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“Pow!”

Before I could even say anything, Lee Kwang and Han Baek-ryeong’s new sword forms zipped right next to Zhuge Bu. They stared at him like hawks, and Zhuge Bu’s face went pale. Lee Kwang ominously warned him.

“You’ve already stepped into our territory.”

“… I see. I can’t move for sure.”

Zhuge Bu replied calmly while eyeing Mangnyang. He added, “I didn’t see this coming. It’s truly a dead end.”

“It’s not my power; it’s the power of Baek Woong here.”

“Oh really.”

Zhuge Bu looked at me with an intense gaze. As our eyes met, I felt dazed, like I was facing something inhuman. His endlessly deep stare was a clear sign of an extraordinary mental realm.

Mangnyang said, “Zhuge Bu, the tides have turned in Hwang Yeon’s favor. Please make a wise choice.”

“What does wise choice mean?”

“Disband the Qimen Formation protecting the Imperial Palace and surrender to our side.”

Zhuge Bu chuckled. “Tch…”

“Do you know what formation I’ve placed?”

“Not exactly. I suppose it’s the Primordial Unity Technique you’re using.”

“Wrong. It’s the Eight Trigrams Formation.”

Swish!

“……?!”

At that moment, I realized the scenery around me had completely changed, and everyone had vanished. I thought maybe it was an illusion, so I tried to cast the Breaking Illusion Technique, but the spell still clung to me.

Surrounded by fog, I could see the buildings of the Imperial Palace scattered around. I stood, tense and alert in this unfamiliar place. Then, Zhuge Bu’s Six Harmonies Assembly thundered through the palace.

[Wise choices come from strong power. Why not break the Eight Trigrams and prove it?]

Eight Trigrams!

It’s a formation method said to have been used by Zhuge Liang, originally called Eight Forms. It was legendary that this formation had nearly led to the death of the Wu kingdom’s commander, Lu Xun. But it turns out it was a real formation.

‘Hmph. I’ll just ignore this.’

Pow!

I snickered and activated my Golden Lamp technique, again heading toward Zhuge Bu. He frowned in discomfort.

“That’s cheating. You have a secret treasure from the Otherworld?”

“How did you know?”

“A single law treasure could never produce such power. And I’ve never heard of such treasures, so I can only assume it’s from the Otherworld.”

Zhuge Bu mumbled while casually sitting down. “Tiring to keep sending you back. How about we just chat?”

“Like I’m gonna chat with you!”

I ignored him and charged in, unleashing my Sword Flame. A massive force shot out, aiming to cleave Zhuge Bu in half. But at that moment, he thrust his palms forward, producing an overwhelming force.

Bang!

“……!!”

In an instant, I realized my attack had vanished. Assessing Zhuge Bu’s martial prowess gave me chills.

‘He… is strong! Peak Expert!’

This was absurd. The Zhuge Bu before me was renowned as the strongest sorcerer in the palace. I had thought his real martial arts skills would be weaker, but to my surprise, his power was even greater than Lee Kwang’s. He clearly possessed absolute martial skills, likely surpassing even my Thunder Shadow Step.

Zhuge Bu remarked, “Even with the Asura Heaven Light Technique raised to such extremes, my hands still tingle. How did you attain such a level of power?”

“Who knows!”

I kept leaping forward in an attack on Zhuge Bu, but the next moment, he vanished like a ghost instead of engaging in a direct confrontation. He must have thought clashing with me was a losing gamble.

“Damn it! Are you just gonna run?”

I knew this wouldn’t work unless I took a breath, but then Zhuge Bu spoke.

“Fighting with martial skills is entertaining, but let’s see some sorcery here.”

He casually murmured incantations, like he was taking a stroll.

“Collapsing Destructive Technique!”

“Fire Law System!”

“Fireball!”

“Command of the Wind Seal!”

“Ghostly Demon Storm!”

Whoosh!

“……!!”

I widened my eyes. The incantations, symbols of powerful spells, floated around in the air, linking together in harmony. I had never even heard of casting spells like that, and I had no idea how to respond. One hit from any of those spells would surely be devastating.

Snap!

Then Zhuge Bu snapped his fingers, and the spells came crashing down. The wooden hall shattered, and the ground collapsed.

“Ugh…”

I felt my whole body grow as heavy as iron. The Collapsing Destructive Technique was a powerful gravity spell that seemed to pressurize space itself, crushing its enemies. I struggled against it with my energy, but just then, Zhuge Bu’s incantations echoed again.

“Fire Law System -”

“Upper Heavy – Command – Lower Sutra!”

“As words go forth, Circulating Qi Heaven Mix!”

Whoooosh!

I suddenly felt lighter. It was as if I was being pulled up into the sky at an incredible speed. The imposed gravity from his spell overpowered my own strength.

‘Wait… gravity appeared above?’

I was dumbfounded. They twisted space to create artificial gravity. Then, as I was yanked toward the center of this force, my body twisted painfully. I erupted my internal power to escape the Fire Law System, but at that moment, a massive fireball the size of several men flew straight for me.

Wham!

I barely dodged the fireball with my Thunder Shadow Step, but that was just the beginning.

“Pow!”

Zhuge Bu pointed at me. His eyes shone red as he chanted his curse.

“Tremble! Fall! Die!”

“Fall!”

And as he spoke, strange characters were inscribed at the triple formation of Heaven, Earth, and Man on my body. Before I could react, I was yanked down into the ground, crashing deeply into it. Had I not reinforced my body with internal energy, I would have been smashed to pieces.

[Come… come… come to me…]

With sharp pain coursing through me, I felt a command pulling me from the underworld. A powerful illusion spell tightened around my mind, and if I failed to resist even once, it would grab my soul. Straining against the mental grip, I clawed my way out of the ground, only for an unknown whirlwind to wrap around me, pulling me skyward.

Crash!

“Ugh!”

Getting hit by the Ghostly Demon Storm sent me crashing back onto the fifth floor of the Inner Imperial Pavilion. It felt like Zhuge Bu was playing with me, as if I were a pawn in his game. My body felt beaten to a pulp, and I could barely think straight. Zhuge Bu sat back in his chair, looking at me and said, “Trying to beat me here is reckless. Even Lee Kwang and Han Baek-ryeong couldn’t restrain me before; their instincts betrayed them. As long as we fight within the palace, you have no chance of winning.”

At that moment, I was certain. The Zhuge Bu before me had reached the pinnacle of both martial and sorcery realms and was a complete master of both. To fight and win against him, I’d have to reach the level of a Dharma Guardian.

“Ugh…”

With great effort, I barely propped myself up. “You know the Otherworld isn’t bad, right?!”

Zhuge Bu nodded. “Yeah, they’re bad news.”

“The emperor we should serve is dead! What the heck do you want from the Imperial Palace?” I howled in despair.

Zhuge Bu paused, lost in thought. Then he answered, “You’re wrong there. I was never loyal to the Emperor.”

“What?”

“The Emperor was just the one who offered the highest price for my talent. That’s all.”

I was dumbfounded and retorted, “But you’re from the family of Grand Astronomers! You can’t just say that.”

“Ah, right. I’m a Zhuge of the Grand Astronomer family.” Zhuge Bu chuckled.

“But that doesn’t mean I represent the whole family. Even if we’re related, everyone leads their own lives. If I wanted, I could leave this palace anytime.”

“……”

“It’s just that I had no reason to. So I’ve been fulfilling my role of guarding the emperor while keeping an eye on the Demon Subduing Hall. And I’m currently searching for my next lord.”

I understood who Zhuge Bu was from his words.

A genius testing his talent on the world, devoid of emotion!

He held no ideology or sense of right and wrong; he merely wished to work under someone willing to pay for his abilities. It seemed ridiculously simple, but his natural talent was so outstanding that no one could challenge his path.

Zhuge Bu shrugged. “Even your ancestor Zhuge Liang had to choose a lord.”

“Wrong. You’re nothing like Zhuge Liang.”

I glared coldly at him and said, “Mangnyang is more suited to that role than you.”

“……”

Zhuge Bu was silent for a moment and then sighed.

“You sound just like my father…”

“What? What does that mean? You’re talking about Mangnyang, so why bring up your father?”

“Because the person you call Mangnyang is my little brother.”

“… What?”

Zhuge Bu chuckled again. “Didn’t you know? His name is Zhuge Hyun. He’s my biological brother.”

“……!!”

What the hell does this mean?

Mangnyang is Zhuge Bu’s brother? But considering Zhuge Bu is the Grand Astronomer and from the Zhuge family, I couldn’t help but think that made sense. Plus, with a closer look, Mangnyang did share quite a resemblance with him.

“It would have been easy to throw you into the land of illusions and kill you. Just using the Falling Soul Talisman would have been simple.” Zhuge Bu stated with an icy gaze.

“But I want to test my brother and those he brought. If one of you can reach this place by yourself, or break the Eight Trigrams, then I’ll consider myself defeated. At that time, I will surrender to your side.”

I ground my teeth.

“You talk a big game. Aren’t you puffing your chest a little too much?”

“I hear that a lot. But remember, it’s also an option for me to wipe you all out right now and step into the Demon Subduing Hall.”

“Ugh…”

I realized Zhuge Bu’s capabilities were beyond my imagination. Had my allies’ peak experts appeared right away and tried to take Zhuge Bu’s head, it wouldn’t have worked. This guy could freely manipulate illusions and twist space within this barrier. As long as he existed, breaking into the Imperial Palace seemed a distant dream.

‘If I can’t break him, taking down the palace will be impossible.’

I adjusted my goals in my mind. The Lord of the Golden Eagle Guard or the guards themselves no longer mattered. No matter how many of the other guys I took down, if I couldn’t handle the Zhuge Bu right in front of me, capturing the palace was doomed to fail.

‘So that’s why Mangnyang said to wait…’

Being the brother of the Treasure of the Central Plains, Mangnyang understood this fact better than anyone and had thus chosen to wait. Charging headlong into Zhuge Bu was foolish, and knowing that he was the kind of person who sold his skills, he waited for Hwang Yeon’s army to come willingly. But as things got tangled up and we invaded first, it resulted in Zhuge Bu testing us instead.

I asked him, “What’s up with this alchemist? Where is he? Is he just chilling while you’re out here with this formation?”

“Probably. He’s not just any Otherworldly character; he’s a Demon Sorcerer.”

I tilted my head at the unfamiliar term.

“Demon Sorcerer? Is that a type of sorcerer?”

“Not at all. They worship demon gods and sacrifice offerings to wield magic. They’re originally human but become half-human, half-demon through prolonged practices.”

“Hmm.”

I felt a sense of discomfort from Zhuge Bu’s words.

Why was everything getting so complicated?

Wouldn’t it be better to just take out the alchemist, the root of all evil?

And why hadn’t Zhuge Bu used his absolute power to eliminate the alchemist after the emperor’s death? He could easily unleash strong abilities within the palace, right?

‘Something’s off. He’s hiding something.’

It wasn’t just about testing us to sell his powers. I instinctively felt he knew something ‘different’ about the alchemist. And while keeping that information hidden, he was scheming to maximize his gains.

My instincts, having been honed through countless near-death experiences, were telling me it was time to risk it all.

‘I have to! There’s no other choice!’

So, I deliberately said to Zhuge Bu, “I know it’s tough to bring you down… but that doesn’t necessarily mean I have to take you down!”

“You, don’t tell me…”

Zhuge Bu’s expression shifted abruptly.

“C’mon, follow me!”

Pow!

Before he finished speaking, my body was drawn into the palace where the emperor resided. There was no doubt that the palace had no hint of conflict. As I rushed toward the chamber with the emperor’s throne, I heard Zhuge Bu’s voice echoing in my mind.

[Stop! If you touch the alchemist, I’ll kill all your companions!]

It seemed he wanted an answer as the line lingered. Focusing my mental energy, I replied to Zhuge Bu.

[Not gonna happen! If you want me to leave the alchemist alone, then disband the Eight Trigrams!]

[You dare challenge me in a deal?]

[Why not step inside the palace? It looks like the effectiveness of the Eight Trigrams is lacking in here.]

[……]

[I’m expecting a wise choice from you.]

Whoosh!

As I dashed into the emperor’s chamber, a triumphant grin spread across my face.

‘Just as I expected.’

This was why Zhuge Bu hadn’t taken action against the alchemist. His interests were at stake, after all, but the alchemist had ensured that the Eight Trigrams would not reach the emperor’s chamber. If not, given Zhuge Bu’s rational character, he would have subdued the alchemist already. If he did that, the emperor’s very chamber would be the safest place from Zhuge Bu.

Since I had visited before, I was well aware of where the throne room was. As I opened the door, I found the Man in Black standing there with his arms crossed.

He glared at me and said, “I was wondering why the lamp of Alhazard kept activating. So, a human was the master after all. Are you a descendant of the Old Ruler…?”

Alhazard’s lamp?

He must be referring to my Golden Eagle.

Grimacing, the Man in Black said, “The Philosopher’s Stone is almost complete, and I can’t let someone like you interfere.”

With a crack, the Man in Black struck the floor with his whip, and from the darkness, something began to stomp toward us.

“……!!”

I saw a gigantic Tentacle Monster walking on its limbs, with a human face right in the middle. It was clearly the Lord of the Golden Eagle Guard, wriggling and attempting to speak despite its grotesque appearance, having lost its humanity entirely.

I shouted at the alchemist, “I’m the one who’s gonna kill you!”

And thus, the battle began.

 

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