“There were three things that made Grandfather struggle when facing the Azure Cold Serpent.”

“Three??”

In battle, even a single variable can overturn victory or defeat. But three?

If there’s one thing I can say with certainty now that I’ve reached the Flowering Stage, it’s that a martial artist at this stage has more things they can do than things they cannot.

And the Heavenly Ice Divine Lord is among the most exceptional of this era’s top masters.

If he said it was troublesome, then it really was troublesome. That must mean the Azure Cold Serpent isn’t just some big snake.

As I suppressed the unease rising within me, Bing Yerin continued her explanation.

“The first is its size. It’s so enormous that even if you land a proper hit, it’s difficult for the wound to become fatal.”

“But wouldn’t it work if you stabbed a vital point?”

“Do you know where a snake’s vital points are?”

“…Oh.”

Martial artists, by nature, fight people. Martial techniques are designed to combat people.

I know the pressure points that make a person cough up blood with just a light touch—but a snake’s blood channels? No clue.

Let alone vital points. At best, I know that cutting off its head might kill it. But even then, it probably wouldn’t die right away.

I once caught and ate a snake when I was starving.

I remember that even after cutting off its head with a sickle, its mouth and body continued to move separately for quite a while. It was grotesque.

“Looks like you understood. According to my grandfather’s words, it felt as hopeless as trying to kill a massive mansion with a single needle.”

“Yeah. Just imagining it, I can’t think of any good method besides cutting off its head or slicing through the inside of its skull. If it’s that big, who knows how many times I’d have to swing my sword… Senior Seorin, would my Inner Weight Technique work?”

“Hmm. If anything, I’d rather smash it with brute force. I don’t do well with soft techniques like the Inner Weight Technique.”

The person who looked the most soft among us began fidgeting her fingers with a serious expression. As if measuring something.

“If I concentrate all my strength into one point, no matter what stands in my way, I can break it. But in that case, it’ll probably only penetrate as deep as my arm. Like you said, who knows how many swings it’ll take to crack that skull.”

“You’d probably need to swing far more than you two are imagining. Because of another factor my grandfather mentioned.”

“What’s the second one?”

Bing Yerin responded calmly to Seorin’s question. I was already starting to feel overwhelmed.

The first problem alone was something that even an absolute master like the Heavenly Ice Divine Lord found troublesome. And now there’s another issue of equal weight?

Bing Yerin gently extended her arm, palm facing the sky. Then, a flow of internal energy followed.

Wooong—

A bluish aura enveloped her hand and slowly began to rotate around it.

Too delicate and refined to call it ordinary fist energy.

Though I hadn’t trained it myself, I’d studied the North Sea Ice Palace’s martial arts alongside Seol Lihyang, so I understood.

That slow rotation of internal energy could, when needed, spiral into a vortex that infiltrates the opponent’s body and shreds their blood channels.

And if those shattered channels freeze afterward, most opponents would be finished.

It was a more sophisticated form of Seol Lihyang’s technique, which injects cold energy into an opponent’s body.

But I didn’t understand why she was suddenly showing us this. Surely it wasn’t just to show off in front of me or Seorin?

My confusion lasted only a moment. Soon after, Bing Yerin casually clenched her fist, dispersing the gathered energy as she spoke.

“The Azure-White Cold Serpent, like most spirit beasts, instinctively knows how to wield its own energy. At most, it can choose whether to release it or not.”

“You mean the Azure Cold Serpent is different?”

“Yes. It may not be as refined as human martial arts, but it’s so skilled with cold energy that it’s hard to believe it’s just a beast.”

According to her continued explanation, the Azure Cold Serpent could not only release cold energy in all directions, it could concentrate it in specific directions with varying intensities.

Fitting for a beast of the Flowering Stage level. Naturally, the scale of the energy it could wield would be tremendous.

In short, it could unleash a blizzard of cold energy in its vicinity at will.

Now I see why it was named a flood dragon. It’s far too powerful to be dismissed as mere snake trickery.

“Still, if it’s just a snowstorm, that wouldn’t be a serious issue for someone like me or you.”

Seorin wasn’t wrong. The ability to create such a storm is certainly impressive, but martial artists at the Flowering Stage can do similar feats.

Bringing down a massive cliff in one strike, countering a waterfall and sending it soaring back into the sky…

Or like Seorin did before, smashing through a landslide large enough to obliterate an entire village.

Granted, all those examples involve destruction, but the point remains—we can create events bordering on natural disasters if we go all-out.

But what Bing Yerin said next once again surpassed our expectations.

“You’re right. Especially since my grandfather trained in the Bingbaek Divine Art, the pinnacle of yin-based techniques. The cold storm wasn’t much of a problem for him… until the Azure Cold Serpent started using it differently.”

“Differently how?”

“Instead of using it to attack, it used the cold to protect itself, forcibly concentrating it around its body. As a result, a thick layer of ice formed on top of its already tough scales.”

“An armor of energy?”

“More like something far more solid. The real problem is that its already massive body became even tougher.”

At this point, I couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh. No wonder the Heavenly Ice Divine Lord couldn’t defeat it even after going all out in the North Sea.

It’s tough, massive, and has the life force of a snake.

It’s likely that a martial artist’s internal energy would run out faster than they could deal a fatal blow.

“I get it now. That thing’s not a normal opponent. Still, I didn’t expect it to be this much. Anyway, tell me the final troublesome trait?”

“The last one’s simple. The Azure Cold Serpent is very intelligent.”

“Well, it’s a spirit beast, so that’s expected. But does that really count as troublesome?”

“My grandfather said that most tricks don’t work on it. In fact, he almost got deceived by it a few times. He said it’s less like a clever beast and more like a cunning human.”

At Bing Yerin’s words, Seorin let out a deep sigh.

“Haaah. The reason humans can hunt beasts stronger than themselves is because their minds surpass those of animals. If this thing kept its beastly strengths but overcame its weaknesses, it truly is troublesome.”

“Still, it’s not all bad. I’ve sliced off the heads of some clever ones before. I know how to deal with them.”

“…You really say scary things so casually sometimes.”

“Oh, and those weren’t people who tried to make up for their shortcomings with tricks. They were clearly ahead of me. They got cocky, and that arrogance led to their deaths.”

“That’s not what I meant to say… Never mind. Whether it’s me or you, we’re both human butchers.”

“…???”

I don’t know why that suddenly came up, but honestly, all martial artists are butchers of men in some sense.

What matters is why they kill—whether it’s for justice or for selfish desires.

If it’s to uphold what’s right and protect others, it’s the righteous path.

If it’s for greed and twisted desires, then it’s the demonic path.

What’s important is that in both cases, the sword is wielded against people. And swords are tools for killing.

I wanted to voice these thoughts right away…

But I stopped myself when I saw Seol Lihyang shaking her head like she expected it, and Bing Yerin trembling with a pale face.

Everyone’s overreacting.

Grumbling silently to myself, I quickly regained focus. I can’t just sit around lamenting. I’m not planning to rot away in the North Sea Ice Palace forever.

“Well. Anyway, thanks for telling me, Bing Yerin. I’ll need to approach this from a very different angle than I would when fighting people.”

“If… if it was helpful, then I’m glad. This matter affects the future of the Ice Palace. If you need anything, just let me know.”

“Then there’s one thing I’d like to ask already.”

“Already??”

Bing Yerin blinked wide-eyed, not expecting me to ask so soon. I shrugged and continued.

“Can you gather people who’ve trained in energy techniques, or something similar? I need to get a feel through sparring.”

“Ah, um, the thing is…”

“Don’t worry. I say sparring, but I only plan to defend.”

The second troublesome aspect Bing Yerin mentioned—freely emitting massive cold energy, and at times using it like armor.

That would be difficult for most martial artists to deal with, but luckily, I have a clear countermeasure.

A martial artist of the Flowering Stage can project their Heartscape into their martial techniques. It’s a point of arrival.

That allows them to wield one ability unique to themselves, separate from the martial arts they’ve learned.

For example, Seorin’s punches are overwhelmingly strong—strong enough to break through anything in front of her.

Before my regression, Tang Sowol’s poison had become something that couldn’t be expelled by internal energy or medicine—only by sheer willpower.

The twin spears of the Black Lotus Sect Master traced incomprehensible paths to pierce any target she set her eyes on.

As for me, I can cut what shouldn’t be cut, and strike places my sword shouldn’t be able to reach.

That’s the manifestation of a willpower formed from the regret of failing to protect anything, and the resolve to never lose anything again.

Thanks to that, I can cut slightly beyond my sword’s physical range, and even slice through intangible things like killing intent or internal energy.

So even if the Azure Cold Serpent skillfully wraps its body in cold energy as new scales, I should be able to cut it like always.

Of course, I’ll need practice.

That’s why I was trying to ask Bing Yerin to find someone to help… but her reaction wasn’t encouraging.

“Is there some problem?”

“…Yes. Actually, there’s no one who meets the conditions you mentioned.”

“I know the North Sea Ice Palace prefers martial arts that coat the hands with energy and strike directly… but no one?”

“There are a few martial arts like that. But no one has actually learned them.”

“…???”

I blinked, confused—until Bing Yerin’s next words made everything click.

“To properly handle energy-based techniques, you need to be at least at the Sub-Perfection level.”

“Ah…”

There aren’t many martial artists of that level left in the declining Ice Palace.

And none of them have learned such techniques.

No wonder the Glacial True Qi ended up as a technique no one could master.

As the mood grew solemn, Seol Lihyang poked her head in.

“Cheon Hwi.”

“Mn?”

“I’m good at that kind of thing.”

“…Ah…”

Now that I think of it, there’s Seol Lihyang. It’s not pure energy techniques—she uses a unique blend with sound—but it should be good enough for practice.

“Will you help?”

“I couldn’t do anything but cheer anyway, so I’d be glad to help.”

…There was a bit of sting in her tone.

Guess she was feeling a little left out.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep