Chapter 219: Cloud Empire (39)

“The Jade Palace Formation Tournament begins now!”

As soon as the words left Qing Lanyue’s lips, the absolute silence of the Celestial Plaza was broken by a sudden and precise movement.

From her spatial ring, five emerald-green jade plates emerged in the blink of an eye. They floated around her body like living satellites, spinning slowly, reflecting the diffuse light of the eternal clouds in hypnotic shades of emerald and silver.

Each plate had ancient runes engraved in spirals, pulsing with a subtle energy that made the surrounding air vibrate slightly.

Qing Lanyue opened her arms in an elegant and controlled gesture.

The five plates shot forward at high speed, forming a perfect circle around the main disk of the arena.

They positioned themselves exactly at specific points, forming a five-pointed star, hovering a few meters above the ground, motionless like eternal sentinels. The sound of them cutting through the air was almost inaudible. A sharp whisper that only the most attentive cultivators perceived.

Then, her cultivation was revealed.

A wave of cold and pure Qi exploded from her body, not violent, but absolute, like an invisible blade of ice that pierced through every soul present.

The Spiritual Awakening Realm. Not the peak, but the middle of the realm solidly, yet still enough to make the air tremble, the stands felt a subtle weight on their shoulders, and the hearts of weaker cultivators accelerated involuntarily.

The Qi transformed into threads of light-green energy that flew directly into the five plates. Qing Lanyue moved her hands as if weaving something invisible. Her delicate fingers traced patterns in the air, each gesture filled with precise and fluid intent, like a dancer performing a beautiful choreography.

The runes on the plates began to shine brighter, responding to her command.

In less than a minute, the five plates shone together in unison.

An emerald light rose from the floor of the arena, spreading in concentric waves that looked like water being poured in slow motion.

The barrier then formed, translucent, almost invisible at first glance, but solid as a mountain. It emerged from the central disk, rose in a perfect curve, and closed in the sky, just below the upper stands.

All the participants, now more than three hundred, were trapped inside the emerald dome. The air within the barrier became slightly denser, filled with pure Qi that made breathing feel heavier.

A stunned silence fell over the crowd.

Mei Li leaned toward Kyrian, her voice low and impressed, almost reverent.

“She really set up a formation of that size in less than a minute… That’s the level of a rank 5 formation master, at least.”

The nobles around them murmured in shock, overlapping voices in nervous whispers.

“It’s a peak Rank 3 containment barrier at minimum… and with just five simple plates?”

“That’s the level of the Jade Palace. They don’t play around.”

“Look at the energy flow… perfect. Not a single visible crack.”

Kyrian observed everything in silence. His crimson eyes swept across the entire barrier, layer by layer, rune by rune. He saw what no one else saw.

In twelve specific points of the formation, distributed symmetrically along the dome, there were visible flaws. But they were not construction errors.

They were intentional openings, thin as strands of hair, camouflaged by false lines that confused the energy flow.

To ordinary eyes, the barrier was perfect, impenetrable, without a single breach. To him, it was a puzzle with missing pieces, deliberately designed to test vision, patience, and deep understanding.

Qing Lanyue lowered her arms. Her voice came out cold and low, yet reached every ear in the arena thanks to Qi projected with mastery.

“This is the first phase.”

She raised a delicate finger, pointing to the barrier that still pulsed with soft light.

“You have one hour to exit the barrier. The use of artifacts is prohibited. It is also not permitted to attack the barrier directly with brute force or Qi. Everything depends solely on your experience, vision, and understanding of the path of formations.”

A collective sigh rose from the participants. Some were already looking at the barrier in despair. Others, with absolute concentration, eyes half-closed, trying to sense the flow.

Kyrian murmured to Mei Li, barely moving his lips.

“She left twelve real exits. But camouflaged them with false lines. Whoever touches the wrong place… will suffer a Qi explosion.”

Mei Li nodded, eyes narrowed, analyzing, trying to see the lines Kyrian mentioned, but unsuccessfully.

“So, it’s a test of vision and patience. Those who don’t understand enough will explode or be injured, while those who understand… pass.”

The first hour then began.

The first two to exit were the most impressive.

The first was an old man with a sparse white beard and worn gray robes, known only as Master Ming, an independent formation master from whom no one expected much. He walked to one of the inner pillars of the barrier, stopped for three seconds with his eyes closed, then touched an apparently random point with two fingers.

A tiny rune glowed in his palm. The barrier rippled like water disturbed by a stone, and he passed through as if no obstacle had ever existed. His time was four minutes and twelve seconds.

Qing Lanyue raised an eyebrow, the first visible sign of surprise on her cold and impassive face.

The second was a young man in his early twenties, in navy-blue robes embroidered with clouds, apparently a disciple of the Cloud Academy. He did not touch the barrier immediately.

He stood still for two entire minutes, analyzing the energy flow with half-closed eyes. Then, he traced a rune in the air with his index finger. The rune materialized in blue light and merged into the barrier. A small circle opened before him, and he passed through calmly, unhurried.

His time was four minutes and fifty-eight seconds.

Which also earned a look from Qing Lanyue.

“They managed to get out in less than five minutes… insane, I wouldn’t even have an idea where to start.” Murmurs began to appear throughout the stands.

Others then began to try.

Many failed.

A young man touched a false point, an illusory line designed to confuse. The barrier reacted with a small but violent Qi explosion. He was thrown backward, arms burned, face pale with pain. Eliminated on the spot.

A woman tried to force an opening with raw Qi, but the barrier rebounded, sending a wave of energy that knocked her unconscious. Eliminated.

Time passed quickly.

Kyrian noted the patterns with clinical attention. The twelve real flaws were surrounded by dozens of false lines. Traps that reacted to wrong touches with Qi explosions.

About seventy percent of the participants were eliminated in the first phase.

Many gave up upon seeing companions injured. Others touched wrong points and suffered spiritual burns, fractures, temporary loss of vision, or even fainted from Qi overload. The auxiliary elders circulated through the arena, removing the injured and declaring elimination with curt gestures.

At the end of the hour, only ninety participants remained, all of them outside the barrier, exhausted but alive.

Qing Lanyue raised her hand again.

The barrier dissipated into particles of green light that returned to the five plates. They flew back into her spatial ring in a perfect arc.

Her cold voice echoed once more.

“First phase concluded. Ninety advance. The rest are eliminated.”

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