Chapter 128
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Chapter 128: Force and Domain, the Immobilized Teacher
"Whoosh!"
Standing before the Yin soldiers, Mu Lin clenched his fist and threw a fierce punch.
"Boom!"
Though small and delicate-looking, the terrifying strength from his Body of a Dragon unleashed a sonic boom with that single strike.
Such destructive force could crumble boulders and split waterfalls.
Yet now, Mu Lin’s punch merely forced the targeted Yin soldier back several steps, leaving only a dent.
"Thirty percent reduction? Only seventy percent of my strike remained on the paper figure Yin soldier—the rest was shared by others."
A mere thirty percent dispersal seemed underwhelming, but Mu Lin had just begun mastering this technique.
“Keep drilling…”
“Forward!”
“Clang…”
“Left turn!”
“Halt!”
As Mu Lin barked orders, the Yin soldiers and ghost officials moved in perfect unison through military formation drills.
Minutes stretched into hours—ten, fifteen, thirty minutes… until a full hour and a half passed.
The extended manifestation time granted by Sui Mu paper allowed relentless training. Combined with his soldiers’ shared origin and mental synchronization, Mu Lin achieved astonishing progress in this single session.
Midway through, he made a crucial observation: while Heaven and Earth Arrays remained mysterious, the Human Array focused purely on channeling collective power.
This power transfer mechanism became his breakthrough.
Both Substitute Paper Figure and Paper Figure Curse involved redirecting forces—whether shifting injuries to paper figures or casting curses through them.
These principles mirrored military formation energy transfers.
Having mastered paper figure techniques, Mu Lin adapted swiftly. After brief adjustments, he boosted damage distribution from thirty to fifty percent.
Fifty percent marked the threshold of Level 2 Proficiency.
[Sky Wall Palace Formation, Level 2 Proficiency (123/3600), Trait: Injury Transfer (Redirect damage from paper figures to others—50% for blunt impacts, 30% for swords/magic)]
Progress slowed when pursuing Level 3. Unlike earlier stages, this required manifesting a ‘Wall’—the formation’s core defense.
True walls meant barriers, not just damage sharing. Unlike Substitute Paper Figure’s full transfers, the formation couldn’t completely deflect attacks—especially against flying swords and spells (1-3% transfer).
But walls changed everything.
Through the connection of their spiritual energy, Mu Lin enabled a group of Yin soldiers and ghost officials to spread their magic power into the void, forming a barrier.
The barrier stood like a city wall, blocking enemy spells and sword strikes. As long as the barrier remained unbroken, attacks couldn’t reach the paper figures.
If enemies breached the formation, the linked spiritual energy and condensed forces could make the air around the paper figures stagnate, slowing the foes or even freezing them completely.
"To achieve this, it’s not just about linking energies—it requires vibration… no, resonance…"
This was where Mu Lin struggled, slowing his progress.
Normally, advancing from Level 2 Proficiency to Level 3 Mastery would take considerable time. Yet by dawn, his Sky Wall Palace Formation broke through again.
This wasn’t due to sudden enlightenment or an Attribute Panel error, but because:
"So *this* is what the palace in Sky Wall Palace Formation means…"
Bored after training, Mu Lin had his Substitute Paper Figure command the Yin soldiers to practice the formation while he focused on refining magic power.
Before cultivating, he revisited the Sky Wall Palace Formation’s Information. The jade slip described the 4th Level Master stage since others had achieved it.
He discovered that, like other cultivation methods, this military formation underwent a transformation at the fourth realm.
First realm: barely forming an array.
Second realm: unlocking linked energies.
Third realm: solidifying the Heavenly Wall and congealing spiritual energy.
Fourth realm: soldiers gained access to legendary "force" and "domain." United in energy and will, they could manifest an illusory palace through spiritual energy and protective intent.
The palaces varied by essence of Domination—some summoned unbreakable forts, others gigantic cities.
Here, Mu Lin made a strange realization:
"I lack resonance skills, but I *do* have an illusory will-city!"
Focusing his mind, he tried projecting the City of Heaven’s Funeral from his Mind Image world into reality.
Alone, this was impossible. But with a hundred Yin soldiers and the Sky Wall Palace Formation’s methods, he channeled energy resonance and linked intent to force the projection.
A mournful wail sounded as paper money rained down. A majestic town materialized—yet as it formed, a foreign connection latched onto the City of Heaven’s Funeral.
Under that terrifying power, the city warped from stern fortress to an ancient, eerie monument radiating burial intent. The area turned sinister; his Yin soldiers and ghost officials began mutating…
Unaware, Mu Lin kept testing his cultivation methods. Meanwhile, the phantom city’s emergence jolted awake teachers in the Taoist Palace.
"Strange realm!"
"Forbidden power invasion?"
"How could this be? With the Tower of Illusions suppressing everything, why would a strange realm form in the Taoist Palace?"
A surge of special force caused many teachers to abandon their closed-door training and rush toward Mu Lin’s location.
The first to arrive was Dongfang Ya, their instructor who cared deeply about her students.
When she realized the corrupted forbidden power originated from Mu Lin’s quarters, she quickened her pace.
Upon reaching the area, she gaped at the sight of Mu Lin using a hundred Yin soldiers as foundation stones to summon the City of Heaven’s Funeral.
"Mu Lin summoned this forbidden power – he’s fallen to corruption… Wait!"
Looking closer, Dongfang Ya saw the forbidden power from the City of Heaven’s Funeral had indeed manifested, yet Mu Lin still commanded it.
Understanding dawned, leaving Dongfang Ya stunned.
She wasn’t alone. Soon Elder Qin, Mountain Elder, Teacher Ma, and other instructors arrived.
Finding Dongfang Ya watching without intervening, they clustered around her demanding:
"What’s happening?"
"Why aren’t you stopping this?"
Others peered at Mu Lin. One man scowled upon seeing the spectral City of Heaven’s Funeral rising from the Yin soldier formation:
"Demonic possession… No, corrupted cultivators slaughter mindlessly. He’s… directing it."
"He’s controlling that power!"
"Control means it’s a domain, not corruption! Impossible! Domains belong to mage-stage Refining the Evil and Condensing Essence experts! I haven’t even grasped force concepts!"
Many Qi Practitioners stared in disbelief. Their shock was understandable – force and domain represented profound mastery.
Qi Practitioner’s training involves comprehending heaven and earth, using this wisdom to evolve one’s physical strength and spiritual will toward cosmic harmony.
Early cultivators focus on strengthening bodies, magic energy, and souls.
Upon reaching higher realms, their attention shifts from self-perfection to shaping reality itself.
Force and domain mark this transition.
Force lets spiritual will dominate an area – making winds howl or rivers still at command. Yet wind remains wind, stone stays stone.
Domain transcends this. It warps a region’s essence, twisting environments and bending natural laws.
Mu Lin’s projected City of Heaven’s Funeral radiated domain-like power.
But such mastery should only come after Refining the Evil and Condensing Essence, achievable by seasoned mages or metamorphosis-stage adepts.
That a three-month novice like Mu Lin manifested this power shocked everyone, Dongfang Ya included.
Yet being experienced, Dongfang Ya soon spotted clues.
"Mu Lin’s not this powerful yet. He’s not controlling a domain – he’s borrowing the City’s strength."
