Fang Hao's hand remained on the marble, causing additional white lights to emerge. His father's frown deepened as he observed the situation.
Then, the spear symbol began to light up, gradually increasing until it matched the sword symbol, indicating below-average talent.
"This is concerning," Fang Xiong muttered. His son had shown no talent above average so far. As the various elemental symbols appeared, they each progressed to the yellow light colour, indicating similar talent levels in all of them.
His expression eased slightly, but worry still lingered. Without a strong primary focus, relying on the Dao elements would be challenging. Fang Jing, his wife, had peak black talent in Ice Dao. This allowed her to specialize in it while also incorporating various other elements.
Fang Hao's forehead glistened with sweat, and his internal spiritual qi was running low. The remaining symbols, representing Auxiliary talents, had not yet appeared. These included roles like Alchemist, Artifact Forger, Beast Tamer, and Array Master.
In this world, these roles were often considered secondary and were pursued by only a small minority as main cultivation paths. A blue light illuminated the symbol for Alchemist, indicating that Fang Hao possessed above-average talent in this area. His excitement grew as the subsequent talents were also revealed, each glowing blue.
As the symbol for Array Master emerged, the light shone brighter, transitioning from blue to a vivid purple. The intensity of the light increased, signifying his exceptional talent in this realm.
Fang Xiong remained fully focused on the purple light. His son displayed remarkable talent in array formation, which boded well to help him in his future path. The light grew stronger, creating a blinding glow that briefly showed a hint of black before suddenly stopping, suggesting that Hao had run out of energy.
Seeing the final talent, Fang Xiong sighed in relief. However, his expression turned serious and grim as he considered the options. His son was incredibly talented in array formation – a rarity. He had never encountered anyone quite like this before.
''Father, how was it?'' Hao asked with a happy face, looking excited as he saw the last glint of black colour from the array master.
"This... you possess great talent in arrays," Xiong hesitated for a moment, his mouth opening and closing as he pondered his words. He gazed at his son's face, a pang of regret washing over him.
"Hao, I need to be truthful with you. Your aptitude for weapons isn't the strongest; your sword dao is below average, and the rest isn't much better," he sighed, his voice heavy with sorrow. However, he continued before his son could react negatively.
''But you are well balanced in the elements, even if your talent is low. It will help you grasp minor laws, as I can't measure the better ones with this stone,'' Fang Xiong pointed at the marble.
''Minor laws?'' Hao asked, confused.
''Yes, minor laws are the basic ones like air, metal, water, fire, and earth, but they can be combined to make more complicated ones later on,'' Fang Xiong stopped and returned to the topic.
''Hao, this is where the problem comes in. With you being below average talented on everything apart from what we consider supportive roles,'' shaking his head, he explained.
''I will give you an example. Do you see this array here? Protecting the stone?'' Fang Xiong pointed at the surrounding area that was covered in lights and lines.
''Father, when I entered, I saw it and it left a big impression on me. It's smaller than the one you used to cover the city.'' Hao nodded, inspecting it.
''This is the main array that covers the castle. It mainly lies in defense, but the person that set this up, do you know what he cultivated in?'' Fang Xiong asked his son, looking a bit sad.
''He was an Array Master,'' Hao answered, expecting it was correct.
''Yes, he does call himself an Array Master, earning spirit stones and resources by setting them up, but he cultivates in earth Dao. This is the problem. Like the other ones, if you focus on what we consider a side job, your cultivation path might, will be cut short.'' Fang Xiong waited for the reply once he said this.
Hao, listening to his father, fell into silence and began thinking, 'Array masters' are considered weak? The other professions too? Is it this world or in general?'
''Father, you mean that it's not mainstream in this place, correct?'' Hao asked.
''Yes, but I also don't think it's anywhere else either,'' he shook his head. He decided to demonstrate why.
''Look,'' Fang Xiong brought out a regular sword and gestured for Hao to take a seat and observe closely.
Sitting down, he inspected his father holding the sword, with his eyes closed and nothing happening. Then something changed—the sword started buzzing, and invisible, sharp-like ripples were spreading around the area, making cuts on the floor.
The blade swished through the air, as whispers of deadly cuts spread all around, avoiding Hao on purpose. The sound and pressure started to increase, with Hao growing pale, causing his father to stop.
Tracing his fingers on the scars on the stone floor, he asked, ''What is this? A Cultivation Manual?''
''No, this is an 'Intent.' There are numerous of them in the world, and this is my Sword Intent. I call it 'Domain of Cuts'...'' Pausing, he looked at Hao, who had full focus.
''Combining Intents and laws with a cultivation technique increases power by a massive amount, but an Array Master does not have any intent; this is why it's generally considered a weaker path,'' he finally got to the point he wanted.
''Can't I use other intents combined with Arrays?'' Hao questioned, feeling weird.
''You can, but for example, if you set up a sword array to increase its power, you use a medium - your cultivation power - and any laws and intents you have, but... that's a very hard path compared to focusing on one straightforward way, such as Sword Dao''
'Hao, your lifespan will run out before you can do all this,'' inside Fang Xiong's head, he muttered.
''Okay, enough of this. Starting tomorrow, I will train you. Even with low talent in Sword, it won't matter in the early realms. In the meantime, you can focus on being an Array Master when you have time,'' Fang Xiong looked at his son and walked away.
''Tomorrow, make sure to arrive early. Don't be late.'' he left with a determined yet saddened expression. Deep down, he knew that Hao's path would be much harder than his daughter's, but it had the potential to become stronger.
''Hao, I will train you to the best of my abilities. Who said hard work can't overcome talent?'' muttering with resolve, he left.
''He really does care for me, and after growing up I feel attached to this place. Is this what they mean by time being the best friend and worst enemy?'' Talking to himself, Hao wondered.
''Below-average talent, huh?'' Fang Hao looked at the stone, tracing his hands across each symbol, stopping at the sword for a while before arriving at the Array Master symbol, the one that was his peak talent.
''I always thought arrays were pretty and fascination, the one in the city gave me an idea of various ways It can be used, but seeing my father's sword strike I seem to have forgotten it,'' he muttered with a slight smile
''I will show everyone that the path to the top does not need to follow the mainstream. Someone, at the start of time, used the sword to reach the top, the same with other weapons and techniques. Who said it can't be done? I will create it myself.'' Fang Hao touched the symbol, and something deep inside him resonated with him. This was his true feeling.
''So what if I fail to reach the top? I don't have anything holding me back like Earth anymore; everyone I cared about has turned to dust. At worst, I will also follow the same fate. I've already experienced one death; this time, at least, it will be my choice, something I want to do.''
''In this new world... I declare... I, Fang Hao... shall forever be known as the Arraymaster...'' With shining eyes, he spoke, feeling as if something was changing deep within him.
Throughout the ages, this very declaration would serve as a beacon, igniting the spirits of countless souls on paths long forgotten... If Fang Hao could forge his own destiny, why should the rest of us falter?