Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 345

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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 345
Seol Woon-hwi quietly observed Yu Cheong’s form. Draped in black robes, his frame appeared slighter than expected, yet the energy contained within him was formidable enough to topple mountains.
In my previous life, I never perceived this.
But now, with conscious awareness, I could sense something in Yu Cheong—a dangerous depth that seemed to transcend all things in this world, while simultaneously threatening to devour everything.
And.
“You appear quite unwell, yet you’ve traveled far.”
No one in this world knew.
That Yu Cheong had clashed with Cheon Do-ja and suffered a crushing defeat.
That he had lost consciousness for more than half a month afterward and only recently regained his senses.
At Seol Woon-hwi’s words, Yu Cheong tilted his head slightly.
“Am I somewhere I shouldn’t be?”
“That’s not the case.”
Yu Cheong, observing Seol Woon-hwi, opened his mouth with a quiet voice.
“In the seven-hundred-year history of the Origin Blood Sect, we have received invitations exactly twice. Six hundred years ago when the Sword Emperor became Alliance Leader of the Martial Alliance, and five hundred years ago when Huncheon Yeom Hwang of Honwon Dokjon retired from public life.”
A glimmer of intrigue flashed in Seol Woon-hwi’s eyes.
“Congratulations. The invitation from the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance is now the third invitation our sect has received in its history.”
“Truly fascinating history.”
From Seol Woon-hwi’s tone, Yu Cheong discerned something subtle.
As if he already knew.
A cold wind from Cheonsu swept across the plaza, billowing the garments of both men.
Then Seol Woon-hwi sent a transmission.
-What is your reason for rebuilding the Thousand Year Demon Cult?
Despite this sudden, blunt question, Yu Cheong showed no confusion. Rather, a deeper smile spread across his lips.
-Any reason I offer would be valid. But isn’t it you, not I, who should provide the ‘answer’ here?
-Me?
-I heard you would lend your strength to rebuilding the Thousand Year Demon Cult. What is your reason?
Seol Woon-hwi showed no great reaction to Yu Cheong’s counter-question.
A reason….
-Do you wish to hear it?
-I very much wish to hear it.
A smile formed at Seol Woon-hwi’s lips.
-I never expected Master to take such interest. The reason I offered to lend my strength to rebuilding the Thousand Year Demon Cult is quite simple. Because I have the ability to do so.
-Ability….
Though transmitted silently, everyone could sense Yu Cheong’s displeasure.
-Does that seem insufficient?
-It is not insufficient.
-Then what more is needed?
Yu Cheong lowered his hands and opened his mouth in a quiet voice, no longer using transmission.
“Isn’t one thing necessary?”
“What is that?”
“Free will.”
Seol Woon-hwi’s brow twitched slightly.
“Free will, you say.”
“Indeed. I too do not consider myself truly free. Yet it seems Cheon Ui Jung-jeong believes himself remarkably liberated.”
Yu Cheong’s words carried sharp barbs beneath their surface.
“Is it not merely a difference in what one seeks to accomplish?”
“Does not the need for another’s protection in pursuing one’s aims prove not merely immaturity, but a lack of true freedom?”
A smile bloomed at the corners of Seol Woon-hwi’s mouth once more.
This time, it was not the smile he had worn before. Nor was it one concealing his true thoughts.
It was unmistakable—a smile suffused with killing intent.
“You speak as though you stand before someone who poses a certain threat yet whom you cannot kill?”
The words held double meaning. Or rather, for Yu Cheong, there was nothing ambiguous about them at all—they were devastatingly direct.
Seol Woon-hwi saw through him with perfect clarity: Yu Cheong desired his death but could not achieve it.
In that instant, killing intent flashed across Yu Cheong’s eyes as well.
The aura of a martial master who had reached Primordial Sole Existence erupted in a sudden burst, creating hairline fractures across the stone floor beneath them.
Several martial artists standing nearby staggered backward, unable to withstand the oppressive force, while others collapsed where they stood as though their very bodies were crumbling.
Yet no one stepped forward.
And Seol Woon-hwi’s response was entirely different from theirs.
He took a step forward instead.
Close enough that their noses nearly touched.
Seol Woon-hwi whispered in a quiet voice.
“We have come far enough. Let us speak plainly.”
“Speak of what?”
“Do you wish to kill me?”
In that moment, all sound in the plaza vanished. The wind, the breath of the crowd, even the chirping of birds—everything seemed to cease.
Yu Cheong smiled faintly.
“How could that be? I wish to embrace you.”
“Yet you cannot.”
“….”
“To wish to embrace is also to recognize worth. You wish to embrace me yet cannot, so in the end, you must kill me instead. Is that not so?”
Yu Cheong’s expression froze in place.
This was truly a strange experience. Yu Cheong’s manner of speech befitted his name as Master—it carried great weight and composure.
And the barbs hidden within it could be perceived by, without question, only one person in all his life.
Cheon Do-ja, the Cult Leader of the Blood Cult and Supreme One of the Martial World.
Yet now this young man before him, barely past his youth, had perceived them.
I wish to kill him. I wish to kill him so desperately that every drop of blood and fiber of flesh within me writhes with longing. Yet I cannot.
“Because you lack free will.”
“….”
“Are you so afraid of Cheon No-ya?”
Yu Cheong let out a hollow laugh. The sound filled the plaza, summoning an eerie chill in its wake.
“I am aware that you possess considerable knowledge and have had several encounters with Cheon No-ya, making you a person of particular significance. However, observing you now, it appears you have gravely overlooked one crucial matter.”
“What might that be?”
“Your question of whether you fear Cheon No-ya is fundamentally equivalent to asking whether you fear his power. Is that not so?”
“Somewhat.”
“Then the question itself was flawed from the beginning.”
“Is that so?”
A light bordering on madness flickered in Yu Cheong’s eyes.
“Cheon No-ya is a being whose very foundation is twisted. Nothing in this world can occur beyond the scope of his vision.”
“….”
“Cheon No-ya’s very existence is fear itself, terror itself, and order itself. His endeavors embody the truest form of righteousness, and his every gesture, every movement commands reverence. Should anything transpire beyond his foresight, it would mean this world itself has gone awry.”
In that moment, Seol Woon-hwi said nothing.
As I had spoken myself, free will was supremely important.
Even when I felt superiority, as I had conversed with Shin Gang once before—believing all things in this world lay within my palm—in reality, I required the consent of one person.
Cheon Do-ja.
Without his tacit approval or permission, the reconstruction of the Thousand Year Demon Cult would be impossible.
In my previous life, the Thousand Year Demon Cult was reconstructed not merely because Yu Cheong was exceptional.
It was because Cheon Do-ja granted permission, and the reason Yu Cheong cannot kill Seol Woon-hwi now is also because of Cheon Do-ja.
He transcended being the supreme one of the Murim—he was the arbiter of all things.
Yet Yu Cheong’s words carried a different weight.
Did he not speak as though Cheon No-ya were not merely an arbiter, but a sovereign ruler itself?
The wind blew once more.
This time, it was far colder—a wind like winter’s herald, freezing all things in its path.
“I shall ask but one thing.”
“I am listening.”
“What do you foresee at the end of our confrontation?”
“One person will remain standing.”
“And the other?”
“Will cease to exist in this world.”
A cold light flickered in Yu Cheong’s eyes.
“Who do you believe that will be?”
“Someone whose thoughts oppose yours, Senior. What of you?”
“I too am someone whose thoughts oppose those of Cheon Ui Jung-jeong.”
Seol Woon-hwi laughed. Yu Cheong laughed as well.
“Then I shall await that day with anticipation.”
“As shall I.”
Yu Cheong turned his gaze toward Hwa Mu-nyeom and performed a respectful cupped fist salute.
“Yu Cheong, Vice Sect Leader of the Original Blood Sect, offers his first respects to Hwa, the Great One who has become the new Alliance Leader of the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance.”
Hwa Mu-nyeom swallowed hard.
The sight before him now—so utterly refined and composed—stood in stark contrast to the ferocity he had witnessed alongside Mae Wi-dong before. It was truly unsettling.
There was no helping it.
Since I’ve received their greeting, I must return the courtesy.
Hwa Mu-nyeom took a respectful cupped fist salute.
“I gratefully accept the profound greeting of Demonic Way Zen Master Yu Cheong. The Heavenly Righteousness Alliance is deeply honored by your visit from afar.”
Yu Cheong smiled faintly.
“Then I shall take my leave.”
Without hesitation, Yu Cheong turned and walked away, and Seol Woon-hwi watched his departing figure intently.
An overwhelming aura still emanated from his back.
It was enough to create the illusion that a great mountain itself was walking.
Only when Yu Cheong’s figure completely disappeared did the people in the plaza finally begin to breathe properly. Many of them had cold sweat drenching their backs, and some nearly collapsed as their legs gave way beneath them.
Hwa Mu-nyeom approached Seol Woon-hwi’s side.
“Are you well?”
“Yes, Alliance Leader. I am fine.”
“Did you foresee his arrival?”
“I did not foresee it at all.”
…
“Even I am not perfect, Alliance Leader.”
“So it would seem.”
Seol Woon-hwi chuckled softly. His usual composed and quiet demeanor had returned. Yet to those who had witnessed his exchange with Yu Cheong moments before, even that ordinariness seemed dangerous.
“There is still business to attend to. Shall we finish it, Alliance Leader?”
Hwa Mu-nyeom nodded.
“When will the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance depart?”
There was nothing surprising about it. Seol Woon-hwi intended to return to Yang Ling-ju.
“I plan to leave within one to two months.”
“…Very well, then let us finish our business.”
Seol Woon-hwi began walking, and Hwa Mu-nyeom followed behind him.
Seol Ho-ryeong, who had witnessed everything, sent another transmission to Seol Woon-hwi.
-Our youngest brother, you truly are playing in the big leagues now.
A small smile formed at the corner of Seol Woon-hwi’s mouth.
-One day, Elder Brother, you will enter this arena as well.
-Then I must cultivate diligently.
-Yes. You must cultivate. You will need to become incomparably stronger than you are now.
Seol Ho-ryeong let out a dry cough.
-The pressure just came crashing down on me. I shouldn’t have said anything.
Seol Woon-hwi laughed, and Seol Ho-ryeong laughed as well.
* * *
Some distance from the plaza, behind an ancient oak tree, a man waited quietly.
It was Seo Hyo.
Complex emotions crossed his face.
Though he had risen to the high position of Vice Alliance Leader of the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, there remained an unresolved matter in his heart.
It was his relationship with Yu Cheong, the master who had first discovered and cultivated him.
The wind blew, and the oak leaves rustled softly.
Footsteps could be heard mingling with that sound.
Very light yet rhythmic steps.
From those footsteps alone, Seo Hyo could discern who was approaching.
Yu Cheong, who had been walking, came to a halt before the oak tree—as though he had known all along that Seo Hyo was waiting there.
“Show yourself.”
It was a simple command, yet his voice carried an authority that could not be refused.
His manner of speech resembled Seol Woon-hwi’s, yet it possessed a peculiar, subtle power all its own.
Strange as it was to say, if Seol Woon-hwi’s presence was an intangible, overwhelming weight, then Yu Cheong’s was a tangible force—a palpable, concrete strength.

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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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