Chapter 224 : Chapter 224
Chapter 224 - Tower of Causalitas (12)
The illusions of the Qimen Formation designed by Kwak Woo-gyeong continued even after that.
What was astonishing was that he already knew how to handle the various elements of the magical system.
The consecutive feast of illusions was so fantastical that I almost felt as though an Archmage had come here.
If he possessed the talent to achieve something like this in Murim, where the concept of magic had never been established, then he had been born in the wrong place. Far too wrong a place, at that.
Even in Kalia, at the very least, one could receive systematic lessons in magic at an academy.
In any case, regrets were regrets, and right now, the priority was to show Kwak Woo-gyeong the difference in our strength.
KABOOOM!
No matter what appeared, I crushed it with force and scattered greater Sword Qi that overwhelmed the illusions.
A Qimen Formation was also something deployed by using mana that existed in nature.
It would be impossible to draw out an unlimited amount of mana from this small hill, so the mystery of the Qimen Formation would soon have no choice but to reveal its limits.
- Friend! Look over there!
I could not tell whether it had been designed to reach only this point from the beginning, or whether Kwak Woo-gyeong had declared his surrender. What mattered was that the end of this long, drawn-out fight had come into sight.
I walked toward the Life Gate spread out before me.
The foggy path had unfolded on a tremendous scale, but what stood forlornly at its end was only a single small thatched cottage.
And there was one person looking down at me from there.
‘That must be him.’
Although he was far away, I could see the very essence of ugliness.
Indeed, there had been no falsehood in the Murim Alliance Leader’s words.
A face that had crossed every possible line.
I had traveled through countless dimensions and met innumerable people, but Kwak Woo-gyeong’s appearance stood unrivaled at the absolute summit among them.
The worn-out expression “half-finished” seemed to have been coined specifically for Kwak Woo-gyeong.
I still did not change my mind that the Murim Alliance Leader had been in the wrong, but I could at least understand a little of the circumstances he had faced.
“Did you come from the Murim Alliance?”
When Kwak Woo-gyeong asked abruptly, I shook my head.
For now, invoking the Murim Alliance’s name would only backfire.
“Then how did you know about this place and come here?”
“There are no perfect secrets in Murim.”
It was just an excuse I had made up, but Kwak Woo-gyeong seemed to accept it immediately.
“Well, I have never heard of someone like you being in the Murim Alliance. Then are you from the Demonic Cult?”
I shook my head once more.
“People misunderstand me that way often.”
“I cannot believe it. You certainly do not seem to be from Evil Path Alliance either.”
When I smiled and nodded, Kwak Woo-gyeong said,
“Then you are saying you are not from this world.”
He had given the correct answer.
Of course, he was not speaking seriously. It was sarcasm.
“I heard you were the Great Sage of the Righteous Path, but your perspective is extremely narrow.”
“If one is a martial artist who has learned martial arts, one cannot escape belonging to one of the three.”
In this regard, he was an even more inflexible man than the Murim Alliance Leader.
“But is my affiliation really important to you, Kwak Woo-gyeong?”
“Of course it is important. I loathe the Evil Path Alliance, I hate the Demonic Cult, and I have deep debts and grudges with the Murim Alliance. Therefore, I have no intention of associating with any of the three.”
“Then I do not apply. I am none of the three.”
“Nonsense!”
“For a Great Sage, your mouth is rather rough.”
“Leave.”
“Have you perhaps heard of the nameless warrior of the Demonic Cult?”
“What?”
Kwak Woo-gyeong’s previously firm eyes wavered for the first time.
“The mysterious swordsman who defeated the Leader of Evil Path Alliance and the Murim Alliance Leader in succession.”
“S-Surely?”
As expected, the rumors had spread to every corner of Murim.
Even if he lived buried in seclusion, there was no way Kwak Woo-gyeong, who was called the Great Sage, would be completely ignorant of Murim’s current affairs.
I nodded.
“However, I am not from the Demonic Cult either. The reputation of the nameless swordsman of the Demonic Cult is also wrong.”
“You are not?”
“Because the final one left is the Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult, the Heavenly Demon.”
At my words, Kwak Woo-gyeong’s nostrils flared as though he was dumbfounded.
It made him look even uglier, but I could not show it on my face.
“You said you loathe the Evil Path Alliance, hate the Demonic Cult, and have deep debts and grudges with the Murim Alliance, did you not? Then I suppose I am your benefactor, Kwak Woo-gyeong. I have already disgraced two of them, and the remaining one will soon end up in the same state.”
I had not proven that I was the swordsman from the rumor, nor had I proven that I was not a Demonic Cultist, but Kwak Woo-gyeong already seemed convinced.
“Why did you come to find me?”
“I told you. I intend to go strike down the Heavenly Demon. But people say there is a Qimen Formation surrounding the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains that no one can undo.”
“Then what you want from me is...”
“I was thinking of learning some Qimen Formations from you.”
However, Kwak Woo-gyeong looked utterly bewildered.
“You are not asking me to take you to the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, but to teach you Qimen Formations?”
“I heard you buried yourself in seclusion and absolutely refuse to come out into the world. So what choice do I have? I have no choice but to learn and go myself.”
“You are taking Qimen Formations lightly.”
“There is no way. Did you not see me marveling all the way here?”
“For someone with a brilliant mind, it takes several months merely to properly understand even the simplest Qimen Formation!”
“I suppose I look ignorant because I am a swordsman.”
It was one of the common prejudices.
However, the ultimate height of the sword was not something one could glimpse with a dull mind.
In truth, no matter how much Kwak Woo-gyeong was called a Great Sage, I was not confident that I would lose even if we competed with our intellects.
“Very well. Then I will give you an opportunity.”
“An opportunity?”
“I believe you are the nameless swordsman from the rumors. That means I will at least repay you in some small measure for disgracing the Evil Path Alliance and the Murim Alliance.”
It meant he would teach me at least the basics of Qimen Formations.
“But I will not promise anything beyond that. That will depend entirely on you.”
I nodded.
Now that the waterway had been opened once, the river itself was as good as complete.
***
Kwak Woo-gyeong.
I had thought he was an eccentric steeped in a persecution complex, but he was easier to talk to than I had expected.
His way of thinking itself felt closer to a modern person from Earth than to someone from Murim.
Perhaps that was why it did not take long for me to grow comfortable enough with him to exchange trivial conversation.
“I know the story because I heard it. You fell out with the Murim Alliance over a woman, did you not?”
“That is absolutely not something that can be expressed so simply. It was an event that destroyed my dignity.”
“Hmm.”
“Do you also think I was childish for leaving the position of Chief Strategist over a mere woman?”
“No. For some people, a woman can be more precious than all under heaven.”
Not that I was one of them.
“You are the first to say that to me.”
By the standards of a martial artist’s way of thinking, Kwak Woo-gyeong was certainly an odd man, but at least from my perspective, I could understand him.
“However, I do think it is a little pathetic to bury yourself in seclusion and intend to live like this for the rest of your life.”
“What?”
“Miss Cheon is not the only woman in the world. To you, who have never been in a relationship in your life, she may have been special because she was your fiancée. But strictly speaking, she was only one woman among many.”
“To call her, the greatest beauty in Hubei, merely one woman among many!”
“What is so impressive about being the greatest beauty in Hubei? Were you not the greatest mind of the Righteous Faction, not merely Hubei?”
“W-Well, that is true, but...”
“Have confidence, Kwak Woo-gyeong.”
“That is not as easy as it sounds. On the day I first met my fiancée, I saw her recoil in horror the moment she saw me. How am I supposed to have confidence after that?”
For a moment, I almost found myself persuaded by Kwak Woo-gyeong as he spoke with his nostrils flaring, but I calmly continued.
“Does it make sense that a man who can create all kinds of illusions inside a Qimen Formation cannot beguile even one woman?”
“Hm?”
“Miss Cheon was simply not meant to be your fate.”
Kwak Woo-gyeong looked moved by my empty flattery.
Perhaps what he had needed was a conversation partner like this.
“Seo Ji-han. It seems you have a great deal of experience in this field as well.”
At Kwak Woo-gyeong’s words, I could not help but flinch for a moment.
In truth, I had spent my entire life looking only at the sword.
In my previous life, and in this life as well.
So I had no choice but to hurriedly change the subject.
“Does today’s Qimen Formation lesson move into the intermediate stage?”
“Hmm.”
At my words, Kwak Woo-gyeong exhaled deeply.
“The world is truly unfair. I never thought someone who had everything could exist.”
Every day, he was astonished by my understanding of Qimen Formations.
It was partly because of the exceptional qualities I possessed, but in truth, the bigger reason was that I already had prior knowledge of magic.
A Qimen Formation was also a kind of illusion magic.
Since I had learned a certain amount about magic from Rosie, I knew the basics.
In some ways, I even filled in the parts that Kwak Woo-gyeong lacked.
The magical system understood by the world of Murim inevitably had many gaps.
Once my existing knowledge of magic was combined with my understanding of Qimen Formations, my speed of acquisition could only be fast.
Thus, mastering what Kwak Woo-gyeong had prepared for today did not take very long either.
“This is impossible! You undid this so easily?”
Breaking through a small-scale Qimen Formation was no longer difficult.
Perhaps even the Qimen Formation Kwak Woo-gyeong had deployed on the first day I came here would be possible now.
Of course, I meant finding the Life Gate on my own, not crushing it down with force.
“I would like you to raise the difficulty sharply now. The Qimen Formation of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains will not even be comparable to this.”
However, Kwak Woo-gyeong shook his head.
“It is not easy to manifest a Qimen Formation on such a large scale. It is impossible with ordinary materials.”
“Are you saying the energy that exists in nature alone is not enough?”
“I do not know about a place like the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, but this is only an ordinary mountain with no particular spiritual energy.”
Then Kwak Woo-gyeong added one more sentence.
He said that without experiencing a Qimen Formation of a similar level, it would be impossible to undo it.
“No matter how much of a genius you are, that is impossible.”
“Then is there no other way?”
At my question, Kwak Woo-gyeong remained silent for a while, wearing a grave expression.
Then, suddenly, he grinned.
“Why would there not be?”
“As expected of the Great Sage of the Righteous Path. What is the method?”
“There are materials you have to obtain.”
Special materials that could supplement the lack of spiritual energy in nature.
Kwak Woo-gyeong wrote out the list and handed it to me.
“Do I have to obtain all of these?”
“That is the only way I can manifest something close to the level you want. Though it would be fine if a few of them were missing. I included some merely because I wished I had them. Things like Gongcheong Stone Milk and Ten Thousand Year Fleeceflower Root, for example.”
“I see.”
“I wrote them half as a joke, yet you are not surprised at all?”
“What exactly are these?”
“You do not know?”
Kwak Woo-gyeong looked dumbfounded, but of course, I had no way of knowing.
At that moment, an unexpected message was transmitted.
[A sudden quest has occurred.]
[Obtain one of the following spiritual medicines.]
※ Gongcheong Stone Milk, Ten Thousand Year Fleeceflower Root, Ten Thousand Year Snow Ginseng... Great Rejuvenation Pill...
Judging by Kwak Woo-gyeong’s reaction, they seemed to be fairly precious spiritual medicines.
I liked the quest reward.
It said I could consume it after finally clearing this Tower of Causalitas.