Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 44
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 44
Seol-ap and Yang-ryeong.
What happened in these remote villages that could hardly be called cities was instantly transmitted to the Main Palace of the Ten Thousand Year Snow Palace.
Bing Cheon Ji-jon Seol Jung-cheon, who received the report, showed a quite unexpected reaction.
He let out a quiet chuckle.
If it were an ordinary person, such laughter would be common and unremarkable, but this was Seol Jung-cheon.
Known as a cold-blooded man, he never even let out hollow laughter.
That’s why all the key figures of the Snow Palace were now flustered. Especially Yang Seol-jin, who was continuing the report, was greatly bewildered.
He thought he had observed Seol Jung-cheon closer than anyone else, but something… felt different.
Was it his imagination?
To such Yang Seol-jin, Seol Jung-cheon asked.
“So, all four major sects of Yang-ryeong were completely destroyed?”
“Yes.”
“A warrior settled his grudge as a warrior should. Is there a problem with that?”
Though it might differ depending on one’s perspective, anyone could see that Hyeon Seol-rin Seol Woon-hwi’s conquest of Yang-ryeong was justified.
No, the justification itself was legitimate from the beginning.
After living as a puppet for six years, he had now achieved perfect revenge.
But there was one problem.
“He also killed County Magistrate Jeong Mu-gi.”
Seol Jung-cheon still seemed unconcerned.
“If those called the four major sects extorted money from Seol-ap, naturally their county magistrate would have received his share too. Am I right?”
“…You are correct. But there’s no evidence.”
“I heard there’s a ledger.”
“That ledger is with Hyeon Seol-rin, and we haven’t seen its contents, so…”
“You don’t know?”
“Yes.”
Seol Jung-cheon closed his mouth and fell into thought.
This.
Honestly speaking, he hadn’t expected much, but he didn’t know it would be to this extent.
He had suggested making a bet on whose path would lead where and who would reach the end first, but he didn’t know he would walk such a path.
It was fair to say he felt like he was walking a tightrope somewhere between the path of supremacy and the demonic path.
Looking at the sequence of events, it was far from ordinary.
First, he sent a letter as a warning and gave them a time limit.
That time limit was until midnight, and before they could establish countermeasures, he entered Yang-ryeong and assassinated all the heads of the four major sects.
What happened after the sect leader of Ju-ryeong Sword Gate, who had been in closed-door training, broke out was also quite impressive.
Enraged, he would naturally gather all the warriors of the four major sects… but they too were completely annihilated.
‘He collapsed a cliff…? It’s not like he’s acting recklessly without thought… He pursues the most certain method.’
What level is Seol Woon-hwi at now?
He’s at Yang Gwang I Hyeon, the beginning stage of the Flame Qi Four Stages.
For a warrior at that level to make the best choice, doing what he did earlier would be correct.
Then what if Woon-hwi were a warrior who had reached the Four Stages of Heaven and Earth?
He doesn’t simply charge in relying only on his body as a warrior, but uses his head as well.
Without looking far, many people saw Woon-hwi in a new light through this incident.
Impressive, and impressive again.
His handling of affairs is too perfect.
A warrior of Yang Gwang I Hyeon level, with barely forty people, devours an entire county?
He even touched the government, but he had already secured justification and even concealed the authenticity of the ledger.
As Yang Seol-jin said, it’s true that there’s a ledger, but whether the county magistrate’s name is written in it is uncertain.
That’s right.
Depending on Woon-hwi’s decision, it could be written or not written.
Did he calculate even that far?
Really.
It was amazing.
Soon Seol Jung-cheon’s mouth began to twitch.
Haha…
“Hahahahahahahaha!”
At Seol Jung-cheon’s sudden burst of laughter, everyone in the meeting hall fell silent.
Just moments before, those who had been spouting all sorts of nonsense about how they should summon Seol Woon-hwi to scold him, how they should hold him accountable for this incident, how they must make him take responsibility for this affair that could lead to the breakdown of relations with the Yang-je Kingdom, all swallowed their saliva.
“Haha… Interesting. Really interesting.”
Seol Jung-cheon was sincere.
“Now I finally see the true character of a Polar Descendant.”
The youngest made a promise, and he kept that promise.
Now it was time for the father to keep his promise.
“Vice Palace Lord.”
“…Yes. Palace Lord.”
“Is the Ten Thousand Year Fire Pear we discussed back then prepared?”
Instantly, everyone around them widened their eyes again. The Ten Thousand Year Fire Pear?
That precious spiritual object? Suddenly?
“I made a promise with Hyeon Seol-rin, so now I must keep that promise, mustn’t I?”
It was one shock after another.
The Ten Thousand Year Fire Pear was one thing, but giving it to the youngest?
“Pal… Palace Lord…! That cannot be!”
It was Jin Yang-je, the sect leader of Han Bing Gate, one of Seol Woon-hwi’s maternal family sects.
“It cannot be? What’s the reason?”
“…How can you give such a precious thing to Hyeon Seol-rin, who is merely at the Flame Qi Four Stages… Moreover, Hyeon Seol-rin has now committed what amounts to a grave crime…”
“I.”
Seol Jung-cheon’s eyes, as he cut off Jin Yang-je’s words, were very cold. He continued speaking.
“Made a promise. With Hyeon Seol-rin.”
“…”
“Since the topic came up, I’m having various doubts.”
“…Pardon?”
“No matter how much Hyeon Seol-rin is an illegitimate son, he’s still a Polar Descendant, so why did those people called the four major sects of Yang-ryeong try to kill that Hyeon Seol-rin? What exactly were they relying on?”
“…”
“Jin Yang-je, do I need to conduct a deep investigation into this matter for you to be satisfied?”
“No… No, sir.”
Seol Jung-cheon, who had been looking at Jin Yang-je with strange eyes, found this situation truly fascinating.
“Let me give you some advice.”
“I will… I will listen carefully.”
“I do not intervene in any grudges that occur within the Snow Palace. It will be as usual. Do you understand what I mean?”
“Yes. I understand.”
Honestly speaking, he didn’t understand.
What exactly did he mean?
Not intervening in grudges? Isn’t that just the same as usual?
Yang Seol-jin, who was organizing documents with sunken eyes, and Jin Yang-je as well.
They all should have deeply engraved this advice in their hearts.
“Hyeon Sim.”
At Seol Jung-cheon’s call, a man who had been leaning against a pillar in the corner of the meeting hall straightened his posture and knelt on one knee.
“Yes. Palace Lord.”
“Tell Hyeon Seol-rin that I order him to come to the Main Palace.”
“I obey your command.”
Hyeon Sim’s body disappeared from that spot like smoke.
* * *
When the disaster that occurred in Yang-ryeong reached the Main Palace of the Ten Thousand Year Snow Palace and began spreading throughout Murim, there were those who were breathing sighs of relief.
Those were none other than the Cheonha Trading Company, the trading company that controlled Yang-ryeong County.
The Four Major Sects had collapsed and the county magistrate was dead.
That was exactly where it ended.
The Han-reung Jade Crystals from the two mines between Seol-ap and Yang-ryeong were distributed to the market exclusively through the Cheonha Trading Company.
This was due to an agreement that Cheon Eo-jin, the head of the Cheonha Trading Company, had made with them, and it was simple.
Once ore was extracted, it would all be sent to the Cheonha Trading Company, and the Cheonha Trading Company would take that ore to the Central Plains to sell it.
The profits generated this way were divided according to ratios among the Four Major Sects and the county magistrate.
As a result, only the Cheonha Trading Company existed in Yang-ryeong County, while the other trading companies were eliminated.
It was literally a monopoly.
When the Four Major Sects collapsed and the county magistrate died, Cheon Eo-jin trembled with fear.
Wouldn’t Seol Woon-hwi’s rage reach even the Cheonha Trading Company?
There was no way he would just leave the Cheonha Trading Company alone.
Something like that couldn’t be possible, yet strangely, nothing happened even after a day passed.
That’s why he breathed a sigh of relief.
We avoided the disaster.
Seol Woon-hwi needs the Cheonha Trading Company too.
If that was the case, it wasn’t difficult to predict what would happen next.
First, Seol Woon-hwi would come to the Cheonha Trading Company soon.
And then they would discuss business.
Having already sold Han-reung Jade Crystals multiple times, the Cheonha Trading Company could be called experts among experts in that field.
They would form a new agreement and proceed from there.
Cheon Eo-jin’s prediction was somewhat accurate.
Setting aside other things, the point that he would visit the Cheonha Trading Company soon.
Only that part was accurate.
Cheon Eo-jin, who was drinking tea in a high-rise building with a clear view of the entire Cheonha Trading Company including the main gate, felt a strange sensation.
It was just then that he unconsciously looked toward the main gate.
Crash—!!
He jumped up from his seat at the sight of the main gate being smashed to pieces.
The heads of the two guards who had been protecting the gate fell, and then a sword pierced through the chest of Jin Jang-hyeok, the expert of Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown known as Byeok Il-geom, who had been invited from the Central Plains.
Something.
Had gone terribly wrong.
* * *
I kicked down the door without mercy.
Crash—!
As soon as the door shattered, Cheon Pung and Won Yang rushed forward and beheaded the two guards who had been protecting the entrance.
It happened in an instant, and this wasn’t something that anyone could block or prevent.
I walked leisurely. The moment I crossed the main gate, someone shouted from across the way.
“You bastard! This is the Cheonha Trading Company! To attack in broad daylight like this…”
“Who are you?”
“…Do you not know who I am?”
“I don’t.”
“Huh… You must not know because you’re in a backwater place like Yang-ryeong, but I am Byeok Il-geom.”
“Byeok Il-geom?”
At those words, Han Mu-rin, who was beside me, spoke to me in a low voice.
“He’s a martial artist who was active in Hwal Yang at the western edge of the Yang-je Kingdom. His name is Jin Jang-hyeok, and his realm is Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown. The weapons he uses are twin swords… His background isn’t known in detail, but he currently belongs to a place.”
It was obvious.
“It must be the Wind Cloud Alliance.”
“Ah, your insight is truly broad.”
“Just by looking at his walking, you can tell he’s training in the Cloud Outer Dust Step. Wouldn’t it be strange not to know?”
Han Mu-rin’s eyes trembled intensely.
“…So it was really true. What you said about being able to tell just by watching their movements.”
I turned my head.
Wind Cloud Alliance.
That place was an organization established by the Wave King Jang Cheon-ryong, also called the Wanderer Union.
Jang Cheon-ryong’s realm was Limitless Divine Manifestation, the second realm among the Five Realms of Martial God.
He wasn’t called the Wave King for nothing.
He created a footwork technique called Cloud Outer Dust Step, which he teaches to all martial artists who join the Wind Cloud Alliance.
To those who have reached the Divine Third Stage, he teaches Pure Step, the basic breathing technique; to martial artists who have reached the Flame Qi Four Stages, he teaches Change Step, which focuses on transformation and application; to those at the beginning of the Four Stages of Heaven and Earth, he teaches Dust Step; and after that, he teaches Mysterious Step.
Cloud Outer Dust Step was a footwork technique that would rank at the very top even among Heaven-grade techniques, and it was also a footwork technique that was quite troublesome to deal with in my previous life.
Jin Jang-hyeok before my eyes showed steps that were light as wind one moment and heavy as clouds the next, while also seeming to walk on air, and though it looked like nothing special on the surface, there was definitely a clear pattern.
Just from seeing that, I could tell.
That he was a wanderer belonging to the Wind Cloud Alliance.
“I don’t want to say anything about work done for money, but I’ll only say this once, so listen carefully.”
“Huh… Look at this insolent bastard. I am from the Wind Cloud Alliance…”
“Leave. If you go now, I won’t pursue you.”
“…Hehe… It seems even you are afraid of the Wind Cloud Alliance’s name, so let me make a counter-proposal instead. I’ll handle the matter of killing two guards myself, so leave now.”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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