elevate your own worth and strive to reclaim the position you lost in the Eternal Snow Palace. Well, bloodshed between kinsmen isn’t unheard of, and if the Muk Se-hoe or Cheon Rim assist in the process… there’s no reason it couldn’t work. Either way, you’d manage to preserve both your reputation and your face.”
Seol Woon-hwi finally let out a hollow laugh.
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“What else?”
Jang I-cheong crossed his arms and continued.
“No one is watching. If you simply kneel and apologize for the disrespect you showed me, you and I can leave this Secret Realm together.”
“Is that so?”
“Outside, the martial artists of the Ihwa Alliance I created and those of the Seong Jak Alliance will be clashing. Surely many will die. The Odaegeomsong sects—the Azure Cloud Sword Sect and the Heavenly Sound Sword Sect—and the Four Demonic Outer Sects—the Mixed Path Demon Flame Palace and the Heavenly Demon Yin Spirit Gate—will all suffer losses, and their main branches will use that damage as justification to deploy their elite forces. I’ll stop all of that for you.”
“Do you possess such power?”
“Why would you think I don’t? Few exist who walk the line between the Muk Se-hoe and Cheon Rim. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“I grasp the general meaning. You’re the sect master of the Jinwha Cheonryeong Geom and receive great trust from the Rim Lord of Cheon Rim.”
“Exactly right. In your current physical state, fighting me would be nonsensical anyway. If you simply kneel and bow your head, you and I will be recorded as having joined ‘hands’ in this Secret Realm. Of course, we’ll need some heartwarming tale about how you spoke of revering me as a senior, and I laughed and accepted you—but I’ll fabricate those details myself.”
Jang I-cheong extended his hand toward the silent Seol Woon-hwi.
“Come now, kneel.”
Silence settled over the space.
As Seol Woon-hwi carefully reconsidered the situation, he burst into raucous laughter.
Hahahaha—!
Jang I-cheong stared at Seol Woon-hwi with a bewildered expression as he laughed like a madman, seeming genuinely delighted.
“…What…is so amusing? Are you treating my words as a joke…?”
“I’ve encountered countless fools throughout my life.”
“…”
“You rank among the very few I can count on one hand, Senior.”
“…You bastard…”
“You failed to discern the true meaning behind anything—what I desire, why I came to the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, why I made contact with the Muk Se-hoe.”
Seol Woon-hwi quietly drew the Jinwha Cheonryeong Geom.
“Since our objectives differ, further conversation seems pointless. I’ll move to the main matter as well.”
Seol Woon-hwi’s gaze sharpened.
“Just as you made me an offer, I’ll make one to you. Kneel. Swear on your martial soul that you’ll become my servant, and I’ll spare your life.”
“…What…?”
“Not only will I spare you, but I’ll also secure a new position for you within the Muk Se-hoe.”
“…What are you saying now?”
“You don’t understand?”
A cold smile bloomed at the corners of Seol Woon-hwi’s lips.
“I intend to devour the Muk Se-hoe.”
“…Insane…you deranged bastard…what are you swallowing?”
“Why? Do you think I can’t?”
“…A man who doesn’t even know who the Leader of the Muk Se-hoe is…”
“And do you, Senior Jang, know who that is?”
At this question, Jang I-cheong fell silent. It was evident.
“It seems you don’t.”
“…The identity of the Leader of Muk Se-hoe is known only to a select few. Even within Muk Se-hoe, not even Heavenly-ranked Martial Artists know, and in Cheon Rim, only someone of the Sect Master’s caliber can know.”
“If such a figure must be kept so secret… then I should investigate. That sounds rather intriguing as well.”
Jang I-cheong’s expression twisted. The situation was unfolding strangely.
“I have no desire to waste further time. Will you kneel?”
Jang I-cheong drew his sword as well.
“That won’t happen.”
“Then so be it.”
Killing intent bloomed in my eyes, and killing intent bloomed in Jang I-cheong’s eyes as well.
The killing intent of a master who had reached the Heaven-Human Realm engulfed the Secret Realm.
And between them, tremendous Demonic Energy began to surge forth.
“You’re inviting suffering upon yourself. Foolish bastard.”
At Jang I-cheong’s words, who emitted black eye light from his gaze, I spoke as well.
“Those are precisely the words I wished to say to you.”
“….”
“There’s a saying, isn’t there? If the mind is dull, the body suffers.”
“….”
“And that is precisely what you are suffering now.”
“You… wretched bastard…!”
Jang I-cheong launched himself from his position.
In an instant, he reached right before my face and brought his sword crashing down.
My eyes gleamed.
Kwaaaaaang-!!
Qi exploded in the void.
Someone was sent flying far back by that explosion.
It was Jang I-cheong.
He crashed through a dozen or so skulls on the opposite side, pulverizing them, and as he immediately lifted his head, his expression was one of disbelief.
He could not comprehend it.
Ice scattered through the air.
Through it, I walked forward slowly, emitting white eye light from my gaze.
“…What… what is this…?”
“Did you think I had made no preparations whatsoever?”
“…Did you truly ascend to the Four Stages of Heaven and Earth?”
A figure of Jang I-cheong’s caliber could tell.
At what realm the “move” I had just displayed must be to be executed.
Yet there was reason his words ended in a question.
It seemed to be the Four Stages of Heaven and Earth, yet not the Four Stages of Heaven and Earth.
“The realm is called the Threefold Mystic Ice-Fire Formula, but since it approaches a Martial Arts Incantation Formula, there will be slight variations.”
Jang I-cheong’s eyes widened.
“What… what are you saying right now…”
“Straddling the boundary of the Four Stages of Heaven and Earth, yet consolidating all enlightenments of the Four Stages into a single realm—it will likely solidify under the name ‘Tri-Mystic Realm’ rather than Tri-Mystic Frozen Flower Conclusion.”
“…”
“The Murim will grow noisy again. Though you cannot see it.”
Jang I-cheong rose from his seat, sweeping aside the skulls, his teeth clenched.
He could not accept it.
Creating a new realm?
Among martial artists, was such a thing possible?
By that wretch standing before him?
It was absurd.
“…I cannot accept this.”
“I never sought your acceptance.”
He could not fathom how this brat—who did nothing but talk back so bluntly—could be such a genius.
Natural Energy erupted from Jang I-cheong’s physical form. Yet it was no mere Natural Energy, but an aura bordering on Demonic Energy.
“I will kill you!”
He kicked off the ground.
* * *
In that brief instant when Jang I-cheong’s legs pushed against the earth.
Seol Woon-hwi’s eyes and mind blazed with clarity.
His eyes read the entire situation while his mind calculated every possible outcome that would unfold.
He had already mastered the martial arts Jang I-cheong employed before entering the Secret Realm.
Theory and practice differed, and there was a vast gap between his previous life’s experience and his current body, but it mattered not.
He would adjust to his present form and move accordingly.
He had no intention of a prolonged battle, nor should he engage in one.
Short and decisive.
He would end it swiftly.
Five moves.
He would finish within that span.
Seol Woon-hwi’s first move was the Absolute Ice Return to Void Sword.
A blade extended with lightning speed, churning the empty air. It immediately blocked every trajectory Jang I-cheong had intended to unleash.
Jang I-cheong, a master of the Heaven-Human Realm, was a powerhouse capable of improvisation and response in any circumstance.
He twisted his body and swung his blade.
Demonic Heaven Rending Destruction Sword.

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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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