After Seol Hwa-rin left, Jin-ho's group began their full-scale exploration of the library. The Ice Soul Palace library had a three-story structure, with relatively recent records stored on the first floor.
"Oh my... such precious materials..."
Blood Flower exclaimed in admiration as she browsed through the books. Her eyes sparkled with the passion of a true expert.
"Miss Seol Hwa-rin really doesn't know the value of these treasures."
Blood Flower carefully picked up a thick book.
"This is... a commentary on Ice Soul Arts!"
"Ice Soul Arts?"
Jin-ho approached with interest.
"Look here. It says 'The Process of Freezing Emotions.'"
Blood Flower opened the book to show him. Though written in ancient Ice Soul script, she fluently interpreted the contents.
📜 Important Discovery #1: 『Introduction to Ice Soul Arts』
Author: 3rd Palace Lord of Ice Soul Palace "Freezing emotions does not mean eliminating emotions. Rather, it means preserving emotions to use them when needed. It's like the principle of freezing food for long-term storage. But there is a point of caution. If you completely abandon emotions... That is losing balance like the Ice Soul Emperor did. You become an ice sculpture with only coldness remaining and warmth gone."
『Interesting. There are records that the Ice Soul Emperor also lost balance』
The Blood Heaven Great Emperor showed interest.
『The balance of emotions... this is the key』
The Thunder Demon King thought deeply.
"Let's find more."
Jin-ho suggested. He was already confident they were obtaining important clues.
Blood Flower continued searching through books, selecting important materials. This was the moment her expertise in ancient documents truly shone.
📜 Additional Discovery: 『Precautions for Ice Soul Art Training』
"Common mistakes made by beginners: 1. Trying to completely block emotions 2. Attempting to freeze only anger or sadness (partial freezing) 3. Trying to rely solely on time manipulation Proper training methods: - Preserve all emotions equally - Do not lose warmth - Maintain flexibility like flowing water even within ice"
"The expression 'do not lose warmth' keeps appearing."
Jin-ho muttered.
"It seems to be a lesson left by the Ice Soul Emperor."
Blood Flower nodded.
🧊 Amazing Discovery on the 2nd Floor
Going up to the second floor, even older materials were stored. But here, Blood Flower discovered something strange.
"Huh? Something's odd here."
Blood Flower said while tapping the wall.
Tap tap
"It sounds hollow inside..."
"Could there be a secret space?"
Jin-ho approached.
Blood Flower examined the wall carefully, then pressed a specific part of the ice carving.
Click
With a mechanical sound, the wall rotated to reveal a hidden space.
"Wow..."
Jin-ho exclaimed in admiration.
Inside was an elegant desk and chair, along with several special books carefully preserved. The space itself seemed to be protected by special preservation magic.
"This is... a personal study."
Blood Flower's eyes lit up.
"It's probably the Ice Soul Emperor's personal study."
📜 Important Discovery #2: Ice Soul Emperor's Handwritten Will
Among them, the most eye-catching was a letter in a beautiful ice box.
To my successor, As I write this letter, the pain of division is beginning. I tried to become the Supreme Great Demon God, but ultimately lost the balance of emotions. The most painful thing when dividing was losing emotions. You can freeze time, but you must not freeze the heart. If someone tries to regain my power... Never lose your warmth. For that was the cause of the Supreme Great Demon God's failure... The real problem with the Four-Way Split Divine Art was not the dispersion of power but the extremization of emotions. Blood Heaven was consumed by rage, Thunder by destructive desire, I by coldness, Dark Shadow by the lust for dominance. Remember. Do not lose balance. And... true power comes from harmoniously handling all emotions. - Ice Soul Emperor
『Never lose warmth? Interesting』
The Thunder Demon King muttered.
『The Ice Soul Emperor knew exactly about the Supreme Great Demon God's failure』
The Blood Heaven Great Emperor admired.
"This is... really important information."
Blood Flower was excited.
"To think the cause of the Four-Way Split Divine Art's failure was emotional extremization..."
Jin-ho also fell deep in thought. He too was feeling the Blood Heaven Great Emperor's rage and the Thunder Demon King's destructive desire. Could he make the same mistake?
『Don't worry. Now that we know the cause, we can be careful』
The Blood Heaven Great Emperor comforted.
『Right, maintaining balance is the key』
The Thunder Demon King agreed.
📖 Additional Discoveries
More treasures were discovered in the secret study.
📜 Discovery Document #3: 『Time Manipulation Experiment Log』
Experiment #137: 3-second time stop successful Side effects: 5% mental power consumption, temporary emotional dulling Experiment #244: 10-second stop successful Side effects: Partial memory loss, 24-hour delayed emotional response Experiment #999: 1-minute stop successful Side effects: Caster unconscious for 3 days, complete emotional loss for 1 month Conclusion: Time manipulation is directly connected to emotions. The more you freeze time, the more your heart freezes. Risk of irreversible emotional loss with prolonged use.
"Time manipulation and emotions are connected..."
Blood Flower muttered.
"Then the Ice Soul Emperor's loss of emotions might have been due to time manipulation too."
📜 Discovery Document #4: 『Methods for Maintaining Emotional Balance』
Daily practices for emotional balance: - Morning: Recall warm memories (maintain warmth) - Noon: Practice calm judgment (maintain coolness) - Evening: Feel joy and sorrow simultaneously - Night: Alternately experience anger and tranquility Precautions: Do not lean toward any single emotion. Especially beware of lust for power, revenge, and perfectionism. These become seeds of extremization.
"This is it! A concrete method for maintaining emotional balance!"
Jin-ho rejoiced.
『With this, we can avoid the Supreme Great Demon God's failure too』
The Blood Heaven Great Emperor was satisfied.
🔍 Blood Flower's Professional Analysis
After collecting all the materials, Blood Flower began comprehensive analysis.
"Summarizing what we've discovered so far..."
Blood Flower said while organizing her notes.
"The Ice Soul Emperor directly witnessed the Supreme Great Demon God's division process and accurately identified the cause of that failure."
"And he tried to leave that lesson for future generations."
Jin-ho understood.
"Exactly. But unfortunately, the Ice Soul Emperor himself repeated the same mistake."
Blood Flower regretted.
"Because he leaned only toward coldness and lost his warmth."
『That's why he left us a warning』
The Thunder Demon King realized.
『Not to repeat the same mistake』
📊 Information Gathering Results
"What amazing results!"
Blood Flower celebrated while summarizing.
『Four-Way Split Divine Art Interpretation Rate Update』
Previous: 5% Current: 15%
Newly understood parts:
The real cause of division (emotional extremization) Each demon god's weakness (obsession with specific emotions) The importance of maintaining emotional balance The connection between time manipulation and emotions
"We still have a long way to go, but we've taken an important first step."
Jin-ho was satisfied.
"But there should be even older materials on the 3rd floor..."
Blood Flower regretted.
"The very place Seol Hwa-rin tried to block us from."
『That's proof she's hiding something』
The Blood Heaven Great Emperor was suspicious.
『We must visit there when we get the chance』
The Thunder Demon King resolved.
🌅 New Hope and Next Plans
Coming out of the library, Jin-ho's group was satisfied with their results while planning the next step.
"Now we should talk to the village people too."
Blood Guard suggested.
"Information passed down orally is important too."
"Good idea."
Jin-ho agreed.
"We should be able to hear vivid testimonies that weren't recorded in documents."
『We can also confirm if the Ice Soul Emperor's remnant consciousness really exists』
The Thunder Demon King anticipated.
The first information gathering at the Ice Soul Palace had achieved greater results than expected. They had taken another step closer to the secrets of the Four-Way Split Divine Art.
But seeing Seol Hwa-rin's acting, Jin-ho felt another danger. What traps would be waiting ahead?