I walk sideways in the game world

Chapter 262: Deeply studying the art of formations, encountering difficulties again

Master Mo's words resonated like a thunderclap in Ren Xiaoyao's ears. Time was running out? Was there something else he didn't know? He opened his mouth, wanting to ask, but ultimately swallowed his doubts. He knew that with Master Mo's personality, if he wanted to tell him, he would tell him, and since he didn't say it directly, there must be a reason.

"Disciple, I understand. I will do my best!" Ren Xiaoyao took a deep breath and spoke firmly. He gazed intently at the formation diagram on the table, a burning fire burning in his heart. Time was running out, and he had to race against time to live up to Master Mo's expectations.

Looking at the resolute young man before her, Xia Lin felt a mixture of heartache and worry. She knew the weight of the burden on Ren Xiaoyao's shoulders, and she also knew what this challenge meant to him. But she could do nothing but stand silently behind him, offering him unspoken support.

For the next few days, Ren Xiaoyao practically shut himself in his room, studying the formation without sleep or food. Following the clues he had found, he attempted to unlock the secrets of this ancient formation. The room was piled high with papers, densely covered with symbols and deductions, the fruit of countless days and nights of hard work.

However, as his research deepened, Ren Xiaoyao discovered that the complexity of this formation far exceeded his imagination. The clues he had found before were just the keyhole to unlock this huge mystery, but what he needed was the key that could open the entire door.

"How could this happen..." Ren Xiaoyao leaned weakly against the back of his chair, his brows furrowed. He rubbed his sore eyes and looked at the pile of drawings on the table, feeling frustrated.

Was he really going to give up? No, he wasn't going to give up! He'd spent so much time and energy, was he going to stop here? Ren Xiaoyao took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He picked up a blueprint on the table and carefully examined every symbol and every line on it, trying to find a new breakthrough.

Suddenly, his eyes fell on a corner of the drawing, where there was a symbol he had previously overlooked. This symbol was small and inconspicuous, but it was like a flash of lightning, instantly illuminating the fog in his mind.

"Could it be..." Ren Xiaoyao's heart stirred, and a bold guess emerged in his mind. He grabbed a pen and quickly calculated on paper.

The only sounds in the room were the scraping of pen tips against paper and Ren Xiaoyao's rapid breathing. Time passed, and the light outside the window gradually dimmed, but he remained oblivious, still immersed in his own world.

After an unknown amount of time, Ren Xiaoyao finally put down his pen. He looked at the blueprint in front of him, which was filled with the deduction process, and a bitter smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"So that's how it is. I thought it was too simple..." he muttered to himself.

Just then, the door creaked open and a familiar voice rang out: "Hey, isn't this our great genius Ren Xiaoyao? Why are you studying so hard again?"

Ren Xiaoyao looked up and saw Senior Brother Yun standing at the door with a playful smile on his face. A bad feeling suddenly arose in his heart...

"Senior Brother Yun..." Ren Xiaoyao rubbed his temples tiredly, not wanting to pay attention to Senior Brother Yun's sarcastic tone. Ever since he lost to Ren Xiaoyao in the last competition, Senior Brother Yun had been holding a grudge against him, and had been trying to trip him up both openly and covertly.

"Why, are you still working on that formation-breaking technique?" Senior Brother Yun strode into the room, unceremoniously picked up a blueprint on the table, and glanced at it casually. "Junior Brother Ren, don't waste your energy! This is an ancient formation that even Master Mo has a headache with. You think you can solve it? Don't dream!"

"Senior Brother Yun, you..." Xia Lin couldn't bear it anymore and was about to retort, but was stopped by Ren Xiaoyao.

"Why, was I wrong?" Senior Brother Yun was even more smug when he saw Ren Xiaoyao remained silent. "I heard that the reason you were able to break that formation before was just an accident and good luck. Luck doesn't always favor you."

Ren Xiaoyao's expression changed slightly. Senior Brother Yun's words were like poisonous needles, piercing his heart. Yes, was he really just lucky? He told himself again and again that his success was not accidental, but the result of his talent and hard work. However, Senior Brother Yun's words were like a seed, sowing the seeds of doubt in his heart.

"Xiaoyao, don't listen to his nonsense." Xia Lin worriedly held Ren Xiaoyao's hand, "I believe in you, you can do it."

Ren Xiaoyao forced a smile, but the light in his eyes dimmed a little. He put down the blueprint in his hand and said tiredly, "I'm fine. I'm just a little tired and want to rest."

"That's right, a balance between work and rest." Seeing Ren Xiaoyao's low mood, Senior Brother Yun felt secretly happy and his tone became "concerned". "You are just working too hard. If you continue like this, your body will collapse. Listen to my advice, senior brother, don't dwell on this. Some things can't be achieved by hard work alone."

After Senior Brother Yun finished speaking, he left the room with a triumphant air. Only Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin were left in the room.

"Xiaoyao..." Xia Lin wanted to say something, but looking at Ren Xiaoyao's lonely back, she didn't know how to start.

Ren Xiaoyao took a deep breath and forced himself to pull himself together. He couldn't let Senior Brother Yun's words bring him down; he had more important things to do. He picked up the blueprint on the table and began studying it again. However, Senior Brother Yun's words lingered in his ears like a curse, disrupting his thoughts.

At this moment, Master Mo suddenly appeared at the door, holding a new blueprint in his hand. He looked at Ren Xiaoyao with a deep gaze and said slowly, "Xiaoyao, I have some restrictions on this formation. Please take them and study them..."

Master Mo's words were like a pebble dropped into a calm lake, stirring up a thousand waves within Ren Xiaoyao. He took the blueprint in both hands, feeling its heaviness, as if it weren't just a thin sheet of paper, but a thousand-pound weight. The new constraints were more complex than he had imagined, interlocking like an impenetrable web, completely blocking all his previous ideas.

"Can this formation... really be broken?" Ren Xiaoyao muttered to himself, his eyes full of confusion and bewilderment.

Master Mo didn't answer directly. He just looked at him deeply, turned around and left, leaving behind a meaningful sentence, "Breaking the formation is like breaking the situation."

Ren Xiaoyao spent a whole day alone in his room studying, but made no progress. The setting sun made his figure appear particularly slender, and it also magnified his anxiety. He scratched his hair in frustration and decided to go out for a walk to change his mind.

Before he knew it, he had reached the academy's martial arts arena. It was evening, and the students had gradually left. The empty field was left with only the shadows of the weapons rack, stretched long by the setting sun. Ren Xiaoyao strolled over to the weapons rack, picked up a spear, and began practicing the basics of spearmanship.

"Total Annihilation!"

"A blue dragon emerges from the water!"

Each move was powerful and vigorous. The familiar moves of the past now seemed to contain a special rhythm, intertwined with the chaotic array lines in his mind, forming a strange resonance.

Ren Xiaoyao's movements gradually slowed, as he recalled the exquisiteness of his spearmanship and pondered the secrets of the formation. He tried to understand the changes in the formation from a combat perspective, looking for flaws. However, the more Ren Xiaoyao pondered, the more he felt the formation's exquisiteness and profoundness. He felt as if he were trapped in a vast maze, unable to find the exit.

"Did I really only rely on luck to get to this point today?" Ren Xiaoyao dropped his spear and slumped down on the training ground, feeling overwhelmed with frustration. Senior Brother Yun's words echoed in his ears again, like a sharp blade, piercing his pride.

Night fell, and the stars twinkled. Ren Xiaoyao looked up at the vast starry sky, his heart filled with confusion. Just when he was about to give up, his master's last words suddenly flashed through his mind, "Xiaoyao, you must remember, there is always a way out. As long as you never give up, you will definitely find your own way!"

"Master..." Ren Xiaoyao muttered to himself, his eyes slightly red. His master's words were like a flash of lightning, illuminating the fog in his heart. Yes, he had come this far, through countless hardships and obstacles, and had never given up. How could he give up so easily because of a small setback?

"I can do it!" Ren Xiaoyao stood up suddenly, his eyes rekindled with fighting spirit. He clenched his fists and turned to look at the school behind him. There was everything he wanted to protect, and there was also his determination to prove himself.

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he suddenly looked up at the night sky and muttered to himself: "Formation, battle, academy..."