Forty Millenniums of Cultivation - Chapter 325

Chapter 325: Imposing Demonstration

There were three different kinds of beast puppets on the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles.

One of them was the Mystic Wolf, which Li Yao had come across before back in the Refiners’ Registration Examination.

It was a high-speed, scout-type beast puppet. Although it had a lot of drawbacks such as the weakness of the spine, limited attack range of the crystal cannons on two sides of the body, etc., it would still be a formidable enemy when the number was up to, say, a wolf pack of dozens of Mystic Wolves.

Another kind was the Electric Whip Teethed Viper.

This strangely-named beast puppet was about three meters long. It did not have any limbs. Like a serpent, it was best at searching caves and crevices.

Once they discovered an enemy, they would lash at the enemy like a whip. In the meantime, the needle-like teeth made of super alloy hiding inside their body would pierce into the enemy and bite them hard.

Then, electric current of ultra-high voltage would be unleashed, which would paralyze or even kill the enemy instantly.

As a whip full of sharp teeth and intense electricity, the Electric Whip Teethed Viper was the most suitable beast puppet for jungle combat.

The last kind was the Shrieking Bat.

This kind of beast puppet was very small in size. They could roam in narrow gaps and small caves like mice. They could also open their wings which were covered by membrane and glide for a short distance.

The most distinguished skill that it had was that it could utter a special kind of acoustic waves.

The acoustic waves were soul attacks, which could make whomever heard it irked or even dizzy.

On the other hand, the acoustic waves were a clever way of searching, too. Once they met an enemy who was releasing spiritual waves, they would bring special feedback signals to the Shrieking Bat. When the distance was short, they were much more useful than mystic lights.

Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles, Mystic Wolves, Electric Whip Teethed Vipers, and Shrieking Bats combined together made up an impenetrable dragnet which combed the forest time and time again.

“Zhi! Zhi!”

Several Shrieking Bats screamed, like iron nails scraping a metal board, as they jumped down from the trees that were more than ten meters tall and glided in the wind and rain skillfully.

“Hiss! Hiss!”

In the grass, Electric Whip Teethed Vipers were darting here and there. Their tongues protruded now and then, measuring the temperature of the air.

The tongues of the Electric Whip Teethed Vipers were refined out of special Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures with acute temperature-measuring rune arrays carved on them, which enabled them to detect creatures whose temperature was different from the surroundings. It was a piece of quite advanced probe magical equipment.

“Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!”

The Mystic Wolves were nodding their heads and wagging their tails. The crystal cannons on the two sides of their bodies were glittering, indicating that they’d been fully charged with spiritual energy and ready to be launched at any moment.

The encirclement was getting smaller and smaller.

Under the search of Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles, Mystic Wolves, Electric Whip Teethed Vipers, and Shrieking Bats, the smallest tree hollows and the most inconspicuous crevice had been dug open and scrutinized.

It was impossible that they would ignore the pond where Li Yao had been hiding in.

Li Yao remained absolutely still. He didn’t even dare to blink his eyes. Staring at the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles flying to and fro in the sky, he calculated their speed, angle, and trajectory crazily inside his brain.

He was waiting for something.

Just when the searchers were only a hundred meters away from him, the pond suddenly shivered.

Broken ripples appeared on the surface of the muddy water. Two dull noises came from far away, as if two crystal bombs had exploded deep under the sea, which were blunt and very unsettling.

Then, after a cracking sound, the hills tottered and the earth quaked, as if a lightning had struck inside one of the mountains over there.

“It has begun!”

Li Yao was refreshed.

Tide Berserker finally opened fire!

The first two dull noises were the sound of explosions of the Earthshaking Ordnance Penetrators deep under the ground.

The louder noise that followed must be the roars from the Heaven Splitters.

Despite their amazing attack ability which could be as good as a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, it required half an hour before the Heaven Splitters were fully charged with spiritual energy, which meant that they could only be fired twice an hour.

Now that the Heaven Splitters had been engaged, it was evident enough that the attacks were not reconnaissance by fire. Tide Berserker must’ve locked onto a target and had started the hunting game.

‘It’s my chance!

‘The crystal warship has located at least one crystal suit and will be too occupied to bother with me before it captures or suppresses the crystal suit.’

Li Yao smiled and looked at the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles in the sky coldly.

‘Now it’s the time to let you know who the hunter is and who the prey is!’

…

At the commanding center of the Fifth Fleet, military officials, including Shangguan Ce and Ren Xingbei, and representatives from the Cultivation world, including Yuan Manqiu and Jiang Sheng, were gazing at the giant light beam which had been segmented into hundreds of smaller parts.

Each part was displaying the real-time first-person images captured by the crystal cameras on the crystal warship, Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles, Mystic Wolves, Electric Whip Teethed Vipers, and Shrieking Bats.

All of the audience on the spot were high-level Cultivators who were capable enough to monitor the hundreds of pictures at the same time and sketch the overall situation on the battlefield inside their brain easily.

However, there were not first-person pictures from the four crystal suits.

It was because in order to transmit the real-time image signals, there would be feeble spiritual waves from the crystal suits, which were quite easy to be detected and thus would give the Exos away.

Therefore, the four crystal suits and the commanding center were not connected via the Spiritual Nexus.

All the data would be stored in the main crystal processor of the crystal suits and analyzed later after the battle.

That was to say, all the Cultivators inside the commanding center were only able to side with the crystal warship and see what Ning Feng was seeing.

They had no idea where the four crystal suits were hiding, or what they were doing at present, which added more suspense to the battle that was already intense and thrilling enough.

Hundreds of pictures were blinking nonstop, mountains, forests and rivers each replacing one another.

Suddenly, one of the pictures started flashing violently.

As if it were contagious, dozens of pictures nearby started glittering crazily, too.

After a short while, all the pictures were focused on the same crevice, where a blurred, but still very distinctive, figure had been outlined.

“The first crystal suit has been discovered!”

“The Sword Torrent Battlesuit!”

Right now, only 2 hours, 27 minutes and 36 seconds had passed after the arrival of the crystal warship.

Cultivators from the three sword-training sects sighed and buried their heads in their hands helplessly at the same time.

Cultivators from other organizations, on the other hand, looked at each other and were somewhat relieved.

Shangguan Ce’s eyelids twitched. Although he did not say anything, his rolling Adam’s apple was indicative enough of the uneasiness on his mind.

The corner of Ren Xingbei’s mouth was twitching, too. His eyes were completely bloodshot immediately. The rapidly shivering lips seemed to be suggesting that he was cursing someone silently.

The Sword Torrent Battlesuit had been hiding in a cave which had been filled with rainwater because of the thunderstorm. It had decorated a thick layer of vines and weeds outside of the cave as camouflage, too.

But Sha Yucheng was not aware that the seemingly perfect disguise in fact had given himself away easily.

A large quantity of data regarding field vegetation had been stored in the control chip of the Electric Whip Teethed Vipers and Shrieking Bats, which allowed them to roughly analyze whether a certain environment was natural or man-made.

Although the result may not be very accurate, they could always perform more thorough searches on the suspicious areas.

In this case, the different temperatures between the Sword Torrent Battlesuit and its surroundings were detected immediately.

By their acoustic waves, the Shrieking Bats sensed that a giant metal object was using the waterlogged cave as a shelter, too.

Within the next 0.1 seconds, the information that the beast puppets had gathered was transmitted to the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles.

After another 0.1 seconds, the information had been delivered to the cockpit of the crystal warship.

Ning Feng immediately issued a command. Twelve flying swords darted out from four Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles at the waterlogged cave.

The Taiyi Lightning Railguns, which had been long prepared, were activated, too. One lightning ball after another thrashed the cave magnificently.

“Swoosh! Swoosh!”

Two Earthshaking Ordnance Penetrators, driven by the power rune arrays, drilled into the cave at an amazingly high speed with colorful brightness behind them.

When Ning Feng was quiet, the world was peaceful. But when Ning Feng took action, the world seemed to be overturned.

It was not until this moment that Sha Yucheng realized he had made an unforgivable mistake. The cave that he’d been hiding in only had one entrance. It was a dead end inside!

So, he could do nothing but roar and rush out against the lightning balls and the Earthshaking Ordnance Penetrators!

“Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!”

Hundreds of flying swords were summoned out. They spun around his body and wove a tight sword net. Together with the spiritual shield, his defense ability was brought to maximum and shattered the twelve incoming, hostile flying swords into pieces. Then he charged at where the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles and beast puppets were densest.

Sha Yucheng was hoping that he could march into the middle of enemies and use the enemies as his own cover, so that the crystal warship would hesitate to bombard its allies.

However, it was like quenching thirst with poison.

Once he was engaged with the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles and the beast puppets, it would be hardly possible to run away from them anyway.

“BOOM! BOOM!”

Lightning balls exploded one after another behind him. The hot air almost pushed him over, who looked like a butterfly in a heavy storm.

“BOOM! BOOM!”

Two dull noises came from deep under the ground, as if the magma there was bursting out.

They were the results of the two Earthshaking Ordnance Penetrators that had exploded deep inside the mountains. Their blast had crushed all the caves and crevices inside the mountain!

“Zi… Zi…”

A weird clattering noise almost scared Sha Yucheng out of wits.

He knew that it was the sound when the Heaven Splitters were being launched.

A moment later, an ivory light beam illuminated the dark night and turned it into broad daylight briefly.

But the attack was not aiming at the Sword Torrent Battlesuit, but at the other side of the mountain.

Sha Yucheng was hardly back to himself when he realized something.

“A second crystal suit has been discovered!”

The second crystal suit to be discovered was the Mournful Mist Battlesuit.

The Sword Torrent Battlesuit was to blame for the Mournful Mist Battlesuit’s misfortune.

As a high-speed stealth crystal suit that was best at disguises, the Mournful Mist Battlesuit had chosen an open cave which had five entrances in different directions as well as an underground river that was connected to the outside world.

The Mournful Mist Battlesuit hid deep inside the cave. The stealth ability that it entailed covered up all of the traces and cut off metal and spiritual reactions. Its temperature was lowered to exactly the same degree as the surroundings.

Even the Electric Whip Teethed Vipers and the Shrieking Bats came right front of the crystal suit, they might not be able to notice its existence.

However, it was unluckily hiding in the same mountain as the Sword Torrent Battlesuit was.

After the two Earthshaking Ordnance Penetrators drilled into the underground and boomed, most of the caves inside the mountain collapsed, including the one that the Mournful Mist Battlesuit had been hiding in.

Seeing that the stalactites over his head were falling upon him and the cave he’d been hiding in were shaking violently, Feng Kai, Exo of the Mournful Mist Battlesuit, had no choice but to open up his spiritual shield for defense.

A Shrieking Bat that happened to be flying outside the cave immediately discovered him.

Since there were not many Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles nearby, there was a good chance that the Mournful Mist Battlesuit could run away again.

Therefore, without any hesitation, Ning Feng had launched the Heaven Splitters.

At this moment, the crystal warship had been out for only 2 hours, 31 minutes and 59 seconds.

Chapter 326: Merciless Counterattack

Although it was only one tenth of what supposed to a full-strength strike of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, the attack of the Heaven Splitters still caused the entire mountain to tremble.

A bright glow rose up to the sky like a volcano eruption. Thousands of sparks danced out of the giant tree of flames and dyed the foggy clouds into rosy dawn.

A cage between the sky and the earth with nowhere to run to.

Having no other choice, the two crystal suits had to do whatever they could. They dashed here and there and prepared for their last moves desperately.

The Sword Torrent Battlesuit seemed to be really drowned in a cascade of swords. Countless flying swords were drifting around the crystal suit, weaving a sword net that would mince everything it caught into pieces.

The Mournful Mist Battlesuit, on the other hand, turned into ten phantoms, which melted into the air simultaneously and turned into ten vague waves transmitting to various directions.

Ning Feng was not uneasy at all.

Like the most skilled fisherman, he did not hurry to draw back the fishing line the moment a fierce fish bit the bait. Instead, he played with the fish slowly and patiently, waiting for his prey to be exhausted at some time.

All the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles flew close to the two crystal suits and formed a dragnet that was neither too tight nor too loose.

Their main purpose was not to destroy the two crystal suits, but to hinder them together with the beast puppets.

They would lock onto the two crystal suits and limit their space of activity with their attacks. Then, the Taiyi Lightning Railguns and Earthshaking Ordnance Penetrators would finish the two of them once and for all.

Under the calculation supported by Ning Feng’s intimidating computational ability, every firing point on the crystal warship, every Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle, and every beast puppet together constituted a delicate killing machine which crushed towards the two crystal suits slowly yet firmly.

“Bad luck. Two crystal suits chose the same mountain to hide in and were snatched up by a single blow from the enemy at the same time.”

Inside the commanding center, Cultivators from Star Nebula University looked horrible.

Since stealth and disguise were the Mournful Mist Battlesuit’s specialties, they had had high hopes for its performance and thought that it would at least be able to survive ten hours.

But as it turned out, their crystal suit had been discovered after such a short amount of time.

Although the two crystal suits were fighting desperately and the Mournful Mist Battlesuit was not entirely exposed yet, the crystal warship had besieged the entire area, with the beast puppets and dozens of Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles obstructing every inch of space inside. Even a breeze wouldn’t be able to get through.

However skilled the Exos were, it was hardly possible to break out of such an invulnerable blockade.

“Shangguan, these MP crystal suits were indeed well-crafted. They’ve survived three minutes under the bombardment of the crystal warship without being captured. Honestly, it is already beyond my expectations.”

Ren Xingbei grinned.

It had been less than three hours, and two crystal suits were already a sure catch. His cheeks finally reddened a little bit.

The other officers of the Fifth Fleet were beaming with joy. Without the restriction of military rules, they would’ve burst out into laughter a long time ago.

Shangguan Ce’s face was as solemn as usual. He remained still as if a statue.

Suddenly, a cold brightness shined in his eyes, as he sensed something and turned his head to the few pictures on the left bottom corner of the light beam.

The pictures there had been captured by the ten Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles that had been searching in the southeast area.

Abrupt changes were happening in the pictures!

In the depth of the forest, a gigantic fireball rose up slowly with earsplitting noises.

All the pictures shivered with the explosion. Twisted streaks appeared on them.

“Jamming magical equipment!”

Everyone in the commanding center exclaimed. They immediately shifted their attention to this previously unremarkable area.

At first, they did not understand why Ning Feng had deployed ten Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles to search the place.

Now, they realized that Ning Feng’s instincts were truly astonishing!

Jamming magical equipment mostly released special metal powder after it exploded, which would corrupt the control chip of other magical equipment and impair it briefly.

All the pictures were full of streaks and flakes.

Actions of the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle and the beast puppets were immediately dragged down.

“Huala!”

One of the pictures captured the scene of a black, hideous crystal suit rising up from a muddy pond.

The magical equipment that the crystal suit was holding in hand startled everyone.

“What is that?”

Taking a deep breath, Li Yao locked onto a Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle that was charging at him with his burning soul.

Its speed, angle and trace had all been taken into consideration, before he calculated the best direction of shooting.

Two crystal cannons had flipped up on his shoulder, ready to fire at any moment.

The steel animal in his arms were roaring in a low voice out of bloodthirst.

Triple-headed Heavy Six-Barrel Vulcan Machine Gun!

It was Li Yao’s self-made magical equipment for remote attacks!

Six-Barrel Vulcan Machine Gun was a common long-range attack magical equipment for crystal suits, armed shuttles, and crystal tanks.

Heavy Six-Barrel Vulcan Machine Gun was a deadly weapon refined based on the common Six-Barrel Vulcan Machine Guns, but with a wider caliber, a longer barrel and a more advanced and fully upgraded attack rune array.

Generally speaking, only heavy crystal suits, siege artilleries, or crystal warships would have the Heavy Six-Barrel Vulcan Machine Gun installed.

But Li Yao felt that it was not good enough. He refined three Heavy Six-Barrel Vulcan Machine Guns into one, and then nurtured it repetitively for several months by Blood Baptism. In the end, he finally crafted this Triple-headed Heavy Six-Barrel Vulcan Machine Gun which was directly linked with his blood and soul.

Remote shooting had always been Li Yao’s weakness.

Now, with the furious firepower of the super Vulcan Machine Gun, he could make up for his deficiency as much as possible.

“BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!”

After months of Blood Baptism, the super Vulcan Machine Gun was almost part of his body now.

With a telepathic thought, three lines of bullets darted out from the machine gun and formed a net of destruction together with the ferocious spiritual energy fired from the crystal cannons.

The Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle never expected that Li Yao would dare to attack aggressively.

Besides, the flight system of the shuttle had been under inference, which limited its dodging ability.

Li Yao had been waiting for the perfect moment to shoot for too long to let it run away so easily.

“Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!”

Bullets and spiritual energy rained upon the spiritual shield of the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle.

Under the savage attack of the super Vulcan Machine Gun, the spiritual shield of the shuttle broke up half a second later like an eggshell being hit by a giant hammer.

The humming sound from the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle was louder than ever. It turned around and tried to run away, only to be bitten by the haunting fiery snake behind.

Several anti-gravity rune arrays and power rune arrays were blown to pieces immediately. The shuttle fell into the forest with a long exhaust flame.

Many trees inside the forest crumpled. Black smoke billowed everywhere.

This was the first Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle to be shot down since the beginning of the battle.

As a result, Li Yao was completely exposed and had been locked onto by the enemies.

“Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!”

The remaining nine Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles sent out flying swords which turned into dozens of colorful lasers in the pouring storm and charged at him with deafening noises.

Li Yao bit his lips hard. The brilliance inside his eyes was even brighter than the lightning in the sky.

The super Vulcan Machine Gun roared nonstop. Almost twenty flying swords were blown to pieces before they were able to reach their target. The rest of the flying swords were interfered with by the bullets from the gun and missed their target, booming violently around him and splashing pebbles and mud to dozens of meters high.

Li Yao didn’t even bother to look back. He continued on firing like a crazy devil.

Nine Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles dispersed smartly and drove the beast puppets to surround Li Yao from the flanks.

Two Mystic Wolves appeared above the waterfall over Li Yao’s head.

Three Electric Whip Teethed Vipers sneaked close under the soil quietly like earthworms.

Two Shrieking Bats were fluttering frantically in the sky, unleashing harsh acoustic waves that were meant to distract Li Yao’s attention from his target.

“Chi—”

As the Mystic Wolves and the Electric Whip Teethed Snake lunged at Li Yao at the same time, they were all caught by weird electric arcs that appeared in the air out of nowhere and shocked into dizziness.

Li Yao had set up a circle of Silk Landmines.

Such magical equipment was a metal thread that was even thinner than hair, which was barely distinguishable when floating in the air under the cover of dark night and raging storm.

But with a telepathic thought, it could unleash high-voltage electric current momentarily. Even if it could not wreck the beast puppets instantly, they would still be paralyzed for a very short time.

That was enough.

Triple-headed Heavy Six-Barrel Vulcan Machine Gun firing at fixed targets at a close distance was a complete one-sided slaughter.

One second later, all of the beast puppets were blown into metal scraps that were smaller than fingernails.

Li Yao put the Vulcan Machine Gun on his back hurriedly, jumped out and ran away.

“Hum! Hum!”

The other nine Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles were too awed by his brutal behavior just now to come close. They hovered above his head and released more flying swords.

Dozens of beast puppets flooded in from all directions.

Controlling the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, Li Yao performed small-scale dodging movements.

After a series of dazzling actions, all the flying swords passed by him without hitting their target. The naturalness made it impossible to tell that it was the cheapest MP crystal suit in the federation.

In complete silence, everyone in the command center held their breath and watched Li Yao’s show.

Ren Xingbei’s relieved face was tightened once again.

A Mystic Wolf flashed out from the bushes and charged at Li Yao while the crystal cannons on its body were firing nonstop.

Li Yao kept the same speed without dodging. His spiritual shield took all the cannon fire, while his battle saber was unsheathed and cut the Mystic Wolf in half from head to tail.

“Hiss! Hiss!”

Two Electric Whip Teethed Vipers dashed out from darkness and tied his ankles insidiously.

Although they were stomped into pieces the moment they were discovered, the high-voltage electric current that they unleashed before their death still decimated the power rune arrays on the legs of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.

Li Yao’s speed plummeted immediately.

The encirclement made up by Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles and beast puppets drew closer and closer.

Li Yao’s body suddenly blinked, before it vanished into thin air.

Three Mystic Wolves rushed to the place where he disappeared, only to discover a hole behind a rock where dense moss had grown.

Dozens of beast puppets immediately crammed into the cave and followed the traces of Li Yao closely.

The nine Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles hovered in the high above, monitoring the changes in the thousands of square meters nearby.

In the meantime, the information of the previous combat had been sent to Tide Berserker.

“The third rabbit’s teeth are rather sharp!”

Ning Feng smiled and triggered his telepathic thought.

Two Taiyi Lightning Railguns turned their directions and aimed at southeast.

Four fully-charged Earthshaking Ordnance Penetrators were about to be launched, too!

Chapter 327: Unexpected Return

“BOOM!”

A big explosion erupted inside the cave that Li Yao had just entered.

Furious flames surged out of the cave and rose up to the sky.

Then, the ground collapsed. The entrance part of the cave sank.

The dozens of beast puppets were not prepared for this. Most of them had been blown to pieces on the spot. The rest of them were paralyzed and deeply buried under the ground.

In the command center, one picture after another turned to black.

The crystal bombs that Li Yao had installed in the entrance of the cave had finished a large batch of beast puppets very easily.

As for himself, he had gone down a branch inside the cave and reached the other side of the mountain.

This underground cave extended to all directions and had seven exits in total, which was also why Li Yao had decided to set up traps here.

On Tide Berserker, Ning Feng squinted. Dangerous brightness was shining in his eyes.

Four Earthshaking Ordnance Penetrators roared and rushed southeast almost at the speed of sound.

Although it was at a subsonic speed, the dozens of kilometers of distance in between were still covered swiftly.

“Sha! Sha! Sha! Sha! Sha! Sha! Sha!”

The Earthshaking Ordnance Penetrators revolved rapidly and drilled to the depth of the mountain.

The sound of rocks crumbling and drill getting deep reached Li Yao’s ears clearly, which made his head dizzy and his heart beating fast.

He didn’t expect for Ning Feng’s counterattack to be as fast and precise. The routes and angles of the four Earthshaking Ordnance Penetrators had been carefully adjusted, so that they were caging him from all directions.

Li Yao roared and accelerated. He sprinted down the narrow and rugged cave to the closest exit.

His crystal suit hit rocks heavily, with sparks dancing nonstop. But Li Yao had no time to bother with that.

“BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!”

Four dull explosions seemed to have taken place in the back of his head. Hot waves flooded in like a tsunami.

The caves behind him collapsed one section after another.

The blast finally reached and swallowed him.

Li Yao felt as if a top expert in martial arts had kicked him in the back brutally.

Despite the double protection from the crystal suit and the mustard suit, he still vomited blood. His spine was in such pain that he felt it had fractured.

“Ahhhhh!”

Li Yao’s eyes bulged. He opened his mouth to clear his lung in case the blast would damage his inner organs. Finally, before the caves were completely ash, he rushed out of the exit.

“Pooof!”

A large cluster of dust flowed out together with him.

It looked as if the mountain had farted him out.

The Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles hovering in the sky immediately discovered him.

Nine Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles harassed him at a distance neither too far away nor too close. They sent out their flying swords while they transmitted the image to Tide Berserker.

This time, Ning Feng added another two Taiyi Lightning Railguns.

Together with the previous two, four Taiyi Lighting Railguns in total were aimed at Li Yao simultaneously.

Although they were dozens of kilometers away from each other, Li Yao felt that he was tangled by static electricity. His body was numb, his hair was standing up, and his fingernails were emitting cracking noises.

“Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!”

Four lightning balls flashed through the sky after dozens of kilometers and exploded near him one after another, like four purple, upside-down bowls that covered the forest, establishing four terrible forbidden zones of destruction.

Ning Feng truly deserved his title as a formidable Warship Connoisseur. Although he was dozens of kilometers away, the first salvo he commanded had hit within a hundred meters of the target.

Li Yao didn’t look at any of it. He brought his speed to maximum and zigzagged in the forest like a black laser.

Flying swords, crystal cannons, Taiyi Lightning Railguns… All kinds of powerful magical equipment blasted colorful fireballs around him.

The mountain was shaking. The forest was burning.

Many a time, the cracking lightning balls nearly brushed past him.

The scorching fireballs even covered him several times.

But still, Li Yao waved his battle saber and slashed the fireballs into halves, treading a path of blood and fire!

The gripping hunting and escaping silenced the entire command center.

Cold sweat was appearing on everyone’s forehead. Their eyes were stinging, but they were too focused to blink.

At this moment, many people finally realized that Li Yao’s victory in the Flying Crystal race half a month ago was not entirely based on luck, and that the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit was indeed a strong crystal suit that was reliable, trustworthy, and field-tested.

“Shangguan, is the Exo of this crystal suit really a Refinement Stage Cultivator?

“You didn’t ask an ace Exo in the Building Foundation Stage to wear it, did you?”

Ren Xingbei frowned and glared at Shangguan Ce.

Shangguan Ce’s face remained unchanged. He picked up the teacup and drank the tea nice and easily.

But Li Yao was not as comfortable as he seemed to be.

If there were only the nine Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles chasing him, he would be confident enough to fly into the sky and blow them up one by one.

However, the haunting Taiyi Lightning Railguns were his biggest threat. If they shot him precisely, the spiritual shield of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit would be shattered immediately. His overall combat ability would be undermined by at least thirty percent.

Moreover, inching ever closer, the Heaven Splitters would be fully charged after ten minutes or so and ready to be launched once again.

Li Yao knew that the Heaven Splitters had two attack modes.

One of the two modes was to focus the spiritual energy on one point and pierce it.

The other mode was suppressive fire. The spiritual energy would cover an area of around one square kilometers and demolish everything inside.

If he could not get rid of his pursuers before the Heaven Splitters were fully charged, he would be screwed!

Li Yao roared and accelerated to the peak of a mountain.

Nine Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles followed him closely. Lightning balls drilled into the ground behind him and exploded where his feet had been just a moment ago, making him feel that he was driving a boat on a savaging sea.

Finally, Li Yao arrived at the peak of the mountain.

In the front was a giant waterfall that was thousands of meters high. The dragon-like waterfall was brushing the rocks below with earsplitting noises that were even louder than the thunders in the sky.

“Crack!”

A soul-stirring lighting dashed down from the sky.

Over the cliff, dozens of black balls floating on the water suddenly exploded, releasing black fog as thick as glue which covered the hundreds of meters of area nearby.

“It’s the Black Venom Smoke!”

The Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles pulled themselves up hurriedly.

Black Venom Smoke Grenade was a kind of magical equipment similar to ordinary smoke grenades, only much more dangerous and unpredictable. Not only would its smoke last much longer, it would corrupt other magical equipment to some extent too.

Li Yao had selected this waterfall as part of his escape route long time ago. He had buried a lot of Black Venom Smoke Grenades here.

“Shua!”

While the vision of the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles was blocked by the Black Venom Smoke, Li Yao jumped off the cliff down to the turbulent river hundreds of meters below him.

When the nine Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles finally broke out of the interferences of the Black Venom Smoke, they no longer had visual on Li Yao.

“Ding! Ding! Ding!”

The nine Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles immediately activated all the probe magical equipment on board.

Soon, they discovered that deep down in the river almost a thousand meters away, a metal object whose temperature was slightly higher than the river’s temperature was sneaking forward at a high speed.

The river was the trunk stream of the water system in the southeast corner of the battle zone. A few hundred meters ahead, there would be countless tributaries leading to various directions.

On Tide Berserker, Ning Feng’s face couldn’t look more awful. Two hooks seemed to be flying out of his eyes to dozens of kilometers away and snatching up Li Yao from the depth of the river.

Although he was a Warship Connoisseur, his computational ability was still limited.

Just now, he focused much of his attention on controlling Taiyi Lightning Railguns and Earthshaking Ordnance Penetrators to attack Li Yao. Therefore, the pressure that he imposed on the Mournful Mist Battlesuit and the Sword Torrent Battlesuit was somewhat undermined.

As a result, the two close-at-hand rabbits which had been surrounded a long time ago were still jumping naughtily, which seemed to be mocking him.

Ning Feng immediately made up his mind.

“Fourth Vicious Bee squad, continue searching the water system in the southeast corner and try to locate him.

“Remember not to come too close. The enemy has certain counterattack abilities. Don’t let him shoot down a second armed shuttle!

“The pilot of the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle that was down is not injured. Repair the vehicle immediately. Stand by if you cannot bring the damaged armed shuttle back to the sky. We have no further hands to spare at present.

“Seventh Vicious Bee squad, go to the southeast water system, too. Search every river and every stream.

“Remember, temperature and metal reaction can be disguised. Don’t worry about the consumption of crystals. Use large-scale continuous reconnaissance by firing to drive him out of wherever the hell he’s hiding right now.

“Other Vicious Bee squads, follow me. Let’s stick together and take down these two rabbits first!”

“Fourth squad, copy that.”

“Seventh squad, understood.”

The nine Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles hovered in the sky for a moment, before they locked onto the blinking light spot on their probe magical equipment and chased after it.

Five minutes after they left…

“Huala!”

A wet crystal suit crawled out of the raving waterfall.

It was Li Yao!

The moment he jumped off the waterfall, he forced himself back into the waterfall with a small-scale movement, grabbed the slippery stone behind the waterfall with all his four limbs, and turned off all the power rune arrays on the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.

If he were another Exo, it would’ve been impossible to resist the furious sweeping of the waterfall without the support of his crystal suit.

Only a monster of such colossal strength as Li Yao with steel-like muscles and bones could grit his teeth through the pressure.

Then he activated a piece of magical equipment that he had hidden previously below the waterfall.

There was nothing special about this particular magical equipment. There were a few power rune arrays on it which could drive it anywhere under Li Yao’s control. It had weak metal and temperature reactions too.

It was some sort of shabby ‘shadow’ for himself.

He had refined several such ‘shadows’ to be his secret weapons for his escape.

This shadow, for example, had at least bought him an hour of time.

However, he didn’t intend to run away in the next hour.

The reason why he set up so many fancy, delicate traps and exposed himself to the heavy bombardment from the crystal warship whose Taiyi Lightning Railguns nearly gave him an electrocution was not to hide in some gloomy corner trembling in anxiety.

His natural instinct was to hunt, to attack!

Li Yao smiled and licked the blood on his lips. Then he climbed up the waterfall and entered into the stealth mode before he marched back toward the forest where he had been hiding in the beginning.

The Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle that he’d shot down had performed an emergency landing over there.

Chapter 328: Capture a Crystal Warship!

Five minutes later, Li Yao retrieved his Floating Supplier from the pond where he had been hiding in the beginning.

Dense black smoke was flowing out of the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle that he had shot down previously hundreds of meters away, which was as plain as daylight although the night was deep and dark.

Li Yao held his breath and sneaked closer.

His crystal camera with a super-high resolution penetrated through bushes and branches and locked onto the burning hot shuttle without any trouble.

There was also a human-shaped object working on the shuttle busily.

It seemed that he was the pilot of the armed shuttle who was doing the maintenance job.

Li Yao was very confident in his attack. He was certain that the power system of the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle must’ve been blown to pieces.

It would be hardly possible to repair the vehicle without brand new components as replacement.

Li Yao opened his palms. A spider-like beast puppet crawled amongst the grass towards the pilot quietly.

Inside the body of the spider, there was a reservoir in which powerful anesthetic was stored.

By shooting it with high-pressure, it could narcotize a target three to five meters away without skin contact with the victim.

A moment later, Li Yao heard a dull grunt inside the forest. The pilot of the armed shuttle had fallen over.

Li Yao whistled. He dashed among tree branches like a creamy monkey until he reached the shuttle.

He opened the Floating Supplier and took out all kinds of brilliantly shining magical equipment and maintenance tools, ready to make it big.

However, he heard a feeble moan nearby. The pilot of the armed shuttle, who seemed to be a lieutenant judging from his uniform, must be a Cultivator, too. The powerful anesthetic that could put down an elephant only kept him asleep for half a minute.

Li Yao raised his eyebrow. He took out a metal ring and put it on the neck of the lieutenant. With a cracking sound, the metal ring locked up.

The lieutenant groaned. His limbs were out of his control, as if he had been paralyzed.

But his eyes were glaring at Li Yao, from which confusion and fury were beaming out.

This was the latest restraint magical equipment. By unleashing special bioelectricity, it could stimulate the central nervous system directly and lock the movements of the victim’s limbs. Only the body parts above the victim’s neck were free.

It was terrifically useful for Cultivators below the Building Foundation Stage.

Li Yao took out a metal scrap and pinned it on the Adam’s apple of the lieutenant. Then he said coldly, “Although this is only a sham battle, I don’t intend to show you any mercy. I have a thousand ways to let you taste the most bitter pain in the world without leaving any injury or sequela to your body.

“Repeat after me, if you don’t want to suffer.

“Shuttle 405 reporting. No. 2, No. 5, and No. 7 anti-gravity rune arrays and the main power system are seriously damaged. The efficiency of spiritual energy transformation is on a continuous fall. The crystals are running out. Further flight or combat is not affordable. Requesting to return for full maintenance.

“Read now!”

The lieutenant was dazed for a moment. His eyeballs rolled crazily as he put on an extremely shocked expression.

A moment later, he realized the situation he was in. His eyes were firm again. Then he gnashed his teeth and snarled, “Don’t even think about it!

“Whatever you are planning to do, I will not cooperate!”

Li Yao sneered, “Don’t presume that I will not do anything to you because this is a sham battle.”

The lieutenant laughed aloud.

“Whether this is a sham battle or a real one, I am always ready to be sacrificed as a soldier of the federal army. Even if I were to fall into hands of demon beasts and about to torn into pieces, I would not be pushed around!

“You want to torture me? Then come on! I’ll show you what a true soldier should look like!

“However, I suggest you hurry up. I’m not aware what tricks you’ve implemented to get rid of our men, but it won’t be long before they realize what is actually going on!

“You want to waste your time on me? Very good. I’m always here!”

Li Yao stared at the lieutenant.

Although the lieutenant was only a Cultivator at the beginning of the Refinement Stage who had been confined by magical equipment, he stared back without any fear.

Li Yao suddenly smiled. He took the metal scrap off the Adam’s apple of the lieutenant and pinned it on his own.

“That’s very brave of you.”

Li Yao said, “Not so smart, though.”

The lieutenant was shocked.

The one standing in front of him was talking in a tone and rhythm that were very similar to his.

“This is ‘Sound Simulator’, latest magical equipment that was displayed on the Magical Equipment Exposition. It was still in the experimental phase. But I thought it was interesting and pulled some strings to get one.

“As long as it collects enough sound information, it can simulate everyone’s voice.

“So, really, you shouldn’t have talked so much.”

With the help of the Sound Simulator, Li Yao talked in the voice of the lieutenant. As the conversation proceeded, Li Yao’s voice became more and more like the lieutenant’s, until they were completely undistinguishable in the end.

Li Yao patted the lieutenant’s shoulder. Then he walked to the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle.

He paced around the shuttle. Watching its shell which was riddled with holes and the power system which was burning in intense flames, he was deep in thought.

The lieutenant was dazed for a long time, before he finally came back to himself and burst out in laughter.

“Suppose you can simulate my voice, so what?

“This Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle was shot down by yourself. The power system has been mostly wrecked. It won’t fly again without suitable replacements!”

“Correct.”

Li Yao put on a maintenance glove on his left hand, while the dagger as thin as a feather danced in his right hand.

He picked up a huge amount of armed shuttle components from the Floating Supplier, including four small jet engine units.

Taking a deep breath, Li Yao’s brain was fully activated. His computational ability was brought to maximum. His soul entered the mysterious world of refining. In his vision, the shattered Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle was dismantled into the most fundamental components which were spinning slowly under the night sky and gradually melted with the components that he brought.

Half a minute later, dazzling brightness shined in Li Yao’s eyes. His hands turned into a cluster of grey mist. After several screeches of metal, the armed shuttle was completely pulled to pieces.

The repair of the power system and the anti-gravity rune arrays was not complicated.

The real problem was how to fit himself into the cockpit of the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle.

The space of the cockpit of the armed shuttle was quite limited, which had already been replete with all kinds of magical equipment and operation panels. There was no way that he could cram in while he was wearing the crystal suit.

Of course, he could place the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit in the roomy cabin which was in the middle part of the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle.

The place was supposed to store five beast puppets. So, it was more than enough to put one crystal suit inside.

However, without the enhancement of the crystal suit, his reactions would be much slower.

If the opponents were to suddenly attack him, there would be a good chance that he would have no time to put on the crystal suit.

Li Yao had to consider the possibility that he might be found out half way through his plan.

So, he concentrated his attention on modifying the shuttle.

At first, he quickly repaired two anti-gravity rune arrays, embedded new power units to the shuttle, and reconstructed the transmission tubes of spiritual energy.

Then, he expanded the cockpit by ripping off the shell on two sides and tearing away the pilot seat. Finally, he was able to enter the cockpit in his crystal suit.

But, as a result, the center of gravity of the shuttle had been changed, because the front end of the shuttle was apparently too heavy with his crystal suit.

However, there was no time for Li Yao to readjust the center of gravity now. He was preparing to make up for that with his professional skills.

The Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle after full modification looked a little bit different from a real one.

However, during the night of such a heavy storm, with most of the enemies’ attention focused on the escaping crystal suits, they would barely notice the somewhat weird outlook of a friendly armed shuttle, right?

The lieutenant was truly dumbfounded by Li Yao’s astonishing maintenance skills.

He had never seen anyone who could repair such a seriously damaged Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle within half an hour, let alone the modification of the cockpit afterward.

When he noticed that there were so many armed shuttle components, even some power units, inside Li Yao’s Floating Supplier, his firm eyes were suddenly put in a trance.

The deepest dread flowed out from his heart and reached every corner of his body.

He realized that this was not a spur-of-the-moment thing.

Before the battle had taken place, his opponent had decided that he would shoot down a Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle, repair it, and drive it into the crystal warship in disguise.

“What… what are you planning to do?” the lieutenant stammered.

“What am I planning to do?”

Li Yao waved his swollen, chapped hands where hot air was still rising up and said casually, “To capture a crystal warship, of course.”

…

At 4:47 a.m., the darkest moment before dawn, Ning Feng’s face was tranquil as ever onboard the Tide Berserker. But his heart was truly relieved.

The toughness of the MP crystal suits was beyond his expectation. Not only did the crystal suit hiding in the southeast water system launch an amazing counterattack, the two crystal suits that he had locked onto since the very beginning, knowing there was no way that they could get away, fought back desperately with amazing abilities, too, which cost him almost a hundred beast puppets and five Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles.

However, everything was finally back on track now.

Three minutes ago, the Mournful Mist Battlesuit was hit by the Heaven Splitters in the front. The command center had determined it to be ‘Exploded’.

As for the Sword Torrent Battlesuit, after it used up all the flying swords and shot down three Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles, he was able to capture it alive.

It had been less than four hours since his arrival, and two crystal suits were already suppressed by him.

Very soon, the weather would be clear again. The detection mystic rays would perform at full strength. Even an ant would not be able to get away from their searching.

“405 has tried to repair three power rune arrays. But there’s still something wrong with the anti-gravity rune arrays and the main power system. Spiritual energy is leaking. Crystals are running out. Requesting to return for major maintenance.”

Right then, the captain of the fourth Vicious Bee squad sent out a request.

There were two fully-equipped workshops on the Tide Berserker designed for the maintenance of armed shuttles and beast puppets.

Many damaged Vicious Armed Shuttles in the previous fights had flown back to the crystal warship with black smoke trailing behind them.

Therefore, the request did not even go to Captain Ning Feng. It was passed by the vice-captain who was in charge of the squad teams.

“Home return granted, 405. Please enter the mother ship through the sixth deck.”

Chapter 329: Let’s Burn, Phoenix!

The thunderstorm that had been raging throughout the entire night finally came to an end. The heavily pouring rain became intermittent.

Two crystal suits were tied up from head to toe by electromagnetic shackles and sucked into the crystal warship by anti-gravity, mystical lights.

The sun was about to rise. There were cheers all over the warship. The nerves of all the solders on board which had been tightened all night were finally relieved a little bit before dawn.

Right then, a ragged Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle flew towards Tide Berserker staggeringly.

It seemed that the shuttle had just passed a thick, floating stone belt. Its shell was full of hollows and bumps, as well as all kinds of holes, which couldn’t look more terrible.

There was intense black smoke wafting up from its body. Its exhaust flame was extremely pale. While it was flying, cracking sounds were echoing nonstop. Now and then, a power rune array or an anti-gravity rune array seemed to explode, unleashing colorful sparks.

The speed of the shuttle was extremely low, like an old man who had one foot in the grave.

It seemed that, if the shuttle sped up a little bit, it would break up in midair at any time.

Five kilometers… Four kilometers… Three kilometers…

It finally came close to the crystal warship and reached the spiritual shield of the crystal warship.

“Beep!”

It passed the authentication of the IFFS[1]. The spiritual shield did not block the shuttle, nor did it attack the shuttle.

But in the cockpit of Tide Berserker, Ning Feng, who was soaking in crimson liquid, suddenly felt such an intense palpitation that his heart seemed to be being pricked by needles.

He felt that a flying sword out of nowhere had pierced into his heart!

“Not good!”

Ning Feng lost his tranquility.

His instincts told him that something must be wrong!

This instinct was based on more than ten years of experience in bloody, slaughterhouse-like battlefields, as well as his natural gift.

Back when he first entered the battle zone, he’d had a fuzzy, strange feeling. That was why he released ten Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles to search the area even though there was nothing suspicious in his sight.

But right now, the feeling of danger was hundreds of times more intense!

‘Someone wants to kill me!’

Inside the capsule where Ning Feng was lying, countless bubbles popped up from the red liquid. His head was burningly hot. Every brain cell was overloading. Thousands of pictures unfolded in front of his eyes simultaneously, as he was searching for any anomaly on and around the crystal warship.

“Crack!”

Right then, a lightning that resembled a raging dragon tore the sky apart, illuminating the night as if it were daylight.

It was probably the swan song of the dying thunderstorm.

Illuminated by the lightning, Shuttle 405, which was flying slowly towards the crystal warship concealed in dirty smoke, seemed to have grown scales and claws in Ning Feng’s vision.

For a moment, Ning Feng’s heart was as cold as a hard rock. Veins were bulging from his temples to his entire face.

There was no time for him to inform the soldiers on board. With an expansion of his soul, his telepathic thoughts reached every corner of the warship and took over all the weapon and alarm systems temporarily. Then he cut into the communication network and bellowed, “405, this is 001. Stop where you are and stand by. Wait to be towed back!

“Everyone on board, change your IFFS from automatic mode to manual mode and lock onto 405!

“I repeat, lock onto 405!

“All Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles, surround 405 right now and prepare to attack!

“Close the sixth deck immediately. Activate the barriers and lock it up!”

The series of commands brought the anxious atmosphere on Tide Berserker to a new height. After half a second of dead silence, all soldiers started carrying out the orders crazily.

However, Shuttle 405, after a tiny bump, burst out even more exhaust flame. It accelerated instead of slowing down and drew closer to the crystal warship.

“405 failed to halt. No. 2 power units have exploded. Impossible to slow down. Requesting to be picked up by barricade net and towed back.”

A voice that was familiar to everyone came from the communicate channel.

Ning Feng smiled and said, “405, please maintain your current trajectory. Barricade net is to be released in 2.7 seconds.”

Before he finished his sentence, his telepathic thought had cut in the control chip of two Taiyi Lightning Railguns and fired. Two electromagnetic lightning balls were thrusted at Shuttle 405.

“Everyone on board, aim at 405 and fire!”

For a moment, Tide Berserker seemed to turn into a hedgehog with lights and flames as its thorns.

Countless lights, flames, and lasers twisted into blossoming flowers which transformed the dark night sky before dawn as bright as midday!

The sudden change raised a round of exclamations in the commanding center.

Shangguan Ce and Ren Xingbei, as two seasoned warriors, seemed to have realized something. Their faces were more solemn than ever, if not somewhat angry.

Other officers were still deep in thought, pondering the reason.

The Cultivators were even more baffled by the situation. Why would Ning Feng attack a friendly armed shuttle which was already on the verge of destruction so furiously?

But the next second, their bafflement was replaced by bewilderment.

All the light beams displayed the same incredible scene.

Exhaust flames that were ten times brighter than common Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles burst out from Shuttle 405 which had been more dead than alive a moment ago at the same time with Ning Feng’s command.

The speed and agility of the vehicle were ten times higher than before, too.

Taiyi Lightning Railguns, crystal cannons, flying swords… All together constituted an impenetrable dragnet.

But the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttled seemed to have turned into a water droplet which was zigzagging skillfully in the gaps of the net and dashing forward!

The unimaginable sharp turns and weird routes made everyone have the same illusion: it was not a fat, clumsy Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle flying in front of their eyes, but a super shuttle which had been born for the purpose of breaking the speed limit.

“Who’s flying the shuttle?”

Everybody in the commanding center was looking at each other in astonishment, realizing that an abrupt change had taken place.

Starting from this moment, the sham battle veered off the preset track to a new direction that none of them had anticipated.

“Hoooo—”

On Shuttle 405, despite the double protection from the crystal suit and the mustard suit, Li Yao’s face was still utterly twisted.

The movements beyond the limits of the shuttle and human body had imposed more than 50 times gravity on him. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was suffering from hallucinations.

He wanted to scream in joy, but what came out of his mouth was only a heavy breath.

Every drop of his blood was boiling. Every cell was shouting. All his hair turned into soft feathers. He seemed to have turned into a burning phoenix!

“Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!”

Dozens of flying swords brushed past the shuttle. The aura of the swords ripped more holes on the shuttle which was already riddled with holes.

“BOOM! CRACK!”

One electromagnetic lightning ball after another exploded nearby. Although they did not hit him directly, the purple electric arcs still squeezed into the cockpit and pierced into his body through the gaps on the crystal suit, making him grimace in pain.

But his soul was like a fire that had oil added on. He was more excited than ever!

“We can!

“We can do this!

“We can definitely reach our destination!”

Li Yao roared. His hands turned into a gray blur, as he smashed the operation panels of the armed shuttle and performed dazzling, high-speed dodging movements one after another.

“Crack! Crack! Crack!”

The Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle was not born for speed. Although it had been modified by him, the continuous extreme movements were still too much for it. The noises of fatigue crack were ringing nonstop like the moans of skeletons.

It was the omen that the shuttle was going to break up in the sky!

Another four Taiyi Lightning Railguns that had been silent previously now locked onto him and fired at the same time.

Four electromagnetic lightning balls collided with each other and burst out into a splendid lightning storm which blocked the space in front of the shuttle.

“Come on!”

Li Yao’s eyes were entirely occupied by the lightning storm. Two intense waves surged out simultaneously from the Soul Condensing Pendant and the deepest depths of his brain, which flowed all over his body through his veins and nerves, interweaving, before they protruded from his back where they formed two bright gold wings ferociously flapping in the sky.

“BOOM!”

The Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle crashed into the lightning storm and exploded, turning into a blossoming lotus of blood and fire!

In the middle of the lotus, an intimidating figure jumped out like a phoenix that had just been reborn.

Brilliant flames of spiritual energy were dancing around Li Yao. Under the enhancement of the crystal suit, they were ten times more dazzling than usual. The two bright gold wings that were almost ten meters long made him look like a mighty god who had come to earth.

“Break, now!”

His batter saber was surrounded by furious spiritual energy, too, which extended the brightness of his saber to more than five meters away. He activated the Thunderous Tornado Saber Art to maximum as he pushed himself forward. Two hurricanes seemed to have crashed.

The lightning storm was ripped open.

“Swoosh!”

The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit accelerated suddenly through the lighting storm and was arriving at the crystal warship.

Another three electromagnetic lightning balls were coming at him in a triangle.

More Taiyi Lightning Railguns and crystal cannons were readjusting their angles quickly to lock onto him again.

Dozens of Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles were all flying at him without fear, as if they were ready to perish together with him.

The incoming savage attacks turned into a series of data and lines inside Li Yao’s brain.

Since the crystal suit was far more agile than the armed shuttle, he was 70% sure that he could avoid the three lighting balls in the lead.

However, the consistency of his sprint would be interrupted.

More Taiyi Lightning Railguns and flying swords would be able to lock onto him again.

The second wave of attack would be too dense for him to come close to the crystal warship ever again.

“Victory or failure shall be decided now. Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, keep it up!”

Li Yao gritted his teeth. The Soul Condensing Pendant seemed to be melting into his flesh and blood like liquid metal.

Feeling the cheers of countless professors and senior brothers, Li Yao’s soul expanded to maximum. The bright gold wings folded in around him and covered his body. His spiritual shield was also brought to maximum.

He was going to take the blow from the three electromagnetic lightning balls!

[1] Identification of Friend or Foe System

Chapter 330: Close Combat

“Ka! Ka! Ka! Ka!”

Before the three electromagnetic lightning balls reached their destination, the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit suddenly started revolving and turned into a crazy drill, crawling through the tiny gap between them!

“BOOM! CRACK!”

Three electromagnetic lightning balls passed by Li Yao without hitting him, and then exploded almost a hundred meters away behind him. The electric arcs spluttered like gold snakes and caught up with him quickly, tearing his spiritual shield into pieces.

The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit was tied by ten thousand vipers made of electric arcs. Every rune array on the suit was cracking. Black smoke was popping up from every gap of the suit.

But it was still sprinting!

There were only two hundred meters away from the sixth deck now!

Li Yao had entered into the blind side of the Taiyi Lightning Railguns.

More than ten electromagnetic lightning balls exploded far away from Li Yao. But the raging electric arcs were not able to catch him anymore.

The flying swords and crystal cannons were the only weapons that could hit him now.

But for Li Yao and the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, they were too sturdy to be blocked by such insignificant attacks, not even for several seconds.

The gate on the sixth deck closed. The barriers on the entrance were fully activated.

“Ca!”

Two crystal cannons flipped up on Li Yao’s shoulders, ready to attack.

The Triple-headed Heavy Six-barrel Vulcan Machine Gun had been picked up and aimed at the gate which was locked up.

“Break now! Break now! Break now!”

Crimson, azure, and emerald bullets were shooting out in three lines from the Vulcan Machine Gun.

They were the bullets that Li Yao had specially chosen to dig open the solid shell of a crystal warship.

The crimson line was the flame bullets. Special explosion rune arrays had been carved on the bullets. Unstable fiery crystals were stored inside the bullets.

The azure line was the frost bullets, which had frost rune arrays on the surface and liquid crystals of an extremely low temperature inside them. Once they hit anything, they would freeze everything nearby including the air.

One of them was scorching while the other was frigid. When the two kinds of bullets hit the same point, even the most tensile metal would be as weak as glass because of thermal expansion and contraction.

The emerald line was corrosive bullets. High-intensity corrosive liquid, which was synthesized by simulating the subtle constituents of the body liquid of five different demon beasts, had been stored inside the bullets.

The moment such bullets hit their target, the corrosive liquid would be transformed into super-corrosive mist by the pulverization rune arrays on the surface of the bullets and corrupt the target from outside to inside.

Under the savage of the three different kinds of bullets, the defense rune arrays outside the sixth gate were immediately devastated. The gate itself, although half a meter thick, was brimming with holes and full of rust now.

Then—

Two man-made suns rose up from Li Yao’s shoulders, whose glaring brilliance swallowed the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit entirely.

After two earsplitting noises, the brilliance spurted out, blowing the gate which had already been on the verge of destruction into pieces mercilessly!

These were not ordinary crystal cannon attacks, but two critical strikes that were based on the furious spiritual energy from the crystal reactor which had been accumulating for a long time!

The two attacks consumed almost half of the spiritual energy contained in the crystal reactor!

Because of the overloading of spiritual energy, the two crystal cannons dangled from his shoulders like over-soaked, swollen noodles after firing for only one time.

The shoulders of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit were torn to pieces because of the counterforce.

Li Yao even felt like his arms had been ripped off, too.

But, luckily, the sixth deck was finally open now!

Li Yao roared and tossed away the crystal cannons on his shoulders and the Vulcan Machine Gun. He dashed forward with nothing but a battle saber at the top of his speed into Tide Berserker!

The sixth deck was in chaos!

Most of the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles had been sent out. There were only four inside the sixth cabin.

Two of them had been damaged in previous combat and were waiting to be repaired.

Besides, the space inside the cabin was very limited, which was not suitable for Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles to act.

The two intact Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles released their beast puppets hurriedly and tried to take off.

But one of the pilots was so anxious that his shuttle hit the ceiling before crashing into the other shuttle. The two shuttles fell to the ground uncontrollably.

The soldiers near the deck all picked up their storm bolters and resisted in vain.

Most of the soldiers were ordinary people. Several officers were Cultivators, but only at the beginning phase of the Refinement Stage.

Right now, Li Yao was close to the peak of the Refinement Stage. With the enhancement of the crystal suit, he could fight a Building Foundation Stage Cultivator face-to-face.

Now that he had infiltrated the warship, he was like a hungry tiger in a sheep farm. The marines on board were no match for him at all!

“Chi! Chi!”

The moment Li Yao got aboard on the sixth deck, he released the last few Black Venom Smoke Grenades he had.

A few seconds later, the entire deck was enveloped by dark fog.

Inside the dark fog, which was too thick for anyone to see anything, moans of soldiers, screams of beast puppets, and clattering noise of spiritual shields echoed nonstop.

Five minutes later, the dark fog dispersed.

The place was in an utter mess. But Li Yao had vanished.

The commanding center was filled with dead silence, like a graveyard in the cold winter when the bodies of both the living and the dead had been frozen.

Before the beginning of the sham battle, everybody had thought that the theme of the sham battle was hide and seek.

Strong as the Tiger King Battlesuit may be, it would still have to flee like a mouse into the wilderness under the threat of the Heaven Splitters and twelve Taiyi Lightning Railguns.

Some had guessed that Li Yao might do some crazy things.

Since he was adept at jungle hunting and guerrilla warfare, he might set up a few traps inside the forest, circle around with the hunter and destroy dozens of Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles and hundreds of beast puppets.

This was the best that anyone could imagine.

Even Yuan Manqiu had never expected that Li Yao would be so bold as to hijack a Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle and pierce into the crystal warship with it.

“The guy is too crazy!”

“How can a Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle be so agile? It is even more agile than a super shuttle!”

“The performance of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit is indeed impressive. After so many attacks, including explosions of three electromagnetic lightning balls only a hundred meters away, it was still functioning normally without being torn to pieces by the blast.”

Whispers gathered and grew louder and louder, until everyone in the commanding center was shouting at each other in disbelief.

In the heated discussion, Shangguan Ce glanced at his old friend unemotionally.

“This is not included in the plan of the sham battle. If the battle goes on, the crystal warship might be seriously damaged. Shall we abort it?”

Ren Xingbei turned his neck aside slowly, as if it had been rusted. Brightness was beaming out of his eyes like bullets, as he said, one word after another, “No. I believe in Ning Feng.”

“However, Shangguan, where did you find such a… monster?”

…

Inside the cockpit of Tide Berserker, Ning Feng’s eyes were not sloppy like a drunk cat anymore but bulging wider than anyone else on his warship. His brow was furrowed so much that a third eye seemed to be gazing at the front.

The drunk cat had turned into a ferocious tiger!

“Don’t presume that you can turn the crystal warship upside down even if you’re inside it right now!

“This is my territory, where I am the king!”

The biggest weakness of crystal warships had always been the astonishingly weak internal defense. Once a strong enemy breached its strong exterior, they would be in a passive position.

It was also the reason why the military had been reluctant to send crystal warships into the Dark Desolate Domain and fight the strong demons at a closer distance.

However, as one of the best captains of the Fifth Fleet, Ning Feng had long prepared contingency plans for hostile infiltration.

There was an assault team of three hundred soldiers on Tide Berserker, including twenty battle-type Cultivators armed with powerful melee magical equipment.

Usually, they would be sent out for airborne operations and assault tasks. In the case of an emergence, they would be deployed to defend the warship.

Such an assault team may not be enough to stop a Cultivator at the high level of the Refinement Stage who was wearing a crystal suit.

But together with a hundred Electric Whip Teethed Vipers, there would be no risk at all.

‘Taking the blow of the attacks of Taiyi Lightning Railguns and so many flying swords, your spiritual shield has already broken completely. Your crystal suit itself must’ve been seriously damaged, too, which means your combat ability is at a low point right now. You are biting the bullet and running out of your momentum!

‘This is my warship. Crystal cameras and probe magical equipment are everywhere. Wherever you’re hiding right now, you will be discovered by me in no time!

‘With so many soldiers and beast puppets, you will be flattened to death if they each step on you once!’

Countless thoughts were swirling in Ning Feng’s brain. One order after another was issued neatly and systematically.

The assault team and the beast puppets gathered in the middle of the warship.

All the crystal cameras and probe magical equipment were scanning every pathway nonstop.

But half a minute later, Ning Feng still failed to detect the crystal suit.

“He must’ve snuck into the ventilating ducts or the maintenance ducts!”

Since the gargantuan crystal warship had been designed to be engaged in complicated environments where venomous or corrosive mist might be prevailing, a closed structure had been employed in most of the crystal warships with an advanced air circulation system made of sophisticated ventilation ducts, which enabled them to fight in the exosphere.

Although crystal cameras had been installed to such ducts, too, the number of them was much smaller than outside. They were not enough to monitor every corner inside ducts.

Besides, to maneuver such a large crystal warship, thousands of spiritual energy tubes were scattered on the crystal warship.

For the sake of easier maintenance and heat dissipation, the diameters of these tubes were often larger than two meters. Few cameras could cover them as well.

“Where is he going?”

Ning Feng’s head was very clear. The strength of Tide Berserker depended on the Heaven Splitters and the Taiyi Lightning Railguns. There were not many strong experts among the marines.

The only Building Foundation Cultivator on board was himself. But he was an admin-type Cultivator who was not good at combat. It would be difficult for him to beat an experienced battle-type Cultivator at the peak of the Refinement Stage.

Faced with such a formidable enemy, three to five low-level Refinement Stage Cultivators would be committing suicide if they were to challenge him. Ning Feng would not divide his forces and let them be crushed by Li Yao one by one.

The assault team and beast puppets had to stick together and suppress the enemy with an overwhelming advantage in numbers!

“Purpose? What is the purpose of this guy? With nothing but a ragged crystal suit and a broken saber, how can he destroy such a giant crystal warship?”

Cold sweat was appearing on Ning Feng’s forehead.

The cunningness of the intruder was beyond his expectation.

He knew that the intruder must’ve made a deadly plan, and he only had one chance to send the assault team and beast puppets to the right place to stop him!

The information on the intruder, which he skimmed over the previous afternoon, popped up in Ning Feng’s brain.

“Vulture Li Yao, grew up in the most dangerous magical equipment graveyard, cruel and brutal. Adept at stealth, ambushing, and assassination. Also an excellent refiner who has been particularly interested in explosive magical equipment and interlinked bombing traps.

“In the Devil Flood Dragon Island, with the decapitation strategy, he…

“In the battle of Verdant Tarn City, he gathered ten Hellfire-Lightnings and…

“In the Refiners’ Registration Examination, he…

“In the Flying Crystal race of the Magical Equipment Exposition not long ago, he feigned his self-destruction…”

Ning Feng narrowed his eyes.

He knew what this fanatic bomber wanted to do now.

“Vulture Li Yao, you want to sneak into the cockpit and play the ‘decapitation’ move on me, don’t you?

“Then come on and try!”

Chapter 331: Gotcha!

With a telepathic thought, ten Electric Whip Teethed Vipers crawled into the ventilation ducts and maintenance ducts between the sixth deck and the cockpit.

In the meantime, the perception range of the probe magical equipment near the cockpit was heightened to their maximum.

Such probe magical equipment was supposed to monitor whether or not the crystal warship was functioning normally.

Although it could not transmit image signals, it could monitor subtle temperature changes and special waves from metal objects very precisely.

No more than half a minute later, Ning Feng discovered that a metal object whose temperature was slightly higher than the surroundings was moving fast in the ventilation duct from the sixth deck to the cockpit.

“Gotcha!”

Ning Feng sniffed. He was going to summon the assault team to besiege the ventilation duct, when he had a palpitation and his instincts alarmed him one more time.

The intruder seemed to have exposed himself too easily.

Considering that the enemy had gone through all the trouble sneaking into the warship, there was no reason why he wouldn’t cover the basic heat contrast and metal reaction. Such a straightforward plan was like he was purposefully revealing himself.

Pondering for a moment, Ning Feng’s telepathic thoughts flooded to the back of the warship where he activated the alarm system around the engine compartment to maximum.

Soon, he discovered another metal object which was moving at a high speed with a temperature slightly higher than the environment in the maintenance duct in the rear of the warship.

“Is his target the engine compartment?

“The engine compartment provides spiritual energy for all the power rune arrays and anti-gravity rune arrays on Tide Berserker. A lot of crystals are stored inside. In light of the style of this fanatic bomber, he might be selling me a dummy. It appears like he is sneaking to the cockpit for a decapitation operation, but in fact, he is going to the engine compartment secretly!

“As a refiner, he might’ve already prepared certain special explosive magical equipment that can detonate all the crystals inside the engine compartment.

“If he occupies the engine compartment and coerces me using the bombs he sets up there, claiming that he will die together with the crystal warship, I will be defeated!

“However—”

The cockpit, the engine compartment. Two metal objects were moving at the two locations respectively fast.

“Which one of the two is real?

“If the one going to the engine compartment is his disguise and his real target is still the cockpit, what do I do?”

The time was limited. It was impossible to check the situation in the front and in the rear simultaneously unless he was to divide the assault team and the beast puppets into two squads.

However, faced with such a formidable enemy as Vulture Li Yao, Ning Feng had no confidence that half an assault team would be enough to take him down.

After careful consideration, Ning Feng made a risky decision.

He decided to send seventy percent of the assault team and puppet beasts to the engine compartment at the rear of the warship and assemble the remaining thirty percent to the cockpit to protect himself.

The decision did not calm himself down. Instead, he felt his heart was heavier and heavier, as if he had stepped off onto nothing and fell into an abyss.

For some reason, he felt that he had neglected something.

After a shiver, Ning Feng quickly started replaying the footage that the Vicious Bee Shuttles had captured just now.

The video was shot the moment before Li Yao broke into the warship.

Zoom in, zoom in, and zoom in!

When the picture was enlarged by 17 times, Ning Feng found that there were two giant metal balls hanging on the waist of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, which were full of power rune arrays and flame spouts.

The files that he had read about the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit did not mention any of such things.

He did not see any function of the two pieces of magical equipment in the previous fight, either.

From an aerodynamic point of view, there shouldn’t’ve been two such metal balls on a crystal suit in the first place.

What was that?

‘My enemy has played such a trick before. By hiding a piece of magical equipment that can emit heat and metal reaction below the waterfall, he allured the chasers after him away.

‘The two balls must be the same thing. They’re his ‘shadows’!

‘Which means—

‘The two metal objects that are moving at the cockpit and the engine compartment are both fakes!’

Ning Feng’s hair was all pricking.

Although he had seen through his enemy’s disguise, he did not feel at ease at all, because he hadn’t found out where exactly Vulture Li Yao’s destination was yet.

‘On a crystal warship, besides the cockpit and the engine compartment, what critical target can be destroyed by a crystal suit in a very short time?

‘He has only one chance, and he definitely wouldn’t act recklessly. It’s not like he can just split my warship in his suit alone.

‘Split?

‘Heaven Splitters!’

Had he not been confined inside the capsule, he would’ve jumped to his feet already.

The attack of the Heaven Splitters could be as powerful as a strike of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator. Their energy consumption was, of course, enormous.

Therefore, below the Heaven Splitters, a large chamber had been set up where super-compressed crystals were stored.

Such crystals were meant for demolishing and destruction. They were much more furious and unstable than the crystals inside the engine compartments.

Setting off such a crystal chamber was a hundred times more convenient than setting off the engine compartment, but the damage would be no less.

The Heaven Splitters were above the middle of the warship. Once its crystal chamber was set off, the entire warship might be split into two halves from the middle.

To this moment, the command center remained silent without interfering with this sham battle.

But Ning Feng was well aware that thousands of eyes were fixed on Tide Berserker at present.

If his enemy really sneaked into the crystal chamber of the Heaven Splitters and set up explosive magical equipment there, the command center would definitely call the sham battle to an end.

When that happened, he would meet an unprecedented failure!

“Shut off the ventilation ducts from No. 394 to No. 423!

“Shut off the ventilation ducts from No. 224 to No. 278!

“Assault team, go to the Heaven Splitters right now. Pay close attention to the ducts near the crystal chamber!

“Electric Whip Teethed Vipers, search the ducts that I shut off just now and leave no stone unturned!

“All Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles, retrieve the beast puppets on the ground and reinforce Tide Berserker!”

One command after another was issued.

In the meantime, Ning Feng did not forget to deploy ten Electric Whip Teethed Vipers to trace the two metal signals that had been discovered in the beginning.

Although he was pretty sure that they were his enemy’s decoys, what if his enemy had stored something dangerous inside them?

Right now, Ning Feng had regarded Vulture Li Yao as the most sly and sordid opponent he had ever met. He even felt that he was facing a cunning demon beast instead of a human being.

Soon, abnormal spiritual waves came from the maintenance ducts leading to the Heaven Splitters.

Someone had blown up the gate locking the ducts, which had released a lot of light and heat.

In the moment of the explosion, a crystal camera in a turn of the ducts clearly captured burning flames and a blurred figure inside the flames.

After analysis and comparison by his crystal processor, it was the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit!

“Finally, you’re here!”

At this moment, Ning Feng felt like crying out in joy!

Although this was only a sham battle, he had been more anxious in this battle than any other battle that he had fought before.

His enemy seemed to have realized that his plan had been seen through and started breaking through the maintenance ducts faster.

But the maintenance ducts were narrow and zigzagged with a lot of branches like a labyrinth.

So, the enemy’s pace was rather slow.

The assault team and the beast puppets had gathered around the Heaven Splitters in advance.

All the Electric Whip Teethed Vipers crawled into the ducts.

News came from the ducts at the front and the rear, too.

Electric Whip Teethed Vipers there captured two pieces of ball-shaped magical equipment, which were exactly the items that the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit had been carrying on its waist when it broke in.

They were the sources of heat abnormality and metal reactions that the probe magical equipment had detected.

However, when the Electric Whip Teethed Vipers tied them up, the two ‘shadows’ suddenly exploded; dense smoke and furious flames burst out.

Their round bellies had been filled with smoke grenades and napalm bombs.

Smoke and heat flowed through the ventilation ducts to every corner on the warship.

For a moment, black smoke and venomous gas spread to every cabin.

But the game was over. The fancy tricks were not of much use to reverse the situation now.

Ning Feng commanded the fire control team to enter the ventilation ducts to put out the fire. Then he focused his attention on the assault team who were getting closer and closer to the real target.

Five minutes later, an Electric Whip Teethed Viper discovered the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit which was hiding behind a large cluster of messy spiritual energy tubes.

The combat was much easier than he had expected.

Dozens of Electric Whip Teethed Vipers lunged at their target at the same time and unleashed high-voltage electric arcs which immediately tangled the intruder.

In a narrow duct that was only two meters wide, the crystal suit was more of a burden than a help. Strong as his enemy may be, his enemy couldn’t even stand straight inside the duct, let alone deal with so many Electric Whip Teethed Vipers simultaneously.

Besides, almost a hundred soldiers of the assault team were keeping a close watch outside the duct with their storm bolters at hand.

Should there be any abrupt changes, they could blow the entire duct into pieces.

The brutal fight to break into the crystal warship consumed much of the spiritual energy of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit. The after effect of taking the attacks from three Taiyi Lightning Railguns the hard way finally burst out.

The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit did not resist. It was tied up without being able to move at all.

It was not until four soldiers imposed electromagnetic shackles on his enemy and he saw the full image of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit through a crystal camera on an Electric Whip Teethed Viper that Ning Feng was greatly relieved and lost all his strength in the capsule inside the cockpit.

He had finally captured the third crystal suit.

Vulture Li Yao was indeed a formidable opponent.

Was he really a sophomore student? Incredible!

“Fire control team, put out the fire on the warship as soon as possible; damage accounting team, report the losses of the warship right now. We’ll have a half-hour rest. There’s still the last crystal suit on the run. Let’s work harder and try to seize him before sunrise!”

The moment he let those words out, Ning Feng felt that there was something wrong. He raised his head and saw bloody sunlight beaming into the cockpit through the window. The floor seemed to be burning in mysterious flames.

The sun had been up for a long time.

With a self-mocking smile, Ning Feng continued, “Check whether or not the Exo of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit is injured and send him to the med bay immediately if he is. But don’t loosen the shackles on him. Assault team, stay alert. The guy might still have other evil plans.”

Chapter 332: Cicada Out of Ecdysis

The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, which had lost all of its momentum, was still very solid. The joints between each piece of the place armor stuck close to each other. The assault team tried several times, but they failed to open the crystal suit by force.

Luckily, by the scanning of probe magical equipment, they found that the Exo inside the crystal suit had stable breathing and heart rate; he was just in a coma.

Presumably, the previous high-intensity combats had drained not only the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit but also the Exo, who, like a cracked bow, had been stretched beyond his limit.

Faced with such an opponent who fought until the last moment, Ning Feng sighed in respect.

Since the physical condition of the Exo was not too bad, Ning Feng asked the assault team to carry him to the workshop where there were delicate tools that could dismantle the crystal suit and dig him out.

In the meantime, the electromagnetic shackles were of course still on. Ning Feng wouldn’t leave out details like that.

Right then—

“Chi!”

A loud shriek burst out from the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.

Then, a cluster of black fog as dense and thick as ink flooded into the cabin and swallowed more than half of the assault team.

The pathway they were in was quite narrow. The assault team had nowhere to run at all. Even the soldiers furthest away from the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit could do nothing but watch the black fog surge closer like an unstoppable tide.

However, the weird smoke did no damage to them, which only dyed them black. It didn’t have any unusual smell, either.

After a moment, almost a hundred ‘black men’ blinked their eyes in confusion, whose teeth were whiter than ever because of the contrast. They looked at each other in bewilderment, not knowing what was going on.

The scene was transmitted to Ning Feng’s brain by the crystal camera on the soldiers’ helmets.

However, one crystal camera after another broke down after being contaminated by the black fog. The number of pictures inside Ning Feng’s brain was continuously reducing.

At the same time, more devastating news was reported by the fire control team.

One of the firefighters had been knocked out and hidden in a tool room inside the maintenance duct. His uniform had been taken off!

Ning Feng was immediately alarmed. He focused his attention on the ventilating duct over his head.

In the beginning, Vulture Li Yao had placed a decoy in the ventilating duct, which had exploded when it approached the cockpit and release a lot of flames and smoke.

Therefore, three minutes ago, Ning Feng didn’t pay much attention to several firefighters who went into the ventilating duct to put out the fire.

But right now, after he gathered all the information and calculated all the possibilities crazily, he suddenly realized…

“BOOM!”

The exit of the ventilating duct above the cockpit was blown to pieces by large fireball!

A man that was wearing silver firefighter uniform and a closed helmet whose ruby glass blocked his undistinguishable face jumped down from the exit like a crazy devil and appeared in the middle of the cockpit!

Before he reached the ground, dozens of round Thunder-Palms had been tossed away by him, which were rolling to every corner of the cockpit.

Cockpit was the brain for a crystal warship. Most of the important officers and warship operators congregated here.

Of course, there were a lot of Cultivators among them. But most of them were admin-type Cultivators. Some of them were creation-type and research-type Cultivators.

There were several battle-type Cultivators as guards here. However, they did have any way to deal with the rolling Thunder-Palms other than to gaze at them in bewilderment.

The Thunder-Palms did not detonate.

But they were already a deadly surprise to the officers on Tide Berserker.

“Si la!”

The firefighter uniform was torn into shreds which were dancing in a storm of terror like thousands of silver butterflies.

Li Yao was wearing a tactical vest where another dozens of Thunder-Palms were hanging, with a battle saber in his left hand, a burning axe in his right hand, and a storm bolter on his back. He appeared in front of Ning Feng, as if he had been possessed by a devil.

He glanced around coldly, and then turned his eyes back to Ning Feng.

Li Yao smiled, his sharp teeth glaring. He said, “Had the last wave of Thunder-Palms exploded, more than half of the officers and operators here would’ve been injured and killed instantly. The cockpit would’ve been in a mess. The operation panels would’ve been hardly likely to function anymore. Shall we continue?”

Ning Feng gritted his teeth.

The crimson liquid was quickly extracted. The capsule opened slowly. He stood straight and glared at Li Yao with bloody eyes as he said coldly,

“I thought this was a sham battle to test the performance of crystal suits.”

“Indeed it is.”

Li Yao replied, “The fact that the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit could rip open the shell of your crystal warship against the salvo of twelve Taiyi Lightning Railguns and so many Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles is evident enough of its toughness already.

“However, a moment ago, it played an even more important role.

“If you’ve read my files, you should know that I’ve added a set of detonator magical equipment near the crystal reactor of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.

“Over the past half month, I’ve made a series of improvement. Not only is the explosion much more powerful now, the detonator can also be remotely controlled or set on a timer.

“After I got out of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit and knocked out a soldier, I stuffed him inside the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit and set a timer to detonate the crystal suit in five minutes.

“Of course, this is only a sham battle, and I was not using real bombs. Therefore, your assault team has only been blackened. That’s all.

“If this were a real battle, I believe your assault team would’ve been annihilated already.

“At least the elites in it. The battle-type Cultivators would’ve suffered most.

“By my estimation, out of precaution, you must’ve asked the strongest experts to surround the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, didn’t you?

“If you don’t believe me, you and everyone in the command center can study the detonator magical equipment I refined together and check whether or not the explosion that it triggers is powerful enough to demolish a few hundred soldiers nearby.”

Ning Feng was speechless for a long time, before he opened his mouth again with a hoarse voice.

“The two shadows of you were your first decoy. They were also in charge of igniting the fire, so that the fire control team would be deployed. As long as you were in firefighter’s clothing, no one would bother to look at you even if you’re openly moving about inside a ventilating duct.

“The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit was your second decoy. You lured the assault team to the Heaven Splitters with your crystal suit which you then triggered and crushed the entire assault team.

“When everyone’s attention was focused on the authentic Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit near the Heaven Splitters, you crawled through the ventilating duct to the cockpit without raising any suspicions.

“But there is one point that I don’t understand.

“Why were you so certain that the cockpit would not be guarded? What would you have done if I had stationed dozens of Electric Whip Teethed Vipers and soldiers from the assault team here?”

“It was not very likely. After all, the crystal chamber below the Heaven Splitters is too important, and you couldn’t bear the consequences if it was occupied by me. Therefore, you definitely would send most of your soldiers there.”

Li Yao continued, “It wouldn’t matter whether or not the cockpit was heavily guarded.

“Most of the Cultivators on board should’ve been killed by the self-explosion of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit already. How many soldiers can you spare to protect the cockpit?

“But let’s say you are well protected by the guards and I have no opportunity to assassinate you. At least I can activate all the Thunder-Palms I have, which will lead to major chaos and blow many officers and operators here up. The controls systems of the warship would be wrecked. It’s unlikely that your warship would still function normally.

“Then, I would run away while everything was messy.

“Without my crystal suit, I’m still a battle-type Cultivator at the high level of the Refinement Stage. I don’t think ordinary marines can stop me when everything is in disarray.

“Then, I would sneak into the survival cabin and launch a lifeboat, pretending that I’d fled out of the warship.

“After that, I would sneak into the med bay.

“While I was flying the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle to Tide Berserker, I saw that two crystal suits were being sucked into your warship by anti-gravity mystic colors. One of them was not seriously damaged. I assume that you captured him alive.

“So, I would search the med bay for the uninjured Exo and rescue him.

“That way, two saboteurs will sabotage your warship together.

“By any luck, we’d even be able to find his crystal suit which was stored by you. I believe that in such chaos, you wouldn’t have many soldiers to keep an eye on his crystal suit.

“After that, I would make an unexpected return again.

“This time, not at the cockpit, but at the Heaven Splitters.

“As long as I occupied the crystal chamber of the Heaven Splitters, I would have, in effect, taken over the entire warship.

“Of course, there are always unanticipated changes. The plans can be adjusted according to the actual situation at any moment.

“The cockpit, the crystal chamber of the Heaven Splitters, the engine compartment, and even the anti-gravity system are all my targets.

“If I had no other choice, I could destroy the anti-gravity system of your warship and force it to land so that I can run away. Without the fire support of your warship in the sky, I don’t think that your soldiers and beast puppets are capable enough of hunting a Cultivator at the high level of the Refinement Stage in a jungle.

“All in all, the one thing that worried me most was your assault team.

“Therefore, my top priority is not to destroy the cockpit, nor the Heaven Splitters, nor the engine compartment, but to try everything I can to eliminate your assault team.

“As long as the assault team is eliminated, I’d be able to take the initiative of the battle, and I would be much more comfortable regardless of whether I decide to persist on fighting or simply run away.

“The plans that I proposed just now are not just wild imaginations. The success rate is at least 50%.

“So, I think the sham battle should be concluded now. Do you concur?”

All the officers and operators in the cockpit were speechless.

The command center of the Fifth Fleet was mired in an indescribable silence, too.

Ning Feng seemed to have thought of something, but his rebuttal was overruled by himself before he opened his mouth. He crashed down like an empty bag and sighed, before muttering unwillingly, “I concur.”

Chapter 333: Jiang Sheng’s Expectation

Zuo Feijing was hiding in the depths of a dense forest. Countless blurred colors were replacing one another on the surface of the Tiger King Battlesuit. The stealth camouflage that was continuously changing melded him with the forest. The concealment rune array extended an invisible spiritual cover which blocked all the temperature changes and metal reactions.

Unless a mystic color hit him in the face, Zuo Feijing was confident that he could escape the scanning of any probe magical equipment.

This was the third shelter that he chose.

He had set up another eight shelters that were exactly the same as this one.

He had also selected five interlinked underground caves that extended into various directions. There were two underground rivers through which he could go miles away without being noticed.

In all the shelters and underground caves, he had set up serial traps to tackle the beast puppets.

Many pieces of surface-to-air magical equipment had also been deployed, which could shoot down the Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles with his telepathic thoughts.

From midnight to right now, Zuo Feijing had been busy working without a moment of rest for five hours before he was able to complete such a large battleground for guerrilla warfare.

He was waiting for the crystal warship patiently, like the most skilled hunter who was lurking in the darkness seeing the brutal prey coming close to the long-prepared traps one step after another.

He would wash away the disgrace from the Flying Crystal race half a month ago with the most eye-catching battle ever so that everyone would know who had been wearing the best crystal suit!

Prolonged explosions echoed in the distance.

Tide Berserker stayed in the horizon for a long time.

Judging from the fierce engagement, more than one crystal suit had been detected. Maybe the other crystal suits had all been suppressed.

But had Li Yao really been captured?

Zuo Feijing felt irritated the moment he thought of the vulture who had been wearing the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.

“Just wait for it. Last time, you were lucky. This time, I will crush over you with overwhelming capability!”

Right then, noises came from the communication channel.

Zuo Feijing was stunned.

For better disguising, the communication channel had been kept in the silent mode, so that the crystal warship would not detect the spiritual waves from it.

Now that the communication was reopened, it only meant one thing.

The sham battle was over!

As he expected, Supernova Jiang Sheng’s tired voice was the one to speak.

“Feijing, come on out. It’s over.”

Zuo Feijing was dazed. Then he exclaimed in joy, “The battle’s over? Have the other three crystal suits all been suppressed?”

The communication channel was silent for such a long time that Zuo Feijing thought the communication had been cut off, but then Supernova Jiang Sheng said softly, “No. Tide Berserker… has lost combat capability.”

“What?!”

Zuo Feijing was dumbfounded. His facial muscles were twitching so violently that there was no telling what his expression was.

Supernova Jiang Sheng sighed and explained, “A crystal suit hijacked a Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle and sneaked into the crystal warship pretending that he was a pilot. Then he broke into the cockpit and performed the decapitation strategy.

“According to the calculation of the commanding center, there was a 61% likelihood that he would have successfully assassinated Ning Feng, captain and the highest commanding officer of the crystal warship.

“Even if the assassination failed, there was still a 93% likelihood that he would have demolished most of the officers and operators, destroyed the operation panels and deprived the crystal warship of combat capability.

“Therefore, the sham battle is over. You can get out now.”

Zuo Feijing was rendered speechless. Somebody seemed to have tossed a bowl of hot water on his face, where all kinds of countenances were replacing one another.

After a moment, he gnashed his teeth and said, one word after another, “It was Li Yao, wasn’t it?”

Jiang Sheng replied, “Yes. Vulture Li Yao.”

Right then, a red sun rose up from the valley, finally getting rid of the arms of the horizon. It tore the gloomy clouds apart with thousands of rays of light and charged at the boundless sky.

…

As if a cold front of -100°C had just passed, the air in the commanding center was entirely frozen. Everyone was solidified by the invisible frigid wind, not even able to blink their eyes.

But deep down their heart, a volcano was erupting. Astonishment, confusion, anger, shame, and appreciation… were all bursting out.

Complicated emotions were flowing in their hearts like magma.

It was not unprecedented for a crystal warship to be broken into by the enemy.

Otherwise, the federal army would have marched into the Dark Desolate Domain a long time ago instead of stationing themselves in the southernmost Grand Desolate Plateau.

However, throughout history, the enemies who had broken in and destroyed crystal warships were all at the level of demon kings or even higher.

Never had anyone imagined that a Cultivator at the high level of Refinement Stage, plus the cheapest MP crystal suit of the federation which had been considered by some people to be nothing more than a pile of garbage, would be able to conquer such a three-hundred-meter steel beast which was armed with a pair of Heaven Splitters and twelve Taiyi Lightning Railguns!

Every part of the light beam was playing the video clips of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit’s fighting.

In the beginning, it blew a Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle into pieces within half a second with a Triple-headed Heavy Six-barrel Vulcan Machine Gun.

Then, it broke through the cross-fire of twelve Taiyi Lightning Railguns, innumerable flying swords, and countless crystal cannons, before it breached the shell of the warship with half of the spiritual energy contained in its crystal reactor.

Eventually, with a time bomb, the assault team, which consisted the strongest soldiers on board, was eliminated.

The scenes were seared into everyone’s brains and wouldn’t be forgotten for a long time.

Their impression grew deeper still after the refiners and the bomb experts of the military studied the detonation system of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit carefully and came to a conclusion.

According to the analysis of the professionals, the detonation system, even if made up by ordinary crystals, could still trigger an explosion that could affect at least ten cabins nearby because the intense blast from the explosion was restrained in the limited space.

Since the assault team was too crowded back then, they might’ve been blown to pieces with no survivors at all.

As for the Cultivators inside the assault team, they were closest to the crystal suit and would have suffered from the blast the most. It wouldn’t help even if they had opened their spiritual shields in time.

The analysis report changed everyone’s expressions. Their burning eyes aimed at the delegates of the Grand Desolate War Institution.

“Congratulations.”

After a long time, a Cultivator from Star Nebula University applauded Yuan Manqiu first.

“Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit is indeed an excellent MP crystal suit model which can enable the craziest Exo to achieve the most incredible accomplishment.”

Cultivators from the three major sword-training sects, after a long sigh, offered their compliments to the Grand Desolate War Institution, too.

But the delegates from Deep Sea University stood in absolute silence, as if they were being suppressed by an ocean weighing tons.

Before the Tiger King Battlesuit was able to demonstrate its full strength, the crazy Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit had ended the sham battle with his insane actions. It was truly… vexing!

Everyone turned their furious and indignant gazes to Supernova Jiang Sheng.

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Sheng walked to Yuan Manqiu and said solemnly, “Senior Sister Yuan, I was wrong.

“At the wake of Professor Zheng Xuan, I declared that the Project Mystic Skeleton would never succeed.

“But the reality has proven my declaration to be more than wrong. The Project Mystic Skeleton has succeeded. Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit is a very competent MP crystal suit model.

“One must admit his wrongdoings. I sincerely apologize to Senior Sister Yuan, to Professor Zheng Xuan, and to all the staff and students of the Refining Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution.

“When you meet Li Yao, please forward my apologies to him, too. I once said that he would achieve nothing in the Refining Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution. But as it turns out, he has grown into an exceptional refiner.

“The detonation system that he designed and refined is one of the best pieces of explosive magical equipment I’ve ever seen.

“However—

“MP crystal suit is only one kind of magical equipment. This victory means that the Refining Department of Grand Desolate War Institution stands equal to the Refining Department of Deep Sea University now.

“If you really want to beat us, please bring out new, stronger magical equipment!

“I’m looking forward, very much, to compete with Senior Sister Yuan and outstanding young men such as Li Yao in the marvelous world of magical equipment!”

…

In front of the blinking light beam, Ren Xingbei stood still and straight, like a crashed warship which had completely lost momentum.

Shangguan Ce patted his shoulder and said, “Old Bei, don’t let it bother you too much. You should know that it’s hardly likely that a crystal warship would charge at the enemy line alone. Crystal warships are always in formation.

“Once the enemy approaches, several, or even dozens of crystal warships will shoot together and blow the potential intruder to pieces.

“Therefore, it’s impossible that such a thing would ever happen in a real battle. Stop brooding on it.”

Ren Xingbei glanced at him and sniffed.

“Shangguan, we’ve been friends for decades, and we’ve suffered much more brutal failures together than this. Do I look like someone who can’t bear the consequences of a failure?

“I just…”

He paused for a long time. Then he waved his hand and said in annoyance, “Alright, forget it. Let’s check this lad who has just created a miracle.

“Vulture Li Yao? Interesting!”

…

At the medical center of the Fifth Fleet.

Li Yao was soaking in the dark green recovery liquids. His body was bobbing up and down, his eyes closed.

The wounds and injuries on his body were too many to count. There was not one inch of his skin that was intact. His muscles were dry, his arteries were bulging, and he looked as thin as a skeleton now.

He had used up all his spirit, determination, and physical strength in the previous battle.

He suffered most from the attacks of the Taiyi Lightning Railguns and countless flying swords when he was breaking into Tide Berserker.

Although his body had been built up by the Thousand Tempering Hundred Refining technique, it was still seriously damaged.

According to the doctors, the severity of the wounds almost equaled to him being crashed into by a full-speed, charging crystal warship.

“Art of the Swallowing Whale, activate!”

Li Yao opened his mouth and started drinking the recovery liquids.

The pores all over his body were also unlocked, absorbing the nutrients contained in the nutrition liquids crazily to repair the drained and damaged veins and nerves.

“The concentration of the recovery liquids is dropping fast!”

“The strength of his bones, muscles, and arteries is improving fast. His heartbeat and breathing are stable now, too.”

“He’s absorbed enough recovery liquids for three people to use over a day and a night in only ten minutes!

“Such an absorption rate is far beyond the ability of ordinary Refinement Stage Cultivators. The Cultivators from the Grand Desolate War Institution are indeed formidable.”

The crazily bouncing figures and the quickly recovering body amazed the doctors and nurses of the Fifth Fleet.

Chapter 334: Unrestricted Warfare

After absorbing twenty standard units of nutrition liquids, Li Yao finished his preliminary treatment. His body’s injuries were mostly recovered now.

But when he got out of his ward, he was surprised to see that, instead of the delegates of the Grand Desolate War Institution, two lieutenant generals as well as a lot of officers whose attitudes were far from friendly were waiting for him.

The officers of the Fifth Fleet were eyeing Li Yao half angrily and half cautiously, as if he were a high-level demon beast which had disguised itself as a human being.

Li Yao’s heart was beating like a drum after he learnt of the identities of the two lieutenant generals.

For heaven’s sake, it was the commanding officer of the Fifth Fleet! Definitely one of the highest officers and toughest warriors in the military!

The Fifth Fleet was the best fleet of the Star Glory Federation where countless war heroes had emerged from.

Back when Li Yao was a little boy, he had watched avidly clips of the Fifth Fleet’s bloody battles on the ragged light beam projector of his.

Never had he expected that he would successfully infiltrate a warship of the Fifth Fleet one day and perform the decapitation strategy. Life was truly amazing.

Currently, Li Yao was no longer the ordinary young man that he had been before he went to college two years ago.

After life-and-death battles and training sessions, his soul was as solid as a super alloy now.

Under the glaring eyes of two lieutenant generals and so many unfriendly officers, he was still able to stand straight and stay calm.

His calmness somewhat surprised the two lieutenant generals.

Ren Xingbei stared at him for a long time, before he opened his mouth and said, “Mr. Li Yao, your performance today was really an eye-opener. What’s your opinion about this battle?

“Do you think that once crystal suits can be mass-produced, or the abilities of the high-end crystal suits can be greatly improved, the crystal warships should serve as secondary forces, or simply retire once and for all?”

The sharp question made Li Yao’s eyes twitched. He shook his head as he said, “I don’t think there is any weapon that can secure the victory of a war by itself, not even the crystal suit, even though it is known as the ‘king of magical equipment’.

“In the battle just now, the critical part of my intrusion was that I fooled the spiritual shield of the crystal warship with a modified Vicious Bee Armed Shuttle before I sprinted to the blind side of the Taiyi Lightning Railguns. That’s why I could successfully land on the warship.

“But in a real battlefield, the spiritual shield of a warship will definitely not be deceived so easily. As long as authentication strategies such as passwords or biological detection are employed, it will be as easy as pie to find out whether the pilot is a human being or a demon. There’s no way that the enemy would get aboard in disguise.

“Suppose the enemy successfully enters the spiritual shield in disguise, in reality, dozens of warships will team together for a battle instead of a lone warship going on a mission by itself like in the sham battle, which means their blind side is very limited. Once the enemy is recognized, they will be faced with a hundred or even more Taiyi Lightning Railguns instead of just twelve of them.

“Compared with crystal suits, crystal warships have their own irreplaceable advantages.

“For example, when faced with an overwhelming beast tide exclusively made of low-level demon beasts, Cultivators would be helpless even if they are wearing crystal suits. They can only kill a few demon beasts before their souls are burnt up.

“But a crystal warship can annihilate the demon beasts dozens of kilometers away unhurriedly with the Heaven Splitters and Taiyi Lightning Railguns.

“An ordinary soldier can launch deadly attacks and kill dozens of demon beasts just by pressing a button.

“He might even have time for a cup of tea during that.

“Therefore, although I did break into Tide Berserker today, I don’t think that crystal suits alone are enough to win a war. There are many things that crystal warships can do that crystal suits can’t.

“Besides, in my opinion, crystal suits and crystal warships are perfect partners for each other. The invention of MP crystal suits will not reduce the significance of crystal warships. Instead, crystal warships will be all the more important in the future!”

“Oh?”

Officers of the Fifth Fleet nodded at Li Yao’s words approvingly.

The last sentence, on the other hand, particularly aroused Ren Xingbei’s interest. He pursued, “How so?”

Li Yao explained carefully, “In the history, the fleets of the federal army are always deployed behind the Northern Defense Line and are not willing to break into the Dark Desolate Domain. It is partly because the climate in the Dark Desolate Domain is extremely harsh. In the case of a spiritual tide, crystal warships may be wrecked, and soldiers may be killed.

“It is also partly because there are a lot of strong demons inside the Dark Desolate Domain. Since the internal defense of crystal warships is too weak, some of them might break into a crystal warship and sabotage the warship like I did this time. It would be a terrible disaster.”

Ren Xingbei acknowledged frankly, “Correct. It is universally known that the federal army is in charge of defense while the Cultivators are in charge of attack. That’s mainly because there are too many ordinary soldiers in the military. Even on a crystal warship, most of the marines are still ordinary people. So, it would be a major headache if strong demons broke into the warship.”

Li Yao continued, “Just like this time. There are only dozens of battle-type Cultivators on Tide Berserker, who are no higher than the middle level of the Refinement Stage. A few demon generals sneaking onto the crystal warship is enough to cause serious trouble.

“However, what if the dozens of Cultivators are all wearing crystal suits? Wouldn’t the internal defense of the warship be greatly strengthened?”

Ren Xingbei was dazed. Then he fell into deep thought.

Li Yao smiled.

“The reason why marines are not armed with crystal suits is because crystal suits are too expensive. The cost of one crystal suit alone equals the cost of more than ten Vicious Bee Armed Shuttles with all the beast puppets that they carry.

“But if the crystal suit in question is the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, your expenses will be significantly reduced. Dozens of sets of such crystal suits are not unaffordable as long you make up your mind.

“That way, the internal defense of crystal warships will be significantly improved. The crystal warships will be able to take part in the aggressive missions, won’t they?

“On the other hand, although crystal suits boast a lot of advantages, they are very precise magical equipment after all. The odds that they’re damaged in a battlefield can be quite stunning.

“Besides, there is one prevailing problem bothering all the MP crystal suits, which is that their working time is too short. They are all short-legged and can only carry out missions in a fairly small range.

“So, they’re also in dire need of a crystal warship which can serve as their base for maintenance and supply.

“Therefore, in my opinion, even if the MP crystal suits are to be promoted in the entire federal army, crystal warships will definitely not serve as secondary forces.

“Future crystal warships will probably serve as a platform with three functions: legions projection, remote firepower support, and maintenance and supply. That way, crystal warships will be really engaged in the attack missions!”

This time, Ren Xingbei was truly shocked. He gazed at Li Yao for a long time, before he opened his mouth and said, “Mr. Li Yao, did you come up with the theories you said just now by yourself?”

Li Yao blushed. He shook his head rapidly and said, “No. They are the collective work of the Project Mystic Skeleton team and the experienced staff and students of the Combat Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution.

“Project Mystic Skeleton is the golden project of the Grand Desolate War Institution. Everyone is hoping that the military can purchase more Mystic Skeleton Battlesuits. We often hold meetings to discuss the crystal suit tactics and how they can collaborate with other units.

“Besides the ground forces, all the fleets are our potential clients, too. We’re hoping to sell a crystal suit to the commanding officer yourself. Of course, we need to study how crystal suits and crystal warships can cooperate in a battle.”

Ren Xingbei couldn’t help but smiled.

Of the Nine Elite Universities, the Grand Desolate War Institution was closest to the military except the First Military Academy of the Federation. The two parties often had joint missions.

Graduates of the Combat Department and Medical Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution most often went to the federal army, too.

As for the graduates of the Refining Department, they were not welcomed elsewhere because they were brought up with grassroots refining ideologies. Therefore, they often chose to work as military refiners.

Since the Grand Desolate War Institution and the military were deeply connected with each other, it was not unusual that they could present such insights with their collective wisdom.

“Mr. Li Yao, I have to say that both you and your Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit have left a deep impression on me. I will consider your suggestion seriously. Maybe one day, crystal warships of the Fifth Fleet will be loaded with Mystic Skeleton Battlesuits. Warships and crystal suits will fight side by side against a common foe!”

After giving the promise, Ren Xingbei and officers of the Fifth Fleet left.

Li Yao and Shangguan Ce, the other lieutenant general, were left alone.

Shangguan Ce was much friendlier to him.

He had been the toughest advocate of crystal suits in the military. Li Yao’s performance today was truly marvelous. After the process and outcome of the sham battle were reported to the higher officials, he might be granted enough funds to establish another ten crystal suit legions.

He observed Li Yao with a smile while he pondered about the young man who had risen up like a fiend star.

Li Yao was studying his title, too.

‘Commanding Officer of Special Forces Center, Director of Unrestricted Warfare Research Center?

‘Unrestricted Warfare? What’s that?’

Seeing through the confusion on his face, Shangguan Ce smiled and explained, “Unrestricted warfare means attacking the enemy in every way possible by ignoring all the rules and exceeding all limits. It is also known as asymmetric warfare.

“Just now, you fought a gargantuan crystal warship with a small crystal suit. It is one form of asymmetric warfare. The decapitation strategy that you employed is the most typical method in the unrestricted warfare.

“The wars between the federal army and the beast tides fall into the category of regular warfare.

“But the battles between Cultivators and high-level demons, especially those higher than Building Foundation Stage and demon general, cannot be bound by the methodologies of regular warfare. All the shackles confining our imagination must be broken into pieces!

“For example, will the demon clan teleport a demon king, or even a demon emperor, through mini wormholes to the front of the Speaker of Parliaments and decapitate him?

“Will the demon clan release so many ‘Wave Jamming Bugs’, which can malfunction the Spiritual Nexus, that the entire network will be wrecked and the economic and social order of the Star Glory Federation are in disarray?

“Have some strong demons sneaked into the Heaven’s Origin Sector pretending to be human beings and even become high officials in the federal government?

“What limitless approaches can we undertake to infiltrate, unsettle and attack the Blood Demon Sector? Is it possible to mask a human being so that he can sneak into the Blood Demon Sector?

“These are all research fields of unrestricted warfare.

“Don’t think I’m exaggerating to scare you. In fact, the things I mentioned just now have happened before, are happening, and will happen again.”

Li Yao was shocked.

Were there really strong demons who had assassinated the Speaker of Parliaments through mini wormholes?

Were there countless demon spies living as human beings, some of whom even gained important positions in the federal government?

Unrestricted warfare sounded much more thrilling than a head-on battle!

Chapter 335: Occult Orbs Fellowship

Seeing Li Yao’s interested face, Shangguan Ce smiled and said, “Mr. Li Yao, I’ve carefully studied your files. I didn’t expect that such a young man like yourself would have so many experiences. You are even a Federation’s 1st Class Disabled Servicemen. So, you are more than qualified for my offer. Have you ever considered rejoining the military and working in the Unrestricted Warfare Research Center?”

Li Yao was dazed. He didn’t anticipate that a lieutenant general would come and try to recruit a college student in person.

Pondering for a moment, he was caught in a dilemma.

The Grand Desolate War Institution went by the credits system. Any student would be eligible to graduate as long as they earned enough credits.

Li Yao had earned 40,000 credits in the freshman year. Now that Project Mystic Skeleton had triumphed, as the only student in the project team and the test pilot of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, he had earned astronomical credits which were more than enough for him to graduate.

However, he felt that it would be a shame to graduate right now. He was planning to redeem some of his credits for a few courses from the Combat Department.

Considering the amount of his credits, he could easily pick up a course taught by a Core Formation Cultivator.

Yuan Manqiu had talked with him about his future career after graduation, too.

The leaders of the school were sincerely hoping that he could stay at school after graduation, and if he did, his benefits would equal to those of Ding Lingdang’s.

However, the Heaven’s Origin Sector was too large a place to be missed out. In his heart, Li Yao was planning to travel around for a few years and gain more experience before returning to the Grand Desolate War Institution and starting to work.

As for joining the military…

If it was an ordinary troop stationing behind a defense line waiting for the emergence of beast tides, Li Yao was of course not willing to.

But joining the Unrestricted Warfare Research Center and fighting the strong demons in an indiscernible battleground?

It sounded very interesting!

Li Yao hesitated.

Shangguan Ce glanced at him and said casually, “It’s an important decision and I can give you more time to think about it. Even if you are willing to, it’s not easy to join the Unrestricted Warfare Research Center. There will be all kinds of tests that you need to pass.

“However, if you decide not to return to the military, your capability in refining and your eye-opening ideas are truly valuable nonetheless.

“The Unrestricted Warfare Research Center is often in need of bizarre magical equipment. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be powerful but requires creativity or even insane imagination.

“If we come across a problem concerning magical equipment, we might contact you, or we might ask you to refine magical equipment for the Unrestricted Warfare Research Center. Is that okay with you?”

Li Yao nodded his head quickly.

“Of course it is, as long as you don’t blame me for my lack of experience.”

Shangguan Ce smiled.

“Your lack of experience is precisely why I want you.

“The ways of refining of the experienced refiners are all fixed and easy to be seen through by the strong demons who can make up counteracting plans effortlessly.

“In comparison, it’s quite possible that beginners like you can refine some magical equipment that is beyond the expectation of the strong demons!

“But the main purpose of my visit today is not to invite you to join the military.”

As he was speaking, Shangguan Ce took out a glitteringly silver card from his pocket and handed it over solemnly.

“Mr. Li Yao, please keep the card. When you’re free, you can explore it with your telepathic thoughts. This is an invitation as well as a test.”

Li Yao was truly stunned.

He was too familiar with the card.

A year ago, Long Wenhui, vice president of Hundred Saber Alliance and a Core Formation Cultivator, had offered him the exact same card to him, telling him that the card came from an organization hundreds of times stronger than the Hundred Saber Alliance.

On the surface of the card were written four words, which were ‘When Stars Are Shining’. It seemed as thin as the edge of his saber, but it actually employed a space folding technique named ‘hiding a world in a mustard seed’ and sealed an enormous three-dimensional labyrinth inside of it.

After he finished his training sessions every day, Li Yao would extend his spiritual threads into the labyrinth and explore its destiny.

But after almost an entire year, he had never touched the boundary of the labyrinth yet.

As a result, his spiritual threads were much thicker and longer, and his spiritual root was far more tensile than those of other common Refinement Stage Cultivators.

He didn’t expect that Shangguan Ce would give him an identical card.

Did it mean that General Shangguan Ce was also a member of this mysterious organization?

Shangguan Ce was too smart to ignore Li Yao’s bewilderment. He realized what was going on and smiled.

“Huh? Judging from your face, you’ve been given the quasi-membership card of ‘Occult Orbs Fellowship’, haven’t you?

“Makes sense. How could an excellent young man such as yourself who has made extraordinary achievements in the Grand Desolate War Institution be overlooked by strong Cultivators? I wasn’t thinking about it thoroughly.

“Haha. Since you’re already a quasi-member of Occult Orbs Fellowship, try your best to Cultivate and break into the Building Foundation Stage so that you will be a true member of Occult Orbs Fellowship. We’ll fight side by side and conquer the cosmos!”

Li Yao couldn’t help but asked, “General Shangguan, what kind of organization is this so-called Occult Orbs Fellowship? The Cultivator who gave me the ‘quasi-membership’ card only told me that it is an influential organization that is stronger than any sect and didn’t give me any more information. Can you tell a bit more about Occult Orbs Fellowship?”

Shangguan Ce pondered for a moment and replied frankly, “Alright. Occult Orbs Fellowship is not an illegal organization anyway. As the Blood Demon Sector draws close, more and more secrets will be revealed to the world, including those about Occult Orbs Fellowship.

“It doesn’t matter if I tell you something about it in advance.

“Li Yao, during your Cultivation, you must’ve been into many world fragments already, haven’t you?”

Li Yao nodded, to which Shangguan Ce smiled.

“But the world fragments that you entered are not large in size. Their diameters are no larger than 500 kilometers. The environments there are exotic, and there are not many relics in them, at least not many significant ones that you find interesting, are there?”

Li Yao nodded his head again.

There were some relics both in Peng Hai’s Small Grayfield and in Ding Lingdang’s Billowing Star Sea. But they’d melted into the natural environment long ago and did not have anything special.

Shangguan Ce said, “As I expected. The world fragments that have been released to the public and are known by low-level Cultivators are the world fragments at the bottom level.

“As a matter of fact, we’ve discovered more world fragments than you can imagine. They are much more powerful and dangerous!”

Li Yao was breathing heavily.

“More powerful? More dangerous?”

Shangguan Ce nodded.

“What is a world fragment? As its name suggests, a world fragment is a fragment of a world which was torn apart during the brutal, bloody wars over the past 40,000 years by inconceivable forces and weapons.

“Are you curious about why the world fragments you came across have no trace of such wars?

“In fact, among all the world fragments, many were the ancient battlefields of those wars.

“There are mainly three kinds of ancient battlefields.

“Firstly, the world fragments created during the civil wars of the demon clan in the era of the Demon Beast Empire.

“In the 30,000-year-long Great Dark Age, the ‘saint-blood demons’ ruling over the Demon Beast Empire changed for more than ten times. Every change of dynasties means blood and vengeance. Many demons were mortal enemies. For them, killing their own kind was no less difficult than killing human beings. Therefore, a lot of fragmented ancient battlefields we have now can be traced back to that time.

“Secondly, the ancient battlefields created 10,000 years ago in the renaissance war of human beings between the Star Sea Imperium and the Demon Beast Empire when the Supreme Emperor rose up.

“The horror of such ancient battlefields is beyond the description of any words.

“Thirdly, the ancient battlefields created during the Armageddon Rebellion when the Blood God was possessed by the invading demons and transformed into Mad Armageddon.

“The Armageddon Rebellion destroyed the Star Sea Imperium. The human world was scattered again. The Heaven’s Origin Sector ended up as a lone world floating in the edge of the cosmos.

“Such battlefields are also too cruel and brutal to be elaborated on, too.

“Other than the ancient battlefields, some world fragments were created on purpose.

“Of such world fragments, some are the cemeteries or the havens of legendary Cultivators; some are the research centers of mysterious projects; some are the last bases of other species, forces and troops; some are even the relics of the prehistoric civilizations from billions of years ago before the human civilization came into being.

“Li Yao, can you understand the value of such world fragments?”

Li Yao was deep in thought.

The longer he pondered, the brighter his eyes became.

The advanced world fragments were thousands of times more valuable than ordinary world fragments.

Shangguan Ce nodded his head and said, “It seems that you’ve got it.

“If a world fragment is an ancient battlefield, dead bodies of ancient soldiers, as well as their magical equipment, weapons, and rune arrays, are possible to be retrieved.

“If a world fragment is the cemetery or the haven of a legendary Cultivator, it will be even better. It’s very likely that his lifelong collections are stored inside.

“If a world fragment is the research center of certain mysterious projects, or the last base of certain ancient forces, we may even get a complete Cultivation system out of it!

“Moreover, some world fragments are not of much value per se, but they are not entirely cut off from the mother world. We can use those world fragments as platforms to enter into another world!

“You should be aware of the significance of the world fragments for human beings of the Heaven’s Origin Sector right now.

“The Star Glory Federation barely had any advantage 500 years ago and could only wait to be attacked passively. But 500 years later, a brilliant Cultivation civilization has flourished. We’re even starting to refine starships, ready to break the limit of the Heaven’s Origin Sector and cruise in the universe.

“Is it possible to learn all the technologies without inheriting knowledge of the past? Definitely not!

“Many parts of our Cultivation system, Cultivation arts, and magical equipment technologies are rooted in the discoveries in the world fragments!

“The world fragments that contain the relics of the civilizations over the past 40,000 years are called as ‘Occult Orbs’.

“Occult Orbs are both mysterious and valuable.

“Countless treasures are buried inside Occult Orbs waiting for the valiant warriors to conquer!”

Li Yao finally understood everything,

“Occult Orbs Fellowship is an organization that explores and develops Occult Orbs?”

“Correct!”

Shangguan Ce stopped smiling and looked at Li Yao with a solemn expression.

“The Occult Orbs are of paramount importance to the human beings of the Heaven’s Origin Sector. However, the immeasurable value of the treasures hidden in them is enough to incite the greed of any organization or person, which might lead to a civil war among Cultivators. Therefore, 392 years ago, all the sects of the Cultivation world and representatives of the ordinary people gathered together and established Occult Orbs Fellowship with strict rules.

“Occult Orbs Fellowship is the top organization beyond all sects and forces in the Cultivation world of the Heaven’s Origin Sector. It has two missions.

“Firstly, explore and conquer Occult Orbs to absorb and digest the Cultivation system, Cultivation arts, and magical equipment technology buried in them.

“By making best use of them, the Cultivation civilization of the Heaven’s Origin Sector will strive for a better future.

“Secondly, ensure that the secret arts and treasures retrieved from the Occult Orbs do not become the property of a certain sect or person but are used for the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people. All the Cultivators and ordinary people should benefit from the Occult Orbs!”

Chapter 336: Children of Occult Orbs

Shangguan Ce paused for a moment with a grave face. His voice sounded hoarse, too.

“The two rules were established by the Cultivators of the Heaven’s Origin Sector at the cost of thousands of people’s blood.

“Hundreds of years ago, when the human beings of the Heaven’s Origin Sector first started exploring the Occult Orbs on a large scale, the federation nearly collapsed because of the looting of the secret treasures.

“The flourishing and doom of Red Dragon Legion had a lot do with the Occult Orbs, too.

“So, we decided not to reveal all the information of the Occult Orbs to the public. Even many Cultivators knew little about them.

“Occult Orbs, secret treasures, ancient arts… They can be catalysts to push our civilization forward, and they can also be tinder that burns our civilization to the ground.”

Li Yao knew exactly what Shangguan Ce was talking about.

Legends about ‘treasures’ were the most alluring stories among human beings all the time.

However, every legend of a treasure had always been concerned with bloody fights.

Li Yao could imagine how his predecessors were grasped by desire and greed and ended up being killing machines after they entered the Occult Orbs and discovered powerful secret treasures.

It might not be a bad idea to let Occult Orbs Fellowship stay on the top of everything.

Shangguan Ce sighed and continued, “It’s exactly because the Occult Orbs are so addictive that Occult Orbs Fellowship has a very high standard for its members.

“But it’s not the sole reason why Occult Orbs Fellowship is unwilling to set the Occult Orbs to the public and permit all the Cultivators and even ordinary people to explore and excavate them. There are another two reasons.

“Firstly, it is very difficult to send someone into an Occult Orb.

“Different from ordinary world fragments, Occult Orbs often have enormous barriers or blockades. Some of them are far from the Heaven’s Origin Sector, with countless turbulent spiritual tides in between.

“To teleport a Cultivator to an Occult Orb and bring them back safely, the cost can be astronomical.

“For the Occult Orb furthest away from us with the strongest barriers, the cost to teleport someone into it is enough to build up a crystal warship!

“Because of the huge cost, it’s understandable that we can’t teleport a random Cultivator to the Occult Orbs easily.”

Li Yao nodded his head.

It was quite acceptable. The same rule applied to the selection of astronauts. Since the journey was too expensive, it was not very likely that an ordinary person would be picked as a candidate.

Shangguan Ce continued, “Secondly, the Occult Orbs are full of perils, with a very high death rate. Common Cultivators would merely be committing suicide if they were to enter them.”

Li Yao asked in surprise, “What are the dangers in the Occult Orbs?”

Shangguan Ce explained, “There are three dangers in the Occult Orbs.

“The first danger is that the natural laws the Occult Orbs abide by can be on the opposite of those in the Heaven’s Origin Sector.

“The gravity of some Occult Orbs is dozens of times more powerful than here; some randomly switch from a frigid hell of minus a few hundred degrees to a blistering furnace of thousands of degrees; some have strongly corrosive raging wind which can tear your flesh and blood off your bones effortlessly; some look peaceful, but there are mysterious soul swirls on them which will consume you and lock you in the most horrible nightmare forever once you step inside.

“These are just the differences of natural laws, which are easier to cope with.

“But as I mentioned just now, many Occult Orbs are ancient battlefields from bloody wars over the past 40,000 years. Naturally, a lot of magical equipment, rune arrays, and weapons have been left on them. Such items might still be in an active state even though tens of thousands of years have passed.

“If one enters an ancient battlefield recklessly, the ancient magical equipment may take them for its enemy and annihilate them in no time!

“If the Occult Orb in question is the ancient research center of secret arts, or the cemetery of a legendary Cultivator, or the last shelter of some ancient forces, there will be even more barriers, snares and traps.

“Even the most cautious explorer risks stepping into one of them, and if so, not only will his body be blown to pieces, his soul might also be ripped apart. He will be doomed forever with no way to turn back!

“But the two dangers above are not the most frightening ones.

“The scariest danger is the risk of meeting other species who are exploring the Occult Orbs just like us.

“Besides demons and demonic Cultivators, human Cultivators from other worlds must be paid close attention to.

“Under the savage of harsh environment and the temptation of powerful secret treasures, even blood brothers may turn against each other. Cultivators from other worlds might be the most brutal enemies!”

Li Yao was somewhat shocked. He blurted out, “There are other species in the Occult Orbs?”

Shangguan Ce nodded.

“Occult Orbs are the legacies of all civilizations over the past 40,000 years. Of course, all the species in the cosmos are interested in them.

“You should know that the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector are very close to each other from the four-dimensional point of view. We’re ‘twins’ and a ‘dual world system’. The development level of the two civilizations are very close.

“Therefore, the Occult Orbs that we find are mostly in the Blood Demon Sector’s eyesight, too.

“Besides, many Occult Orbs are the remnants of battlefields of the Blood Demon Sector after more than ten times of alternation of dynasties, or the tombs of the strong demons. There are many secret arts in the Blood Demon Sector that allow them to detect, discover, and reach those Occult Orbs.

“Therefore, it’s perfectly normal that you come across strong demons in the Occult Orbs.”

Li Yao was surprised.

“Then what do we do if we meet experts of the demon clan in the Occult Orbs?”

Shangguan Ce smiled in response.

“We do what we must. Should we come across demons or demonic Cultivators, just kill them all! It is also the biggest battleground between the Blood Demon Sector and us. Whoever discovers more Occult Orbs and retrieves more secret treasures, secret arts and Cultivation systems will be more likely to evolve into a stronger civilization and win the war between the two Sectors!

“But it’s a pity when it comes to the human beings from other worlds.

“Over the hundreds of years of exploration, we’ve met humans from other worlds a couple of times. But every single time, we failed to trust each other. Even if we were forced to cooperate under the outside pressure, we always went against each other after the secret treasures were dug out. The human civilizations of different worlds have never truly cooperated so far.

“It seems that not every human civilization values the ethics of human beings, nor do they want to enlighten the cosmos with the wisdom of human beings.

“Maybe, during the thousands of years of bloody battles after the Armageddon Rebellion, such human civilizations have developed a whole different set of survival strategies.”

Li Yao thought for a moment and asked, “Does the quasi-membership card mean that I’m a candidate of Occult Orbs Fellowship now, and that I will become an eligible member to enter the Occult Orbs to retrieve secret treasures and inherit the ancient knowledge after I break into the Building Foundation Stage?”

Shangguan Ce said, “Correct.

“Sometimes, when the actual situation of an Occult Orb or the purpose of a mission dictates, Occult Orbs Fellowship will invite non-member Cultivators to the world fragment.

“That’s because the natural laws of the Occult Orbs can be really weird. In some Occult Orbs, all the magical equipment will lose functionality because of the barriers on them.

“In such cases, we’ll invite strong body practitioners to explore them bare-handed.

“In some other Occult Orbs, it requires music to crack the barriers enclosing them. This will be the time when culture-type Cultivators get useful.

“However, such non-member Cultivators are only allowed to enter certain kinds of Occult Orbs. For the sake of their own safety, we do not recommend them to explore more Occult Orbs.

“Only after one passes the tests of the ‘Occult Orbs Card’ and becomes an official member of Occult Orbs Fellowship can one cruise among stars freely and explore the myths of Occult Orbs!

“By the way, Occult Orbs Cards are themselves secret treasures excavated from Occult Orbs. I believe you’ve discovered the mysteries of it.”

Li Yao’s eyes were beaming in eagerness. He clenched his fists and said, “After I break into the Building Foundation Stage and unveil the mysteries regarding the Occult Orbs Card, I will be permitted to join Occult Orbs Fellowship?”

Shangguan nodded.

“Cracking the mysteries of the Occult Orbs Card is just a beginning. After you join Occult Orbs Fellowship, you’ll be allowed to enter some low-level Occult Orbs where you can travel or Cultivate. Your Cultivation speed when you’re inside of them will be more than ten times higher than outside!

“However, I need to remind you that even the Occult Orbs at the bottom level still entails all kinds of hazards that may have been overlooked or not fully resolved yet. You may encounter strong demons and demonic Cultivators at any time.

“So, it eventually depends on you, whether or not to enter the Occult Orbs.”

Li Yao licked his lips. Flames seemed to be bursting out of his eyes and he muttered, “Ancient battlefields of the past 40,000 years? Cemeteries and research centers of legendary Cultivators? You bet I’m interested in visiting such places!”

Shangguan Ce squinted and put on a mysterious smile.

“If you really think so, please try harder to Cultivate in the coming year, Li Yao.

“Gauged in the standard of the Heaven’s Origin Sector, you are an outstanding, or even exceptional, Cultivator of the younger generation.

“However, the essence of the Cultivators of the Heaven’s Origin Sector lies not in the Heaven’s Origin Sector, but in the Occult Orbs!

“Many geniuses who are naturally gifted in Cultivating have been sent to Occult Orbs Fellowship to educate.

“Their parents are often high-level Cultivators. They are born with unparalleled, powerful veins and nerves. Some of them even boast mutated spiritual roots that are entirely different from those of the ordinary Cultivators!

“Not only are they talented, they are also nurtured by all kinds of secret arts and treasures. When they are three to five years old, they’ll be teleported to some special Occult Orbs and grow up in the challenging environment there.

“They are the super elites brought up by Cultivators of the Heaven’s Origin Sector for the purpose of exploring more Occult Orbs, known as ‘Children of the Occult Orbs’!

“When you are lucky, or unlucky, enough to encounter a Child of the Occult Orbs, you will know that the brilliant, extraordinary experts that you’ve met before are merely mediocre Cultivators.”

His words fully triggered Li Yao’s competitiveness.

“Super elites, Children of the Occult Orbs?

“Strong Cultivators as parents, with unparalleled veins and nerves?

“Nurtured by secret arts and treasures since young, growing up in special Occult Orbs?

“Interesting. Very interesting!”

Even though a lieutenant general of the federal army was standing in front of him, Li Yao did not suppress his defiance at all.

As a result, in Shangguan Ce’s vision, a brutal vulture seemed to be taking shape in Li Yao’s shadow, which opened its dark gold wings wreathed in black fog and sprang to the sky in a heaven-splitting shriek!

Shangguan Ce smiled.

He had met several Children of the Occult Orbs before.

Growing up in an enclosed environment, the geniuses were all haughty and eccentric. They dwelled in their own world and considered themselves to be the hopes of the Heaven’s Origin Sector. Cultivators of the outside world were nothing but jokes for them.

If this ‘Vulture Li Yao’ were to encounter a Child of the Occult Orbs one day, what kind of dazzling sparkles would burst out?

Chapter 337: Let’s Do It!

While he was thinking, Shangguan Ce added, “This is everything that I can tell you right now. Anyway, try harder to Cultivate, Li Yao.

“Threats of the Blood Demon Sector are drawing closer and closer. It is only a matter of time before the two worlds finally collide.

“Put in the words of the ancient Cultivation world, this is the time when dragons and tigers leave their caves and fight in winds and clouds.

“According the theories of the modern Cultivation world, a collision of two worlds will raise intimidating spiritual tides. Many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that have been buried underground for their entire lives will be exposed to the public. The Cultivation speed of Cultivators who are drowned in the surging spiritual tides will be hundreds of times higher than normal.

“In a time of tranquility, no matter how gifted and fortunate a Cultivator is, it requires dozens of years or even hundreds of years for him to break into the Building Foundation Stage and the Core Formation Stage.

“But in a magnificent era of iron and blood such as right now, with enough courage, one may be able to rise from an insignificant Refinement Stage Cultivator to be a world-shaking Core Formation Cultivator within ten years’ time with any luck.

“The same logic applies for the human beings in the Heaven’s Origin Sector as a whole.

“After five hundred years of rapid development, we’ve created a brilliant Cultivation civilization which nearly drained all the resources in the Heaven’s Origin Sector. Still, we are confined to the lone island in the edge of the sea of stars, failing to establish a great route to the center of the cosmos.

“If it goes on like this, we may still be unable to find a destination for our civilization when all the spiritual energy in the Heaven’s Origin Sector is exhausted. Our civilization will culminate in the brilliant peak and slowly decay in the barren pebble that we are standing on right now.

“The war with the Blood Demon Sector is our last chance.

“If we fail, there will be no need to say anything. Human beings of the Heaven’s Origin Sector will end in doom after five hundred years of struggling.

“However, if we defeat the Blood Demon Sector, we’ll be able to combine the resources of the two Sectors and, maybe, make a leap to the center of the cosmos. The Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars Flag will fly in the middle of the sea of stars!

“Cultivators are the battle sabers of the human civilization. The destiny of the human beings of the Heaven’s Origin Sector lies in our hands.

“Whether we end up in the stomach of demon beasts or beyond billions of stars slashing our way forward depends on our endeavor!”

Hearing his words, Li Yao was breathing heavily. His throat felt completely dry.

Shangguan Ce finished his speech. He patted Li Yao’s shoulder and walked out.

When he was almost out of the door, Li Yao suddenly asked, “General Shangguan, can you tell me if there is any secret art in the Occult Orbs that can restore Phantom Entities to ghosts with self-awareness?”

Shangguan Ce stopped. He pondered for a moment and shook his head,

“Not that I know of.

“However, the Occult Orbs that we’ve explore so far are only a tiny portion of all the Occult Orbs out there.

“There are many Occult Orbs that we detected but did not dare set foot in because of the perils they entailed.

“Some of such Occult Orbs are closely related to ghosts, souls, and the like.

“The sea of stars is boundless. Billions of civilizations have billions of different technologies and arts. Who knows how many secrets have been buried among them? Everything you want to know lies in the depths of the cosmos. Try your best to unveil them!”

As he was talking, Shangguan Ce walked out of the door.

Li Yao sighed gravely. He touched the Soul Condensing Pendant on his neck.

The Phantom Entities inside were emitting much stronger waves than before.

They were like the fireflies at dusk who were releasing greenish brightness in a bloody mist.

Every now and then, Li Yao could even perceive some of their thoughts, but moments like that were as brief as lightning.

The professors and senior brothers of the Refining Department were feeling proud of the success of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.

However, it was not enough!

“Occult Orbs… I’m definitely going there!”

Taking a deep breath, Li Yao strode out of the room.

The moment he stepped out of the door, he met every one of the delegates of the Grand Desolate War Institution.

The meticulous, serious-looking professors and experts were all smiling with their mouths wide open like kids who had just won a football match.

“Professor!”

Li Yao grinned uncontrollably. He was going to hug Yuan Manqiu, when she and the rest of the project team crowded forward, lifted him up and threw him to the air.

“We won!”

“Refining Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution has won!”

…

Three days later, the delegates of the Grand Desolate War Institution who had returned with honors held a victory party of the highest standard in the campus.

Although the military hadn’t announced how many Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit would be purchased, according to sources, the sham battle had significantly improved the influence of the crystal suit advocates in the military.

In the meantime, warship advocates had also started studying how to attack aggressively in collaboration with crystal suits when a crystal suit legion was on board.

Every clue indicated that the number purchased would be more than expected. Maybe it would exceed 5,000 and even reach 10,000!

After the presentation at the Magical Equipment Exposition and the sham battle, the Refining Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution quickly rose to fame. All of the grassroots refiners got their day.

The share prices of the sects that had been sponsoring the Refining Department had witnessed rapid growth, too.

As a result, more sponsors joined in.

Twenty years of hard work finally produced the sweetest fruit in the world. Everyone dropped their manners and turned the victory party into a gathering of alcoholics. Even Yuan Manqiu was drinking the delicious wine which was made of Drunk God Vines. Her face was wet. There was no telling if it was wine or her tears.

It was not even 10 p.m. yet, and Li Yao was already wasted. Ding Lingdang snatched his collar and pulled him to her place.

“I never knew that you are so bad at drinking. Three cups of wine made of Drunk God Vines and you’re drunk like this?” Ding Lingdang said caringly and frowned. However, Li Yao, whose eyes had been drowsy because of over-drinking a moment ago, was blinking soberly and looked at her in a smile.

Ding Lingdang’s eyes bulged,

“You pretended to be drunk?”

Li Yao smiled.

“I’m indeed a little drunk. But not seriously. There have been enough celebrations with everyone over the past days. Right now, I want to celebrate with you alone.”

Ding Lingdang’s breath stopped for a moment. She suddenly felt her head was dizzy even though she didn’t drink much.

Li Yao lay down with her smooth, flawless leg as his pillow comfortably and picked up her hand. Then he said, “Do you know the biggest significance of the Project Mystic Skeleton for me?”

Ding Lingdang was a little confused. She shook her head.

Li Yao said solemnly, “I know you’ve been feeling guilty that you hamstrung my growth, and that if it weren’t for you, I would’ve chosen the Refining Department of Deep Sea University and grown into a successful refiner much more easily.

“But because I met you, I picked the Refining Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution.

“As it turned out, a terrible accident took place on the very first day of my college life. The entire Refining Department was almost ruined. My dream of becoming a refiner suffered a tremendous setback.

“You must’ve thought you were responsible for my misfortunes, right?

“But right now, Project Mystic Skeleton has succeeded. Refining Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution regained its fame in the world of refiners. I’ve even defeated several guys of the Novem Stellae personally.

“For me, the biggest significance of all this is to rip apart the shadow in your heart and stop you from feeling guilty ever again.

“Two years ago, you made a right choice, and so did I!”

Ding Lingdang was dazed. Her eyes were filled with ripples, like a lake which had been stirred by spring breeze.

They stopped talking. Their eyes intertwined like four little snakes.

Quietness took over the place. It was a night with great moonlight.

Right now, actions indeed spoke louder than words.

Three minutes later…

“Wait!”

“Are you kidding me? What the hell are you doing?!”

“Stop your hand! And your mouth! Give me—two minutes!”

Li Yao almost gritted his teeth to pieces. He forced himself out of Ding Lingdang’s octopus-like entanglement by inhuman determination, and, taking a deep breath to soothe himself, rushed out of the door as fast as he could.

Li Yao’s speed was brought to maximum.

He had never run as fast before in his entire life.

Even when he encountered two demon generals in the Thunderous Sound Mountain, or when he was competing with twenty crystal suits in the Flying Crystal race, he had not been this fast.

After only 27 seconds, Li Yao stopped in front of the vending machine beside the gate of the neighborhood.

The vending machine of the Grand Desolate War Institution was clearly much more advanced than that in the underground ghost market of Floating Spear City. There was even a Puji Critter on the top of it as a shopping guide.

“What kind of civil magical equipment do you want, mister?”

The Puji Critter flew to the air and asked joyfully.

Li Yao didn’t answer. He glanced through the closet and soon found the item that he was looking for.

However, there were so many kinds of it that his eyes were dazzled.

Seeing Li Yao’s eyes which were exploding at any moment and the burning desire in his body, the Puji Critter analyzed him demand automatically.

“Why don’t you try this one? This is the lightest, thinnest model in the entire federation that is refined out of the intestinal membrane of ‘Nine-section Lantern Fish’ with 49 working procedures.

“More importantly, it is luminous!

“As for this model, although it is refined out of natural rubber, it has more than ten tiny bladders in which almost a hundred super-tine rune arrays are stored. The rune arrays can trigger hot and cold feelings at the same time. Perfect sky-diving experience guaranteed.

“This is an ultra-solid model specially designed for Cultivators, especially battle-type Cultivators. It is ten times more stable and tensile than ordinary models. Even if you fail to control yourself at the critical moment and exert your full strength, it will still remain intact.

“Which model do you want, mister?”

Veins were bulging in Li Yao’s forehead as he exclaimed, “Okay. I’ll have one box of each!”

1 minute and 49 seconds later, he returned to Ding Lingdang’s home.

His shoes had been grinded out of shape.

The invisible flames of hunger and irritation from Ding Lingdang seemed to be burning the entire house to the ground.

The aura of the two of them crashed in the middle of the air with cracking sounds.

Skulls of the demon beasts which had been placed on the desks, closets, and walls were all shivering.

Li Yao strode to the control rune arrays of the building and activated the muting rune array to maximum.

Whatever noises inside the room would not be heard by the outside world.

Li Yao seemed to have turned into a deadly animal. He was going to lunge at Ding Lingdang, when she made a leap forward and knocked him to the ground.

The two of them melded together like two clusters of magma.

“Let’s do it!”

Chapter 338: Peak of Refinement Stage

Half a year later, hundreds of meters below the sea level in the middle of the thick and heavy water of the Billowing Star Sea, Li Yao extended his arms with his eyes half-closed. He was not wearing any clothes, nor was he activating his spiritual energy. He was merely resisting the deadly pressure from the seawater with the iron muscles and bones built up by the Thousand Tempering Hundred Refining technique.

Suddenly—

His half-closed eyes opened widely. Brightness beamed out of his eyes through hundreds of meters of dark seawater to the sky like a laser.

Soaring Into Heaven in One Leap, his Soul Igniting Law, was fully triggered!

The pores all over Li Yao’s body were opened up fully. A huge amount of spiritual energy was unleashed, which stirred up thousands of bubbles deep down in the sea.

3rd level of the Refinement Stage!

5th level of the Refinement Stage!

7th level of the Refinement Stage!

Li Yao’s strength was rising crazily. His spiritual energy was condensed into an impregnable barrier around him, which pushed the seawater around him away one inch after another.

A lot of bubbles popped up in the surface of the sea which had been peaceful previously. Then they turned into continuous spoondrift, until they evolved into surging tides in the end.

One water pillar after another erupted and exploded into giant swirls, like the crazy devils who had opened their bloody mouth wide.

An undersea volcano seemed to be waking up in roars!

11th level of the Refinement Stage!

12th level of the Refinement Stage!

13th level of the Refinement Stage!

The spiritual energy floating around Li Yao had expanded to maximum, forming a round zone ten meters in diameter.

All the seawater inside the zone had been pushed out. There was not a single drop of liquid.

Li Yao’s body was dried, too. His skin was whitened to the extent that it seemed to be made of jade. His messy long hair was emitting feeble brightness, which was spluttering in the air although there was no wind.

“BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!”

The undercurrent hit the shell of spiritual energy heavily. The round zone was full of hollows and bumps. For a moment, it collapsed inwardly; in the next moment, it held back the pressure and returned to normal, sometimes even expanding slightly.

Li Yao gritted his teeth. Every vein and every nerve inside his body were convulsing as if they were living things. Like dragons deep buried in his flesh and blood, they transmitted his strength into the deepest depths of his brain unstoppably.

A slowly-revolving swirl was formed in the middle of his two eyebrows.

“Hoooooo!”

Thunderous roars echoed in Li Yao’s throat, as the swirl between his eyebrows suddenly protruded.

An inconceivably brutal force was exerted out of his body.

It was the most powerful spiritual energy beyond the 13th level of the Refinement Stage, as well as the ultimate spiritual gas that any Cultivator could shape.

Peak of the Refinement Stage!

On the surface of the sea, seawater was boiling. The tides solidified into all kinds of fierce beasts, before they crashed with each other, broke up, and returned to the sea.

Deep down in the sea, the round zone around Li Yao was shaped by him into a giant figure of more than ten meters tall, with a face, limbs, and everything. It looked identical to himself, with not even the tiniest detail being left out.

He seemed to have expanded several times in that moment.

“Huala! Huala! Huala!”

Following Li Yao’s movements, the formidable giant of spiritual energy started boxing in the bottom of the Billowing Star Sea!

Although it was ‘Thirteen Forces of War Beasts’, the simplest martial art of all, it was still intimidating enough in the bottom of the Billowing Star Sea where undercurrents prevailed, as if it were going to cut the world fragment into two halves.

The longer he continued, the crazier he became. After a single punch, a wave of almost a thousand meters wide was blown outward and didn’t disperse for a long time.

After finishing the Thirteen Forces of War Beasts, Li Yao felt that he couldn’t be more comfortable. With a telepathic thought, the giant of spiritual energy suddenly collapsed and turned into a large bird, which triggered a tsunami under the sea with a flap of wings. Ten seconds later, it flew out of the surface of the seawater from the hundreds-of-meter deep bottom to the sky, followed by sea spray that was dozens of meters high.

Li Yao stood in the air hundreds of meters to the ground. Countless feelings were rolling over in his heart as he stared at the sea which didn’t go quiet after a long time.

“Over the past six months, the school has offered me a lot of resources to help me Cultivate. I’ve bought a lot of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, strengthening drugs, and Cultivation appliances myself.

“After days and nights of fighting and training with Ding Lingdang gruesomely, I’ve finally reached the peak of the Refinement Stage with perfect control over spiritual gas now.

“Right now, I’ll need a ‘eureka’ moment to understand the transformation of spiritual energy from the gas state to the liquid state. When the spiritual energy in my body is condensed to such an extent that spiritual liquid is flowing all over, I will successfully break into the Building Foundation Stage!”

Li Yao landed on the island in the middle of the Billowing Star Sea slowly.

The island had been rocky and rugged with all kinds of stones. It was the training ground for Li Yao and Ding Lingdang.

Two years ago, when Li Yao first entered the Billowing Star Sea, he had been terribly beaten by Ding Lingdang in this place.

After two years of hard training and countless bloody battles, all the stones on the island had been crushed and flattened.

The place which used to be full of rocks was now entirely empty, except for the hollows from punching and stomping and the spider-net-like cracks that were everywhere.

They were the traces of their fierce battles.

Li Yao at present was no longer the rookie that Ding Lingdang could finish in less than one minute.

With the understanding of spiritual gas at the peak of the Refinement Stage and the sturdy body built up by the Thousand Tempering Hundred Refining technique, he was not completely on the losing side even faced with such a combat maniac at the Building Foundation Stage like Ding Lingdang.

Over the past month, the battles between them often lasted more than ten minutes.

Then, they would start another battle.

In such battles, it often took more than thirty, sometimes even fifty, minutes before they were over.

But today Ding Lingdang was not present.

Recently, she often left the Grand Desolate War Institution mysteriously without telling anyone where she was going to.

When Li Yao asked her, she said that she would tell him everything after he entered the Building Foundation Stage.

The two of them were both crazy about training, which often required outdoor travelling and exploration. Therefore, Li Yao didn’t ask much and simply trained by himself in the Billowing Star Sea.

It was a good opportunity for him to test his secret weapons and new tactics anyway.

With a telepathic thought, two shrieks rang far away.

From the corner of the island, two lasers, one black and the other silver, darted to him and spun around him like two unstoppable hurricanes.

The black laser was, of course, the flying sword Black Wing.

Right now, Li Yao was no longer the cash-strapped scavenger but, more or less, a rich guy. He spent a fortune on a huge amount of crystals and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures for Black Wing to eat.

Black Wing was not picky at all. It had an appetite for the most eccentric Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures as long as there was abundant spiritual energy in them.

Over the past half a year, the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that it absorbed were even more than those consumed by Li Yao during his Cultivation.

Its speed and range of spiritual threads had significantly improved, too. It could perform all kinds of incredible movements when it was moving at supersonic speed.

However, the deficiency that it couldn’t be used to attack remained. Li Yao studied for a long time trying to figure out why but to no avail. He still had to consider Black Wing as the best shield and the most trustworthy means of escape.

Attacks could be carried out by the silver laser.

The laser was, no less, ‘Neltharion’, the warship model of the Star Sea Imperium that he retrieved from his Cosmos Ring.

After Project Mystic Skeleton was completed, Li Yao finally had enough time to explore the mysteries of Neltharion.

Neltharion was not a toy for fun. It required complicated procedures to operate.

Li Yao had estimated that it was a piece of training magical equipment in the Star Sea Imperium that had been used to train warship captains for the imperial fleets.

Once he sank part of his soul into it, his consciousness would be split into two halves.

The half that maneuvered Neltharion was faced with an extremely sophisticated control menu.

In the beginning, Li Yao didn’t know where to start at all. He could barely fly Neltharion for half a minute without crashing the wall or the ground.

Learning how to steer the warship model was also a soul burning process. Without the solid soul that had been cleansed by Ou Yezi, his spirit would’ve been drained after only several seconds after he entered it.

Following half a year of exploration, he was finally able to maneuver Neltharion in a range of no more than a hundred meters.

He had also discovered two great advantages of Neltharion.

Firstly, stealth.

Neltharion boasted special stealth ability. Once it was activated, Neltharion would vanish from this world, yet it could still observe this world from where it was in a way that he couldn’t comprehend.

Li Yao had tested it in front of Ding Lingdang several times. Ding Lingdang had never noticed anything wrong, which was evident that such stealth was beyond the recognition of Building Foundation Stage Cultivators.

There were several Core Formation Stage Cultivators in the Grand Desolate War Institution. Li Yao had flown Neltharion to three hundred meters away from them, and they had no reactions to it whatsoever either.

But Li Yao did not dare to go any closer.

The observation in stealth meant that he had an invisible and indestructible crystal camera in a battleground.

It would be a huge advantage.

Secondly, collision.

Just like any crystal warship, Neltharion had a spiritual shield as defense, which was extremely steady.

Although it was not as fast as Black Wing, the damage of its collision was no less intimidating. With a telepathic thought, it could crash into the enemy from an unimaginable angle.

Together with its stealth ability, it would be an inconspicuous yet deadly weapon!

Black Wing and Neltharion, a black light and a silver one, with the former in charge of defense and the latter responsible for attack. Considering that he was already at the peak of the Refinement Stage, Li Yao was confident in fighting three to five demon generals at the same time when he met them!

His trump cards were more than those two.

“Shua!”

Li Yao exited the Billowing Star Sea and returned to Ding Lingdang’s bedroom.

The teleportation array to the Billowing Star Sea had been modified. It was larger and more complicated, with an additional operation panel now.

Li Yao quickly typed on the operation panel. The light beam beside him blinked. The destination on it changed from ‘Billow Star Sea’ to ‘Diminutive Dust Domain’.

The Diminutive Dust Domain was a world fragment he bought for himself and also where his personal ‘Fiend Star Refining Workshop’ was located.

Li Yao stood on the teleportation array again. Brilliant brightness spurted out. He was consumed and brought to the Diminutive Dust Domain.

It was a super-mini world fragment with a diameter of no more than one kilometer.

The natural laws here were identical to those of the Heaven’s Origin Sector, except for the large swirl in the blue sky which would absorb all the dust and particles in the air, so that the place would be turned into a natural cleanroom.

It was a perfect place for refining. Li Yao had built it into a quaint refining workshop in the traditional ways of the Hundred Smelting Clan.

Chapter 339: First-degree State of War

In the middle of the refining workshop was an advanced refining furnace, which was ‘Vulcan III’, the latest model that Empyrean Terminus Sect developed one year ago.

The fact this particular model had been named after the god of fire was evident enough of Empyrean Terminus Sect’s ambition and confidence.

Around Vulcan III, the iron mat, heater, and polishing pool were distributed according to the traditional styles of Hundred Smelting Clan, together with a few other refining furnaces that Li Yao crafted by himself using the ancient techniques.

At first, he would refine the components with the modern technology. Then, he would polish and furbish them delicately with the secret arts of Hundred Smelting Clan. This was the unique refining style of Li Yao.

In such a way, Li Yao upgraded the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit from head to toe.

As a MP crystal suit model for the federal army on a large scale, the performance of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit was acceptable.

However, as his personal crystal suit which he would wear for life-and-death combats and maybe to the Occult Orbs one day, it was far from satisfactory.

As his own strength improved, especially after he reached the peak of the Refinement Stage, Li Yao had always felt that he couldn’t enjoy him enough when he was wearing the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.

It sort of felt like a tall, muscular man who was waving a bulrush as his weapon. Not only was he unable to exert his full strength, he was also afraid that the bulrush might break up at any moment.

Therefore, over the past half year, Li Yao had purchased a lot of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and modified the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit crazily.

After his modifications, other than the classical framework design which had been retained, all the parts of the crystal suit had undergone tremendous changes.

The key components had been replaced by Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, which had been further strengthened by many secret arts including ‘Dragon Scales Tossing’, ‘Seven Levels of Heaven’, ‘Invisible Seals’, etc.

The crystal reactor had been changed to the most advanced model refined out of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, too. But the valve design was kept. When necessary, the spiritual energy inside the crystal reactor could be used to launch a critical attack easily.

At first glance, the new Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit seemed no different from ordinary ones. If anything, it seemed more shabby and straightforward, with an air that it could crush anything in its way with nothing but its speed and steadiness.

But in fact, the combat ability of the new Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit had been improved by multiple times!

Beside the new Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit stood a red crystal suit that looked like burning fire.

It was ‘Crimson Phantom’, a crystal suit specially designed for body practitioners. After Li Yao bought it, he had been modifying the crystal suit intensively according to Ding Lingdang’s body shape and combat habits.

Body practitioners had different demands for crystal suits compared to common Cultivators.

They usually did not like too many weapons or pieces of magical equipment as accessories on their crystal suits. Instead, they were more interested in the enhancement of crystal suits to improve their sensitivity to the outside world.

Most importantly, since body practitioners often had powerful spiritual tattoos on their body, the crystal suits they wore could not hinder the flow of their spiritual tattoos. It would be best if the crystal suits could magnify the spiritual tattoos, so that the combat ability of the body practitioner would be significantly improved.

This ‘Crimson Phantom’ was one of the best crystal suits for body practitioners. It had won several important prizes in crystal suit design matches. Besides, a lot of fiery crystals were embedded into the crystal suit, which was perfect for a body practitioner whose spiritual root was of the fire attribute such as Ding Lingdang.

With Li Yao’s current knowledge, it was hardly possible for him to refine a crystal suit from scratch.

However, Li Yao was already an experienced expert in upgrading an existing crystal suit with his insane imagination.

The purchase of Diminutive Dust Domain, Crimson Phantom Battlesuit, and the huge amount of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, as well as the modification fees that he had spent on the two crystal suits with absolutely no consideration of budgets whatsoever, had cost him a great fortune.

Although Li Yao had made quite a decent amount of money through Project Mystic Skeleton and the Demon Beast Detector, he had used up all the money and even borrowed a large sum of loans from the bank. He was a cash-strapped poor man again now.

However, compared with ordinary people, money was not that important for Cultivators, who always valued the improvement of their strength more than anything else.

Besides, in the past half a year, the news was more and more troubling. An unprecedented storm seemed to be brewing.

Over the past six months, beast tides had been breaking out much more frequently. Small-scale beast tides were taking place every day. The federal army had been busy as bees putting out fire here and there.

More and more high-level demons were joining the beast tides, too. Every three to five days, strong demons at the level of demon king would trespass into the Heaven’s Origin Sector through wormholes and sabotage the human towns and cities.

Even the regular demon army had come several times.

The regular demon army was similar to human beings in appearance with equally high intelligence. Their devil weapons were as powerful as the magical equipment of human beings. They would charge and retreat according to commands. As well-trained soldiers, they boasted a far stronger fighting will than ordinary demon beasts did.

Even when they were besieged by the federal army and Cultivators, they were still able to handle the situation. When they were retreating, they always left a series of tricky traps that often lead to major casualties.

Some small-scale devil warships were teleported to the Heaven’s Origin Sector through wormholes and reinforced the demons on the ground with fire support.

They’d surprised the federal army many times, who had been taught a hard lesson by them.

The Grand Desolate Plateau had become a battlefield that was full of perils.

Even the most inert inland citizens were aware that a bloodier war than any of the past 500 years was going to break out in no time.

In response to the new situation, both the federal government and the Cultivators were taking actions promptly. Top secret projects were revealed to the public one after another, unveiling powerful magical equipment that had never been seen before, in order to show the muscles of the Heaven’s Origin Sector and pacify the people.

News about Occult Orbs Fellowship was one of them.

Before, the citizens had heard a thing or two about the fact that the federal government and the Cultivators were exploring world fragments, but they didn’t know the details or the progress.

This time, not only did Occult Orbs Fellowship show a lot of secret treasures and arts from the world fragments to the public, it also revealed a lot of video clips of the bases of the federation in the Occult Orbs and the large-scale exploitation on them.

Several strong Cultivators that had been Cultivating in the Occult Orbs for their entire lives returned to the Heaven’s Origin Sector. After they challenged the rampant beast tides with their extraordinary performances, they immediately became center of public attention and were considered as new heroes of the federation.

In such a magnificent era when big shots emerged like rising storms, whatever influence Li Yao had had half a year ago was soon drowned under the surging tides.

Li Yao did not care about it very much.

His life was simple. Training, refining, and fighting with Ding Lingdang.

He had also gone to the military and several sects which had purchased Mystic Skeleton Battlesuits to provide technical support as a technician of the Grand Desolate War Institution.

Today, the two fully upgraded crystal suits were finally completed.

“When is Ding Lingdang coming back? I cannot even reach out to her via spiritual crane messenger. Did she go to the depths of the Dark Desolate Domain?” Li Yao muttered to himself, as he carved the mark of ‘Fiend Star’ carefully on the bottom of the feet of the Crimson Phantom Battlesuit.

Before, Ding Lingdang had always told him her destination when she was going to the Dark Desolate Domain.

But this time, she was quite mysterious. She told him that she was going to bring him a present when she came back, but there had been no message of her whatsoever for more than half a month. He could not help but start wondering what she was doing.

When she was back, she would be happy to see the Crimson Phantom Battlesuit tailor-made for her, wouldn’t she?

Li Yao was thinking to himself joyfully, when his mini crystal processor started buzzing crazily.

It was not a message from spiritual crane messenger, but the emergency ringtone of the Grand Desolate War Institution.

Judging from the pitch and frequency, it was an alarm at the top level.

Something important must’ve happened.

Li Yao squinted. He waved his hand and released two mystic colors, which scanned the two crystal suits and absorbed them into his Cosmos Ring.

Since Yuan Qi, known as ‘Invisible Bug’, cracked the two barriers on his Cosmos Ring for him, the space inside had been greatly expanded. Not only was there enough space to store the two crystal suits, more supplies and additional magical equipment were able to be kept inside, too.

It was indeed convenient. However, the Cosmos Ring was a money-burning machine, which required a lot of crystals to nurture and polish every day. The spiritual energy consumption when it was triggered every time had been a major headache for Li Yao, too.

Thankfully, Li Yao had stable revenues every month through the Demon Beast Detector, otherwise the Cosmos Ring would’ve been barely affordable for him.

‘Cultivation requires investment.

‘After I step into the Building Foundation Stage, I’ll need stronger magical equipment, which will not only be much more expensive, but also consumes astronomical spiritual energy when it is triggered or maintained.

‘The Demon Beast Detector alone will not be enough to cover my expense when I’m in the Building Foundation Stage. I’ll need to find more sources of income.’

While he was thinking, Li Yao left the Diminutive Dust Domain in a hurry.

The emergency ringtones were echoing nonstop in the outside world.

Many high-level Cultivators lived in the neighborhood that Ding Lingdang and he lived. All kinds of sword aura were rising up to the sky, as countless professors and experts rushed to the square in front of the main teaching building on their flying swords.

Li Yao whistled and summoned Black Wing. Adjusting it to a subsonic speed, Li Yao stepped on it and followed the other flying swords.

Many staff and student had already gathered in the square. Li Yao glanced around and found Yuan Manqiu and some other people of the Refining Department. He immediately landed with a telepathic thought and joined them.

Li Yao asked, “Professor, what’s happening? Why has the highest alarm been issued?”

Yuan Manqiu’s face was solemn, but there was a hint of frenzy deep inside her eyes. She said, “Beast tide outbreak. Blood Demon Sector has invaded!”

Li Yao was dazed for a moment.

“Isn’t a beast tide breaking out every day? What’s strange about that?”

Yuan Manqiu shook her head.

“This time, it is different. Seven towns, mining centers, and military bases in the north had beast tide outbreaks at the same time and were mired into chaotic battles simultaneously.

“Besides, a demon king is commanding each of the beast tides. Even traces of demon emperors have been found in several battlegrounds!”

Li Yao gasped.

“Demon emperors?”

Strong demons such as demon emperors were equivalent to the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators in the human world. They were the top warriors of the Blood Demon Sector, just as the latter were the elites of the Heaven’s Origin Sector.

Now that demon emperors had been sent out, these beast tides were definitely the biggest threat over the past hundred years.

Yuan Manqiu nodded her head, as she said seriously, “Just now, the three parliaments have passed a bill unanimously. The Star Glory Federation has entered the first-degree state of war. We are now at war!”

Li Yao blinked his eyes. His face was as solemn as Yuan Manqiu’s but with much more eagerness.

The day had finally come.

Parliamentarism was the political system of the Star Glory Federation. There were three parliaments, namely Parliament of Cultivators, Parliament of Commons, and Parliament of Warriors, made up by representatives of Cultivators, ordinary people, and the military respectively.

The three parliaments supported the federation like a tripod.

First-degree state of war was the highest warring level in the federation. Since the Eastern Demon Empire was annihilated, the federation had never entered such a state.

In the first-degree state of war, Cultivators, ordinary people, and the military would unite as one and transform the Star Glory Federation into a killing machine, releasing the most brutal force of the human civilization!

Chapter 340: Against the Current

The enormous square was crowded with people. All the teachers and students had assembled here.

Many of them had learnt that the federation had enter the first-degree state of war. Heated discussions were everywhere on the battleground.

A large giant beam unfolded, slowly enclosing the square, which started playing video clips from the frontline.

The flourishing and lively cities were now enveloped in smoke and explosions.

Black fog consumed the settlements, rising up like ferocious demon beasts and tearing the sky apart.

The 3D pictures made everyone feel as if they were at the scenes.

The noisy square soon went quiet. The only sound was the undying explosions inside the light beam which were thundering above their heads.

Everyone’s teeth had pierced through their lips without them knowing.

Then, the light beam switched to the scenes inside the congress of the Star Glory Federation.

Representatives of Cultivators, ordinary people, and the military had passed a bill declaring that the Star Glory Federation would enter the first-degree state of war again after 500 years, with 722 votes in favor, 114 votes against, and 163 abstentions.

Then, Xu Haorao, the Speaker of Parliaments, stepped up and announced the declaration.

As a Cultivator, Li Yao had learnt more information on the Nexus with his telepathic thought.

The simultaneous beast tide outbreaks in seven towns in the north of the Grand Desolate Plateau were not a coincidence, but a long-prepared scheme of the Blood Demon Sector.

The seven cities, towns, and mining centers were located on the same mother lode which boasted abundant crystals.

The mother lode was also one of the largest mother lodes with the highest reserves in the Star Glory Federation.

Once they occupied the mother lode, not only would the resource collection of the Star Glory Federation be disrupted, they could also made best use of the tremendous crystals inside the mother lode to build up larger wormholes through which devil warships and super-large demon beasts would be able to invade the Heaven’s Origin Sector.

The first-degree state of war differed with the peacetime in that battle credits mattered more than anything else.

Or rather, in the first-degree state of war, battle credits were everything!

By fighting bravely and accumulate more battle credits, one could redeem them through the federal government or the Nexus for magical equipment, martial arts, medications or even exploitation rights of mother lodes.

The military purchase, post-war reconstruction, and even the loans of the banks would be determined with consideration of the applicant’s battle credits.

Since the Star Glory Federation had always valued valiancy and worshipped heroes, the sects and individuals who had extraordinary battle credits were popular everywhere. They could easily get the support and resources they needed.

In comparison, if some sects or individuals hid in their bases without getting any battle credits while other Cultivators were fighting bravely in the frontline, they would find it hard to hang around in society anymore. All their partners and clients would terminate their cooperation with them. They would also be lambasted by the media. One day, their disciples might feel too embarrassed to stay any longer and leave them for somewhere else.

This time, the three parliaments even came up with another incentive.

The battle credits could be redeemed for the resources and land in the Dark Desolate Domain and the Blood Demon Sector!

After five hundred years of profound construction, most of the land and resources of the Heaven’s Origin Sector had been claimed, except for the depths of the Grand Desolate Plateau and the Dark Desolate Domain which were still empty areas. The social strata had been becoming less flexible, too.

Ordinary people may find such an environment peaceful, comfortable, and enjoyable.

But for young, ambitious Cultivators without well-respected background, the reality was often terribly unsatisfactory.

Now was the time to change their fate!

Once the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector melded into one stable world, it would mean that there would be double the land and resources available.

At that time, the Dark Desolate Domain would no longer be torn by the two worlds, which meant that it would become an arable, habitable place.

After the demon clan was beaten, the land and resources would be unowned. They could be built into resorts, bases, or even personal towns.

And the property rights of them would have to be redeemed by battle credits.

Naturally, the encouragement of such an incentive was enormous.

Possessing a land of a thousand square kilometers where mother lodes of crystals prevailed and building up one’s own town there. Even Li Yao found the idea so tempting that his blood was boiling.

With Ou Yezi’s memories, he knew Ou Yezi’s entire life. How could he not hope to establish his own sect to promote the ancient refining methodologies and be a star of the era with everyone’s admiration?

But to achieve that, astronomical resources were required.

A crystal suit could be refined single-handedly, but it was impossible him to become a master refiner who could cruise in the sea of stars and refine magical equipment the size of a planet without the support of powerful sects behind him.

As for the accounting of battle credits…

Li Yao devoured a huge amount of information with his telepathic thoughts.

He discovered that an instant interactive war mission system had been added to the Nexus.

It was an advanced system supported by countless admin-type Cultivators, which fixed once and for all the issues as to how Cultivators should be engaged in large-scale wars.

It had always been a tricky problem for Cultivators who had tremendous combat ability as individuals to participate in a war.

Most Cultivators found the federal army, which was full of military rules and entirely devoid of freedom, unacceptable.

Enlisting all Cultivators into the army and training them in the military standard was an approach that had proved to be a dead end back in the time of the Red Dragon Legion.

As a result, there were not many high-level Cultivators in the military.

Most Cultivators still preferred to join a sect, or simply became an unaffiliated Cultivator, because they would be bound by fewer restrictions and they could Cultivate or fight the way they wanted.

However, for such Cultivators who were not neatly organized, they could solve problems with their formidable combat ability when the scale of the battle was small, say, a battle of a few hundred people.

When the war grew in size, the free Cultivators would not be able to collaborate with each other effectively in battles when thousands of, or even millions of, people were involved. They often collapsed in quarrels before they were engaged with the enemy.

Hence, the war mission system was established.

It was based on the collective work of countless admin-type Cultivators and the most advanced super-large crystal processors of the Star Glory Federation, which would analyze the purpose of a battle with its unparalleled computational ability and break down the battle from top to bottom into step-by-step strategical missions with clear targets.

All the files of Cultivators would be analyzed by the crystal processor, so that every Cultivator would be recommended with one mission that was most suitable and had highest success rate for them through the Nexus.

For example, a culture-type Cultivator would be assigned to boost the morale of the soldiers in the frontline, or to soothe the patients in a field hospital.

A body practitioner who was adept at close combat would be assigned to battlegrounds of limited space where their specialties would be most useful.

Every Cultivator was allowed to update their files in the mission system to improve the matching ratio of missions.

Every mission had a reward of some battle credits, which would be balanced to the mission-taker after the mission was completed.

Cultivators could trade the battle credits for other things, or simply deposit them in order to redeem the land and resources of the Blood Demon Sector when the war was over.

Through such an approach, the free Cultivators would be able to be organized and fight like a regular army.

There was only one rule.

Cultivators could reject the missions recommended to them. They were also allowed to pick up missions that were not recommended to them. But they had to finish a mission to the best of their ability once they accepted one.

Deserters would be sent to the Court of Cultivators and despised by all Cultivators.

In the light beam, Xu Haoran’s vehement war declaration had almost come to an end.

He pressed the desk hard with his two hands. He was talking slowly with a low voice, which did not sound passionate at all, but touching and ineffaceable.

“If the Blood Demon Sector wants a war, then we’ll give them one. Until the skull of the last demon beast is stomped into the ground by the boots of our soldiers, the war will not be over!”

“Speaker Xu Haoran’s only son joined the army last year and was sent to the northernmost defense line as an ordinary officer,” Yuan Manqiu said softly.

“Their station is beside Riverstone City. It was the first town to be swallowed by the beast tides.”

…

Half a day later, a crystal airship painted with ‘Fist of Fury’, the emblem of the Grand Desolate War Institution, was on its way to the battleground in the north of the Grand Desolate Plateau.

This was the first batch of warriors that the Grand Desolate War Institution sent for the war. They were strong Cultivators at the high level of the Refinement Stage or even higher. Most of them were teachers of the Combat Department and the Medical Department. Li Yao was one of the few students on the crystal airship.

The crystal airship was rushing in the sky. Its power rune arrays had been fully activated, to the extent that the shell of the airship was shivering.

After half a day’s journey, Li Yao finally saw a burning city on the horizon.

It was their destination, Red Lotus City.

Right now, Red Lotus City had truly turned into a blossoming bloody lotus.

The intense smoke, blending with the blood-dyed sunset, seemed to be becoming a giant beast whose feet were on the ground while its head was craning to the sky with its bloody mouth wide open, roaring to the crystal warship silently. It was indeed an awe-inspiring demonstration of horror.

Although they were still dozens of kilometers away, Li Yao was already able to clearly sense the pricking of his skin and the pungent scent of sulfur.

The ever-expanding smoke had covered all the fifty square kilometers nearby in vague dust-grey.

Countless pieces of ash were flying in the air, like billions of dancing black butterflies.

The doomsday-like scenes rendered everyone speechless.

On the ground, almost a hundred black lines were crawling slowly to the south.

They were the refugees of Red Lotus City.

Most of them had been blackened by the smoke. Their clothes were ragged, their bodies covered in bruises. Dragging one another and holding their last belongings in their arms tight, they were retreating to the south in a trance under the protection of the federal army.

Against the crowds who were marching south, one crystal airship after another, carrying countless Cultivators, were on their way to the center of doom with colorful exhaust flames.

The world seemed to have turned monochrome, which made the exhaust flames from the crystal airship all the more dazzling.

Many citizens and soldiers who were walking with their heads down noticed the crystal warships coming from the south nonstop.

They soon learnt that those who were charging at the fire against the current of crowds were Cultivators.

Cultivators would help them take back their homes and avenge their deceased family and friends.

A silent horn seemed to be blown up in the hot air. Everyone stopped walking.

Amidst the pieces of dancing ash, in the mud that was sometimes deep and sometimes shallow, people who had just lost their home gritted their teeth and held back their tears, while they lifted their fists up and waved at the crystal airships in the sky with their full strength.

They were paying homage to the Cultivators in their own way.

The soldiers that were protecting the refugees were refreshed, too. They stood straight and saluted to the burning sky solemnly.

Chapter 341: Mission

Leaning against the window, Li Yao gazed at the scenes on the ground. An indescribable feeling suddenly surfaced in his heart.

Since they were arriving at Red Lotus City and the spiritual shield and plate armor of the crystal airship were too weak for the demon clan’s surface-to-air attacks, the crystal airship was flying at a very low altitude in order to avoid the detection of the demons.

The eyesight of the Cultivators was far better than that of the ordinary people. Li Yao was able to clearly see old men, women, children, wounded soldiers, nurses, and teachers who were leading a bunch of kids like a hen which was protecting the chicken.

Everyone’s blackened faces, ragged clothes, and scary injuries were as heartbreaking as his own in his eyes.

There was a little girl in the crowds whose right arm was covered in thick bandages while her left arm was holding a burnt teddy bear tightly.

Mimicking the grown-ups around her, she bulged her eyes as wide as she could, her cheeks puffed up. The teddy bear was lifted up and waved high and hard.

Li Yao’s eyes narrowed.

Thousands of thoughts were congregating and condensing inside his brain, turning into something entirely fresh and extremely firm.

The little girl’s figure gradually shrank. She melted into the long, black line and was indistinguishable anymore.

But in every line, a redness that appeared once in a while still glittered in his eyes stubbornly.

It was Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars, the national flag of Star Glory Federation, which was flying in the surging hot waves.

Li Yao retreated his eyesight and looked at his hands.

Two spiritual fires took shape in his palms and were clenched deep inside his fists, to the extent that they were almost frozen.

He had never felt luckier that he was a Cultivator, and that he hadn’t wasted a single second in the past three years but dedicated all the time he had to fighting, training and refining, for nothing else other than to break his own limits with all he could and arrive at his own peak.

During countless exhausting, sometimes miserable, nights, he had many a time questioned himself about the significance of Cultivation and why he was torturing himself so crazily.

Before he became a Cultivator, the reason was simple.

For fortune, for fame, for the fondness of thousands of people, for the fulfillment of his adoptive father’s last wish to become the strongest refiner in the world.

However, after he did become a Cultivator and somewhat a celebrity with more wealth than any ordinary person could earn for their entire life, he was lost again.

Maybe, the ultimate significance of Cultivators had to be sought out in the depths of the infinite sea of stars.

But, at least at this moment, as a strong Cultivator, his fists could punch the head of a demon beast into pieces easily.

This was enough for now.

Inside Li Yao’s brain, his new perception turned into transparent crystals, which exploded into immeasurable black holes unleashing intense desires to all his body parts.

Peak of the Refinement Stage was still too weak!

Stronger, stronger. He wanted nothing other than to be a stronger Cultivator with even more dazzling brilliance.

His body was hotter and hotter. The spiritual gas inside his body parts was absorbed by the black hole inside his brain and gradually compressed into an utterly different energy form.

It was the sign of the Building Foundation Stage.

Building Foundation, building the foundation to embark on the journey to the middle of the sea of stars.

Only after one stepped into the Building Foundation Stage could one expect to open the mysterious gate to the starry sky.

Li Yao had a vague feeling that he would arrive at the Building Foundation Stage perfectly in the battle to come.

“Come on!”

Li Yao mumbled to himself, “My hard training over the past half a year shall be tested by the flesh and blood of the demon beasts in the seven fallen cities, before I march into the Building Foundation Stage!

“After I enter the Building Foundation Stage, I will have the opportunity to explore secret treasures and arts on the Occult Orbs and prepare myself for the sea of stars with a faster Cultivation speed!

“Even if I’m to be sacrificed, I shall leave the name ‘Vulture Li Yao’ in the sky of both the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector!”

Right now, the crystal airship of the Grand Desolate War Institution was less than 15 kilometers from Red Lotus City.

Three other crystal airships were coming close, which belonged to three combat sects of the Grand Desolate Plateau.

Dozens of crystal airships were following closely behind them, with even more coming from the horizon.

In what seemed to be a response for the respect that the ordinary people and the soldiers paid for them, the four crystal airships in the lead, after a shiver, turned their spiritual shields to maximum. The emblems on the shell of the crystal warships gradually vanished.

Fist of Fury, the emblem of the Grand Desolate War Institution, disappeared, and so did the green fire emblem of Emerald Sun Hall, the crystal heart emblem of Spirit Resonance Union, and the triple-headed dragon emblem of Mystic Dragon Sect.

Half a second later, in the same place where the emblems vanished, a crimson color deep like blood spread out and formed a new pattern.

The Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars Flag!

In the sky, on the ground, countless Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars Flags fluttered in the wind.

At this moment, Grand Desolate War Institution, Emerald Sun Hall, Spirit Resonance Union and Mystic Dragon Sect were no more.

All of the people on board had but one identity right now.

Cultivators of the Heaven’s Origin Sector!

“We will be entering the battleground in five minutes!”

In the cabin, Xiong Baili, principal of the Grand Desolate War Institution, roared in a voice of metal, rock, and blood.

Xiong Baili had suffered serious injuries in the early years of his Cultivation and changed from a battle-type Cultivator to an admin-type Cultivator. He was not obliged to come to the frontlines in person.

But he came anyway.

Red Lotus City was within ten kilometers.

The full picture of the city was very clear now.

The entire Red Lotus City was enveloped in a large cluster of dense black fog. One mushroom cloud after another was expanding crazily like a malformed monster which was growing at an inconceivable speed.

The black fog was partly because of the explosions, and partly because the demon clan had released it on purpose. It could jam and even block the Spiritual Nexus of human beings, as well as the detection of Nine-by-Nine Mystic Rays, so that the long-range magical equipment would not be able to lock onto targets.

In the middle of the black fog, many ivory, bright pillars were shooting into the sky and piercing through the clouds. A splendid temple seemed to have been built between Heaven and Earth.

Xiong Baili bellowed, “The bright pillars are the teleportation arrays that the demon clan constructed with the abundant spiritual energy in the mother lode under the ground.

“The space barrier between the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector was already full of holes and on the verge of breakdown. It tends to be ripped open by the bright pillars when they focus on one point, and if so, more wormholes will come into being, through which more demons will crowd into the Heaven’s Origin Sector.

“The current situation is like a beach landing in ancient wars.

“The purpose of the demon clan is to occupy the seven cities and build them into beachheads, while they create more wormholes and let in more reinforcements of the demon clan.

“Our purpose is simple, then. Kill every demon within our sight. But more importantly, we need to destroy their teleportation arrays!

“Behind us, it’s our family, compatriots, and home.

“Before us, it’s the vast Dark Desolate Domain and Blood Demon Sector waiting to be conquered!

“Let’s fight and show our enemies the true strength of the Cultivators of the Heaven’s Origin Sector!”

“Beep!”

Li Yao turned on his mini crystal processor, logged into the Nexus, and opened the war mission system.

Some of his files were already saved in the system, including his performance in the Devil Flood Dragon Island, Verdant Tarn City, the Thunderbolt Cup Competition, and the Flying Crystal race in the Magical Equipment Exposition.

As for the sham battle of the military bidding meeting, it had not been input into the system because it was classified as ‘confidential’.

The war mission system summarized Li Yao as followed, “Li Yao, junior year student of the Grand Desolate War Institution, nicknamed as ‘Vulture’, a hybrid-type Cultivator who is talented both in battle and creation, one of the youngest Cultivators at the high level of the Refinement Stage in the Star Glory Federation, and one of the youngest registered refiners in the Star Glory Federation.

“Adept at maintenance and modification of magical equipment, especially the refinement and usage of explosive magical equipment.

“Adept at wearing and modifying crystal suits.

“Adept at attacking and ambushing in complicated territories single-handedly. Personal combat ability exceptional. Collaboration and command skills inadequate. ‘Infiltration’, ‘Assassination’, ‘Maintenance’, and ‘Sabotage’ missions recommended.”

Li Yao hesitated, before he gritted his teeth and typed something on his mini crystal processor.

A moment later, a reminder popped up.

“Revised!

“Li Yao of the Grand Desolate War Institution has arrived at the peak of the Refinement Stage and thus becomes one of the youngest Cultivators at the peak of the Refinement Stage in the Star Glory Federation!”

The strength of the applicant would determine the missions that were recommended to them.

Missions for the Cultivators at the peak of the Refinement Stage were definitely much more dangerous than those for the Cultivators at the high level of the Refinement Stage.

But Li Yao didn’t care. If anything, he desired more danger.

His battle saber was moaning inside the sheath; it couldn’t wait any longer to drink the enemies’ blood.

…

In a heavily guarded military camp a hundred kilometers from Red Lotus City.

More than ten magnificent crystal warships were floating in the air. Defense rune arrays and large-scale flying sword zones were deployed everywhere around the military camp.

Other than them, the most eye-catching buildings here were the enhanced Spiritual Beacons circling the military camp.

Spiritual Beacons were the core of the Spiritual Nexus.

This was the command center for the battle of Red Lotus City.

Many advanced large crystal processors surrounded a spacious room, in the middle of which 521 admin-type Cultivators were seated. Countless crystal wires extended from the crystal processors all the way to the specially-designed crystal helmets on their heads.

The computational ability of the 521 admin-type Cultivators and the 37 super crystal processors was fully activated.

The enhanced Spiritual Beacons, like tentacles, transmitted spiritual waves into the black fog doggedly to ensure that every corner of Red Lotus City was covered in the network.

The soldiers, Cultivators, and beast puppets would then send the real-time battle images to the command center through the Spiritual Nexus with the help of the crystal cameras that they carried.

Based on the images taken by thousands of crystal cameras, as well as the reports that countless soldiers and Cultivators submitted via the communication channel, the command center would draw the details into a big picture and draft a strategic goal, before breaking the strategic goal down into tactical operations.

Then, it would send the tactical operations to the most suitable soldiers or Cultivators nearby for them to carry out.

It was basically how the war mission system worked.

Soon, Li Yao received three missions recommended by the system, which were the most suitable ones for him according to the five hundred admin-type Cultivators in the command center in light of the latest progress of the battle.

In the Western District of Red Lotus City, a Taiyi Lightning Railgun that had been deployed in the artillery positions was seriously damaged in the furious combat.

Li Yao’s mission was to break into the Western District, repair the Taiyi Lightning Railgun, and destroy a teleportation array of the demon clan one block away!

Chapter 342: Assault

“Three kilometers to the battleground!”

The previously dull explosions were ear-splitting now. The continuous hot waves and blasts seemed to have put the crystal airship on a raging sea.

All the Cultivators started doing final checks on their magical equipment. Li Yao, as well as the professors who were expert Exos, walked to the landing platform at the rear of the crystal airship.

“Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!”

Dozens of bright balls ejected from the tail of the crystal warship, before they let out even more dazzling brilliance and pierced into the black fog like shining swords.

The black fog seemed to be made of billions of weird creatures the size of mosquitoes, which swarmed around Li Yao staggeringly.

Li Yao felt that he was in the stomach of a giant demon beast and that he was going to suffocate at any moment.

“Beep! Beep!”

The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit sent out warnings. The demonic energy here was intense, which could corrupt the crystal suit as well the human body and incur serious damage.

Li Yao sniffed. His spiritual gas surged out of his body and formed a thin protective layer on the surface of the plate armor which pushed away the demonic fog.

Then, with a spurt of spiritual energy, Li Yao rushed forward!

While his crystal processor was still in the coverage of the Spiritual Nexus, he quickly downloaded the relative information about his mission.

The holograms of the buildings in the Western District of Red Lotus City both on and under the ground, the 3D structure graphs of the buildings, structure graph of the Taiyi Lightning Railgun, and the flow chart of its spiritual energy…

A huge amount of information was downloaded to his crystal processor, before he absorbed and digested the new knowledge by telepathic thought transmission.

“Poo! Poo! Poo!”

In the dense fog, from the ground dozens of meters below him, three waves of thick, green liquids darted at Li Yao’s chest.

They were the surface-to-air attacks of the demons on the ground who had sensed the spiritual waves in the sky.

Li Yao didn’t speed up, nor did he strengthen his spiritual shield. Brilliant flames of light burst out from the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, which intertwined and formed a net of splendor.

In the meantime, he had revolved dozens of times in the sky and avoided the three waves of corrosive acids at a close distance.

Li Yao blinked his eyes. The crystal cameras on his helmet had located the enemy by the trajectory of the three waves of acids.

He extended his right arm and opened his palm, in which a hexagonal crystal suddenly glittered, before it was hurled at the enemy’s position in a streak of brightness.

The spiritual energy launching the attack did not come from the crystal reactor. It was a critical strike of spiritual gas by condensing the spiritual gas to the limit and spurting it out at a speed three times higher than that of sound with the enhancement and acceleration of the rune arrays inside the crystal.

Although the streak of brightness seemed as wide as a bowl, the spiritual gas in the middle was only the size of a needle. The halo around the spiritual gas was actually a result of the particles in the air being vibrated and excited by the kinetic energy.

It was not hard to fathom the power of the turbulent spiritual gas when it was compressed to the size of a needle and spurted out at three times the speed of sound.

That was the true strength of a Cultivator at the peak of the Refinement Stage!

Intensive explosions occurred in the fog, followed by a dying scream.

Yet, Li Yao had no time to check the result of his attack, as if he had done nothing but swat a fly. He focused his attention and moved forward.

The closer he got to the downtown, the fiercer the firepower he met became.

Demon beasts were killing machines born for war.

In the 30,000 years of conquests and conflicts of the Demon Beast Empire, their bloodthirst instinct had evolved to the sharpest.

The bodies of many demon beasts were powerful weapons. Some of them were even able to devour crystals directly and launch electric, flame, acid, corrosive liquid, blast, or even mental attacks.

A heated pan seemed to have been put upside down on Red Lotus City. Every target in the air, be they demons or Cultivators, would be destroyed indistinctively.

Li Yao had to lower his altitude and leaped between the skyscrapers in the downtown to his destination.

“Hang in there!”

With two bloodshot eyes, Li Yao gritted his teeth and stomped. Three floors of the building that he was on collapsed because of the counterforce.

…

In the Western District of Red Lotus City, what used to a populated business district was nothing but ruins now.

Dilapidated walls, bumpy streets, and burning shuttles, together with the traces of dried blood, painted a picture of post-war desolation.

In front of a collapsed skyscraper, a semi-underground street barricade with steady defense rune array and two fixed flying sword formations had been deployed.

Red Lotus City was one of the northernmost cities of the federation. The possibility of street combat had been taken into consideration when it was established, which was why it employed a paramilitary building pattern.

Street barricades like this one were everywhere in the city. It had been hidden under the ground during peacetime. When a beast tide broke out and surged into the city, they would flip up and constitute defense lines.

A crystal tank carrying a Taiyi Lightning Railgun was ambushed by the demon beasts when it was marching. In a fluster, it fled to this place and resisted their scourge together with the soldiers in the barricade based on the defense rune array.

In front of them was an army of demon beasts which were coming at them like rising tides.

The most terrible nightmare had become reality for the soldiers.

Double-headed giant serpents as thick as a bucket were winking at them evilly with faces that seemed to be a mix of a human’s and a snake’s.

Beetles that were even larger than the crystal tanks were waving their sickle-like forelegs which were more than three meters long rapidly in the air.

Snails who had thorns all over their shells were charging. At the end of their necks, which were more than two meters long, were giant heads with two prolonged antennas where electric arcs were spluttering nonstop with cracking noises.

Although flying swords had minced countless demon beasts into pieces, still more were crowding forward as if they were endless.

The defense rune array was trembling under their strikes, like a dry leaf in the blowing autumn wind, which was ready to be ripped apart and obliterated at any moment.

“Pa!”

A loud noise echoed from a storm bolter, whose barrel had been seriously deformed because the rune arrays had been triggered for too many times in a row and the spiritual energy overloaded.

The owner of the storm bolter spat. He groped in his backpack with bloodshot eyes, only to find nothing usable.

“Ammo is running out!”

“Flying swords have all been launched!”

“The steadiness of the defense rune array is dropping fast. It will be compromised in three minutes!”

Bad news continuously found its way into the ears of the soldiers. The flames in their eyes were burning more crazily than ever, as they put on a never-to-look-back expression.

“Prepare your chainsword!”

The captain wiped the oily mud on his face and gnashed.

However, the beast tide in front of them was split by an invisible force.

An intimidating figure swam towards them neither too fast nor too slowly. He was still dozens of meters away, yet the demonic energy from him had crushed over and squeezed the defense rune array like imperceptible giant hands.

The defense rune array groaned. One rune after another was extinguished silently after briefly intensified brightness.

All the soldiers were grasped by hopelessness.

They felt that they were placed in an old, ragged submarine thousands of meters under the sea and could do nothing except to hear the sea devastating the shell of the submarine like a naughty kid squeezing an orange.

“A… demon general,” someone mumbled desperately with a pale face.

Faced with ordinary demon beasts, or even low-level demon soldiers, perhaps they would still be able to defend the honor of the federal army for the last time with their chainsword.

However, when engaged with a demon general, all their efforts would be as meaningless as a mantis which was challenging a crystal tank.

This demon general looked like a hybrid of a human and a snake. The upper half of his body was the shape of a human, with scattering scales here and there. The lower half of his body was six narrow, long limbs. In the blurred mist, he looked like a giant spider.

“Ka!”

A purple ball the size of a date pit was spat out from the mouth of the demon general. It flew to the defense rune array slowly, and when it reached the end, thousands of dancing electric arcs were triggered which tore the defense rune array into pieces!

Right now, the only thing remaining between the barricade and the beast tide was fifty meters of distance, and—

“Swoosh!”

A crystal suit fell into the middle of the barricade and the beast like a meteorite.

Vague gold colors were flowing on the surface of the dark grey plate armor. Despite the seemingly shabby and crude appearance, scraps of scales could be found in the deepest layer of the plate armor with a careful look, which decorated the crystal suit with a constant halo.

“Chi!”

A huge amount of spiritual gas spouted out through the air paths of the crystal suit, forming a vivid, life-like, bright gold eagle over his head which shrieked to the sky with an air of invincibility.

“A Cultivator!”

“Our Cultivator is finally here!”

“So intimidating! Is it the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit? I recall that Mystic Skeleton Battlesuits are special crystal suits designed for low-level Cultivators. Why does he look so powerful?”

Awed by the crystal suit, the beast tide ebbed uncontrollably as if it had been crushed into pieces by a giant stone on the seashore.

The demon general narrowed his dirty eyes. The scales on his body were rattling, and his six limbs were shivering uneasily.

“Six-Armed Naga?”

Li Yao smiled in the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.

In the Battle of Verdant Tarn City, the hunting team including Li Yao and Zhao Tianchong had been engaged with a seriously wounded Six-Armed Naga.

That time, everybody had tried their best. Eventually, it was with the explosion of ten Hellfire-Lightnings that they managed to kill the demon beast, which nearly cost them their own lives.

The terror of a demon general had been carved in Li Yao’s heart since then.

Li Yao had met another two demon generals back when he was in the Thunderous Sound Mountain. Still, they were not as impressive to him as the previous time.

After two years, he encountered a Six-Armed Naga for a second time. But this time, everything was different.

“Demon general? So what? Die now!”

Magnificent flames spurted out from the back of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit. More than fifty power rune arrays were activated at the same time. After minor adjustment of angles, the instantaneous speed of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit was even higher than that of a super shuttle.

His battle saber, which had been redesigned with four marrow crystals embedded inside, was unsheathed. The eagle made of spiritual gas flew to the edge of the saber and wreathed it after a shriek, extending the aura of the saber to more than seven meters away.

“BOOM!”

“CRACK!”

A thunderstorm seemed to be echoing in the tip of the saber.

No more traps. No more tricks. His was the purest strength in the world.

Before the Six-Armed Naga was able to blink his eyes, Li Yao had slashed down at his throat with a saber enveloped by wind and thunder!

Chapter 343: Intensified Spiritual Blast!

“Hiss!”

The Six-Armed Naga was an adult demon who was at the peak of his life. He had been enlightened by the master demons with the secret arts of the Blood Demon Sector. Now, he was almost a middle-level demon general with amazing combat ability.

Faced with Li Yao’s world-shaking slash, his eyeballs almost bulged out. The two limbs in the above crossed two sabers in front of his chest, hoping to resist Li Yao’s attack. The two limbs in the middle formed a demonic shield where electric arcs were spluttering with the defensive demonic equipment, which was his second defense line. The two short and small limbs in the bottom, which were just appendages to help stabilize him while he was crawling, now picked up two coldly shining daggers and stabbed at Li Yao’s abdomen silently.

“BAM!”

The sabers crashed.

Both the humans and the demon beasts watching the fight heard an earsplitting explosion, as if someone had hammered them hard in the back of their head.

The Six-Armed Naga’s sabers broke into pieces without any resistance. However, it did manage to block Li Yao’s unstoppable saber briefly.

But the aura of wind and thunder on the edge of the saber was not stopped. It roared and charged forward at the neck of the Six-Armed Naga, tearing a twisted trace in the air.

The upper half of the Six-Armed Naga’s body quickly folded backward like a switchblade. In the meantime, the demonic shield was raised.

The aura from Li Yao’s saber rubbed against his demonic shield which seemed have been hit by lightning. Every scale on his body was standing up. He felt an overwhelming sense of pain all over his body.

The two poisoned daggers, which had been soaked in seven deadly poisons of the Blood Demon Sector that would melt the flesh and blood of human beings when they encountered the skin, hit the target precisely!

The Six-Armed Naga was overjoyed.

But the smile on the corner of his mouth was frozen to ice of horror before it was able to spread to his face.

The feedback from his daggers was very weird. He felt as if he had pierced into a cluster of fluffy cotton or a swirl that was too deep to measure.

The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit in front of him blurred, twisted and popped up like smoke.

“A… shadow!”

The Six-Armed Naga felt dizzy. His tail was rattling and patting the ground uncontrollably while all the scales on it were shivering.

It was a sign that he was grasped by the utmost terror.

His two eyes narrowed into two slim lines, which were then filled with by a giant black figure.

The figure appeared in front of him abruptly, as if it had crawled out of thin air.

When he noticed it, the two hands of the black figure had opened and reached his abdomen where the human body and the snake body were connected.

“Intensified Spiritual Blast!”

Spiritual energy burst out from Li Yao’s body.

The crazily expanding spiritual gas spurted out from the 64 spouts on the arms and the back of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit and formed two giant wings that were more than ten meters long behind him.

After a moment, the dark gold wings of spiritual gas turned into thousands of streaks of brightness and tangled his two arms, where they revolved and transformed the two arms into giant, invincible drills.

The drills pierced into the abdomen of the Six-Armed Naga as easily as two heated iron chopsticks stabbing a piece of tofu.

“EXPLODE!”

Li Yao roared so loudly that the corners of his mouth were nearly torn. The spiritual gas which was burning in the extreme state revolved hundreds of times inside the body of the Six-Armed Naga and crushed every organ inside to a pulp, before it exploded in the back of the demon beast where it swept out in the shape of a sector.

Looking from the front, there were only two holes the size of fingers in the abdomen of the Six-Armed Naga. But when looking from the back, its entire back had been blown into pieces, and all the organs inside the body were nothing but a mix of meat and blood now.

It was an unparalleled spiritual gas manipulation skill named Intensified Spiritual Blast, one of the brutalist martial arts of the Combat Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution which could only be wielded by Cultivators who were no lower than the peak of the Refinement Stage.

The Six-Armed Naga’s eyes were still bulging wide. The toughness of its body sustained him from being killed immediately. But there was nothing else he could do other than watching Li Yao picking up the battle saber which was falling to the ground.

Then he saw tornadoes rising up from the tip of the saber.

That was the last thing he saw before he fell into the abyss of nothingness.

One second later, the high and mighty Six-Armed Naga from a moment ago turned into burning fireflies, fleeing, struggling, dispersing, and disappearing in the tornadoes raised up by Li Yao’s battle saber, as if it had never been born before.

Through the ashes of the Six-Armed Naga, the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit walked forward slowly yet firmly. The ground was stomped into spider-net like cracks with his every footstep.

The beast tide was frozen like an ocean of minus a hundred degrees.

All the demon beasts were caught by a dead silence.

Even the antennas on the head of Electric Starry Snails were tightened to the extent that they were like two bones, unable to release any electricity at all.

As walking killing machines, the sole purpose of the low-level demon soldiers and the cannon-fodder demon beasts was to fight.

However, as living creatures, their instinct for survival had perceived how formidable the enemy was easily.

Purpose and instinct were pushing and pulling in their brains. Every demon beast had a confused expression on their face.

Li Yao didn’t keep them in a dilemma for too long.

Above his head, four clusters of air suddenly twisted. From invisible swirls emerged four murderous steel demon beasts.

Triple-headed Heavy Six-barrel Vulcan Machine Guns, four of them. The shadowed tattoos on the barrels looked like the furs of a ferocious animal. The anti-gravity components and power rune arrays around them allowed them to float in the air and fire at the control of Li Yao’s spiritual gas and telepathic thoughts with a full cover range of 360 degrees.

The expansion of the storage space inside the Cosmos Ring enabled Li Yao to carry four pieces of such simple yet violent magical equipment with a huge amount of ammunition.

By the delicate manipulation of spiritual gas at the peak of the Refinement Stage, he was able to control the four floating Vulcan Machine Guns as if they were his own limbs.

Hence a slaughter began.

Every Triple-headed Heavy Six-barrel Vulcan Machine Gun spurted out three torrents of bullets in different colors, which crushed the beast tide into pieces without any trouble.

Frost, flame, and acid.

At first, through thermal expansion and contraction, the defense and structure hardiness of the target would be undermined to minimum by the first two kinds of bullets. Then, the acid bullets would corrode the target to a deeper level. Not to mention the blast and explosion of the bullets which were themselves destructive enough.

It was the best long-range attack pattern that Li Yao had tested out on Tide Berserker.

Even the thick and solid shell of a crystal warship was not enough to withstand the salvo, let alone the flesh and blood of the low-level demon beasts.

Li Yao at present was no longer the rookie he had been in Verdant Tarn City two years ago.

Although he was not an expert in gun-fighting, the strength of the peak of the Refinement Stage still allowed him to maintain the ballistic trajectory of the floating Vulcan Machine Gun in a straight line despite the enormous recoil.

Almost all the bullets hit into the same point when they reached their destination.

Many demon beasts had been blown into pieces before they even had time to think.

A storm of blood rained upon the long street.

Three minutes later, there was not a single living demon beast anymore.

The soldiers of the federal army were all stunned.

They’d seen stronger Cultivators before. But this was the first time they saw such a cruel, brutal one.

“Where is the Taiyi Lightning Railgun?”

Li Yao retreated the Vulcan Machine Guns and walked back to the soldiers.

This area had been under the interference of the demonic fog. The signal of the Spiritual Nexus was intermittent.

According to the intelligence sent through the Spiritual Nexus half a minute ago, there was no large troops of demon beasts nearby.

However, the teleportation array of the demon clan one block away had started functioning. It was estimated that a large batch of demon beasts would be transmitted over in no time.

Therefore, it had to be destroyed before that!

Same as fortresses of the human beings, teleportation arrays of the demon clan had solid defense outside of them, too.

With Li Yao’s current strength, it was hardly possible to destroy the teleportation array, even with the enhancement of the crystal suit.

Only by a critical attack of the Taiyi Lightning Railguns which equaled to the full-strength strike of a Core Formation Stage Cultivator would he be blessed with a chance to blow it into pieces.

“The crystal tank carrying the Taiyi Lightning Railgun was hit in the face by a giant fireball which burnt a big hole on it. There are backup components. But the maintenance job is too challenging. I’m the only Cultivator here and I’m just at the beginning phase of the Refinement Stage. The rest of the soldiers here are all ordinary people. Repairing such complicated magical equipment is beyond our ability.”

The captain, whose face had been blackened by smoke, said hesitatingly, “I’m afraid we need a refiner to fix it up.”

Li Yao smiled, “As it happens, I’m a refiner.”

Amidst the shock and disbelief of all the soldiers, he strode inside the barricade and started studying the Taiyi Lightning Railgun.

It was a Taiyi III model.

This model was different from the one that he met on the crystal train. It was the latest model developed five years ago.

The most groundbreaking point about this new model was that it lightened and minimized all its components, which improved the mobility of the weaponry and enabled it to be deployed on ordinary crystal tanks while keeping the same firepower as the older ones.

Since the components in the magical equipment were smaller in size, they were much more delicate than those in Taiyi II which was often loaded on crystal trains and crystal warships.

Looking through the broken shell, many components were as thin as hair. It seemed extremely tricky to repair them.

“Is he truly a refiner?”

“He can’t be. How on earth can there be such a brutal refiner who can kill a demon general in a second before blowing the demon beasts on the entire street into pieces?”

The soldiers were all whispering to each other.

Pondering for a moment, Li Yao took off his helmet.

Obviously, such a young face startled the soldiers once more.

Li Yao’s eyes paused on the backup components of the Taiyi Lightning Railgun briefly, before he glanced around and looked for everything that he could make use of.

Then, he whistled and summoned Neltharion from the Cosmos Ring.

One of his telepathic thoughts was attached to Neltharion, when it rose up to the sky and observed the battleground silently and stealthily in the demonic fog.

A thousand meters away from them, an ivory pillar pierced into the sky, which was fluctuating in a fixed rhythm as if it were breathing.

It was the teleportation array that they needed to destroy.

The teleportation array was surrounded by demon beasts that were apparently much stronger than those who were attacking the barricade.

A few even more intimidating scents were hiding in the ruins nearby.

They must’ve sensed the battle in the barricade here just now. But since their top priority was to defend the teleportation array, they didn’t reinforce their compatriots.

It seemed that the demon that was going to be sent over by the teleportation array would be a big shot in the demon clan. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble protecting it.

What should he do now?

Li Yao frowned.

It was not difficult to repair the Taiyi Lighting Railgun. The real problem was how to draw it close to the teleportation array.

If it were within 500 meters from the teleportation array, it would definitely be attacked by the demon clan. Of course, he could avoid the attacks easily, but the soldiers would not be so lucky and the Taiyi Lightning Railgun on the crystal train risked being wrecked.

It seemed necessary to modify the Taiyi Lightning Railgun a little bit.

Chapter 344: Expert Demon? Fire In Your Face!

Li Yao wasn’t planning to pull the Taiyi Lightning Railgun closer to the teleportation array of the demon clan. He was planning to launch the Taiyi Lightning Railgun at a distance of a thousand meters and annihilate the target like a sniper!

He was faced with two problems.

Firstly, there were quite a lot of ruins and skyscrapers in between the Taiyi Lightning Railgun and the teleportation array.

As a piece of sensitive magical equipment, the Taiyi Lightning Railgun was very prone to the changes of environment. Even a mosquito could trigger the electromagnetic lightning balls that it shot out.

Suppose the electromagnetic lightning balls were lucky enough to reach the target, their strength would be greatly undermined because of the overly long distance in between. The teleportation array might not be demolished at all.

At present, the demons defending the teleportation array regarded the barricade as a common one. They were not aware that a Taiyi Lightning Railgun was lurking in this place.

Once they noticed its existence, they would definitely not allow it to be fired for a second time.

Deep in thought, Li Yao calculated the current situation crazily.

The Taiyi Lightning Railgun hadn’t been fired yet. Thirty super-compressed crystal cells were carried, which allowed it to be fired for ninety times.

The defense array and the flying sword formations, although all running of supply, still had a lot of magical equipment components that could be made use of.

“Shua!”

Dozens of sharp thorns stuck out from the right hand of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.

With a closer look, one would discover that they were actually dozens of extremely delicate maintenance tools.

Half a minute a later, Li Yao retrieved a lot of magical equipment components from the defense rune array and the flying sword formations.

Then, he gathered everyone’s storm bolter and dismantled them into a hill of components.

There were several other magical equipment components inside his Cosmos Ring that he often used during modifications, including the components to assemble explosive magical equipment.

He took them all out, together five Hellfire-Lightnings, which were his all-time favorite both in training and in battles.

All the soldiers were dumbfounded, wondering what he was going to do with all the scraps.

Especially those Hellfire-Lightnings. How were they related to the maintenance of the Taiyi Lightning Railgun?

Li Yao pondered with his eyes closed. Bright gold structure graphs popped up translucently one after another in his brain and formed more complicated patterns.

Not just an enhanced Taiyi Lightning Railgun. There was also a neat explosive trap.

Half a second later, he opened his eyes suddenly. Two small explosions seemed to have taken place in his eyes, while his two hands turned into a cluster of gray mist.

With the enhancement of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, the speed of his hands was higher than ever.

His spiritual gas spurted out again from the 64 spouts of the crystal suit, condensing not two wings, but 64 tentacles helping his hands with the maintenance and modification of the magical equipment.

The magical equipment components as thin as hairs were lifted up by the spiritual gas like feathers and reassembled at an amazingly rapid speed.

Li Yao had seen Ding Yin, a master of refining, maintain magical equipment with spiritual gas before, which was a dazzling eye-opener for him.

This time, he had reached the same level as Ding Yin had.

Maybe his actions were not as natural and fluent as Ding Yin’s yet, but they had an additional air of brutality and confidence.

What the demon clan had wrecked was the aiming and targeting system of the Taiyi Lightning Railgun.

But Li Yao had pulled the Taiyi Lightning Railguns into pieces and reassembled them crazily. Ten minutes later, a hideous, abnormal animal was born.

With the huge number of components from the defense rune array and the crystal tank, Li Yao managed to build eight brackets and transformed the mobile Taiyi Lightning Railgun into a fixed one, with major improvements on the rail and the barrel.

Then, he changed the enclosed chamber which stored the crystal cells into an open one.

After that, he conjoined ten super-compressed crystal cells and refined them into an integral one with rune arrays.

Such crystal cells had been specially designed for Taiyi Lightning Railguns. They were several times larger than the crystal cells for ordinary railguns and storm bolters.

One crystal cell would be enough to trigger the Taiyi Lightning Railgun three times.

But right now, Li Yao had connected ten crystal cells together. What was going on in his mind?

“No worries.”

Li Yao wasn’t done yet. He was still busy working in the ruins nearby. He even dug out a few deep pits in some of the ruins. Nobody knew what he was doing under the pits.

Li Yao continued, “According to my calculation, after my enhancement and stabilization, the Taiyi Lightning Railgun will be strong enough to withstand the simultaneous explosion of the ten crystal cells.

“But naturally, the Taiyi Lightning Railgun would only be able to be triggered once. It will explode shortly after it is activated. In the meantime, since a lot of spiritual energy will disperse from the gaps, the power of the attack will be no higher than twice of the original.

“Therefore, I’ve changed the launch system into a remote-control one. You’d better find a shelter behind the ruins and bring your spiritual shield to maximum before you hear the signal to launch the attack.

“Retreat immediately after you do. You’ll be safe when you’re back to the West Ring Road. We’ve established a base there with a high-level Building Foundation Cultivator in charge.

“As for the ruins and building standing in the middle of the Taiyi Lightning Railgun’s attack, don’t bother them. I’ll clear them away soon!”

Ten minutes later, Li Yao finished all the preparations. He whistled in exhaustion.

The bright pillar that the teleportation array sent to the sky was turning from ivory to pink. Blood streaks were appearing on it.

Slowly, the blood streaks intertwined and condensed into bloody shadows one by one.

The bloody shadows wriggled. Then they waved their arms and dashed out of the pink pillar.

“Huala!”

“Huala!”

One demon after another broke out of the pillar and leaped to the ground with intensive demonic energy.

These demons were obviously different from the demon beasts which had invaded in the city previously.

Their body size was very close to that of the human beings. Not many features of beasts could be found on them. Their countenance and eyes were filled with utmost cruelness that only belonged to the intelligent creatures.

They were wearing splendid armors and combat uniforms made of demonic plants. Compared with the battle armors of human beings, their clothes had much sharper edges, with piercing spikes everywhere. A chilly air of terror could be sensed from each and every one of them. It was evident enough that they came from an equally highly developed civilization.

Almost all the demons had opened up shields made of demonic energy to protect themselves. Many of them were carrying demonic guns that resembled storm bolters. Some of them were wearing demonic equipment in their ears which looked like communication magical equipment.

Li Yao could see that they belonged to the regular army of the demon clan who were far stronger than the loosely organized beast tides.

The newcomers didn’t disperse immediately. Instead, they glanced at the surroundings on full alert.

Many demons were whispering spells and summoning all kinds of probe equipment.

Thankfully, the stealth ability of Neltharion was too advanced for them to discover its trace.

Li Yao shivered and knew that a big shot of the demon clan would be teleported by the teleportation array!

As he expected, blood streaks appeared in the bright pillar again a moment later, which tangled together and weaved into a crimson shadow.

But this time, the speed of the consolidation of the shadow was much lower.

Hundreds of blood streaks melted together. The color of the shadow was deeper and deeper. However, in the center of the shadow, silver brightness was beaming out, revealing the strong power of the blood of the shadow.

“Such a slow teleportation? He must be a real expert!”

Li Yao’s head was dizzy, and his heart was beating fast.

The scale of the teleportation array and the strength of the one being teleported determined the speed of teleportation.

To put it simply, the larger a teleportation array was, the higher the energy consumption was; the weaker the one being teleported was, the faster the teleportation would be.

It was sort of like a hole one meter in diameter which could allow hundreds of mice to pass through in a very short amount of time.

But if a boar that weighed hundreds of kilograms wanted to cram in, it would be quite troublesome, and it was simply impossible for an elephant or a dinosaur to squeeze into the hole.

This was the reason why the super experts of the Blood Demon Sector, namely the demon emperors, had hardly ever invaded the Blood Demon Sector.

Since the ‘holes’ between the two Sectors were usually not large enough, they would need to pay a high price if they wanted to squeeze themselves in.

The teleportation array in front of Li Yao had a diameter no larger than two meters. It was one of the smallest teleportation arrays that the demon clan could create and was not suitable to teleport experts who had intensive demonic energy.

However, the giant teleportation arrays which were good enough to teleport them were often the priority targets of the Cultivators of the Blood Demon Sector. The experts of the Star Glory Federation had almost all gathered around the giant teleportation arrays and fought the experts of the demon clans there.

The demon being teleported in front him must’ve thought through the logic and decided that he would rather spend more time squeezing himself through the small teleportation array than face the fury of countless Core Formation Cultivators or even Nascent Soul Cultivators the moment he stepped into the Heaven’s Origin Sector.

“Come on, scumbag!”

Li Yao had figured out the reason and couldn’t wait any longer. Every cell inside his body was extremely excited. His bloodshot eyes fixed on the teleportation array through Neltharion.

The crimson shadow inside the bright pillar was denser and denser, as if it had become red ink. Finally, its four limbs protruded from the body like a fetus in the womb which was stretching.

“Shoot, now!”

Inside Li Yao’s brain, the angles, positions and trajectories which had been calculated for hundreds of times were suddenly brighter than ever.

Four floating Vulcan Machine Guns appeared out of thin air again.

Two crystal cannons flipped up on his shoulder, too.

He crossed his fingers and rubbed his hands before opening them up, where a lotus seemed to have blossomed. A super-compressed brilliant ball was revolving inside his palms crazily.

“BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!”

Vulcan Machine Guns, crystal cannons, and Intensified Spiritual Blast were activated at the same time.

The rays of light from them mingled into an unstoppable drill which pierced into the ruins and skyscrapers before they revolved and ripped apart everything in their way. A straight tunnel of a thousand meters long was created between the Taiyi Lightning Railgun and the teleportation array!

Almost simultaneously, ten super-compressed crystal cells exploded. Their dazzling brilliance covered the Taiyi Lightning Railgun like an upside-down azure bowl. A small blue sun rushed out of the barrel with cracking noises and turned into a streak of blueness which embarked on the tunnel just created by Li Yao.

The magnificent scene looked like a super high-speed crystal train made of blue crystals which was roaring and charging through tunnels between mountains.

The Taiyi Lightning Railgun had fulfilled its duty. It exploded into pieces after a boom. Burningly hot scraps of steel were spluttering everywhere.

Fortunately, all the soldiers had kept distance from it and were prepared to retreat.

The quickly expanding electromagnetic lightning ball, on the other hand, hit the pink pillar heavily amidst the shocked exclamations of the demons on the ground.

At this moment, the demon inside the pillar had just extended one of his gold, shaggy arms out of the teleportation array.

Chapter 345: Blood Saber!

The spiritual energy stored in the ten super-compress crystal cells had been condensed into one electromagnetic lightning ball whose explosion dyed the bloody sunset into a summer midday like a supernova outburst.

There was nothing but shades of whiteness in the world now!

The blanching blast covered an area of around a hundred square meters and savaged everything inside.

Hit by an attack equaling to a full-strength strike of a Core Formation Stage Cultivator, the low-level demon soldiers and demon beasts were eradicated without even being able to let out a dying scream.

Even the stronger demons fully equipped with the demonic plate armor who had just came through the teleportation array were also seriously damaged by the earsplitting thunder. Many of them collapsed with blood flowing all over their faces.

The demons at the periphery were lucky to survive the disaster. But they were greatly shocked. There were bruises on their bodies, too.

As for the one who suffered the most wounds, naturally, it would be—

“Prince!”

“Your highness!”

“Prince Ji!”

The survivors didn’t have time to check their body status. They all gazed at the center of the supernova outburst in confusion and bewilderment.

The bright pillar there had warped and scattered into thousands of burning moths.

A pure while mushroom cloud assumed its place, which was surrounded by mysterious blue and deep purple electric arcs and rose up to the sky fluctuating in and out like a deadly, venomous jellyfish.

“Hooooo!”

A grieving wail burst out in the middle of the smoke. The mushroom cloud shrank rapidly, until it was the size of a human and exploded.

Knowing that their leader was not dead yet, the surviving demons were greatly relieved.

The army of the Blood Demon Sector had relentless rules and was organized hierarchically.

The leader of a demon army was obliged to lead the charge. When the leader was killed, all his subordinates would have to continue on fighting until they died or the mission was completed. Otherwise, everyone would be sentenced to death as deserters.

These soldiers of the regular army of the Blood Demon Sector were as intelligent as human beings.

There were even several silver-blood demons in the crowd, whose computational ability was as good as that of many Cultivators and far better than the idiocy of the ordinary demon beasts.

Of course, they feared death much more than the ordinary demon beasts, too.

They quickly reacted and looked at the direction where the attack of the Taiyi Lightning Railgun came from.

Five black figures charged out of the smoke and, covering the distance of a thousand meters in the blink of an eye, reached the area in front of Li Yao aggressively.

“Mystic Skeleton?”

Two blurred words came from a creamy demon who had parotid glands growing on his neck.

Mocking smiles appeared on the face of all the five demons.

By the beast tide outbreaks and the infiltration through various channels, the Blood Demon Sector had learnt a lot about the news of the Heaven’s Origin Sector.

Naturally, the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, which had been quite a hit recently, was within their sights.

The demons were well aware that the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit was a MP crystal suit model designed for low-level Cultivators whose performances were just mediocre.

Those who were wearing Mystic Skeleton Battlesuits were mostly Cultivators at the Refinement Stage.

Li Yao turned around and ran away without any hesitation.

His reaction further supported the judgements of the five demons, who turned into five black shadows and surrounded Li Yao.

They were soon lured to the place where the Taiyi Lightning Railgun had just exploded.

The Taiyi Lightning Railgun was no more. The only thing that remained was an oval pit where hot smoke was bubbling up as if the place had just been hit by a falling star.

It was a common illusion that two cannonballs would not hit the same location, and that the place where an explosion just took place wouldn’t explode a second time.

The demons never expected that Li Yao would set up a trap in this place.

That was why they were dumbfounded for a moment when the five Hellfire-Lightnings detonated in brilliant sparks.

The five Hellfire-Lightnings were not enough to deal too much damage to them. The best the bombs could do was to buy Li Yao one second.

One second was enough.

The noise of growling wind roared beside the ears of all the five demons.

All their hair and scales were erect in alarm.

The lizard that they’d been chasing seemed to have turned into a barbarous dinosaur in a moment!

The spiritual gas around Li Yao was condensed to the extreme; its color turned from bright gold into dense, deep gold, while Li Yao’s speed broke its limit.

It was not entirely the power rune arrays’ credit. Black Wing played its part, too.

Black Wing had been sealed by mysterious barriers which disabled it from attacking. After prolonged consideration, Li Yao finally figured out how he should make best use of Black Wing’s crazy speed.

He had modified the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit and added a fixed alloy sheath on its back with air paths and stabilizer fins on both sides. Then, he put Black Wing inside the sheath.

With his telepathic thought, Black Wing would be fully activated and sped up, which would push the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit forward like a powerful booster, making the crystal suit much faster than any ordinary MP crystal suit, or rather, any ordinary crystal suit!

“Swoosh!”

It was not until a gold laser passed by each and every of the five demons and hundreds of overlapped blurred shadows consolidated into the entity of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit that earsplitting noises ripped apart the air and rippled to the around.

The eyes of the five demons were dull, their tusks trembling. They attempted to activate their demonic equipment but failed no matter how hard they tried.

Half a second later, five heads flew up to the sky. Blood was spurting out of their necks like fountains.

Five dead bodies fell into the large pit resulting from the explosion of the Hellfire-Lightnings.

Before Li Yao was able to take a breath to relive himself, his heart started palpitating.

Pressure hundreds of times heavier than that in the bottom of the Billowing Star Sea wreathed him. Invisible tongs bit his limbs and his neck.

The only thing that he was free to move was Neltharion in the sky.

By his telepathic thought in Neltharion, Li Yao discovered that the moment when he killed the five demons, a red brightness rushed out from the mushroom cloud created by the previous attack of the Taiyi Lightning Railgun and reached him in no time.

He wanted to drive Black Wing and the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit to run away, but the invisible force in the air jammed his magical equipment and his spiritual gas, making him unable to wield them fluently as he could.

He had been locked onto by the enemy.

‘The expert demon still made his way here!

‘What’s this weird force?’

Li Yao was shocked and observed the new enemy through Neltharion.

Most parts of his body were enveloped in a thick mist of blood. His left hand was even made of the blood mist.

The head which was exposed to the air looked like a hybrid of a human head and a lion’s. Yet there were several deep cracks on it. There was no nose on his face, but a black, enormous hole.

The shining gold hair had all stood up like needles. His face was twisted to such an extent that there was no telling if it was agony or fury.

‘So this is the case! The teleportation was disrupted before his body was completely sent over.

‘His left hand has not been teleported at all, which amounted to that I slashed it off!

‘His internal organs can’t have been all teleported successfully, either, which means that he is in the state of seriously injuries. His strength must be at the minimum!

‘I still have a chance!’

The new findings immediately refreshed Li Yao.

The expert demon was seething with anger. He pointed his bloody saber at Li Yao and roared, “Never has anyone injured me, Wang Ji, like this! You will die, after I cut off the flesh on your body one piece after another!”

The name of the expert demon startled Li Yao.

‘Wang Ji?

‘Sounds very familiar!’

Li Yao didn’t know many strong demons. After thinking for a moment, his eyes glittered.

He realized who his enemy was.

Back when he was in the Thunderous Sound Mountain more than one year ago, he had been engaged with an infiltration squad of the demon clan, which was mostly demolished by the explosion of the demon core of a mutant lion dragon that he set off. Not only did he make a great fortune thereafter, he also retrieved such an invaluable treasure, a Cosmos Ring.

It had been his first bucket of gold.

At that time, a dying demon general cursed him and told him that ‘Young Master Wang Ji’ would avenge him one day.

All things considered, the two Wang Jis might be the same person.

Li Yao smiled.

‘Excellent. Let’s conclude the unfinished hunting in the Thunderous Sound Mountain here!

‘However, what’s with his saber? It seems so ferocious!’

The blood saber in Wang Ji’s hands seemed to be made of countless clean, transparent red crystals, yet it had a vibe of a living creature which was likely to lunge out at any moment, unleashing evil scents nonstop.

‘This blood saber is definitely a piece of top-tier demonic equipment!’

Li Yao licked his lips.

There were many secret arts inside the Heavenly Refining Tower on how to identify magical equipment. Through staying in the Super Perception Cabin, Li Yao had extended his time spent in the Heavenly Refining Tower, to the extent that it would be many years in reality.

The classics on the ground floor had all been turned over and over by him. Naturally, his observation was keen and sharp.

This Wang Ji should’ve been a high-level demon general and very close to a demon king.

However, part of his body was left in the Blood Demon Sector. His strength had dropped significantly because of the serious injuries. The gap between them was not unacceptable.

But with this weird blood saber, Wang Ji had suppressed him overwhelmingly and locked onto him so precisely that he wasn’t even able to run away.

‘I want this blood saber!’

Li Yao was roaring crazily in his mind.

Ever since he’d become a Cultivator, he had always been using sabers as his weapon. In the recent half a year, he had fully grasped the saber art that Long Wenhui, a Core Formation Stage Cultivator, taught him previously. He had also selected a few courses in saber arts in the Grand Desolate War Institution. His own Thunderous Tornado Saber Art perceived in the dust storms was more than proficient right now.

The only thing that he lacked was a good saber.

Although he had embedded all kinds of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures into his battle saber, he always felt that it was missing something.

It was the shortage that kept his battle saber in the tier of ordinary magical equipment and stopped it from being first-rate magical equipment.

If he could make a Boiled Blood Wind Slashing Saber out of the blood saber and his battle saber, his understanding of saber arts would be able to be best performed!

‘Come on!’

Li Yao’s brain seemed to have been filled with magma which was burning furiously. Without bothering with anything else, he charged aggressively at Wang Ji from below!

“Ant in the Refinement Stage, you don’t know what you are doing!”

Young Master Wang Ji was grinning hideously. The nose of the Lion Clan had been large in the first place. Now that it was gone, the only thing that remained in the middle of his face was a deep hole, making him uglier than anything Li Yao had ever seen.

The blood saber was slashed down. A crimson brightness went at him rapidly.

The blood all over Li Yao’s body seemed to turn into thousands of small bugs which were nibbling on his veins, making him unable to move at all.

“The blood saber can actually manipulate blood?”

Chapter 346: Dangerous Blood Saber Stealing

Two sabers turned into a red brightness and a blue one, which collided in the midair at a high speed, weirdly, without any sound.

Yet, the blood aura on Wang Ji’s saber penetrated through the tornadoes and lightning caused by Li Yao’s and continued slashing at him. The vague mist of blood was like a mirage which was utterly unpredictable. But its speed was higher than anyone could imagine.

The moment Li Yao lifted up his spiritual shield, he had been hit!

“Pa!”

The blood saber which seemed to be unreal bashed him to the ground like a giant hand swatting a moth that was darting into the fire.

Thousands of tiny holes appeared on the surface of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, where dirty bubbles were popping up as the crystal suit was being corroded by the blood mist.

Every drop of blood seemed to grow thorns. Every capillary seemed to have turned into the sharpest knife. Li Yao was in such agony that he was tempted to tear his chest apart and squeeze all his blood out.

“BOOM!”

He fell into the giant pit of the previous Hellfire-Lightning explosion heavily. More than half of his body was buried in the ground. He gritted his teeth and vomited, only to come up with nothing but sharp pain because a large cluster of burning bushes seemed to have stuffed his throat.

“Invisible and indefensible, attacking the blood directly. What a weird blood saber!”

The outcome of a fight between an expert Cultivator and an expert demon could be decided within one second.

Streams of extremely exotic force surged from the blood saber and looked for the gaps on the crystal suit like vipers.

Li Yao’s heart shrank to the size of a date pit. For the first time, he felt that death was drawing near. The cracked land around him was as thick and dense as a moor, trying to swallow him into the abyss of hell.

The threat of death made his brain clearer than ever. His computational ability was activated to a new, unprecedented height.

With a telepathic thought, four Vulcan Machine Guns appeared and floated to the middle of Wang Ji and himself, before they fired at Wang Ji brutally. Twelve lines of bullets interweaved into a dense net of fire and went at Wang Ji’s head.

Disdain beamed out from Wang Ji’s bright yellow eyes.

“You want to stop me by bullets? Hilarious!”

The blood mist that enveloped him suddenly expanded, which devoured the twelve bullet lines and corrupted them rapidly.

Most of the bullets strengthened by spiritual energy exploded three to four meters away from him, their blaze entirely absorbed by the blood mist.

Some bullets made their way to the front of Wang Ji, but they were blown into pieces by Wang Ji’s dense demonic shield before their rune arrays were able to function.

Taking the storm of bullets the hard away, Wang Ji stomped in the air, leaving a large area of cracks of the void. Then he lunged at Li Yao from above with the ferocious blood mist like a tiger attacking a sheep and a falcon snatching a rabbit.

Almost at the same time—

The last trap that Li Yao deployed in the ruins was fully triggered!

The Taiyi Lightning Railgun carried thirty super-compressed crystal cells with it. He used ten of them just now to blow up the teleportation array of the demon clan.

Li Yao was too thrifty to simply throw away the remaining twenty crystal cells.

The explosion of the five Hellfire-Lightnings was just a cover for the twenty crystal cells.

No one had anticipated that Li Yao would set up a second bomb trap below an existent one. This was actually his real deadly move!

When he was preparing for the serial bomb trap, Li Yao didn’t foresee that Wang Ji was coming.

However, in this battleground which was full of perils, large batches of demon generals or demon kings could appear at any time. He couldn’t be more careful.

For the vulture who had grown up in a magical equipment graveyard, setting up a trap was as natural as breathing and drinking water were for him.

The angle of the twenty interconnected super-compressed crystal cells had been carefully adjusted, so that 90% of the spiritual energy contained inside would burst out to the sky when triggered.

This was also the reason why Li Yao charged at the enemy in the sky aggressively.

He was well aware that his strength was not enough to take the blow of Wang Ji and he would likely be smashed to the ground. After that, it was possible that his enemy would attack him from a high stance.

Everything was within his expectations, except for the toughness of the blood saber.

Twenty glaring brilliances darted up and slashed the sky like twenty sabers made of lightning, whose blue electric arcs mingled into a deadly net of blades.

Although most of the spiritual energy escaped in the air, the attack assembled by the remaining spiritual energy was still as powerful as an attack of a Core Formation Cultivator.

Never had Wang Ji expected that such a sordid, dirty trap was buried under exactly the same place where an explosion just took place.

He was fully focused on his attack and wasn’t prepared for defense. Caught off guard, he had to condense the blood mist to protect himself.

“Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!”

For a moment, the electric arcs were dancing merrily in the air more brightly than ever, which immediately ripped the blood mist apart!

“Swoosh!”

At exactly the same time, Neltharion, which had been lurking for a long time, sneaked to Wang Ji’s back and revealed itself while it crashed at the back of his head brutally.

Wang Ji was from the Kingdom of Lion Butchers in the Blood Demon Sector. His bloodline could be traced back to the ancient lion demons. But, just like human beings, the back of his head was a vulnerable spot.

The acute pricking pain spread from the back of his head all the way to his spine. For the first time, Wang Ji felt that the situation was not under his control.

Gritting his teeth and risking his body being torn apart, Wang Ji broke the limit of speed and dodged the attack at the back of head closely.

For Cultivators and demons who were all made of flesh and blood, sometimes their strength was enough to allow them to reach a higher speed, but it was often too much for their body which was not sturdy enough.

Wang Ji suddenly activated and forced his body which was sprinting downwards to move to the left horizontally. As a result, a cluster of vaguely silver blood burst out from his body with cracking noises. Countless bones, veins and nerves had fractured in the super high-speed dodging movement!

Wang Ji grunted. He gritted his teeth and, holding back his pain, groped his back, trying to clutch the weapon that had just attacked him.

But Neltharion simply released clusters of tiny electric arcs which stung his hand like needles before it ran away and vanished into thin air.

Wang Ji’s full attention was fixed on the fleeing assassin. He didn’t bother with the storm of bullets which were fired at his face for a second time.

Bullets were too slow and weak to deal much damage to an expert demon such as himself.

He was wrong.

“Swoosh!”

In the middle of the storm of bullets, a silver bullet which was more than five times faster than the ordinary ones beside it pierced into his chest without him even recognizing what was going on.

“What’s this?!”

Wang Ji’s pupils constricted violently. A strange flower of blood blossomed where his heart was. More than half of his heart was nearly blown to pieces by the blast!

It was a special bullet refined entirely out of marrow crystals. It had been divided into four layers. The three layers in the back could boost the head of the bullet three times after they exploded one by one, so that the speed of the bullet would be maximized!

Marrow crystals were the essence of crystals.

After billions of years of tectonic movement under high temperature and pressure, thousands of crystals might be able to be condensed into one small marrow crystal. The spiritual energy stored inside of it was immeasurable.

Li Yao had refined nine bullets out of marrow crystals, before he carved 137 attack rune arrays on each bullet in the most delicate refining arts of the ancient times.

After that, he cleansed the bullets by melding the blood from his fingertip, the tip of his tongue, and that of his heart with them through Blood Baptism. Finally, they were deeply connected to him like the ‘aura balls’ in the ancient Cultivation world and were at his disposal like his own arms.

This was Li Yao’s real killing move!

He was too smart not to know ordinary bullets would be far from enough to break Wang Ji’s defense.

The reason why he was firing randomly was partly to reduce his enemy’s vigilance, and partly to cover the existence of the marrow crystal bullet.

To hide a tree, the best place would be a forest.

To hide a bullet, the best place would be the storm of bullets incurred by four Triple-headed Heavy Six-barrel Vulcan Machine Guns!

The two explosion traps made by Hellfire-Lightnings and super-compressed crystal cells, the bullet storm from the Vulcan Machine Guns, the abrupt assault of Neltharion…

All was meant to distract Wang Ji’s attention for a moment so that he wouldn’t notice that the marrow crystal bullet was coming at him!

His heart was not the only part that had been mostly blown up. Many of his other internal organs had been seriously wrecked, too. After a moment, Wang Ji’s back boomed like a volcano eruption, where blood together with the flames resulting from the marrow crystal’s explosion spurted out magnificently.

Such serious injuries were too much for him, although he was an expert demon of the Blood Demon Sector. Wang Ji’s face was pale, where silver blood was flowing out from all holes.

A dead enemy is always better than a wounded enemy!

Li Yao roared. The ballistic trajectories of the four Vulcan Machine Guns were adjusted and focused on one point, before bullets raged out from them and slashed at Wang Ji’s right hand like four heated lancets.

Wang Ji dodged out of instinct.

However, Li Yao was so fast that he reached Wang Ji’s back after only one second. His battle saber savagely drew an almost perfect arc upward in the air.

More than half of Wang Ji’s right hand was chopped off. His blood saber flew to the sky!

Wang Ji screamed miserably, as if his soul was going to be extinguished.

He didn’t sound so wretched even when his heart was blown to pieces just now.

It seemed that the blood saber was an organ that was of paramount importance to him and was much more precious than his heart and his head.

After a shriek, Wang Ji exploded into a blood mist where black gas was popping up.

In the middle of the mist, a yellow brightness dashed to the far distance at an amazingly high speed, before it vanished into the derelict buildings in the ruins after a short moment.

Li Yao was going to chase after him, when the blood mist blocked his way as if it were a living creature.

In the middle of the blood mist, a blurred face slowly appeared, which belonged to, no less, Wang Ji who was on the run.

A hideous grin that even the ghosts at the deepest level of the hell couldn’t possibly make appeared on the giant face, as it gnashed its teeth.

“You dare to steal my Red Jade Mist Mirage Saber? You are seeking your own death!

“Just wait for it!

“Very soon, I will find out who you are, before I skin you, mince you into pieces, and take back what’s mine while stepping on your corpse!

“At that time, your soul will be extracted and locked into the Blood Soul Pearl by me, and I will savage you to the extent that you will think killing yourself right now is a better—”

Before he finished his speech, Li Yao had triggered the four floating Vulcan Machine Guns and fired at the middle of the face in the blood mist.

“BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!”

“Enough trash talk,” Li Yao scoffed. Then he looked at the so-called Red Jade Mist Mirage Saber.

Although it had lost connection to its master, it was still flying naughtily in the air. Now and then, blood aura would be released, indicating that it was still a fatal weapon.

Li Yao’s hands quickly made a lot of gestures in the air with his unimaginably flexible fingers.

Many brilliant, octagonal runes appeared in the air.

For Cultivators at the peak of the Refinement Stage, they were already able to create runes with nothing but their own bare hands.

“Hoooo!”

64 runes made of spiritual gas rushed at the blood saber.

Like the most cunning demon beast, Red Jade Mist Mirage Saber knew that something bad was happening. The edge of the saber shivered, and it was going to flee, when a black laser darting from the back of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit collided with it.

It was Black Wing!

Not only did the crash make Red Jade Mist Mirage Saber dizzy and disoriented, the spiritual threads on Black Wing also took the opportunity to tangle it.

64 spiritual runes crowded in and suppressed the blood aura on the saber.

Li Yao waved his hand and triggered his Cosmos Ring. He had finally got this weird, exotic blood saber!

Chapter 347: Nascent Soul and Black Ocean

“Poooo!”

As he stored the Red Jade Mist Mirage Saber into his Cosmos Ring, Li Yao finally couldn’t help it any longer. A lot of black blood was vomited out as he collapsed on the ground on one of his knees and breathed heavily.

The pain deep down in his flesh and bones was throbbing over the endings of his nerves. He felt that his strength was pouring out together with his cold sweat.

From Wang Ji appearing on the top of his head to his enemy fleeing in a cluster of blood mist, it took less than twenty seconds.

But it was the most dangerous combat that Li Yao had ever been engaged in since his spiritual root was awakened.

Although Wang Ji had not reached the level of demon king yet, he was definitely one of the best high-level demon generals, which equaled to a Cultivator at the peak of the Building Foundation Stage.

Luckily, Li Yao had blown up the teleportation array in advance, which had seriously wounded him since part of his body was not sent over. But with the enhancement of the blood saber, his demonic energy was still too powerful for Li Yao to resist.

The blood aura from the saber would’ve invaded his body and melted his organs if Li Yao’s body was not far sturdier than that of common Cultivators’ and the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit had not been significantly strengthened.

Li Yao had been gritting his teeth and suppressing his injuries.

Now that he had successfully grasped the blood saber, he was less focused than before. The internal injuries finally burst out.

The cold sweat on his skin turned from transparent to pink, and ended up being bright red.

This weird Red Jade Mist Mirage Saber seemed to be able to attack the hemopoietic system and make his body reject his own blood. Eventually, his blood would be all pushed out by his own body, resulting in massive loss of blood.

‘If it goes on like this, I will die from blood loss shortly!’

Gold and black lights were flashing before his eyes. The sky and the earth were both swirling fast, which was a sign that his brain was suffering from oxygen deprivation caused by losing too much blood.

Gritting his teeth, Li Yao activated his spiritual energy and sealed his veins forcefully to prevent his blood from leaking out. In the meantime, he turned on the war mission system and tried to send distress calls to the command center and the Cultivators nearby.

However, before he was able to deliver his status and location, the light beam collapsed into pieces after weird vibrations.

‘The Spiritual Nexus is jammed?

‘The interference is intense, like a solar storm has burst out in this exact place. All the signals of the Spiritual Nexus have been cut off!

‘What’s happening?’

Li Yao was alerted. He felt vaguely that two immense powers were rising up from two sides of the horizon, whose overwhelming pressure was sweeping over inch by inch.

At present, the bloodshed sunset had passed. A deep, dark, starless night had fallen.

But two diagonal giant swirls that looked like two nebulas illuminated the sky, like two giants in the sea of stars who had opened their only eye.

Two swirls revolved slowly, whose brilliant flames of light beamed out and dyed the half of the night sky into furious, twisted streaks of various colors like thousands of burning tentacles.

Despite the dense demonic fog, Li Yao was still able to see every detail of the two swirls.

Not because his eyes were sharp. It was because the two swirls were unleashing energy, intent, and pressure wantonly. Several of their telepathic thoughts even exploded directly inside his brain.

Li Yao seemed to be capable of seeing two figures standing in the center of the two swirls respectively.

The human figure in the south gave him a feeling of arrogance, stubbornness, and frenzy.

The phantom in the north, on the other hand, was a bizarre-shaped black sketch, which left an impression of nothing but cruelness, bloodthirst, and destruction!

‘What strong telepathic thoughts!

‘There must be hundreds of kilometers of distance between us, and their telepathic thoughts and intent are so clear that I feel that they are next to me. How powerful their soul power must be!

‘They must be—

‘A Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator and a demon emperor!’

Li Yao’s every nerve was twitching violently, not out of fear, but out of excitement.

Such powerful telepathic thoughts were too much even for Core Formation Stage Cultivators and demon kings. They must be the works of the best warriors in the two Sectors, Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and demon emperors!

In the sky, the combat between the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator and the demon emperor had begun!

Hundreds of brilliant colors beamed out from the two giant swirls which tore the sky apart and swept at the other side.

Silent and slow, they wriggled in the sky like thousands of colorful caterpillars.

But Li Yao was well aware that the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator and the demon emperor were at two sides of the sky and there was a distance of hundreds of kilometers between them.

The seemingly wriggling caterpillars were actually the intensive waves when their attacks broke the sonic barrier and tore the air apart.

Several seconds later, the thousands of caterpillars crashed and boomed into dazzling lightning balls in the background of the night sky.

In the place where the lightning balls vanished, a giant hole was ripped apart on the night sky, revealing the shining stars behind it.

It was not until thousands of holes congregated and connected the stars together that the sound of air being torn apart in the beginning reached Li Yao’s ears, which was closely followed by the explosion of the lightning balls.

The whole world started trembling.

Bullet shells, scraps of flying swords, dead bodies of demon beasts, and bricks, sand, and rebar in the rundown building… Everything was bouncing and dancing high in the sky with the continuous booms.

Li Yao opened his mouth, in case the sonic burst injured his internal organs.

Yet, he was gazing at the sky crazily. The fire in his eyes seemed to be burning a hole in the heaven.

‘This is the power of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator? How marvelous it is!

‘When can I enter the Nascent Soul Stage and wield such strength?’

Li Yao was somewhat lost. He gritted his teeth, while there was a hint of confusion behind the fire in his eyes.

The Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator and the demon emperor were colliding like two wild elephants, while he was nothing but a rat beside their feet.

He was reluctant to accept the fact. A strong desire was triggered in his heart.

Cheered up by the appearance of the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator and the demon emperor, all the human beings and demons on the battleground went crazy.

The explosions, roars, and screams were ten times louder than before. Red Lotus City was completely enshrouded in fire and death.

An endless beast tide appeared in Li Yao’s eyesight.

Those low demon beasts were all spurred by the demonic energy from the demon emperor and turned mad. Their eyes were bloodshot, their skins cracking and unveiling the quickly expanding flesh below. Dense, sharp thorns were growing on the shells of many insect-type demon beasts.

Had Li Yao not been injured, he wouldn’t even bother to look at those demon beasts.

But right now, he was seriously wounded. Almost half of his blood had been lost. Faced with the overwhelming beast tide, Li Yao felt that the corner of his eyes were twitching.

He was planning to drive Black Wing to fly away, when a silver mist suddenly appeared over his head and covered the sky and stars. A hand that was more than ten meters long extended from the silver mist and slapped at him.

“Ghost Face Silver Mosquitoes!”

Li Yao was greatly alarmed.

He had met such kind of demon beast on the crystal train north to the Grand Desolate Plateau. To deal with them, seven Cultivators even sacrificed their own lives.

One Ghost Face Silver Mosquito was the weakest demon beast of all.

But when tens of thousands of Ghost Face Silver Mosquitoes congregated, they would form a bigger creature with some sort of intelligence through telekinesis.

“Die now!”

Li Yao’s eyes bulged. The moment the giant hand reached his face, a brightness of saber flashed and slashed it into two halves. Then, two crystal cannons flipped up on his shoulders and fired nonstop, blowing the Ghost Face Silver Mosquitoes which shaped the giant hand all into ashes.

But their numbers were endless. After a short moment, another eight murderous, hideous talons were formed and blocked Li Yao’s every route of escape.

The boundless beast tide was also arriving at him.

“Come on!”

Dozens of blue electric arcs spluttered from his batter saber to almost ten meters away, before they tangled into a long saber of lightning which was surrounded by sparks and tornadoes.

For a moment, Li Yao had the same feeling of satisfaction that Guan Xiong must’ve had when he charged at the rising beast tide by himself.

It was indeed… refreshing!

“Even though I’m not as strong as a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, I will still unleash the most dazzling brilliance that I can!

“You want to kill me? Let’s see who dies first!”

Li Yao laughed. He clenched his battle saber so hard that it almost shattered. Every rune array on the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit was fully activated.

Li Yao waved his saber and was ready to fight his last battle, when earsplitting noises boomed behind him.

The beast tide in front him seemed to be devoured by an invisible giant beast. Almost ten holes appeared in the middle of it, making it seem much crappier than before.

In the meantime, the talons made by Ghost Face Silver Mosquitoes started burning, before they break up in cracking noises.

Li Yao blinked his eyes. The crystal camera on his back had shot what happened behind him without him turning around.

The first thing to be seen was a Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars Flag, which was still flying in the raging wind like an undying torch despite the excessive corrosion from acids and venomous fog.

Then, countless soldiers of the federal army who were wearing black combat uniform and carrying chainswords and storm bolters surged in like a black ocean under the cover of crystal tanks.

The captain who had been in charge of the Taiyi Lightning Railgun that Li Yao repaired was grinning at Li Yao on one of the crystal tanks with two storm bolters in hand. His white teeth were glittering in the smoke.

Mediocre demon beasts could constitute an overwhelming beast tide that even Cultivators such as Li Yao may find challenging.

On the other hand, ordinary people who did not know the first thing about Cultivation could form an invincible ocean of iron and blood with devotion, courage and strong magical equipment.

A new, lightning-like understanding suddenly struck on Li Yao’s mind.

As a Cultivator, he could manipulate powerful spiritual energy. Yet, it was with the assistance of thousands of ordinary people that he was able to deal with the overwhelming beast tide.

Strong as the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator in the sky may be, he wouldn’t be able to twist the situation of the war single-handedly without thousands of common Cultivators such as himself, would he?

Ordinary people, common Cultivators such as himself, Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators… Everyone had pushed themselves to their limits, so that the human civilization could be shining more brightly than ever.

“My compatriots stronger than me and weaker than me are all fighting side by side with me.

“I am in need of them as much as they are in need of me.

“We are… not alone!”

The new understanding refilled scorching strength in Li Yao’s veins which had almost run dry.

Gold brightness scattered by blood flowed out of the gaps of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit and consolidated into sharp wings and feathers, as Li Yao dashed into the beast tide and led the charge.

Behind him, the roaring black ocean rushed close and crashed into the beast tide which was already on the verge of collapse.

Chapter 348: Building Foundation!

The fierce battle didn’t come to an end until midnight. The burning city cast redness to the entire sky.

After the endeavors of the valiant Cultivators and the federal army, the downtown area which the demon clan occupied had been taken back. Many teleportation arrays had been destroyed.

However, the remaining demons were still resisting desperately in the business district where there were a lot of skyscrapers. The interconnected underground became a sea of demon beasts, too.

Li Yao kept fighting into the late night. It was not until an earthshaking boom echoed in the sky of the north, as if the space had been ripped open where melted lightning flowed out, that Li Yao retreated from the battleground after the protracted urges of the war mission system.

Later, he learnt more facts about the two experts fighting in the sky. The Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator was Luo Wunian, Honorary Chairman of Violet Glow Sect which was one of the top five sects in the federation, who was known as the best sword master of the entire federation; the demon emperor, on the other hand, was Ming Xinyi, who ranked eighth on the ‘Deadliest Demons List’.

Both of them were first-rate experts in their respective worlds.

For experts at such a high level, they were usually hesitant to confront each other face-to-face.

Once they full activated their strength and fought in their ultimate forms, their strikes, such as the hundreds of attacks breaking the sonic barrier simultaneously not long ago, could be too draining both for their bodies and for their souls. They risked being seriously wounded by each other at the same time.

In the meantime, enemies might set up traps nearby and assault the hostile expert with strong demonic equipment or magical equipment when the expert in question was at the weakest moment when their soul may have entirely burnt up.

This was exactly the case of today’s battle.

The fight of the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator versus the demon general had been a trap for Ming Xinyi in the first place.

The federal army deployed 19 Heaven Splitters out of Red Lotus City, as well as more than twenty pieces of the best magical equipment from various sects.

When the fight between Luo Wunian and Ming Xinyi reached the most intense moment, all the magical equipment was activated at the same time.

Although Ming Xinyi was not killed on the spot, it created a great opportunity for Luo Wunian, who slashed off the Gold Blood Demon Horn on Ming Xinyi’s head and forced him to flee back to the Blood Demon Sector.

The earthshaking sound that Li Yao heard previously was the consequence of the salvo.

Although the demon emperor was seriously wounded, Luo Wunian’s soul almost dried up because he stayed in the level of the Nascent Soul Stage for too long and triggered excessive telepathic thoughts. He wouldn’t be able to return to the Nascent Soul Stage for a long time.

The two parties engaged in the war both lost an elite warrior. But the brutality of the war was not the least undermined. On the contrary, it got crueler and crueler.

In the coming seven days, together with many other Cultivators and the federal army, Li Yao fought street by street and alley by alley in Red Lotus City. He even charged into the underground with a batch of Building Foundation Stage Cultivators with the help of his excellent crystal suit.

As days went by, Li Yao’s battle credits soared. His name rose to fame after furious battles.

Not only did the federal army and other Cultivators learn of the existence of such a fearless Cultivator who was at the peak of the Refinement Stage, many demons also knew that there was a different Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit which could release spiritual gas in the shape of wings with a bright gold color and was far better than common MP crystal suits.

After days and nights of walking between life and death and meditating after bloody combats, Li Yao felt that, like a seed which had been buried under the ground for a long time, his spiritual root was ascending and would break out of the soil at any moment.

In the morning ten days later, when he woke up from a ditch in the city ruins and saw the morning star eclipsing and the red sun rising up slowly over the shambles, an irresistible desire suddenly burst out in his heart.

It was a moment of eureka.

He knew that the time to enter the Building Foundation Stage had come!

Through the war mission system, Li Yao sent an application to the command center.

Soon, he received a reply from the command center. After handing his position over to a Cultivator from Star Nebula University, Li Yao left Red Lotus City and reached the military base fifty kilometers away on a carrier.

The most important facility in the military base, other than the command center and the Spiritual Beacons, would be the training rooms specially for soldiers and Cultivators.

A war was always the best time to improve the strength for the warriors.

A breakthrough that did not happen after five years of Cultivation in peacetime may be achieved within several seconds after seeing one’s close comrades being slain by hideously-grinning demons right in front of oneself in a bloody fight.

In a battleground full of demonic fog, spiritual gas, venomous liquids, acids, explosions, and blasts, countless people may die. But there were always a few lucky dogs whose bodies mutated and whose Actualization Quotient erupted, allowing them to smash the shackles they’d been born with and embark on the path of Cultivation!

The hundred independent training rooms were prepared for the people who were in the middle of a breakthrough or foresaw that they were going to have one.

According to the strength and the battle credits of the applicant, training rooms of different specifications would be allocated to them.

The battle credits that Li Yao earned over the past ten days were enough for him to redeem an advanced training room with the most extravagant amenities.

Then, he redeemed a perfect plan for Building Foundation with the battle credits he had left.

When the Cultivators in the ancient times were breaking into the Building Foundation Stage, the only assistance they could get was the crude Building Foundation Pills which contained a lot of impurities. Then, they often sat and meditated in empty caves. Therefore, their success rate was very poor. No higher than 5% of them could enter the Building Foundation Stage the first time they tried.

Honestly speaking, those Cultivators were just lucky.

To make things worse, the body of the Cultivator would acquire resistance if they failed the first time. It would be tricky for them to enter the Building Foundation Stage ever again.

In the modern Cultivation world, the mechanism and process of Building Foundation had been thoroughly studied. Many effective plans for Building Foundation had been developed, which were safe, fast, and utterly devoid of side-effects. Today you entered the Building Foundation Stage, tomorrow you would be able to continue fighting. The success rate of one-time Building Foundation had been brought up by more than five times.

Even if you were unlucky and failed at the first try, the plans could be trimmed and adjusted for your next try when you were ready after resting for some time.

The perfect plan for Building Foundation that Li Yao picked could definitely help him break into the Building Foundation Stage perfectly!

“Mr. Li Yao, we look forward to seeing you at the Building Foundation Stage and thus becoming one of the youngest Building Foundation Stage Cultivators in the Star Glory Federation!” The security officer of the training rooms said to him earnestly.

Li Yao smiled. He nodded at the officer softly as acknowledgment. Then he strode into the training room.

He wanted to succeed in one try, too.

If he were to fail this time, he would have to wait for at least one month before his next try. By then, the eureka and eagerness that he had right now might be gone.

The training room had a round space of around five square kilometers. The ivory walls enclosing the room was full of holes. A control light beam was floating in the air.

Li Yao typed softly and set the plan for Building Foundation. His heart and soul calmed down gradually, as he muttered to himself, “Now begins Building Foundation!”

“Chi!”

A huge amount of greenish gas spurted out from the holes on the walls and spread in the air.

Within a moment, the entire room was filled with the bright green mist, which had a vaguely sweet smell that seemed to come from a grassland which had just been nurtured by rain.

This was the drug for Building Foundation.

In the ancient Cultivation world, this drug was always made into Building Foundation Pills which would be absorbed by swallowing.

The absorption rate of the human’s gastrointestinal system was not very efficient. For all the useful ingredients in a Building Foundation Pill, no higher than 30% could be absorbed by the human body. The rest of the precious nutrition was all wasted.

Things were entirely different in the modern Cultivation world. The Building Foundation drug was completely pulverized before it was penetrated into the Cultivator’s skin by high-pressure. That way, it could stimulate the Cultivator’s flesh, bones, blood, veins, and nerves directly. The absorption efficiency was close to one hundred percent.

Li Yao immediately felt the changes inside his body where thousands of icy threads seemed to be extending, weaving, and spreading.

“BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!”

Soul-stirring drumming began.

It was ‘Breaking the Enemy’s Formation’, a battle hymn composed by a culture-type Cultivator in the Core Formation Stage five hundred years ago, which had the ability to motivate the fighting will of the listeners.

Countless Cultivators and soldiers of the federal army had been trampling beast tides and protecting their homeland with their battle sabers and flying swords held high under the encouragement of ‘Breaking the Enemy’s Formation’.

Right now, ‘Breaking the Enemy’s Formation’ was a military song for the federal army. Someone even suggested that it should be the national anthem for the Star Glory Federation.

For Cultivators, ‘Breaking the Enemy’s Formation’ had another amazing ability.

Since generations of human beings had been charging at the enemy line cheered up by ‘Breaking the Enemy’s Formation’, its calling had melted into their genes after hundreds of years, which endowed the song with an unbelievable ability that it could significantly improve the odds of success of Building Foundation.

According to the calculation of experts, when Building Foundation under the encouragement of ‘Breaking the Enemy’s Formation’, the success rate could be improved by 5% to 8%!

The very ‘Breaking the Enemy’s Formation’ that Li Yao was listening to at present had been played by a large choir made of more than 300 culture-type Cultivators from ‘Magical Melody Temple’, one of the best cultural sects in the federation, who were adept at music.

It was not a recording, but a replay of the concert including the emotion, sweat, and thoughts on the spot which had been sealed by special barriers close to the choir.

Now that they were released, Li Yao seemed to be back to the time when it was first played. The effects that it triggered were certainly much stronger than an ordinary recording would.

The drumbeat sounded like the parade of an iron army. Noises of swords and sabers clashing against each other and the explosions of spiritual energy echoed nonstop. An invisible battleground rose up slowly around Li Yao, who was able to envision a bloodshed battle and even felt the weapons brushing past his skin.

‘Breaking the Enemy’s Formation’ had no lyrics, nor did it need any. The roars of men, women, the young, and the old were already the most powerful stanzas.

Every drum, every roar, and every clash between swords and bones were bombarding Li Yao’s heart like a Taiyi Lightning Railgun.

Prompted by the Building Foundation drug and ‘Breaking the Enemy’s Formation’, Li Yao’s spiritual root was stirring.

Thousands of tentacles seemed to have extended out of his spiritual root and spread to the depths of his brain as well as all his other body parts, forming a third network besides veins and nerves.

“Shua! Shua! Shua!”

A circular light beam appeared in the training room, where nine paintings were displayed.

The paintings were in dissimilar styles. The scenes and figures in them were different, too.

The one thing in common, though, was that all the paintings contained extremely immense spiritual waves.

This set of paintings was named ‘Meditations on Building Foundation’, which had been created by nine of the best culture-type Cultivators in the federation with ‘Building Foundation’ as the theme, including their experience, understanding and reflection about the topic.

Chapter 349: Breakthrough and Harvest!

In one of the paintings was depicted a mountain piercing the sky which was surrounded by strong wind. It ripped open the sky like an unparalleled sharp saber, where a sea of stars flowed out and formed a giant eye.

In another painting, a boundless desert was presented. A dust storm was sweeping across it. But a small figure was above the sand fighting the heaven and the earth until they breathed their last breath.

Several other paintings also included bloody battlegrounds, misty mountains, and bottomless valleys.

Two of the paintings were full of brilliant colors and shadows, as if the painter had knocked off the ink bottle during the creation. There was no telling what was on the paintings at all.

All the paintings stored immense soul power. After a quick look, Li Yao had been deep attracted to them, which were absorbing his soul like nine swirls.

For a moment, he was on a high mountain, climbing up to the infinite sea of stars against the raging wind.

In the next moment, he was in the depths of a desert. Billions of tons of sand were savaging his head. He gritted his teeth and fought it desperately with his body tightened.

Then, he appeared in a small bamboo boat on a limpid stream which was flowing between mountains, while his soul melted with the lovely nature contentedly and comfortably, all his lusts gone.

He even found himself in the two paintings of brilliant colors, where he was observing the mystery of all mysteries in absolute tranquility without entity.

However…

The painting that he stared at for the longest was the ninth one.

Completely different from the previous eight paintings, it was a scene of an ordinary, commonly-seen vegetable market with the most exquisite details.

A vegetable market with noises, ditches, and crowds, where cabbages, onions, fish, ribs, and beef were sold.

Li Yao’s soul entered the painting. He smelt the freshness of cabbages, the sweetness of fruits, and the intense scent from fish; he heard bargaining and bickering, pounding when meat was being chopped off, and laughter from the chitchatting neighbors; he saw beaming, satisfied faces everywhere.

Li Yao had no idea why the understanding on ‘Building Foundation’ of this painter was a random vegetable market. However, he did feel that the painting was resonating with something in his mind vaguely.

The painting dimmed. The smiling faces of the people changed to ones that had been blackened by smoke and burned by fire, which belonged to the soldiers who had been fighting side by side with him over the past ten days.

Among them, there were veterans who had been on active service for more than ten years; there were rookies who’d enlisted half a year ago and had just finished the basic training and didn’t know the first thing about a war.

There were Core Formation Stage Cultivators who could blow up a skyscraper casually; there were also Cultivators at the beginning phase of the Refinement Stage whose spiritual root had awakened not long ago addressing him respectfully as ‘Senior Brother’.

All the faces, including those of the ordinary people, soldiers and Cultivators, blended together, as they squinted and curled their lips. Their pure white teeth glared, and they beamed with the brightest smile in the world.

“LUM DUM! LUM DUM! LUM DUM!”

Li Yao’s heart was beating faster and faster. The circulation of his blood was ten times rapider than before!

Driven by something mysterious, his spiritual root started beating like his second heart!

Absorption! Absorption! All his spiritual gas was swallowed by his spiritual root, without anything being left.

“Ahhhhhh!”

Li Yao’s eyes bulged. Two streams of blood dripped down from the corners of his eyes, as his spiritual root continued expanding until it occupied his entire brain.

Invisible spiritual tentacles slowly tangled his nerves and his veins, integrating with his body and forming an inseparable network.

“CRACK!”

When he couldn’t bear it any longer and thought his skull was going to be pierced through by his spiritual root, lightning suddenly struck inside his brain, before his spiritual root started constricting violently. All the spiritual gas contained inside the spiritual root was condensed into liquid state and, through invisible spiritual tentacles, reached all his limbs and internal organs like an elixir.

Thousands of rivers seemed to be raging inside his body and crushing all his nerves and cells to pieces.

Yet, the infinite vitality buried deep inside the rivers reconstructed his broken cells and nerves and made them stronger and more vibrant than before.

The nine paintings of ‘Meditations on Building Foundation’ blinked one by one in front of his face. ‘Breaking the Enemy’s Formation’ was played and replayed, attacking his internal organs through his ears. More than twenty years of memories flushed into his brain and created a coruscating skyscraper three-dimensionally.

Every cluster of nerve endings had been stuffed by the rivers of spiritual liquid. Li Yao floated in the air and cramped, his arms and legs all stretching out. Cracking noises were echoing inside his bones, while surging tides were crushing the seashore of his veins. The rhythm of his heartbeat and the palpitation of his spiritual root finally resonated and produced a unique, powerful note!

A long time passed.

“Hoooo…”

Li Yao woke up from the amazing, extraordinary scenes inside of his body and found himself lying on the ground exhausted. His limbs were as dry and thin as wood. Lackluster mud was everywhere on his skin, which was the waste of the metabolic process just now.

He had been reborn and made a great leap forward in the path of Cultivation.

By his perception, more than one year had passed. But looking at the spiritual clock on the wall, it was only half an hour after he had first entered the training room.

“I made it!

“The spiritual gas inside my body has all been transformed to liquid state, which is circulating in the newly formed spiritual arteries slowly. My spiritual root has evolved, too. It can transform spiritual gas into spiritual liquid continuously now!”

Li Yao wanted to smile, but he didn’t even have the strength to curl his lips.

“Zi! Zi!”

From the holes on the walls of the training room, deep blue thick liquid flowed out, which was the super nutrition liquids specially prepared for Cultivators who had just entered the Building Foundation Stage.

After a moment, Li Yao was drowned inside the deep-blue nutrition liquids. He opened all his pores and started devouring spiritual energy crazily as if he had been starved for years.

Centered around him, a swirl was revolving slowly inside the training room.

While he was refilling his spiritual energy, Li Yao’s soul flew to the depths of his brain to the tree of memory of Ou Yezi.

As he expected!

After he entered the Building Foundation Stage, Ou Yezi’s tree of memory had been further unlocked.

The crown of the tree of memory was glitteringly gold, illuminating his brain in a dazzling glamour.

“The huge number of memories after Ou Yezi entered the Building Foundation Stage can be absorbed by me now!”

Li Yao was more than excited.

Back in the Hundred Smelting Clan 40,000 years ago, a lot of events had taken place during the dozens of years when Ou Yezi was at the Building Foundation Stage.

Firstly, Ou Yezi was qualified to enter the second level of the Heavenly Refining Tower where he would study more advanced secret arts on refining.

Secondly, demonic Cultivators invaded and caused bloody wars. Ou Yezi upgraded the 108 Hands Chaos Gale Hammer Technique to 189 moves, which worked out effectively on the battleground allowing him to punch 24 demonic Cultivators at the Building Foundation Stage into pieces at the same time.

Thirdly, Ou Yezi was recruited by Daoist Yu Chang, an Elder of the Hundred Smelting Clan, as his student and became one of the core disciples of the Hundred Smelting Clan.

It was a piece of memory when Ou Yezi first got in touch with the vital secret arts of the Hundred Smelting Clan.

Now, they were all Li Yao’s and ready to be absorbed by Li Yao at his will.

“Excellent!

“As long as I can absorb the memory pieces from when Ou Yezi was at the Building Foundation Stage, I will be able to grasp the real secret arts of the Hundred Smelting Clan and refine the legendary weapons that have not been seen for millenniums!

“Moreover, I will be able to train myself with most brutal ways of fighting on the battleground of the demonic Cultivators’ invasion 40,000 years ago!

“After that, even I’m to be faced with a demon king, I will not be entirely on the losing side!”

Sparkling memory pieces aroused Li Yao’s vehement greediness, who almost couldn’t wait to start studying them without anything bothering him.

But he knew that now was not the time yet.

He withdrew from Ou Yezi’s memory pieces hesitantly and returned to reality. The deep-blue nutrition liquids, which had been thick a moment ago, were now transparent and tasteless.

The spiritual energy contained inside had all been absorbed by Li Yao’s body, which was filled up again and full of vigor, like a new-born baby.

The effluent was soon extracted by the sinkhole on the ground of the training room. After a while of humming sounds, even the air was extremely dry.

Ten round dynameters dropped down from the ceiling, which were spinning swiftly in midair, driven by power rune arrays.

Li Yao smiled.

This was a test that he had preset in order to find out how strong he was after he entered the Building Foundation Stage.

“Not fast enough… Triple the speed!”

“Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!”

Ten dynameters were revolving fast, at thirty revolutions per second, while they were flying at random directions in the air.

Every dynameter was the size of a watermelon, but the sensitive area on it was only the size of a fist. Only by hitting the sensitive area precisely would the punch be counted and the strength of the punch be recorded. Otherwise, the punch would be deemed as a failure.

It was not easy to hit such a small sensitive area on a dynameter which was revolving this fast.

Taking a deep breath, Li Yao squatted. A dense aura suddenly burst out from his body.

At first glance, it was more modest and restrained, and fast less eye-catching compared with that when he was at the Refinement Stage. But in fact, it was more firm, steady, and inexhaustible. There were absolutely no weak points.

Li Yao turned into a laser. The small training room was filled with hundreds of his blurred shadows. The light beams around displayed a series of readings. It was not until a moment later that the sound of the dynameters being punched echoed.

Half a minute later, all the blurred shadows gathered in the center of the training room where they consolidated into Li Yao’s real body. The ten dynameters were quivering over his head, which seemed like they could fall to the ground at any moment.

A drop of sweat appeared on Li Yao’s forehead, as he watched at the light beams around him in satisfaction.

The reading on the first light beam was 111.11 kg.

The reading on the second light beam was 222.22 kg.

And so on. Until the tenth light beam where the reading stopped at 1111.11 kg.

In half a second, he had punched each dynameter one hundred times with exactly the same strength which rose up according to the number of the dynameters. There was no error whatsoever.

This was the true power of a Building Foundation Stage Cultivator!