The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Under the curious gaze of all his students, Li Lang proceeded to draw a formation right then and there in the middle of the stadium. He drew it on a large piece of cloth that he placed on the ground. Each stroke was carefully drawn using his fingers. Formation techniques were different from all the other crafts in that they could be done without tools. All that was needed was ley lines to manipulate.

With his eyes closed as he drew, Li Lang was lost in the world below. Countless tiny strands of energy came together to form the large ley line that ran through Star Point Island. He would make careful incisions to draw upon those streams of energy, drawing them into the formation.

So far, none of the Star Gem Academy students had mastered a craft yet. Some dabbled in them during their time abroad, but they had yet to truly grasp one of the traditions. That's why they carefully watched their headmaster work as they discussed in low voices.

Li Lang didn't make them wait long. A formation with enough room for one person to step on was soon complete.

"Thank you for your patience, everyone," he projected his voice while wearing a satisfied smile. "You can now step into this formation and experience my new work. Before long, I'll be sure to set several up around the campus, but you should get a feel of how it works now, first."

His words only caused the students to exchange looks, prompting Wei Ping to clear his throat.

"Form a line i-in front of me," he said as he stepped up beside Li Lang.

The concise instruction got everyone moving. Satisfied that the students knew what to do, Wei Ping decided to be the first one to step into the formation.

Almost instantly, he found his surroundings had changed. He was no longer on the field within the stadium, but standing in the middle of the ocean. The strange part was how he hadn't channeled his Qi to do anything, and yet he was stepping on water. It allowed him to quickly realize that he had been caught in an illusion!

Closing his eyes, Wei Ping began channeling the technique the trio had gone over ever since their time at the Dark Sea Arena. He observed the flow of Qi within his meridians and found the disruptions within them. Dispelling the effects, he then found himself back in reality and stepped off the formation.

He kept his expression neutral and nodded toward Li Lang, but chose to say nothing. His silence made the people in line behind him uncomfortable.

"Next!" Li Lang shouted, forcing the next person to step into the circle.

It was their student, Xiao Dong, his time. To the onlookers behind him, his actions were identical to Wei Ping's. He simply stepped into the formation for a second before stepping off.

However, Li Lang nodded as he observed the results. He took note of the results, as every senior student had their turn.

Some had been frustrated by what they had experienced, while others were deep in thought.

By the time the last person was done, Li Lang clapped his hands together to draw their attention.

"Everyone has had a chance to step into the formation now. Most of you should have realized what it is by now, so to confirm, yes, this is a simple illusion formation." Li Lang paused as he glanced at his audience's reactions before continuing. "Now, you may be wondering why in the world I am making such a big deal about it. At first glance, you wouldn't think of it as anything special, and you'd be right. It's not."

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"Then why—" Long Yi tried to ask, only for Li Lang to raise a hand to silence him.

"I'm getting to it. The reason why I have been working on it isn't because I have discovered an innovative formation, but a different approach to the existing ones. From what we've seen, other sects and organizations seem to use illusion formation to either defend critical areas or as an arena for tests and events."

He took a pregnant pause to let his listeners recall their own experiences.

"However, I see a lot of untapped potential left to be uncovered for both internal and commercial use. For internal use, I would like to instate a bunch of tailored illusion formations to help us train. I'm sure there are some people out there who may do this already, but instead of just combat, we will be using it for much more."

"Much mor-more?" Wei Ping muttered loud enough to reach everyone's ears.

Li Lang turned to him and nodded.

"Yes. Most classes that don't involve intricate Qi control will probably benefit from it, as it'll allow us to simulate any environment we would like. Think of it as an on-command visual aid. Instead of listening to us describe how certain Qi arts are utilized, we can create an illusion to demonstrate the actual moves. Students studying alchemy will be able to watch a proper alchemist go through the steps and so on. I would've liked for it to do more, but the state of being under an illusion doesn't make it conducive to practicing Qi arts. After all, you'll actually standing still in reality."

It would be a lie that Li Lang only recently thought of using illusions like the virtual environment of his old world. Ever since he encountered it, he had pondered about their similarities. Creating formations that were flexible in displaying what you wanted was the main challenge, but for his purposes, it was acceptable to sacrifice quality for flexibility. It didn't matter that his students knew it was fake.

"What a-about commercial use, then?" Wei Ping asked, as he tilted his head.

It truly puzzled him how something like this could be commercialized when any formation master could likely replicate it. As Li Lang had said, what he had wasn't any innovation, but just a different way to make use of it. All the quick-witted students had the same doubts. They all cast a questioning gaze at their headmaster.

"That is all thanks to a recent realization I had. We won't be selling any training illusion formation, of course. Other sects may already have them or have found them unsuitable. Instead, I believe there's a way to open up a new market, allowing us to profit from these formations without stepping on the toes of any existing parties."

Li Lang grinned as he enjoyed his audience's anticipation. He began laying out another cloth on the ground to draw another formation. Using a canvas allowed the formation to have some mobility, only requiring a formation master to fine-tune it when being relocated or the use of spirit crystals to power it if they weren't near any ley lines. The latter method could be used by anyone, and not just formation masters.

As much as the spectators hated how he kept them waiting, they didn't dare to disturb him. However, the formation this time took much longer, causing the students to begin whispering to each other as they grew bored. Hearing this, Li Lang continued his explanation as he worked.

"This new formation I'm working on is a little more complicated than I'd like. Complicated not in its technical aspect, but in the creative part of it. I'm curious, though. Have any of you ever watched a play before?"

The backgrounds of the students were varied in that some came from poor families or were orphans, while some were from wealthy clans. Naturally, everyone's gaze wandered over to those who were born with a silver spoon, as only they could afford luxuries such as going to see plays.

It meant Wu San, Chu Qinghe, and Shi Yan were put on the spot. Their peers' gaze unnerved them. The two girls drew closer to each other while Wu San stood forward with a sigh.

"I guess you can say I have. Why do you ask Teacher Li?"

"Come. Tell me about the most famous play you know."

The young man nodded and began telling the well-known stories he had seen when his parents had taken him to the big cities. People thought Li Lang simply wanted someone to entertain them while they waited, but some soon realized the pace at which he drew the formation hastened. He practically finished at the same time as Wu San's story.

"Okay, done," he muttered. "How about it, Wu San? Would you like to relive that story you just told? Feel free to tell me if you can spot any flaws."

Before he could respond, Wei Ping stepped forward.

"B-Boss, you're trying to sell reenactments of plays?!"