Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Clearing the Sea of Formations would make one an official formation master, but not everyone was qualified to challenge it. One had to make a request beforehand and the guild leader had to approve it personally. After which, it had to be discussed upon during the conference of the elders, and a selection process would be conducted... And on top of that, one had to pay an exorbitant fee as well.

Since this fellow was here, he must have obtained an approval beforehand. When did the guild fall to such a level... that even a person with such poor mental fortitude could take on the examination as well?

It was one thing for him to be deprived of sleep, but more importantly, what that displeased him was the attitude of this fellow when facing the Sea of Formations!

There wasn't a single person who came to take the examination that didn't carry fear and respect for it. In a sense, this could be considered as one's respect for the occupation as well. Yet, this fellow was behaving so casually here. Was he that confident in the examination?

Disgusted, the senior instructed, "Let him go first. You can learn from his counter example when he fails!"

"Yes!" The two juniors nodded their head with a gleeful expression on their faces.

They didn't carry any doubt that this fellow would definitely fail.

The young man who had left the trio speechless was Zhang Xuan, who had rushed here from the library.

After reading books for such a long period of time and mastering two dans of the Heaven's Path Formation Art, it would be a miracle if he wasn't slightly withered.

Thus, as he walked over to the Sea of Formations, he adjusted his breathing to rid himself of his fatigue. Before long, he arrived before the trio.

Noticing that the gazes of the trio were on him, Zhang Xuan asked them doubtfully, "Are you all here to challenge the Sea of Formations as well?"

"We're still conditioning ourselves. If you wish to go first, feel free!"

Seeing how that fellow didn't carry the slightest respect in his tone when facing an official formation master, the senior flung his sleeves and harrumphed.

"Oh. Since you all aren't in a hurry, I won't stand on ceremony then!"

It had been awhile since he had arrived at the Formation Master Guild, and Zhang Xuan was in a hurry. Since the other party was willing to allow him to go first, Zhang Xuan chose to not turn the offer down. With a smile, he nodded his head and walked in.

"To go in without any preparation... Isn't he taking this too lightly?"

Seeing how the other party didn't try to push the offer or even look at them before rushing straight into the Sea of Formations, the trio felt as though their vision was spinning.

That was the Sea of Formations! There was no formation master who didn't feel fear for it! To charge right in without even claiming the jade token to stop the formation, wasn't he being too brazen?

"He's just asking for trouble! Even senior was unable to clear it easily and yet this fellow dares to charge in without preparation. What else can this be other than courting death!"

The green-robed junior harrumphed.

"Indeed. I bet that he'll be trapped in the first stage. By then, he will understand how fearsome formations are..."

The white-robed junior smirked.

Weng!

At that moment, the young man walked into the corridor, triggering the formations.

A mist slowly rose, shrouding his figure. At the same time, the young man's figure appeared on the wall beside.

Wuwuwuwu!

Spiritual energy flowed in the surroundings of the young man as though billowing clouds, sealing off his five senses entirely, leaving him incapable of discerning directions at all.

"It's a Confinement Formation! Given how concentrated the white mist of spiritual energy is and how fast it is flowing, if I'm not mistaken, he must have activated the [Cloud Ocean Confinement Formation]!" The senior recognized the formation.

When one was trapped in a formation, one had to use a compass to determine one's location and analyze the spiritual energy flow to determine the type of formation. But when spectating from the outside, one could easily deduce the type of the formation through its physical properties. This was much more efficient and accurate than the former.

As the saying goes, 'it is the passersby who sees things clearly.'

"Cloud Ocean Confinement Ocean? That is the most complex formation among the grade-1 formations, and it is the hardest to deal with as well!"

"That formation seals all of one's senses, leaving one unable to determine anything at all. Even if one could use a compass to discern one's location, if one can't accurately decipher the formation, it'll be hard to escape from it!"

They didn't expect this fellow's luck to be that bad. To think that he would meet with such a formidable Confinement Formation as soon as he entered. The two juniors shook their heads in sympathy.

Even if he was lacking in capability, if he were to meet with an easy formation, he might still be able to clear it. However, having encountered such a formidable Confinement Formation, he could only raise his hands to surrender.

"See. Even if you meet with a Confinement Formation, it doesn't necessarily mean that you can break out of it. Thus, you must be on your toes at all times and, by no means, should you underestimate the formation you are in. You mustn't be like this arrogant and ignorant fellow. He's just looking for trouble..."

Seeing how that fellow inside didn't even bother taking out a compass, the senior shook his head, turned to his two juniors, and advised them.

However, before he could finish his words, his two juniors widened their eyes simultaneously, and their faces starting twitching violently.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing the two of them lose their composure, the senior frowned, "Teacher has already told you that before challenging the Sea of Formations, you must focus your attention and avoid getting arrogant or anxious. Look at what state you are in, how do you expect to succeed like that?"

"That's not it, senior. Look..."

With a reddened face, the green-robed junior hurriedly pointed to the front.

"What's there to make a fuss about? Isn't he just trapped in the Confinement Formation? Don't worry, if he isn't out within two hours, the formation will dispel itself automatically. This is just a Confinement Formation; his life isn't at risk..."

Harrumphing, the senior turned around and his latter words immediately jammed in his throat. His body stiffened and his lower jaw fell to the ground. "What?"

He thought that what he would see was a helpless young man trapped in a Confinement Formation, but contrary to his expectation, the young man was standing quietly not too far away, shaking his head calmly.

And the mist that had shrouded around him had disappeared without a trace. In other words, the Cloud Ocean Confinement Formation which had left him fearful... had already been broken!

To stop the formation entirely...

I thought you wouldn't be able to overcome it?

Even if you have the capability to do so, surely you don't have to be so fast?

You didn't even bother taking out the compass or discern the flow of spiritual energy, and yet, in the time that I was lecturing my two juniors, the formation was already gone...

Do you need to be so extreme?

"What just happened?" Frenzied, the senior hurriedly asked.

"We also... didn't see it carefully. We only saw him kicking the formation... the-then... it simply disappeared!" the green-robed junior said.

"It disappeared with a kick? What in the world are you talking about?" The senior's face darkened.

I'm asking you how the other party overcame the formation and you're telling me that he kicked it?

Kick your head!

Do you think that a formation is a living being that will stop with a single kick? If that is true, then we, formation masters, would have long gone out of business!

This occupation wouldn't have been the dreams and fears of so many people.

"It was really just a kick..."

With his mouth twitching violently, the green-robed junior protested. He was already nearly on the verge of tears.

He had seen with his own eyes that the other party sent a kick at the formation and it immediately stopped...

But how could a grade-1 pinnacle Cloud Ocean Confinement Formation be broken so easily?

"It was indeed just one kick..." The white-robed junior nodded his head in a daze.

"Even he saw it, I'm not mistaken..." Upon seeing his fellow peer confirming his words, the green-robed junior ascertained that he wasn't insane and hurriedly nodded his head.

"Kick?" The senior felt frenzied.

Your heads must be the one that was kicked for you all to say such ridiculous words!

Formations are intangible... Do you think it makes sense for them to be kicked?

"Enough. Regardless of whatever method he used, it's just the first stage so it's still within an acceptable difficulty range. I don't think he'll be able to do it as easily for the latter stages!"

Seeing that his two juniors were getting incoherent, the senior waved his hands and looked at the young man in front intently.

Since he missed it previously, he was determined not to miss the other party's actions this time. He had to get to the bottom of the matter and see what method that fellow used to break out of the formation.

After all, it hadn't been too long since his juniors started learning about formations. It was possible that they were deceived by some bizarre method used by the other party, thus missing the true way.

Hu!

Thus, he gathered his attention to look at the young man. As expected, the young man who just escaped from the Cloud Ocean Confinement Formation didn't just stop right there. He proceeded on to the next stage.

Weng!

Soon, he came into contact with the formations of the second stage and a white mist rose up, shrouding the young man once more.

"It's an... Illusion Formation!" The senior narrowed his eyes.

After being plunged into an Illusion Formation a moment ago, he was already rather fearful of it. Judging from the type of mist and the movement of the spiritual energy, he immediately deduced that the fellow had met with one, and from the looks of it, it didn't seem at all inferior to the Illusion Formation he encountered previously!

"Illusion Formation?"

His two juniors were stunned. Sympathy immediately appeared on their faces.

Honestly speaking, this fellow was truly unlucky. He met with such a formidable Confinement Formation in his very first stage so they thought that perhaps, his luck might be better in the second stage. Yet, he met with the Illusion Formation which their senior failed at.

"That's right. In the formation, the clear air is rising while the turbid air is sinking. The collision of the two produces a unique moaning sound which will cause those hearing it to suffer from hallucinations! That was precisely how I unwittingly fell under the illusion previously!" the senior said with a grim expression.

Even now, when he recalled the experience from before, he couldn't help but feel fearful.

As soon as he stepped into the formation, before he could even react, the unique sound reached his ear and assaulted his psyche, causing his consciousness to become fuzzy.

For a moment, he was completely helpless and defenseless.

If not for his body being jolted due to the depletion of his zhenqi, he would've probably been unable to pull himself out from the illusions.

"It's that fearsome?"

The white-robed junior narrowed his eyes. "Doesn't that mean that... he has no chance of succeeding at all?"

"Breaking out of an Illusion Formation requires one to have high mental fortitude. If one's mental fortitude doesn't reach a certain level, it'll be very difficult to escape from it. Given how he isn't even twenty, even if he started cultivating from a very young age, how strong can his mental fortitude be? Even I have failed, lest be said, him!"

The senior shook his head.

He didn't see how that fellow had passed, but it showed that the other party possessed a certain level of aptitude in formations. However... Illusion Formations were simply too difficult.

It wasn't just about one's comprehension of formations. More importantly, it was about one's mental fortitude.

If one couldn't maintain a calm and impervious mind, it was very easy for to get confused and lost, thus resulting in one's inability to pull out from the illusions.

In order to deal with illusions, he had undergone tough training for countless months but even so, he still failed in an instant. He found it hard to believe that a young lad who wasn't even twenty yet could do better than him.

"Look, he's starting to kick around randomly as well... The heck!"

Previously, when he succumbed to the Illusion Formation, he also began striking out randomly. This fellow was starting to show the same symptoms as well.

However, before he could finish his words, his body suddenly trembled violently.

As soon as the young man's leg kicked out, the corridor which was filled with mist suddenly cleared up.

The formation... had been broken again!