Chapter 127 - The Black Flame Dragon Who Steals Opportunities (2)

"Do you really intend to go in?"

I slung a bundle packed with fasting pills and jerky over my shoulder and tied a waterskin as long as my leg to my waist.

"Is there any other way? We can't just leave them to die."

"... No, why does Young Master Jin have to solve the mess those bastards made!"

Seong Moran yelled loud enough to echo across the Grand Equestrian Ground, and though the fierce gazes of the Nine Sects and One Gang and the elders turned toward her each time, she raised her voice even louder as if she didn't care in the slightest.

"Tell those high-and-mighty elders to go in! If they couldn't properly educate their brats, then the adults should take responsibility!"

Normally, it was an action so disrespectful that it wouldn't be enough even if they immediately summoned the Disciplinary Pavilion, but no one stepped forward. If they caused a fuss here and hurt my feelings, the ones who would die would be their own disciples.

"Um, oppa. Are you okay?"

Eun Seollan, who had come with Saryeon, spoke cautiously, and Namgung Seonhwa, Seong Moran, and Hong Saryeon stared at her with wide eyes.

"O-Oppa?"

"Did she just say oppa?"

"Did you just call him oppa?"

At the three's interrogation, Eun Seollan panicked for a moment before her face quickly turned red as she spoke.

"He said a younger sister's friend is like a younger sister, so I got permission..."

"..."

The gazes of the three women suddenly grew sharp as they glared at me.

"It seems you like words like 'oppa'?"

"Oh my, what a shame. I'm too old to call you 'oppa', so what should I do?"

"Eldest Senior Brother, I'm disappointed."

I let out a sigh as I looked at them.

"Is that what's important right now?"

The commotion died down for a moment, and amidst everyone's concern, I stood before the Soul-Extinguishing Array under Yu Jiryang's guidance.

- *You can make it out, right? *

As I turned my head at the sudden sound transmission, Zhuge Somyeong, standing on one side of the Grand Equestrian Ground, was making eye contact with me.

- *If I try to find them safely, all of those inside will die. *

It takes two hours to make a full circuit of the Soul-Extinguishing Array. If I were to examine every single path they took, all the guys who went in would be dead before I could even check twenty of them.

- *If the lives of those inside and your own life are weighed on the scales at the same time, prioritize your own life. *

At Zhuge Somyeong's words, I couldn't help but tilt my head.

Zhuge Somyeong didn't know as much about me as I knew about him.

Furthermore, from his perspective, I was someone who caused him harm by using him every time, so why was he speaking as if he cared for me?

- *Are you perhaps planning to give those guys a pardon? *

The previously expressionless Zhuge Somyeong suddenly scoffed.

- *If you bring them out, I will expel them no matter what. In addition, I will make the sects that caused the damage pay compensation. *

- *I will definitely bring them out alive. *

The moment I took a step forward.

The noisy sounds of the Grand Equestrian Ground were instantly cut off, and I entered a space of perfect silence.

* * *

The Soul-Extinguishing Array is not a place where you can freely come and go as you please, even if you memorize all two hundred thousand paths.

Not knowing whether a single misstep while treading the third path will drop you into the one hundred sixty-thousandth path or the eighty-five-thousandth path was the characteristic that set the Soul-Extinguishing Array apart from other illusion arrays.

Searching for someone inside the Soul-Extinguishing Array, which lacked any reference backgrounds or objects, was the same as looking for a needle in the Taklamakan Desert.

"They must have gotten confused while calculating the sixty sexagenary cycles."

Since the academy's standard exam doesn't even evaluate basic common sense, there are plenty of guys who can barely write their own names.

For such guys to recklessly step into the boundless variations with just three paths they learned over someone's shoulder, this isn't something that can simply be evaluated as being brave out of ignorance.

In truth, simply leaving them here to starve to death might actually be helpful to the Murim Alliance in the future, and by extension, to the entirety of Murim.

"Still, if I did that, I wouldn't be able to properly screw over the bastards from the Orthodox Council."

Honestly, when I yelled at the Grand Equestrian Ground, at least the elders or a few of the academy students from the Nine Sects and One Gang should have stepped forward.

For a disciple of the Taiyi Sect, whom they view as nothing but beggars, to be screaming at the top of his lungs, yet they still didn't step forward—that wasn't just a matter of their safety, but something that would plant a sense of anxiety in all the personnel following the Orthodox Council.

"Therefore, you bastards absolutely must return alive."

Making that vow, I retraced the footsteps I had taken so far.

In Eun Seollan's case, I was able to find her quickly because the person chasing behind her remembered exactly which step she misstepped on before disappearing.

For now, it was a situation where I simply had to find them based on predictions.

I stood at the part where the sexagenary cycle made its first revolution.

"Huu... To think I have to do this with my own feet. If not for the Chief Strategist's words, you bastards would have starved to death in here."

I drew upon the Taiyi True Scripture with all my might.

I opened all my five senses and checked the paths.

I retraced the hidden flow of the Soul-Extinguishing Array that I had realized after misstepping in the Demonic Spirit Plateau.

Two hundred thousand energies flowed endlessly beneath my feet.

The moment I took a step to the side, those two hundred thousand energies instantly shifted.

It was the same all-white surroundings and the same silence, but the energies flowing beneath my feet were completely different from a single step ago.

The Boundless Indestructible Soul-Extinguishing Array laid its inner workings bare.

"Huu... Let's go."

I began to take steps forward once again.

* * *

"Who was it? Who came up with such a stupid plan?"

The elders belonging to the Orthodox Council couldn't hide their towering rage as they looked at the disciples of their own sects.

Although they had missed out on the top rank, they occupied the majority of the numbers and were threatening the position of the academy representative. Unless something special happened, they could have used the excuse that the academy students wouldn't follow him to push out the academy representative.

"... The agitation among the academy students was too severe, so it couldn't be helped."

"Do you call that an excuse!"

At someone's words, Daoist Myeonghyeon felt the urge to beat the guys standing before him to a pulp right this instant, but too many people's eyes were currently focused on the Grand Equestrian Ground.

"You should have at least stepped forward to break the array!"

"..."

Had they done so, the elders could have personally stepped forward and dissuaded their disciples citing safety reasons, but conversely, from the perspective of the disciples listening to the story, they couldn't recklessly enter the Soul-Extinguishing Array, a place where even elders could die if they entered incorrectly.

"That's enough. Let's stop now, Daoist Myeonghyeon."

Dwelling on past events would only make them burst with anger. It wasn't going to produce a solution.

"Didn't they say the Soul-Extinguishing Array has two hundred thousand paths? Rescuing someone from within is not an easy task."

"It would be fortunate if he even manages to preserve his own life and make it out."

"..."

If, by a one-in-a-thousand or a one-in-ten-thousand chance, that guy actually manages to rescue the ones who went in...

"The best outcome would be for him to disappear inside there along with them."

Those who heard Daoist Myeonghyeon unconsciously muttering to himself were startled, but they didn't show it.

Because as of right now, that would be the best outcome.

They knew a safe rescue was an impossible task from the start.

Even though Jin Sowoon had saved thousands of people at the Demonic Spirit Plateau, wasn't there only one path in and out?

How could a human mind possibly memorize two hundred thousand paths and find people who had disappeared within them?

This thought naturally didn't belong exclusively to Daoist Myeonghyeon and the Orthodox Council.

A short distance away from Daoist Myeonghyeon's group.

"What do you think, Chief Strategist? Do you think he can rescue them?"

Murim Alliance Leader Hyuk Mugang asked the person who always provided answers to problems that yielded no solution no matter how much one thought about them.

"I do not know."

At Zhuge Somyeong's calm tone, Hyuk Mugang couldn't help but widen his eyes. To think the words "I do not know" would come from his mouth.

"Haha... I suppose if you live long enough, you get to see all sorts of things."

Stroking his white beard a couple of times, Hyuk Mugang spoke again.

"Are you saying there is something the Chief Strategist doesn't know?"

"I say this because no matter how much I rack my brain, I cannot figure out how one is supposed to rescue people from inside there."

The returning answer was continuously surprising.

"Then why did you tell the academy representative to go and rescue them?"

"Because the boy said he could do it."

"Hmm?"

Although Hyuk Mugang had aged, he wasn't at the level where his memory was already failing him.

"Am I the only one who didn't hear it? I'm certain that child said it was an impossible task."

"The boy said he would have to put his life on the line, but he never once said it was impossible."

Thinking that was essentially the same thing, Hyuk Mugang continuously stroked his beard.

Zhuge Somyeong continued speaking.

"When he first recognized the problem and stood before the elders, he didn't show a hint of panic. It is a matter of life and death. Furthermore, it is an incident that occurred because the finest elites of the Nine Sects and One Gang went in.

He looked completely unfazed even though he knew that if responsibility were to be questioned, the damage would ultimately and definitely reach him as well."

"..."

"The boy was confident that he could rescue them."

"But that child Jin Sowoon didn't step forward until the very end."

"That is because the justification hadn't been established yet."

"Justification?"

"If he had immediately brought out the ones who went into the array back then, couldn't he himself have been held responsible for failing to properly manage and supervise the Soul-Extinguishing Array?"

Hyuk Mugang's mouth fell open without him realizing.

"Could it be..."

"He waited until the responsibility would fall solely on the Nine Sects and One Gang."

A small smile lingered on Zhuge Somyeong's lips as he turned his head toward Hyuk Mugang.

"Furthermore, at the end, didn't he imbue his voice with inner qi to ring across the Grand Equestrian Ground and ask for volunteers to break the Soul-Extinguishing Array?"

"Why does that matter??"

"He was clearly stating it to those following the Orthodox Council. 'The Orthodox Council will not protect you. They do not care about you as much as you think they do.'"

"... Hoh."

"The boy took an incident where the arrows could have been pointed at him and perfectly turned it into his own opportunity."

"..."

Hyuk Mugang was so shocked that he just shut his mouth completely.

The fact that Jin Sowoon employed such a political trick was surprising, but Zhuge Somyeong perfectly understanding that trick was just as astonishing.

Zhuge Somyeong was now smiling, even showing his teeth.

"I didn't believe it either until now, but with today's events, I have realized it for certain. That boy's mind is even more exceptional than his martial arts."

"Haha, for the Chief Strategist to praise someone's mind, this is the first time since Maeng Ju-won."

"Which is also the reason why that boy must join the Mantong Bureau."

At Zhuge Somyeong's words adding an unnecessary comment at the end, Hyuk Mugang couldn't help but smack his lips.

"Regardless, he has to rescue them for any of that to come true, does he not?"

"That is correct."

"Shouldn't we also prepare for the case where he fails to rescue them? It's already been..."

Seeing that the sun had completely set, six hours had already passed.

"I have summoned the absolute elite personnel of Sangcheon Hall from the Alliance."

"Will Sangcheon Hall alone be enough? Wouldn't it be better to call Seungho Hall as well?"

"We must attempt to break the array only once, at the very end. If we make a mistake, the Murim Alliance's personnel could be devoured one after another by the Soul-Extinguishing Array and become lost souls."

"Huu..."

Hyuk Mugang let out a long sigh without realizing it.

* * *

"What do we do?"

"Haa..."

"He went in for nothing..."

The faces of Jin Sowoon's group, standing around the Soul-Extinguishing Array, were full of worry.

Fifty elite members of Sangcheon Hall dispatched from the Alliance were wearing fasting pills and water on their bodies just like Jin Sowoon, and were studying the Soul-Extinguishing Array from the array masters of the Mount Mao Sect.

One day and four hours.

For what amounted to nearly ten days in the internal time of the Soul-Extinguishing Array, no one had come out of the Soul-Extinguishing Array.

Worry filled the faces of almost everyone gathered at the Grand Equestrian Ground, including the Murim Alliance Leader and the Chief Strategist.

"Huu..."

The time for a decision was approaching.

From the start, one day was the maximum they had allotted.

They had told Jin Sowoon that if it took longer than that, they would attempt to break the array, and four hours had already passed since then.

It was the decisive moment to choose whether the personnel of Sangcheon Hall would risk their lives to attempt to break the array, or if they would leave those trapped inside the Soul-Extinguishing Array to die.

After agonizing over it for a long time, Zhuge Somyeong finally made his decision and nodded as he looked at Hyuk Mugang.

"..."

Hyuk Mugang also deliberated for a moment before rising from his seat.

"Listen up, personnel of Sangcheon Hall. We will now begin breaking the Soul-Extinguishing Array."

At Hyuk Mugang's words, the elders belonging to the Orthodox Council rushed at him aggressively.

"Alliance Leader, what do you mean by that? Breaking the array?"

"We cannot simply watch the ones who went inside die, can we."

"Jin Sowoon, who supposedly knows the Soul-Extinguishing Array best, hasn't even been able to make it out. And yet you want to drag the personnel of Sangcheon Hall into such a dangerous situation?"

"In the past, the Alliance was ridiculed by everyone in the world for responding late during the Demonic Spirit Plateau incident. We cannot repeat the exact same thing this time."

"While your words are correct, your solution seems wrong. Wouldn't it be better to use this incident as a lesson to permanently seal the Soul-Extinguishing Array and designate it as one of the forbidden arts?"

At Daoist Myeonghyeon's words, Hyuk Mugang turned his head and glared at him.

"Does Elder Myeonghyeon not care if the academy students die inside the Soul-Extinguishing Array?"

"I am more devastated than anyone else over the children's deaths. However, I say this out of fear that this will cause an even bigger disaster and create a massive void within the Alliance."

Clear contempt lingered in Hyuk Mugang's eyes.

"When the Soul-Extinguishing Array is broken, I do not wish to see the sight of academy students who have shriveled to death inside."

"..."

That was the end of the conversation.

Hyuk Mugang looked back at the warriors of Sangcheon Hall and spoke.

"Prepare yourselves!"

The array masters of the Mount Mao Sect once again attached themselves one by one to the fifty warriors of Sangcheon Hall to guide their positions, and the Sangcheon Hall warriors listened carefully, afraid of missing even a single detail.

Knowing full well how terrifying of a deadly array the Soul-Extinguishing Array was, the complexions of all those brave Sangcheon Hall warriors had turned deathly pale.

When Zhuge Somyeong raised a blue flag, the Sangcheon Hall warriors all stared at the flag in unison.

The moment it dropped, they had to step precisely into the Soul-Extinguishing Array.

"Break..."

The words of Hyuk Mugang, who was about to shout to break the array, stopped, and Zhuge Somyeong's blue flag, which was about to swing down toward the ground, halted in place.

Hyuk Mugang's and Zhuge Somyeong's gazes turned toward the Gate of Life and Death of the Soul-Extinguishing Array.

The white fog roiled, and then from within it, didn't a human figure with a gaunt face trudge out while carrying something on his back?

"..."

The person who emerged from the Soul-Extinguishing Array threw whatever he had been carrying on his back onto the ground, then frantically crawled on all fours toward where the elders were seated.

CRASH!

While even the elders took a step or two back in surprise, he haphazardly shoved the water and food that had been placed on their table into his mouth before barely spitting out a single sentence.

"Haa... I nearly dropped dead..."

"E-Eldest Senior Brother?"

Dongryong was the first to speak, and upon hearing those words, Zhuge Somyeong snapped back to his senses and shouted.

"W-Water! Bring water and food!"

At Zhuge Somyeong's words, everyone waiting at the Grand Equestrian Ground jumped into frantic motion, and right then, someone checked the six people sprawled on the ground and shouted loudly.

"T-They're alive! Everyone who went into the Soul-Extinguishing Array has returned alive!"

With those words, the people gathered at the Grand Equestrian Ground stopped what they were doing and simultaneously began to cheer.

"UWAAAAAH!"

"""WAAAAAAAH!"""