85: Chapter 85: The First Meeting of the Disciples of the Formation Hall, and the Perverted Theory of Killing Formations!

[29 years old, October 10th. Formation Hall, Main Hall.]

[The hall is not large, it could easily seat twenty or thirty people, but right now it is very empty.]

[Counting you, there are five disciples in total.]

[Hall Master Lei Zhen stands in the center of the hall, wearing grey cloth robes, his hands behind his back, his tone casual.]

"I called you all here today for no other reason than to introduce the new junior brother."

[He tilts his chin toward you.]

"Shen Ji, say a few words yourself."

[You stand up and cup your hands.]

"Shen Ji, twenty-nine, Foundation Building Stage 4, top-grade sword bone spiritual root. I look forward to your guidance, senior brothers and sisters."

[The hall is quiet for a moment.]

[The middle-aged man sitting in the front row speaks first.]

"Mu Qing, senior brother. Come find me anytime if you need anything."

[He is about forty years old, with a square face, and the earth-yellow spiritual energy fluctuations on his body are thick and steady.]

[His cultivation at the peak of Foundation Establishment Level 9 is fully revealed, open and honest.]

[After speaking, he nods to you in greeting.]

[The female cultivator sitting next to him takes over.]

"Qin Yu, second senior sister. Foundation Establishment Level 6."

[She looks you over, straightforward.]

"Twenty-nine years old and at Foundation Building Stage 4, that is considered fast on the outside, but average in our hall. Don't feel pressured; Master doesn't look at cultivation, he looks at brains."

[Her speech is crisp and efficient.]

[Ling Bo sits in the third row and smiles at you.]

[The last person sits in the very corner of the hall.]

[Chu Feng.]

[Around twenty-five, with a fair face and a slightly raised chin.]

[Mixed within his foundation establishment level 3 peak cultivation fluctuations is spatial spiritual energy.]

[A rare talent that can hardly be found in the entire Eastern Region.]

[He tilts his head to look at you, his eyes filled with inquiry and provocation.]

"Sword bone spiritual root?"

[His voice is not loud, but every word is clear.]

"The one who cracked the spirit-testing monument?"

[You nod.]

"Then what are you doing in the Formation Hall?"

[Chu Feng crosses his arms and leans back against the chair, "Aren't Fire Cloud Hall and Fenglei Hall much better suited for you? Even when True Person Chiyang personally asked to take you as a closed-door disciple, you didn't go?"]

[Several gazes sweep toward you at the same time.]

[Mu Qing's brows move slightly.]

[Qin Yu curls her lips, waiting for a good show.]

[Clearly, it is not just Chu Feng who has this question.]

[You look directly at Chu Feng.]

"A sword can kill, but it can't kill everyone," you say. "Formations can trap people exactly where you want them to die. Trap first, then kill; it saves effort."

[Chu Feng freezes for a moment, then sneers.]

"Interesting. It's the first time I've heard someone say they study formations just to kill more conveniently."

[His tone is disdainful, but the curiosity in his eyes is even stronger.]

[Qin Yu suddenly interjects: "Third junior brother, what was your own reason for coming to the Formation Hall back then? 'Only the Formation Hall is worthy of my spatial spiritual root talent'?"]

[Chu Feng turns his head away.]

[Mu Qing coughs lightly: "Alright, you are all fellow disciples, get along with each other."]

[Hall Master Lei Zhen has heard the whole thing, and only now does he speak.]

"There aren't many disciples in the Formation Hall, but they are carefully selected."

"In the future, when executing large-scale sect missions, formation coordination is a basic skill."

"For sect-level sieges and defense, the formation controller is the core of the entire team."

[He looks around at everyone.]

"Get along well, cultivate well. You are dismissed."

[Everyone stands up.]

[Mu Qing walks over, pats your shoulder, and leaves steadily.]

[Qin Yu drops a sentence as she passes: "Don't be scared by Chu Feng's mouth, he's just like that."]

[Ling Bo nods at you.]

[Chu Feng is the last to leave, stopping in front of you.]

"A sword bone spiritual root studying formations; I want to see what you can achieve."

[After speaking, he walks straight out of the hall door.]

[You watch his back.]

[A variant spatial spiritual root; this person certainly has the capital to be arrogant.]

[You don't care.]

[--]

[After everyone leaves, Hall Master Lei Zhen calls you back.]

"Stay for a moment."

[The hall door closes.]

[Hall Master Lei Zhen sits cross-legged on a meditation cushion and gestures for you to sit.]

"Tell me, what kind of formations do you specifically want to study?"

[You think for a moment.]

"Trapping enemies. Simple, single-person control. The kind that can be quickly deployed in actual combat."

[Hall Master Lei Zhen nods.]

"Your thinking is very clear. Sword bone spiritual roots focus on offense, while formations provide auxiliary trapping, linking offense and defense."

[He stands up and pulls a yellowed animal skin scroll from the bookshelf.]

"Spider Web Array. A grade 3 low-tier formation, can be controlled by a single person."

"The core is to use spiritual energy as threads to weave a confinement network on the battlefield."

"The deployment speed is fast, and it has extremely high requirements for precision in spiritual energy control."

"Once the formation is formed, ordinary opponents trapped within it cannot escape in a short time."

[He hands you the scroll.]

"Go back and study the basic formation patterns first."

"You can't rush these things. No matter how high your talent in sword dao is, you have to start from scratch in the field of formations."

[You take the scroll with both hands.]

"This disciple understands."

[Hall Master Lei Zhen looks at you and laughs.]

"You are different from Chu Feng."

"He is someone who understands formations naturally, forming them by instinct."

"As for you... I bet you are a smart person who takes the hard way."

[You don't respond.]

[Because you are not even sure yourself.]

[--]

[29 years old, October 11th. Late night. Small courtyard.]

[You spread the Spider Web Array scroll on the table and study it word by word.]

[The formation pattern diagram is dense.]

[The trajectory of the thirty-six spiritual energy threads, the intersection nodes, and the spiritual energy distribution ratios are all clearly marked.]

[It is not difficult to understand.]

[You finish chewing through the theoretical knowledge on the scroll in less than an hour.]

[The difficulty lies in the practical operation.]

[You walk to the open space in the courtyard.]

[According to the scroll, you guide your spiritual energy out from your fingertips, attempting to weave the first formation thread.]

[Spiritual energy exits your fingers.]

[Formed.]

[The first thread barely condenses, its shape crooked.]

[You continue to draw out the second one.]

[As soon as the second thread leaves your fingertip and touches the first one.]

[With a 'poof' sound, both threads dissipate simultaneously.]

[The backlash of spiritual energy makes your fingers go numb.]

[You shake off the remaining spiritual energy and start over.]

[Third time. The first one barely forms, the second is drawn out, and they explode at the intersection.]

[Fourth time. Two are formed, the third is drawn out and explodes.]

[Fifth time. The first one dissipates directly when forming.]

[You try twenty-seven times in a row.]

[Best result: maintaining three threads at the same time, lasting less than two breaths.]

[The minimum operating standard for the Spider Web Array: maintaining thirty-six threads simultaneously, running stably.]

[You can't even hold three right now.]

[You look at the scattered residue of spiritual energy all over the ground.]

[From Yunzhou to the Tianxuan Sect, you have relied on the jinhong sword to be invincible.]

[But in front of formations, the entry-level threads are extremely difficult to form.]

[Stealth, sword qi, armor breaking—these are all instincts forcibly added to your body by the traits.]

[The field of formations, however, is a blind spot that the traits have not yet covered.]

[A pure cultivation barrier stands before you.]

[You lean against the trunk of the old locust tree.]

[The barrier is right before your eyes.]

[Someone like Chu Feng, with a variant spatial spiritual root, must find it extremely easy to get started with formation patterns.]

[To study formations across disciplines, you can only bite the bullet.]

[You stand up and shake the fallen leaves off your hem.]

[Learn from scratch, even if it's the hard way.]

[You roll up your sleeves and continue to try.]

[The twenty-eighth time... the twenty-ninth time... the thirtieth time...]

[The deep night is silent, leaving only the faint sound of spiritual energy exploding at your fingertips.]

[Until the east turns white.]

[Best result: four threads, maintained for three breaths.]

[All night, you only added one more.]

[You retract your aura, wipe away your sweat, and walk back into the house.]

[As you pass the desk, your gaze sweeps over the spread-out scroll.]

[The formation pattern intersection node diagram makes you stop in your tracks.]

[You stare at the node diagram and examine it closely.]

[Nodes... intersections... spiritual energy distribution...]

[This set of operational logic is highly similar to the spiritual energy circulation path on the system panel when swapping traits.]