The Strife of Chaos Chapter Ninety-One: Formation (Part One)

Today was a momentous day for Northern Tong Pass. Everyone was fully alert, their spirits raised twelvefold.

For this was the day of the first military parade since the formation of the Eight Trigrams Army. Though it was called a parade, it was in truth a test of each camp’s training achievements over the past months. Today, the four commanders would compete head-to-head: would Lin Xuan and Zhu Yan’er, graduates of the orthodox military academy, prove superior, or would Zhu Long and Yang Hu, who had climbed their way up through relentless battles, demonstrate greater prowess? The answer would soon be revealed. Of course, the most outstanding camp would receive a generous reward.

“Tong, all four camps have assembled,” Ren Xing Tian reminded Li Qiu Tong from atop the high platform.

Li Qiu Tong nodded. “Alright, let’s proceed as per the draw—begin with the Northern Camp.”

“As you command.” With that, Ren Xing Tian relayed the order below.

Suddenly, the ground began to tremble, startling those atop the platform.

“Xing Tian, are you sure this platform’s safe? It won’t collapse, right?” Li Qiu Tong asked, a note of doubt in his voice.

Ren Xing Tian patted his chest reassuringly. “No worries, it won’t fall.”

Just as Li Qiu Tong spoke, a torrent of black steel surged into the training ground. The soldiers bore heavy, menacing shields and were clad head-to-toe in dark, hammer-forged armor, resembling an impregnable fortress.

Lin Xuan, not particularly brawny, wore the cumbersome armor with remarkable poise, his posture straighter than any. He strode forward with heavy steps, his voice resounding and commanding as he reported upward, “Northern Camp—three thousand soldiers, all assembled!”

“Good. Commander Lin Xuan, begin,” Li Qiu Tong ordered.

No sooner had Li Qiu Tong spoken than Lin Xuan swung his shield forcefully in a certain direction. As the shield moved, the formation behind him shifted.

The observers on the platform watched intently. Ren Xing Tian suddenly asked, “Tong, do you understand what you’re seeing?”

Li Qiu Tong looked up, bewildered. “Not really. Aren’t they supposed to manifest shapes?”

His question prompted sighs from those nearby. Yet Ren Xing Tian did not mock him; instead, he turned to Li Jing, “Li Jing, activate your Heavenly Eye and project the formation below.”

Li Jing reluctantly agreed, “That’s exhausting.”

“You’re here to help, aren’t you?”

“Sigh, alright then.” She began gathering martial essence, channeling it to her forehead. A remarkable sight unfolded—a golden vertical eye slowly opened there.

“What’s that? Fascinating,” Li Qiu Tong asked, curiosity alight on his face. The others looked equally puzzled.

“This is my senior brother’s unique skill—the Wheel of Heavenly Vision. It can pierce a thousand miles, perceive all truths, and dispel all illusions. Though Li Jing is only a martial master, she can still condense the formation below with martial essence and display it for us.”

“A thousand miles? On the battlefield, wouldn’t the enemy’s formations be exposed to us?” Yang Rui Yun, seasoned in warfare, immediately grasped the terrifying implications of this ability.

Ren Xing Tian laughed, “Of course. How else do you think my senior brother became Grand General of Zhou?” As he spoke, Li Jing’s sand table projection took shape. Ren Xing Tian pointed at the shifting troops, explaining, “The Northern Camp is now demonstrating a broad, lateral defensive formation—I call it the Great Wall Array. The flanks are the Mountain Gan Unit and the Earth Kun Unit, each with over a thousand soldiers. The center, guarded by the Black Tortoise Unit, is the most fortified, currently with about five hundred men. This formation counters mass cavalry charges, and the wings can cooperate with the White Tiger Unit for powerful, mobile flanks.”

As Ren Xing Tian described it, the formation below changed again. The wings began to pull back, the central Black Tortoise Unit advanced, and finally pressed to the front of the camp. The Eight Trigrams units on the wings withdrew and protected the sides, compressing the entire force into a tight cluster.

“What’s this formation?” someone asked.

“This one’s aptly named the Fortress Array. Its defense is layered with heavy-armored soldiers—outside as solid as rock, inside sheltering several units. Combined with the Southern Camp, it becomes a highly mobile fortress.”

At that moment, Lin Xuan, positioned at the front, shouted, “Military Formation, Manifest!”

With his command, the wings gathered black and yellow martial essence, forming two Eight Trigrams shapes in the air. The foremost Black Tortoise Unit condensed dark martial essence, which, upon rising, drew in the Mountain Dog and Earth Ox units on either side. The swirling black vortex absorbed the Gan and Kun martial essence, intensifying its density.

“Black Tortoise, defend the realm!” At his order, a leg as thick as a pillar stepped out—though it landed in midair, the resulting shockwave reverberated through the platform, making the observers’ eardrums buzz faintly.

Then, a giant tortoise, saturated with Black Tortoise martial essence, slowly revealed its massive form. This manifestation was far more solid and imposing than the hurried version seen before.

“Black Tortoise, Fortress!” With the beast’s roar, an incredibly tough shield expanded, shimmering with black light and patches of dark armor.

“Rui Yun, care to test it?” Ren Xing Tian looked at the intrigued Yang Rui Yun.

Yang Rui Yun grinned, “Alright, I’ll give it a go.” He hefted his spear and leapt into the air.

As he soared, silver martial essence gathered around him, conjuring two giant figures. A monk in silver robes, wielding a wooden staff, surged ahead of Yang Rui Yun and struck at the shield.

“Second brother has a new move,” Li Qiu Tong observed with interest.

Ren Xing Tian explained, “This spear is called the Virtue of Buddha. Its heavy strikes break defenses without harming people.”

With each blow, the shield rippled, though the dark armor plates merely flashed and suffered little damage. Seeing his initial attack fail, Yang Rui Yun wasn’t discouraged—the main event was yet to come.

A chrysanthemum-tipped golden spear pierced the shield. This precise thrust finally shattered a plate, but Yang Rui Yun realized the armor shield had multiple layers—beyond the broken piece, several more remained.

He could only shake his head and return to the platform.

“Rui Yun, how’s the defense?” Li Qiu Tong asked.

Yang Rui Yun, seeing the defenses withdrawn, nodded with satisfaction, “Impressive. This defense is at least on par with a three-star Saint Martialist. Even with my Silver Spear Cavalry, we wouldn’t easily breach it. And their numbers aren’t at full strength yet, right?”

Ren Xing Tian nodded, “Correct. Our vision for the Four Symbols Eight Trigrams Army is four divisions, each overseeing five units, each unit with one thousand Four Symbols soldiers and four thousand Eight Trigrams troops. Right now, the Black Tortoise Division only has the Black Tortoise Unit, with just over three thousand in total.”

Yang Rui Yun sighed, “When we reach a hundred thousand, I doubt anyone in Eastern Martial could defeat us.”

As he finished speaking, the next camp entered the training ground. This time, it was the Western Camp under Yang Hu. After recent expansion, their numbers approached four thousand. As the core White Tiger Unit, the Silver Spear Cavalry now boasted a third regiment, surpassing the other camps—thanks to the hard-won experience from Yang Rui Yun’s western campaign, three thousand veterans became the White Tiger Third Regiment.

“Second brother, your turn.”

Ren Xing Tian pointed to the evolving sand table of the Western Camp. “Their top-tier strength is the highest right now. But given the venue, as light cavalry, it’s hard for them to showcase formations, so I suggested they focus on the martial manifestation.”

Yang Rui Yun added, “Our formation is fundamentally a rapid assault type, mainly using wedge and flying geese formations. However, our basic Eight Trigrams numbers are still low, so the White Tiger manifestation may not match the Northern Camp’s.”

“Second brother, you’re joking. This is hardly weak,” Deng Zhan Xuan remarked, prompting Yang Rui Yun to watch the field.

The silver-armored soldiers, once on the field, remained in a tight, solemn formation, spears at the ready. As Yang Hu raised his spear skyward, thousands unleashed sharp, condensed silver martial essence, forming a vortex, while a thousand others deployed blue Kan essence and green Xun essence.

“White Tiger, strike all directions!” As the vortex absorbed the two energies, a powerful tiger’s paw emerged, followed by a ferocious roar that shook the entire field. Unlike the restrained might of the Black Tortoise, the White Tiger’s manifestation was explosively intense, its aura sharp and overwhelming.

Once again, the God of Slaughter—the White Tiger—appeared before Yang Rui Yun, this time fully formed, muscular and brimming with murderous energy. Compared to the previous manifestation aided by the White Tiger Fang, Yang Rui Yun sensed something was missing.

With a tiger’s roar, Yang Hu withdrew the martial manifestation, for the venue was too restrictive. Yet the killing aura and the White Tiger’s formidable presence showcased their combat strength.

“Second brother, you veterans are indeed different,” Li Qiu Tong remarked, slightly startled by the aura.

“Uh, yes,” Yang Rui Yun replied, a beat slower.

“What’s on your mind, second brother?”

“Nothing. Just recalling some things from the battlefield,” Yang Rui Yun answered.

The White Tiger’s aura had reminded him of the fang that nearly consumed him in slaughter. Ever since that battle, he felt the fang was drawing him in. Yet Yang Rui Yun returned the White Tiger Fang to Xue Ren Gui. Xue Ren Gui’s words, however, held deep meaning.

That day, Xue Ren Gui accepted the fang and said solemnly, “Rui Yun, you will accomplish what your father and I never could.”

“What is it you couldn’t achieve?” Yang Rui Yun puzzled.

Xue Ren Gui smiled faintly, “You’ll understand soon enough. And remember—that feeling of restraining slaughter.” After that, he spoke no more of it.