The Urban Dao Child

Yang Dao stood in front of the chamber belonging to the Supreme elder of the array hall, Elder Chime. He knocked on the door and a husky voice sounded from inside, “Come in.”

Yang Dao pushed the door and peeked his head inside, he saw that the elder was sitting behind a table with his hands moving in the void. He said, “Elder, I have a favor to ask of you.”

Chime raised his head and asked, “Dao, what is it?”

“Elder, I wish to use the time acceleration array. It can help us save a lot of time and improve our skills significantly. So, I hope for you to cast one for us.” stated the boy.

Chime was surprised but then after giving it a thought the man found the request to be reasonable. He said, “I will have to discuss this with the rest of the council members, a time acceleration array consumes a lot of resources, I, alone cannot decide on this matter.”

Yang Dao nodded and said, “Elder, is it possible to get permission from all the elders at this hour?”

Chime was surprised but then he said, “Dao, I understand that you are very eager as the time on hand is short, but the elders are busy at the moment. We will meet at night and I will raise this issue in front of them. Do not worry.”

Yang Dao said, “I can ask them all personally, elder, the time is short. Every moment from this point is crucial. The other sects are not resting and they are giving it their all for the upcoming battles. I do not know about the rest but I do not think after the Daemon invasion we should be slacking at all.”

Chime felt his heart beating faster as these words fell in his ears. The boy was not holding back and he was not uttering nonsense. This made him look at the youngster in front of him with respect, to be able to learn such profound logic of life, he was surely not a normal child. Yang Dao did not push much as he noticed the elder looking deeply at him.

Elder Chime let out a sigh and took out a talisman from his space ring. He brought it in front of his face and said, “This is to inform you that, I, Chime, will be casting a time acceleration array formation for the disciples representing the sect in the pentagonal tournament. Every moment wasted will cost our children precious time to hone their skills. So I call for a moment, those who oppose can shut their mouth as the array will be cast.”

Yang Dao could not believe what the elder had just done. Elder Chime had always acted in the interest of the sect and never own his own. His capabilities were enough to get him all around the immortal plane if he wanted to. However, the man stayed back at home, making it stronger with every passing year.

He was a teenager when his master took him in and raised him with all the care and trust. When the old master passed away, Chime was entrusted with the legacy of the array hall, and the duty to exceed his predecessors. This story was told by the senior disciples of the hall when Yang Dao was new. This story was the reason Yang Dao had found a strong sense of respect for the old man.

As Yang Dao was recalling the usual character of the soft old man, Chime stood up from his chair and said, “Come, child. I will lead you to the secret place. I will have someone call all the representative disciples over. You will be helping me in setting up the array. Okay.”

Yang Dao bowed to him in gratitude and said, “You have my gratitude elder. I will do my best to get the top rank in the tournament.”

Chime smiled faintly and patted his shoulder lightly. He said, “You just focus on doing your best, that will be sufficient.”

Yang Dao did not say anything more, but the spark in his eyes intensified a lot. He was even firm in his decision to get the top place.

…

Elder Chime led Yang Dao to a secret chamber beneath the array hall, and the two began to cast the time acceleration array. The blueprint of this array was a rare find and not many people in the immortal plane were capable of executing it perfectly even if they have the blueprint memorized. Chime wanted to pass on his legacy to Yang Dao, and thus he had the guy work side by side with him.

He was sure enough that the child would catch up quickly and he will be able to exceed his skills by ten folds. They worked for two hours straight with their focus completely dedicated to setting up the array. Yang Dao said, “Elder is it done?” ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀ​ꪶ​

Chime nodded and said, “It is done, Dao. Now, let us call in your fellow disciples and have them try the effects. I will explain a few rules to you all in a bit.”

Yang Dao nodded and came outside the secret chamber. He found nine other disciples standing in the corridor. He said, “Elder Chime has called you all inside.”

The disciples all greeted him and entered the room. Yang Dao was the last to move in, the youngster closed the door behind him. They all stood up neatly in front of Chime and greeted him with a bow.

The elder nodded and said, “I will give you all a few rules. One, you must not stay inside the array for more than ten hours straight in one go. I mean the ten hours in reality. Once you come out of the array, you will have to wait for double the time you spend inside to get in again. This is to keep your sense of time intact.”

The disciples all nodded and Chime continued, “Fighting is prohibited, anyone, who breaks this rule will be disqualified from representing the sect in the tournament and spend ten years in the isolation caves. Understood?”

The disciples replied, “Yes, Elder.”

Chime cast a gaze over them and said, “Very well. Now, let us try the time acceleration array.”

With that said, he cast a few seals and started the array. A dome was cast inside the secret room. It looked like a hurricane, with winds moving in one direction. Chime said, “Dao, go inside and count for ten breaths.”

The boy nodded and rushed inside the array without any hesitation in his mind. After one breath, though, the boy came back out. Chime said, “The ratio of time is one equivalent to ten. Go now.”

The disciples were all excited and were about to rush ahead when Yang Dao bowed to the old man ninety degrees and said, “Thank you for your hard work elder Chime.”

Chime waved his hand and said, “Go ahead.”

The rest of the disciples followed Yang Dao’s example with a faint flush on their faces and entered the array. They were ashamed that the youngest among them was able to remember his etiquettes better than them.

They entered the array and Yang Dao did not use this time to exceed in his spiritual cultivation but to comprehend the skills he had in his books. He worked on everything, from fist art to sword arts. From alchemy to array comprehension. He also spared with his fellow disciples to make sure that he gets the much-needed battle experience.

Ten hours passed, and the people came out upon being reminded by Yang Dao. The boy was keeping a track of the time he spent inside. The time acceleration array had no effect on his physique but only his mind. After coming outside, he went looking for the disciples with higher cultivation and spared with them in a battle free for all.

The disciples also did not refuse to him, they understood that it was a way of training for this monster youth. The boy would cast arrays while battling with the people and prevent himself from getting cornered. He was not the only one who had made growth in his skills. All the people spending time inside the array were the same. The tournament was a weak away and they will have enough time to get themselves up to speed.

Yang Dao worked rigorously and reached a new high, his spirit cultivation realm was now at the peak of the early stage of the golden core realm. His alchemy and array skills had also grown a lot. Last but not the least, he found a way to induce the musical instruments, like the guqin with sword spirit energy, and make them cast attacks at the opponent. He was almost invincible.

Just like this, the day of the tournament was just a night away.. Yang Dao and the rest of the disciples were gathered in the square in front of the elder council, waiting for the elders to address them and set off to the venue of the tournament.