WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

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◈ The Martial Alliance Rulebook Archives ◈

Chapter 74: Soul-Severing Mountain Villa (5)

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I did not continue my train of thought.

My instincts as a wandering martial artist told me that, if I wanted to survive, I had to run now.

My instincts as a martial artist told me this.

If I wanted to resolve this, I had to move forward.

[Brother Peng!]

I sent a voice transmission and kicked off the ground at the same time. To prevent the disaster to come, I had to subdue Zhuge Yeong now.

I considered crippling her dantian as the lesser evil, and killing her as the worst.

I did not know what realm the Ghost Valley Master had reached.

I recalled the strongest Anomaly I had personally encountered.

Maitreya.

If something of an equal level appeared, no one's survival here could be guaranteed, except perhaps the Life-and-Death Gambler's.

‘...No.’

Even the Life-and-Death Gambler could not be certain of surviving. She had said it herself. At best, she could stall for time and escape.

After the best move had been played, Maitreya had shed a single drop of blood, while the Life-and-Death Gambler's entire body had been torn to pieces.

If the Ghost Valley Master possessed such standing, everyone here might ultimately die, reduced to a handful of bloody slurry and refined into elixir pills.

Those thoughts flashed through my mind in an instant. They had come and gone within the single breath between my foot leaving the ground and touching solid earth again.

Then, just as I tried to take my next step, I realized something was wrong.

My internal energy had been expended. Every fiber of muscle in my lower body, compressed with strength enough to burst, remained contracted for the next sprint. The formula of the lightness technique that enabled explosive movement faster than a fine horse was also clear in my mind.

But I could not move forward even one step.

My head turned on its own.

Toward the Life-and-Death Gambler.

She was still smiling.

She had not even tried to stop my charge.

A shudder ran through my entire body, born both from an abnormal phenomenon beyond the reach of reason and from that madwoman herself.

With reason paralyzed, Sima Gwa let out a cry that sounded like a scream.

“Life-and-Death Gambler! What have you done?!”

“I faithfully carried out my instructions.”

Like a speaker standing on a stage, she spread both arms wide in an exaggerated gesture and opened her mouth.

“You are now facing the Ghost Valley Master's memorial tablet.”

It sounded like a passage from a rulebook.

I sensed both vicious delight and sincere mockery in her voice.

Hearing the Life-and-Death Gambler's words, I thought of the Ghost Valley Master's creations.

The Crossroads of Life and Death and Soul-Severing Mountain Villa alike had claimed numerous victims over a very long time. Long enough that even the bodies of trained martial artists could not endure it easily.

I had thought the Ghost Valley Master made those formation arrays that produced spiritual elixirs in order to withstand the passage of time.

By consuming elixir pills, perhaps, reversing the flow of time and restoring vitality.

But that did not seem to be the case.

The Ghost Valley Master had first prepared a means to transcend the passage of time, then arranged formation arrays as a way to restore its original martial prowess.

The Ghost Valley Master's own soul, corresponding to Spirit (神), could appear anytime and anywhere.

Therefore, to make it easier to procure tonic food that could lend strength to the Qi (氣) and Essence (精) needed to balance that Spirit, it had established something like feeding stations throughout the world.

‘...Maybe they were not simply left there as medicine.’

The special physician had once guessed that the red shadow took human form because medicinal ingredients shaped like people, such as child ginseng, were precious.

But what if the red shadow was truly needed to fulfill the role of a person?

What if the Ghost Valley Master had designed it to automatically produce something fit to become its own body, so it would not need to wait for someone gifted in ingenious calculation?

A lunatic.

Of all the martial artists I had seen, it was surely the one whose boundary with Anomalies was the faintest.

“The Ghost Valley Master regretted wasting its own talents and intellect...”

“Everyone, cover your ears!”

Zhuge Byeok shouted as if seized by a fit. At the same time, he covered both ears with his hands, and the Zhuge Clan members obeyed the legitimate heir's command despite their confusion.

But Sima Gwa gave no orders.

[It arranged matters so that its wisdom could return to those qualified to receive it. And ‘qualified’ means, of course...]

The Life-and-Death Gambler was using Six Harmonies Voice Transmission as she spoke. Regardless of whether they covered their ears, everyone gathered here would hear her voice.

“That's an order! Life-and-Death Gambler! Shut your mouth!”

“If you wish. But are you sure? You don't want to hear more?”

Its finger pointed at me.

“It seems Young Hero Yeok is the only one who has any idea what's happening right now.”

Watching the Life-and-Death Gambler smile brightly, Sima Gwa gritted her teeth. She shouted at the Sima Clan retainers.

“Bind Sima Chu and Sima Ye!”

“...?”

It was an unexpected order. Why bind her allies, even her own relatives, instead of attacking Zhuge Yeong?

[Listen closely, Brother Yeok.]

Peng Juhyeok answered my question. His voice transmission was urgent.

[The martial world is wide and dangerous. At times, it is safer not to know.]

He compared the current situation to a blind man and a murderer.

A thief had broken into a house to steal valuables and killed someone in the process. Then he heard someone passing in front of the house.

The thief, intending to silence the witness, approached the passerby with murder in his heart. But the passerby was a blind man, cautiously making his way forward while tapping his cane against the ground.

In such a situation, the murderer would quietly flee with the valuables rather than kill the passerby and create more trouble.

In the current Chaotic World of the martial world, there were things that endangered people simply for the crime of having their eyes open, simply for witnessing the truth.

That was what Peng Juhyeok told me.

At once, I remembered what the special physician had told me before. An Anomaly that dragged people away somewhere if they learned detailed information and then fell asleep. It was a vicious nature that brought to mind the saying that ignorance was bliss.

At the time, the special physician had spoken of information one must not know.

‘Was the Ghost Valley Master that kind of existence?!’

Faint screams reached me amid the voice transmissions.

‘I can't move my body!’

‘N-No. I definitely moved my feet. To the left, to the right...!’

‘It's a formation array! But when did it happen?!’

[Because it can track those who know of it. I may lack the strategic wisdom to catch its eye, but the direct descendants of the Sima Clan and Zhuge Clan gathered here are different!]

[Wasn't it virtually certain that it would possess Zhuge Yeong?]

[Until moments ago, there was a ninety-nine percent chance it would have possessed Zhuge Yeong. But that mad old monster exposed the Ghost Valley Master's existence!]

I looked at the smiling madwoman.

That thing was smiling brightly and shrugging its shoulders.

“Yes, that's right.”

As though it had overheard the voice transmission, it immediately confirmed it.

“Until just now, it could only have entered Miss Zhuge Yeong. It would slowly seep into her body in place of qi deviation. Wisdom that has not been properly passed on is bound to spread slowly, like blind men feeling an elephant.”

But things were different now.

The Life-and-Death Gambler had made everyone present aware of the Ghost Valley Master's existence. She lightly raised her index finger and pointed at Sima Gwa.

“Miss Sima Gwa would be difficult for the Ghost Valley Master to enter. She has confidence in herself and sufficient martial prowess.”

It was an exceedingly rude gesture, but no one here had the presence of mind to point that out.

“From the Ghost Valley Master's perspective, she is low grade.”

The Life-and-Death Gambler's hand moved toward Sima Chu.

“They possess a measure of martial prowess and confidence in themself. Ah, perhaps they were shaken when facing Mr. Zhuge Byeok? Still, at best, medium grade. If we divide things more finely, perhaps lower-medium grade?”

That index finger, like one selecting livestock to be led to the slaughterhouse, now pointed at Sima Ye.

Sima Ye's face was filled with fear and confusion she could not hide. Her eyes glistened faintly with tears.

“She lacks the martial prowess to resist, and she also lacks confidence in herself. It seems the shock from the human harmony debate was considerable. Combining those two qualities, she is high grade!”

Her finger now passed beyond the Sima Clan and moved toward the Zhuge Clan.

The moment it pointed at Zhuge Byeok, he shouted.

“You mad bastard! What have you done to my sister?! Speak!”

“Unfortunately, from the Ghost Valley Master's perspective, Young Master Zhuge is the very lowest grade. His martial prowess may be somewhat lacking, but he has already freed himself.”

Zhuge Byeok erupted in fury.

His face was distorted to a degree unimaginable from the carefree demeanor he had shown until now, a demeanor that had seemed unbefitting of a young master of a great clan.

It was the face of an older brother whose younger sister had been threatened.

“From the perspective of that thing, which seeks to bear the burdens of those who find their own abilities overwhelming and cannot handle their wisdom, you are not appealing. It may not be impossible for it to attempt to erode you, but there are so many excellent candidates here.”

At last, the Life-and-Death Gambler's hand reached Zhuge Yeong.

“Ah, the Radiant Phoenix. A fragile person who discarded emotion, discarded private desire, and wished to live as a counting rod for the martial world, in accordance with the Zhuge Clan's traditional cultivation method!”

The obsession with purity and paranoia born from the corruption of the older brother she had respected had become distrust toward people as a whole. The seeds of demonic deviation planted that way had sprouted in Cheongyeong Town.

“That sword dance is completely different from the counter-technique proposed by the Sima Clan. It is closer to a divine dance now. The god's name is the Ghost Valley Master, so it is a dance that calls to it.”

The abnormal phenomenon preventing everyone from moving was an extension of that.

Like a god seeking to descend into a shaman displaying its Divine Ability, the Ghost Valley Master was displaying the wisdom accumulated throughout its life in the form of a formation array.

Perhaps it was an attempt to imitate the domain opened by an Anomaly. The Ghost Valley Master had already created Anomalies, so why would it be unable to imitate their powers?

“Her martial arts have reached a level of their own, but intent is absent, and she listened to demonic deviation. Of course, she is the finest grade!”

After finishing every introduction, the Life-and-Death Gambler finally fixed her gaze on me.

“Now then, Young Hero Yeok. Let's make a wager!”

“You mean over whom the Ghost Valley Master will choose?”

Peng Juhyeok's voice transmission continued. He was exerting himself to break the Ghost Valley Master's powers, but had gained nothing.

I stopped him from drawing out True Origin Qi.

In my mind, I considered the terms of the gamble to come.

The Life-and-Death Gambler nodded once, vigorously. Her head bobbed down and up with the springy energy of a coiled spring.

“I'll give you the right to make the first pick!”

“You'll regret it.”

“Oh my, are you betting on Zhuge Yeong? Well, there's about an eighty percent chance it'll be her. But that's fine.”

With a happy expression, the Life-and-Death Gambler tilted her head and murmured.

“Backing an underdog to beat the favorite is part of the fun of gambling! It's more entertaining, and the payout is higher too!”

I shook my head.

“No.”

I considered the standards by which the Ghost Valley Master judged bodies.

Outstanding martial arts and strategic wisdom, had she said?

Honestly, I did not know whether my strategic wisdom surpassed those gathered here. I had some awareness, but that was different from being skilled in strategy.

Still, there was a certain way to win.

I drew my sword.

Without hesitation, I swung the blade in my right hand.

A red line appeared from the back of my left hand to near my elbow.

“Me.”

I raised my left arm.

The scent of blood spread through the air, like the smell of the red shadow.

“I choose myself.”

Footnotes:

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