Now, you could often see Seol Lihyang joking playfully or laughing lightheartedly…

But before my regression, Seol Lihyang was known by the fearsome alias Demonic Sound Witch. She was downright ruthless. Only I and Seorin were exceptions to her cold demeanor.

Even now, I suspect that deep within Seol Lihyang lies that same fierce and merciless temperament from before the regression.

When she fought Jeok Yeonghu—the Bloodflame Fist Demon—there was a moment where, trying to surpass her limits to help me, Seol Lihyang emitted a demonic aura that reminded me of her former self.

It’s only natural, really. That side of her didn’t appear out of nowhere—it was forged by her past.

Seol Lihyang was once raised to be consumed.

Because she was born with a Pure Yin Physique. Because she was the daughter of a courtesan. Because… she had no power to resist.

She became livestock in human form.

Her fierce pride and the way she always thinks about how to repay a debt before even expressing gratitude—those traits likely stemmed from those times.

In this life, I managed to save her early on, and she’s shown a much brighter side since. But the trauma and misery of her past… that doesn’t just vanish.

So for someone like Seol Lihyang, the idea of a Divine Maiden—someone who offers up her life to preserve the power of the Ice Essence—would sit poorly.

Likewise, the position of Ice Palace Master, which relies on that same sacrifice, would hardly seem honorable to her.

Whether the sacrifice is “willing” or not, in the end, they’re still living just to die.

That’s why she said what she did.

“I don’t like this.”

Seol Lihyang’s expression stiffened as she looked at Bing Yerin, who wore a half-serene, half-resigned smile.

Perhaps she hadn’t expected such a harsh reaction. Bing Yerin blinked rapidly, flustered, and spoke.

“W-well, it’s alright! I volunteered for it knowing everything… And there’s a huge reward for the family of the Divine Maiden! Ah, and of course, I’m treated very well while I’m alive!”

“Yeah. Cows and pigs are pampered too—until the day they’re slaughtered.”

“C-cows and pigs?! I’m—”

“You said you volunteered. But was it truly your own will?”

“O-of course…!”

“Not just anyone can become the Divine Maiden, right? You’d need to offer enough energy to restore the Ice Essence. That means you’d have to be someone with exceptional talent.”

She wasn’t wrong.

Bing Yerin had reached mid-Peak Stage in her teens—within a declining sect, no less. With the average martial power of our group being so high, it didn’t seem that impressive, but it was an incredible achievement.

It’s something usually only direct descendants of the Five Supreme Clans or elite disciples of the Nine Great Sects manage to achieve.

That she reached such a level in the North Sea Ice Palace—despite its decline—was proof of her exceptional talent and serious dedication to martial arts.

But in the end, she became the Divine Maiden. Or rather, she was pushed into becoming one.

All her hard work, joy in cultivation, and sense of achievement—were they just paving the way for a sacrifice?

Seol Lihyang clearly couldn’t stomach that idea.

“This is your life, so I won’t lecture you further. But I just can’t bring myself to like the concept of the Divine Maiden. Or the system that not only allows but praises such a role within the North Sea Ice Palace.”

With that, she turned and walked toward Tang Sowol and Seorin.

I was just about to follow her when Bing Yerin, who had only been staring silently at Seol Lihyang’s retreating back, finally opened her mouth.

“Blood Flame Sword Demon.”

“Hmm?”

“Would you help me?”

…Does she think I’ll actually agree?

“You’re especially fond of the Young Palace Mistress, aren’t you?”

“That’s true.”

“Then I believe you’ll want to help. Because this is something that may ultimately benefit her.”

Her voice trembled slightly, but her gaze remained steady.

“I’m sure the Young Palace Mistress saw right through my hesitation. Yes, the Divine Maiden is chosen from volunteers. But…”

“It’s voluntary in name, not in truth. That happens a lot.”

“Yes. With the honor and rewards the family receives, how many truly volunteer out of pure will? I was only twelve at the time.”

“Hm. If you want to escape the North Sea Ice Palace, wait until Seol Lihyang and I return to the Central Plains. That would be your best chance.”

“No, that’s not it.”

She shook her head firmly and continued, slowly but clearly.

“I became the Divine Maiden without even understanding what it meant. There were times I trained hard in martial arts just to break free of that fate…”

“But now?”

“I’m still afraid of dying. But more than that… I genuinely want the North Sea Ice Palace—and the many people who live in it—to survive.”

“That sounds like someone is targeting your sect.”

The North Sea may be harsh and cold, but that very harshness has protected it from outside invasions.

Unless a master at the Flowering Stage appears, its slow decline would be natural—but that shouldn’t be enough to destroy the sect.

At least in my past life, I never heard of the North Sea Ice Palace being annihilated. Not even when the Heavenly Demon swept through the Central Plains.

So why was she talking like disaster was imminent if a proper Palace Master didn’t emerge?

I asked her with suspicion, and she nodded subtly.

“Saying we’re being targeted… wouldn’t be entirely wrong.”

“Go on. What exactly do you want my help with?”

“There is an ancient monster that dwells in the North Sea. The North Sea Ice Palace was originally founded to survive and resist that being.”

And so, Bing Yerin began recounting a tale I had never heard of in my previous life—one not known even in the Central Plains.

***

A long time ago, the ancestors of the North Sea Ice Palace loved their land, but the extreme cold… that, they couldn’t accept.

So they set out to discover the source of this unbearable cold—whether it existed or not.

And at the end of their journey, they found it: a massive pale-blue serpent that exhaled overwhelming cold.

These days, even minor spirit beasts are rare. But in the past, they were more common. Among them were a few with powers akin to Peak Stage masters.

The one the ancestors found was such a being.

Bigger than a house—large enough to be called a moving hill. It stirred blizzards and turned the land into ice.

They believed it was the very source of the cold.

The ancestors battled that pale serpent for a long time. Eventually, the founder of the North Sea Ice Palace, who created Glacial True Qi, succeeded in slaying it.

Its massive corpse became the foundation of the Ice Palace, and its core—still radiating immense yin energy—was named Ice Essence. It became the source of power for each generation’s Palace Master.

They celebrated their victory and looked forward to a warm future—

“…But that day never came.”

The cold remained. But what changed was that they no longer feared it.

By fighting the Azure Cold Serpent, they naturally developed arts to manipulate and resist the cold.

By the time the creature was slain, their mastery of yin arts had advanced enough that they no longer needed to worry about the cold.

Even a basic yin-based martial art could help a practitioner endure freezing temperatures.

It didn’t take long for the ancestors to decide they were better off remaining in the cold and continuing to develop their arts.

“And even as time passed and we began to interact with the Central Plains, that resolve never wavered.”

That was when the Central Plains started forming impressions about the Ice Palace—that they practiced rare yin arts, were individually powerful, and had icy, aloof personalities.

In the early days, some side effects of their martial arts included: male practitioners becoming more effeminate or losing facial expression entirely.

But through exchange with the Central Plains, those issues were gradually resolved.

And eventually, their ultimate technique—Glacial True Divine Art—was created. It minimized drawbacks and maximized benefits.

It was developed several generations ago and has since been exclusive to the Palace Master.

“Maybe… that’s what started the problem.”

“You mean Glacial True Divine Art?”

“More precisely, the excessive absorption of Ice Essence’s power required to cultivate it.”

Ice Essence was already weakening. The strain of maintaining Glacial True Divine Art rapidly drained its strength. It got to the point where it couldn’t be sustained without regular sacrifices.

And recently, for some reason, the natural yin energy across the North Sea began to decline as well.

The Ice Palace panicked and investigated.

“In the end, my grandfather—the former Palace Master, Ice Palace Divine Lord—discovered the cause.”

“What was it?”

“The descendants of the Azure Cold Serpent we once defeated.”

“…What?”

“Yes, it’s true. They were smaller, but dozens of spirit beasts that resembled the serpent in the records were discovered. They were absorbing all the surrounding yin energy.”

“…What the…”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

Just because a creature is born of a spirit beast doesn’t mean it will become one too. And the number of spirit beasts had been dwindling for years.

But considering the special environment of the North Sea and how long it’s been since the original serpent was slain… I suppose it wasn’t impossible.

Unlike martial artists who absorb qi methodically, spirit beasts devour it indiscriminately.

Even in a land rich with cold energy, it couldn’t withstand dozens of spirit beasts absorbing it all.

But still…

“Wasn’t Ice Palace Divine Lord a master at the Peak Stage? Even if there were many of them, he should’ve been able to handle them.”

“Yes. If they were ordinary, that might’ve been true. But their nest… was guarded by a creature so powerful, it reminded everyone of the original Azure Cold Serpent.”

Ice Palace Divine Lord led a raid with the Ice Palace’s best warriors.

They managed to slay a few of the smaller ones, but they couldn’t defeat the leader.

“They retreated. My grandfather told us, before he passed, that the serpent’s descendants were cultivating their strength to avenge their slain ancestor.”

“You mean the same one the Ice Palace founder killed.”

“Yes. And if Ice Essence loses its power completely… and if the energy of a Peak Stage warrior isn’t detected in the palace… they will attack.”

…She doesn’t want me to fight those monsters for her, does she? If that’s what this is, I’ll pass. I’d rather suggest they relocate entirely.

“Fufu. I wouldn’t be that shameless. What I wanted to ask…”

She smiled weakly, then continued with resolve.

“If the Young Palace Mistress refuses to take her place… eventually, we’ll face destruction regardless.”

She let out a short sigh and looked me straight in the eye.

“Before that happens, I’d like to at least struggle. If she refuses the role, I plan to absorb the Ice Essence itself—not just its power.”

“And you want me to protect you during the process.”

“Yes. To serve as guardian while I absorb it.”

“What’s the reward?”

“I’ll grant you access to all of North Sea Ice Palace’s martial arts, including secret techniques normally forbidden.”

That alone was quite a tempting offer.

Realistically, the sect probably wouldn’t even allow Bing Yerin to absorb the Ice Essence. So asking me to “guard” her really meant stopping them from interfering.

But it was also true that the Ice Palace’s secret techniques were a valuable reward.

After a moment of thought, I opened my mouth.

“I’ll ask Seol Lihyang and decide.”

“Yes. I’ll wait.”

Leaving behind Bing Yerin, who bowed her head slightly, I finally returned to our group.

***

I explained everything I’d just heard to Seol Lihyang.

“So basically, the North Sea Ice Palace is on the brink of annihilation because they’re fighting a Peak Stage spirit beast and dozens of others…”

“…What kind of bullshit is that?”

She cut me off before I could even finish.

Seol Lihyang tilted her head and glared at me.

…Well. Hearing it all at once, it does sound ridiculous.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep