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9.
The place usually used to manage and store the horses at the Murim Academy was filled with people instead of horses.
A makeshift pavilion stood in the center of the horse stable.
It seemed that it had been created as a symbolic entity to test Gimunjin.
“Certainly…… strange.”
As Song Jeong-mu said, the shape of the Qi Gate formation spread out in the main arena was very strange.
Originally, Gimunjin broke down people’s boundaries with ordinary appearances such as trees and rocks.
The basic strategy was to confuse the minds of those inside and lure them out of the Qimen Formation.
The reason the Seven Star Seven Golden Formation was famous throughout the martial arts world was that it could freely manipulate the Eight Gates to naturally trap those who entered the formation or cause them to fall into golden jade.
However, the Yangyi Eight Trigrams Ten Thousand Formations spread out in the Great Demon Hall were surrounded by black mist, clearly revealing their original forms exactly as they were.
It was unable to perform its original job of concealing its form and leading people to their deaths.
Aaaaaaaah!
Ahhhhh.
Please… please…
Moreover, for some reason, agonizing screams could be heard continuously from inside Gimunjin.
“What happened?”
When I approached the formation expert and asked, an irritable reply came back.
“We are currently resolving the situation. Step back!”
Despite the rudeness of the formation master whose face had turned pale, I took another step closer.
“I am Jin So-un, the representative of the Murim Academy. I need to know what happened.”
Only then did the formation master’s expression, which had been furrowed in a deep frown, change in a mysterious way.
“Jin So-un?”
“Yes. I am Jin So-un.”
“……
“It is none of your business. Step back.”
“…….”
Ha, this is impossible to reason with.
I asked again, putting a bit of a bet on it, “Where is Zhuge Zhengqi?”
“W-I said back off!”
Does it sound like I’m joking right now?
Overwhelmed by the aura, the formation master and the warriors standing around him began rolling their eyes in confusion, not knowing what to do.
As there were no signs of the situation improving, Song Jeong-mu eventually stepped forward.
“I am Song Jeong-mu of the Heungsan Sect. I heard you need my help.”
“Ah! Great Hero, Seven Killings and Soul Annihilation!”
The formation master suddenly brightens up and bows at the waist.
Look at these guys? They’re so disgusting I can’t stand them.
As I grimace, Song Jeong-mu, who had been observing me for a moment, asked the formation master.
“What on earth is happening inside Gimunjin? And why did you suddenly summon me?”
“Th-that is…….”
A strategist who draws out the end of his sentences while gauging my mood.
Seriously, so you’re saying you’ll never say a word when I’m around?
Just as I was about to say something, Song Jeong-mu’s sharp rebuke burst out.
“What on earth are you doing! If you’ve called even me, the situation must be critical. Yet, are you going to keep fighting over power and just let the people inside die!”
Song Jeong-mu firmly put an end to it.
“If it’s going to be like this, I can’t help you either.”
“Ah, no, that’s not it.”
The formation master, who had been watching the situation for quite a while, finally let out a long sigh.
“Actually, it is the true nature of the Eight Trigrams of the Ten Thousand Symbols of the Two Sages……
Just as he was about to reveal the inside story, another voice stopped the formation master’s mouth.
“What are you talking about!”
The students gathered at the place where the roar was heard stepped back to both sides, making a way.
The person who shouted with a flushed face was none other than Jegal Jeong-gi.
He was fuming and about to reprimand the formation master.
“You intend to reveal the family secret to someone who isn’t involved…!”
The formation master’s gaze turns behind Jegal Jeong-gi, who is banging like an angry puppy.
Everyone’s gaze turned to follow him.
“Taesangmun… no, Commander-in-Chief?”
Even the students who had been making a fuss fall silent in unison.
The hemp market, which had been like a bustling marketplace, instantly fell silent like the interior of a library.
However, perhaps even that silence bothered the Chief of Staff, as he quietly muttered a word to the Dean standing beside him.
It’s noisy.
I will take action.
As Buk Won-pyeong nodded toward the instructors, they led the academy students out of the main arena in perfect order.
The academy students also considered the situation serious, given that even the General Staff had appeared, and quickly left the scene.
The Great Demon Hall, where complete silence has settled.
Only then does Jegal Somyeong, with a solemn expression, cast his gaze at Jegal Jeong-ri.
So, what happened?
At the question from the general with his hands behind his back, Zhuge Zhengqi was about to answer quickly, but glared at me again.
A wary look asking why you are still here.
It was a clear order to expel guests.
At that gaze, Jegal So-myeong’s eyebrows rise.
“You clearly said it was an urgent situation that required calling me, so was it not?”
At Zhuge Xiaoming’s indirect command to leave him alone, Zhuge Zhengqi bit his lip tightly once and then opened his mouth.
There is a problem with the Yangyi Eight Trigrams Ten Thousand Symbols Formation.
“I have eyes, too. Don’t you know the basics of reporting?”
Zhuge Zhengqi’s shoulders hunched at Zhuge Xiaoming’s cold rebuke.
While intending to introduce an improved version… … .”
“Hah…! We don’t know what problems might arise even with the newly completed Gimunjin, yet you tampered with the improved version that hasn’t even finished testing yet?”
“I’m sorry, Grandfather.……”
“this guy!”
A sharp shout burst from Jegal Somyeong’s mouth.
The air in the arena freezes in an instant.
“Did I come here as your grandfather?”
at that time.
S-stop! Please stop! I… I was wrong!
I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!
It’s not me… … It’s not me! I’m telling you, it’s not me!!
The sound of screams coming from inside the Gimunjin instantly filled the large horse training ground.
Zhuge Xiaoming let out a sigh and turned his head to look toward where he and Song Zhengwu were.
“Did you bring in the Hyungsan Sect because it seems the resolve of the internal members is wavering?”
Song Jeong-mu stepped forward and grasped the bow.
It has been a long time since I last saw you, Commander-in-Chief.
“It’s been a while since we last met, and unfortunately, this isn’t a very pleasant occasion. So, what do you think? Will the Hyungsan Sect’s exorcism be of any help?”
At Song Jeong-mu’s silence, Jegal Jeong-gi suddenly raised his head and stepped forward.
“The Hyungsan Sect’s exorcism and spirit-draining abilities are the best in the world! It will surely be of help to those inside…….”
“I didn’t ask you!”
As Zhuge Xiaoming, who had been looking at Zhuge Zhengqi with a look of disdain, shifted his gaze to himself, Song Zhengwu let out a small sigh.
“I am sure the Commander-in-Chief is aware of this. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to help.”
Jegal Jeong-gi flinches in surprise.
“W-What do you mean! S-Surely you aren’t saying you’re going to turn your back on the Jegal clan just because you’re helping Jin So-un right now?!”
At Jegal Jeong-gi’s words, Song Jeong-mu’s gaze turned sharp.
It was a look of clear contempt.
“Do I… and our Hyungsan Sect look that ridiculous to you?”
Jegal Jeong-gi, who worsens the situation to my disadvantage every time he opens his mouth.
For some reason, Zhuge Xiaoming seemed to sigh as he looked back and forth between his grandson and me.
“I’m sorry. I spoiled Jinmyeong too much. I clearly told him many times not to do that.”
“Didn’t you come here as the Commander-in-Chief?”
I’ll tell the clan leader directly later.
At the conversation between Jegal Somyeong and Song Jeongmu, Jegal Jeonggi makes a complicated expression.
“Grandfather… no, Commander-in-Chief, what is that?”
“Don’t you even know the difference between the energy of the Left Path Gate and the energy of the Right Path Gate?”
“Huh? What do you mean…?”
Jegal So-myeong clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“The Hyungsan Sect’s dissolution is the power to resolve wrongdoing with righteousness. How could the illusion of the Yangyi Eight Trigrams and Myriad Forms, originally created with righteous energy, be resolved by the energy of the Hyungsan Sect?”
Jegal Jeong-gi turned pale as if he had only just realized it.
“How many are inside?”
In response to Zhuge Xiaoming’s question, the strategist spoke with great tension.
“Chi, seventy-eight people.”
Jegal So-myeong’s eyes gleam sharply at the numbers that exceed expectations.
“You stuffed a lot in. How long has it been in?”
“T-Two angles… no, it’s turning into a triangle.”
“Phew… How long will it take to set?”
After the sounds of the formation experts huddled together in quiet contemplation faded, one of them finally swallowed hard and spoke.
“Th-three days……”
It looks like it will take this long.
Jegal So-myeong pressed his temples repeatedly as if he had a headache.
“That’s the bare minimum, right?”
that is.”
“Because they wouldn’t know what kind of operation the upgraded equipment is performing inside.”
“yes…….”
At the formation expert’s weak response, everyone in the hall let out a sigh.
The situation was taking an unusual turn.
Now that the Baekdohoe events have resumed, most of the individuals currently inside the Yangyi Palgwae Mansangjin are those closely associated with the Baekdohoe.
Therefore, whether viewed within the Baekdohoe or across the entire martial arts world, they are figures of a status that is second to none.
And that immense pressure made Zhuge Zhengqi bring Zhuge Xiaoming along as well.
“Grandfather… no, Commander-in-Chief. You have a way, don’t you?”
Even in the face of such desperate questioning, Zhuge Xiaoming did not easily open his mouth. ‘It couldn’t be helped… Just think of the Yangyi Eight Trigrams Ten Thousand Formations.’ It was a rare and extraordinary formation created by the Zhuge clan after twenty years of research.
Moreover, the Gimunjin, which has reached a supreme level through endless improvements.
Although there was public criticism that the Jegal family was obsessed with money and toying with the Qimen Formation, wasn’t it thanks to those improved versions that countless people were able to save their lives from the clutches of the Demonic Cult?
But that is a matter for the distant future.
At this moment, from the perspective of the Zhuge family, there was only one way to neutralize the Yangyi Eight Trigrams Ten Thousand Formations.
Jegal Somyeong looked into Jegal Jeonggi’s eyes, which held hope.
“there is!”
“Th-then…… Hurry up with that!”
And, it mercilessly extinguishes the light of hope.
Instead, everyone inside will die.
“Huh? What do you mean…?”
The stable Qimen Formation is being shaken by the upgraded equipment. That is why the inner peace of the children inside is wavering.
The people of the Zhuge clan swallowed hard at the same time as they listened to Zhuge Xiaoming’s story.
Jegal So-myeong spat it out in an indifferent voice.
But thanks to that, you can break it.
“What do you mean, smash it!”
Jegal Jeong-gi was startled, looking as if he were about to jump out at any moment.
However, Zhuge Xiaoming does not even blink an eye.
Then is there any other way?
Destroying the Qi Gate Formation now means destroying all the gates, including the Eight Gates, in an instant.
It was just like setting fire to a thatched house where people had entered just because bedbugs were coming out.
Jegal Jeong-gi trembled as if he could not accept it.
“Then…… won’t the personnel inside die!”
Or see the guys who turned mad three days later.
“……!”
Jegal Somyeong spoke with a gaze colder and more detached than ever before.
“Choose. Will you look at the corpses? Or will you look at the children who have gone mad?”
eww.”
“You must have been prepared for the responsibility from the moment you gave the order, right?”
Zhuge Xiaoming was pressuring Zhuge Zhengqi as if he were a criminal, rather than his grandson.
It seemed he had no intention of letting it slide even after this matter was over. ‘What should I do…’ Meanwhile, I was racking my brain just as much as Jegal Jeong-gi.
The question was whether it was right or wrong to step forward in this situation.
If I stepped forward unnecessarily, I could end up falling out with the Jegal family, with whom I had a relatively good relationship.
“If I don’t step forward on the contrary, the Baekdohoe will collapse, and I can use this as an opportunity to solidify my position.” “That is certainly the case, but…” “Aaaargh!”
Uh, Mother! Father!!!!
I’m sorry! I was wrong!
Screams erupting once again from within the Yangyi Eight Trigrams Ten Thousand Symbols Formation.
The answer I had to choose was clear.
After sorting out my thoughts, I let out a small sigh.
“General.”
Everyone’s eyes turn toward me at once.
I looked straight at Zhuge Xiaoming.
I don’t think now is the time to assign blame.
At my single word, a cold silence hung over the hall.
Not only the instructors of the academy but also the formation experts of the Zhuge family were looking at me as if I were a madman.
However, only one person.
Only Jegal Somyeong asks me back with an upright gaze.
“then?”
“Wouldn’t saving the people inside come first?”
For some reason, it seems like the corners of Jegal Somyeong’s mouth have turned up slightly.
Is there any way to save it? Because the internal pillars are twisted, the formation
The path keeps changing. No matter how good your memory is, what good is it if the path changes?
I am not confident that I can go inside and find it either.
A look of bewilderment crosses his eyes.
I looked around at the strategists of the Zhuge family and asked Zhuge Xiaoming.
“Pajin……
May I?
“Pajin?”
At that moment, Jegal Jeong-gi glared and struggled.
“Jin So-un! How dare you put the Pajin to your mouth! How dare you look at the Zhuge Clan’s Qimen Formation…! What are you doing? Take that guy right now…!”
match!
With the clear sound of a slap, Jegal Jeong-gi looked at Jegal So-myeong with a surprised expression.
“H-Grandfather…….”
Jeonggi Jeon’s face was filled with a sense of betrayal, as if he had been stabbed by a trusted colleague.
Zhuge Xiaoming retorted with a look of rage greater than ever before.
“You scoundrel!!! A man’s life hangs in the balance right now! Is the prestige of a mere family so important to you!”
His gaze lingered on me for a moment, then shifted back to Jegal Jeong-gi.
“You don’t deserve to be here! What are you doing! Drag this guy out right now!”
A stern reprimand once again flies toward the hesitant warriors.
“Didn’t I tell you to drag him out immediately!”
“Yes, four!”
Jegal Jeong-gi, slumped over like a corpse, dragged away with his feet dragging.
Jegal So-myeong looked at me with a stern face and asked.
“You can do Pajin?”
Even Zhuge Xiaoming and the strategists of the Zhuge clan looked at me with eyes that showed they could not easily believe me.
The expressions on their faces as if they would want to pounce on me if it weren’t for Jegal Somyeong.
That makes sense, since ‘Pajin’ refers to a method of forcibly dismantling a formation from the outside by knowing its weaknesses.
You probably wouldn’t want to easily believe that the Yangyi Eight Trigrams and Ten Thousand Symbols Formation, containing the essence of twenty years of geniuses, can be neutralized.
Because even in the past life, no one had ever ‘broken’ the Yangyi Eight Trigrams Ten Thousand Symbols Formation until the Demon Brain appeared.
Of course, I don’t know if I can dig into it exactly like Ma-noe.
Still, rather than seeing dozens of corpses crushed to death by the Qi Gate Formation, or seeing the academy students appear as madmen, ‘Wouldn’t this be better?’ Although I cannot even predict what kind of relationship this will create with the Jegal family.
Please forgive me! I was wrong!
Because saving people first is the right choice.
Yes. I think it will be possible.
Right now, I was thinking only about that.
Only that.
