Chapter 137: The Rotting Fruit
I sat cross-legged on the floor of my quarters, idly turning my formation guild token between my fingers as I contemplated my next move. Through the window, I could see disciples hurrying about their daily routines in the courtyard below, their voices a distant murmur.
"Well," I said mentally. "I guess we need to adjust the training plan.”
The original schedule was weekly formation lessons with Elder Chen, team practice with Wei Lin and Lin Mei, and any spare time in this world devoted to studying formations and manipulating plants, but with Elder Chen Yong no longer available, that would need to change.
"Yes," Azure agreed. "But the gap between level two and level three formations is substantial. Even with guild resources, it's not something we could master before the tournament.”
"With level two, we're basically just juggling pure qi in fancy patterns,” I added. “Sure, it needs to be precise, and yes, the formations can respond to basic stimuli, but at least qi behaves predictably."
I traced one of the spiral patterns in my notes. "But level three? That's when we start playing with elemental energies. Fire qi that wants to explode if you look at it wrong. Water qi that'll flood your entire array if you don't maintain perfect flow control. And don't even get me started on trying to create sustainable elemental circuits."
Through our bond, Yggy sent an impression of curiosity about the formations, along with what felt like a suggestion that plant-based qi might be easier to work with.
"Sorry, little friend, but wood qi can be just as tricky," I chuckled. "Plus, we'd need completely different materials. These copper and silver anchors wouldn't cut it anymore – we'd need specialized elemental inks, high-purity jade, probably some beast cores...I'm not sure the payoff would be worth the time investment."
"Master, your current formation skills are sufficient to support the group during the tournament,” Azure cut in. “Perhaps it's time to focus on your personal cultivation?"