Surviving as the Terminally Ill Young Lady of the North Sea Ice Palace - Chapter 76

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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 76
I ran down the mountain until evening and returned to the Academy.
Gu Won had suggested we eat a late dinner at Seok Gyo Chon before heading back, but I declined.
Though the inn’s food was indeed delicious, I wanted to read through the Journal first.
Since it was well past sunset, I lit the lamp and sat at my desk.
[……I had originally planned to return to Nakyang soon, but while preparing to leave the mountain, I heard troubling news from travelers passing by…….]
As the elder of Tae Cheong Hall had said, the early entries of the Journal were filled with laments about the shock of the kingdom’s fall.
In history books, it was merely recorded as one of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, a dynasty that lasted only a few decades before its end—nothing particularly moving. But the thoughts of someone who had actually worked in the Royal Palace at that time could hardly have been otherwise.
Uncertainty about the crown prince’s fate, regrets about not being there with him.
I skimmed through passages that held no meaning for me.
Finally, I found the word I’d been searching for.
[One of the three sent to Kunlun Mountain barely reached Tae Cheong Hall. It is said that on the slopes of Kunlun Mountain, there flows a lake called Yeom Lake, where the extreme Yang Qi never freezes even in winter. I met a man who claimed to have seen an Immortal Fire Carp there, but he was unable to capture one. The lake’s depth cannot be fathomed, and the carp surfaces only rarely—once or twice in ten years, it is said.]
An Immortal Fire Carp!
Moreover, unlike the previous Journal entries that only mentioned a lake somewhere in the vast Kunlun Mountain range, this one provided a specific place name.
For the present time, having found no records of the Immortal Fire Carp for over three hundred years, this was precious information.
‘It showed itself once or twice every ten years back then?’
Though the Journal noted this was an extremely rare frequency, if it had continued at this rate even now, I would have been confident that the Immortal Fire Carp existed in Yeom Lake at Kunlun Mountain.
‘Then who captured it?’
The darker possibility came to mind first.
The Immortal Fire Carp was useful for far more than treating the Nine Yin Meridian Condition.
If word had spread all the way to Nakyang, martial artists of that era might have rushed there in droves to capture it.
‘Still, it would be worth the effort to go.’
But there was no solid evidence that the Immortal Fire Carp was gone from Yeom Lake now.
Those who had searched for it might have simply given up and left, only for it to be forgotten.
I read through the rest of the Journal in case there was additional information.
But the remaining entries were merely Wang Yak Ro’s speculation about the crown prince’s death and his lament that the Immortal Fire Carp and all its potential uses had become meaningless.
The Journal ended as Wang Yak Ro departed for Hwasan, where his master Heui Dosa was said to be.
I wondered if there might be more at Hwasan, but if the crown prince had truly died, they would not have continued searching for the Immortal Fire Carp, so there was little point in looking further.
It would be better to gather information around the Kunlun region rather than at Hwasan.
* * *
The next morning, I sought out Yak Seon and handed him the Journal.
He nodded in agreement after reading the passages I had marked.
“It won’t be caught easily just because someone fishes for it…… but there’s no harm in trying. Hmm, it’ll be difficult to go to Kunlun during the school term. While you’re there during the break, gather whatever herbs grow in that region.”
He mentioned there were many medicinal materials that could only be obtained at Cheong Hae, speaking as if he would later give me Near-Walking as compensation.
If I couldn’t obtain the Immortal Fire Carp at Kunlun, I would have to go to Tae Mak as well—wouldn’t that mean I couldn’t visit Buk Hae at all during this break?
Well, it didn’t matter as long as I could treat the Nine Yin Meridian Condition one way or another.
“I’m concerned that the Immortal Fire Carp may have already been caught by the time this Journal was written.”
“The carp that appeared then was likely captured.”
“Really?”
“But a new carp might have appeared. In a lake that doesn’t freeze, there’s probably Earth Fire flowing beneath its bed. Ordinary carp that absorb that Yang Qi become Fire Carp.”
Yak Seon said that even the carp that appeared back then probably hadn’t lived for a full ten thousand years.
Even a Hundred-Year Carp or a Thousand-Year Carp would provide far more benefit than combining ordinary medicinal materials imbued with Yang Qi.
Well, since over five hundred years have passed since this Journal was written, a Hundred-Year Carp or thereabouts might indeed exist.
“While we wait until the break, won’t my friend’s condition deteriorate significantly? When he came to the Academy, he seemed well enough on the surface…….”
“Hmm…… Can he walk and breathe without difficulty?”
“In childhood it was difficult, but after taking a temporary remedy provided by the Master Physician in White, he’s been fine since. He even runs now.”
“As long as the Yin Qi doesn’t expand beyond control, he should last at least three to four years. ……I’m curious what medicine the Master Physician in White used.”
I had asked him about that once, but he wouldn’t tell me, saying there would be no need to use it again.
Yak Seon said that Yeol Yang Dan would have a similar effect in slowing the progression.
I replied that I was already planning to purchase some and send it.
* * *
Exhale.
There’s definitely no problem with breathing.
If the Yin Qi completely filled the lungs, breathing would become difficult, so he should be fine for a while yet.
For now, I trusted Yak Seon’s words and set aside my investigation into the Immortal Fire Carp temporarily.
Either way, whether I found the carp or not, I needed Yak Seon’s cooperation.
If my friend was going to live, it made sense to obtain the Dae Cheon Dan as soon as possible.
Of course, to afford it, I had to continue training martial arts while at the Academy.
Outside of Internal Energy classes, I gathered my strength by cultivating Zheng Qi Gong whenever I had the chance.
And I diligently followed Paeng Jung Geol’s guidance in External Martial Arts training as well.
“Ugh-ahhhhh!”
“What’s the matter, Jin So Un?”
“Oh, it’s nothing at all!”
While practicing with such intensity, I happened to cross paths with Jin Young Hu one day within the Academy grounds.
The moment he saw me, he trembled violently.
“Does even passing nearby leave frostbite scars from Ice Power?”
“I’ve been suffering from chills for days after being struck by Master So Un’s technique.”
I defeated Jin Young Hu without using Ice Power, so I had no idea what the fuss was about.
But because Jin Young Hu kept trembling everywhere afterward, the rumor that I’d used Ice Power during the match became completely cemented.
“It turned out exactly as you intended.”
“I owe it all to your teaching, Master!”
Gwak Do Cheon, and of course Muk Jin Ha and the other martial instructors, all knew full well that I hadn’t used Ice Power.
But they’d decided to turn a blind eye to it.
* * *
So the peaceful Academy life continued for several days.
“The One Hundred Eight Arhat Formation was a new realm combining martial arts with Formation Technique. Martial artists became the medium through which Qi circulated and amplified, producing a force far greater than the sum of individual powers.”
During Advanced Martial Theory class, following the talk of Dharma from last time, the subject shifted to formations—a topic Jegal In was deeply passionate about.
Originally the lecture was supposed to cover the development of Orthodox Martial Arts, but because it touched on Jegal In’s area of interest, it had stretched considerably.
“Any questions?”
After rambling enthusiastically about formations, Jegal In looked around at the students.
I’d thought everyone learned their lesson after So Un got dragged into that Mechanism Formation Technique class last time—that you shouldn’t ask questions in situations like this.
Yet surprisingly, a student raised his hand.
“I understand formations were used when multiple people had to catch a single master, but is there still any relevance today? Orthodox martial arts have developed tremendously, and all Ten Heavenly Masters are Orthodox martial artists anyway, aren’t they?”
The quality of the question was astounding.
Asking something like ‘Why are we learning this?’ right in front of the main professor!
But Jegal In didn’t grow angry.
He didn’t expound on the beauty of formations themselves, something no one could relate to.
Instead.
“Do you truly believe the martial world is peaceful right now?”
He lowered his voice and turned the question back on the students.
“I believe chaos can arise at any moment.”
Here I answered quickly.
After all, the professor himself had the ability to make any class far from peaceful whenever he wished.
Yet students constantly seemed to forget that.
“Exactly. Just because the Jungma Great War has ended doesn’t mean lasting peace has arrived.”
But instead of criticizing students grown complacent in peace, he calmly recounted the martial world’s history.
“Before Orthodox Martial Arts were established, as I mentioned last time, it was a world where heterodox practitioners ran rampant. Then when Shaolin seized dominance and declared it would guide the heterodox onto the righteous path, people believed the sects would never again threaten ordinary citizens.”
This was the age before the Nine Schools and One Faction, before the Five Great Houses—when only Shaolin existed.
Indeed, in those times only the Buddhist monks of Shaolin wielded proper martial techniques.
Many believed the world had finally been pacified.
“But the heterodox practitioners didn’t stay idle. Finding that they were being purged while scattered, they banded together. They established great sects, organized their own martial arts, and created their own systems. Certainly, the Orthodox side produced far more distinguished grand masters… but what does that mean?”
Yet the Orthodox-Heterodox Great Chaos erupted.
“Both sides grew stronger, and two evenly matched forces must inevitably clash. They spoke of avenging ancestral grudges and upholding honor as Orthodox and Heterodox martial artists slew one another repeatedly. And as you all know, when the elite of both sides faced off, they all perished.”
Unlike the Jungma Great War, which ended in a relatively short span, the Orthodox-Heterodox Chaos saw centuries of retaliation piled upon retaliation.
Of course, during that era Buk Hae Bing Palace was cut off from the Central Plains, so I don’t know much about it.
It was only in my father’s generation that we opened our gates and began encouraging commerce.
“Just when people thought those centuries of Orthodox-Heterodox conflict had finally subsided… the Demonic Cult rose to prominence.”
The history I knew well was the Jungma Great War, which my father had recounted countless times.
“The premier martial artist of that era was undoubtedly the Heavenly Demon. Neither the Martial Alliance Master nor the Palace Lord would deny it. Could anyone have defeated the Heavenly Demon alone without Formation Technique? We might have all perished like during the Orthodox-Heterodox Chaos, or been crushed individually until the Demonic World was established.”
Jegal In spoke with pride of how countless Orthodox masters had attacked the Heavenly Demon collectively.
He noted that throughout the Jungma Great War, not just in the final battle but repeatedly against Demonic Cult followers, Formation Techniques and Mechanism Formation Techniques had proven decisive.
“Of course the Jungma Great War ended in Orthodox victory. We destroyed the Demonic Cult, and the Martial Alliance’s prestige has never been stronger. More than twenty years of peace have followed, and now the Orthodox overwhelmingly dominate the heterodox—so Post-Qi Realm Students gain fame through martial tournaments rather than through actual conflict. Growing up in such a world, it’s only natural that methods devised by the weak to stand against the strong seem quaint to all of you.”
The student who’d asked so casually flinched.
Even the students who usually slept through class had mostly awakened and were now listening intently.
“But is that truly the end?”
Jegal In asked, his expression deliberately grave.
Until now, except when discussing Mechanism Formation Techniques, his face had always been bored.
This was almost the first time I’d seen him look so serious.
“Then why did Patriarch Seo Gak establish the Academy?”
Hmm… it wasn’t a subject I’d given much thought to since being reborn and confirming this was indeed a peaceful era.
Could there really be another enemy out there that the world doesn’t know about?
Come to think of it, even the Heavenly Demon they say was defeated in the Jungma Great War wouldn’t have announced his arrival beforehand.
The thought that remnants of the Demonic Cult might be preparing for the Heavenly Demon’s return made me listen with equal gravity.
“Balance is merely a brief moment to catch one’s breath before the next enemy arrives. True peace can never exist in the martial world.”
But Jegal In offered no neat resolution.
That day’s lesson ended there.
“So what’s the point you’re making?”
“Well, isn’t it a warning to shake some sense into those hothouse flowers?”
I felt completely deflated by that answer.
That very evening, I received a letter from Tae Cheong Hall.
And it contained a most unexpected revelation.
[The intruder who stole the Jade Seal appears to have trained in Demonic Power. They may very well be remnants of the Demonic Cult.]
Surviving as a Doomed Young Lady of Buk Hae Bing 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 8th, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong)
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ⓒ Sa Hyang No Ru 2026
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder. No part of this content may be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and author.
Violations 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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