Dragon Canon

As night was falling, the Cui clansmen busy refining their foundations were suddenly summoned to the drill grounds to begin forging their Dao Foundations.

Although the call had come quite unexpectedly, everyone remained calm as they had been preparing for this for a long time. After two consecutive Life is a Flash warm-ups, they officially began the forging process.

Of the more than 300 people present, over half chose the new Dao Foundation template provided by Wei Yuan called the Bright Sword.

It took multiple rounds of refinement, but Wei Yuan was ultimately successful in creating a Dao Foundation that was even easier to forge than the Fake Sun. Of course, its power had correspondingly diminished. This new Dao Foundation possessed two effects: one, it was scorching hot, causing heat to rise around the wielder. Two, it emitted a brilliant light. Although only a faint flame ignited around the blade, its radiance was dazzling. When manifested at night, it could illuminate everything within a ten-zhang radius. It looked quite impressive if nothing else.

Since the emergence of the Bright Sword, the baseline for Human-tier Dao Foundations had been lowered yet again.

Everyone else chose to contemplate the Immortal Sword Fake Sun. After all, it at least possessed a touch of wonder.

Although Wei Yuan had been absent from the realm during his visit to the royal capital, many cultivators still successfully cultivated the Immortal Sword Fake Sun. Thus, there was no shortage of models for reference.

This session went relatively smoothly. By midnight, over 30 people had successfully forged their Dao Foundations.

They had just stabilized their cultivation and hadn’t even had time to celebrate when Cui Yu appeared before them. He was accompanied by several cultivators carrying several large chests that were packed to the brim with heavy armor.

Cui Yu handed a set of armor to each Cui clansman who had established their Dao Foundation and said, “Now that you’re Dao Foundations, you have an opportunity to obtain Heaven Merits from the Palace of Absolute Beginning. Do you want it?”

These Cui clansmen had had little hope of ever establishing their Dao Foundations, so naturally, they had no chance of joining the Palace of Absolute Beginning. However, even outsiders were allowed to use any form of merit acknowledged by the sect to exchange for supplies. Most importantly, this was an opportunity for glory and recognition—something they could boast about for the rest of their lives once they returned to the Cui Clan!

Just look at how many Dao Foundation stage disciples of the Palace of Absolute Beginning there were who didn’t have any Heaven Merits at all. If they, who were once labeled good-for-nothing by everyone, were able to obtain them, wouldn’t that be a textbook example of an underdog’s triumph?

The group of newly established Dao Foundation stage cultivators asked, “What is this opportunity?”

“It’s simple. A single point of Heaven Merit costs two thousand taels of immortal silver. Those interested must first pay a deposit of four thousand taels. If you don’t have enough immortal silver, you can use mystic artifacts or treasure materials as collateral. Once the mission is complete, we’ll adjust the payment based on the number of Heaven Merits obtained. Specifically, if you’ve gotten more Heaven Merits than expected, then you’ll pay the difference as a matter of course. If it’s the other way around, then we’ll refund the excess. And finally, if you fail to obtain any Heaven Merit at all, then you won’t need to pay a single coin.”

Everyone’s heart leapt with excitement. This was a chance to buy fame and glory with silver—could such a good deal truly exist? If the speaker wasn’t Cui Yu, they would have thought that they had stumbled upon a con artist.

Someone approached him, playing up their connection, and asked, “Uncle-In-Law, will there be another chance like this in the future?”

Cui Yu looked impatient. “Right now there’s only this one chance, and it’s tomorrow’s major battle. Who knows when the next one will come! Do you want it or not? If not, then I’ll find someone else!”

“We want it, we want it!” The newly promoted Dao Foundation stage cultivators of the Cui Clan all chorused in unison.

They had initially been reluctant to part with their immortal silver, but upon reflection, they were now Dao Foundation stage cultivators with a completely different future ahead of them. Surely could earn back a mere few thousand taels of immortal silver? So, one by one, they gritted their teeth and handed over their money and items. Not a single person had chosen to give up this opportunity. They might be worthless in a fight, but no way in hell were they going to be outdone in terms of expenditure!

Cui Yu’s attitude changed immediately after he’d collected the immortal silver. He patiently instructed them, “Remember to stay fully focused during tomorrow’s battle. The opportunity might last only a split second—miss it, and it will be gone. Also, be sure to obey orders completely once you’re on the battlefield. If you’re told to attack, then attack. If you’re told to flee, then flee. Under no circumstances should you act on your own initiative. The worst thing you can do is think you’re smarter than everyone else. Do you understand?”

After everyone nodded in unison, Cui Yu continued, “Very good. Early tomorrow morning, some of my fellow disciples from the Palace will come to you. All you need to do is stay close to them and follow their instructions. They’ll ensure your safety; for every three of you, one Palace disciple will be assigned to act as your bodyguard. Now, master this mental technique. It will automatically record any Heaven Merit you receive.”

The arrangement was extremely thoughtful.

These Cui clansmen had just been bonked in the head by a stroke of incredible luck, namely the successful forging of their Dao Foundation. Now more than ever, they were absolutely unwilling to put their lives at risk.

Meanwhile, Wei Yuan was standing at the edge of the drill ground and holding a list of all the disciples from the Skyblue Hall and the Water Moon Hall who had come to the realm of Qingming to hone themselves.

Wei Yuan picked up a brush and, without a moment’s hesitation, crossed out several names in rapid succession. In the end, only ten names remained on the list.

He had emptied his mind and chose the names entirely at random. Whoever was crossed out simply had bad luck; it had absolutely nothing to do with Wei Yuan’s personal feelings.

At least, that was how Wei Yuan saw it.

He then ordered his men to summon all the cultivators from the Skyblue Hall and the Water Moon Hall on the list and said, “We’re attacking the Shaman city tomorrow, and there should be plenty of opportunities to gain Heaven Merits. You’ll be following the people from the Cui CLan. They had just established their Dao Foundations, and their combat strength is negligible. You must protect them at all costs.”

Two disciples from the Skyblue Hall quietly exchanged sound transmissions:

“Why do we have to protect those useless fools?”

“Do you even need to ask? Because they paid for it!”

“Got it!”

Wei Yuan pretended that he couldn’t hear the exchange and continued, “When the great battle begins tomorrow, you will act as per military orders. When the time is right, I will give you the signal to act, and you’ll attack together with the Cui clansmen. As for how many Heaven Merits you can secure, that depends entirely on your own abilities.”

Wei Yuan paused at this and allowed a smirk to spread across his face. “Everyone here is a member of the Skyblue Hall or the Water Moon Hall. Surely you can’t be outdone by a bunch of human foundations, right?”

All ten Skyblue Hall and Water Moon Hall youngsters broke out in laughter.

Wei Yuan was just about to leave when Fei Yutong caught up to him and asked, “Senior Brother Wei, I noticed that not all of our fellow disciples are present. Why is that?”

Wei Yuan replied, “They’ll be following the army to attack the city tomorrow. Although they’ll only be earning ordinary merits, they are still merits, and their responsibility is no less great.”

“So, some people are assigned to earn Heaven Merits, while others are fighting in the army—How was this decided?” The young woman pressed.

Wei Yuan replied, “It was assigned at random.”

“I see. I won’t be short on Heaven Merits in the future, so can I give up my spot to someone else?”

Wei Yuan frowned and turned serious. “I had randomly selected ten people this time so that no one can argue with the process—it’s simply a matter of luck that someone is chosen, while others are not. But if I allow you to swap your spot with another, then the entire nature of this arrangement changes. There’s bound to be suspicion of favoritism if any choosing is involved in what’s supposed to be a random selection. You’re still inexperienced, so don’t make trouble for me and just follow orders.”

Wei Yuan’s sudden sternness startled Fei Yutong and convinced her to keep quiet.

When the first streak of light appeared on the horizon, the army—already fully prepared for battle—set out from the realm of Qingming and marched toward the Shaman city.

On the ramparts of the Shaman city, the four Great Warlocks gazed at the surging, sky-piercing army aura approaching them. However, their expressions remained remarkably relaxed. Just then, a fifth Warlock appeared behind them. Their entire body shrouded in a silvery-white robe, and their aura was fluctuating erratically for some reason. It was quite the eerie sight.

“Hmph, surely Wei Yuan doesn’t think there are only four Great Warlocks in our city, right?”

“Even if he did discover Lord Shui Hou’s arrival, so what? With Lord Shui Hou here, our walls are impregnable!”

“Those strange, explosive cylinders of the human race are formidable. We must be ready for them.”

The Great Warlock in the silvery-white robe gazed toward the horizon before saying, “The humans are coming out in full force. Activate the array now; I’ll preside over the ritual at the altar. You can leave those cylinders you mentioned to me.”

The Great Warlock turned and flew back to the altar. As the city-wide defense array activated, patches of milky-white light appeared within it. They clearly looked different from before.

Countless elite soldiers of the Shamans took their positions on the city walls, bracing for battle. Numerous bed crossbows had been set up inside the city.

The Shamans’ bed crossbows were completely different from those of the human race. They each came equipped with their own mini altar, capable of drawing upon the ritual power stored in the grand altar to unleash a variety of immensely powerful curses.

These bed crossbows were primarily designed to counter attacks from powerful human experts who might fly over the city and strike from above.

From the first light of dawn until nearly noon, the various armies of the realm of Qingming had been marching only. They advanced to their designated areas and gradually encircled the Shaman city.

The Great Warlocks within the city felt uneasy at first, but upon seeing that the human forces emerging from the domain numbered only 60,000 or 70,000, they relaxed.

At the moment, there were 120,000 warriors alone behind their walls, in addition to nearly 200,000 civilians. Outside their domain, these human armies likely couldn’t even beat their 200,000 civilians.

That was why the great Warlocks were less concerned about the outcome of the battle, and more about their own safety. In their view, although the humans of Qingming appeared to possess only average strength, their methods were only more ruthless and terrifying than the last. A single misstep could easily lead to their death and the annihilation of their Dao.

For instance, the Great Warlock Rock Heart had been beyond arrogant and ferocious in the previous offensive. But in the end, nearly all of his several thousand years of lifespan were wiped out by a single spear thrust, leaving him with less than a century remaining. It was a true severance of his Dao path and a fate worse than death. If even Rock Heart could meet such an end, how could they dare not be cautious and vigilant?

Meanwhile, Wei Yuan and his forces all marched to their designated positions. Then, with a single thought, he commanded Qingming to shoot forth a beam of light that pierced the heavens!

Suddenly, Qingming’s domain was no longer advancing at a steady pace. Instead, it surged forward at full speed like a tidal wave! The Great Warlocks within the city stared in utter astonishment as the domain positively poured toward them!

In the blink of an eye, Qingming’s domain had engulfed the entire city. The city-wide defense array began to falter noticeably under the suppression of the Pure Realm of Humanity. Immediately afterward, over ten steel cylinders of varying sizes screeched through the air and plummeted toward the Shaman city.

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