Don't Mess with that Turtle

The middle-aged man paid no mind to Feng Yaya's astonishment. He found a stone to sit on, crossing his legs.

"Some of you may know me, some may not. I am Qiu Tong, the Formation Tutor from Li Nan Yuan, hailing from Huayang Peak."

Besides the Seven Veins, Qingyuan Gate also has places like the Law Enforcement Hall, Jing'an Hall, and Foreign Affairs Hall. They are not separate branches but departments formed to manage the sect, made up of disciples from the Seven Veins, each with their responsibilities.

Li Nan Yuan specializes in teaching new disciples, covering everything from reading and writing to the basics of cultivation. Only after passing assessments in Li Nan Yuan can one choose a vein based on their strengths, to become an apprentice.

Graduating from Li Nan Yuan and joining one of the Seven Veins marks the beginning of being an official disciple of Qingyuan Gate.

Yu Lin, who had taught Su He the basics of Talisman Runes for two days, was a tutor from Heavenly Secret Pavilion in Li Nan Yuan.

Qiu Tong's introduction was brief. After stating his name, he gestured for the other juniors to sit down and looked around at everyone with satisfaction nodding his head.

This batch had no troublemakers.

"Normally, Li Nan Yuan only starts teaching after the first snow, but this year the climate within Qingyuan Gate's domain has been unusual, with no sign of when the snow might come. To avoid delaying everyone's learning, the course was brought forward to after the frost descended. Speaking of which, you have the fortune of learning for ten more days."

After a couple of opening remarks, he went straight to today's lesson, cleared his throat, and said in a clear voice, "Formation is the world!"

"Everything you see before you is a formation. Every mountain, every river, every blade of grass, and every tree forms a formation by itself. The wind blowing through mountains, the sound of water striking stone—the world has forbidden grounds and deadly lands, places where Dragons arise and Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands, all are formations. The ignorant call it geomancy."

Qiu Tong was an engaging lecturer. As soon as he began speaking, Su He was drawn in. He talked expansively about the infinite universe and narrowed it down to the smallest grass and tree, every person and beast.

"Flowers, fish, birds, and beasts, every living being is a complex arrangement of formations, the mouth is the Shengmen, where entry means life, absence means death, the kidney belongs to the resting gate; when water overflows, it spills, when it's lacking, there's deficiency..."

After a set of theories, it truly seemed as if the world was made up of a myriad of formations. Su He always felt that Qiu Tong was spouting nonsense, but it somehow made sense.

Off to the side, Feng Yaya had a vacant look in her eyes and began to nod off, biting her lips and swaying unsteadily. She suddenly banged her head against Su He's fingernail, waking up abruptly. Looking at Qiu Tong, who was still talking incessantly, she shook her head vigorously to clear it.

"No, it's not okay to waste good time here. Come on Big Turtle, let's go to Heavenly Secret Pavilion." Heavenly Secret Pavilion was best known for crafting Magical Treasures, and it was time to acquire something like a Storage Bag.

She stood up, blatantly and quietly skipping the class, and stumbled out of the half-seated small island, crashing into Qiu Tong's thigh.

Qiu Tong had somehow blocked her path without notice.

"Hey! Whose bold thigh dares block my way!" Feng Yaya clenched her fists, ready to throw a punch.

Qiu Tong burst into laughter, having heard that the Sect Leader's little Princess was immensely strong, a natural at the path of body tempering. Indeed, the rumors were true; this little girl would throw punches at anyone.

"My little girl, body tempering is not almighty. Just swinging your fists won't solve all problems," Qiu Tong said with a sermonizing tone.

Feng Yaya tilted her head, looking him in the eye, "Nonsense! My grandpa said the flesh body is the world, and strength is almighty!"

Feng Yaya's grandfather was the former chief of the Sword Washing Pool, which was extremely fond of swords. However, the old man did not practice swordplay and would always fight with his fists. The little girl must have inherited his predilection.

Mrs. Su was a real Sword Fairy. How did she end up having a child who was such a fist-enthusiast?

Qiu Tong chuckled, "If that's the case, then break out of the formation!" He stepped back, flung out a few small swords, setting up a formation and trapping Feng Yaya inside it.

Since you think fists are more useful than formations, I'll use a formation to trap you. Let's see how you can get out!

This was an Illusion Array!

For some reason, Su He could tell at a glance. It seemed that his eyes had evolved some special abilities after the last deep sleep.

Inside the Illusion Array was a mortal street, filled with all kinds of delicacies: steamed lamb, bear's paws, deer tails, roast duck, and suckling pigs...

The aroma was mingling and struck the nostrils.

Feng Yaya succumbed.

Qiu Tong looked at his students and raised his chin.

See? Just a few small swords were enough to create a minor illusionary array that trapped the Sect Leader's cherished daughter inside.

Feng Yaya ate her way from one end of the street to the other, patting her round belly, then shouted to the outside, "I've finished eating, thank you for the hospitality, I want to come out now!"

?

She wasn't fooled by the Illusion Array? What had she been eating all this time? Feng Yaya looked around the streets but didn't know where to begin.

Qiu Tong shook his head, turning to the other students, "This is the beauty of formations; even if you know you're within one, if you can't break it, you can't get out..."

The words had not yet finished leaving her lips when Feng Yaya breathed onto her little fist and hammered it into the ground.

"Boom!" A loud noise followed, and half of the small island collapsed.

The illusion array dissolved with the punch.

Feng Yaya emerged, greeted by the dumbfounded expressions of her staggering sect mates.

Qiu Tong was utterly baffled.

Feng Yaya lifted her little face with pride: "I'm out!"

See, isn't the fist all-powerful?

Qiu Tong was bewildered for a moment: "Wait, hold on. This is an exception! There are countless formations in this world that your fist cannot break. What will you do then?"

Feng Yaya tilted her head and thought: "Two fists?"

"Pah!" Who's talking about how many punches?

"What if you encounter a formation that can't be broken with fists, like now?"

He pointed sharply, and a small sword flew from the ground, quickly forming an array around Su He.

A mist rose, obscuring everything from the outside in.

"This time it's not just an illusion array. There's a killing intent within the formation. If you can't break the formation in half an hour, your turtle will surely be damaged. How will you break the formation then?"

Still with your fist? Another punch to the formation might not break it, but it could kill the big turtle instead.

Qiu Tong crossed his arms and stood with a smile.

Feeling refreshed, exhilarated!

He was smiling when he saw Feng Yaya clench her fists, squinting her eyes maliciously at him.

If she couldn't break the formation, she would beat up the person who set it up! It's almost the same.

Qiu Tong: …

He drew two spirit talismans in the air and threw them into the formation, linking himself and the formation together: "You see, now I am the formation. Attacking me is like attacking the formation. The turtle inside could very well be killed by your punch..."

Before he could finish the word "killed", the fog churned, and a giant turtle emerged from it, unruffled.

???

Qiu Tong's eyes were bulging in disbelief.

What is going on with all of you?! I can understand Feng Yaya breaking the small island and the formation with one punch, but you, an old turtle, how can you just stroll out so effortlessly?!

The students behind him were looking at him with skeptical eyes. Were they doubting his abilities as a formation master?

Su He blinked innocently.

It was still an illusion array, one that couldn't block his vision!

This time the evolution was clearly not just physical enhancement; it had begun to develop towards the "divine and unusual".

Looking at the illusion array through the turtle's eyes was like looking at an overlay.

Or, it was like looking at the world through patterned glass. Although he could see the patterns on the glass, he knew the world behind it, obscured and not very clear, was the real one.

The harder he tried to look, the clearer the real world became.

If he could see clearly, wasn't walking out just a matter of course?

As for the patrolling flying swords, just avoid them.

It's just that your formation is too weak. Look at the formation that Su Huanian set up around the pool; Su He couldn't see through it. There is a long way to go, no room for slack.

Qiu Tong panted heavily, taking a good while to squeeze a few words through his clenched teeth: "Dismissed!"