"We found the Young Palace Mistress…!"
"Huh."
A flustered Seol Ri-hyang hid behind Seomun Hwa-rin, who was right beside her.
Though since Seol Ri-hyang had gradually grown taller than Seomun Hwa-rin, she wasn't exactly well hidden.
Instead of Seomun Hwa-rin, who was flapping her arms about and struggling to cover Seol Ri-hyang, I stepped in front of them and examined the opponent.
Unlike the black hair of the Central Plains people, this person's hair was dyed a bluish white.
Their eyes were also blue, their nose was high, and their skin was as white as fallen snow.
At this point, I could already guess their affiliation, but just in case, I examined their clothes as well, and my guess soon became certainty.
Their attire was obsessively white, everything dyed in that single color. The garments resembled martial robes but were slightly different in form, and on the hem of their clothes, the character for "ice" was embroidered.
So they really were from the North Sea Ice Palace. I nodded inwardly and slightly raised my Aura.
Not enough to be perceived as a threat, but just enough to subtly reveal my level as a warning.
"People of the North Sea Ice Palace, what business brings you here, and what do you mean by calling one of my companions the Young Palace Mistress?"
"Th…that."
One man who met my eyes trembled and trailed off.
As if speaking on his behalf, the woman beside him stepped forward and offered an awkward fist-and-palm salute.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Bing Yerin. Might I ask—have you, the female hero over there, not trained in the martial arts of our North Sea Ice Palace?"
The woman spoke in a tone that wasn't awkward, but carried a slight sense of dissonance.
The North Sea Ice Palace was one of the more distant factions among the Outer Murim, and also one of the most closed-off, so I supposed her manner of speech was to be expected.
What bothered me, however, was that she had recognized Seol Ri-hyang's martial art at a single glance.
I casually met Seol Ri-hyang's eyes. After a moment of confusion, something like resolve settled in her gaze, and she gave a small nod.
Still, perhaps she felt it was a bit much to step forward right away. After emerging from behind Seomun Hwa-rin's small back, she briefly hid behind mine, passing by Tang So-wol on the way.
After taking a steadying breath, she finally stepped out and offered a fist-and-palm salute toward Bing Yerin.
"My name is Seol Ri-hyang. It's true that I've trained in the North Sea Ice Palace's martial arts, but there are circumstances…"
"Miss Seol!"
"Huh?"
Hearing Seol Ri-hyang's surname, the martial artists of the North Sea Ice Palace leap up with beaming smiles.
At their fuss, Seol Ri-hyang flinches, and only then do they clear their throats and settle down.
"Ahem. Please continue. Ah, just so you know, we have no intention of making an issue of the fact that you've learned our martial arts, so rest assured."
"Oh, yes… Well, you see, I have a reason I had no choice but to learn the Glacier True Energy."
"Glacier True Energy?!"
As if their earlier composure had been for nothing, the moment they hear the name of the martial art, Bing Yerin and her companions bounce up and down with grins so wide their lips nearly touch their cheekbones.
It was likely that they simply could not contain their joy, but from the perspective of an onlooker, it was rather bizarre, so it was only natural that Seol Ri-hyang's eyes trembled.
Bing Yerin, who quickly noticed this, smacked each of her companions on the head, and only then did they quiet down again.
The one who had been pleading with the Murim Alliance Leader a moment ago was also Bing Yerin. She was probably the highest-ranking among those who had come from the North Sea Ice Palace.
"We apologize. Please, continue."
"Oh, yes. Well, you see, I was born with the Pure Yin Constitution, and to control its side effects, I had to…"
"Pure Yin Constitution…!"
The martial artists of the North Sea Ice Palace now reacted with such intensity that they nearly fainted. In fact, one of the women behind Bing Yerin stammered and collapsed on the spot, caught by another of her companions.
However, repeated and emphasized reactions were bound to make Seol Ri-hyang uneasy.
Wondering if she had said something strange again, Seol Ri-hyang fidgeted nervously, and Bing Yerin shook her head so violently it seemed her head might fall off.
"We are well aware of the side effects of the Pure Yin Constitution! It may not be as deadly as the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, but it means suffering from chills and all sorts of illnesses until death! The best way to resolve this is to learn the Yin-Cold Energy Cultivation, which deals with Yin Energy itself! Yes! More than anyone else, we of the North Sea Ice Palace understand you, Miss Seol!"
"Th-thank you. But why exactly do you keep calling me Young Palace Mistress…?"
"That is because you are a candidate for the Young Palace Mistress of our North Sea Ice Palace. No, at this point, it is practically confirmed."
"…Young Palace Mistress?"
"Yes."
"Me?"
"That is correct."
"Why?"
"Because you are more than qualified, and the North Sea Ice Palace desperately needs an outstanding Young Palace Mistress."
"No matter how I look at it, I look like someone from the Central Plains, not like any of you."
"I have heard that the Central Plains value pure blood, but in the North, bringing in strong new blood is valued far more. You will be welcomed without any problem."
"No, wait. Huh? Wha…?"
Seol Ri-hyang's mind raced, but the situation far exceeded her understanding, and her eyes spun in circles.
Bing Yerin let out a wry smile at the sight of her.
"Come to think of it, I have been prying too much into the Young Palace Mistress's affairs. Allow me to share a little of our story as well."
Bing Yerin, who had already set aside the word "candidate" and now simply called Seol Ri-hyang the Young Palace Mistress, cleared her throat once.
"Hm. It was thirty years ago now. No, forty years ago. After the previous Palace Lord passed away…"
***
About forty years ago. After the death of the Ice Heaven Lord, the previous Palace Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace, the palace fell into great turmoil.
The reason was simple. There was no one to succeed him.
Most of the North Sea Ice Palace's martial arts were rooted in Yin-Cold True Energy. Yet, whether it was because the palace had grown too vast, or because it had remained in the same place for too long, or perhaps because it was simply the natural flow of the world—
The frozen lands of the North Sea were slowly melting away.
In other words, the Yin Energy that the martial artists of the North Sea Ice Palace needed to use was gradually diminishing.
Naturally, the overall martial level of the martial artists had declined, and some martial arts had no one left who could learn them, so despite the existence of secret manuals, they were lost to time.
Glacier True Energy was a prime example.
In such a situation, the current Lord of the Northern Ice Palace, who had been half-pushed onto the throne of the palace, continued to take bold and unconventional actions for the survival and future of the North Sea Ice Palace.
First, they opened the secret vault and provided most of the martial arts to everyone—from the lowest-ranked martial artists to ordinary commoners, literally to all.
They promised that anyone who achieved outstanding results would receive a position befitting their accomplishments. They even said that if anyone surpassed them—a Transcendent Peak martial artist—they would immediately hand over the position of Palace Lord.
However, while this did raise the overall martial level of the North Sea Ice Palace, it was not a fundamental solution.
The Yin Energy was still drying up, and in that vast North Sea Ice Palace, not a single Harmony Realm martial artist had emerged.
And so, the five noble houses of the North Sea Ice Palace, which had taken turns producing Palace Lords since ancient times.
The clan heads of the Eom, Dong, Seol, Baek, and Bing families persuaded the Palace Lord to carry out a slightly bolder plan.
"That was to adopt children from noble houses of the Central Plains and make them Young Palace Mistresses."
"…What does that mean?"
"Literally what I said. I've heard that the principle of primogeniture is important in the Central Plains. So, among the children of noble houses that cannot continue their line, we planned to adopt those with talent, decent character, and ambition, and make them candidates for Young Palace Mistress."
"Even if there are people from other families who accept and support this… wouldn't that dilute the blood of the North Sea Ice Palace?"
"In the first place, the seat of Palace Lord is not determined by bloodline, but by whoever is most outstanding. And it doesn't end with mere adoption—we would hold a wedding ceremony with a child of that family, so the child born in the next generation would ultimately be a child of the North Sea Ice Palace."
"Uh… I-Is that so?"
Seol Ri-hyang tilted her head with a complicated expression.
It seemed this was difficult for her to understand, having only just become accustomed to the ecology of the Central Plains martial world.
That was only natural. Even Tang So-wol, who was born into a martial family, and even I, who had rolled around the martial world for ages if you counted my time before the regression, were startled by how audacious this plan was.
Now I understood why the Murim Alliance Leader had looked so troubled.
This was definitely the kind of issue that could become sensitive in many ways if handled carelessly, and depending on the circumstances, criticism could even fly toward the Murim Alliance itself for having permitted the North Sea Ice Palace to poke around here and there.
And if families who saw this as an opportunity, or even individuals with their own agendas, got mixed in… the situation would become complicated in many ways.
For the Murim Alliance Leader, refusing the plan of the North Sea Ice Palace—with whom they didn't even have frequent exchanges—and maintaining the status quo would be the best choice.
And so he refused… but in the midst of that, Seol Ri-hyang appeared right in front of them.
In reality, she was from a completely separate family, but at any rate, she bore the surname Seol, one of the noble houses of the North Sea Ice Palace.
Though it was unclear through what channel the information had leaked, the symbolism was more than enough—and she had reached the Peak Realm at a young age through the Glacier True Energy, which was infamous for being difficult to master.
Not only that, she was born with a Pure Yin Constitution, one of the talents most highly regarded among those who practiced Yin-Cold Energy Cultivation—one that would not be held back by the dwindling Yin Energy of the North Sea.
From the standpoint of Bing Yerin and her party, the finest talent had appeared right before them, without any need to travel far or to court conflict with the families of the Central Plains.
It was impossible for their eyes not to be drawn to her.
Having finished her explanation up to this point, Bing Yerin continued, her eyes sparkling as if she were looking at someone who had saved her life five times over.
"Young Lady Seol Ri-hyang. No, Young Palace Mistress."
"I'm not the Young Palace Mistress yet…"
"You will be soon enough, won't you?"
"I have no such plans!"
"It's only because we're far from the Central Plains—the North Sea Ice Palace is plenty big and has everything you could want! To exaggerate a little, the Ice Palace Lord's influence wouldn't differ much from a feudal lord of the Central Plains!"
"I have no interest in power."
"Then what about men…"
"Even less so!"
Having said that, Seol Ri-hyang glanced up at me and added a small remark.
"Except for one person."
"Ah, is that so? I thought it was because the customs of the North Sea and the Central Plains differed, but if that's the reason, then there's nothing to be done."
Bing Yerin nodded and continued in a more subdued voice.
"Then what about power?"
"Power?"
"Yes. Don't you need power? After all, your opponent doesn't seem to be an ordinary person."
"…"
"The martial arts manuals of the North Sea Ice Palace have been passed down in their entirety. It's just that there's no one left who can learn them. Naturally, the new Young Palace Mistress will be free to learn all of these supreme arts. The Harmony Realm is also well within reach. After all, every Ice Palace Lord except the current one was an absolute master of the Harmony Realm."
"Harmony Realm… Mmph?"
Seol Ri-hyang's eyes wavered. I covered her mouth with my hand to silence her, and after struggling for a moment, she quietly yielded to me.
Tang So-wol, who had been waiting for this moment, pulled the now-docile Seol Ri-hyang toward her and half-embraced her, then stood beside me, shielding Seol Ri-hyang from view.
She shook her head with a soft but resolute smile.
"I can't give Hyang-i up."
"…?"
That phrasing… isn't that a bit off?