Chapter 317

“Grandpa, are you leaving already? Let’s have lunch together.”

“Aren’t you leaving soon too? You’ll just see me again at the shrine, so stop being so melodramatic.”

A-Qing planned to stop by the Zhongnan Sect after lunch, but time had already slipped away, so it was straight to Hubei for him.

He intended to visit the Wudang Sect on the way home.

Choi Riyong felt hesitant to drop by the Zhongnan Sect because of his background, so he decided to take the Young Lady from Zhangxing Company to Nagyeong instead.

What kind of people are the folks in Nagyeong, you ask? They’re quite creative and malicious—throwing stones with their kids perched on their shoulders.

Just imagining the fate if a city’s enemy were tossed in, I can’t even begin to fathom the kind of ordeal that would bring.

One undeniable truth is that it would be far more merciful to just kill them outright.

But why bother? There’s no reason to show mercy, so they’ll probably just suffer to death on their own.

Seolga seems to be preoccupied with something in Xi’an, so he won’t return for a while.

“Hmm. Seolga, have you developed a hobby for cross-dressing? Of course, I think hobbies should be respected. It makes sense to want to dress up nicely every now and then.”

At this, Seolga-ryun’s expression completely contorted.

“I have no such hobby.”

“Oh, come on. Not with that figure.”

A-Qing pointed at Seolga-ryun’s chest, which bulged out suspiciously. Dressed as a woman and filling his chest with fake goodies, anyone could see there was a striking beauty right there.

“Did you not say you had something to do?”

“No, what kind of work requires me to cross-dress?”

“It’s a beauty trap. When doing business, sometimes you just have to handle the dirty jobs, right?”

“That doesn’t seem like something to flaunt…”

A-Qing muttered with a sour expression. So, he’s dressing up like that and flirting with men? The world’s Seolga, the brightest of Shaanxi, is indeed capable, but it’s a little… sad, don’t you think?

“Then, are you acting coy and cute? Can you show me?”

“In a beauty trap, it’s important that the target feels desperate and clings on tight. If a woman starts fawning all over, the guy loses interest fast and drifts away.”

“Ah, so you’re a cold, aloof lady?”

“I’m just putting on a show for now.”

Somehow, it seemed that while insisting he had things to do, he was secretly making a guy’s heart race all this time. How did I just find out about this entertaining development?

I have to part ways after lunch!

How could he hold back this amusing tale until now!

A-Qing felt an immense sense of betrayal.

“Why did you only just tell me? If I’d known, I’d have gone to watch it ages ago!”

“That’s why I didn’t mention it.”

“Are you embarrassed despite stating it so confidently?”

“Not at all. However, if you show up while I’m setting up my scheme, it could spoil everything. Plus, there’s Gunyongi beside me.”

When two of the Six Harmonies show up just to watch, Seolga-ryun turns from a stunning beauty into just a good-looking guy.

A-Qing nodded at that explanation.

Then something occurred to him; it was just the right question to ask a reliable intellect.

“Oh, by the way, I heard you haven’t mastered the Ice White Divine Skill yet.”

“Right. I did hear that name.”

Seolga chuckled.

“The Northern Sea folks are still the same. After Gunyongi, it’s Dog Year.”

“Dog Year?”

“They must’ve named the kid directly to avoid calling him Dog or Bitch since he’s a direct descendant of the main bloodline. They’re probably snickering amongst themselves about it.”

“What kind of people are they that they act this way?”

“Well, compared to the Central Plain, they aren’t particularly rotten. After all, here or there, they’re treated as bastards—just a little more openly here.”

“That sounds pretty awful.”

“It’s not much different in the Central Plain, you know. If you ever happen to meet a Central Plain bastard, just ask them. But if they get treated like that, they tend to bolt out of embarrassment.”

“Hmm.”

“In the Northern Sea, doing the same would mean suicide. Just to get here, the food and supplies are a lot, and if you pull a dog sled once, you wouldn’t know how much it costs. So simply getting beaten up and treated like a servant doesn’t leave you with any corner to run to. That’s all.”

“Sounds pretty malicious.”

“Well, treat Gunyongi well.”

“How can I treat him better than I already do?”

“I believe so.”

Seolga looked at A-Qing with a strangely warm gaze.

“So, did you ask about the divine skill? That’s because Gunyongi is a bastard, you see.”

“But he learned the Ice White Divine Skill. Is it okay to treat him like that? What if he gets mad and unleashes his divine skills on the Central Plain?”

“Let’s say you’re raising a dog. A mutt without lineage. You feed it, provide shelter, and clothe it; even if you treat it with kindness, it just whimpers and wags its tail no matter how much you beat it. Would you think of getting bitten by such a worthless dog?”

“But—”

“In the Northern Sea, just feeding, clothing, and sheltering is already kindness. Therefore, bastards are seen as beings that can be worked hard and tortured for amusement. They’ll never think that they might incur harm themselves if they consider this as a given.”

And Seolga grinned wickedly.

A fierce, raw satisfaction came through.

“To the point that even when disciples keep dying one by one, they’d never dare to think a bastard was the culprit.”

“They really look down on them, huh?”

“Exactly. And even if they released their divine skills, they wouldn’t be able to master it. It’s not the kind of martial arts you can learn just because you want to; if you’re not a Northern Sea bloodline, and lack the so-called Ice Essence affinity, you can’t even begin to learn.”

It’s even worse; the limits of achievement must be innate. Some can achieve three stars, some five, some can reach twelve stars, but it’s all predetermined in their martial arts. If someone goes beyond that, the essence in their dantian goes haywire, freezing them into a solid ice statue.

So they teach anyone who has the quality, even if they’re a bastard. After all, even if it’s just a matter of quality, it’s still lineage.

It’s all about how much blood of the original Northern Sea Ice Palace Master, Bing Shen, you inherited. If you possess Ice Essence affinity, it’s proof you inherited the blood of the original master heavily, which means you’d be integrated into the direct bloodline.

“But if he’s directly integrated, why not teach him the divine skill?”

“In theory, that’s true. But who would want to serve a bastard-born master? In my view, it’s one of two things or both: Gunyongi has surprisingly exceptional talent, so they’re keeping a watch on him. Otherwise, they would’ve taught him if they thought he’d stop at three stars.”

“That sounds a bit far-fetched. Is he that talented?”

“Absolutely. I think so too.”

“Then?”

“It seems one of the master’s legitimate children has finally shown exceptional talent, so they’d rather pass the position to their own child.”

After a moment of contemplation, A-Qing suddenly proposed, “What if I were to acquire the Ice White Divine Skill through some means? Could I teach it to Gunyongi to help him learn the Ice White Divine Skill?”

“I don’t usually engage in such pointless hypothetical games, but if that were the case, I’d be inclined to ask you to do it.”

“Uh-huh. Okay, got it?”

A-Qing then playfully changed the subject, grinning, “So, how’s the beauty trap working out?”

“Surprisingly well, I must say.”

“Can you play with a man’s innocence?”

“He’s the son of the Deputy Commander of Shaanxi Province. If you’re curious about what kind of guy he is, just head to the market and hear the rumors.”

In other words, he’s the kind of guy worth playing with, according to Seolga.

—-

The Ice White Divine Skill is truly striking, especially when the dragon pops up. Man, I really want that skill.

No, I need to have it.

Besides, keeping the bother of Seoliri slightly less bothersome would be a two-for-one win.

Of course, it’s not just out of pity for her plight.

If I master one skill, having another would make two skills, which would be way better than trading for just one.

That’s basically half a loss.

So when judging with cold, detached reason unaffected by emotions, it really makes sense to swap my Shaanxi points for the Ice White Divine Skill.

I’d call it a wise decision from the 100% rational A-Qing.

So, A-Qing slyly started to speak up.

“Gunyongi, about that Ice White Divine Skill. If I bring it back from somewhere, can you teach it to me? A fair exchange, you know?”

“Nope.”

“Huh?”

A surprise rejection—didn’t see that coming.

Well, if he doesn’t want to, then it is what it is… Farewell, my ice dragon. I thought I could at least get a blue-eyed ice dragon in my left arm, but here we are.

To A-Qing’s surprise, Seoliri, known for her short and sweet responses, surprisingly chimed in.

“You want to learn the Ice White Divine Skill?”

“Yeah. It’s so cool!”

“If Young Lady Seomun wants it, I’ll teach you.”

“Whoa, just like that? Even without the Ice White Divine Skill?”

“Yes. Yes.”

No way! The “no” was actually a “yes” without needing the divine skill!

My goodness, such a thoughtful act, right?

Come to think of it, how much have I doted on her?

When you give love, you get it back—it’s the joy of having a pet!

“But I don’t have Ice Essence. Even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to withstand it.”

“Then, what about you? The secret technique of the Ice White Divine Skill? If I tell you the technique, you can’t learn it without Ice Essence anyway.”

“Nope! I already have Ice Essence in my dantian.”

“Oh, really? Then what’s next?”

Oh, I’m ready with my mouth open, waiting here.

Bring on that Ice White Divine Skill!

First, I stop by the Zhongnan Sect on my way.

“Oh, by the way, there’s no side effects to the Ice White Divine Skill or any other divine skill, right? I’ve heard that ice powers can make one lose sensation and stuff?”

“Nope. No.”

Absolutely no side effects from divine skills!

However, ice powers can dull senses, so yes.

Seoliri replied flatly.

But in reality, this moment was incredibly historic.

A-Qing actually asked about side effects before learning!

This was the moment a monkey, no, even a monkey that could think, was finally starting to show thought!

Suddenly evolving from being just a bug that reacts only to stimuli to a primate. What an evolution!

Yet, even with this newfound thought, it remained quite limited.

There’s no way a purple-bordered divine skill would have side effects!

Had there been side effects, it would’ve been downgraded to a mere golden hue instead!

Of course, there’s the demonic arts, which grow more wicked the more you use them. But as seen from the names of the lowly arts, it’s clear those were maliciously crafted with an intense grudge from the start.

Lowly Demonic Arts, say the name, and you know the absolute rarity.

Laughing in joy as they cut off the bloodline.

In martial arts, unless one completely reinterprets it at the pinnacle level, they can only follow the original concepts.

Since the original concept carries a deep-seated grudge against the world, the lowly demonic arts were created with unimaginably heinous intentions, and their owners cannot escape from there.

Anyway, now that my work is done, it’s finally time to head back to the Jeolgeumbyeok.

Fortunately, Zhongnan Mountain is close to Xi’an.

After all, it’s called Zhongnan, isn’t it?

By its nature, a mountain located under a dynasty’s capital is called a southern mountain.

And Xi’an was once the center of the Central Plain, the most important area of the dynasty, so among southern mountains, Zhongnan Mountain is the best representation.

So, even if you drop the Zhong, people from the Central Plain would naturally still know it’s Zhongnan Mountain. In the past, it was also referred to as the central southern mountain due to being the heart of the world, which used to distinguish between the northern and southern parts of the Central Plain.

Thus, after having lunch in Xi’an, I would slowly roll in my carriage, and by slightly past two, I would reach the main base of the Zhongnan Sect, the Nuguan Platform.

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