Chapter 433: What a Shame! If Only My Master Were Still Young…
“By the way, Master, what do you think of the new Array Peak? Any tweaks needed?”
Bai Feng grinned and asked Liu Meng with a mischievous sparkle.
Honestly, he’d thought Liu Meng wouldn’t join Array Peak—she’s always so casual, and she only came to the Heavenly Sword Sect temporarily because of her promise to Chu Ning Yan. But surprise surprise! During their last formation setup, he casually asked if she wanted to join, and she just nodded like it was no big deal. Talk about unexpected!
“Nope, you’ve done a pretty good job with the array. You’ve caught up to me already!”
Liu Meng chuckled, shaking her head with a half-sigh.
Truly, this was the golden age before the Immortals arrived—a time when geniuses of the realm were all kinds of monsters. Back then, she never believed anyone could become a formation master as fast as Bai Feng in such a short time.
Speaking of genius, it seems the neighboring Dan Peak also hatched a similar wonder kid. Rumor has it, they’ve been hitting the old-timers hard—so hard they’ve all run off to meditate in seclusion.
“As long as Master is satisfied, that’s all that matters. I was just worried—what if you think something’s wrong, and want me to leave Array Peak?”
Bai Feng teased with a grin.
“If I thought this place was bad, then nothing in this world would impress me,” Liu Meng raised her head, glancing at Dan Peak. “Though Dan Peak’s resources are still lagging behind sects like Spirit Sealing, this place has something unique—something I see no elsewhere. I see vitality here, and… a new future for arrays.”
Before joining the Heavenly Sword Sect, she’d been pretty lost. The more she learned about arrays, the more she admired the grandeur of the Immortal era. But after all these years, the formation magicians still trailed behind their predecessors, stuck walking in footsteps of the past. Instead of feeling inspired, she felt suffocated, like being tightly bound by invisible chains. That was when she decided to apprentice someone—someone with even more talent than herself, so she could perhaps forge a new path.
But surprising herself, her carefully nurtured disciple didn’t forge a new way—nope, it was her friend’s disciple that pulled it off, and even swiped her best student right out from under her nose.
Well, she contributed to the ‘kidnapping’ too, so she couldn’t be blamed entirely.
“Master, you’re exaggerating.”
“I’m not exaggerating,” Liu Meng shook her head, smiling softly at her own disciple. “Standing here, I’m the best proof.”
She looked at Bai Feng, then at her own student, and sighed wistfully, “If I weren’t so old, I’d have never let you go, you genius.”
“Oh, come on, Master! You still look really young!”
“Stop joking! If you don’t have anything to do, go see Lan Qian. She’s been pestering me about you—for days. I’m about to go crazy.”
Liu Meng waved her hand dismissively. “I need to continue studying my arrays—don’t bother me unless it’s important.”
“Bye, Master.”
Bai Feng waved, watching her walk away.
He didn’t linger long, heading straight for his newly built research lab.
“Senior Brother Bai is here!”
“Don’t call me Senior Brother—call me Peak Lord already!”
“Anything for us to do, Peak Lord?”
Amidst the enthusiastic greetings from others in the lab, Bai Feng chuckled and responded one by one, finally squeezing through the ‘crowd’ to his own research space.
“Phew, finally in,” he sighed. “It’s just a new Array Peak—why are they so excited?”
He mused silently for a moment, then made his way inside, setting the virtual training array deep in the lab’s interior, linked to a grand formation. That way, he could practice virtually outside without worrying about untoward visitors or sabotage.
Suddenly, a head peeked out shyly from behind a nearby table.
She tiptoed out carefully, then quickly followed Bai Feng, wrapping her arms around him.
“Hmm…”
She buried her face into Bai Feng’s clothes, taking a deep, intoxicated breath.
“She’s Sister Su.”
Bai Feng turned slightly, seeing Su Lan Qian clutching him. Actually, he’d already detected her before she even poked her head out—he’d been pretending not to notice.
“By the way, Sister Su, do you have time? I need a little help with something.”
“Mm-hmm!” Su Lan Qian nodded eagerly. “I haven’t had much to do lately.”
“Come with me then.”
Moments later, Bai Feng and Su Lan Qian stood in front of the virtual array.
“So, something like this—I need you to help me simplify the array, then record it onto a formation disc.”
“Hmm…” Su Lan Qian pondered, then shook her head with a hint of disappointment. “This time, I probably can’t help much. It’s too far out of my reach.”
“No worries, I can teach you. With your talent, you’ll probably learn it pretty fast,” Bai Feng said as he activated the virtual training array. “So, Sister Su, you in?”
Su Lan Qian nodded firmly. “Yes!”
“Great, let’s go inside the array, and you can experience the process firsthand as we go.”
—
In an open clearing, Bai Feng summoned a formation. It floated before him and Su Lan Qian, displaying its structure, runes, and functions in crystal-clear detail.
“Isn’t this way of teaching super intuitive?” Bai Feng grinned, looking at Su Lan Qian. “I plan to allocate part of the virtual training for teaching and experiments—to cut down on research costs.”
“Hmm…” Su Lan Qian nodded, feeling how direct and handy this method was. If she had this aid when learning arrays, her progress would jump by leaps and bounds.
But…
She glanced at Bai Feng, a pang of disappointment in her heart.
She’d thought she’d be learning something new like with the rune teaching—something groundbreaking. But this teaching method?
She shook her head fiercely. “No, I have to speed up and master new knowledge! I need to help Bai Feng!”
Meanwhile, Bai Feng noticed her enthusiasm waning, so he smiled and walked over.
“Let’s wrap up the demonstration here. We’ll leave now,” he said.
“Uh, okay…” Su Lan Qian looked puzzled but nodded anyway.
They soon exited the virtual world.
“Sit here for a moment, Sister Su. I’ll tell you some theoretical stuff,” Bai Feng suggested, walking to a nearby table and patting a chair.
“Okay.”
Su Lan Qian obediently sat, watching Bai Feng take the chair beside her—for the chair was big enough for two.
“Is this comfortable, Sister Su? Not crowded?”
“Nope!”
She shook her head quickly. She’d considered shifting over, but she didn’t want to ‘leave’ Bai Feng. Instead, she scooted just a bit to the side, but her body still leaned against him, feeling a little awkward.
