Chapter 307: Invitation
Chapter 307: Invitation
At the edge of the Misty Forest, Commander Yang waited for a long time, growing concerned. "Do you think something's wrong...?" he asked.
Zhang Lan thought for a moment before replying, "There hasn't been a sound from the Misty Forest. I think everything's fine."
Commander Yang nodded, then asked curiously, "Aren't you worried?"
"If he had gone into the Black Mountain Fort, I would be. But the forest is vast, and he can escape and run if needed. We're here to meet him, so there's nothing to worry about."
Commander Yang paused, taken aback. "He's been to Black Mountain Fort?"
Zhang Lan nodded. "The intelligence you received—it was this kid who sneaked in and eavesdropped to get it."
Commander Yang sucked in a breath, his eyes widening. "You didn't say that this information came from your 'Daoting Si'..."
"Oh..." Commander Yang trailed off as realization dawned on him. "Zhang Lan, you shameless fellow! You're taking credit for this kid's work and attributing it to your Daoting Si again, aren't you?"
Zhang Lan corrected him. "He's technically part of Daoting Si, even if he's not officially listed."
Commander Yang fell silent for a moment, deep in thought. Suddenly, he frowned. "He gathered the intelligence, drew the maps, and deciphered the arrays. What did the rest of your Daoting Si do?"
Zhang Lan was left speechless by the question. After a moment, he laughed awkwardly. "Well... we reported the intelligence to Daoting, and they sent you guys..."
As he spoke, his voice grew softer, lacking confidence in his own words.
Commander Yang looked at him with disdain. "You guys are incredible, I must say."
Zhang Lan sighed. "What can we do? By the time we found out, Mo Hua had already gathered all the information. And..." Zhang Lan glanced at Commander Yang, his expression turning serious. "...besides him, no one could have infiltrated Black Mountain Fort without a trace, nor could anyone else have drawn such detailed maps."
Commander Yang was stunned. As he thought about it, he realized that what Zhang Lan said was true.
To accomplish such feats, one would need to be skilled in stealth, arrays, and spiritual sense, as well as possess courage and quick wit.
Even their most experienced scouts among the Daobing would have failed to gather any useful information if they had tried to infiltrate Black Mountain Fort.
As for arrays, that was definitely not something an average cultivator could master.
The more Commander Yang thought about it, the more impressed he became. This kid was indeed a talent! Brave, clever, decisive, skilled in stealth and arrays...
Commander Yang remained silent, deep in thought.
Zhang Lan looked at him suspiciously. "Are you cooking up some scheme?"
Commander Yang shook his head expressionlessly. "No."
Hiding behind the rocks, the two men idled their time away. Zhang Lan, inspired by Mo Hua, used a twig to draw something on the ground.
While Mo Hua was drawing arrays, Zhang Lan was drawing a caricature of Commander Yang—a chubby, ugly version of him running amok after being beaten up.
Commander Yang ignored him, his full attention on the Misty Forest, alert for any changes. The squads of Daobing nearby were also on high alert.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Commander Yang's eyebrows twitched. He sensed that someone was approaching.
Though his eyes and spiritual sense couldn't detect anything, he could hear faint footsteps, and the ground beneath him seemed to sink slightly with each step.
Someone was drawing near, step by step.
Soon enough, the person arrived and appeared right before Commander Yang's eyes.
Small and with clear, handsome features, it was Mo Hua.
Commander Yang breathed a sigh of relief.
Mo Hua smiled brightly and waved at him. In his hand was a map, depicting the forest, paths, and the mist arrays scattered throughout.
"It's done!"
Commander Yang took the map and his eyes lit up. He couldn't help but exclaim, "It's a good thing we have an array master like you with us. Otherwise, we might never have understood the true situation in this Misty Forest."
Mo Hua smiled happily.
Commander Yang put away the map and looked at Mo Hua. Suddenly, he smiled—a very friendly, enthusiastic smile, even a bit... ingratiating.
That smile left Mo Hua bewildered. In his impression, Commander Yang was not the type of person to smile like that. It was as if he had suddenly been possessed.
Zhang Lan, watching from the side, felt goosebumps rise on his skin.
"Little Mo, do you want to take a look at the arrays our Daobing use?" Commander Yang asked.
Mo Hua was taken aback. "Aren't they confidential? Can I see them?"
Commander Yang quickly nodded. "They are confidential, but since you want to see them, it's absolutely fine."
Mo Hua looked at him doubtfully. "Really?"
"Really, really!"
Zhang Lan chimed in, "Really?"
Commander Yang glared at him. "You mind your own business. It has nothing to do with you. Even if you saw it, you wouldn't understand."
Zhang Lan scoffed. "Who wants to see it anyway?"
Escorted by Commander Yang and several squads of Daobing, Mo Hua returned to Wuming Peak and the mine cave where the Daobing were stationed.
True to his word, Commander Yang took out a set of armor and a spear, handing them to Mo Hua. "These are spares. Feel free to examine them, or even take them apart if you want. Just report any damage, and we'll send them to the Daobing Division for repairs."
"Isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Mo Hua asked, hesitant.
Commander Yang waved his hand dismissively. "There's nothing inappropriate about it. Armor is meant to be used, and it's normal for it to get damaged.
"As expected of spiritual artifacts crafted by the Daoting," Mo Hua thought to himself.
He applied some force to try and disassemble the armor to examine the array within, but his strength proved insufficient to dismantle it.
Mo Hua glanced at Commander Yang.
Commander Yang stepped forward and helped Mo Hua disassemble the armor, revealing the array within. However, as the armor came apart, the array's radiance dimmed and it appeared to be damaged.
Mo Hua was surprised by this turn of events.
Commander Yang explained, "This is a Daoting inherited array. To prevent the array from being leaked, it is designed to self-destruct if the armor is forcibly dismantled."
Mo Hua nodded in understanding.
Although the array was damaged, the general outline of the array patterns was still visible.
Mo Hua spread out the armor and began studying the array within.
The array in the armor was a metal-based array, resembling a first-grade array, but it contained more than nine array patterns.
"An array above the first grade?"
Mo Hua was astonished, but when he simulated the trajectory of spiritual power in his mind, he realized that the array was, in fact, a standard first-grade array. Only nine of the array patterns were functional.
The additional array patterns were likely included to mislead and prevent the true array from being exposed.
Furthermore, this was not a single array but rather a part of a composite array.
Mo Hua pondered for a moment and soon understood.
When the Daobing squads fought, each squad wore identical armor. The single arrays on the armor would combine to form a composite array, resonating with each other to enhance the array's effects.
The single arrays used by the Daobing were not particularly rare; they were just ordinary metal-based arrays of the five elements. The most crucial aspect was the composite array's array core.
Based on the distance, the single arrays were coordinated to resonate with each other.
Mo Hua had never encountered such an array core structure before, and he was intrigued.
However, each Daobing squad consisted of ten people, which meant that this array core was linked to ten sets of armor. To fully study this array core, one would likely need to dismantle all ten sets of armor.
Mo Hua already felt embarrassed about dismantling one set; dismantling ten would be excessive.
After finishing his examination, Mo Hua looked up and asked, "Do you want to send this armor for repairs?"
Commander Yang nodded. "Yes."
"Can I try repairing it?" Mo Hua asked.
Commander Yang was taken aback. "You want to repair it?"
Mo Hua nodded.
Commander Yang thought for a moment before agreeing. "Sure, go ahead. It's already damaged anyway."
Mo Hua took out an array brush and metal-based spiritual ink from his storage bag and carefully traced over the array patterns, repairing them one by one.
It didn't take long for Mo Hua to finish the repairs.
Commander Yang reassembled the armor and activated it with his spiritual power, only to be surprised. "It's fixed?"
"Just got lucky," Mo Hua said modestly.
Commander Yang's gaze at Mo Hua intensified, and he asked, "Little Mo, what do you think of this array?"
"It's quite exquisite," Mo Hua replied honestly.
"Do you want to learn it?"
Mo Hua was taken aback. "Can I?"
"Of course! There's just one small request..."
Mo Hua asked, unable to contain his curiosity, "What request?"
"Join the Daobing Division!"
A warm and friendly smile appeared on Commander Yang's face as he said, "As long as you join the Daobing Division, you'll naturally be able to learn these arrays used by the Daobing! And you can learn as many as you want!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Lan let out a derisive sound. "So that's what you're up to, you little rascal."
Commander Yang humphed. "Why can't he join the Daobing Division if he can join the Daoting Division?"
"The Daobing Division isn't exactly a nice place. It's all about fighting and killing."
"At least it's better than your Daoting Division, with its seniority and internal strife," Commander Yang retorted.
Zhang Lan coldly smiled. "What's so great about the Daobing Division? It's still controlled by the aristocratic families. Without the right background, how far do you think you can get?"
"That's the higher-ups. The brothers who fight side by side on the battlefield are like family, relying on their true abilities. It's not like your Daoting Division, where everyone is in cahoots with each other..."
"Bullshit!"
"You're just angry because I hit the mark. Admit it," Commander Yang jeered, and then added, "As for background and identity, that's not a big deal. As long as you marry into my Yang family..."
Zhang Lan scoffed again. "What are you dreaming about? If anyone, he'd marry into my Zhang family. You Yang family haven't even been considered yet."
After all, Mo Hua had learned the Flowing Water Steps from his Zhang family. If there was any talk of marriage, it would be with the Zhang family. What right did the Yang family have to make such a suggestion?
(End of Chapter)
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