Chapter 655 - 650: Don’t Come Begging Me

Chapter 655: Chapter 650: Don’t Come Begging Me

Although Xun Province fell under the domain of the Great Xia Dynasty, to the local Martial Artists, the Lin Family was far more famous.

The Great Xia Dynasty’s power far surpassed that of the Lin Family, but the mountains are high and the emperor is far away; the great figures of the Royal Family rarely deigned to visit a place like Xun Province.

The Lin Family, however, was different. As a native power in Xun Province, the Lin Family boasted a long history of over five thousand years, making it an ancient and great family.

All the various powers throughout Xun Province had submitted to the Lin Family.

It was rumored that a former Patriarch of the Lin Family had once served the third Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty.

At that moment, the Lin Family’s Third Elder, Lin Yuanfeng, stared at Ning Jiang with a piercing gaze, searching for any sign that he was lying. But in the face of his scrutiny, Ning Jiang appeared perfectly calm. "Whether I’m joking or not, we’ll know once you let me try."

Lin Yuanfeng’s eyes narrowed slightly. Having cultivated for a thousand years, he had a keen and discerning eye, and he could tell that Ning Jiang possessed an intense self-confidence.

This was something he found difficult to comprehend.

’Those who understood Teleportation Arrays were all renowned figures in the Celestial Domain, masters from an older generation who had lived for hundreds, even thousands, of years. How could someone as young as Ning Jiang possibly understand Teleportation Arrays?’

"In that case, you may give it a try."

After a moment of contemplation, Lin Yuanfeng made his decision. The only way to know if the young man was genuine was to let him try.

With Lin Yuanfeng’s permission, Ning Jiang stepped onto the platform cast from White Jade. A circular Teleportation Array was engraved upon it, immense in size—a full thousand zhang in circumference—and covered with a dense web of runes.

A Teleportation Array of this type could transport over a thousand people each time it was activated.

SWOOSH—

Just as Ning Jiang was about to begin, several figures suddenly flew through the air and landed on the platform.

"Grand Elder, what brings you here?"

Lin Yuanfeng was taken aback and hurried forward to greet them.

The newcomer was an old man with a full head of white hair, his face etched with wrinkles as deep as ravines. It was the Lin Family’s Grand Elder, Lin Yuankun. His cultivation had reached the Celestial Martial Realm, and though he was only an ordinary One-Star King, he was still considered a great figure who struck awe across Xun Province—one of the Lin Family’s two Kings.

Beside Lin Yuankun stood another old man. He had white hair and wizened skin, and his bearing was that of a sage. He wore a yellow robe.

"Yuanfeng, come and meet Master Cheng Ming," Lin Yuankun said.

"Master Cheng Ming?" Lin Yuanfeng had clearly heard the name. A look of respect appeared in his eyes as he hurried forward to bow. "So it is Master Cheng gracing us with his presence. Please forgive me for not recognizing you at first glance."

"Who is this Master Cheng?" someone in the crowd asked in surprise.

Lin Yuanfeng was a man of status and influence in Xun Province, yet he was showing such reverence to this Master Cheng. It was unbelievable.

"You fool, how can you not know someone so famous? He’s a renowned Array Master from the Western Province. His cultivation may not have reached the Celestial Martial Realm, but it’s said that the arrays he creates are so profound that even a Celestial Martial Realm expert would face mortal danger if trapped inside."

The Western Province bordered Xun Province. Clearly, Lin Yuankun had personally made the trip to invite this Array Master.

"Yuanfeng, who is this young man? And what is he doing on the array platform?"

Lin Yuankun frowned as he looked at Ning Jiang.

"Grand Elder, this young man claims to understand Teleportation Arrays and says he can repair this one, so I was letting him try," Lin Yuanfeng answered.

"Nonsense." A look of displeasure crossed Lin Yuankun’s face. "Teleportation Arrays involve the Space Dao. How could some young brat possibly understand such things? If you let him try to repair it and word gets out, outsiders will laugh at our Lin Family for grasping at straws in a crisis."

"But..."

Lin Yuanfeng was left feeling rather awkward.

"Master Cheng, please begin," Lin Yuankun said, offering a cupped-fist salute to Cheng Ming.

Cheng Ming nodded and stepped onto the Teleportation Array.

Seeing that Ning Jiang hadn’t yet stepped down, Lin Yuankun barked, "Brat, get off of there at once."

Ning Jiang gave a cold smile. "Don’t come crying to me later when you can’t fix this array."

"Such arrogance." Lin Yuankun’s eyes turned cold. "If this were any other day, I would teach you a lesson on your elders’ behalf for daring to speak to me like that. But Master Cheng is here today, so out of respect for him, I won’t lower myself to your level."

"The ignorant are fearless."

Ning Jiang spat out four words and walked off the Teleportation Array.

Lin Yuankun’s eyelid twitched. For Ning Jiang to dare call him, a Celestial Martial Realm King, ignorant was a grave insult. He almost couldn’t stop himself from striking the boy dead with a single palm.

"Elder Lin, calm yourself. Young people are always a bit temperamental," Cheng Ming said with a small smile, surprisingly speaking up for Ning Jiang.

"Master Cheng, you are magnanimous. I admire that," Lin Yuankun said with a cupped-fist salute before adding sarcastically, "But some young people these days don’t know their own limits and have no concept of reverence. Even if I don’t deal with him today, I doubt someone like that will live for very long."

"It is best to be merciful when one can." Master Cheng was clearly a kind-hearted man. His expression turned serious as he said solemnly, "Alright. I am now going to attempt to repair this array. I must ask Elder Lin to act as my Protector and ensure that no one disturbs me."

"Master Cheng, please proceed without reservation," Lin Yuankun nodded.

As he spoke, he released a powerful pressure that enveloped the entire area around the Teleportation Array.

"Hm?"

Lin Yuankun was slightly taken aback. He had intentionally directed a portion of his pressure onto Ning Jiang’s body. At such close range, his Celestial Martial Realm pressure was enough to bring a Heaven-Reaching Realm expert to their knees.

He had originally wanted to make a fool of Ning Jiang and teach him a little lesson. However, Ning Jiang just stood there, his expression unchanged. Not only that, but he even shot a provocative glance back at him.

’This damned brat.’

Lin Yuankun cursed inwardly. He simply lacked Master Cheng’s magnanimity.

RUMBLE!

Just then, the Teleportation Array erupted with a powerful fluctuation; Master Cheng had activated it. The entire White Jade platform bloomed with brilliant light, forming a massive pillar that shot toward the heavens. At the same time, the countless runes engraved on the ground seemed to come to life, rising into the air.

These runes were pure gold, numbering in the thousands upon thousands, and they floated in the air in a regular, densely packed formation.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that some of the runes were incomplete. The damage to the Teleportation Array was due to these very deficiencies.

Repairing this Teleportation Array was, in theory, quite simple: one merely had to complete the damaged runes.

But actually completing these runes was far easier said than done. The runes of a Teleportation Array involved the Space Dao and were extremely intricate. Even a simple rune was composed of hundreds of strokes, while the more complex ones required over a thousand.

Master Cheng observed the tens of thousands of runes, his expression as grave as still water. A full hour passed before he finally began his work, starting to complete the first rune.