by Tinalynge
"I can imagine that Elder Pei Bai is the most talented of all the Formation Masters within the sect?" The clerk looked a little troubled when he heard this question. He cleared his throat in a slightly embarrassed way and said with a somewhat low voice, "some would say he is the best, but he does not dare claim such a title."
Hui Yue looked curiously at the clerk and wondered why he was acting so odd today, but before he had the time to ask, the two had arrived in front of a large wooden door.
"Behind this door is Pei Bai's office," he explained. "Pei Bai never really likes to stay within his office and takes on other tasks instead, so don't be shocked when you see the state of the office." The clerk was very apologetic as he opened the door and led Hui Yue into a large office.
This office was overflowing with scrolls. There were scrolls everywhere, scrolls with formations or theories about formations.
"But there is no one in here," Hui Yue mumbled to himself when the young clerk stepped behind the desk and sat down on the chair that was meant for the elder.
Hui Yue looked at him dumbfounded, and the clerk looked back with amusement and expectation on his face.
"Where is Elder Pei Bai?" Hui Yue asked as he narrowed his eyes and looked at the clerk in front of him, but the smile on his face just grew wider, and he pointed towards his chest with a strange satisfaction on his face. It was clear that he was enjoying Hui Yue's confusion.
Although Hui Yue was shocked, he was not stupid, and the person he had known to be a clerk turned out to be an elder instead. His reaction was not as spectacular as the elder had hoped, and his face, which was filled with a smile and clearly showed expectations quickly turned disappointed.
"What is up with your expression?" he said sourly to Hui Yue when he saw that the young man did not express the shock or disbelief he had expected.
Only now did Hui Yue understand why his father had said that speaking with Pei Bai was needed to understand what exactly was going on. This Pei Bai was a strange one.
"I take pride in my appearance," Pei Bai suddenly said. "I am one of the seventh generation descendants, and not many of us are left, but those who are left are all old geezers. I was able to have a breakthrough into the Immortal of Creation rank at only three hundred years of age. So far I am one of the youngest Immortals of Creations of all the experts in our sect, and because of this, I decided not to age any longer! I have looked the same for more than ten thousand years!"
Pei Bai was clearly very proud of himself, but Hui Yue did not know exactly what this strange elder expected from him. Should he clap his hands and praise him? Should he ignore it?
His eyes displayed his confusion, and eventually, he nodded his head, "It is amazing that you managed to become an Immortal of Creation with such speed," he said eventually. It was indeed quite an achievement so praising him was not just to make him feel good.
"So, Elder Pei Bai, I came because I heard about this Formation Master debate," Hui Yue went straight to the topic at hand, and Pei Bai, who seemed to have survived his disappointment from not shocking Hui Yue more than he did, nodded his head.
"The Formation Master's debate is a convention kind of thing. You will meet up with other Formation Masters and exchange insights. You will have to display your prowess when it comes to formations, and you will also challenge other formations with your own."
"Although you can only control simple formations for now, but I have great trust in you and your talent. I will provide you all the formation scrolls you might need free of charge for the next half year. You will need at least one hundred seals, but with your current speed, that should not be too troublesome."
Hui Yue was stunned. He had half a year to reach a hundred seals. That alone did not challenge him too much, but he knew that if he wanted to display his full strength with all those seals, then he needed to be able to do much more than just control a single formation composed of them.
'This is the perfect time to learn how to create multiple formations at the same time. And don't forget, I am here too,' Lan Feng grinned. 'Imagine if you could form ten Blazing Tigers at the same time! And if these formations were all boosted by my dao of fire!'
'In half a year I will have finished my fourth dao, and then we will have an even stronger army of Blazing Tigers. Although it is a beginner attack, I cannot wait to see if other formation apprentices around your level can hold you down.'
Hui Yue had to agree that if he continued to look for formations that required the daos that he could control, then his strength would soar to the heavens. He would be a true force to be reckoned with. However, he was still a far cry away from being able to create ten Blazing Tiger formations at the same time.
"I would like to participate, but tell me about my competitors. I imagine that they have been brought up with a silver spoon, practicing formations all their lives. Compared to them, I might as well not even go," Hui Yue said honestly as he spoke to Pei Bai.
"The majority of the sects are in the same situation we are," Pei Bai explained. "They have a few experts with soulforce, but just because they have the force required does not mean that they have talent for the art; however, in the end, the sects cannot be picky. Soulforce is simply far too rare!"
"Because of this the majority of the sects have experts who focus on formations from the younger generation, but that person is nothing more than an average Formation creator. The person you really need to be wary of is a youth from the Heavenly Dragon Gate."
"The Heavenly Dragon Gate is different from the Celestial Sword Sect," Pei Bai continued explaining. "Where the Celestial Sword Sect is a sect made for the descendants of the Great Roc, the Heavenly Dragon Gate is a sect that invites any kind of talent to join their ranks."
"They especially adopt those who have talent for formations, and their sect is known for producing heaven-shaking Formations Masters. This time they got their hands on a young man who was only fifty years of age when he joined them. He is a true prodigy when it comes to formations, and he was, as you described, fed with a silver spoon. Anything he wanted, he got."
"I do not expect you to defeat this young man, but ranking second will be enough to earn our Celestial Sword Sect quite some fame."
Hui Yue was quiet for some time and considered what had been said. He did not like winning second place and would strive to become the number one in the debate, but he also acknowledged that he had a serious disadvantage when it came to knowledge about formations as well as time spent practicing. He had just started far too late compared to this cultivator from the Heavenly Dragon Gate.
"I will do my best," Hui Yue finally said as he gave a decisive nod. He would not worry about what rank he got, as long as he could do his best then he would be satisfied.
Deep inside he felt excitement. He had expected a boring future where he would focus on formations alone, but now he felt a sense of urgency.
"Don't spend contribution points on meditation rooms, just pick one here in the Formation Palace," Pei Bai said. "I will show you around so follow me!"
Chapter 616 - Formations and Daos
* * *
Chapter 616: Formations and Daos
Pei Bai did not wait for Hui Yue to answer. Instead, he instantly stood up and started walking through the Formation Palace.
The Formation Palace was far from the biggest building in the Celestial Sword Sect, but when Pei Bai walked through it, Hui Yue found that it was massive inside. There were rooms everywhere; some were living quarters, others were for training. The only thing every room had in common was that they were filled with dust and there were no signs that anyone had used them for a very long time.
"This place is very empty. Formation Masters are an essential part of a sect, but the requirements to become a master are simply too high."
"Because of this, there are never enough Formation Masters, especially not in sects like the Celestial Sword Sect where we cannot invite outsiders to join."
Pei Bai shook his head in disappoint
ment, and Hui Yue understood that this elder truly cared about the Formation Masters of the sect.
"Let me explain formation ranks to you in detail," Pei Bai offered. "First are the apprentices. One is an apprentice until they have compressed one hundred seals after which they are considered formation apprentices."
"Only after five hundred seals can you be considered a true Formation Master and after a thousand seals you are referred to as a Formation Grandmaster."
"I am currently at nine hundred and seventy-six seals. I am able to use a hidden skill to create thousands of seals, but its power is shaky and I cannot control it for long," Pei Bai said proudly and nodded his head. "But the elder from the Heavenly Dragon Gate also happens to be very close to the grandmaster rank."
"Currently there are no Formation Grandmasters. It has been countless years since the last grandmaster died. Sadly it was from the backlash of one of his formations while he was practicing. Grandmaster formations are incredibly complex and dangerous. They have the ability to unleash a simply frightening level of power!"
"Formations are marvelous. They can be used for attacking, for defending, and for traps. Formations are outstanding in every possible way. They can save your life in more than one way. Every proper group of experts should have a Formation Master with them if they want to survive traveling the galaxy."
"Formations are necessary as well when one forms worlds. Though everyone who is not skilled in the formation arts has to hire Formation Masters for this, it is always best if one can form the formation themselves. This is because the person who made the world knows it best, and thus they are the most suitable person to make a formation for the creation of the world’s essence of the heavens and the earth. This essence is the life of the world; it allows for creatures to survive on a world, and also determine how strong such a world is."
"But let me tell you a secret," Pei Bai said with a smile. "Way back when I was younger, soulforce was not so rare. When the galaxy was newly formed, everyone had soulforce. Soulforce is not a bloodline power, but it is very similar. The more generations that go by, the rarer soulforce becomes. This also means that in the elder generations there are many more Formation Masters than there are amongst the younger generations."
"It is just bad luck that our sect does not have more masters, or even just more soulforce users... Sadly all who had reached the grandmaster rank of our art have long since blown themselves to bits while experimenting with formations. That seems to be the fate of Formation Grandmasters," he sighed, but Hui Yue sensed no fear in his voice.
A God could die at any moment. Although they lived for an eternity, their lives were filled with dangers. One never knew when war would come for them. One never knew when they would suddenly be attacked while roaming the galaxy. It was true that they were somewhat safe within the sect, but even here were eyes and ears that wanted the death of Hui Yue and others.
"This galaxy was formed countless eons ago, and even our ancestor, the Great Roc, was amongst the creatures created during the birth of our galaxy. The Great Roc roamed the newly formed galaxy for an eternity before he finally settled down after more than a hundred thousand years of adventuring. By then the galaxy was no longer young as it had once been, but instead developing at a steady pace."
"Formations are an ancient technique that have been passed down since the beginning of our galaxy. Although new formations are constantly being created, many formations are as old as the galaxy itself. Being able to have the chance to study formations is something you should take pride in!"
Looking at Pei Bai, Hui Yue saw the reverence the elder had towards formations and their history. His eyes seemed to blaze and his lips curved in an intoxicated smile. It was clear that for this elder, formations were the most important thing in his life; they were his reason for existence and the path he walked down.
"Do you live here in the Formation Palace?" Hui Yue suddenly asked, and Pei Bai nodded his head. "I haven't found a partner and have no descendants. For me, having kids is not the most important task, no, guiding those youngsters with soulforce is the purpose of my life!"
"I would fear to have children," Pei Bai had paused for a moment before he sighed and said what he had in mind. "Imagine that I got a son who lacked soulforce. I would love him all the same, but wouldn’t he feel inferior because he cannot share in my greatest obsession? Would he not feel useless because he would never be able to inherit my legacy?"
Hui Yue looked at Pei Bai with pity. He could understand why he would feel so worried about this. He knew how much it had troubled his previous life, the one of the celestial wings, to not be able to live up to his father's great name.
"I am not entitled to take you on as my disciple," Pei Bai changed the subject quite quickly, not wanting to make Hui Yue feel uncomfortable about the previous subject. This was also something that had been on his mind for a long time.
"Your talent is peerless, and it is only a question of time before you overtake me. With your current performance, I have no doubt that you will one day become a grandmaster."
"Because of this, I would be embarrassed to take you as my disciple; a disciple who is much more talented than his master can never show off that talent if he is weighed down by an incompetent master."
"But, if you do not mind, then I would like to assist you in your pursuit of formations!"
"The next half year, before we leave the sect for the debate, you should stay here in the Formation Palace with me. I will focus on you and your potential, and we will see just how much you can learn."
Hui Yue saw a kindness in Pei Bai's eyes, and he nodded his head before he even realized what he had done.
"I will need one day a month to go to the City of Endless Clouds," he said, and Pei Bai nodded his head. "That’s no problem, just because you will be spending your time here cultivating does not mean that I plan to hold you captive. Now, follow me."
Pei Bai once more walked through the many halls and corridors before they reached a corridor which had a gentle light illuminating three doors.
"This is where I live," Pei Bai said as he opened a door and pointed to a room. The room was filled to the brim with scrolls everywhere, and there were quite a few signs of formations that had backfired.
"I have two other rooms, but I never use them. You take one of them and get settled in, then I will go tell your father that you are going to be staying with me for the next half year," he said, and before Hui Yue could say anything, Pei Bai had already vanished into the distance.
Shaking his head, Hui Yue could not help but laugh a little before he opened the door next to the one leading into Pei Bai's room.
The room he saw was similar to Pei Bai's. There was no dust in this room, but more than anything, there were no scrolls spread all across the floor.
Hui Yue got himself familiar with the room and noticed that there was a meditation room right next door making it easy for him to train his formations.
After having looked through the rooms, Pei Bai had not yet returned; thus he decided to sit down and start compressing more seals.
He understood that right now the most important thing was to fully focus on formations. He did not have time to meditate on the daos any longer; he was pressed for time as it was already. He needed to become much stronger than he was now if he did not wish to shame the Celestial Sword Sect when they went to the Formation Masters debate.
When Pei Bai returned, his eyes showed appreciation as he saw that Hui Yue had started compressing seals right away instead of spending more time examining the rooms. Instead of interrupting Hui Yue, Pei Bai entered his room and looked through the many scrolls and books seeking formations that would be of use to Hui Yue.
"He is a descendant of the Great Roc so he should have some skill with the dao of wind," Pei Bai mused to himself as he looked at the scroll in his hand. "But he did mention some time ago that he was very pleased with the Blazing Tiger. He has not been in the sect for a long time, could it be that he is mo
re familiar with the fire-related daos?"
Pei Bai was at a loss, and eventually, he found all the formations he could that contained a hundred or fewer seals.
"My daos?" Hui Yue was confused at first, but when he saw all the formations in Pei Bai's hands, he understood the question. Since he had thought of merging daos with formations, obviously others had thought of such a thing too. It seems this was a rather common occurrence for Formation Masters to do.
"I need anything you have dealing with fire," Hui Yue said right away full of excitement. He needed fire formations as they could be merged with the daos Lan Feng had comprehended.
"I have access to four daos of fire, the dao of gale, the dao of devouring, the dao of sword, the dao of gravity, and I can also be considered someone who is comprehending the dao of space."
Although Hui Yue did not have full access to the dao of space, he understood that if he could merge the dao of space with a formation, he would become almost impossible to defeat.
