"The second round of the competition—a time limit of one hour to create an array of tier 3 or higher!" The voice of the Discipline Elder echoed above the martial arts arena.
A collective gasp instantly rose from the field.
Some of the stronger participants visibly relaxed—for them, creating a tier 3 array was still within their capabilities.
However, the faces of the majority turned pale in an instant, and the cold sweat they had just wiped away began to bead on their foreheads again.
"Tier 3?!" a pale-faced cultivator blurted out. "Usually, creating a tier 3 array would exhaust my divine sense entirely. In my current state..."
Feng Qingping swept her gaze across the field wordlessly. She noticed that at least a dozen people were already swaying, finding it difficult even to stand steady. This second round was already a guaranteed failure for them.
"Begin!"
At the Discipline Elder's command, the participants forced themselves to focus and began setting up their arrays. However, for those with overextended divine sense, even the finest materials were useless.
Bang!
Less than fifteen minutes after the start, the first array disk exploded. That cultivator stumbled back, blood seeping from his nose and mouth, and was quickly escorted off the field by the Discipline disciples.
Following that, the sounds of failure rang out one after another.
"Urgh—"
A female cultivator clutched her head and knelt on the ground as the runes on her array flags flashed wildly before going dark.
"No!"
Another cultivator watched helplessly as his nearly completed array collapsed, his spirit stones turning into dust.
Feng Qingping calmly observed the chaos on the field while her hands never stopped moving. Amidst the turmoil, aside from Li Nanzhu and her group, no one else paid much attention to her.
By the time her array lit up with a gentle glow, only a few people remained standing on the field.
Zhao Wumian's Seven-Star Spirit-Protection Array from the Tianji Pavilion had just taken shape, and Zhou Xuan of the Bagua Gate was completing the final steps of his Two-Polarity Creation Array.
In the end, only fourteen of the thirty qualifiers managed to successfully complete an array—and it was merely a completion.
Whether they reached the tier 3 standard still required a final assessment by the judging elders.
One of the elders lingered longest in front of Feng Qingping's array disk.
This tier 5 array master keenly sensed that this tier 3 array seemed somewhat unusual—the flow of energy was far too exquisite, far beyond the effect a normal tier 3 array could achieve.
But seeing the fine beads of sweat on Feng Qingping's forehead and her slightly pale face, he ultimately only nodded in approval.
"To be able to control an array at the tier 3 peak using these materials is indeed rare."
Feng Qingping bowed slightly, masking the smile in her eyes.
When the Discipline Elder announced that only eight people would advance to tomorrow's finals, Feng Qingping lowered her gaze, perfectly hiding her fleeting sense of pride.
Using top-tier materials to make a mediocre array, and even having to act like she was exhausted—
This was likely the unique struggle of a genius array master.
The next morning, the arena was much quieter.
More than half of the seats in the stands were empty; many sects had departed immediately after their disciples were eliminated, leaving only the elders and the few disciples still competing.
Li Nanzhu noticed that even the judges' bench was missing two elders—presumably because their disciples had been completely wiped out, leaving them with no face to stay and watch.
The Discipline Elder's voice rang through the venue: "The third round of the competition—a time limit of two hours. Each person will create an array, followed by a draw for a duel to break each other's arrays!"
The eight participants immediately began setting up.
This time, Feng Qingping no longer intentionally hid her light.
As her fingers moved, countless array patterns leaped into being. Five-colored spirit stones glowed brilliantly under her hands, precisely embedded into each array eye.
Two hours later, eight arrays were completed simultaneously.
With a wave of his sleeve, the Discipline Elder sent eight jade slips flying into the participants' hands.
Feng Qingping opened her jade slip, which read number three—her opponent was Zhao Wumian of the Tianji Pavilion.
The two exchanged arrays.
When Zhao Wumian received Feng Qingping's Five Elements Cycle Array, his expression immediately grew solemn.
The array seemed ordinary, but in truth, the five elements generated and restricted each other in an endless cycle, leaving him momentarily with no way to start.
On the other side, Feng Qingping took Zhao Wumian's Seven-Star Soul-Locking Array.
She did not break the array immediately. Instead, she put on an act of observing for half a tea's time, then seemingly at random, struck several points with bursts of spiritual energy.
Crack!
The array broke instantly. The entire process appeared calm and unhurried.
Zhao Wumian snapped his eyes open, looking at Feng Qingping—who had already stepped out of the broken array—in disbelief. "How... how is this possible?"
Feng Qingping bowed slightly. "Thank you for the match."
In the following rounds of duels, Feng Qingping broke every array with the same rhythm. No matter how complex the array she faced, she could always find the key within the time it took for a stick of incense to burn.
In the final duel, her opponent was Zhou Xuan of the Bagua Gate—a young array master of immense talent.
After swapping arrays, Zhou Xuan held Feng Qingping's array disk with a confident smile on his lips.
He had already observed this Five Elements Dao Sect disciple's setup process—her speed was decent, but far from astonishing. This so-called Five Elements Cycle Array seemed exquisite, but in his eyes, it followed a predictable path.
'It's just an ordinary Five Elements Generation Array,' Zhou Xuan thought. 'I'll break it within half an incense stick.'
He calmly stepped into the array, spiritual energy flowing through his fingertips, and quickly located the array eye.
Following the array-breaking essentials passed down by the Bagua Gate, he precisely severed the key nodes of the five elements' mutual generation.
"Break!" Zhou Xuan shouted softly.
However, instead of dissipating, the array suddenly transformed! The previously gentle five-colored spiritual light instantly became sharp. The array patterns rearranged themselves like living things, turning into a formation he didn't recognize at all.
"What?!" Zhou Xuan's face changed drastically. "This is... a nested array?!"
He immediately realized he had fallen into a trap—his previous method of breaking the array was actually wrong! That seemingly obvious array eye was nothing more than bait; the true core of the formation was hidden much deeper.
At the same time, Feng Qingping, on the other side, quirked the corners of her lips with interest.
She could clearly sense the changes in her array. That genius from the Bagua Gate had indeed stepped into the trap she had carefully laid out, just as she expected.
Every array pattern had undergone special treatment. If one attempted to break it using conventional methods, it would instead trigger a deeper nested array.
And that second layer was her true masterpiece—the Wanxiang Return to Origin Array.
The audience outside also noticed the anomaly.
Why was Zhou Xuan still struggling in the array when the match should have already ended?
"What's going on?" someone asked in confusion. "Didn't Fellow Daoist Zhou already break the array?"
On the judges' bench, several elders exchanged meaningful looks.
Elder Xuanzhen stroked his beard and chuckled softly. "What a cunning little girl, to bury such a trap within her array."
Inside the formation, Zhou Xuan was already drenched in sweat.
The current array was several times more complex than the first. The Wanxiang transformed endlessly, returning to the origin without limit, leaving him unable to find any direction to break it.
"So that's how it is..." He smiled bitterly, finally realizing that Feng Qingping had been hiding her strength all along.
After persisting for another half an incense stick, Zhou Xuan finally surrendered in resignation.
When he stepped out of the array, he found Feng Qingping already standing to the side, looking at him with a smile on her lips.
Evidently, her array had been broken by him, but she had quietly broken his much earlier.
Zhou Xuan shook his head with a bitter laugh. "I... accept my defeat wholeheartedly."
The voice of the Discipline Elder rang out at the perfect moment, spreading across the arena: "First place in the Array Competition—Feng Qingping of the Five Elements Dao Sect!"
Rate on N.U.
