#255
The Zhuge Family (1)
Longzhong Mountain, Hubei Province.
This was the place where the Zhuge Family, a jianghu power that ruled the region, had established its seat, and also a land where one of the dragon veins was located.
In truth, since dragon veins were part of feng shui to begin with, it was no exaggeration to say that the headquarters of most renowned powers were situated on such auspicious sites.
Whether they had seized good land with their powerful forces, or had grown strong because they occupied good land, the order of cause and effect differed from case to case.
Thanks to that, they had been able to maintain relative stability even amid this chaotic situation, and while waging wars to secure additional dragon veins, they were also staking everything on protecting their headquarters.
On top of that, the Zhuge Family was a prestigious household whose name was counted among the foremost in formations and spell arts.
The defenses around Longzhong Mountain, where they were based, were truly no different from an impregnable fortress that no one could approach.
‘That was how it was supposed to be…’
On this day, the Second Captain of the Tianji Guardian Unit, who oversaw the outer defenses of the Zhuge Family, gripped his sword and glared at the uninvited guest before him.
The place where they now stood was inside the Daluo Jinsui Formation (大羅禁碎陳), the sixth of the seven formations spread across Longzhong Mountain.
Aside from the final formation, which assumed an enemy had already infiltrated the inside of the family estate, this place was essentially the last line of defense.
The formations the family boasted of, spread across all of Longzhong Mountain… the defenses they had always regarded with absolute confidence had been breached all the way to this point in an instant.
At first glance, it could be called a disgrace unworthy of their fame, but naturally, they had something to say in their defense.
‘Madness. He broke through the formations from the sky and came straight here?’
Formations, by their very nature, used specific objects or natural terrain, so they inevitably specialized in dealing with enemies on the ground.
Of course, the Zhuge Family had mixed spell arts into them and prepared some countermeasures against the air as well, but even that had its limits. How could they possibly have prepared for an opponent who roamed the skies freely and simply crossed an entire mountain in one go!
‘Even if this mountain isn’t all that high…!’
When an intrusion was first detected at the foot of the mountain, they had not thought much of it.
Then, the intruder broke through that place in the blink of an eye, and the moment he entered the second formation, an emergency summons was issued…
The opponent’s advance was far too fast.
‘We have to buy as much time as possible here!’
Until the others in the family finished all preparations for battle, they had to delay him by any means necessary.
The Second Captain clenched his teeth, tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, and spoke with a grave expression.
“…This is your final warning. State your reason for trespassing into our family’s territory.”
No matter how much the Daluo Jinsui Formation assisted them, rash action against such an unidentified master was forbidden.
The best course was to stall through conversation as much as possible while assessing the opponent.
Yet unexpectedly, the intruder nodded obediently and answered.
“Ah, how rude of me. Pleased to meet you. My name is Harris. I came to visit because I wanted to ask your esteemed family a few things.”
“…In the world at large, an unpermitted visit is usually called an intrusion.”
“Oh! Is that so? As you can tell at a glance, I’m not from around here. Hahaha!”
At that shameless answer, the warriors of the Zhuge Family wore expressions of utter disbelief.
Of course, his appearance was unusual enough that anyone could tell at a glance he was a foreigner, but even so, trying to insist that something so basic was a cultural difference was a bit…
‘No, wait. Is that not it? He doesn’t even seem human, let alone a foreigner. …Does he truly not know human culture because he’s a yokai? What should we do in that case?’
As that reasonable suspicion arose, confusion settled over the Second Captain’s face.
When the other party had barged in without warning, he had thought of him as a definite enemy, but now that the intruder’s attitude was so carefree, he was beginning to feel unsure how to respond.
“…If that is truly the case, then please wait here for a moment. Proper preparations are naturally required to receive a guest. You can at least comply with that much, can you not?”
His decision was, for the time being, to accept the other party’s words appropriately and gain practical advantage.
The judgment would be made by the higher-ups anyway, and his mission was to delay him here for as long as possible.
“It seems I’ve been terribly rude. Then shall we do that?”
His ready agreement made the warriors’ heightened tension feel almost absurd.
The uninvited guest with blond hair, green eyes, and long ears—Harris—calmly nodded.
***
‘My goal is to expand my influence, so there’s no need to antagonize every force. The river bandits failed to meet my standards, but the Zhuge Family doesn’t seem to be exploiting the surrounding area all that much.’
Of course, this commotion had been created because he had shown a bit of his strength to establish smoother relations, but wasn’t this level of self-promotion common everywhere?
And though he did not show it outwardly, Harris was inwardly impressed by the formation that had forcibly brought him down to the ground when he had been about to charge straight into the family estate.
‘So this is a real, properly made formation. Impressive.’
To be more precise, he was thoroughly fascinated by the flow of energy connected to this entire area, to himself, and even to each individual warrior.
The natural energy flowing with meticulous calculation like cogwheels felt almost like a work of art.
And the one who felt that appreciation was in an entirely different dimension—
The Immortal King in the Immortal Castle of Auterica felt the same.
[Hmm, this is intriguing. To think it can forcibly suppress someone as strong as Harris… Now that I look, the five formations we passed through earlier are also linked to this place and amplifying its effect. Were formations always this impressive?]
Hans, who had been conducting research alone in a small room, tilted his head slightly and murmured in a low voice.
The “formation arts” he had encountered on Earth and incorporated into the “Path of Magic” were highly versatile in many ways, so he often made use of them.
Just adding them slightly when drawing magic circles or setting up altars dramatically amplified the effects, so there was no reason not to use them.
However, with his current level of knowledge, completely breaking through the supreme formation of the Zhuge Family, the foremost in the Ganghwan Realm, was beyond him.
The only reason he had been able to break through and enter this far was because Harris, with his abilities, had targeted the weak point called the air.
[Well, a force of this size would naturally have a few secret arts like that. Khuhuhu… My, my. This is exceedingly tempting.]
Anything learned would be useful sooner or later.
While Hans, filled with greed for spell arts, was burning with personal desire…
Harris was still focused on the operation of the energy flowing within the formation itself.
‘Looking closely, this formation also seems related to the Bagua (八卦) of the Wuyou Bagua Secret Art.’
Harris, who had already been sensitive to energy, had become even more attuned to the energy of this world after coming into contact with martial arts.
To him, the pinnacle of formations that used the energy flowing through the world to manipulate all kinds of natural harmonies was no different from an excellent teaching aid.
‘The properties of qi and its circulation, the laws of this world contained within it, and the qigong that encompasses all of it…’
Feeling as if something were tickling his mind, Harris once again recalled the essentials of the Wuyou Bagua Secret Art and began moving his qi little by little.
And Hubert, who was sharing this situation in real time through Harris’s senses, naturally shifted the direction of his analysis and assisted him.
‘Right. Now that I think about it, our conditions are different, so there’s no need to follow the orthodox method.’
In this world, martial arts had begun when humans, in pursuit of power, imitated beings that were exceptional from birth.
Starting with the ferocious beasts that threatened their survival, and even the movements of herbivores that were weak but possessed outstanding survivability.
Then, going beyond animals, martial arts began to embody natural phenomena such as waterfalls and lightning, and eventually came to express not only idols like the moon and sun, but even abstract concepts such as death and abundance.
‘And what the Wuyou Bagua Secret Art pursues is all things under heaven and earth… in other words, harmony with nature. Something I already possess in overflowing abundance.’
Then he did not need that part, so he boldly discarded it.
As he operated the incomplete Wuyou Bagua Secret Art anew, he replaced the essentials concerning harmony with nature with the overwhelming affinity derived from “Assimilation with Nature,” “Call of Nature,” and the like.
Goooooo—
Vast amounts of natural energy gathered from all directions, and the flow that constituted the formation began to shake.
He sensed the martial representative standing before him shout something, but such things were not important to him right now.
He skipped the unnecessary steps and took only the parts he lacked.
Since Hubert had already completed the overall analysis, there was no problem proceeding as he did.
‘Harmony. Filling what is lacking with what is excessive and growing together.’
The gathered energy surged into Harris’s body and began forming a small inner core near his dantian.
His flesh, overloaded by the sudden change, creaked, but Harris, who had already reached transcendence and completed his essence, qi, and spirit, swiftly accepted it all and adapted in an instant.
And at last—
《The individual has fulfilled the conditions and awakened a possibility. Special Skill “Body of Nature” has been acquired.》
《The individual has gained enlightenment through repeated training. Skill “Wuyou Bagua Secret Art (Modified)” has been acquired.》
He had thought it would be possible to obtain something only after a considerable amount of time had passed, yet through an unexpected opportunity, he had gained results far earlier than expected.
And Harris could instinctively feel it.
At the same time he acquired “Body of Nature,” the possibility had opened for him to form bonds with a greater variety of spirits.
‘…My, this makes me look forward to returning to Auterica.’
A faint smile settled on Harris’s face as he gathered the surging energy.
Perhaps truly, before long, he might even be able to summon the Spirit King, a being no different from a quasi-divine entity.
“Ah!”
Only then did Harris’s attention turn to his surroundings. He hurriedly looked around, saw the warriors glaring fiercely at him with stiff faces drenched in cold sweat, and wore an awkward expression.
“Urgh, what in the… this makes no sense…”
“Haa— haa—.”
Of course, that was inevitable.
While he had been immersed in his own world, the barrier… no, the formation had failed to withstand the fluctuation of energy and had finally collapsed. What else could they have done?
‘This is troublesome. I didn’t mean to do it.’
He had become a suspicious stranger who had pretended to wait obediently, then suddenly caused a disturbance and destroyed the formation.
At this point, it was no different from openly declaring war.
‘No, since it’s come to this, perhaps I should simply occupy the place by force and make them listen…’
Just as Harris’s thoughts grew more violent and began racing toward an increasingly extreme direction—
“…Wuyou Bagua Secret Art. Could you perhaps be a descendant of the Tianji Sect?”
A heavy, aged voice rang out.
And Harris, who had already sensed the crowd beginning to surround him on all sides, naturally turned his gaze and looked at the one who had spoken to him.
An old man, with several warriors behind him, eyes closed and walking slowly toward him while leaning on a staff.
“Huh! Supreme Family Head?”
The martial representative who had been facing Harris until now looked over in surprise, but the old man did not answer him and continued speaking in a grave tone.
“A secret art that handles the energy of nature and guides phenomena… It was a martial art that stood in opposition to strange-gate formations. A study that freely alters the flow of energy, which is the foundation of constructing formations.”
At those words, Harris paused.
As expected of the renowned Zhuge Family.
Seeing that he knew not only the name of the martial art but also its effects with precision, he was indeed no ordinary man.
“Hohoho, what trick of fate is this? I thought its lineage had been completely cut off when Boundless Fairy and her disciple lost their lives to that man. And at this level… it can well be called the Profound Realm.”
The moment his words ended, the surrounding air stiffened.
They had already guessed to some extent after feeling that tremendous fluctuation of energy, but the weight of it felt entirely different now that one of the family’s great elders had openly declared it.
Even if the opponent was in the Profound Realm, they had been confident that by using the final supreme formation left within the family, they might not be able to win, but they would not lose. Unfortunately, the opponent happened to possess an ability that was the natural counter to formations, their specialty.
In other words, if they clashed like this, defeat was certain.
“My, my. An honored guest has come, yet this old man has spoken needlessly at length. Now then, Great Hero, for what business have you visited our family?”
Harris, who had instantly grasped the reaction around him, quietly stroked his chin and looked at the old man.
The title Supreme Family Head referred to the former head of the family, so his authority had to be immense. And yet such a person was lowering himself first, speaking of an “honored guest” and extending his hand.
With this, Harris would stand in an even more advantageous position than the relationship he had first imagined.
It was an excellent start.
“Ahaha— There are a few things I want to ask… and also something I want to request. Ah, speaking of which…”
In this situation, although he called it a request, it was essentially no different from coercion.
Of course, for the sake of a smooth relationship going forward, he could not demand anything that crossed the line too much.
“Can we talk inside first? It feels like you’ve kept me standing outside for quite a while. As hospitality goes, this is rather…”
Harris had turned arrogant the moment an opportunity appeared, his personality taking a turn for the worse.
#256