After Yuan Tan and Sheni Pei returned to the main tent, it wasn’t long before Gao Lan, Jii Ling, Jiangh Qi, Zhu Han, Wang Mo, Xia Zhao, Tao Sheng, and others were all summoned to the main tent as well. However, what shocked Sheni Pei the most was that Chunyu Qiong was also there.

"Zhongjian, you actually followed our lord north." Sheni Pei scanned the circle of people around him and couldn’t help but express surprise when he saw Chunyu Qiong.

There was no need to discuss Gao Lan; even if he was already disabled, he would definitely follow Yuan Tan north. Jii Ling was likely dispatched by Yuan Shu, and the rest didn’t stray from Sheni Pei’s expectations. Back then, the loyalty of Yuan Shao’s people wasn’t just talk.

"Cough, cough, cough, am I so untrustworthy?" Chunyu Qiong said with slight displeasure, "Despite conceding to Liu Bei due to the Northern Huns’ invasion, bowing doesn’t mean I’m Liu Xuande’s subordinate."

In truth, Chunyu Qiong wasn’t keen on coming, but when the senior civil and military officials defending the southern border of Youzhou chose to follow when Yuan Tan went north, the situation compelled him. If at that time, even one person had refused to follow, Chunyu Qiong could have easily refrained from joining.

But the situation then was that everyone chose to follow their former lord; if Chunyu Qiong alone didn’t, it would be too conspicuous. As someone mixed with figures like Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in the Eight Schools of the West Garden during the late Eastern Han Dynasty, reputation was still quite important, so he unwillingly followed north.

"Hmm, since you’re here, we now have five people in our army who understand military formations. You know Xuanxiang, don’t you? Top-level Xuanxiang." Sheni Pei looked at Chunyu Qiong and asked.

"..." Chunyu Qiong remained silent. He indeed knew this, and what he knew wasn’t the Eight Gates or Eight Trigrams, but the Six Mirror Flowers. Without this skill, he wouldn’t have been able to mix into the Eight Schools of the West Garden back then despite his ordinary family background.

When Ju Shou was alive, even if Chunyu Qiong knew Xuanxiang, and even at a top level, it was of no use at all, as Ju Shou’s military formation skills were honestly among the top ten in the Central Plains at the time; he was a pioneer in innovation.

"At this point, whether we can return is already a question. I’m not asking for you to reveal everything, but how about showing us a simplified version?" Sheni Pei said, looking at Chunyu Qiong.

Chunyu Qiong remained silent for a long time, while the others dared not let their gaze fall on Chunyu Qiong and Sheni Pei, fearing Chunyu Qiong might suspect their coveting of such a top-tier military formation.

"Indeed, at this point, it doesn’t matter anymore." Suddenly, Chunyu Qiong seemed to have come to a realization. He rummaged through his robes for a long time and then took out a large silk manuscript covered with tiny script, "It’s not top-level Xuanxiang; it’s the Ultimate Battle Formation!"

"I’ve studied for over twenty years and only learned two." Chunyu Qiong said self-deprecatingly, but there was a trace of pride on his face, "Sheni Zhengnan, I’ll give you this. You can pass it on to whoever you want, but you must train a successor who fully masters this military formation."

"Thank you." Sheni Pei was slightly surprised as well; he originally hoped to extract a little something from Chunyu Qiong, not expecting him to reveal his entire foundation.

Sheni Pei took a cursory glance, different from the set of changes in the Eight Gates; the Six Mirror Flowers had only six changes, but the complexity left Sheni Pei dizzy. Yet, the effects were evidently stronger than the Eight Gates series.

Among them, two changes significantly enhanced attack or defense attributes while slightly enhancing five physical attributes; two other changes nullified the opposing Cloud Qi augmentation while maintaining the user’s normal Cloud Qi effect or enhancing speed and danger perception.

The last two changes explicitly belonged to desperate measures: one boiled and activated the Heaven and Earth Essence, directly triggering the Inner Qi to unleash hidden body power, reportedly able to unleash two to three times the combat power in a short time.

The flaw in this change was obvious, causing short-term weakness and long-term fatality, and even had a second-stage change, burning Inner Qi to directly unleash all potential, multiplying combat power several times while burning out, leaving the person ready for cremation.

The other change was personalizing the Cloud Qi, transforming it into Cloud Armor: a 360-degree coating of the skin’s surface with Cloud Qi layer, drastically enhancing attack and defense, but significantly increasing Cloud Qi consumption. If unable to defeat the enemy quickly, without the protection of the user’s Cloud Qi, even a Legion Attack from the opponent would be enough to be fatal.

However, the silk manuscript detailing the military formation noted that these six effects weren’t the ultimate effect. These formations could only be called Mirror Flowers and weren’t the Six Mirror Flowers. The true Six Mirror Flowers required self-comprehension from someone who mastered the six changes.

Sheni Pei roughly deduced and then put away the manuscript, noticing the eager expressions of the generals seated below. For generals without Legion Talent, mastering a top-level military formation would mean they wouldn’t be inferior to those with Legion Talent, honestly speaking.

However, these people also knew the difficulty of mastering a top-level military formation. Staring at Sheni Pei could only be seen as a glimpse of hope.

The difficulty of mastering a top-level military formation is how high? Let’s put it this way: Chen Xi, lacking much exclusivity, allowed generals above the rank of chiliarch from Liu Bei’s side to peruse a guide on top-level military formations he comprehended from Li Youu’s explanation.

Thus far, only Cai Yan truly learned a military formation from that book, while the best learner besides him was Yu Jin. However, Yu Jin only learned one change, and after mastering it, he didn’t continue learning, finding it too mind-boggling.

The military formation change Yu Jin mastered had no offensive or defensive effects; it merely allowed soldiers to perceive their comrades’ positions among a rebel army, but combined with Yu Jin’s Legion Talent, it was simply unscrupulous.

"What’s the need for thanks? I spent so many years on this thing, barely learned much, and even wasted my martial arts on it." Chunyu Qiong said with a bitter smile.

Chunyu Qiong only learned two changes: one nullifying the opponent’s Cloud Qi augmentation to enhance his own speed and perception, the other being the desperate measure of Boiling Heaven and Earth Essence. However, he rarely had opportunities to apply these formations.

"To what extent can you accomplish it? Can it be used on large armies?" Sheni Pei inquired.

"No, because the Six Mirror Flowers have prerequisite changes, requiring preliminary formation interlacing, and my ability is only suitable for private, gradual training. In large army battles, doing this..." Chunyu Qiong said awkwardly.

Sheni Pei also realized, if Chunyu Qiong could use it on the battlefield, he wouldn’t be a general often overlooked; he would surely be counted among the renowned generals!