Editor : VCubed
Chapter 96
No matter how much of a secret it was, the Millennium Ice Crystal, it was unpleasant to give a clue to that insidious father.
Well, Seo Hwaryeon had already witnessed Yerin’s ice attack. Perhaps the fact that she used Ice Qi must have reached the Dang Clan’s ears.
However, another problem was that she didn’t want to give up easily.
In addition to the bad blood with Seo Hwaryeon, her father would already know that Yerin had defeated Yejun a few years ago.
‘Father’s pride wouldn’t allow Yejun to reveal it to the outside world…….’
A blatant defeat would only arouse father’s suspicions.
Above all, Yerin is the Lady of the Northern Ice Palace.
It was as if she had the prestige of the Northern Ice Palace resting on her shoulders.
‘Then.’
Yerin made up her mind to be polite to Seo Pyeong-oh.
Seo Pyeong-oh also showed courtesy to Yerin.
“Sister, fighting!”
With the Youngju’s explicit support, Seo Pyeong-oh swung his wooden sword sharply at Yerin.
Clunk!
The sound of their wooden swords clashing rang loudly.
* * *
Master Dang widened his eyes and watched the sparring in front of him.
‘If that woman truly surpassed Yejun…’
Even just imagining it was discomforting, as if the five organs were twisting inside him.
If Yerin truly possessed such talent…
It meant that he had let precious gemstones slip through his fingers, allowing them to be taken by the Northern Ice Palace, as clear as day.
‘To the Northern Ice Palace, of all places, where even swallowing one’s pride isn’t satisfying…’
A shiver ran down his spine.
He hadn’t expected to face his own mistakes in this way.
‘No. I haven’t properly confirmed her abilities yet.’
It wouldn’t be too late to make a judgment after observing all the sparring.
‘But… Yejun.’
The clan head suppressed his anger and thought of his son.
Dang Yejun.
As the future clan leader, he was the son he had poured the most effort into raising.
And yet, he was also the son who had squandered all his efforts.
‘How much medicine has been given to him, how many instructors have been assigned…’
Even the clan head had spared several busy years to personally guide his son.
To be honest, he wasn’t satisfied with his son’s achievements.
With such investment, he should have stood out among the top disciples and left a mark.
But Dang Yejun barely managed to climb to the top and make a name for himself among the elites.
Yet, considering his position as a future clan leader, he had tried to convince himself that it was enough…
‘And then that girl suddenly appeared.’
The clan head narrowed his eyes.
No one knew what level of skill Yerin currently possessed.
Therefore, it was imperative to thoroughly assess Yerin’s martial arts depth during this opportunity.
In the future, Yerin and the rising momentum of the Northern Ice Palace must not be allowed to threaten the Four Heavenly Gates again.
However, so far, it seemed like there was nothing special about Yerin…
‘What’s going on?’
For a moment, Master Dang felt a faint sense of unease.
‘There’s nothing special?’
That couldn’t be true.
She was considered a genius martial artist of the Northern Ice Palace and had flattened Dang Yejun’s pride.
For her to achieve such success despite entering the martial arts scene late, she must possess considerable talent.
‘That means…’
I, the current clan head, can’t even see through the skills of a mere teenage girl who has just come of age.
This was spoken by none other than the clan head of the Four Heavenly Gates.
The clan head began to focus more on the sparring in front of him.
The sparring itself seemed to be progressing fiercely.
While Seo Pyeong-oh took the initiative, Yerin was effortlessly parrying his attacks.
Thunk!
The collision of their wooden swords produced a harsh friction, almost unbelievable.
But…
‘That can’t be right?’
The clan head couldn’t hide his subtle unease.
Even if Seo Pyeong-oh had made a name for himself in Hangju, his skills were inferior to Dang Yejun, the heir of the Four Heavenly Gates.
And Yerin had already defeated Yejun once.
Yet, if the two were evenly matched…
And then.
A peculiar movement caught Master Dang’s attention.
Yerin deliberately left her left side open.
So that Seo Pyeong-oh could think of that opening as a vulnerability and attack.
At first, he had predicted that Yerin was drawing in Seo Pyeong-oh to counterattack.
Thunk!
Yerin’s and Seo Pyeong-oh’s swords collided fiercely.
Deep furrows formed on Master Dang’s forehead.
‘Something’s off.’
Although Yerin could have attacked Seo Pyeong-oh, she didn’t.
Instead, she continued to maintain the friction.
For a moment, Master Dang widened his eyes.
‘Could it be that she’s intentionally maintaining the friction?’
But was that possible?
In this place, there were three masters who would not be defeated by anyone in the world.
The Lord of the Northern Ice Palace, the Lord of Jo Yangpyo, and even himself.
‘Then Yerin…’
Was she deceiving even the eyes of those masters?
Moreover…
‘That girl hasn’t used her Ice Qi even once in this sparring.’
Even setting aside the fact that Yerin has accumulated enough martial prowess to use Ice Qi, without a deep understanding of Ice Qi, it would be impossible for her to manipulate ice, let alone create a single speck of ice dust.
Moreover, Seo Hwaryeon had testified previously that Yerin had conjured an ice flower from the ground.
‘In other words, it means that Yerin is quite proficient in Ice Qi.’
There was no reason for Seo Hwaryeon to lie, and many others had witnessed Yerin using Ice Qi.
‘Then… is she deliberately not displaying her Ice Qi in front of me?’
Master Dang reflexively glanced at Doyul.
And he was sure.
‘Damn.’
A sharp smile lingered on Doyul’s lips.
That smile told him everything.
At that moment,
Thunk!
With a loud noise, Seo Pyeong-oh’s wooden sword fell to the ground.
He had dropped his sword.
Yerin cornered Seo Pyeong-oh.
“Thank you for the lesson.”
“…Thank you.”
Seo Pyeong-oh’s face was contorted with disbelief, as if he hadn’t expected to lose.
With Seo Pyeong-oh defeated, Yerin stepped off the sparring platform.
“My lady!”
“Sister!”
Doyul and Youngju rushed toward Yerin.
“You’re amazing, sister! I knew you’d win!”
Youngju, who was still excited, glanced at Seo Pyeong-oh.
“But why did you go easy on Master Seo?”
“Huh?”
“Sister wouldn’t lose to Master Seo. You’re…”
Yerin interjected with a smile, raising a finger to her lips.
“No way. Master Seo’s skill is excellent, so I was struggling.”
“But still…”
Before Youngju could argue further, she suddenly fell silent.
Yerin was smiling brightly, her lips curved upwards.
Then she continued casually.
“It’s just sparring.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“It’s not a matter of life and death, so I wanted to understand and learn more about Master Seo’s martial arts.”
“…Yes.”
Youngju nodded glumly.
And then.
“Well done, Yerin!”
Master Dang approached Yerin as if he were a proud father.
Standing close to Yerin, Master Dang looked at Doyul and Youngju.
“I’d like to have a conversation with Yerin about her martial arts. Would you mind giving us some space for a moment?”
“Oh, sure.”
Youngju withdrew first with a sheepish expression.
“…Alright, please have your conversation comfortably,” she said, casting a wary glance at Master Dang.
Doyul, who was also looking somewhat uncomfortable, stepped back as well.
With that, as soon as they were gone, her father spoke up.
“It seems I underestimated you.”
“Well, you’ve been underestimating me for quite some time, haven’t you?” Yerin shrugged nonchalantly.
“Anyway, I won’t deny what has been happening so far.”
Master Dang, who had been scrutinizing his daughter, retorted abruptly, “You’ve fooled me thoroughly.”
“What do you mean?”
“About your true skill.”
The corner of Yerin’s lips twitched slightly.
Even if it killed him, he couldn’t deny it.
Was she finally being acknowledged by her father, the head of the Four-Gates?
“It seemed like you and Seo Pyeong-oh were just playing along.”
Glancing briefly at Seo Pyeong-oh, the clan head continued, “At least Seo Pyeong-oh seems completely taken in by you.”
Seo Pyeong-oh was looking at Yerin with eyes full of fighting spirit in the distance.
‘Oh boy.’
Yerin quickly changed the subject with a flick of her tongue.
“More importantly, Father, you’ve put quite a lot of effort into this.”
“What do you mean?”
“Eliciting an apology from Hwaryeon and instigating Seo Pyeong-oh to spar with me.”
The cold gaze stared directly at the clan head.
“Wasn’t it to assess my true abilities?”
“Well, I won’t deny it.”
“And are you satisfied?”
“I highly doubt it.”
Master Dang smirked slightly.
It was a bitter smile.
“You still haven’t shown me your ace.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Ice Qi of the Northern Ice Palace.”
Yerin’s smile deepened slightly at that.
It was a sarcastic smirk.
“Honestly, did you expect me to use Ice Qi in this spar?”
“I highly doubt that. Seo Pyeong-oh wouldn’t have dared to provoke you to that extent.”
The two laughed sharply at each other.
