Chapter 511 509: Intensive Offensive!

'An Array Master, huh...' Lin Xuan frowned. The term was a little foreign to him, though not entirely. After all, his mind was filled with memories, so he had some understanding of it.

The title 'Array Master' sounded quite impressive, but it was essentially a profession like a Pattern Master, an Alchemy Master, or an Artifact Refiner, each with their own unique expertise.

Array Masters, in particular, shared many principles with Pattern Masters. One could even say the discipline of Arrays was an extension of Pattern Mastery, but with a greater focus on offense.

In fact, Lin Xuan had encountered Arrays many times before, from Illusion Arrays to the various formations protecting grand palaces. The very first one he had faced was the Sealing Array when he rescued Bingxin, and breaking it had nearly cost him his life.

Once inside an Array, you were in the Array Master's world. They could manipulate it at will, and facing them under those conditions was a complete nightmare!

Bu Feiyun and the others had thought he would be facing someone from the Zhang Family, but that was clearly not the case now. His opponent was Jiang Xuanyuan of the Su Family.

"Grand Elder, I'm truly moved by your concern," Lin Xuan said after a moment of thought. "However, I still intend to give it my all. To know there's danger ahead and not dare to face it would have a major impact on my path of Cultivation."

Bu Feiyun's eyes lit up. Lin Xuan had said it well. If a cultivator allowed fear to hold them back, it could easily damage their Mental Realm. And with a compromised Mental Realm, the effectiveness of one's Cultivation would be drastically reduced.

"Very well, then. But I hope you won't be too reckless. If something were to happen to you... we would be devastated!" Bu Feiyun was being very direct. They would be heartbroken if they lost Lin Xuan.

It wasn't just the Bu Family, either; the Yan Family would be just as devastated. He was the most promising new blood in thirty years! If they missed this opportunity, they would have to wait another thirty years for a similar talent.

Of course, this wasn't to say the family only recruited from the outside. They had plenty of their own internally-grown talent; they would have perished long ago otherwise. The key was that Lin Xuan had stood out from a massive pool of geniuses, and his future was destined to be limitless. How could they possibly let a talent like that slip away?

After giving their final instructions, they dismissed the meeting, leaving Lin Xuan to prepare. In truth, Lin Xuan was holding back a secret: he had yet to unleash his true, full power. 'I don't even know what my own limits are,' he thought. 'Perhaps only the final battle will be able to draw out all of my potential.'

'The Lin Family bloodline really is something else,' Lin Xuan mused. 'After just a few battles, I can feel my Cultivation has improved significantly, and my Elixir Core Pearl has become even more condensed. It's true—the more I fight, the faster my Cultivation rises!'

Lin Xuan could feel another slight increase in his Cultivation. If he kept this up, he was certain he could break through to the Fourth Layer of the Spirit Pill Stage!

Finally, the semi-finals arrived. Under the watchful eyes of the entire audience, Lin Xuan appeared on the arena stage. His opponent was none other than Jiang Xuanyuan. The man walked slowly toward him from the opposite side, looking to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. He approached with a constant, wide grin, like a smiling Buddha, seemingly without a single ulterior motive. His Cultivation was at the Sixth Layer of the Spirit Pill Stage, which was even lower than Mu Qianlong's.

But it would be incredibly superficial to judge one's absolute strength based on their Cultivation alone, unless the gap in levels was immense. It was like assuming a man in a luxurious coat was wealthy—for all anyone knew, the coat could be borrowed.

Therefore, while Cultivation was a valid benchmark, it was by no means the absolute measure. True genius was determined by one's comprehensive abilities, not a single statistic.

This principle only applied when the difference in Cultivation was within the same major Realm and not too far apart. For example, a cultivator at the First Layer of the Spirit Pill Stage would find it nearly impossible to defeat someone at the Peak of the Spirit Pill Stage, even with an arsenal of Divine Artifacts. And facing someone in the Core Formation Stage? That was even more out of the question—it would be a complete slaughter.

"I've watched all of your matches," Jiang Xuanyuan inquired with a wide smile, his tone and attitude both sounding perfectly pleasant. "Possessing the Yulan Sacred Fire is quite impressive. I wonder, how did you come to acquire it?"

"I just got lucky," Lin Xuan replied with a placid smile. He was under no obligation to answer such questions.

"Oh, you just got lucky?" Jiang Xuanyuan knew Lin Xuan was being evasive, but he kept smiling. "The Yulan Sacred Fire is impressive, yes, but it's not of much use against me. If you don't want my Arrays to toy with you until you're broken, it would be best for you to surrender now. It would save me some effort."

After this round, there would be another week-long recovery period. The later matches in the tournament were increasingly difficult. Instant victories were becoming impossible, and it was more likely for a match to end with both combatants severely wounded. A long rest was necessary to ensure they could fight in their peak condition.

"'Surrender early?' A small smile played on Lin Xuan's lips. 'That's a pretty blunt way to put it. And what if I say no?' He watched as Jiang Xuanyuan ambled past, not approaching him directly but beginning to circle around him."

"Let the match begin!" the referee formally announced.

"If you don't surrender, then there's only one outcome: severe injury... or death." Jiang Xuanyuan's smile widened into a grin as he stopped a short distance from Lin Xuan. "You're already standing within my attack range. Now, enjoy the show!"

Instantly, a brilliant light erupted from the ground, surging up to envelop Lin Xuan!

Fire Dragon Array!

Incredibly, in the few steps Jiang Xuanyuan had taken while circling, he had already laid out the Array! In the blink of an eye, the formation drew in all the surrounding Fire Elemental Power, coalescing it into several Fire Dragons that roared as they charged at Lin Xuan.

"Yulan Finger!"

Lin Xuan pointed forward, and a column of frigid ice erupted from his fingertip. It effortlessly pierced through the Fire Dragons, shattering them into frozen fragments before slamming into the Array on the ground.

BOOM! A wave of frigid energy blasted out from the ground, sweeping in all directions. Not only had the Fire Dragons been frozen solid, but the Array on the ground had also been easily shattered.

"A little interesting, but that was just the appetizer!" Jiang Xuanyuan's hands became a blur, forming one Hand Seal after another. The area all around them began to glow brightly. Unbeknownst to Lin Xuan, Jiang Xuanyuan had already laid out numerous other Arrays, placing the entire stage firmly under his control.

As several more arrays flared to life, countless Great Swords made of condensed Elemental Power materialized in the air. Alongside them, even more Fire Dragons roared into existence. The combined, dense barrage howled toward Lin Xuan. The sheer volume of attacks was so overwhelming that there was seemingly nowhere to hide!

"The Ten Thousand Swords Array and the Fire Dragon Array! Let's see you emerge from this unscathed!" A cold glint flashed in Jiang Xuanyuan's eyes. He was already certain of his victory. By relying on his Arrays, he could launch wide-area attacks, leaving his opponent with absolutely no room to escape!

Faced with such a dense onslaught, Lin Xuan simply narrowed his eyes, a faint smile touching the corners of his lips. He seemed utterly confident.