“Squad leaders assemble outside in front of True Ice Manor now!” A loud shout from outside ruined the joyous atmosphere.

“Right, I was out for so long I’ve forgotten about the defense meeting,” Qian Yu got out of the bed. 

“Mmm, let’s get going,” Zhao Xieren said seriously. 

Before long, Qian Yu, Zhen Yue, and Zhao Xieren arrived in front of True Ice Manor where they met a large wall, separating the outside and inside like the walls in the Xia Capital. As for Sun Hong and Bai Jia, they had decided not to get too close and watch from afar instead. 

“You guys sure took your time,” Jiang Hai seemed to have been waiting for them. 

“How did it go with Zhong Chun?” Qian Yu asked. 

“Tch… I wanted to go along with him but he didn’t let me,” Jiang Hai snickered. 

“Hmm, that’s a shame then. Anyways, do you know how many people there are?” Qian Yu asked. He knew little of the meeting but it only took a quick glance to realize that everyone here was a soul foundation cultivator or stronger. 

“Probably a couple thousand here,”  Jiang Hai answered. 

“Mmm, that’s a good amount. If these are the soul foundation fighters then there should be at least 100,000 qi gathering cultivators then,” Zhao Xieren nodded. 

“Good?” Qian Yu asked, wondering what she meant.

“Yes. Qi gathering cultivators alone are weak. However, together, they are strong and this is why stronger cultivators aren’t crazily strong or invincible. The power that comes from numbers is due to arrays and formations. Since they require a quantitative amount of qi rather than qualitative, low realm cultivators are perfect. As for the amount of cultivators, it usually starts from 1000-man arrays, then 10,000, and then so on,” Zhao Xieren explained. 

“I see,” A hint of anticipation filled his eyes as he heard her words. 

Before long, the number of people arriving stopped and a group of people appeared before them. As they imposingly stood in the air, Qian Yu recognized a few of the people, “That one’s the Captain we saw a few weeks ago… and there are some Elders from our sect as well. These are the strongest figures protecting the city then.” 

“Of course, there are those hidden in the dark as well,” Qian Yu looked back towards Bai Jia and Sun Hong. 

By now, the authorities had already started talking. Their main speaker was none other than the lord of the city, Martial Emperor True Ice, cloaked in a white clothed robe. As Zhao Xieren had said before, he was a few thousand years old and didn’t look that old, around middle aged. Nonetheless he held a dominant aura like many strong figures. 

“... the defensive formation will activate on the outer wall of the city and it will be under my control. There will also be a spatial distortion device so teleportation scrolls will not work. Besides that and the built-in defensive formation, we will be using a 100,000 man offensive formation called the 9 Freezing Dragons Array. For those that are participating in the formation, I will pass out your part of the formation now and afterwards, you will need to practice it with the qi gathering cultivators in your squad,” Martial Emperor True Ice said. 

After he finished, a part of the squad leaders were sectioned off before the attack formation scrolls were being handed out. As for Qian Yu and the rest, they were assigned to this grouping as well. 

The scroll was a large one and reading it, Qian Yu realized that it was extremely complex and specific. Even though it was only for 100 men, complicated and detailed information was given for each individual. Where they needed to stand, what their positioning or stance needed to be, how they needed to channel their qi, Qian Yu got a headache as he read through it. 

“Do you guys have the same?” Qian Yu looked over his shoulder at Zhen Yue and Zhao Xieren. 

The three quickly compared their scrolls. “It doesn’t look like we do,” Zhen Yue shook her head. 

“Mmm, every part of the formation is different. Because of this, it makes it hard for people to steal formations. Furthermore, I’m sure everyone here only has a part of the regular formation. The most important part of a formation lies in the core position of the formation. Likely, those that are most trusted by the Martial Emperor are responsible for it,” Zhao Xieren said. 

“That makes sense. Anyways, let’s get going, the formation looks pretty complex to learn,” Qian Yu had thought of the same issue as well but Zhao Xieren had addressed it immediately. 

Picking up Gu Zan and the other 99 cultivators in his squad, Qian Yu informed them about the formation as they arrived at their assigned spot in the formation. As they did, Qian Yu noticed it was one of the areas he had seen yesterday that had been sectioned off. 

Showing the guards his identity, Qian Yu entered the large but empty restaurant. As he walked towards the back, a square clearing had appeared where they would participate in the formation. Looking around the square, he noticed it was similar to a courtyard, and checking out the rooms, he saw that there were small and simple bedrooms. Likely, the workers in the restaurant had previously lived here before they had to move out.

“Everyone, get ready and get into a line. Gu Zan, help me with ordering and setting it up,” Qian Yu said.

“Yes, leader!” Everyone shouted. As for Gu Zan, he quickly arrived next to Qian Yu before looking at the scroll formation.

“Alright, you first,” Qian Yu beckoned a soldier to step up. 

“Mmm, this way is north… this is east… so move over there...  a little bit to the left… back three steps… back another step actually…” Qian Yu looked between the diagrams on the scroll and the soldier. 

“Alright, turn your body this way… hands point this way...” Gu Zan started adjusting the soldier’s position. 

“Ok, after 32 seconds, do this… turn your body 180 degrees… point your hands upwards…” The hours passed as Qian Yu and Gu Zan continued their tedious task. By the time night fell, they had barely finished organizing everyone and done a few practice rounds.

“Alright, this should be it,” Qian Yu sighed as he saw a glowing light emit from the 100 man group. Along the way, they had failed many times at creating this glow. Each person had to be reexamined and even small mistakes such as looking the wrong way or having incorrect posture could easily mess up the formation.  Additionally, the formation was exhausting, and the weakest of the qi gathering cultivators ended up having to take a few breaks to replenish their qi.

Nonetheless, they had finally succeeded in making this glowing light. There were a few signs of successfully doing the right thing in the formation. As for this small glow, it had indicated that they had just barely reached the level of successfully participating in the formation. At this level, the formation could work, but just barely and the power it displayed would be nothing compared to its strongest potential. In a way, it was as if the formation had its own mastery that could be developed over time like a cultivation technique.

“Anyways, take a rest in the bedrooms around us. It’ll be a little crowded of course. Tomorrow, we will wake up early and practice. An inspector will be coming around to check up on everything,” Qian Yu announced.