By Zephyria 
“Hee-un, where did all these gold coins come from?”
Wi Yeon-gang asked Hee-un, his eyes wide with surprise. Behind Hee-un stood Ha-dong, with frozen snot dangling from his nose as if he had been grieving something terribly; Geum-hyeon, with his lips pouting; and Soho, who looked completely exhausted from trying to soothe the two children.
“They are allowance given by the Great Lord.”
A hollow sound, like air escaping a balloon, leaked from Wi Yeon-gang’s throat. He was well aware of the wealth of the demon sect, but to think that even the allowance given to mere children was this substantial—he wondered if there was a gold mine hidden somewhere in the hundred thousand great mountains.
“The reason?”
Cheon Mu-gyeong asked tonelessly.
“Well… it is just that it is too much money for us to handle.”
It was a conclusion that contradicted the excitement with which they had run out. Moreover, lingering attachment still dripped from Hee-un’s eyes.
“I appreciate the concern, but as Hee-un says, such a large sum of money will have a negative influence on children. If the children develop bad habits, wouldn’t that be troublesome for Ho-yeon as well?”
“A large sum of money has a negative influence, you say.”
“Indeed.”
Wi Yeon-gang stood his ground firmly, refusing to back down.
“The ice palace is remarkably cold-hearted toward orphans.”
“Cold-hearted? What is that supposed to mean?”
Since the already large man was standing on the stepping stone in front of the residence, Wi Yeon-gang had to look up even further. Where Mu-gyeong stood were the stone steps, smoothed down so that the children could easily come and go.
The stepping stone, though rustic, had been carefully refined with rounded edges. It was clear that this was done out of consideration, lest the children trip and get hurt.
Not only the stepping stone, but all the furniture inside the residence had gentle edges. It was evident that everything had been touched by Wi Ho-yeon’s hand.
Even in the Hanwol Pavilion, where the Palace Lord enjoyed his five leisure activities, there were many expensive artifacts, yet the eumbyeol hall was barely equipped to look like a place where people lived. If it hadn’t been for Wi Ho-yeon’s efforts, the situation would have been even worse. It would have been no different from a den of beggars.
Of course, the shadowless pavilion where Cheon Mu-gyeong resided—a man who placed little importance on food, clothing, and shelter—was not much different from the eumbyeol hall. However, Mu-gyeong felt a certain twist of irritation in his heart.
“Do you lecture about habits over a few gold coins even to your own children?”
“You… ‘you’?”
Wi Yeon-gang’s face instantly flushed crimson. He had intentionally come without his subordinates because of Cheon Mu-gyeong’s arrogant attitude, only to suffer humiliation in front of the children of the eumbyeol hall.
“Apologize for your rude language this instant!”
His rage reaching its peak, Wi Yeon-gang momentarily forgot who his opponent was and the veins in his neck bulged.
“You know absolutely nothing about this seat. This seat does not apologize.”
It was enough to make him clutch the back of his neck that someone so much younger than him was calling him a ‘bastard,’ but the other was provoking him further by deliberately referring to himself as ‘this seat.”
A sharp, cold internal power began to shroud Wi Yeon-gang’s hands. Deciding that using a clumsy martial art might lead to a counterattack, he resolved to show the most powerful technique he possessed.
He intended to seize the initiative with the absolute ice spirit palm, a secret technique passed down only to the Palace Lords. Treating Wi Yeon-gang, the Palace Lord, with such disregard was no different from insulting the ice palace itself.
A blue current spread like a wave from Wi Yeon-gang’s both hands. There was no sound of breaking air, but the surrounding air, frozen in an instant, gathered around him.
Sensing the ominous situation, Hee-un hurriedly led the children out of the yard. Then, Wi Yeon-gang drew in all the frost energy of the North Sea as if claiming it as his own, without hesitation.
The frozen moisture in the air transformed into sharp daggers, densely filling the space around Wi Yeon-gang.
The absolute ice spirit palm was a martial art where condensed frost energy became tens of thousands of daggers to attack the enemy. Wi Yeon-gang was certain that his absolute ice spirit palm was of a higher level than the ten thousand flowers rain, the secret technique of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Within the domain of the absolute ice spirit palm, no master could easily escape. If the ten thousand flowers rain was a rain of actual poison needles, the absolute ice spirit palm was a mixture of illusions and reality.
If one blocked an illusion that wasn’t real, they simply wasted internal energy; conversely, if one ignored it thinking it was an illusion, they would suffer a fatal wound. Thus, the mental fatigue of the opponent was extreme.
As far as Wi Yeon-gang knew, Cheon Mu-gyeong was an evil demon who wielded a sword. Although he carried no sword on his person now, even if he did, it would be useless before the absolute ice spirit palm.
While a sword was an attack of a simple line, the absolute ice spirit palm created a domain that overwhelmed the space.
The only way to escape was to break the ice daggers, which were as hard as steel, but as long as Wi Yeon-gang’s internal power was not depleted, the ice daggers were generated endlessly.
Furthermore, since he could infinitely draw upon the frost energy spread throughout the North Sea, the actual internal power used was extremely small compared to the power the absolute ice spirit palm displayed.
It was practically the same as possessing an inexhaustible absolute internal power. Since masters using ice arts in the North Sea could draw upon heaven and earth spiritual energy, this was the reason the Murim Alliance did not dare to covet the North Sea.
By drawing upon the energy of nature, they boasted a realm superior to their original martial prowess. Even if outsiders mocked them as ‘smelt in a well,’ they were at least ‘armored fish’ running wild within the North Sea.
It was then, just as Wi Yeon-gang trapped Cheon Mu-gyeong within the domain of the absolute ice spirit palm. In less than the blink of an eye, Cheon Mu-gyeong arrived in front of Wi Yeon-gang.
Wi Yeon-gang’s eyes bulged wide. The target the daggers were supposed to track was Cheon Mu-gyeong. But Cheon Mu-gyeong had clashed his hand against the hand that was extended to pour out the daggers.
Crack! The moment their palm power collided, the energy clashed, and the ice beneath their feet shattered in all directions. The daggers that had densely filled the air exploded into pieces from the impact. The debris, looking like a blizzard or mist, remained suspended in the air as if time had stopped.
Ugh. A low groan escaped from Wi Yeon-gang’s clenched teeth. He felt a massive pressure of internal power, enough to make him spit blood if he opened his mouth.
Their internal powers were colliding through their palm power. Wi Yeon-gang’s pride was severely wounded, but he was certain that Cheon Mu-gyeong possessed an internal energy far greater than his own. However, this was the North Sea. In a war of attrition regarding internal energy, Wi Yeon-gang was far more advantaged.
Wi Yeon-gang was absorbing the surrounding frost energy infinitely, like a whirlpool. The foolish man who challenged him—a bottomless spring—was the Demon Lord.
However, the speed at which his internal power was depleted was faster than the heaven and earth spiritual energy he absorbed. This was because the demonic energy surging from Cheon Mu-gyeong’s palm power was evaporating the frost energy in an instant. Despite being demonic energy, it was so pure that it felt like an intense sun shining down, as if to melt the eternal snow of the North Sea.
Creak, Wi Yeon-gang’s forearm was twisting under the palm power pouring from Cheon Mu-gyeong and the energy he himself was emitting. Cold sweat, which could not freeze, filled the forehead of the horrified Wi Yeon-gang. Cheon Mu-gyeong’s energy was more intense than the heat of the sun; it was like lava that had already flowed to his feet.
The moment Cheon Mu-gyeong drew out more of his internal power to pressure Wi Yeon-gang, another shockwave occurred, and his black hair fluttered wildly.
Wi Yeon-gang could not understand why he was being pushed back. How could this happen in the North Sea of all places?
“Even if the energy of heaven and earth is infinite, it is useless if the vessel meant to hold it is broken.”
Cheon Mu-gyeong smiled, showing his teeth. Sensing that his arm would be completely crushed, Wi Yeon-gang tried to pull his hand away, but he could not escape Cheon Mu-gyeong’s grip, as if his flesh were stuck to a fire.
In truth, Cheon Mu-gyeong had already consumed more than 5 gaps (approx. 300 years) of internal energy to wake Wi Ho-yeon. Unlike Jangun, who had felt pity, Cheon Mu-gyeong didn’t care about anything. He simply found the Palace Lord pathetic for being at this level despite having every advantage.
“Stop it!” At that moment, a sharp voice erupted from behind, and only then was Wi Yeon-gang able to pull his hand away and roll across the ground. Cheon Mu-gyeong turned toward the pure white figure reaching out toward him from behind.
Amidst the mist created by the tens of thousands of shattered daggers, Cheon Mu-gyeong met the hand of Wi Ho-yeon, who had run toward him. Thinking that he might exert palm power on him as well, Wi Ho-yeon released his internal power with all his might. However, Cheon Mu-gyeong simply interlaced his fingers with Wi Ho-yeon’s.
Large, blue-grey eyes, with not a trace of sleep left in them, reflected Cheon Mu-gyeong.
Due to the internal power Ho-yeon released, the veins in Cheon Mu-gyeong’s forearm bulged as if they would burst. Yet, he did not release any demonic energy or yang energy, merely holding the hand.
“If you have harmed the children—!”
“It has been a very long time.”
Before Ho-yeon could add anything more to the abrupt remark, Cheon Mu-gyeong spoke first.
“This feeling of being damnably wronged, I mean.”
Squeeze, the interlaced fingers tightened their hold on Ho-yeon.