Chapter 283 – Contention of the Hundred Schools of Though (1/2)

t

Testing elemental affinity was just a secondary function of the formation, but to cultivators of the present day, this was the only function that they knew about. Many formation scrolls even simplified the formation’s original core, only leaving behind the function of testing elemental affinity.

However, the formation engraved into the rock on Contention island had several thousand years of history. It was a complete formation passed down since ancient times. Its size and complexity was nothing like the formation Li Qingshan originally believed it was, only able to test elements simultaneously.

Today, Xiao An unleashed its long-forgotten function.

Everyone was dumbfounded. Originally, they thought they had already seen a supreme prodigy, and they would not become shocked again.

But now, just what was a prodigy? Watching this sight that completely exceeded their imaginations and understanding unfold, they could not even develop any jealousy anymore.

Liu Zhangqing asked again, “Then what is her talent for yin, yang, and the five elements?”

Ma Buyi glanced at him. He could not be bothered with answering him. He continued to stare at the Watermirror disc as his gaze made him seem rather crazed.

Right from the very beginning, the child had not been using the formation’s low level function of testing elemental affinity. Instead, she had been conjuring the transition between yin, yang, and the five elements, which was why she needed to start with their weakest forms, which were the droplet of water and tiny grass shoot in other words. As for her talent, it would depend on how far she could go with this process.

Her talent would never be lower than the level she had conjured. As a matter of fact, it should have been much higher than that, which was why she could accomplish it so skillfully and easily. What she demonstrated right now was no longer talent, but capability, unmatched capability.

Ma Buyi took off his long hat and lowered his head to the ground. “Everyone. Today, I, Ma Buyi, have only a single request, which is for this child to join my school of Yin-yang. If you have any requests in the future, I will oblige to all of them.”

The various leaders were shocked. Among them, Ma Buyi was not as unruly as the slovenly daoist priest, but he was still known for how proud he was. He was like an ancient reclusive cultivator, standing proud and aloof from the world.

However, no one would offend him because of this, as he was skilled in the art of divination. Everyone had a moment when they required his abilities, but when did he ever request others with such humility?

However, when compared to the other schools that focused on a single aspect, they no longer seemed very proficient in those aspects anymore. In the end, only divination alone became the special art of the school of Yin-yang, which they became renowned for, and it was exactly because it required the powers of yin, yang, and the five elements as a foundation.

Whether it be Yu Zijian’s Pure Yang constitution or Chu Tian’s Five Elements constitution, neither of them were unable to interest him, as the school of Yin-yang required balance. From a certain perspective, the designation of genius in the ancient times differed tremendously from the present day.

However, if it was this child instead, then she would definitely be able to unleash the true glory of the ancient cultivation methods of the school of Yin-yang.

The various school leaders were silent. None of them could give up on this child so easily.

As the tree turned into a forest, and the stream turned into a river…

“They’re all jia! Mid jia! High jia!” The instructor constantly changed his evaluation.

When he uttered the words high jia, there was a boom, and the scene on the formation exploded loudly, turning into seven different colours and returning back to the original yin, yang, and five elements.

Only Xiao An was left standing in the formation. Her expression was slightly lost. Everything that unfolded earlier felt like a dream.

Whether it was to her, or to the others.

The process she conjured had already reached the limits that the formation could endure, like how a rubik’s cube would lose its function as a challenge or a game to a professional speedcuber.

Li Qingshan rushed over in a hurry. “Are you alright?”

The various leaders all looked at one another. Their gazes were not as simple as mere hostility anymore. Instead, there was utmost determination to win her over without any room for compromise.

“Namo Amitābha,” the One Thought master, who had remained silent the entire time, suddenly chanted the buddha’s name. His voice was like the morning bell, the thunderous roar of a lion. It was forcefully and resonant. “This child has a destiny with the buddha. Please do not compete with this lowly monk, everyone.”

“I knew you’d say that, you damned bald ass,” said the slovenly daoist priest.

The One Thought Master said urgently, “There really is destiny this time!” Just as everyone had been disappointed by Xiao An’s talent for yin, yang, and the five elements earlier, only he had secretly celebrated. Finally, there was no need for him to contend with anybody.

He could see a clear, buddha’s light from Xiao An that even the transitions and processes unfolding in the formation could not hide. Never had he seen such a clear root of wisdom and buddhist nature in the eyes of a child.

But this time, the arrangements of the buddha seemed to be quite unexpected.

Han Anjun said coldly, “So they were just the falsehoods of a buddhist monk earlier? I could see earlier that her kick to the little fatty was accurate, precise, and vicious, very much like the demeanour of my school of the Military’s wind, forest, fire, and mountain1.”