Chapter 30 – Hidden Dangers of the Trial

Aifei’s sudden change in attitude made him nervous. The implications of the poor defensive formations and the importance placed on his claim to be a formation master weren’t anything good. He wondered what dangerous situation he had gotten himself caught up in.

Ren barely got a glimpse of the camp before he was dragged into a lavish-looking tent. The command tent had three others inside, one of whom he recognized. It was the 2nd place holder of the outer sect tournament, Zhen Bing. The one who had defeated senior Chun Wei with a terrifying icy breath technique. His newly awakened spiritual sense couldn’t let him identify the precise strength of others, but he could tell she was also in the early foundation establishment realm. Only she felt more stable and solid…?

If she had broken through immediately after the tournament, then she must have advanced two or three layers in a period of just one year, which was remarkable progress. A prodigy of the illustrious Zhen family, this much was expected, but Ren was still impressed by how stable her cultivation was despite such a rapid advance.

While he was looking around the tent, Aifei had approached Lady Bing and was reporting to her. It made sense. She must be second in command and leader of the camp in the absence of Lady Li Xing. She was now looking at him, so Ren swiftly bowed and waited.

“I recall you from the tournament. Chun Wei had been interested in you. So you are a formations user?”

“Yes, Senior.” Ren kept his words to a minimum. But he felt if Senior Chun Wei knew her, then she was someone worth trusting.

“We have need of your services. As you probably saw on the way in, the formation guarding this camp is damaged. It was given to Senior Li Xing by her master to protect our sect’s juniors. It is a matter of some urgency to repair it. What do you say?”

Ren could read between the lines. The camp was under a threat of some kind, and the urgency implied another attack was forthcoming. If they were relying on him, then they can’t have too many options. If he accepted, he would be taking up a huge risk, but he also didn’t see any real chance to refuse. A little resigned, he moved on. The pre-made formation could be patched, but he needed to know more.

“I saw some places that I could mend, but I would need to inspect the formation to truly know what I can fix. Also, what materials may I use?”

“Very well, you’ll have your chance. Aifei can guide you. But know this: if you mess around and waste my time, you’ll have to bear the consequences.”

She flicked her hand in dismissal, and Ren bowed before following Aifei out. She had already shed her serious demeanor and returned to her cheery self. Ren was amazed by how easily she switched personalities.

“So we have around 50 disciples gathered here, and everybody provides some assistance to the camp in exchange for the shelter. We have a decent stockpile of materials, but you should know that there isn’t a large variety in attributes. You can let me know which you need.”

“Thank you, Senior. But I should take a look at the formation first to know what needs to be fixed before selecting materials.”

“Oh, that makes sense. Let’s go!”

As they neared the gate, he saw Bao Hua and Mei Ling waiting with curiosity and a little apprehension. He took a few moments to reassure them before heading out. His spiritual sense stretched out a little to identify the flow of qi through the formation. He walked around the whole camp observing the fractured formation.

He made notes on what should be fixed first. Where he could get twice the results for half the effort. The urgency Zhen Bing had mentioned became more obvious to him as he realized with dread that the damage to the formation wasn’t done by the natives of the subspace realm. This was the result of sentient knowledge of formation and malicious intent.

The implications grew the budding sense of dread even more as he realized that if only ally sects had been invited, then were they being betrayed, or had another unknown party snuck in? The subspace was dangerous enough and filled with mysterious phenomena. Add in a rival faction with ill intent, and Ren knew he needed to fix the formation fast.

With half a plan in mind, he went with Aifei, who had looked on silently, to get some help from the other disciples. Refining raw materials into useable forms could be done by anybody skilled in alchemy or any number of other disciplines that required proficient qi manipulation.

Zhao Ren had requisitioned materials and aid to patch up the formation as soon as possible. Zhen Bing had allowed him full access after he had explained his reasoning and sent a few disciples to assist him. After giving them their assignments, he had begun fixing the worst of the fractures in the formation.

The next 2 days were spent in a frantic rush, with even lofty Lady Zhen Bing assisting in refining ingredients. The air in the camp was noticeably grim. Everyone had picked up on the looming threat and was doing their best to prepare in any way they could. Mei Ling had been assisting in the medical tent. There were many injured, and each one healed meant another hand to help defend the camp. Bao Hua went patrolling with two other disciples, and Ren hadn’t seen him since.

The camp didn’t have any defensive walls, but a few trees had been cut down to clear the field and laid down as cover. The array had minor illusory properties, but it mainly focused on keeping away spirit beasts and a qi shield that could be activated. Ren ignored the illusions because it would be easy to see through and was just a waste of energy. There were large mid-grade spirit stones powering the formation, but if it was hit with persistent attacks, then there was a risk of it being drained.

Ren had just finished the first round of fixes addressing the most critical points when patrols started returning, often injured. News quickly spread that it was the Hidden Sea Sect that had attacked the camp previously, and they were gearing up for another offensive. Even senior Li Xing had returned with her elite team along with more rescued disciples, much to everyone’s relief. If it came to a battle, then having a few elites would make a huge difference.

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