My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

On the sprawling training grounds outside the encampment, two units of armored soldiers and several hundred Qi Cultivators were coordinating to practice formation charges. The Qi Cultivators provided magical support, while the Square Army Soldiers were responsible for the military array’s charge.

Although they were only minor spells—like the Earth Spike Technique, Water Sword Technique, and Cyan Wood Technique—if coordinated properly and supplemented by a few arrays, even an ordinary Entering Cultivator could be injured if they weren’t careful.

However, mastering this coordination was no simple task. A military array’s charge required collective action, and a poorly aimed spell from a Qi Cultivator could easily result in friendly fire.

The training was overseen by Wenhai and Grand Commandant Liu Yu, who had been dispatched by the Chu Kingdom Court.

At this moment, Wenhai, Liu Yu, and the two training units of armored soldiers and Qi Cultivators all stood at attention. Facing Wang Ping, who hovered high in the sky, they performed a solemn, formal bow.

Wenhai’s feelings were a tangled mess. ’There was a time when everyone around me compared me to the man in the sky,’ he thought. ’Back then, I only tried to compete with him because of my sect’s orders, but deep down, I was still defiant.’

But reality was a cruel master. Having experienced its harshness, he now submitted wholeheartedly. Such was the drama of life: he had, ironically, come to admire a former enemy, yet now he was at odds with the very sect to which he owed a debt of gratitude.

Among the hundreds of thousands present, Wenhai was not alone in marveling at the dramatic turns of the world; everyone shared the sentiment. This was especially true for cultivators like Wu Quan, who had practiced for nearly a thousand years. Before this, they could never have imagined they would one day be launching an attack on True Yang Mountain. Even now, it all felt slightly unreal.

As Wang Ping gazed down at the assembled army, his first thought wasn’t of the war with True Yang Mountain. Instead, his mind drifted back to when he had answered the Daoist Scripture Hall’s call, traveling to Yongming Port to quell the so-called Taiyin Evil Cultivator uprising.

Back then, he had only just reached Foundation Establishment, no different from the low-level cultivators below who were just swept along by the tides of fate. Most of them had no idea what was truly happening; they were simply caught in the currents of a greater power, dragged to a battlefield where their lives and deaths were not their own to command.

Now, he had become the very kind of decision-maker he had once both aspired to be and resented. Or, to be precise, the decision-maker in name. The hundreds of thousands of soldiers and Qi Cultivators assembled below likely felt the same way he once did.

But Wang Ping quickly shook himself from his complex thoughts. For one, over a hundred thousand people were waiting for him. For another, perhaps alerted by the arrival of Wang Ping’s group, streaks of light began to flash before True Yang Mountain a hundred li away as figures appeared one after another.

The two sides faced each other from afar, separated by the vast Fire Candle Tree Forest. After a few moments, the leader of the group, Chang Jing Taoist, performed a Taoist salute. Then, he and the six other Third Realm Cultivators beside him began to fly slowly toward Wang Ping’s position.

"The one in the lead is the True Yang Sect’s Sect Leader, Chang Jing Taoist. He is a Direct Disciple of Guang Zuo Taoist," Hu Yin explained to Wang Ping, her gaze briefly passing over Hu Qianqian before settling on the seven approaching Third Realm Cultivators from the True Yang Sect.

"So that’s Chang Jing Taoist. I’ve heard his name for five or six hundred years but never had the chance to meet him." Wu Quan’s gaze was filled with surprise as he sized up the man. "I hear he’s never once left True Yang Mountain, nor has he ever vied for any position in the Daoist Scripture Hall."

"What’s your plan?" Ganxing asked pragmatically.

"Why don’t we just take them out right here? I bet they’ve got plenty of good stuff on them!" the Sheep Demon Mountain Guard suggested, though his tone was mostly joking.

A smile touched Wang Ping’s lips. "Let’s go and meet them first," he said to those around him.

With that, he led the way, flying forward. The seven Third Realm Cultivators, including Wu Quan, immediately followed.

Watched by hundreds of thousands of soldiers and cultivators from both sides, they flew toward each other with increasing speed. The hundred-li distance vanished in an instant. The two groups came to an abrupt halt about a thousand feet apart, hovering directly above Shuanghe City.

"It is one thing to hear the tales, but another to see for myself. Fellow Daoist Changqing, your Dao fortune is indeed profound, and your destiny abundant. I am truly envious."

Chang Jing greeted Wang Ping with a cupped-fist salute. He began with pleasantries, but before Wang Ping could respond, his tone shifted. "However, why must you, Fellow Daoist, insist on defying the will of the heavens this time? I fear it will damage your cultivation, and perhaps even destroy your very foundation."

Wang Ping was well-prepared for Chang Jing Taoist’s words. Maintaining the easygoing, magnanimous expression of a cultivator, he replied, "In the presence of a senior, I would not dare to claim my Dao fortune is profound..." He offered a humble salute. "Greetings, Daoist Chang Jing." He then turned to the others, exchanging a cupped-fist salute with Ruan Chunzi and merely nodding at Wen Yang.

Only after greeting Chang Jing and the six cultivators beside him did he formally respond to the earlier warning. "The rise and fall of dynasties is a natural cycle in this world. Surely the True Yang Sect cannot stand in for the Celestial Dao itself? You should step outside of True Yang Mountain and listen to the voices of the common people. Then you would understand what the Celestial Dao truly is!"

"You’ve all been high and mighty for too long. I doubt you can even comprehend the meaning of Changqing Zhenren’s words." It was Tongming Wanderer, positioned at the very end of the line to Wang Ping’s right, who spoke. He rebuked Chang Jing in a sarcastic tone, his voice laced with a deep hatred for the True Yang Sect.

"A handful of ants can decide the course of destiny?" a Kun Cultivator in a pale cyan dress retorted with disdain. The traces of Yuqing Sect magic about her were strong, similar to the aura of Huaimo Taoist, who stood beside Wang Ping.

"You still have such a penchant for twisting the Saint’s doctrines." Huaimo Taoist spoke with a cupped-fist salute. His posture and gestures were impeccably polite, but his words carried a stern warning.

He then feigned a look of sudden realization and said in a mocking tone, "Ah, so it’s Fellow Daoist Wen Yuan. Have you forgotten how you were expelled from the Yuqing Sect all those years ago? It seems you haven’t changed one bit. Continue down this path, and I fear you won’t be far from demonic corruption."

"Our paths diverge, so we have nothing more to discuss!" Daoist Wen Yuan’s cold eyes lingered on Huaimo Taoist for a moment, but she did not press the verbal spar any further.

Wang Ping took a step forward through the empty air, his gaze falling upon Chang Jing. "As Fellow Daoist Wen Yuan said, our paths diverge, so we have nothing more to discuss. Shall we dispense with the talk of the Celestial Dao and the common people?" he said, cupping his fists.

Chang Jing Taoist also took a step forward, meeting Wang Ping’s gaze. "You speak truly, Fellow Daoist. The conflict between us is unavoidable. When the time comes, I only ask that you be merciful."

His words were almost too courteous.

Wang Ping said nothing more, simply offering a polite cupped-fist salute in return.

The other cultivators on both sides clearly knew one another as well. Some may have been friends, others may have had their differences, but at this moment, none had any intention of catching up on old times.

When Wang Ping and Chang Jing concluded their talk, all the cultivators on both sides—whether friends or foes—politely exchanged one last cupped-fist salute.

Then, the two groups turned and flew back toward their respective encampments.

The cultivators and soldiers on both sides breathed a collective sigh of relief. If given the choice, they would rather charge into battle themselves than have over a dozen Third Realm Cultivators fighting above their heads.

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