Chapter 211

Chapter 211
Murim Academy.
Four-person dormitory.
Ak Ju-pyeong knitted his brows as he unclenched his foot, which had recently undergone a procedure utilizing his family’s hidden techniques.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“They say Jin So-un is rallying people to dismantle the Jegal Clan’s Mystic Gate Formation.”

“What?”

Even hearing it repeated, he struggled to grasp the situation.

Disassemble the formation?

Even the procedure to neutralize the Seven-Star Seven Seizures Formation, which had surfaced over fifteen years ago, remained a mystery to the world.

And Jin So-un intended to dismantle the Two Principles Eight Trigrams Myriad Phenomena Formation, the Jegal Clan’s most prized Mystic Gate Formation?

“They say the Orthodox Path Association Head utilized the Two Principles Eight Trigrams Formation……. So the individuals trapped inside……”

More details reached him, but the information failed to register clearly.

Instead, the phrases “Jin So-un,” “formation-breaking,” and “people” hammered against his thoughts.

Then, as if struck by a bolt of lightning, his entire frame shuddered.

‘This is an opening! A genuine opening!’

If Jin So-un failed, Ak Ju-pyeong could hold him accountable, ensure his expulsion from the academy, frame him for the failure, and even bring ruin to his sect.

Conversely, what if Jin So-un succeeded?

That would imply he possessed knowledge of the vulnerabilities in a newly crafted Mystic Gate Formation, meaning he could never shake the suspicion of being a spy for the Murim Alliance!

It was a total checkmate!

He scrambled to his feet.

“Hm? Why are you suddenly up?”

“You mentioned the Orthodox Path Association’s function is taking place at the Grand Riding Ground, right?”

“That is correct.”

Limp, limp.

“Hey, Ju-pyeong! Where are you headed?”

Ak Ju-pyeong ignored the voice trailing him and quickened his uneven gait.

According to the healer his clan dispatched, he would be permanently afflicted with a disability.

Even with a full recovery, the unnaturalness in his stride would persist whenever he utilized movement techniques.

As a martial artist, his foot had been compromised, marking him as someone destined to chase after others while constantly trailing behind.

‘Jin So-un! Did you imagine you could treat me this way and remain unharmed?’

Because of that unexpected ambush, he now faced a permanent injury, yet Jin So-un continued to live boldly as an elite.

Ak Ju-pyeong could never accept this.

He had been planning to leverage his sect’s influence to strong-arm the Taeul Sect.

Furthermore, he needed to exact personal retribution against Jin So-un.

Ak Byeong-bi had offered some criticism regarding this situation, but it seemed he didn’t care much for Jin So-un either.

If he could mobilize the resources of the Execution Pavilion once more, this time, Jin So-un would truly be finished……

Then.

“Ak Ju-pyeong.”

From within a narrow lane, a small figure with disheveled, beggar-like hair appeared.

“……Yelu Geuk?”

“You finally emerged.”

Seeing the face of Yelu Geuk, essentially the catalyst for this entire ordeal, triggered a surge of rage within him.

“Step aside immediately. I have no time for you right now.”

However, Yelu Geuk kept closing the distance.

He no longer bore the submissive posture of the weak boy who had once been thrashed by him.

“Is that so? I have matters to discuss with you.”

“You wretched dog……. I intend to sever your limbs eventually, so cherish your arms and legs while you can.”

“Why? Are you afraid of me now?”

Ak Ju-pyeong, hindered by his leg, remained rooted to the spot and simply shouted.

“You son of a bitch……!”

Was it because rumors had circulated about his permanent injury?

Now even pathetic nobodies were starting to look down on him and challenge him.

“You still fail to comprehend why you were defeated like that.”

Click, click.

Ak Ju-pyeong assembled the retractable spear he had drawn from his belt.

In response, Yelu Geuk raised his hands, assuming his combat stance.

Ak Ju-pyeong tapped into the Black Heaven Dark Thunder Divine Art and readied the Ak Clan Spear Art.

“Fine. There is no need to delay your inevitable punishment.”

Ak Ju-pyeong’s spear sliced through the air with lethal intent.

He typically relied on the Black Cloud Lightning Spear, but his restricted movement prevented him from charging effectively.

Nevertheless, the Ak Clan Spear Art that had built their clan’s prestige could never be deemed weak.

It should have been sufficient to maim a stray dog that didn’t know how to fear a tiger……

SWISH, THWACK!

The path of Ak Ju-pyeong’s spear, aimed squarely at Yelu Geuk’s heart and energy center, twisted unexpectedly.

“Ugh?”

Despite putting full force into the strike, the trajectory veered wildly off target, and Yelu Geuk moved inside his guard, slamming both fists into Ak Ju-pyeong’s stomach.

Ak Ju-pyeong realized something was off and attempted to twist away, but it was already too late.

BANG, BANG.

“Keugh!”

Reeling five steps backward, Ak Ju-pyeong felt as if his internal organs were being shredded.

The sudden impact made his breakfast churn and rise.

He could not fathom what had changed, but Yelu Geuk’s technique had evolved.

Ak Ju-pyeong struggled to suppress the growing dread he felt toward that once-shriveled, insignificant boy.

“You damned bastard!”

Ak Ju-pyeong funneled his seventh-star inner power into his weapon to generate spear qi, then, ignoring his painful foot, launched a barrage of thrusts toward Yelu Geuk.

Shweeek— Shweeek—

As the strikes blanketed every angle and threatened to riddle Yelu Geuk with holes, the boy murmured quietly.

“As I thought, he wasn’t even worth comparing to that guy.”

Yelu Geuk’s gaze went cold as he stepped fearlessly into Ak Ju-pyeong’s guard.

He remembered how Jin So-un had looked when confronting Inspection Pavilion Master Ak Byeong-bi.

He recalled Jin So-un at that time, weaving through spear strikes that possessed even greater lethality than Ak Ju-pyeong’s.

Yelu Geuk snatched the shaft of the spear with a sharpened palm strike and executed Lotus.

SCREEEECH.

The metal, which might have yielded if it were a standard weapon, twisted under the pressure and eventually snapped.

THUD, THUD.

The sudden recoil sent through the weapon forced Ak Ju-pyeong to drop it.

In his panic, he launched a Phoenix Divine Fist toward Yelu Geuk.

However, Yelu Geuk looked down on him with a smirk.

“Do you know how often that guy beat me while I was mastering this?”

“……What?”

Yelu Geuk’s eyes gleamed.

“That means you are finished!”

After delivering words Ak Ju-pyeong could not comprehend, Yelu Geuk caught Ak Ju-pyeong’s fist and performed Snowflower in one fluid motion.

Ak Ju-pyeong was yanked helplessly forward and launched into the air.

‘Wh-what is this…….’

His body, hovering as if defying gravity, was slammed violently into the ground.

CRASH.

A technique he had never experienced.

Agony he had never felt.

And a terror he believed he would never face.

“Keuuugh…….”

Yelu Geuk approached the moaning Ak Ju-pyeong, peered down at him, and stated,

“You don’t really think this is the end, do you?”

Ak Ju-pyeong’s mind, which only moments ago was filled with schemes of revenge against Jin So-un, went entirely blank.

—

Murim Academy.
Academy Head’s office.

“Ahem…….”

I felt this every time I visited, but the Academy Head’s office never seemed properly ventilated.

For some reason, the atmosphere felt suffocating.

“Keuheum!”

Then again, perhaps it was simply the people gathered here.

After dismantling the Jegal Clan’s Mystic Gate Formation, I had attempted to deflect attention by making as much noise as possible.

But Sama Jeong, urgently brought in from the Medical Hall, inspected my hand and diagnosed it as, “Perfectly fine.”

How could they label a patient in such dire condition as fine and conclude treatment by applying Golden Wound Medicine?

How utterly inconsiderate.

It hurt quite a bit, too.

“Ow…… My internal meridians must be twisted. My hand won’t stop shaking. I should head back to rest immediately……”

I displayed my violently trembling hand, but Jegal So-myeong remarked with indifference,

“The one that appeared severely injured was your left hand, so why are you shaking your right?”

The Jegal Clan’s Formation Masters stared at me as if I were a complete fool.

Oh, was that right?

I must have been in such excruciating pain that my cognitive functions were failing.

“O-originally, internal injuries are the most severe.”

“Sama Jeong is a specialist recruited specifically for his medical prowess. Even among the Physicians Pavilion, few rival his skill. That is especially true when you consider his experience.”

“…….”

When I shut my mouth, a heavy silence filled the room.

No, honestly, did it make sense to set up an interrogation here after I had saved their people?

This was the reason the Murim Alliance had fallen into the clutches of the Demonic Cult…….

“First, there is a primary question we must address.”

The Formation Masters sitting across from me, with Jegal So-myeong at the center, focused their piercing gazes and asked,

“How did you learn about the Two Principles Eight Trigrams Myriad Phenomena Formation?”

If there was any change, it was that they were no longer spewing arrogant, informal insults like vermin.

But my situation was too precarious to find any comfort in that.

“I was unaware of it.”

“…….”

Because if they found any flimsy pretext here, I might truly be dragged into the Execution Pavilion’s basement.

The eyes of those surrounding me narrowed.

“You were unaware?”

They all burst into cynical laughter simultaneously.

No, it wasn’t as if I could explain that I knew because I had witnessed it in a past life.

One of the Formation Masters inquired, his voice dripping with suspicion.

“The Two Principles Eight Trigrams Myriad Phenomena Formation is a Mystic Gate Formation that only a tiny group within the Jegal Clan has been studying. This means outsiders, and even those within our own clan, are oblivious to it.”

“How could I possibly be aware of something like that?”

“…….”

The Formation Master who posed the question opened and closed his mouth like a gasping fish, seemingly at a loss for a rebuttal.

Of course, I couldn’t just keep being combative.

The Jegal Clan’s Mystic Gate Formations were guarded secrets of the Orthodox Path Alliance, to such an extent that the Murim Alliance classified and protected them separately.

In short, this was not a matter I could brush off by saying, “Ah, I don’t know!”

‘Haa…… What should I do?’

But I couldn’t disclose the truth, either.

Even if I confessed, “Your Mystic Gate Formation gets completely picked apart by the future Demonic Brain,” they would never believe me.

Furthermore, who could predict what kind of tantrum the Jegal Clan would throw once their pride was shattered?

While I wrestled with the dilemma, the Jegal Clan’s Formation Masters continued their relentless pressure.

“You must provide a proper answer. Regardless of the merits of this event, this pertains to the leak of a classified secret.”

Dammit…… These ungrateful bastards.

But this was a critical issue, so I couldn’t simply curse at them.

I scrambled to find any excuse, but no coherent thought presented itself.

Then.

“He must have heard it from that fellow Cheon-gi.”

A voice of salvation reached me.

“Pardon?”

“What do you mean……?”

Jegal So-myeong sipped the tea Buk Won-pyeong had prepared and spoke calmly.

“Did that boy’s sect not take Cheon-gi away? The trouble Cheon-gi caused within the clan previously also involved Living Formations.”

Oho.

So the reason Jegal Cheon-gi had been imprisoned wasn’t solely because he researched Mechanism Formations?

That was something I hadn’t known.

“Th-then are you implying that the one who divulged the secret was Young Master Cheon-gi?”

“Tsk.”

At that foolish question, Jegal So-myeong’s gaze sharpened.

“Do you believe Cheon-gi is a man who lacks that level of discretion?”

“But……”

“Cheon-gi must have mentioned the existence of Living Formations to him.”

“But Grand Sect Leader…… no, Grand Strategist. Even if one is aware of Living Formations, that does not guarantee one can break the formation.”

Jegal So-myeong slowly turned his head and indicated me with his chin.

“It is that fellow.”

“Pardon?”

“That fellow is the one who dismantled the Boundless Indestructible Soul-Destroying Formation on the Demon Spirit Plateau. Were you unaware?”

“…….”

Was it just my imagination, or did a sense of genuine respect linger in his eyes?

“He is someone who navigated the Soul-Destroying Formation as if it were his own living room, even in that desolate setting, with help from the Maoshan Sect. He must not have found the Two Principles Eight Trigrams Myriad Phenomena Formation so daunting.”

For some reason, a small smile touched Jegal So-myeong’s lips.

Why would he smile when his clan had been so completely disgraced?

Had he lost his mind?

“Even so, the Two Principles Eight Trigrams Myriad Phenomena Formation is……”

Tap!

Jegal So-myeong struck the table, silencing the Formation Master.

“Are you still dwelling in a pit?! Have I not constantly told you to view the world with a broader perspective?! Did you assume I was oblivious to the fact that you scrambled to unveil that unfinished formation because of the influence of the Soul-Destroying Formation?”

“…….”

The Formation Masters all kept their mouths shut like men who had been struck dumb.

Jegal So-myeong, still unable to fully mask his irritation, looked at me.

“You provide the rest of the explanation.”

No, I had to explain?

I was rattled by the burden suddenly placed on me, but only for an instant.

I began to improvise for the sake of my survival.

“When I learned the concept of Living Formations from Cheon-gi, I realized an ultimate formation unparalleled in history might be created. However, logically, just as there is no perfect martial art in existence, how could there be a perfect Mystic Gate Formation?”

Seeing my composed demeanor, the Formation Masters began to lift their heads, watching me intently.

“After dedicating several weeks—no, several months—to simulating a virtual Living Formation and experimenting with it in my mind, I somehow started to believe I could breach it.”

“Several weeks?”

“Several months?”

Their expressions indicated that my numbers didn’t please them.

No, but that Demonic Brain had broken the Myriad Phenomena Formation in under three months.

That was why I had used that standard.

By now, I felt as though something boiling in my chest had surged into my brain.

A-at this pace, I might turn into a Demonic Practitioner……

“Yes. So I simply attempted it exactly as I had theorized, and it succeeded.”

“…….”

“…….”

The faces of the Formation Masters looked as if they had just tasted something vile.

Dammit.

This was why they should have acted properly when I was being courteous.

However, my response seemed to have hit a nerve with these geniuses of the Jegal Clan.

“What preposterous nonsense! Our Jegal Clan spent years perfecting this. How could something like Taeul Sect……”

Tap.

At the sound of Jegal So-myeong rapping on the desk, the Formation Master froze.

But in my mind, the words he had left unsaid had already finished themselves.

“……Something like Taeul Sect, what?”

“…….”

“I asked you, what about Taeul Sect? Say it. No, I commanded you to say it!”

When I lunged up and grabbed the Formation Master by the collar, the other Formation Masters, utterly shocked, scrambled to pull me away.

But would that even work?

Could men who had spent their entire lives behind desks contend with a monster who possessed four cycles of internal energy?

“I told you to speak! What about Taeul Sect?! What is Taeul Sect?!”

“Ghhk, guh.”

Buk Won-pyeong clamped his hand over the one I was using to shake the Formation Master.

“Stop.”

I widened my eyes.

“No! Senior Brother! Are you telling me we should forgive a bastard who dared insult our sect?”

“…….”

Even in Buk Won-pyeong’s eyes, confusion flickered.

It was only natural that the Formation Masters were stunned as well.

These people—did they have any idea whose sect they dared to disparage?

I might be a Lay Disciple, but this was the sect of the Murim Academy’s Academy Head, you bastards!

“I’m telling you, those idiots tried to insult Taeul Sect, your sect, Senior Brother! Instead of restraining me, you ought to be grabbing that bastard by the throat.”

“What do you mean? Why would the Three Pure Ones Peerless Sword be associated with Taeul Sect……”

“……Haa.”

Since Buk Won-pyeong finally let go, I attempted to lift the Formation Master and shake him with renewed vigor.

However.

“That is enough.”

At that calm command, uttered while Jegal So-myeong sipped his tea, even I was forced to flinch and halt.

Ah, if I had persisted just a little more, I could have settled this once and for all.

When I released the Formation Master—whose hair was a wreck and whose robes were crumpled—the others shielded him, their eyes fixed on me with wariness.

“This matter concludes here.”

“Grand Strategist!”

“Grand Strategist! We require a more thorough investigation!”

“We cannot leave it at this!”

As the Formation Masters all erupted in protest, even Jegal So-myeong’s gaze grew lethal.

“Do you wish to shoulder the heavy responsibility for this entire fiasco?”

“…….”

“If an investigation is launched, your personal blunders will naturally be scrutinized. Are you prepared to pay the price for coaxing a young master of the clan into implementing incomplete equipment?”

“…….”

The Formation Masters, who held their noses so high, were now trembling.

“This matter concludes here. Is there anyone else with something to contribute?”

Instead of speaking, the Formation Masters shook their heads vigorously.

“You may leave.”

At Jegal So-myeong’s order, the Formation Masters scrambled to their feet, and having no further business, I attempted to depart as well.

“I did not give Jin So-un permission to leave.”

“……I was just topping off your tea because the cup was running low.”

“Academy Head, you may exit as well.”

“……Yes.”

“No, why……?”

I cast a desperate plea for rescue to my old Senior Brother with my eyes, but he only sighed, shook his head, and walked out.

That—that! What a useless old Senior Brother.

Trickle, trickle.

“The tea is spilling over.”

“…….”

No matter how carefully I poured, the size of the cup remained constant.

Ultimately, I took my seat in front of Jegal So-myeong.

“…….”

Even after I sat down, Jegal So-myeong remained silent for a long time.

I wondered what he could possibly want to discuss while speaking to me privately, but nothing came to mind.

Was he going to bring up that absurd notion of coming to Mantongbu again?

While I struggled to envision any positive outcome,

Jegal So-myeong asked in a gravelly tone,

“What are you?”

“Pardon? What are you implying……”

“Regardless of how much Cheon-gi idolizes you, there is no way he would have revealed the clan’s deepest secrets.”

“…….”

“What is your true identity?”

Suddenly, I felt as if my heart had plummeted to my gut.

Dammit, was he piercing through me with a Variation Sword like this?