The mountain morning was sharp and cold.
Inside the newly awakened Array Hall, the air thrummed with forgotten knowledge. Scrolls floated gently in midair. Runes flickered across old formation stones embedded in the floor. The hall had no furniture—only circles, lines, and silence.
Yun Xi sat cross-legged at the center.
A faint light pulsed from her chest. Her spirit root, the rare Array Pulse Constitution, had finally stabilized. But the cost was steep—her body was weak, and her mind was still catching up to what had happened.
"First disciple of a devil," she murmured. "What am I doing here...?"
Still, she reached out and picked up a hovering scroll. Her hands shook, but she forced them steady.
"Fundamentals of Living Arrays"
She opened it.
The first line chilled her more than the mountain air:
"To give birth to a living array, one must sacrifice comfort, control, and certainty."
Outside, Shen Mo stood atop a broken stone wall, gazing down at the hall's glowing roof.
Han Li walked up beside him with a bucket of water and a bruised eye.
"Master, Senior Yun hasn't eaten anything in two days. She doesn't even respond when I knock…"
"Let her starve," Shen Mo replied.
Han Li gawked. "But Master—"
"If she wants power, she will draw her own array. Or die trying. I don't train cowards."
Han Li muttered under his breath. "Maybe this sect needs a therapist, not a master…"
A pebble smacked his forehead.
"Owww! Again?!"
Shen Mo didn't look away from the glowing hall. "She has six days left. That's enough."
Inside the hall, Yun Xi coughed blood onto the stone. The ink of her first array attempt flared—and then burned out violently.
"No! No, I followed the breath cycle…!"
Her eyes blurred with tears. Her array lines were unstable. Her Qi flow was too slow. She couldn't anchor the energy.
But more than that—
She was afraid.
Afraid of dying. Afraid of failing the only person who had saved her—even if he was a devil.
"Why am I even trying…?" she whispered.
Then the memory of that forest returned.
The beasts.
The pain.
His voice.
"Join me, and you'll live. Become mine, and you'll become more than a name lost to time."
She stood shakily.
"You're a monster," she said aloud. "But monsters survive."
She wiped her blood, took a deep breath, and grabbed a new scroll.
"Principles of Anchor Points in Motion Arrays"
She read. And then tried again.
Day turned to night. Then day again.
Han Li continued bringing food she never touched. Shen Mo continued watching in silence.
On the fifth night, a ripple ran through the mountain.
The air shifted.
Spiritual energy moved unnaturally around the Array Hall. A low hum vibrated through the stone beneath their feet.
Shen Mo opened one eye.
[System Notification:]Yun Xi has initiated a Living Array Formation. Stability: 32%.Outcome: Unknown. Observation required.
He vanished instantly.
Inside the hall, Yun Xi knelt in a circle of ink and Qi lines. Her hands trembled, her body drenched in sweat. The array pulsed—alive, unstable, hungry.
A mistake here wouldn't just ruin the formation—it would consume her meridians.
Shen Mo appeared quietly in the corner, arms folded, eyes cold.
"Let's see if you live up to your desperation, girl."
The array trembled again. A section of it began to collapse.
Yun Xi's teeth clenched.
"No! I didn't crawl out of death to fail now!"
She stabbed her finger into the ink and used her blood to anchor the broken pattern.
BOOM!
The entire formation flashed with silver light—then calmed.
Lines of living Qi formed a perfect circular loop across the stone.
The array was alive.
It breathed.
[System Notification:]First Living Array Completed. Disciple Yun Xi – Progression Successful. Loyalty: +6%.Next Recruitment Mission Unlocked.
New Disciple Detected: Awaiting Trigger.
Yun Xi collapsed, smiling faintly.
Shen Mo stepped forward and looked at the array.
"Sloppy," he muttered. "Uneven pulse anchoring. Fragile second layer."
He paused.
"But… functional."
Yun Xi whispered, barely conscious. "Did I… pass?"
Shen Mo turned away.
"You didn't pass," he said, walking out. "You survived. That's better."
That night, the stars above the Twilight Shadow Sect burned brighter than usual.
Somewhere far away, a child cried in a city of snow.A prisoner scratched symbols on a stone wall.And the System stirred once more.
[Next Disciple Condition Met. Initial Signs Detected. Unlocking Mission in 3… 2… 1…]