Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 284

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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 284
“Among the old masters of the Muk Se-hoe, quite a few must have perished. How did they meet their end?”
“….”
“Most likely died without accomplishing anything. We call such an end… futile.”
I had nothing to say.
“Consider the latter case. If you burn away your final desire in life and become the driving force behind the Thousand Year Demon Cult’s restoration, you can achieve great things—not under the name Yu Cheong, but under the name Hwa Mu-nyeom.”
“…That’s mere fantasy.”
“Is it?”
I laughed bitterly.
“Then let me ask you this. What has the Muk Se-hoe accomplished? Hiding in the shadows, what exactly have they done?”
Hwa Mu-nyeom’s face twisted.
“I don’t know who the leader of the Muk Se-hoe is, but I believe he is utterly incompetent. Look at Cheon Rim. At the very least, a man like Yeon Song-baek staked his own name and simultaneously managed both the Ihwageomseonchong sect and the organization called Cheon Rim, expanding his influence. Isn’t that far more audacious than the Muk Se-hoe?”
“You….”
“I hold Senior Hwa in high regard. Truly, I do.”
My voice remained grave.
“But seeing such a senior limit your own potential by clinging to the name of someone called Yu Cheong is deeply frustrating. If the restoration of the Thousand Year Demon Cult is truly your desire, you must not depend on anyone else—you yourself must forge that path. Don’t merely gaze a few steps ahead; look beyond.”
It was hardly surprising that most martial artists were hostile to the Thousand Year Demon Cult’s restoration.
But I was not. I was far more than merely open-minded about it.
That’s why I joined hands with Hwa Mu-nyeom.
The Muk Se-hoe would aid me from the shadows, I would receive their assistance and gain practical benefits while helping with the restoration.
Nothing had changed.
“Did you think everything would remain stagnant?”
“….”
“As I said before, I live to keep what is mine and to obtain what I desire. I am the Muk Se-hoe’s collaborator and the one who does what they cannot. Isn’t that so?”
“….”
“But if you can’t even establish your own center like this, how do you intend to control the order of the martial world hereafter?”
Hwa Mu-nyeom could not refute a single word of what I said. Every word rang with truth.
“And.”
I brushed away Hwa Mu-nyeom’s hand.
“Let it go. You won’t be able to tear it away.”
Tension enveloped the surroundings.
Hwa Mu-nyeom fell silent, and so did I.
To be frank, the Muk Se-hoe was certainly a formidable and threatening organization.
If they revealed themselves to the Central Plains martial world right now, the repercussions would be beyond imagination.
The reason was simple.
Because they were all masters of the previous generation.
Warriors of the Heaven Earth Four Realms were abundant, and there were at least five or more warriors of the Martial God Five Realms.
Yet precisely because they were such individuals, they harbored one grave weakness.
They did not have much time remaining compared to ordinary people.
No matter how united by great cause, living only in the shadows is not easy. Hwa Mu-nyeom was no exception.
They simply hadn’t voiced it, but discontent surely festered within.
A life of mere waiting, accomplishing nothing.
Thus, the words that would emerge from Hwa Mu-nyeom’s lips were predetermined.
“…Very well, then.”
However, I had not anticipated what came next.
“And ‘Mu Myeong’.”
At that designation, Seol Woon-hwi’s eyes flickered, and Hwa Mu-nyeom’s gaze sharpened.
“The secret manual you obtained from Yangnyeong’s Mysterious Realm—are you still refining it?”
* * *
I hesitated for a moment.
Whether to speak the truth or fabricate a lie.
But there was no reason to evade now.
“If you’re referring to the Demon Blood Heaven Gang Art, I am not currently refining it.”
“…You don’t deny it. That you are this fellow called Mu Myeong who pilfered the treasures of the Secret Realm.”
“I believe there is a slight misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“Since when did the Secret Realm have an owner?”
“…Hmm….”
“I simply entered a Secret Realm that appeared in my own courtyard and retrieved the treasure. Nothing more.”
Hwa Mu-nyeom nodded as if acknowledging the validity of my words.
And in that moment, he seemed somewhat astonished.
It didn’t feel like I’d struck a nerve, yet the revelation that I was truly Mu Myeong appeared to genuinely surprise him.
“But how did you know?”
“Mere conjecture.”
“I see.”
“I shall ask you but one more thing.”
“I am listening.”
Hwa Mu-nyeom posed his question in a grave tone.
“Do you intend to become the Cheon Ma?”
I tilted my head in confusion.
“Why has the conversation turned in that direction?”
….”
“Even if the Demon Blood Heaven Gang Art is a secret manual that creates the Cheon Ma, I have learned martial arts suited to my body and spirit, and I intend to continue refining them. And Demonic Arts will have no place in that path.”
Hwa Mu-nyeom offered a cryptic smile.
“No, I suppose… Yes, that would be so.”
He stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“Soon I shall prepare several lists for you. Choose from among them those you wish to command.”
“I shall do so.”
Hwa Mu-nyeom turned away.
Strangely, his receding figure seemed almost serene—like that of one who had just made a decisive resolve.
Only after his figure completely disappeared did I turn my head.
“Seo Hyo.”
“Yes, Supreme Commander.”
“I wish to have a private audience with Prime Minister An Wi-gwan of Woon-guk. Can you arrange it?”
Seo Hyo, who had been thinking for a moment, nodded.
“I will prepare it at once.”
“And for the time being, remain here in Aesun County.”
“You mean to keep watch, sir.”
This much conversation was sufficient.
“The rest will follow.”
“Where are you going?”
“To the Dok-go Family Estate.”
Mae Wi-dong had asked me to bring three of the Cheonin Palzwa, but unfortunately, I had no intention of bringing three people.
Dok Go-hyeon, who sits in one of the seats of the Cheonin Palzwa.
I intended to bring only that man.
* * *
When I arrived at the main gate of the Dok-go Family Estate, the sun was already sinking toward the western mountains.
“Announce that Seol Woon-hwi, Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, has come seeking Dok Go-hyeon, the Family Head of the Dok-go Family.”
The gatekeeper, startled by my appearance, swallowed hard and rushed inside, and not long after, Dok Go-hyeon himself emerged.
“I received a letter saying you would visit sometime, but what brings you so suddenly? I am honored that the Supreme Commander would grace our family with such a swift visit.”
“I wished to meet with Great Hero Dok-go and have a deeper conversation.”
“Hmm… I felt it at the inauguration ceremony as well, but you are certainly very different from ordinary people in many ways.”
Dok Go-hyeon, speaking thus, continued with a gentle smile.
“Please come inside. And the two great heroes at your sides as well.”
Dok Go-hyeon shared similarities with Mae Wi-dong.
Namely, an excessive display of courtesy.
Soon Dok Go-hyeon led the way, and I followed behind him.
Dok Go-hyeon.
I see this man exactly twice in this lifetime, but if I include my previous life, I have seen him over twenty times.
It could not have been otherwise.
In the distant future, Dok Go-hyeon entrusts himself to the Origin Blood Sect.
As the twelfth Unit Leader of the Blood Cloud Order, no less.
In any case, the two men took their seats in the pavilion of the Dok-go Family Estate.
Dok Go-hyeon poured tea himself and spoke.
“I am curious what brings you here.”
I took a sip of tea and spoke.
“I have come on behalf of the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance.”
“On behalf of the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance…”
“I will speak without beating around the bush. I hope that Great Hero Dok-go will lend your strength to the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance.”
Dok Go-hyeon’s eyes changed.
“I’m not entirely sure what you mean by lending your strength.”
“It’s simple. The Heavenly Righteousness Alliance stands at a new turning point. However, the number of those who can become the main players is very small. If Dok Go-hyeon, the Great Hero among the masters competing for supremacy among the Cheonin Palzwa, were to take on the position of Elder in the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, then the alliance would gain the power to surpass even the Cheonsu and aim for hegemony over the Central Plains.”
“…It seems you’re exaggerating quite a bit. You’re raising me up too much.”
“Not at all.”
“Heh… If I take the Elder’s seat, the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance aims for hegemony over the Central Plains… Isn’t that overestimating me?”
Seol Woon-hwi smiled enigmatically.
“The Cheonin Palzwa is a title given to eight masters who have ascended to Heaven-Human Unity. And from what I’ve observed, among the monsters of the Cheonin Palzwa, only Dok Go-hyeon will reach the realm of Great Void Formless.”
Dok Go-hyeon’s eyes widened considerably.
To be honest, it wasn’t unpleasant to hear.
He had been stuck at Heaven-Human Unity for a full twenty years.
Ascending to the next realm, Limitless Divine Manifestation, was difficult enough, and the realm beyond that, Dao Transformation Authority Truth, was something he didn’t even dare dream of.
Yet Seol Woon-hwi was telling him he would reach Great Void Formless, the realm above Dao Transformation Authority Truth, so it would have been strange if he felt displeased.
However.
“The Dok-go Family has maintained neutrality for a long time. But leaning toward one faction…”
“You said neutrality?”
Seol Woon-hwi’s smile deepened.
“Great Hero Dok Go-hyeon, do you truly believe that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is the martial art you’ve been cultivating recently truly the family martial learning of the Dok-go Family?”
In that instant, Dok Go-hyeon’s face hardened.
“…I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Seol Woon-hwi spoke in a low voice.
“Demon Blood Heaven Gang Art.”
At those words, Dok Go-hyeon’s eyes grew cold. He showed no killing intent, but if he wished to reveal it, Seol Woon-hwi would suffer serious injury in this very place.
Yet Seol Woon-hwi remained unfazed.
“I’m not entirely sure how you obtained that martial art, which only the Unit Leaders of the Blood Cloud Order of the Original Blood Sect practice, but it seems you’ve already reached a considerable level.”
Dok Go-hyeon’s hands trembled slightly.
“I know of no such art.”
“Then why did you treat Yeong Woon-seong, the Grand Elder, so exceptionally well at the recent Alliance Leader’s inauguration ceremony?”
“He is the Grand Elder of the Original Blood Sect, so…”
Seol Woon-hwi cut off Dok Go-hyeon’s words.
“It was out of reverence.”
“…”
“Great Hero Dok Go-hyeon, you admire the Original Blood Sect. Their martial arts, and their ideology concerning blood.”
Dok Go-hyeon rose to his feet.
“Alliance Leader, I am the Family Head of the Dok-go Family. And the Dok-go Family reveres the Righteous Path, not the Original Blood Sect. As Family Head, I no longer wish to hear such nonsensical talk, so please leave.”
“I am merely speaking the truth.”
Seol Woon-hwi also rose slowly.
“Great Hero Dok Go-hyeon, I do not blame your choice. The Original Blood Sect is certainly a powerful force, and their martial arts are indeed excellent. However…”
Seol Woon-hwi took a step forward.
“What would happen if such admiration became known? The reputation of the Dok Go Family, and Dok Go’s seat among the Cheonin Palzwa.”
“…Is this blackmail?”
“It is a proposal.”
Seol Woon-hwi spoke with unwavering resolve.
“Join the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance. If you do, I will bury the Great Hero Dok Go’s secret forever. More than that—I will help you walk the path you pursue with even greater confidence.”

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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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