Chapter 22 – Clues_1
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Instructor Yan left the Formation Pavilion and returned to Tongming Peak of the Tongxian Gate.
Instructors of the Tongxian Gate all had individual living quarters on Tongming Peak, with three rooms and a living room, together with a small courtyard where they could cultivate Spirit Flowers and Spirit Grass, or raise Spirit Beasts.
Instructor Yan’s living quarters were clean and tidy, with Formation Diagrams meticulously pasted on the walls. There were no other decorations beside them.
He reviewed the basic Formation texts and prepared several Formation Patterns he was going to teach in the following days, and then began correcting the assignments of Qi Refinement Realm disciples.
There were nearly a thousand disciples in the Qi Refinement Realm from Tongxian Peak, and Instructor Yan would correct each of their Formation assignments and mark the errors.
It was time-consuming and took patience, but Instructor Yan nonetheless did it with meticulous care.
This was his habit, also reflecting the teachings of his master over the years.
His master used to correct their Formation assignments with the same meticulous attention and patience back in the day.
Instructor Yan’s master was a first-grade Formation Master; in the entire Tao Cultivation World, he might not be considered a remarkable Formation Master. However, throughout his life, he devoted himself to teaching and imparting the Formation Arts that adhered to the Heavenly Dao Laws.
Now that his master had passed away, and he had become an instructor himself, he could appreciate his master’s painstaking efforts.
As night fell, Instructor Yan lit a lamp and continued correcting the Formations.
After all, the Tongxian Gate was still a remote small sect, with a weak Tao Cultivation heritage. Of the nearly thousand disciples, there were only a few who could draw basic Formation Patterns properly.
Those who drew them fairly well were usually from scholarly families or from wealthy homes that could afford to spend Spirit Stones on their education, such as the children of cultivators working in the Taoist Court, Sect Elders’ offspring, or disciples from Tao Cultivation Clans within the city.
There were very few who came from poor Loose Cultivator backgrounds and could still draw Formation well.
Regardless of their background, Instructor Yan treated them all equally, focusing only on their Formations.
Those who didn’t draw well but showed serious attitude received more annotations for explanation; those who neither drew well nor showed due diligence received harsher comments, and their names were noted by Instructor Yan.
Occasionally, when he came across a well-drawn Formation, Instructor Yan felt gratified and wrote a “superior” next to the Formation as encouragement.
Tirelessly, Instructor Yan kept on correcting until he turned to one Formation and his eyes lit up.
The strokes were extremely practiced, clearly the result of hard work, and they had a certain style. Even if used for an official Formation, this Formation Pattern would be considered up to standard.
Instructor Yan looked up and saw the name “Mo Hua” at the corner. He nodded, and then wrote a “superior” next to the Formation.
This “superior” was written a bit larger than the others.
Instructor Yan flipped the page and continued correcting.
As he did so, he flipped back again to find Mo Hua’s Formation Pattern, furrowing his brows.
The strokes of this Formation Pattern were a bit too polished, even seeming a bit… effortlessly skilled?
A Qi Refinement second or third level Cultivator being able to draw a complete Formation Pattern was already impressive enough.
Thinking of encountering Mo Hua in the Formation Pavilion today, Instructor Yan fell silent, pondering, when a question suddenly surfaced:
“Does Mo Hua have an elder brother?”
“If his elder brother is good at drawing Formation, and so is he, then it should be a family skill. But if I remember correctly, Mo Hua is from a poor Loose Cultivator background. Anyone with a bit of Formation heritage wouldn’t have such poor family circumstances…”
“His elder brother can help the Formation Pavilion draw Formations, so in the Tongxian Gate, he must also have a talent for Formation. I’ve been teaching here for nearly ten years, and I don’t seem to have taught this person…”
“In other Sects? That’s also unlikely; brothers from the same family generally join the same sect, especially since Tongxian Gate is already the largest sect in the city…”
Instructor Yan tapped his fingers on the desk, pondering, then temporarily set these thoughts aside and focused on finishing correcting the Formations.
The next morning, Instructor Yan got up early and found Fatty Steward from Tongming Peak, requesting the origins of the disciples. He found Mo Hua’s entry and saw it read:
Mo Hua: Age 10, Qi Refinement Level 3, mediocre Small Five Elements Spiritual Root…
Father: Mo Shan, Monster Hunter; Mother: Liu Ruhua, Meal Master.
Besides his parents, there were no other relatives; not even an elder brother.
A suspicion formed in Instructor Yan’s mind, but he felt it was improbable.
During the Formation class that morning, Instructor Yan announced additional homework: to draw all the Five Elements Formation Patterns they had learned, due in three days.
The disciples, upon hearing this sudden bad news, looked as downcast as frostbitten eggplants.
Mo Hua, on the other hand, was nonchalant; he had already helped the Formation Pavilion with Formation Painting, so drawing a few Formation Patterns now wasn’t much trouble at all.
But why had Instructor Yan suddenly assigned this homework?
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This didn’t seem like something the Instructor would normally do.
Mo Hua was a bit perplexed.
Then, An Xiaopang came to ask Mo Hua for help.
“Mo Hua, you have to help me!!” An Xiaopang was on the verge of tears.
Who knew why the Instructor had suddenly assigned homework? Normally, it was every few months that assignments were given to test the disciples’ proficiency in formations.
An Xiaopang was caught off guard. He couldn’t draw a single formation pattern and time was tight, so he had no choice but to turn to Mo Hua for help.
To Mo Hua, it didn’t matter; these basic formation patterns were no longer challenging for him at his current level.