Chapter 137 Li Fan Begins His Apprenticeship [First Order Request! ]

Li Fan had a premonition that if an ordinary Cultivator at the Late Qi Refining Stage forcibly read the contents of the "Mountain and River Vein Array Diagram."

Then the surging information flow within it would, without a doubt, cause his brain to explode.

Even if Li Fan's mental strength was higher than that of an average Cultivator, his fate might not be much better.

He immediately withdrew his Divine Sense and solemnly placed it into his storage ring.

"How is your Formation study progressing?" Gong Boyu asked casually.

Li Fan pondered for a moment: "Junior has studied for two years and gained a little. But as for the specific extent of my mastery, Junior does not know."

Gong Boyu said: "That's easy!"

Then he took out a small, completely black orb and threw it over: "Just separate a wisp of your Divine Sense and enter it."

Li Fan examined the black orb, which seemed to have stars flowing on its surface, and then did as instructed.

In an instant, Li Fan felt as if he was in a pitch-black tunnel.

His thoughts were like a roller coaster, sliding rapidly through the tunnel.

One by one, Formation Dao questions came crashing towards him, and Li Fan instinctively responded in an instant.

If he knew and the answer was correct, the speed of his thoughts' slide would be accelerated again.

If he did not know or responded incorrectly, the speed of his thoughts' slide would be reduced.

This feeling of having his thought speed magnified a hundredfold was somewhat similar to the enlightenment within the tianxuan mirror.

But it was much more miraculous.

After some time, Li Fan felt his thoughts getting slower and slower, finally coming to a complete stop.

He was expelled from the black orb.

Gong Boyu took back the black orb and looked at the faint, almost invisible speck of light on it, then looked at Li Fan with an incredulous gaze: "You really studied for two years?"

Li Fan's expression remained unchanged: "Indeed."

After a moment of silence, Gong Boyu kindly comforted him: "The Dao of Formation truly depends too much on talent. It's normal for your progress to be slow. No need to mind it."

Li Fan deeply agreed, nodding slightly.

Who knew, Gong Boyu's words angered another Cultivator present.

"What kind of nonsense is that? The Dao of Formation lies solely in diligence! Your Formation Dao talent, Gong Boyu, is high, but do you dare say your understanding of Formation surpasses mine?"

Li Fan looked over and saw that the speaker had snow-white hair, but his eyes were filled with a sharp glint that made people dare not look directly at him.

"Brother Zhiliang, don't be so irritable. I was just comforting a Junior, just saying it casually. Why be so serious? On Wanxian Island, who doesn't know that Zhang Zhiliang is number one in Formation?" Gong Boyu was a bit helpless.

"The Dao of Formation is about utmost diligence and truth; how can one speak carelessly!" Zhang Zhiliang snorted coldly, clearly disagreeing with Gong Boyu's words.

He turned his head and looked at Li Fan seriously: "Young man, you must not be discouraged. You should know, when I first started learning Formation two years ago, the spirit awareness orb's test results were even worse than yours!"

"For five hundred years, I have almost devoted all my time to studying Formation, learning and progressing little by little. Only then did I gain my current understanding of the Formation Dao. Diligence can compensate for clumsiness, and this is even more true for the Dao of Formation."

"Although the world's Formations are said to have infinite variations, the commonly used patterns among them are limited in number, and can be mastered by human effort."

"If you diligently study, without slackening or giving up. After several hundred years, who knows if you won't become a Great Master of Formations?"

Upon hearing this, Li Fan's expression was solemn: "Thank you, Senior, for your guidance. Junior will definitely keep it in mind."

After Zhang Zhiliang finished speaking, he gradually calmed down.

He scrutinized Li Fan for a moment, then slowly continued: "Although diligence can compensate for clumsiness, having a Master to guide you is also extremely important."

"When I first taught myself Formation, I deeply understood the difficulty of exploring on my own."

Zhang Zhiliang pondered for a moment: "I see your Heart-Nature is steady, neither arrogant nor impatient. Quite similar to how I was back then."

"This Incomplete Manual of the 'Mountain and River Vein Array Diagram' from He Zhenghao has also greatly benefited me. You brought the Incomplete Manual, so I owe you a favor."

"…"

He slowly asked: "I wonder, are you willing to stay by my side and learn Formation?"

Gong Boyu, hearing this from the side, quickly prompted: "Why don't you thank Master Zhang!"

Li Fan was also extremely delighted in his heart and quickly bowed in salute.

Zhang Zhiliang calmly accepted Li Fan's bow, then continued: "Let me be clear first, I do not wish to take Disciples. So there will be no Master-Disciple relationship between us."

"My unique Formations that I created, naturally, I will not teach them to you."

"I am only responsible for truly guiding you into the Dao of Formation. I will not hide any insights or experiences."

"With various busy chores, I can only spare time to guide you."

"I am meticulous in my daily work and extremely strict with others. If I find you slacking or being negligent, I will ruthlessly expel you."

…

Zhang Zhiliang laid out a series of conditions that sounded strict but were, in fact, reasonable.

Finally, he asked again: "Given this, are you willing to stay by my side and learn Formation?"

Li Fan put away the surprise in his heart and calmed down.

He bowed again towards Zhang Zhiliang and slowly said: "Junior is willing."

Zhang Zhiliang looked at Li Fan's performance and stroked his beard with satisfaction.

"Good, diligence knows no specific time."

"Learning Formation, begins today!"

With that, Zhang Zhiliang grabbed Li Fan, and with a flash of his figure, disappeared from the conference room.

Gong Boyu and the other Formation Great Masters exchanged glances, all revealing a wry smile.

…

Li Fan followed Zhang Zhiliang, and in an instant, arrived in a starry sky.

All around was pitch black, with countless twinkling stars in the background.

"Do you know what Formation is?" Zhang Zhiliang asked.

Li Fan was about to answer, thought for a moment, and finally shook his head: "Disciple does not know."

"Formation is standardized Law."

Zhang Zhiliang said word by word.

"Burning, freezing, lightning…"

"These are all natural phenomena existing in heaven and earth, and what supports their occurrence and operation are the various Laws of heaven and earth."

"Laws are eternal and unchanging. Well, with the exception of certain special circumstances…"

"Cultivators, in their cultivation, often observe and comprehend the Laws of heaven and earth."

"And Formation is the standardized, mechanized, and formalized process of applying Laws."

…

During Zhang Zhiliang's narration, the door to the Dao of Formation slowly opened to Li Fan.

Li Fan was deeply immersed in it, unaware of the passage of time.

In the blink of an eye, it was the 20th year of anchoring.

Congyun Sea.

Zhang Haobo stood in mid-air, looking up.

"Is your dying blow about to come?"

In his memory, in the previous life, a terrifying wind disaster would occur soon after.

Its power was so strong that it changed the color of heaven and earth.

More than two hundred islands, including Dayu Island, were flattened, and countless Mortals returned to the sea.

Compared to this terrifying wind disaster, the storm he was currently manipulating was pitifully weak.

But…

He, Zhang Haobo, the Rebirth, the Son of Destiny, the favored one of Congyun Sea.

Was about to perform the act of a snake swallowing an elephant, and then…

Herd the wind!

Overlook Wanxian!

Thank you to all the readers for your rewards and monthly votes. I'll organize the list tomorrow. I've been writing all day today, and my brain is fried. Tears in my eyes.