Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 356

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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 356
Reading an attack was equivalent to seizing the advantage.
He had been about to launch an immediate counterattack, but found himself unable to do so.
“What… what is this… what…?”
Though he had blocked it, the Cold Energy emanating from Manager Seong’s Hidden Dagger spread through Mu-jin’s arm.
“Amitabha Buddha… this cannot be…”
Crack-crack-crack.
With a bone-chilling sound, Mu-jin’s left arm froze completely solid. Despite being tempered by the Diamond Indestructible Divine Art, his body proved utterly powerless in this moment.
It was not the end.
Mu-jin’s frozen arm began to thaw slowly.
As the ice melted, the flesh and blood trapped within flowed away with it.
“Ah… ah-ah-ah… ah… ami… Amitabha Buddha…”
His left arm was completely destroyed.
Ya Su-yeong, who had been charging forward, froze in place with an expression of shock.
“…What… what is that…”
A master of the Heaven-Human Realm had been completely neutralized by a single attack.
It would have been stranger had she not been horrified.
Afterward, Manager Seong’s Hidden Dagger passed across Mu-jin’s neck as he writhed in agony.
Slice—!
Mu-jin’s head fell to the ground.
Manager Seong’s gaze slowly turned toward Ya Su-yeong.
“Come here.”
Ya Su-yeong’s legs trembled. Even with the temporary strength gained from consuming the Marrow Blood Pill, she could not face such an absurd martial artist.
This was no mere Heaven-Human Realm master.
It felt as though she were facing something entirely different.
Ya Su-yeong quickly raised her hand and fell to her knees.
“I apologize… I apologize. We failed to recognize Cheon Ui Jung-jeong and his Dharma Protector, Seong Yang-ho.”
From the moment the name Baekseol Wiryeong-dan was mentioned, she had suspected, but she had intended to kill them all here.
She had even been mentally planning how to silence them, but this was different.
The gap in power was far greater than she had imagined.
Even if she fought desperately, she could not win.
Manager Seong, who had been staring at Ya Su-yeong, turned his head toward Seol Woon-hwi.
At that moment, Seol Woon-hwi opened his mouth.
“You offer an apology. And so very late at that.”
Seol Woon-hwi, who had burned the Divine Ginseng Smoke he had been smoking entirely, looked down at Ya Su-yeong. That cold gaze filled her with dread.
“Cheon Ui… Jung-jeong… please show mercy just once…”
It was the moment when the master of the Heaven-Human Realm, the Tower Master of the Black Clothes Tower, begged for her life.
“Mercy, you say.”
“I apologize… truly… I am so sorry. We were too greedy from the start! The Spirit Pills? Take them all! Please… please spare my life…”
Manager Seong gazed silently at Seol Woon-hwi.
I decided to follow Seol Woon-hwi’s decision.
In that brief moment, Seol Woon-hwi’s gaze fell upon Manager Seong. Their eyes met.
Because of the years they had spent together, Manager Seong understood what it meant.
Seol Woon-hwi spoke.
“Rise.”
Without a word, Ya Su-yeong stood from her position.
“If I save your senior, what can you offer me in return?”
Ya Su-yeong faltered.
“…I… have nothing I can offer to Cheon Ui Jung-jeong….”
Her words trailed off as if she were contemplating something deeply.
And then, naturally, her feet moved forward.
One step.
It was truly a small step, yet paradoxically, it was also an enormous one.
Ya Su-yeong was an assassin.
With this single step, she closed the distance between herself and Seol Woon-hwi from nine cheok to eight.
Then she suddenly dropped to her knees.
“…The Black Clothes Tower, I will give you the Black Clothes Tower.”
“The Black Clothes Tower, you say.”
“I have nothing else I can offer.”
“I see.”
Seol Woon-hwi regarded Ya Su-yeong with an inscrutable expression.
“All human actions have their reasons. While I cannot respect your consumption of the Spirit Pills, I believe I can respect this moment you are showing now.”
It was a cryptic statement, yet Ya Su-yeong accepted his words as affirmation.
Her expression brightened.
The moment she rose to her feet.
Her pupils gleamed, and her left arm seized the Hidden Dagger at her waist.
Her innate power, amplified by the Maryeon Blood Energy Pill, erupted forth.
With a speed that could be described as piercing through space itself, she hurled the Hidden Dagger.
The target was obvious.
Seol Woon-hwi’s head.
She was certain. At this distance, he would never be able to block the flying dagger.
This was on an entirely different level from what she had wielded before.
Her full power unleashed.
A fatal strike prepared for mutual destruction.
Yet she did not see what came after.
Thunk—!
Manager Seong’s Hidden Dagger pierced through her jaw from below to above.
The tip of the dagger protruded from the crown of her head.
And at that same moment, a sharp sound echoed through the cavern.
It was the sound of Seol Woon-hwi catching the dagger with his right arm.
“Are you alright?”
Seol Woon-hwi nodded and lowered the hidden dagger he had been holding.
No matter how lethal an attack might be,
if one can read it, it holds no meaning whatsoever.
Manager Seong, who had wiped the blood from his sword and hidden dagger, approached Seol Woon-hwi and asked.
“I’m curious about something—may I ask you a question?”
“Go ahead.”
“Did you truly intend to spare her?”
Seol Woon-hwi lightly tapped his face.
Mu Myeong’s face vanished, revealing Seol Woon-hwi’s true visage beneath.
Did I intend to spare her?
“I did intend to spare her.”
“Ah….”
“A martial artist of the Heaven-Human Realm would greatly strengthen the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance’s forces, but unfortunately, she was brimming with killing intent.”
Brimming with killing intent?
To be honest, Manager Seong had believed Ya Su-yeong was sincere.
But Seol Woon-hwi had judged otherwise.
“Even when those words of pleading came forth, Ya Su-yeong’s killing intent never subsided—it only grew stronger.”
“…How did you discern it?”
“Experience.”
Seol Woon-hwi smiled faintly.
“Having suffered at the hands of so many assassins, I could not help but know.”
Seol Woon-hwi walked forward slowly.
“Dispose of the martial artists in the back roughly, then we shall proceed to the next trial.”
Manager Seong nodded.
There were two entrances in the Secret Realm.
One was a passage leading outside, the other a passage to the next trial.
Seol Woon-hwi intended to send everyone here outside.
* * *
Manager Seong surveyed the martial artists around him.
The corpses of Ya Su-yeong and Mu-jin lay on the ground, while roughly a hundred martial artists stared blankly at the sight.
“Listen well.”
Manager Seong’s voice echoed through the cavern.
“You have likely guessed our identities, but I and the heavenly being I serve shall proceed to the next trial. We desire no interference, nor do we intend to protect anyone.”
The martial artists began to murmur amongst themselves.
“Then what becomes of us….”
“To speak bluntly, you have all been most unfortunate.”
Manager Seong spoke coldly.
“The reason is simple—Geum Mu-jeok awaits outside.”
At those words, the faces of all the martial artists hardened at once.
“The habits of martial artists are not as complicated as one might think. A man like Geum Mu-jeok, who insists on certainty in all matters, will most likely be waiting outside.”
Geum Mu-jeok was so renowned that several of those present had heard tales of him.
A few of them let out small gasps.
“However….”
Manager Seong gestured toward the Spirit Pills stacked beside Ya Su-yeong and Mu-jin.
“Take all of these. What Ya Su-yeong and Mu-jin sought to claim, and what was meant for Geum Mu-jeok as well. Over fifty Spirit Pills in total.”
The martial artists’ eyes gleamed.
“Whether you fight to divide them or negotiate to divide them—that is your concern. We have no objection.”
One martial artist spoke with a trembling voice.
“Then… what will you do about your arrangement with Geum Mu-jeok?”
“Regardless of what else transpires, we did agree before entering the Secret Realm, so we shall honor that agreement.”
Manager Seong’s answer was direct and concise.
Precisely this much.
This measure was truly appropriate.
It preserved face, achieved results, and eliminated complications.
At Manager Seong’s words, murmurs rippled through the martial artists. By their reckoning, this was no poor bargain. In fact, it was an excellent one.
In exchange for the disappearance of two Heaven-Human Realm masters, they would gain over fifty Spirit Pills.
Now, as Manager Seong said, they need only divide these among themselves.
Whether by purchasing them, fighting for them, or selling them all for coin to split the proceeds.
It was then.
“Wait.”
One martial artist stepped forward.
A middle-aged man who appeared to be at the Body Establishment Boundary level.
“In exchange for letting us leave this place, would you not consider giving us a portion of the Spirit Pills you obtained?”
Silence fell over the cavern.
Manager Seong’s gaze turned glacial.
Under normal circumstances, he would have laughed it off.
He had witnessed greedy martial artists more than once or twice.
A gentle word of counsel would suffice.
But not now.
His hand moved.
Whoosh!
A hidden dagger, drawn in an instant, flew like lightning and pierced the man’s brow with perfect precision.
Thud.
The man’s head snapped backward as his body crumpled to the ground.
His skull shattered into fragments, and brain matter sprayed forth.
“When kindness is shown, one should know gratitude.”
Manager Seong’s voice was as cold as ice.
“To accept concessions and opportunities while thinking only of taking more—such a person lacks qualification, authority, and all sense of propriety.”
He turned slowly to survey those around him.
“Dying for the group is the path forward.”
No one had anticipated Manager Seong would say such a thing.
“There are rules in the Murim.”
Manager Seong continued speaking.
“For a master to grant a weak one a single opportunity is itself a favor. More than that, it is rare for two chances to be given, and three is unheard of. This is the law of the Murim, the principle of survival itself….”
His gaze swept across every martial artist in the vicinity.
Anyone who blocked Seol Woon-hwi’s path, anyone who sought to exploit his kindness—whether they were martial artists or otherwise—would not be spared.
This was the path Manager Seong desired, and Seol Woon-hwi would not wish for Manager Seong to remain a coward either.
A chilling killing intent radiated from Manager Seong’s body.
“This is the Secret Realm. In the Secret Realm, who knows what might happen? You would do well to remember that.”
The martial artists began to tremble.
The situation had to be viewed differently now.
These were the ones who had feared Ya Su-yeong and Mu-jin.
Yet Manager Seong had just fought those two nearly as equals and emerged victorious.
Before Manager Seong, they were nothing but fragile beings.
“Is it finished?”
Seol Woon-hwi’s voice was measured and soft, yet it resonated like thunder.
Manager Seong answered respectfully.
“It will be done shortly, Young Master.”
Then he turned back toward the martial artists.
“Leave while you have the chance.”
The moment those words fell, the martial artists began moving as one.
Some gathered the Spirit Pills while others fled hastily. Not a single one wished to remain.
Thus, roughly a hundred martial artists all departed.
Only Seol Woon-hwi and Manager Seong remained in the cavern.
Manager Seong approached Seol Woon-hwi and bowed his head.
“The matter is settled, Young Master.”
Seol Woon-hwi patted Manager Seong’s shoulder.

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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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