Divine Ability

"This secret art... No, this is a divine ability!" When Yaoguang fully grasped the power of this divine ability, he was thoroughly shaken. By relying on this ability to coordinate others—especially other artifact refiners—he could effectively operate an entire factory single-handedly. One person driving an entire factory versus a group maintaining one was on a completely different level of production efficiency. If applied to group combat, the amplifying effect would be just as immediate and dramatic. It could easily elevate him across an entire tier. An entire tier! One had to realize that in this era, among the nine sects possessing Golden Cores—or rather, the seven sects possessing Radiant Sun Golden Cores, which included the Nine Cauldrons Sect—if their Grand Elders ever detonated their Golden Cores, the resulting destructive power would rival a supernova, easily obliterating entire continents. Under such destructive deterrence, warfare between the top immortal sects took place almost exclusively at the level of Great Cultivators. Among Great Cultivators, sword cultivators, possessing the strongest assault and breakthrough capabilities, served as the primary benchmark. A single tier of difference could easily result in a casualty ratio of ten to one. The increase in a sect's deterrent power would be immeasurable. Without exaggeration, if all Great Cultivators in the Nine Cauldrons Sect were elevated by a tier, the ceaseless turmoil across the East Sea Archipelago would quiet down at a rate visible to the naked eye. Factions like the Xuanming Sect, the Dayue Dynasty, the Ancient Immortal Sect, and the Astral Sea Sect would immediately withdraw from the East Sea. Even a major sect like the Great Sun Sword Sect would treat them with respect and goodwill. "Phew!" After a long while, Yaoguang pulled his thoughts back from the divine ability. Resonating with other cultivators' divine mind, divine sense, and combat-oriented spirit intent required strength of his own as the foundation. His own divine mind was not yet powerful, so the total amount of mental power he could guide and coordinate remained quite limited. *I must raise my body refining cultivation to the eighth layer as quickly as possible, then advance my spirit refining to the seventh layer. Once I reach the seventh layer, I can barely manage to condense an Origin Spirit. Although it will be draining and limited in range, coordinating the Zixiao Institute with it will be effortless.* As he pondered, he began operating the workbench before him. As an all-around near-grandmaster artifact refiner, his efficiency in optimizing the Xianying 60 was remarkably fast. In particular, endowed with the Artifact Refining Heart and Artifact Refining Soul traits, he possessed an innate understanding of how a flying sword's layout should be arranged for greater stability and ease of refinement. In just one morning, he improved the flying sword's overall performance by twenty-seven percent, bringing it up to world-class standards. *After spending a few more days refining it, its performance should match equivalent flying swords from the Great Sun Sword Sect, Wuji Astral Palace, and the Immortal Alliance,* Yaoguang reflected. With that level of performance, combined with the prestige of the Nine Cauldrons Sect's proprietary development, the outcome was easy to foresee... In the near future, the Xianying 60 would undoubtedly become one of the hottest civilian flying swords on the market. *Civilian use... and daily use at that. This market is just too fiercely contested in the end. The artifact refining institutes of the major outside sects have already pushed these swords to their absolute limits. Even I wouldn't hold much of an edge. After all, artifact refining involves inscribing formation patterns, and I'm far from proficient in that regard.* Yaoguang weighed his options, though he had no intention of diving deeply into formation arts. *Taking this project is just a way to earn extra cash. Going forward, the real focus must stay on the life-bound flying sword market. If I can secure a foothold there, that's where the real wealth will roll in with ease.* The Xianying series were merely low-to-mid-tier products. Only the Zixiao series of life-bound flying swords truly qualified as custom-tailored luxury goods. The profit margin compared to the Xianying series was vastly superior. Of course, that assumed one could sell them in the first place. *** Just as Yaoguang packed his belongings and prepared to leave, Xiang Guangming knocked on the door. "Come in," Yaoguang called out. Entering, Xiang Guangming saw that Yaoguang had already shut down the workbench and paused in mild surprise. "First Seat, are you heading out? I'll arrange a vehicle for you right away." "Yes, arrange one with plenty of room. I need to move some things." Yaoguang then asked, "Is the residence cleaned up?" "It has been thoroughly cleaned and is ready for you to move in at any time. If you need anything else, simply instruct me and I will purchase it," Xiang Guangming replied. As the Chief Deacon, he essentially functioned as the factory's head manager. He handled not only publicity and acquiring business, but also the daily living arrangements of all the artifact refiners. Naturally, the actual legwork was handled by the subordinate deacons and clerks. "Good," Yaoguang acknowledged, then added, "Did you need something?" "Several of the resident high-tier artifact refiners in the institute wish to meet with you," Xiang Guangming said. These high-tier artifact refiners formed the core production force of the Zixiao Institute. Once Yaoguang completed the optimization of the Zixiao design, production would ultimately depend on them. "It's getting late today. Let's make it tomorrow. I'll examine the specific designs for the Zixiao in the morning, and in the afternoon, gather all the artifact refiners so I can meet with everyone at once," Yaoguang decided after a moment's thought. "Understood. I'll arrange it right away," Xiang Guangming agreed. When Yaoguang stepped out of the main building, a man in his forties was already waiting by an idling hovercar at the entrance. The Zixiao Institute was located on the outskirts of Longxiang City, occupying a rectangular expanse of land that easily spanned over eight hundred thousand square meters. This was not because the factory employed vast crowds of people, but because testing flying swords required sufficient operational depth and testing space. Covering such a large area out in the suburbs, having a dedicated vehicle ready at all times was a necessity. Since it happened to be past six in the evening, Yaoguang ran straight into rush-hour traffic the moment they entered the city. "This traffic..." Yaoguang muttered in mild exasperation. "The situation in the East Sea has been unstable lately, so quite a few people have come ashore and migrated to the Jiuxiao Domain and Longxiang City. The sudden influx of outsiders has caused this congestion. Once the situation stabilizes, things should clear up," the driver explained with a smile. The Jiuxiao Domain bordered the East Sea Archipelago. Setting aside the smaller townships with populations of tens of thousands, Longxiang City was effectively the first major city facing the East Sea. It was said that thirteen years ago, Jiuxiao City used the pretext that Longxiang City was too close to the East Sea Archipelago—making it difficult to guarantee the safety of the Energy Department—to relocate the department to the provincial capital. Otherwise, Longxiang City would still be the foremost city in the Jiuxiao Domain today, rather than having several million people drained away and its gross output cut in half over a single decade. Soon, the car pulled up in front of the Hundred Refinements Sect. Since it was already evening, the disciples who paid tuition to study martial arts had all gone home, leaving the grounds rather quiet. Even so, when the sleek, upscale hovercar came to a stop at the entrance of the Hundred Refinements Sect, it still drew quite a few curious glances from those stepping outside. Among them was Yang Kaitai. Seeing Yaoguang enter, the high-tier body cultivator gave a faint, half-mocking smile. "These past few days, you've been heading out at the crack of dawn and only showing up when it's time to sleep. What have you been up to? So busy?" "Found a job," Yaoguang replied plainly. "Sect Master Zong Lian isn't here, so please pass along my thanks and let him know I won't be troubling you all any longer." Yang Kaitai froze slightly. Even though he, Huang Yunqi, and the others coveted the Hundred Refinements Sect and resented an outsider like Yaoguang taking a share of the pie, if Yaoguang left while the sect master was away on combat readiness patrols, the sect master might assume they had driven him out... Punishment would surely follow. Yang Kaitai immediately said, "Why so sudden? Aren't you staying comfortably here at our Hundred Refinements Sect?" With that, he called out toward the inner courtyard, "Eldest Senior Sister, Yaoguang says he's leaving..." "I found a job, and they assigned me living quarters, so naturally I'm moving over," Yaoguang said. "A job? What kind of job? Lately, the Nine Cauldrons Sect has stepped up contact with the subordinate worlds below to urge their return, causing a huge influx of outsiders. Their arrival has given unscrupulous people bad ideas, deceiving newcomers under the guise of finding them work. Don't go falling for a scam," Yang Kaitai urged hastily. "It's a unit under the Flying Sword Department of the Nine Cauldrons Sect's Artifact Refining Hall," Yaoguang replied. Huang Yunqi, who had just emerged from the inner courtyard, felt a surge of delight upon hearing Yaoguang's answer. Yaoguang... In the end, he had chosen to join the Nine Cauldrons Sect. That meant he could no longer linger in the Hundred Refinements Sect. She stepped forward with a smile, chiming in, "The Nine Cauldrons Sect! That truly is one of the finest choices for you. You've become a high-tier body cultivator at the young age of twenty-one. If you give it your all at the Nine Cauldrons Sect, you might even become a Star Lord one day." With a sigh laden with feigned regret, she added, "In truth, the sect master thought very highly of you and always wanted to keep you here at the Hundred Refinements Sect to instruct you personally. But he also understood that with your talent, you would never settle for a small shrine like our Hundred Refinements Sect..." It was the classic act of playing the gracious victor after getting what she wanted. Yaoguang glanced at her and replied impassively, "How could I look down on it? I've been quite satisfied with the Hundred Refinements Sect. In a few decades, if your Eldest Senior Brother Zong Wuya successfully establishes his Foundation, then all is well. But if he fails to establish a Foundation, the Hundred Refinements Sect will ultimately need a backer. By that time, I expect my own cultivation will have yielded results, and I'll have a good talk with Sect Master Zong." Huang Yunqi's brow furrowed, a flicker of irritation crossing her face. Only after a long pause did she coolly say, "With Eldest Senior Brother's talent, establishing a Foundation in the future will certainly be no issue." "Holy Lord," Kong Xuan called out, walking out from the inner quarters at that moment. "Pack up the things," Yaoguang instructed. Kong Xuan promptly returned to their quarters to busy himself. The driver who had accompanied Yaoguang also stepped forward attentively to lend a hand. This sight caught Huang Yunqi somewhat off guard. Why... Why did he already have dedicated staff assisting him the moment he entered the Zixiao Institute? "Yaoguang... did you... get hired as an artifact refiner at the Zixiao Institute?" She vaguely recalled Zong Yan mentioning that Yaoguang's artifact refining attainments were not low. "No," Yaoguang answered curtly, paying her no further attention. "No?" If he wasn't an official artifact refiner, how could a mere apprentice receive this kind of treatment? Could he possibly be... A high-tier artifact refiner?! Reaching the seventh layer of body refining at twenty-one was already an extraordinary talent—could he have simultaneously mastered artifact refining to the level of a high-tier artifact refiner?! How could that be possible! To the side, watching Yaoguang pack his belongings as though he were truly leaving, Yang Kaitai felt deeply conflicted. There was relief that he no longer had to worry about the Hundred Refinements Sect falling into Yaoguang's hands, yet also frustration that a prodigy who should have belonged to their sect was being poached by the Nine Cauldrons Sect. Yaoguang did not have many belongings. Furthermore, when he had expressed his intent to accept the post to Zhang Jianlin and the others, he had already mentioned the move to Kong Xuan, who had prepared in advance. In less than half an hour, Kong Xuan and the driver emerged into the courtyard carrying the luggage. "First Seat, everything is here. Please check if there's anything else you'd like to take along," the driver said respectfully. "That will be all. Let's go," Yaoguang said, turning to leave. Meanwhile, Huang Yunqi—who was still trying to puzzle out whether Yaoguang was a high-tier artifact refiner—froze, completely dumbfounded by the driver's form of address. "First Seat?"