Chapter 22 – Frigid Ice Snow Lotus
***
With the participants of the Great Assembly of Elders consuming the Soul-Scattering Pills, the gathering at the Sect Leader’s residence finally came to an end.
The Kunlun members dispersed with satisfied expressions, while Baek Cheong-woo left with that same nauseating, hypocritical smile on his face.
I was walking out of the Sect Leader’s residence alongside Jin Gwang-ung.
Suddenly, Jin Gwang-ung began swinging both arms wildly through the air.
“Krahaha! Must be because I ate something amazing after so long — it feels like all my blocked meridians have burst open like a waterfall! I feel at least thirty years younger!”
Watching Jin Gwang-ung’s overly excited state, I could only click my tongue inwardly.
‘Sigh… you idiot. Do you even know what you just swallowed? That was one of the world’s most vicious poisons, you fool!’
The words rose all the way to my throat, but I kept quiet and pretended not to know anything.
In any case, consuming just one Soul-Scattering Pill wouldn’t cause any immediate major problems. The first dose genuinely did provide a temporary boost in vitality and inner energy.
Besides, I didn’t have the mental capacity to worry about Jin Gwang-ung’s nonsense right now.
My head was already spinning nonstop with plans for the coming events.
‘Baek Cheong-woo will assassinate the Sect Leader exactly one week from now — during the special banquet held in honor of the winner of the Great Assembly of Elders.’
I needed to take revenge on Baek Cheong-woo and prevent the Sect Leader’s assassination.
To achieve that, there was one goal I absolutely had to accomplish.
‘Becoming the final winner of the Great Assembly of Elders.’
‘The winner sits right next to the Sect Leader at the special banquet… right beside that son of a bitch Baek Cheong-woo.’
I already had a rough idea of how Baek Cheong-woo would attempt to poison the Sect Leader.
To stop him, the person sitting in the winner’s seat had to be me.
‘I must win. No matter what!’
As I was steeling my resolve, Jin Gwang-ung suddenly exploded again.
“Uwaaaaaaaaah! I can’t hold it in! This overflowing energy! This boiling vigor!”
Unable to contain his excitement, he roared into the empty air like a bear in heat. Then he abruptly turned his head toward me.
“This won’t do. This old man needs to go release some of this pent-up energy.”
“…Pardon?”
I asked again, confused by his sudden statement.
“Release some energy? Where exactly are you planning to go?”
“When a man’s vitality is overflowing, where else would he go? Obviously to the pleasure house! I can already hear the beautiful women crying out for a hero! Kwahaha!”
“….”
I was so dumbfounded that no words came out.
Kunlun was a legitimate Daoist sect that walked the path of righteousness and virtue.
Jin Gwang-ung was a First Generation Elder who was supposed to set an example for that path.
‘Hero my ass. You’re just a horny old man.’
Curses rose up in my throat, but I swallowed them back down.
Jin Gwang-ung had never been someone who listened to common sense, and trying to stop him now would be pointless.
“…Right. That’s what a real man should do. Then… when do you plan on coming back?”
When I asked in a half-resigned voice, Jin Gwang-ung scratched his chin and answered casually.
“Hmm… Probably around a week from now?”
For a moment, I felt dizzy.
There was exactly one week left until the Great Assembly of Elders.
“What? One week? Then what about preparing for the Great Assembly of Elders? What am I supposed to do alone without you, Master?”
Jin Gwang-ung laughed loudly as if it were no big deal.
“Preparing for the Great Assembly of Elders? That’s something you should handle yourself. A true man forges his own path. Besides… are you already thinking about relying on others? Did I raise you to be this weak?”
I was so speechless that I couldn’t say anything for a while.
What exactly have you taught me?
Other than abandoning me in the Abandoned Martial Hall, what else have you done?
“…Master.”
I continued as calmly as possible.
“I heard that the evaluation criteria for the proxies will be revealed on the day of the assembly… but ultimately, I believe it will be decided through martial prowess.”
“Yes, of course it will.”
“If it’s going to be decided through martial arts, then I think I need at least some minimum preparation. But look at me right now.”
“What do you mean, look at me? What exactly am I supposed to be looking at?”
“I have nothing, don’t I? Even the other proxies all carry at least a sword or spear, yet I’m literally empty-handed.”
“So?”
“Surely you’re not planning to send me out like this? Is this the sincerity of a master toward his one and only direct disciple?”
“….”
My desperate appeal must have worked, as Jin Gwang-ung stroked his chin and fell into thought for a moment.
‘Good. No matter how crazy he is, he’s still my master. He won’t just abandon me completely.’
If he had even a shred of conscience, the bare minimum as a master would be to teach me something — anything — for at least a day or two.
But.
The person in front of me was a mad bear who didn’t understand such human duties.
Jin Gwang-ung shrugged once, then lightly tapped the sheath on his back with his palm and said.
“You really are a bothersome brat. Here, take this and train with it.”
At the same time, the sword on his back flew straight toward me, still in its sheath.
I instinctively caught it with both hands.
“There. I even gave you a sword like you wanted. The rest is up to you.”
“….”
“Ahem. I don’t have time to chat anymore. I need to go release this overflowing energy quickly. I’m afraid I might fall into qi deviation if I hold it in any longer.”
“….”
“Then, I’ll see you on the day of the Great Assembly of Elders. Don’t slack off and focus on your training.”
Just as Jin Gwang-ung was about to leave after saying whatever he wanted, he suddenly turned back as if remembering something.
“I’ll give you one piece of advice that might help with your training. I believe you’ll do well on your own, but… just imagine what will happen if the results of the Great Assembly of Elders do not satisfy this old man. Think about who my anger will be directed toward. That should motivate you to train harder. Hehehe.”
“….”
The madman Jin Gwang-ung gave my shoulder a light pat and disappeared like a gust of wind.
All that remained was me and a single sword.
I couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh.
“Haa… Just what the hell is going on inside that old man’s head?”
He told me not to prepare anything and just show up for the Great Assembly of Elders.
And now he’s suddenly making me take full responsibility?
By throwing me a single sword?
‘He’s definitely gone senile. There’s no other explanation for acting like this.’
I briefly lamented my tragic regressor life for having such an irresponsible human as my master.
But my lamentation didn’t last long.
‘…Actually, this might be for the best. Since Jin Gwang-ung is gone, I can move freely for the time being.’
There was exactly one week left until the Great Assembly of Elders.
There was one place I absolutely had to visit before then.
I gripped the hilt of the sword tightly in my hand.
‘And I’ve obtained the perfect weapon at just the right time.’
When I lifted my head, the white peaks of the snow mountains came into view in the distance.
Somewhere deep within those rugged mountains,
There was a place prepared just for me.
‘Then… shall we begin?’
I took a firm step forward.
***
Cutting through the cold air, I unfolded the Void Step.
Moving as swift as the wind, I continuously leapt toward higher ground along the ridges of the snow mountain.
Unlike the foothills where warm spring energy lingered, the higher I climbed, the fiercer the bone-chilling winds became.
The cold was so severe it froze my breath white, but I didn’t stop.
I circulated my inner energy to maintain body temperature and continued my movement technique without pause.
‘If my memory is correct… it should be around here.’
I scanned the area with sharp eyes, like lighting a fire within them.
A short while later, an unfamiliar sight caught my attention between the snowdrifts.
A rock wall was partially exposed where the piled snow had been carved away by the wind.
And from between that rock wall, a frost-like cold air was leaking out.
Instinctively, I turned my steps toward the rock wall.
One step. Two steps.
The closer I got, the thicker the cold air became, and so did my certainty.
‘This is definitely the place.’
And finally.
A gap appeared between the rock wall covered in snow and ice.
It was the entrance to a hidden cave.
The cold air pouring out from the cave entrance was sharp enough to cut into flesh like a blade.
I circulated my inner energy more forcefully to protect my body from the freezing chill.
Enduring the bone-piercing cold, I stepped into the cave.
The interior was literally a world of ice.
The floor and walls were covered in crystal-clear, transparent ice, and an even harsher, more vicious cold than the snow mountains in midwinter filled the entire space.
Despite the blindingly beautiful glow of the ice, the inside of the cave was a desolate, lifeless domain that refused to allow any sign of life.
However, deep within the ice cave, a single strand of pure light shimmered like a haze.
Drawn to it as if enchanted, I walked toward the light.
Surprisingly, there was a small island of life in that place.
Small blades of grass were sprouting through the thick ice floor, radiating vibrant green vitality.
And at the center of it all, a single flower in full bloom radiated a clear, ethereal light.
[Frigid Ice Snow Lotus.]
A mystical flower that only bloomed in extreme yin and cold lands.
It took hundreds of years for even a single flower to bloom, and consuming just one petal could greatly increase one’s inner energy — a legendary spiritual herb now lay before my eyes.
‘It was real! Just like the hunter said, the Frigid Ice Snow Lotus really was here.’
The moment I saw the flower, memories from my days as a test subject in the Shadow Corps came flooding back.
Many people had been kidnapped and died as test subjects, but a few had survived longer and spent time with me.
One of them had been a hunter who once lived near Kunlun.
Every night, when the effects of the Soul-Scattering Pill weakened and he briefly regained his senses, he would mutter in a voice full of regret.
“Five of us were wandering deep in the mountains together… and we accidentally found it. The legendary Frigid Ice Snow Lotus.”
The hunter’s eyes were always filled with despair, but at that moment, they burned with passion.
“Everyone cheered in excitement. We knew that one flower would guarantee our futures. But… the only one who made it out alive… was me.”
His voice gradually grew hoarse.
“I barely escaped with my life, but that was as far as my luck went. To be kidnapped by the Orthodox Alliance and left waiting for death like this… The Frigid Ice Snow Lotus… my Frigid Ice Snow Lotus is still there…”
The hunter’s sobbing voice still rang clearly in my ears.
Every time he regained his senses, he mourned the last piece of luck he couldn’t claim.
And one day, like all the other test subjects, he died a meaningless death.
Thinking back on it, a bitter smile escaped me.
‘Me finding the Frigid Ice Snow Lotus first… must be your true stroke of luck.’
At least in this life, the hunter wouldn’t have to suffer the fate of losing his comrades.
I quietly stared at the Frigid Ice Snow Lotus before me.
The flower, glowing with ethereal light, swayed gently.
Its appearance was like a beautiful woman beckoning and tempting me.
I didn’t resist the temptation and stepped forward.
At that moment—
Kuuuung!
A heavy vibration rang out from beneath my feet.
The ice walls shook, and the entire cave trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
I reflexively drew the sword.
‘It’s here.’
Pajijijik— Kwaaaaang!
With a deafening roar, the ice floor split apart.
From the fissure, a massive figure exploded upward.
Kuaaaaaaaaah!
Its body was enormous, nearly scraping the cave ceiling. Its shell, a mixture of ice and scales, radiated an ominous cold energy, and its eyes glowed with a bloody red light.
This was the reason why five hunters had found the Frigid Ice Snow Lotus, yet only one returned alive.
The other four had all disappeared into this monster’s stomach.
[Bing Hyeol Sa — Ice Blood Serpent]
A colossal ice serpent that had grown by absorbing the energy of the Frigid Ice Snow Lotus.
The grim reaper that dragged those who coveted the flower into the afterlife.
The monster flicked its tongue and glared at me with blood-red eyes.
I gripped the hilt of my sword even tighter.
‘The hunters may have been your prey… but today, you are the one who will be devoured.’