Battle Record

"Unless the Xuanming Sect has the guts to launch a full-scale war against the Nine Cauldrons Sect and commit Great Cultivator-tier combat strength, the area around Posuo Island is secure." Yaoguang smiled faintly. With thirty-two pitted against the Nine Cauldrons Sect's twenty, they had still been trounced thirty-two to zero. Once word of this reached the Xuanming Sect, their nerve would be completely shattered. What was more, as modified Zixiao Type 12s were equipped in greater numbers and cultivators grew increasingly familiar with the flying sword's performance, the Xuanming Sect's high-rank sword cultivators could hardly even be called sword cultivators anymore—they were walking military medals. Every Nine Cauldrons Sect sword cultivator would be howling with eagerness as they patrolled the skies over the East Sea, hunting and sniping down any Xuanming Sect cultivator they could find. He glanced at the workbench. With a flicker of his divine mind, he activated one of the functional panels, which quickly projected a virtual image. This was an information projection from the Virtual Spirit Realm. The report displayed was precisely news of the Great Sun Sword Sect cultivators gathering on Haige Island. "Over fifty in the Origin Spirit realm, more than two hundred Great Sword Cultivators, over a hundred spell cultivators, and on top of that, more than ten thousand high-rank cultivators of various specializations providing support." The numbers were not the truly daunting part. The key lay in their equipment. Especially the Great Sword Cultivators tasked with spearheading assaults and tearing through defensive lines. They were equipped across the board with second-generation Treasure Weapons. Over thirty percent of them were equipped with third-generation Treasure Weapons. Among these Treasure Weapons, top-grade Treasure Weapons accounted for more than twenty percent. And the disparity in Treasure Weapon equipment between the Nine Cauldrons Sect and the Great Sun Sword Sect was hardly smaller than the current disparity in spirit artifacts between the Nine Cauldrons Sect and the Xuanming Sect. Relying on their advantage in spirit artifacts, the Nine Cauldrons Sect had just fought the Xuanming Sect to a 0:32 victory, but if war broke out with the Great Sun Sword Sect... While 0:32 might be out of the question, the 40:7 outcome from the recent exercise spoke volumes. Yaoguang looked at these reports to keep himself grounded in the reality of the situation. Strength at the spirit artifact level was not true strength. Whoever dominated the Treasure Weapon market would dominate the sword cultivation system. He browsed for a moment and soon spotted a piece of information. "Jiang Senfeng, Hall Master of the Great Sun Sword Sect's War Hall, declared that if war broke out between the Great Sun Sword Sect and the Nine Cauldrons Sect, the Great Sun Sword Sect was certain it could annihilate every Foundation Establishment sword cultivator of the Nine Cauldrons Sect within fifteen days." A line followed after that: The only reason it would take fifteen days was because the Nine Cauldrons Sect was so vast—it would take the Great Sun Sword Sect fifteen days just to fly a full circle around it. Naturally, the discussion below this announcement had erupted into chaos. Cultivators from the Nine Cauldrons Sect and the Great Sun Sword Sect argued relentlessly, while factions like the Shouyang Sect, Astral Sea Sect, and Brahma Divine Kingdom watched the spectacle, eager to see the world burn. Yaoguang took a look and withdrew his gaze. "Whether the Great Sun Sword Sect will be intimidated by the outcome of this battle between the Nine Cauldrons Sect and the Xuanming Sect—causing their exercise to fizzle out with a whimper—is something we'll see very soon." Either way, with this 0:32 victory, he would certainly not be short on orders for external sales of his spirit artifacts. "I need to finish the export version of the Zixiao Type 12 as soon as possible. Also, the modified Zixiao Type 12... needs an export version as well. After all, the sword that achieved this record was the modified Zixiao Type 12, so that's the model people will have their eyes on." Thinking this through, Yaoguang closed the endlessly debating feeds in the Virtual Spirit Realm. He returned to work at his bench. ... While Yaoguang was refining flying swords here, at the Jiuxiao City branch headquarters, Domain Lord You Qianshan of the Jiuxiao Domain, Branch Sect Master Zhao Siliang, Zhao He of the War Hall, along with more than a dozen high-ranking figures including various Vice Domain Lords and Vice Sect Masters, were holding a meeting to discuss how to counter the Great Sun Sword Sect's upcoming exercise. Although the Great Sun Sword Sect claimed it was merely an exercise, in this world, exercises turning abruptly into full-scale invasions were far from rare. In particular, Haige Island, the designated location for the exercise, was less than twenty thousand li from the Nine Cauldrons Sect's continental mainland. The Nine Cauldrons Sect could not afford to drop its guard. "Facing the Great Sun Sword Sect, we have laid down formations across three islands: Fangyuan Island, Wanzhang Island, and Penghai Island. These include not only defensive formations but offensive ones as well. Fangyuan Island in particular is fortified with the sixth-level Jiuxiao Dark Ocean Formation, built at massive expense. Elder Cang Hai from the main sect is personally presiding over it. Through the formation's power, he can suppress all divine minds within a thirty-thousand-li radius. The moment the Great Sun Sword Sect draws near, we will detect them immediately." The one speaking was Zhao He. "The fifth-level Boundless Heaven and Earth Formation on Wanzhang Island is also complete," said another Vice Hall Master of the War Hall in charge of formations. "With the help of this formation, our spell cultivators can project their spells across ten thousand li." "Has the sixth-level Boundless Heaven and Earth Formation on Penghai Island not been completed yet?" You Qianshan inquired. "The flow of mountain ranges and earth veins on Penghai Island, along with the alignment of celestial bodies overhead, do not satisfy the conditions for deploying the Boundless Heaven and Earth Formation," the Vice Hall Master replied. "Unless we can shift the positions of those three subsidiary worlds, otherwise... continuing to alter the terrain and reshape the environmental conditions through external force will likely take another ten years." "Ten years!" Zhao Siliang frowned. "Over the past thirty-odd years, we have poured no less than six hundred thousand spirit stones into construction on Penghai Island. A decade ago, we were told it would take ten years to finish. Now, another ten years?" "The Great Sun Sword Sect has interfered too heavily with Penghai Island's construction," the Vice Hall Master said with a bitter smile. "Particularly over the last decade, after their sixth Sky-Patrol Battleship was launched, their sword cultivators have swept past Penghai Island well over a hundred times, and every pass disturbs the earth veins." His words left You Qianshan with nothing more to say. He simply remarked, "Redeploy the personnel from Posuo Island as soon as possible. We must concentrate all our forces to confront the threat of the Great Sun Sword Sect." Zhao Siliang nodded. Reluctant as they were to admit it, this was reality. At this moment, Zhao He seemed to receive a message. He froze for a second, and then, despite the presence of so many people, could not hold back a burst of hearty laughter. "Good! Good! Good! Splendidly done! I will request meritorious rewards for those warriors!" Seeing everyone's eyes turn to him, he did not hesitate in the slightest. Standing up, he declared excitedly, "Just now, Hall Master Bailu sent good news! She and twenty outstanding disciples encountered eight squads of Xuanming Sect elites led by Ma Ke. In the end, relying on the superb performance of the modified Zixiao Type 12 flying swords, they achieved a staggering victory of zero to thirty-two! At the cost of only a few minor injuries, they wiped out all thirty-two Xuanming Sect elite sword cultivators led by Ma Ke!" "What?! Zero to thirty-two?!" You Qianshan was stunned. "Ever since their defeat in the Posuo Island area a few months ago, the Xuanming Sect spared no expense in spirit stones to outfit their disciples with top-grade spirit artifacts to boost morale with a victory—many even wielded second-generation top-grade spirit artifacts! Under such conditions, how could they possibly achieve a result like this?!" "I know Ma Ke. Although he doesn't dare enter the Zixiao Divine Lightning layer yet, he can already easily withstand Blazing Sun Heavenly Lightning. At most, he's only half a notch below Bailu. How could Bailu possibly batter them to this extent?!" Other figures at the Vice Domain Lord and branch Hall Master levels chimed in one after another. "Is the modified Zixiao Type 12's performance truly that exceptional?!" Zhao Siliang immediately seized upon the crux of the matter, yet his face still showed astonishment. "Could this... could this surpass the standard of ordinary third-generation flying swords?" "According to the messages and data sent by Bailu, as long as an Origin Spirit Great Cultivator on our side can gain the upper hand, the effectiveness of the modified Zixiao Type 12 flying sword does indeed surpass the third generation. Even without the backing of an Origin Spirit cultivator, its performance solidly matches third-generation flying swords." Zhao He said with a beaming smile, "Perhaps... the modified Zixiao Type 12 can be considered a generation 3.5 flying sword?" Just then, he seemed to receive another transmission and said briskly, "Bailu has sent a divine mind simulation of the battle." With a few swift inputs, a beam of light projected onto the platform at the center of the conference room. The dozen or so people present, the weakest among them at the Star Lord level, released their spirit intent, divine sense, and divine minds to perceive the information. As they experienced the battle firsthand through "Bailu's" perspective, everyone—from Branch Sect Master Zhao Siliang and Domain Lord You Qianshan down to the ordinary Vice Hall Masters—gasped in thrilled amazement. "Brilliant!" "A battle can actually be fought like this?!" "Hahaha, a great victory! A magnificent victory! This is our Nine Cauldrons Sect's greatest victory over the Xuanming Sect since the Posuo Island conflict began!" Jubilant voices echoed continuously through the conference room. Even though the battle involved only qi refining stage sword cultivators and not Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators, they still felt the joy of victory as if they had fought it themselves. "What an immaculate win! When they return, I will personally receive them and bestow rewards!" Zhao Siliang said emphatically. "They indeed deserve heavy rewards, and this should be publicized as an exemplary model to inspire confidence among our disciples," You Qianshan agreed immediately, nodding. And hearing him mention publicity... Zhao Siliang acutely grasped the key to the situation. He immediately said, "Publicize it! We must publicize this vigorously! Furthermore, I want this news sent to the main sect at top speed, and even presented to Sect Master Li!" At this point, Branch Sect Master Zhao took a deep breath. "If we handle this victory properly, the crisis brought on by the Great Sun Sword Sect's exercise might very well be overcome with ease." Zhao Siliang's words quickly made the others see the big picture. The Great Sun Sword Sect had staged this exercise precisely to tie down the Nine Cauldrons Sect's attention and resources, allowing the Xuanming Sect and Nine Cauldrons Sect to clash violently—ideally breaking the continuity of the Nine Cauldrons Sect's elite high-rank sword cultivators. Yet once this battle record spread, the Great Sun Sword Sect would quickly realize that the Xuanming Sect was already a spent force. Unless they dared to tear off all pretense and deploy Great Cultivators, any more high-rank sword cultivators they sent would be slaughtered regardless of numbers. And before receiving the full backing of Wuji Astral Palace, the Xuanming Sect could never muster the courage to unleash Great Cultivators against the Nine Cauldrons Sect. This contest was as good as concluded, ending in victory for the Nine Cauldrons Sect. Under these circumstances, the Great Sun Sword Sect's exercise lost its purpose. "To think the First Seat of Zixiao could forge such a flying sword... remarkable. It looks like our Jiuxiao Domain will cut quite a dashing figure within the sect this time," You Qianshan said with a smile. Zhao Siliang nodded as well. "If we truly weather the latent crisis posed by the Great Sun Sword Sect unscathed, the First Seat of Zixiao will hold the premier merit." Without wasting any time, they promptly moved to report the news upward.