Surviving as the Terminally Ill Young Lady of the North Sea Ice Palace - Chapter 56

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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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Episode 56
“How can a Quick Sword match a Heavy Sword? That’s precisely the important subject of today’s lesson.”
Gwak Do Cheon smiled softly.
“Seol, this is your chance to experience Hae Sa No Gu’s Heavy Sword. And Sa Un Hak, Seok Il Am, So Un, and Jeong Ha Rin—I’d like you all to visit the Martial Hall tomorrow to observe Seol’s sparring match.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Thank you!”
It seemed he was about to offer proper instruction indeed.
Having the Martial Master’s guidance was naturally welcome.
“Think of it simply. A relatively light sword colliding head-on with a heavy sword is essentially suicide. So what should one do instead?”
Gwak Do Cheon posed the question as if it were straightforward.
I answered within the limits of what I knew.
“One must neutralize the Heavy Sword’s advantage—its weight—and exploit its weakness: the slow transitions between offense and defense. In other words, fight by evading and striking at the openings.”
It was an obvious answer, yet Gwak Do Cheon’s eyes widened as if surprised that I’d grasped it.
“Well understood. That’s precisely one of the main methods Quick Sword masters teach. Now then, when does that opening appear?”
“Hmm…….”
An opening? Openings are different for everyone, aren’t they?
Even Maeng Ryeong Ji, when she wielded her axe, poured tremendous strength and Internal Force into every swing.
Yet each time, I could see an opening before me.
“During the swing?”
As I pondered, a moment came to mind when an opening naturally appeared for everyone.
“Exactly. Once a Heavy Sword begins its arc, it’s difficult to change course. From the moment of raising the blade to strike until the form is completed—that’s the most vulnerable window.”
“Ah.”
Through this dialogue, understanding seemed to crystallize within me.
That’s right, that’s right.
Break it before the killer technique unfolds.
When I’d sparred with Nam Gung Min, I’d deliberately taken a form laden with Internal Force.
As experience it was worthwhile, but in a life-or-death situation, one must always exploit the weakness.
“And for that, footwork is paramount. Don’t people say that for Quick Sword masters, the true weapon isn’t the sword itself but the footwork?”
“Ah…….”
“Of course, footwork mastery is difficult to achieve through short-term training. Yet Seol, your footwork surpassed all expectations. I’m well aware that defeating Hae Sa No Gu without using Ice Attack isn’t mere audacity.”
“You honor me with such words.”
My words were humble, but I too had to admit my footwork was rather exceptional.
“In any case, how precisely to move one’s feet could take endless discussion. Simply put: discern the range of the opponent’s reach and remain outside it, or penetrate deeply into their domain. A Heavy Sword requires sufficient space to be effective.”
“Yes.”
Everything up to this point was common knowledge, and I nodded along as I listened.
“Third, when blades must meet, take care not to strike perpendicular. Like Flexible Sword practitioners do, glance off at an angle, letting the side of your blade slide past, and keep that contact as brief as possible. Turn their force against them to make them slip, then immediately disengage.”
The moment I wondered if there was some special secret, something peculiar came tumbling out.
I understood the part about not striking perpendicular.
But what difference does a skewed angle make?
“Hmm, have you never experienced fighting against a Heavy Sword?”
“The heaviest sword I’ve encountered belonged to my father.”
Noticing my confusion, Gwak Do Cheon told me to pick up my sword.
“I’ll strike downward hard from above. Try to parry it.”
“Yes.”
Learn it through the body first?
I took a middle guard stance, and Gwak Do Cheon stepped back several paces, then raised his sword with the tip pointing skyward.
A Heavy Sword descending from the high guard.
Would it work if I simply angled it instead of striking perpendicular?
I began turning my sword to receive it.
‘Ah.’
Whoosh.
The arc traced by Gwak Do Cheon’s slowly descending blade drew a plane through the air.
‘I understand now.’
Touching just one point on that plane would distort the entire motion.
I quickly pulled my blade down and to the left, then struck upward at the fastest speed I could manage.
Cling!
The blades met at a single point.
I withdrew immediately.
There was no contest of strength whatsoever.
Yet the trajectory of Gwak Do Cheon’s sword crumbled.
“Ah, you’ve grasped the principle so quickly?”
“It’s only because you taught it in such an easy-to-understand way, Master!”
Well, it wasn’t that complicated after all.
It was the same idea as what he’d said at first—strike before your opponent completes their form.
So if I were one of the Dark Lord’s Four Heavenly Kings, I’d kill the hero before he grew truly strong.
But if he’d already reached a certain level of power, I wouldn’t face him one-on-one; I’d wait for the right moment and stab him from the side when he wasn’t looking.
“Before this, I said I’d never faced a Heavy Sword, didn’t I?”
Hadn’t he just asked me the same question moments ago?
I tilted my head in confusion and answered that the blade Gwak Do Cheon had just brought down was the heaviest I’d ever caught.
“I’ll cut from a different angle now, so meet it the same way.”
“Yes!”
Once I’d grasped the knack, even if the direction changed slightly, the method stayed the same.
I deflected Gwak Do Cheon’s blade using the same technique.
Then I opened the distance between us rapidly.
Whoosh!
And when he raised his sword to strike again, I seized that gap and drove my wrist forward to pierce him.
“So it’s no joke that you awakened your Zheng Qi Gong in just ten days. Your mind is remarkably sharp…”
It seemed Gwak Do Cheon was a martial instructor who taught through praise—locking compliments in a cage, as it were.
I played humble again, claiming I didn’t know what to do with myself.
Gwak Do Cheon shook his head seriously, insisting his words were no exaggeration.
“Your fourth strategy is to draw out a war of attrition, but since your physical strength isn’t as good as Hae Sa No Gu’s, remember this: every single strike with the Heavy Sword consumes your Internal Energy and Physical Strength greatly. Even if an attack fails, you must keep your composure and wait for the next opening.”
“I shall keep that in mind.”
Beyond that, Gwak Do Cheon offered many lessons.
He warned that once your opponent predicts your trajectory, never attack the same spot twice when deflecting.
He mentioned that the range of the Bok Ma Sword Technique’s thrusts is greater than one might think, so never retreat in a straight line.
Everything was genuinely useful.
“Hae Sa No Gu isn’t your Master’s student, is she? You seem to know quite a lot about her martial techniques.”
It wasn’t just that he was speaking broadly about the Heavy Sword.
He seemed to know the specifics of Hae Sa No Gu’s Bok Ma Sword Technique, so I ventured a cautious inquiry.
“How often does she get into fights? She opens the Martial Hall constantly, so when I’m attending to Administrative Building duties, it’s impossible not to notice.”
Even from the perspective of this angelic martial instructor, she was a troublesome hooligan.
“Did the rest of you understand?”
“Um…”
Gwak Do Cheon looked toward So Un, Sa Un Hak, Seok Il Am, and Jeong Ha Rin as he asked.
So Un’s face was completely blank with incomprehension.
The other three were nodding as though they’d grasped something.
“Well… it’s fine if you haven’t understood yet. You’ll all become skilled in time with patient study.”
Ah, so they’d been pretending to understand after all.
Teachers really do see through that kind of thing instantly.
“Seol, review what I just taught you. And Il Am, let me see your swordwork.”
Following the special instruction for tomorrow’s bout, Gwak Do Cheon examined Seok Il Am’s and Jeong Ha Rin’s swordwork.
Both of them had failed to detoxify the Mountain Empty Poison they’d consumed during the entrance ceremony.
So they couldn’t display any refined exchanges.
Clash! Clang!
Seok Il Am’s swordwork seemed somewhat disorganized.
Jeong Ha Rin’s blade was—how to put it—it seemed like it should have been faster originally, but it had a listless quality, and she lacked confidence in a way unbecoming of a warrior.
Gwak Do Cheon held them and explained at length how they should train going forward.
It felt as though, except for Sa Un Hak who was a Jeom Chang Pa disciple, he’d taken under his wing students who genuinely needed his help.
Even I had been classified as a cadet of concern—someone liable to fall into demonic cultivation—so my feelings were mixed.
But there was no doubt that he poured his heart into each student, offering genuinely beneficial instruction.
Well, truthfully it didn’t much matter if the lessons were useful or not.
Gwak Do Cheon’s face was itself an enormous welfare.
As I left the class, I gave my beloved Excalibur an affectionate pat.
“Thank you for guiding such an insufficient student. I swear I shall display a bout worthy of your teachings!”
It was about time I grew used to speaking this way.
Gwak Do Cheon laughed with a slight shake of his shoulders, then concluded the lesson with words of anticipation.
* * *
Was it because I’d reached enlightenment several times during class?
I was getting hungry.
So Un had offered to share some jerky she’d made two days ago, so instead of eating a Grain-Avoidance Pill today, I hurried up to the Dormitory.
“Se, Miss Seol.”
But as I was making my way out of Bun Gwang Gak toward the mountain path, someone stopped me and called out.
It was Wi Jong Haeng—the same one who’d refused to answer when I asked him about the yoke this morning, then fled.
“Yes?”
He stood there working his lips, raising his hand, then letting it fall again to his side.
What? Don’t block the path. If you have something to say, just say it.
I was about to speak, hand on my hip.
Finally, after all that hesitation, he opened his mouth.
“……Are you fighting with Jeong Ha Rin because of me?”
His hands trembled, and his eyes trembled too.
Was it gratitude? Confusion? Guilt?
His face was a tangle of complex emotions as he looked at me.
Well, that’s not really it.
Surviving as the Doomed Young Lady of Buk Hae Ice Palace (Serialized)
Author │ Sa Hyang No Ru
Publisher │ Kim Ju Hyung
Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae Hyuk
Address │ 401, Ace Techno Tower 8, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Sa Hyang No Ru 2026
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder. The content may not be used in any form or by any means without the permission of the publisher 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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