Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 168 - 161 Repair Above

Chapter 168: Chapter 161 Repair Above

"My grandfather is just old and weak, and his cultivation isn’t enough," the woman beside him explained in a crisp voice., "but his thinking is correct. The only issue is that he hasn’t been able to find the right person to carry it out."

"When the elders are speaking, what does it have to do with you? Off with you!" Old Tiger gruffly waved his hand, scolding her. "If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. No amount of talking will change that. If you don’t have the expertise, then get out of the way and leave it to the old man!"

"You dare yell at my granddaughter?" The hunchbacked elder also flared up in anger.

"What about it? You gonna hit me for yelling?" The Tiger elder remained defiant. "If it doesn’t work, it means your approach is wrong. You stubborn old fool won’t even admit it. Putting that aside, my approach can fix the majority of it. Do you have that skill?" He snorted with a cold laugh.

"I... I!!!" The hunchbacked elder was livid, pounding his walking stick on the ground several times in fury but was unable to articulate a retort. He truly didn’t have another solution.

The girl was also stared down, causing her to take a slight step back, evidently frightened. She knew the true identity of this elder; if he were to lose his temper, it’s uncertain if anyone present could stop him.

Perhaps her grandfather could, but if two masters of the same level fight, he might not be able to protect her.

"Don’t be angry, Xiao Liu. My grandfather is just a bit hot-tempered, and speaks somewhat bluntly..."

A man’s voice sounded.

The woman had an enchanting figure and clear voice, and the skin on the back of her hand which was visible was tender and appealing, obviously at least a beauty of considerable standing.

Next to her, a young man was whispering comfort to her.

"It’s better if we don’t interfere when these two elders are talking."

"What’s it to you!?" The woman pushed him away impatiently. The man’s words obviously meant his grandfather was of a higher level than the hunchbacked elder. Speaking bluntly – isn’t that just a way to say he only speaks the truth? Was he implying her grandfather was inferior to the other man’s grandfather?

Lin Xin was watching from the side and had come to understand that indeed these two old men were the highest in cultivation and Formation Path here. If one wanted to complete the task swiftly, it would depend on these two...

He moved to a spot not far behind the elders, looking towards the wall where the formation was inscribed. There were formation patterns that seemed to be obscured, as if they had been altered numerous times, with many traces being profound and arcane. Even with his current knowledge, he struggled to comprehend some of the patterns – possibly because they included elements constructed out of spiritual power.

Among the two elders, the one with the Tiger mask was smugly drawing on the wall, hands behind his back. Every stroke of his finger drew sparks of gold on the wall, as if welding.

On the other side, the hunchbacked old man stood pondering desperately in front of the wall, with a woman beside him attracting many glances from the surrounding people.

She wore a sky-blue gossamer gown, shimmering and translucent enough to reveal the flesh beneath. The silver inner armor she wore underneath accentuated her ample bust and the pale skin of her legs extending up into her thighs was visible through the skirt. Looking closely, one could see she wore a very short silver undergarment, akin to a small brief.

Her attire was exceptionally revealing, and her skin was flawless, like porcelain.

Especially since she stood behind the hunchbacked elder, with a corner of her skirt very short, it would occasionally lift with the breeze, almost revealing the gap between her buttocks and thighs - a sight that made the two men nearby Lin Xin swallow hard, their eyes frequently shifting from the wall’s formation patterns to the woman’s body.

After some consideration, Lin Xin walked over to stand behind the hunchbacked elder.

"Senior, I have confidence in completing the first stage of the formation pattern inscription, and miniaturization is not an issue."

He whispered, standing close.

The hunchbacked elder stirred slightly as if he sensed something, yet gave no overt reaction.

"What do you want, telling me this?"

Lin Xin smiled faintly.

"It’s not that I want anything in particular, I just don’t wish to draw too much attention. I only need some guidance from you on the matrix formation."

"Young man, if you’re scheming to take advantage, you’re sorely mistaken," the hunchbacked elder said flatly, but sent a message back through telepathy.

"You can’t even complete a unit formation, and yet you have the audacity to claim you can achieve its miniaturization?"

"If you don’t believe me, senior, I can inscribe it right now for you to see." Lin Xin said with a smile. "However..."

"No need for ’however’. Get out of here before I lose my temper," the hunchbacked elder snapped. "I’ve seen too many swindlers like you."

Lin Xin wanted to speak further, but felt an invisible force gradually pushing him away, causing him to end up in another place, nearly bumping into another Array Master who was also examining the formation patterns.

He wasn’t surprised, as such a reaction was expected. It’s like someone popping up on the street claiming to be a top nanorobot scientist; it’s normal for the other person to be skeptical.

Just as he was contemplating his next move, he noticed the woman in the blue dress looking back at him disdainfully, her small hand covering her buttocks. Obviously, his act of whispering to the old man from such close proximity had been misconstrued as having inappropriate intentions.

Regardless, the woman pigeonholed him into an unsavory role.

Shaking his head, Lin Xin decided not to bother with her and instead started to carefully simulate the etching of the miniature Formation for Sacrificial Fire on his own.

The Sacrificial Fire formation was widely known, but due to its unstable effects, many Mages treated it as a practice formation.

As Lin Xin began etching the formation on his own, the hunchbacked elder noticed from the corner of his eye that Lin Xin was still around and grew annoyed, thinking the man kept lingering to deceive someone else.

He casually glanced at the Formation that Lin Xin was drawing, and at first sight, it didn’t seem like anything special, but after looking a little longer, he suddenly realized that this young man had an extremely steady hand, and the Spiritual Energy he emitted was extraordinarily gentle and even.

It was almost as if he measured out each detail with a ruler.

Luckily, aside from him, the others were all focused on dealing with and deciphering the Formation Patterns on the wall, and nobody noticed that this young man’s drawing actions had nothing to do with Formation Patterns.

Upon closer inspection, the fellow’s Formation Patterns seemed to be that of the rather basic Sacrificial Fire Formation.

"Quite interesting."

The hunchbacked old man Liu Chuanlong had become an Array Master hundreds of years ago, but he had never seen an Array Master like this young man, who casually drew miniature Formations with the ease of eating and drinking.

Even other Array Masters with high talents took extra care with miniature Formations, paying extreme attention to avoiding mistakes and misalignment in their drawings. But this man was different.

This piqued his interest, and he thought to himself that this individual indeed had some skills and was not one of those fraudsters. Out of curiosity, he diverted a bit of his attention back to this person.

After observing for a while, the other party had casually drawn several Formation Patterns for the Sacrificial Fire, then gently erased the Spiritual Energy-laid Patterns. After that, he began to attempt drawing the Third Grade Formation Patterns on the wall.

The Third Grade unit Formation Patterns were obviously difficult for him, seemingly beyond his Cultivation, as Liu Chuanlong could tell at a glance that he had not touched upon spiritual imprinting. Obviously, his Cultivation level was not yet at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Moreover, his hand moved slowly following the unit Formation Pattern, with many mistakes emerging continually, revealing him clearly as a beginner. After watching a bit longer, Liu shook his head and moved his gaze away.

As he carefully pondered a new approach and time slowly passed by, he didn’t know how long it had been when the ceramic figures brought down food and drinks. People began eating one after another, and the hunchbacked old man Liu Chuanlong also stopped to rest. Upon looking over at the nearby young man again, he was still deep in thought over a very simple point, unable to draw it correctly.

Seeing his earnest face and the feeling of full-hearted engagement, Liu Chuanlong faintly recalled when he himself had just become an Array Master. He had been just as focused, equally convinced of his own astonishing talent, fearless in the face of any difficulties, feeling somewhat moved in his heart.

"For this point, you should coordinate it with your breathing, with the fifth node also breathing in Spiritual Energy thrice in succession, creating a slight ripple of Spiritual Energy with this rhythm for smoother execution," he could not help but offer the young man a bit of advice.

The young man listened to the transmitted message, pondered a moment, and quickly showed an expression of realization. He immediately began to try it.

Liu Chuanlong left him alone and went to eat with the help of his granddaughter. After eating a little and packing up the food, he returned to the wall, ready to continue his studies.

He glanced at the young man next to him unconsciously.

Liu Chuanlong’s gaze suddenly froze.

He had watched as just a short while ago the young man’s drawing had been clumsy and slow, only just having learned the key aspects of the method he had pointed out.

Now, however, this person was drawing the basic Formations Patterns of the Third Grade unit Formation with remarkable fluency...

Moreover, judging by the skilled way he was fingering the Formation, if Liu Chuanlong had not carefully observed him earlier, he probably wouldn’t have been able to connect this individual with the novice who had just learnt the Third Grade Formation.

"Senior...do you still have confidence in me?" Lin Xin stopped his drawing to quietly transmit a message.

Liu Chuanlong looked at the Formation Patterns drawn by Lin Xin, feeling no small amount of shock. The Third Grade Formation’s basic Patterns, even when he had been celebrated as the most talented future Formation Path Master, he had only managed to overcome this hurdle when he was over sixty years old.

But this youngster...judging by his bone age, he definitely wasn’t over forty years old...

"You have only just learned the basic part of the Third Grade Formation Patterns..." Liu Chuanlong still did not concede.

Lin Xin just smiled slightly, silent. He began to carve miniature Formation Patterns of the Third Grade unit Formation in the air with his fingertips. He believed that the other’s expertise in Formations would allow him to understand.

True to his belief, as soon as he had drawn a Formation the size of a fingernail, the hunchbacked old man’s eyes widened in amazement, as if witnessing something incredible.

Liu Chuanlong hadn’t overlooked the simplest method of miniature Formation patches, but although his Cultivation was sufficient, he couldn’t afford to spend such a long time and effort on continuously drawing miniaturized Formations. The spiritual power consumption required for miniaturizing a Third Grade Level Formation far exceeded that of the First and Second Grades by too much. It wasn’t a matter of Cultivation, but the requirements for precision, control over Spiritual Energy, and endurance were extremely demanding.

At Liu Chuanlong’s current level, miniaturizing a Third Grade Formation would take half a day’s work and require at least three days of rest afterward.

This would turn the repair of the huge Formation into a daunting project that would take time and effort, and he didn’t have that much time or energy to spend here.

And the cost to himself was too great, the compensation provided by the Porcelain King far from sufficient.

Yet, this young man in front of him had managed to miniaturize the most difficult part to master, the uniformity and precision of the basic Formation Pattern, and he seemed to do it with ease.

"This..." Liu Chuanlong felt as if his old eyes were perhaps playing tricks on him. He thought he might have perceived the Formation Pattern wrong before.

Lin Xin gave a faint smile and drew another Third Grade Formation Pattern.

This time, Liu Chuanlong’s pupils contracted; he was completely certain that Lin Xin had indeed drawn a Third Grade basic Formation Pattern.

He took a deep breath and glanced at the elderly man with the tiger mask, who was intently engrossed in his own studies, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Such a prodigious talent in the Formation Path, if discovered by this older man and poached by him, would be a huge loss for Liu Chuanlong.

Realizing that his biggest rival hadn’t noticed, Liu Chuanlong began to scrutinize the young man closely, (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)