Chapter 3

The Heavenly Martial Academy?

I knew it was an academy under the Martial Alliance where martial arts were taught.

Getting admitted was difficult, but graduating was even harder.

People said that once you graduated from the Heavenly Martial Academy, you were guaranteed a successful future in the Martial Alliance.

“I’ve heard of it… but no one from the Northern Sea has ever attended it before, right?”

For many years, the Northern Sea Ice Palace had been isolated from the Central Plains martial world.

But perhaps because he was searching for medicine for me, Father had increased contact with the Central Plains over the past seven years and often visited the Martial Alliance himself.

Still, since no one from our palace had actually studied there, I didn’t know much about it.

“That’s right. If you go, you’ll be the first.”

Father nodded seriously.

What was he talking about?

Why was he suddenly bringing up the academy?

I had wrongly assumed he meant marriage, but even so…

I couldn’t understand why he suddenly changed the topic while discussing my condition.

“What’s so special about the academy? Do they reward top students with valuable spiritual medicines?”

“Of course they do!”

…Huh?

They really gave out spiritual medicines?

I had only asked casually, but Father clapped his hands with a bright smile.

Now that I thought about it, I remembered merchants from the Central Plains mentioning the Heavenly Martial Academy.

They had said the Small Heavenly Pill that was regularly awarded to students there was every bit as good as Shaolin Temple’s famous pills.

Do they even have extreme yang spiritual medicines?

I had only heard vague rumors.

But if Father, who had attended Martial Alliance meetings and met many great masters and instructors from the academy, was recommending it…

There had to be something there.

“Not just spiritual medicines. Three of the Ten Greatest Masters Under Heaven serve there as instructors. You’ll be able to witness all kinds of martial arts.”

“Oh…”

Father continued explaining.

After the Great War between the righteous and demonic factions, the major righteous sects, including the Nine Great Sects, the Five Great Families, and other leading powers, established the academy.

Its purpose was to exchange martial arts and train the next generation.

The great sects and families all sent teachers, disciples, martial arts manuals, weapons, and spiritual medicines there to display their influence.

Ah, so that’s how they gathered so many valuable spiritual medicines. It’s even more influential than I thought.

Maybe they didn’t have a Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Carp.

But perhaps they had something that could at least extend my lifespan.

As I tilted my head in thought, Father smiled.

“When I was your age, all I wanted was to travel the martial world and challenge strong opponents. You must have been bored since no one your age in the Northern Sea could match you.”

“Oh… yes.”

I nodded, even though I preferred peace.

“It’ll be good to teach those frogs in the well from the Central Plains a lesson. Bring home all the spiritual medicines and martial arts you can!”

“Frogs in the well…?”

“If you go this year, you’ll be classmates with the second child of the Azure Sky Sword King. I also heard that Mount Hua is sending the sect leader’s direct disciple.”

The Zhuge Clan.

The Namgung Clan.

Mount Hua.

The handsome long-haired young masters I had imagined as a child suddenly came to mind.

Competing against geniuses like them and earning spiritual medicines…

It didn’t sound easy at all.

“The Beast Palace Lord is also sending his child this year. You’re already strong enough that I have no worries, but he seems to want the major outer martial factions to attend together.”

“The Southern Beast Palace?”

“That’s right. They say the child is an extraordinary genius. Though of course, still not comparable to you.”

I suddenly froze.

Wait.

The child of the Southern Beast Palace Lord was an extraordinary genius?

Unlike the Northern Sea Ice Palace, the Southern Beast Palace was located in the far south of the Central Plains and specialized in extreme yang martial arts.

Ah!

Only then did I completely understand what Father had been trying to say.

He hadn’t found some old master who had already perfected extreme yang martial arts.

Instead, the Heavenly Martial Academy gathered all the young geniuses most likely to become such masters in the future.

In other words…

If I attended the academy, I could prove my talent, earn spiritual medicines, and extend my lifespan.

And it was also the perfect place to naturally meet young men who practiced extreme yang martial arts.

So…

He wanted me to become friends with promising boys there… and eventually do that?

And the Beast Palace Lord’s son was one of those promising candidates?

Oh…

So that’s why Father had spent so long talking around the subject.

He simply couldn’t bring himself to have such an embarrassing conversation with his daughter.

“I understand completely now, Father.”

Even without saying anything embarrassing out loud, I fully understood what he meant.

Thankfully, my memories from my previous life allowed me to figure it out.

Otherwise, I might never have realized what he was trying to say.

“I’ll go to the academy. I’ll study hard with everyone there, earn spiritual medicines… and do everything I can.”

Honestly, I liked Father’s plan much better.

I had been terrified that I would have to marry someone just to survive.

But freely falling in love while attending the academy?

That sounded far better.

Father beamed.

“I’m certain you’ll make a great name for yourself even in the Central Plains!”

And so, I decided to attend the academy.

“Oh, one more thing. I’m sure you’ll already be careful, but it’s best to keep your constitution a secret. Even in peaceful times, nothing good comes from letting others know.”

Father lowered his voice seriously.

I nodded.

Now that I thought about it, some martial arts novels described people treating those with the Nine Yin Severed Meridians like precious treasures.

Absorbing a woman’s yin energy to strengthen oneself was a common cliché in old martial arts stories.

***

“Big Sister Su-ryeo! Defeat all those scholars from the Nine Great Sects!”

“Big Sister, I’ll join you next year!”

On the day I left for the Heavenly Martial Academy, the palace guards who had become like family came all the way to Bingyue Lake to see me off.

Grrrr…

Even the bear I had raised let out a lonely growl.

Its eyes looked especially sad.

I wished I could bring it with me, but that obviously wasn’t possible.

I rubbed its head one last time and waved goodbye.

“Take care, everyone! I’ll come back during vacation!”

If I had been leaving forever to get married, it would have been much harder to say goodbye.

I absolutely had to solve my lifespan problem at the academy and return safely.

I climbed onto my horse and set off with Commander Baek-ung.

I had explored nearby glaciers and valleys many times.

But this was my first journey to the Central Plains.

Father assigned Commander Baek-ung, who always accompanied him on his own trips, to serve as both my escort and guide.

“Will the journey to Luoyang be dangerous?”

The Heavenly Martial Academy was located in Luoyang, Henan Province.

From the Northern Sea, it took over a month on horseback.

My condition wasn’t the only thing to worry about.

There were dangers outside as well.

In martial arts novels, the protagonists constantly ran into bandits and river pirates during their travels.

Naturally, I was a little nervous.

Of course, Commander Baek-ung was one of the five strongest people in the Northern Sea.

And I was more than capable of handling ordinary bandits.

Still, I had no real sense of how strong people actually were.

Unlike in novels, it wasn’t easy to judge another person’s level.

I could naturally tell that Father’s presence was overwhelming.

And I could distinguish ordinary civilians from martial artists just by the way they walked.

But in reality, it wasn’t as simple as taking one glance and instantly knowing whether someone was a first-rate expert or a supreme master.

How often did things like bandits demanding tolls or evil martial artists picking fights actually happen?

The Northern Sea is pretty safe…

I really didn’t know much about the Central Plains.

Perhaps because I had a limited lifespan, Father had never burdened me with the responsibilities expected of the younger generation of a great martial family.

Instead, he let me live freely, almost like a carefree noble lady in a romance fantasy novel.

Even so, I had trained diligently.

Still, my lack of real combat experience continued to bother me.

“There shouldn’t be much danger… though your appearance will certainly attract attention, Young Lady. You’ll need to be careful.”

Commander Baek-ung looked at me as if wondering why I was even asking.

Then he paused.

Ah.

That too.

With my silver hair and blue eyes, I would definitely stand out in the Central Plains.

“Do dangerous people often appear? I’ll always stay with you, Commander, so it should be alright… right?”

His words made me grip my reins tightly.

“There’s no need to worry that much. Ordinary thugs would probably run away the moment you glare at them.”

Really?

Well, merchants from the Central Plains had often told me that I looked cold and intimidating when they first met me.

Maybe practicing extreme yin martial arts made me seem even more so.

“Truly capable people are rare, and they have enough pride not to act recklessly. Unless you decide to march into a bandit fortress alone and challenge the bandit chief in front of all his men, you probably won’t even need to draw your sword before reaching Luoyang.”

Commander Baek-ung chuckled.

Well, that certainly wasn’t going to happen.

He reassured me that although sleeping outdoors would sometimes be uncomfortable, we were unlikely to encounter any real danger.

One day passed.

Then two.

Ten.

Fifteen.

Commander Baek-ung had been right.

The endless riding was becoming rather boring since I had no idea where we even were.

But even after nearly a month, nothing serious happened.

We never encountered any evil martial artists.

Sometimes groups of men at inns approached me, saying I was pretty or asking where I came from.

But they were always insignificant people.

The moment I rested my hand on my sword and narrowed my eyes, they fled in panic.

Honestly, the wild animals eyeing our food supplies seemed more threatening.

Though even they usually ran away as soon as we approached.

“We’ll rest in that town today.”

As we traveled farther south, the weather became warmer and villages appeared more frequently.

The town before us was the largest we’d seen so far.

It was large enough to be called a city.

Without hesitation, we entered the biggest and finest-looking inn on the main street.

“Young Lady, is there anything you’d like to eat?”

We found a spacious table on the second floor and looked over the menu.

“Bamboo Leaf Green wine, white liquor, twice-cooked pork, shredded pork with fish-flavored sauce, noodles…”

“I’ll order for you.”

The food of the Central Plains was quite different from what I was used to in the Northern Sea.

It wasn’t easy to recognize anything.

I simply listed dishes I remembered from novels in my previous life.

Commander Baek-ung sighed and asked what kind of merchants had been teaching me these things.

I wanted to try fresh fish and fruits that couldn’t be found in the Northern Sea.

Instead, whether because they weren’t available here or because of the commander’s preference, roasted chicken was served.

“Oh, this is delicious.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

The cooking style was different, but the flavors weren’t unfamiliar.

As we ate, I happily asked him about the names of various dishes, other famous foods, and whether Luoyang had many excellent inns.

“Ahhh!”

About fifteen minutes later…

We had finished about half our meal when a young boy’s scream came from the entrance of the inn.

“Hah! There you are!”

“Tsk. We knew you wouldn’t get far.”

Curious, I looked over.

Six men with swords at their waists had surrounded a boy who looked about fourteen years old.

“Hm?”

One of them grabbed the boy by the hair.

Then he punched him in the face without warning.

What?

Was he insane?

“Agh! Aah! Aah!”

They threw the boy onto the floor.

Then several grown men began kicking him.

“W-What are you doing, honored heroes?”

Not only I, but also the innkeeper, the waiter, and the nearby customers were shocked.

One brave person even tried to stop them from beating the child.

“Mind your own business. We’re just taking back a little thief.”

“Aah! No! That’s not true!”

The man holding the boy answered coldly.

The other five ignored everyone and continued kicking and beating him.

“After everything our Manor Lord did for you!”

“You really thought you could steal the Young Master’s token and escape?”

“I-It’s mine! Master Neunggwang Sword gave it to me!”

The boy curled into a ball while clutching his travel bundle.

The item they claimed he had stolen was probably inside it.

Even though the men clearly knew martial arts, they couldn’t easily force it away from him.

“Let’s just cut off his wrist…”

“Eek!”

“Aaaah!”

One of the men finally lost his patience and drew his sword threateningly.

Everyone on the first floor hurried backward in fear.

“Hey, you…”

I couldn’t watch any longer.

Whoosh!

With an angry curse already leaving my lips, I jumped straight down to the first floor, intending to send every one of them flying.

“W-What?”

But as everyone’s eyes turned toward me…

Wait. Maybe swearing isn’t appropriate. I’m representing the Northern Sea Ice Palace in the Central Plains…

I suddenly remembered that I was the daughter of the Ice Palace Lord.

Father acted completely differently when he was alone with me than when he dealt with the palace guards.

And I had heard that whenever he attended meetings of the Martial Alliance, he always behaved with the dignity expected of his title.

If I acted like a street thug, I’d only embarrass him.

“Ahem. No matter what wrongdoing he may have committed, is this truly how martial artists should treat a child?”

Clang!

I casually knocked aside the drawn sword.

Then I calmly addressed the men in a polite tone.

“You little…”

“Agh!”

After subduing the man who had been beating the boy the most…

“Gah!”

I stepped in front of the one who appeared to be their leader.