Formations Are the World

The middle-aged man ignored Feng Ya Ya's astonishment, found a rock, and sat down cross-legged.

"Some of you know me, while others do not. I am Qiu Tong, a formation instructor from Li Nan Courtyard, originally of Huayang Peak."

Besides its seven branches, the Azure Origin Sect also had places such as the Law Enforcement Hall, Tranquil Peace Hall, and External Affairs Hall. These were not independent branches, but departments formed to manage the sect, staffed by disciples from the seven branches, each performing their own duties.

Li Nan Courtyard specialized in teaching newly initiated disciples. From reading and writing to the fundamentals of cultivation, it taught everything. Only after passing Li Nan Courtyard's examinations could one choose a branch according to one's talents and formally take a master.

Only after graduating from Li Nan Courtyard and joining one of the seven branches did one become an official disciple of the Azure Origin Sect.

Yu Lin, who had spent two days teaching Su He the fundamentals of talisman scripts, was an instructor at Li Nan Courtyard under the Heavenly Mechanisms Pavilion.

Qiu Tong's introduction was simple. After giving his name, he gestured for the other junior brothers and junior sisters to sit, looked around at everyone, and nodded in satisfaction.

This batch had no thorns in its side.

"Originally, classes at Li Nan Courtyard were meant to begin at the first snowfall. But this year, the climate within Azure Origin Sect's territory has been unusual, and no one knows when snow will come. So as not to delay everyone, the curriculum has been moved up to the Frost Descent. You may study an extra ten days or so, which is an immense stroke of fortune."

After a few opening words, he went straight to the day's lesson. Clearing his throat, he declared in a ringing voice, "Formations are the world!"

"Everything your eyes can see is a formation. Mountains and waters, grasses and trees—all form their own formations. When wind blows, mountains resound; when water falls, stones emerge. This world has forbidden lands and death grounds, lands of dragon's rise and blessed lands. They are all formations. Mortals know no better and call it feng shui."

Qiu Tong was exceptionally skilled at teaching. The moment he began, Su He was drawn in. He spoke eloquently of the boundless starry sky, then gradually narrowed his subject down to every blade of grass, every tree, every person, and every beast.

"Flowers and grasses, swimming fish, birds in flight, beasts on foot—every life is itself a gathering of exquisite formations. The mouth is the Life Gate: enter it, and one lives; fail to enter, and one dies. The kidneys belong to the Rest Gate: when water flourishes, it overflows; when water lacks, it wanes..."

After the whole theory, it truly seemed as though this world was made of formation after formation. Su He always felt Qiu Tong was talking nonsense, yet it somehow sounded quite reasonable.

At his feet, Feng Ya Ya's eyes went vacant. Before long, she bit her lip and began nodding off like a pestle pounding garlic. With a thud, her head struck Su He's claw, jolting her awake. Looking at Qiu Tong, who was still talking without pause, she shook her head and forcibly made herself alert.

"No, no. Such good time can't be wasted here. Come on, big turtle, let's go to the Heavenly Mechanisms Pavilion." The Heavenly Mechanisms Pavilion was best at crafting magical artifacts. They could get something like a Storage Bag there.

She jumped up and openly skipped class in secret, staggering out across half the little island before crashing headlong into Qiu Tong's thigh.

At some point, Qiu Tong had blocked her path.

"Hey! What thigh spirit dares block my way?!" Feng Ya Ya clenched her little fists and made as if to strike.

Qiu Tong burst into laughter. He had long heard that the Sect Leader's Little Princess possessed immense strength, a natural talent for the body-tempering path. Seeing her today, the rumors were indeed true. This little girl dared swing her fists at anyone.

"Little girl, body tempering is not omnipotent. Merely knowing how to throw fists cannot solve every problem," Qiu Tong said with earnest gravity.

Feng Ya Ya tilted her head and met his gaze. "Nonsense! Maternal Grandfather said the fleshly body is the world, and strength alone is omnipotent!"

Feng Ya Ya's maternal grandfather was the former chief of Sword Washing Pond. Sword Washing Pond pursued Extreme Devotion to Sword, yet the old man did not practice the sword at all. Every day, he waved his fists around and fought people. This little girl had surely inherited his hobby.

Madam Su was truly a Sword Fairy. How had she given birth to such a Fist Essence?

Qiu Tong chuckled. "If that is so, then break this formation and come out!" He stepped back, flicked his hand, and threw out several little swords. Setting up a formation, he trapped Feng Ya Ya within it.

Since you think fists are more useful than formations, I'll use a formation to trap you. If you have the ability, then walk out! This was an illusion formation! Su He somehow recognized it at once. After his last deep sleep, his eyes seemed to have evolved and gained some special ability.

Within the illusion formation was a mortal marketplace, filled everywhere with all kinds of delicacies: steamed lamb, steamed bear paws, steamed deer tails, braised flower ducks, roasted suckling pigs...

Fragrances intertwined and rushed at the nose.

Feng Ya Ya fell completely.

Qiu Tong looked toward the students and lifted his chin.

Well? A tiny illusion formation set up with only a few small swords had trapped the Sect Leader's Daughter inside.

Feng Ya Ya ate all the way from one end of the street to the other. Rubbing her round belly, she shouted outside, "I'm done eating! Thank you for the treat! I'm coming out now!"

?

She had not been confused by the illusion formation? Then why had she spent a long while eating inside? They saw Feng Ya Ya looking around the marketplace, yet she did not know where to begin.

Qiu Hu shook his head and said to the other students, "This is the wonder of formations. Even if you know you are inside one, you still cannot break it and cannot get ou—"

Before he could finish, Feng Ya Ya in the illusion formation huffed a breath onto her little fist and smashed it into the ground.

Boom! With a thunderous crash, half the little island collapsed.

The illusion formation shattered beneath her fist.

When Feng Ya Ya came out, she was greeted by the stunned expressions of her fellow disciples, all sprawled in disarray.

Qiu Tong's face was full of confusion.

Feng Ya Ya lifted her little face. "I came out!"

See? Fists were omnipotent, weren't they?

Qiu Tong was thoroughly dazed. "No, wait. This is an exception! There are formations in this world as numerous as the hairs on an ox that you cannot shatter with one punch. What will you do then?"

Feng Ya Ya tilted her head and thought for a moment. "Two punches?"

"Pah!" Who was talking to you about how many punches? "What if you encounter a formation where fists cannot be used? Like now."

He pointed with two fingers. The little swords on the ground flew out, and in the blink of an eye, a formation surrounded Su He.

A mass of white mist rose, blocking all sight from outside in.

"This time, it is not merely an illusion formation. There is killing intent hidden within it. If you cannot break the formation within half an hour, your turtle will certainly be harmed. How will you break it then?"

With fists again? If she bombarded the formation with her fists again, the formation might remain intact while she beat the big turtle to death instead.

Qiu Tong stood smiling with his arms folded.

That felt good. That was refreshing! As he smiled, he saw Feng Ya Ya clench both fists, narrow her eyes, and stare at him with ill intent.

If she could not break the formation, then she would beat the person who set it up to death! It was more or less the same.

Qiu Tong: ...

He drew two spiritual talismans in the air and flicked them into the formation, linking himself to it. "Look, I am now the formation. Attacking me is the same as attacking the formation. The turtle inside may very well be beaten to death by one of your punches..."

Before the word "death" had even left his mouth, the thick mist churned, and a giant turtle crawled out of it, calm and unruffled.

???

Qiu Tong's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

What was wrong with you two?! Feng Ya Ya punching apart half the island to break the formation, I could understand. But you, an old turtle—why could you stroll out so lightly?!

The students behind him looked at him strangely. Were these brats questioning his ability as a formation master?

Su He blinked, feeling terribly wronged.

This time, it was still an illusion formation. Illusion formations could not block his sight! This evolution had clearly ceased to merely strengthen his body. It was beginning to develop in the direction of the "mystical."

Looking at the illusion formation through turtle eyes was like looking at a double image.

Or rather, it was like looking at the world through patterned glass. He could see the patterns on the glass, but he knew that the world behind it—the world obscured by the patterns and impossible to see clearly—was the Real World.

The harder he looked, the clearer the Real World became.

If he could see clearly, wasn't walking out only natural? As for the flying swords patrolling about, he only needed to avoid them.

Your formation was simply too weak. Look at the formation Su Hua Nian had set around the pool—Su He could not see through that at all. The road of Dao stretched long and far; he dared not slacken in the slightest.

Qiu Tong breathed heavily through his nose. Only after a long while did he force several words out through clenched teeth: "Class dismissed!"