Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 381

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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 381
She practiced every technique with obsessive fervor.
As if her body moved as one unified whole.
As if everything connected in a single instant.
Her relentless practice pursued only two things.
Precision, and speed.
Had Il-hwa grasped even one of those two aspects, the outcome might have differed.
Il-hwa’s expression hardened as Namgung Won Yang’s sword began to move again.
Shadowless Sword Technique of Deception.
The second technique.
Illusion and Reality Intertwined.
This time, five sword arcs.
False and true blended together, deceiving the eyes and confounding mind and body.
Startled, Il-hwa unleashed her palm technique.
Flying Swallow Falling Flower Palm.
A light and swift palm technique, as delicate as a swallow scattering flower petals.
Crash—!!
With a thunderous boom, the palm force rippled outward in all directions.
But Namgung Won Yang’s sword pierced through it.
Precision and speed.
She transitioned her attack from the second technique, Illusion and Reality Intertwined, to the third technique, Shadowless Moon Slash.
So natural, flowing like water—the result of countless hours of effort.
And inevitably, it scattered all of Il-hwa’s palm force.
Energy scattered in all directions.
Won Yang’s eyes gleamed.
Dozens of openings visible to her gaze.
Toward two spaces among them that could not be blocked, that could not even be attempted to block, she extended her sword.
Il-hwa’s eyes widened.
Slash—!
Il-hwa’s shoulder was cut.
And.
Slash—!
Her right thigh was also slashed.
“Ugh….”
As Il-hwa collapsed, she immediately extended her opposite arm toward Won Yang’s face.
Dozens of projectiles burst forth from there, just as before.
With a soft sound, Namgung Won Yang’s body vanished from that spot.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
The projectiles embedded themselves in the ceiling.
Il-hwa’s body went rigid.
I feel the cold blade pressing against my neck.
I swallow hard.
From behind her, Namgung Won Yang’s voice reaches me.
“My master taught me this.”
Namgung Won Yang speaks quietly.
“Never be consumed by mere tools.”
“That’s… that’s impossible….”
Il-hwa is a master of the Five Energy Harmonizing Origin.
Like all cultivation realms, the Five Energy Harmonizing Origin contains subdivisions within it, and there is a clear difference between those who have just reached it and those who have been at this level for years.
Il-hwa was stronger than the two men who had died before.
But Namgung Won Yang before my eyes was different in skill, despite having a similar realm.
No, the realm was not the issue.
It was a difference in cultivation level.
“…I understand… I’ll go see this master or whatever…!”
With those words, Il-hwa thrust her neck toward Namgung Won Yang’s sword.
Since her intent to commit suicide was apparent, Namgung Won Yang had no choice but to withdraw the blade.
Then Il-hwa sprang to her feet, wiped the blood flowing from her neck, and immediately kicked off toward the sword that had fallen to the ground.
Won Yang let out a sigh.
Why was Il-hwa trying to grab that sword?
To counterattack? No.
It was also to commit suicide.
Won Yang kicked off and whispered softly.
“Lone Army Traversing Heaven.”
The sword was swung once.
And then.
Whoosh—
A single line of sword energy split into dozens of fragments.
“Wh… what…?”
Il-hwa’s eyes widened as she seized the sword that had fallen to the ground.
Sword energy engulfed all directions.
There was nowhere to escape.
It first knocked the sword she was holding to the side.
Then it flew toward her entire body.
Arms, legs, shoulders, thighs.
Wounds opened everywhere.
Slash, slash, slash.
Il-hwa collapsed to the ground.
She tried to stand, but her body would not move.
Namgung Won Yang approached slowly.
“I warned you.”
“…Ugh….”
“Take one more step and I’ll shatter your legs.”
Namgung Won Yang, her sword reversed, pointed at Il-hwa’s left thigh.
“W… Wait…?”
The blade descends.
Crack—! Crunch—!
“Ah… Aaaahhh—!!”
Il-hwa’s screams echoed throughout Chwi Hyang Gak.
I keep my promises.
Like someone.
Won Yang, gazing down at the writhing Il-hwa, struck her blood path.
Il-hwa’s body went limp.
* * *
The sensation of cold stone beneath her registered first.
Her entire body throbbed with pain.
Especially her left leg.
The agony radiating from the shattered limb jolted her consciousness awake.
“Ugh….”
Il-hwa’s eyes opened slowly.
Through her blurred vision, the ceiling came into focus.
A low ceiling.
Somewhere, the sound of dripping water echoed.
‘…Underground, then.’
The moment she tried to turn her head.
“Awake.”
A voice reached her ears.
Neither cold nor warm—a voice utterly devoid of emotion.
It was businesslike, as though merely confirming a fact.
Il-hwa turned her head.
And she saw him.
A man perched on the stairs.
Young.
Ash-grey hair framing a face that appeared barely past his prime.
Clad in a black long robe, he rested his chin on one hand, his gaze fixed upon her.
In this vast Murim, men of such appearance were rare—and rarer still were those who emanated such an enigmatic presence.
Which meant she could identify him with certainty.
‘…Seol Woon-hwi.’
The man she had heard of only in rumors.
The one who had elevated the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance to one of the three great powers.
The Polar Descendant of the Eternal Snow Palace.
That man was looking down at me now.
“It must hurt.”
I said.
“Your legs are shattered.”
“….”
“But I didn’t kill you.”
I rose from the stairs.
I approached her slowly.
“Are you curious why I brought you here?”
Il-hwa did not answer.
I crouched down before her.
“I value resolve.”
“….”
“I respect those who stake their lives on something.”
My eyes fixed upon Il-hwa.
“But you are different.”
“…What… do you mean?”
“You possess resolve but lack cause and effect; you have will but no justification; you wield a blade but know not where to point it.”
“…As the rumors say, you do speak in riddles.”
“Did you not understand?”
“I understood, but I cannot empathize with it.”
“Empathize… I have no reason to make you understand, but consider the case of Yeom Chu-seop.”
Il-hwa’s eyes wavered.
“He killed an old man named Song Hak. Of course, he did not merely kill him. He tortured Song Hak, who was on death’s door.”
“….”
“He tortured him despite having nothing to extract. Whether it was pleasure or an expression of will directed at a twisted target, I do not know. Nor do I wish to.”
“….”
“And the Soul-Shattering Needle Technique is certainly among the highest torture methods I know.”
This was not a false statement.
Once, I gathered all the torture techniques I knew and created a secret manual called the Ten Thousand Ages Punishment God Record, and roughly six of the torture methods within it were created by referencing the Soul-Shattering Needle Technique.
“Of course, it was not an order from the Hwan-myeong Group.”
“….”
“The Hwan-myeong Group’s purpose is to incite war, not to pursue personal vengeance.”
My voice grew cold and heavy.
“Yeom Chu-seop acted independently. To satisfy his own thirst for revenge.”
“….”
“He will be sent to the Imperial Court. And the ‘four others’ besides you will be sent as well.”
Il-hwa’s eyes widened.
“They will not die peacefully. Even if they reveal every secret they know, they will die miserably.”
“…I don’t know those people?”
Seol Woon-hwi let out a soft chuckle.
“Even in a situation like this, you wish to make excuses.”
Seol Woon-hwi rose from his seat.
“Whether you make excuses or not matters little to me, but aren’t you curious?”
“…Curious about what?”
“Why I brought only you.”
“….”
“Among Ha Mu-baek, Cheong Rin, Jang Jin, and Shin Cheol-san—why you?”
Il-hwa swallowed hard.
“Yeom Chu-seop was the one who moved directly, and the five of you spread rumors and muddied information. Of course, there may be those he commands personally.”
“….”
“There’s no need to dwell on that part—they’re insignificant anyway. To cut to the point: you are different from the other four.”
“…Different how?”
“Over the past two years, similar incidents have occurred. Nam-yang Province, Seo-ju City, Wol Kingdom, and here today—four locations in total. You are the only person present at all four.”
Il-hwa clenched her teeth.
“I did see Hyeol Mu, but he was beyond reasoning with.”
“…That’s a story I know nothing about.”
Seol Woon-hwi let out a soft chuckle.
“I say again: you were present at all three previous incident sites. And you were here today as well. That means you’re no ordinary member—you’re either directly under the Hwan-myeong Group’s leadership or at minimum in frequent contact with them.”
Il-hwa clenched her teeth.
“…I said I don’t know.”
Seol Woon-hwi nodded.
“If you don’t know, then there’s nothing for it. You’ll have to die.”
“…What?”
“I intend to hand you over to Mak So-hong, the Unit Leader of the Heavenly-Earthly Sword Squad.”
“W…What…?”
“He now knows how Song Hak died, and he despises the Hwan-myeong Group—a very demon himself, thinking only of torturing them at every turn and then killing them.”
“….”
“In his hands, you will suffer greatly.”
“…You won’t do it yourself?”
“Whether I kill you or not, my hands are already stained with blood, and my relations with the Hwan-myeong Group are poor. Why bother? Regardless of what other members of the group do, the Hwan-myeong Group itself will face pursuit from the Yang Empire and Jeokna Kingdom and will be annihilated. No matter what they do, your deaths are inevitable. And if you must know, I too am a busy man. I don’t have much time to play with trash like you. So there’s no harm in wrapping this up here.”
Having said this, Seol Woon-hwi gestured with his hand.
At that, Namgung Won Yang, who had been waiting in the corner, approached swiftly as if she’d been expecting this.
“Take this woman to Mak So-hong.”
“Yes, sir.”
Won Yang immediately moved to seize Il-hwa by the hair, and Il-hwa, backing away to evade her, dragged her shattered legs behind her.
“P…Please wait. Just a moment…!”
When Seol Woon-hwi raised his hand, Won Yang stopped.
“W-wait a moment. Just a second…!”
Seol Woon-hwi raises his hand, and Won Yang stops.
Despair clouded Il-hwa’s eyes.
Il-hwa spoke in a trembling voice.
“I don’t know much.”
“What I want to know is how much you know about the Divine Physicians of the Hwan-myeong Group.”
“…There’s one….”
“What is their name?”
“…I don’t know.”
“How can you not know?”
“I truly don’t know. We don’t seek out the Divine Physicians in the first place. They come to find us.”
“Continue.”
“Besides, there’s no fixed location. We meet in different places each time.”
Il-hwa spoke in a trembling voice.
“And…their face changes every time we meet.”
“They use transformation arts, then.”
“…It seems that way.”
Seol Woon-hwi fell silent in thought.
“Then how do you make contact.”
“…A messenger bird.”
“A messenger bird?”
“The Hwan-myeong Group has its own messenger bird. One with crimson feathers….”
Il-hwa trailed off.
“When we send a message through that bird, the Divine Physician sends a reply.”
“Where is that messenger bird.”
“…In an abandoned house three li from here….”
Seol Woon-hwi nodded.
“Good.”
He approached Il-hwa again and spoke.
“Send a message through the messenger bird to the Divine Physician.”
“…What?”
“Tell them I wish to see them. Have them come.”
Il-hwa’s eyes widened.

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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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