The atmosphere in the council chamber suddenly froze at Mu Chen's words. Immediately after, Mu Feng and the others looked at the young boy, still wet behind the ears, with astonished eyes.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Mu Feng frowned and reprimanded.
Wen Ling also frowned slightly. Constructing a Tier 2 Spirit Gathering Array was quite difficult and complex; at the very least, one needed to possess the abilities of a Tier 1 Spirit Array Master to even barely participate. Although Mu Chen had good talent in learning spirit arrays, Tier 1 and beginner level were two completely different stages. How could he take on such a heavy responsibility?
"Hahaha, one cannot casually participate in constructing a Tier 2 Spirit Gathering Array. If an unexpected incident were to occur, the loss of materials would be quite serious for the Mu Territory." A man with thick eyebrows chuckled faintly, clearly thinking Mu Chen was just an arrogant youth.
The other two Spirit Array Masters also nodded in agreement. If even a snot-nosed kid could participate in such an important matter, then what was the point of them being there?
"Mr. Wen, if one can arrange a Tier 1 spirit array, can they then barely be considered a Tier 1 Spirit Array Master?" Mu Chen ignored their words, looking at Wen Ling and asking with a smile.
Wen Ling was startled and said, "Normally, that would be correct..."
"I have successfully arranged the Tier 1 Blazing Flame Array that you gave me." Mu Chen said calmly.
Wen Ling was stunned, jumping up. "What? How?"
"You can arrange the Blazing Flame Array?" The three Spirit Array Masters also looked at Mu Chen with disbelief. They truly couldn't imagine that a naive youth could have reached a realm comparable to theirs.
Mu Feng and Zhou Ye also looked at Mu Chen with extreme shock and surprise. However, the two of them knew their family's children quite well. Mu Chen had never spoken nonsense in front of them. If he said he could arrange the Blazing Flame Array, then the truth was at least 90%.
"You..." Wen Ling recovered his composure, looking at Mu Chen with a mix of surprise and uncertainty, still not quite believing him. He said, "Then try it for me to see."
Mu Chen nodded helplessly, clenching his hand. Dark spiritual power condensed, and fifteen black spirit seals flashed instantly.
"He can already condense fifteen spirit seals...!" The four Spirit Array Masters saw this, and their expressions finally became serious. Some among them could only condense seventeen spirit seals at most, yet this teenage boy could nearly match their abilities. Was this kid a monster Spirit Array Master?
Wen Ling looked at the fifteen spirit seals, the corner of his mouth twitching, speechless. He had almost completely believed Mu Chen's earlier words.
Mu Chen's expression became serious. The fifteen spirit seals on his fingertips dissolved into the air, and his hands rapidly transformed, forming hand seals.
"Boom."
As the hand seals transformed, the temperature in the room gradually rose. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth quickly condensed in the space in front of everyone.
The powerful experts with extraordinary eyesight here immediately saw a complex light array rapidly taking shape with just a glance. Within the array, several flames began to move.
Time passed. After a long while, Mu Chen stopped transforming the hand seals. In the space before him, a blazing spirit array, covering nearly half of the hall, slowly appeared.
Wen Ling looked at the newly formed spirit array with a complex gaze, closed his eyes, and sighed, "It truly is the Blazing Flame Array."
The three Spirit Array Masters were also startled, their eyes wide, forcing out a laugh. A teenager in his teens, a Level 1 Spirit Array Master? This was truly something they had never heard of in their lives. What kind of freak was this young master of the Mu Territory?
Mu Feng and Zhou Ye, however, were different, their eyes filled with joy. Mu Feng stood up and clapped, praising Mu Chen:
"Well done, kid. It seems you've truly inherited your mother's talent."
"Don't disregard my efforts..."
Mu Chen replied with a faint smile. If he hadn't spent this time skipping meals and sleep to research and experiment with the Fiery Flame Array, and gone through countless failures, how could he have successfully constructed this spirit array in such a short time?
Mu Feng smiled and nodded, his eyes filled with joy mixed with pride. The previous anger caused by the Liu Territory's sabotage had completely vanished.
"Elder Wen, what do you think of Mu Chen? Can he be of any help?"
Mu Feng looked at Wen Ling and asked.
Wen Ling pondered for a moment, then said:
"Mu Chen's ability to condense the Fiery Flame Array is indeed genuine, but he has just entered the discipline and cannot truly be considered a Level 1 Spirit Array Master yet. In terms of experience and discernment, he still needs further tempering."
Mu Feng looked at Mu Chen again and nodded in agreement. No matter how good his talent was, experience was not something that came naturally.
Mu Chen sighed, displaying a dejected and gloomy expression.
"Hahaha, but anyway... experience can only be accumulated gradually. Constructing a Level 2 Spirit Gathering Array is also a good opportunity. He is currently barely qualified to participate a little."
Wen Ling looked at Mu Chen's bitter expression and laughed heartily.
Mu Chen raised an eyebrow in surprise, then happily cupped his hands:
"Then I thank Elder Wen."
Wen Ling waved his hand, his eyes showing even more pride towards Mu Chen. How could someone like him not cherish a young man with such talent? He also understood that in the future, it would be difficult for him to guide Mu Chen further, because perhaps in the not-too-distant future, Mu Chen would quickly surpass him. At that time, it would be hard to say who would be seeking guidance from whom.
The three Spirit Array Masters dared not voice any objections upon hearing this, clearly intimidated by Mu Chen's recent display. As Wen Ling had just said, this young lad Mu Chen had only been exposed to spirit arrays for about a month, just starting as a beginner, yet his achievements already threatened to surpass theirs. It was likely that before long, this wet-behind-the-ears youth would become the most formidable Spirit Array Master in the Northern Spiritual Realm.
"Tomorrow, Mu Chen will join us at the Spirit Gathering Array deployment area. First, let him familiarize himself with a few things. After a few more days, we will go all out, alright?"
Wen Ling looked at Mu Feng, seeking his opinion.
"Alright!"
Mu Feng had no objections. As long as it could further Mu Chen's skill in spirit arrays, even if it meant wasting his money, he wouldn't feel any heartache.
With everything decided, Wen Ling and the others chatted with Mu Feng about a few general matters, then bid farewell and left.
"You, kid, should follow Elder Wen Ling closely and learn well tomorrow. Don't think that just because you have talent, you can be arrogant. Cultivating spirit arrays isn't something where talent alone will get you far!"
Mu Feng only sternly admonished Mu Chen after seeing that everyone else had left.
"No matter what, even if your spiritual power cultivation is mediocre, you cannot be casual or ordinary when cultivating spiritual arrays. Otherwise, what face would your mother have?"
Mu Chen rolled his eyes, grumpily glancing at the ceiling, and unconsciously asked,
"Is Mother a powerful Spiritual Array Master?"
"Her spiritual array abilities, let alone in the Northern Spirit Realm, even among the Five Great Academies, I'm afraid there's no one capable of matching her."
Mu Feng sneered.
"That powerful?"
Mu Chen's eyes widened. Spiritual Array Masters in the Northern Spirit Realm were not considered very high-level; most were ordinary. But what kind of place were the Five Great Academies? The extremely powerful Grand Spiritual Array Masters there could probably effortlessly defeat a Divine Soul Realm expert with a flick of their hand. Could his mother really be much more powerful than them?
"But if Mother is that powerful, doesn't that put a lot of pressure on Father?"
Mu Chen suddenly glanced at Mu Feng, teasingly.
"When I first met your mother, she had her strength sealed to an extremely low level for various reasons. At that time, I took care of her like an ordinary weak woman, protected her, and in the end, I almost died for her..."
Mu Feng laughed heartily, a hint of smugness in the corner of his eye, saying,
"I never expected her to be so powerful. But your mother is very gentle; how could she put pressure on me?"
"So you took advantage of her when she was in a difficult situation. Her strength was sealed back then, which must have been when her guard was at its weakest. Otherwise, how could she have taken a fancy to a useless man like Father?"
Mu Chen nodded, feigning understanding.
"You little brat, do you want a beating!"
Mu Feng, embarrassed, became angry, his face flushed with rage as he raised his hand to hit his head. Mu Chen, however, laughed loudly and ran away, leaving his father with a wry smile.
"That brat..."
Mu Feng retracted his hand, then suddenly smiled happily, muttering,
"Jing'er, our son is getting better and better. I think he will definitely surpass you in the future. Perhaps that will be the time for our family to reunite..."
Unconsciously mentioning the deep secret in his heart, his eyes darkened, his hands clenched, and his face turned as cold as ice.
"You look down on me, it doesn't matter! I really don't have that kind of ability. But... I still have a son!"
Early the next morning, before the sun had risen, Mu Chen left his room and then walked to the council hall to meet Mu Feng and Wen Ling, who were already waiting for him.
"Let's go."
Mu Feng saw that Mu Chen had also arrived, gave a faint smile, and led everyone out of the Mu Manor, heading north towards Mu City. There was a large square there, usually used for training guards and soldiers of the Mu Territory. If a Level 2 Spirit Gathering Array could be successfully constructed, it would certainly increase the speed of cultivating powerful experts and also attract more external experts. After all, the benefits of cultivating within a Spirit Gathering Array were clear and desirable to anyone.
Currently, the square area was sealed off by the Mu Territory guards. Mu Feng and his group entered the square and stopped, their eyes vaguely showing a hint of eagerness.