Spirit's Awakening: The Path of Lightning and Water-Chapter 392: Array Stress Testing

As the last echoes of Ilyara’s declaration settled over the coliseum, the 90 Personal Disciples standing in formation sprang into motion. They moved swiftly, claiming their designated hexagonal platforms across the competition zone, each choosing a spot at random.

Lassim’s spirit sense swept over the competitors. This was a competition he wished he could’ve taken part in, but after hearing what they’d be tested on, he realized he’d be completely unequipped for this kind of contest. He’d spent the majority of his time as an Array Apprentice working on his own [Space] elemental rune alphabet and the Teleportation Device. The only non-space related work he’d accomplished was the hybrid beast construct assistance he gave and a simple clock. He was still a long way off from creating barriers in under thirty seconds.

At the center of the coliseum, Ilyara adjusted her runic goggles from the top of her head to now being over her eyes, the lenses flashing as she activated their inscription layers to augment what she was seeing with live data points that flickered along the corners of her field of view. "Alright, alright, let’s not waste any more time! You all know the rules. Your first task—set up a standard Lightning Barrier Array before the countdown ends. The clock starts when I say go, and remember—when that timer hits zero, the constructs will be released, whether you’re ready or not."

The tension among the competitors was palpable, their hands already reaching for their tools and pre-prepared array components.

Ilyara lifted a single hand, fingers splayed with three lifted into the air, "Everyone in place?" Her gaze flickered over the competitors, ensuring no one was out of position.

Satisfied, she began the verbal countdown. "Three…"

Several disciples crouched low, already channeling mana into their materials or connect bits and pieces to the array circuitry embedded in the floor beneath their feet.

"Two…"

Inscription brushes hovered over array parchments, fingers poised over runestones, and spirit-forged carving knives trembled with the charge of gathered lightning mana.

"One…"

A single spark flickered through the air as she dropped the last of her fingers down, "Begin!"

Th𝗲 most uptodate novels are published on ƒгeewёbnovel.com.

The projection screen behind her ignited as the countdown timer started ticking.

Thirty seconds.

Twenty Nine.

Twenty Eight.

Lassim’s eyes darted across the field, observing how each competitor approached the challenge. The variety of techniques and methods was vast.

One disciple, a woman, unrolled a pre-etched scroll across the platform beneath her feet. With a swift motion, she pressed both hands against the array into the circuitry, feeding it a surge of mana. The pre-drawn lightning runes lit up instantly, forming a glowing dome of protective energy around her within the first five seconds.

"Pre-prepared scrolls," Ilyara mused, adjusting her goggles. "Fast activation, but let’s see if the stability holds when the real test starts, eh Liera?."

A few platforms away, a competitor with a stocky frame and a golden hair band through his dark violet hair took a different approach. Instead of using pre-prepared materials, he conjured his array from scratch, his fingers tracing glowing lightning mana symbols in the air. Each rune materialized in a precise formation before settling onto the stone hexagon’s edges, locking into place like puzzle pieces with each wag of his fingers.

Ilyara hummed in approval. "A freehand array? Risky, but efficient if you’ve mastered your strokes. That technique allows for on-the-fly adjustments. Not bad, Ardan!"

Others had more unique methods.

"Oho! Interesting choice Dain!" Ilyara’s grin widened as her voice caught Lassim’s attention. He followed her eye line as she called out, "A conduction-based design! That’s gonna have a killer reinforcement against energy-based attacks, but what about the physical impact?"

The competitor she was looking at, Dain, was a lanky young man that had embedded metallic rods into the stone at key points, creating a circuit that linked through small filaments of conductive alloy. When he channeled his mana, the filaments charged with lightning mana, eventually releasing to form a cage-like barrier that arced with constant streams of lightning around him.

The seconds ticked down.

Twenty seconds left.

The competition zone lit up with a growing sea of barriers rising and flickering into existence. Some strobed violently as competitors struggled to balance their mana input, while others appeared like solid sheets of lightning mana with impressive stability.

Fifteen seconds.

A disciple near the eastern edge, a composed-looking woman, had taken a unique approach—rather than building a full dome or wall, she layered a series of interlocking triangular shields she had crafted out of some sort of metal alloy that rotated before locking into place, only the gaps between shifting with small bursts of lightning.

Ilyara adjusted the zoom on her goggles, eyebrows raising. "An adaptive array, Oris Mei? That could be interesting. The shifting pattern means the various impacts will get redirected and absorbed. Clever girl."

Ten seconds.

There were still a few disciples out of the total 90 had yet to complete their barriers. Whether it was the stress of the limited time, the thousands of eyes boring into their every move, or general performance anxiety, panic began to set in among those competitors as they hurried to finalize their formations. The pressure of the clock was weighing down on them like a mountain was dropped on their shoulders.

Five seconds.

The last few competitors quickly forced their mana into place, stabilizing their hastily made arrays as fast as they could just as—

BEEP!

The countdown hit zero.

A deafening hum resonated throughout the coliseum as the Lightning Constructs came to life.

90 towering figures, their skeletal metallic frames glowing with pulsating lightning energy and batons at their hips, emerged from the walls of the arena. Hidden out of sight, their bodies popped out of the sliding slits that opened up. Their steps sent a buzzing noise through the air with their movement. Their motions were quite smooth, as expected of any of Rlyis and Eno’s guard designs, as their limbs crackled with concentrated lightning to give the humanoid body shape to the skeletal frames.

Lassim stood up from his chair and leaned against the railing to get a better look.

Now, the real test began.

A single construct carefully matched to be exactly 1 level higher than the creator’s current cultivation for each barrier, and in unison the constructs raised their empty metallic hands at the ends of the skeleton frame—lightning coalesced in their palms before arcing outward.

The first round of strictly lightning attacks was launched.

The barriers lit up in rapid succession as bolts of condensed lightning mana slammed into them. The impact was immediate—most arrays held strong, their runes flaring brightly as they absorbed the energy of a mana attack one level higher than each of their current cultivations, while others flickered under the strain.

Unfortunately, one disciple’s barrier shattered on the first strike. His array was one of the last to go up before the timer ended. A hastily scrawled and unstable from the start design, collapsed as the construct’s second strike overwhelmed it completely. The force of the impact sent him staggering backward, the protective ward on his platform automatically activating to prevent him from taking real damage.

Ilyara clicked her tongue. "And we have our first dropout! What a disappointment! You call yourself a Personal Disciple? I pity you and what a shame on your Master." Her eyes flickered to the Sect Master who gave a subtle nod, before she continued, "Your Master should’ve taught you better. You gotta remember—speed means nothing if the array can’t hold up under pressure. Today it was just a test, but next time? You could be the one responsible for your team’s lives against the Abyssal Legion. What a disgrace…"

The crowd seemed to be mixed between feeling sorrow for the Personal Disciple and others agreeing with Ilyara’s words. They relied heavily on the Array Masters during battle and if they weren’t any good, and you couldn’t trust them to have your back, what was the point?

Elsewhere, Dain’s conduction-based shield absorbed the lightning effortlessly, dispersing the energy across the metallic filaments. However, the construct changed its approach for its 4th attack—rather than another lightning strike, it lunged forward after taking the baton from his hip, charging it with lightning mana, and then slamming it heavily against the metal rods.

CRACK!

The impact sent vibrations rippling through the array. Dain grit his teeth desperately as he reinforced the circuit with more of his mana. His shield held, but just barely against the mostly physical, but also mana enhanced attack. Ilyara’s judgement had been correct, but it was too late to make excuses. He knew it’d be tough and that’s why he’d designed a special feature to the metal bars that he had yet to reveal.

But, that’s when the slits on the walls opened up once more. Only a single elimination in the first five attacks, but this was just the start. The second wave of constructs quickly reached their target barriers.

Another competitor’s shield was less fortunate than Dain’s. Oris Mei’s adaptive barrier deflected the first round of attacks easily, redirecting the lightning strikes away from her position.

But when a second construct stepped in and launched a simultaneous strike in unison from the opposite side, the shifting formation struggled to keep up. Her mana and complete focus for holding it together with his spirit sense and circulation exposed a fatal flaw she’d lacked in all of her tests. Not once had she ever tried to take multiple strikes from opposite directions in the entire year she’d personally designed and built this unique array arrangement. The collision on opposite sides caused an instability in her array’s sequence, and with a sharp snap, the bonds between each of the floating triangle shapes shattered and fell apart like a window breaking.

She cursed under her breath, unharmed, but stepped off her hexagon platform in acknowledgement of her elimination. She gave a final respectful nod toward the judges before she walked towards the exit past the field of barriers and attacking constructs.

Lassim watched the ongoing defenses with a critical eye. The sheer variety in array techniques was fascinating, and more importantly, it was a clear indicator of each competitor’s understanding of formations.

The round of five attacks from two constructs concluded quickly, and in response, the coliseum’s walls rumbled once more. Another round of constructs were appearing from the slits.

Ilyara’s smirk grew as she gestured toward the judges’ platform. "And just like that—round three begins! Competitors still standing, hiding away in your barriers, prepare yourselves! You now face three constructs each!"

The excitement in the stands reached a new pitch. This was only the beginning, and already, the competition was shaping up to be a brutal test of endurance, creativity, and sheer technical skill. Only two competitors had been taken out, but there were many more that looked like three or four constructs just one level stronger could be their limit.

Lassim didn’t comment, but he let out a sigh as he shared a thought to Mary and Zaphy who were also watching the outside through the shared Spirit Sense,, "[Not an amazing showing to say the least. I thought the barriers would be stronger. I mean, they’re just a single level higher, right?]"

As if sensing Lassim’s disappointment with the unamused sigh he released, Sect Master Volten sent a spark of lightning to the back of his head, "Not everyone is a freak like you. This is actually a remarkable year since only two were eliminated in the first two rounds. You’ve completely lost all perspective of normalcy, so don’t sigh or else I’ll really give you a jolt."

Lassim rubbed the back of his head with a frown and he turned to look into the glaring Sect Master’s orange, [Defiance Lightning] filled eyes.

"[Do I really not understand normalcy?]" He thought again, to Mary and Zaphy.

They both gave the equivalent of a mental shrug. They also thought it was a bit ridiculous for how weak these barriers appeared to be.

If Sect Master Volten could read minds, he probably would’ve make Lassim summon all three to receive punishment for disapproving the hard-working and non-God’s favored, normal, Nexarians that tried their best.