Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 372

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 372
“Ordinary?”
“Whether they were martial artists, merchants, or even beggars, I believe all people have purpose behind their actions. Yet they were martial artists who did not train in the martial way, merchants who did not actively pursue profit, and beggars who did not actively beg.”
“So ordinary that it seemed strange instead?”
“Yes.”
“If they had not revealed themselves as members of the Hwan-myeong Group, would you have used force first?”
“…Yes.”
Namgung Won Yang, who had been silent until then, raised her hand and spoke.
“I did.”
“Use force?”
“Yes… and I killed them.”
“The you I know would not have killed them outright. What was your reason?”
“…They attacked me.”
Seol Woon-hwi, who had been thinking for a moment, nodded and spoke.
“You did well.”
Namgung Won Yang’s expression brightened.
“Han Seok-hyeon, you did well too.”
Han Seok-hyeon’s expression also brightened.
Only then did Ju So-ah, who had been quietly silent, open her mouth.
“Why is our Supreme Commander so serious? What exactly is the Hwan-myeong Group anyway? They seemed unremarkable.”
Seol Woon-hwi, who had been thinking for a moment, slowly opened his mouth.
“Human malice grows stronger the larger it becomes.”
“….”
“They are those bound together by such malice. Their seemingly unremarkable wickedness reaches far higher than one might think.”
Ju So-ah scratched her head.
“Did you suppress them all at once?”
“Well… we killed them all. They touched our Unit Leader, so we could not remain idle. Neither I nor Won Yang could.”
“I understand. Then all you know is their name?”
“Yes.”
“When did you kill them?”
“Two weeks ago.”
“Has anyone newly joined the Yang Woon Dan in the past two weeks?”
Though unremarkable, Ju So-ah was perceptive. From Seol Woon-hwi’s question, she read something deeper.
“No one has joined, but we did hire a warehouse keeper and several guards to protect the warehouse where we store our training resources.”
Seol Woon-hwi, who had been pondering for a moment, rose from his seat.
“Summon all members of the Yang Woon Dan and everyone who arrived in the past two weeks to the training ground.”
“…Everyone?”
“Everyone.”
“…Yes, sir.”
Though she could not fully understand, Seol Woon-hwi’s actions always had reason behind them.
Ju So-ah and Namgung Won Yang departed, leaving Han Seok-hyeon alone. He withdrew a letter from his robe and handed it to Seol Woon-hwi.
“This is a letter that Jeon Bi, the Branch Chief of Cheongsu Village, instructed me to deliver should you arrive, Supreme Commander.”
“Have you read it?”
“I have not.”
Seol Woon-hwi nodded, and Han Seok-hyeon spoke.
“…Hwan-myeong Group—did I make an error in judgment?”
“Do you believe so?”
“I sensed something amiss from your reaction, Supreme Commander. When I interpret the name Hwan-myeong Group, it forms an intuitive phrase meaning ‘to repay life with life’… Could it be what I suspect?”
“You are correct.”
The situation was straightforward.
The Hwan-myeong Group—an organization that would become the catalyst for a war engulfing the entire Central Plains in demonic calamity in the future—sought to establish Yang-ryeong as their base of operations.
For them, no location could have been more ideal.
With No Cheon-myeong, a martial artist of Heaven-Human Unity, present, and myself as Supreme Commander, most renowned martial artists would never even consider targeting this place.
Yet I had been dispatched to the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, leaving the administration of Yang-ryeong to my subordinates.
No matter how formidable a master No Cheon-myeong was in Heaven-Human Unity, he was no Supreme Commander.
Since operating the academy was his primary duty, upon closer inspection, while Yang-ryeong appeared outwardly fortified with an impenetrable barrier, internally it required only deceiving the eyes of a few martial artists at the Harmony Realm or Five Energy Harmonizing Origin level—and those below—to establish themselves with ease.
There was one thing they had overlooked.
They were caught by Han Seok-hyeon, a brilliant strategist, before they could even attempt to establish their foothold.
The greater problem lay with the Hwan-myeong Group itself.
When blood is spilled, they ensure blood is spilled in return. They were undoubtedly planning revenge, whether knowingly or unknowingly.
Most critically, with a fortnight having passed, the probability that their plans were already in motion was exceedingly high.
Han Seok-hyeon exhaled deeply and bowed his head low.
“I apologize.”
“Why do you apologize?”
“…If I had simply observed without acting, this situation would not have arisen.”
Seol Woon-hwi shook his head.
“You bear no fault. The fault lies with them.”
“….”
“They sought to establish a base in Yang-ryeong without my consent, proceeding in secret.”
Han Seok-hyeon raised his head.
“That alone provides sufficient justification. Moreover, your measures were adequate. The only problem is one thing.”
“What is that?”
“Their true strength.”
“…Supreme Commander….”
“I shall handle what comes next. I entrust the aftermath to you.”
“Understood.”
Then, suddenly, I unfolded the letter in my hand.
–
Jeon Bi of Cheongsu Village offers respectful greetings to the Supreme Commander.
First, I express my gratitude for writing a new chapter in the history of the Murim.
I am also grateful for your return.
The matter is this: the “experiment” is nearly complete.
Whenever you have time, please come see it once.
–
Both Seol Woon-hwi and Seo Hyo know that something resembling a Jiangshi—what would later be called the future Demonic Heaven Person—is being created in Cheongsu Village.
And the Demonic Heaven Person won’t appear for at least ten years from now, yet it’s nearly complete?
Is it faster than expected?
Or does the word “nearly” mean that ten years of time has been delayed?
I was somewhat curious about it.
A Jiangshi reaching at least the Heaven Earth Four Realms level.
A murder weapon that obeys only its master’s commands.
Many things happened on my first day back in Yang-ryeong, but I can handle them one by one.
The priority now was the Hwan-myeong Group.
* * *
In the training ground of the main branch of Yang-ryeong, all the martial artists of the Yang Woon Dan and even the warehouse keepers and guards newly hired two weeks ago were gathered.
Their number was roughly fifty.
They murmured among themselves.
“Why the sudden summons?”
“I don’t know. As soon as the Supreme Commander returned….”
“Is this some kind of demonstration? What is this?”
Ju So-ah and Namgung Won Yang, who had summoned them, said nothing and remained silent.
It was truly a strange affair.
Then it happened.
“Silence.”
It was a small voice, yet it struck everyone’s ears with firm authority.
At those words, the training ground fell quiet.
Thud, thud.
Footsteps echoed.
Everyone turned their heads.
A man in his early twenties with his hair tied back tightly in a knot.
One must never judge him by appearance alone.
This man was the genius among geniuses stirring up the Murim.
A monster who had elevated the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance to one of the three great powers of the Central Plains under the title of Cheon Ui Jung-jeong, and transformed the epithet Snow Mountain Demon Lord from mockery into pure terror itself.
Seol Woon-hwi naturally took his place between Ju So-ah and Namgung Won Yang.
He slowly swept his gaze across the fifty-odd people and spoke.
“Listen carefully to what I say from now on.”
“….”
“Do not respond. Simply listen.”
The people nodded their heads.
Seol Woon-hwi closed his eyes.
His lips moved silently.
Jeonum.
A voice transmitted simultaneously to all fifty-odd people.
It was thunderous in its magnitude, crystalline in its clarity.
One life for one life, blood debt paid in blood.
A life for a life—debts written in blood are settled in blood.
Seol Woon-hwi’s eyes remained closed.
Throughout every moment of sending the Jeonum, he had concentrated solely on perceiving the qi signatures of everyone present without missing a single fluctuation.
The crowd’s reactions diverged.
Most wore expressions of bewilderment.
“…What is this?”
“What does it mean?”
Several tilted their heads in confusion.
“Is it a motto?”
“A new motto for Yang Woon Dan?”
“…What organization creates a motto like that?”
Most reactions were similar.
But precisely three people.
They were different.
Shock.
Panic.
Seol Woon-hwi’s eyes snapped open.
Two martial artists from Yang Woon Dan.
And one warehouse keeper.
He had pinpointed the exact locations of all three.
Seol Woon-hwi spoke.
“The rest of you may leave.”
Just as the bewildered crowd began to disperse.
“But.”
Seol Woon-hwi pointed at the three with his finger.
“You three stay behind.”
The faces of the three drained of color, while the remaining people began to murmur.
“Why only those three…?”
“What is this about?”
Ju So-ah, who had been observing from the sidelines, stepped forward.
“Stop your whispering and leave quietly.”
The crowd dispersed in an instant.
People filed out of the Training Ground one by one.
Only Seol Woon-hwi, the three he had singled out, and his own people remained.
“Ju So-ah.”
“Yes, Supreme Commander.”
“What are the names of those three?”
“In order: Seo Ho-jun, member of the Yang Woon Dan 1st Unit; Jin Mu, unit commander of the 2nd Unit; and Bang Seok-yun, the warehouse keeper.”
Seol Woon-hwi nodded as if committing the information to memory, then fixed his gaze upon the three men.
“Sit.”
“…S-Supreme Commander.”
Seo Ho-jun spoke with a trembling voice, his eyes immediately darting toward Namgung Won Yang. Previously, Namgung Won Yang had been the unit leader of the 1st Unit. With Han Mu-rin’s absence, she had come to command both the 1st and 2nd Units, so Seo Ho-jun was now appealing to his unit leader for help.
But there was something he did not know.
Namgung Won Yang harbored absolute loyalty to Seol Woon-hwi.
And this situation could only mean one thing—he had committed some grave transgression. Namgung Won Yang would never entertain the notion that Seol Woon-hwi could make a mistake.
Thus, she merely fixed him with a cold, piercing stare.
“Unit Leader… why are you…?”
“Are my words not reaching your ears?”
At the chilling tone of Seol Woon-hwi’s voice, Seo Ho-jun immediately took his seat.
“It seems there has been a misunderstanding.”
“…Pardon?”
“When I said sit, I meant for you to kneel. Is my meaning still unclear?”
All three men dropped to their knees as if bound by an unspoken pact.
Seol Woon-hwi walked forward before them and posed a terse question.
“What was your purpose in establishing a foothold here?”
“A foothold… you mean…?”
“Did you exploit the darkness beneath the lamp?”
“…”
“A master of Heaven-Human Unity guards this land, making your operations far easier. With no one to interfere, you could work unimpeded.”
“…”
“The Hwan-myeong Group—have you been recruited by them?”
The three men’s answer was silence.
Seol Woon-hwi let out a low chuckle.
“A simple nod would suffice. Can you not even manage that?”
Jin Mu answered with a trembling voice.
“…Yes. We have been recruited.”
“I see.”
I did not bother asking what they had been recruited for.
I had no desire to know.
“Any final words?”
“…Pardon?”
In that instant.
Shwing—!
The Jinwha Cheonryeong Geom severed his neck.
With breathtaking speed.
Without a shred of pain.
Jin Mu’s head fell to the ground.
Of all those present in this place, not a soul except Manager Seong witnessed Seol Woon-hwi draw his sword.
At some point, the blade simply materialized in his hand, and then it moved.
That was all.
The movements of a master who has reached a certain realm are precious merely to witness. In circumstances such as these, they transcend preciousness and become terror itself.
Seo Ho-jun and Bang Seok-yun’s faces drained of all color.
“Ugh… Urrgh….”
Seol Woon-hwi lowered his sword before Bang Seok-yun, who was retching.
“Watch carefully.”
The two men stared at Seol Woon-hwi with trembling eyes.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————