Chapter 31

The Spirit Gathering Pattern is significantly more advanced than the Martial Fusion Pattern, constructed from seven basic lines. Therefore, the difficulty of making it is naturally greater than that of the Martial Fusion Pattern. However, with the experience of drawing the array pattern once, Lin Tian felt somewhat more at ease this time when making the Spirit Gathering Pattern, and the failure rate was much lower.

"Hum!"

In the top pavilion, the last completed Spirit Gathering Pattern shimmered with a four-colored glow, radiating a brilliant light.

Each array pattern requires a different ink to be drawn, so different array patterns often exhibit different colors. The more lustrous the color, the more powerful the array pattern; conversely, the weaker it is.

"Phew!"

Lin Tian exhaled a breath, stretching lazily.

Including the time spent comprehending the Spirit Gathering Pattern, he spent four days and managed to create five Spirit Gathering Pattern scrolls in total.

It must be said, his progress was tremendous!

Carefully putting away the five completed Spirit Gathering Pattern scrolls, Lin Tian did not immediately start practicing. Instead, he descended from the top pavilion, took a brief rest, and then entered his room to rest. After four days of intense practice, his energy and spirit were severely drained. If he were to practice now, it would be counterproductive.

As the saying goes, "Sharpening the axe does not delay the cutting of firewood." He was well aware of this principle.

Resting well and feeling refreshed, he could practice more efficiently.

This nap lasted from noon until evening. When he woke up, he washed up carefully and then went to the top pavilion. At this moment, the sky was dotted with stars, and the silver light sprinkled over the earth, appearing sacred and charming.

Lin Tian unfolded a Spirit Gathering Pattern scroll and took out a small jade bottle from his pocket, pouring out a soil-colored pill. This pill was called the Body Tempering Pill, which helped martial artists quickly temper their bodies. Of course, its effect could not compare to the Nine Curves Essence Pill he had taken some time ago.

Carefully placing the pill in his mouth, just like last time, the pill instantly melted upon contact, turning into a liquid that flowed down his throat into his abdomen. Lin Tian felt it briefly; compared to the Nine Curves Essence Pill, this Body Tempering Pill was far inferior in both taste and the concentration of spiritual energy.

However, his body still reacted, generating a slight warmth.

A flash of determination in his eyes, Lin Tian knew he could begin.

He pressed his right hand on the prepared Spirit Gathering Pattern scroll and said in a low voice, "Activate!"

"Hum!"

Instantly, the Spirit Gathering Pattern emitted a faint glow, enveloping Lin Tian in a halo of light.

After a few breaths, Lin Tian clearly felt that the starlight falling from the sky had become several times more concentrated, and the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth was more turbulent, rapidly converging towards him.

"The Spirit Gathering Pattern can rapidly gather starlight and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to the vicinity of the array pattern and compress it, providing the martial artist nearby with the energy needed for cultivation, significantly increasing the speed of cultivation. Truly amazing!"

Lin Tian thought to himself.

Without being careless, Lin Tian quickly activated the Four Extremes Scripture, using true essence to guide the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and starlight into his muscles and bones, repeatedly tempering his muscles and flesh. At the same time, he also activated the Tianyi Soul Technique to train his soul power.

Lin Tian could clearly feel that this practice was much faster than it was a few days ago. The Body Tempering Pill had dissolved in his body, and its power flowed into every corner of his body, blending with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and starlight, greatly enhancing the effect of tempering his muscles and flesh, and his cultivation level gradually increased.

"Following this speed, I will definitely reach the sixth level of Body Tempering within ten days!"

Lin Tian's eyes flashed with determination.

He closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and steadily and quickly guided the power of the pill, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and starlight to temper his body.

Thus, similar practices were repeated over and over again.

Ten days passed in a blink.

On this day, at Qingfeng Ridge...

"Fire Fist!"

In the dense, thorny old forest, a cold voice rang out. Immediately, eighteen crimson fists appeared in the sky, each as large as a bowl, smashing a thick ancient tree to pieces.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

The old forest was filled with vines, and the gaps were very small. However, in such an environment, a figure moved swiftly. As this figure darted through, fire fists occasionally appeared in the air, shattering nearby ancient trees and causing the vines to explode and turn black from the heat.

The speed was incredibly fast!

The strength was overwhelmingly powerful!

These were the best two words to describe the figure at this moment.

"Crack!"

As another ancient tree was shattered, the figure darting through the forest stopped.

This person was Lin Tian.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Lin Tian smiled, quite satisfied.

"Next..."

Lin Tian murmured, his eyes suddenly changing. He reached back with his right hand and gripped the hilt of a magnificent long sword on his back.

Staring at a giant tree ahead, he suddenly moved.

Running quickly forward, he then leaped up.

Whoosh!

A lightning-like sword beam sliced through the air. Lin Tian leaped over the giant tree, his right hand gripping the hilt of the sword on his back. At this moment, the sword was still in the scabbard, seemingly not drawn.

However, at this moment, a faint friction sound was heard, and the giant tree was severed two zhang above the ground, crashing down with a loud thud. If there were people here, they would notice that the cross-section of the severed tree was as smooth as a mirror, with no roughness at all.

Lin Tian turned his head and nodded with a smile.

The second move of the Wind Shock Sword Technique, Lightning Sword, was as swift as thunder, ensuring a fatal strike!

Its power was indeed astonishing!

After a moment, Lin Tian drew the long sword from his back, and a terrifying sword intent spread out.

Clang!

A piercing sword cry echoed as Lin Tian raised the sword in his hand, making a strange arc and slashing down forcefully.

"Wind Shock Sword!"

As the cold voice rang out, silver sword shadows instantly appeared in the air, forming a dense and immortal sword curtain.

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

The sword shadows fell, and crisp sounds continued.

In front of him, ancient trees, vines, and boulders, all visible to the naked eye, were almost completely destroyed. Within a three-zhang radius, the space instantly became a scene of devastation.

"Very good!"

Looking at his achievements, Lin Tian smiled with great satisfaction.

Over the ten days, Lin Tian consumed four Body Tempering Pills and four Spirit Gathering Pattern scrolls, finally reaching the sixth level of Body Tempering. At the same time, he had also brought the Shadow Fire Fist and the Wind Shock Sword Technique to their peak, significantly enhancing his combat power. Lin Tian believed that with his current combat power, he could even challenge a seventh-level Body Tempering expert.

Putting away the long sword, Lin Tian turned and walked towards the Nine Yang Martial Mansion.

"Hmm, it's about time to go to the Array Master Guild for the array master level certification."

Lin Tian muttered to himself.

...

The midday sun was particularly scorching. Lin Tian, wrapped in a black robe, quickly arrived at a grand building after asking some people on the street. Looking up, he saw a large sandalwood plaque at the top of the building, inscribed with five powerful characters... Array Master Guild!

"Here we are, this is the place."

Lin Tian murmured.

Through the black robe, Lin Tian noticed that almost everyone passing by would cast a respectful glance at the guild. Of course, some people's gazes also fell on him, as his attire in such scorching heat was indeed peculiar.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Lin Tian quickly entered the Array Master Guild. As soon as he entered, he immediately felt the air become much cooler, which surprised him.

Many people's gazes fell on him at this moment, most of them with a hint of curiosity.

However, no one said much.

"Hello, may I help you with something?"

A female attendant approached.

Although the attendant found Lin Tian's attire strange, she did not pay much attention. Instead, she smiled warmly. This was the Array Master Guild, and many people who entered and exited had high status, so she could not afford to offend them. Therefore, she would carefully receive anyone who stepped into the Array Master Guild.

"Hello, I'm here for the array master level certification."

Lin Tian was straightforward.

"What?!"

The attendant's eyes widened.

Lin Tian spoke again, "I'm here for the array master level certification."

"You..." The attendant was surprised by the young voice coming from under the black robe and was relieved that her attitude had been good, as the person under the black robe was here for the array master level certification. Whether or not they succeeded, such a person was not someone she could afford to offend. Instantly, the attendant's attitude became respectful, and she bowed slightly, saying, "Please wait a moment, I will immediately inform Lord Ge."

With that, the attendant quickly left.

Lin Tian looked around the Array Master Guild and noticed a large stone plaque nearby, inscribed with dense small characters, all related to array masters. Since he was here for the array master level certification, Lin Tian did not mind learning more about array masters and read the inscriptions.

"Array masters, whose life and weapon are array patterns..."

"Array masters are divided into nine ranks from low to high based on their strength..."

"Array masters from the first to the fifth rank need to use ink to draw array patterns. The higher the rank, the stronger the array patterns they can draw. Array masters from the sixth to the ninth rank no longer need ink to draw array patterns. Especially the ninth-rank array masters, who can manifest ordinary array patterns, illusionary arrays, and killing arrays with a mere thought, capable of destroying everything with a wave of their hand."

Lin Tian read through the inscriptions, quickly gaining a good understanding of the basics of array masters, including how the Array Master Guild classified their ranks. The process involved an initial assessment, and if successful, the guild would issue a corresponding rank emblem to the array master. The emblem consisted of the Array Master Guild's symbol and the array master's rank. The symbol was a mysterious array pattern, and the rank was indicated by the number of bars below the symbol. One bar represented a first-rank array master, two bars represented a second-rank array master, and so on.

"Prus was a second-rank array master, hmm, in Fengjian City, he is indeed quite strong."

Lin Tian thought to himself.

At this moment, the attendant returned with a green-robed old man.

"Hello, this is Lord Ge of our guild, who will be responsible for your array master certification."

The attendant said respectfully.

Lin Tian looked up and saw that the green-robed old man beside the attendant had a slightly cold expression, appearing very strict. Lowering his head slightly, Lin Tian noticed the array master emblem on the old man's chest, which had two golden bars below the symbol, identical to Prus's.

"Second-rank array master!"

Lin Tian thought to himself.

The green-robed old man looked at Lin Tian, frowning slightly at his peculiar attire. "Name, age."

"Black Robe, sixteen years old."

Lin Tian replied.

He naturally would not use his real name, so he used the pseudonym "Black Robe."

The attendant's eyes widened instantly. Sixteen years old?! She had worked in the Array Master Guild for a considerable time and had seen many people come for certification, the youngest of whom were twenty-eight years old. Now, the person here for certification was only sixteen!

"Nonsense! A mere child, do not cause trouble here!"

The green-robed old man glared at Lin Tian.

At sixteen, coming for array master certification, the green-robed old man saw this as nothing but trouble.

Under the black robe, Lin Tian frowned slightly. "I am not here to cause trouble; I am indeed here for the array master certification."

Hearing this, the green-robed old man's face darkened, and he shouted, "Still trying to argue? Get out!"