"One, mouth! Two, be careful! One!"
"Mouth...!"
"Two!"
"Be careful...!"
"Oh? Your voice isn’t loud enough. Two!"
"B-Be careful...!!"
In the back alleys on the outskirts of Anhui Province, a bizarre scene was unfolding.
A robust man was doing push-ups while being trampled by a woman.
There was nothing more to say. This was the very same man who had claimed he would take Namgung Sua as his concubine.
"Did you understand? Huh? Just because your eyes sparkled a little doesn’t mean anything."
Standing on top of the man, acting as a human weight, Geum Chun-bong clicked her tongue.
"I’m sorry…!"
"Too quiet."
"I’M SORRYYY…!!"
"Good."
Clicking her tongue once more, Chun-bong stepped off the man.
He must have thought he was someone important, but a concubine? That was just plain stupid.
If he had actually tried anything, she would have made him deeply regret it.
But since he had just flapped his mouth and stood there dumbly, she let him off with this much.
‘Or maybe I should just castrate him, just in case?’
Chun-bong stroked her chin as she looked down at the man.
Under her gaze, his body shook violently.
Some unknown chill crawled up his spine, triggering his instincts.
"I-I’m sorry…!"
Still contemplating, Chun-bong clicked her tongue.
"Eh, forget it. Just follow me."
"Yes, ma’am!"
The man jumped to his feet and carefully followed behind Chun-bong.
Chun-bong and Namgung Sua led the man through the twisting alleyways.
Occasionally, lowly Black Path thugs tried to ambush them, but unfortunately for them, they were up against a Supreme Grandmaster-level martial artist.
Those who dared to attack ended up neatly folded and shoved into alley corners.
Watching this, the man shuddered uncontrollably.
"Uh… where exactly are you guys from?"
"What? I didn’t tell you?"
"No, ma’am…."
"Namgung Clan."
"Y-Y-Yes?!?"
The man, Chun-sam, jumped on the spot.
His name had an oddly familiar and endearing ring to it.
After using Chun-sam as a guide to sweep through the alleys, Chun-bong stretched her arms.
"Ugh… That should be enough for today."
Clicking her tongue, she gathered the people who had been chosen by Taekcheon Jijae Arts.
Even though they had just wandered around casually, they had already picked up a little over ten people.
Among them, three were children.
She had considered taking only the children, since martial arts were best learned young, but she trusted Taekcheon Jijae Arts.
After all, Seo-jun himself had said that the technique only reacted to true talent.
For Namgung Ilmaek, even fully grown adults could produce decent results.
As for other martial arts… who knew?
"Hmm… now what?"
Chun-bong tapped her chin, then tilted her head.
She had no plan.
She had just come out for fun.
As she stood there, blinking blankly, Namgung Sua chuckled.
"We should rest at a nearby branch sect before heading back to the clan."
"Oh, that works?"
She had already asked the new recruits for their opinions, and of course, they had all agreed to follow them to Namgung Clan.
However, bringing them directly to the main clan was a problem.
"There’s that martial artist test, the personality screening or whatever."
"Hmm? What about it?"
"Can a branch sect conduct it too? If they fail after going all the way to Namgung, it’d be a hassle. It’s pretty far from here."
If everyone passed, there wouldn’t be an issue.
But realistically, that wasn’t going to happen.
Anyone who survived the back alleys was bound to have some personality issues.
There were only two types who didn’t:
The strong, or the dead.
To survive in that kind of place, letting go of morals was inevitable.
Judging people by their immediate behavior in such an environment was complicated.
Still, Namgung Clan should have a way to filter out the truly problematic ones.
"I can do that, though?"
"Hm?"
Namgung Sua lightly tapped her chest.
Chun-bong’s gaze locked onto something.
‘...I fear for my life.’
She shuddered.
Namgung Sua smiled sweetly.
"I’m a martial artist of Namgung Clan too. I’ve had all the proper training."
"Oh, right."
And so, Chun-bong and Namgung Sua led their new recruits toward a nearby branch sect.
It had split off from Namgung Clan long ago and was now known as Socheonmun (Small Heaven Gate).
The head of Socheonmun welcomed Chun-bong and Namgung Sua warmly and readily offered them rooms.
The people from the back alleys were also assigned separate rooms.
Inside her room, Chun-bong rested her chin on her fingers, forming an L-shape with her thumb and index finger.
"Hmm… I feel like I had something to say."
"Like what?"
Rustle.
Namgung Sua shrugged off her outer robe, changing into lighter clothing.
‘Oh….’
Chun-bong unconsciously admired the sight.
When it came to feminine charm, she could never beat Sua.
And those… those damned overwhelming symbols of femininity.
As Chun-bong stared at Namgung Sua’s chest, she suddenly clapped her hands.
"Ah, right! That’s it!"
"Hm?"
"You know, that order of things?"
"Order?"
"Yeah. You know, since we’re getting married soon…."
"Oh, the wedding night?"
"Y-Yeah…."
Chun-bong’s cheeks flushed red.
Namgung Sua chuckled.
"I don’t mind letting Geum Mae go first?"
"...No thanks."
"Then should I go first?"
"...That’s also a no."
"...Huh?"
Namgung Sua blinked.
As Chun-bong hesitated, biting her lip, she squeezed her eyes shut and shouted.
"Let’s decide with rock-paper-scissors…!"
"Rock-paper-scissors?"
"Yeah, you know, like before."
"Oh, you mean Hwakwon (划拳)?"
Namgung Sua grinned and clenched her fist.
For martial artists, rock-paper-scissors was no longer a game of chance.
It became a battle of strategy and mind games up until the very moment they threw their hand.
But Chun-bong wasn’t looking for that.
She just wanted pure luck!
She wanted to close her eyes and leave it to fate.
"Let’s play blindfolded and check after. Winner goes first."
"Haha, alright. By the way, have you studied?"
"Studied what?"
"This."
Namgung Sua made a circular shape with her thumb and index finger, then moved her other index finger back and forth through it.
A blatantly lewd gesture.
But Chun-bong barely reacted.
She was already used to it.
"Somewhat…?"
"'Somewhat' isn't good enough. Today, your big sister will teach you properly."
"Wha…."
Chun-bong's eyes rolled.
"What… what exactly are you trying to teach me…?"
"Bedroom techniques."
Bedroom techniques—methods and skills of intimacy. In other words, that.
You too can become a Supreme Grandmaster!
Basically, how to be good at sex.
"Wait, why the hell do you even know about that…?"
"There are quite a few manuals in Heavenly Martial Pavilion. I’m sure the Golden Clan has plenty as well."
"Whaaat…?"
Chun-bong's jaw dropped. Why the hell would the Heavenly Martial Pavilion have manuals on bedroom techniques? Did every martial arts family just keep a few around?
More importantly, how was she planning to teach this?
Chun-bong shivered in fear.
But… she didn’t refuse.
Honestly, she was a little curious.
"Anyway…! Let’s settle this now!"
Chun-bong raised her hand high. The ritual for rock-paper-scissors had begun.
She squeezed her eyes shut and searched for the one correct answer among infinite possibilities. If the man plays rock, then what would the woman choose?
Lost in a maze of overthinking, Golden Chun-bong made her decision.
"Rock, paper…!"
The moment both women revealed their hands—
"Scissors…!"
Fate was sealed.
Deep within Northern Sea Ice Palace.
Seo-jun had been commissioned by Baek Seol-hyang to complete a formation. The very next day, he visited her again.
"What is it now? Why do you keep coming back? What about your other work?"
Baek Seol-hyang, now completely sprawled across a chair, greeted Seo-jun with lazy disinterest.
Seo-jun smirked and tossed a book at her.
"Here."
"Hm?"
With a light thud, Baek Seol-hyang caught the book and read the title on the cover.
"‘Ice Snow Heavenly Silk Formation’? And what am I supposed to do with this?"
"You told me to complete it."
Baek Seol-hyang furrowed her brows.
There was no way he had completed an entire formation in a single day.
Was he just asking her to check the framework?
Without much thought, she flipped through the manual. Her eyes swept over the pages.
"It's similar to the previous Ice Snow Heavenly Silk Formation… hm?"
Suddenly, Baek Seol-hyang sat up straight.
Her eyes darted rapidly over the pages. She devoured the entire text in an instant.
Her lips quivered.
"…What the hell are you?"
Her icy gaze locked onto Seo-jun.
Within those eyes—shock and disbelief.
There was no way someone could create such a formation in a single day.
The framework was the same as the original Ice Snow Heavenly Silk Formation.
But everything else had been entirely rewritten from scratch.
Understanding an existing formation doesn’t take that long.
But designing and constructing one from nothing?
That wasn’t something that could be done in mere days.
And yet, he had completed it in one?
Baek Seol-hyang was certain. This should be impossible.
Unless…
Unless he had already been thinking about the formation’s flaws for a long time and had prepared all the improvements in advance…
"Oho."
Baek Seol-hyang’s lips curved into a mischievous smile.
"You! You were pretending not to care, but in reality, you've been obsessed with Ice Palace, haven’t you?"
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting now?"
"A grown man getting all shy. I know the truth! Haha! You keep saying you don't want the Ice Palace Lord position, but deep down, you totally do!"
Baek Seol-hyang laughed teasingly, twirling in her chair.
Seo-jun stared at her like she was pitiful.
"Stay strong."
"Huh? W-What’s with that attitude?! How dare you!"
Baek Seol-hyang banged her fists against the chair’s armrests, flailing in frustration.
Seo-jun reached a conclusion.
It wasn’t just Baek Seol-hyang.
The Emperor, the Hwangbo Clan Head, and now her too.
‘Wait… are all Transcendents like this? They don’t lack humanity—
They just have zero social skills.’
Now that he thought about it… it made sense.
Who were Transcendents?
They were no longer human. They had surpassed the limits of their species and reached an entirely new realm.
And to reach that level, they had to dedicate everything to martial arts.
Which meant their lives consisted of:
Killing people, training in seclusion, beating up more people, researching techniques alone, taking short naps, and repeating the cycle.
They had probably spent their entire existence like that.
It wasn’t weird at all for their social skills to be completely destroyed.
"You poor thing. What a tragic life you've led."
"What…?"
Clicking his tongue, Seo-jun patted Baek Seol-hyang’s shoulder.
"Go outside. Meet some people. You’re always holed up in this damn palace."
"What nonsense are you babbling about?! I am the Ice Palace Lord! You are the Young Lord! Show some respect!"
"I understand. It's okay."
"Y-You…!"
Baek Seol-hyang gritted her teeth.
Seo-jun leaned in close.
"So."
"…Hck! W-What?! Get back!"
"There’s just one last thing left. What do you need me to do?"
Baek Seol-hyang’s entire body trembled.
Snowflakes drifted down in thin veils.
A white robe billowed in the icy wind.
A man walked across the snow.
Not a single footprint was left behind.
Another man followed behind him.
A long scar stretched from his forehead to his cheek.
He asked,
"Baek Yoon, are you sure the Ice Palace Lord will come?"
"Yes."
The man in the white robe swept his gaze across the surroundings.
Nothing had changed in the past three hundred years.
He bent down and scooped up a handful of snow.
Baek Yoon let out a long breath.
Yet, despite the bitter cold of the Northern Sea, his breath didn’t mist.
"To maintain the energy of Ice Essence, someone must visit this place every four to five years."
"And you're sure it’s time?"
"Judging by the cycle, it should be soon."
"What if someone else comes instead?"
"Impossible. Only the Palace Lord can touch Ice Essence."
Physically or traditionally, no one else could lay hands on it.
"Even if the timing is off, it doesn’t matter. The influence of the Black Lotus Union has been greatly weakened."
"A remote place like Ice Palace—two of us are enough."
"If the wait gets too long… we can just go find them ourselves."
"Cold-hearted as ever. That was once your own sect, wasn’t it?"
Crunch.
As his fingers clenched, the snow hardened into ice.
Baek Yoon tossed it aside carelessly.
Thud.
The snowball, now stained red, landed in the snow.
The surrounding snow began to turn crimson.
"It doesn’t matter."
"If I can break past this wall…"