I Prayed for a Murim Reincarnation, But I Was Born as the Youngest Imperial Prince - Chapter 72

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 72
Sima Muyue smiled as he watched the Zhuge Clan swiftly establish their defensive posture.
“Indeed, if the ones This Seat has taken such pains to destroy couldn’t even manage this level of response, it wouldn’t do.”
If they were such trivial creatures, he would not have stepped forward himself to spend twenty years on this effort.
Zhuge and Sima.
An ill fate that had continued ever since the end of the Han Dynasty until now.
Though he had intended to put a final end to it in his generation….
‘It is regrettable, but I shall content ourselves with leaving a deep scar today.’
Even so, he would destroy their roots.
There was no need to target the top masters of the Patriarch or Elder level.
Although those at the Transcendence Realm or Peak Realm were currently the core of the clan, they were ultimately quite old.
They would no longer be able to bear children as easily as when they were young.
A generation that represented the present but not the future, one that was becoming the past.
The ones who truly needed to be eliminated were the younger generation beneath them.
However, that would not be easy.
Therefore, he would set an additional target.
‘Those of the collateral branches who bear the surname Zhuge but have not received concentrated support of spiritual medicine and training as the core generation of the Zhuge Clan. I shall clear them out.’
Furthermore, those who did not even have the surname Zhuge, but merely resided in the surrounding villages, performing various chores and serving the Zhuge Clan.
He would eliminate them as well.
At first glance, even if these people were wiped out, the main force of the Zhuge Clan would appear intact.
But that was not the case.
‘If the younger generation dies in large numbers, and the collateral branches die en masse, it will become extremely difficult to raise the next generation again.’
Should that happen, they would have to accept other surnames, give up being a clan, and become a sect.
Or they would have to suffer from a lack of talented individuals, declining without being able to properly nurture the future despite having spiritual medicine and martial arts.
Not only that, but they would also become vulnerable if the people doing the chores died in large numbers.
Instead of those who had served the Zhuge Clan for generations, they would now have to accept people from the outside.
‘It will make planting spies far easier.’
This time, he would let them preserve their immediate grandeur.
Instead, he would erase their future.
“They must be hoping that the demonic monsters will ram themselves into those of you who are defending with the support of a formation. However, as long as This Seat is commanding, it will be different.”
Forming a hand seal, he burned a talisman and chanted a bizarre incantation.
* * *
The high-ranking demonic monsters surrounded and besieged the Zhuge Clan.
However, they did not rashly attempt an attack.
Considering how aggressive demonic monsters inherently were, this was clearly an abnormal sign.
“Is there a demonic practitioner commanding them!”
The countenance of the Zhuge Patriarch, who had been confident as long as it was a matter of reducing the number of demonic monsters while defending alongside the formation, turned dark.
And a large number of the low-ranking demonic monsters left the Zhuge Clan behind, which exuded a powerful energy, and rushed toward the surrounding villages instead.
The Saanmyo, cats with multiple eyes and bizarrely long claws.
The Ilgakmyo, black rabbits with a sharp single horn all over their bodies.
The Imihwaho, shaking their two-pronged tails and periodically breathing fire.
Such things descended upon the villages.
“Patriarch, what those things are targeting is….”
“Tsk.”
Did someone like Zhuge Ganyun not know military strategy?
Although he did not know that his opponent was Sima Muyue, the Demonic Brain Venerable of the Ruined State, he read the intention behind the move.
‘Since their plan went awry, rather than aiming for a grand victory today, they intend to slaughter the people beneath the Zhuge Clan to wound our roots.’
Although those people did not use the surname Zhuge, they were the ones who performed all kinds of chores necessary for the family.
Of course, it was not difficult to recruit such common people again, but unless they were those whose identities were certain through generations, there would be no trust.
‘And if it goes on like this….’
They will target the collateral branches as well.
The Zhuge Patriarch grasped the intention.
Sure enough.
The demonic monsters also rushed in a concentrated manner toward the fairly prosperous residential area in front of the Zhuge Clan where the collateral branches gathered.
‘This cannot be.’
They should have been evacuated first.
Distracted by checking the formation first, he was a step too late.
At least the residential area of the collateral branches had its own formation, so it would not collapse immediately, but what was to be done about those lower demonic monsters descending upon the common folk?
“Patriarch! Please send us out! We can handle that much.”
“No. That is precisely a bait and a hostage.”
“But….”
“If you bypass through the pathways of the formation to go out and save them, the surrounding demonic beasts will turn around and ambush you as if they were waiting.”
Patriarch Zhuge Ganyun also read the intention of the mysterious enemy commander.
Since they were lower demonic monsters, the trap lay in the fact that it seemed manageable enough even if only the young martial artists were deployed separately as a detached force.
Even so, could they hold down all the high-ranking demonic monsters so they couldn’t turn around?
It was impossible.
Relying on the formation to block them was sufficient, but it wasn’t enough to prevent them all from breaking away and turning around.
If the enemy split their forces to tie them down with some and ambush the detached force with others, it would be an absolute catastrophe.
‘It pains me, but the common folk must be given up.’
The line that must be protected at all costs is the collateral branches.
The young direct line martial artists must absolutely be protected, and even the collateral branches must somehow be protected….
At that moment, Lee Jun came running in a hurry and sent a sound transmission to the Patriarch.
[Patriarch, His Highness has temporarily granted us a divine weapon capable of overcoming this situation for us to use.]
[Oh, what is it?]
[It is said to be the Brahma Bell from the West, which houses the True Body Sarira of Tathagata. It is more suitable for destroying a large number of low-ranking demonic monsters than high-ranking ones.]
[Such a treasure!]
[However, he requested that his involvement in this matter not be known….]
[I will take care of that. Hand it over for now.]
As Lee Jun handed over the wooden box containing the Brahma Bell, there was an elder who saw it despite the hectic situation.
“Patriarch, what is that?”
“There is no time to explain now. However, I intend to use a hidden formation known only to me, the Patriarch, right now, so please stand guard.”
“I obey the command.”
“Lee Jun, you must assist me. Follow me to the Patriarch Room.”
“Yes.”
As the two of them entered the Patriarch Room alone and the door closed, the elder was puzzled.
Just what did he intend to do by going inside in this situation?
The Patriarch should be stepping forward to take care of the front lines in order to fight the surrounding demonic monsters right away.
However, since he said he had a hidden method, there was no choice but to trust him.
‘Is there a formation that even we, the elders, do not know about? But can a formation capable of overcoming this situation be hidden for so long?’
Whether the elder was puzzled or not, the Zhuge Patriarch and Zhuge Jun hurriedly deployed a formation.
“It’s a Sound Amplification Formation.”
“Indeed. It is a formation for Sound Cultivation.”
“The internal power will become that much more diluted, so will it work regardless of how great the Brahma Bell from the West is?”
“You worry so because your realm is still shallow, and you fail to recognize the true value of this divine artifact.”
Moving their hands busily, the two continued their conversation.
“Then….”
“It might be difficult for the mid-ranking demonic monsters, but it will sweep away the low-ranking demonic monsters at once. Then we can save the common people of that village who follow our clan.”
“That’s a relief.”
“We owe His Highness a truly great debt. How shall we ever repay this?”
“Hmm, he probably doesn’t think of it as a debt. Although they are people working for the Zhuge Clan, from a broader perspective, they are the people of this country, aren’t they?”
To speak in terms of the concepts from the Earth of his past life, just because someone was employed by a specific large corporation to make a living didn’t mean they weren’t a citizen of the Republic of Korea.
“Sigh, how can you say such things so seriously?”
However, from the conceptual standpoint of this era, it was correct that the Zhuge Clan had received a massive favor.
“No, I also think we received a favor. I’m just saying that’s how His Highness will think.”
“I understood as much. But I am saying that your expectation of His Highness thinking that way is far-fetched.”
Lee Jun thought he would be the one who was right.
‘He’s a guy who goes as far as traveling incognito in the Wulin just for his past life’s goal of establishing chivalry and righteousness.’
Rather, he would probably be delighted, thinking, ‘To think I repelled demonic monsters and saved people, this is exactly it!’
Of course, since there weren’t zero casualties, he wouldn’t just blindly rejoice.
Still, what was the use of arguing about opinions with his father over something like this?
“We’ll see later. For now, everything is ready.”
“I must use it right away.”
Zhuge Ganyun opened the box and took out the Brahma Bell from the West.
“Ordinarily, it would be proper to bow first before using it… but since the situation is so urgent, please forgive me.”
Looking at his father speaking in such a manner when Seonwu wasn’t even here to hear it, Lee Jun smacked his lips.
‘Tsk, this is the right way here, but.’
In fact, he had also thought about living according to the Confucian concepts of this era as Zhuge Jun.
If any of the other four kings had bestowed such a favor right now, he wouldn’t have been any different from his father.
It was just that whenever the subject was Seonwu…
His sensibilities as a modern person from his past life would revive, instinctively making him think that such things could be omitted.
‘This is something I need to be careful about.’
As the time he spent attached to Seonwu increased, for some reason, the sensibilities of his days as a modern person revived even more strongly.
Could he really end up making a slip of the tongue in spoken language instead of sound transmission at this rate?
It wasn’t something to worry deeply about right away.
Since dealing with the demonic monsters in front of them was urgent.
Zhuge Ganyun finally poured a massive amount of his internal power into the Brahma Bell from the West and rang it.
In the next moment, a truly majestic bell sound resonated far and wide.
* * *
Sima Muyue, who had been whittling down the Zhuge Clan while driving them into a corner, leaped to his feet.
“What is this?!”
To think there was a bell sound so filled with auspicious energy that it caused his demonic arts to waver for an instant.
‘With a realm like mine, there is no direct damage, but how can they deploy this level of Sound Cultivation over such a wide area!’
That wasn’t all.
A simple sound cultivation wasn’t everything.
The sound cultivation was merely a medium, and the demon-subduing Buddhist power dwelling within it was far too immense.
‘What on earth… unless they used something particularly precious among the True Body Sarira of Tathagata….’
Calming his dismayed heart, he coolly turned his mind.
There was one.
There was one divine weapon capable of making such a thing possible.
‘I thought the Brahma Bell from the West had disappeared! Was that legendary dharma treasure hidden within the Zhuge Clan?’
The majestic sound resonated consecutively.
“Skreeeech.”
The low-ranking demonic monsters that had been moving to hunt the defenseless common folk all fell over and flailed.
And before long, they all turned into smoke and vanished, leaving behind only a few residues.
“…Regrettable. Yet, it is not a loss either.”
Sima Muyue judged so despite losing a large number of demonic monsters and having his operation disrupted.
Why?
‘Learning the secret intelligence that the Brahma Bell from the West has not disappeared but is within the Zhuge Clan is worth that much.’
It was a dharma treasure among dharma treasures that must be kept in mind for the grand strategy of the world.
Compared to being caught off guard and suffering in a greater battle down the line, this was a cheap price to pay.
For information of this caliber, he could well afford to give up such a failure.
‘Since things have turned out this way, it would be best to target only the collateral branches.’
They would just tie down the main house of the Zhuge Clan appropriately so they couldn’t come out, and concentrate the remaining forces toward the collateral branches.
Those who had learned martial arts to some extent, but could only have mastered it to around the first-class or second-class level at best.
‘If I push in five Qingjuebiao, they can massacre them all.’
They too were relying on a formation in their own right, so under normal circumstances, they would be able to block that entry.
As demonic monsters that only ran rampant and lunged according to their instincts, they could hardly break through a formation.
However, it would suffice if he personally moved the Qingjuebiao subtly to dismantle that formation.
‘Earth overcomes Water, Water overcomes Fire….’
* * *
A sound cultivation filled with demon-subduing Buddhist power that could absolutely never be the martial arts of the Zhuge Clan.
Seeing the lower demonic monsters wiped out cleanly all at once by that power, the morale of the Zhuge Clan martial artists surged.
“Waaahhhh!”
“Just how did you do it?”
“We shall speak of such things after the battle is over.”
Waving his hand, the Zhuge Patriarch dismissed the questions for now.
“More importantly, can we hold out?”
“There is no major problem on the side of the Main House. Although it is not the Three Great Formations, the mid-tier formations surrounding the Main House are intact, so there is no issue at all with defending.”
The common folk, who had thought they would all die to the swarming demonic monsters, also breathed a sigh of relief, saying they had narrowly escaped death.
“Whew, the Zhuge Clan managed to do something about it.”
“As expected of the people of the Zhuge Clan.”
Although they thought it was done by the Zhuge Clan rather than Seonwu, they were greatly relieved nonetheless.
However, the situation was not over yet.
The ones that vanished were literally demonic monsters at or below the first-class level.
The demonic monsters corresponding to the high-ascending realm, who could be called masters, did not fall from that single blow.
And the siege network to prevent the Zhuge Clan from easily coming out remained firm, and in the meantime, five Qingjuebiao and thirty Jeokhyeollang battered the side where the collateral branches resided separately.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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