Formation Hall, courtyard.
Hearing Chang Chunbo directly pronounce his death sentence, saying that he could not learn formations,
Fang Hong frowned tightly and asked, "Elder, could you tell me the reason?"
Seeing the unwillingness written all over Fang Hong's face, Chang Chunbo sighed again.
He thought to himself, It seemed Zhao Tianchen's hopes would be completely dashed this time.
He wondered whether Zhao Tianchen could withstand such a tremendous blow.
Though that was what he thought, Chang Chunbo still gave Fang Hong the courtesy of explaining.
"Heaven and earth have their own momentum."
"And formations, to put it plainly, are the exertion and utilization of Heaven and Earth's Momentum."
"But the foundation for utilizing Heaven and Earth's Momentum is naturally first being able to sense its existence."
"If you cannot even sense that it exists, how can you speak of utilizing it?"
At this point, Chang Chunbo paused slightly.
"As for the talent for learning the Way of Formations that I mentioned, it is actually one's sensitivity to the existence and changes of Heaven and Earth's Momentum."
"Not to mention the Way of the Heavenly Star Array Formation. Besides sensing Heaven and Earth's Momentum, it also requires sensing the momentum of the stars."
"The difficulty is several times greater than that of ordinary formations."
"There is something else I can tell you. Back then, Junior Nephew Wuming learned formations from me."
"When he created that Starry Sky Treasure Art, he also sought my opinions on many matters."
"It can be said that the Starry Sky Treasure Art you intend to cultivate also contains a portion of my painstaking effort."
Chang Chunbo sighed again. "So, if there is anyone in this world who most hopes someone can successfully cultivate this treasure art,"
"Then aside from your master, it would be me."
"So in a sense, I may even hope more than you yourself that you can learn formations."
"But unfortunately, you do not possess the talent to learn the Way of Formations."
"This formation I arranged beforehand has already stirred up the surrounding Heaven and Earth's Momentum, making it easier to sense than usual."
"Yet even so, you still felt nothing at all."
"That is why I said you do not possess the talent for learning formations."
"Though it is deeply regrettable, and may even shatter your master's hopes once more, I still advise you—"
"Give up cultivating that Starry Sky Treasure Art and choose another cultivation technique instead."
Chang Chunbo spoke with great regret as he tried to persuade him.
After hearing Chang Chunbo's words, Fang Hong understood why he said that.
To be honest, he had not reached the point where he absolutely had to cultivate this Starry Sky Treasure Art.
With the Golden Finger, even if he cultivated other techniques, as long as he had an ample supply of energy,
his speed in breaking through to the Heaven Realm would still not be slow.
But if possible, he still did not want to give up cultivating this Starry Sky Treasure Art.
There were many reasons.
One was that this Starry Sky Treasure Art was very powerful.
After successfully cultivating it, not only could one directly skip over the Earth Realm and break through straight into the Heaven Realm,
it could even lead to the exceedingly rare Body Heaven Realm!
Its combat power was extraordinarily formidable.
At the same time, it could save him a great deal of time.
Another important reason was Zhao Tianchen's hope.
Fang Hong and Zhao Tianchen were getting along very well now, and their relationship had become increasingly close.
Zhao Tianchen had truly laid bare his heart for him. Cultivation techniques, medicinal pills, and everything else were all available to him; he had even directly gone to petition the Star River Sect's Sect Master.
Though part of it was because Zhao Tianchen wanted to use Fang Hong to make up for his own past regret,
Fang Hong had enjoyed those benefits in a very real sense.
Therefore, if possible, Fang Hong also hoped to help Zhao Tianchen make up for that past regret.
With that thought, Fang Hong looked at Chang Chunbo and asked:
"Elder Chang, if one has no talent, is it truly completely impossible to learn formations?"
"If I force myself to learn, would there still be even the slightest chance?"
In truth, what Fang Hong wanted to say even more was: How about you just give me one or two formation manuals?
If I see whether the Golden Finger can record them, I will know whether I can learn formations.
Unfortunately, he could not say that.
Chang Chunbo did not know that he possessed something as heaven-defying as the Golden Finger.
Nor could he, nor would he, tell anyone else of the Golden Finger's existence.
Upon hearing Fang Hong's words, Chang Chunbo became somewhat angry as well.
"You little fellow, why are you so stubborn? Why can't you listen to advice?!"
"You are exactly like your master, that old monkey—cut from the same cloth!"
Chang Chunbo said angrily.
"Since that is the case, then this old man will make it even clearer."
"In the path of formations, I can be considered rather talented. Before I had even learned formations, I was already able to sense the existence and changes of Heaven and Earth's Momentum."
"When I first began learning formations, I could already initially utilize Heaven and Earth's Momentum and set up the simplest formations within half a day."
"It took me more than a hundred years in total to reach my current formation realm at the Heaven Realm level."
"Your senior brother Wuming, who died in the prime of his life, had upper-tier talent in formations. Within this formation, he could detect the existence of the surrounding Heaven and Earth's Momentum in just over a dozen breaths."
"After learning formations, he could initially utilize Heaven and Earth's Momentum in four or five days."
"Among my many disciples, Yuquan's talent is only average. You may ask him how much time he took when he first started."
Chang Chunbo spoke in a deep voice, with a trace of annoyance.
Hearing this, Fang Hong looked toward Su Yuquan at the side.
Seeing Fang Hong's gaze, Su Yuquan shrugged.
"Junior Brother, my talent in the path of formations is only average. Within this formation, it took me a full half hour before I sensed the existence of Heaven and Earth's Momentum."
"Moreover, I studied for more than ten years before I barely reached my current level, where I can set up a formation close to the Earth Realm level."
As soon as Su Yuquan finished speaking, Chang Chunbo continued.
"Do you understand now? Yuquan's talent is merely average, yet it still took him so many years."
"And if you wish to cultivate that Starry Sky Treasure Art, your attainments in the Way of Formations must at the very least reach his level."
"But you have no talent for learning formations at all. Even if you force yourself to learn, how many years will it take?"
"Twenty years? Fifty years? Or one or two hundred years?"
"Do you have such powerful perseverance and conviction? Do you have such a long lifespan?!"
Chang Chunbo laid the bare reality before Fang Hong.
Hearing this, Fang Hong blinked.
"I understand what Elder and Senior Brother Su mean."
"I also understand Elder's painstaking goodwill in trying to persuade me."
"But I still want to give it a try."
"You, you, you!"
"Truly an incorrigible child!!"
Seeing that he had already made himself so clear, yet Fang Hong still wanted to forcibly learn formations,
Chang Chunbo was so angry that his beard fluttered and his eyes bulged.
"Fine, fine, fine. Good words cannot persuade a ghost bent on death."
"Since you refuse to listen and will not turn back until you crash into the southern wall, I cannot be bothered to waste any more breath on you!"
Bang~
Chang Chunbo shook his long sleeve, and an invisible force directly pushed open the door of a room some distance away.
Then, with a single grasp of his hand, a thick tome as wide as a palm flew out from the room and landed in his hand.
"This contains the foundations and principles of the Way of the Heavenly Star Array Formation, along with several of the most basic and simple formations."
"When you have finished reading it and thoroughly comprehended it, come find me again."
Chang Chunbo directly tossed the thick book to Fang Hong.
"As for anything you do not understand while reading it..."
Chang Chunbo paused only briefly before looking directly at Su Yuquan beside him.
"For now, go ask Yuquan. If even he cannot answer you, then come find me."
"Yuquan, starting today, hand over part of your duties in the hall to others and devote your main effort to Fang Hong."
Hearing his master's words, Su Yuquan, who had been innocently caught in the crossfire, answered somewhat meekly.
"Yes, Master. I will properly help Junior Brother Fang answer his questions and clear up his doubts."
Su Yuquan answered honestly.
"Alright, you may leave."
Perhaps because of Fang Hong's "stubbornness," Chang Chunbo did not have a favorable impression of him. After giving his instructions, he directly sent them away.
The two then bowed and took their leave.
On the way out, Fang Hong looked at Su Yuquan with great apology.
"I did not expect to drag Senior Brother Su into this. I truly am sorry."
Hearing this, Su Yuquan smiled and waved his hand.
"It is fine. I was already thinking that the many affairs in the hall had been affecting my comprehension of formations and my usual cultivation."
"This time, by taking the opportunity to tutor you, Junior Brother, I can properly slack off for once and focus on my own cultivation."
"No matter what, I still ended up troubling Senior Brother."
"Junior Brother, you are being far too polite."
The two exchanged courtesies for quite some time before finally parting ways.
Fang Hong took the thick tome and returned directly to the back mountain.
Meanwhile, at the entrance to the Formation Hall, a Formation Hall disciple who was close to Su Yuquan walked over to him.
"Senior Brother Su, although this Fang Hong is Elder Zhao's disciple, are you not treating him a little too well?"
"He is just someone who has only recently joined the sect. Is he worth you valuing him so highly?"
Hearing this, Su Yuquan smiled and said softly:
"Why do you think this Junior Brother Fang is not worth valuing?"
"Leaving aside the fact that he is Elder Zhao's Personal Disciple, taken in after Elder Zhao suddenly emerged from seclusion following many years in retirement."
"Speaking only of Fang Hong himself, before even breaking through to the Earth Realm, he already possesses such terrifyingly abundant vitality and blood. That alone makes him worth valuing."
"Moreover, from what I have seen, Senior Brother Fang's character does not seem bad. He is someone worth befriending."
"Besides, you have not known me for only a day or two. Your senior brother has always liked making friends; it is not as if you do not know that."
"So what is strange about my befriending him and valuing him?"
Su Yuquan said with a smiling chuckle.
"That is true. On our Myriad Star Peak, who does not know that Senior Brother has many friends and gets along extremely well with everyone?"
Hearing this, Su Yuquan merely smiled without speaking.
He only looked in the direction Fang Hong had vanished, a profound gleam hidden deep in his eyes.
There was one point he had not spoken aloud.
For some reason, from the very first time he met Fang Hong, he had always vaguely felt something.
If he befriended Fang Hong, he might gain an unexpected harvest in the future.
Before you continue