Chapter 1
Until a few months ago, my new life was perfect.
"Ice Soul Divine Palm!"
"Well done! Yes, just like that!"
"Palace Master, where... were you playing with the young lady again?"
"Shh! Sool-ryeo is trying to take an interest in martial arts!"
I was born as the only daughter of the North Sea Ice Palace Master and grew up receiving immense love.
My father was known to be cold-hearted to others, but to his daughter, he was a man of infinite tenderness.
He was a doting father who would praise me even for just lifting a spoon and would grant me anything I desired.
"Wow, how is our young lady so beautiful?"
A beautiful appearance that matched the name Seol Sool-ryeo.
Economic prosperity and overflowing love.
These were things I had never possessed in my previous life.
Was I reborn in a good place as a reward for dying young in my past life?
When I was very young, I even thought about that.
After all, I had passed the civil service exam only to die before ever stepping foot into the office.
At the moment the truck was approaching, and for a while after I realized I had been reincarnated, I felt resentful, but I decided to look at it positively.
Living as an ordinary civil servant in South Korea would have been decent enough, but the things I was born with in this new life were by no means insignificant.
'Martial arts... not bad. No, actually, it's great. There must be a ton of handsome long-haired men, right?'
The palace guards who had taken care of me since I was young were all handsome men and beautiful women.
Well, they were family, but I hoped that one day I would be able to roam the Murim and meet handsome long-haired men.
The successor of the Namgung Clan who couldn't control his arrogant personality and was always prickly?
The wastrel of the Sichuan Tang Clan who grew up eating poison and was broken somewhere inside, but didn't know what to do in the face of love?
The intellectual and kind young master of the Zhuge Clan, the perfect material for a second male lead!
"From today, you will learn how to circulate your internal energy."
"Yes! Finally!"
However, there was something I had to go through to step out into the rough world.
It was to build up sufficient strength.
'In the Murim where the law does not reach, the only thing to trust is strength!'
I devoted 14 hours a day to training, just like when I was studying for the civil service exam.
"You are already performing Qi Condensation?"
Fortunately, I discovered that I had a knack for it.
I had thought that the "circulation of energy" I read about in novels would be daunting, but I picked up the knack unexpectedly quickly.
As I focused on certain acupoints and breathed while visualizing the mental state according to the instructions I was taught, I could feel this thing called "Qi" without much difficulty.
"Did I do it right?"
"...You did. H-how...!"
Something had gathered in my Dantian.
After repeating this for several days, I even felt as if I were overflowing with power.
Even though it was boring and difficult, I had made up my mind to endure it for the sake of my future.
But as I saw clear results with everything I did, I actually started to enjoy it.
"The young lady is born with a natural talent for martial arts!"
Hmm, I think so too.
Is it thanks to the bloodline of my father, who is an incredible master?
This newly born body was strangely healthy and excellent in every aspect, including strength, agility, and stamina.
'Don't tell me that people in the modern world in my past life all lived with such healthy bodies?'
In my previous life, I definitely had to catch my breath for an hour after running from the subway station to the university for just five minutes.
With this body, I could practice my strikes for 10 hours without resting, and it wasn't even that tiring.
'That can't be it...'
Perhaps I just had a slightly special talent.
After all, among the children of the palace guards who started training with me, none could keep up with me.
"Young Lady Sool-ryeo, how did you perform that move just now? Did the Palace Master teach it to you separately?"
"Hm? This isn't a technique; I just added a movement that I thought would flow naturally."
"...!"
Hearing endless praise made me greedy for more.
"Wait, a bear appeared near the village? Where is it!"
"Sister Sool-ryeo took care of it!"
"What?!"
"She took it away earlier, saying she wanted to raise it at the Ice Palace!"
"Good heavens, Young Lady!"
Seeing that I could easily win against children several years older than me even after learning only the basic techniques.
Even considering that they were flattering me because I was the Palace Master's daughter, I must have quite a bit of skill, right?
"...The amount of internal energy you have accumulated is similar to the amount I accumulated by my twenties while taking medicinal herbs. To think you even possess such pure Yin-Cold Qi. Sool-ryeo, you will become the greatest master of our Ice Palace in history!"
The entire process of accumulating internal energy through circulation and mastering external techniques through repetitive training went smoothly.
As the years went by, I became more attached to martial arts, the North Sea Ice Palace, and this new life.
Of course, there were minor problems, such as the North Sea climate being so cold that it was difficult to get certain foods, or not knowing the face of my mother who went into seclusion before I was even a year old.
Regardless, I quite liked this life I had lived as Seol Sool-ryeo, the daughter of the North Sea Ice Palace Master, Seol Baek-young.
Yes, that was true until just a few months ago.
* * *
"Father, isn't it... a bit cold?"
"Hm? Have you caught a cold?"
One day, while I was happily training, I fell ill without any warning.
At first, I thought it was just a bit of a chill.
"Is that so? That's strange."
"Rest today. If you push yourself when you're sick, the illness will last longer."
It was common knowledge that martial artists rarely caught minor illnesses like colds.
Even before I learned martial arts, I was on the healthier side, but strangely, from one day on, I felt a chill as if I had come down with a body ache.
For five days, I took plenty of rest, but my condition worsened day by day.
Since there was no sign of it getting better on its own, I had the palace physician check my condition.
"The fever is too severe. Even after using plenty of heat-clearing medicine, it won't subside."
Following his prescription, I drank various decoctions for ten days, but my condition only continued to deteriorate.
'It will get better eventually, right...?'
Still, since I had been healthy until now, wouldn't I be fine?
I thought that and focused on recuperating.
I would sit still and try to expel the evil energy through circulation, or I would cover myself with thick blankets and sleep for ten hours at a time.
"Everyone, you're really not cold, are you?"
"The weather is warming up. Even those who haven't learned martial arts are taking off their fur coats."
"That's strange..."
Even trying to protect my body with internal energy was useless.
When I tried to draw out my energy, I even felt an anxiety that something was going to go terribly wrong.
It was cold, cold, and so very cold.
Gradually, my appetite dropped, and my body began to wither away.
"Father, it might be an epidemic. Please keep people away."
Only after a month did I acknowledge that this illness of unknown origin would not heal on its own.
The physician, my father, and even I, who had some medical knowledge from the 21st century, could not identify the nature of the illness.
My father recognized the seriousness and granted my request.
He forbade anyone from entering my room, except for himself, as he had reached a realm where he was not even affected by the illness.
My father nursed me himself, his worry deepening with every passing moment.
"The Great Master Baek-woong has gone down to the Central Plains. He is searching for a renowned physician, so please hold on a little longer."
After another month, several physicians arrived from the Central Plains.
I hoped they would know the nature of the illness, but they shook their heads after checking my pulse.
They said that the strong pulse was typical of a healthy martial artist's body.
"For now, we will prescribe medicine according to the symptoms."
At first, it seemed like the medicine helped a little.
But that, too, became useless as the days went by.
My heart? My Dantian? A terrible cold energy flowing from somewhere very deep inside.
Counting my 22 years in my previous life and 8 years in this one, a total of 30 years, I had never experienced an illness like this.
It was agonizing, as if a monster were devouring the "me" inside my body.
I tried not to show it because my father was worried.
But it was so cold that I wondered if I might die like this.
"Sool-ryeo... please, just a little longer. This father will surely save you."
My father did not show his tears, but I could tell he was in great pain.
I didn't want to die like this either.
If I die again, will I be reborn once more?
I hadn't lived either my previous life or this one properly.
I hadn't even become a peerless master, hadn't been to the Central Plains, and hadn't met a handsome long-haired man...
While I was struggling to somehow control my energy, my father searched for physicians everywhere.
"The White-Clad Immortal has arrived!"
A little over a hundred days after the illness began, the White-Clad Immortal, known as one of the Three Great Physicians under Heaven, visited the North Sea Ice Palace.
"Ah, she is a much younger lady than I thought."
He was an elderly man of advanced age.
He was a physician who wore snow-white clothes as his nickname suggested, and he was also a martial artist who carried a sword at his waist.
"Thank you sincerely for coming such a long way. Please, save my daughter."
My father spoke as if he were begging the White-Clad Immortal.
By now, it was difficult for me to even move my limbs or breathe.
"Young lady, may I check your pulse?"
I managed to nod.
Perhaps he had already heard about the symptoms, as the White-Clad Immortal sat by my side without delay and checked my pulse.
In the meantime, several skilled physicians from the Central Plains had visited, but I couldn't help but have expectations for this person.
Wouldn't one of the Three Great Physicians under Heaven be different?
If he were also a great martial artist, wouldn't he be able to guess the nature of the surging energy?
I looked at the White-Clad Immortal with desperation.
"..."
Had a quarter of an hour passed?
Before long, my father could not bear the frustration and opened his mouth.
"Do you know what illness this is?"
"Oh my, I must have made you anxious by hesitating. It is such a unique constitution that I... I had to check by channeling my energy several times."
"A unique constitution?"
The White-Clad Immortal nodded.
"The young lady has a vast amount of internal energy in her Dantian. It is an amount that is impossible to believe for an eight-year-old child; no, it is an amount that makes no sense even when compared to the late-blooming talents in their twenties."
"It is because Sool-ryeo's talent is exceptional."
"This is not an amount that a child's body can contain. And you say she learned the Ice Arts?"
"Of course, that is so."
"At such a young age, no matter how bright one is, one's enlightenment is bound to be lacking. But with her constitution, the profound martial arts, and an excellent teacher, she has accumulated far too much internal energy."
"...Are you saying that is the problem?"
My father's face twisted.
The White-Clad Immortal closed his eyes for a moment, opened them, and said in a low voice.
"Yes. When this happens, the balance of essence, energy, and spirit is shattered. Because her body is not yet fully formed and her enlightenment is insufficient, she cannot control the surplus—no, the energy that is not just abundant, but overflowing. That is why the Yin-Cold Energy is running wild."
"Are you saying it’s like a low-level practitioner consuming unrefined spirit herbs?"
"That is essentially the case."
I could not understand everything they were saying.
However, it seemed that cold energy had accumulated beyond what my body could withstand.
The mere fact that the White-Clad Immortal had identified a clear cause gave me hope.
"Is that why I was so cold?"
"Yes. The Yin-Cold Energy you have accumulated is excessive, causing your body great distress. This is known as 'True Cold, False Heat'; the Yin-Cold Energy is pushing the Yang energy to the surface. Even if you feel hot and sweat on the outside, your body is freezing to the core."
"Can it be cured?"
My father asked urgently.
I, too, was most curious about whether I would live.
Fortunately, the White-Clad Immortal provided a positive answer.
"If she takes medicine that condenses the properties of Extreme Yang and practices the circulation method I teach, she will be able to balance the Yin and Yang and stabilize her energy for now. There are aspects she must be careful about afterward, but... there is no need for the young lady to know those details just yet."
"How do I make this medicine that condenses the properties of Extreme Yang? Do I need to go find the ingredients?"
My father stood up abruptly, as if he were ready to rush out to find spirit beasts and herbs that very moment.
"Please, calm yourself, Palace Master. I had a suspicion after hearing the initial details, so I have already prepared all the ingredients that can be obtained in the Central Plains."
"Ah!"
My father let out a sigh of deep relief.
In front of the White-Clad Immortal, whom he had met for the first time today, he burst into tears.
He looked as if he might bow to him right then and there.
The White-Clad Immortal bowed his head slightly to my father and took my hand.
"Please wait a day or two until the medicine is complete. Her life is not in danger, but the cold energy will return, and she will be in much pain. Shall I press her sleeping acupoint?"
I tried to refuse, but as a child, I was given no choice.
He pressed the acupoint without waiting for an answer.
A warm energy immediately spread from where the White-Clad Immortal’s hand touched me.
Blink. Blink.
My eyes closed.
"Regarding the young lady's constitution... I have something to... tell you. Let us... move to another spot."
"Understood... how to make the medicine... how..."
My consciousness faded.
The White-Clad Immortal had been considerate enough not to declare me terminally ill in front of a child.
But I could guess what he was about to say.
Even if I hadn't spent this life reading books filled with nothing but Hanja, I had read my fair share of martial arts novels in my previous life.
'If it’s a special constitution... it has to be that, doesn't it?'
A constitution where innate, powerful Yin energy blocks nine major acupoints, and as the Yin energy continues to swell, one dies young before the age of twenty.
It was the Nine Yin Severed Meridians.
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