Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Adaptation
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The Steel Brain Array's computational power far surpassed human limits, but it could not be wielded freely.
It had yet to escape the inherent constraints of mechanical constructs, unable to sustain active thought processes and merely executing assigned tasks.
A passive machine that yielded results only when given clear objectives and directions.
The objective was the relentless pursuit of the foe.
The direction was the enemy at hand.
Its function mirrored that of any martial scholar from the Zhuge Clan.
Observe the opponent, perceive them, analyze them, and deliver the optimal outcome.
Only with unprecedented thoroughness.
As the form of the array hovering behind the Clan Head's head shifted, so too did the battle's dynamics change dramatically.
First an axe, then a spear, followed by a sword—even an iron mace—various shapes of Gang Qi bore down on So-hyang, pressuring her relentlessly.
The infused power was extraordinary, the Gang Qi's might utterly ferocious, and the handling skill superb, yet So-hyang evaded them with ease.
"Huh, isn't this getting a bit flashy?"
"If you deem this flashy, I must be disappointed."
With a gesture from the Clan Head, Gang Qi took on the forms of the weapons he had previously manifested, materializing in midair.
"To truly be flashy, it must reach this level."
And then they all hurtled toward So-hyang in unison.
Not merely hurled forth, each carried distinct martial principles in their motions, mutually supporting one another.
The Zhuge Clan's hallmark: the Combined Assault Formation, now conjured solely by the Clan Head's power.
Seizing every direction, an exquisite offensive that methodically devoured space.
Unbound by the limitations of flesh, the movements were even more unfettered, each brimming with devastating force.
Incomparable to the Combined Assault Formation seen before—not merely in scale, but in technical refinement beyond measure.
"Ah, bare hands won't cut it anymore."
In a fraction of an instant—a moment where immediate action would have sufficed—So-hyang candidly acknowledged her limit.
A pure white Spirit Sword had appeared in her grasp, and lines of pristine white cleaved through space, pulverizing the area.
Sword strikes imbued with the essence of Iron-Cutting dominated the space—a blade carrying ultimate sharpness that sliced Gang Qi like tofu.
"...An ultimate technique."
The Clan Head's sunken eyes twitched momentarily, and he kicked off the ground to create distance.
A white sword defying the laws of physics, its extraordinary aura and form suggesting a rare material-manifesting ultimate art.
The truth was slightly different, but from the opponent's perspective, it amounted to the same.
"No matter. Crush her regardless."
The Clan Head unleashed weapons anew, this time in greater numbers—dozens of Gang Qi bundles ensnaring So-hyang.
"Ha, you think the same trick will work again?"
Her response remained unchanged.
Sharpening her Spirit Qi with the principles and intent of Iron-Cutting, she slashed outward, and with the savage sound of air rending, dozens of weapons were severed in unison.
"Well now, does it seem like the same approach?"
She had nullified the assault perfectly without a scratch, yet So-hyang's face betrayed a subtle flicker of doubt.
"...Hm?"
A sense of incongruity.
The tactile feedback of slicing through Gang Qi weapons had grown ever so slightly stickier.
If it had felt like cutting tofu at first, now it was akin to slicing a radish—a nuanced increase in resistance.
The perceived energy showed no major difference, so it wasn't simply denser inner power enhancing hardness.
To describe it, the structural weaving of the Gang Qi had become more intricate.
It even seemed to generate repulsion against Spirit Qi.
"...Aha, so that's the method."
The radiance emanating from the Steel Brain Array now carried hues far more complex than when it first formed.
So-hyang had already discerned this was no mere illusion.
"But isn't it still insufficient?"
The sword-shaped manifestation of spiritual essence fully emerged.
Compared to its prior dispersed material state, the quantity of mobilizable Spirit Qi was on another level entirely, with vastly improved efficiency.
Breathing in via the principles of the Bright Mystery Sword Art, Spirit Qi permeated her entire body through her lungs naturally.
Beyond merely bolstering muscular strength and fortifying bones, it clung to each and every cell, honing her senses to razor sharpness.
Yet the most significant aspect was this:
So-hyang now wielded a sword in her hand.
"-Kuh!?"
The barrage of successive Gang Qi assaults was lightly shredded, and before he could react, So-hyang closed in on the Clan Head.
Her swung blade left a faint wound on his neck.
Thanks to the Protective Gang Qi he had instantly thickened, it was not fatal—but still.
Was it truly the Protective Gang Qi that saved him?
"...Why didn't you sever it?"
The Clan Head knew the answer.
He had already witnessed her cutting Gang Qi like tofu; mere Protective Gang Qi could never block that blade.
The instant he permitted her approach, defeat was sealed.
"Aren't we in the midst of a spar? No need for killing blows."
He had grown accustomed to her bare-handed style, so failing to track her sword arts was understandable.
Ending the fight without witnessing his full prowess would be too regrettable.
"That said, I won't hold back on strikes, so don't let your guard down."
She smiled radiantly, lowering her sword as if inviting him to catch his breath.
"Th-this...!"
The Clan Head's face contorted beyond description.
"Haa...."
He swiftly regained his composure.
The emotion in his sunken eyes was neither shame nor displeasure—not even anger.
Such trivial sentiments could not infiltrate the Clan Head's mind at this moment.
A rare battle against an equal—or superior—warrior, one he hadn't experienced in ages.
A truth he never forgot: before being a Zhuge clansman or the bloodline's leader—
He was a martial artist, and the emotion swelling within was pure fighting spirit.
"...You'll regret not finishing it with that single strike."
"Talk is cheap for anyone."
Then prove it with action. Display the martial arts you have forged.
He had been spared as if granted clemency.
No trace of carelessness or hesitation remained.
No qualms about means or methods.
The Clan Head's thoughts accelerated to extremes.
Sword skills defying reason, incomprehensible even to grasp.
Slashing strikes laced with sharpness that rent Gang Qi asunder.
No chance in close quarters. Distance must be regained.
Fortunately, he possessed the perfect tool: the space-transcending footwork, Celestial Mechanism Foresight.
Without the slightest precursor, the Clan Head's form vanished in an instant.
"That one's already been shown three times."
It appeared as a spatial leap, but in truth, it shortened space via formation principles.
The outcome was identical, but crucially, So-hyang had grasped the rough operational principle of Celestial Mechanism Foresight.
As his form disappeared, she detected the spatial ripple, predicted the landing point, and unleashed successive slashes to pulverize it.
"-Kuhk!?"
The figure emerging from beyond space was immediately shredded by So-hyang's hand.
And dissolved into smoke, vanishing.
"Hoo, an illusion?"
The Clan Head harbored no illusions that the same ploy would succeed repeatedly.
Not after witnessing her monstrous feats time and again.
He had employed the Illusion Array to craft a phantom as bait—a substantial decoy.
Having previously ascertained that perception-tricking formations held no sway over So-hyang, he baited with a corporeal clone.
It wouldn't fool her twice more, but refraining from repetition sufficed.
The Clan Head had already created substantial distance, manifesting his form nearly out of sight.
"...You won't call this cowardly."
A faint voice, yet to a pinnacle superhuman, it rang as clear as a face-to-face conversation.
So-hyang merely smiled delightedly.
"Does it matter? Let's give it our all."
She bent her knees, her waist, and pressed her palm to the ground.
A quadrupedal stance, balance seemingly shattered.
Crunch—tough sinews twisted in beastly hind legs, compressing with resounding tension.
The intent radiating from her form was unmistakable.
Full-force sprint.
Widening the gap was fine. But could he maintain it?
So-hyang's query shot toward the Clan Head.
"...Monstrous!"
A velocity monstrous even by pinnacle standards.
More chilling still: propelling such force against the ground left not a single mark.
Her lightness skill bordered on madness.
Yet the Clan Head had countermeasures.
"You won't breach this easily!"
First, a bombardment of Gang Qi-formed weapons, as before.
Distinct from her supersonic charge, her straight-line approach made landing hits all too simple.
The issue lay in inflicting meaningful damage—even upon impact, countless Gang Qi were rent by her sword.
"Oh, decent?"
Yet So-hyang unwittingly let slip admiration. The resistance, once tofu-like then radish-firm, now mimicked hewing waterlogged timber.
Yet to So-hyang, tofu, radish, wood—even rock or steel—were all one and the same.
If this was his limit, closing the distance was merely a matter of time.
Then, So-hyang's trajectory abruptly veered perpendicular.
"Ooh?"
An Illusion Array—not mere perceptual deception, but a pinnacle formation that gripped, twisted, and distorted space itself.
But how?
This was wilderness beyond the clan grounds; had he lured her to a pre-laid formation?
Yet her initial senses detected no anomalies.
"Aha!"
Her doubt resolved swiftly. Fragments from Gang Qi severed by the Spirit Sword.
Unlike before, they retained form and plunged into the earth.
"Haha, befitting the Zhuge Clan."
The foremost masters of formations, as expected of their bloodline's apex.
Without prior preparation, mere dozens of axes pierced the ley lines flawlessly.
Even manifesting a high-dimensional formation warping space?
"But still insufficient, no?"
Even with such measures, halting her advance proved difficult.
She who had bisected the far sturdier Heavenly Chaos Void Formation, forged over ages with vast resources.
A casual sword stroke split the distorting field; twisted orientations snapped back to true.
"Return inside."
The Clan Head remained unruffled. A formation of simple projections—remake it upon destruction.
Fresh Gang Qi barrages rained; new axes pierced ley lines, perverting principles and warping space.
At times inverting up and down, elongating space via countermimicry, funneling her into passages linked to distant locales.
"...Isn't this level worthy of 'cowardly'?"
She ground some Gang Qi to dust to prevent reformation, but formations' principles were arcane—no need for fixtures around the target.
Axes embedded in remote spots still unfurled precisely, ensnaring her form.
"Ah, really! Fighting so dirty!?"
Obstruction pushed to extremes—even So-hyang's refined features twisted in frustration.
Not content with formations alone, blocking weapons assailed her path.
Explosions upheaved the terrain; blinding flares obscured vision.
A desperate resolve to deny her closure, effectively stalling even So-hyang.
"Wow... impressive, truly...?"
Ultimate praise escaped her lips.
Yet mere stalling.
A scant bit over one minute since he distanced himself, and So-hyang arrived at arm's reach.
Now within sword range.
"-Here, have a taste."
Her eyes flared, lips quivering faintly—repeated such responses, even So-hyang felt irritation.
"...Yes, I've bought sufficient time."
A faint smile graced the Clan Head's expression.
And the Steel Brain Array's form transmuted.
Dozens of lines sprouted, overlapping vertices; three-dimensional angles densified mutually.
Four tetrahedra converging at each vertex, comprising sixteen in total—a regular hexadecachoron.
Evolving into a far more intricate, higher-dimensional construct.
It had transformed into the form of a Perfect Sixteen-Cell Polytope.
Regardless, the swung sword pressed on undeterred, reaching the Clan Head's shoulder blade.
"Oh."
It halted amid potent resistance, advancing no further.
A slender line aligned precisely with the sword's path—not thick, nor brimming with vast inner power—Gang Qi that neutralized her slash.
"I told you—you'd regret it."
Locking eyes aglow with sharp radiance, he unleashed a fist accompanied by the shriek of torn air.
So-hyang pondered absorbing it as before, dispersing the shock, but sensing dire incongruity, she parried with her sword.
Sword met fist in collision, a thunderous roar violently shaking the surrounding space.
"...Wow, ferocious."
The infused inner power differed little from prior, yet actual potency neared double.
"Got time for words?"
Relentless fists flew; aerial Gang Qi shells joined the barrage—So-hyang's senses finally blared warnings.
"-Oh dear."
An ambiguous smile played on her lips.
The opponent's martial arts, inner power attributes, minute habits.
The Steel Brain Array's computational prowess perceived and cataloged every datum, deconstructing and dissecting to unearth granular principles.
In essence, it adapted to the foe over time, manifesting countermeasures optimized against every possible phenomenon.
Learning. Evolution. And at its zenith, ascension's path.
This was why, after attaining the pinnacle, Zhuge Heon shunned activity, rarely surfacing in the martial world.
Meticulously analyzing, appropriating, and devising counters to sparred opponents' arts?
A single misstep could brand him a public enemy of the martial forest.
And above all, such an art proved most threatening when unknown.