Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 267
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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 267
No jest—Ju So-ah alone had slain over a hundred martial artists.
Each time her blade, infused with the essence of gentleness, cleaved through the air, petals scattered in its wake. She detonated them to obscure her enemies’ vision, and in that fleeting moment, she pierced their throats.
Manager Seong had felt genuine joy witnessing this spectacle.
Seol Woon-hwi’s eyes had not deceived him, and the martial arts he had created had proven flawless.
“Why speak as though it’s surprising? Won Yang and Han Mu-rin were far more impressive. They’ve already ascended to the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, and now they’ve surpassed merely matching those at the Five Energy Harmonizing Origin stage—they’ve each slain three or more opponents.”
Manager Seong smiled faintly.
His words held truth.
On another level, he felt profound pride.
What did it signify that Seol Woon-hwi had come to Cheonsu with only Manager Seong at his side?
Ju So-ah, Namgung Won Yang, and Han Mu-rin certainly understood the meaning.
Bluntly put, the others had been left behind because they were still too weak.
Should they each advance even one more stage, they would all be capable of standing beside Seol Woon-hwi.
Above all, experience was what martial artists needed most to grow.
The experience gained here at Cheongpa Port today would become fertile ground for Ju So-ah’s advancement and that of the others as well.
Ju So-ah, scratching her head, turned her gaze away from Manager Seong.
“But… is that person really going to be alright?”
Where Ju So-ah’s eyes fell, Han Mu-rin and Hwa Mu-ryeong stood engaged in serious conversation.
Namgung Won Yang stood at a distance with her arms crossed, watching the two intently, though when Ju So-ah spoke of “that person,” she naturally meant Hwa Mu-ryeong.
Manager Seong answered.
“You’ll understand if you observe.”
“…It’s strange, though. The Hondo Maryeom Palace types usually draw their swords at the mere mention of the name, yet here she is acting like this.”
The purge within the Hondo Maryeom Palace was legendary.
Vice Sect Leader Blood Shadow Divine Lord Dong Yu-seong.
He had been a master among masters, and when he was purged, most of those who had sided with him perished.
“…Actually, I just became curious about something. Is Han Mu-rin really going to be okay?”
Concealing Han Mu-rin’s true identity had inherent limits.
Perhaps it had posed no serious problem until now. No matter how much Seol Woon-hwi stirred the Murim, his subordinates were merely at the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown stage.
Though his growth was remarkable, anything Han Mu-rin accomplished would inevitably be overshadowed by Seol Woon-hwi’s achievements.
Especially with an organization like the Hondo Maryeom Palace, which had little connection to Seol Woon-hwi—but now circumstances had shifted.
The martial art Seol Woon-hwi had created was the Demonic Fire Halberd Heaven Sword Technique.
It was not demonic arts per se, but it leaned far closer to the demonic side than the righteous path.
And it unleashed “azure demonic flames.”
Through today’s battle at Cheongpa Port, Han Mu-rin’s name would naturally become known to the Hondo Maryeom Palace.
“His identity will be exposed.”
“…Exactly. This is going to be fine, right?”
“Do not worry. The Young Master has reason for all that he does.”
Even if that reason led to war with the Hondo Maryeom Palace.
For now, it was right to attend to the matters at hand.
Manager Seong gazed silently down at the three fallen figures before him.
* * *
Han Mu-rin was currently nineteen years old, standing on the threshold of adulthood.
Considering the catastrophe had occurred ten years prior, he had been merely nine years old then, yet he remembered everything.
The image of his father’s severed head as he bled out.
His older brothers and Elder Sister collapsing one by one.
The moment those he had trusted turned their backs on him.
All those horrific memories had been seared into the eyes of a nine-year-old child with perfect clarity.
Han Mu-rin spoke.
“I thought Elder Sister had abandoned us.”
Many had believed in and followed Blood Shadow Divine Lord Dong Yu-seong.
If one were to name a single person among them, everyone would have chosen Elder Hwa Mu-ryeong.
Hwa Mu-ryeong’s expression hardened.
She too remembered that day vividly—the helplessness of being unable to do anything.
And so she could say nothing in response to Han Mu-rin’s words.
What could she possibly say?
That day, she had been truly foolish, unaware that events were being orchestrated.
“I’m relieved you didn’t abandon us.”
Han Mu-rin’s voice was calm. Yet something cold flowed beneath those words.
“Mu-rin….”
It was then that Hwa Mu-ryeong called his name with a trembling voice.
“Flame Fire Sword Sovereign Shin Ju-eon.”
The moment Han Mu-rin spoke that name, Hwa Mu-ryeong flinched.
He continued.
“I will sever his head and slaughter his entire family.”
In that instant, Hwa Mu-ryeong was rendered speechless.
There was no emotional fluctuation in Han Mu-rin’s tone.
It was as matter-of-fact as commenting on the weather, yet that very flatness made it all the more terrifying.
Hwa Mu-ryeong had endured difficult times as well, but surely they were of a different magnitude than what Han Mu-rin had suffered.
It was remarkable enough that a mere nine-year-old child who had witnessed such catastrophe had survived until now—but what depths of resentment must Han Mu-rin harbor?
Over ten years, had it been tempered, or did it burn like fire with every passing moment?
From Han Mu-rin’s words now, Hwa Mu-ryeong became certain of one thing.
That resentment had been growing fiercer and larger with each passing moment.
“Will you truly stand with me?”
Han Mu-rin extended his hand and grasped Hwa Mu-ryeong’s shoulder.
Yet that touch resembled the one Seol Woon-hwi had once given Han Mu-rin in the past.
Warm, yet carrying absolute trust.
But simultaneously, an enormous killing intent began to radiate outward.
That which constituted the being known as Han Mu-rin.
The talent that Seol Woon-hwi had drawn forth, now further tempered.
A singular resolve directed toward the complete annihilation of an entire organization.
That killing intent was so pure and intense that even Hwa Mu-ryeong of the Divine Transformation Realm swallowed hard.
This was not mere anger.
This was Han Mu-rin’s very reason for existence.
The purpose of his life, the driving force that made him open his eyes each morning.
That goal he had not forgotten for a single day in ten years.
To erase Shin Ju-eon and his entire clan from this world completely.
“Will you help me?”
Han Mu-rin’s voice remained calm. Yet within his eyes burned the fires of hell itself.
Unexpectedly, Hwa Mu-ryeong could not answer easily.
It was true that she sought vengeance against the Hondo Maryeom Palace. She did not deny that fact. Yet Han Mu-rin’s current state was far too alien.
This was not mere vengeance.
This was a colossal will that dominated his entire existence.
If.
That will were to achieve its goal, what would happen then.
Would the flames he had kindled not fade away.
Han Mu-rin, who had run toward a single ultimate objective—what would he look like when that vengeance was finally complete.
She too could never escape the guilt of that day, but the annihilation of the Hondo Maryeom Palace was not the final goal of her life.
Hwa Mu-ryeong could sense it.
What she needed to do.
“…Yes. I’ll help you.”
She would help Han Mu-rin annihilate the Hondo Maryeom Palace.
And once he had achieved all his goals and burned himself to ash, she would care for him.
Hwa Mu-ryeong spoke with resolve.
“Let’s do this together, Mu-rin.”
A smile bloomed at the corners of Han Mu-rin’s mouth.
It was like that of a malevolent spirit.
* * *
Ma Jang-sik, a captain of the Muk Se-hoe, leaned his back against a tree.
Not far from him stood a man and woman wearing black long robes.
Hwa Mu-nyeom had said.
-You wait here with two of your captains for whoever emerges from this place.
So he had summoned two captains.
Ma Jang-sik held considerable rank within the Muk Se-hoe, so he could command two subordinates.
Honestly, he was somewhat curious.
Who would emerge.
Three time periods had passed since the Secret Realm opened.
Since no one knew what would happen inside the Secret Realm, he had planned to wait roughly a day, but who would truly emerge.
Hwa Mu-nyeom seemed to have judged there was a possibility both would emerge together, but Ma Jang-sik’s thoughts differed.
He was certain that Jang I-cheong would emerge alone.
‘No matter how much of a genius one is, there are limits to what is possible.’
Defeating martial artists of the Divine Transformation Realm still felt unreal, but I could rationalize it somehow.
Genius came in varying degrees, and if Seol Woon-hwi was a prodigy who appeared once every few hundred or thousand years, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
But the Heaven-Human Realm was different.
At the Heaven-Human Realm level, one could no longer be considered human. Yet if a martial artist not even twenty years old defeated a Heaven-Human Realm master, it would be tantamount to shattering the very order of the Murim itself.
It shouldn’t happen, and the possibility shouldn’t even exist.
In any case.
I was waiting quietly when it happened.
Thump.
At the sound of someone collapsing, Ma Jang-sik’s eyes snapped wide open.
He spun his head to the side in panic. The two immediate subordinates he’d brought were lying collapsed on the ground.
They didn’t appear to be bleeding… but how?
He couldn’t comprehend it.
He’d spread his perception across a vast range to catch any presence emerging from the Secret Realm.
Yet he’d detected nothing.
A presence emanated from behind him.
The moment he turned his head, his body crumbled where it stood.
As consciousness slipped away, his eyes were flooded with bewilderment, his mind pierced by terror.
It couldn’t be otherwise.
Watching the white-haired elder walk past with hands clasped behind his back, chuckling softly.
Anyone other than Ma Jang-sik would have reacted identically.
The elder’s silhouette exuded an eerie composure.
With a leisurely gait as if taking a stroll, he occasionally turned his head left and right, observing his surroundings.
Even Yeom Wang Hwa Mu-nyeom’s white hair differed from this.
In the elder’s left hand hung the head of an unknown man.
The severed head faced directly toward Ma Jang-sik. The lifeless eyes seemed to stare at him, sending chills down his spine. The head’s owner wore an expression of perfect serenity, as if unaware of his own death even in that final moment.
Yet in that brief instant, Ma Jang-sik recognized who it was.
Once, Jang I-cheong had deployed Baek Mu-jin of the Ihwageomseonchong to strike at Seol Woon-hwi from behind.
Why had Baek Mu-jin come specifically?
It was simple.
Baek Mu-jin belonged to the Black Shadow Organization of the Ihwageomseonchong. Before Jang I-cheong was dispatched to the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, he had been the leader of that organization.
That was precisely why Jang I-cheong could summon Baek Mu-jin. They had once shared a superior-subordinate relationship.
The current leader of the Black Shadow Organization was a man named Beom Seong, known as the Dragon-Grappling Sword, a master of the Heaven-Human Realm and sworn brother to Jang I-cheong.
That Beom Seong now hung from the elder’s hand with only his head remaining.
Yes.
The elder.
‘Why… why is that person…?’
Then it happened.
The elder, who had stopped in place, slowly turned his head.
The moment their eyes met, it felt as though I was being swallowed by an abyss.
The elder silently brought his index finger to his lips.
It was abundantly clear that he was ordering me never to breathe a word of today’s encounter to anyone.
Ma Jang-sik lost consciousness in that moment.
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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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