In the silent room, Wen Ling's face was expressionless, his eyes calmly watching the young man in front of him. The young man had his eyes tightly shut, and on his right hand, dark spiritual energy continuously fluctuated, seemingly condensing into a shape.
Wen Ling stared at the young man, then after a moment, let out a soft sigh, lamenting inwardly. Mu Chen had been in this state for about an hour, which was far from what was expected.
Normally, scholars with some talent in spirit formations could forge their first spirit seal within about half an hour of their first attempt at sensing and refining it. A few with exceptional talent could do it even faster.
However, Mu Chen had been sitting there for an hour and still hadn't forged his first spirit seal. Such slow sensing could only be described as incompetence, causing Wen Ling to sigh regretfully. Of course, he had heard how astonishing Mu Chen's talent in cultivating spiritual energy was, but that talent couldn't be applied to learning spirit formations.
Although he felt regret, Wen Ling didn't dwell on it. Such situations were not uncommon; many geniuses excelled in spiritual energy cultivation but had no talent in other fields. This world was quite fair.
Another half an hour passed like this. Finally, he slowly opened his eyes, yet there was still no spirit seal condensed in his palm. This made Wen Ling even more perplexed. Was he so incompetent that he couldn't even condense the first spirit seal?
"What's going on?" Wen Ling asked. "Why can't you even condense one spirit seal? Are you distracted?"
Wen Ling frowned, his face stern.
Hearing this, Mu Chen shook his head in embarrassment, then hesitated slightly before saying:
"It's not that I couldn't condense it," Mu Chen said, "but I don't know if I sensed it incorrectly..."
"Sensed it incorrectly?"
Wen Ling was puzzled.
Mu Chen extended his palm. Darkness stirred, and dark spiritual energy flickered from his fingertips. Immediately, Wen Ling saw a spirit seal slowly appear.
"So, you succeeded."
Seeing this, Wen Ling breathed a small sigh of relief.
But right at that moment, he saw another spirit seal appear on Mu Chen's finger...
"Two?"
Wen Ling frowned again, but this time it was with disbelief.
While Wen Ling was still reeling, the spiritual energy in Mu Chen's hand didn't stop. Darkness condensed again, and another spirit seal appeared... Then two more spirit seals appeared, one after another, on his fingertips.
Five spirit seals!
Wen Ling stared blankly at Mu Chen. Five spirit seals floated above his five fingertips. Wen Ling's mind reeled; he couldn't comprehend it, couldn't believe it.
He couldn't have imagined that Mu Chen could forge five spirit seals on his very first attempt at sensing. Years ago, when Wen Ling first began learning spirit formations, it took him half a month to achieve the same feat, because the more spirit seals there were, the harder they were to condense and control.
Mu Chen saw Wen Ling's stunned expression and could only scratch his head. The spirit seals in his hand swayed and flickered, then chaotically dispersed. He said, a little annoyed:
"Did I sense it incorrectly?"
Although he hadn't yet delved into the knowledge of spirit formation masters, he generally knew a few characteristics and understood how difficult it was to cultivate in the profession. Yet, when he had just condensed the spirit seals, he hadn't felt any difficulty at all. It was as smooth as flowing clouds and water, effortless and fluid, even much smoother than cultivating the Senluo Death Seal.
This surprised him. He wondered if he had done something wrong in the process of refining the spirit seals. Otherwise, how could it have been so smooth?
Wen Ling gradually recovered, his gaze still fixed on Mu Chen, his mouth twitching as he spoke:
"I... I don't think I sensed it wrong."
His voice stammered, and Wen Ling realized it was a little dry. He quickly cleared his throat, then continued:
"It seems your talent as a Spirit Array Master is truly exceptional."
Hearing this, Mu Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief, fortunate...
"Hmph... Although your talent is not bad, you must not become arrogant or complacent. The level of a Grand Spirit Array Master is absolutely not something one can achieve by simply relying on talent."
Wen Ling lectured him in a stern voice.
"Mr. Wen is absolutely right." Mu Chen accepted the lesson. Wen Ling glanced at him, finding his dark pupils as calm as a deep pool, showing no trace of arrogance or self-satisfaction. Truly commendable. This kid, in the future, will surely surpass his father and reach astonishing heights. Domain Lord Mu Feng, you have a truly formidable son.
"You condensed quite a few spirit seals, but your spiritual energy was dispersed and couldn't solidify. That's why they dissipated so quickly just now. Such spirit seals cannot be used to set up spirit arrays."
Perhaps because Mu Chen was polite and not arrogant, Wen Ling's face, usually as stiff as a block of wood, softened slightly. Originally, when facing Mu Chen, he had only intended to go through the motions of his task, teach the boy a little, and complete Mu Feng's assignment. However, Mu Chen's attitude and talent inadvertently sparked a genuine appreciation for his abilities.
Mu Chen looked thoughtful and nodded. The spiritual energy in the spirit seals was indeed too scattered.
"For the next period, dedicate all your effort to refining the spirit seals. Once you can clearly condense those five spirit seals and use them at will, I will teach you how to set up some basic spirit arrays."
"Here, continue your refinement. You need to pay attention to a few points..."
"Thank you, Mr. Wen!"
......
From midday, time quickly flew by. By the time dusk enveloped Mu City, Wen Ling smiled contentedly, watching the young man still engrossed in condensing spirit seals. He quietly stood up and left.
Wen Ling left the room and headed straight for the back hall, where Zhou Ye and Mu Feng were discussing important matters.
"Haha, Mr. Wen, how is that kid's progress? Does he have any aptitude?" Mu Feng saw Wen Ling and quickly asked, his expression showing great concern.
Wen Ling smiled broadly and congratulated him: "Congratulations, Domain Lord. The Young Master's talent in this area is far from weak. At his current speed, he can probably complete the introductory course within 10 days."
Hearing this, Mu Feng immediately sighed with joy, then burst into hearty laughter. "That kid is truly remarkable; he didn't disgrace her."
"Little Mu's talent is truly frightening. It seems it's only a matter of time before he surpasses you." Zhou Ye also smiled brightly, happily joking with Mu Feng.
"Of course, whose son do you think he is?!" Mu Feng laughed heartily with pride, his demeanor even more excited and refreshed than when he had won the struggle against the Liu Domain.
"Ah, has there been any movement from the Liu Domain yet?" Mu Feng changed the topic and asked.
"Yes," Zhou Ye replied, "the scouts reported that Liu City has gathered quite a few experts. It must be that the Liu Domain secretly summoned them."
"Mm." Mu Feng nodded, his eyes narrowed, and his gaze turned sharp.
"Keep a very close watch on them. The moment they make a move, we will immediately dispatch our troops. Heh heh, the Nine Netherbird, we certainly can't just hand it over to them!"
Day after day, Mu Chen spent most of his time condensing spirit seals. His strength had not long reached the late-stage Spirit Movement Realm, and if he used the remaining Spirit Nurturing Pills and Jade Spirit Fruits, he could even try to break through to the Spirit Wheel Realm. However, he wasn't overly greedy and abandoned the idea of 'haste makes waste'. Cultivation required laying each stone firmly, step by step. If one pursued speed too quickly, the losses might outweigh the gains.
Moreover, condensing spirit seals also served to refine his control over spiritual energy, proving beneficial in both aspects.
Under Mu Chen's diligent cultivation, he managed to condense five spirit seals in just five days, and the situation where spiritual energy was unevenly distributed and rapidly dissipated no longer occurred.
When Wen Ling saw Mu Chen condense five spirit seals, he sighed endlessly in his heart. Yet, his expression remained unchanged as he began to teach Mu Chen how to set up basic spirit arrays.
It was at this stage that Mu Chen truly felt the difficulty of becoming a Spirit Array Master. Despite his excellent talent, he repeatedly failed to even construct a sub-Tier 1 minor spirit array, achieving no success whatsoever.
Wen Ling reacted quite normally to his failures. If Mu Chen had truly managed to successfully set up a minor spirit array in just a few days, the old man would probably have coughed up blood from envy and died. Spirit Array Masters in the Northern Spirit Realm would likely react no differently upon hearing the news.
Despite continuous failures, Mu Chen gradually grasped some key points. Half a month later, he successfully set up a minor spirit array.