My Arts Evolve When Perfected

Under the guidance of a direct disciple, Zhao Qian brought Jiang Qiu to Lin Yu. He hadn’t wanted to see them at first. After all, time was short and the situation was critical. He might even have to go defend the city walls himself in a moment—where would he find the time to study this and that?

But after hearing that they were both direct disciples of Dean Wu Hong, and that one of them was the very Jiang Qiu that Grand General Luo was always mentioning, he had agreed to meet them.

’Given Dean Wu Hong’s standing, his direct disciples must be of good character. They certainly wouldn’t be making empty boasts. There’s no harm in giving it a shot.’

"You’re Jiang Qiu?"

"Yes."

Looking at the young man before him, the slight relief on Lin Yu’s face was replaced by a deeper frown. Although he had already seen Jiang Qiu’s face through many channels, seeing him in person revealed just how young he was. ’At the Ancient Inscription Academy, he’d be nothing more than a new student. What could he possibly know?’

’Besides, Ancient Inscription Researchers are like doctors—white hair inspires confidence. Of course, as a Martial Artist, one wouldn’t lose their hair.’

’But this young man’s hair is so black, so thick and flowing... it just doesn’t give off a steady, reliable impression.’

As this thought crossed his mind, Lin Yu’s enthusiasm dwindled. He had basically given up hope in Jiang Qiu. But what could he do? The boy was Wu Hong’s direct disciple and an important figure in Grand General Luo’s eyes. Even Lin Yu himself had researched the connection between Jiang Qiu and [Chen] extensively.

Still, he said, "Zhao Qian said you can solve the Array’s problem. I can take you into the array core to have a look, but you have ten minutes at most. If you can’t fix it, we’ll all have to evacuate this place and prepare to force a breakout."

"Alright."

With a single word of agreement, Jiang Qiu clenched his fists and followed Lin Yu toward the array core. Zhao Qian took a deep breath. Watching their retreating figures, he sighed in admiration, "Junior Brother Jiang... He must be the reincarnation of a god, his luck is simply extraordinary!"

After hearing Jiang Qiu’s idea for solving the Array’s problem, he had been shocked beyond belief. He had never imagined such a solution was possible.

And so, he had decisively called for Grandmaster Lin Yu to request access for Jiang Qiu.

If it succeeded, tens of millions of citizens would be saved. And Jiang Qiu, as the key individual his own mentor had ordered him to protect at all costs, would have a way out. He wouldn’t be forced into the desperate last resort of breaking through the siege.

Forcing a breakout was a terrifyingly difficult prospect. The odds of success were not just extremely low; there were far too many unforeseen variables.

Tianshan City had once attempted a breakout as well. Over a million people died in a single day, and only about two hundred thousand managed to escape. As a frontline border city, its population had been evacuated long ago, but even so, the terrifying death toll spoke for itself.

BEEP—

Just then, the communication ring on his wrist vibrated. The vice dean leading the team from the Soldier Cultivation Academy, himself a Grandmaster, had sent a message: All supporting Martial Artists were to gather at the western Inner City gate. The Kunlun Demon Clan’s grand army was pressing in.

"’I hope the Array restarts flawlessly. I’ll buy as much time as I can,’"

Zhao Qian muttered to himself, his figure disappearing into an ascending elevator.

...

The path to the array core should have involved passing through numerous checkpoints, but with Lin Yu leading the way, they had unrestricted access and reached their destination directly.

The Teleportation Array was massive, designed to transport over two hundred thousand people at once. The array core, where Jiang Qiu now found himself, was located at the very heart of the formation, inside a structurally complex Alloy Pod engraved with various Ancient Inscriptions.

The Ancient Inscriptions resembled floating characters of ink, engraved layer upon layer onto invisible planes in the air. They rotated in an exceedingly regular, interlocking pattern, exuding the subtle aura of the Array Dao and containing the very principles of space.

’To construct an Array of this caliber, especially with so many ancient texts lost, is no small feat. In ancient times, the creator would have been considered a prodigy of their generation.’

"Elder Lin, I’m going to access the Array’s core mechanics now."

With that word of warning, Jiang Qiu stood in the dead center of the pod. Soul Ice Spirit Charm began to emanate from his palms, slowly enveloping the Ancient Inscription structure within the array core like a vortex of water.

Watching from the side, Lin Yu’s eyebrow twitched. He wondered, ’How is this Soul Ice Spirit Charm? I thought he had Ninth Rank Flame Jade Sinews?’

’How can one person possess two Spirit Attributes? A single set of Jade Sinews can only carry one type of Spirit Charm. You can’t light a fire in Jade Sinews meant for water—that’s a fundamental principle.’

’To master multiple Spirit Charms, one must forge multiple sets of Jade Sinews, but as of now, there is no known method for a single person to forge more than one.’

’The only known being in the world capable of controlling multiple sets of Jade Sinews is the one spearheading the current plan to annihilate the city: the Kunlun Demon Clan’s Ancient Demon Emperor, [Chen].’

’According to intelligence, he possesses not just two, but is supposedly just one type short of possessing a complete set of all Spirit Charms...’

At this thought, Lin Yu’s gaze on Jiang Qiu became heavy with meaning. However, as the Array’s structure responded with a subtle tremor, his expression grew even more serious. ’This kid... he actually understands the Array Dao?’

Even though Jiang Qiu was the one currently manipulating the Array, as the Grandmaster who had overseen its creation, Lin Yu could still clearly perceive its every change.

The Array, which had no major flaws to begin with, was nudged twice and somehow became even more perfect. The approach used for this modification was unheard of, something from the realm of unproven theoretical conjecture.

The Array Dao originated from the Secret Realms. Occasional records spoke of countless brilliant Array Masters in ancient times. The Grand Arrays they created were said to be able to reverse yin and yang, possessing a profound and mystical power.

’This means that the ancient understanding of the Array Dao far surpasses that of the modern age. For Jiang Qiu to be using these currently unproven theories, he could only have learned them from an ancient source...’

VMMMM—

Suddenly, the entire space within the Array shuddered. The surrounding Ancient Inscription frameworks began to accelerate their rotation. A glint of light flashed in the eyes of Jiang Qiu at the center. "It’s working! I’ve established a connection!"

"Hm?" Lin Yu wore a doubtful expression. He immediately took a closer look, and his pupils abruptly shrank to pinpricks as astonishment surged through him. ’He connected?!’

In that instant, he sensed that the Array had locked onto the coordinates of a Secret Realm on the other side. This meant the Array now had a destination; it was no longer a blind, random teleport.

’But... a moment ago, I clearly sensed only chaos. How did he lock onto a stable coordinate in the blink of an eye?’

’Wait a second. Jiang Qiu possesses the coordinates to an entire Secret Realm!’

Realizing this in an instant, Lin Yu stared incredulously at the equally delighted Jiang Qiu, the corner of his eye twitching. "Which Secret Realm did you connect to?"

The coordinates for a Secret Realm weren’t a string of numbers or something so simple. They were an indescribable state of association, something akin to a World Spirit.

To connect to a Secret Realm, one had to obtain the consent of its World Spirit. But typically, World Spirits lack consciousness, making communication unimaginably difficult.

Only after long-term "cooperation" between both sides could a connection be established more easily. Furthermore, this type of coordinate couldn’t typically be used for pinpointing a location over vast distances.

’And yet, Jiang Qiu had just directly linked to a Secret Realm, and it appeared to be one Lin Yu himself had never encountered before?’

As a Grandmaster of Ancient Inscriptions for the Northwest Province and a titan in the nation’s field of Array Dao, he had personally inspected countless Secret Realms!

’At least, within the Northwest Province, I have never seen coordinates like these...’