A hundred Iron Armor Arrays, completed in just over a month and a half? Mo Hua had actually finished them?
Elder Yu furrowed his brows, remaining silent.
Seeing this, Yu Chengyi asked, "Father, what’s wrong?"
Elder Yu handed over a storage bag to his son, "Count them."
Yu Chengyi took it, sweeping it with his spiritual sense. He counted once, then again, and couldn’t help but count one more time…
Moments later, his mouth agape, he exclaimed, "They’re… all finished?"
Elder Yu glared at him, "Can’t you count?"
Yu Chengyi sheepishly smiled, then couldn’t help but ask, "Did he… draw all these by himself?"
Elder Yu flipped through the vine armor inside and compared it to the Iron Armor Arrays. Though some strokes were hasty, the spirit and form were unified, indeed the work of a single hand.
"This Mo Shan… could he be some minor demon?" Yu Chengyi couldn’t help but mutter.
Elder Yu immediately slapped him, "What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Yu Chengyi held his head, mumbling, "I was just saying."
Elder Yu looked at him with an expression of unexpected severity.
After a moment, Yu Chengyi ventured, "Couldn’t someone else have helped him draw?"
"Who would help him draw?" Elder Yu snorted, "I, a Foundation Building cultivator, have asked everywhere, yet no one would draw arrays for me."
As soon as he mentioned this, Elder Yu grew a bit angry. It wasn’t that others refused to help; it was that the price he offered was too low.
"If it really was him drawing by himself, not to mention anything else, the spiritual sense consumption must have been significant. Mo Hua, this child, is only at the fifth level of Qi cultivation, and he’s not that old either…"
"Indeed," Elder Yu sighed, suddenly feeling a bit sympathetic, and instructed, "Bring some nourishing pills and spiritual items from home; I’ll go check on the Mo family."
Yu Chengyi hesitated.
"Spit it out!" Elder Yu barked.
Yu Chengyi whispered, "We don’t have many nourishing pills at home…"
"Bring whatever we have!"
"But…"
Elder Yu’s face darkened.
Yu Chengyi dared not say more, quickly gathering some Qi and blood nourishing pills, spiritual herbs, and lingzhi, sealing them in parchment, and packing them into the storage bag, which he handed to Elder Yu.
Elder Yu took it, turned to leave, then suddenly turned back and instructed, "You come with me."
Yu Chengyi puzzled, "What am I going to do?"
"If Mo Hua really can become an array master, that would be our fortune as demon hunters. I’m taking you to get acquainted, so it’ll be easier to speak if something comes up in the future."
Yu Chengyi, albeit a ninth-level Qi cultivator and demon hunter, was somewhat reluctant to ingratiate himself with a child, but seeing his father’s stern expression, he could only obediently reply, "Yes."
Elder Yu took Yu Chengyi to the Mo family.
Mo Shan was surprised beyond belief; he hadn't expected Elder Yu to come personally, and Yu Chengyi too, thinking it must be something serious, his expression also grew solemn.
Elder Yu waved his hand, "It’s nothing. I came to see Mo Hua. You go about your business."
Mo Shan was bewildered but thought it must be about the arrays and thus relaxed.
Upon seeing Elder Yu, Mo Hua too was startled.
He thought Elder Yu was displeased with his slow progress in drawing arrays and had come to reprimand him.
But that wouldn’t make sense, right? A Foundation Building elder wouldn’t be so petty…
Mo Hua whispered, "Elder Yu, you wanted to see me?"
Elder Yu didn’t know how to start and coughed, asking, "That array, it must have taken quite some time, right?"
Mo Hua’s heart tightened.
Elder Yu wasn’t really blaming me for being slow, was he?
But indeed, he was to blame; he had been focused on practicing his footwork and had forgotten about it.
When he remembered, a month had already passed.
Mo Hua felt somewhat embarrassed and could only say, "Elder, I’m quite slow at drawing; I can only finish two or three arrays a day, and only managed to complete them yesterday."
Elder Yu and Yu Chengyi exchanged glances.
"It really was him who drew them!"
Iron Armor Arrays with Six Paths Array Patterns, drawn by a child in his teens, two or three a day! And that was while not neglecting his cultivation, sparing time to draw!
A storm
of amazement surged in their hearts, but they tried to keep their composure.
"Not slow at all!" Elder Yu hastily said, "It’s even faster than I thought."
He had thought that if Mo Hua could stick to finishing one array a day, that would be good. In three months, even if not a hundred, there would be eighty or ninety, and the rest could slowly be made up later.
But Mo Hua’s speed at drawing arrays was much faster than he had expected! What a talent!
Elder Yu was overjoyed, took out the storage bag, and spoke warmly and gently, "I was worried you’d tire yourself out, so I brought some nourishing pills and spiritual items for you, along with some spiritual meat. They're not anything precious, but rest assured and keep them…"
Yu Chengyi stood by, wide-eyed; he had never heard his father speak with such a warm and amiable tone.
It was as if someone else had taken over his body…
Yu Chengyi couldn’t help but shiver.
"How can I accept this…"
Mo Hua politely declined.
Elder Yu sternly insisted, "What I give you, you take!"
Mo Hua had no choice but to accept, and Elder Yu then nodded, pulling Yu Chengyi over and saying, "This is your Uncle Yu. If you run into any troubles in the future, just turn to him, no need to be polite."
Caught under Mo Hua’s piercing, bright eyes, Yu Chengyi was momentarily at a loss and managed a forced smile, saying, "Yes, if you have any trouble, just turn to your Uncle Yu, there’s no need to be formal."
Yu Chengyi repeated his father’s words, unsure of what else to say.
Elder Yu was somewhat frustrated, this foolish son of his couldn’t even speak properly!
Mo Hua gratefully said, "Thank you, Elder Yu! Thank you, Uncle Yu!"
Elder Yu nodded in satisfaction, then patted Mo Hua’s shoulder, "Cultivate well, learn arrays well, we won’t disturb you further."
After speaking, he took Yu Chengyi and left.
Mo Hua initially felt uneasy, thinking Elder Yu might dislike his slow progress in drawing arrays, but seeing Elder Yu not only didn’t mind but was also pleased, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Happily, Mo Hua handed the gifts from Elder Yu to his father, Mo Shan.
"Dad, these are from Elder Yu, you keep them."
Mo Shan nodded, took the storage bag, and looked inside, then suddenly froze, "Who gave you these?"
"Elder Yu." Mo Hua replied innocently.
"Elder Yu?" Mo Shan frowned, "The Elder Yu who just entered… that Elder Yu?"
"Yes, in Tongxian City, he’s the only Elder Yu," Mo Hua said, puzzled.
Mo Shan was stunned; that temperamental, stern, stingy Elder Yu, known for never parting with a penny, was giving gifts? And to his son?
Mo Shan was shockingly speechless.