Chapter 58: Arranging the Formation

Zhang Sanfeng appeared to be walking slowly, but in reality, he was employing a rapid formation-laying technique created by Tang Yi, a method inspired by the depiction of magic circles in television novels. Observing Zhang Sanfeng’s approach, Tang Yi nodded in approval. Zhang Sanfeng was truly a grandmaster and a heaven-sent genius; he was incredibly clever and always knew how to immediately determine the optimal method for any given task.

Zhang Sanfeng paced out the distances with his steps and soon came to a halt. He then leisurely began placing spirit stones on the ground, each location requiring a different number of stones. Meanwhile, He Dong’s forehead began to glisten with fine beads of sweat. His supply of spirit stones was running low, and he had to frequently pause to readjust the placement of his stones. Not everyone possessed the uncanny, effortless skill that Tang Yi displayed when arranging arrays. Just as He Dong placed his final stone, Zhang Sanfeng finished setting his last two. Meglin checked the hourglass; there was little time remaining. Zhang Sanfeng glanced briefly at his formation and stepped away, while He Dong seized the remaining seconds to double-check his work. Finding no errors, he straightened his back and wiped the sweat from his face. Watching He Dong’s actions, Tang Yi’s estimation of him rose a notch.

"Time is up!" Meglin announced loudly as the last grain of sand fell through the hourglass. He looked at Zhang Sanfeng and He Dong and added, "Now, please explain the formations you have laid and demonstrate them. Do either of you have any objections?"

"None," Zhang Sanfeng and He Dong replied in unison.

"Very well. Let us begin with the presentation and demonstration from the Formation Alliance. Please!"

"Right! This formation I have laid is called the Eight Trigrams Protective Array. It utilizes the Eight Trigrams orientation to operate its defense, and it can withstand any attack below the eighteenth level. I shall now activate the formation. I invite a senior of the eighteenth level present here to test it!" He Dong walked to the side of the formation and, forming a sword-finger gesture with his right hand, pointed at a mid-grade spirit stone. A pale blue light shot from his fingertip. As it touched the stone, a hum resonated, and the Eight Trigrams Protective Array was activated. A translucent, pale blue shimmering dome appeared in the middle of the Emperor’s Plaza. The site erupted in thunderous applause, and He Dong bowed to the three sections of the audience.

"Haha, let me try! It looks fancy enough, but I wonder if it’s all show and no substance! Hahaha..." A giant nearly two meters tall leaped from the VIP stand. He was dressed in black, with a massive, heavy, and strangely shaped blade strapped to his back that emanated a greenish glow.

"I await your guidance, Senior!" He Dong was a practitioner of Daoist arts, and since he was only at the thirteenth level, it was fitting to address an eighteenth-level expert as his senior.

The giant unslung his weapon, and Tang Yi finally got a clear look at the strange blade—it was more of a sword with three barbs. "Step back," the giant told He Dong. "It wouldn't do to hurt you." He Dong hurried to Meglin’s side. The giant raised the blade above his head and shouted, "Blazing Fire Sword Technique!" Instantly, the entire blade erupted into red flames, the greenish steel gleaming brilliantly within the fire. "Hah!" The giant swung the flaming blade into a direct collision with the blue light of the Eight Trigrams Protective Array.

*Boom!* A thunderous sound echoed. The light flowing across the dome stuttered for a moment before returning to normal. The giant leaned his blade against the barrier and sighed, "This formation is truly extraordinary. It seems I must work harder to improve my own strength. Farewell!" He strapped his blade back on, bowed to the three of them, and strode away without looking back. Thunderous applause erupted once more. On Dream Blue Star, the Blazing Fire Sword Technique was the most powerful attack of an eighteenth-level warrior; it was safe to say the Eight Trigrams Protective Array had successfully withstood the strongest blow of an eighteenth-level warrior.

"Excellent! The Formation Alliance has explained and demonstrated their array, and it is truly worthy of its reputation. It has brought us all a pleasant surprise. I imagine everyone is looking forward to seeing if the Mysterious Island side can bring us a surprise as well!" Listening to Meglin, Tang Yi thought to himself that it was a pity he wasn't a professional host, though a commander-in-chief of an army certainly needed such eloquence. *Meglin? Could he be related to Megsen?* Tang Yi wondered to himself. He whispered a command, and the espionage function of the spaceship Jet, far away in space, began to hum into action.

Zhang Sanfeng nodded to Meglin and He Dong, then strolled over to his own formation. "This formation is also a defensive one, called the Positive-Negative Protective Array. The name is simple, but its power is decent. I shall activate it now, and I invite Commander Meglin to come up and test it. Please, Commander, do not hold back." Zhang Sanfeng’s voice was not loud, yet everyone present could hear him clearly. The crowd gasped in shock. Inviting Meglin to test the formation meant this array could likely withstand an attack from a twenty-fifth-level master—the level of a Grand Mentor. Many present had witnessed the terrifying power of a Grand Mentor’s attack.

Meglin glanced at Zhang Sanfeng and nodded slowly. Truthfully, Meglin felt an incredibly powerful aura emanating from Zhang Sanfeng, an intuition honed on the battlefield between life and death. Because Zhang Sanfeng had completely suppressed his aura, perhaps no one on Dream Blue Star—save for Tang Yi, Lei Zhenzi, and the ship Jet—could truly discern his actual cultivation level!

Zhang Sanfeng flicked his right hand toward the eye of the formation, and a grain-sized green light flew out and slowly merged into it. After a series of "humming" sounds, a massive light screen appeared, but after a brief shimmer, it vanished from sight.

The "humming" turned into the sound of the audience whispering to one another, wondering if the formation had failed. However, the faces of the Formation Alliance members grew pale. They knew that for a formation to become invisible, it required a level of mastery that only a few rare arrays possessed. It seemed they were destined to lose.

"Commander Meglin, please!" Zhang Sanfeng said nonchalantly.

"Very well! It seems I am in for an eye-opening experience today. Hahaha... Someone, bring me my weapon! Today, I shall see if the Mysterious Island’s formation is as legendary as they say." Given Meglin’s discernment, he naturally did not believe the formation had failed.

Moments later, his subordinates brought him his weapon—a traditional-looking sword, slightly larger than an average blade, but it fit Meglin’s stature perfectly.

As Meglin took hold of the sword, his presence surged. It was as if his level had increased by one simply by having the blade in his hand. He stepped steadily toward the Positive-Negative Protective Array...