"A sealing array? That's interesting."
Nan Ming's gaze swept across the verdant mountains and flowing waters, which seemed like scenes from a moving painting.
Within each scene, a character for 'seal' faintly appeared.
The scenes were linked, forming a closed loop.
The ghost messenger in green had vanished without a trace.
...
"What's happening inside? Why can't we see?"
The surrounding ghost messengers craned their necks, but could only see a expanse of green.
"They must have used something."
"It seems this powerful individual specializes in sealing... This is likely a sealing array."
"This is indeed a sealing array."
As the onlookers speculated, a confident voice emerged from beside them.
They turned to see a captain from the Sealing Team!
Yu Baixing placed a hand on his chin, murmuring as he stared at the stage.
"Her array is very advanced, but generally, the more advanced an array, the more time it requires to deploy."
"But she just... in less than a minute..."
"Could this senior be the one Senior Xu mentioned, that legendary... genius sealer?"
Despite being in the same cohort as Senior Xu, she could deploy and utilize various sealing arrays with incredible speed.
This had made her a legend within the Sealing Team.
However, after becoming a first-class ghost messenger, she rarely appeared in the Underworld.
It was rumored she had been assigned secret missions...
"I didn't expect to encounter her here."
Thinking this, Yu Baixing couldn't help but feel excited.
It was indeed the right decision to put aside his duties and come watch this arena match!
The ordinary ghost messengers beside him gaped in astonishment.
"A genius from the Sealing Team?"
A ghost messenger even the captain called a 'genius,' how powerful must she be?
...
"Look quickly!"
Just as the ordinary ghost messengers were filled with awe, the scene on the arena stage suddenly changed.
The green mountains and flowing waters vanished!
Nan Ming and Shen Luo, clad in green, reappeared in everyone's sight.
It was broken?!
The onlookers were momentarily stunned.
Wasn't that a formidable array?
Even Yu Baixing looked bewildered.
In his estimation, it was at least a medium-sized array, and if it were more complex, it might even be a chain of sealing locks.
... Had he misjudged?
...
Not only the onlookers, but on the stage, Shen Luo's face still held a trace of surprised disbelief.
Such a massive array, even if triggered temporarily, was by no means simple.
She blurted out instinctively, "How did you do that?"
She had intended to use this opportunity to observe the King of the Southern Palace up close.
She hadn't expected it to end so quickly.
Nan Ming flicked away the golden threads in his hand. Freed from their restraint, they immediately flew back to their owner, disappearing into Shen Luo's robes.
"You can tell by the direction of the power flow," Nan Ming replied.
The most crucial part of an array is its core.
This sealing lock was no different.
Find the most critical point and destroy it.
"..."
Shen Luo instinctively wanted to refute, but upon reflection, she found no grounds to do so.
Observe the flow of sealing power?
Easier said than done!
This was not a simple single seal, but a sealing array composed of multiple sealing locks!
How could its structural complexity be deciphered in such a short time?!
At this moment, a multitude of thoughts flooded Shen Luo's mind.
Cheating?
Is this the true strength of a King of Hell?
Was she really this far behind?
Were there loopholes in sealing barriers that she had overlooked?
By the end, Shen Luo even began to doubt her entire existence.
Doubt if her learned sealing techniques were just trash?
Had it all been a waste of effort?
Had her years of hard work amounted to this?
So many ghosts had called her a genius along the way.
But was she truly a genius?
...
Seeing Shen Luo standing there, somewhat dazed, Nan Ming raised his hand and drew a golden character for 'seal' in the air.
"Sealing, in essence, is like designing a maze."
"The more hidden the entrances and exits, and the more intricate the design, the harder the maze becomes. Those trapped inside will need more time to find the exit."
"While sealing is a specialty of the Eastern Palace, I dabble in it as well."
"You lost to me not due to ability, but experience."
Experience?
Shen Luo looked at him blankly.
Nan Ming's fingertip traced a path in the air, and several 'seal' characters immediately formed a circular ring.
"When you solve many mazes of the same type, you naturally grasp certain patterns."
"Similarly, after solving more difficult and advanced mazes, solving intermediate ones will feel simple."
"So..." Shen Luo murmured, "I only lost because of experience?"
Nan Ming's finger lightly tapped, and the small circle formed by the 'seal' characters dissipated into the air.
He said, "Failure is also a form of experience."
The more of a genius one is, the harder it is to truly grasp the experience of failure.
But once it is understood, that experience becomes a valuable treasure.
...
'This fellow actually cherishes talent... Tsk, tsk, tsk.'
In the air, Yan Luo sat back in her chair, propping her chin with one hand.
She mused inwardly.
This fellow probably had the most experience with the failures of geniuses.
Before meeting that Lord, Nan Ming likely never experienced defeat.
But after meeting them, he began to fail repeatedly.
For a time, he even sought out that Lord for duels every day.
Annoyed by his persistence, that Lord simply threw a sealing array at him.
Then, with another flick, another array.
Changing tactics, they would trap him for days.
It had amused her greatly.
Every day, she would bring delicious food and sit outside the sealing barrier.
She would eat and drink heartily, showing it off to him.
The memory of those scenes made Yan Luo's lips curl into a smile.
...
"Thank you for your guidance, Lord!"
On the arena stage, Shen Luo cupped her hands in thanks.
Then, she gracefully departed.
"..."
On his way here, Yu Baixing had considered stepping onto the stage to try.
But seeing the current scene, where the entire match concluded in just a few minutes...
An entire sealing array had been nullified so quickly.
He immediately lost the urge to compete.
However...
"Comparing sealing to a maze?"
Yu Baixing pondered, resting his chin on his hand.
This was indeed a new perspective.
If designing a seal is like designing a maze...
Then repairing a seal would be like repairing the 'exits' that appear in a maze, the so-called loopholes?
It sounded... surprisingly simple.
Designing routes, designing exits and entrances...
Yu Baixing simulated it in his mind.
His fingers in reality twitched slightly, drawing out a strand of golden sealing power.
...
After Shen Luo, many other ghost messengers who had been observing stepped up to try.
King Jian An, Qin Zhouzhou, special-class ghost messengers...
Some used ghost artifacts, others relied on sheer speed...
But no matter how much effort they put in, their matches were quickly concluded.
Among them, the one who lasted the longest was a special-class ghost messenger who spent most of his time in seclusion.
He lasted for a quarter of an hour.
During this time, Yu Baixing, unconsciously drawing out golden sealing power, accidentally entangled a nearby ordinary ghost messenger.
The golden sealing power became a tangled mess, like a ball of yarn.
Jiang Lin had observed for a long time and witnessed the various skills of the Southern Palace King.
It seemed there was nothing he couldn't do.
After some thought, Jiang Lin suppressed his realm to the Ghost General level.
Then, he ascended to the extra-large arena.
...
(PS: Realms: Ghost Soul, Ghost Soldier, Ghost General, Great Ghost General, Ghost King, Underworld Envoy, Nether Emperor. Jiang Lin is currently at the early stage of the Underworld Envoy realm.
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