"Senior Zhen..."
Xiao Lin watched the translucent old man, unsure how to comfort a soul that had survived eons only to face its final sunset.
"It is fine," Zhen Lao replied, his voice regaining its strength. "Finding you—and seeing that manual back in my hands—is destiny. It is the reason I chose you to carry my legacy. Why mourn the past when the future stands before me?"
Xiao Lin hesitated, then voiced the doubt that had been gnawing at his mind. "Senior, I have mastered the Nine Foundations. I can deduce new arrays now. But... I still feel like something is missing. If I have to spend hours drawing lines and placing stones, how can I ever use this in a real battle? A Dou Wang won't stand still while I build a cage for them."
Zhen Lao laughed, a dry, rasping sound. "Of course! Mastering the Foundations only proves you are a Formation Master. It means you can build a house, but it doesn't mean you can summon a fortress in a heartbeat. In our era, those who only used stones and flags were common. They were stationary, vulnerable, and slow."
He leaned forward, his phantom eyes burning with intensity. "But they were not Spirit Array Masters. Only a Spirit Array Master sits at the apex of this path!"
The word "Spirit" (灵 - Líng) struck Xiao Lin like a physical blow. From his past life's memories, he knew that in the Great Thousand World, the supreme masters of this craft were called Spiritual Array Masters.
In the current Dou Qi Continent, the term had been downgraded to "Formation Master," a title for those who merely followed static blueprints. But Zhen Lao was talking about the original, undiluted power.
"A Formation Master needs materials," Zhen Lao explained. "But a Spirit Array Master needs only themselves. We use Spirit Seals to replace physical mediums. A Spirit Seal is a focal point of pure energy and soul intent. If you can condense these seals, you can weave an array in the air as easily as a weaver throws a shuttle."
"The more seals you can condense and control at once, the higher your rank. A true master can manifest a world-shaking array with a single thought, stripping an enemy sect of their own defensive barriers and turning their protections into their tombs."
Xiao Lin's breath hitched. He realized he was standing before the last guardian of a "God-tier" profession. If he missed this chance, the art of the Spirit Seal might vanish from the continent forever.
Without a word, Xiao Lin knelt.
THUD.
He performed a formal kowtow, his forehead hitting the ancient floorboards. "Teacher! Please, teach me the method of condensing Spirit Seals!"
In the world of cultivation, pride was a luxury. To gain the wisdom of an ancient sage was worth any amount of humility.
Zhen Lao froze, startled by the sudden formality. He had already decided to give Xiao Lin everything, but a formal apprenticeship was an unexpected joy. It meant his life's work wasn't just being "passed on"—it was being inherited by a disciple.
"Good! Good!! Good!!!" The old man's voice trembled with emotion. "To find a disciple in my final hour... the Heavens are truly generous! Rise, my child. Rise!"
He reached out a phantom hand to help Xiao Lin up. "Tell me, disciple... in all our talk, I haven't even asked your name."
Before, Xiao Lin was just a "lucky passerby." Now, he was the torchbearer of a lost civilization. The bond was sealed, and the true training was about to begin.
"Disciple Xiao Lin pays his respects to Teacher!"
Xiao Lin didn't just bow; he knelt and performed three formal kowtows. Though the setting was a dusty ruin and the master was a flickering remnant soul, the weight of the moment was absolute.
"Xiao Lin, is it? Good... very good," Zhen Lao remarked, his voice thick with emotion. "To be so young yet possess the cultivation of a Dou Huang and the Heavenly State Soul... even in my era, few could match such a feat. Your talent is the very reason I am willing to pour everything I have into you."
Xiao Lin noted the "Peak" perspective of his master. For Zhen Lao to see through his hidden Eight-Star Dou Huang cultivation and his high-level soul state meant that in his prime, the old man was likely a Dou Sheng or a peak Dou Zun with a soul reaching the Perfect Heavenly State.
"Teacher, since you were only a guest of the Barbarian Sect," Xiao Lin asked, rising to his feet, "where is our true home? What is the name of the sect I now represent?"
Zhen Lao's gaze drifted toward the ceiling, looking past the wood and stone toward a sky only he could remember. "Our home... it is a memory now. Long before I built this pavilion, my sect was wiped from the map by an enemy from beyond the heavens. I survived only because I was away on a commission. I dreamed of rebuilding it, but a single man cannot hold up a fallen sky."
He paused, a flicker of pride returning to his translucent face. "The name of our lineage is the Palace of Ten Thousand Arrays (Wan Zhen Ling Gong). In the ancient days, we were the undisputed masters of the 'Path of Arrays' on the Dou Qi Continent."
Zhen Lao hesitated. If he were just passing on a craft, he would have stayed silent. But Xiao Lin was now a "son" of the Palace. To keep him in the dark would be a betrayal of the lineage, yet the truth was a death sentence for the weak.
"Xiao Lin, there is something I must charge you with," Zhen Lao's face became incredibly solemn. "But you must swear: until your strength is sufficient to suppress the world, you will not seek this place out. If you cannot promise this, I will take the secret to my grave."
Xiao Lin didn't hesitate. "Teacher, I swear. I am not a man who gambles with his life. If I am not strong enough, I will not touch it."
I'm an Eight-Star Dou Huang now, Xiao Lin thought. But 'strong enough' in this context probably means Dou Sheng. I've got thirty years until my grandson becomes a God. I can wait.
"In the center of the Palace's old ruins," Zhen Lao whispered, "lies the 'Enemy from Beyond.' When the sect fell, our ancestors used a final, suicidal array to drag the invader down with them. Whether that creature is dead or merely sealed, I do not know. But the site is a forbidden zone of chaos."
Xiao Lin's mind raced. Enemy from Beyond? To a local, this was a mystery. To a transmigrator, the possibilities were chilling.
Is it the Fiend Clan (Extraterrestrial Evil Race) from the Great Thousand World? Xiao Lin wondered. Or just a greedy powerhouse from a higher plane trying to harvest a lower world's resources?
Regardless of the origin, Xiao Lin knew one thing: compared to the "peaceful" Dou Qi Continent where the only real threat was the Hun Clan, the Great Thousand World was a shark tank. He made a mental note to treat the Palace of Ten Thousand Arrays ruins as a "Level 10 Danger Zone"—to be entered only after he reached the Dou Sheng realm or after Xiao Yan achieved Dou Di status.
"I understand, Teacher," Xiao Lin said aloud. "Until I can see through the secrets of the Basic Guide and my own strength is absolute, I will treat the ruins as a tomb to be respected, not a treasure to be looted."
Zhen Lao smiled, relieved. "Good. You have the heart of a survivor. Now, enough talk of ghosts and ruins. Sit. We begin the first lesson: Condensing the Spirit Seal."