Chapter 68: Mathematics and Communion with the Divine

Master Fengyuan smiled and addressed the crowd, saying, “An Zhengqing, step forward.”

“At your command!”

The foremost disciple in the group responded with a clasped fist and walked out.

Bai Qiu pondered, “An Zhengqing?”

Then Bai Qiu retrieved an illustrated book from his universe ring and began to leaf through it.

“Found it!”

Bai Qiu read aloud, “An Zhengqing, ranked eighth among the top ten young experts, last disciple of Master Fengyuan of the Tianyuan Sect, inheritor of the secret arts of Qimen divination, skilled in wielding a set of Five Elements banners, capable of assembling a grand Five Elements formation of unparalleled power.”

Bai Qiu sighed, “My goodness, another top ten. Is the title so cheap these days?”

Top Ten Young Experts Ranking:

First: Leng Lingmeng. Contemporary Saintess of the Xuanyue Palace, inheritor of the art of Wu Xiang.
Second: Bai Chun. Eldest son of Bai Rulie, the renowned scholar, Bai Qiu’s elder brother.
Third: Liao Hongda. Chief of Ba Huang City, inheritor of the body refinement arts.
Fourth: ??? A disciple of the Demon Sect, inheritor of the sword escape technique.
Fifth: Shen Ren. Disciple of the Qianhe Sect, owner of a life-bound flying sword of the fourth realm.
Sixth: Bo Yunxin. Disciple of Yunqing Sect, skilled in swordplay. (Corrupted, removed from ranking)
Seventh: Lei Yazi. Senior disciple of the Leishan Sect, inheritor of the Five Element Thunder.
Eighth: An Zhengqing. Disciple of Tianyuan Sect’s Master Fengyuan, inheritor of Qimen divination.
Ninth: Chang Nian. Disciple of the Guanyin Temple, adept in Buddhist demon-subduing arts.
Tenth: Zi Ying. Last disciple of the rogue master Qianmeng.

The fourth-ranked Demon Sect disciple has never revealed a name, always clad in black wherever they appear, the sword and the person inseparable. Some even suspect that the one appearing across the Twelve Provinces may not be the same individual. Nevertheless, according to the Demon Sect, this person is indeed their disciple, but they are unwilling to disclose the name.

As for the tenth-ranked Zi Ying, her master Qianmeng was once the senior sister of Jinghong, the current Yunqing Sect leader. Qianmeng later left Yunqing Sect to become a lone cultivator, and her true strength remains unknown.

At this stage, the ranking compiled by the scholar is not based on current combat power, since the contemporary young elites have not yet officially faced off. Rather, it is a simple comparison based on their overall abilities and notable deeds.

For instance, Zi Ying earned her place by joining forces with Master Chang Nian three years ago in the East Sea to repel the sea wolves, displaying strength far above the Twelve Provinces’ average, thus securing her spot.

All eyes are now on the martial tournament of Beiyun Mountain three years hence, when nearly all contemporary young experts from the Twelve Provinces will participate. The final ranking will then reflect the true order.

An Zhengqing walked to the center of the hall, clasped his fists, and faced Master Fengyuan. “Master!”

Master Fengyuan nodded. An Zhengqing was his most prized disciple. He then turned to Master Tongpu and spoke slowly, “Tongpu, which disciple will you send?”

Master Tongpu replied calmly, “Jiang Wei, come spar with your senior brother.”

“At your command!”

A voice came from the back row, and everyone turned to look.

A man in gray robes stepped out from the rear, approached An Zhengqing, clasped his fists to Master Tongpu, and then bowed.

Master Fengyuan smiled and said to the two, “Today is our Tianyuan Sect’s union ceremony. You two represent the young experts of our Numerology and Spirit-communing branches. Step into the arena and spar.”

“Yes!”

“As you command!”

Both responded.

Master Fengyuan continued, “In cultivator sparring, injury is inevitable, but you must hold back, do not strike too hard, and absolutely do not harm lives. We must keep the peace. Understood?”

“Yes!” they both answered.

An Zhengqing understood the hidden meaning in his master’s words. Though Master Fengyuan outwardly cautioned restraint, he was subtly permitting An Zhengqing to strike hard if necessary, so long as it wasn’t a serious injury.

An Zhengqing thought, This is Master’s way of letting me build prestige among the sects and my peers, both to suppress the Spirit-communing branch and to give me face.

“Alright, begin. All honored guests, please move to the martial arena.”

The two exited, and the crowd rose, heading outside to Tianyuan Sect’s martial arena.

“Old Sun,” Bai Qiu patted Sun Fanbai ahead and whispered, “Who do you think has the better chance?”

Sun Fanbai considered, then replied, “Personally, I think An Zhengqing has a slight edge. He’s currently ranked among the top ten, and from what I know of Qimen divination, the Numerology branch generally has higher combat power before reaching the minor enlightenment, while the Spirit-communing branch is much harder to cultivate.”

“But…” Sun Fanbai frowned.

“But what?” Bai Qiu asked.

“What concerns me more than their victory is the current direction of events.”

“How so?” said Bai Qiu.

Sun Fanbai replied, “Brother Bai, don’t you feel that although the incident seems complicated, everything proceeds so smoothly—as if someone designed it all?”

Bai Qiu pondered, “I didn’t notice at first, but now that you mention it, it does seem too orderly, as if each step follows a script.”

Sun Fanbai said, “Let’s wait and see. Hopefully nothing major happens.”

In a moment, the group arrived at the martial arena.

The arena was open-air, with several platforms made from special hard stone for daily sparring among disciples. Each platform was surrounded by transparent barriers to prevent spells and techniques from harming spectators.

An Zhengqing and Jiang Wei now stood facing each other in the arena.

“Begin!” Master Fengyuan ordered.

At the command, the two instantly retreated several steps and assumed battle stances.

An Zhengqing drew a white banner from his universe pouch, waved his hand, and the banner flew out, hovering before him.

He formed a spell with his fingers, chanted, and pointed at the banner.

The banner split into two, then three, then four, then five—five banners, colored red, yellow, blue, brown, and green, now circling around An Zhengqing.

“That’s the Five Elements Banner!”

A knowledgeable disciple exclaimed.

“Five Elements Banner? Senior An brings it out right away—seems he’s wary of Jiang Wei.”

“Nonsense, how could Senior An fear an unknown from the Spirit-communing branch! I think he’s simply going all out from the start to crush his opponent in a few moves and show Tianyuan Sect’s strength before all the visiting sects!”

Beneath the platform, disciples whispered among themselves.

Master Fengyuan’s eyes narrowed, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

“By the way, who exactly is Jiang Wei?” a disciple asked nearby.

“This…” the crowd was unsure.

Someone said, “Never heard the name Jiang Wei before. In fact, none of the Spirit-communing branch disciples are well-known, and even Master Tongpu has been low-key lately.”

“Then this fight is probably decided.”

“Hush, quiet, look—Jiang Wei is moving.”

The chatter ceased as everyone looked up at Jiang Wei on the platform.

Jiang Wei joined his hands, closed his eyes, and murmured something.

He chanted softly, “The heavens are round, the earth is square, the decree of nine chapters, head atop the Eight Trigrams, feet on the Big Dipper.”

“A radiance above, a thousand feet tall, body clad in Eight Trigrams. Fuxi grants me the innate diagram, King Wen shields my body. Six Ding, Six Jia divine generals! Transform and protect me!”

“Divine weapon, urgency as the law decrees!”

As he finished, Jiang Wei’s body shone with golden light, which surrounded him and finally formed the shape of a divine general, enveloping his entire figure.

The golden spiritual armor was over three meters tall.

Sun Fanbai’s eyes lit up. “Brother Bai, this is the Spirit-communing branch’s summoning art, using secret techniques to call upon divine power for battle. Jiang Wei’s current form somewhat resembles your Bai family’s Talisman Escape technique—both form spiritual armor around the body for protection.”

Bai Qiu nodded, then shook his head. “My family’s Talisman Escape uses talismanic power to summon the Four Divine Beasts, allowing me to clad myself in spiritual armor or fight independently.”

During Bai Qiu’s first sparring with Shi Qi, he transformed the White Tiger Talisman into armor. In the second bout with Liao Hongda, he used blood sacrifice to activate the White Tiger and Vermilion Bird talismans for separate combat.

Bai Qiu said, “The Spirit-communing branch’s summoning seems to use one’s own true energy, combined with accumulated faith, to call upon divine power. Look at the spiritual armor—its aura and true energy are impressive. My Talisman Escape can’t reach that level.”

Sun Fanbai nodded. “I suspect this summoning art has drawbacks. First, the faith needed requires years of accumulation and genuine devotion. Second, I don’t know how long the summoning lasts or what burden it places on the user’s body. We’ll have to observe.”

Bai Qiu nodded.

As they spoke, An Zhengqing and Jiang Wei began their first direct clash.

Jiang Wei stomped the ground and charged at An Zhengqing with blinding speed.

He reached out, and the spiritual armor mimicked his movement, grabbing a golden sword from thin air and slashing at An Zhengqing.

An Zhengqing frowned, sensing the powerful true energy of Jiang Wei’s armor. He quickly formed a spell, and the Five Elements banners spun around him, then fell to the ground, each moving to a position and forming a formation diagram.

As Jiang Wei’s golden sword was about to strike, a stone wall suddenly appeared before An Zhengqing, blocking him.

With a swift slash, the golden sword cleaved the wall in two, but An Zhengqing remained unharmed, taking cover behind the wall and forming another spell.

Jiang Wei’s strike failed, and as he prepared for another, he suddenly felt a surge of heat behind him. Turning, he saw a massive fire dragon rushing toward him.

Jiang Wei raised his arm to block, and the fire dragon collided with his golden spiritual armor, flames scattering. He swept his right hand, extinguishing the fire.

Their first exchange ended in a draw, evenly matched.