Within Beihai Ice Palace, much like the other Seven Fiend Gates, there was a martial art passed down exclusively to the Palace Lords for generations.
It was Northern Darkness Divine Art (Bukmyeong Shingong).
Simply put, it was an advanced version of Absorption Great Technique (Heupseong Daebeop).
More accurately, Absorption Great Technique was merely a crude imitation of Northern Darkness Divine Art.
Unlike Absorption Great Technique, which indiscriminately absorbs all sorts of chaotic energies and inevitably causes internal collapse, Northern Darkness Divine Art refines all absorbed qi into Ice Jade Divine Qi.
You couldn’t explain the history of Beihai Ice Palace without mentioning this martial art.
One of its core functions was the ability to transfer internal energy without any loss.
Through this, each generation’s Palace Lord inherited the immense reservoir of qi accumulated by their predecessors.
But what happened to the previous Palace Lord who passed it down?
What they transferred wasn’t simply internal energy—it was the very essence of their cultivated qi.
With such a complete transfer, their enlightenment remained at the level of a Transcendent Realm master, but their body reverted to that of a mere third-rate martial artist.
“Huh. So their lifespan, which was extended through internal energy, doesn’t instantly revert back, killing them on the spot?”
“Tch… What nonsense. The body has already been rejuvenated. While aging speeds up slightly, the lifespan itself remains close to that of an ordinary person.”
Of course, Transcendent Realm enlightenment wasn’t something trivial. Even with only a small amount of qi, one could rapidly regain their former level.
‘Though it likely wouldn’t be that simple.’
When a Palace Lord transferred most of their qi to the next generation, both their essence and energy would take a severe hit.
Reaching Transcendence again wouldn’t be impossible, but it was far from guaranteed.
‘To summarize, it works like this.’
When the Young Lord reaches the Transcendent Realm—or even after reaching it—the reigning Palace Lord passes down the accumulated qi through Northern Darkness Divine Art.
The Palace Lord loses their cultivation and reverts to a third-rate martial artist, while the Young Lord officially ascends to the position of Palace Lord.
“The former Palace Lord, having transferred all their qi, is finally freed. After spending nearly their entire life trapped within the palace, they are at last released into the world.”
Naturally, not every Palace Lord followed this tradition.
Throughout the long history of Beihai Ice Palace, there had been a few cases where, fearing the loss of their cultivation, some Palace Lords abandoned their position without passing down their qi.
Every time that happened, the Ice Palace faced significant turmoil.
Yet, considering it had managed to survive to the present, it seemed they had always found a way to resolve it.
‘This woman… she inherited all the accumulated qi, didn’t she?’
Even Seo-jun was impressed by Baek Seol-hyang’s sheer level of internal energy. In terms of pure volume, she might even surpass Demon Devouring Green Lotus (Sumo Nok So-pyeong).
“Well, I get the gist of it.”
In short, this was Baek Seol-hyang’s situation:
Aside from qi, the Ice Palace itself was a legacy passed down from one Palace Lord to the next.
As long as the Palace Lord carried the inherited qi, they were bound to protect the Ice Palace. And Baek Seol-hyang had failed in that duty.
She had devoted herself to maintaining the Ice Palace, only for it to be completely wrecked. Now, she didn’t give a damn anymore.
She wanted to pass on the Palace Lord’s position, gain her freedom, and finally live a little.
After all, she had spent her entire life working. She had never even held a man’s hand, and now, after all that, everything had fallen apart.
But with no clear successor in sight—no telling how long it would take for the next Transcendent Realm warrior to appear—she had one demand:
“If you don’t take the position of Palace Lord, I’m quitting.”
“…So that’s what this is about.”
“How… how dare you?! When did I ever say that?!”
Finally regaining some composure, Baek Seol-hyang wiped away her tears and plopped back down onto her chair.
Seo-jun looked at her with a pitying gaze.
Before, he had nothing but resentment toward Beihai Ice Palace, mainly because of Chun-bong’s severed meridians.
But… was that really Ice Palace’s doing?
Considering everything he had pieced together, the culprit was most likely Myeolshinhwe, not Ice Palace.
‘Technically, they’re still an enemy since we’re at war with Black Lotus Union…’
But honestly, enemy or not, this just felt… pitiful.
Maybe it was because he had just witnessed a Transcendent Realm master, one who had lived for centuries, crying her eyes out.
“Ahem…!”
Feeling Seo-jun’s gaze, Baek Seol-hyang cleared her throat and forced herself to look dignified.
“…Anyway, this was all just a test. I wanted to see if you had returned to assassinate me. Yet, despite the many openings I gave you, you never revealed any such intent.”
“Sure, let’s go with that.”
“Shut up!”
She slammed the armrest of her chair and glared at him.
“Either way, you are still a suspicious man.”
“And?”
“Where did you learn Ice Jade Divine Art and Northern Darkness Divine Art? Even if one of the former Palace Lords taught you, without Ice Jade Essence, those arts are impossible to master.”
‘Worked for me, though.’
Seo-jun couldn’t be bothered to come up with an excuse.
“It’s a secret.”
“Hmph…”
Baek Seol-hyang pursed her lips, glaring at him.
It wasn’t as if she hadn’t considered the possibilities.
Regardless of what she felt about him, the fact remained that Baek Seo-jun had played a crucial role in defending the Ice Palace during the Saintess Incident.
And now that the Qi Deviation aftereffects had mostly settled, even if he did have ulterior motives, she was confident she could handle it.
‘Besides, he seems intent on protecting the Ice Palace. And he’s already mastered Northern Darkness Divine Art.’
The fact that he was a man didn’t matter.
Somehow, he had reached the Transcendent Realm.
‘Even if he does have some hidden agenda, well… I’ll deal with it when the time comes.’
Truthfully, Baek Seol-hyang was just… exhausted.
“…Fine. If you want to keep it a secret, so be it.”
“Appreciate it.”
“Either way, you are still the Young Lord of the Ice Palace.”
She pointed at him, then at herself.
“And I am still the Palace Lord.”
“So?”
“As the Palace Lord, I command you. A demonic beast has been terrorizing the people of Beihai. You will hunt it down.”
“I refuse.”
“…You little—!”
Baek Seol-hyang clenched her fists, trembling with barely contained rage. Seo-jun barely suppressed his laughter and asked:
“By the way, do you know anything about Myeolshinhwe?”
“How the hell would I?!”
“If you give me a proper answer, I’ll help with your little demonic beast problem.”
“…I don’t know much. Myeolshinhwe? The name alone is so ridiculously obvious I can’t help but laugh.”
She was absolutely useless.
Seo-jun scratched his chin.
‘Might as well dig a little deeper.’
If Baek Seol-hyang gained any useful information through questioning, so be it.
At this point, though, caution wasn’t really a concern.
Now that he had reached this level of power, there was far less he needed to be careful about.
“Then, do you know anything about the extermination of the Geum Clan?”
“No.”
“Not a single thing?”
“Do you even realize how far apart the Geum Clan and Beihai Ice Palace are? How the hell would I know what happened over there?”
“I heard that traces of Ice Jade Divine Art were found at the scene.”
“What…? Again!? What goddamn wench—?!”
Baek Seol-hyang erupted, fuming.
Seo-jun had asked on a hunch, but it seemed she genuinely knew nothing.
Suppressing a sigh, he asked again.
“Nothing even comes to mind?”
“…One thing.”
Suddenly, Baek Seol-hyang's eyes locked onto him.
Her gaze was as cold as ice, as if the outburst just moments ago had been an act.
‘Not many Transcendent Realm masters seem mentally stable, huh.’
Seo-jun gave her a wary look, but she continued.
“Because of how the Beihai Ice Palace functions, there are fewer senior masters compared to other sects.”
Since each generation’s Palace Lord transferred all their qi to the next, very few old masters remained.
“And because the palace is so closed off, it’s rare for Ice Palace martial artists to wander outside.”
Most martial artists of the Ice Palace lived and died within its walls. Even when they did venture out, they usually stayed near Beihai.
“If Ice Jade Divine Art was truly found at the Geum Clan's extermination site, then it was probably an exiled Ice Palace martial artist.”
“An exile, huh…”
“Before that, are you absolutely certain it was Ice Jade Divine Art? There are plenty of techniques that manipulate yin energy in a similar way.”
If not, then the list of suspects expanded drastically—branch families that had split off from the Ice Palace, or even entirely unrelated sects.
“No, from what I’ve heard, Ice Jade Divine Art was confirmed.”
“Any other clues? Was the perpetrator male, perhaps?”
“No idea. All that’s known is that one of the monstrous beasts used Ice Jade Divine Art. That’s it.”
“And with that alone, you’re trying to find the culprit?”
Baek Seol-hyang scoffed.
‘Should I hit her?’
Seo-jun debated it.
Before he could act, however, she continued.
“Still, it’s rare for an exiled Ice Palace martial artist to be strong enough to be involved in something like the Geum Clan's extermination.”
It wasn’t impossible that a former Palace Lord was responsible, but if they ruled that out, only one name came to mind.
“Three hundred years ago, there was one man—just like you—who mastered Ice Jade Divine Art despite being male.”
“Hmm…”
So, tracking him down would be the next step.
Seo-jun asked, “Do you have any clues about him?”
“…That’s a secret.”
“Palace Lord, don’t act like a damn child.”
“H-how dare you?! That’s no way to speak to your Palace Lord!”
Baek Seol-hyang bristled but didn’t make a move.
If she recklessly used her strength and suffered another Qi Deviation, she’d be the one at a disadvantage.
“Three times!”
“Hmm?”
“If you help Beihai Ice Palace three times, I will give you my full cooperation.”
Seo-jun narrowed his eyes.
“You’re not even going to ask why I want this information?”
“If I asked, would you answer?”
“…No.”
“Exactly.”
“Hah…”
She really was acting like a brat throwing a tantrum.
‘Wait a second.’
Was this how other people saw him?
That was… concerning.
Realizing the effects of accidental self-reflection, Seo-jun clicked his tongue.
“So, the first task is to take care of that demonic beast near Beihai?”
“Yes. Report back when it's done.”
Baek Seol-hyang slumped back into her massive chair, making it clear she had no intention of doing anything herself.
“What are you waiting for? Get moving.”
“…Palace Lord, are you any good in a fight?”
“Oh? Is this rebellion I hear?”
Her eyes sparkled.
Seo-jun clicked his tongue.
“Forget it. I’ll handle it.”
If she dumped more unreasonable tasks on him or turned out to be completely useless, he could always beat some sense into her later.
With that thought, Seo-jun left the Ice Palace.
****
Seo-jun arrived at the area near the sea where the demonic beast had been reported.
‘Was there always an ocean here?’
He tried to recall Earth’s geography but quickly abandoned the thought.
The Central Plains resembled China, but they weren’t identical.
From what he had heard, it was more like an entire continent of its own.
‘Maybe I should take a look from space one day.’
It wasn’t impossible.
Licking his lips in amusement, Seo-jun waded into the ocean and dipped his hand into the water.
“Let’s get this over with, buddy.”
Ideal World (Isanghyang).
He summoned a single element from that vast world.
Though there was no need to say the name aloud, verbalizing it helped sharpen the image and imbue the command with additional power.
This was a localized deployment of his domain—activating only a single aspect of Ideal World.
“Eight Cold Hells (Palhan Jiok).”
────────────Crack!
The sea froze white.
As misty breaths escaped his lips, Seo-jun grinned.
“Found you.”