Chapter 764: Hero Appears (Revision)

Following the situation, Ilcheonggeom, unable to comprehend, acted as if he had malfunctioned.

Beside him, not only the other members of the Murim Alliance but also Beomdong looked as if they had witnessed an earthquake.

How should I put it.

Connections are always nice to see.

It was a realization I had anew.

‘…Hoo.’

Perhaps it was because Cheonjun blocked the situation.

Thanks to that, my head cooled down a bit.

With this body, I wouldn’t have been able to fight Ilcheonggeom right now.

Ah, if push came to shove, I might have even won. It’s just that the plan would have gone down the drain.

“If the conversation is over, may I go now?”

“…”

Ilcheonggeom’s brow furrowed.

He seemed like he wanted to say something to me, but perhaps because he was mindful of Cheonjun beside me, he couldn’t spit it out directly. Then, he just stared at me intently.

“…I shall guide you.”

He quickly backed down.

******************

Once I broke through, the path towards the pavilion was smooth sailing.

It was also because Ilcheonggeom was personally guiding me. Besides, the distance wasn’t that far to begin with.

While moving calmly, I glanced around the surroundings bit by bit.

‘There are many personnel tailing me.’

The forty I counted initially.

A number greater than that was still deployed inside.

Compared to the Alliance’s original potential strength, it was significantly less, but still a considerable number.

If I had one slight question.

‘Where did the remaining personnel slip off to?’

There were three Grand Masters at my side.

Ilcheonggeom, Seomgeom, and one other person…

‘I’m not sure. My guess is probably the Golden Dragon Grand Master.’

Seeing as he wore two swords at his waist, it was likely the Golden Dragon Grand Master, who uses dual-wielding sword techniques.

I confirmed Ilryong Grand Master was dead… Jeokryong Grand Master is out of the picture… Since I know what Pungryong Grand Master is up to, where could the remaining personnel be doing what?

‘I didn’t see them even when the demonic beasts were causing that ruckus, so I thought they were all here.’

That doesn’t seem to be the case.

So, where on earth did they head?

“…”

Suddenly, one possibility occurred to me, but I truly hoped that guess was wrong.

If that were true too, I felt like resentment would settle in on top of any nonexistent affection.

Walking a bit further following the guide.

Proceeding like that, we finally arrived at the pavilion.

Near Mutu-je, where I had a brawl with Do-wang. It was like that just moments ago, but after how much time had passed, I never thought I’d return here after wrecking my body like this.

‘This is ridiculous.’

Feeling this damn sentiment, I looked straight ahead.

The vermillion barrier, still lowered.

The number of people surrounding it was quite large.

“…Damn it…!”

“What in the world are we supposed to do about this!”

“Try to speed things up a bit…! Our Sect Leader is inside, you know!”

“We’re doing our best too!”

These people, fidgeting nervously, just staring at the barrier. I saw martial arts uniforms from familiar sects, and symbols of renowned noble families. Or even the crests of those considered the wealthiest in the Central Plains. Whether through power or money, those gathered there meant they were the pillars of the current Central Plains.

I calmly observed them for a moment before slightly raising my gaze.

The tall pavilion, and the people gathered atop it came into view.

Among them, I looked at the face of the elder at the forefront.

‘Look at that old geezer’s expression. He looks like he’s about to slice someone.’

It was the current leader of the Murim Alliance. The Wudang Sword Sage.

The Sword Sage wore an expression like a demon, having thrown away the benevolence unique to Taoists.

Seeing as the sky had cleared, he must have known the situation was nearing its end. Yet, having such an expression meant…

‘He knows.’

He wasn’t a complete idiot, so it seemed he knew the current state of the Murim Alliance. Knowing the Alliance’s perception and his own position were shaking, yet being unable to move himself, how furious must he be.

Because I understood that feeling all too well.

‘How satisfying.’

My mood actually improved.

Feeling refreshed, I proceeded forward.

Seeing the people surrounding and blocking the path, I gently nudged them aside.

“Excuse me, I need to pass.”

“Ugh…! What the-“

“Yes. Yes. Please move aside. I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

Somehow, I made my way through.

As I pushed through, I could finally see what was happening ahead.

Those clustered close to the barrier.

They wore clothes proving their affiliation with the Murim Alliance, but the character 풍 (風 – Wind) was embroidered around the collar.

‘The Wind Dragon Unit.’

Personnel from the Wind Dragon Unit, one of the Eight Sword Units.

The personnel, known as experts in formation arrays, were positioned before the barrier.

And below them…

“…Grand Master…! Please, stop… You’ll cause a major incident if you continue.”

“That’s right. We’ll handle the rest… Please…”

Despite the surrounding pleas, the figure worked his hands silently, as if brainwashed, trying to dismantle the barrier.

Pungryong Grand Master, Bi Mapha, was crouched down, touching the barrier.

His aged body was not in good condition.

Even lifting his hands was difficult, yet the elder trembled persistently as he continued to caress the barrier.

This was to somehow disable the barrier.

‘Not particularly useful.’

It was also him moving according to my command.

“Hh… Hhhuu…”

Pungryong Grand Master didn’t stop his hands, even though he looked like he could collapse at any moment.

Watching him, I narrowed my eyes.

‘I had hoped against hope, but it’s not different from my expectations.’

To dismantle the barrier, even with Pungryong Grand Master working on it, wouldn’t it take half a day?

Half a day was the time calculated by Pungryong Grand Master, the expert among experts, and it was said that if anyone else tried, it would take at least several days. This meant Pungryong Grand Master was that exceptional. Because it was him, he could shorten it to half a day.

As if proving this in reality.

‘The barrier has become slightly fainter.’

Unlike before, the vermillion barrier seemed to have faded.

However.

‘It’s still far from being dismantled.’

It had only faded slightly. It seemed like it would take a long time to dismantle.

Seeing this, I pondered what to do.

Half a day is too late.

I had to find a way to dismantle the barrier before then. It was for that very reason I was making use of Pungryong Grand Master.

‘This is getting a bit troublesome.’

What should I do?

Thinking this, I looked at the barrier.

It looked like just an ordinary barrier.

As Pildu-ma had boasted, it possessed the power to bind three of the Ten Great Masters and several martial artists at the Hwagyeong level.

However…

I had a question.

‘Is it really that hard to dismantle?’

I activated my Insightful Eyes and examined the barrier. Since I had internal injuries, even activating my Insightful Eyes was a bit strenuous.

‘Oh.’

I can see it.

A feast of threads, tangled and intertwined beyond counting.

Threads whose origins and ends were unknown.

That’s what formed the barrier when bundled together, and it seemed Pungryong Grand Master was carefully pulling threads apart to find the starting point.

Seeing that, I realized.

‘No wonder it takes over half a day.’

When on earth could anyone untangle all these threads to find the starting point?

‘There’s no manual labor in the world like this.’

With a grimace, I examined the barrier more closely.

‘…Hmm.’

As I narrowed my eyes and looked here and there.

‘I don’t understand the principle.’

I couldn’t grasp how it operated or what produced such an effect. It was natural. How could I grasp the principle without ever learning it?

‘What a shame.’

If only I could understand it, it would have been a power I could utilize well. Since Pildu-ma was gone, it was a pointless worry.

But.

‘Hmm.’

Right now, I needed to focus on something else rather than understanding the principle.

Amidst the densely piled lines, observing the formation’s structure which was hard to find even a gap in, I soon discovered something peculiar.

When viewed with my Insightful Eyes, I saw lines shining exceptionally bright.

‘What is this?’

Why did those lines have different luminescence?

With curious eyes, I followed the lines.

The continuously listed lines were tangled, but most were concentrated in one spot.

That location was somewhere on the ground beneath the barrier.

The ground looked like nothing special.

Leaving Bi Mapha behind, I headed towards that spot.

It was about five or six paces away from where the martial artists were gathered.

There were several shining threads, but that was the place where they poured down in a single stream.

A location no different from any other.

Staring at that spot, I suddenly reached out my hand.

Woowoong-!!

As my hand touched it, the barrier emitted a vibration.

“G-Grand Master! The barrier seems to be reacting!”

“No way, has there been progress…?!”

Did they mistake this for something Bi Mapha had accomplished? The others spoke to Bi Mapha as if cheering.

Without paying any attention to them, my fingertips slowly began to move.

Woong.

Woowoong.

From my hand touching the barrier, I felt all sorts of energies.

When I looked, it was a complex formation, but touching it felt different.

‘This…. I’ve touched this somewhere before.’

It was a familiar sensation. Where had I felt it? After a moment’s thought, I recalled.

‘Ah.’

Pildu-ma’s hideout. It was similar to the formation I touched there.

The details were different, but the overall framework was similar. It felt much more refined than back then.

All sorts of threads erupted in response.

As if disliking my touch, they moved spasmodically.

Woowoong-!!

“…W-What! The formation is suddenly counteracting.”

“If this happens… we’ll have to recalculate from the beginning…?”

“Damn it! Why is this…!”

The others expressed despair at such a reaction. It seemed they would have to restart the dismantling process if it fell apart like this.

I couldn’t understand their reaction.

‘Why restart this?’

The reaction was rough, but the crucial roots weren’t the wildly thrashing threads.

The root was none other than the thread I held.

‘The beginning and end aren’t what’s important.’

When would one find the starting point or the end?

Rather than finding that…

‘Can’t I just rip it out from the middle?’

If I found a proper thread, wouldn’t ripping it out be enough?

No sooner had I thought of it than I applied force and ripped the thread out.

At that moment.

Tuduk-!

A thread that tore off far too easily, even without much force.

Seeing that, my eyes widened considerably.

Why did this tear off so easily…?

I panicked slightly, wondering if I’d torn it incorrectly, but…

Woowoong—-!!!!!

The barrier, where the thread was torn, suddenly emitted rough vibrations, and…

Gwoogong——-!!!!!!!

From the part where the thread was torn, the barrier began to dismantle.

“Hah–!! G-Grand Master!! You dismantled the barrier… Huh?”

“Huh?”

Just as the barrier began to collapse and everyone was about to cheer.

Realizing Bi Mapha wasn’t the starting point, everyone’s eyes shifted.

In an instant, all gazes poured onto me.

“…”

“…?”

Their faces showed they couldn’t comprehend the situation.

Seeing that, I gave an awkward smile.

“…Well, it’s just that… I thought, ‘Why are they struggling so much?’ so I tried it… and it worked…? Hahaha. Good thing, right?”

Hahahahaha….

I tried to laugh it off, but…

“…”

“…”

“…”

No one laughed along with my attempt at humor.