The RoFan Novel Fan Has Reincarnated Into A Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 55: The Guardian of the Ice Palace
From the day they drove off the Namgung Clan, Master Myoeun, who had been guiding their path, changed direction for the first time—toward the northwest.
Yeon and her group traveled an unmeasurable distance, so long that time itself blurred. Eventually, they came upon a snowy mountain. There, even their horses and carriage had to be abandoned. The journey continued on foot.
From that point on, it was a battle against brutal cold. Internal energy helped—but not endlessly.
All of them, including Yeon, bundled up from head to toe, only their eyes left exposed. Between the exhaustion and the weather, conversation naturally faded. Though, from time to time, they continued silent exchanges.
‘By the way...’
[Yeah?]
‘The people we passed on the way here didn’t seem to speak Zhongyuan’s language. Isn’t the Ice Palace Lord like that, too? How did you even talk to her?’
[No. She spoke our language just fine.]
‘Really?’
Back when she’d known little about the Northern Ice Palace, Yeon hadn’t questioned it. But the farther they got from Zhongyuan, the stranger it seemed. How could someone living way out here speak the same language?
[Not everyone in the Ice Palace did. But the Palace Lord definitely did.]
‘I see... What about the rumors that she rules over the entire North Sea? Is that true?’
Myoeun chuckled quietly.
[Do you even know where the North Sea is?]
‘Nope.’
[Then why’s it called the Northern Sea Ice Palace?]
‘I don’t know. That’s just what everyone calls it.’
[Most do. I’ve heard there’s a lake up north so vast people mistake it for the ocean. But that’s not even where the palace is.]
Yeon simply nodded. She was curious, sure—but more than that, she was exhausted. Asking questions helped distract her from the pain.
‘So then it’s just... the Ice Palace, huh.’
[Yeah. More precisely, it was called the Palace of Frozen Purity.]
As he spoke, Yeon recalled the first time she met Myoeun. Back then, he’d definitely used the name “Northern Sea Ice Palace.” He must’ve done it on purpose. Still, now that he was being honest, she tried to take it as a good sign.
‘Then the rumors about their martial arts ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) being powerful—are those true too?’
[Yes. They were strong.]
‘How strong? Did they really use ice-based techniques?’
Myoeun went silent again. Right then, a massive rock blocked their path. Yeon sighed—but before she could climb it, a hand reached out to her. It was Cheongang.
“Thanks.”
He helped her up, and Yeon turned to pull Soso up behind her. Gongye, of course, vaulted the rock without needing any help.
[Here’s another misunderstanding: the Ice Palace wasn’t a martial clan or sect. In fact, they were closer to us.]
‘Us? Don’t tell me—Shaolin?’
[Yup.]
‘You’re saying the Ice Palace was... a religious order?’
[Something like that. They were vegetarians, meditated often... that kind of life.]
Panting through shallow breaths, Yeon listened to his story.
The grueling uphill path had finally turned into a slope downward. The burning pain in her thighs dulled, but nobody’s face looked any brighter. Just because it was downhill didn’t mean it wasn’t hard.
[It’s no wonder everyone’s tired.]
‘Seriously. I knew it’d be far, but I didn’t think it’d be this far. You were right—it’s beyond anything I imagined.’
[Still, you made it. We’re almost there.]
The good news hit Yeon so hard her knees nearly gave out.
“We’re almost there!”
The others all turned to her in surprise. Their expressions looked like baby birds watching their mother return with food.
“I mean—it’s really close now.”
She corrected herself under Gongye’s watchful gaze.
“R-really, Benefactor Hwangbo? We’re there?” he asked, eyes wide.
“Yes, monk!”
At her response, Gongye let out a yell and unwrapped the scarf around his neck. Even Soso’s eyes, which had been dull with fatigue, lit up with life. Even stoic Cheongang looked visibly relieved.
At last, they arrived—back to level ground. In the distance stood a colossal wall of ice.
[That’s it.]
‘It looks just like a giant glacier.’
[Get a little closer.]
As they crossed the frozen terrain, the temperature dropped even lower. Snowstorms whipped around them like the land itself was warning them to turn back.
Yeon forced her eyes open. What she’d thought was a mountain was something else—an ice wall. Towering like a mountain, the enormous wall of glacial ice was encircling something unseen. The frozen land beneath them seemed to have once been a lake.
[This is the place. It looked just like this back then.]
‘But how do we get in? I don’t see an entrance.’
[Well... that’s the thing.]
For once, the prayer beads hesitated.
[I don’t actually know the exact way in.]
‘You don’t?’
[If you have that necklace, it should work somehow...]
Yeon pulled the necklace from inside her robes. She half-expected something dramatic to happen—but nothing did.
At that moment, Cheongang touched her shoulder.
“Miss Yeon. Wait.”
She turned to see him holding a finger to his lips. Then he glanced toward Gongye and Soso, signaling them with his eyes. Finally, he pointed toward a spot in the distance.
There, around twenty figures were gathered. Heavily dressed for the cold, they radiated an unmistakable martial presence.
‘Who are they?’
They hadn’t noticed Yeon’s group yet—too busy searching for something.
Yeon gestured quickly in the opposite direction, and the group began to move cautiously.
Whoever those people were, one thing was clear: the energy radiating from them was sickeningly malevolent. It was similar to the elder they had encountered from the Flame Cult.
‘Don’t tell me... Flame Cultists?’
Yeon desperately wanted to avoid a confrontation. Everyone was worn out—including her.
“Achoo!”
Suddenly, Gongye sneezed—loudly.
Twenty heads snapped toward them in unison. One among them raised a hand, crimson energy swirling into existence. It was the exact same technique used by that elder before.
‘Flame Cultists. Damn it, I was right!’
“Seize them!”
At the sharp command, the cultists surged forward, their killing intent slicing through the blizzard like knives. There was no hope of negotiation here.
“Run!”
Yeon shouted, and her companions leapt into motion, using their lightness techniques. But in this frozen world, there was no clear place to escape to.
‘We need narrow ground. Fighting them on open ice in our condition is suicide.’
As she concentrated her energy into her feet and raced across the ice, a sudden blue light flared in her vision.
The gem in her necklace had begun to glow.
‘Huh?’
The light from the necklace shot out like a beam, striking the icy wall they had just passed. The moment the beam touched the surface, it began to melt rapidly, carving out a hole in the wall.
[That way! Go in there!]
‘That way?’
But to do that, they’d have to turn back—meaning they might run straight into the Flame Cultists.
At that moment, the cultist who had summoned red energy—their leader, by the look of him—pointed to the opening.
“Forget them! Get inside!”
The hole had grown large enough for two people to pass through side by side. Without hesitation, the cultists veered toward it and rushed in. The moment they passed through, the hole erupted in a burst of white light.
FLASH!
‘Huh?’
“AAARGH!”
With a chorus of terrible screams, the cultists were ejected from the hole at the same speed they’d entered. A thunderous voice followed, shaking the heavens.
“No one enters! No one!”
A man stepped out from the opening. His Zhongyuan was clumsy, but his voice was clear—and so was his presence. He was massive, the kind of man you’d believe was a giant.
[Irkin?]
‘What did you say?’
“Kill him!” the cultist leader shouted.
Like rats swarming a corpse, the Flame Cultists lunged at the man.
The giant adjusted his weapon: a long rod chained to an iron ball. A flail—something rarely seen in Zhongyuan.
“Come then! Face me!”
The man wore a silver earring in one ear, adorned with a long tassel beneath its circular base. The tassel began to glow blue, and so did the iron ball at the end of his flail.
With thick arms, he swung the flail behind him, and brought it forward—its head blazing with icy light.
KWAANG!
An overwhelming blast of cold exploded outward like a tidal wave. The cultists had no time to resist—they were hurled backward like leaves in a storm. Even the leader, who had tried to unleash his crimson energy again, was swallowed whole by the ice.
‘Monk! Who the hell is that beast of a man?!’
[That’s Irkin. The Guardian of the Ice Palace. He usually never leaves his post... but...]
Even as they spoke, Irkin continued wiping out the cultists. Ambushes meant nothing. His power was absolute.
“Is that the Ice Palace’s martial art?”
Yeon muttered without thinking. Cheongang responded quietly beside her.
“It doesn’t appear to be martial arts.”
“What?”
“It seems... strange. No matter how deep one’s internal energy runs, this isn’t something that can be done with martial skill alone. And I don’t sense any energy flow within him either...”
Looking closer, it was true. This wasn’t internal energy being drawn from the body—it was as if he was being powered by an endless external force.
‘Could it be some kind of native technique unique to the Ice Palace?’
Before they knew it, only the Flame Cult’s leader remained. He spat curses, then turned tail and fled, clearly realizing he had no chance.
Irkin gave chase but didn’t stray far from the glowing entrance. After letting out a guttural roar, his eyes turned to their next target—Yeon and her companions.
“Destroy them all!”
“Wait! We’re not your enemies!”
But Irkin charged without hesitation. The ice trembled beneath his feet. Even without the flail, just the sheer momentum of his body was terrifying.
“Hey! Can’t you hear me?!”
Yeon shouted, frantically drawing up her internal energy. If she had to fight, she would have to use the Thunder God Divine Art.
As she prepared to unleash everything she had, Myoeun yelled:
[Don’t fight him! You can’t win against Irkin in the Ice Palace’s territory! No one can!]
‘No one?!’
[Not even your grandfather! Not even his grandfather could beat him here!]
‘Then what do I do?!’
[The necklace!]
Yeon raised the pendant—now dimmed—toward Irkin and channeled her internal energy into it. The gem flared to life once more. Irkin, mid-swing, froze as the blue light caught his eyes.
“You...”
Yeon stood still.
“You!”
“Listen, we’re from Zhongyuan. Zhongyuan! Do you understand?”
“You!”
It was unclear whether he understood, but Yeon tried again, speaking slowly and clearly, breaking her words apart.
“This. Necklace. Do you recognize it?”
Irkin stared at her. Slowly, he nodded.
“That. Important thing. How... how...”
“You mean, how do I have it?”
Another nod. Yeon felt a strange certainty—this beast of a man could be reasoned with.
“This necklace is from—”
She paused, then asked Myoeun silently.
‘Monk. What’s the Ice Palace Lord’s name?’
[What? Why do you need that now?]
‘Just tell me! This isn’t the time to argue!’
[Fine... Eunseol.]
‘Eunseol?’
[Ha Eunseol. That’s the Ice Palace Lord’s name.]
Yeon turned back to Irkin.
“I received this necklace from the Palace Lord. From Ha Eunseol.”
“WHAT?!”
Irkin blinked his massive eyes. Was he trying to figure out if she was lying?
“Ha Eunseol.”
“...!”
“It’s true. She gave it to me.”
“If this is lie...”
“Then you can do whatever you want. Smash me with that crazy weapon of yours.”
Yeon let her arms drop to her sides, showing she had no intent to fight. Though she hadn’t turned off her lightning energy completely.
For a moment, time stood still. Irkin’s massive chest heaved—then slowly, his breathing began to steady. The glow in his earring and flail started to fade.
“You.”
His sausage-thick finger pointed straight at Yeon.
“Come. With me.”
