Surviving as the Terminally Ill Young Lady of the North Sea Ice Palace - Chapter 60

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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 60
Hmm… the problem is, I don’t have two thousand points right now.
“No, wait—if I’m going to spend two thousand points anyway, wouldn’t it be better to add more and cultivate Extreme Yin Qi using a Heaven Ice Pill instead? Hiding Ice Energy is fine, but ultimately becoming stronger has to come first, doesn’t it?”
When I forced an awkward smile, Yak Seon, who’d been pushing the Great Heaven Pill, faltered for a moment.
“Ahem, this one does have complex ingredients, so I’ve priced it high, but with your talent you’ll rack up merit points in no time. You’ll likely merge it with your existing Yin Cold Qi and grow explosively.”
Where exactly is this going?
Is the Heaven Ice Pill even more expensive?
He withdrew another pamphlet and began introducing even Yin-attributed spirit medicines.
But Yin Cold Qi is something I’m already cautious about—I watch nervously as it grows even slightly from Ice Energy training—so taking spirit medicine is out of the question.
“The Yin-attributed spirit medicines have secret methods in Buk Hae as well, so there’s no need to worry.”
I used the excuse my father had given me.
He’d told me that if anyone asked why my internal force was so abundant, I should say it was my constitution instead.
“Ugh, you mean Ice Constitution? Right, right. Buk Hae has that. …Would you ever consider donating just a little to the Academy?”
“The Palace is rather insular…”
“Aw, I don’t even expect anything from the Buk Geuk Sung Hwang! Once you become Palace Lord, just give me this much!”
I laughed off Yak Seon’s request.
Well, if thanks to Yak Seon I manage to treat my Broken Meridian and survive to become Palace Lord, it wouldn’t be impossible to give him something.
But that was entirely separate from how I spent my merit points right now.
“I’m truly grateful for the recommendation. I also wish to purchase the Great Heaven Pill you mentioned, but both the Completion Pill and the Great Heaven Pill are beyond my means… So instead of my own growth, I want most of all to help treat that child with Nine Yin Broken Meridian Syndrome that I mentioned before, and I’d like to prioritize that for now.”
For now, I’d settle for expanding my internal force even slightly with a Small Heaven Pill.
Instead, I asked whether giving that child a Hot Yang Pill during the break might extend their lifespan somewhat.
“Ah, that one who managed to learn Ice Energy too?”
“Yes.”
“If you feed them a Hot Yang Pill, the Yin-Yang imbalance will diminish somewhat, so they’ll improve a bit.”
Perhaps because the conversation had shifted from a two-thousand-point spirit medicine to a hundred-point one, Yak Seon’s expression soured noticeably.
Why was he pushing this so hard?
Did martial instructors also need merit points to live comfortably?
“Unless it’s a matter of days, I don’t really recommend it. They’ll live a few more months, but fundamentally you need proper treatment!”
“Of course that’s what I want, but it seems there’s no clear way to achieve fundamental treatment, which is why I’m asking.”
“Hmm…”
Yak Seon fell silent for a moment before speaking.
“I’m still researching it, but it’s not impossible.”
“Really?”
I flinched at his casual remark.
He’d mentioned he’d look into it before, but had he already made progress?
“As I said before, you condense Yang Qi and hammer it in like crazy to balance things out. It won’t work with materials from Zhongyuan, but if you gather animals and minerals overflowing with Yang Qi from Daimo in large quantities and refine the toxin, it should be possible.”
“You mean treatment using medicinal materials from Daimo is possible?”
“Well, of course nothing beats the Ten Thousand Year Fire Carp for extreme Yang spirit creatures, but there’s no record of that beast appearing in the last three hundred years, so let’s try using Daimo’s spirit creatures as a substitute.”
The Ten Thousand Year Fire Carp—I’d heard of it in the wuxia novels I read in my previous life, an extreme Yang spirit carp with an internal core.
Even in this life, when I researched Nine Yin Broken Meridian Syndrome, I’d seen the name pop up regularly, but I’d thought of it as something existing only in legend, like the Heavenly Demon’s Physique.
But I had no idea what spirit creatures existed in Daimo.
Daimo.
Literally translated, it meant a great desert.
It lay to the northwest of Zhongyuan, and long ago the Daimo Solar Palace supposedly existed there.
But in any case, it had been a sect that collapsed ages ago.
“There’s a spirit creature there that could replace the Ten Thousand Year Fire Carp?”
I asked urgently, but Yak Seon tilted his head ambiguously.
“It might exist… or it might not…”
Come on, please!
I’m being serious!
Still, Yak Seon read my expression and elaborated a bit more.
“No, I really don’t know. That land accumulates even more Hot Yang Qi than Yunnan, so perhaps there truly are creatures worthy of being called spirit beasts. But even if they aren’t proper spirit creatures, the scorpions and such living there should carry decent spirit energy.”
Yak Seon explained the possibility of creating treatment medicine using such animals and minerals as medicinal ingredients.
Entering Daimo itself would be extremely dangerous.
The creatures living there generally carry toxins.
But if we could gather them in large quantities, he’d research refining the poison and maximizing the Yang Qi.
“I’ll find a way to get them, no matter what!”
I said earnestly.
Yak Seon thought for a moment, then his lips curved upward.
“That’s right—you. The reason you insisted on taking Herbalism was to treat that child, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Then how about this: during this semester, you learn how to handle medicinal herbs, and during the break, you gather the materials yourself and we make the treatment medicine together?”
And with that, he offered a proposal even better than this.
“You’re not really interested in Herbalism, are you?”
“Though my knowledge remains incomplete, I wished to study in hopes of being of some use to the child’s treatment.”
Of course I wasn’t genuinely interested.
If I got better, what use would I have for learning anything at all?
“Here’s what we’ll do. I’m quite intrigued by treating Nine Yin Broken Meridian Syndrome myself, so I’ll work out the prescription for how to make the medicine. In return, use your Merit Points to buy a Great Heaven Pill. In Daimo, Ice Energy won’t reach even half of its full power, so if you’re going to learn Orthodox Martial Arts anyway, gathering as much Internal Energy as possible will serve you well moving about in that land.”
Yak Seon struck the desk with finality and concluded the matter.
Of course, since he’d never actually treated the condition before, he added the caveat that he couldn’t guarantee success with absolute certainty.
And that the patient’s Ice Energy would need to reach a certain level, allowing them to control the Qi within their body and expel any unrefined toxins.
He also mentioned that Daimo was dangerous enough that rumors spoke of former Solar Palace disciples there becoming Jiangshi.
But even so, at least the goal had become clear.
If it succeeded, it would be far better than waiting around for the growth of some male protagonist whose existence I wasn’t even sure of!
“I understand. I shall do as you say, Master.”
* * *
Even if Ice Energy weakened in Daimo, I had the Red Dust Turbid Yang Gong, so I didn’t think it would be a real problem.
His request to buy a Great Heaven Pill was probably just him satisfying his own interests.
But when he’d finally shown interest in treating Nine Yin Broken Meridian Syndrome and said he’d research it himself,
haggling over that point risked hurting his feelings.
Besides, thanks to Jin Young Hu, my Merit Points had already surpassed five hundred in a single stroke.
Couldn’t I gather around two thousand points this semester?
Now I could even take on external missions.
“I’ve never seen anyone accumulate Merit Points as quickly as you, Cadet!”
Geun Haeng Gak Ju was bewildered seeing my Merit Points transferred from Jin Young Hu.
“So I can go out now, right? Among the tasks I can do, what Near-Walking mission pulls in the most Merit Points?”
“While classes are still ongoing, I can’t assign escort or suppression missions that require months away. I could have you search for Wanted Criminals during your days off, but finding those kinds of people isn’t easy in the first place.”
But reaching five hundred points and completing the Near-Walking tutorial didn’t mean I could ignore all my classes and roam about outside.
Taking on a long-term mission would make leaving easier, but actually searching for Wanted Criminals the whole time might prove less efficient than doing simple Near-Walking tasks.
“Then what should I do? Should I stake Merit Points and hold another Martial Duel in the Martial Hall?”
“I saw your Martial Duel this morning, Cadet. I suspect…… the other cadets won’t refuse, would they?”
Once I’d tasted the rush of gambling, the desire to gain a large sum of Merit Points all at once burned within me.
But as Geun Haeng Gak Ju said, a formal Martial Duel couldn’t happen if the opponent refused.
To force acceptance, I’d either need to scratch their pride like Jin Young Hu had, making refusal impossible,
or propose triple stakes.
As the Young Mistress of Buk Hae Ice Palace, the former was too shameful, and the latter carried too great a risk if I lost.
So what then?
Wait for the Rank Martial Tournament?
As I was rummaging through my mind for any half-decent alternative, my secretary cautiously offered a suggestion.
“Actually…… it’s absolutely not something I’d recommend to a new cadet, but if you truly wish to accumulate achievements quickly, there is a way: you could go to Guzhong Huangtian.”
The Yellow Springs? The Underworld?
“What is that?”
At my curiosity, Geun Haeng Gak Ju began to explain.
“Ah, weren’t there several previous dynasties when Luoyang served as the capital?”
“That’s right.”
Yes, though Beijing is the capital now, Luoyang has been capital many times.
“The capitals of nine dynasties lie buried in layers upon each other—’Nine Layers’—and it’s called the Yellow Springs because those who enter are said never to return alive. Thus it’s called Guzhong Huangtian.”
“Um…… is it something like a tomb?”
“According to what the cadets say, there are mausoleums and palace-like structures too. Rare treasures sometimes emerge, but ferocious beasts or Spirit Creatures can appear, and Illusion Techniques can trigger.”
“There are trap systems?”
“There are many trap systems, but that’s not all. Vengeful Spirits gather and strange phenomena occur, or so I’m told?”
It’s more like the Stone Cave where Hwa Mu Yang was than something as comparatively scientific as Chang Chang Gwan.
The moment he appeared, space shifted, and he moved the gold statue before revealing himself.
Were stronger Vengeful Spirits implementing a specific place like a capital city?
“Ah, I’m not suggesting you go there at all. Very few cadets voluntarily enter that place.”
“Then what sort of people enter?”
“Injuries need healing, don’t they? When cadets get hurt from Martial Duels or injuries from outside and must buy Spirit Medicine, some fall into debt. Some also violate the rules and their Merit Points go negative. Those sorts go, or…… graduates who want to graduate but somehow fall short on Merit Points go there to quickly accumulate achievements.”
What? There’s something like that?
I wondered if our dormitory alone had failed to obtain legitimate information again,
but it seemed this was a method kept hidden from new cadets as a matter of course.
“It’s quite a dangerous place, so you need approval from the Student Council or one of the Master Instructors to enter. And naturally, you’ll need to have accumulated at least five hundred Merit Points.”
“Do they award many Merit Points?”
“They do, rather generously. Since the Imperial Palace entrusted it to the Academy, even completing the map for a single section earns substantial compensation.”
“How much, specifically?”
“Ah, it varies by floor and section. For the basement levels one through three, you earn around fifty points, but for basement four and below, even clearing a single room nets you over a hundred points. Level seven and deeper offer over a thousand points—though you have to risk your life down there, so few bother, and approval is rarely granted.”
“Clear? You mean clean?”
“You have to clean, yes. But also devise countermeasures against the Illusion Techniques and Mechanism Systems that appear, chart the map, and recover any treasures.”
It’s a complete dungeon.
They’re rewarding exploration of uncharted territory.
It seemed the Academy had another strange place like the Stone Cave.
“Do I just need permission from any Master Instructor?”
My eyes lit up.
I had no intention of taking unnecessary risks, but if the seniors regularly ventured down to the sixth basement level—
Surely I could manage something comparable.
If I asked Master Kwak, and only went down to the levels that seemed manageable—
“Ah, no. You need approval from the Master Instructor who oversees the Dormitory Supervisor.”
……
I had no idea where Muk Jin Ha was.
There had been a lecture earlier.
After he’d given his assessment of my Martial Duel with Jin Young Hu,
He’d set Wi Jong Haeng and Pung Seung against each other and seemed delighted by it.
Then the moment class ended, he’d vanished—I wouldn’t be able to find him until the next lesson.
“Is the Student Council in the Student Council Building?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
I decided to visit the Student Council first.
Surviving as a Terminal Young Lady of the Buk Hae Ice Palace (Serialized)
Author │ Musk Deer
Publisher │ Kim Ju-hyung
Published by │ J-Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyuk
Address │ 401, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Ace Tech Tower 8)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Musk Deer 2026
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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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