A crimson flame turned the model garden into ashes and lit up the area. Soon, an overwhelming flash like a huge sunset filled the vision of all the spectators gathered in this place.

Leaving behind an afterimage that would be engraved in their two eyes and would not be forgotten.

“Incredible.”

Zhuge Hyeonguk’s gaze was directed at Zhuge Cheonwu, who was standing alone in the flames.

In the midst of the heat that seemed to cook even the air, a young man was standing.

While showing off a ferocious roar that no one could challenge.

“There’s no need to call out the result.”

As the flames died down, what was revealed was the figure of Zhuge Jong-cheol, whose silk clothes had been burned, revealing his shabby body, and the expressionless face of Zhuge Cheonwu.

“Because no one in this place can not know the winner after seeing that sight.”

Crash-!

And soon, the formation, which had contained a huge amount of energy for its size, broke.

A completely blackened model garden.

It was little damage compared to the illusion that had operated within the formation.

‘Since it’s a formation, I guess it can’t be helped.’

If even half the firepower of the illusion manifested by the formation had worked in reality, Zhuge Jong-cheol would have already been dead.

I came down from the stage, feeling a trace of regret.

Certainly, a formation that was not on the scale of a large-scale formation had a limit to the firepower it could produce in reality without a medium.

It was not for nothing that formations or sorcery were treated as a minor field of study.

‘But that doesn’t mean that formation masters are only weak.’

I immediately lifted my gaze and looked at Zhuge Hyeonguk.

A refined demeanor revealed in his upright posture. But inside, there was a skill that was difficult to describe easily.

A strength that was different from martial arts. If I had to put it into words.

‘It’s like facing a mage. Like me.’

“Congratulations. You’ve passed the first exam.”

Zhuge Hyeonguk opened his mouth, looking this way.

The reason I couldn’t be happy at the congratulations of an authority was because of the word ‘first’.

“…I hear there is also a second exam.”

“Of course. A first-class formation master is not something you can become just by doing well in one duel.”

A cold remark.

“Then what should I do for the next exam?”

“You can prove your qualification by fighting me.”

At Zhuge Hyeonguk’s declaration, the murmuring grew louder.

“With the elder?”

“Why is he, who didn’t even care about the third young master, now…”

“It was a good thing I came today. It will be noisy with this for a while.”

In the midst of that, Jangyeo stepped up.

“Just a moment.”

‘To think it would come to this.’

Jangyeo, who was standing in front of Zhuge Hyeonguk, swallowed dryly.

Although he had been half in doubt, he had never thought that the third young master would actually defeat the elder. He thought it was amazing, seeing the sight of him overwhelming the opponent so easily.

To the point where he thought that perhaps in the future, Zhuge Cheonwu could open a new era in the formation world.

But that was a story for when he had grown up safely as a newcomer.

‘Not now.’

The special class is different.

In terms of a martial arts master, he was a Transformation Realm master. It was a realm that a so-called genius could barely achieve only after training for a lifetime and experiencing various opportunities and crises.

It was a realm only for the chosen ones.

Zhuge Cheonwu was a strong person who could not be compared with any opponent he had met so far.

To the point where there was even a saying that the difference between a third-class and a first-class was greater than the difference between a first-class and a special-class.

That’s why he had stepped up, thinking that something would happen, but he sighed inwardly.

Zhuge Hyeonguk was one of the authoritative elders of the family. There was a limit to what he could do as a protector. He gently opened his mouth.

“I also think the standard is too high. A formation battle with a special-class formation master as an exam.”

It was an opportunity that could be an honor for any formation master. But Jangyeo had no choice but to dissuade him.

Because Zhuge Hyeonguk’s formation was that dangerous.

‘If he’s not careful, he might become a cripple.’

It was too much of a waste to lose a talent over something like this.

If it was the skill of a special-class formation master, he could have held back, but he, who had a personality of watching from the sidelines, was acting actively for a rare occasion.

It would definitely not end lightly. In that case, it was better to at least give a hint like this.

Because it would be a little better if a definite answer, like that he would hold back, came back.

But the answer came from a completely different direction.

“It’s alright.”

Zhuge Cheonwu, he stepped up. He had boldly accepted the duel.

“Good.”

Zhuge Hyeonguk stroked his beard as if satisfied and then took out a pipe from his bosom.

As he flicked his finger with his middle and thumb together, a flame rose. A smoke that was slowly rising.

With this, there was no room for him to interfere.

‘Is it a fighting spirit? Or is it arrogance? If not…’

If it were common sense, it would be a one-sided result, but he kept thinking of a certain possibility.

An impossible enemy and a genius who faced it.

The great men who are remembered for a long time in the Central Plains all have their own narratives. They leap towards a wider world, stepping on the moment of overcoming or manifestation.

And today, there was another newcomer who had faced the impossible. A young man who no one had expected, but who was shining with an overwhelming presence more than anyone else.

In a corner where worry was seated, a certain expectation was shining like a star in the night sky.

Perhaps a new history would unfold in this place.

Jangyeo’s gaze, who was staring at Zhuge Cheonwu, deepened.

* * *

Two people stood in front of the model garden, which was left with only ashes.

A different tension from before flowed between the stage, which was only ashes and ruins.

“I never thought you were hiding such a skill.”

“I had my reasons.”

“Is it a little different now?”

“Yes. It’s completely changed.”

I replied, fiddling with the jade stone in my bosom. I had gathered the mana of the circle to be ready to respond to the opponent at any time.

Zhuge Hyeonguk inhaled the smoke from his pipe and then muttered as if to himself.

“That’s good.”

His deeply sunken eyes curved rarely.

“So I can face you with all my might.”

At the same time, the whole world was covered in darkness. When I came to my senses, I was standing alone in a space filled with pitch-black.

‘This is…?’

I knew this ability.

The shadow world. It was the final domain formation of Zhuge Hyeonguk, who was called the strongest among the shadow lineage.

‘Incredible.’

The darkness that filled all directions paralyzed my senses, and even the ground was dyed pitch-black, making the distinction between up, down, left, and right blurred.

As if thrown into the deep sea, no distinction was possible. The opponent, the formation, and even myself.

“Does even my voice scatter?”

The muttering voice faded away in the darkness.

The energy that I had drawn up from my body did not work properly.

The stream of water, as soon as it was manifested, froze and broke, scattering into the darkness, the flames went out powerlessly, and the dirt castle collapsed into the darkness as if falling into an infinitely spread pit. The vegetation that I had taken out with great effort withered without sprouting anywhere.

“It’s worthy of the pinnacle of counter-formations.”

A formation that swallows a formation. No matter what formation master faced a formation like this, there would be no way to do anything.

In front of the chilling emptiness, the energy dried up, and even if I moved forward without any distinction between up, down, front, and back, there was only darkness.

In a world where any standard or boundary had disappeared, the only standard was myself.

I stopped in my tracks and observed the circle in my mind’s eye.

The circle that was rotating and accelerating.

I could fully feel the mana that I had accumulated while being together with life and death until now.

Woooong-!

The two circles resonated with each other and amplified.

That resonance went beyond myself and continued to the shadow world.

I gathered the mana that was shining brightly and sparkling in my hand. The mana, which was about to scatter in the darkness like a candle in the wind, was condensed and emitted a flash.

Light.

A basic magic that had no physical force and just shone purely was emitted at its maximum firepower.

In an instant, the darkness was pushed back, and the ground and my whole body, which had been encroached by the darkness, revealed themselves.

And at the same time, even Zhuge Hyeonguk, who existed at the end.

“Found you.”

I immediately shot a radiant flame bullet at the opponent, who had a surprised look.

The shadow that had rushed in like a paint spreading on the path in an instant swallowed the radiant flame bullet.

Flicker-

The shadow’s curtain, which had bulged for a moment, exploded, and the darkness scattered. But the surrounding shadow filled the gap again.

‘It’s a formation of offense and defense in one.’

Since the entire area was encroached by the shadow, it was tricky to deal with.

That’s why I had tried to deal with Zhuge Hyeonguk, who was the core of the formation, right away, but since his reaction was so fast, it was not easy.

‘It can’t be helped. I’ll give up on a frontal breakthrough or a power struggle.’

With this much mana, it was still not enough to compete with Zhuge Hyeonguk.

But the weak have their own way of fighting.

‘It’s better to aim for the weakness of the formation.’

The shadow world is a kind of huge darkness. An abyss that swallows even light and a manifestation of infinite predation is the result of a formation.

Although it swallows energy like an endless hungry ghost, it would take a considerable amount of mental strength and energy to sustain such an outrageous power.

It’s like maintaining a vacuum state.

I shot out a light magic from my palm and lit up the area.

‘As long as he’s human, he won’t be able to spread the shadow world over a wide area.’

And even more so if he had implemented it so instantly.

I immediately kicked off the ground, using the Spirit God Steps.

The darkness is just a trick.

No matter how vast it looked and felt endless, there was bound to be a limit to the implementation of the formation.

If it were someone else, he could have deceived their five senses and made them go around in circles, but now I had light magic.

It meant I could go straight in one direction.

Since a formation is a kind of reconstructed space, it was wider than in reality, but if I moved steadily, it was not impossible to get out.

I ran quickly. As I burst out the internal energy of a first-rate in the Spirit God Steps, the ground passed by quickly.

‘The ground is slightly curved by the shadow.’

Whether it was the effect of the formation, the moment I set my foot, the ground in the direction of my progress was curved like a track in a stadium, making me return to my original position no matter how much I ran.

‘Then I’ll run in the opposite direction of the flow.’

I immediately corrected my path in the opposite direction.

I was planning to go to the boundary of the formation like this.

Just then, a flickering shadow blade came out from the darkness, and I jumped to the side to avoid it.

At the same time, I increased the firepower of the light magic.

Then the shadow blades that were beginning to become dull.

‘Compared to other magic, light magic is particularly effective.’

I remembered the weaknesses one by one, seeing the shadow become blurred by the light and being pushed back.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”

A voice that was heard at that time. Since it echoed as if in a cave, its location was not specified, but it was clear who it was.

“If you know, then help me a little.”

‘He can see this side’s expression. In other words, it means that the shadow doesn’t just completely absorb the light.’

While I was racking my brain, the shadows that were writhing in all directions began to take on a form. It soon transformed into the form of a snake, a wolf, or a hawk.

The reason this formation was given the name of the shadow world.

Because the darkness formed a single world.

And soon, the shadows that had changed into the forms of a snake, a wolf, and a hawk rushed towards this side.

Sharp fangs and claws. I increased the amount of light while dodging backwards.

Flash!

Then the beasts that crumbled. I let out a sigh at that sight.

‘That was close.’

If I had been a formation master who couldn’t use light attribute magic, I would have been defeated miserably. Because each and every one of the shadow beasts was at a level comparable to a decent first-rate martial artist.

‘To have to face something like that endlessly in the continuous darkness, even if several peak masters were to gather, they would eventually collapse.’

I could feel the strength of Zhuge Hyeonguk anew. To think of an infinitely continuing shadow world with an offensive and defensive in one of an overwhelming compatibility against the same formation master.

But there is nothing perfect in the world. I was slowly beginning to grasp the opponent’s weakness.

‘It’s worth breaking through.’

I checked the remaining mana in my circle and then stared at the flickering shadows around me.

It was about time to counterattack.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep