Direction

The conferment ceremony was held the following day. What had originally been mere rumors was published directly to the Virtual Spirit Realm as official news. Major news outlets across the Nine Cauldrons Sect scrambled to report on it, swiftly stirring up a massive wave of sensation. Solid, undeniable evidence, along with the detailed account of the battle confirmed by the External Publicity Hall, left everyone reading with their blood boiling in excitement. At Longxiang Taixue Academy in Longxiang City, every student reading the reports was shouting and cheering with delight. Especially once the news of the *Spring Rain* being taken down was confirmed as true by the External Publicity Hall, the students' excitement reached a fever pitch. With thousands of words pent up inside them, their feelings ultimately poured out in the purest textual venting: "Holy sh*t! I only have one word to say: f***ing legendary!" "It's actually true!? I saw the news a while ago, but I thought it was completely impossible! Now it turns out... we really wiped out an elite battle institute from the Great Sun Sword Sect and destroyed one of their sky-patrol warships!?" "Has our sect secretly gotten this strong behind our backs? Are there any other good things you haven't mentioned? Spit them all out at once! Don't worry, my heart is strong—I can totally handle it." Amidst the surging fervor sweeping both inside and outside the sect, the journalism department at Longxiang Taixue Academy was plunged into a flurry of activity. They needed to rush out articles to cover these monumental events destined to go down in the annals of the Nine Cauldrons Sect. Everyone was doing everything in their power to reach members who had taken part in the Battle of the East Sea. Su Yaoshuang, who had founded the Longyuan Society and launched their Virtual Spirit Realm column, "Listen to the Dragon's Roar," was no exception. When the Longyuan Society created "Listen to the Dragon's Roar," they had received substantial backing from Longxiang Taixue Academy. The administration had not only provided a Virtual Spirit Realm portal with tens of thousands of daily views, but had also allocated several hundred thousand Nine Cauldrons coins in operating funds. As a result, everyone in the Longyuan Society was brimming with drive, determined to make a name for themselves. ... "Quick, quick, quick! Mo Yu, you've already cultivated divine sense—quickly scan all the information across the Virtual Spirit Realm about this great battle! We need to extract the essence and present it to our audience in the cleanest, most direct way." "Shao Li, go gather the background materials on the *Spring Rain*. Compile the data and put it out there so our audience realizes just how difficult it was for our Zhenhai Institute to bring down that warship." "Gao Longfei, see if you can contact the relevant departments to get files on our seniors in Zhenhai Institute—even rough profiles will do." "And Su Yaoshuang, don't just sit around either. Go conduct a round of street interviews to ask people what they think of this glorious victory. Everyone, let's get moving!" As the society's president, Long Yuwu rattled off assignments in rapid succession. "President, I've noticed that many Virtual Spirit Realm columns in various regions have already published reports on the *Spring Rain*, Zhenhai Institute, and Sword-Bearing Institute personnel," the young man called Gao Longfei said. "If we just compile basic data and post it like this, we won't get any attention at all, and the sect's Virtual Spirit Realm Domain Central Control Center won't give us any exposure." "Although our 'Listen to the Dragon's Roar' isn't at the level of a personal column like Tier One, it's merely a campus-level Tier Two column, inferior even to lower-tier media outlets in Longxiang City," Long Yuwu replied. "We can't land any meaningful interviews anyway. Besides, forget lower-tier outlets—even the mainstream media in Longxiang City might not get direct access to those heroes from Zhenhai Institute. We have no choice but to follow suit with other columns and publish some compiled info just to make up the numbers." "What I mean is, we should do something special and approach it from a different angle," Gao Longfei said. "For instance... the key player behind Zhenhai Institute—Zixiao Institute!" Zixiao Institute. Naturally, Long Yuwu knew of this artifact refining institution. Following its successive expansions, it had now become one of the largest artifact refining institutes in the entire Nine Cauldrons Sect, as well as the pride of Longxiang City and the entire Jiuxiao Domain. The reason Zhenhai Institute was stationed in Longxiang City was partly because the Jiuxiao Domain bordered the sea and needed a sufficiently formidable reserve force, and partly... rumored to be for the protection of Zixiao Institute. Still... "You're not trying to tell me you plan to interview Zixiao Institute, are you? With their level of defense, we won't even make it past the front gates!" Long Yuwu said. "We might not be able to enter Zixiao Institute, but our academy has artifact refiners who belong to it! Whether it's Professor Lin Sen or Professor Qin Yadong, they're both members of Zixiao Institute. We can interview them and get exclusive news about Zixiao Institute, or even Zhenhai Institute, straight from their mouths!" Gao Longfei said, his excitement rising. At his words, the eyes of everyone in the Longyuan Society lit up. "That's right! We can start with Professor Lin Sen and Professor Qin Yadong!" "Zixiao Institute is trending like crazy on the Virtual Spirit Realm too. If we can get inside information about Zixiao Institute from the two professors, our column will definitely blow up!" "Every great skyscraper rises from the ground up! Who knows, this might just be our chance to build 'Listen to the Dragon's Roar' into the number one 'war' column in the Virtual Spirit Realm!" Voices chimed in one after another in agreement. Long Yuwu clapped her hands briskly. "What are we waiting for? Let's get moving right away!" "Yes!" With morale soaring, everyone quickly busied themselves. Seeing the enthusiasm of the group, Su Yaoshuang hesitated for a moment and looked down at the communication bracelet on her wrist. There was a contact listed on that bracelet... If she could get in touch with him, there would be no shortage of earth-shattering scoops. However... Both her second sister, Su Yaoxue, and her eldest sister, Su Yaoyu, had warned her repeatedly never to disturb him unless something of vital importance came up. Moreover, the gap between their statuses had truly grown far too wide. She lacked the courage to bother him over a minor matter. Even if... this was a career she took with the utmost seriousness. After a moment, she ultimately suppressed the impulse. Yet just as she shelved the idea, Shao Li sidled up to President Long Yuwu. "Speaking of people connected to Zixiao Institute, doesn't our academy have a student who's remarkably close to them as well? Should we see if we can get some information from her?" "Oh? Who?" "A student named Su Yaoqin. I even have her added as a friend." As Shao Li spoke, she made a few taps and projected the student's profile. Judging by the daily photos she had posted... it really was Zixiao Institute. Standing nearby, Su Yaoshuang frowned at the sight. Could pictures and footage from Zixiao Institute be posted so casually? What if information in some of those photos leaked confidential details? She quietly opened Su Yaoqin's daily feed, and after reviewing it for a moment, her mind was set at ease. Su Yaoqin's photos were carefully measured. Every single image proved she was at Zixiao Institute while ensuring no useful intelligence was exposed. Ever since Zixiao Institute's clearance level had been upgraded, those residing within had all undergone the requisite confidentiality training. However... Looking closer at Su Yaoqin's post history, Su Yaoshuang saw that she had an astonishingly large following. Every single post she made drew hundreds, if not thousands, of comments. The sight stirred something in Su Yaoshuang's heart. As marginal members of the Su family who were destined for no great future, they had never wanted to bring trouble into Yaoguang's daily life. Consequently, neither she nor Su Yaoqin had ever mentioned their relation to Yaoguang to anyone. Su Yaoyu and the others had strictly forbidden them from speaking carelessly as well. Yet the fact that they could freely come and go from the heavily fortified Zixiao Institute... was a mark of privilege in itself. Right now, she needed firsthand intelligence. If Zixiao Institute happened to have materials they wouldn't mind making public anyway, why shouldn't she secure them and publish them first on "Listen to the Dragon's Roar"? After all, information regarding the modified commercial Zixiao Type 12 flying sword had been publicly disclosed in the past. With that in mind, she searched through her contacts and soon found Qin Yi's communication handle. Qin Yi was in charge of security at Zixiao Institute. Since she needed to coordinate with security personnel when coming and going, she had added him as a contact. She immediately sent her idea over. At the end, she hastily appended: "If this touches on anything confidential, please just ignore it." On the other end, Qin Yi did not dare treat the message lightly. Even though Yaoguang took a completely hands-off stance toward Su Yaoshuang and Su Yaoqin, as Yaoguang's relatives, Qin Yi—a Great Cultivator himself—accorded them due respect. "I'll ask for you," Qin Yi replied, and quickly reached out to Zixiao Institute's "steward," Yun Lai. Before long, he received an affirmative answer from Yun Lai. Without delay, he forwarded the reply to Su Yaoshuang. Seeing Qin Yi's response, Su Yaoshuang let out a breath of relief. "It really worked." She immediately hurried after Long Yuwu. "President, I think... I've found a way for 'Listen to the Dragon's Roar' to break out from the pack! We can run a special feature—capitalizing on the hype around Zhenhai Institute and Zixiao Institute to do an exclusive feature on the flying swords produced by Zixiao Institute!" "Can that... really be done?" Long Yuwu was taken aback. "Materials like that are hard to come by, aren't they? And it could easily cross into classified territory. If we aren't careful, our column might get shut down entirely." "But if we pull it off, we can ride Zhenhai Institute's momentum and make a name for ourselves right away." Light danced in Su Yaoshuang's eyes. "Once our reputation is established and we have real influence, it'll be far easier to interview other figures or secure exclusive stories. Who knows—in the future, our column might even grow into the premier news portal! Whenever the sect makes a move, people will come to us first for the breakdown!" She had always enjoyed the spotlight. At Longxiang Academy, brilliant and dazzling figures were everywhere; though she consistently maintained and cultivated her image, she had remained lukewarm and unremarkable. Rather than personal personas, students at Longxiang Academy placed higher value on individual capability. Now, however, she saw hope. "The premier news portal..." Long Yuwu envisioned the prospect, unable to help feeling drawn to it. If they could truly reach such heights, entering the Nine Cauldrons Sect and landing positions in the External Publicity Hall down the line would practically be a given. "Then let's try it! As long as you can actually get the materials, our Longyuan Society will back you all the way!" Long Yuwu said resolutely. "Alright." Su Yaoshuang nodded. "For the sake of our careers, let's give it everything." ... As for the affairs of Su Yaoshuang and Su Yaoqin, Yaoguang indeed paid little heed to them anymore. Yet if they could demonstrate capability and drive, he had no objection to giving them a slight lift. Just like the inquiry Yun Lai had passed along. After giving an affirmative reply, Yaoguang stepped outside. He arrived before the *Spring Rain* sky-patrol warship, which was enveloped within a grand formation. By this time, numerous artifact refiners and formation masters had already gathered around the vessel. Yaoguang glanced over the professionals, many of whom wore skeptical looks, his expression entirely calm. It was time to show them true skill.