I Became the Genius Mage of the Martial Academy

Chapter 74 : Day of Proof

Was it an old saying that rewards are sweet and prices are bitter?

After getting an unexpected opportunity from Zhuge Hyeonguk, I encountered an unexpected ambush on the way to the training ground.

“Gaga, you’ve been busy lately, haven’t you?”

With that, Tang Surin held out a small bottle containing poison. Inside the dark bottle, a liquid of an ominous color was sloshing around.

“Summer poison spoils quickly, so it’s better to drink it soon!”

It was a light tone, as if handing a child a candy. While giving a poison that could make a person fall into a coma for weeks, depending on the person. Of course, since this side had requested it, I couldn’t complain.

I immediately took the poison I had received and drank it. What followed the sharp taste was an excruciating pain as if it were burning.

“Crazy…!”

The poisons were running wild inside, as if they were melting my five viscera and six bowels.

I clenched my teeth and sat on the floor, entering a state of qi circulation.

No matter how much of an antidote there was, I had to endure it as much as possible to get the resistance effect.

Although I could vaguely hear Tang Surin muttering that I was being foolish from the side, I could endure this much with the adaptability of [Transcendental Growth].

And so, after a few minutes had passed. Only after barely escaping from the boiling poison heat could I stand up from my seat.

“It must have been quite poisonous for a beginner… Gaga, you really have a talent for poison arts!”

Tang Surin smiled and held out the next poison bottle. I accepted it with a half-stiff expression and answered.

“I’m from the Zhuge family, after all.”

“As expected, you’re a talent worthy of coming to the Tang family…! But eat the rest of the poison tomorrow. If you take it while the poison is still in your body, unexpected side effects may occur.”

I nodded my head. Since my insides were already in tatters, it would be dangerous if I were to be greedy for more.

If my talent hadn’t been something like [Transcendental Growth] or [Supreme Body], my body would have been worn out before I could even grow.

And so, as I was shuddering at the bitter taste of the poison left in my mouth, someone came to visit. It was a martial artist belonging to the family.

“Zhuge Cheonwu-nim! The family head is looking for you regarding the Day of Proof!”

“Let’s go.”

I left behind Tang Surin, who was making a face as if she had been robbed of her turn, and headed to the office where the family head handled his work.

When the large door opened, what was revealed was a scene of the elders, seniors, and unit leaders lined up in a row.

“Did you call for me?”

And at the end of it, the man with a solemn atmosphere, who was sitting on a huge jade throne and looking down this way, was Zhuge Hohyeon, the family head of the Zhuge family. He opened his mouth.

“I have heard reports about your actions so far. It seems you have made efforts in various fields.”

With that, he glanced down this way.

“It is enough to praise you for being the top student of the Martial Academy and for your first-class formation master qualification. If there is anything you wish for, speak.”

“Then please allow me to get one thing I want from the family’s treasure warehouse. A top-grade item.”

Then, a murmur spread around.

“A top-grade item! No matter how much, that’s too much!”

One of the elders raised his voice.

The classification standards in the treasure warehouse of the Zhuge family are largely divided into middle-grade, high-grade, top-grade, artifact, and divine artifact.

Among them, since an artifact was a treasure that was practically impossible to take out, my current request was close to the maximum.

As if agreeing with the elder’s opposition, a silence and a murmur followed.

“It’s something that is only bestowed on a very small number of meritorious retainers in the family…”

“Even if he is a blood relative, isn’t it impossible to easily give out a top-grade item? Even if it is an outstanding achievement as an individual, it has no great meaning for the family.”

‘As expected, this is a problem.’

I clicked my tongue inwardly. No matter how outstanding an achievement I had shown, it was only at the individual level. It was difficult to get such a reward without making a great contribution to the family.

But I couldn’t back down either. Because I had to have ‘that’ which I could get from the treasure warehouse.

In the center of the commotion, I stepped forward.

“It seems the news has not been delivered yet.”

As I started with an out-of-the-blue remark, the attention of those around was focused on me for a moment. I continued.

“That as of today, I have become the disciple of Master Zhuge Hyeonguk, the head of the Dark Formation Martial Sect.”

“What?!”

“The successor of Elder Zhuge Hyeonguk?! Was the rumor true!”

In an instant, a commotion arose. It didn’t matter if it was a unit leader, an elder, or a senior. Considering the status that Zhuge Hyeonguk occupied in the formation world, it was that big of a deal. A man sorted it out.

“Stop.”

Zhuge Hohyeon, the inside of the hall became quiet at his low restraint.

“Is it true? Elder Zhuge Hyeonguk?”

A short question. Then Zhuge Hyeonguk, who had been standing at the front of the meeting, leisurely walked to the center. And he stood next to me.

“Of course. As of today, Zhuge Cheonwu has become the successor who will carry the future of the Dark Formation Martial Sect.”

A shocking declaration. As if a rock had fallen into a lake, a great murmur spread throughout the area.

“The successor of the picky Elder Zhuge Hyeonguk?”

“I thought he would decide someday, but to think it would be the third young master.”

In the confused meeting hall, I did not miss the opportunity and looked at Zhuge Hohyeon and asked back.

“If I am the next leader of the Dark Formation Martial Sect, I won’t be lacking in shining the fame of my blood relatives and family, will I?”

If I had filled the vacancy of the next head of the Dark Formation Martial Sect, which had been in a crisis because a suitable person had not appeared for a long time, it was an act that went beyond a personal achievement.

Of course, it wasn’t that I had said I would become a full-fledged successor, but I had to show as much prestige as possible here.

“You have shown a considerable achievement in a short period of time. As a blood relative, your personal growth and honor will be connected to the family, so this is also excellent. And most of all, the fact that the third has become the sole successor of the Dark Formation Martial Sect and will carry on the legacy of the family’s only two special-class formation masters is like a blessing to the Zhuge family.”

A rare compliment came out of the family head’s mouth. Even Zhuge Taesung and Zhuge Paegang, who were standing at the very front, were making a slightly surprised look, so that was that.

But just as there is usually a compliment after a rebuke, this public praise was also similar. Zhuge Hohyeon’s words continued.

“But it is also true that it is not enough to receive a top-grade reward. Therefore, the gift that can be taken from the treasure warehouse will be limited to a high-grade item. Is there any objection?”

A silence that was close to an agreement. Although it was different from my initial request, I was satisfied.

‘A high-grade item is according to plan.’

Because what I had originally wanted was a high-grade item.

The law of negotiation. First, you call a high price and then take the amount you had aimed for, pretending to make a concession.

In fact, it was quite difficult to get a high-grade item with the level of achievement I had now.

Since a meeting is greatly influenced by such psychological aspects, it had worked. Although Zhuge Hyeonguk’s backing was also a big factor.

If it had been a public praise that was held on paper without a face-to-face meeting, it would have been difficult to get even this result.

In fact, some elders were making a displeased expression, as if they thought that even a high-grade item was a bit too much, but they did not express it.

Since the family head had decided, and even Zhuge Hyeonguk had personally stepped up to defend the achievement, there were not many beings in the family who could openly oppose it.

“Fine. Then the procedure for the ‘Day of Proof’ will end with this. Everyone, you may leave.”

““As you command!””

As Zhuge Hohyeon stood up from his seat, and the unit leaders, elders, and seniors were disappearing, I had to stay.

Because there was a procedure I had to follow to receive the treasure warehouse reward.

Zhuge Hohyeon stopped for a moment before leaving.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Just one word. But it was a recognition that was more precious than anything else. To the point where if the scoundrel Cheonwu had heard it, he might have shed tears.

As the fragmented memories of Zhuge Cheonwu came to mind, my heart churned.

‘This is not enough.’

It was only just the beginning. I hadn’t worked hard just to hear a compliment that was thrown out as if in passing.

“I am Zhuge Mubo, who is in charge of guiding the treasure warehouse this time.”

A man with a small build and bangs that came down to his eyes, covering his face. Because of that, he looked to be in his 30s and also in his 50s.

“Shall we go now?”

“Let’s do that.”

We immediately headed to the treasure warehouse. It was as I had wished. But if there was a complaint, it was my current state.

“Do we really have to go this far?”

Although he answered, I couldn’t hear him properly.

I was now wearing a blindfold and earplugs. Even if you were a family member, unless you were at least at the level of an elder, you had to wear a blindfold and smell a paralyzing incense that blurred your senses to go to the treasure warehouse.

And even then, a master like Zhuge Mubo from the side checked if the poison was working, and if necessary, he would blow in his internal energy to constantly confuse my senses.

‘They’re treating me like a complete prisoner.’

It meant that it was a place with that much security. In a state where my eyes, ears, nose, and senses were all jumbled up, I walked for a long time, following the other’s lead.

‘This is?’

After reaching a zone where a formation was laid out so secretly that it would have been difficult to notice without [Absolute Magic], we continued to move forward.

And so, after passing through the formations that were laid out in three or four layers and passing through the gate guarded by super-peak masters, the restrictions on my two eyes and ears were finally lifted, and I was able to smell the antidote incense.

“This is too much.”

“Because it is a place that contains the legacy of our ancestors.”

Along with Zhuge Mubo’s words, a luminous pearl was lit, and the dark interior was revealed.

A darkness that filled a huge passage like a giant’s throat. A cold wind was blowing out from beyond it.

We had to rely only on the luminous pearl to go. And even then, the inside of the luminous pearl was crafted, and the light was reflected in a special pattern, and as a test, I had tried to light it up with a light magic from a blind spot where Zhuge Mubo couldn’t see, but I could see the light being eaten by the darkness.

‘So it doesn’t work unless it’s a designated luminous pearl.’

Even if an external intruder had succeeded in infiltrating, if he didn’t have a dedicated luminous pearl, he would have had to find the treasures by touching them one by one with his hands. And in the process, he would have been caught in a trap or his time would have been dragged out, and he would have been caught for sure.

‘It’s interesting. I just came to get a treasure. But now that I see it, the treasure warehouse itself has a corner like a huge relic.’

I thought, looking around. First of all, the structure of the treasure warehouse was unique.

It had a maze-like appearance, but it was not a form where the treasures were gathered in one place like other warehouses.

It was a form where you walked along a passage where the relics were displayed on both sides along a path, like in a museum, and it was a shape that started from the outside and headed inside.

A structure as if being sucked in like a spiral cochlea.

A form where the more you infiltrated to steal a more precious item, the greater the risk you had to take.

‘And most of all, because it’s dark, the difference in height and the height itself are confusing.’

I couldn’t tell if I was going down or up as I went further. The passage also widened or narrowed at some point.

Sometimes, an unexpected fork in the road would appear, and a passage that I had thought was a straight line was actually a state where the passages that were made in the opposite direction were hidden using shadows and optical illusions, so when I looked back, a fork in the road would have been created.

‘As expected of a family that is called the pinnacle of formations.’

It was designed so that you could never get out if you came in without knowing.

“It would be better to just break it and get out.”

“Is that so? If you do it that way, you won’t be able to get out even if you spend a lifetime.”

Zhuge Mubo replied. I looked at the wall. Certainly, I couldn’t just break the thick partition wall, which was a mixture of blue jade stone and one-season iron.

‘Did they carve out a huge raw stone mine itself?’

I couldn’t even imagine how much time and effort had gone into it.

“Certainly, it would be difficult with human strength.”

Even if it were a super master.

Not only was it made of a hard material, but since it was a structure that was reinforced by a formation, all the martial artists of the family would flock before the partition wall could be broken.

And most of all, since it was made using the earth’s veins, it was absurd to think that you could break a formation that had been built for decades with your personal strength.

Because the internal energy consumed to scatter the energy of the formation itself would also not be insignificant.

“How far do we have to go?”

“In the case of a high-grade item, we have to go a little further.”

Zhuge Mubo replied. In order to not give even a hint of information about the structure, it seemed he was not saying anything like a middle point.

‘He’s thorough.’

And so, as I was thinking, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“From this point on, high-grade items are mixed in.”

“Mixed in?”

“Yes, the storage method is not just based on the grade. There are many cases where middle-grade and high-grade items are mixed together. This is as far as I can tell you.”

“I hear that you won’t interfere even if I choose a middle-grade item.”

“The eye to distinguish a treasure is also a qualification that a visitor to the treasure warehouse must have.”

This house, from one to ten, there was nothing easy. Under the supervision of Zhuge Mubo, I looked around at the items.

‘Up to here, it’s as I saw in the guide.’

What was important was from now on.

In this treasure warehouse, there was only one item that served as a key to the Daoist Scholar’s Fan. The Seven Star Ladle.

An item that scoops up all phenomena.

‘The important thing is that I don’t know its exact appearance.’

Because there were no images attached to the guide one by one. All I knew was that it was a high-grade relic. What helped with this was the clue that Yu Sia had left.

Among the records of the hidden treasures and history in the Zhuge family, there was a description of the relic in an old book.

[A ladle with seven stars engraved on it. But unlike the expression, its form is close to a weapon that holds a sphere]

After looking around the treasure warehouse for a long time, I finally stopped in my tracks.

“Found it.”

It was an iron mace with the surface of an iron sphere engraved in the form of a snake.

(End of Chapter)