Jiang Tang was once celebrated as a genius, but his remarkable abilities eventually turned him into a resource that powerful organizations wanted to control. After escaping that role, he enters a world filled with cultivators, factions, and larger-than-life figures who all seem determined to define him before he can define himself. Some see a future ruler, others a dangerous rival, and still others simply a useful worker. Jiang, however, insists that he wants an ordinary life. The problem is that every new encounter makes that ordinary future harder to reach—and reveals more about why his abilities matter.
Chapter 29: Breaking the Array
Mystical light swirled above the Ten Thousand Formations Pavilion, creating a dreamlike, ethereal scene. One striking, brilliant name after another chased each other, clashing and competing as if in a contest. “It’s at 326 now. He Haobo of the Ten Thousand Formations Pavilion is truly formidable—he’s mastered over 300 types of formation diagrams at such a young age!” “He’s truly impressive, but that’s as far as he’ll go. After surpassing three hundred, his pace has slowed considerably. Look at the names rising rapidly below—those are the true elite of the Ten Thousand Formations Pavilion!” “Chen Chengxian—it’s actually him! In less than a single hour, he’s drawn over two hundred formations. That kind of strength is truly terrifying.” “Chen Chengxian—he’s twenty-eight, right? That’s nothing special. I think Jiang Tang is the real deal. I just heard he’s been a disciple for less than two years, and he’s even a student from Black Reef Island. Just think about how fast he was drawing formations earlier—he broke the hundred mark in half an hour!” “Him? Just look at him—he’s already been pushed way down to the 200s.” “After all, he’s not a disciple of the Ten Thousand Formations Pavilion. To perform this well is already nothing short of miraculous.” The stronger a cultivator is, the better their memory—they almost never forget what they’ve seen. However, the complexity of array diagrams makes it impossible to replicate them solely from memory. Even the simplest first-tier array diagram—even if you remember it at a glance—is extremely difficult to draw. If you omit a single element or draw it even a hair’s breadth off, it simply won’t work. Even after repeated practice, one might only master the technique; to draw it at lightning speed without the slightest hesitation requires at least ten days to half a month of grueling practice. This is because it’s not just a matter of memory, but also control over one’s physical body and the dexterous use of all ten fingers. Generally speaking, mastering fifty array-drawing techniques in a year is already the mark of a genius. Yet the participants in this competition are all disciples under thirty—setting aside their cultivation time, it would be astonishing enough if they could master five hundred techniques! “It’s only the first day, and the disciples of the Ten Thousand Formations Pavilion are already making a move. Sigh, they really love to show off.” Qiong Sang seemed to sense what was happening outside. Jiang Tang had no idea what was happening outside, but he trusted Qiong Sang implicitly. Upon hearing this, he looked toward Dongfang and smiled wryly, “Any more moves left?” Dongfang shook his head. “None left.” Jiang Tang looked up at the three numbers “276,” furrowed his brow, and said, “This will cost us a lot of points.” “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it. Let’s begin.” As soon as Dongfang finished speaking, Jiang Tang wasted no time and immediately cast a spell into the black table. Instantly, the numbers “276” above his head vanished, replaced by a cloud of mist rising from the black tabletop. In the blink of an eye, the entire formation became shrouded in a haze, and Jiang Tang could no longer see Dongfang or Qiong Sang with the naked eye. “The first one is a confusion array,” Jiang Tang said with a wry smile. Dongfang, however, didn’t waste any words. He pointed a finger into the mist, and instantly, the mist dispersed, drifting upward to form the character “一.” In the blink of an eye, another section of the formation revealed a scene of ice and snow. Dongfang still didn’t waste any words; with a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a burst of demonic energy that shattered a block of ice. In an instant, the formation returned to its original state, and the character above their heads changed from “一” to “二.” Inside the formation, the scenery kept changing—sometimes depicting the four seasons, sometimes the Five Elements and the principles of Yin and Yang. There were also the most troublesome restraining formations, which limited their movements and took even longer to break. Often, the same formations would repeat, yet the methods to break them were entirely different. Moreover, the layers of restrictions were rapidly increasing—from one layer to two, then to three… Once the number of formations to be broken surged past a hundred, each new formation consisted of ten or more layers of restrictions; a single misstep would undo all their previous progress. Dongfang had already achieved the impossible, managing to break through over a hundred types within a quarter of an hour. However, his experience was limited, and he had only recently begun cultivating his divine sense. Once the number of formations he’d broken exceeded one hundred and five, his pace began to slow. By the time he’d painstakingly reached two hundred, he seemed on the verge of collapse. “If this continues, your divine soul will surely suffer damage. Go inside and inhale some Soul-Nourishing Incense.” After Qiong Sang finished speaking, he turned to Jiang Tang and said, “Little Jiang Zi, you take over. I’ll guide you through the process.” “Got it.” Jiang Tang replied, and just as he was about to pull Dongfang into the Demon Realm, he heard Dongfang shake his head and say, “No rush. I want to watch and take notes from the sidelines.” Jiang Tang didn’t press the matter. Soon, the scene within the formation shifted, returning once more to the frozen wasteland. “Damn it, it’s only the two-hundredth level, and it’s already jumped to the third-tier ‘Snowstorm and Ice Seal’ formation. This formation has as many as thirty-six layers of restrictions. I’ll point out the hidden restrictions, but you’ll also have to use your spiritual sense to try and find them yourself. You’d better hurry—otherwise, in half a quarter-hour, your physical body will be frozen solid, and you’ll have no choice but to call for help to exit the formation.” “Then stop wasting my time.” As soon as Jiang Tang finished speaking, he followed Qiong Sang’s instructions, casting one magical incantation after another. After shattering the glaciers, boulders, ice flowers, and snow-covered trees in the Snow Realm one by one, the scene returned to normal. Before Jiang Tang could even breathe a sigh of relief, another transformation occurred—and this time, it was once again a world of ice and snow! “Another round!” Jiang Tang said, though he knew full well it wasn’t that simple. Sure enough, Qiong Sang said exasperatedly, “This is a real ordeal. Although this restriction is simple, there are as many as three hundred layers—all made of snowflakes. Half of them are suspended motionless in midair, while the rest are buried in the snow. Start by shattering the ones you can’t locate with your divine sense…” Jiang Tang, having trained in martial arts, could control every inch of his body with precision. In just ten breaths, he shattered 130 snowflakes one by one amidst the swirling snow. Under Qiong Sang’s guidance, he cleared the restrictions hidden within the snowdrifts in thirty breaths. The coordination between man and beast seemed seamless, and the speed at which they broke the restrictions left the onlookers watching the rankings outside speechless. “I wasn’t paying attention for a moment, and now Jiang Tang has actually started breaking through the formation!” “My goodness, what kind of speed is that? Just a moment ago, he’d barely broken into the top 100 and was hovering around 300th place—now, in the blink of an eye, he’s already up to 82nd!” “Two hundred fifty-three… two hundred seventy-nine… almost three hundred!” “At this pace, the difficulty is bound to increase. It may look like the 300s, but the formations he’s breaking are at least fourth-tier!” A disciple who seemed well-versed in formation-breaking exclaimed repeatedly. The others were so stunned their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. It has always been widely acknowledged that setting up formations is easy, but breaking them is difficult, because breaking formations takes much more time. Five hours have passed since the Ten Thousand Formations Pavilion opened the competition, yet there are still more than a dozen disciples working on breaking formations. The highest number anyone has managed is 306, and they’re all highly renowned disciples within the Ten Thousand Formations Pavilion. Yet Jiang Tang—this young upstart who had burst onto the scene—had managed to catch up to them in less than half a time period. At this rate, he would undoubtedly secure first place in less than a quarter of a time period! He Pingzong, the Master of the Ten Thousand Formations Pavilion, appeared to be in his eighties, with snow-white hair and beard, yet he stood ramrod straight, hands clasped behind his back, in a stone pavilion on the back mountain. Gazing from afar at the nine-colored light screen marked “No. 75,” he asked in puzzlement, “Jiang Tang? A new disciple of this Pavilion?” Upon hearing this, Qin Yizhang, the eldest disciple of the Ten Thousand Formations Pavilion, gave a wry smile. “After seeing his ranking in the array-drawing competition, I inquired about him. This Jiang Tang is a new disciple, but he was accepted as a student by Senior Master Tie Wu Yi—he is not a disciple of our pavilion.” “What? He’s not from our Ten Thousand Formations Pavilion?” He Pingzong looked deeply displeased. Qin Yizhang was also quite embarrassed and explained, “Well… since our Pavilion admitted too many disciples last time, we didn’t expand our intake this time.” “But we can’t just ignore him, can we?” He Pingzong was extremely fond of nurturing talent, especially in the art of formations. Every time he ventured out into the world, he kept a keen eye out for promising individuals, and whenever he encountered one, he would go to great lengths to have them join Xian Zong. New disciples must be under twenty years of age. A twenty-year-old array genius—even if his cultivation is lacking—is of little consequence; Xian Zong has plenty of ways to boost his cultivation. However, when it comes to the comprehension of array arts, it truly cannot be forced; one can only rely on natural talent. As for a true genius like Jiang Tang, who had ended up on Black Reef Island, He Pingzong’s mood at that moment was absolutely dreadful—even he, Tie Wu Yi, could do nothing about it.
