Chapter 1727 - Shameless
Seeing that the other spiritual array mentors had no intention of stepping forward, Ye Linghan had no choice but to volunteer and test the spiritual array's power herself.
Standing before the Spirit-Refining Earth Flame Array, Ye Linghan took a deep breath and walked toward the depths of the spiritual array.
Even Zhongsun Wen couldn't find a way to enter the spiritual array without damaging it from the outside. Thus, no one looked favorably upon Ye Linghan, as they all assumed this was an impossible task.
Every spiritual array had a death gate and a life gate. Anyone who stepped into the death gate would face the spiritual array's ferocious attacks. But if they stepped into the life gate, they could locate the spiritual array's weakness and enter its core.
Most importantly, the Spirit-Refining Earth Flame Array possessed a terrifying ability to suppress the primordial spirit of anyone who approached it.
The moment Ye Linghan stepped forward, the spiritual array rumbled as yellow mist began to spin, forming a terrifying force that charged toward her. Just as it was about to strike, she suddenly shifted one step to the left, evading the attack.
"This..." The eleven mentors' expressions turned ugly. That seemingly casual step from Ye Linghan had allowed her to evade the spiritual array's attack.
"This must be a coincidence!" Tu Zhengbao said in disbelief, brushing it off as luck because the Spirit-Refining Earth Flame Array's true power lay deeper inside.
Ye Linghan gradually steadied herself and continued using the strange footwork. She occasionally shifted to the side and retreated several steps. The footwork appeared chaotic at first glance, but upon closer inspection, every step followed an extremely precise pattern.
"If someone uses this footwork properly, it might even work against other spiritual arrays," Zhongsun Wen said. He had already noticed some profundity hidden within the footwork.
The footwork didn't merely counter the Spirit-Refining Earth Flame Array; it also proved effective against other spiritual arrays.
When the other mentors heard Zhongsun Wen's words, they quickly took out Memory Talismans to record Ye Linghan's footwork.
The Spirit-Refining Earth Flame Array's attacks became increasingly ferocious, brushing past Ye Linghan each time. She had been nervous at first, but she gradually calmed down and quickened her pace.
About fifteen minutes later, Ye Linghan had already approached the spiritual array's core. As long as she located the spiritual array's core, Liu Wuxie's method would be proven feasible.
Everyone watched as Ye Linghan reached the spiritual array's core in only fifteen minutes and destroyed it with one sword strike.
The Spirit-Refining Earth Flame Array collapsed with a loud rumble. Ye Linghan had successfully destroyed it.
Zhongsun Wen took the lead in applauding, as Liu Wuxie had given all of them a lesson. They hadn't expected spiritual arrays to contain so much profundity in their application.
All the mentors present had some understanding of spiritual arrays, so they joined in the applause. Only Tu Zhengbao and Wei Wenbin wore dark expressions.
Ye Linghan looked at what she had accomplished with disbelief. The earlier mockery had vanished, and the students now looked at Liu Wuxie with a trace of awe. After all, respecting the strong had always been an unchanging truth in the cultivation world.
Liu Wuxie's cultivation might not have been high, but his attainments in spiritual arrays were no weaker than those of the older generation.
"Heh, he just got lucky," Tu Zhengbao spat. Although he refused to admit defeat, he knew that if he had been the one inside, he wouldn't have been able to reach the spiritual array's core.
"It looks like Mentor Tu still isn't convinced. How about this? You can set up a spiritual array, and I'll only alter one part of it. If you can walk out of the spiritual array, I'll leave the Azure Flame Dao Hall on my own. If you can't, you'll have to apologize to me," Liu Wuxie said, looking at Tu Zhengbao with a smile.
Tu Zhengbao had provoked him again and again. If Liu Wuxie didn't strike back hard, Tu Zhengbao would only treat him as a pushover.
An uproar broke out around them at his words.
"Has he gone mad? Mentor Tu will surely know about the weakness in the spiritual array he set up for himself. Forget about changing one part, even if this brat changed ten parts, Mentor Tu will still be able to break it easily!"
The crowd around them was shocked.
By the time Ye Linghan could stop Liu Wuxie, it was already too late. After all, as long as everything continued smoothly, Liu Wuxie would pass the assessment.
The assessment had three rounds, but after everyone witnessed Liu Wuxie's ability, the remaining two rounds lost much of their meaning. Liu Wuxie had already displayed his skills in setting up, breaking, and defending against spiritual arrays.
"Brat, you said it yourself. If I can walk out of the spiritual array, not only will you get lost from the Azure Flame Dao Hall, but you'll also have to kneel and kowtow to me in public," Tu Zhengbao said, his eyes wide with fury. How could he reject a challenge from a heavenly immortal?
Whether in cultivation, age, identity, or status, Liu Wuxie couldn't compare to him. Yet this ant before him had repeatedly slapped his face.
"Wuxie, don't agree to it!" Ye Linghan quickly stopped him before he could speak.
The other mentors wore gloating expressions. This matter had nothing to do with them, so they naturally didn't mind watching the show. As for the students, they only wanted the situation to grow even more explosive.
"That's a promise!" Liu Wuxie said, signaling for Ye Linghan not to worry. He was confident that no one in the celestial realm could compete with him in the art of spiritual arrays.
"I'll have to ask everyone to bear witness to what he said," Tu Zhengbao said, cupping his hands toward the surrounding mentors, hoping they would serve as witnesses.
"Mentor Tu, don't worry about it. We'll handle it fairly," the surrounding mentors replied, cupping their hands in return. They promised not to favor either side.
Liu Wuxie merely sneered. He knew Tu Zhengbao was trying to apply psychological pressure on him, since most of the mentors had personal ties with him. After that, Tu Zhengbao walked to the center of the venue, pondered briefly, and then set up a spiritual array.
"That's the Great Thousand-Catties Array!" the students exclaimed in surprise. No one had expected Tu Zhengbao to set up this spiritual array.
"That brat, Liu Wuxie, is in danger now. The Great Thousand-Catties Array is a simple spiritual array in which entering would feel like a thousand catties of force descending upon them. Even heavenly immortals can break them with ease."
The Great Thousand-Catties Array was a basic spiritual array that even some of the surrounding students could set up. They had all learned it in junior class.
"How despicable! He set up a simple spiritual array on purpose to ensure that he can break it no matter how Wu Xie changes it."
Many students instead became dissatisfied with Tu Zhengbao's actions.
After all, Liu Wuxie had proposed a condition extremely unfavorable to himself from the beginning, and he hadn't specified what spiritual array Tu Zhengbao had to set up.
Even some mentors couldn't help looking at Tu Zhengbao with disdain. He should have set up a proper spiritual array at the very least, yet the Great Thousand-Catties Array only served as training equipment for students. Even a student could break it, let alone a profound immortal.
A cold smirk rose on Liu Wuxie's lips. He naturally looked down on Tu Zhengbao's actions.
Zhongsun Wen and the other mentors also shook their heads. Tu Zhengbao was too eager to win, and even if he won like this, his victory wouldn't be honorable.
However, Tu Zhengbao remained indifferent to the disdainful gazes around him. He only spent fifteen minutes setting up the Great Thousand-Catties Array. It was a crude spiritual array that felt like a hammer crashing down upon activation. Moreover, its offensive power was limited, and all its power would be exhausted after one strike.
In other words, Tu Zhengbao wouldn't even need to break the spiritual array as long as he withstood one attack. The spiritual array would collapse on its own.
"Utterly shameless!" Ye Linghan commented. Those were the only words she could use to describe Tu Zhengbao, as she was disgusted to even stand beside him.
Profound immortals possessed immense strength. Forget a thousand catties, even ten thousand catties couldn't harm Tu Zhengbao. There was already no need to compete, and Liu Wuxie had lost from the very beginning.
"That brat is too inexperienced. The ginger gets hotter with age. In terms of scheming, he's far inferior compared to Mentor Tu."
No one looked favorably upon Liu Wuxie, and they had already deemed his assessment a failure. They believed he had lost because of carelessness, not because his skills in spiritual arrays were inferior to Tu Zhengbao's.
"Let's just keep watching. Why do I have a feeling that it is not going to be as simple as it looks?" a small number of students said. They sensed something unusual from Liu Wuxie's composure.
From the very beginning, a faint smile lingered on Liu Wuxie's lips, along with a trace of mockery.
"Brat, you may begin now," Tu Zhengbao said. He walked out of the spiritual array and looked at Liu Wuxie with a smile.
Liu Wuxie could now begin modifying the spiritual array, and Tu Zhengbao wanted to see how altering a single part could affect the Great Thousand-Catties Array.
"Tu Zhengbao, I despise you!" Ye Linghan said. She couldn't find any proper words to insult Tu Zhengbao, who had taken shamelessness to a whole new level. Even calling him shameless felt like flattering him.
An extremely simple spiritual array stood before Liu Wuxie, resembling a house with leaks on every side. No matter how he repaired it, it would be impossible to turn that house into a golden palace.
Besides, Liu Wuxie could only alter one part, making it impossible to change the spiritual array's level. Many people even began shaking their heads, feeling a sense of injustice for him. They didn't know why Liu Wuxie had proposed such a condition, as it was no different from pushing himself into a pit of fire.
"Mentor Ye, you can't blame me for this. After all, he was the one who proposed the condition, and he didn't specify what spiritual array I should set up," Tu Zhengbao replied with an innocent look. There were countless spiritual arrays in the world, and he had merely chosen the simplest one.
Ye Linghan nearly exploded with anger at his excuse.
"Why bother arguing with a piece of trash?" Liu Wuxie remarked, stopping Ye Linghan just as she was about to flare up. She would only trouble herself by getting angry at such trash.
After being called trash repeatedly, Tu Zhengbao was on the verge of losing control and wanted to attack again, but this time, Zhongsun Wen and the other mentors stopped him.
After all, Tu Zhengbao had already embarrassed himself enough as a dignified mentor. If he attacked a heavenly immortal here, he wouldn't just humiliate himself; he would also lose the dignity of a mentor.
Under everyone's gaze, Liu Wuxie walked step by step toward the Great Thousand-Catties Array. He activated Ghost Pupil and recorded the entire spiritual array into the Heavenly Dao Book. After examining it, he closed his eyes, repeating the same behavior he had shown before answering the previous questions.
This time, no one urged Liu Wuxie. After all, transforming a spiritual array enough to trap a profound immortal by moving only one part was basically impossible.
Time slowly passed as the Heavenly Dao Book deduced the spiritual array at incredible speed. After about fifteen minutes, Liu Wuxie opened his eyes, and a cold glint flashed through them. He then strode toward the Great Thousand-Catties Array.
Everyone fixed their gazes on Liu Wuxie, wanting to see what he would do to the spiritual array.
