Immortality Through Array Formations Chapter 2081 Chapter 990: Rebirth

The Sword Discussion Conference draws near, filling the Taixu Gate with a sudden wave of tension.

Throughout the sect, from leaders to followers, everyone clutches at a fragile strand of hope in their minds.

Elder Master Xun hasn't appeared in public for quite some time.

At present, every aspect of the Formation classes—preparing lessons, delivering instruction, and grading assignments—falls entirely on Mo Hua's shoulders.

Elder Master Xun, meanwhile, acts like a detached overseer, remaining secluded in the Elder's Residence, pouring all his focus into relentless deductions around the clock.

Not even the Taixu Sect Master enjoys such calm.

During his visits to feed the Big White Dog, Mo Hua spotted the Sect Leader on a few occasions and noticed his weary appearance, with strands of his once-thick black hair starting to thin out.

Furthermore, the Elders Mo Hua runs into are all rushing around with serious faces, deeply engaged in readying themselves for the Sword Discussion Conference's many affairs.

The disciples of the Taixu Gate feel the greatest anxiety.

After all, they are the ones stepping into the sword competition arena.

The sect's reputation, family benefits, and their own paths ahead all ride on this event's outcome.

A heavy weight seems suspended in each person's chest, stirring worry while also weighing down like an unyielding burden that stifles every breath.

As intense cultivation sessions and spell battles unfold, the disciples' faces grow ever more serious and burdened.

They barely exchange words even over meals.

Noon arrives at the Disciple's Residence.

Mo Hua munched on a chicken leg, glancing around, and saw that the dining hall, once buzzing with chatter and joy, now lay under a chill silence. Everyone ate in quiet focus, heads bowed without a murmur, prompting him to shake his head in dismay.

This won't do.

Such a heavy mood could lead to stomach troubles.

Mo Hua swiveled to glance at Cheng Mo next to him.

The usually chatty Cheng Mo had turned utterly quiet, his features set in a rigid mask as he mechanically gnawed at a pork knuckle without savoring it.

Mo Hua offered him a chicken leg.

Cheng Mo paused in surprise, lifted his gaze to confirm it was Mo Hua, and replied slowly, "Thank you, Junior Brother."

Mo Hua inquired, "How's your sword competition training coming along?"

Cheng Mo gave a nod and muttered, "It's alright..."

Yet his face betrayed doubt, showing a clear absence of assurance.

Mo Hua felt confused and pressed, "Your foundation seems solid enough. Why the lack of faith?"

Cheng Mo harbored a heavy feeling within and preferred not to chat, yet he couldn't brush off Mo Hua's concern, so after a brief pause, he let out a sigh:

"Junior Brother, honestly speaking, at my level of cultivation, neither my techniques nor my body have any real flaws. Within the Cheng Family, if I rank myself second, nobody would dare claim the top spot."

"However, this is the Qian Learning State Boundary, where only the finest disciples from the Four Great Sects and Eight Gates gather. My talents come across as average at best, and I can only lean on my 'tough build and resilience' to edge out a slight lead over the rest."

"In the real sword fights against the brilliant minds from other sects, I... really hold no edge..."

Cheng Mo brimmed with self-doubt.

Situ Jian and several others close by nodded in agreement.

In their own families, they stood without question as the "standouts."

Place them anywhere else across the Nine States, and they'd shine as "once-in-a-century prodigies."

Even a typical Taixu Gate disciple, if dropped into the Big Black Mountain State Boundary like Mo Hua's homeland, would pass as a "stunning talent."

Yet when all these exceptional figures converge in the Qian Learning State Boundary—as family elites—they end up looking "ordinary" by comparison, without any standout traits, just merging into the crowd.

Cheng Mo and his peers aren't lacking; it's simply that the disciples around them possess overwhelming strength.

Skies exist beyond every sky, and superiors tower over all.

Beyond mere geniuses lie even mightier "prodigies."

Their own "brilliance" serves only as the entry ticket to the Qian Learning State Boundary, where they witness far greater wonders.

Mo Hua stirred with quiet reflection.

Fortunately, he had proven the Dao through Divine Sense and stumbled into a "shortcut."

Otherwise, given his aptitudes, he wouldn't have scraped past the Qian Learning State Boundary's bar, much less earned a spot as a Taixu Gate Junior Brother.

Mo Hua tallied in his thoughts and concluded that among the current Taixu Gate members, the sole true "peak prodigy" was Xiaoxiao, who had entered from "beyond."

Linghu Xiao hailed from the Chongxu lineage as a disciple.

His clear Sword Heart marked his Sword Dao talent as a once-every-five-centuries marvel in the old Chongxu Gate's legacy.

Without the Three Sects Unification, the Taixu Gate would lack even this single "ultimate genius."

Mo Hua sensed a twinge of dissatisfaction, but on second thought, it made perfect sense.

The greatest prodigies ought to align with the premier Four Great Sects.

That way, lesser talents flow to the Eight Great Gates.

Armed with these top prodigies, the Four Great Sects dominate sword discussions and claim victory after victory.

Through constant supremacy, they keep drawing in elite talents.

The rejects then trickle to the Eight Great Gates, the Twelve Streams, and down to the Qian Learning Hundred Gates.

Thus, for the Taixu Gate—along with the Eight Great Gates—to snag even a handful of genuine peak prodigies proves exceedingly difficult.

"It's not merely Spirit Stones and legacies that get split; talents face division too..."

Mo Hua let out an inner sigh.

The sole outlier remained the Tai'a Sect of three years back.

Back then, Tai'a Sect topped the Eight Great Gates in prestige, boasting two or three peak prodigies within its ranks.

Still, such prodigies often grow haughty, and in their youthful vigor, brimming with Blood Qi, an episode on the Rouge Boat stripped them of their "Sword Discussion" eligibility.

After that, with defeats in sword discussions, Tai'a Sect fell into a slump.

Today, on the surface, Taixu Gate has merged the Three Sects, pooling talents from all three.

However, since the "creme de la creme" got siphoned away, it barely edges out the old top-ranked Tai'a Sect among the Eight Great Gates.