Surviving as the Terminally Ill Young Lady of the North Sea Ice Palace - Chapter 43

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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 43
Since my senior welcomed me so enthusiastically, I returned the greeting warmly.
“You were in the same dormitory? I’m So Un.”
“Ah, I’m Yeon Mu-jin. I belong to Jeong Yeon Mun, a small sect in the mountains!”
“Oh! I’m Jo Chi-rim of Nak Sung Mun. It’s an honor to meet the flower of Buk Hae!”
“I am Wi Ji-hu of the Wi Ji Family!”
Since Yeon Mu-jin had already introduced me, I kept my own introduction brief, giving only my name.
“Hmm?”
Hearing the commotion, Maeng Yeong-ji entered the common room shortly after.
So Un had apparently avoided the place deliberately—Maeng Yeong-ji arrived alone.
“The younger brother of Assistant Director Maeng! I’ve heard quite a lot about you!”
“Ah, so these are the close friends of that blood-relation! I’m Maeng Yeong-ji!”
I wondered if he’d heard what the others had said earlier about whether he was weaker than Maeng Ho-jin.
If he had, there likely would have been conflict with the seniors on the very first day, but the timing proved fortunate.
“How many new students are there in In Bon Gwan this cohort?”
“Fifteen of us.”
“Huh? That’s quite a few. Haven’t they all arrived yet?”
“Those who’ve lost their Internal Energy can only climb the mountain slowly.”
“Oh—so you all managed to obtain the Antidote?”
“That’s right.”
It seemed they’d been recruiting about ten students per cohort until now.
Since graduation times varied, there were apparently forty or fifty seniors in total at In Bon Gwan.
“But what exactly is the Three Realms Combat Tournament?”
“Oh, you’ve heard about that!”
The Three Realms Combat Tournament mentioned earlier was something like a dormitory competition, distributing collective Merit Points.
Because In Bon Gwan had fewer people and its students were generally weaker than those from Cheon Myeong Gwan and Ji Jeong Gwan, they finished last place every year.
“We’re placing great hopes in you, Miss So…!”
“I’ll do my best.”
After talking a bit more, I realized
that Cheon Mu Academy had far less rigidly defined senior-junior hierarchies than modern schools.
With ages varying widely and martial rank in the jianghu becoming the true order of precedence,
and since admission order bore no correlation to martial rank at all, the structure had naturally become quite fluid.
‘It seems there’s no hazing culture here, which is a relief.’
I’d been wondering whether to push back hard or bow respectfully if there were some strange initiation ritual,
but these seniors asserted no authority whatsoever.
Yeon Mu-jin, who seemed to be the strongest among them, was even deferential toward me.
“Who is the strongest senior at Cheon Mu Academy right now?”
I asked casually, also trying to get a sense of whether there might be any potential husband candidates among the seniors.
“Well, since Geom Ryong graduated…… it’s hard to name just one. Based on last year’s final Ranking Martial Arts Tournament, it’s probably Je Gal Mun-yu at third place, or Jin Yeong-hu who was eighth from Gong Dong Pa.”
“Jin Yeong-hu had favorable matchups. Aren’t Mo Yong Cheong or Cheong Gong stronger? And Yuk Seung-hui didn’t even participate in the Ranking Tournament.”
Je Gal Family at third place? Wait—so that means first and second graduated, and they’re now in the top tier?
So not all the strong ones are refined Je Gal gentlemen, it seems.
Though come to think of it, the Mo Yong Family also had Poong Seung from that clan this cohort, who was all talk, but apparently there were strong ones in the previous classes.
“Is Geom Ryong the older brother of Nam Goong Min?”
“Ah, yes. Nam Goong…—that man monopolized first place in the Ranking Tournament throughout his entire enrollment. Thanks to him, Cheon Myeong Gwan dominated the Three Realms Combat Tournament too. Still, since he graduated in record time, there’s hope again now!”
It seemed they were placing a great deal of expectation on my martial rank.
But there was no need to disappoint them prematurely.
I did seem to be fairly strong among my cohort, after all.
“Oh, good day to you!”
The other residents of our dormitory returned to In Bon Gwan one by one,
“Nice to see you all! I’m Yeon Mu-jin of Jeong Yeon Mun.”
“I’m Dan Ri-hyang.”
A sort of informal greeting gathering naturally unfolded in the common room.
* * *
While the new students were assembling, Yeon Mu-jin told me about Muk Jin-ha, the dormitory supervisor.
The Martial Arts Master Instructors took turns serving as supervisor, and when Muk Jin-ha’s turn came, he apparently did virtually no management.
It was somewhat what I’d expected.
Since he was rather hands-off, it was generally good, though it could be a little inconvenient for new students—Yeon Mu-jin told me to come find him if I needed help.
“I’m planning to take on the position of Student Leader for In Bon Gwan this year…… does anyone have objections?”
Student Leader?
The students decide among themselves, and if someone takes it for a year, they get five hundred Merit Points.
The seniors out doing Field Work are excluded, and usually second or third-year students take the role, he said.
“If you happen to be interested, you’re welcome to challenge me to a martial match.”
Yeon Mu-jin looked at me with noticeably tense eyes.
There’s no rule saying a first-year student can’t be Student Leader, supposedly.
Though come next year, who knows—but you’d need to at least know something to actually do the job as Student Leader.
“No, not really.”
When I waved my hand dismissively, Yeon Mu-jin let out a relieved breath.
It seemed he hadn’t done his Field Work ahead of time either—just like with his assistant instructor duties.
“Senior Yeon, may I ask you about the Elective Courses?”
“Oh, yes! I’ll tell you what I know!”
“I’d like to attend the Je Sung lectures, but… since my swordsmanship leans toward the Hwan Sword, would I need to take Heo Kong-jin’s class then?”
Just then, Ju Pyeong-sam raised his hand with a question.
“Ah, well—unless you’re a disciple of the Ja Mun, the instructors do consider the characteristics of whatever sword method you’ve been training in so far and teach accordingly. If you want, you can visit the Martial Arts Master Instructors beforehand and ask your master if it’s alright to study under them! That’s why the application period lasts five whole days.”
Wait, that’s how it works?
“There were no times listed—can I attend multiple courses?”
“Well, usually you only take one sword course. Everything else on the timetable is Primary Weapon training time. It’s not impossible to change mid-semester or overlap courses, but most students choose one master and follow them through graduation, taking the course seven or eight times.”
It’s like picking a section of a major elective in university, then?
No, actually—since you’re choosing a course that way, it looks like that, but if you have to keep serving under one master, it seems closer to how the major sects choose direct disciples.
‘Nam Goong, Mo Yong, Mu Dang, Hwa San, Jeom Chang, Cheong Sung, Jong Nam….’
There was only one Martial Arts Master Instructor teaching the Axe Technique that Maeng Yeong-ji was learning, and for Blade Technique there were only two—Pae Blade and Quick Blade—but sword methods had many options.
There was a brilliant faculty drawn from the Five Great Families and the Nine Major Sects.
According to Yeon Mu-jin, the most popular course was the Pae Sword taught by Je Sung Nam Goong Myeong.
But I didn’t know much about the famous masters of Jung Won.
Since I didn’t know when I might die, I’d made it my life philosophy to live happily rather than chase absolute strength at all costs.
My first priority was survival.
And my second was to live ‘happily and joyfully.’
For that, the right choice was clearly to attend Gwak Do-cheon’s lectures—I could be happy just seeing his face.
“Neung Gwang-geom’s lessons are wonderful too. He’s incredibly kind.”
Ugh, don’t give me more competition!
Strictly speaking, the Bing Baek Shin Sword leaned closer to the Yu Sword.
Anyway, I had my father, who would keep teaching me martial arts even after I graduated from the academy.
“…So, any courses with outings are super popular. The only one first-years can take is the All Poisons Food Appreciation—and that’s a total gem of a class. No exams, just wandering between inns eating delicious food. Of course, everyone applies so getting in isn’t easy, but.”
As he talked about courses taught like general education regardless of Primary Weapon, sure enough the Mechanical Advancement Course was incredibly unpopular.
And surprisingly, the All Poisons Food Appreciation—which I’d thought meant actually eating poison—turned out to be a class where the Martial Arts Master Instructor insists all food is poison and takes students on gourmet restaurant tours.
“Thank you, Senior Yeon!”
“You’re welcome! Glad I could help.”
After a few more questions were exchanged that way, Yeon Mu-jin fulfilled his duties as Student Leader faithfully.
But I couldn’t trust it completely.
After something like an orientation ended,
I cross-checked the information with students who had seniors they knew personally.
“Is it a trap?”
The course title alone looked suspicious.
Maybe it was a prank to fool first-years?
“Haven’t heard anything.”
But Maeng Yeong-ji shook his head, saying he didn’t know.
Since my desire to actually go out and eat was absolute, unconditional—I had to know.
I went around asking all the classmates in In Bon Gwan if anyone knew anything.
“I heard students went to a tavern where a friend works as a group once, so maybe that’s it.”
I was wondering if I should even ask Nam Goong Min, but surprisingly Gu Won-ui answered instead.
A tavern where a friend works—was that the place from last night?
That was a genuinely great restaurant.
So it really was just restaurant hopping? No poison?
* * *
The mystery was resolved the very next day.
When I went to the Gyo Mu Dang the following morning, the All Poisons Food Appreciation applicant list that had been sparse the day before was now filled with names from seniors across all dormitories.
Whether it was because Cheon Myeong Gwan and Ji Jeong Gwan had similar discussions about Elective Courses, there were already more than fifty applicants.
“I should apply too.”
“Me as well!”
“What if it’s a trap we all fall into together….”
Unlike lecture courses on swordsmanship, you can’t retake it, so if we have this many applicants, isn’t everyone who’s never taken it basically signing up to give it a try?
If it’s not a trap, there’s no reason not to take it, so I wrote my name down as well.
‘Hmm, the Quick Sword has gotten popular too.’
Only So Un and I had met Gwak Do-cheon beforehand, so yesterday there were only five or six applicants total.
It seems senior students from the other dormitories have also spoken highly of him, because the competition has become quite fierce.
What would I even take if I don’t get in?
The Hwa San instructor was quite handsome too—maybe Eun Hyeon and I should just sign up for that instead.
Why do they charge expensive tuition if they won’t let you choose your courses freely?
I grumbled to myself, picturing the food we’d be tasting in All Poisons Food Appreciation and Gwak Do-cheon’s face.
I only then remembered that Cheon Mu Academy had charged me a donation, not tuition.
……My father didn’t even pay that donation, so I should probably keep my mouth shut.
Surviving as a Limited-Life Heir of Buk Hae Bing Gung (Serial)
Author │ Saseong Noru
Published by │ Kim Ju-hyeong
Publisher │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyeok
Address │ 401, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Ace Techno Tower 8th)
Email │ [email protected]
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ⓒ Saseong Noru 2026
※ This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder, and the content may not be used in any form or by any means without the permission of the company and author.
Violation of this 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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