"Are they the guardians of the teleportation array?"

A surprised voice rang out in the teleportation array, drawing the attention of several nearby guardians who glanced inside.

When they recognized Wine-crazed within the array, they turned away, losing interest.

"Yes! They are the seniors responsible for guarding the teleportation array in Mingyuan City."

Yun Tao nodded slightly.

"Is the guard force of Mingyuan City really that strong?"

Jiang Chen muttered softly.

Wine-crazed was slightly taken aback, gave Jiang Chen a meaningful look, and said softly, "Mingyuan City is the core of the Mingqian Realm; it's no surprise its guard force is formidable."

"Junior Brother, never mind Mingqian Realm being the southernmost domain of the Changlang Continent, it still boasts many strong cultivators, especially Mingqian Prefecture. As the central prefecture of the entire realm, any strong cultivator from any city within Mingqian Prefecture can rival those from Shenmu Prefecture, not to mention Mingyuan City. Any top power in Mingyuan City is capable of sweeping through Shenmu Prefecture!"

Yun Tao explained softly.

Jiang Chen understood in his heart; it seems that Shenmu Prefecture is like a remote village on Yuan Star, while Mingyuan City is akin to a secondary city!

Wow!

The three had just stepped out of the teleportation array when the array lit up again with a mysterious light, and a faint aroma of wine wafted from within.

Hmm?

Wine-crazed's eyes flashed sharply as he turned to look at the teleportation array, and Jiang Chen along with Yun Tao followed suit.

As the light within the teleportation array faded, nine figures were revealed.

"Tang Lin?"

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow, a touch of surprise in his eyes.

Wine-crazed gave Tang Lin and Wu Qian a deep look, then said softly, "Let's go."

Once he finished speaking, Wine-crazed turned and walked toward the road outside the teleportation array.

Jiang Chen eyed Wu Qian and the others warily and stepped forward to follow Wine-crazed and Yun Tao.

Upon seeing Jiang Chen and the others, Wu Qian and four others' gazes all fell on Jiang Chen, while Elder Sun and the other five glanced at Wine-crazed.

"Elder Wu, please go back; we'll proceed first!"

Elder Sun cupped his fists toward Wu Qian and stepped out of the teleportation array, while three Heavenly Sword Sect disciples quickly followed with Tang Lin.

"Grandfather, shall we follow them?"

Wu Youliang asked, his gaze coldly following the backs of Jiang Chen and the others.

"No need, Wine-crazed is with him; we can't make a move."

Wu Qian waved his hand: "Since he has taken Wine-crazed as a master, he's bound to enter Changlin Academy; we'll have plenty of opportunities to deal with him. Notify Qiang'er, if he can lure Jiang Chen to the Wu Family alone, the position of Wu Family's young master is his!"

"Understood!"

Wu Youliang's eyes lit up as he responded softly.

"Let's go back first; it's not appropriate to disturb the Domain Lord now."

Wu Qian glanced at the backs of Tang Lin and the others, then stepped out of the teleportation array.

...

Changlin Academy is situated in the vast mountains on the eastern side of Mingqian Prefecture, surrounded by mountains on all sides. The academy's center lies in a mountain basin.

The academy gate is located at the back of a valley; the only way to enter the academy from the ground is through this valley.

In front of the valley, there is a warning sign that reads, 'Academy Grounds, No Trespassing!'

"Is this a maze formation?"

Standing before the valley, Jiang Chen glanced at the warning sign, then turned to look at the empty valley, speaking with surprise.

Within the valley, Jiang Chen felt a faint oppressive sensation, an indistinct pressure emanating from the formation connecting to the Great Dao of heaven and earth.

"Yes, there's a maze formation in the valley, set up to prevent some people from recklessly charging in. So, do you want to try it?"

Wine-crazed laughed lightly, looking at Jiang Chen.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sound of breaking wind arose, and two figures suddenly appeared before Jiang Chen and the others. Jiang Chen focused his eyes to see.

The newcomers were two young men, dressed in tight-fitting, light blue attire, with the words 'Changlin Academy' in blue embroidered on one's chest, and in gold on the other.

"Greetings, Elder Wine-crazed."

The two young men bowed respectfully to Wine-crazed.

"Wu Hen? You're personally on duty?"

Wine-crazed looked surprised at the youth with golden embroidered letters on his chest.

"With the academy's recruitment approaching, some new students have arrived early, and my father asked me to guide them here."

The young man responded respectfully.

Wine-crazed nodded slightly, then turned to Jiang Chen, "This is the dean's son, Jian Wuheng. Wu Hen, this is my newly accepted disciple, Jiang Chen. Let him directly participate in the new student rankings instead of those entrance examinations."

"Yes!"

Jian Wuheng glanced at Jiang Chen in surprise, then nodded respectfully.

"Senior Jian."

Jiang Chen cupped his fists toward Jian Wuheng and also toward the student beside him.

The two returned the courtesy by cupping their fists as well.

"Kid, try and see if you can get through this maze formation."

Wine-crazed patted Jiang Chen on the shoulder.

Jian Wuheng and the other young man were taken aback, their eyes showing a hint of disbelief.

"Alright!"

Jiang Chen nodded and stepped toward the valley.

"Elder Wine-crazed, does he... know formations?"

Jian Wuheng glanced at Jiang Chen's back and asked tentatively.

Wine-crazed replied with a faint smile, "You'll see."

Jian Wuheng blinked and turned to look at Jiang Chen, a hint of interest showing in his eyes.

Jiang Chen arrived at the mouth of the valley, extended a wisp of soul force, and probed the maze formation within the valley.

As the soul force entered the valley, a mysterious fluctuation appeared surrounding the soul force, trying to cut off Jiang Chen's connection with it.

Jiang Chen's lips curved, and a faint fluctuation emanated from the soul force, directly shattering the mysterious fluctuation. However, he didn't continue to probe with his soul force but instead withdrew it.

From the investigation just now, he confirmed that this is purely a maze formation. To unravel it, one must first enter the formation.

With a confident smile, Jiang Chen stepped into the maze formation.

"Senior Yun, can he make it through the maze formation? This formation was co-arranged by Elder Wine-crazed and the dean. Even a Void Refinement Realm expert can't enter, right?"

The student who arrived with Jian Wuheng glanced at Wine-crazed, whispering to Yun Tao.

Yun Tao chuckled lightly, "Zhang Qian, the way of formations can't be measured by strength. Junior Brother has profound insights into formations and should be able to make it through."

"Can he make it through?"

Jian Wuheng was momentarily stunned, looking at Wine-crazed in surprise, "Elder Wine-crazed, you're not just trying to test his expertise in formations with this Five Elements Maze Formation; you actually expect him to make it through? Even Ning Yuan, the Void Refinement Array Master in Mingyuan City, said no one can pass through it alone..."

Judging by their expressions, it's clear they don't believe Jiang Chen can get through the maze formation.

Wine-crazed smiled slightly without explanation, simply watching the direction of the valley.

The way of formations is vast and profound, and on the Changlang Continent, there's no clear hierarchy for formations because the art of formations is too rare.

Therefore, formations are often categorized by strength level, with those who can set up formations to rival the Divine Infant Realm called Divine Infant Array Masters, and those who can create formations rivaling Void Refinement Realm experts being called Void Refinement Array Masters.

Though array masters are rare, even rarer than alchemists, their status isn't as high, because formations require time for setup, and in battles the enemy won't give you the time to arrange formations.

However, every significant power keeps a few array masters, as though formations may be of little use in direct combat, they excel in city defense, repairing teleportation arrays, breaking formations in exploring ruins, and other tasks, uniquely serving these purposes.

Thus, cultivators maintain surface-level respect for array masters, but how many genuinely respect them varies from person to person.

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