Chapter 99

After that, people would occasionally come through Mo Shan to ask Mo Hua to paint array patterns—always the Iron Armor Array on vine armor.

Mo Shan always handled the arrangements; Mo Hua only needed to paint the arrays, which wasn't too troublesome, and didn't draw attention.

The Iron Armor Array had only six array lines, which posed no difficulty for Mo Hua, and he could paint them very quickly; when someone asked him to paint one, he'd do it as a side task without wasting much time.

Painting one Iron Armor Array earned him five spirit stones and half a bottle of spirit ink.

Mo Hua painted for a while and accumulated some spirit stones and spirit ink, but unfortunately, all the spirit ink was Jin Shi attribute—only usable for painting metal arrays, useless for other arrays.

The Iron Armor Array contained only six array lines, suitable for mid-stage Refining Foundation cultivators, mostly used only by novice hunter-killers.

Cultivators like Mo Shan, at late-stage Refining Foundation, had no use for it; before a Rank-One late-stage beast, even vine armor painted with the Iron Armor Array was as flimsy as paper, offering little extra protection.

But among hunter-killers, mid-stage Refining Foundation cultivators made up the majority, and each year new cultivators became hunter-killers—these were precisely the ones who needed the Iron Armor Array most.

Although the Iron Armor Array's strength could only block one extra strike from a beast, that one extra block often meant the difference between minor injury and severe injury, even between life and death.

Mo Hua wished he could paint more Iron Armor Arrays, so young hunter-killers like Brother Da Hu could suffer fewer injuries.

For ordinary cultivators, minor injuries were bearable, but severe injuries made daily life extremely difficult; and if they unfortunately died, it was essentially a disaster for the entire family.

Among Xiancheng's hunter-killers, those with ties to Mo Shan were few; most hunter-killers didn't bother seeking out array painters, because arrays were hard to paint and array masters hard to find, and they couldn't afford the spirit stones.

One day, after dinner, Mo Hua was flipping through array books in his room when he heard someone arrive; Mo Shan was warmly greeting the guest, and Mo Hua felt curious.

Mo Shan was usually generous and had many friends, but Mo Hua had never seen him this enthusiastic before.

After a while, Mo Shan called out to Mo Hua, telling him to come meet the guest.

Mo Hua pulled back the curtain and saw an elderly cultivator with a long beard, sitting upright on the central wooden chair; the bearded cultivator wore ordinary hunter-killer attire, his expression stern, commanding without raising his voice, seeming difficult to approach.

Mo Shan said: "This is Elder Yu. Hua, greet Elder Yu."

Elder Yu? The hunter-killer hall's elder?

Mo Hua politely greeted him, then realized this Elder Yu had profound qi, radiating a faint pressure; when Mo Hua cautiously probed with his spiritual sense, he found he could not perceive anything—only a vague sense that someone sat there.

As Mo Hua probed with his spiritual sense, Elder Yu's eyes flickered with sharp light, glancing at Mo Hua.

Foundation Establishment cultivator! And not an ordinary one!

His spiritual sense alone was far stronger than Mo Hua's!

Mo Shan patted Mo Hua's head and said: "Hua, Elder Yu has something to discuss with you. I'll go ahead and help your mother tidy up."

"Why would Elder Yu want to see me?"

Mo Hua was puzzled but nodded.

After Mo Shan left, Elder Yu got straight to the point:

"I heard from Mo Shan that you can paint the Iron Armor Array?"

Elder Yu's voice was slightly hoarse and carried a stern edge—likely a habit formed over years.

"Yes," Mo Hua said.

Elder Yu nodded slightly. "Good. I have a matter to discuss with you."

"Please speak, Elder."

Elder Yu silently nodded; he'd heard Mo Shan's son was a young array master, and at first he didn't believe it—he thought it absurd.

But as more people repeated it, he began to believe, yet inwardly he assumed any young talent must be arrogant, especially array masters—he'd met many, all haughty, regardless of skill, each with a worse temper than the last.

He'd formed no favorable impression of Mo Hua at first, but now seeing Mo Hua's delicate, likable appearance and polite demeanor, his expression softened considerably.

"I plan to have you paint a batch of arrays—all Iron Armor Arrays on vine armor. For the Hunter-Killer Rite, give each young hunter-killer a set, so they'll have some protection when entering the mountains."

Mo Hua suddenly understood; soon would be the Hunter-Killer Rite, when another group of young cultivators would become hunter-killers.

Elder Yu, as an elder of the Hunter-Killer Hall, upheld the hunter-killer code and protected their safety—especially these inexperienced youths who hadn't yet seen the ferocity of beasts. They were vulnerable newcomers now; in twenty or thirty years, they might become the backbone of the hunter-killers.

"How many do you need?"

"About a hundred," Elder Yu said.

"A hundred…"

Mo Hua was startled; that would keep him painting for a long time.

"Can you do it?" Elder Yu asked tentatively.

Mo Hua hesitated. "When do you need these arrays?"

Elder Yu thought a moment. "Before the Hunter-Killer Festival—there should be about three months."

Three months was plenty of time. Mo Hua nodded. "No problem."

Elder Yu exhaled slightly; he'd seen Mo Hua's low realm and limited spiritual sense, doubted his stamina, worried he couldn't finish so many arrays in three months.

Now seeing Mo Hua's confident demeanor, he didn't seem to be lying, and felt somewhat reassured.

Even if he finished only seven or eight tenths, it would still be acceptable.

Elder Yu hesitated, thought a while, then said:

"I heard from Mo Shan that you charge five spirit stones per Iron Armor Array for others. Since those cultivators are friends of your father, you charge less out of goodwill. But these hundred arrays—no such favors. I'll pay you eight spirit stones per array. What do you think?"

Eight spirit stones wasn't much; for an array master, spiritual sense was limited, and daily output was limited—naturally, one wanted higher prices for each array painted.

Normally, this price wouldn't attract any array master to paint.

But this was already Elder Yu's limit; the Hunter-Killer Hall was large in scope but its members were all poor, scattered cultivators—everything depended on him to arrange, everything required spirit stones—eight spirit stones was the highest he could offer.

"Eight spirit stones…" Mo Hua frowned.

Seeing Mo Hua frown, Elder Yu's expression didn't change, but his heart sank.

Array masters really were hard to deal with.

Elder Yu thought silently.