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Join the ServerLian Yueying temporarily set aside the “Divine Soul Unfettering Technique”, then activated the Spirit Gathering Array to meditate after ingesting a cultivation pill.
The next morning, having completed her body tempering exercises, she proceeded to the library as she always did.
Today, however, her visit was not solely for transcribing texts; she had two other objectives: to ascertain the true nature of “huabu” and to convey her thanks to the elder.
Upon entering the library, she found everything as it always was.
Lian Yueying approached the counter and bowed respectfully to the elder, yet, after a moment of contemplation, she found herself at a loss for words.
She had not prepared a speech beforehand, for this gratitude stemmed genuinely from her heart.
Despite her sincerity, the words she wished to speak swirled back into her mind, refined and polished, ultimately leading her to a more direct approach.
“This disciple thanks the elder for their teachings.”
No sooner had the words left her lips than Lian Yueying felt the spiritual energy around her connect with the elder, a clear sign that her words were being blocked.
The elder, in an uncharacteristic move, lowered his book, looked at Lian Yueying, and remarked, “You profit-driven little girl, I presume you’ve only come to thank me after achieving some success in your studies, haven’t you?”
As this was indeed the truth, Lian Yueying had no intention of denying it.
“This disciple spent some time comprehending some aspects, and has profoundly benefited…”
“If you understood it, say you understood it.
‘Elementary Introduction to Array Formations’ is merely the most fundamental of basics.
If it took you this long to grasp just a little, then you truly are not suited for the path of array formations.”
The elder waved his hand with a hint of impatience, then continued, “Coming to thank me after some time has passed, you must have perceived the marvels of array formations.
It’s been over a year… how are you progressing with third-tier arrays?”
“This disciple… this disciple has not yet reached third-tier arrays.”
Upon hearing this, the elder showed no particular emotion; he merely nodded and inquired again, “Have you thoroughly mastered second-tier arrays?”
“I wouldn’t dare claim complete mastery, but at least seventy percent.”
“Hmm, you still possess some talent, barely passing.”
Ever since Lian Yueying embarked on her path of cultivation, she had been drawing talismans, and the construction of talismans and arrays shared striking similarities.
She believed her progress was due to leveraging this commonality, yet to the elder, she was merely ‘barely passing’.
A competitive spirit sparked within her at this assessment.
Nevertheless, her curiosity outweighed her pride, and she wished to hear what an array formation genius truly entailed.
“The elder says this disciple is barely passing.
In the elder’s esteemed opinion, what level of attainment within a year would be considered that of a genius?”
“The cultivation world is vast; one dares not speak of true genius lightly.
There was once an individual who achieved mastery of third-tier arrays in one year, fourth-tier arrays in ten years, and comprehended several fifth-tier arrays within a century.
Perhaps after another millennium, they might have a chance to touch upon the sixth tier.”
While it was true that array formations had nine tiers, no one in the cultivation world had ever witnessed an eighth or ninth tier array.
Only seventh-tier arrays, capable of dominating all under heaven, had been seen in ancient ruins.
Thus, within the cultivation world, the sixth tier was already considered the pinnacle, with even the Tuoshan Sect’s protective array being merely a fifth-tier formation.
[A genius can achieve mastery of third-tier arrays in one year… Although I haven’t been solely focused on array formations this past year, I’ve still dedicated a considerable amount of time each day, and spent thousands of spirit stones on experimenting with arrays.]
[Even if I had spent the entire year solely on research, I would likely only have achieved mastery of second-tier arrays.]
True mastery implied the ability to spontaneously activate a second-tier array within an hour.
Lian Yueying, however, required two to three times that amount of time to set up the Golden Yuan Sword Array, and even then, she still needed to consult her array formation texts, placing her merely close to mastery.
“This disciple has been enlightened.”
As Lian Yueying bowed, before she could even straighten up, she heard the elder sigh.
He said, “I did not teach you how to create array formations.
I only taught you to use your mind more when encountering problems.
These words are not as superficial as they may sound on the surface; come and discuss them with me again when you have gained further insight in the future.”
With his words concluded, the spiritual connection severed, and the elder settled back into his rocking chair.
Lian Yueying completed her bow, then turned and walked towards her familiar seat.
For over a year, she had always occupied an inconspicuous corner in the southeast section of the library’s second floor for her transcription work.
Today, in addition to the texts she needed to transcribe, she also acquired a comprehensive book on precious materials, which detailed both demon beast components and naturally occurring treasures.
Whenever she consulted such voluminous tomes, Lian Yueying invariably marvelled at the importance of a good index, which allowed her to locate the necessary information in a relatively short time.
The Spirit Beast Assassin Mink possessed agile movements and left no trace.
Once de-haired, its pelt naturally retained spiritual energy, making it difficult for divine sense to penetrate, and it was often used to conceal items at auctions.
Having found the most similar description, Lian Yueying then flipped through a few more entries, ultimately confirming that “huabu” was indeed the pelt of an assassin mink.
Immediately, she conceived of a use for it.
After finishing her transcription, Lian Yueying returned to her dwelling and hastily retrieved the assassin mink fur.
She tied it to her hair bun, securing it with a hair tie, then swung her single ponytail from side to side, only to find that it kept sliding regardless.
[It’s difficult to secure.
It seems I’ll have to wait until after Foundation Establishment to refine the assassin mink fur into a magical artifact before I can use it.]
[The upcoming events are primarily internal sect competitions, so it’s not a secret anyway.
It won’t matter if they know.]
Given the properties of the assassin mink fur, it could perfectly conceal the True Talisman bound to Lian Yueying’s head.
In future duels, no one would be able to sense the spiritual energy emanating from her hair bun, thus they would naturally remain unaware that she was casting spells using True Talismans.
“An internal hall competition, huh…”
Lian Yueying leaned back in her chair, idly rubbing her water cup, preoccupied with her thoughts, and only occasionally taking a sip.
“I still need to prepare more spirit talismans.
I’ve only drawn two or three hundred of each new type, which is far from enough.”
Thus, as the internal hall competition approached, Lian Yueying first took her old, common spirit talismans to the market to sell them.
The tens of thousands of talismans indeed recouped some of her capital, enough for her to purchase new talisman paper.
For the remaining time, she suspended her transcription work, dedicating her afternoons instead to practicing spells and drawing talismans.
A month later, the internal hall competition officially commenced.
Although the Lake Hall Master was remarkably lackadaisical, the Lake Hall disciples were nonetheless highly motivated.
All fifty-six disciples from Lake Hall had signed up.
The competition rules were straightforward: opponents were decided by drawing lots, and winners continued to draw.
Since rankings were involved, losers would also participate in a second round of matches until all rankings were determined.
Naturally, after several rounds of draws, there would be an odd number of participants.
As rankings were at stake, those left without an opponent would not automatically advance but would instead be challenged by defeated disciples.
The first round saw fifty-six participants, followed by twenty-eight, then fourteen, until finally the number seven was reached.
Coincidentally, Lian Yueying was one of the seven odd-numbered participants.
Standing on the training grounds, Lian Yueying awaited her next opponent.
Below the stage, the multitude of disciples buzzed with activity, yet no one seemed inclined to step forward for the moment.
To be frank, by the end of the third match, several disciples who had recently entered the inner sect had already attempted to climb mountains daily to temper their bodies.
Unfortunately, without cultivation techniques to aid them, their efforts proved futile.
This internal hall competition truly introduced them to Lian Yueying—the disciple who diligently climbed mountains every morning, relying solely on her physical body.
Those who saw her had felt doubt, skepticism, and even ridicule, but when another eighth-layer Qi Condensation disciple was effortlessly defeated by Lian Yueying, all those sentiments transformed into exclamations of awe.
“Junior Sister Lian is beautiful and enjoys dressing up.
I’d seen her a few times before and thought she wasn’t dedicated to cultivation; now, reflecting on it, I feel truly ashamed.”
“Senior Sister, do you think Junior Sister Lian stands a chance against Senior Brother Li?”
“It’s difficult.”
The Senior Brother they spoke of was named Li Ming, another disciple who had reached Great Perfection of Qi Condensation after Zhou Zhongchen.
He had narrowly lost to Zhou Zhongchen in the previous internal hall competition, and now everyone believed no one could surpass him.
“Senior Brother, when you went to ask Junior Sister Lian earlier, did you find anything out?”
“Don’t even mention it.
You all kept pestering her until she got annoyed, and now she’s hung up a ‘Three Noes Sign’ at her door.
How am I supposed to ask?”
“Ah, Junior Sister Lian truly doesn’t like to socialize.
However, one can actually guess that she already possessed cultivation before joining the sect, so she must have some rare cultivation technique assisting her.”
The “Three Noes” referred to “No Guests, No Answers, No Invitations,” these nine characters inscribed on a wooden plaque hung on the fence gate of her small courtyard.
It wasn’t that Lian Yueying didn’t wish to make friends; rather, her sudden fame from the internal hall competition, coupled with her superior physique and appearance, caused many disciples who had previously overlooked her to re-evaluate her.
The sheer volume of invitations disrupted Lian Yueying’s original life, leaving her with no choice but to take this measure.
“The other day, Senior Brother lost to Junior Sister Lian, telling us it was merely due to carelessness.
Now is a perfect opportunity, why not go up and try?”
“No, no, Junior Brother, your perspective is too narrow.
A minor competition is merely for sparring and gaining some insights; this opportunity should be left to other fellow disciples.”
He might deceive others, but he could not deceive himself; only he truly knew how powerless he felt before Lian Yueying, despite both being at the eighth layer of Qi Condensation.
Among the defeated, there were only two at the eighth layer of Qi Condensation; one had lost to Lian Yueying, and the other naturally stirred with ambition.
Qiao Li’s defeat to Zhou Yan in the fourteen-to-seven round was rather normal.
Although her strength was more than sufficient to secure a top-ten rank in the second round of matches, she still wished to test herself.
Thus, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Qiao Li leaped onto the training stage.
“Qiao Li, a disciple of Lake Hall, requests your guidance.”
The managing disciple, seeing a challenger, activated the spiritual energy barrier.
Lian Yueying also announced her name and prepared her spirit talismans, fully ready.
Regardless of what others said, only Lian Yueying herself knew that she had been considerably relaxed during previous matches against lower-cultivation disciples, and in her last fight against an eighth-layer Qi Condensation opponent, she hadn’t adjusted quickly enough.
Fortunately, she regained her composure in time, resulting in her overexerting herself and unleashing several True Talismans, ending the battle in less than a quarter of an hour.
[Maintain proper rhythm, maintain proper rhythm.]
As she silently recited this, Lian Yueying looked at Qiao Li, only to see her opponent draw a long sword and stand her ground.
For a moment, neither side initiated an attack, and the situation became somewhat deadlocked.
Fortunately, although Lian Yueying preferred to counter-attack, she was not incapable of initiating an offensive.
Having adjusted her breathing, she flung several spirit talismans towards her opponent.
The spirit talismans, imbued with ink in a unique manner, were incredibly potent.
Consequently, the match progressed slowly, yet from the very beginning, Qiao Li’s disadvantage was apparent; she was constantly restrained by the talismans and spells, and her repeated attempts to launch a forceful assault were all thwarted by Lian Yueying.
This was Lian Yueying’s typical combat style, but Qiao Li was unaware of the talismans’ intricacies.
She only knew that her opponent hadn’t even activated her cultivation technique, which left her feeling utterly unconvinced and indignant.
“Junior Sister, isn’t it a bit presumptuous to not activate your cultivation technique at all!”
After a full quarter of an hour of attrition, Qiao Li, who had been constantly suppressed, seized an opportunity.
Using an escape technique, she closed the distance between them, unleashing seven sword energies from her long sword directly at Lian Yueying.
Lian Yueying used spirit talismans to both obstruct and counter-attack, and the two sword energies that slipped through were absorbed by her Three-foot Mirror.
Below the stage, Zhao Qianqian watched the silver gleam on the sword, her teeth grinding in irritation.
The Three-foot Mirror, her ancestral magical technique, she had only ever shown to Zhou Yan, yet Lian Yueying had forcefully learned it.
Zhou Yan was currently competing on another training stage; his opponent, merely at the eighth layer of Qi Condensation, posed no significant pressure to him.
He even managed to cast a glance at Lian Yueying’s match from the corner of his eye.
Lian Yueying felt deeply wronged.
After once again restraining Qiao Li with spirit talismans, she quickened her movements, even incorporating three True Talismans into her attack.
Unbeknownst to Qiao Li, her Tuoshan Shield was shattered by the True Talisman’s Grand Momentum Blade, ultimately leading to her defeat.
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