Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 334

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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 334
“So he’s walked straight to his own grave. I see now—he’s not a genius at all, just a mediocre fool wrapped up in arrogance.”
Manager Seong’s fists clenched tighter, but he remained silent. Hwa Mu-ryeong also held her tongue.
Shin Ju-eon’s gaze turned toward Hwa Mu-ryeong.
“Foolish woman.”
At the sudden insult, Hwa Mu-ryeong lifted her head.
“Are you speaking to me?”
“Who else in this place deserves to be called that but you?”
Shin Ju-eon’s voice was cold and sharp.
“Arrogant and pathetic woman. I spared your life and gave you a chance, yet you cast it aside and cling to this rotting rope?”
Hwa Mu-ryeong’s eyes flashed with defiance.
“The rotting rope you’re holding onto is the one you grabbed first.”
Shin Ju-eon’s brow furrowed.
“How bold—now you dare speak carelessly to me?”
“Didn’t you start this first?”
“You’re the one who made the foolish judgment in the first place—”
“That’s not what I mean.”
Hwa Mu-ryeong cut off Shin Ju-eon’s words.
Silence fell.
“All of this—every bit of it—you brought upon yourself. From the moment you killed Dong Yu-seong eleven years ago.”
Hwa Mu-ryeong’s voice trembled, yet it was resolute.
“Am I wrong?”
Shin Ju-eon laughed while sipping his tea. The laugh was chillingly cold.
“You’re not wrong. I brought it upon myself. I should have killed you then as well, but I didn’t.”
“That’s because of my father.”
“I won’t deny it. Your father, Yeom Wang, despite being Vice Palace Lord, stood at a higher realm than I did.”
Shin Ju-eon set down his teacup and continued.
“Then you should consider this: why did I kill Dong Yu-seong, his direct disciple, yet spare you?”
“How is that different from what you just said? Because of my father—”
“No, you’re laboring under a grave misconception.”
Shin Ju-eon’s eyes grew piercing.
“What?”
“In the Murim, there are far more hidden truths than revealed ones.”
“…What do you mean?”
“It means things are far more complex than you imagine.”
“…”
“The reason your father didn’t draw a hidden dagger against me for killing Dong Yu-seong, his direct disciple, is simple: I once saved your father’s life.”
Hwa Mu-ryeong’s brow creased sharply. She had never heard this from Hwa Mu-nyeom.
“From my position, I could have killed either you or Dong Yu-seong. Doing so would have strained my relationship with your father, but he’s not so contemptible a man as to ignore the debt of a life I once saved.”
Hwa Mu-ryeong’s fists clenched tight. Shin Ju-eon’s words continued.
“Even though Hwa Mu-nyeom has gone into seclusion, his influence permeates every corner of the palace. From my position, I had no choice but to diminish his influence.”
In a situation where information about martial arts hadn’t spread, Shin Ju-eon’s words seemed more reasonable than expected.
Influence.
This could never be ignored.
From the perspective of a Palace Lord governing an organization, to have someone wielding greater influence than oneself?
It had to be corrected by any means necessary.
“Right, the conclusion is simple. You lived in place of Dong Yu-seong. Had you died instead, he would have lived. Since I could only kill one of you and chose Dong Yu-seong… now that I think about it, this is essentially your responsibility.”
It was sophistry, but not from Hwa Mu-ryeong’s perspective.
Guilt crashed over her.
To be clear, Hwa Mu-ryeong was a master who had reached the Four Stages of Heaven and Earth.
Yet she had spent eleven years being rejected and scorned within the Hondo Maryeom Palace.
During all that time, she had never once voiced a complaint.
She simply endured, again and again.
The Hondo Maryeom Palace held such deep meaning for her precisely because of that.
But the moment she learned that Dong Mu-rin was alive, she turned her back on the Hondo Maryeom Palace without a shred of hesitation.
If she could have, she would have died in Dong Yu-seong’s place.
That was how deeply she loved him.
A voice broke through Hwa Mu-ryeong’s turmoil.
“That sounds rather… beneath your station, Senior.”
It was Seol Woon-hwi.
Shin Ju-eon’s brow furrowed.
“Beneath my station?”
“Yes. You should be clear on this. Dong Yu-seong did not die in place of Cheonsu-sa Hwa.”
Seol Woon-hwi’s voice remained calm.
“You had no choice but to kill Dong Yu-seong. Isn’t that correct?”
“Do you have proof?”
“I have no proof, but this is the Murim. In the Murim, grudges are absolute, yet if you were to kill even your one remaining daughter, that grudge would become meaningless.”
Shin Ju-eon stared at Seol Woon-hwi in silence.
“Had you killed Hwa Mu-ryeong, you would have inevitably died yourself. Knowing this, you didn’t cast her out of the Hondo Maryeom Palace—you kept her confined.”
“Confined?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“…”
“In simpler terms, she was a hostage.”
Seol Woon-hwi set down his teacup and continued.
“Which brings me to my question. Why did you kill Dong Yu-seong?”
“He plotted rebellion.”
“We both know that isn’t true.”
Shin Ju-eon’s lips pressed firmly shut.
“Since you intend to kill me anyway, why bother hiding it?”
Finally, Shin Ju-eon’s mouth curved upward, and laughter erupted from him.
“Hahahaha!”
His laughter echoed for some time.
“Truly, your audacity lives up to the rumors. Very well, there’s no reason to hide it. Do you know of the Absolute Flame Huncheon Art?”
“The Absolute Flame Huncheon Art… that would be the martial art of Huncheon Yeom Hwang, would it not?”
“For one so young, your knowledge is certainly impressive. Yes, it is the martial art of Huncheon Yeom Hwang.”
That was sufficient.
“I understand now. To obtain Peerless Martial Arts, you frame the Vice Palace Lord with charges of rebellion and execute him? A most martial reason indeed.”
“Has your curiosity been satisfied?”
“It has been.”
Shin Ju-eon rose from his seat. The aura of a master who had ascended to Limitless Divine Manifestation radiated from his physical form.
“Then let us depart now.”
“To where, may I ask?”
“Where else? The Three Path River.”
Seol Woon-hwi sipped his tea in silence.
Shin Ju-eon turned his gaze toward Hwa Mu-ryeong.
“My eldest son still lacks a consort.”
“And?”
“You shall become that consort.”
Hwa Mu-ryeong’s brow furrowed sharply.
“Are you considering refusal?”
“Refusal or otherwise—there is nothing to consider…”
“I intend to pass this Hondo Maryeom Palace to my eldest son.”
Shin Ju-eon’s voice grew low.
“Should you marry Shin Ju-yang and bear him a child, that child would become the next Palace Lord of Hondo Maryeom Palace.”
This was a most rational proposal from Shin Ju-eon’s perspective. Taking Hwa Mu-ryeong into his fold meant also taking in Yeom Wang Hwa Mu-nyeom, which would not only strengthen the palace’s military might but also secure its legitimacy.
Yet Hwa Mu-ryeong answered curtly once more, as though there were nothing to consider.
“I refuse.”
Shin Ju-eon let out a bitter laugh.
“This foolish woman seems to have mistaken this for a request.”
“…”
“Wait for now. There is a matter I must attend to first.”
The aura of a master who had ascended to Limitless Divine Manifestation radiated from Shin Ju-eon’s physical form.
Seol Woon-hwi continued sipping his tea.
“Is the tea truly so delicious?”
“It is not unpleasant.”
“I would tell you to stop sipping and rise, but I doubt the Afterlife serves tea, so finish it and stand. I shall send you there presently.”
Though his words were casual, Shin Ju-eon was a most cautious man.
He could not deny that Seol Woon-hwi possessed hidden depths, whatever his true capabilities might be.
The fact that he bore not a single wound.
That was what Shin Ju-eon sought to exploit.
I set down the tea without finishing it.
“Senior Shin.”
“Speak.”
“I don’t consider myself a genius.”
“What are you suddenly saying?”
“Please, hear me out. At the very least, I believe I am a prodigy.”
“A prodigy…?”
“If I resolve myself to Mutual Destruction, I can face any martial artist up to the Heaven-Human Unity realm. But not Limitless Divine Manifestation.”
I lifted my head and looked up at Shin Ju-eon.
“What unfolds today at the Hondo Maryeom Palace will be a stage for both fulfilling Dong Mu-rin’s vengeance and realizing the honor and will of the one who will soon take the seat of Alliance Leader of the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance.”
Shin Ju-eon, about to ask what nonsense this was, could not.
His head turned slowly.
At the entrance of the Sect Master Hall stood an elderly man of diminutive stature.
Though he wore a horned mask, Shin Ju-eon could tell who he was from that appearance alone.
“Yeom… Wang…?”
Hwa Mu-nyeom slowly removed his mask.
He was an old man with hair white as snow, yet his eyes still gleamed with sharp brilliance.
The deep traces of time carved into his face created an overwhelming pressure from within that very depth.
It was truly formidable.
“It has been long, Palace Lord.”
Hwa Mu-nyeom’s voice was calm, but suppressed fury writhed within it.
Shin Ju-eon’s face hardened in an instant.
Surely not—yet the Yeom Wang, who had lived in seclusion for over a decade, appeared here.
“…This gold-sealed hermit, what brings you here… No, wait….”
Shin Ju-eon’s gaze turned to me. I had certainly said it.
A stage for the next Alliance Leader of the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance.
His mouth fell open.
“Surely… you?”
“A heavy position, but I have accepted it.”
Shin Ju-eon’s eyes widened. This was completely unexpected. It was not merely a matter of aiding Dong Mu-rin’s vengeance—the leader of the vast power that is the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance had stepped forward personally.
“But… why? Gold-sealed hermit… seclusion….”
It was hard to believe. One could accept his appearance, but the Alliance Leader of the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance? This was an entirely different matter.
Breaking a gold-sealed seclusion meant directly violating a taboo of the Murim.
These mad fools.
“…You’re trying to make more enemies than when you were actively involved. Give me a reason. Why?”
Hwa Mu-nyeom’s eyes turned cold.
“That reason, figure it out with that fine mind of yours. And there is one thing I wish to make clear.”
“What is it?”
“I did not fail to avenge Yu-seong—I was unable to.”
“Unable to?”
“Eleven years ago, when you killed Dong Yu-seong, I endured it. There was a debt of gratitude that saved my life. But.”
Hwa Mu-nyeom’s voice grew colder and more measured.
“If you attempt to kill his son as well, that is an entirely different matter.”
“…A different matter?”
“You gave me reason to protect what I could not protect before. And.”
“…And?”
“You gave me justification to kill.”
In that moment, Shin Ju-eon understood with absolute clarity.
“…Did I, cause you to break your seclusion?”
“It seems you are only now beginning to grasp how matters unfold.”
The Yeom Wang’s aura toward Shin Ju-eon was gradually intensifying.
“Debts of gratitude have their limits. To preserve such a debt, one must inevitably create new debts.”
“….”
“Since you have provided me the means, allow me to express my long-overdue gratitude.”
Hwa Mu-nyeom stepped forward slowly. Each footfall resonated against the ground.
“You who killed my disciple out of greed. The time has come for you to pay the price.”
The air within the Sect Master Hall grew taut, and Shin Ju-eon placed his hand upon the sword at his waist.
“Hwa Mu-nyeom. Even if you come forward, the outcome will be the same. You have grown old, but I have not aged as you have, and I have not ceased my activities in the Murim.”
“Is that so?”
Hwa Mu-nyeom smiled. That smile was chillingly cold.

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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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