The Genius Who Finds It Easy
"I found it easy, though?"
"Young Miss Baek, please get some rest."
"Yes, thank you."
After exchanging farewells, Jin Wi departed. Perhaps it was due to the disappointment of touring the formation schools all day, but he felt strangely exhausted. Even his steps toward his quarters inside the guest pavilion felt heavier than usual.
"Sigh."
As soon as Baek Cheong entered her quarters, she settled down in front of the tea table. She took a small Jade Slip out of her Jeomuldae and placed it on the table. It was the introductory formation Jade Slip that the formation master who had overseen the Unmi Hwanjin had given her. While she toyed with the slip with her fingertips, her mind drifted back to the events at the formation pavilions she had visited throughout the day.
"What a truly dull day."
When she had first stepped onto Jinmun Peak, a corner of her young heart had been filled with anticipation. She had assumed that by comparing the formations of the various masters, she might find something worth learning. But as she moved from one pavilion to the next, that expectation had slowly dissipated. Most of the formation masters claimed to have spent their entire lives dealing with formations, yet not one of them had ever unraveled the principles of a formation with their own heads. They only knew the method of learning the Formation Atlas passed down through their school via Jade Slips, engraving the Character-patterns they didn't even understand into the Formation Eye, and injecting Spirit Qi. It was essentially just memorizing and operating pre-made formations as they came to hand.
"So, in the end, they're just memorizing and using them."
Of course, even memorizing and operating standardized formations required some degree of understanding. Even if one copied the Character-patterns onto paper exactly, the formation wouldn't activate on its own; one had to learn how to flow the Spirit Qi and what balance to strike between the patterns. Still, memorized formations could not compare to handling the Character-patterns oneself. If one knew the usage of the Character-patterns, one could deploy formations as one pleased. It was possible to create various formations depending on the situation, or even add new effects by slightly twisting the structure of an existing one. On the other hand, standardized formations had to be deployed exactly as memorized. If there wasn't a useful formation, one had no choice but to buy a Formation Atlas or borrow a Jade Slip from a master of another school.
"No, is it even logical for people called 'formation masters' not to know Character-patterns?"
Occasionally, there were masters who held lectures on the principles of formations. Out of curiosity, she had stopped to listen. The content of the lecture did touch upon the principles of formations to a certain extent. They realized that the Character-patterns drawn in the Formation Atlas formed the skeleton of the formation. However, that was merely noticing the existence of the Character-patterns; there was no understanding of their usage, or how they gathered and flowed Spirit Qi. In the end, she hadn't met a single master who had realized the nature of the Character-patterns and handled them personally.
"These people are 'formation masters'?"
Given this situation, the number of formations a master could operate was equal to the number of formations they had memorized. Fortunately, there were more than enough Formation Atlases passed down in the cultivation world. She had heard that there were well over ten thousand standardized formations at the first-tier level alone.
"What is this, a rote memorization subject?"
Since they had memorized over ten thousand formations without understanding the Character-patterns, they were generally not lacking when it came to responding to sect affairs or outside requests. As a result, not all masters reached the same level. There were those who had learned many formations and operated them freely, while others had barely managed to learn a couple. It was no different from other arts. It wasn't as if every cultivator was smart just because they had Spirit Roots. Thanks to their roots, they were merely born with greater spiritual ability than ordinary people. They were certainly not born with smart brains.
"If they were that smart, there wouldn't be any stupid cultivators."
It was, at best, a fantasy that ordinary people had created about cultivators. Even if a cultivator had the talent of Spirit Roots, in an art like formations that required academic knowledge, the brain ultimately had to keep up. Consequently, there weren't many cultivators who could learn the art of formations. It was common for them to struggle with a Formation Atlas in their hands, barely manage to realize one or two formations, and then take the seat of a formation master.
"There's just no answer."
The conclusion she had reached after touring several schools was converging into one. Among the masters, there was no one who handled Character-patterns directly. The majority hadn't even noticed the existence of Character-patterns, and the number of masters who vaguely knew of their existence was extremely small.
"Sigh."
Baek Cheong let out a small sigh, her gaze fixed on the tea table. Since Biun Sect was the only great sect in the southern continent, she had assumed there would be some depth to their formations. Even if there wasn't a master who handled Character-patterns, she had guessed there would at least be some opinions that seriously unraveled their usage.
"In the end, being a 'formation master' is just a path of copying and using formations without knowing the Character-patterns."
The disappointment that had filled a corner of her small heart was naturally shifting toward the desire for Moomyeongbang. It was most refreshing to vent this frustration in front of the Moomyeongbang users.
"I should go stir up some chaos."
Baek Cheong rose from her seat and lay down on the bed. Then, she moved her Divine Sense to connect to Moomyeongbang. Because she hadn't connected for several days, a pile of notifications popped up. But she needed a place to vent the disappointment that had filled her heart. She moved her Divine Sense and wrote a new post on the general discussion board.
[Can you even call yourself a formation master if you don't know Character-patterns?]
The newly written post luckily drew the attention of the users.
The formation master users who had been lingering in Moomyeongbang came out in droves to leave replies. "No, even the Moomyeongbang users..." There were quite a few users who had supported the formation faction in the cultivation-art debate who were also leaving replies, but their understanding of Character-patterns was no different from the Biun Sect masters.
She let out a small sigh as she looked at the replies that kept coming. "You can find it with a little searching, so why don't they know this?" It felt like the frustration she had intended to relieve through trolling was only piling up. Just as she was about to explode at the countless "finger-princes"—no, the "clueless beggars"—
A familiar user's reply appeared. It was Dou(33.3), who had once tried to scam her with a Formation Atlas and had been severely dealt with. There was no way Dou(33.3) could keep his mouth shut on a bait post discussing Character-patterns.
"Hehe... Character-pattern Dou."
Baek Cheong finally felt at ease now that a user who knew about Character-patterns had appeared. However, she felt strangely sorry for him. Even though he was a user who had tried to scam her and been severely dealt with, his persistent clinging to the bait of Character-patterns on Moomyeongbang was somehow pitiful.
"Just for today."
Baek Cheong replied for the first time, as if doing him a favor.
As soon as the reply was posted, Dou(33.3) also replied quickly.
In the end, Dou(33.3) collapsed without even being able to write a coherent sentence. "...He won't come looking for me, right?" She had given him a reply, and he was showing a bizarre appearance. The other users who were watching that scene also left replies.
Soon, Baek Cheong withdrew her interest from Dou(33.3), who had ignored her sincerity. He might come looking for her lower realm if things went wrong, but she wasn't worried. "If he hasn't even learned Character-patterns, how could he cross the realm boundary?" She left Moomyeongbang behind with well-founded confidence. It was short, but her desire to troll had been sufficiently satisfied.
"Today was fruitful, too."
Baek Cheong withdrew her Divine Sense and left Moomyeongbang. Then, while rolling around on the bed, she looked at the Jade Slip she had left on the tea table.
"But who made the Unmi Hwanjin?"
A pure question suddenly raised its head. The underlying formations were highly likely to have been made in the ancient era, but if it was a formation specialized for Biun Sect like the Unmi Hwanjin, it was highly likely to have been made recently. Of course, "recently" meant since the founding patriarch, so she had to assume at least ten thousand years, but compared to the ancient era, it was close.
"Even so, it's just a level of variation."
She thought that perhaps the lord of Jinmun Peak might be different. Since he was a Nascent Soul great cultivator and a quasi-fifth-grade formation master, the more she thought about it, the more convinced she became. However, she had no connection to him, and it would look strange to go and ask him.
"Well, it has nothing to do with me."
What was important was that she had prepared a guise where it would be fine to handle formations naturally. It seemed she could just take her time and slowly reveal her prominence. Above all, she had decided to stop by the Crafting Peak early tomorrow and then watch the opening ceremony of the martial contest.
"Finally."
Baek Cheong was eagerly awaiting the Cloud-Riding Technique, a movement technique that was fine even if she was physically clumsy. Of course, combining it with the Rain-Calling Technique to shower people with rain was just a bonus. If she did well, she could even make lightning strike.
"I have to be careful with this."
Handling Lightning Qi was not common, so it wasn't a talent she could reveal carelessly. Especially since the Pacheon Sword Sovereign had also asked her to ensure her safety.