Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 311

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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 311
Upon reading this letter, Shin Gang became certain.
Seol Woon-hwi was already thinking and acting at least two moves ahead—no, at minimum three moves or more.
‘Leader, you’ve lost the game of moves.’
When no one else saw the critical moment, only these two recognized it.
This wasn’t a matter of whose intentions were more righteous.
It was a matter of timing and proof.
Seol Woon-hwi had read it; the Leader had not.
That was the only difference.
The Leader’s letter had failed to move Shin Gang.
Though Shin Gang was favorable toward the reconstruction of the Thousand Year Demon Cult, something far more important existed beyond that.
Cheon Rim? Frankly, organizations that could provide both profit and intelligence were hardly rare.
It was extremely useful, and he had acted as its Rim Lord, but ultimately, it was merely an obstacle in the grander scheme.
Shin Gang’s true purpose was his own resurrection.
He had grown weary of performing under the name Yeon Song-baek.
Whether Seol Woon-hwi had genuine intentions for the Thousand Year Demon Cult’s reconstruction or not, a man of such caliber was worth following regardless of what he pursued.
And the Master would judge this as the opportune moment as well?
That was absurd.
The Master’s silence meant to judge by one’s own discretion.
Seol Woon-hwi had presented what Shin Gang desired most.
Not some mere letter, but a true ‘promise’ in its deepest meaning.
Shin Gang stopped in his tracks and gazed up at the eaves of the Cult Leader’s Hall.
That seat where he had sat for twenty years under the name Yeon Song-baek—now he could occupy it with confidence under his true name, Shin Gang.
“Cult Leader.”
Sang Ji-hyeok’s voice came from behind.
“How did matters in An Sim Gun conclude?”
“They were resolved well. I can scarcely remember the last time I had such a productive conversation in all my years. And…”
Shin Gang trailed off and handed the letter in his hand to Sang Ji-hyeok.
“Give this to Seol Woon-hwi, who remains in An Sim Gun.”
Sang Ji-hyeok’s eyes widened, and he asked carefully.
“Could he not return to the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance?”
Shin Gang smiled and spoke.
“He will still be in An Sim Gun.”
Sang Ji-hyeok remained puzzled.
From Seol Woon-hwi’s perspective, now that his business in An Sim Gun was complete, wouldn’t it be proper for him to return to the Alliance?
Shin Gang’s voice reached Sang Ji-hyeok’s ears.
“I did not know either.”
“Pardon?”
“The true value of a man named Seol Woon-hwi.”
Sang Ji-hyeok fell silent. Shin Gang’s expression was extraordinary—a complex blend of admiration and wariness intertwined.
“He did not come to An Sim Gun to meet with me.”
“Then….”
“Justification, and evidence.”
Shin Gang spoke to Sang Ji-hyeok, whose eyes were blinking.
“He is demanding something from me now. Evidence.”
“Then surely this letter….”
I had written it in blood as well, but that was not my true purpose. Shin Gang would see through that.
What I truly desired was something far more concrete.
Evidence to pressure the fool playing his masquerade, evidence that would allow me to kill him rightfully.
In this moment, that fool must have believed he was acting ahead of Seol Woon-hwi, but he was mistaken.
I was already ahead.
Shin Gang clasped his hands behind his back and gazed upward at the sky.
Clouds drifted swiftly across it.
“Make preparations. From now on, we shall operate the sect under the name Shin, not Yeon.”
Sang Ji-hyeok bowed his head deeply.
* * *
Seol Woon-hwi, who had been circulating his energy at Ansim Tower as usual, slowly opened his eyes.
There was no one around.
Or rather, it appeared that way.
I smiled faintly.
“It has been a long time.”
From across the way, in the shadows, came a chuckle.
“I always feel it, but you truly are uncanny.”
A bald man.
It was Cheon Ri Shin Mok Hyeon Sim, the Supreme Commander of the White Command Guard of the Eternal Snow Palace.
He performed a respectful Embracing Fist salute.
“I trust you have been well, Lord Hyeon Seol-rin.”
“Yes, I have been without incident, as always.”
Hyeon Sim regarded me quietly.
What could one say.
Through the events that transpired at the peak of Snow Mountain, I had come to know of Seol Woon-hwi’s past.
Yet no matter how one looked at it, this was truly beyond reason.
Three Realms of Immortals.
“You have even created a new realm… are you truly unharmed?”
“Do I appear injured to you?”
“On the surface you seem fine, but surely you are aware. The rumors that reach us alone suggest something extraordinary is afoot.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“And the Palace Lord is far more concerned than I am.”
“The Palace Lord is certainly preoccupied with many affairs, so naturally there is much to worry about. Yet I firmly believe he will manage well.”
Hyeon Sim scratched his head at my words.
“That’s… I’m not entirely sure anymore.”
Hyeon Sim said this and took a seat across from Seol Woon-hwi.
Seol Woon-hwi tilted his head quizzically.
“May I ask what you mean by that?”
From what Seol Woon-hwi could observe, Hyeon Sim’s demeanor was distinctly different from his usual self. What could possibly be troubling him?
“The Palace Lord believes that Lord Hyeon Seol-rin will return to Snow Palace.”
Seol Woon-hwi laughed.
“You may speak freely without reservation.”
“…I understand. The Palace Lord firmly believes that Lord Hyeon Seol-rin will surely return to Snow Palace.”
It was a matter of consideration.
Though Hyeon Sim wished not to burden him, he still wanted to convey a similar sentiment—and that intention reached Seol Woon-hwi clearly.
“Then the reason you’ve come here is…”
“Snow Palace is stabilizing, and the Palace Lord has ordered me to personally convey recent developments to you.”
“And he was curious about my intentions as well.”
“…That’s correct.”
From Hyeon Sim’s perspective, Seol Woon-hwi was truly excelling.
Setting aside how he came to join the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, the real question was: who truly commands it now?
Though Mae Wi-dong bears the name, in reality Seol Woon-hwi orchestrates everything.
It is not Mae Wi-dong’s Heavenly Righteousness Alliance—it is Seol Woon-hwi’s.
In such circumstances, could one truly ask him to return to Snow Palace, with the position of Supreme Commander still vacant? Was that even right?
Should he necessarily return to Snow Palace?
This ambiguity troubled him, yet strangely, Seol Woon-hwi seemed to have anticipated such concerns.
“Let me speak plainly.”
“…I’m listening.”
“I have no intention of burying my bones in the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance.”
“…Hmm…”
“When I first came to the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, I told Senior Yang Ryeong that I would not return within at least one year.”
Hyeon Sim’s eyes brightened.
“That one year is crucial. Around that time, I will return to Snow Palace. I am a person of Snow Palace, after all.”
Hyeon Sim’s expression brightened, and a gentle smile graced Seol Woon-hwi’s lips.
“But first, I suspect there’s much for me to hear.”
“Ha, indeed. Snow Palace has experienced quite a lot recently. Especially what the Polar Descendants are doing in the Northern Region, and what the Palace Lord is undertaking—I’ll tell you everything while I’m here.”
The two men’s conversation continued for several time periods.
Regardless of how matters in the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance progressed.
Seol Woon-hwi was not the type to abandon his work and flee.
There were things he intended to accomplish in his mind.
A framework to establish, foundations to lay, and talented individuals to position.
That work was not yet complete.
Once it was finished, then he would return.
To where he belonged.
* * *
Seol Woon-hwi smiled faintly.
Han Mu-rin, whose eyes were fixed on the elegant letter in his hand, asked a question.
“Is that a letter that flew in from the Cult Leader of the Ihwa Geom Cheon Jong?”
“Would you like to take a look?”
Han Mu-rin had no intention of looking, but Seol Woon-hwi handed him the letter, and he eventually unfolded it.
The more he read, the more his expression hardened.
“…Supreme Commander… this….”
There was nothing surprising about it.
It could be summarized in a single line. An assassination request.
“…If the Leader of the Muk Se-hoe is trying to kill you right now….”
“Then I’ll have to sever that connection.”
“….”
“The Leader of the Muk Se-hoe has always operated in secrecy. He plants circumstance upon circumstance, and when the moment is decisive, he detonates everything. When I came to An Sim Gun, he must have seen it as an opportunity.”
“But you were one step ahead, Supreme Commander.”
“I was.”
By any measure, the Leader had just made a fatal mistake.
Sending this letter to Yeon Song-baek was unmistakably a declaration of intent to kill me.
But Yeon Song-baek chose to take my hand and rejected the Muk Se-hoe’s grasp.
If I had not known the location of the Cheon-guk Sword, the Divine Weapon of the Ihwa Geom Cheon Jong, and had not known Yeon Song-baek’s secret, none of this would have been possible.
The Leader of the Muk Se-hoe believed that Yeon Song-baek’s secret was airtight, and in truth, it was.
There were only six people who knew his secret.
And those six never spoke that truth to the subordinates they commanded.
A secret only has meaning when it is kept.
One by one, those six died, and now only three remain.
Sang Ji-hyeok, the Grand Elder of the Ihwa Geom Cheon Jong, and Yu Cheong, the Vice Sect Leader of the Original Blood Sect.
And the Leader of the Muk Se-hoe.
“…I think I’m beginning to grasp something.”
Seol Woon-hwi asked with a smile.
“Try to summarize it briefly.”
This too was instruction, and Han Mu-rin observed Seol Woon-hwi from close proximity. The situation was complex, but the conditions given made it impossible not to notice.
“…Those who knew Yeon Song-baek’s secret came repeatedly to kill you, and you killed them.”
“That’s right.”
“But if they had begged for mercy and offered to confess the Cult Leader’s secret, there were moments when that could have happened, yet it never did.”
It could never have happened. I killed them without mercy.
I didn’t even give them time to beg.
But viewed differently, it could be said that it had to be that way.
Because I and Han Mu-rin were never alone.
Han Mu-rin swallowed hard.
In his chest lay a small storage bag, and within it rests the Cheon-rim O-dok-jin that I had secretly given him.
Why did you give me this?
Seol Woon-hwi had told me to trust no one around me, and if an unexpected situation arose, to use this.
Han Mu-rin’s gaze turned toward Wi Cheon-ho, who was organizing the formation in the distance.
A martial artist of the Divine Transformation Realm.
He doesn’t appear to be the type to act independently, but there’s no way to know what he might do if an unexpected situation were to unfold.
No one knows that Seol Woon-hwi has known Yeon Song-baek’s secret from the very beginning.
Preventing the situation from becoming known.
That was the most important thing, and if Han Mu-rin’s hypothesis was correct, it aligned perfectly with the present moment.
Had things unfolded naturally, Seol Woon-hwi would have died here knowing nothing.
All of this meant one thing.
“…Supreme Commander. Then right now….”
Seol Woon-hwi shook his head.
“Say no more.”
Han Mu-rin had already grasped everything.
To him, who had fallen silent, Seol Woon-hwi spoke.

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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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