Chapter 110

The little cat demon trained Mo Hua in body techniques; Mo Hua had saved its life, so they were even.

Mo Hua's body techniques had now reached minor mastery, and he was preparing to find Bai Zisheng for another sparring session when he happened to spot several hunters wearing vine armor on the street, his heart skipping a beat.

Vine armor?

Mo Hua's heart turned cold.

Damn, I forgot!

I haven't finished painting the Iron Armor Array for Elder Yu yet…

Previously, he'd drawn a few each day, expecting to complete them within a month. But since Zhang Lan gave him the Flowing Water Step, all his focus went into that body technique.

First he dodged wild fruits falling from trees, then sparred with Bai Zisheng, then found a little cat demon to practice against.

More than a month has passed now; his Flowing Water Step is polished, but he's only painted over thirty Iron Armor Arrays…

Mo Hua rushed home, took out the vine armor, ground the spirit ink, and began painting in a frenzy.

For the next several days, Mo Hua locked himself in his room, utterly absorbed in painting the Iron Armor Array.

Sunlight streamed through the window into the room; Mo Hua leaned over his small desk, painstakingly painting the Iron Armor Array onto the vine armor, stroke by stroke.

Mo Hua painted with intense focus, yet his brushstrokes remained swift; with every pause and flick of his wrist, array lines leapt onto the vine armor, interlinking and combining into an arcane formation.

When his spiritual sense was exhausted, Mo Hua used meditation to restore it.

Once his spiritual sense was full again, he resumed painting.

Five days later, he finally completed all one hundred Iron Armor Arrays.

Mo Hua gave all the painted vine armor to his father, Mo Shan, to deliver to Elder Yu.

Mo Hua had no personal connection with Elder Yu and didn't know how to find the old man; besides, as the only Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Hunter Guild, Elder Yu was always swamped with affairs—hard to see even if you tried.

The arrays were supposed to take a month; now they've taken over a month and a half longer—I hope Elder Yu won't be angry…

Mo Hua silently thought to himself.

Mo Shan went to visit Elder Yu and found him in his study discussing matters with someone, too busy to be disturbed, so he handed the storage bag to Elder Yu's eldest son and asked him to pass it along.

Elder Yu's eldest son, Yu Chengyi, was at Qi Condensation Ninth Layer, one of the top hunters in Tongxian City, his cultivation second only to his father's Foundation Establishment, and he was decisive and authoritative, commanding great respect among the hunters.

But the only person Yu Chengyi feared was his father.

Yu Chengyi tucked the storage bag away and went to find Elder Yu, who was still discussing matters with several elderly hunters, and seemed to be in a foul mood:

"That old bastard Qian should've been struck dead by lightning long ago—always gloomy, scheming against me, and when I'm near death, I'll drag him down with me! Even if I die, I'll make him pay for it!"

"That master Qian Hong is a coward—never does a good thing, but his scheming is just like his old man's!"

"A beast that devours people without spitting out bones—always thinking up ways to suppress us, skimming off spirit stones here, shortchanging spirit weapons there, damn it all…"

"If this keeps up, none of us can survive—see how well the Qian family will fare…"

…

Elder Yu ranted at length about the Qian family.

Hunters relied on hunting demons for a living, selling their materials to the Qian family, who built their fortune by exploiting hunters and squeezing out greater spirit stone profits.

Elder Yu upheld the Hunter Guild, so he naturally clashed often with the Qian family.

Elder Yu had always had a bad temper; after years of hardship, his character had hardened into stubbornness, and the Qian family's constant overt and covert attacks—often underhanded—left him furious, so he routinely cursed them.

This study was called a meeting room, but over half the year, it was used mostly to curse the Qian family.

Yu Chengyi was used to it.

But the Qian family truly was despicable.

He lacked his father's cultivation and his father's grit, or he'd have joined in cursing too.

Elder Yu ranted for a long while before finally stopping, chatted briefly with the elderly hunters, and then everyone dispersed.

After the meeting, Elder Yu's anger still simmered; he poured himself a cup of tea and sipped it slowly.

Yu Chengyi slipped quietly inside. "Father."

Elder Yu raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Mo Shan came by earlier. He asked me to give you this storage bag."

Yu Chengyi said, handing over the storage bag.

"Mo Shan?"

Elder Yu frowned, thought for a moment, then relaxed and said, "Let me see."

Elder Yu's expression held faint anticipation as he opened the storage bag and found inside a full set of vine armor, each one inscribed with array patterns.

Elder Yu couldn't help but be overjoyed.

Yu Chengyi was stunned—his father's emotions usually showed as anger or a stern, expressionless face; such open delight was rare.

"Father, what's in the storage bag?"

Yu Chengyi couldn't help asking.

"Vine armor," Elder Yu replied offhandedly.

"Vine armor?"

"Yes. Vine armor inscribed with the Iron Armor Array."

"For Da and Er?" Yu Chengyi asked.

Da and Er were his sons; as the saying goes, grandparents dote on grandchildren—Elder Yu was strict with his son, but adored these two grandsons.

"Yes, but not just for them," Elder Yu sighed. "You hunters are all seasoned veterans, tough-skinned and thick-fleshed—a few bites from demons won't hurt you…"

A few bites from demons still hurt…

Yu Chengyi thought silently to himself—any cultivator couldn't withstand demon bites—but he dared not contradict, only listened quietly.

"…but the new hunters are different. Though they've learned Dao techniques, they're still children—if anything happens to them, I'll grieve. The Hunter Guild's future depends on them…" Elder Yu said.

Yu Chengyi nodded, then couldn't help asking: "Father, who painted these arrays?"

"He's still young; I'm not sure if he counts as a Array Master."

Master Yu recalled Mo Hua's sweet and adorable demeanor, and his mood brightened further: "That's Mo Shan's son—named Mo Hua."

"Mo Hua..." Yu Chengyi nodded. He had also heard from fellow beast-hunters that Mo Shan had a son with considerable talent in array crafting.

Yet he had one more question:

"How many Spirit Stones do you pay him per array?"

Master Yu, seasoned by years, couldn't help but blush slightly: "Cough... three..."

Yu Chengyi murmured weakly: "Father, isn't that... rather inappropriate?"

Master Yu immediately scowled: "Inappropriate? Low-level cultivators should support one another. I think this child Mo Hua is quite admirable—his awareness surpasses yours."

Yu Chengyi fell silent.

Master Yu thought for a moment and sighed: "You're right, after all—I did take advantage. If anything happens to his family in the future, I'll lend a hand."

Yu Chengyi was secretly astonished. He had never in his life seen his father—so shamelessly self-serving—owe a favor to anyone.

"The Iron Armor Array isn't simple either. Can Mo Hua even draw it...?"

"Why not? Isn't this it?"

Master Yu tapped the wicker armor in his hand. On its surface, a faint golden array inscription was precise and elegant, its patterns intricate yet graceful, with a subtle aura of mystery flowing through them.

Yu Chengyi's eyes lit up: "Father, you've got to admit—this array is drawn beautifully!"

"Naturally! I went and got it myself!" Master Yu beamed with pride.

"How many did you ask him to draw?"

"A hundred."

"A hundred?!" Yu Chengyi gasped. "That many! Already finished?"

"How could he? He's just a child—he couldn't possibly draw that fast."

Master Yu never expected Mo Hua to complete them all at once. Even seventy or eighty would be sufficient. After all, Mo Hua was still young and his cultivation was low; his spiritual sense likely couldn't handle drawing so many arrays.

Seventy or eighty would suffice for now.

"There are only..."

Master Yu relaxed, swept his spiritual sense over them, and roughly counted: "Thirty... fifty... eighty..."

Still more?

Master Yu's expression froze. He counted again, unable to believe it: "Forty... seventy... ninety... one hundred!"

One hundred?!

Master Yu silently drew in a sharp breath, disbelieving: "Finished?!"