At the sight of the two men calmly conversing even in a rain of countless arrows, the military governor and the soldiers looked appalled.

“They are no ordinary masters.”

At the soldier’s words, the military governor came back to himself and shouted urgently.

“Is the formation ready yet? Where is the strategist? Call the strategist at once!”

Having witnessed absurd martial power, the military governor was badly shaken and hounded the soldiers.

“The True Qi Return Formation is complete!”

“Then suppress those bastards immediately!”

BWOOOOO—

With the sound of the horn, more than a hundred soldiers moved as one.

The footsteps of the thoroughly trained soldiers matched with such precision that it sounded as if a single person were moving, ringing out like the beat of a massive drum.

With Jeok Wigang and Ye Yahyeon at the center, the first line maintained a circular formation, while the second line held a hexagonal formation.

The final line formed a perfect octagon, the soldiers sitting cross-legged as they muttered something.

As the formation unfolded, a ripple spread and wrapped around Jeok Wigang and Ye Yahyeon.

Ye Yahyeon gave a faint laugh and said,

“This is supposed to be a formation for dealing with martial artists? Big Brother, may I examine it first?”

Jeok Wigang nodded.

He was curious how it would react to someone using martial arts.

“Let’s see how it blocks this!”

Ye Yahyeon threw a powerful fist strike toward the soldiers.

It flew at them with enough force to blast away a mountain in a single blow.

At that moment, the soldiers sitting cross-legged and muttering shouted all at once.

“Return Formula!”

The instant they cried out, something transparent that had been rippling formed a wall in front of the soldiers.

KRRRAAANG—

Ye Yahyeon’s powerful attack was blocked by the invisible wall, and the aftermath rebounded back toward him.

To block the true qi that had bounced back at him, he quickly crossed both hands and drew up his inner power.

“White Killing Aura!”

In an instant, white light wrapped around Ye Yahyeon, and a powerful impact struck him.

Ye Yahyeon shook out his crossed hands and exclaimed in admiration.

“Wow. This is far more impressive than I imagined.”

Ye Yahyeon was genuinely impressed.

“So the army is not something to look down on.”

Once he confirmed that even Ye Yahyeon’s powerful attack could not pierce the True Qi Return Formation, the military governor, his momentum revived, shouted,

“Kahahaha! Well? I understand perfectly well that your martial arts are strong. But what a pity. They do not work.”

Ye Yahyeon looked back at Jeok Wigang.

“I think I could break through it if I used more power.”

“Enough. If you use more power than that, they’ll die.”

“That is true.”

“I’ll do it.”

At Jeok Wigang’s words, Ye Yahyeon quietly stepped back.

The military governor laughed and said,

“What? You cannot manage it after all? Kahahaha!”

At the military governor’s words, Jeok Wigang grinned and said,

“I can see how someone with inner qi would find this troublesome.”

“Troublesome? It would be far more than that. They would have to worry for their lives. Just as you should now.”

“Me? I’m not worried about my life.”

“Bluster. Enduring inside without coming out will not solve anything. Activate the Qi-Absorbing Ghost-Killing Formation as well and drain all of their inner qi!”

At the military governor’s order, the muttering of the cross-legged soldiers changed into something else.

At the same time, the soldiers standing in front scattered something into the air.

“Kekeke. The moment your inner qi disappears, I will show you what hell truly is. You may look forward to it.”

After smelling the powder scattered into the air, Ye Yahyeon smacked his lips.

“It’s Inner-Qi Scattering Poison.”

“You fool! You should have avoided inhaling it as much as possible, yet you went and smelled it! Kahahaha!”

At the military governor’s laughter, Ye Yahyeon frowned and said,

“Big Brother. That laugh is getting on my nerves. Let’s catch him quickly.”

“He isn’t here yet.”

“Who?”

“The one called the strategist.”

“Why the strategist?”

“Looking at the formation, I doubt that bastard made it. It seems the strategist did. Aren’t you curious what kind of person he is?”

“Tsk. Then do we keep waiting like this? My inner power is draining away like crazy right now, you know? I’m going to collapse at this rate.”

“Stop pretending. That much is nothing to you.”

Ye Yahyeon grinned.

“I suppose I can no longer fool you with my inner power either, Big Brother.”

Jeok Wigang grinned as well and said,

“That’s right. You can’t run anymore. You know that, don’t you?”

At those words, Ye Yahyeon smiled and said,

“I have no intention of running. What would I do after running away? I think I will simply stay beside you now.”

“Good decision. I’m sick of going around looking for you lot too.”

“If you’re sick of it, couldn’t you just stop looking?”

“I’d like to do that too, but that damned thing called affection makes me want to see you.”

At the words “want to see you,” Ye Yahyeon grinned.

“Well... Truthfully, I did want to see you too, Big Brother. That does not mean I wanted to meet you again or anything of the sort.”

Ye Yahyeon was honest.

“I know.”

When they continued this pointless conversation even in such a serious situation, the military governor felt as though his pride had been wounded.

He believed those two were looking down on him.

If he could, he wanted to drag those bastards out immediately and vent his fury, but he held himself back.

Just then, a man in black scholar’s robes, with a pale face and gray eyes holding madness, approached while covering his mouth with a black fan.

“What... is all this?”

His manner of speaking was somehow slow and drawn out.

“Oh! Strategist, you have arrived. Well, these people are making a scene, claiming we sent rotten grain.”

“Rotten... grain?”

The strategist looked at Jeok Wigang and Ye Yahyeon and said,

“It seems... you came from Dark Dragon Fortress.”

“That’s right.”

The strategist’s gaze fixed on Ye Yahyeon as he tilted his head.

“Hmm... What is this? A somewhat... familiar aura.”

The strategist had sensed something familiar in the energy being absorbed into the formation.

Then, as if he had realized something, he began glaring terrifyingly at Ye Yahyeon.

“What is it? Do you know him?”

At the military governor’s question, the strategist quickly changed his expression and said,

“It seems... I was mistaken.”

As the strategist shook his head and spoke, Ye Yahyeon had already grasped the strategist’s identity precisely. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The Death-Mandate Divine Demon? Why is that bastard here? Did others besides us come out of White Horse Heaven too?

That was right.

The strategist was also someone who had come out of White Horse Heaven.

“You know him?”

Ye Yahyeon froze at Jeok Wigang’s question.

How was he supposed to explain this?

Seeing Ye Yahyeon flustered, Jeok Wigang thought he must have some connection to the strategist and said,

“Let’s clear this away first.”

At Jeok Wigang’s words, the military governor burst into loud laughter.

“Kahahaha! I told you, it is useless! Yes! Struggle all you want!”

The instant the military governor finished speaking, Jeok Wigang’s fist shot straight forward.

KWAAAAAA—

A powerful fist wind sent the soldiers holding their positions flying away.

The military governor stared in shock as Jeok Wigang slowly walked out through the space that had been blasted open in an instant.

“H-how?”

At the military governor’s question, Jeok Wigang spoke as if it were nothing.

“I don’t have inner qi, so it doesn’t work on me.”

“I-impossible! How can you have such absurd strength without inner qi?”

The military governor backed away and looked at the strategist.

“S-strategist! The formation has broken! W-what should we do?”

“Hmm. Let me think... for a moment.”

“There is no time to think! Tell me how we handle this, quickly!”

“Be quiet...”

“T-they are coming! Did you not say the formation you made was invincible? Look now! Is this invincible?”

“Haa...”

“You said it would absolutely never be pierced, yet it was pierced so easily! Say something—”

PA-PA-PAT—

He sealed the pressure points of the military governor, who had been chattering beside him, at a speed invisible to the eye.

The military governor lost consciousness in an instant and collapsed to the ground.

THUD—

“Now... it is a little quiet.”

Then he said to a nearby soldier,

“Escort the military governor to his room. It seems he was so shocked that his mental strength was exhausted.”

“Yes!”

No soldier had seen the strategist move, so they believed the military governor truly had collapsed from running out of strength.

“Chiliarch.”

“Yes!”

“Withdraw... all the troops.”

“Dangerous men still remain.”

“That is enough... I can handle this place... sufficiently. So... withdraw the troops. If troops... remain, the situation will only worsen.”

The chiliarch said no more.

He knew the strategist’s temperament better than anyone.

“Understood!”

After watching the troops withdraw according to the order, the strategist smiled at Jeok Wigang and Ye Yahyeon and said,

“My apologies... The military governor has an impatient temperament... and seems to have committed... a grave discourtesy.”

At the strategist’s words, Jeok Wigang pointed at the rotten rice and said,

“What are you going to do about that?”

“I will replace... all of it... with fresh grain.”

Then he began muttering something.

Seeing the strategist’s actions, Jeok Wigang gave a faint laugh.

Right now, the strategist was muttering a mantra to perform the sorcery of the Central Plains.

The Five-Elements Mantra Art was sorcery completely different from the sorcery of the Central Plains.

That was why his curiosity rose.

Thinking it was sorcery of the Central Plains, he focused and listened, but the language was somehow different.

The man kept muttering something in a language Jeok Wigang had never heard before.

At that moment, he realized it.

The strategist was not from the Central Plains.

“What is he saying?”

Ye Yahyeon looked puzzled at Jeok Wigang’s question.

“Why are you asking me that?”

“You know him well.”

“What?”

“You don’t? You were incredibly flustered when you saw his face earlier.”

“Was I? No. You must have seen wrong.”

“Come on. You do know him. Aren’t you from the same place?”

“T-the same place?”

“White Horse Heaven.”

At those words, Ye Yahyeon tried his best to keep his face calm.

Wh-what? How does this man know about White Horse Heaven?

The fact that he belonged to White Horse Heaven absolutely could not be discovered.

So he feigned complete ignorance.

“What is that? I have never heard of it.”

“You don’t know?”

“No.”

“You... change back into your true form.”

“What?”

“If he still fails to recognize you then, I’ll accept it.”

There was no chance he would fail to recognize him.

“Big Brother... how could I do that?”

While the two of them conversed, the strategist finished the mantra and stretched out his hand, causing space to ripple.

Jeok Wigang and Ye Yahyeon stared blankly at the strategist. He grinned and said,

“Now then... I have replaced it... with new grain... so please take it.”

The strategist smiled and pointed toward the grain.

Jeok Wigang turned his head toward the grain.

It was unchanged.

He had thought it was sorcery that replaced the grain with new grain, but apparently that was not it. It was merely sorcery that deluded a person’s mind.

He was disappointed.

He had thought he would see something new.

“What the hell? It’s exactly the same. Are you playing games with me?”

At Jeok Wigang’s words, the strategist looked flustered.

“Does that... not look like perfectly good rice... to you?”

“Does that look good to your eyes? Are your eyes rotten?”

Then he asked Ye Yahyeon,

“How does it look to you?”

“I also only see rotten rice.”

“You heard him, didn’t you? Now that I look at it, this bastard uses sorcery to deceive people. Right?”

When he asked Ye Yahyeon in passing, Ye Yahyeon nodded without thinking, then hurriedly shook his head and said,

“I do not know!”

“What do you mean, you don’t know? You just nodded. Tell me honestly. You know him, don’t you? If you lie again this time, I’m going to get angry.”

When Jeok Wigang asked in a frightening tone, Ye Yahyeon shrank his neck and said in a voice that crawled into his throat,

“I know him.”

“You came from White Horse Heaven too, didn’t you?”

“That is correct.”

The strategist tilted his head at the statement that Ye Yahyeon knew him, but at the words “White Horse Heaven,” he jolted in shock.