Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 433

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

Chapter 433
Chapter 1
The Nantian Gate would open no more.
That was an undeniable fact.
And from the moment that fact became reality, my work at the Snow Palace was finished.
What had truly changed from my previous life?
It could be explained in a single word.
Everything.
Everything had changed.
Not a single member of the Polar Descendants had fallen.
The Eldest Son had inherited the position of Young Palace Lord intact.
His talent was extraordinary, and at not yet thirty, he was already gazing toward the Heaven-Human Realm.
Then what of the internal situation?
I had excised all those who gnawed away like insects.
Not only the Elder Council but every vermin within.
Moreover, the Seol-gung Triangle that would directly support the Snow Palace, along with all the maternal family sects, now moved under Seol Ho-ryeong’s leadership.
It did not end there.
Seol Jung-cheon, who in my previous life had remained at the Great Void Formless realm, had now ascended to Primordial Sole Existence and displayed his true form as the Ice Heaven Supreme—and there was nothing left that could threaten us.
This Nan-cheon Region was the final piece.
Now that this was complete, regardless of who praised Seol Woon-hwi or what they did, I had no choice but to execute the resolve I had made before.
“Young Master.”
At the sudden sound of Manager Seong’s voice, I turned my head.
Manager Seong wore a complicated expression, as did Ju So-ah and Namgung Won Yang.
These three were no fools.
“You intend to depart.”
I nodded.
We had spent longer together than I had anticipated.
They were people I had accepted as my own, and in Manager Seong’s case especially, we were like family.
I spoke in a quiet voice.
“I intend to go to the Original Blood Sect.”
At those words, Manager Seong nodded as if he had anticipated it, but Ju So-ah and Namgung Won Yang were greatly startled.
“…The Original… Blood Sect?”
“There is work I must do there.”
They dared not ask what that was.
Honestly, even if they asked, I doubted I would answer, and fundamentally, if it were me, I would do what was right, just as I had in this matter.
But my next words exceeded all their expectations.
“Will you come with me?”
They were at a loss for words.
Wait, hold on.
“The Original… to that Original Blood Sect? Us?”
“Were there two Original Blood Sects?”
“….”
“There should be only one—the Original Blood Sect located in Il Won Go Won.”
Ju So-ah swallowed hard.
“…It’s crawling with Blood Persons, and didn’t we kill quite a few of their people back in Yang-ryeong?”
“We did.”
“But… can we actually go there?”
“If I wish to go, then we shall.”
It was a fundamental question.
“What will you do once you’re there?”
“I must do what needs to be done.”
Like every organization in this world, no matter how brilliant its leadership, internal problems are inevitable.
The Original Blood Sect is undoubtedly the largest organization in the Central Plains.
Though it has several branches, even if all of them were combined, they would not reach half the strength of the Original Blood Sect.
At best, they might amount to a third.
And the Original Blood Sect alone overwhelms the Martial Alliance, the Four Heaven Alliance, and even the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance.
Within it exist hundreds of masters at the Heaven Earth Four Realms level, and dozens of masters at the Martial God Five Realms level.
It is a monstrous organization in every sense, and even with a Martial World Supreme sustaining it, problems are bound to arise.
In my previous life, I endured tremendous hardship.
And through that process, I made one crucial choice.
That choice ultimately resulted in unifying the Murim, but this time I intend to take a different path.
Manager Seong answered with resolve.
“I will go without hesitation. Even if I become a spirit, I will follow.”
Ju So-ah, who had been deliberating for a moment, let out a sigh.
“I’m not quite willing to follow as a spirit, but if there’s something I can do, just tell me. I’ll help however I can.”
There was one person who said nothing.
Namgung Won Yang.
I asked her.
“Are you hesitant?”
“…I was worried it might cause difficulties if I went.”
“Difficulties… You speak of Namgung Hyeon.”
“…Yes.”
“There is no need to worry.”
I was certain of this.
“There will be no conflict with him, and within no distant time, you will avenge your parents.”
Namgung Won Yang’s eyes gleamed.
It was her deepest desire.
A wish everyone yearns to fulfill, yet few ever do.
I was opening that path for her, and it would be strange not to follow.
“I’ll go. Tell me whatever you need.”
Seol Woon-hwi nodded.
Thus it was decided.
Three people would go to the Original Blood Sect, excluding Seol Woon-hwi.
Ju So-ah, Namgung Won Yang, and Manager Seong.
“Young Master, will you depart immediately?”
Seol Woon-hwi shook his head.
There was something I needed to do first.
“I intend to go to the Eternal Snow Palace.”
I needed to report to Father.
And we needed to speak.
* * *
Having passed through the Wind Wall, I arrived at the Main Palace of the Eternal Snow Palace.
My first destination was not the Palace Lord’s Hall.
The Eastern Outer Separate Residence.
My childhood.
Until exactly ten years old, I had spent my days here.
I walked about the surroundings.
Though bitter winds ravaged the region, this place alone maintained an almost excessive warmth.
A small training ground, weapon racks pristine as if newly made.
Much time had passed, and thanks to the other managers who continuously maintained this place, all traces of the past had vanished, yet the locations themselves remained unchanged.
Everything in this world has a beginning.
Then where should one set the reference point of that beginning?
When I met Cheon Do-ja? When I fled from Snow Palace?
When I met a fateful encounter and awakened my own talents?
Or when I underwent something like a regression through Cheonji Won Young?
If one establishes a clear reference point, none of those aforementioned could ever be the true ‘beginning’.
Everything began from this place.
From here began the rejection, from here began the isolation. This was where my childhood frailty was forged, that frailty which drove me from Snow Palace, and when I sought my fateful encounter, it became desperation.
This is the place.
I stood in the center of the training ground and closed my eyes.
When I told Father that Ho Ryeong, the eldest son, should become the Young Palace Lord of Snow Palace.
From that moment, I foresaw this situation.
I had grown far too great; if I remained in Snow Palace, it could not endure me.
This is not to diminish Snow Palace as an organization. It is a matter of its unique nature.
Neither a nation nor a sect.
This place must tend to the hearts of its people and maintain its center.
Two suns cannot hang in the same sky.
One sun, one moon.
That is appropriate.
Father, Seol Jung-cheon, is the sun.
Seol Ho-ryeong, Seol Woon-hwi’s elder brother, was the moon.
If Seol Woon-hwi took his place, both the sun and moon would suffer damage. They would waver, and eventually that would develop into civil war.
Even if Seol Woon-hwi did not wish it, there would be those who sought to advance their agendas, and if he began killing them, that would become another problem entirely.
In the end.
It all came down to Seol Woon-hwi.
If Seol Woon-hwi disappeared, all those problems would vanish with him. Then there was no choice. The righteous path had to be taken.
Seol Woon-hwi harbored not the slightest hesitation in sacrificing himself.
I opened my eyes slowly.
Before me stood a man.
“It has been a long time, Leader.”
Cheon Ri Shin Mok Hyeon Sim, leader of the White Command Guard.
He smiled faintly.
“Indeed, it has been far too long. And… I am grateful.”
“For what do you speak?”
“You resolved the Nan-cheon Region. Lord Hyeon Seol-rin saved Snow Mountain.”
With that, he performed a respectful Embracing Fist Salute.
“As the leader of the White Command Guard, and as a guardian deity protecting Snow Mountain, I offer my deepest gratitude to Lord Hyeon Seol-rin.”
I received the salute in silence and nodded.
I had no intention of diminishing myself to the point of denying even the accomplishments I had achieved.
I simply spoke briefly.
“I merely did what needed to be done.”
“Yet no one else could accomplish it.”
“Someone would have eventually.”
…
“It was merely a matter of time. What I did was not something worthy of praise, but rather a model answer showing what the Polar Descendants should do and how they should conduct themselves.”
“Hmm…”
“So there is no need to hold me in such high regard, Leader.”
Hyeon Sim scratched his head.
He thought to himself: this man has truly changed so much.
Hyeon Sim had spent quite a long time at Snow Palace himself.
He was among those who had witnessed Seol Woon-hwi’s growth.
That small child from back then, grasping a sword with tiny hands in this small training ground, striking at scarecrows.
Had now become one of the most formidable masters of the Murim world.
It was truly regrettable that those unfamiliar with the details of Seol Woon-hwi did not perceive him as such, despite the heavens and earth being turned upside down.
“By the way, your head seems to shine particularly brightly today.”
Hyeon Sim’s eyes widened.
“Ah… is that so? Perhaps it is because the sunlight is so intense.”
“It shines beautifully.”
He laughed heartily.
It was subtle.
I had always kept my conversations with Seol Woon-hwi strictly professional, yet I found that casual discourse was not without its merits.
“I wish to see my father.”
At those words, Hyeon Sim snapped to attention.
“The Palace Lord has just instructed me to bring Lord Hyeon Seol-rin to him.”
Hyeon Sim turned his body to the side as he spoke.
“Allow me to escort you. Shall we depart?”
Seol Woon-hwi nodded.
Thus we arrived at the Study, situated at the far end of the center of the Main Palace.
Seol Jung-cheon’s Study.
Here, Seol Jung-cheon had devoted himself to unraveling the secrets of Seol Heun, the founding Palace Lord, poring over countless texts and manuscripts.
In my previous life, I had scarcely left this place, and after learning this fact from Seol Woon-hwi, the Study had become something akin to shackles for Seol Jung-cheon.
I had not approached it since, so being summoned here meant that Seol Jung-cheon had wrestled with profound deliberation.
Standing before the Study’s door, I knocked.
“Enter.”
A low, resonant voice.
The absolute sovereign of Snow Palace.
Bing Cheon Ji-jon Seol Jung-cheon.
And Seol Woon-hwi’s father.
Seol Woon-hwi opened the door and stepped inside.
Seol Jung-cheon sat alone before a Go board.
At a glance, he was reviewing a game. Seol Jung-cheon lifted his gaze to regard Seol Woon-hwi, his hand coming to rest.
“You have come.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Sit.”
Seol Woon-hwi took a seat across from him, the Go board between us.
Seol Jung-cheon cleared away the Go stones.
Slowly.
One by one.
“I have heard the news.”
“Indeed, sir.”
“That the Nantian Gate has vanished.”
“Yes.”
“For the first time in five hundred years.”
Seol Jung-cheon set down a single Go stone.
“You have accomplished a remarkable feat.”
“I am unworthy of such praise.”
“You are worthy.”
Seol Jung-cheon regarded Seol Woon-hwi.
“You have achieved what the Eternal Snow Palace could not accomplish in five hundred years.”
“….”
“I am proud of you.”
Seol Woon-hwi lowered his head.
“Thank you.”
“Raise your head.”
Seol Woon-hwi lifted his gaze.
His eyes met Seol Jung-cheon’s.
A profound gaze.
Eyes that read one another.
Seol Jung-cheon’s eyes descended. The black stone he had just placed sat solitary beside the center point.

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