Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Array Formation
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“Is she insane...?”
The gatekeepers retraced their steps, wondering if there was some hidden detail they had overlooked.
Could the woman before them be a transcendent expert who had reached the late Peak Realm, or perhaps someone who had an appointment arranged in advance?
No matter how they thought about it, that wasn't the case.
As gatekeepers manning the main gate of the clan, their own cultivation was at the Peak Realm, and not just the early stage—they were pushing toward the late stage.
Even a typical Transcendent expert would struggle to completely conceal their presence before them. They should have sensed at least some discrepancy.
There were no appointments scheduled for today either. It was a fact they remembered clearly without needing to check the records.
“Hey, could she be undergoing Rejuvenation...?”
“No way. Not a single telltale sign.”
Rejuvenation was the phenomenon where, upon reaching the Transcendent Realm and undergoing Bone Transformation, one shed even the signs of old age, reverting to the body of their absolute prime.
Skin, muscles, and bones returned to a youthful state, but hair roots and nails were different.
The white hair didn't turn black, and the thickened nails of age fell away, replaced by nails as translucent as a baby's.
Jet-black hair without a single gray strand, a face so youthful it seemed childlike, and opaque, pristine nails.
No traces of a human skin mask or disguise either, so this was clearly her true physical form.
Her excessively composed and confident demeanor, and her breathtaking beauty were certainly exceptional, but beyond that, she seemed utterly ordinary.
The gatekeepers abandoned their speculations about any underlying circumstances.
“...Begone.”
“I can't do that. I've come to experience the Zhuge Clan's martial arts.”
“Do you think the Zhuge Clan is so lenient that pranks based on your looks will work? Leave while we're asking nicely.”
“If you truly desire a duel, submit a formal challenge letter. You might get your turn in your next life.”
Irritation crept into the gatekeepers' expressions, their words growing increasingly harsh.
Regardless, So-hyang kept smiling brightly and repeating the same thing.
“That's not possible either. I want to spar right now, this very moment.”
“Damn it! She won't listen to reason! What the hell is she!?”
“...Hah, are you perhaps some noble's lover? Sorry, but we haven't heard any such news.”
No matter what they said, she smiled softly and kept demanding a duel. She was like a madwoman with clear eyes.
At this point, the gatekeepers' patience had run out.
“Ah, whatever.”
One gatekeeper finally decided to subdue her. He circulated his internal energy, used exquisite footwork to slip from her sight, and seized her from behind.
He planned to infuse his fingers with qi to strike an acupoint and knock her out, then toss her into the street.
A woman of her appearance might suffer a rough fate, but he had no intention of caring that much for an intruder.
“Don't blame us for what you've brought on yourself.”
Yet the gatekeeper's incoming palm strike from behind was neatly caught by the woman's slender jade hand, without even turning around.
“-What!?”
“Mm, I won't hold a grudge, but...”
With a light pull on his captured wrist, the gatekeeper's balance crumbled absurdly easily, and he spun through the air.
It was a grappling technique, transformed by peak skill into something akin to magic.
“Surprisingly sensible, aren't you all?”
So-hyang clicked her tongue in disappointment.
She had hoped for some justification to grab onto, but the gatekeepers had responded quite politely.
Of course—who would cheerfully let some unknown ragamuffin into their clan?
Even Clan Leaders or Alliance Heads might get beaten and chased out for demanding a duel outright, but it hadn't come to that.
In truth, her stunning beauty had kept their response from turning too vicious, but So-hyang couldn't quite grasp that.
In any case, this left her with no excuse—she'd be the villain who started the ruckus at an innocent clan... Even as she pondered this, her face brimmed with delight.
“Well, I came here to cause a scene from the start, so no need to nitpick, right?”
The gatekeepers' expressions changed. They still couldn't sense any stirring of internal energy, but they weren't foolish enough to deny what their eyes had witnessed.
“-An expert!”
Their response was swift. They prepared to unleash sword qi without hesitation, but So-hyang moved even faster.
“Kuhk!?”
The moment he drew his sword, So-hyang closed the distance with light steps and firmly pressed down on the hilt.
The gatekeeper tried to push her hand away with force, but he could only groan, unable to overcome the strength from her slender arm.
“Th-this...!”
“Your judgment is slow.”
If he couldn't push her hand off, he should have quickly retreated, but the gatekeeper saw her as an ordinary person—a woman, no less—and refused to accept being overpowered physically.
Confusion born of preconceptions slowed his grasp of the situation.
“Hesitation means death, doesn't it?”
“...!”
At So-hyang's chillingly sunken voice, the gatekeeper's eyes widened as he finally tried to move, but her fist was quicker.
With a sound tearing through the air, a crisp impact rang out, and his jaw snapped back cleanly.
“Well, not that I intend to kill you.”
“Keurk.”
Her perfectly shaken brain caused his pupils to dilate and his body to crumple, losing consciousness on the spot.
“-You scum!”
Only then did the remaining gatekeeper, whom she had thrown down earlier, rise and swing his sword.
Even against the blade flying at her back, So-hyang naturally bent at the waist to dodge.
“Oh dear, it's not 'scum,' it's 'bitch.'”
There was no deeper meaning to her words. Just playful banter amid her beaming smile and rising excitement, or perhaps a bit of provocation.
Realizing this, the gatekeeper ignored her words, calmed his fluster, suppressed his anger, and focused silently on responding.
“...Intruder detected.”
Infusing qi into the bell at his waist produced a sharp, resonant ring that echoed loudly.
It wasn't just loud—the internal energy within made it extraordinary.
The bell's sound pierced straight into the mind, and to So-hyang's senses, it would reach everyone within ten li without loss.
“Oh, an alarm?”
“That's right—it's the signal for a high-threat intruder breaching the clan! The clan's full forces will come to capture you!”
“Wow, that sounds great!”
It was meant as a threat, but her reaction was the opposite. She looked delighted, even clapping her hands lightly.
“...Damn it, what a lunatic.”
In any case, the gatekeeper's duty was clear.
Block the intruder's entry into the clan.
Until reinforcements arrived.
It would usually be straightforward, but...
This time, it would prove more difficult than expected.
The Zhuge Clan, descendants of Zhuge Kongming.
Renowned for their mastery of Strange Gate Formations and Mechanism Arrays, praised for their profound knowledge in various arts and literature.
In essence, they weren't originally a martial clan.
Much less one of the Five Great Families.
They possessed decent martial arts for health and self-defense, but they fell short of being called supreme arts.
Formations involved embedding axes and structures into terrain, arranging artifacts to draw upon and distort leyline power—a sorcerous art.
They were closer to a scholarly sect studying sorcery.
Indeed, the Zhuge Clan was originally more famous as the Formation Scholarly Sect than by their bloodline name.
However, around two hundred years ago, a genius was born, bringing a seismic shift.
The fusion of formations and martial arts.
Using the dantian as the axis and circulating internal energy through meridians as circuits, replacing physical artifacts.
Instead of relying on fickle, inconsistent leyline power with rituals and rain prayers, human-cultivated internal energy served as the driving force.
A divine art implementing formation principles by mysteriously rotating the dan.
Thus, the era's supreme art, Mystic Origin Revolving Core Divine Art, was created.
This is the unique martial foundation of the Zhuge Clan, the root of all their formation martial arts.
All the clan's martial arts stem directly from this divine art—no exaggeration.
Perhaps because its origins were extraordinary.
While most sects hoard their secret arts, transmitting them only to direct lineage, the Zhuge Clan is different.
They teach the divine art to direct and branch members alike, even outer disciples—anyone in the clan.
Of course, one must reach the Peak Realm minimum, but that's not discrimination; it's a requirement to practice the art itself.
In short, even lowly gatekeepers wield the clan's divine art.
“Suuuu...”
With his breath, the dantian pulsed, and internal energy rotated according to profound principles, forming circuits.
Before long, a qi-formed hemisphere about ten paces in diameter centered on the gatekeeper had manifested.
So-hyang's milky-white eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“Fascinating. So this is the Zhuge Clan's famed formation martial art.”
“...Approach, and I'll cut you down.”
Whatever So-hyang said, the gatekeeper simply blocked the main gate and fulfilled his duty.
“What happens if I touch this?”
Whatever the gatekeeper said, So-hyang just smiled innocently, extending a finger toward the hemisphere in the air.
“-Fool!”
The moment her finger touched the sphere's boundary, the gatekeeper's sword shot forth.
Faster and stronger than before deploying the formation.
Sharp enough to cause slight pain to So-hyang's qi-clad finger—far keener than the escort bureau chief or bandit leader from before.
But what piqued her interest was the reaction speed without the slightest delay.
“Ho?”
Time from visual perception, brain recognition, judgment transmission, and body action.
It reacted instantaneously, as if even inevitable delays didn't exist.
Instant reaction implied instant judgment—enough to rob most warriors of any chance to respond.
Though it was still blocked by So-hyang's finger.
“As expected of one of the Five Great Families—quite impressive.”
“...You blocked my sword... with a finger?”
The vast gap in their base levels made it inevitable.
The gatekeeper's expression turned dazed. He had anticipated something since his comrade fell to a palm strike, but the intruder's prowess exceeded even that.
He ground his teeth.
If she truly intended to subdue him, he couldn't resist and would end up floored like his comrade.
Then, rather than rigid defense, go on the offensive.
His only chance lay in landing a miraculous effective blow.
Foolish as hoping for a miracle was, he had no choices left.
“Uwaaaah!!”
Roaring to shake off fear, he charged the unstoppable foe. As the distance closed, So-hyang fully entered the hemisphere's radius.
“...Oh, it's like stepping inside a soap bubble—”
Then, relentless strikes poured down without even a breath.
“Aha, I get the basic principle now.”
So-hyang leisurely dodged the gatekeeper's fierce sword barrage with minimal movement, continuing her observation.
She had studied rough principles and tendencies in the Martial Alliance's Heavenly Martial Repository, but...
To grasp the details, experiencing it firsthand was best.
Mathematical, geometrical, complex yet exquisitely precise swordsmanship.
It detected foes inside the formation, analyzed movements, and output corresponding actions.
The Zhuge Clan's arts were like solving equations, turning oneself into a strategist commanding body and sword as soldiers.
Through intricate calculations, it derived optimal solutions, automatically executing them via body and sword as tools.
Warriors had to bear massive computational loads to process formation inputs, but the Zhuge Clan's unique intellect made it ideal.
As long as they could compute, they could counter all variables.
“Hm, however...”
Disappointment gradually showed on So-hyang's face.
“Overly mechanical... The movements are precise, but that's it?”
Input foe movements via formation, compute optimal counters, auto-respond...
Sounded good, but the executor was a human body.
Bound by physical limits, energy consumption, and real-world constraints, solutions were optimal but not perfect.
And the formation's 'optimal' wasn't always truly best.
The near-instant reaction speed and lack of judgment delay were clear advantages.
Impressive, yes—but overly fixated on precision.
Thus, responses were limited, rigid, vulnerable to variables.
“Hmm, its limits are clear...”
Having seen enough, So-hyang lightly punched, shaking the gatekeeper's jaw.
“Is it because the user's level is low?”
A higher-realm user might show something different.
It was only natural that mere Peak Realm couldn't meet her expectations.
Her goal was a duel with a Transcendent expert, after all.
“Aigoo, lying like this might make your jaw lock.”
So-hyang adjusted the gatekeepers' positions comfortably, laying them side by side as if apologetic for knocking them out.
They had merely done their duty, so she had no intent to injure them seriously, and her clean strikes left no aftereffects.
“Tsk, sorry about this...”
In the end, she was the rogue who barged into a proper clan demanding a duel. Having been rude, she owed at least minimal compensation.
With that in mind, So-hyang pulled two gold pieces from her robes and placed them on their chests.
“Hope this is enough...”
A commoner's monthly income was one silver piece.
One gold piece was worth ten silvers.
Even for clan warriors, it was a hefty sum.
If anything, it was overly generous, not insufficient.
So-hyang wasn't entirely lacking common sense; she planned to make this her last such reckless duel-seeking escapade.
If she had common sense, she wouldn't do it at all, but...
“Ahem, I've wanted to try this since my past life.”
The classic dojo crash: storming a massive dojo solo and racking up consecutive wins.
“How could I resist...!”
Wasn't it romantic?
The era had long passed; few dojos remained for such challenges, leaving her wistful.
“Hm, by the way, no sign of reinforcements yet?”
The backup the gatekeeper had called hadn't arrived.
In truth, the alarm had rung just moments ago amid brief talk and clashes, so a wait was expected.
“Ummm...”
So-hyang crossed her arms under the heavy mass, groaning thoughtfully in serious contemplation.
Wait, or enter?
As she slowly shook her head side to side, something of similar size jiggled assertively.
“Yeah, waiting doesn't suit my temperament.”
So-hyang grinned refreshingly and strolled past the main gate.
And the world transformed.
“Ho.”
The Zhuge Clan remains, even now, a formation paragon.
Even after fusing formations with martial arts to claim a seat among the Five Great Families, where did their accumulated knowledge go?
Especially the formations guarding their own headquarters—how much care must they have poured in?
Originally a simple Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation.
It evolved bit by bit over time.
Incorporating Seven Stars principles.
Adding Six Harmonies subtleties.
Appending artifacts corresponding to Five Elements.
Embedding spirit beast inner cores embodying Four Images as auxiliary axes.
Realigning to Three Powers principles.
Dividing further along Two Poles flows.
And ultimately birthing a bizarre creation rivaling the One Origin's majesty.
Nine times eight yields seventy-two.
Six times yields four hundred thirty-two.
Five times yields two thousand one hundred sixty.
Four times yields eight thousand six hundred forty.
Three times yields twenty-four thousand nine hundred twenty.
Two times yields fifty-eight thousand one hundred forty.
And finally, evolving into an absolute formation generating infinite variables beyond count.
A grotesque creation, repeatedly refined and overhauled beyond recognition from its origins.
Daring to claim...
⟨ Rivaling a Sovereign's Mindscape ⟩