Chapter 319: Ironclad (3)
Beneath the moon, a slender young man stood alone in the field, eyes shut.
Even as the fierce winter wind whipped around him, he remained still, calm in the face of the cold.
He was thinking about the past.
Cheol Jiseon.
No, Zhuge Jiseon—he was only ten when he first realized he wasn’t like the others.
One day, his fingertips began to tremble, and with each movement of his arms, a strange sensation rippled through his body.
He wasn’t able to sleep well because of how uncomfortable it was, and it even led to him skipping his meals which made him weaker as time passed by.
Just what happened?
Zhuge Jiseon searched for answers but found none.
Then, about half a year later, something happened.
Unable to endure the unbearable sensation any longer, Zhuge Jiseon tore through it.
He knew he could touch it, but he also sensed that danger lurked behind that action.
That’s why Zhuge Jiseon had held back, but now he’d reached his breaking point.
Zhuge Jiseon’s hands were sensitive.
Just a simple wave in the air sent mysterious tingles to his fingertips.
It was there.
Zhuge Jiseon was able to rip the strange sensation apart.
It didn’t make sense for a human to be capable of such a thing, but it was possible for Zhuge Jiseon.
He simply grasped it and tore it apart.
He didn’t understand how or why, but he could.
If only that had been the extent of his abilities.
If so,
-N-No!
Zhuge Jiseon wouldn’t have witnessed the calamity that followed.
-Father!
Blazing flames and buildings that were engulfed by a mysterious power.
Zhuge Jiseon cried out, cradled in his sister’s arms, as chaos unfolded around them.
Among the buildings slowly swallowed by the flames was his home, with his father inside.
He didn’t want to remember this part of his past.
Even so, he had to.
Only then, he would be reminded of his sins.
When he tore apart that strange sensation, a crack in the air appeared—and it began to grow.
The small crack expanded, morphing into a monster that consumed everything nearby.
It was the Gate of Demons, the one his clan had whispered about.
The space he ripped apart evolved into the Gate of Demons.
That wasn’t all.
Because it was the Gate of Demons, it was capable of pouring out Demons from it.
Much like when it devoured Zhuge Jiseon’s father, sometimes the Gate of Demons turned into a monster itself and engulfed everything around it.
How had he, with his own hands, summoned this world-shattering calamity—the Gate of Demons?
He couldn’t understand.
All Zhuge Jiseon wanted was to escape from reality.
Ever since Zhuge Jiseon killed his father with his own hands, his mother distanced herself, and his sister, who had witnessed the death while cradling their younger brother, said to him:
-Jiseon, no matter what, you must never use your power.
He had tearfully nodded to his sister, but there were days when he simply couldn’t obey.
He did his utmost to resist the strange sensations, but there were times he couldn’t.
About once a year, the urge became unbearable, and he had no choice but to release his power.
Zhuge Jiseon looked for places or mountains without any people in it to use his power.
Summoning the Gate of Demons and fleeing always filled him with guilt, even when no one was near, but he could never risk doing it close to his sister.
He wanted to keep his sister safe even if it meant his death.
His power was dangerous.
Even though the world had grown accustomed to the Gate of Demons, and people learned to prepare, it didn’t change the fact that he remained a danger.
Moreover, the special Gate of Demons that didn’t pour out any demons, but instead sucked in everything around it, was so powerful that even Peak Realm martial artists couldn’t do anything against it.
As a result, he lived in constant hiding from others.
He also used a fake name.
If anyone discovered that a Zhuge Clan descendant possessed such a power, his sister would inevitably suffer as well.
Despite all of this, he needed his power.
With the help of Cheol Hwanho, he entered the Heavenly Dragon Academy, even though he had to conceal his identity and bear the weight of his pain.
He needed strength if he wanted to protect.
However, I have no talent.
Zhuge Jiseon knew that he lacked talent as a martial artist for him to use Qi.
That’s why he sought a different path.
His mother had tried to make him stop, and his sister warned him of the danger, but Zhuge Jiseon had taken the name Cheol Jiseon for a purpose.
This year’s Heavenly Dragon Academy is said to be the greatest in history,
The Meteor Generation, known for producing an endless stream of geniuses.
This year, all of these geniuses were converging in one place.
The pillars of the Orthodox Sect, Four Noble Clans.
Blood relatives of these clans would gather, along with those from lesser noble families.
Moreover, Zhuge Jiseon heard that most of the Six Dragons and the Three Phoenixes were gathering.
The future of the Central Plains, were all gathering into one spot.
I have to go.
To protect his sister, and to fulfill his father’s dream of restoring their clan’s honor.
That was his goal.
It was right for him to go instead of his sister who was sick.
There was still some time before he would need to release his power, and he had calculated that he could do it during the Academy’s break, when students returned to their clans.
It seemed like the perfect opportunity to carry out his plan.
At least, that’s what his calculations suggested.
But not every plan goes as predicted.
Zhuge Jiseon knew this, but there was one crucial detail he hadn’t considered.
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