ARGH!
In the Divine General’s Mansion, Lin Huang let out a miserable shriek, his handsome face instantly contorting. In the moment he was enveloped by the void flames, he felt as if he had sunk into Hell, his soul subjected to the endless crushing of a millstone.
After that, Lin Huang’s mind plunged into complete chaos. He had no idea what kind of horrifying torment Xiao Yishan was putting him through.
However, the agony emanating from the depths of his soul lingered like a festering curse. At one point, he longed for death, thinking it would be far better than this endless, drawn-out torture.
But even if he wanted to die, he would need Xiao Yishan’s permission first.
Under the moonlight, Xiao Yishan had Lin Huang suspended in midair. His hands patted Lin Huang’s body seemingly at random, yet each strike shattered Lin Huang’s bones and sinews inch by inch. Then, they were reconstructed, only to be pulverized into dust, and reconstructed once more.
Lin Huang’s soul endured the same fate. It was ground into granules by the void flames, rebuilt, burned to ashes, and rebuilt again. Over and over, the cycle repeated without end.
Even his Profound Sea could not escape this ordeal. Within the surging waves of the Profound Sea, a golden, god-like palm seemed to manifest. With an overbearing and tyrannical presence, it ruthlessly slammed against the barriers of the Profound Sea, forcefully expanding its capacity. Over and over, it expanded further and further...
Throughout this process, the Celestial Asura Martial Soul within his body didn’t dare to move a single inch under the might of the golden palm.
This cycle lasted from midnight until the midday sun blazed high, then until the moon reached its peak, and finally until the morning sun began to rise again...
Lin Huang had long lost the ability to scream. His throat had been crushed by Xiao Yishan countless times, leaving him utterly voiceless. Now, he was nothing more than a plaything in his master’s hands. He was molded into a ball, folded into a cube, and stretched into a spear for Xiao Yishan to brandish.
If anyone had been present to witness this scene, they would have been astounded by Xiao Yishan’s formidable methods—somehow, despite being kneaded into such grotesque shapes, Lin Huang remained alive.
All that remained of Lin Huang was his very last breath and the overwhelming waves of excruciating pain crashing down on him.
Finally, on the night of the third day.
Perhaps having had enough fun, Xiao Yishan finally let Lin Huang down. He retracted the cluster of void flames and let out a long sigh. Swaying unsteadily with a pale face, he offered a tired smile.
"How do you feel?" Xiao Yishan asked.
"I feel like several shackles have been broken," Lin Huang replied after carefully considering it. "My bones, sinews, and Profound Sea have all undergone earth-shattering transformations. As for my soul... it feels as if ice has melted into water. I can finally start cultivating arrays!" He spoke with joy, feeling the newfound power coursing through his veins.
"Take your time to truly experience it in the future!" Xiao Yishan chuckled. He had spent two days and two nights tempering Lin Huang’s flesh, soul, and Profound Sea over nine thousand seven hundred times, all at the cost of his own cultivation dropping by an entire Great Realm. This profound sacrifice was far beyond what the current Lin Huang could fully comprehend.
"Thank you for your hard work, Master!" Lin Huang stood up and cupped his fists, his heart brimming with warmth. Although he didn’t know exactly what Xiao Yishan had done to him, simply melting his frozen soul into a fluid state and expanding his Profound Sea by dozens of times was proof enough. Xiao Yishan must have employed tremendous means and expended a terrifying amount of cultivation to achieve this.
"It is said that a master for a day is a father for a lifetime. Since you call me Master, I will live up to the title. There’s no need for many words between us, and certainly no need for such formalities!" Xiao Yishan said solemnly. "However, since you call me Master, you are destined to roam unhindered across the world. If you end up failing to even step out of the East Spirit Realm and disgrace me, then even if you run to the ends of the earth, I will hunt you down and shatter those damn legs of yours!"
Lin Huang smiled and nodded. "I definitely won’t disappoint you, Master!"
"There’s one more thing!" Xiao Yishan suddenly remembered.
"Hmm?" Lin Huang turned his head.
"Leave the Divine General’s Mansion to Qin Xuance from now on. You are somewhat lacking in administrative skills, so there’s no need for you to be distracted by these matters," Xiao Yishan said plainly.
After a brief moment of thought, Lin Huang nodded. Xiao Yishan was absolutely right. He neither liked nor excelled at managing the Divine General’s Mansion; in fact, he was far worse at it than Fatty Bai.
Qin Xuance, on the other hand, was entirely different. That guy was naturally interested in such things and possessed an abundance of talent for them.
"You should be able to study arrays now. Cultivate well," Xiao Yishan said with a gentle smile, patting Lin Huang on the shoulder.
Lin Huang nodded, having long since been eager to begin.
In the pavilion, Lin Huang sat cross-legged. The spell for the Array Seals of the Thousand Spirits Sword Formation surfaced in his mind—obscure, difficult to understand, and incredibly complex.
Lin Huang crossed and overlapped his palms. Streams of Primordial Qi circulated within his grasp, dancing like sprites. The energy gradually took shape, slowly condensing into a sword-shaped glyph of light...
BANG!
Just as the Array Seal was about to fully form, Lin Huang’s soul gave a slight flutter. This caused the Array Seal to emit a faint popping sound before it exploded, leaving Lin Huang’s hands completely numb.
Lin Huang opened his eyes, only to see Shen Diexin standing a short distance away. Her cold eyes were fixed intensely on him, and her hand was tightly gripping a jade slip.
"Are you having fun?" Shen Diexin asked coldly, her slender fingers turning white from how tightly she gripped the slip. "I have warned you many times that you possess no talent for cultivating arrays. Why do you insist on wasting your time? You are so stubbornly oblivious, daydreaming all day long."
Shen Diexin was genuinely furious. Previously, for Lin Cangxue’s sake, she had harbored a protective affection for Lin Huang despite her cold words. Furthermore, his diligent cultivation had brought her considerable gratification. But she never expected him to act so absurdly, lacking any drive for true progress.
"Elder Diexin, I can succeed!" Lin Huang said awkwardly.
"Succeed? If the commotion just now had been any bigger, both of your hands would have been blown to pieces! Is this what you call succeeding?" Shen Diexin scoffed. "You lack both the prerequisites and the talent to become an Array Master. You should keep your feet on the ground and cultivate properly instead of dreaming of reaching the heavens in a single bound. Not just any random stray cat or dog can become an Array Master."
"Hey, woman, what are you blabbering about? Since when is it your turn to lecture Xiao Yishan’s disciple?" Before Lin Huang could even speak, Xiao Yishan, who was resting on the roof, chimed in impatiently.
"Who are you?" Shen Diexin asked, her brow furrowing with icy hostility.
"Lin Huang is my Inner Chamber Disciple, who do you think I am?" Xiao Yishan said with an indifferent expression. Leaping down from the roof, he sneered, "Nothing in this world is absolute. You claim my disciple can never become an Array Master, but have you ever considered that you might be burying a true genius?"
"A genius?" Shen Diexin harrumphed coldly. "If he can be considered a genius, then wouldn’t every Martial Artist on this continent be a peerless prodigy?"
"Since you’re teaching Lin Huang the Array Path, I assume you are also an Array Master. Cast your array, and let me see just what you’re made of!"
Shen Diexin waved her delicate hand, and sixty-four Array Seals instantly materialized in her jade-like palm. With a flick of her fingers, the sixty-four Array Seals transformed into streaks of flowing light that darted through the void, forming a brilliantly glowing array in the blink of an eye.
The icy Sword Qi contained within silently swept across the entire backyard, causing the ambient temperature to plummet significantly.
Ice Frost Sword Formation!
"I didn’t expect you to be a Third-Level Array Master. It certainly looks impressive," Xiao Yishan smiled faintly before waving his hand. "But I’m not an Array Master!"
"Not an Array Master?" Shen Diexin’s eyes instantly sharpened with piercing anger, and even the Ice Frost Sword Formation grew noticeably fiercer. "If you are not an Array Master, what qualifications do you have to guide him into becoming one? On what basis do you claim he can cultivate arrays? Leading a disciple astray and acting like a swindler—you deserve to die!"
With that, Shen Diexin waved her hand. The Ice Frost Sword Formation let out a continuous series of piercing sword hums as it surged toward Xiao Yishan.
Looking at the incredibly chilling Sword Qi of the incoming array, Xiao Yishan merely offered a placid smile. With a sweep of his sleeve, the Three-Part Sword Qi that had previously appeared in Fengyu Tower manifested once again!
Quivering slightly, it shot directly toward the array.
BOOM!
The Ice Frost Sword Formation shattered and dissipated in an instant.
"You..." Shen Diexin’s pupils contracted slightly as a wave of unease rippled through her heart. She wondered who this man was to so effortlessly pinpoint the Array Hub of her formation.
"Who decreed that just because I’m not an Array Master, my disciple can’t be one either?" Xiao Yishan snorted coldly. Turning his head, he instructed Lin Huang, "Focus on condensing your Array Seals. Let this woman see just how utterly foolish her assumptions are."
Lin Huang looked at Xiao Yishan, then at Shen Diexin, looking somewhat conflicted...
Shen Diexin was Lin Cangxue’s master, and he was extremely reluctant to offend her. After all, Shen Diexin’s fierce protectiveness over Lin Cangxue was renowned throughout the Four Great Sects.
"What are you looking at? Condense your Array Seals! I want to see exactly what you’re capable of, and what exactly this Xiao Yishan is capable of," Shen Diexin said through gritted teeth. Naturally, she still didn’t believe Lin Huang could become an Array Master, but Xiao Yishan’s imperceptible method just now had left her genuinely shocked.
This man was stronger than she was!
Shen Diexin clenched her delicate hands as she cast a wary glance at Xiao Yishan. She was a Martial Artist at the Celestial Element Sixth Heaven. Even someone at the Celestial Element Eighth Heaven wouldn’t dare to take her Ice Frost Sword Formation lightly. Yet Xiao Yishan had dismantled it effortlessly just by flicking out a stream of Three-Part Sword Qi. When did such an obscure yet terrifying powerhouse appear in the East Spirit Realm?
Back in the pavilion, Lin Huang held his breath and focused his mind once more. His ten fingers trembled as threads of pure Primordial Qi slowly condensed and flowed...
In his mind, Lin Huang visualized the method to condense Array Seals. His soul was wound tight as he controlled every subtle movement of the Primordial Qi in his palms, not daring to let his attention slip for even a fraction of a second.
Gradually, the Primordial Qi in his palms began to solidify into a seal.
Shen Diexin’s pupils contracted slightly. Lin Huang’s technique was far more practiced than before, and to her disbelief, she could palpably sense the aura of an Array Seal forming. The aura was extremely faint, but undeniably clear.
"Condense!"
As if verifying Shen Diexin’s realization, Lin Huang let out a low shout. The Primordial Qi in his palms abruptly gathered, forming a glowing seal between his hands. It was entirely azure and took the shape of a sword.
With a flick of his finger, the Array Seal in his palm fluttered through the air like a sprite, radiating faint trails of Sword Qi.
"This..." Shen Diexin let out an involuntary gasp of surprise, but quickly clamped her mouth shut. She glared coldly at the master and disciple, trying to mask her internal shock.
"He succeeded... he actually succeeded! How is this possible?" she thought. She had personally probed Lin Huang’s soul in the past and concluded it was absolutely impossible for him to become an Array Master. Yet the scene unfolding before her left her entirely bewildered. "What exactly is going on here?"
"Elder Shen, if you’re surprised, just show it. There’s no need to hide it," Xiao Yishan said in a leisurely, teasing tone.
"Hmph!" Shen Diexin snorted coldly, though her demeanor was noticeably less overbearing than before.
Inside the pavilion, Lin Huang kept his eyes closed. Resting his hands flat on his knees with his palms facing upward, his fingers moved deftly as he began to condense Array Seals once again.
Two clusters of Primordial Qi circulated in his palms in two completely different patterns.
"Dual seal condensation!" Shen Diexin’s elegant brows knitted tightly together as she stared intensely at Lin Huang. The most basic metric for measuring an Array Master’s fundamental strength was the number of seals they could condense simultaneously. The more seals they could condense at once, the stronger the Array Master.
Someone capable of condensing eight Array Seals simultaneously was considered an Array Master. Sixteen Array Seals earned the title of First-Level Array Master. Condensing thirty-two Array Seals at once, like she could, marked a Second-Level Array Master. A Third-Level Array Master required sixty-four.
Yet Lin Huang, having only just succeeded in condensing a single Array Seal, was now eagerly attempting to condense two at the same time. This made Shen Diexin feel incredibly conflicted. Was it arrogant ignorance, or overwhelming confidence?
It had taken her a full half-month to transition from condensing a single Array Seal to condensing two simultaneously—and these were two Array Seals with completely opposite auras. It was akin to drawing a square with one hand while drawing a circle with the other. Demanding the soul’s consciousness to multitask without the slightest interference was far from simple; in fact, it was exceptionally difficult. Even though an Array Master’s soul was as fluid as water, there would still be an inherent drag and mutual interference between the divided tasks.
In the courtyard, Xiao Yishan’s lips curled into a smile. Watching the Array Seals gradually taking shape in Lin Huang’s hands, he nodded in satisfaction. He believed Lin Huang would succeed, because the boy’s mind was truly capable of achieving absolute stillness.
BUZZ!
As time passed, two faint hums resonated within the pavilion. After absorbing the final wisps of Primordial Qi, the Array Seals in Lin Huang’s palms fully materialized.
The two Array Seals shared the exact same shape. However, one was entirely blue, exuding an icy Sword Qi, while the other was a deep crimson, radiating a searingly hot Sword Qi.
The two seals emanated vastly different auras. One cold and one hot, they repelled and squeezed against each other, their clashing Sword Qi silently pervading the entire pavilion...