Volcanic Age

The murim of the Central Plains was in an uproar.

The rumor about the existence of a tomb was true and could be seen deep along the Yellow River basin.

However, the identity of the tomb’s owner remained uncertain.

"Everything was already underwater when the investigation team arrived."

"So, what happened then?" some asked.

"It's not clear. It doesn't seem like anyone has withdrawn yet. If the tomb does belong to the Ominous Demon, this result isn't surprising. No matter how uncertain we are, everyone has no choice but to stay and try to confirm if it's real, just in case."

"Hmm, so you're saying we have to try to dig out that submerged tomb again?"

"While it seems pointless, the gathered factions will still give it a try. According to the rumors, the forces are currently searching for experts in architecture."

"Then, does that mean the investigation teams of the seven major forces are still in the area?"

“Just thinking about it gives me indigestion.”

The thought of the Three Major Factions, who weren't just enemies but bitter foes, all gathered in one place… made all the martial artists wary.

"Once again, the Ominous Demon's reputation is incredible."

The Ominous Demon, or, to be exact, the Practitioner of the Sunken Spiral Castle Art of the Six Great Prohibited Arts.

Regardless of the era, when a practitioner of the Sunken Spiral Castle Art appeared, bloodshed spread across the murim, and countless sacrifices followed in its wake.[1]

The world, being familiar with its power and the fear it brought, worked even harder to stop it from reappearing.

Meanwhile, the mood within the Dark Heaven Association, the masterminds behind this uproar, including everything related to the tomb of the Ominous Demon, was dreadful.

The Tomb of the Ominous Demon, in particular, wasn't something that had just been thrown together in one or two days. The amount of money and time they had put into it was unfathomable.

"My deepest apologies!"

Thud!

Blessed Existence slammed his head on the ground several times, the marble splattered with blood each time he struck it.

Blood pooled on the ground as he prostrated himself.

Watching Blessed Existence prostrate himself, the Dark Heaven Association Leader looked down before speaking.

"Enough," the Dark Heaven Association Leader commanded, his voice deep and powerful.

Blessed Existence immediately froze at the order.

"Report."

"A regiment of the Seven Stars Division was deployed to the tomb. However, we lost contact two days before the investigation teams arrived. After realizing this, Destructive Soldier was urgently sent to the site. However, when he arrived, the tomb was already completely flooded, and the deployed regiment was nowhere to be seen…" Blessed Existence reported.

Shortly after Destructive Soldier confirmed the situation, Mount Hua arrived.[2]

"So, to sum it up, the plan we put so much effort into has failed, and we don't even know why. Is that correct, Blessed Existence?"

Drip, drip.

A mix of blood and cold sweat dripped from Blessed Existence’s forehead as his pupils trembled.

"Haha," the Dark Heavens Association Leader laughed.

"AHAHAHAHA!"

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He laughed as if the report was extremely amusing.

Puzzled by the laughter, Blessed Existence stayed silent, keeping his head lowered and waiting for the Leader's next words.

"It's said that nothing in this world goes as planned. I guess the proverb does ring true. After all, I certainly didn't expect things to turn out this way. More importantly, this is the first time I've ever been so thoroughly manipulated."

The Dark Heaven Association Leader stopped laughing, a smile still on his lips. However, the smile was as cold as ice.

"It's unlikely that any of my soldiers would sell us out or betray us, so someone must have harmed them. That person must be the one who caused the tomb to collapse."

The Dark Heaven Association Leader’s eyes glowed brightly.

“Blessed Existence.”

"Yes!"

"Find that person by any means possible. Alive. Present him before me. That's the only way you can keep your own life."

"Understood!"

***

Hubei.

A room so filled with books that it could be mistaken for a library. The table was stacked with books like a tower, and each corner had stacks of books meticulously organized to the brim. Blueprints were scattered across the floor.

In the room that smelled of nothing but paper and ink, a young man with messy hair rose, looking as though he had just woken up.

Haaaa.

As the young man put his brush down, stood up, and stretched, his spine let out a loud crackle.

The moment a maid, who had been waiting outside quietly, heard the crackle, she threw open the door and called out to the young man.

"Young master!"

"What the f—!" the young man shouted, startled and almost falling.

"Ahem. What's the matter? Is something wrong?" the young man asked, his mouth widening as he yawned.

The maid glanced at him, blushing slightly before sighing at his messy hair.

“You have a guest waiting for you. And please, please get your hair in order. Just what's with that bird's nest?"

"A guest?"

The man tilted his head, confused.

"It's strange, right? You're a loner with no friends, young master. Moreover, you're not very capable, either; I can't think of anyone who would come to you for help…"

"W-who are you saying doesn't have friends? I do have friends!" the young man huffed, becoming indignant.

"You have friends? Name five friends—no, just three. Please note that your three family members, including me, are excluded."

"..."

The young man faltered, unable to respond.

"Please don't underestimate how much I know about you, considering I've been aiding you since you were young, young master. Anyway, you should see the guest soon. While I'm not sure, it seems like something is important."

"Who is it…?"

“He said he was a Daoist ascetic from Mount Hua.”

“…!”

The young man's eyes widened at the mention of Mount Hua.

“Mount Hua? Did you just say from the Mount Hua Sect?”

"Yes."

"There's no way!" the young man exclaimed, running out excitedly.

"Kya!!!"

Startled, the maid stepped aside.

Watching him run hurriedly to the reception room, she wondered out loud, "I've never seen the young master look so surprised… just who in the world is this guest?”

BOOM!

The living room door opened roughly.

"Oh dear."

Zhou Xuchuan almost spilled his tea.

"Hyungnim!" the young man said, smiling brightly at Zhou Xuchuan.

“It’s been a long time, Shengji… Huh?"

Zhou Xuchuan was slightly confused. Instead of a boy with a hint of arrogance, he saw a handsome young man.

Although the young man's hair was messy, as if he had just woken up from a nap, it didn't affect his appearance.

His head was small, and his jawline graceful, almost like a woman's. His prominent facial features and clear, unblemished skin, combined with thin eyebrows and incredibly long eyelashes, made him look almost like a woman if appropriately dressed.

Judging from how old he looked, it seemed his facial hair had only just begun to grow. He was too young to be called a young man but too old to be called a boy.

“W-who are you…?”

"Haha, Hyungnim. Stop joking around. It's me, Zhuge Shengji. The genius Zhuge Shengji, your one and only younger brother.”

Zhuge Shengji sat facing Zhou Xuchuan, smiling as if everything was amusing.

"Oh, considering your older brother and sister, I guess it's not that strange. You've also grown into a handsome young man."

Zhou Xuchuan lowered his gaze, feeling a pang of jealousy.

The little boy he had taken as his sworn brother was so handsome… just thinking about such an attractive man accompanying him made him angry, thinking about what was to come.[3]

"Considering how you haven't gotten married or even made any new friends with that face of yours, I'm guessing your eccentric personality hasn't changed, right? You have so much talent and are so attractive. If you also excelled in socializing, I'd be so angry that I'd get constipated.”

Zhou Xuchuan, feeling hurt by the difference in their appearances, almost shed a tear.

"I-I've made a lot of friends!"

Zhuge Shengji stuttered.

“Whew!”

Zhou Xuchuan breathed a sigh of relief.

“Judging by your reaction, you're still a loner."

"Nuh-uh! I have friends!"

"Really? Then, name five friends. Please note that your family members and staff, like your maids and servants, are excluded."

"..."

Zhuge Shengji fell silent.

“It’s been five years.”

Zhou Xuchuan smiled softly.

"It's good to see you, Hyungnim."

To Zhuge Shengji, anyone who acknowledged him was special. Even more so, considering Zhou Xuchuan was the only one who did so.

Not even his siblings, maids, or servants who had been with him since childhood appreciated his love of mechanisms.

So, it always felt good to be considered a genius by someone new—or rather, by his sword brother.

"But, why are you suddenly using honorifics? It doesn't suit you," Zhou Xuchuan asked.

Before, Zhuge Shengji had always been comfortable speaking to him.

"Hyungnim, I'm an adult now, not the same child I was then. I'm just finally showing basic manners."

Zhuge Shengji chuckled bitterly as Zhou Xuchuan smiled happily, seeing that Shengji had matured a little, too.

“How have you been?”

"Everything has been the same. I just studied in my room."

“Mechanisms?”

Zhuge Shengji just shook his head instead of answering.

"How have you been, Hyungnim? While I heard a few things here and there, I still want to hear from you directly."

"Things you've heard here and there, well, I have a rough guess… oh, the Tang Family?"

"Yes."

Thinking back to what Shengji may have heard, the only thing of note was the wager with the Tang Family. Other than that, he had only cleared bandits.

The information Zhuge Shengji told Zhou Xuchuan was just as he expected. There wasn't much to the rumor within the gangho.

"Yes, that's right. After that, I just wandered around. I'll tell you the details later."

The Zhuge Family valued information almost as much as the Beggar Gang did. As a result, they often focused their efforts on spying. Several people were secretly watching or listening to what was happening in the reception room. Zhou Xuchuan could sense them, too.

“So, Shengji, you're sixteen this year, right?”

"Yes. I'll be seventeen in six months, too."

"Are you having a good time with the family?"

"While I was supposed to be sent into the Tomb of the Ominous Demon, somehow, things didn't pan out. What a shame."

Zhuge Shengji really regretted not being able to go. After all, his eyes still shone like stars whenever he talked about mechanisms.

"While, as you know, I'm a genius, I haven't had many opportunities to show my talent. So, I have no choice but to stay at the family estate and study. It's only because I'm a late bloomer, if… if I…"

Zhuge Shengji started to trail off, mumbling to himself.

‘His personality is still the same.’

Zhou Xuchuan laughed bitterly in his heart.

While Zhuge Shengji was full of pride and interest when dealing with mechanisms, his personality shifted completely when dealing with nearly anything else.

"What use am I in any other sense, considering I don't know how to fight or erect formations… I know how useless I am, too…"

His self-deprecating personality remained the same, even as he grew up.

Zhuge Shengji continued to grumble and complain about his treatment. All he could do was complain about being ignored by the Family or the harsh comments he got from the elders.

Still, thanks to the Three-Eyed Godly Thief's treasury, he wasn't prevented from studying or researching mechanisms, and the family understood that his skills might be useful someday.

So, he spent most of his time alternating between studying, researching and writing books about mechanisms.

"Shengji," Zhou Xuchuan said, patting Zhuge Shengji on the shoulder and grinning.

"While studying is good, you'll get sick if you only sit around in your room. Moreover, now that you've become an adult, isn't it time for you to travel the gangho?"

Zhuge Shengji's eyes widened at the word gangho.

"Hyungnim. If… if you've come to visit me now…"

"Yes. I need your strength."

The strength of not just anyone but Zhuge Shengji!

1. Remember, you become a cthulhu, not a person. ☜

2. Says Mount Heng Sect in the raws, but Mount Hua was the one to come first. ☜

3. Boohoo, the girls don't like you as much. You're an MC. You get all the wives. ☜