Murim Academy's Grand Equestrian Ground.

The place that usually managed and stored the horses used by the Murim Academy was full of people instead of horses.

At the center of the equestrian ground, a makeshift pavilion had been erected.

It seemed to have been built as a symbolic entity to test the formation array.

"It's certainly... strange."

Just as Song Jeongmu said, the shape of the formation array spread out on the Grand Equestrian Ground was very strange.

Originally, formation arrays would lower people's guard with an ordinary exterior such as trees and rocks.

It was fundamental to confuse the reason of those who stepped inside and guide them outside the formation array.

The reason the Seven Stars Seven Catch Array was famous throughout Jianghu was because it could freely control the Eight Gates, naturally trapping those who entered the formation array or making them fall into the Golden Jade Prison.

However, the Two Modes Eight Trigrams Ten Thousand Forms Array currently spread out on the Grand Equestrian Ground was surrounded by black mist, clearly showing its original form.

It was failing to do its original job of hiding its form and leading people to a place of death.

AAAAAGH!

SOB, SOB.

Please... Please...

Moreover, for some reason, agonizing screams could be continuously heard from inside the formation array.

"What is going on here?"

When I approached a formation master and asked, a nervous answer returned.

"We are currently trying to get it under control. Step back!"

Despite the rudeness of the pale-faced formation master, I took another step forward.

"I am Jin Sowoon, a representative of the Murim Academy. I need to know what happened."

Only then did the expression of the formation master, who had been heavily furrowing his brow, change strangely.

"Jin Sowoon?"

"Yes. I am that Jin Sowoon."

"... This is not something you need to concern yourself with. Step back."

"..."

Hah, I can't get through to him.

I infused a bit of inner qi and asked again.

"Where is Zhuge Jeonggi?"

"S-Step back, I said!"

"Do I sound like I'm joking right now?"

At the overwhelming energy, the formation master and the warriors standing around him didn't know what to do and started rolling their eyes.

When the situation showed no signs of progress, Song Jeongmu eventually stepped forward.

"I am Song Jeongmu of the Mount Heng Sect. I heard you needed my help."

"Ah! Great Warrior Seven Kills Soul-Extinguisher!"

The formation master suddenly showed a welcoming face and bowed his waist.

Look at these guys. This is so dirty I really can't stand it.

As I contorted my face, Song Jeongmu, who briefly checked my mood, asked the formation master.

"What exactly is going on inside the formation array? And why did you suddenly call for me?"

"T-That is..."

The formation master trailed off while checking my reaction.

Seriously, he's saying he'd rather die than speak while I'm here?

Just as I was about to say something, Song Jeongmu's angry shout erupted.

"What are you doing right now! If the situation is urgent enough to call even me, it must be critical. Are you going to continue playing power games and leave the people inside to die!"

"..."

Song Jeongmu firmly drove in the wedge.

"If it's going to be like this, I cannot help you either."

"N-No, that's not it."

The formation master, who had been reading the room for a long while, finally let out a long sigh.

"Actually, the Two Modes Eight Trigrams Ten Thousand Forms Array's..."

Just as he was about to reveal the inside story, another voice stopped the formation master's mouth.

"What are you talking about!"

The academy students gathered where the angry roar came from stepped back to both sides to make way.

The person who shouted with a flushed red face was none other than Zhuge Jeonggi.

As he puffed and tried to reprimand the formation master.

"Are you intending to reveal the family's secret to an outsider...!"

The formation master's gaze shifted behind Zhuge Jeonggi, who was yapping like an angry puppy.

Following him, everyone's gaze shifted backwards.

"Supreme Patri... No, Chief Strategist?"

The academy students who had been making a fuss also shut their mouths in unison.

The Grand Equestrian Ground, which had been like a marketplace, instantly sank into a silence like the inside of a library.

However, even that silence seemed to irritate the Chief Strategist, as he quietly muttered a word to the Academy Director standing next to him.

"How noisy."

"I will take care of it."

As Buk Wonpyeong nodded toward the instructors, they led the academy students out of the Grand Equestrian Ground in perfect order.

The academy students also considered this situation, where even the Chief Strategist had appeared, to be serious and quickly left the area.

A complete silence descended upon the Grand Equestrian Ground.

Zhuge Somyeong, with a stern expression, only then cast his gaze at Zhuge Jeonggi.

"So, what is the situation?"

At the question of the Chief Strategist with his hands behind his back, Zhuge Jeonggi was about to quickly answer, but he glared at me again.

A wary look that seemed to ask why I was still here.

It was an obvious order for eviction.

At that look, Zhuge Somyeong's eyebrows shot upward.

"You certainly said it was an urgent situation to the point of needing to call me, but was it not?"

At Zhuge Somyeong's indirect command to leave me be, Zhuge Jeonggi tightly bit his lip once before opening his mouth.

"... A problem has occurred with the Two Modes Eight Trigrams Ten Thousand Forms Array."

"I have eyes too. Do you not know the basics of reporting?"

At Zhuge Somyeong's cold rebuke, Zhuge Jeonggi's shoulders shrank.

"... I was trying to showcase the improved version..."

"Hah...! You don't even know what problems might arise from a newly completed formation array, yet you touched an improved version that hasn't even finished testing?"

"I am sorry, Grandfather..."

"You fool!"

An angry shout erupted from Zhuge Somyeong's mouth.

The air in the Grand Equestrian Ground froze in an instant.

"Did I come here as your grandfather!"

"..."

At that moment.

SOB, SOB.

S-Stop! Please stop! I... I was wrong!

I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!

Not me... It's not me! I didn't do it!!

The screams coming from inside the formation array instantly filled the Grand Equestrian Ground.

Zhuge Somyeong, who let out a sigh, turned his head and looked toward where Song Jeongmu and I were.

"Did you bring the Mount Heng Sect because it seems the Righteous Minds of the people inside are shaking?"

Song Jeongmu stepped forward and cupped his fists.

"It has been a long time, Chief Strategist."

"It has been a while, but it's not a very pleasant occasion. So, how does it look to you? Will the Mount Heng Sect's destroying evil be of help?"

"..."

At Song Jeongmu's silence, Zhuge Jeonggi swiftly raised his head and stepped forward.

"The Mount Heng Sect's destroying evil and subduing spirits are the best in the world! It will definitely be of help to the people inside..."

"I didn't ask you!"

"..."

As Zhuge Somyeong looked at Zhuge Jeonggi as if he were pathetic and then shifted his gaze to him, Song Jeongmu let out a small sigh.

"You must know as well, Chief Strategist. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to help."

Zhuge Jeonggi flinched in panic.

"W-What does that mean! D-Don't tell me you're turning your back on the Zhuge Clan just because you are helping Jin Sowoon right now?!"

At Zhuge Jeonggi's words, Song Jeongmu's eyes turned sharp.

It was an obvious look of contempt.

"Do you find me... and our Mount Heng Sect to be so laughable?"

"..."

Zhuge Jeonggi was making the situation worse and more disadvantageous to himself every time he opened his mouth.

For some reason, Zhuge Somyeong seemed to sigh as he looked back and forth between his grandson and me.

"I am sorry. Jinmyeong raised him too softly. I clearly told him not to do so several times."

"Aren't you here as the Chief Strategist right now?"

"I will speak to the Sect Leader directly later."

At the conversation between Zhuge Somyeong and Song Jeongmu, Zhuge Jeonggi made a complicated expression.

"Grandf... no, Chief Strategist, what do you mean by that."

"Do you not even know the difference between the energy of heterodox sects and the energy of orthodox sects?"

"... Yes? What does that..."

Zhuge Somyeong clicked his tongue in a Tsk, as if he were pathetic.

"The Mount Heng Sect's destroying evil is a power that resolves wrongness with righteousness. Do you think the illusions of the Two Modes Eight Trigrams Ten Thousand Forms Array, which was created with righteous energy in the first place, can be resolved with the Mount Heng Sect's energy?"

"..."

Zhuge Jeonggi's face turned pale white, as if he finally realized.

"How many are inside?"

At Zhuge Somyeong's question, the formation master spoke with extreme tension.

"S-Seventy-eight people."

At the number that exceeded his expectations, Zhuge Somyeong's eyes flashed sharply.

"You put in quite a lot. How long has it been since they entered?"

"T-Two quarters of an hour... no, it's approaching three quarters."

"Phew... How long will it take to break the formation?"

"T-That is..."

After the formation masters put their heads together and discussed in hushed voices, one of them eventually gulped and spoke.

"I-It seems it will take... three days."

Zhuge Somyeong pressed his temples firmly as if his head ached.

"And that's the absolute minimum, right?"

"... That's."

"Because you don't know how the equipment of the improved version is acting inside."

"Yes..."

At the formation master's weak answer, the people in the area each let out a sigh.

The situation was taking a serious turn.

Since the White Path Council's event had resumed, the people who entered the Two Modes Eight Trigrams Ten Thousand Forms Array right now were mostly those closely related to the White Path Council.

In other words, whether within the White Path Council or Jianghu as a whole, they were figures whose status wouldn't fall short anywhere.

And that massive pressure had made Zhuge Jeonggi bring even Zhuge Somyeong.

"Grandf..., no, Chief Strategist. You have a way, Chief Strategist, don't you?"

Despite the desperate question, Zhuge Somyeong did not easily open his mouth.

'He can't help it... Considering what kind of absolute array the Two Modes Eight Trigrams Ten Thousand Forms Array is.'

It was a rare formation array that the great Zhuge Clan had created after twenty years of research.

Moreover, it was a formation array that had reached a supreme level through endless improvements.

Although there was public criticism that the Zhuge Clan had gone crazy for money and was playing around with formation arrays, those improved versions had still saved countless people's lives from the demonic clutches of the Demonic Cult, hadn't they.

However, that was a matter for the distant future.

Right now, from the Zhuge Clan's standpoint, there was only one way to break the Two Modes Eight Trigrams Ten Thousand Forms Array.

Zhuge Somyeong looked at Zhuge Jeonggi's hopeful eyes.

"There is!"

"T-Then... use it quickly!"

And then, he mercilessly extinguished that light of hope.

"But all the people inside would die instead."

"Yes? What does that..."

"The stable formation array is shaking due to the improved equipment. Because of that, the Righteous Minds of the children who entered are shaking."

The people of the Zhuge Clan who were listening to Zhuge Somyeong's story swallowed their saliva simultaneously.

Zhuge Somyeong blurted out in an indifferent voice.

"But thanks to that, it can be broken."

"Broken!"

Zhuge Jeonggi was so shocked it looked like he would jump out at any moment.

However, Zhuge Somyeong did not bat an eye.

"Then is there any other way?"

To break the formation array right now meant to destroy all the gates, including the Eight Gates, at once.

It was no different from setting fire to a thatched house with people inside just because of bedbugs.

Zhuge Jeonggi trembled as if he could not accept it.

"Then... won't the people inside die!"

"Or you can look at the brats who've become madmen three days later."

"...!"

Zhuge Somyeong spoke with a colder and more clear-headed look in his eyes than ever before.

"Make your choice. Will you see corpses? Or will you see children who have become madmen?"

"... Ugh."

"You must have been prepared to take responsibility since the moment you ordered this, right?"

Zhuge Somyeong was pressuring Zhuge Jeonggi as if treating a sinner, not his grandson.

It seemed he had no intention of just letting this go even after this matter was over.

'What should I do...'

In the meantime, I was also racking my brain as much as Zhuge Jeonggi.

The question was whether it was right to step forward in this situation or not.

If I stepped forward for nothing, I could end up turning against the Zhuge Clan, with whom I had a reasonably good relationship.

On the other hand, if I didn't step forward, I could use it as an opportunity to let the White Path Council collapse and solidify my position.

'That is certainly true, but...'

AAAAAGH!

M-Mother! Father!!!!

I'm sorry! I was wrong!

The screams erupted once again from inside the Two Modes Eight Trigrams Ten Thousand Forms Array.

The answer I had to choose was clear.

Having organized my thoughts, I let out a small sigh.

"Chief Strategist."

Everyone's gaze focused on me all at once.

I looked straight at Zhuge Somyeong.

"I don't think this is the time to be weighing responsibilities."

"..."

"..."

"..."

At my single remark, a cold silence hung inside the Grand Equestrian Ground.

Not only the academy's drill instructors but also the Zhuge Clan's formation masters were looking at me as if I were a madman.

However, there was only one person.

Only Zhuge Somyeong asked me back with an unwavering gaze.

"Then?"

"Wouldn't saving the people inside come first."

For some reason, the corners of Zhuge Somyeong's mouth seemed to curl up slightly.

"... Do you have a way to save them? The path keeps changing because the internal pillars are twisted. No matter how good your memory is, what use is it if the path changes."

"I don't have the confidence to go inside and find them either."

Doubt flashed in his eyes.

"Then?"

I looked around the Zhuge Clan's formation masters once before asking Zhuge Somyeong.

"May I... break the array?"

"Break the array?"

At that moment, Zhuge Jeonggi opened his eyes wide and threw a fit.

"Jin Sowoon! How dare you speak of breaking the array with that mouth! Just what do you take the Zhuge Clan's formation array for...! What are you doing, get that bastard right now...!"

SLAP!

Along with the clear sound of a resounding slap, Zhuge Jeonggi looked at Zhuge Somyeong with a shocked face.

"G-Grandfather..."

Zhuge Jeonggi's face became full of betrayal, as if he had been stabbed by a trusted comrade.

Zhuge Somyeong shouted with a more furious expression than ever before.

"You fool!!! People's lives are hanging by a thread right now! Is the mere prestige of the family that important to you!"

"..."

His gaze lingered on me for a moment before shifting to Zhuge Jeonggi again.

"You don't even have the right to be here! What are you doing! Drag this fool out right now!"

Another thunderous roar flew at the hesitating warriors.

"Did I not tell you to drag him out right now!"

"Y-Yes!"

Zhuge Jeonggi went limp like a corpse and was dragged out with his two feet trailing on the ground.

Zhuge Somyeong looked at me with a stiff face and asked.

"You can break the array?"

Zhuge Somyeong as well,

And the Zhuge Clan's formation masters looked at me with eyes that showed they could not easily believe it.

Expressions that looked like they would have rushed at me if it weren't for Zhuge Somyeong.

And rightfully so, because 'breaking an array' meant the method of forcefully dismantling it from the outside by knowing the formation array's weaknesses.

They surely wouldn't want to easily believe the claim that the Two Modes Eight Trigrams Ten Thousand Forms Array, which contained twenty years of the essence of geniuses, could be neutralized.

Because even in my past life, no one had ever 'broken' the Two Modes Eight Trigrams Ten Thousand Forms Array until the Demonic Brain appeared.

Of course, I didn't know if I could break the array exactly like the Demonic Brain did.

But rather than seeing dozens of corpses crushed to death by the formation array, or seeing academy students appearing as madmen.

'Wouldn't this be better?'

Even though I couldn't even predict what kind of relationship I would have with the Zhuge Clan due to this matter.

AAAAAGH!

SOB, SOB.

Please... Please...

Please forgive me! I was wrong!

Saving people first was the right choice.

"Yes. I believe it is possible."

Right now, that was all I thought about.

Only that.