Chapter 133: Array Master Zhang Han

As a sixth-rank blacksmith, forging second-rank equipment was effortless for Lu Zheng, as easy as molding clay figures.

He had forged the entire main armor of the electric motorcycle in just one double-hour, though the array had not yet been inscribed.

Placing the armor on the ground and imagining its strange appearance once assembled, he could not see it as the armor of a mechanical vehicle at all; it looked more like... horse armor?

Could it be that this boy's master thought wrapping a horse in armor would make a mechanical vehicle?

Lu Zheng found it somewhat amusing; at first, he had believed Cang Luo's master was a forging grandmaster, but later discovered he was merely a mortal with talent for weapon design.

Now, it turned out he was a "genius" who was arrogant, relying on his slight talent for weapon design while harboring the wild fantasy of designing a mechanical vehicle!

Was a mechanical vehicle so easy to build?

Having no knowledge of arrays and not even knowing what a mechanical vehicle looked like, how could he dare claim to design one? And yet he asked his disciple to find a blacksmith to forge it?

Even I, this old man, only know what a mechanical vehicle looks like; I have no idea whatsoever about its internal structure, let alone attempting to forge it or even daring to design it with a pen.

Lu Zheng sighed; originally, he had wanted to meet the other party, but now, knowing them to be an arrogant and conceited person, he abandoned any thought of meeting them.

However, he had to admit that the other party indeed possessed great insight into weapon design: mortise-and-tenon structures, air blood slots, movable tail fins, aerodynamics...

Although these novel designs had not yet been proven useful, being able to design them was no small feat; at the very least, they had opened a precedent worthy of research and reference.

Shaking his head slightly and thinking no more of it, he said to Cang Luo, "This... the main armor of the mechanical vehicle has been forged. Take a look to see if there are any problems; if there are none, we can proceed to inscribe the array."

Cang Luo hurriedly shook his head to indicate there were no problems.

Thus, Lu Zheng called over his other disciple, who also served as an array assistant; inscribing an array on second-rank armor was a trivial matter that certainly did not require a sixth-rank blacksmith to handle.

The person who arrived was a young man under twenty, with a clear and refined face and a confident smile; Lu Zheng called him Zhang Han.

Zhang Han glanced at Cang Luo, then respectfully performed a disciple's bow to Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng nodded slightly, pointed at Cang Luo to explain the situation, instructing him to inscribe an array on the pile of armor on the ground, while he himself would continue forging the remaining equipment and weapons.

After Lu Zheng left, Cang Luo clasped his hands and said, "Brother Zhang, I trouble you..."

Speaking thus, Cang Luo thought for a moment; in the Yuanwu Continent, martial artists were required to introduce themselves upon first meeting, so he added, "I am Cang Luo, eighteen years old, at the Martial General fourth-realm cultivation, an outer sect disciple of the Profound Tianmen, from Earth Village, Tongzhou."

Zhang Han smiled and clasped his hands in return, saying, "Zhang Han, eighteen years old, a Yellow-rank Array Master of the Shen Bing Fang, from Danyang Commandery, Tongzhou..."

"As for cultivation, we Array Masters do not discuss cultivation levels, only Array Master ranks; if forced to say, I am at the Martial Spirit third realm."

Cang Luo was startled; such a young person with Martial Spirit third-realm cultivation would be an inner sect disciple in the Profound Tianmen, and a genius disciple at that.

Unfortunately, Array Masters are born with a constitution of blocked meridians, able to cultivate mental arts but unable to cultivate martial techniques...

Forced to become Array Masters serving the service industry and auxiliary professions, they cannot rise above the Earth rank.

Zhang Han saw what Cang Luo was thinking, for everyone who met him felt pity for him, and he had long grown accustomed to it.

What if one cannot cultivate martial techniques?

Does that mean only martial artists are considered the strong?

I, Zhang Han, relying on arrays... and beast pets, will one day become a powerful figure in my own right!

Recalling the hardships endured over the years to learn arrays, Zhang Han did not wish to waste time and quickly said, "Brother Cang, move this pile of... armor to my workbench."

Cang Luo nodded, and together they moved the armor of the steel chariot to the pavilion where the workbench was located, then stood nearby, intending to observe how an Array Master inscribes arrays on metal equipment and see if he could learn.

Zhang Han noticed he did not leave and paid it no mind; his master had just instructed that showing him was fine, as long as the details of the array were not seen.

In fact, he felt that even if the array were seen, it would matter little; what harm would it do for an outer sect disciple at the Martial General realm to see it?

Could he possibly draw an array?

Also, was the other party truly only eighteen years old?

Zhang Han found it hard to believe; an Array Master's Yuan Spirit is many times stronger than that of a martial artist of the same realm, with senses infinitely more sensitive; observing Cang Luo's words, actions, and facial details, he felt Cang Luo was at least twenty years old.

A Martial General at twenty years old; how poor must his aptitude be?

Suddenly, Zhang Han felt that Heaven was extremely unfair to him.

Someone like that can become a martial artist.

Yet I cannot cultivate martial techniques...

"Damn it!"

Zhang Han muttered angrily, shook his head heavily to cast out the mental obstruction in his heart, and then began inscribing the array.

He took out a leather wallet made from fourth-rank demon beast hide from his robes; upon opening it, there were over ten carving knives of various sizes and functions, two exquisite brushes with metal pen caps, and a small bottle of ink.

The carving knives and brushes were the tools of an Array Master's trade; carving knives must be used to inscribe arrays on weapons and armor, while brushes are for drawing disposable beast-hide arrays.

Nearby, Cang Luo asked, "Brother Zhang, these carving knives are not ordinary, are they?"

Zhang Han did not look up; gazing lovingly at the knives, he pulled one out and nodded, saying, "Yes, several are forged from fifth-rank metal, Crimson Flame Gold."

Cang Luo nodded and asked no more, feeling they must be very expensive, and quietly watched from the side.

Zhang Han also remained silent, picked up a piece of armor, and began inscribing the array; he had not forgotten his master's instructions and did not let Cang Luo see the array's content.

At this moment, Zhang Han, holding the carving knife, seemed like a different person; the smile was gone from his face, replaced by a cold expression, as he circulated his Yuan Wheel to channel Yuan Power into the carving knife.

Although Array Masters cannot cultivate martial techniques, they can cultivate mental arts, and thus can channel Yuan Power; they simply cannot convert Yuan Power into martial techniques.

The carving knife, infused with Yuan Power, shimmered with a faint golden light as it carved rune after rune around the Yuan Stone grooves on the inner surface of the armor...

Cang Luo wanted to lean in to see the array's structure but held back, fearing he might be beaten to death.

He looked up at the pavilion roof with some irritation.

Why set the workbench inside a pavilion?

Wasn't the open air better?

Sighing lightly, Cang Luo wondered if satellite surveillance would ever develop a see-through function in the future...

About twenty minutes later, the array was inscribed, but one final step remained: using Yuan Spirit and a small amount of Yuan Power to activate the array, linking all runes and rune chains together.

Only then was the array truly complete and ready to be embedded with Yuan Stones for use.

Zhang Han set down the carving knife, extended a finger to touch the armor, and slowly infused Yuan Spirit and Yuan Power...

Ten-plus seconds later, Cang Luo saw the armor suddenly flash with golden light; he was immediately startled, looking at Zhang Han in awe.

What powerful Yuan consciousness!

When I drew the Lei Guang Array and the Wind Shield, it took at least ten minutes to activate the formation, yet he only needed a dozen seconds!

Is a Formation Master's Yuan consciousness this powerful?

Zhang Han ignored Cang Luo's strangeness; he placed the armor with the successfully activated formation facing upward to one side, never letting Cang Luo see the formation's structure from start to finish, then picked up another piece of armor to continue inscribing the formation.

While inscribing, he said, "Brother Cang, forgive me; the formation is each Formation Master's secret that is never passed on, just like a cultivation method."

"The armor must be handed to a Smith for 'sealing' later, which means melting another layer of iron sheet over the formation; only then can it be given to Brother Cang."

Cang Luo nodded to show understanding; he had just been thinking about whether he could take a look...

Forget it; since there is no hope of secretly learning the formation, why stay here?

Cang Luo looked at a pavilion in the distance; Master Lu was forging a long spear and a triangular flying dart, as well as the external equipment for the Iron Chariot, while also instructing Wang Zhonghu as he forged.

Cang Luo felt embarrassed to go over and disturb them; after thinking for a moment, he decided to buy some materials to continue researching the Yuan Power Battery.

Currently, the Yuan Power Battery is missing only the final step before completion; one only needs to connect the formation, the Yuan Stone, and the battery, but unfortunately, he previously didn't know how to connect them or what materials to use for the connection.

However, just now, Cang Luo suddenly thought of a solution, learned from Master Lu and Zhang Han; it is very simple.

One only needs to weld a piece of metal onto the battery that is both conductive and capable of inscribing formations, such as the Obsidian Steel used for the Iron Chariot's armor.

The modified Lei Guang Array is inscribed on the Obsidian Steel sheet; then, a groove is opened at the array's eye to embed the Yuan Stone; finally, Obsidian Steel wires are used to weld the formation to the battery's positive and negative terminals, transmitting Lightning-attribute Yuan Power to charge the battery.

Right, one must also weld an Obsidian Steel wire connecting to the handle to activate and control the formation...

However, there is still one problem: how to ensure the Lightning-attribute Yuan Power will definitely enter the battery along the Obsidian Steel wire?

Cang Luo didn't know; he could only take it step by step, making what he had thought of first.

Having made up his mind, Cang Luo used five second-tier Demon Cores to buy one jin of Obsidian Steel from Shen Bing Fang; he even found a Smith on the spot to help forge it into a sheet and open the Yuan Stone groove.

He had tried it himself, learning to knead it with Gao Qi, but failed; the Obsidian Steel didn't budge an inch, and he was mocked by several big men for a while.

Once the Obsidian Steel sheet was prepared, Cang Luo borrowed a carving knife from Zhang Han; the other hesitated slightly before lending it, without asking what he intended to use it for.

Of course, what he lent Cang Luo was just the most ordinary carving knife.

After receiving the carving knife, Cang Luo didn't leave; he sat opposite Zhang Han, looked at the Obsidian Steel sheet, and prepared to start inscribing the formation after a brief moment.

Using the carving knife to inscribe a formation for the first time felt a bit unfamiliar; Cang Luo cut very slowly, inscribing stroke by stroke.

Opposite, Zhang Han glanced up at him; what is this kid doing?

Inscribing a formation?

No, he isn't a Formation Master, and his cultivation is only Martial General Fourth Layer, far from reaching Martial Spirit; he must be practicing drawing runes, learning in advance how to draw formations.

Thinking this, Zhang Han curiously stretched his neck, wanting to see how well Cang Luo had mastered the runes.

After watching for a moment, he nodded slightly; although the inscribing was very slow, every rune was correctly and completely carved out, suggesting he had practiced many times.

Out of professional habit and confidence in the study of formations, he watched a while longer, then discovered Cang Luo wasn't randomly carving runes, but was carving a complete formation.

Basic Lei Guang Array!

Zhang Han frowned slightly; he felt that Cang Luo, with only Martial General cultivation, should not be wasting time practicing formations instead of cultivating a method to improve his strength; he truly didn't know what he was thinking.

Moreover, he drew it wrong; more than ten runes were incorrect.

There are only seven hundred or so runes in total, far fewer than Chinese characters, and the Basic Lei Guang Array uses only fifty or so runes; yet he can even misremember these...

He couldn't help but remind him, "Brother Cang, at Li Wu San San, Zhen Jia Er Jiu, Dui Xin Wu Yi Er... these rune positions are wrong; if not corrected, the Lei Guang Array will have no power at all, unable to even kill a rat."

"Ah?"

Cang Luo was stunned, looking at Zhang Han in shock, feeling somewhat impressed; professionals are indeed different.

The formation he took more than half a month to modify, yet this man could see at a glance what it would become.

Indeed, how does that saying go?

One cannot challenge a professional with one's own hobby!

Cang Luo said awkwardly, "Thank you, Brother Zhang, for the reminder... by the way, may I ask Brother Zhang, if I connect an Obsidian Steel wire to the Lei Guang Array, how can I ensure the lightning power of the Lei Guang Array won't dissipate, but will concentrate solely on the Obsidian Steel wire?"