Surviving as the Terminally Ill Young Lady of the North Sea Ice Palace - Chapter 11

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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 11
Absurd as it was, the gates of Cheonmu Academy had sealed shut.
I’d already completed my Academy Entry, and no amount of Internal Energy manipulation would expel Mountain Air Poison I’d already swallowed.
‘Though it feels like drawing up more energy might work…’
The sensation of energy refusing to move was strange compared to moments before, but I resisted the temptation to experiment—spitting blood seemed a real possibility.
‘Fine. This might actually be an opportunity.’
This academy dispensed Mountain Air Poison and Spiritual Medicine as freely as water.
What if there was another reward for whichever student found—or synthesized—an antidote first, or did so most elegantly?
“Uncle, what on earth is this—!”
Someone at the adjacent table had latched onto Paeng Junggeol in desperation, but the Martial Master who’d helped administer the poison in the first place would hardly help them now.
“Ha ha ha! Off you go and find it! It looks like this!”
He burst into hearty laughter and held up a red pouch.
The student turned bright eager eyes toward him, but the Martial Master only unsheathed his sword, saying they’d have to beat him in a fight first.
“Eek!”
Blood relations meant nothing here, clearly.
The foolish student scrambled backward in alarm.
If you looked at it optimistically, they could have been made to traverse that dormitory for over a month without Internal Energy—so wasn’t handing out an antidote actually merciful?
I immediately dunked my Nameplate into water.
Whatever peculiar reagent had been applied to it, the characters soon emerged in deep, vivid ink.
[Inside Jangchang Hall]
Just as the Academy Master had said, the back of the Nameplate bore a location.
On the way here, I’d seen various halls—Hwangeom Hall, Paedo Hall, and others.
Jangchang Hall was likely where long spears were stored, or perhaps where Spear Techniques were taught.
“Amwol Hall practice grounds, fourth target?”
I’d thought the Academy was being rather considerate in specifying the building.
So Un, who’d also wetted his Nameplate following my example, recited a far more specific location.
“Hmm? That’s a different place from mine?”
“It is?”
“Mine says to go to the roof of Cheongshim Tower.”
So Un and Maeng Ryeongji spoke their assigned locations without hesitation.
All three were different, and from the names and characters inscribed, it seemed each of us had to find our own portion.
“The weapon storehouse? Can a new student even enter such a place?”
“Mine says to go beneath the tree in front of the Central Gate. That’s easier than yours, I suppose?”
“Where exactly is Cheongshim Tower attached to? There’s no academy map or anything…”
“Did you say Cheongshim Tower?”
I was rising from my seat to head straight for Jangchang Hall when
one of the students at the next table—from one of the great families, by the look of it—mentioned a location that matched Maeng Ryeongji’s.
“Yes… ah, yes.”
He flipped over his Nameplate to show the characters.
“Are you also heading to Cheongshim Tower, miss?”
The man who’d approached with flushed cheeks stopped short at the sight of Maeng Ryeongji’s terrifying expression.
“Cheongshim Tower?”
But before she could pick a quarrel with the hapless student, a hand went up from the opposite table.
The person wore a Daoist robe on their head and had a yin-yang symbol embroidered on their garments.
A Wudang Faction disciple, clearly.
‘Oh no. Is this a team assignment?’
My suspicion proved correct.
As the students discovered three people assigned to Cheongshim Tower, they began calling out their own locations loudly.
“Anyone with Gungdo Hall?”
“Tree in front of the Central Gate!”
Watching groups of three or four coalesce, I began to understand the organizing principle.
The Academy had deliberately mixed together members from the great families, disciples of the Nine Sects, and students from neither camp.
If they’d let everyone sit freely during even that one meal, they’d have clustered by origin—so this assignment was likely meant to cultivate camaraderie among students of different backgrounds.
“Wudang… Haebok Paengga…”
Maeng Ryeongji growled at her new teammates.
“Oh no. I hope I’m not a liability to my group!”
So Un bowed in confusion and distress.
His group of four included Gu Wonui, who’d placed in the upper ranks of the Academy Entry exam, and a branch member of the Moyong Segga whom I’d spoken with earlier.
“Jangchang Hall! Anyone headed to Jangchang Hall!”
I had no trouble identifying my fellow group members either.
“I’m from Jangchang Hall.”
I raised my hand and approached the man who’d called out, and the moment our eyes met, he flinched.
He wasn’t as handsome as Eun Hyeon, but he carried himself well enough.
“A pleasure to meet you, miss. I am Myeongseong of the Huashan Faction!”
Myeongseong quickly recovered his composure and broke into a grin.
“Huashan?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, so Huashan sent two students?”
Come to think of it, the Moyong Segga had dispatched several branch members as well.
And the Haebok Paengga didn’t seem to have sent just one either.
But suddenly Myeongseong’s voice sharpened.
“……Have you met Eun Hyeon?”
Now that he mentioned it, where was Eun Hyeon?
He’d been sitting at the far end of our table, but he didn’t seem to be around—perhaps he’d departed on his own.
“That one came without permission from his sect. I, on the other hand, am a properly recommended disciple, having received my Recommendation Token directly from the Patriarch of the Grand Huashan Faction.”
Myeongseong’s tone carried a distinct edge of displeasure as he introduced himself after hearing Eun Hyeon’s name.
Ah, so that’s why Eun Hyeon took a separate exam—it wasn’t for the Spiritual Medicine after all, but because someone else had already claimed the Recommendation Token.
‘So is this one stronger than Eun Hyeon?’
I swallowed my curiosity and offered a proper greeting.
“I only watched part of the exam. I’m Seol Suryeo of Beihaibing Palace.”
I wondered if I’d offended him right from the start.
But immediately, the displeasure vanished from Myeongseong’s face.
“The Bing Palace……!”
His eyes widened with genuine interest.
“They say the cultivators of Beihaibing Palace are remarkably beautiful and handsome, but it seems the rumors fell short of the truth.”
Now that I thought about it, when my father had spoken of the Huashan Patriarch’s direct disciple, it sounded like Myeongseong, not Eun Hyeon.
That’s right—if his name was Eun Hyeon, he hadn’t yet received his Daoist name.
So he was a mountain disciple at best?
“Did you just say Jangchang Hall?”
I was about to tell Myeongseong that I’d heard of his reputation as well.
A group of women in blue robes approached us.
“You two as well?”
Weren’t these the ones who’d been so frantically searching for that young lady earlier?
The student leading the group, walking with an expressionless face, was clearly their captain.
Two others flanked her—one petite and pretty, staring at me with an intensity I couldn’t quite explain.
“Namgoong Min.”
The captain flipped over her nameplate and spoke her three-character name quietly.
The blue robes were unmistakably the colors of the Namgoong Segga, regarded as the strongest among the Five Great Families.
‘The direct disciple of the Huashan Patriarch and Namgoong in the same group? We’re completely getting carried on the group project.’
I pressed down the corners of my mouth that wanted to rise.
“Oh, so you are a direct heir of the Namgoong family? The second child of the Changcheon Sword King, I’ve heard?”
Myeongseong, true to his status as a Huashan disciple, spoke to Namgoong Min with casual ease.
“That is disrespectful to the lady!”
Not the girl who’d been staring at me, but the taller one suddenly cried out.
“What……? What did I say……?”
Neither I nor Myeongseong understood at all.
“My apologies. I simply don’t care for being addressed by my father’s epithet.”
Namgoong Min herself offered the apology.
This wasn’t a comedy, and we’d only just greeted her—what was this all about?
The young lady of the Namgoong family came with attendants in tow, but she seemed to dislike the title “daughter of the Changcheon Sword King.”
So Namgoong Min was a direct heir of the Namgoong family.
The petite one standing on the right was from a branch line.
The taller one who’d called Namgoong Min “lady” was probably from a family loyal to the Namgoong Segga, or something to that effect.
The followers probably entered by taking the exam like Eun Hyeon.
Or perhaps the Namgoong family had contributed enough funds to acquire three Recommendation Tokens.
“Neither of you are from Jangchang Hall, are you?”
In any case, I had no intention of picking a fight with Namgoong Min, who’d just become my groupmate.
I needed to make a good impression on the leadership.
I simply posed the question to her followers for clarification.
“……Hmph!”
But whether she’d misread my meaning or not, the girl who’d been glaring at me the whole time simply turned on her heel without a word.
The taller one lowered her head with a stiff expression and followed after her.
‘What was that?’
I wasn’t pleased, but unlike Maeng Ryeongji and Eun Hyeon, who’d flared up so easily on the day of Academy Entry, I understood what mattered first.
I needed to find the antidote.
“What’s with this group? Huashan, Namgoong, and Beihaibing Palace too…….”
“That pretty one in the middle is from Beihaibing Palace?”
“Has to be.”
“They’ve gathered the rising stars of the Five Dragons Three Phoenixes in one team.”
“I’ll find the antidote soon enough…….”
Perhaps because the Namgoong Segga—said to be the greatest of the Five Great Families—carried such overwhelming presence, even students from other teams kept stealing glances at us.
That I’d been placed with them must have been because the Academy thought I was the strongest here apart from those from the Nine Sects and the Five Great Families.
Myeongseong seemed quite satisfied with this composition, whistling as he became aware of the stares.
“Let’s pool our strength and find Jangchang Hall!”
He spoke with infectious energy.
“It’s to the west.”
Namgoong Min raised her hand and pointed in one direction.
“Is that so.”
“Good. Let’s head there at once.”
Though the wind had come out of my sails a bit.
If we already knew the location, there was no point dragging things out.
Even if the rules favored first-come-first-served, finding it quickly couldn’t hurt.
“I noticed the other teams’ tokens had exact details like ‘target number three,’ but ours just says ‘inside Jangchang Hall,’ so we might have to search for a while.”
I took the lead and walked toward the place Namgoong Min had indicated.
“Hmm, that’ll be troublesome.”
…….
The two of them followed without complaint.
Unlike when they’d arrived dragging their entourages and left a murky first impression,
Namgoong Min was brusque but cooperative.
I rather liked these bus drivers—overflowing with skill and reasonably competent social sense.
“There it is.”
Before long, we spotted a signboard and banner reading Jangchang Hall.
Since it said inside the building, the antidote would be in here.
I passed through the practice grounds and pushed the door open without hesitation.
“Let’s divide the areas and search.”
The building was wider than expected, and
Namgoong Min, struck by the same thought, made the suggestion.
“Sure——.”
Both Myeongseong and I were about to agree readily.
But before his words could finish,
Click.
A subtle sound passed, and a strange sense of wrongness crawled down my spine.
And in the very next instant,
Whoooosh!
A spear came flying with a clean cutting sound through the air.
“Behind!”
Namgoong Min cried out urgently upon spotting it, and
I reflexively stretched out my arm.
Crack!
A heavy sensation transmitted through my palm.
The spear’s point stopped just a hand-span short of piercing Myeongseong’s back.
“Well, this place is quite dangerous after all.”
I twisted my face and showed the spear I’d caught to the two of them.
“What in blazes——!”
“……It’s a real spear.”
Myeongseong, who’d nearly been skewered while off guard, went pale, and Namgoong Min examined the weapon as though unable to believe it.
It was certainly no toy.
The blade wasn’t razor-sharp, but given the speed at which it came, it was easily a weapon capable of dealing a lethal blow.
“Where on earth did this come from?”
“There, from that hole beside the door.”
“You can’t be serious!”
Given that this was an event gathering martial artists, it seemed unlikely to be an ordinary treasure hunt.
But a spear flying through the air without warning?
Myeongseong gasped, his mouth falling open.
Namgoong Min’s eyes, too, widened as she studied the spear blade.
Were these children entering a mechanism trap for the first time?
“Are you saying we’re supposed to find the antidote here? With no Internal Energy?”
I adjusted my grip on the spear and answered her question.
“Well… I suppose this is where it really begins.”
Looking up at the ceiling and examining the corridor’s ends and walls, I noticed rough, uneven spots scattered throughout.
Namgoong Min, too, scanned the long hallway and the rooms branching off on either side, then bit her lip.
“To risk our lives the moment we enter? It’s absurd. If it were other students, they could have been badly hurt.”
Namgoong Min fumed with concern for her followers.
But my thinking was somewhat different.
“I doubt all the trials have this level of difficulty.”
“……Ah.”
Well, I’d been pleased to board such a sturdy cart, only to find the road paved with thorns.
I reminded her that the other students had called out locations that seemed manageable—beneath trees, atop pavilions, and the like.
At that, Namgoong Min’s expression froze cold.
“Then, we either abandon the antidote, or…….”
She trailed off muttering.
The rest was easily imagined.
Was she considering collecting from her subordinates or extorting an antidote from another student?
I’ll admit, I found the idea slightly tempting myself.
“No.”
Myeongseong shook his head firmly.
“The Martial Masters must have chosen this location believing we could overcome it through unity. As a cultivator, I cannot walk a crooked path.”
Perhaps because he belonged to the Huashan Faction, his thinking was plainly different.
“……I wasn’t exactly suggesting theft.”
Even without being a Daoist, the righteous martial world fundamentally reveres chivalry.
When Myeongseong spoke strongly about how stealing other students’ antidotes would betray the teachers who had trusted and sent us here, Namgoong Min simply couldn’t argue.
She had nowhere to run.
“Rather than dividing the area, I think it’s best we move together.”
Shiiing!
Myeongseong drew his sword with a look of fierce determination.
“…….”
Following his lead, Namgoong Min unsheathed her blade and took up an impressive stance.
‘With these two around, things should be fine.’
Feeling as though I ought to join them, I drew my sword as well.
Two people would stand back-to-back, but I wasn’t sure how three should arrange themselves.
“Namgoong. Having learned Sword Techniques as you have, would you mind taking the lead?”
Myeongseong made his request of Namgoong Min.
“I’ll watch our rear. I was careless just now and caught off guard, but if we move slowly and keep our senses sharp, we should be able to detect and react to attacks. Surely the Academy Master wouldn’t send us here to die.”
“Fair enough.”
Namgoong Min readily accepted the request.
“Seol, I know this must be startling—to enter such a place so suddenly. But don’t worry. I’ll protect you by any means necessary.”
Myeongseong flashed me a smile, teeth showing, his assurance genuine.
Well now, that was rather impressive.
The two of them took on expressions as grave as warriors throwing themselves into the lair of demonic cultists,
and cautiously took their first step forward.
One step, then another.
We moved ahead very slowly.
Shortly after, another spear flew toward us.
“Ugh!”
Namgoong Min, standing at the front, barely blocked it.
She’d begun to brush it aside casually when she realized she had no Internal Energy, and only then did she bear the impact that struck her arm.
Given our group’s composition, we might manage to get through.
But honestly, the difficulty gap between us and the other students was enormous.
I recalled what Paeng Junggeol had said during the entrance ceremony—that students would soon have plenty of chances to fight each other.
‘It really does seem like the intended design is for students to fight and steal from one another.’
Surviving as the Short-Lived Precious Daughter of Beihaibing Palace (Serialized)
Author │ Sachyang Noru
Publisher │ Kim Ju-hyeong
Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyeok
Address │ 401, Ace Tech No. 8, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Sachyang Noru 2026
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder. The contents may not be used in any form or by any means without the permission of the company and author.
Violation of this provision may result in criminal and civil legal liability.

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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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