Although she claimed not to care about being first or third, Ivy He couldn’t help but feel curious. In the Western Lands, she was known as the Formation Mistress, number one in formations, but looking at the world as a whole, she couldn’t be certain she truly ranked first.
But after so many years of being number one, she still had a competitive streak.
Quinn Shepherd was the Heavenly Demon Cult Master, well-traveled and knowledgeable. She was genuinely curious who Quinn considered the true number one and number two formation experts in the world.
"Actually, Ivy, you might not know this, but I come from the number one formation family in the Great Ruins."
Quinn put on a sincere face and said, "The world's top formation master is my Grandpa Blind."
Ivy He’s bright eyes widened. The top formation family of the Great Ruins?
The world’s greatest formation master was… a blind man?
"Cult Master Quinn, do you have some misunderstanding about formations?"
Ivy He replied coolly, “Formations are the art of calculation. The simplest, like the Nine Palaces Array, use Kan, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Zhong, Qian, Dui, Gen, and Li to represent nine numbers, each unique, summing to forty-five. Slightly harder is the Eight Trigrams Array, which evolves from base eight to sixty-four, endlessly transforming. More complex are the Five Elements Array, the Five Elements Eight Trigrams Array, with bases of five, eight, and sixty-four. Harder still are the Taiji Array and the Wuji Array, whose circles are inexhaustible. Even with the utmost precision, every array has flaws. How much mastery could a blind man possibly have in calculation?”
Quinn said solemnly, "Sister, look into my eyes."
Ivy He didn’t understand at first, but as she carefully observed his eyes, she felt a subtle tremor in her heart.
She saw concentric rings of formation patterns slowly forming in the boy’s eyes, evolving into the first ‘heaven.’ The mathematical changes hidden in those patterns drew her in, making her almost intoxicated by the marvels in this young man’s gaze.
Before she could fully comprehend the mathematical changes in Quinn’s eyes, a second ‘heaven’ began to form—its underlying logic even more intricate and profound.
Then came the third heaven, the fourth, until the fifth—Skycrest Heaven. Only then did the formation changes in Quinn’s eyes come to a halt.
Each layer of his gaze was a new heaven—the depth of calculation within was simply breathtaking!
With his current cultivation, Quinn could only activate the Ninefold Heaven Eye Art up to Skycrest Heaven. Yet the changes in his eyes did not stop—a great sun and countless starlights were born in his pupils, the sun hidden deep within as the stars formed a river that circled around it.
Inside the main hall, over a hundred clan leaders of Junwood City exchanged glances with each other.
At this moment, Ivy He was nearly face-to-face with Quinn, their eyes locked—Formation Mistress Ivy He gazed into Quinn’s eyes as if lovers lost in each other’s depths, hearts in disarray.
"Ahem!" An elderly white-haired woman coughed repeatedly, trying to remind their city lord.
Only then did Ivy He snap back to herself, her cheeks flushing as she quickly stepped back. She said solemnly, "This Grandpa Blind truly deserves to be called the world’s top formation master. I am not his equal."
Quinn’s cheeks also flushed a little. With Ivy He standing so close, his heart was racing. He hurriedly said, "Back when I learned the Eye-Opening Art from Grandpa Blind, I treated it like a simple trick and didn’t really get the changes in the arrays. Grandpa Blind’s divine eye can see through all illusions, see through space, formations, and techniques. Later, when I learned Dao Gate numerology, I finally understood the math behind it. Dao Gate uses numerology to explain the workings of the universe, and Grandpa Blind’s divine eye can see through everything precisely because numerology is the underlying truth of this world. That’s why I realized Grandpa Blind is truly the number one in formations."
Ivy He pushed down the strange feeling in her heart and said seriously, "If he wanted to break the arrays of Junwood City, he could do it without even trying. He really deserves to be called number one. Then, who’s the second-best formation master in the world?"
Quinn gave an awkward, sheepish smile.
Ivy’s eyes went wide, her voice rising in surprise: "You’re the second-best formation master in the world?"
Quinn looked embarrassed. "I never dared call myself number two before, but after seeing your arrays, Ivy, I think I could claim second place."
A flash of annoyance crossed Ivy’s face; her teeth ground together with a faint creak, but she kept a sweet smile. "I wouldn’t dare fight for first, but I refuse to settle for third. You called yourself third in poison and beat Mina Frost, making her admit she’s fourth. Now you say you’re second in formations. You really dabble in everything, don’t you? Since that’s the case, let’s have another contest."
Quinn was curious. "How do we compete?"
Ivy thought for a moment, then smiled. "Right here in Junwood City. You’ll be outside the city, I’ll stay inside, and I won’t move from this spot. If you can break in and find me, I’ll admit you’re above me and settle for third. Not only that—my He clan and all our allies will follow your lead. If you want to help Princess Mother Helena Bear reclaim the palace, we’ll back you with everything we’ve got!"
Quinn burst out laughing, sprang to his feet, and strode toward the city gate.
Inside the hall, over a hundred Junwood City experts exchanged glances. An old woman was about to speak, but Ivy waved her hand. "No need to say anything. I want to use this chance to test Everpeace’s formation skills. If my arrays can be broken by the Cult Master, then when Everpeace attacks, Junwood City will fall anyway. Might as well surrender. If he can’t break my arrays, we’ll still have a fighting chance. Now, leave me to play this game with the Cult Master—one match to decide the fate of Junwood City, and the fate of the Western Lands!"
Everyone had no choice but to leave Junwood City.
The city gates swung wide.
Quinn told Bruno to stay outside the city with Kira Bear, then strode into Junwood. Suddenly, the city transformed—every building sank into the earth and vanished, while massive stone blocks floated up, shifting into new arrays.
Junwood City’s appearance changed completely. To outsiders, it just looked like stones moving around in strange shapes—a spectacle, but impossible to follow. But in Quinn’s eyes, the shifting stones became a dazzling, colorful display of formation logic.
Every movement of those stones delighted him. Runes linked and overlapped, forming intricate structures—a feast for the eyes of any true formation master.
Whether it was sheer walls or deadly kill arrays, it all came down to numbers and logic.
Formation patterns shimmered in rings within Quinn’s pupils. Sometimes he darted forward, sometimes he stopped cold, sometimes he’d whip out his brush and tweak a rune midair, sometimes he’d stagger like a drunk, and sometimes he’d bounce between floating stones like he had springs on his feet.
He moved like a startled swan, gliding through merging walls; then like a wild elephant, charging headlong at a stone barrier—only for the wall to split open at the last second and let him through.
He roamed through the wonders of numerology, solving one formation puzzle after another, drawing ever closer to the heart of Junwood City.
(End of this part. Please click next page to continue reading!)
Everything in the city was changing—even the main hall they’d just been in dissolved and vanished. The only thing that stayed the same was the spot where Ivy He stood.
The girl stood calmly atop a single stone pillar, unmoving, her will driving Junwood’s transformations and shifting arrays to block Quinn’s advance.
This time was different from before. Last time, Quinn had been trapped in the city—a rigged match, not a fair contest.
Now, as Quinn charged through the arrays, it was a true test of their formation skills.
After a long while, Ivy spotted Quinn’s figure and tensed up, frantically shifting stone blocks to form new arrays. But Quinn kept approaching, calm and steady.
Where Ivy stood was Junwood’s heart—the formation core. Quinn was only a dozen yards away; even the final array couldn’t stop his advance.
Suddenly, Ivy gritted her teeth. Junwood shook violently as every array activated at once, fusing into an absolute-kill formation—deadly arrays linked together, their power surging, all converging on Ivy’s position!
She triggered the kill array—it didn’t care who was friend or foe. Whether Quinn or Ivy herself, both would be swallowed and destroyed!
As a formation master of the Western Lands, inheritor of the He clan’s honor, Ivy couldn’t let her family’s reputation suffer. She’d rather go down fighting than let the title of number one slip away—even if it meant mutual destruction.
Quinn’s expression shifted. As the absolute-kill formation erupted, he flashed to Ivy’s side, one arm around her waist, the other wielding his brush in the air.
Ivy shut her eyes as the kill array roared down, swallowing them both!
She opened her eyes and realized they were no longer in Junwood, but hidden deep within its space. The kill array thundered, tearing through the painted world Quinn had created, still bearing down on them.
The painted world they were in was about to collapse!
Quinn’s face was serious, his brush moving like a dragon—swift and ever-changing. Suddenly, Ivy felt his arm tighten around her waist as he pulled her into the painting.
They plunged into another painted world—this one filled with beautiful mountains, blooming flowers, and gentle scenery.
But the next instant, Junwood’s kill array shattered this painted world, surging in to destroy everything.
"You’re not breaking my arrays with formations," Ivy said.
She looked up at the serious young man beside her. "Even if you manage to escape Junwood’s kill arrays with me, I still won’t admit defeat."
"You’re second in formations. I won’t fight you for it."
Quinn laughed, splashing ink with wild abandon—a true scholar’s flair. With swift strokes, he led Ivy through another painted world before the kill array could destroy it.
This time, the painting was a starry sky—brilliant stars scattered like jewels across the darkness.
Quinn led her, stepping on stars, racing through the night sky, his brush never stopping as he painted a river of stars.
Behind them, Junwood’s kill array surged forward, but they leapt into the star river and were swept away.
The star river rushed downward; Quinn held Ivy close as they were carried along, his brush guiding them. Suddenly, he leaped, taking her with him to the edge of a cliff.
Ivy barely had time to steady herself before Quinn’s brush drew a pegasus. With a final stroke, he jumped onto its back, still holding her.
The pegasus burst out of the painting, becoming real. It galloped with thunderous hooves, spreading its wings and soaring away, leaving the kill array far behind.
Quinn painted again, his strokes wild and free. A portal appeared before them, light streaming through. The pegasus carried them into the portal, and Ivy, stunned, realized they’d landed atop a mountain outside Junwood.
Quinn set her down, then dismounted. The pegasus reared and neighed, its wings fluttering, before dissolving into drifting ink.
In the distance, the heads of Junwood’s great clans rushed over, flying to meet them.
An elder was about to speak when Ivy suddenly smiled and said softly, "I’ve lost. The Cult Master is second in formations. My He clan and all of Junwood will follow him!"
Quinn looked over, puzzled.
A hint of tenderness brewed in Ivy’s eyes, deep as autumn water.