Focus

"Hall Master Yaoguang, thank you for your contribution. If not for your substantial discount, our most elite battle institutes could never have completed their full re-equipment and outfitted themselves with upgraded Zixiao-15 flying swords." In the Zixiao Institute, Xu Qiexing, who had come to receive the final batch of flying swords, spoke with a beaming smile. "You flatter me. I received a spirit treasure directly out of the deal, so on balance, I still came out ahead," Yaoguang replied with a smile. "We all know you're just being modest, Hall Master Yaoguang. It just so happens that this year's procurement funds have been allocated. Moreover, thanks to the completion of upgrades to the spirit-gathering formations in several regions, our total spirit stone yield this year will break the hundred-million mark. The procurement quota allocated to the War Hall has also increased considerably. To ensure the Zixiao Institute doesn't sit idle without orders for the time being, I've already coordinated with the Flying Sword Department to place another order with Zixiao Institute for six hundred low-grade Treasure Weapon flying swords to equip our second-line grand sword cultivators," Xu Qiexing said. "Low-grade Treasure Weapon flying swords..." Yaoguang pondered for a moment. Instead of agreeing immediately, he said, "Actually, I wouldn't recommend procuring any more low-grade Treasure Weapon flying swords." Considering that he and the Nine Cauldrons Sect had established a solid foundation of mutual trust through their cooperation so far, he spoke frankly: "During this recent period, the process of constructing the third-generation sky-patrol warship, along with my research into the two spirit treasures in my possession, has given me fresh insights into formations and artifact refining. Along with that, I've carried out a new round of improvements on the upgraded Zixiao-15 flying sword... Well, I call it the Zixiao-16." "The Zixiao-16 is ready!?" Hearing this, Xu Qiexing's eyes filled with pleasant surprise. "More or less, but because the cost is too high, I'm currently working on bringing it down." As Yaoguang spoke, he walked over to a workbench and set down a jade talisman. Soon, the projection of a new flying sword materialized in light and shadow. "The Zixiao-16's overall performance shows an all-around improvement compared to the upgraded Zixiao-15. The original upgraded Zixiao-15's greatest strength was its speed, while its other aspects were nothing to write home about. But the Zixiao-16 not only inherits the exceptional speed of the upgraded Zixiao-15, but has also gained substantial boosts in offensive power and maneuverability. In other words, this flying sword can be utilized by 'lightning assault' sword cultivators as well as 'array-shattering siege' sword cultivators, and even when used by 'aerial melee' sword cultivators, it can unleash astonishing might." Yaoguang smiled and continued, "In my view, aside from its spirit consumption and its stability—which hardly counts as a flaw—it is a flying sword without shortcomings." Xu Qiexing stared at the specs Yaoguang presented for the flying sword, his eyes instantly lighting up. "These numbers... have surely reached the level of a true fifth-generation flying sword, haven't they?" He said with noticeable excitement, "And as far as I know, even the Wuji Astral Palace's fifth-generation flying sword hasn't finalized its design yet." "Its stability is relatively weak and its spirit consumption is too high, so it doesn't entirely meet the standard of a fifth-generation flying sword..." "Yet stability in the Zixiao series has never been a flaw—it's an advantage!" Xu Qiexing glanced at Yaoguang. "If our side can hold an absolute advantage in Primordial Spirit clashes, this sword could even be considered a generation 5.5 flying sword! With such outstanding performance, our elite battle institutes could easily achieve a ten-to-one kill ratio even against the Great Sun Sword Sect's elite battle institutes!" Yaoguang nodded and gave an affirmative answer: "If you don't care about spirit consumption and can maintain an advantage in Primordial Spirit clashes, achieving a ten-to-one ratio won't be difficult." "The concern over spirit consumption is ultimately just a matter of being short on money. When it actually comes down to life-and-death combat, who cares about true essence consumption? Could any amount of spirit stones ever be worth more than the cultivator's life? Given the choice of a high-grade flying sword, who would ever settle for a low-grade one?" Xu Qiexing added, "Of course, massive spirit consumption inevitably makes prolonged combat difficult, and Hall Master Wu Qingying hasn't managed to refine third-generation recovery treasure pills yet. But... aren't we building our own sky-patrol warships? If accompanied by a sky-patrol warship, sword cultivators who have exhausted their true essence could return to the warship at any time to recover and resupply. With that, why worry that our sword cultivators won't be able to storm cities, breach strongholds, and sweep through all before them?!" "It was precisely because I knew the sect was building a sky-patrol warship that I designed this model," Yaoguang said. "Barring unforeseen circumstances, the warship's design will be finalized next year, and if all goes smoothly, it will be produced within two years... Of course, that's under the premise of being inexperienced with the first ship. As time goes on and everyone becomes proficient in the warship's construction techniques, the production time for a sky-patrol warship can easily be compressed to under a year. Once we have a sky-patrol warship supported by two elite battle institutes equipped with Zixiao-16 flying swords... wiping out the Great Sun Sword Sect might be an exaggeration, but sweeping through the East Sea will be child's play." "Good! Good! Excellent!" Xu Qiexing praised three times in succession, full of anticipation. "On that day, will we be able to completely recover the East Sea?" "Naturally," Yaoguang replied. "However, I still believe recovering the East Sea can wait a bit longer. At any rate, we've already reclaimed the hundred-thousand-li oceanic expanse once held by the Xuanming Sect and driven out the Ancient Immortal Sect that meddled in the area. Initial construction of spirit-gathering formations across these territories will take three to five years. As for the remaining two-thirds of the East Sea... it would be better to take it back after this preliminary development is finished." He paused. "By then, we should have three or four sky-patrol warships, making even an all-out war with the Great Sun Sword Sect well within our means." "Three to five years..." Xu Qiexing nodded upon hearing this. "We've waited all these years; we can afford three to five years! I'll persuade the Sect Master to do as you said: finish the initial construction of our reclaimed territories before setting about the full recovery of the East Sea." Immediately following that, he looked at Yaoguang's new flying sword. "Roughly when can we begin trial production of the Zixiao-16?" "Within a year or two," Yaoguang said. With that, he glanced around the Zixiao Institute. "However, the Zixiao Institute is a massive operation. If production truly halted for a year or two, many people probably wouldn't cope well. Therefore, Hall Master Xu, could you help me make inquiries to see if we can export the modified Zixiao Type 12 flying sword? Of course, if we could export the Zixiao-13, that would be even better. The Treasure Weapon market is where the real windfall profits lie!" "The low-grade Treasure Weapon Zixiao-13, is it..." Xu Qiexing pondered for a moment. "In the current geopolitical landscape, the Wuji Astral Palace has no time to look our way, while the Myriad Beasts Sect and the Immortal Alliance each have their own conflicts to resolve. Furthermore, the Myriad Beasts Sect has decent relations with our Nine Cauldrons Sect, and the Immortal Alliance's core industry is medicinal pills; they are unlikely to target us. As for the remaining Taiyin Sect and Fatian Pavilion... they are far away on the Lengyue Continent. If they tried to project power across all those sects and factions into the Nine Cauldrons Sect on our Tianxing Continent, their threat wouldn't be much greater than the Great Sun Sword Sect's..." With that thought, he reached a decision. "Sell them!" "Thank you," Yaoguang said. Entering the Treasure Weapon market would inevitably infringe on many parties' interests, thereby bringing significant risks. Those risks would now have to be borne and weathered by the Nine Cauldrons Sect on his behalf. That was why Yaoguang thanked him. "Hahaha! You are a deputy hall master of our Nine Cauldrons Sect's Artifact Refining Hall and Mystic Formation Hall, and you are in charge of building the sky-patrol warship. What need is there for polite formalities? Besides, after breaking into the Treasure Weapon market and raking in massive profits, most of those spirit stones will be spent right here within the sect. It's mutually beneficial," Xu Qiexing said with a laugh. Yaoguang felt a twinge of guilt. The money he earned didn't entirely flow back into the Nine Cauldrons Sect; a large portion of it was absorbed by the Immortal Alliance's Dengxian Tower. There was no helping it: the pills he needed to elevate his Martial Path cultivation simply could not be provided by the Nine Cauldrons Sect. The skill level of that Alchemy Hall Master... He truly didn't think much of it. "Have you completed the export version of the Zixiao-13? I'll send the specifications to the Golden Divine Temple. As long as our price is right, I doubt they'll mind procuring a batch." "It's ready." Yaoguang handed him another jade talisman. Xu Qiexing inspected it briefly, and once satisfied there were no issues with the export version, he immediately said, "Wait for my good news." With that, he eagerly took his leave to seek out Zhou Lijian to help secure orders for Yaoguang. For a grandmaster like Yaoguang who excelled in so many fields, a consensus existed throughout the sect: every effort had to be made to fulfill any request he made. *** "A year has passed. Even though I've consumed plenty of pills, my Martial Path cultivation has only advanced step-by-step. In particular... truly top-grade or even high-grade pills aren't sold publicly by Dengxian Tower... Even when they do sell them, they use auctions as a pretext, inflating pills with a cost price of tens of thousands of spirit stones into exorbitant sums of hundreds of thousands." Sensing the increase in [Merchant] experience following the complete fulfillment of this order, Yaoguang's mind focused on the two branches of [Martial Path] and [Divine Path]. At present, his progress on the [Martial Path] branch remained at 22%, having barely moved forward. However, his actual strength, fueled by a mountain of pills, was already beginning to condense the Astral Fiendgod Body. This step had an enormous bearing on becoming a Star God. Consuming inferior pills in large quantities would make opening the apertures smoothly far more difficult. And opening the apertures was an indispensable prerequisite to achieving the Star God realm. Only by unlocking the one hundred and eight acupoints across one's body and refining those one hundred and eight apertures into one hundred and eight stars could one truly reach the Star God realm. In today's world, ninety-nine percent of Star Lords faltered at this very step. "If I keep buying pills from Dengxian Tower, even if I'm willing to stomach their exorbitant prices, the inability to acquire genuinely top-tier pills means completing this stage of cultivation will still take over a decade, and if things go slowly, perhaps several decades! In contrast, my Dharma Idol... as long as I'm willing, I can undergo tribulation right now. After settling for another six months to a year, I could attain the true Dharma Idol realm." Upon reaching the Dharma Idol realm, the ancient tree would sprout a new branch. With the heavenly treasure of the "Heavenly Spiritual Root," he had already set out on the path of qi refining, advancing to the eighth layer of qi refining in just one year. If he wanted to take a gamble next... It would be [Alchemy]. As long as he voraciously studied alchemy texts and even took the initiative to study alchemy under an alchemist, barring any surprises, his chances were very high. Therefore... 'Advance my Dharma Idol cultivation, derive a new branch by truly raising my personal strength to the Dharma Idol level, and gamble on the [Alchemy] profession... As for the risk of being discovered when advancing to the Dharma Idol realm... that's simple.' Yaoguang understood clearly in his heart: 'As long as my realm is higher than everyone else's—a whole tier higher—coupled with cover provided by the Nine Cauldrons Sect, other Dharma Idols naturally won't detect anything.' With this thought, the experience gained from trading for the Hunyuan Bell was completely channeled into the [Divine Path] branch. Over the next few years, all the nutrients he obtained through [Merchant] would be poured into this, until he could ensure a completely safe breakthrough to the Dharma Idol realm.