Dark Moon Era

Chapter 268: A Genius Like Him

A second ago, Tang Ling was still sound asleep, and in the next, his eyes were wide open. The moment he opened them, his sight was blurry though it quickly recovered in less than half a second.

He bolted up from the floor and dashed to the bathroom to shower his head with cold water. Immediately, his brain recovered to its prime form. It was a little habit that he had since the Hope Barrier and had been quite effective even until now.

He wiped his hair dry before stepping back to the desk. This time, he was prepared to use the real materials to draw two body arrays on himself: a Level 1 basic body array and another composite array that he invented.

Tang Ling took a deep breath. Even until now, he did not repeatedly practice the drawing of the body array on the desk to increase his confidence. Instead, he started to recite the basic knowledge that he acquired from the books. Since he had learned everything by himself without a teacher or a mentor, he was unable to get the answers to a certain question.

‘Body arrays are usually divided into two types: basic and ability. The basic body array is usually used to enhance all sorts of basic abilities, like an array of strength, speed, and so on. There is also the composite array like an array of speed and strength or an array of speed and agility. The best kind of basic body array is called a general array, which enhances all the abilities of the human body, including but isn’t limited to strength, speed, reflexes, and so on.’

For example, if the general array was able to enhance all the abilities of the human body, including but not limited to strength, speed and reflexes, was the spirit included in the enhancement? Was the spirit considered a part of the human body’s abilities? Could the general array enhance it?

Unfortunately, he had no answers. Tang Ling planned to use the materials on hand to draw a Level 1 general array on his body, but he could only draw a one-time array that would have a 30-minute effect when activated and would disappear after that.

“Luxurious much!” he exclaimed with a sigh as he grabbed the pen after removing his shirt. His chiseled chest was on display as he looked down at the precious materials.

As a matter of fact, these materials could be used in a much more cost-efficient way such as drawing a permanent entry-level basic body array.

Based on Tang Ling’s current mastery of the body array and coupled with his Precise Instinct, it was entirely possible for him to draw an entry-level general array, and not just a simple single-attribute body array or a higher level composite basic body array.

However, there was only that much space to draw on the human body, and Tang Ling certainly did not want to waste a spot for an entry-level basic array, so his only other option was the ad hoc array.

According to the book, with this set of materials, a newbie had to be a genius and have Lady Luck shining down on him to be able to draw a Level 1 composite basic array, but Tang Ling was prepared to challenge the odds. Otherwise, he would be letting his Precise Instinct down.

Theoretically speaking, this set of materials was only barely enough for a Level 1 general array. The key to success lay within the skills of the artist.

Tang Ling used the sharp array pen and sliced the skin on his arm. Blood started to drip into the material for the body array and fused the material together. The powder mixture then started to glow dazzlingly.

He dipped the mixture with the pen and started to draw the first line on his chest.

Basic body arrays were usually only drawn on the chest or the back. Unfortunately, no matter how godly Tang Ling was, he was not able to draw on his back.

With his Precise Instinct supporting the drawing, the process went smoother than expected. If there were other artists present, they would be in awe of Tang Ling’s precision. Every stroke, every line, every curve, and every twist was exactly like the diagram in the book; there was no difference at all.

It was one of the functions of Precise Instinct, but Tang Ling was not satisfied with it just yet. He felt like he should further utilize his Precise Instinct to find out the intensity of the energy in the array or where the energy flowed less smoothly so that he could perfect the array. That would be the ideal outcome for him.

After all, the effectiveness of a body array of the same level could fluctuate by around 30%. Consequently, the best and the worst body arrays of the same level could see a 60% difference in effectiveness.

What a terrifying difference! Unfortunately, even the greatest array artist might not be able to achieve a 30% effectiveness with every body array he drew, but Tang Ling was ambitious. He wanted to make the ideal effectiveness common. In order to make it possible, his Precise Instinct must be able to observe the flow of energy like how it had been able to do so when the war seed was activated.

As the thoughts ran through his mind, Tang Ling finished the last stroke of the array. Then, he turned the pen around and pointed the sharper end at himself. He started to carve the lines that he outlined on his body.

As he cut his skin, his chest bled and the array lines were fused together. After the blood fused the lines together, the body array came alive. He was able to feel the energy flowing within, but the key nodes in the lines were not connected yet.

Tang Ling did not show any excitement as he quickly picked up the thin needle from the desk and poked 37 key nodes on the general array. After the key nodes bled, the energy of the general array started to flow even smoother.

The last step was to draw a magical symbol in the center of the array. Tang Ling took a deep breath as he picked up the pen again and carefully drew the final magical symbol in the center before ending the process calmly.

As he put the pen down, the Level 1 general array that he drew on his chest started to glow dazzlingly but dimmed out quickly. It then sunk into Tang Ling’s chest and became a pinkish tattoo.

I did it! Joy flashed in his eyes but he soon recovered his composure.

Without a teacher or another array artist, Tang Ling had no idea how amazing it was for him to achieve this.

‘Starting from the entry-level basic body array to the Level 3 basic body array, they are categorized as tattoo arrays; Levels 4 to 7 are categorized as armor arrays. Levels 8 to 11 are the shadow arrays, which means that when one achieves these levels of body array, one will feel like his own shadow is helping him in battles. As for Levels 12 and 13, they are known as god arrays, and almost no array artists can achieve them.

‘Based on the categories, the Level 1 general array can enhance 30% of the human body abilities, and those are just the basic numbers. If the perfect form is achieved, it can go up to 60%. The worst form can’t even enhance abilities by 1%. I wonder how much will my body array enhance my ability.’

Tang Ling had achieved the strength of eight bulls and even if he only got a 30% increment from the body array, he would surpass the strength of nine bulls.

Somehow, after he reached the strength of eight bulls, he had a feeling that it was a lot more difficult for him to increase his strength as the extra energy was all stored in his dantian without being used.

If he could feel the strength of nine bulls using the Level 1 general array, would he be able to overcome this bottleneck?

With that in mind, he got excited because he was eager to test out the power of the Level 1 general array. However, now was not the time!

An ad hoc array would only last for 30 minutes once activated, and he still had to use the remaining time to draw the composite Lightning Fire Array that he invented, so it was not possible for him to activate the Level 1 general array for now.

Tang Ling calmed himself down and opened the two remaining sets of materials: one for the fire body array and one for the lightning body array.

‘Aside from the basic body array, all the other types of body array are called ability body arrays. There are many forms of ability body arrays with different effects. It’s interestingly similar to the different talent abilities of the Purple Moon Warriors.

‘Ability body arrays are also divided into permanent and ad hoc types. In terms of space, there’s no limit to draw the array, but it will be drawn on specific parts at certain times based on the effect so that it can be utilized better.

‘Unlike the basic body array, the ability body array is only divided into seven levels. The highest level of an ability array is no stronger than someone who has mastered the talent to a high level. For example, a Level 7 fire array is no stronger than a fire attack by a high-tier fire element talent.

‘Therefore, the ability body array is only ancillary in battle. It is lackluster compared to the basic body array, and whenever an array artist has reached the end or bottleneck in the basic body array segment, only then should he or she focus on the ability body array.

‘But, of course, there’s also the potential for the ability body array to grow, just like how abilities usually compliment or reject each other. Therefore, the relationship can be utilized to achieve a stronger effect. One plus one can be greater than two.

‘A composite ability body array is what an array artist should go after in the study of ability body array.’

Tang Ling’s mind was reciting all the basic knowledge about the ability body array. After having spent a few days inventing a composite Lightning Fire Array, he had no idea whether his talent was considered common or not.

Regardless, he looked forward to the power of the composite Lightning Fire Array. Because it was a composite array, it would no longer be at entry-level. Instead, it would be at least a Level 1 body array.

With that thought in mind, Tang Ling picked up the pen again. No matter how many times he succeeded with the simulation material, it was impossible for him to perfectly recreate the results using the actual materials and bring out the true power of the composite array.

While he was looking forward to the outcome, his heart naturally started to race due to anxiety. He knew something must have happened in the outside world, so he had to hurry up.