Chapter 488: Self-Activation, the Array Disk Has Spirit

Just as he finished saying that spiritual agitation was extremely rare and could become a fine tale, the blade came along—could it be any faster?

You are spirit weapons, with your own spirit and dignity, proud and untamed, refusing to submit to anyone... since when did you become so agreeable?

If you were really that agreeable, I’ve been carefully tending to you for five years, wiping you down daily, nourishing you with true qi... why hasn’t it done a damn thing?

President Zheng’s eyes blurred. Just as he was about to continue speaking, he saw Master Zhang in front of him flick his wrist, sending a blade aura shooting from the knife, then brandish the broadsword and slash at the array disk before him.

"Careful..."

Startled, before he could finish his words, President Zheng immediately fell silent.

He saw that the magnificent blade aura did not shatter the array disk but instead made contact, leaving behind a series of lines.

He was actually using a blade... to carve array patterns!

Not to mention that many Transcending Mortal experts haven’t even comprehended a single true intent, while he had comprehended two...

Just this scene alone drove him crazy.

Swordplay is light and ethereal, using it to replace an engraving knife to carve an array disk shows your control is strong—I can accept that...

But blade work is heavy, especially this nine-ring broadsword, definitely weighing over several dozen kilograms; an ordinary person would find it hard just to lift it, yet he uses it to carve array patterns...

How on earth did he manage that?

Can array patterns really be carved like this?

His vision darkening, President Zheng’s body trembled.

Having studied formations for over eighty years, he had always considered himself quite talented, and his array disk carving far surpassed others. Seeing the other’s actions, he realized it wasn’t like that at all.

Could someone with strong talent use a sword to carve array patterns?

Could they use a broadsword to hack out an array disk?

Absolutely not!

This was something one wouldn’t even dare to imagine.

Ding ding ding ding!

The broadsword contacted the array disk, and on the originally smooth, mirror-like surface, the lines grew more and more numerous and dense.

Just as President Zheng thought the other would surely press on and finish carving it in one go, he saw him toss the long blade aside, wipe the sweat from his forehead, and look over with an expectant expression: "Does any of you have a long spear?"

"..." The crowd.

A moment later, they saw the young man holding a long spear, standing four meters away, thrusting it at the array disk on the wall one after another.

Bang bang bang!

Spear light swept across, each thrust leaving behind array patterns just like the sword and blade before...

Clutching their chests, President Zheng and Wang Haoxun exchanged glances.

They used engraving knives and were afraid of making mistakes or any slip. This guy used a sword, then a blade, and now even a spear... If he still can’t carve it out, is he going to bring out a hammer next?

Others carve array disks as if they were artworks or porcelain, afraid that too much force would shatter them; he treats it like forging iron, daring to use any weapon...

Even witnessing it with their own eyes, they felt it was insane.

The crowd clutched their chests or covered their mouths, while Zhang Xuan at that moment was highly focused.

Having continuously used three types of weapon true intents, he was on the verge of exhaustion and nearly coughing blood, but the array disk before him was almost finished.

"The last line..."

His eyes shining, he flicked the long spear, drawing a graceful arc, and thrust it straight into the center of the array disk.

Boom!

The powerful force from the spear landed on it, and with a roar, the wall behind the array disk, unable to withstand the impact any longer, collapsed, creating a large hole.

He had fixed the array disk to the wall for carving; the disk was hard and wouldn’t be damaged, but the wall was different. Even though the Array Masters Guild was built with the best bluestone steel, it couldn’t withstand the狂暴 force of repeated blade and sword strikes!

The corridor used by the guild for testing array masters collapsed in a clatter, dust flying, filling the room with smoke and dust.

"Cough, cough..."

Covered in dust, looking at the ruins before him, President Zheng’s mouth twitched.

Did you come to test as an array master, or to demolish the building?

First you stopped the guild’s grand formation, and now you’re not even sparing the walls...

What kind of grudge do you have against the Array Masters Guild?

"Is the array disk damaged?"

Pavilion Master Sai came over.

The others also looked over.

After such continuous force, even the building collapsed—could the array disk be unharmed?

"I don’t know either!"

Zhang Xuan scratched his head and hurried forward to pick up the disk buried in the dust.

Saying he didn’t know wasn’t modesty; he really wasn’t sure.

Under normal circumstances, the final spear thrust, carving the last array line, would have perfectly completed the array diagram. But the wall collapsing was something he hadn’t anticipated.

As a result, the power of the final thrust wasn’t exerted to its limit, so it was hard to say whether the array diagram would achieve the desired effect.

He looked down.

On the mirror-smooth side of the array disk, lines of varying depth appeared, like the Eight Trigrams, yet seeming to contain the principles of heaven and earth, making one dizzy at a glance.

"How is it?"

President Zheng also came over.

An array disk, unless activated, is hard to judge. Just from the lines, even he couldn’t tell whether it was good or bad.

"Let’s try it," Zhang Xuan said.

Understanding this, he pressed his palm on it and immediately infused it with true qi.

Whoosh!

There was no reaction.

"Failed?"

The crowd’s faces turned pale.

A carved array disk, once infused with true qi, should activate immediately. This one showed no response—meaning it hadn’t succeeded!

The entire guild had only this one fifth-grade blank array disk. After all that fuss with sword, blade, and spear, it hadn’t succeeded...

The crowd looked at Zhang Xuan with sympathy.

"Swords and blades are weapons; their power is too fierce. Although you restrained your strength, using them to carve an array disk is still inappropriate..." Wang Haoxun couldn’t help saying.

Carving an array disk has its methods. Since everyone chooses engraving knives, there must be a reason. Spears and swords, no matter how well controlled, are still sharp tools that can harm the array disk itself. Failure is understandable.

Before he finished, President Zheng shook his head.

"No, if it had failed, the array disk should have shattered. But this thing is round and smooth, with smooth qi flow—clearly undamaged!"

"Huh?"

Wang Haoxun was stunned.

The other was right.

An array disk carves a grand formation onto a palm-sized disk, involving immense forces. A single mistake would cause the former to disintegrate into fragments.

But this one, though it couldn’t be activated, had clear lines, and true qi flowed within it without any sign of失控. What was going on?

If it succeeded, why couldn’t it be activated?

If it failed, how could it remain intact without shattering?

"Could it be that the formation was carved incorrectly? Without the function of gathering spirit, the array disk remained intact?"

Wang Haoxun said.

"Carved incorrectly? Impossible!" Zhang Xuan shook his head gravely.

He had strictly followed the array diagram, even using the Heavenly Dao formation carving method. Even if the final thrust had some error, it couldn’t be this far off, could it?

Just as he was about to use the Library of Heaven’s Path to check what was wrong, he saw Pavilion Master Sai on the side, trembling, step forward.

"May I... take a look?"

"Here!"

Seeing his expression, Zhang Xuan found it strange but handed it over.

As a five-star appraiser, he relied on the Library of Heaven’s Path. In terms of understanding treasures, he was truly inferior to this man.

Pavilion Master Sai had immersed himself in appraising treasures for decades. He might not know much about array diagram carving, but he could definitely tell whether this array diagram was problematic or valuable.

The array disk landed in his palm.

Whoosh!

Before Pavilion Master Sai could examine it closely, he felt his palm empty. The object emitted a soft hum and flew back into Zhang Xuan’s arms.

"Just as I thought... just as I thought!"

His face flushed, Pavilion Master Sai trembled all over.

"What’s wrong?"

Seeing his attitude, as if he had discovered something, President Zheng couldn’t help asking.

"Did this array disk fail?" Wang Haoxun also spoke.

"Failed?" Taking a deep breath, Pavilion Master Sai calmed down and shook his head: "How could that be!"

"Then..." Everyone blinked, even Zhang Xuan was puzzled.

If it succeeded, why couldn’t it be activated with true qi?

"Just now, as soon as this array disk came into my palm, it left on its own. Haven’t you noticed?"

Pavilion Master Sai was excited: "This is clearly a sign of spirit, feeling I wasn’t suitable, so it left on its own..."

"Spirit? You mean... [self-activation, the array disk has spirit]? This, this, this..."

After saying "this" three times, President Zheng finally reacted, his eyes wide, his body stiff as if he had seen a ghost, nearly scared to death: "This is an ability only sixth-grade array disks have. This is just a fifth-grade array disk—how could it do that!"

"The array disk has spirit?" Wang Haoxun also trembled uncontrollably, hurriedly looking at the disk in Zhang Xuan’s hand.

The more he looked, the paler his face became, as if he might go mad from disbelief at any moment.

"What’s... going on?"

Seeing their frantic attitudes, Zhang Xuan looked over in confusion.

Although he had collected all the books from the Array Masters Guild and learned the Heavenly Dao formation, his knowledge wasn’t yet fully integrated, and there were still many things he didn’t understand.

"This... array disk has spirit!" President Zheng stammered.

"Spirit? It does have spirit. What difference does that make..." Zhang Xuan nodded.

He hadn’t noticed before, but now that it was mentioned, he did realize it.

This array disk, like the Jade Que Sword and long blade before, had given birth to its own spirit. But since it had just been refined, he hadn’t paid attention and hadn’t made it recognize a master.

"Ordinary array disks, limited by the carving area and inability to fit the environment, only have about half the power of a normal grand formation. If the carver’s strength is low, they might not even achieve half the power."

Seeing his confusion, President Zheng explained while trembling.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

He had known this characteristic of array disks from his reading; it was nothing new.

"But... that’s only for ordinary array disks. There is a kind that generates spirit within... and that is completely different!"

His face pale, President Zheng said in a trembling voice: "An array disk with spirit can not only exert ninety percent of the formation’s power but also grow on its own over time, making its power... greater and greater!"

"Even... without needing true qi infusion, it can activate on its own!"