The radiance of the rising sun penetrated layers of fog covered the Ji prefecture. Dawn had finally arrived but the citizens of Ji prefecture had woken up long ago. The hunters traversed through the forest to fill the need of their households, the mighty warriors practiced martial arts, the wives are tending their homes and children’s were playing.

Ning and Law sat across each other’s while playing a chess. Ning’s forehead was scrunched up while one of his eyebrow raised slightly higher than the other. It was rare for he and his brother to spend time together like this. The majority of his time was spent on the library studying this world, while Law, his brother spent the most of his time training. Strangely enough Law was smarter than himself, even though his brother rarely studied.

When his brother asked him to play chess, he thought he would have to hold back a little to preserve his brother pride. It never crossed his mind that he, Ji Ning someone who had reincarnated from earth would be cornered by a 4 years old. He was not a master in chess but he was intelligent even by the standard earth’s standard but for him to be on the losing side… sigh.

He glanced at his brother who were marveling the scenery surrounding the manor. The scenery was indeed beautiful. Noticing his glance, his brother smirked at him.

Ugh… how could a four years old was more skilled than him in chess. His brother must be what a monstrous genius meant in web novels he read in his past life.

After a while he regained his clarity and moved a piece. Next to him, his brother was observing his move with a glint of curiosity.

“Brother why do you want to learn the art of assassination. Do you… want to become an assassin?” a little misdirection is a fair in war and chess.

“No, I’m not interested in becoming an assassin. I just felt that the art of assassination was very useful.” Law answered and moved a piece.

“Useful?” Asked while Ning frowned looking at the board.

“Hmm,” Law nodded. “Hiding, killing and fleeing. Even if the art of assassination wouldn’t make one an expert. It would keep one’s life intact”.

“How about you? Why did you want to learn archery?” Law asked him.

“Learning how to use a ranged weapon seems to be a wise choice,” he replied.

Ning’s moved his pawn to block Law’s rook. Meanwhile Law was staring at him as if he was an idiot.

“You can use your ki to attack an enemy from far away,” Law commented. “Check,” Law added.

Ning took a deep breath and imagined the painting of Mother Nuwa in his mind. The confusion that clouded his mind dispersed. Ning’s used his knight to eat Law’s bishop.

“a bow and arrow is more effective.”

“It’s inefficient.”

“It’s okay.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Your logic is weird too.”

With [Nuwa Painting] revolving on his mind, slowly but surely Ning gained his ground.

“Why didn’t you choose [Crimsonbright Diagrams of the Nine Heavens]? It’s the best cultivation method.”

“I wanted to, but I changed my mind.”

“Why?”

“Dunno, I just felt [Heart of Sage] is more suitable for me.”

Even with [Nuwa Painting] somehow he couldn’t corner his brother. His brother looked at the board with a puzzled expression. Which was a bit funny in his opinion, considering Law had a third eye on his forehead. His pupils rotated like a wheel and he made his move.

“I wonder when will father let us to roam around the prefecture?”

“I want to travel around too. What kind of training we’ll do with father?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he’d tell us to memorize some stances.”

“Check. What’s your dream Ning?”

“Haven’t thought about it. How about you Law.”

“Become the best swordsman in the three realms of course.”

“Good luck then. I want to travel throughout the universe.”

“Check mate. I’ll head to the library, it’s time for lesson on formation,” Law said and ran to the library.

Ning looked at the board in silence.

He used [Nuwa Painting] a great visualization technique to temper one’s soul and mind to play chess.

He lost.

……………………….

Law arrived at the private library owned by uncle white. Its size wasn’t comparable to the clan’s library but it’s splendor was something to marvel.

The match with Ning was very entertaining. When he was about to win suddenly Ning turned the situation around. If he didn’t use his rinne-sharinggan to read Ning’s body language to predict his moves, then he’d lose.

Inside the library, Uncle White sat behind a mountain of books. Uncle White put the book he was reading into the mountain and motioned Law to sit.

Law sat behind a desk across Uncle White. Before he could open his mouth to launch a question Uncle White gave him a book and said. “I hear that you’re interested in formation?”

“Yes Uncle.”

“Unlike cultivation or martial arts, there is nothing fancy in formation. Read the book and then we’ll have a test.”

Law nodded and stared at the book on his hands. It was called the Basic of Formation, when he opened it, he saw rows of neatly handwritten words. The first part of the book roughly summarized what a formation is.

He opened a random page to get a better overview of the book.

The way to calculate a rectangular area is by measuring the length and width of your area then multiplying those two numbers together to get the area in feet squared (ft2). If you have on oddly shaped area, such as an L-shape, split it into square or rectanglualar sections and treat them as two separate areas. Calculate the area of each section then add them together for your total. If your measurements are in different units, say feet and inches, you can first convert those values to feet, then multiply them together to get the square footage of the area.

This page seemed to explain about rectangle and how to calculate its area and sides.

Pythagoras's theorem, is a fundamental relation in Euclidean geometry the three sides of a right triangle. It states that the square of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. The theorem can be written as an equation relating the lengths of the sides a, b and c, often called the "Pythagorean equation" {a^{2}+b^{2}=c^{2}} where c represents the length of the hypotenuse and a and b the lengths of the triangle's other two sides.

Somehow the Pythagoras’s theorem had found its way to the basic of formation.

Every object persisted in its state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed on it.

Force is equal to the change in momentum (mV) per change in time. For a constant mass, force equal mass time acceleration (F=m.a)

For every action, there is an equal and opposite re-action.

New… Newton’s Laws!

Law closed the book in confusion.

“This book should be called Math’s & Applicable Science! Not Basic of Formation!”

“What’s the matter Law?” uncle White asked when he noticed Law’s confusion.

“Um… this book only explained about mathematics and science,” Law replied.

He had assumed that he would learn about formation, its component and how it was made and not math’s.

“Of course it is. Mathematics are the fundamental of formation. Even if the variables are little different it is important to understand it before learning formation. You’ll be learning about formation when you finished the basics,” uncle White replied.

Law had reincarnated to the three realms, where magic, immortals and demons exist.

He was still tortured by math’s.

It seemed it’ll be a long time until he could recreate hirashin no jutsu.

…………………..

“Law, child, I shall be the one to teach you footwork.” Yuchi Snow, clad in white furs, smiled as she looked at her son.

“Yes, Mother.” Law said.

Although he had exercised to the point where his waist and his back were bitterly sore before learning movement technique with his mother, because he had trained in the [Heart of Sage], his body’s regenerative speed was astonishingly high and full of vitality. Right now, his mind was clear, fresh, and full of energy.

“In close combat, footwork is every bit as importance as sword techniques!” Yuchi Snow said solemnly. “When two people engage in a battle, the one with better footwork and agility can make it hard for the opponent to injure them, while they are able to easily injure the opponent.”

Law nodded.

He understood this logic.

Close combat didn’t just mean standing there like an idiot, waving swords and sabers at each other. It was constantly changing positions like an unpredictable shadow. In his past life, he had seen taekwondo and karate experts. Those most elite competitors all valued footwork highly, and their footwork was exquisite, capable of causing ten enemy punches in a row to miss, or at least have their power reduced greatly.

The importance of footwork was arguably even higher than that of attacking techniques! Because no matter how strong an attack is, it’s useless if it missed. Movement techniques are rarer than attacking techniques and more valued as a life preserving technique.

“I will teach you a footwork technique known as the [Shadewind Steps].” Snow said. “Don’t be fooled by its ordinary name. This is a very amazing set of footwork techniques. I am the only one who knows it in our Ji clan, and even amongst all five Prefectures, it is considered the highest type of footwork technique. Once you begin learning this footwork technique, you will understand how to dodge and move about in tight areas, while also learning how to easily flee.”

Snow then showcased the movement technique and said. “The basic of [Shadewind Steps] lie in steps, wind and shade. To use this technique your movements must be flexible, light and precise. You’ll be learning how to walk properly.”

“First, carefully read the six basic movements.” With a flip of her hand, Snow made a thick yellow book appear out of nowhere.

Law accepted it and began to read it carefully.

This book described the [Shadewind Steps] and its six basic movements. All six of the movements were exquisite and profound in their movements and usage of force and energy.

“Start walking, it’ll be a long time before you can use the more profound moves on the manual.”

Law then tried to walk with light and precise movements.

“Stop! Try again, your steps are too rigid!”

Law tried again and again until it is satisfactory enough.

“Your steps are not light enough!”

“It must be precise, look where you are walking!”

“Remember to breathe properly!”

“Good, practice until it become a second nature.”

……………..

“The [Shadewind Steps] technique has three stages.”

“First, the basic stage.”

“Second, the advanced stage.”

“Third, one with the world.”

Snow looked at Law. “Actually, all techniques, be it footwork, sword, saber, spear, or anything else, can be divided into these three stages. For example, the ‘advanced stage’ of sword technique is often described as ‘one with the sword’.”

“Have you memorized the mysteries of the six basic movements?” Snow asked.

“Don’t just stare at it.” Snow pointed at a distant area. “Look over there.”

Law turned his head and saw wooden pillars. There must have been thousands of wooden pillars there, and they were all of different height and at different distances from each other. Above these wooden stakes was a number of beast capes, thousands of them which dotted the area like ropes.

“That is known as the Thousand Star Array.” Snow said. “Through the usage of the Thousand Star Array, within ten years, you should be able to be able to reach the ‘Ruwei’ stage of the Shadewind Steps. If it wasn’t for the Thousand Star Array…you probably would have to spend a hundred times the amount of time.”

“Hm...” Law nodded gently.

Snow then walked towards the Thousand Star Array, then pointed at one of the very short pillars. “Go stand on top of this pillar.”

“Yes.” Law easily jumped onto the wooden pillar.

He instantly felt wobbly. The pillar wasn’t very thick, and there was only enough space for a single foot. Fortunately, after having trained in the [Heart of Sage], he had an extremely good sense of balance. This was the only reason why he was able to stand stably.

“Listen to my orders. Whichever one of the six basic movements I ask you to use, that’s what you use.” Snow said. “The ‘advancing’ move!”

Law immediately tried to charge forward and step atop another pillar in front of him, but when he brushed against a beast skin rope and, with a swish, he fell down to the ground.

“Remember, whenever you are moving in the Thousand Star Array, you must not step onto any of the beast skins. Once you do so, you’ll have to start over again.” Snow said.

Law ground his teeth.

He refused to believe it would happen again.

He once again hopped onto the short pillar, and then, using the ‘advancing’ move, he dodged past the beast skin and moved onto the next wooden pillar. However, he had used too much force. His body swayed for a long while before he was able to steady himself on that one foot again.

“Remember, your movements must be like nails, driving a nail down with each step. When you land on the pillar, you must be nailed to it!” Snow said. “Each step cannot be too small or too large. It cannot be too light or too heavy. Just now, you swayed wildly. If this was a life or death fight, you would’ve been stabbed to death by an enemy who would’ve discovered a flaw in your attacks. Continue. The ‘advancing’ move!”

“The ‘advancing’ step!”

“The ‘sidestep’ step!”

“The ‘leaping’ step!”

“The ‘backwards’ step!”

“The ‘withdrawing’ step!”

“The ‘turning’ step!”

Snow snapped one order after another.

Actually, all footwork techniques relied on these basic movements. But the differences between different techniques were like night and day in terms of skill. Some would make you move as fast as a bolt of lightning, while others would make you as agile and graceful as the wind, or perhaps as unpredictable as a spirit.

Each footwork technique had its own mysteries, and naturally would have different effects in battle.

“Oof!” He hadn’t leapt high enough, and his back had brushed against the beast skin ropes, causing him to be unable to land onto the wooden pillar. He fell down.

Not saying a word, Law climbed back onto the pillar.

“Oof!” His knee hadn’t been bent enough.

“Oof!” He had used too much force.

………..

On those thousands of wooden pillars, Law was moving like a flash, wildly training in these six basic steps. Because of the obstruction of the beast skins, Ning’s body also had to undergo various contortions to dodge them. But no matter what postures he used, the most important thing was that his center of gravity had to be stable, and his feet had to be stable!

“Mother, how long will I train like this for?” Law had fallen so many times.

“Law, son, start from the shortest pillar and move through all 1008 wooden pillars, then jump down from the tallest one! You are not to touch any of the beast skins on the way!”

“If you are able to complete this within the time it takes for one to take ten breaths, then you will have mastered the ‘basic’ level of this footwork.” Yuchi Snow laughed.

Law was stunned when he heard this. “What? In ten breaths? Such a short period of time…if only I was running on the flat ground, I would be able to do that in ten breaths.” 1008 wooden pillars, all of which had to be traversed. There was a distance of a thousand or so meters.

“Keep working hard Law, you already have the ability to cross thousand meter in ten breath. Crossing those pillar in ten breaths is just a matter of time” Snow laughed.

“Moving in the Thousand Star Array as though you were on the ground…only then would you have mastered the ‘basic’ stage.”

“Then what about the second, ‘advanced’ stage?” Law asked.

Snow pushed one of the nearby beast skin ropes, which began to collide with the other beast skins. Soon, the thousand plus beast skins were all swaying against and hitting each other in a totally wild, chaotic manner.

“The second stage, the ‘advanced’ stage, requires you to once again start from the lowest pillar and move through all 1008 pillars, then jump down from the tallest one, in the span of ten breaths, without touching any of the beast skin ropes. However…for the ‘advanced’ stage, all of the beast skins will be striking each other.” Snow looked at Law. “Once you can do that, you will have mastered the ‘advanced’ stage.”

“With the help of the Thousand Star Array, you should need ten years to reach the ‘advanced’ stage of the [Shadewind Steps].” Snow said. “From now until lunch time, you will continuously practice here at the Thousand Star Array.”

“Then what about the third stage, ‘one with the world’?” Law asked curiously.

Snow looked at Ning and laughed. “That’s on an entirely different level. Once you reach it, you’ll understand.”

“How powerful is it? Can you please explain it mother?.” Law asked.

“Alright. If I have to describe it…even ten thousand arrows raining down on me at the same time, it wouldn’t be able to injure me at all.” Snow looked at her son.

“Ten thousand arrows at the same time?” Law instantly imagined a thick cluster of countless arrows raining down, but none of them able to touch him. This was inconceivable. A human’s body occupied a certain amount of space, after all. If those countless arrows filled the skies, logically speaking, there should be no way to dodge them.

Snow smiled. “Don’t be discouraged. Most of the peak Houtian experts of the various tribes are only able to reach the first, ‘basic’ stage.”

“Xiantian lifeforms are usually able to reach the second, ‘advanced’ stage.”

“Most Zifu Disciples are able to reach the third stage of ‘one with the world’. But of course, some extremely talented Xiantian lifeforms are able to reach the level of ‘unity with the world’…such as your father!” Snow said.

“Father?”

“Your father’s footwork has reached the level of ‘one with the world’. And even in swordplay, which is harder to train in than footwork, your father has reached the ‘one with the world’ level.” Snow laughed. “That is why your father is the undisputed number one expert of the Ji clan’s West Prefecture. That’s why his prestige awes all of the countless tribes.”

Law heart immediately swelled with a heroic feeling. Whatever his father could do, he himself could definitely do, especially since he had puchased Ootsuki, Saiyan bloodline, various blessing with his karmic point and the wisdom from his past life!

“Continue!”

“The ‘advancing’ step!”

“The ‘turning’ step!”

“The ‘leaping’ step!”

Law’s small, young frame carefully flashed about the Thousand Star Array, occasionally falling down.