First Month
During the first month, Gabriel barely touched an actual formation. spent most of his time reading, learning about formation principles, studying spiritual energy pathways, and memorizing formation symbols.
He learned about formation cores, nodes, activation points, energy channels, and formation boundaries.
At first, it was incredibly difficult.
Gabriel would stare at a single diagram for an hour.
Sometimes he would read the same explanation five times before understanding it.
His sword training had taught him that repetition could overcome difficulty.
He applied the same principle here.
Every morning, he studied.
Every afternoon, he practiced drawing.
Every evening, he reviewed what he had learned.
He filled page after page with formation diagrams.
Most of them were terrible.
Lines were uneven.
Symbols were crooked.
Distances between formation nodes were incorrect.
Gabriel would stare at each failed formation.
He would set it aside and start again.
Second Month
Gabriel finally began establishing simple Rank-One formations. His first successful formation was a tiny Rank-One Illumination Formation. It created a soft ball of light. Gabriel stared at it for several seconds.
Then he smiled.
"I did it."
The light flickered,then disappeared.
Gabriel blinked.
"...I need to work on the stability."
He immediately opened his notebook. Problem, formation lasted only twelve breaths. Possible cause, insufficient spiritual energy circulation. He began experimenting and changed the position of one node after another. He adjusted the amount of spiritual energy flowing into the formation. Tried different spirit stones, and failed dozens of times.
But eventually.
The formation lit up.
This time, it remained active.
Gabriel smiled.
"Twenty breaths."
He wrote it down.
The next day, he improved it.
Thirty breaths.
Then fifty.
Eventually, he managed to keep the illumination formation active for several hours.
Third Month
Gabriel's understanding improved rapidly.
He began practicing defensive formations.
His first successful defensive formation was a Rank-One Stone Shield Formation. He placed six formation markers around a small target.
He connected them using formation lines. Then he inserted a spirit stone into the formation core.
Gabriel took several steps backward.
"Activate."
The formation flashed, A translucent barrier appeared. Gabriel threw a small stone at it.
Bang!
The stone bounced away.
Gabriel's violet eyes widened.
"It worked!"
He immediately threw another.
Bang!
The barrier trembled.
Gabriel studied it.
He noticed something.
"The left side is weaker."
He approached the formation and inspected the formation lines. One of the spiritual energy pathways was slightly thinner than the others. He corrected it, the barrier stabilized.
Gabriel smiled.
He was beginning to understand.
An array wasn't simply something he copied from a book. It was a system, A living structure of spiritual energy, every part affected another.
Fourth Month
Gabriel moved on to concealment and sensing formations. He learned how formations could hide spiritual fluctuations.
He practiced creating small formations that could detect movement within a limited area.
He also began combining simple formations.
A sensing formation was connected to a defensive formation.
An illumination formation was connected to a concealment formation.
He quickly discovered that combining formations was far more difficult than creating them individually. Several attempts ended in failure, One formation even collapsed and sent a small shockwave across the room. Gabriel's hair stood on end. He stared at the scattered materials.
"...Master didn't mention that part."
He sighed, then he started rebuilding.
Fifth Month
By the fifth month, Gabriel's entire room had become covered with formation diagrams.
His notebooks were filled with observations.
His fingers were constantly stained with spiritual ink. He could establish Rank-One formations considerably faster than before.
He no longer needed to constantly consult his manuals. He understood the basic principles behind what he was doing. More importantly, he had developed his own method.
Gabriel would first visualize the formation in his mind. Then he would determine the formation's purpose. After that, he calculated the positions of the nodes. Only once everything was clear would he begin drawing.
His success rate increased dramatically.
Sixth Month
The final month was the most difficult.
Alana gave him one final challenge.
"Create a Rank-One formation capable of protecting yourself while traveling."
Gabriel studied the requirement. He couldn't simply make a shield. A stationary defensive formation would be useless while traveling. He needed something portable. Something that could be activated quickly. Something that could provide protection without requiring enormous amounts of spiritual energy.
Gabriel spent days thinking. Eventually, he created a formation consisting of several small jade markers. When arranged around him, they formed a protective barrier. It wasn't particularly powerful.
But it could block attacks from cultivators around his level.
And because the formation used spirit stones as its energy source, Gabriel didn't need to continuously supply it with his own spiritual qi.
When Gabriel finally activated it, a translucent barrier surrounded him.
He stood inside it and smiled.
"I did it."
As he celebrated his accomplishment.
The stone door opened his master Alana stepped inside. She looked around the chamber. What she saw filled her with pride.
Six months of work covered every surface, formation diagrams, books, notes, failed experiments, successful formations, and hundreds of practice papers.
Gabriel stood in the center of the room.
His clothes were slightly wrinkled.
His curly black hair was messy.
His violet eyes were tired.
But there was unmistakable confidence in them.
Alana looked at the portable defensive formation.
"You created this?"
Gabriel nodded.
"Yes, Master."
Alana examined it carefully.
She could immediately see its weaknesses.
It was crude.
Its spiritual energy circulation wasn't particularly elegant.
Its efficiency was mediocre.
But it worked.
And Gabriel had created it himself.
Alana smiled.
"Your foundation in array formations is now established."
Gabriel looked relieved.
"Does that mean I'm finished?"
Alana laughed softly. "No."
Gabriel's shoulders dropped.
"I knew you were going to say that."
"There are countless types of formations for you to learn."
She turned toward the door.
"But for now, you need rest as you know haste makes waste my dear disciple."
Gabriel looked at the formation materials surrounding him.
Six months ago, they had been nothing more than strange objects and complicated diagrams.
Now they represented the beginning of another path.
He had his sword.
He had his cultivation.
And now he had formations.
Three different tools that could help him survive the dangerous world beyond the Celestial Haven Sect.
Gabriel looked toward his master.
"Master."
"Yes?"
"When can I start learning Rank-Two formations?"
Alana smiled and looked at Gabriel.
"After you finish your next round of cultivation training."
Gabriel's eyes widened.
"Next round?"
Alana turned back around and walked.
"Welcome back from seclusion, Gabriel."
Gabriel sighed.
Then smiled.