Chapter 466: Chapter 414: Gathering

As late October approached, Zhao Lin returned to Red Tail Island and settled into a guesthouse.

He spent his days meditating to refine his Qi and going to the seaside to practice casting magic underwater.

As the saying goes, it’s never a bad idea to sharpen your spear before a battle. Although he was confident in his abilities, it was always wise to overestimate the enemy. Even becoming just a little stronger would give him a better chance of survival.

During a break from his cultivation, he recorded the four Tier Two Skills from the Spirit Cultivation Map onto a jade slip he carried with him.

Water Element Skill, Water Demon Fist: Level: Expert. Limit: Expert.

Ice Element Skill, Spinning Ice Hammer: Level: Expert. Limit: Perfection.

Earth Element Skill, Mountain Collapse, Earth Rend: Level: Expert. Limit: Expert.

General Skill, Mind Stabilizing Skill: Level: Expert. Limit: Expert.

’For underwater combat, Water Element Skills are the natural first choice. I need to practice my Water Demon Fist more.’

’Coupled with my Perfection-level Water Manipulation Skill and Ice Blade Skill, I’m confident I can hold my own, even against an expert at the Peak of Qi Refining.’

A few days passed in this manner before Gan Xingquan paid him a visit.

Gan Xingquan was the island’s Captain, and he was the one who had led Zhao Lin and the others on their last seafaring mission.

Accompanying him were five other cultivators: an old man and four young men.

"These are the Array Masters sent by Island Master Chu to accompany you on the mission: Sun Jue, Wang Yunzhi, Wei Chong, and Ye Mingkuan."

Gan Xingquan introduced the four young cultivators to Zhao Lin, then turned to them. "This is Zhao Lin. Once you’re at sea, you will follow his lead. He is in command."

"Yes!"

The four Array Masters were young, all in their mid-twenties. Each stepped forward to formally greet Zhao Lin.

The old man’s hair was streaked with gray, and his face was lined with wrinkles. Judging by his appearance, he had to be at least seventy or eighty years old.

When Gan Xingquan introduced him, his tone was filled with respect. "This is Elder Chao."

The old man smiled faintly. "I am Chao Duan. It’s a pleasure."

"A pleasure."

Zhao Lin replied with a smile, though he inwardly thought, ’What a shame.’

Having cultivated his Qi Observation Skill to the level of Perfection, he could see not only that Chao Duan was at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, but also that he had already reached the Peak of Qi Refining.

The Peak of Qi Refining meant that a cultivator had opened all one hundred and eight Spiritual Acupoints, fully expanded their meridians, and met all the prerequisites for breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Unfortunately, not every cultivator at the Peak of Qi Refining succeeds in reaching Foundation Establishment. Countless fail in the attempt. If they are young, they might have a chance to recover and try again.

But at Chao Duan’s age, any hope of reaching Foundation Establishment in this lifetime was lost. That was why Zhao Lin felt a sense of pity.

Once the introductions were complete, Gan Xingquan pulled Zhao Lin aside and whispered, "We don’t have many Array Masters on the island. You must ensure their safety."

"Their cultivation levels might be high, but they have almost no training in offensive skills and lack combat experience. If they run into cultivators from the Earth Dark Sect, I doubt they’d last more than a few seconds."

Zhao Lin’s expression turned serious. "Elder Gan, rest assured. I will do my utmost."

In truth, even if Gan Xingquan hadn’t said anything, Zhao Lin would have done everything in his power to protect the Array Masters. ’If any of them get hurt,’ he thought, ’I won’t be able to secure Pearl Shoal, even if I wipe out every last cultivator from the Earth Dark Sect.’

Gan Xingquan nodded. "Elder Chao should be enjoying a peaceful retirement at his age, but he was willing to risk his life for this mission. You can rest assured as to his character, young friend."

Zhao Lin understood. ’Cultivators of his age, with no hope for a breakthrough, usually spend their energy either in quiet self-cultivation or on meticulously honing their skills.’

’Their cultivation level might have stagnated or even declined slightly, but their combat prowess could be even greater than in their youth. They truly grow stronger with age.’

Gan Xingquan continued, "I will inform all cultivators assigned to the mission that you are in charge. You don’t object, do you?"

Zhao Lin smiled. "Of course not. In fact, it would be great if more people were willing to join."

After Gan Xingquan left, Zhao Lin invited the five of them into his room.

’Since we’re going to be working together, we need to build a good rapport and establish some mutual trust,’ he thought.

After a bit of small talk, Zhao Lin turned to the Array Masters. "Would you mind explaining to me how you set up these mechanisms?"

Mechanisms were a sub-discipline of Arrays, something Zhao Lin had never formally studied and only had a superficial understanding of.

Sun Jue, the leader of the four, smiled. "There’s nothing too mysterious about them, really. Mechanisms have a single, dedicated function. They only use array stones, no Array Plate, which makes them even easier to set up than a proper Array."

As he spoke, he took out six dark brown array stones and showed them to Zhao Lin.

Zhao Lin took the stones. He saw they were carved with neat Array Patterns arranged in various shapes like rhombuses, starbursts, and octagons.

The faint Spiritual Qi leaking from them had a sharp, tense feeling, like a drawn bowstring. Otherwise, they didn’t seem much different from those of a normal Array.

Zhao Lin handed the stones back to Sun Jue and asked a more critical question. "How long does it take to set up and dismantle one of these mechanisms?"

Sun Jue thought for a moment. "Setting them up is simple. If we aren’t disturbed, the four of us working together can finish in less than a quarter of an hour."

"Dismantling them is a bit trickier; it depends on the mechanism’s complexity. Generally, it takes a little longer than setting one up."

Zhao Lin calculated inwardly. ’If a Pearl Shoal has eight mechanisms, then at this speed, it will take at least four hours to secure just one.’

’And that’s assuming we aren’t interrupted.’

’Dismantling an Array causes a huge disturbance. To give the Array Masters the peace they need to work, we’ll have to eliminate most of the Earth Dark Sect cultivators first. Otherwise, the Array Masters will be in danger.’

’Chu Hongtian must have sent Chao Duan to protect these four Array Masters, ensuring they have a powerful ally on hand in case they run into a strong enemy.’

With this in mind, Zhao Lin turned to Chao Duan and asked politely, "Elder Chao, may I ask which skills you specialize in?"

Chao Duan let out a hearty laugh. "In my eighty years, I can’t say I’ve truly mastered much of anything. I only have a passable understanding of the Water Wheel Wall skill."

The Water Wheel Wall was a Tier Two Water Element defensive skill. When cast, it formed a rotating wall of water around the user, capable of defending against all sorts of offensive magic.

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