Chapter 1328: The Ruthless Man Wakes Up

Although his current understanding of formations is only at the seven-star level, his foundation is solid because he studies Heavenly Dao formations. This means he might easily be able to successfully set up even an initial eight-star formation diagram if he studies it carefully.

"Alright!"

It was just a special formation designed to enhance the teleportation effect of a transmission jade token, nothing confidential. Without any hesitation, Chen Leyao flicked her wrist and handed over a diagram.

Zhang Xuan casually took the diagram and looked down at it.

If a transmission jade token were likened to a mobile phone from a previous life, this formation would be its signal tower, capable of receiving signals from a greater distance and thus enhancing communication.

While simple in principle, it was extremely complex in practice.

"Although it's an eight-star low-grade formation, I can successfully set it up with my current understanding. However, it would take at least three days! And there's no room for error. It's too troublesome," he mused.

He frowned.

Although his understanding of formations was no weaker than that of some eight-star low-grade formation masters, setting up this particular formation required too much attention. A slight mistake could not only fail to enhance the communication effect but might also damage the jade token's structure, rendering it useless. Therefore, it would require immense effort, and by his estimation, at least three days.

For him, three days just to set up one formation was far too long.

"It seems I need to first pass the eight-star formation master examination!"

Knowing that his understanding of formations was still lacking, Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment and came up with a plan.

His current understanding of formations wasn't enough; setting it up now would take too long. But if he passed the eight-star formation master examination and consulted the relevant books, setting it up afterward should be simple.

"Can Master Zhang set it up?"

Seeing him frown, Chen Leyao looked at him.

"It's still a bit lacking!" Zhang Xuan shook his head and smiled faintly. "By the way, do you know if there's a place in the Saint Son Hall to take the eight-star formation master examination? I'd like to take the exam first, and then study how to set it up. That way, it'll be more secure."

As the continent's foremost academy, the Saint Son Hall should have places for various professional examinations. Otherwise, how would so many students with auxiliary professions advance?

Most importantly, without auxiliary cultivation, even master teachers couldn't take exams.

"The place for level assessments is in the Hall of Wisdom," Chen Leyao replied. "I specifically inquired about it before and know the exact location. How about I take Master Zhang there?"

Hearing that he wanted to take the eight-star formation master examination at that moment, Chen Leyao smiled and replied.

"I'm troubling the Immortal Fairy!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

Just now, he had already learned about some of the divisions within the Saint Son Hall through his identity jade token. Although it also had many halls, it was completely different from places like Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy and the Combat Master Hall.

The former were distinguished by profession or different cultivation methods, giving rise to academies like the Beast Tamer Academy, Alchemist Academy, and the Martial Arts Hall.

Here, however, although it was also divided into five halls, it had nothing to do with professions and was named with five characters.

They were: Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Wisdom, and Trust!

The Hall of Benevolence was where teachers lectured and students studied, imparting knowledge, learning skills, and passing on culture.

The Hall of Righteousness was a place for various trials and tempering, for confronting the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, improving cooperation among students and fostering their bonds.

The Hall of Propriety was a place for competitions and battles.

The Hall of Wisdom was where professional examinations took place, cultivation techniques were learned, and wisdom was enlightened.

The Hall of Trust was a place to strengthen one's inner self and temper one's character.

The five halls, encompassing Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Wisdom, and Trust—as well as the virtues of Warmth, Gentleness, Respect, Frugality, and Deference—collectively formed the Saint Son Hall.

This ensured that students who came to cultivate not only became powerful but, more importantly, possessed virtue and propriety.

"Master Zhang, you're too kind!"

Chen Leyao nodded, said no more, and led the way.

The Hall of Wisdom, though called a 'hall,' was not actually a single palace, but rather a vast branch, similar to the departments within Hongyuan Academy.

It contained examination grounds for hundreds of professions.

The two moved swiftly, arriving at the entrance after more than ten minutes. What greeted their eyes was a massive wall, forged from an unknown material. In its center, a large character was carved, exuding a gentle and serene feeling.

It was precisely the character "Wisdom."

"This character feels so familiar..."

Zhang Xuan involuntarily stopped.

Although it was also a character, this one was distinctly different from the "Saint Son Hall" characters outside. While it didn't emit a strong aura, it conveyed a sense of vastness, as if the heavens were high and the earth wide, as if the person who left the character possessed a broad mind, guiding the world.

"This character was left by Master Kong!"

Just as he was wondering, a voice resounded in his mind.

"Ruthless Man, you're awake?"

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

It was none other than the Ruthless Man, who had consumed the brain's consciousness. After nearly a month of slumber, he had finally woken up.

"Yes, fortunately, I didn't fail the mission. I finally refined that fellow!" came the Ruthless Man's voice, slightly agitated.

"How do you feel? Has your strength improved?" Zhang Xuan couldn't help but ask.

The Ruthless Man was his trump card. If his strength surged, it would definitely be a good thing for him.

"Reporting, Master," the Ruthless Man transmitted with a chuckle, "having merged with the brain and eyes, my strength has greatly improved. Barring any accidents, even a Saint 7-dan expert would be no match!"

"Saint 7-dan?" Zhang Xuan gasped, clicking his tongue.

A month ago, this guy was only at the peak of the Out-of-Body realm. After merging, his strength had directly increased by two levels! Truly terrifying!

Alas, what kind of people were around him? Each one was more abnormal than the last, putting a lot of pressure on him.

His own student, Zhao Ya, judging by Chen Leyao's tone, her cultivation was definitely much higher than his current level.

His subordinate also possessed strength that Saint 7-dan experts couldn't contend with. He had finally managed to get a not-so-strong clone, but his main body was still getting beaten every day.

"I've refined the brain, and much knowledge has been passed down, especially the Witchcraft Soul cultivation path, all the way up to Saint 9-dan," the Ruthless Man continued.

"That's great!" Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

Previously, he had only obtained cultivation techniques for the Mortal Transcendence realm from Mo Hunsheng. After reaching the Saint realm, his cultivation stagnated for a while due to a lack of suitable techniques. Later, he obtained cultivation methods for the first four levels of the Saint realm from Emperor Qingtian, and had now cultivated to their peak.

With this, he could now seek out cultivation methods for the soul, merge them into Heavenly Dao cultivation techniques, and quickly enhance the power of his Witchcraft Soul.

"Wait, aren't Witchcraft Soul cultivation techniques exclusive to Witchcraft Soul Masters? Why would the Ruthless Man have them? And a complete set at that?"

A thought flashed through his mind. According to the knowledge left by Mo Hunsheng, Witchcraft Soul cultivation techniques were inherited through the Witchcraft Soul Master profession. The Ruthless Man was an Otherworldly Demonic Tribe member, so how could he possess them? And a complete set at that?

"Let's not think too much about this for now."

Knowing that thinking about it now was useless, Zhang Xuan continued to ask inwardly: "Aside from Witchcraft Soul techniques, do you have any true qi cultivation methods?"

The Ruthless Man was a super expert capable of fighting against Master Kong. His own cultivation techniques must also be extremely refined. If he could learn them, it would greatly aid in the improvement of his strength.

"I have cultivation methods for the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, but they are not suitable for your constitution, Master," the Ruthless Man said. "I'll transmit them to you now."

As the Ruthless Man finished speaking, Zhang Xuan immediately felt countless streams of knowledge flow into his mind.

He himself could transmit knowledge through thought, so it was naturally even easier for the other party, who had merged with the Ruthless Man's memories.

"As expected, I can't cultivate them."

After reviewing the transmitted knowledge, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

The Witchcraft Soul cultivation techniques could be researched, but the cultivation methods of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe were completely useless.

There was a significant difference between human physiques and those of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. Even if he cultivated Heavenly Dao techniques, it couldn't compensate for this. Therefore, he couldn't practice the other party's cultivation methods, no matter how talented he was.

"What a pity."

He sighed with emotion, unable to help but lament inwardly. If he could cultivate them, collecting other cultivation techniques would be much simpler in the future, and breakthroughs in cultivation would also become easier.

However, it now seemed he had been too naive.

They chatted for a while longer.

Although he had devoured the Ruthless Man's memories, the severe injuries he sustained back then, combined with tens of thousands of years passing, meant many memories were still blurry. For instance, regarding Master Kong's deeds, he could only give a rough overview but couldn't elaborate on the details.

"By the way, you just said this character was left by Master Kong. What did you mean?" Knowing that the other party had awakened, he could inquire about many things in detail later. There was no need to waste time now. Remembering what was just said, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but ask.

"This 'Wisdom' character is round and full, like a flash of light in the mind," the Ruthless Man's excited voice sounded. "Frequently observing it can fill one with wisdom and greatly open one's spiritual intellect!"

"Devour?" Zhang Xuan's face instantly darkened.

This guy really dared to think it.

This was the Saint Son Hall, the continent's foremost academy. If he ran out to devour Master Kong's character, he'd probably be beaten to death on the spot before he even finished!

And he himself might not escape either!

"Forget about this idea, no matter how appealing it seems." Zhang Xuan snorted and continued to look at the character before him.

No wonder it felt familiar. He had studied the handwriting on the Saint Sealing Platform many times and was long familiar with Master Kong's calligraphy.

"This 'Wisdom' character is round and full, like a flash of light in the mind," Chen Leyao explained with a smile. "Regular observation can fill one with wisdom and greatly enlighten their spiritual intellect."

"Indeed!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

This character was indeed much more powerful than the writings Master Kong left on the Saint Sealing Platform. Both its artistic conception and spiritual charm were far more profound. Even he, after observing it for a long time, felt his impurities cleansed and his thoughts becoming swifter.

As expected of Master Kong's handiwork. Sage Li's characters, when compared to this, were still far inferior.

"No wonder disciples from other influential clans all wanted to come here and become students of the Saint Son Hall," Zhang Xuan thought. "Even setting everything else aside, this single character had the effect of stabilizing one's primordial spirit and consolidating cultivation. Breaking through here could suppress inner demons and prevent distracting thoughts!"

His heart was filled with shock, and he couldn't help but exclaim. The Saint Son Hall, suppressed by Master Kong's grand character, meant even inner demons wouldn't dare act recklessly.

Perhaps it was precisely for this reason that many influential clans were willing to send their most outstanding descendants here to receive inheritance and guidance.

"Let's go in!" After observing for a while and gaining many insights, Zhang Xuan was filled with emotion.

"Mhm!" Chen Leyao nodded, and the two walked in together.