Star Instructor, Master Baek

TL: FoodieMonster007

The White Ice Divine Art, the world's finest extreme Yin martial art, was originally an ultimate martial art passed down only through the direct bloodline of the North Sea Ice Palace.

The Ice Moon Goddess took the White Ice Divine Art one step further.

Baek Suryong closed his eyes and concentrated on the Ice Essence, which was resonating with the White Ice Bangle and raging through his body like a fish out of water.

"Ugh…" he groaned, clenching his teeth as he endured the pain surging through his body.

It had been a while since he received the Ice Essence from the Nine Yin Witch in the Valley of Evil, but he still hadn't fully absorbed it. While being busy was one reason, the main reason he delayed training in ice arts was that the Heaven Defying Divine Art alone seemed to meet all his inner qi needs.

However, I can't delay any longer.

The Dark Heaven Goddess's warning echoed in his mind.

"Soon, a great calamity will befall the Namgung Clan."

Not only was the Namgung Clan home to two peerless masters, the Blue Sky Sword King and the Ironblood Swordsman, it also possessed immense authority and military might as the world's strongest martial clan.

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No ordinary calamity could threaten such a place…unless the Blood Cult was involved.

Before the calamity begins, I need to become stronger.

By a miraculous twist of fate, he had obtained the White Ice Bangle, and on top of that, this ice cavern was the ideal place for practicing the ice arts.

Baek Suryong felt a pressing need to grow stronger to face the looming crisis.

Still, as the agony intensified, he grimaced. This is too sudden! At least give me some kind of warning!

ROAAAAR!

A vortex of ice whirled around Baek Suryong and spread outward as the Ice Essence began leaking from his body.

"Khh…"

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A low groan escaped between his clenched teeth, and the veins on his neck bulged. The icy torment that had initially only affected his qi center now felt like a torrent of blades trying to cut him up from head to toe.

I have to endure! If I lose consciousness here, it's all over!

There were only two possible paths available to him now: Endure and reap the rewards, or fail and die a stupid death.

"Hoo… Haa…"

Taking deep breaths, Baek Suryong concentrated on taming the rampaging Ice Essence within him by moving his qi according to the formula of the world's greatest ice art left behind by the Ice Moon Goddess.

Gritting his teeth, he reminded himself, I've managed to learn even the Heaven Defying Divine Art. The White Ice Divine Art is no different.

If the Heaven Defying Divine Art reigned with violence and domination, then the White Ice Divine Art ruled with cold, unfeeling rationality. As supreme martial arts that contended for supremacy, both techniques shared fundamental similarities, but the White Ice Divine Art was skewed so heavily toward Yin energy that it would backfire on anyone without a suitable body constitution.

As a result, Baek Suryong hadn't been able to learn it in his previous life. However, with this opportunity before him now, he could finally master it.

My theoretical knowledge is perfect. All I need is to do is execute what's in my head.

In his previous life, he had trained countless ice arts experts using theory alone. Taking advantage of the synergy between the Ice Essence and the White Ice Bangle, he estimated that he could probably break through several stages at once.

ROOOOAR!

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The icy storm howled. Fine shards of ice flew in all directions until finally, his figure vanished in a white blur.

CRACKLE! RUMBLE!

Snow-white frost coated his eyebrows and hair, and his body temperature fell so low that he felt like a living block of ice.

SHIVER!

His entire body trembled from the unbearable cold. He had never been particularly sensitive to outside temperatures, but the frigid tempest inside him was beyond the limit of his endurance.

DRIP…

Blood trickled from the corner of his lips. He bit down on his tongue to stay conscious, and swallowed the blood to clear his mind.

I feel like I'm on fire…!

There was a saying that frostbite felt similar to being burned, and Baek Suryong finally understood what that meant. Ice qi seared through his veins, threatening to scorch everything in its path. He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids were frozen shut.

He could feel that death was approaching.

Forcing a twisted grin, Baek Suryong snarled silently at the Ice Essence inside him, You want to kill me? Don't make me laugh!Go on, rampage all you want. I'll definitely survive!

His body was cycling between freezing and thawing, speeding up until the time he spent frozen was longer than the time he spent thawed, but he bore it all in silence, trusting in the body tempered by the Eighteen Strikes of the Viridian Forest and the meridians strengthened by the Heaven Defying Divine Art.

WOOOONG!

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The White Ice Bangle on his left wrist, the true culprit behind the Ice Essence's rampage, released a blinding white light.

Coming to a sudden realization, Baek Suryong accepted and absorbed its energy.

I shouldn't try to control it by force or reject it. I just need to embrace it and let the White Ice Divine Art do the rest!

SHWAAAAA!

Baek Suryong stopped resisting the Ice Essence, and in response, it unleashed an even greater storm of bitter cold inside him.

His consciousness dimmed.

"Keuk…"

Suddenly, as he hovered between life and death, he heard the Ice Moon Goddess's voice as if in a dream.

"As my martial arts were developed independently in the place you call the Outer Regions, they are the most unconventional among the four of us. It will not be easy for you to teach it to others."

"Don't worry, Master Eun. I've mastered the theory perfectly."

"…Theory alone is not enough. Without experiencing it yourself, you will run into problems one day."

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Fortunately, none of the trainees he taught ice arts to ever experienced issues, but that was also because the Blood Cult had only sent him youths with extreme Yin constitutions.

Nevertheless, Baek Suryong lacked a favorable constitution for Yin-based arts. Although the Ice Essence enabled him to learn ice arts, it did not change his inherent physical traits. As a result, even though he had the Heavenly Yin Severed Meridians, which was ideal for mastering the Heaven Defying Divine Art, his aptitude for the White Ice Divine Art was average at best.

"The North Sea Ice Palace's divine arts are not about control or domination, but about mutual growth and harmony. Living in a harsh environment, we have learned that it is better to coexist with nature rather than fight it."

Eun Yerin's advice drifted back from deep within Baek Suryong's memories.

Why do I only remember her words now?

"If you ever get the chance to master the White Ice Divine Art, remember what I said."

"I doubt that day will come. I can barely handle what I'm learning now."

"You never know. Who can say what kind of miraculous encounter awaits you in the future…?"

The Ice Moon Goddess' smiling face faded like a mirage, and Baek Suryong returned from the brink of death.

FLASH!

When he finally opened his eyes, a brilliant white light burst forth. At the same time, the White Ice Divine Art extended beyond the microcosmic orbit to encompass his Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Twelve Major Meridians, forming a macrocosmic orbit.

Each time Baek Suryong completed a macrocosmic orbit, the flow of cold energy intensified and accumulated at an increasing rate. His acupoints expanded, and his meridians, tempered like muscles, strengthened greatly.

CRACK, CRACK…

Before long, color returned to his pale skin, and the ice clinging to him shattered and fell away.

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"Hoo…" Baek Suryong slowly awakened from his meditation, white mist escaping from his lips. The swirling cold energy around him gradually diminished, then faded completely.

"…Thank you, Master Eun," he murmured softly.

Rising to his feet, he looked around. Signs of the raging snowstorm lingered around the altar, where he had sat cross-legged.

"Well, it seems I've made quite the mess," he said awkwardly.

Pressing his left palm against a wall, Baek Suryong unleashed a palm thrust.

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BOOM!

The stone wall cracked apart and froze solid. This was the White Ice Divine Palm, a technique that could only be used by those who had attained at least the seventh stage of the White Ice Divine Art.

"Hahaha…" Baek Suryong chuckled incredulously. A few hours ago, he was barely at the beginner level of the White Ice Divine Art and could only release a feeble, harmless chill through his palm.

BANG! CRASH!

He tested the White Ice Divine Palm again and again, and the results were the same. After completely absorbing the Ice Essence, he had advanced directly to the seventh stage.

Even considering that he had the assistance of the Ice Essence and the White Ice Bangle, this feat was still enough to leave ice art experts utterly dumbfounded.

I wonder if I can apply this to my other martial arts as well?

Baek Suryong tried channeling cold energy into his swordsmanship, movement arts, fists, and kicks.

SWOOSH! BOOM! SLAM!

It felt awkward at first, but as he continued experimenting, he realized that he could infuse cold energy into all of his techniques.

"Haha… HAHAHAHA!"

Although the White Ice Divine Art had not improved his overall martial arts cultivation, it had given him a new trump card. Even he could not fully foresee how the added cold energy could impact an actual battle.

Glancing around, he murmured to himself, "I should come here from time to time to train."

This Blood Cult cavern was a godsend, not only for ice arts training but all his martial arts. Therefore, until the disaster foretold by the Dark Heaven Goddess arrived, he planned to return whenever he could.

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"If only I had a few more days in the Namgung Estate…"

Late that night, the lanterns continued to burn brightly in the Namgung Clan's meeting hall.

"This meeting is taking a long time."

"They must be discussing something serious. I mean, an intruder did show up right in the heart of the estate…"

The martial artists of the Heavenly Wind Corps stood vigilantly around the Patriarch Hall. The two speakers were the captains of the First and Second Squads, both seasoned veterans in their forties and respected in the murim as the pillars of the Namgung Clan's power.

The First Squad Captain of the Heavenly Wind Corps pointed to a mountain in the distance. "Hey, look at the summit of that mountain over there. Doesn't it seem darker than the rest?"

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The Second Squad Captain looked in the direction his old friend indicated. "Which mountain are you talking about?"

"That one, right there."

The Second Squad Captain squinted his eyes and stared intently at the mountains in the distance. In the end, though, he tilted his head in confusion and said, "I don't see anything out of the ordinary."

"Look more closely. The darkness seems to be denser there. When morning comes, we should tell the Commander to check it out."

The Second Squad Captain shook his head, irritated by his friend's persistence. "Your eyes must be playing tricks on you. Don't be such a worrywart."

"…I can't help it. I've been feeling uneasy lately, and it's gotten worse ever since that intruder showed up. I can't sleep, and my heart keeps racing for no reason."

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"Maybe you should see a physician?"

The First Squad Captain sighed. He had already seen a physician, but they assured him that there was nothing wrong with him and advised him to just rest more and eat well.

Suddenly, the Second Squad Captain's eyes widened. "Y-Your nose! Blood!"

DRIP DRIP…

"Huh… Why?" The First Squad Captain touched his nose, puzzled. Black blood was tricking from it. Even though he had been feeling fatigued lately, nosebleeds were unheard of for someone with his martial prowess.

A few startled subordinates glanced over and approached with concern, but the First Squad Captain quickly waved them off.

"I'm fine, it's nothing. I must be overworked…"

THUD!

Before he could finish his line, he wavered and fell to his knees.

"W-Why…?" he murmured weakly, his eyes bloodshot and veins bulging across his face. Desperate to ease some unknown agony, he pounded his chest again and again.

Then, without warning, black blood suddenly gushed from his mouth.

"BLEARGH!"

All across the Namgung Estate, similar incidents began unfolding.