Star Instructor, Master Baek-Chapter 345: I’ve Got A Better Idea

TL: FoodieMonster007

A strange thought suddenly occurred to Baek Suryong.

"Wait a minute. I heard that the Ice Palace was locked down decades ago. How does the Black Tortoise Academy have a graduate from there?"

Generally, being locked down meant that a sect had cut itself off from all external activities. Certainly, the North Sea Ice Palace had not appeared in the jianghu for decades, to the point where even the Beggars' Gang had almost no information on them.

Baek Suryong recalled the story Seo Ri'ae had told him about why the Ice Palace had isolated itself.

"When she didn't return to the palace for more than ten years, a fierce succession battle broke out. This power struggle greatly weakened the Ice Palace…"

Ultimately, the Blood Cult was to blame. If they hadn't set a trap and abducted the Ice Moon Goddess, the Ice Palace wouldn't have been thrown into chaos and civil war.

[This disciple is a child who fled the North Sea Ice Palace more than thirty years ago. He cut all ties with his family and devoted himself to the Black Tortoise Academy.]

"…Sounds like someone with quite a backstory."

[You will know when you meet him.]

The Divine Azure Dragon Sword commanded the Vice Principal to summon the disciple. Fortunately, he lived nearby.

After a short wait, a middle-aged man with a pale face and cold, stern demeanor entered the principal's office. Upon seeing Baek Suryong, he clasped his hands in greeting. "My name is Seol Sinwoo. I heard that Master's guest was looking for me…"

So the Vice Principal hasn't told him anything, huh?

Baek Suryong returned the greeting. "I am Baek Suryong, an instructor at the Azure Dragon Academy."

"…The Azure Dragon Hero?"

"People often call me that, yes."

Seol Sinwoo's eyes widened for a moment before he regained his composure. His lack of emotional fluctuation suggested that either this was his natural disposition or he had considerable mental discipline. "For what reason does the Azure Dragon Hero seek me?"

Baek Suryong didn't beat around the bush. "There is something I wish to ask you about the North Sea Ice Palace."

"……" Seol Sinwoo immediately fell silent.

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VWOOM!

Trembling, the Divine Azure Dragon Sword expressed its dissatisfaction, [Your personality is truly unfathomable. Why do you talk down to me but speak so politely to my disciple?]

Baek Suryong lightly patted the sword hilt. [I only speak informally to people I'm close with.]

[Are you saying you acknowledge me as your true friend…!?]

…I swear I'm not trying to gaslight her. Nope, not at all!

Baek Suryong gazed steadily at the Divine Azure Dragon Sword, then nodded firmly. [Of course.]

Just then, Seol Sinwoo asked cautiously, "May I ask why you are inquiring about the North Sea Ice Palace?"

"It would be faster to just show you."

KWAKWAKWAKWA!

A pure white stream of qi enveloped Baek Suryong's body, while a cold wind reminiscent of a northern blizzard swept through the principal's office.

Seol Sinwoo's eyes widened in shock. "The White Ice Divine Art… and a complete, flawless White Ice Divine Art at that…!"

"My late master was from the Ice Palace."

"May I ask who your master is?"

"The Ice Moon Goddess Eun Yerin."

"…!!" Seol Sinwoo's composure shattered, as if he never imagined that name would come up. Looking blankly ahead in confusion, he muttered to himself, "That's impossible. She went missing a very long time ago. Besides, she was…"

"Captured by the Blood Cult, right?"

"……"

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It was only a little probe, but Baek Suryong noticed the pained expression that crossed Seol Sinwoo's face for an instant.

He definitely knows something.

He was certain now. The North Sea Ice Palace knew that the Blood Cult was responsible for Eun Yerin's disappearance.

He observed Seol Sinwoo more closely.

This man. He's learned the White Ice Divine Art.

Among the information Seo Ri'ae gave him was the method for selecting the successor to the White Ice Divine Art.

"Children with exceptional talent are gathered from a young age to learn the initial stages of the art together. Through competition, the most gifted children are chosen and taught the middle stages of the art. Then, when they turn twenty, the most accomplished one becomes the successor and learns the complete art."

This was the North Sea Ice Palace's long-standing tradition and most important ritual.

Baek Suryong shrewdly assessed Seol Sinwoo's martial arts skill.

He's learned at least up to the middle stages.

In other words, like Seo Ri'ae, this man was a former successor candidate.

Considering his age, he doesn't belong to Master Eun's generation. The next generation, perhaps?

With a pained expression, Seol Sinwoo said, "…I have severed all ties with the North Sea Ice Palace. My apologies, but I have nothing more to say."

"Can I assume that my master's enemy is in the North Sea Ice Palace, then? Did they join hands with the Blood Cult?" Baek Suryong demanded, releasing a subtle killing intent.

Seol Sinwoo pursed his lips. "…I don't know."

"…I will ask you one last time. Please answer me carefully."

Baek Suryong directed the full brunt of his killing intent at Seol Sinwoo. He didn't have the time or patience to persuade the man slowly. If necessary, he was prepared to use force.

[Can you leave this to me?]

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The Divine Azure Dragon Sword vibrated with a soft glow, and suddenly, the Dark Heaven Goddess's voice echoed within the principal's office.

[Sinwoo. I sense much anguish in your face.]

"This voice… Master?"

At the Black Tortoise Academy, the Dark Heaven Goddess was akin to a deity. As the world's strongest sorcerer, she was an object of reverence to those who gathered from all corners of the Central Plains to learn the craft… even if she was currently dangling precariously from Baek Suryong's waist.

THUD!

Seol Sinwoo knelt before the Divine Azure Dragon Sword. Although he had long since graduated from her tutelage, he still revered her greatly.

[I know your long-standing anguish is related to your family, so I deliberately refrained from asking about it.]

"Master…"

[However, right now, the heavenly order has been distorted. The man right before your eyes was born with a heaven-defying fate. He has sought me out. I know this will be painful for you, but I need you to confront your fears.]

Seol Sinwoo looked at Baek Suryong in astonishment. A heaven-defying fate? To think the Azure Dragon Hero was born with such a destiny!

As a disciple of the Dark Heaven Goddess, he knew how significant that was.

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[His unreadable fate has reached not only me, but also the Ice Palace. The path to restoring the heavenly order may lie therein.]

"Master, I…"

[I ask of you. Will you tell us what happened at the North Sea Ice Palace?]

The Dark Heaven Goddess was not one to pry into her students' pasts. If fate led them to her, she accepted them as disciples and taught them unconditionally.

Thirty-five years ago, she had readily accepted the man from the North Sea who had recklessly knocked on the Black Tortoise Academy's gates.

As such, her plea carried more weight than any threat.

Seol Sinwoo, who had been biting his lip in deliberation, finally let out a long sigh. The North Sea Ice Palace… They made a deal with the Blood Cult. To be precise, my family made a deal with the Blood Cult."

With a look of resignation on his face, Seol Sinwoo described the terrible crime committed by the North Sea Ice Palace.

"There are several families in the North Sea. Among them, the most powerful are the Eun, Seol, and Han Clans."

As most of the past rulers of the North Sea Ice Palace were born from these three families, it was no exaggeration to call them the nobility of the North Sea.

For example, Eun Yerin, who was born with a talent praised as the greatest in Ice Palace history, was a direct descendant of the Eun Clan. However, she found the cloistered life within the Ice Palace suffocating and had little attachment to the position of successor.

The tragedy began there.

"At that time, there was a talented and ambitious woman in the Seol Clan. Unfortunately, she was born in the same era as Eun Yerin. She is my paternal aunt."

After the Ice Moon Goddess went missing, the White Ice Empress Seol Suryeon seized the throne after a bloody succession war.

"In truth, my aunt… joined hands with the Blood Cult to become the Empress."

Baek Suryong recalled Artist Pung Wol's words.

"The Ice Palace might have colluded with the Blood Cult. I couldn't find concrete evidence, but I still suspect them."

He asked icily, "Was it Seol Suryeon who spread false information about the Divine Physician to the Ice Moon Goddess?"

"…Probably."

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"……" Baek Suryong firmly engraved his enemy's name into his mind.

Seol Siwoo continued, "My aunt's ambition didn't end even after becoming Empress. She wanted to make the Seol Clan the eternal rulers of the Ice Palace.

"At that time, the North Sea Ice Palace's power had weakened to the point that they had to isolate themselves. For some reason, though, funds from an unknown source began to flow into the palace.

"However, instead of using the funding to strengthen the palace, Seol Suryeon used it to strengthen the Seol Clan. Ultimately, the balance between the Eun, Han, and Seol clans crumbled, and the Seol Clan became the palace's preeminent family.

"As a successor candidate, I heard many stories from my aunt. Having no children of her own, she doted on her nieces and nephews terribly. When my aunt's people found out that I knew the truth, they kept an eye on me, but…" Seol Sinwoo paused for a moment, guilt flickering across his face.

"Didn't the other families protest about the allocation of the funds?" Baek Suryong asked.

"Of course they did. Fiercely. Until one day, martial artists from the Central Plains attacked the Ice Palace."

"……"

"It was a terrible incident. Many of the Ice Palace's masters perished. Among them were successor candidates like me. Many young, talented children were abducted too. After repelling the attack, the Ice Palace united as one."

"Hmm…" Baek Suryong felt a considerable sense of incongruity from that incident, but he didn't bother to point it out.

"Motivated by the attack, I strove desperately to become the successor."

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Seol Sinwoo and the other Seol Clan prodigies learned martial arts with tremendous support and the Empress's blatant favoritism.

However, not everything went according to her wishes. A prodigy of unparalleled talent, eclipsing even the Seol Clan's finest, emerged from the Eun Clan.

"…Her name was Eun Hwiryong. She was so outstanding that she was called the reincarnation of the Ice Moon Goddess."

No matter how powerful the Empress, she couldn't ignore the Ice Palace's most important tradition.

"Ultimately, the successor of our generation became Eun Hwiryong. By now, she might have even become the new Empress."

Eun Hwiryong, huh? Baek Suryong also carefully engraved that name in his mind.

"After being eliminated from the succession war, I fled while my aunt was still in shock. I didn't have the courage to face her wrath. I also wanted to escape the sins committed by my family." Seol Sinwoo let out a long sigh, his face seeming to have aged a decade. "I don't know what happened at the Ice Palace after that. I sought refuge at the Black Tortoise Academy, and tried my best to forget about them."

Silence fell.

Baek Suryong organized the story he heard from Seol Sinwoo in his mind.

Seol Suryeon's conspiracy to become the successor. The Blood Cult's funds flowing into the North Sea Ice Palace. The attack on the palace by martial artists from the Central Plains, which seemed suspicious no matter how he thought about it.

It can't have been just money that flowed in. The Blood Cult's martial arts, artifacts, and even some cultists must have also made their way into the Ice Palace.

Given that the Blood Cult has been gradually expanding its influence for decades, it wouldn't be surprising if the North Sea Ice Palace had become a stalwart ally of the Blood Cult by now.

Still, even the Blood Cult can't easily devour a large sect like the North Sea Ice Palace.

The North Sea Ice Palace had an extremely insular culture, so it wouldn't be easy to ignore long-standing traditions. Even if the Seol Clan allied with the Blood Cult, there would certainly be those within the Palace who opposed it.

For example, Master Eun's family, the Eun Clan.

If Eun Hwiryong became the next Empress…

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Well, it was worth investigating.

"I guess I'll just have to go there and check for myself," Baek Suryong muttered.

Seol Sinwoo immediately objected, "You can't! The North Sea Ice Palace has never welcomed outsiders. They might try to kill you rather than open their gates."

"If that's the case…"

[Do you think it could work if you disguised yourself as Sinwoo?] the Divine Azure Dragon Sword suggested.

Since both Baek Suryong and Seol Sinwoo had learned the White Ice Divine Art, if Baek Suryong disguised himself, he could surely deceive the Ice Palace.

"It's a good idea, but…"

"It won't work." Seol Sinwoo shook his head firmly. "I'm a fugitive who fled the Ice Palace. If I return, I'll be imprisoned immediately."

The Divine Azure Dragon Sword made a sad hum.

Baek Suryong tapped the sword lightly and smirked. "I've got a better idea."

[A better idea?]

A fugitive who fled would be imprisoned upon returning, but what if he was his only blood relative? And what if that relative was a master of the complete White Ice Divine Art? Wouldn't the Seol Clan welcome him with open arms?

Baek Suryong grinned at the Seol Clan's direct descendant and former successor candidate. "What if I disguised myself as your son?"