Surviving as the Terminally Ill Young Lady of the North Sea Ice Palace - Chapter 7

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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 7
Crack! Bang!
A long-haired boy, presumed to be a disciple of the Huashan Sect, brought his wooden sword down repeatedly on his opponent’s head and arm as the man sprawled helpless on the ground.
“Ugh—gaaah!”
The sword clattered across the Martial Arts Stage.
The boy in the headwrap offered no reprieve, pressing his assault without a moment’s pause.
Thud!
The wooden sword drove straight into his opponent’s chest.
Each movement flowed into the next as though water running downhill—natural, seamless—and the blade traced an intricate Plum Blossom pattern through the air.
“Khhhh!”
The man’s body rocketed backward off the Martial Arts Stage.
Displaying overwhelming skill, the boy ended his Chuoshi Form with a flourish of his long hair.
“Whoa….”
No one needed to be told he was a Huashan Sect disciple.
The handsome one’s opponent couldn’t block a single strike.
The gap in ability was simply too vast.
“Gaaaahhh! I yield! I yield!”
Though he seemed to have shown some restraint for the sake of a proper match.
The boy in the headwrap shrieked with his arm bent at an unnatural angle, tears streaming down his face.
Good heavens—not even the basics were there.
“Huashan Sect—Eun Hyeon is victorious.”
Ah, so his name was Eun Hyeon.
The moment the Martial Master spoke, Eun Hyeon stopped moving.
“Shall we begin the next match immediately?”
“Yes.”
“We will start in half a double-hour. Make your preparations. Yu Gwon, Outer Disciple of Jongnam, you are free to leave—or if you require treatment, proceed to the Heukim An Gwan.”
Eun Hyeon bowed deeply to the Martial Master, then approached the opponent he had knocked down.
“I have learned much from you.”
“U-uh, uh….”
The boy lowered his head in acknowledgment.
Ah, that was the proper etiquette at the end of a match.
I knew it once, but during my time at Binggong, I rarely saw it observed, so I’d forgotten.
“Tsk. Not even deception—just pure force.”
Maeng Ryeong Ji clicked her tongue.
Did she have to be so harsh about it?
The boy in the headwrap had no answer, his mouth hanging open stupidly.
Terror-stricken and bleeding freely from his arm, he was in no state to return the courtesy of a proper greeting.
“Ooooh!”
“Eun Hyeon!”
“The championship is as good as his!”
“The Late-Generation Index of the Nine Sects truly is different!”
Those who had come to watch him erupted in cheers.
“…His technique is rather cruel. The match was already decided the moment the sword fell.”
Maeng Ryeong Ji muttered her disapproval.
“Is that so?”
I tilted my head.
Even if I had fought in earnest, it wouldn’t have ended that cleanly.
For a disciple of the Nine Sects, he showed considerable mercy, didn’t he?
Of course, had he been more merciful with his technique, he could have struck the sword instead of the arm.
And breaking ribs with a follow-up chest strike might be called excessive.
But if you step onto the Martial Arts Stage, you must be prepared.
“Perhaps he simply wanted to demonstrate his complete Chuoshi Form to the Martial Master?”
Eun Hyeon had clearly done his best to pass while still controlling his power, and I shrugged.
But Maeng Ryeong Ji’s expression remained cold.
“Perhaps.”
“Still, that boy was unlucky to face a Huashan disciple.”
I watched as the applicants fought on and the victor advanced to another match—it appeared to be a tournament format.
Had this invasive species not been here and the boy in the headwrap faced someone closer to his own level, I wonder what he might have shown?
“Ahem, not quite, friend.”
I had muttered to myself, but three young men standing to my right glanced over and addressed me.
“The standards are actually quite lenient for applicants from smaller sects. Every year they force through at least ten candidates.”
“It is the great intention of the Venerable Forerunner to open the doors of Tianwu Academy to all.”
Ah, so that was it.
Seeing them sporting Entrance Badges at their waists as though to make a show of it, I’d assumed they were fellow entrance candidates like myself.
“Did you come to observe the martial arts of a Huashan Sect disciple?”
I spoke as though making sure they’d heard.
The three youths startled at my words.
“Ah, yes! I’m called Poong Seung!”
“I’m Sim Yang O!”
I hadn’t asked for their names, yet they flushed and cupped their hands, introducing themselves formally.
“Which sect do you hail from?”
“We’ve received a recommendation from the Moyong Clan!”
“Hah! This fellow’s brother-in-law may well become the patriarch of the Moyong Clan!”
My assumption had been correct—they were entrance candidates together with me.
Their surname wasn’t Moyong, yet if they’d been recommended by that clan, they must be distant blood relatives, in-laws, or children of vassal families.
“Hmph, well… in Liaoning, I’ve never once laid eyes on a beauty like this young lady.”
“Might I be so bold as to ask the names of you young ladies…?”
Among the youths of similar age connected to the Moyong Clan, she seemed likely the strongest.
Maeng Ryeong Ji furrowed her brow and looked them up and down, and the three shrank back as her interest vanished in an instant.
“I’m Seol Su Ryeo.”
“Ah, I see. Miss Su Ryeo. We had hoped to observe Eun Hyeon’s abilities, but we’re disappointed the opponent proved too weak.”
“Entrance admission tests are never worth watching. It’s only in the Tianwu Assembly, Rank Martial Tournament, and Martial Star Festival that academy students truly display promising late-generation talent.”
That much seemed undeniable.
I would have preferred an opponent capable of drawing out my true strength.
‘If I employ Bing Gong, could I beat these fellows…?’
I narrowed my eyes and attempted to gauge their level.
The top late-generation talent of the Moyong Clan likely had a good chance of being stronger than me.
But they couldn’t send their strongest each year to the academy.
Could I defeat a branch-line youth?
Though I carry the fatal weakness of the Limited Lifespan Condition, my Guyin Juemai constitution is optimized for learning Bing Gong.
From childhood, I was called the finest prospect at Beighai Binggong.
“Huashan Sect’s Eun Hyeon versus Jinyong Sect’s Gong Young. Match begins.”
While we chattered, the Martial Arts Stage had been cleared.
A Martial Master announced the commencement of the next bout on schedule.
One of those about to spar was Eun Hyeon.
The other was a youth taller by a head, who had passed the previous round on the adjacent stage.
‘A spear? I don’t have much experience fighting against spears….’
Before my thought finished, Eun Hyeon had evaded the opponent’s spear thrust.
Whoosh!
He lowered his body in one fluid motion.
Then he swung his sword at the opponent’s shin.
“Argh!”
“Can’t even last ten exchanges!”
“End it!”
Was this a Chuoshi Form? An application of it?
The spear wielder shrieked, and the match ended even faster than before.
“Tsk, his footwork fundamentals are pathetic!”
Poong Seung criticized the spear wielder’s skill from the sideline.
“It did end anticlimactically.”
I thought the Martial Master might declare victory then and there.
But it seemed the rules didn’t consider a fall alone decisive.
‘Ah, that’s why before too.’
It wasn’t over.
Eun Hyeon, just as he had in the previous match, displayed an ornate Chuoshi Form over the seated Gong Young’s body.
“Heh……”
Maeng Ryeong Ji crossed her arms, clearly displeased that Eun Hyeon had drawn blood.
“So he entered the entrance exam just to trample the weak. Seems he enjoys that sort of hobby.”
Eun Hyeon pursued the fleeing man with an impassive face, continuing his assault.
“Ahhhhh! Ugh, ugh!”
“Damn it, I should’ve used a defense move!”
“Wahhhhh! Eun Hyeon!”
Good grief, that’s going too far.
Even if it’s just momentary, if he channels Neigong like that, a Wooden Sword could kill someone.
“……I recommend immediate concession.”
“C-concession! I yield!”
At last, the Martial Master spoke.
Had fear so overwhelmed him that he’d forgotten he was in the middle of a bout?
The moment Gong Young heard the Martial Master’s words, he shouted his surrender at once.
“Very well—victory to Eun Hyeon of the Huashan Sect.”
And so two matches ended in the blink of an eye.
Next came the turn of two disciples from unfamiliar sects.
“Hmm…… rather unremarkable.”
“With skills like that, they wouldn’t last even a quarter hour in the Mil Rim.”
The boys who had been muttering beside me about the standard of the Entrance Admission test weren’t wrong.
The remaining bouts had little worth watching.
They fought with considerable fervor by their own measure, but somehow their martial training left them unable to draw upon their Neigong reserves.
Several more matches came and went.
Some displayed a gulf between the fighters vast as heaven and earth, while others traded blows for the full allotted time.
Eun Hyeon’s bouts without exception fell into the former category.
How much time had passed?
The Martial Master rose from his seat and instructed everyone to gather at the Martial Arts Stage in the center.
Shortly after, all the matches across the various stages concluded, and he announced the first group of successful candidates.
“Eun Hyeon of the Huashan Sect, Ju Pyeong Sam of the Seoyong Sect, Dan Li Hyang of the Danli Clan, and Gu Won Ui with no affiliation—these four are confirmed passed. Rest until the You Hour, when we’ll hold the final bout to determine the champion.”
“Waaahhhhh!”
Cheers erupted.
According to what I’d heard earlier, the Tianwu Academy takes in at least ten new students by force every year from this Entrance Admission test.
Just as Eun Hyeon had kept winning in the time I’d been watching, these four must have racked up victories in their respective stages.
Now they were about to select promising candidates from the remaining applicants.
“Son Gang, Outer Disciple of Shaolin; Jeong Ha Rin of the Bota Sect; Mo Young Taek of the Mo Clan House……”
They called about twenty or thirty names, but none of them had faced Eun Hyeon.
Even if the academy took one’s origin into account, those who collapsed without a chance to show their skill couldn’t entirely escape the hand of fortune.
“Dan Li Hyang! Congratulations!”
“Ah, haha—thank you.”
“Ju—that was magnificent!”
“We’ve only just been admitted. It’s nothing yet.”
As the four newly announced names came down from the Yeonmu Jang, crowds rushed toward them.
For Dan Li Hyang and Ju Pyeong Sam, those who’d come to cheer from their respective clans and sects showered them with praise.
‘But what about that one?’
Gu Won Ui, having no affiliation, was one thing.
But Eun Hyeon belonged to the Huashan Sect, a major power, yet not a single acquaintance appeared among the crowd.
Did he have no friends?
With such striking, outstanding looks, it seemed unlikely he’d fail to win people’s affection.
‘There must be some story to it.’
Ah, a mysterious beautiful man—charming.
The sight of him standing expressionless with lowered eyes struck me as rather poignant, so I gazed at his features with an unrestrained smile.
‘……?’
At that moment, Eun Hyeon lifted his head, and our eyes met.
Surviving as a Limited Lifespan Young Lady of Beighai Binggong (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. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder, and may not be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission from 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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