Chapter Twenty: The Leading Figure of Our Time! (Second Update)

Everyone felt that, within the formation, the previous oppressive force had multiplied several times over.

Xia Ning murmured, “What is happening?”

All eyes turned to Jiang Yu, whose palm glowed with dazzling brilliance within three inches, as if he held a beam of golden light.

A shrill, almost ghostly cry rang out, jolting everyone awake: “Three inches in the palm, a formation conjured in a single thought? Who… who are you?”

Elder Shen staggered backward, horror etched across his face, his soul nearly fleeing his body.

“Who am I?”

Jiang Yu gazed at the small formation in his palm, lost in contemplation.

After a few moments of serious thought, he replied, “Some call me the Nascent Soul True Man, some call me Teacher, others address me as the Immortal Elder of the Bright Grotto. I have too many identities to count.”

“How is that possible? How can there be someone in this world who can create a formation in a single thought?”

Elder Shen lost all composure, shouting hysterically.

Jiang Yu shook his head. “I can’t claim to conjure formations with a single thought. I simply took your incomplete formation and perfected it.”

“In my youth, by a stroke of great fortune, I obtained this remnant formation. Over the years, I consulted countless ancient texts, visited the Masters of Celestial Dao and Dragon-Tiger Mountain, devoted myself to research for twenty years, and humbly sought advice from many renowned teachers and seniors. Only then did I manage to make some slight improvements.”

“But you, in a single thought, have accomplished what I could not achieve in a lifetime…”

By the end, Elder Shen’s gaze had dimmed considerably; he slumped weakly onto the sofa.

Not only that, but his final connection with the great formation had completely vanished.

“Who exactly are you?”

Not a secret disciple of Celestial Dao?

A stray disciple of Dragon-Tiger Mountain?

Or perhaps the last apprentice of some hidden master?

But even if the head of Celestial Dao, Master Haoxu, were here in person, he couldn’t have perfected a great formation in an instant!

Beside them, Xia Ning’s beautiful eyes opened wide in disbelief, her small hand covering her lips.

This scene was simply too shocking for her to comprehend.

Xia Wuchang trembled all over. Even from several meters away, he could feel the overwhelming might emanating from Jiang Yu’s palm, dozens of times stronger than what Elder Shen had produced earlier.

Jiang Yu took a quiet breath. Though he had just perfected the great formation, in his eyes, such an array was worthless and easily broken, not worth keeping.

“No need to look at me like that. It’s just a worthless formation—I wouldn’t stoop to seize it by force.”

With that, Jiang Yu flicked his finger.

“I’m returning it to you.”

The small formation left Jiang Yu’s palm, instantly expanding as it caught the wind, growing larger and larger until the golden brilliance receded, becoming invisible, and enveloped the entire villa.

Elder Shen hurriedly focused his senses, and after a moment, his shock was beyond words. Without the slightest hesitation, he dropped to his knees and bowed three times, nine kowtows: “Shen junior offers deepest thanks for the gift of fortune, Senior.”

“Shen Rong, why are you still standing there? Hurry and give thanks to the Senior with me!”

Seeing his son standing dumbfounded, Elder Shen quickly shouted at him.

Looking at Jiang Yu before him, Shen Rong, however much resentment he felt, could only kneel and speak softly, “I offended you earlier, Senior. I hope you will be magnanimous and forgive me this once.”

Yet in his heart he thought, “So what if your skills in formations are profound? Without the support of a formation, you’re just another mortal. Without true strength, it’s all empty talk. Relying on a great array’s power doesn’t make one a true man of valor.”

Of course, these thoughts he dared not voice. He didn’t know how Jiang Yu would react, but he was certain Elder Shen would slap him unconscious on the spot.

Watching Elder Shen bow to Jiang Yu, Xia Ning’s eyes sparkled with stars, as if she were dreaming.

This world was simply too crazy.

Xia Wuchang scrutinized Jiang Yu. “No wonder you dared question Elder Shen in public. So you have the identity of a formation grandmaster—this is your true backing. I underestimated you.”

Jiang Yu resumed his unremarkable appearance.

If not for his display of divine power moments ago, everyone would have mistaken him for nothing more than a poor student.

“Now, may I treat Xia Housheng’s illness?” Jiang Yu turned to look at Xia Ning.

She was still dazed, and only when Jiang Yu chuckled and repeated his question did she snap out of it. “Ah… yes, yes, you may.”

Jiang Yu turned to the astonished Xia Housheng. “The malaria you suffer from is nothing to me. But before I help you, I have one request—on top of our original agreement, I want one more thing from your family.”

Upon hearing Jiang Yu’s confidence in curing his illness, Xia Housheng was overjoyed and nodded quickly. “As long as you can cure my malaria, Senior, you may have whatever you wish.”

Jiang Yu then looked at Elder Shen. “I will treat Xia Housheng now. Do you have any objections? Your previous contract with the Xia family is now void. Do you accept that?”

Elder Shen nodded respectfully. “I accept wholeheartedly. Let the capable take their due place.”

Jiang Yu walked over to Xia Housheng and said calmly, “You have been afflicted by the essence of gold in clear water. If I don’t act now, you have at most a week left. Since Miss Xia encountered me, it is your fortune.”

Essence of gold in clear water?

Everyone was filled with a great question mark.

What was that? It seemed no one had ever heard of it.

“Go and prepare a full Manchu-Han banquet for me,” Jiang Yu said casually.

Xia Wuchang thought this was part of the treatment, so he lost no time and, in just over half an hour, had a table piled high with dishes prepared.

“It’s ready. What should we do next? How can we help?”

Jiang Yu nodded with satisfaction. “Alright, let’s eat. I haven’t had a meal yet.”

Xia Ning: “…”

Xia Wuchang: “…”

Xia Housheng: “…”

This young man seemed to have a style all his own.

“What, aren’t you hungry?” Jiang Yu, as if the host, sat at the table, picked up his chopsticks, and began to eat and drink at his leisure.

Xia Housheng gritted his teeth. “Do as I say—accompany the senior for his meal.”

Learning knows no rank; the accomplished are teachers!

Jiang Yu waved a hand without turning his head. “No need for ‘senior.’ Just call me ‘sir.’”

As he spoke, Jiang Yu poured a glass of red wine and personally handed it to Xia Housheng. “Drink up.”

“Oh, and fetch those Chinese herbs you’ve bought lately.”

Xia Ning hurried to retrieve them.

Moments later, she presented the herbs in a wooden box.

Jiang Yu glanced at them. Under the puzzled gazes of all present, he slowly extended his left hand toward Elder Shen and made a sudden grasp in the air.

“Let me borrow your formation!”

Suddenly, golden light blazed from Jiang Yu’s palm once more.

“Formation, arise!”

Whoosh!

A small formation three inches across appeared in his palm, and fire burst forth from thin air.

“A divine art! A peerless divine art!”

Elder Shen exclaimed, trembling with excitement.

“To witness such divine art in my lifetime—I have no regrets.”

His gaze toward Jiang Yu was fervent, as if a devout believer had witnessed the descent of their faith made manifest. Words could not describe his feelings.

With a casual wave, Jiang Yu sent the chopped herbs from the wooden box into the flames.

Seemingly realizing something, Elder Shen’s eyes widened, and he cried out, “An alchemist? Sir, you’re also a master of alchemy?”

Jiang Yu looked at him with a slight smile. “Oh? You know about alchemists?”

Elder Shen quickly stood and bowed. “In my efforts to perfect the formation, I pored over ancient texts and once read of alchemists in a rare old book.”

Even the mature and steady Xia Housheng was left gaping with shock.

A grandmaster of formations and an alchemist?

For these two identities to converge in a young man of eighteen or nineteen, the shock was no less than witnessing a master of internal energy step into the world.

This young man before them was not only a grandmaster of formations but also an alchemist?

If word got out, even the wealthiest person in China would be unable to sit still.

“So it’s true, sir, you truly are skilled in alchemy?”

By now, Elder Shen’s voice trembled slightly.

Formations, though rare, still occasionally appeared in modern history. In the Celestial Dao and Dragon-Tiger Mountain, there were those skilled in arrays—not just simple feng shui, but true lethal battle formations.

In the 1960s, a catastrophic natural disaster struck Tianhe Province, devastating a landslide of over a million square kilometers. For two years, not a grain was harvested. The land became hellish, corpses littered the ground, and even cannibalism occurred.

Thirty-eight martial masters and twelve feng shui experts studied the landscape and the stars, and together laid a super formation that miraculously saved millions of lives.

The Celestial Dao’s mountain-guarding formation had been painstakingly improved by generations of masters, each devoting their entire lives, until finally, after years of effort, they managed to create the prototype of a true guardian formation.

But the identity of an alchemist had long since vanished from history. Even ancient texts barely mentioned this profession.

“May I ask, sir, from whom did you learn?”

Elder Shen inquired quietly.

Jiang Yu paused. “Teacher? There is no one in this world qualified to be my teacher.”

In just over ten minutes, Jiang Yu flicked his finger, and several crystalline drops of medicinal liquid splashed onto the dishes covering the table.

“Eat this meal. Your malaria will improve. I’ll come by each day, and in half a month, you’ll be fully cured. For those without illness, this will strengthen your body and ward off a hundred ailments.”

Upon hearing this, everyone was so astonished they no longer cared for propriety, burying themselves in the food.

Even Xia Ning stuffed her mouth full, looking nothing like the goddess she was rumored to be.

Only Elder Shen did not move.

His gaze flickered, and finally he knelt on the floor. “Shen Tianlong pays respects to Master Jiang!”

In an instant, everyone froze.

What did this mean?

What was Elder Shen doing?

He was a master of internal energy—how could he kneel to Jiang Yu?

Xia Wuchang’s heart pounded as he asked, “Elder Shen, what did you just call him?”

Elder Shen gave a bitter smile. “Haven’t you realized? Mr. Jiang is not only a master of formations and an alchemist—he is also a martial master!”