Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 278
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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 278
When such a monster appeared, even courtesy would be instilled—yet strangely, Seol Woon-hwi seemed to be an exception to this rule.
‘…This madman…’
Dok Go-hyeon, the Family Head of the Dok Go Family among the Eight Celestial Seats, muttered inwardly.
This was the truth of it.
A figure like Yeong Woon-seong could elevate anyone to an Elder’s seat.
Of course, there was a process of nomination and acceptance by the Cult Leader or Vice Sect Leader, but the position of Grand Elder existed for a reason.
Even a commoner could become an Elder if Yeong Woon-seong recommended them. That was an undeniable fact, and anyone with an Elder’s position in the Origin Blood Sect would abandon any seat in the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance and rush over without hesitation.
Because an Elder could exercise influence throughout the entire Murim.
Compared to the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, which wielded influence only in the Cheonsu region, the power, wealth, honor, and everything an Elder possessed was overwhelmingly superior.
The Origin Blood Sect was an organization of that caliber.
Yet he rejected it so readily?
‘…If he’s a genius who created a new realm…does his way of thinking differ as well…?’
Dok Go-hyeon, harboring genuine doubt, turned his head. He had turned it unconsciously upon sensing a gaze, and Yeong Woon-seong was staring at him intently.
He drew in a sharp breath, then silently assumed the Embracing Fist salute.
“I am Dok Go-hyeon, Family Head of the Dok Go Family. It is an honor to meet the Grand Elder of the Origin Blood Sect, Yeong Woon-seong.”
“Haha, if it’s the Dok Go Family, you must be located quite far from the Cheonsu region. How fortunate that you’ve come all this way.”
“I have some connection with the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, and I came hoping to add even a small light to the ceremony of the new Alliance Leader’s appointment. Yet with you present here, the light I intended to offer seems truly insignificant.”
“Hahahaha, how is it that the Family Head of the Dok Go Family humbles himself so?”
Yeong Woon-seong seemed to be in excellent spirits.
Soon after, all the remaining members of the Eight Celestial Seats paid their respects to Yeong Woon-seong.
The situation had taken a peculiar turn.
Clearly, the true protagonists of this gathering were Mae Wi-dong and Seol Woon-hwi.
Especially Seol Woon-hwi, who had just slain Jin Mu-hyeok, the Vice Sect Leader of the Beggar Sect.
Since he had fully displayed the power of the new realm he had created, all attention should have been directed toward him.
Yet anyone observing would have thought Yeong Woon-seong was the true protagonist of the day.
After receiving greetings from the Eight Celestial Seats and exchanging courtesies with the remaining martial artists, Yeong Woon-seong turned his head.
His eyes met Seol Woon-hwi’s expressionless gaze.
Yeong Woon-seong smiled faintly, and Seol Woon-hwi couldn’t help but smirk in return.
Truly.
This man hadn’t changed at all.
He was straightforward, yet not incapable of thought. Above all, because he possessed strength, his actions appeared unconventional.
And Seol Woon-hwi knew better than anyone how to deal with such a Yeong Woon-seong.
The intent Yeong Woon-seong conveyed was simple.
With nothing but the title of Grand Elder of the Origin Blood Sect, I can overshadow everything your Heavenly Righteousness Alliance possesses. I will make one final proposal, so this time give me a reasonable answer.
This was no misunderstanding.
“I make one final proposal. Will you enter the Origin Blood Sect as an Elder?”
All eyes turned toward Seol Woon-hwi.
And once again, he answered without hesitation.
“My answer will always be the same.”
“…I’m not sure if this is arrogance or mere presumption. Your words right now are tantamount to looking down upon the Origin Blood Sect.”
The atmosphere turned cold in an instant.
Yeong Woon-seong thrust his head forward with a smirk.
“This becomes justification. They say you’re a genius, yet you don’t even understand something so basic.”
“….”
“You looked down upon the Origin Blood Sect and disrespected me, Yeong Woon-seong, in this public setting. If I were to educate you here, who could say anything against it?”
By “education,” Yeong Woon-seong naturally meant physical education. Given his temperament, he would completely shatter two of the limbs and merely damage the remaining two enough to allow basic movement.
Such was the nature of this man.
Yeong Woon-seong extended his hand and seized Seol Woon-hwi’s shoulder.
Only then did Seol Woon-hwi open his mouth.
“It seems you wish to reconnect the threads of the past despite this being our first meeting.”
Yeong Woon-seong, failing to grasp the meaning, tilted his head in confusion.
Threads of the past?
“I understand you orchestrated matters to bring Jin Mu-hyeok forward and seize dominion over the Beggar Sect. Do you truly wish to make me an enemy as well?”
“…What?”
“I had intended to settle the remaining accounts with Hye Bangju. But if you continue like this, I’ll have no choice but to add Senior Yeong to that list.”
“You really are a mad bastard….”
“Did you not have a conversation with Cheon No-ya?”
Yeong Woon-seong flinched.
As mentioned before, Seol Woon-hwi knows how to handle Yeong Woon-seong.
He panics more than anyone when faced with unexpected actions or responses.
For instance, when a swordsman suddenly throws his blade during combat, or when a martial artist who uses fists abruptly employs a hidden dagger.
And in situations like this, when a name appears that he never expected to hear.
Yeong Woon-seong’s expression rapidly turned cold as his mind churned with immense deliberation.
Just as it did now.
“….”
Seol Woon-hwi, observing Yeong Woon-seong suddenly rendered speechless, raised his hand and pushed the arm resting on his shoulder away.
“Remove your hand. You won’t be able to tear anything.”
“…You… speak properly. Is the person named Cheon No-ya who just came from your mouth perhaps….”
“Yes. The one known as the Origin of the Origin Blood Sect.”
“…How?”
“Are you unaware that I played a great match against Cheon No-ya?”
He was not unaware.
But this was a different matter. The notion that the two had conversed while assuming the current situation back then made no sense.
This meant they had met separately in recent times.
How on earth….
“…When?”
“I would prefer not to say.”
“…Tell me. While I’m still asking nicely.”
“Whether you ask nicely or not, I have no intention of answering, and you have no means of forcing my lips open, Senior Yeong.”
Yeong Woon-seong’s eyes gleamed with intensity.
He extended his arm.
And.
Seol Woon-hwi naturally unfolded his movement technique, retreating backward.
It was nearly an inch’s difference.
All those watching the scene widened their eyes in astonishment.
A master of Great Void Formless had just extended his hand—and he evaded it?
This made no sense.
But this situation was different.
And if the person before Seol Woon-hwi was Yeong Woon-seong, then failing to evade would have been the real absurdity.
How many years had Seol Woon-hwi spent alongside Yeong Woon-seong?
In my previous life, I was not immediately elevated to Elder upon joining, so there was some distance in the early days, but after I became an Elder, my connection with him deepened considerably.
A full thirty years.
I knew every pattern of Yeong Woon-seong’s movements.
Which direction he would extend his arm when attempting to seize someone, and what he would attempt in any given circumstance.
There was no way I could not know.
Yeong Woon-seong, whose eyes were wide open, seemed displeased as his brow furrowed, but when Seol Woon-hwi drew the Jinwha Cheonryeong Geom from its sheath, that displeasure transformed into bewilderment.
He could not comprehend the current situation.
He was a master of Great Void Formless. Yet before him, a mere martial artist of the Four Stages of Heaven and Earth had drawn a sword.
This was nothing short of suicide.
Did he not understand that, or was this attitude truly sincere?
Was this merely a performance for those watching?
Doubt took root.
Yet he could not be certain. There was not the slightest wavering in Seol Woon-hwi’s gaze.
“Great One Yeong.”
Seol Woon-hwi spoke quietly.
“I have never once bowed in all these years.”
“….”
“And I have no intention of doing so in the future.”
Seol Woon-hwi leveled the Jinwha Cheonryeong Geom forward.
“The path I walk as a martial artist is one that may break, but will never bend.”
In that moment, every person in the plaza held their breath.
How many martial artists in this world could speak such words before a master of Great Void Formless?
Yeong Woon-seong felt the same.
A martial artist at a far lower realm than himself, and a mere youth at that, displaying such momentum.
“…A madman, truly.”
Yeong Woon-seong muttered.
But simultaneously, a peculiar emotion stirred within him.
It was strange.
This situation clearly called for the death of this youth, yet something gave him pause.
Then, suddenly, a memory surfaced.
Hye Jung-san, the Sect Leader of the Beggar Sect.
He too was a master of the Great Void Formless, but what must he have felt when he had a private audience with Seol Woon-hwi?
At that time, Seol Woon-hwi had been slaughtering the Beggar Sect disciples mercilessly.
It was a situation that demanded Hye Jung-san’s personal intervention—but what had been the outcome?
The conversation had gone well, the massacre had ceased, yet all the tangible gains had fallen to Seol Woon-hwi.
All information regarding Seongchakju, that vast territory, had come under the control of Seol Woon-hwi’s people, and the Beggar Sect had effectively been forced to retreat.
Why had Hye Jung-san made such a choice?
Until now, Yeong Woon-seong had not understood.
But now, he was beginning to grasp it.
Seol Woon-hwi was simply different from other martial artists.
I could not explain precisely what made him different, but he was undeniably so.
And above all else.
The mention of “Cheon No-ya” that Seol Woon-hwi had spoken of kept gnawing at me.
When had he met with the Origin Blood Sect?
If that were true….
My mind grew turbulent.
Seol Woon-hwi held his sword pointed at Yeong Woon-seong while I made no move, and everyone watched this strange tableau unfold.
People wondered.
Why was Yeong Woon-seong hesitating?
That Seol Woon-hwi before them was spouting such nonsense—why did he remain silent?
Could he have been seized by fear?
That Yeong Woon-seong?
If so, from whom had he taken fright? From Seol Woon-hwi before them? Or from Seol Jung-cheon, the Palace Lord of the Ten Thousand Year Snow Palace?
It was impossible to know.
Soon after, Seol Woon-hwi lowered his sword.
“You did not come to fight, then.”
“…What?”
“I nearly fell into a misunderstanding. I did not believe the Great One to be so narrow-minded, yet finding myself in such a position, I confess my mood was not entirely pleasant.”
Yeong Woon-seong stared at Seol Woon-hwi, who spoke with perfect composure, his expression vacant.
The situation was suddenly flowing in an unexpected direction.
“Now I understand.”
“…Understand what… exactly?”
Seol Woon-hwi sheathed his sword as he spoke.
“You came to offer your congratulations, did you not?”
“I… came to congratulate?”
“Was that not your purpose?”
Yeong Woon-seong found himself at a loss for words.
Even his own reason for being here had become unclear, and he no longer knew what he should do.
He had not come to kill Seol Woon-hwi. He had come partly out of doubt that Jin Mu-hyeok might truly fail, and partly out of a desire to see with his own eyes this man called Seol Woon-hwi, whom he had only heard of in rumors.
In a moment of desperation, he had made the proposal, only to be rejected. It became a wound to his pride, and Grand Elder Yeong Woon-seong had resorted to threats in an attempt to control the situation by any means necessary.
Yet with merely a few small actions from Seol Woon-hwi and a handful of exchanges, everything had crumbled.
Somehow, he had become the one offering congratulations.
It felt as though he had been possessed by a ghost.
The martial artists watching from the periphery felt the same bewilderment.
Why had Yeong Woon-seong remained silent even when swords were drawn against him?
According to common knowledge of his temperament, if anyone dared draw a blade against him, it was his nature to shatter not only the sword but the very arm wielding it.
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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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