Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 388

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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 388
Seol Woon-hwi tapped the table.
“The ocean accepts all things. Rivers, rain, even filth.”
“…”
“Yet the ocean remains unchanged. It is still the ocean.”
“…So that is the Limitless.”
“Indeed.”
Tap.
Seol Woon-hwi placed another stone.
“What of the Free Wandering?”
“…The kun transforms into the peng.”
“The fish becomes the bird.”
“Yes.”
“Why does it transform?”
“To fly.”
“You are mistaken.”
“…What?”
Gun Mu-gyeol’s eyes widened.
“It is to be free.”
Seol Woon-hwi spoke with certainty.
“The fish is free within the water. Yet it cannot soar through the heavens.”
“…”
“So it becomes a bird. Not merely to fly.”
“…Then?”
“To be free in both water and sky.”
Gun Mu-gyeol held his breath.
“The true meaning of Free Wandering is.”
Seol Woon-hwi’s voice resonated.
“To be unbound anywhere.”
“…Ah?”
“Confined neither in water nor shackled in the sky.”
“That is…”
“The Way of Non-Action and Natural Harmony.”
Silence.
A long silence stretched between them.
Gun Mu-gyeol gazed upon the Go board.
Black and white.
Intermingled, yet one.
“Do you begin to see it?”
“…I see it.”
“But merely observing will not lead you upward.”
Seol Woon-hwi gazed directly at Gun Mu-gyeol.
“You must realize it.”
“Realize? How?”
“Complete the Go game to the very end.”
Tap, tap, tap—
The Go game continued.
The endgame.
The Go board was nearly full.
Black and white stones intertwined across the board.
“Alliance Leader. What do you see on this Go board?”
“I see black and white.”
“Is that all?”
“Hmm?”
Gun Mu-gyeol gazed at the Go board once more.
For a long moment.
“I see empty spaces.”
“Indeed.”
Seol Woon-hwi smiled.
“There are empty spaces.”
“….”
“There is black, there is white, and there are empty spaces.”
Seol Woon-hwi pointed to the empty spaces.
“These empty spaces are the Limitless.”
“….”
“No matter how many black and white stones fill the board, the empty spaces remain empty.”
“…I see.”
“If the Alliance Leader’s Northern Ming Divine Art is the ocean.”
Seol Woon-hwi continued.
“Then these empty spaces are that very ocean.”
Gun Mu-gyeol’s eyes widened greatly.
“If the Free Wandering Scripture is freedom.”
“….”
“Then it is becoming free within these empty spaces.”
Gun Mu-gyeol’s hand trembled.
“This is the final move.”
Seol Woon-hwi picked up a white stone.
“Where will you place this stone?”
Gun Mu-gyeol looked at the Go board.
Several empty spaces remained.
Gun Mu-gyeol pointed to a single location on the board.
“Why that spot?”
“Because the position there is most favorable.”
“You’re wrong.”
Seol Woon-hwi placed a white stone in an entirely unexpected location.
Clack—
“…Why there?”
“Because that space was empty.”
Gun Mu-gyeol’s eyes widened. Seol Woon-hwi continued speaking.
“I didn’t consider position, advantage, or anything at all.”
Seol Woon-hwi spoke quietly.
“I placed it there simply because it was empty.”
Looking only at the game’s outcome, I had already lost.
But this wasn’t about the result of the game.
It was a different discourse on emptiness itself.
“…This is…?”
“Wu Wei—actionless action.”
Gun Mu-gyeol’s eyes trembled.
“To act without intention, to move without calculation.”
“…”
“To simply flow with nature.”
My voice resonated in Gun Mu-gyeol’s ears.
“Recall the Northern Darkness Divine Art.”
Qi began to flow from Gun Mu-gyeol’s body.
“Envision the sea. Vast, deep, and empty.”
“…”
“Empty yourself. Release all attachments.”
Gun Mu-gyeol’s breathing deepened.
“Now recall the Carefree Wandering.”
“…”
“Envision freedom. Freedom bound to nothing.”
Gun Mu-gyeol’s body trembled faintly.
“Picture the great roc soaring above the sea.”
“…”
“But it is not the roc. It is you, Alliance Leader.”
“…”
“You are the sea, and you are the sky.”
My voice continued.
“You are the roc, and you are the wind.”
“…”
“Everything is the Alliance Leader, and the Alliance Leader is everything.”
In that instant.
KABOOOOOM—!!!
A tremendous surge of energy erupted from Gun Mu-gyeol’s body.
The entire chamber trembled.
No—the whole Bangju Hall shook.
Namgung Won Yang staggered backward.
But I remained motionless.
“That’s it.”
I spoke quietly.
“That is the Primordial Sole Existence.”
Light blazed forth from Gun Mu-gyeol’s body.
Heaven and Earth Energy converged upon him.
From all sides.
From above.
From below.
From every direction.
It swirled around Gun Mu-gyeol at its center.
“Many yet one.”
My voice resonated.
“Primordial Harmony.”
KABOOOOOM—!!!!
A colossal explosion.
But sound alone.
No destruction.
Everything was drawn inward into Gun Mu-gyeol.
Heaven and Earth Energy.
The spiritual essence of the atmosphere.
All of it.
I watched it unfold in silence.
In my previous life, Gun Mu-gyeol was undoubtedly a power broker.
In this life, he remains one as well.
Yet regrettably, he must not die now.
He must not crumble.
A man I have slain once before.
Slaying him a second time would prove no difficulty.
Therefore, he must live.
For the balance of the scales.
I rose from my seat.
Now.
I had to confront the true face of this contemptible and utterly ridiculous power broker, Gun Mu-gyeol.
Seol Woon-hwi moved forward at a measured pace.
Won Yang followed in his footsteps.
Seol Woon-hwi spoke in a quiet voice.
“Draw your sword.”
Won Yang, his expression resolute, unsheathed his blade.
The moment Seol Woon-hwi opened the doors of the Bangju Hall and stepped outside, he could see them.
Zhuge Yeong-hyeon, smiling brightly.
“You’ve endured much hardship.”
“Does it appear so?”
Seol Woon-hwi chuckled softly at his own words.
On either side of Seol Woon-hwi and at the entrance of the Bangju Hall behind him, exactly three figures were positioned.
The two on either side were at the Heaven-Human Realm, while the one behind was at the Heaven-Human Unity stage.
It was far from over.
Approximately twenty martial artists emerged from the surroundings, swords in hand.
While their individual realms varied, all of them were practitioners of the Flame Qi Four Stages.
Not a single one fell below the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown.
A killing intent gleamed in Zhuge Yeong-hyeon’s smile.
“How extraordinary—that such a thing could occur.”
Seol Woon-hwi regarded Zhuge Yeong-hyeon in silence.
“That remarkable Cheon Ui Jung-jeong, the one called a genius who has shaken the entire Murim—how could you have attempted to assassinate the Alliance Leader of the Martial Alliance?”
“Is that the narrative you’ve constructed?”
“Ah, a narrative? It’s an undeniable fact. You are truly remarkable. How did you manage to engage in fierce combat with the Alliance Leader who has reached the Great Void Formless, and then escape with an injured body?”
“….”
“We, the Vice Alliance Leader of the Martial Alliance and the Azure Dragon Brigade, the pride of the Martial Alliance, subdued you. We wished to spare your life, but regrettably, we could not… truly a lamentable affair.”
Zhuge Yeong-hyeon unfurled his fan.
“Does this narrative please you?”
Seol Woon-hwi’s smile deepened.
“Not bad at all.”
“I’m relieved. Then… it’s time for you to die.”
The moment he lowered his fan.
They all charged forward.
Chapter 2
Or rather, they were about to charge forward.
“What in the heavens are you all doing!!”
A thunderous voice echoed through the air.
All eyes turned in that direction.
Wang Mu-ha of the Golden Sword Association.
One of the Eight Grand Elders of the Martial Alliance.
He descended from the sky.
At his entrance, Zhuge Yeong-hyeon’s brow furrowed sharply.
“…Elder Wang.”
“Vice Alliance Leader Zhuge!”
Wang Mu-ha stepped forward.
“What in the world is happening here!”
Zhuge Yeong-hyeon, releasing a heavy sigh, spoke coldly.
“Don’t you understand the situation?”
“…What?”
“There stands before us the criminal who attempted to assassinate the Martial Alliance Leader.”
Zhuge Yeong-hyeon pointed toward Seol Woon-hwi.
“Did you intend to simply watch and let him go?”
Wang Mu-ha’s expression turned incredulous.
“You mad bastard….”
He glared at Zhuge Yeong-hyeon.
“How deep does this conspiracy run?”
“It is the Alliance Leader’s command.”
Wang Mu-ha spoke to Zhuge Yeong-hyeon, who replied matter-of-factly.
“…Don’t jest. How could the Alliance Leader possibly….”
“You still don’t grasp it?”
Zhuge Yeong-hyeon’s voice dropped lower.
“The Ten Thousand Year Snow Palace threatens the Martial Alliance’s order.”
“…What are you…?”
“They make no distinction between righteousness and evil. They trade with demonic forces and shake hands with the unorthodox sects.”
Zhuge Yeong-hyeon folded his fan.
“If such a power grows stronger, the order of the Murim will crumble.”
“…That’s….”
“Moreover, there is Seol Woon-hwi.”
Zhuge Yeong-hyeon’s eyes turned toward Seol Woon-hwi.
“He elevated the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance to one of the three great powers. In mere months.”
“….”
“That ability, that cunning, that genius.”
Zhuge Yeong-hyeon continued.
“Left unchecked, he will surpass the Martial Alliance within a decade.”
“So you would kill him for that?”
“A rational choice.”
Unlike the enraged Wang Mu-ha, Zhuge Yeong-hyeon remained resolute.
“The Martial Alliance preserves the order of the Murim. Those who threaten that order must be eliminated—whether righteous sect, unorthodox sect, or blood cult.”
“….”
“The Ten Thousand Year Snow Palace claims neutrality. Yet that very neutrality is the danger.”
Zhuge Yeong-hyeon’s voice continued, glacial and unyielding.
“Not taking anyone’s side means you can join hands with anyone.”
“….”
“What if the Ten Thousand Year Snow Palace joins hands with the Blood Cult? What if they ally with the Sichuan Sect?”
Zhuge Yeong-hyeon gestured toward Seol Woon-hwi with his fan.
“The Martial Alliance cannot stand against them.”
“That’s… merely a hypothesis!”
“We prevent the hypothesis from becoming reality. And consider this—that man actually maintains excellent relations with both the Sichuan Sect and the Original Blood Sect. Moreover, he’s a power broker who can manipulate the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance from behind the scenes, so this hypothesis will soon become reality.”
Zhuge Yeong-hyeon paused briefly, then spoke with an enigmatic smile.
“It is the Martial Alliance’s duty to prevent that.”
Wang Mu-ha found himself at a loss for words.
It was rational.
Far too rational.
But.
‘This is… wrong.’
Wang Mu-ha knew the truth.
That this was not right.
“I cannot accept this.”
Wang Mu-ha walked toward Seol Woon-hwi.
“Elder Wang, what are you doing?”
Wang Mu-ha took his place beside Seol Woon-hwi.
“Young Master Seol did not assassinate the Alliance Leader.”
“… He is the man who founded the realm called the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown. Truly a remarkable man, which is why he could engage in a fierce battle with the Alliance Leader.”
“If they fought, then what is this silence?”
“….”
“Do I appear foolish to you? The Alliance Leader inside surely obtained enlightenment to ascend to the Primordial Sole Existence. And this man must have aided him in that process.”
“….”
“Yet how can you repay kindness with betrayal? Is this the Alliance Leader’s will? Not your own?”
Zhuge Yeong-hyeon chose not to answer.
Wang Mu-ha, speaking as he did, would know the truth himself.
That is precisely why his anger burned so fiercely.
Wang Mu-ha spoke with absolute conviction.
“This man is not one to commit such deeds, nor does he deserve such treatment. How can a martial artist who has walked his own path be subjected to this?!”
“… How foolish you are.”
Zhuge Yeong-hyeon sighed.
Wang Mu-ha, his fists clenched tight, gazed at Seol Woon-hwi.
Last night, Seol Woon-hwi had spoken.
Tomorrow—that is, today—do not move no matter what happens.
This was it.
“… What battle are you truly fighting?”

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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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