Martial Arts Ain’t That Big of a Deal

Chapter 197

North Sea Ice Palace Lord Baek Seol-hyang had been dedicating herself to rigorous training recently.

Having refrained from external activities for an extended period, she focused on sharpening her dulled senses, absorbing the energy of ice crystals, and refining the Frost White Divine Qi within her body.

Amid her training, a disturbance broke through her concentration, prompting her eyes to snap open.

“What kind of scum...?”

What now? If they wanted to fight, couldn’t they just pull each other’s hair quietly? Recently, clashes among her disciples had become far too frequent.

Determined to smack some sense into them, Baek Seol-hyang sprang to her feet—only to be startled into action as she swiftly moved her body.

BOOOOM????!

A massive hole had been blasted clean through. Considering that this was the main hall of the Ice Palace, it was an utterly absurd sight.

Crunch—

Furious, a wave of chilling energy surged from Baek Seol-hyang’s body, freezing the area solid. She stomped down, launching herself forward.

“Those crazy bastards...!”

CRASH—! Shattering the ceiling as she burst out, she was greeted by Extreme Demonic Masters of the highest caliber.

“What the...?”

Taken aback by the unexpected scene, Baek Seol-hyang hesitated. But the Demonic Masters had no intention of showing her any leniency.

One man darted through the skies around the Ice Palace, while the other three hurled relentless attacks at him.

As expected, the palace was caught in the chaos and reduced to utter disarray.

BOOOOOOM?????!

Buildings shattered into fragments, scattering in all directions. The protective formations guarding the Ice Palace proved meaningless against the overwhelming power of the Extreme Masters.

The once-tranquil palace was turned to ruin in the blink of an eye. Baek Seol-hyang’s eyes twitched, her composure threatening to crack.

Her face flushed deep red, veins bulging at her temples.

“All of them... Every single one of them...”

When had the North Sea Ice Palace become so belittled? That bastard Baek Seo-jun, those deranged Demonic Masters—she wanted to annihilate them all.

Consumed by fury, Baek Seol-hyang unleashed her full strength and activated her Frost White Divine Art.

“Fine... I see how it is! I will restore the honor of my Ice Palace today!”

WHOOOOOSH????!

A fierce gust swept through, momentarily halting the movements of the Demonic Masters. Baek Seol-hyang extended her palm—Frost White Divine Palm.

In response, the Sword Demon swung his blade against the immense torrent of energy.

Slash—

The surge was cleanly sliced through, but a layer of frost formed on the Sword Demon’s hand, causing him to frown.

“Do not interfere, Ice Palace Lord.”
“Interfere...? Do you even realize where you are?”

Baek Seol-hyang understood something then: it was indeed possible to reach a new level of rage while already consumed by anger.

With her sanity on the brink of collapse, Baek Seol-hyang roared:

“Frost Realm Winter Earth!”

Without hesitation, she unleashed her domain. Everything within froze solid. The Sword Demon felt even his breath turn to ice as he summoned his internal energy.

BOOM—!

Dark demonic energy surged forth, pushing back against Baek Seol-hyang’s domain. The Sword Demon frowned and issued a command.

“Greed Demon, deal with her.”
“Tsk... I don’t think this is really my job, but fine.”

The Greed Demon lunged at Baek Seol-hyang, his body covered with mouths that devoured the cold energy around him. Spreading his arms wide, he attempted to envelop her.

“Hyaaah!”

Baek Seol-hyang didn’t back down. Enraged beyond reason, she slammed her twin palms together.

CRACK—!

The Greed Demon’s palm split open, blood gushing out, but he laughed. Without hesitation, he bent his fingers to grasp her hand.

“Thanks for the meal...”
“Die!”

Inside Baek Seol-hyang’s body, her internal energy surged violently. She unleashed the Northern Sea Divine Art, a secret passed down only to the lords of the Ice Palace.

This technique, akin to a boundless sea, allowed her to absorb the opponent’s energy and make it her own.

“Energy Absorption Technique?”

The Greed Demon scowled, and Baek Seol-hyang sneered.

“Don’t you dare compare it to your cheap knockoff!”

As she absorbed his energy, the Frost White Divine Qi within her harmonized with the external forces. Unlike the haphazard and risky Energy Absorption Technique, her method was refined and flawless.

Even the infamous demonic energy couldn’t escape its grasp.

But the Greed Demon’s Greedy God Devours It All was no ordinary martial art.

Crunch—!

The mouths on his hands gnawed at her frosty energy.

“Tch!”

Alarmed, Baek Seol-hyang refined the absorbed energy into a concentrated force and expelled it through her palm.

The Greed Demon devoured it again, and she retaliated by absorbing his energy once more.

The seemingly endless cycle came to an abrupt end when Baek Seol-hyang took control.

CRACK—!

Within her domain, a deafening roar echoed. Countless ice spikes materialized in the air, raining down upon the Greed Demon.

“Ugh!”

His body was riddled with holes, but he countered by devouring the spikes with his countless mouths. Soon, his wounds began to heal.

Baek Seol-hyang clenched her fists tightly, releasing an immense wave of energy.

“Let’s see how much more you can take!”

The Northern Sea Divine Art’s most terrifying aspect lay in its ability to pass down internal energy without any loss.

Accumulated over generations, the Ice Palace Lords’ reserves were vast beyond measure. For the relatively younger and weaker Greed Demon, this level of power was overwhelming.

“W-wait...?”

The Greed Demon’s eyes widened in panic. Normally, he wouldn’t be pushed this far, but the overwhelming energy and his prior overconsumption had brought him to his limit.

Just as his body threatened to explode—

“Foolish bastard,” the Sword Demon intervened, forcing Baek Seol-hyang to release him.

From within the palace, a man suddenly emerged.

“What...?”

Baek Seol-hyang’s eyes widened as she recognized the figure.

“That son of a bitch...!”

Blood trickled from her nose—deviation from energy flow. With bloodshot eyes, she glared at the man as if to kill him.

“Perfect. I’ll take care of all the pests here today!”

The man—Baek Seo-jun—smirked.

“Did you hear that? The Palace Lord says she’ll handle you all herself. Naturally, I’ll help as well.”

*****

As soon as Seo-jun saw the Sword Demon retreat to rescue the Greed Demon, he slipped into the depths of the Ice Palace.

Currently, not only his essence, energy, and spirit but his very existence were tainted by demonic energy.

Ordinarily, cleansing one’s being of such energy would be deemed impossible. But the word “ordinary” held no meaning for Seo-jun.

WHOOOSH—!

By converting the demonic energy into Frost White Divine Qi, Seo-jun transformed entirely.

The essence, energy, and spirit that had been fused into one by demonic energy split apart once more, restoring balance. The horns that had protruded from his head retracted, leaving no trace.

His left arm, which had been replaced by demonic energy? That had long since regenerated. Through mastering Greedy God Devours It All, his already remarkable regenerative powers had grown even further.

To cap it all off, he unraveled the threads of his Celestial Silkworm Robe, altering the patterns on his garments and even reshaping the Demonic Sword.

Yes, the figure standing here now was no longer the future Heavenly Demon, Cheon Seo-jun. He was now Baek Seo-jun of the North Sea Ice Palace.

Emerging from the palace, Seo-jun beamed brightly as he gazed at Baek Seol-hyang.

Thanks to the information he had gleaned from Baek Yu-ryeon, a warrior of the Ice Palace he had previously encountered, it wasn’t difficult to impersonate the palace’s Young Lord.

It was said that the Northern Sea Divine Art, which only the palace lord could master, was a superior version of the Energy Absorption Technique, wasn’t it?

Seo-jun didn’t know the exact formula for the Northern Sea Divine Art, but his natural abilities allowed him to use the Energy Absorption Technique in a way that mimicked it.

In fact, while the original art infused the absorbed energy with Frost White Divine Qi, Seo-jun could completely transmute the absorbed energy into entirely new types.

In this regard, the version of the Northern Sea Divine Art Seo-jun employed was arguably a step beyond the original.

“Baek Seo-jun...?”

The Priestess's expression turned peculiar as she observed him.

“Now that I think about it, the Ice Palace warrior who appeared at Mount Kunlun was...”

Her thoughts raced. Cheon Seo-jun. Baek Seo-jun. If she couldn’t find a connection between the two, she might as well be wearing her head as a decoration.

But she quickly shook her head. The energy radiating from Baek Seo-jun unmistakably belonged to the Frost White Divine Qi. Despite the lingering unease, the idea that the two were the same person seemed impossible by any rational measure.

“I’ll assist you, Palace Lord!”

Seo-jun exuded confidence.

Could someone who discerned martial titles figure out that Baek Seo-jun and Cheon Seo-jun were the same person?

Not his concern.

If the Demonic Cult warriors were skilled enough to make that connection, they’d have already dragged him back by the hair.

Seo-jun’s Frost White Divine Qi surged toward the Greed Demon.

“Urgh...!”

The Greed Demon desperately regurgitated the energy he had consumed, purging his insides. The expelled energy shot toward Seo-jun.

‘I’ll manage it for now.’

Though Seo-jun had reached the Extreme Demonic Mastery stage, he hadn’t yet achieved the Transcendent Boundary. Facing even the Greed Demon in his current state was challenging.

Somehow, Baek Seo-jun had become the weakest version of Seo-jun in all his forms.

Still, having retained the insights of Extreme Demonic Mastery, he could put up a reasonable fight.

SWOOSH—!

The energy expelled by the Greed Demon was absorbed into Seo-jun’s hands. He transformed the chaotic energy into Frost White Divine Qi, condensed it into his palms, and unleashed a powerful strike.

This was the essence of the Northern Sea Divine Art.

BOOOOOOM?????!!

The Greed Demon barely managed to block the attack, staggering backward.

By then, the elite warriors of the Ice Palace had surrounded the area, forming a tight encirclement.

“Priestess, what’s the plan?”
“Nothing changes. We deliver the Demon Lord’s sprout to the sect.”

“Tsk.”

The Greed Demon clicked his tongue, but Baek Seol-hyang didn’t just click hers—she bit down hard enough to draw blood as she screamed.

“Kyaaaah! Baek Seo-jun! Who are you?! How?! How do you know the Northern Sea Divine Art?!”

“Palace Lord, get a grip! What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Aaaaagh!”

Baek Seol-hyang clawed at her hair until blood dripped from her scalp. Her disheveled white hair framed her blazing eyes.

‘It’s not him. It can’t be the bastard from 300 years ago. Is it his descendant? But how? Did they inherit his constitution? No, that’s impossible! He wouldn’t have known the Northern Sea Divine Art either...’

With a deranged laugh, Baek Seol-hyang suddenly vomited blood and drew upon her Innate True Qi.

“I don’t care anymore. Just die. All of you.”

She resolved to kill everyone here, even if it meant her own death. That would solve everything.

The bastard impersonating the Ice Palace’s Young Lord.

The verminous Demonic Cult warriors shamelessly wrecking the surroundings.

She would freeze them all and decorate the peak of the Ice Palace with their corpses—

“Huh...?”

Blood poured from her lips again. Baek Seol-hyang couldn’t even think to wipe it away as her trembling eyes took in the scene.

Decorate the Ice Palace’s peak with their frozen bodies? How?

CRUUUUUUMBLE?????!!

The Ice Palace finally collapsed entirely.

With it, Baek Seol-hyang’s spirit shattered. A hollow laugh escaped her lips, her sanity teetering on the edge.

Eyes rolling back, she burned through the last of her Innate True Energy, her voice ringing out in a wrathful wail:

“You bastards...! If I don’t grind you into dust and drink your blood, I’m not human!”

The vengeance of the maddened Ice Palace Lord swept through the North Sea like a storm.