Chapter 320: Nine Dishes Compete for Supremacy

“Of course, if it only had the function of breaking formations, it wouldn't be enough to impress me or my colleagues in the Formation Strategy Hall.”

While the students excitedly stared at the Disjunction Plate, discussing it animatedly, Ji Hongdao continued.

“The true power of the Disjunction Plate lies in its growth potential.”

After saying this, Ji Hongdao deliberately paused, waiting for the students’ reactions.

As he expected, his words immediately caused a stir among the crowd.

It was well known that any magical artifact in the cultivation world, once associated with growth potential, would see its value soar tenfold, even a hundredfold.

Originally, as a secondary manifestation of the Heavenly Profound Mirror, the Disjunction Plate, with its formation-breaking ability, was already incredibly precious.

If it also possessed growth potential, its value would become incalculable!

The students’ gazes burned with intensity as they looked at Ji Hongdao, awaiting his explanation.

Seeing that he had sufficiently piqued their interest, Ji Hongdao stopped teasing and said, “As formation masters, we all harbor a long-cherished wish: to create our own perfect formation. The Disjunction Plate can help us achieve this.

“Each time it breaks a formation, the Disjunction Plate absorbs and stores the formation data within itself.

“According to our research and observations, the Disjunction Plate will then spontaneously deduce and refine the absorbed formation, attempting to repair any flaws exploited during the previous breaking process.

“Once the flaws are mended, a completely new formation is born.

“Following this, the Disjunction Plate will attempt to break this new formation again.

“It’s a cycle of breaking, repairing, and re-breaking.

“In the hands of an ordinary formation master, a single formation often takes several years, even more than a decade, to undergo one iteration.

“But with the Disjunction Plate, several iterations can be achieved within just one year.

“Of course, this efficiency is also related to the difficulty of the formation being broken.

“If it’s a formation of the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array’s caliber, the iteration efficiency will naturally slow down.

“However, even so, the Disjunction Plate is more efficient than all of us combined.”

Ji Hongdao marveled, showing no resentment at being surpassed by a magical artifact.

Unable to resist, he caressed the treasure in his hand again and continued.

“The more formation data the Disjunction Plate absorbs, the stronger its breaking ability becomes. Similarly, its deduction and iteration capabilities grow proportionally more powerful.

“It’s truly unimaginable what heights they will reach in the future.

“It is said that our Myriad Immortal Alliance’s ultimate treasure, the Heavenly Profound Mirror, was merely an ordinary mirror in its initial state.

“Only after witnessing the Immortal Venerable impart his teachings and gaining self-awareness did it gradually transform over thousands of years of continuous growth into the mystical artifact it is today.

“So, who’s to say that in your hands, a Disjunction Plate won’t evolve into a second Heavenly Profound Mirror?”

At these words, all the students present held their breath.

There was no one within the Myriad Immortal Alliance who didn't know the power and preciousness of the Heavenly Profound Mirror. The thought of potentially owning a magical artifact comparable to it caused everyone’s breathing to quicken moments later.

“Master Ji, stop teasing us! Please announce the results!”

The speaker was a Golden Core cultivator named Qi Chengcheng, who had consistently ranked among the top performers in previous assessments.

He had absolute confidence in his results and believed that one of the nine Disjunction Plates would undoubtedly be his, which is why he urged them on so impatiently.

Li Fan, however, savored Ji Hongdao’s words, discerning a different undertone.

Indeed, the Disjunction Plate was an extraordinary treasure. If Ji Hongdao hadn’t exaggerated, it was essentially what Zhang Zhiliang had hoped for: a perfect lower-tier substitute for the Heavenly Profound Mirror and the core of the Infinite Method.

Li Fan admitted he was tempted too.

However, Ji Hongdao’s encouraging speech felt somewhat odd. If he had said these words at the beginning of the training as motivation, that would have been understandable.

But now the final assessment was over, and the results were set. Logically, the ownership of the nine Disjunction Plates should have already been decided. What was the meaning behind Ji Hongdao’s inflammatory words now?

He even brought out phrases like “who’s to say it won’t become a second Heavenly Profound Mirror?” If Li Fan hadn't already known that the Heavenly Profound Mirror was likely connected to the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror, the ultimate treasure of the ancient Heavenly Profound Sect, he would have almost believed Ji Hongdao's nonsense.

And just as Li Fan expected, after a slight smile, Ji Hongdao finally revealed his true intentions.

He gave a gentle wave, and a golden illuminated list appeared on the sky screen.

On the golden list, everyone’s names were written from top to bottom, ranked by their scores.

The top nine names, moreover, emitted a faint purple-gold radiance, making them incredibly conspicuous.

As the golden list was revealed, Ji Hongdao simultaneously stated, “We previously promised to award these nine Disjunction Plates as prizes to the top performers of this assessment.

“This matter was personally decided by the headquarters of the Formation Strategy Hall, so we naturally wouldn't break our word.

“However…”

“Things have changed.”

At this point, a hint of helplessness appeared on Ji Hongdao’s face.

The crowd exchanged glances, an ominous feeling rising in their hearts.

“Initially, there were indeed nine Disjunction Plates. And even now, the number remains the same. However, just yesterday, we suddenly discovered that eight of these nine Disjunction Plates had dimmed slightly.

“The light of the remaining one, however, not only did not diminish but instead increased, making it somewhat more powerful.

“Although the degree of this change was extremely subtle, we still detected it.

“Secondary manifestations of the Heavenly Profound Mirror often possess hidden characteristics that only reveal themselves at specific times. That’s why we hadn’t previously discerned the true mystery of these Disjunction Plates…

“Indeed, this was our oversight.”

Ji Hongdao sighed, a blush creeping up his old face.

The students, however, understood the implication of Ji Hongdao’s words.

“Master Ji, are you implying that these nine Disjunction Plates will devour each other?” Qi Chengcheng couldn’t help but ask.

Ji Hongdao nodded: “After noticing the anomaly and conducting thorough research, we discovered that what appear to be nine Disjunction Plates are, in fact, one entity.

“Whenever one of them grows stronger in its disjoining ability, it will draw essence from the other sub-entities to enhance itself.

“And the weaker ones, if they stand still and fail to catch up, will continuously have their essential power drained, growing weaker and weaker, until they eventually disappear.

“This is what we call: the strong grow stronger, the weak grow weaker.

“Ultimately, amidst the continuous competition among the nine Disjunction Plates, only one will survive until the end.

“And it will be the ultimate winner, having accumulated the full power of all nine Disjunction Plates.

“The true Disjunction Plate.”