Surviving as the Terminally Ill Young Lady of the North Sea Ice Palace - Chapter 41

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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 41
The spectators in Ju Ru gasped in disbelief.
“How… how was that done? Crushed by Gang Qi?”
“Gang Qi? No—nothing was even visible. The blade was already severed before it could make contact. That’s… that’s the realm of the Heart Sword!”
Perhaps because Heuk Ryeong Geom’s sword had been split clean in half.
The patrons of Ju Ru forgot their fear entirely and began to chatter.
“Is there really a master of that caliber in the Jianghu?”
“Could it be… the Cloud Sea Divine Nun of the Ami Sect?”
“That doesn’t make sense. By the look of it, she’s a Heterodox master.”
“The Blood Flower Demon would have used a half-return technique, wouldn’t she? The Absolute Shadow Ghost?”
“They say that old woman went mad and disappeared in Luoyang…”
The fact that even the former sect leader of the Ami Sect was being mentioned suggested Heuk Ryeong Geom was far more renowned than I’d assumed.
Either that, or there were only a handful of white-haired female masters of that caliber in the known world.
In any case, the faces of those trying to deduce my identity were painted with pure shock and bewilderment.
……
But truthfully, the person most startled in this room was me.
Red Truth Mixed Yang Technique—what exactly was it?
Could it really be the greatest martial art under heaven?
That wasn’t the extent of it back on the mountain.
True, explosive Yang Qi had erupted, but it hadn’t possessed nearly enough destructive force to reduce a blade to dust and cleave it in two.
I hadn’t even expended that much internal power.
The plan had been to strike quickly and slip away in the confusion of the opponent’s shock.
I’d drawn on far less strength than when I’d swung freely on the mountainside alone.
And yet with merely this much force, I could shatter the weapon of Heuk Ryeong Geom—who had channeled his full Sword Qi into it?
Then why on earth was Hwa Mu-yang dead?
“I… I am unworthy. Even with eyes open, I failed to recognize the master…”
Heuk Ryeong Geom’s dignity had evaporated entirely.
By tomorrow, I doubted he’d bear that name much longer.
He let the broken half of his blade clatter to the ground, trembling violently.
His tension ran so deep that he awkwardly threw a Fist Salute, begging me for his life.
……
Having come this far, it would be strange to say anything now.
I gestured lightly to show I had no further intention to fight him.
Hmm.
…He must have thought I was about to use a palm technique.
He instinctively assumed a defensive stance, then—
“Ah… thank you. Your generosity runs as deep as the sea…”
—realized his mistake and threw another Fist Salute.
So I had done nothing at all.
It was purely Heuk Ryeong Geom’s solo performance.
I hadn’t actually done anything.
Cough!
The next instant, Heuk Ryeong Geom coughed blood and collapsed.
……
Could this chain-reaction magic really be on the third stage, not the second?
No, there was nothing about that in the scripture.
Was it just that my internal energy surged due to the injury I’d sustained earlier?
I’d told Namgung Min to practice the Dae Yeon Sword Method more.
And here I was, using a martial technique I’d only just begun to learn in actual combat.
Even I couldn’t understand what was happening.
“Truly the realm of the Heart Sword…!”
“It’s impossible!”
I pushed down my Bamboo Hat to conceal my bewildered expression and bowed my head.
And the moment I lowered my gaze—
all my questions were answered.
Counter Heaven Path.
Characters began to darken across the Sword Spirit of Excalibur once more.
Damn it. It was the sword all along?
‘What? Since when? Wait—there was definitely no inscription before, right?’
Fortunately, the characters that came after—’All Demons Bow’—had not yet appeared.
If I were suspected of wielding Demon Technique or a Demon Sword without cause, it would be difficult to explain in this situation that I’d merely picked it up from Tian Shan.
Click.
I quickly sheathed the blade and slipped out of Ju Ru at a measured pace that maintained my dignity.
Since I’d drawn the sword on impulse, only now did I realize which one I’d been wielding.
Compared to when I’d swung it on the mountain, it was absurdly more powerful.
It seemed the Martial Technique and Demon Sword had resonated with each other, creating some kind of synergy effect.
Whoosh!
I couldn’t afford to linger and reveal that I was actually incompetent.
I mimicked the Light Skill that Muk Jin-ha had used that morning and fled the town at speed.
‘If worst comes to worst, I’ll have to head back first…….’
And the innkeeper at Ju Ru had understood my hand signals well enough to relay them to Gu Won-ui.
Hoping he would find his way here, I waited for about an hour.
“Seol Sureo?”
Fortunately, our paths didn’t miss each other.
“Let’s go, quickly!”
I hurried him ahead and urged him back toward the Academy.
“They say you cut down Heuk Ryeong Geom with a single strike — is that true?”
Since he’d happened to be away when the fight broke out, Gu Won-ui asked with considerable bewilderment.
“No, I didn’t cut him down. His sword just snapped suddenly. Is he someone famous?”
“He’s one of the top Masters in the Luoyang region?! Of course, thanks to the Administrator, the Heterodox Sects have thinned out around here…… but still, he’s often mentioned among the Top Hundred Heterodox Masters!”
What? He’s a much bigger player than I thought.
“That was close.”
I felt genuinely relieved.
“How on earth did you manage it?”
“Maybe he didn’t maintain his sword properly?”
“That makes no sense!”
Since I’d likely use the Red Truth Mixed Yang Technique again, it was better if the two-technique combo remained unknown.
Unable to think of any plausible explanation for how I’d subdued Heuk Ryeong Geom, I simply played dumb.
“Even if the blade hadn’t been sharpened, it’s not like it had been rusted for decades. Wait — did you freeze his sword with Ice Technique and shatter it?”
“Well, I… honestly can’t say.”
“Seol Sureo……!”
“Never mind that — we’re running late. Let’s hurry back. This is the right direction, yes?”
What could he do if I didn’t know?
I let him think whatever he wanted and activated my Light Skill. Gu Won-ui reluctantly gave up.
‘Phew, the Academy.’
Though we’d been delayed briefly, we still made it back before dawn broke.
We slipped in through a side passage and looked around, but there were no patrols.
“Thank you for taking me along. About what happened today…… let’s keep it secret.”
“Ah, that’s like asking an innkeeper to hide the inn’s secrets from the owner — if you put it that way.”
True enough.
I’d become complicit in his secret.
I’d learned both an escape route and a favorite restaurant.
Whether I’d go to that restaurant again was somewhat unclear, but since he was under the impression I was an incredible Master, perhaps he wouldn’t dare approach me carelessly anyway.
I hadn’t done anything to genuinely earn his enmity.
Leaving Gu Won-ui with his suspicious gaze behind,
I returned to my room and stole a brief nap before getting up.
* * *
End of my pleasant adventure!
Now began another day of diligent conduct as a model student.
“Let’s go check the elective courses right away!”
“Good idea.”
Before the morning classes, I went to the Martial Affairs Hall with Maeng Ryeong-ji and So-un to check the posted list.
Since we’d attended all the required lectures at least once and had some sense of them, everyone was curious about the electives.
“They actually wrote these with reasonable care, surprisingly?”
“Right…….”
Remarkably, the martial instructors had prepared proper course syllabi.
For the Fast Sword class that I’d already decided to take, taught by Gwak Do-cheon,
everything was laid out — why Fast Sword technique was important, what types of Sword Method backgrounds suited it best, and roughly what training would be done each month.
Seol Sureo
I immediately wrote my name in the applicant field next to the “Fast Sword (I)” lecture.
There’s a division between the applicants for level one and levels two through ten.
It appeared that only cadets who had taken the Fast Sword level one course could then continue training in the Fast Sword as a linked progression.
That made sense—you couldn’t complete the entire curriculum in just one semester.
“I’m not sure if I’ll be selected…….”
“I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m taking you with me no matter what.”
“What? Surely not!”
“Your sword technique is quite fast, isn’t it?”
“The Ice White Divine Sword itself isn’t the thing—I’m just wielding it quickly.”
The notice also stated that if applications were numerous, in-depth interviews would be conducted to select cadets who would truly benefit from the course.
Looking at the names listed, I thought So-un had the highest likelihood of acceptance.
After all, she was a disciple brought directly from outside the Academy.
Since I hadn’t decided what other courses to attend besides the Fast Sword, I slowly reviewed the other course syllabi.
Looking at them now, Gwak Do-cheon had been particularly thorough in writing down things that would naturally catch a cadet’s interest.
Heo Kong had defined “Advanced Internal Cultivation” as a course that built cleanly on Proper Qi Cultivation, allowing cadets to study Pure Clear Qi Technique and the Heavenly Martial Divine Technique at a level suited to their abilities.
Paeng Jung-geol’s “Strong Body” course had, instead of a description, the names of cadets recommending enrollment.
“Oh, the Radiant Flame Blade mentioned me!”
Paeng Ho-rang and Maeng Ryeong-ji—those were mandatory courses.
She jotted down her name happily.
There seemed to be traces where a character had been written and then erased from the list.
Likely someone with the surname Seol, or perhaps Seol and Yun or Gwak among her classmates.
“This is…… a Mechanism Array Formation course.”
“Should I apply……?”
So-un squeezed her eyes shut and wrote her name beneath Jegal In’s course syllabus, which was filled with specialized terminology she couldn’t begin to comprehend.
There were very many other courses besides these.
There was a Fist Horn Technique class taught by an instructor from Shaolin, and a Dagger Sword class taught by an instructor from the Namgung Clan.
And the professor from the Sichuan Tang Clan was teaching…… Ten Thousand Poisons Taste Cuisine? What in the world is that? Eating poison?
If a martial artist from the Tang Clan were teaching something at the Academy, I would have expected it to be assassination techniques.
Poison? They’re feeding students poison?
Bewildered though I was, I carefully examined every syllabus.
“Oh? The Director of the Medicine Hall teaches a course too?”
Then I suddenly discovered a course being taught directly by Yak Seon.
Heavens! So the Medicine Hall doesn’t just treat cadets and sell vitality tonics—the Director actually teaches as an instructor as well?
“Hm?”
At my obvious delight, Maeng Ryeong-ji showed a flicker of interest.
“Herbology!”
The course description was simple.
Study and memorize every medicinal herb under heaven.
“……?”
Maeng Ryeong-ji looked at me with an expression that asked why on earth anyone would attend such a class.
Surviving as the North Sea Ice Palace’s Limited-Life Young Mistress (Serialized)
Author | Sa Hyang-noru
Publisher | Kim Ju-hyung
Published by | J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing | Han Jae-hyuk
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ⓒ Sa Hyang-noru 2026
※ This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. pursuant to a contract with the copyright holder, and the contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and author.
Violation of this restriction 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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