Divergence

"The higher the grade of a dharma treasure, the slower its production. Compared to the spirit artifacts and dharma implements of the past, its precision and complexity have jumped by more than a whole tier. Add to that the severe shortage of skilled artisans capable of handling such work, and in the end... the monthly output of modified Zixiao-15 flying swords has dropped to less than a hundred." Perched atop the highest peak of the Zixiao Institute, Yaoguang withdrew his divine mind, concluding another day of coordinating the divine minds and divine senses of the Artifact Refining Grandmasters and Masters. Although he intended to guide each master and grandmaster through more advanced knowledge so they could keep pace with his own progress in artifact refining, if things continued at this rate, by the time his artifact refining increased by another three to five levels, he feared he would have no one left capable of assisting him and would have to do everything by hand. "Three to five levels might be an exaggeration, but once this order is finished and I receive the Hunyuan Bell spirit treasure..." He shifted his awareness to sense the ancient tree within his spiritual world. "The core skills are the four: [Martial Path], [Divine Path], [Artifact Refining], and [Formations]." Their current progress... "Speaking of which, the cultivation system of this world is currently transitioning between the old and the new. The ancient cultivation framework can no longer properly explain the present one; it is high time to bring forth the new. I recall hearing earlier that the Cangwu League intended to reform the cultivation system, proposing theories like the Nine Layers of the Qi Path and the Nine Layers of the Core Path, but whatever became of that?" Yaoguang looked at his four mainstream branches, excluding [Merchant] and [Demon Hunting]. According to the newly introduced and widely accepted grading system in the Cangwu Great World... [Artifact Refining] was the highest, roughly equivalent to Level 9, 4-Star, capable of crafting Generation 4 superior dharma treasures. [Divine Path] was second, roughly analogous to Level 7, 1-Star, which corresponded to forming an accomplished Dharma Idol. Further down... [Formations] was at the Level 6, 4-Star stage. [Martial Path] was likewise at Level 6, but likely only at the 3-Star stage. After all, neither the Martial Path nor the Divine Path seemed to recognize ratings beyond 3-Star. Only secondary professions that were less rigid, such as artifact refining, formations, and alchemy, could reach 4-Star or 5-Star levels above 3-Star. Of course, the Golden Core realm of the qi refining path was an exception. Considering the progression from the initial Golden Core to the Fission realm, the Fusion realm, and finally the Scarlet Core, the Golden Core realm started out as Level 7, 4-Star, or even Level 9, 1-Star. The conventional ten-level division could not accurately measure this realm. "In the end, secondary professions simply cannot match the weight of mainstream paths. Artifact Masters often cannot enjoy the status of Great Cultivators, and Artifact Grandmasters cannot stand on equal footing with Golden Core cultivators... Saying they rank three tiers lower upon meeting might be an exaggeration, but saying they are one or two tiers lower is not at all an overstatement," Yaoguang pondered internally. Of course, array masters were an exception among secondary professions. An array master... At most, they were only one tier lower. "Once I complete this order of six hundred modified Zixiao-15 flying swords, I'll allocate everything to [Martial Path]. I wonder how far this spirit treasure can push [Martial Path]. Reaching Star God is a certainty; what remains to be seen is how far along the Star God path I can advance..." Yaoguang's gaze lingered on the [Martial Path] branch. He looked forward to seeing what kind of spectacle elevating his realm to Star God would bring. Once the Star God progress reached 100%, would it contain information on Generation 4 and Generation 5 Star Gods? And... What profound wonders lay above the Star God realm? Amidst his thoughts, Yaoguang seemed to sense something and stood up. "Young Master?" Lei Yun and the others immediately stood up as well. Yaoguang nodded to them without a word and walked to the doorway. Just then, several streaks of sword light tore through the air. At their head were none other than Lou Yuyu, Hall Master of the War Hall, and Xu Qiexing, Hall Master of the Artifact Refining Hall. "Hall Master Yaoguang," Xu Qiexing called out, adding with heartfelt emotion, "You've worked hard." "It is my duty," Yaoguang replied. Then, turning to Lou Yuyu, he asked, "Is First Seat Shen satisfied with the two batches of modified Zixiao-15 flying swords delivered?" "They're great—splendid, in fact!" Lou Yuyu beamed from ear to ear. "The modified Zixiao-15's top speed hit 117.1! Of course, that was pushed to the extreme by First Seat Shen, so it's hardly a typical benchmark. But even other sword cultivators proficient in flight can burst to speeds of 60 to 80. Even those who aren't skilled in sword flight can exceed 40 at full throttle. In other words, they can relocate across a hundred thousand li in a single hour!" A hundred thousand li in one hour. Naturally, a sword cultivator could not sustain top flight speed for an entire hour; doing so would place an enormous drain on both their true essence and divine sense. Unless supplied continuously with precious pills for recovery, sustaining it was out of the question. And with precious pills easily costing tens or hundreds of thousands, no faction could afford that. Most sword cultivators still relied on more cost-effective true essence pills to replenish their energy. Yet even so, such speed was enough to play any enemy in the palm of their hands. Speed, after all, was the most critical attribute for a sword cultivator. It allowed them to advance to attack or retreat to defend at will. Yaoguang nodded. "As long as Hall Master Lou is pleased." "More than pleased!" Lou Yuyu said, turning his gaze toward Xu Qiexing. Xu Qiexing immediately produced an ancient bronze bell no larger than a palm. "Is this the Hunyuan Bell?" Yaoguang gave Xu Qiexing a slightly surprised look. "Hasn't the order not been finished yet?" "Refining a spirit treasure takes time, so the Sect Master had me deliver it to you early," Xu Qiexing explained. "Hall Master Yaoguang, you must constantly employ your talent to coordinate the artifact masters crafting the Zixiao flying swords, which places extremely demanding requirements on mental stability. Delivering this spirit treasure to you sooner might even help accelerate your artifact refining efficiency." Yaoguang looked at the spirit treasure. Li Qingshan had already sent him the details regarding this spirit treasure. Its primary functions were guarding the mind and nourishing the spirit. "Mind" was an umbrella term used when spirit intent, divine sense, and divine mind were difficult to differentiate. For a practitioner of the qi refining path, this spirit treasure nourished divine sense; for one on the spirit refining path, it naturally nourished the Primordial Spirit. While realms of spirit refining were deeply subjective, that did not mean everyday cultivation yielded no growth. Many spirit refining cultivators precisely nurtured their divine mind until it grew strong enough, after which they underwent tribulation, allowing the ordeal to drive a breakthrough in realm. Someone like Yaoguang, whose realm ascended first before undergoing tribulation to temper and expand his divine mind with heavenly lightning, was decidedly atypical. Thus, Li Qingshan delivering this treasure ahead of schedule was also in the hope that he could rapidly enhance his divine mind and survive more Zixiao Lightning Tribulations, until one day he could truly generate a Virtual Spirit Realm with a single thought, just like a Dharma Idol cultivator. "That's truly..." Yaoguang looked at the spirit treasure. He wanted to say something, but found no words. It was an unspoken mutual understanding. "Then I will accept it. I'll deliver the remaining flying swords as quickly as possible," Yaoguang said. Lou Yuyu nodded. Just as he was about to speak further, the divine sense of Sect Master Li Qingshan reached his ears. "An emergency meeting." He glanced at Yaoguang. Yaoguang, Xu Qiexing, and the others appeared to have received the notice at the same moment. "Why not step inside my residence to rest?" Yaoguang offered. "We gladly accept." The two cupped their hands in agreement. Stepping into the courtyard, they split off a portion of their consciousness and entered the Virtual Spirit Realm. As they entered the Virtual Spirit Realm, figures manifested one after another. It was not a large-scale gathering; aside from figures of Hall Master rank, there were only a handful of Deputy Hall Masters, branch sect masters, and domain lords, bringing the attendance to roughly thirty people in total. "What happened? To call an emergency meeting so suddenly?" "Hall Master Lou, has something happened in the East Sea?" "Is the Great Sun Sword Sect finally making its move?" The hall masters and branch sect masters who had arrived first conversed among themselves, guessing at the cause. Their chatter did not last long, however. Soon, the figures of Li Qingshan, Huang Tianhao, and Murong Hui, Hall Master of the Heavenly Palace Hall, appeared simultaneously. "Sect Master." Everyone offered greetings. Li Qingshan nodded and cut straight to the chase without wasting words. With a wave of his hand, projections of shimmering light and shadow manifested in the center of the conference room. Within the imagery was a mob smashing, looting, and burning another group of people. No! It was far more than mere plundering and arson. After seizing their supplies, the mob had launched into a one-sided slaughter. No matter how the victims begged for mercy, none escaped the fate of being cut down on the spot. Seeing this scene, the onlookers looked surprised. "This didn't happen in our Nine Cauldrons Sect, did it?" Liang Qiu asked. "If something like this occurred within our sect's borders, I would step down as Hall Master of the Garrison Hall on the spot," Jiang Zhuoyue immediately stated. At the same time, she examined the architecture and written scripts shown in the projections, deducing, "Is this... the Xuanming Sect?" "Indeed, the Xuanming Sect," Li Qingshan nodded. "The Xuanming Sect has descended into chaos? Well, it makes sense. After suffering such staggering losses in the East Sea and losing so many Great Cultivators, their internal interests are bound to be redistributed, triggering upheaval. This is a good thing. With them in turmoil, we won't have to worry about threats from their side for quite a while, allowing us to focus entirely on the Great Sun Sword Sect," Xu Qiexing remarked with a smile. "Turmoil it is, but this upheaval appears to have been deliberately steered by the Xuanming Sect's leadership. To prevent simmering public fury from spiraling beyond control, they selected a target to vent their rage upon—a target that can provide an answer domestically while ensuring they safely weather the instability brought on by losing so many Great Cultivators." Li Qingshan paused, his tone solemn. "That target is the descendants of the Artifact Sect who fled to the Tianxing Continent and across the world after the Artifact Sect collapsed." "Descendants of the Artifact Sect..." Hearing those words, Xu Qiexing seemed to realize something, and his smile vanished. The expressions of the other hall masters turned equally grave. After a long pause, Zhang Ruosheng finally spoke. "Back when our Nine Cauldrons Sect was founded, we called upon everyone from the Artifact Sect to return and rebuild our home together. But they... clearly had no intention of coming back." "That's easy enough to understand. In their eyes, the founders of our Nine Cauldrons Sect were merely a bunch of disregarded, lowborn peasants from the old Artifact Sect. Meanwhile, those who had the means to flee abroad were all prominent clans and esteemed figures who once occupied high positions in the sect. Asking them to seek refuge with us would be more agonizing than killing them," He Xifeng said coolly. "Then what is left to discuss? If the Xuanming Sect wants vengeance, let them have it. The Artifact Sect is the Artifact Sect, and the Nine Cauldrons Sect is the Nine Cauldrons Sect. They didn't even acknowledge our Nine Cauldrons Sect to begin with, so why should we be the ones to rescue them now that disaster has struck?" Liang Qiu spoke up. He had already grasped the intent behind Li Qingshan calling this emergency meeting. And his sentiments resonated with quite a few people present. Just as He Xifeng had pointed out, they had all been marginal figures in the Artifact Sect, oppressed and sidelined by those elite clans with no prospect of advancement. Toward such people... ...they harbored little goodwill. Now, with the situation in the East Sea yet unsettled, asking them to risk an all-out war with the Xuanming Sect just to save them was naturally not something they were willing to do.