Su Ming stared nervously at the ring of light, counting silently in his heart.

One breath, two breaths… ten breaths…

Half an incense stick of time.

A full half an incense stick of time passed before the glow of the rune gradually dimmed and finally vanished completely.

Success.

A success on the first try!

And the effect lasted for half an incense stick!

Su Ming stared blankly at the clean circle on the ground, then looked at his own finger. A massive, surreal feeling completely overwhelmed him.

The problem that had troubled him for so long was solved so easily with just a few pointers from his teacher?

“Teacher…”

His spiritual sense carried a slight tremor.

“Your disciple… has done it.”

“Hmm, acceptable.”

Inside the ring, Lin Yu’s voice was as still as an ancient well, as if this were merely an insignificant trifle.

“This is the beginning of the path of formations, a journey of ten thousand miles. You have only taken the first step. You absolutely must not become arrogant or complacent.”

Holy crap! My disciple is awesome! I just flapped my lips a bit, and he actually pulled it off! This comprehension talent is simply incredible! It’s a lock, a total lock!

Hearing this, the wild joy in Su Ming’s heart was instantly replaced by a surge of reverence.

Yes, for a master like his teacher, this might truly be just an insignificant entry-level skill.

What did his own little achievement amount to?

He took a deep breath, firmly suppressing that excitement and joy deep in his heart.

“This disciple humbly follows the teacher’s instruction.”

“Very good.” Lin Yu was quite satisfied with Su Ming’s attitude.

He immediately pivoted, steering the conversation toward the area he was most concerned about.

“Disciple, your success in setting up this formation is certainly praiseworthy. However, it also brings a new problem.”

“Problem?” Su Ming was taken aback.

“When you set up the formation, although the commotion was slight, it ultimately caused spiritual energy fluctuations.” Lin Yu’s voice turned serious. “This Courtyard Ding-Qi is a place of mixed fish and dragons. There’s no guarantee there aren’t individuals with keen perception here.”

“Especially that Li Kai in the South Room. His breathing and energy circulation method is quite peculiar, his aura is restrained to the extreme. People like that either possess unusual treasures or have cultivated a high-level cultivation method. Either way, it indicates this person is not simple.”

“The communication between us master and disciple, and your future cultivation, must all be conducted in an absolutely secretive environment. Otherwise, once exposed, both of us will die without a burial place!”

Lin Yu’s words were like a basin of ice water, instantly dousing the small flame of warmth that had just risen in Su Ming’s heart.

A cold sweat seeped from his back.

Only now did he realize that his recent success also came with enormous risk.

“Then… Teacher, what should we do?”

“The most urgent task is to establish a ‘safe room’ within your eastern side room.”

“Safe room?”

“Correct.” Lin Yu’s thoughts carried a hint of the certainty of one strategizing from within a tent. “We will use formations to completely ‘isolate’ part of the space of this room from the perception of the entire Courtyard Ding-Qi, no, from the perception of the entire Cloud Hidden Sect!”

“Extend an additional space, making it an absolute domain that people outside cannot see, cannot hear, and cannot sense!”

Su Ming felt his mind swaying upon hearing this. Such a method was simply unheard of!

“This… can your disciple accomplish it?”

“With your teacher here, naturally you can.”

Lin Yu’s soul sense once again probed into the “Basic Overview of Formations” jade slip within Su Ming’s memory.

He browsed through it rapidly, all the while internally continuing his outburst.

Soundproofing arrays? This is it? The energy conduction path takes such a huge, meandering detour, like a maze, and the final effect is still terrible. A typical academic design, flashy but without substance!

Breath-concealing arrays? My heavens, this practically has ‘come find me’ written all over it! Forcibly compressing spiritual energy fluctuations into a ball? Isn’t that as conspicuous as a firefly in the night? Stupid! So stupid!

“Disciple.”

Having finished his screening, Lin Yu slowly spoke in his profound and unfathomable tone.

“Your teacher has selected the two most suitable entry-level formations for you.”

“First, the Micro Soundproofing Array. Second, the Simple Breath-Concealing Array.”

“These two arrays are of the lowest grade, require the least consumption, and when activated, cause the most minimal spiritual energy fluctuations. They are most suitable for our current situation.”

Su Ming hurriedly focused his mind to listen carefully.

“However…” Lin Yu pivoted again, “…the array-setting methods recorded in the jade slip are too crude, riddled with flaws. Your teacher will make some… minor adjustments to them.”

“Minor adjustments?”

“Correct.”

Lin Yu’s soul sense directly materialized the array diagram of the “Micro Soundproofing Array” within Su Ming’s mind.

It was a composite array constructed from nine basic runes.

“Disciple, look at this ‘Quiet’ character rune here.”

Lin Yu’s consciousness pointed to the lower left corner of the array diagram.

“The jade slip says this rune requires seven strokes to draw, seeking structural stability. In reality, that’s painting legs on a snake.”

“You only need to change three of its strokes into a single arc. This will allow the spiritual energy to circulate on its own, forming a stable ‘quiet field.’ The effect will improve by at least fifty percent, yet the consumption can be reduced by thirty percent.”

In his mind, Su Ming modified that rune according to his teacher’s instruction.

He immediately felt the energy flow of the entire array diagram become much smoother!

“And here, these two ‘Guide’ character runes are completely redundant! Remove them! They only cause spiritual energy fluctuations to leak out!”

“And the formation core here, don’t use the ‘Suppress’ character rune. It’s too rigid, prone to causing rebound. Replace it with the ‘Absorb’ character rune, allowing the sound waves to be absorbed and dissipated, like gentle rain moistening things silently. That is the superior way of soundproofing!”

Lin Yu’s voice was like that of the most skilled craftsman meticulously carving a piece of uncut jade.

Every modification he made struck at the core, simplifying complexity, yet causing the entire array’s effect to undergo a world-shaking change!

The more Su Ming listened, the more appalled he felt in his heart.

Was this a minor adjustment?

This was practically taking a broken-down ox cart and drastically refashioning it into a carriage that sped like the wind!

Moreover, the theories his teacher mentioned—things like “energy circulation,” “wave rebound,” “absorption and dissipation”—he had never heard of them before, yet he felt… they made so much sense!

“Do you understand?”

“This disciple… understands!” Su Ming nodded heavily, his eyes flashing with a fanatical light.

“Good, then let’s begin.” Lin Yu’s tone naturally followed his previous train of thought, ready to begin his masterclass on the “safe room.”

However, the excited expression on Su Ming’s face instantly froze stiff, then transformed into a trace of embarrassment.

He had no choice but to brace himself and interrupt his teacher’s grand blueprint.

“Um… Teacher…” Su Ming’s voice carried obvious awkwardness. “Your disciple… your disciple currently, actually… only knows how to draw this one ‘Gathering’ character rune.”

Inside the Xuantian ring, Lin Yu’s torrential soul sense came to an abrupt halt.

An eerie silence spread through the mental connection between master and disciple.

Lin Yu’s soul body seemed to have been put on pause.

He had just mentally hacked the “Basic Overview of Formations” to pieces, even nearly finished the 3D modeling for the “safe room” in his head, and then… the construction crew told him they currently only knew how to lay one type of brick?

An emotion named “Holy crap” almost broke through the demeanor of a master he was struggling to maintain.

Lin Yu took a deep breath… no, he didn’t need to breathe.

He forcibly steadied the fluctuations of his soul power.

“…It’s fine.” His voice betrayed not a ripple of emotion, as if the previous silence was merely him pondering who he was.

“Skyscrapers rise from level ground. Mastering one path far surpasses having a superficial knowledge of a hundred. Since you have already grasped the ‘Gathering’ character and can draw inferences about other cases from one instance, learning other runes should not be difficult.”

Phew, phew. Good thing this disciple’s comprehension is high. The literacy class probably won’t take too long.

Hearing this, the embarrassment in Su Ming’s heart lessened slightly, and he felt even more ashamed of his teacher’s tolerance. “It is this disciple’s dullness, causing the teacher trouble.”

“The path of formations is as vast as a sea of mist. Proceeding step by step is the correct principle.” Lin Yu rapidly adjusted his mindset and teaching plan.

Lin Yu rapidly adjusted his mindset and teaching plan.

“Since that’s the case, we shall start learning from the most basic runes. Today, you will devote yourself to studying this ‘Control’ character rune.”

“Yes, Teacher!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep