“Is this it?”

“It’s a treasure warehouse, so there’s no way you can go back once you leave. Are you sure?”

Then, a guy who cut in as if to confirm. The procedure of asking if I wouldn’t regret it was half a beat faster than his usual tone, making him seem like a wholesaler disposing of goods as if it were a clearance sale.

It must mean that his expectations for this weapon were that low.

I understood. Because on the outside, it was nothing more than a well-crafted, wall-hanging decorative iron mace.

That was the reason why it was only a high-grade item, even though it was known to be an item made by the great formation master, Zhuge Goya, himself.

“Yes.”

I nodded my head. According to Yu Sia’s records, this was it. After lifting the iron mace, I rotated the circle and drew up my mana.

The method to check if this was the Seven Star Ladle was simple.

I inserted a strand of energy made of the five elements, which had been delicately extracted, into the gap engraved with a snake. There were a total of five engraved snakes. It was the same as what was written in the document that Yu Sia had left.

‘It’s not easy.’

Although it was a small scale, to handle five attributes at almost the same time without a collision required a tremendous amount of control.

‘And on top of that, the handle is designed so that the energy only goes in when you hold it with one hand, so I have to do all this work by myself.’

I intricately wove the mana. As if I were handling a formation. It was something that would have been impossible without a high degree of sensitivity.

“You shouldn’t use your qi here…”

At the unusual airflow, Zhuge Mubo tried to stop me, but the reaction of the iron mace was faster.

Crack-

Along with the sound of the metal splitting, the sphere part of the iron mace, which was surrounded by a snake, split. And then, the lump of iron opened like a flower, and it became a shape that was hollowed out like a cup.

“What is this…?”

Zhuge Mubo, who was surprised with an expressionless face. It seemed it was the first time he had seen something like this, even though he had been in charge of guiding the treasure warehouse for a long time.

“Didn’t you say earlier that the eye to distinguish a treasure is a qualification of a visitor?”

When I recovered the energy again, the iron mace that was reassembled and returned to a sphere.

I said, shouldering it.

“It seems the treasure has found its owner. Now, let’s go.”

Zhuge Mubo bowed his head without a word.

* * *

By the time I came out of the treasure warehouse, it was already night. Even though I had come out as soon as I had found it.

‘It’s no wonder. The procedure was a bit tricky.’

And so, as I was thinking and about to return, I heard Zhuge Mubo’s voice from behind.

“Today was impressive.”

When I looked back, he, with his serious eyes, was looking this way.

“How did you know? That it was a liberation relic.”

“…It was just a feeling. Why? Are you going to take it away now, saying it’s not a high-grade item?”

“No. It is our lack of virtue. We were just not qualified.”

Zhuge Mubo added.

“That is one of the relics left by the great formation master, Zhuge Goya-nim.”

“Is that so?”

I knew. Because the one who had made and hidden the divine artifact, the Daoist Scholar’s Fan, which I was going to get, was Zhuge Goya.

“I hear that Zhuge Goya-nim originally had someone he loved. But since she was young and their statuses were different, it was difficult to have a formal engagement due to the opposition of those around. So he decided that he would become strong enough that no one in the family would oppose him and then go to get her.”

It was a famous love story within the family.

“Then one day, Zhuge Goya-nim received a revelation from the stars. When a great inspiration for learning came to him, he took the book left by the first generation and went into a sacred mountain. But Zhuge Goya-nim stayed there for a whopping 10 years.”

I knew. This was also one of the legends that came out when you researched Zhuge Goya.

“Zhuge Goya-nim came out after achieving a great accomplishment, but that woman was already married and even pregnant, and Zhuge Goya-nim is said to have given this to her with a late congratulations, who he had spent his childhood with.”

“An iron mace with several snakes engraved on it. What an uncool gift.”

“Perhaps. But until now, many people knew that Zhuge Goya-nim had given the iron mace, thinking that the woman’s baby would be a son. As he said, a son was really born, so there were also voices praising Zhuge Goya-nim’s foresight. But now that I see it, it feels a little different.”

I also nodded my head.

The iron mace was actually a flower. A flower that only he could open.

At the same time, his affection was an iron mace that was brought down on a family. That’s why the flower withered on its own and became an uncool lump of iron.

Even though he stood in a position where he could have everything, as a great formation master, he was in a position where he could only look at the flower he had so desired.

‘He was one of the few pure-hearted people in that period, which was worse than the Middle Ages.’

In the middle of the night, when the faint moonlight was brushing against my hair, Zhuge Mubo cupped his fists and paid his respects to this side.

“I will look forward to the future activities of Young Master Zhuge Cheonwu.”

And with those words, he disappeared into the darkness.

“…Young Master.”

Had there been anyone in this family who had called me that? Even though it was just a title of ‘young master’.

“It’s definitely changing.”

Although I didn’t know where that change would lead. I walked into the dark manor with the iron mace on my back.

I still had an evening appointment with Zhuge Hyeonguk.

* * *

“You’re here?”

In a corner of the family’s spacious grounds, the Formation Court. Under a tall building with a black outer wall made of baked black earth, Zhuge Hyeonguk was waiting for Cheonwu.

After finishing a light greeting, I threw a light question to Zhuge Hyeonguk, who was heading to the formation ground.

“Is this the main building of the Dark Formation Martial Sect? It’s quite large.”

In this era, it was a six-story stone building. There must be some formation-related arrangements in addition to architectural engineering.

“Even if it looks like this, it’s one of the largest formation schools in the family.”

It had to be. Because in a sense, he was that special-class formation master who was harder to see than a Transformation Realm master.

“So is that what you got from the treasure warehouse?”

Zhuge Hyeonguk looked at the Seven Star Ladle on my back and did not hide his puzzled expression.

“Yes.”

“Hmm, since it’s your choice, there’s no problem, but still, wouldn’t it have been better to choose an artifact that would be helpful in operating a formation?”

‘As expected, he can’t tell?’

It was an item whose true value even the family’s treasure keeper, Zhuge Mubo, had not been able to recognize. No matter how much of a Zhuge Hyeonguk he was, he couldn’t deduce its use just by looking at it from the outside.

“Because I’m a bit greedy.”

“I heard you also handle swordsmanship. In the first place, it’s natural if you want to be the top student at the Martial Academy.”

“Then what should I do to become the best in the formation world?”

Zhuge Hyeonguk paused for a moment and then stroked his beard.

“…You are very greedy. First, you’ll have to be able to defeat the top first-class formation masters in the family, and even the semi-special-class formation masters.”

“Among them, what is the level of Elder Zhuge Jong-cheol?”

“Upper-middle of the first-class.”

Zhuge Hyeonguk stated firmly.

“If you get happy just because you defeated an elder of that level, you’ll get hurt badly.”

At the same time, whether we had arrived at the training ground, his footsteps stopped. What was revealed beyond his back was a wide formation stage.

“It’s about midnight. The darkest time.”

Against the backdrop of the crescent moon floating in the dark dawn sky, Zhuge Hyeonguk turned to this side and said.

“Then now it’s time to be submerged in darkness.”

* * *

As if ink were spreading on a black mulberry paper, the night sky was covered in darkness. Something that was not a cloud was covering my head and swallowing the crescent moon.

In a world of pitch-black, I was amazed, seeing the shadow world that I was experiencing for the second time.

‘I heard that a formation master who has reached the extreme can even change the terrain, but this is amazing every time I see it.’

I couldn’t even guess how much time had been accumulated to implement a formation of this level of perfection in reality.

‘I can’t just be amazed.’

I activated a light magic, seeing the lumps of shadow that were rushing in.

Swoosh-

But the light went out in an instant.

‘It’s different from before?’

It was a kind of power that I had never seen before. What I had seen a few days ago was a darkness that annihilated everything. But this time, it was as if the darkness itself was taking away the energy and extinguishing it.

‘If that was like erasing everything with an all-purpose eraser, then now it’s a feeling of rubbing and erasing with a hand that has been forcibly wet with water.’

I could feel it instinctively. That what was being shown now was a power of a much lower level, technically.

‘Did he deliberately lower the quality to show me?’

Or he was trying to crush me with compatibility, using the fact that this side’s firepower was inferior.

‘Either way, it’s vicious.’

I should have known from the point where he attacked me, telling me to learn on my own at night, while saying he would teach me about formations.

And so, as I was thinking, a huge palm-shaped shadow that was rising in front of my eyes, I rolled on the floor of the training ground, avoiding the pouring shadow.

‘I shouldn’t fight head-on.’

Then this side, which was at an overwhelming disadvantage, would be pushed back. If I were to use the Seven Star Ladle on my back, a way out might open, but this was not something to be used here.

In the end, I had to overcome this situation with only my own strength. For this, I had no choice but to find and subdue the caster, Zhuge Hyeonguk, or to run away from the shadow world.

‘No, there’s another way. Although it’s a gamble.’

If I were to stay like this anyway, I would just be hunted down.

I stopped in my tracks and stared into the darkness. The shadows that were rushing in like a rapid stream. I did not block them. And soon, the shadow that had come right up to my nose covered my whole body.

All my senses were blocked, and a huge pressure as if it were crushing my whole body rushed in.

My two legs were trembling. If it weren’t for [Extreme Will], I would have knelt down right away.

A feeling as if I were stuck at the bottom of the deep sea, and on top of that, the shadows that were trying to push their way into my eyes and nose were chilling. The shield that I had spread to block them seemed like it would break at any moment.

‘But I’ll endure it.’

Just by standing, my mana was being consumed like crazy.

The more I focused, the more my consciousness sank, and my inner self was dragged down to a deeper place. The bottom of the abyss, I felt the source of the shadow in it.

“Found it.”

As soon as I got a feel for it, I tried to communicate with the surrounding shadows and take control. In a high degree of concentration, a part of the shadow that had been encroaching on my skin wriggled.

‘Good.’

It was worth a try. The quality of the shadow was not as overwhelming as when I had first met Zhuge Hyeonguk.

‘It’s impossible to control the space itself, but at least the shadow surrounding me…’

My consciousness sank to a deeper place. And finally, I reached a certain source.

Wriggle-

The pieces of shadow that had stuck to my body fell off one by one, like a vine. As I removed them one by one, the pressure that had been crushing my whole body gradually weakened.

‘Good. I’ll escape like this.’

And so, just as I was about to take control and release the restraint that had been binding my whole body and escape.

‘What is this?’

Along with a question, my vision became slightly brighter. At the ominous premonition, I lifted my head, and between the roundly gathered darkness, I could see the crescent moon hanging in the sky and the night sky.

And the shadows that were pouring in like a tsunami, as if to surround that sight.

“Damn it.”

I spat out a curse.

* * *

“Huh, it took me at least three months to even get a feel for it.”

Zhuge Hyeonguk was amazed, looking at the disciple who had collapsed on the floor of the training ground. The shadow is one of the most difficult energies to handle.

Because it is a power that is connected to the source, but whose reality is not clear, it is a being that is difficult to even feel its existence at first.

But, Cheonwu had not only sensed it, but had also grasped its subtleties and had even controlled it.

And that too, in a real battle, in just two times.

‘An amazing talent. No, it’s not enough to be called just that.’

Although it was a small amount, hadn’t he taken the control of the shadow he had made?

Even if he hadn’t deliberately tried to regain the initiative, it was absurd to think that he could take away the energy that had already been manifested.

‘Perhaps… I might be able to see the second coming of a great formation master.’

A great formation master who was said to have only appeared once in the family, except for the first generation in history. At the thought that he might be witnessing that legendary being, a thrill ran through his whole body.

Just as Zhuge Hyeonguk’s gaze was about to glitter from desire to madness, a dissatisfied voice came back to him.

“…Aren’t you being too rough with your disciple?”

“There’s no education like a real battle.”

At the shameless answer, I barely got up with my two arms, which were trembling from the shock, and sat down, retorting.

“If you go by that, wouldn’t the guys from the unorthodox and demonic sects be stronger?”

Of course, a real battle with a special-class formation master was a good opportunity. My growth just now was also thanks to that.

But it would be difficult if it continued like this. I had a plan that I had set up according to the priority, such as the growth of my mana or martial arts, but if my whole body were to be worn out just by learning one formation like this, all my plans would be messed up.

I had no intention of putting all my abilities into a formation just because an opportunity had arisen. Because for now, the grade-skipping exam, which was in a month or two, was more urgent.

But I couldn’t just reveal this fact to Zhuge Hyeonguk as it was.

‘He would rather want me to leave the Martial Academy and devote myself to formations. On the contrary, there is a possibility that he would interfere with the growth of my magic or martial arts, using the excuse of formation training.’

Zhuge Hyeonguk is not a pure good person. Because even after discovering my talent for formations, he had tried to take the initiative, using the excuse of the successor problem of the Dark Formation world.

‘I must avoid being dragged around by the opponent one-sidedly.’

I bluffed as much as I could.

“Look at this. It hasn’t even been a shichen. But my whole body is trembling like this, so how can I have a class every day?”

Then Zhuge Hyeonguk also stroked his beard and nodded his head.

“Hmm, there’s a point. I also want to take it easy, but I’m getting impatient, thinking that you’ll go back to the Martial Academy when the vacation is over. How about taking a year off and taking formation classes in the family? It will be faster to unify all the formation worlds.”

And at his appearance of making a kind and gentle smile, I clicked my tongue inwardly.

‘Damn old man.’

He was planning to bind me completely with this opportunity.

“Although it’s a grateful proposal, I still want to get the learning and exchange that can only be done at the academy.”

“That’s a shame. Then let’s do it like this for the time being, until you can pull out the shadow. If you ever change your mind, let me know.”

With that, Zhuge Hyeonguk raised the corner of his mouth. Seeing that, my mouth tasted bitter.

‘Damn it.’

After that, a special training that was close to a real battle began again, along with a brief theoretical explanation.

I, who had endured all the hard training that pushed me to the brink of losing my consciousness, collapsed again.

“Let’s call it a day. You’ve worked hard.”

In my hazy consciousness, Zhuge Hyeonguk’s last words brushed past.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep