Sun Mo sat cross-legged in the quietest corner of the Thousand Peaks Cultivation Academy.
He had made it a habit to rise before dawn—not out of diligence, but because the silence at this hour reminded him that he was still here. Still behind.
While others walked paths paved with Spirit Qi and Dao techniques, Sun Mo sat alone on the margins.
The stonebeneath him was cold. The academy's famed Thousand Peaks loomed in the distance, veiled in morning mist, like a solemn judgment.
He had failed again.
Another session with Elder Xuyuan. Another attempt to form his first Dao foundation. Another rejection. Not from the teacher—but from the Dao itself.
"Your meridians reject the flow," Xuyuan had said, his voice gentle but distant. "It is as if the Dao itself cannot find you."
He was a curiosity to the instructors. An enigma to his classmates. A disappointment to himself.
Sun Mo was actually curious about what kind of benefits he would get for cultivating the Source.
In general, cultivation—especially through the Dao, grants a person the ability to surpass the limits of ordinary life by aligning themselves with the deeper laws of reality.
At its core, cultivation enhances the body, mind, and spirit, leading to increased strength, heightened perception, spiritual energy, and even longevity.
As a cultivator advances, they refine their internal qi and unlock spiritual realms within their body such as the Qi Sea, Meridians, and Spiritual Apertures.
These inner transformations allow them to practice powerful techniques, engage in combat arts, resist disease, and extend their lifespan far beyond mortal limits.
More advanced stages bring about profound changes: the formation of a Golden Core grants spiritual stability and strength; the emergence of a Nascent Soul introduces spiritual consciousness, astral projection, and mental defense; later levels might even allow one to fly, defy gravity, manipulate elements, or reshape small portions of reality.
Equally important is the development of the Dao Heart—a cultivator's inner truth and philosophy—which anchors their progress and protects them from inner demons or deviation.
Cultivators gain more than just power: they gain clarity, endurance, inner willpower, and a place in the social hierarchy of their world.
Many sects, especially places like the Thousand Peaks Academy, higher cultivation status brings respect, resources, and influence, allowing a cultivator to rise from obscurity to authority.
In the Thousand Peaks Cultivation Academy, Sun Mo sat in one of the classrooms.
A whole room filled with students that numbered to 30 were preparing for their Array Formation class.
Over the course of 5 years, Sun Mo had made almost no progress in his cultivation realm.
The only progress he made were during his classes where they talked about comprehension about the Sword.
Sun Mo had no other talents in the rest of the other fields.
He was basically born as a lesser being that didn't have any talents or skills.
The only way he can rise up now is by relying on this new cultivation system that appeared out of nowhere.
If the elders at the Thousand Peaks Academy knew about Sun Mo's new cultivation path, they would probably be dumbfounded by how similar it is to cultivating the Dao.
Sun Mo shifted his gaze from the distant peaks to the dull, unmoving floor of the classroom. Elder Zhenhai stood at the front, his robes trimmed with silver thread, his fingers inscribing formation patterns in the air as glowing diagrams bloomed around him—circles within circles, lines of invisible force converging, forming radiant sigils.
"Array formations," the elder intoned, "are the externalized will of the cultivator. They are logic made manifest, control etched into the world."
Array formations—also called formation arrays or simply formations—are a powerful and versatile aspect of cultivation that involve arranging energy, materials, or spiritual elements in specific patterns to create a structured field of influence. In the world of cultivation, formations are like mystical circuits or spell diagrams: they harness, manipulate, and stabilize spiritual energies (like qi, laws, or elemental forces) to achieve powerful effects.
An array formation is a geometric or symbolic structure (often drawn on the ground, etched into objects, or activated through tokens or talismans) that channels energy through specific nodes and pathways. These patterns amplify or control energy in ways a single cultivator usually cannot do alone. Arrays can be activated by cultivators, items, spiritual beasts, or even by the natural flow of heaven and earth qi.
Defensive Arrays:Create barriers, shields, or protective domains. Often used to guard sects, homes, or hide treasures.
Example: Spirit-Sealing Dome—blocks detection and teleportation.
Offensive Arrays:Trigger attacks when activated—such as blasts of fire, lightning strikes, sword qi barrages.
Example: Thousand Blade Killing Formation—sends flying swords in coordinated waves.
Trapping Arrays:Designed to imprison intruders, restrict movement, or confuse perception.
Example: Maze of Echoes—loops the same landscape endlessly to disorient foes.
Healing Arrays:Gather natural energy to nourish the body, stabilize qi flow, or accelerate recovery.
Example: Jade Vitality Circle—draws in life qi to mend internal injuries.
Enhancement Arrays:Boost the power of cultivators within their bounds, aiding meditation or amplifying techniques.
Example: Qi Convergence Array—concentrates ambient qi for cultivation breakthroughs.
Sealing Arrays:Used to lock away spiritual items, suppress fiendish beings, or bind dangerous artifacts.
Example: Heaven's Locking Sigil—seals demonic essences or cursed remnants.
Communication Arrays:Allow long-distance contact between sects or cultivators via spiritual signals.
Transportation Arrays:Enable instantaneous movement between two locations—similar to teleportation circles.
Requires complex spatial understanding and anchoring points.
Students beside Sun Mo nodded solemnly, their pens scratching furiously as they copied the elder's words. Some were already forming spirit threads in the air—threads that would become anchors for spiritual nodes. The prodigies worked fast, not merely understanding the lesson, but embodying it. Like the Dao had chosen them from birth.
Sun Mo, meanwhile, could only watch.
He understood the theory. He even admired the elegance of formations—how energy flowed like water along planned paths, how a cultivator could impose their intent upon the heavens. But when he tried to apply it, the energy refused him. The symbols scattered. His formations collapsed before they could stabilize.
It was not meant for him.
He sighed quietly and lowered his gaze.
At this point, no one even whispered behind his back. His failure had become old news. He wasn't worth mocking anymore.
And yet...
A strange sensation loomed over the array formation. Sun Mo felt as if there was something visible behind the inscriptions that were on the