Chapter 23: Talent

Instructor Yan asked, "Are there any cultivators in this world at the third layer of Qi Refinement who can draw formations?"

"Well, naturally, there should be," the fat manager mused, adding, "The cultivation world is vast, and heaven-sent talents are countless. If you told me someone could draw formations from birth, I would believe it; it's just that they are all rumors, and I haven't seen it with my own eyes."

"Even if someone had peerless talent but was unfilial, betrayed their master, and left their sect... *cough*... born into a great formation clan, studied formations from childhood, and by the time they reached the third layer of Qi Refinement, they could draw a simple formation containing three formation runes."

"And those great clans and sects have heritages many times deeper. There must be no shortage of formation geniuses among their disciples; they just don't usually show off."

Instructor Yan said, "In that case, it is not impossible for Mo Hua to draw formations at the third layer of Qi Refinement."

The fat manager didn't want to admit it, but at this moment, he had no choice.

Though his Senior Brother Yan was a stubborn man, his mind was always meticulous and his judgment was very accurate.

"If that is truly the case, it is extraordinary. Do you want to take him as a disciple?"

The fat manager thought for a moment and continued, "If you ask me, this child is indeed a good seed. Why not formally take him as your apprentice? That way, you can pass down the formations your master taught you."

Instructor Yan had never considered this. Upon hearing it, he was visibly moved, but after careful consideration, he shook his head.

"The sect is in decline. The remaining formations are nothing but fragmented runes and broken chapters; what is there worth passing down? Taking him as a disciple would only lead him astray. Besides, my master's dying wish remains unfulfilled—there is still no clue regarding that person, and I have no heart to concern myself with anything else."

The fat manager wanted to persuade him further, but Instructor Yan merely waved him off.

The fat manager sighed. "Fine, I won't persuade you anymore. Even if I did, you wouldn't listen. As for that Mo Hua kid..."

"Do not tell anyone for the time being. 'The tree that stands out in the forest is the first to be broken by the wind'—that is a truth from all antiquity. Moreover, he is still young; we cannot let him develop an arrogant heart, or he will surely go astray in the future."

The fat manager agreed, "That is true."

Instructor Yan continued, "Don't let him take any more formation orders from you here. Just make up some excuse, like poor business management."

Though the business was indeed poorly managed, being told so made the fat manager feel he was losing face. He corrected, "It's not called poor management; it's called 'Zen-style management.' Business is left entirely to fate!"

"Besides, the child is perfectly fine drawing formations to earn spirit stones to support his family. Why shouldn't he continue?"

Instructor Yan frowned. "At the third layer of Qi Refinement, even if he can draw formations, how much divine sense can he have? If he draws too many, the excessive consumption of divine sense will inevitably leave behind consequences, damaging the foundation of his sea of consciousness."

"And he is still young, precisely the time to build a solid foundation for cultivation. It's not just formations; he needs to understand all a hundred paths of cultivation. Especially his cultivation base—he cannot neglect it for small gains..."

The fat manager said, "The circumstances of rogue cultivators are not that comfortable. They often don't even have enough spirit stones to get by."

"Even if the family is poor, one cannot disregard the future..."

"Do you know just how poor an ordinary rogue cultivator actually is?"

The fat manager's expression became uncharacteristically serious.

Seeing his expression, Instructor Yan's brow furrowed slightly.

The fat manager said solemnly, "I know your childhood circumstances were not good. Although you had a clan, you were only of concubine descent and were not valued by them. Later, you joined a sect and received meticulous guidance from your master. Through your own hard work, you made progress in formations, and things became slightly better. But no matter how bad your circumstances were, you had a clan to rely on. At the very least, you had food and clothing and no worries about living; at most, life was just unsatisfying."

"People often say the path of cultivation is arduous," the fat manager sighed. "I left the sect and have been in Tongxian City for over ten years. Having dealt with many rogue cultivators, I realized that even though people say cultivation is hard, there is a world of difference in the degree of that hardship."

"Ordinary rogue cultivators struggle to make a living with meager returns; if they can support a family, they are lucky. Blacksmiths have half their bodies burned by forge fires, demon hunters have arms eaten by monsters, and those who sell their spiritual power to do odd jobs suffer varying degrees of damage to their meridians. Once they fall ill or are injured, they have no spirit stones for treatment. Whether they pull through depends entirely on whether the heavens show them mercy."

"If they pull through, great. If they don't, they pass away. The worst case is hanging on by half a life, while spending spirit stones and draining the entire family dry. What can they do? They just want to survive."

"Cultivators indeed cannot disregard the future, but these low-level rogue cultivators can't even worry about the present. How can they worry about the future?"

The fat manager finished in one breath, poured a cup of tea, and gulped it down.

Instructor Yan fell silent for a moment. After a while, he sighed and said apologetically, "I failed to consider that."

The fat manager rolled his eyes at him.

After a brief moment of thought, Instructor Yan said to the fat manager, "Give me your catalog of formations."

"What do you want the catalog for?" The fat manager was puzzled, but he still obediently got up, took a booklet from behind the counter, and handed it to Instructor Yan.

Instructor Yan took the catalog, skimmed through it entirely, then picked up a pen from the table, circled several formations, and marked them in order behind each one.

"What are you..."

Instructor Yan said, "Next time Mo Hua comes, have him draw the formations I've marked in the catalog in order. This way, he will progress step-by-step and his learning will be more solid. Later, I can give him some guidance at the sect, which is better than him learning blindly."

"By doing this, he can earn some spirit stones through drawing formations to support his family, while also learning the proper methods of formation work."

After saying this, Instructor Yan added a warning: "One more thing, don't let him draw too many. Just collect three or four from him every half month. Otherwise, if his divine sense is overconsumed and his sea of consciousness is damaged, it will leave a great problem."

The fat manager looked at the catalog in his hand, then at Instructor Yan, and said with a complex expression, "Do you really not intend to take him as a disciple?"

Instructor Yan merely shook his head. He stood up and, before leaving, repeated once more, "Do not forget, make him draw them in the order I marked."

With that, he walked away without looking back.

The fat manager stared at his retreating figure for a long time, unable to speak, only letting out a helpless sigh.

Suddenly, the fat manager remembered something and called out to Instructor Yan.

Instructor Yan turned back to look at him.

The fat manager thought for a moment and finally said, "There is one thing you might have said wrong..."

Instructor Yan frowned. "What is wrong?"

"When that kid Mo Hua brought the Bright Fire Formation, he was only at the second layer of Qi Refinement. If these formations were truly drawn by him, then that means..."

The fat manager paused, choosing his words carefully

"He might have been able to draw formations... even at the second layer of Qi Refinement!"

Instructor Yan's pupils constricted slightly, revealing a look of disbelief.