My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

North of Sanshui City, the scorching heat waves made breathing difficult. On a road ten feet wide, several thousand armored Chu Army soldiers were advancing at a quick pace. On the steep mountain cliffs to either side, agile Demon Race soldiers scrambled up the slopes.

On some of the mountaintops above the cliffs were several hundred Qi Cultivators. Among them, Earth Vein Cultivators constructed temporary fortifications for both offense and defense. Wood Spirit Cultivators planted Thorny Vines in key positions, while Fire Spirit and Gold Spirit Cultivators clashed with the outer disciples of True Yang Mountain at the front. Water Spirit Cultivators were responsible for battlefield support.

In mid-air, dozens of Foundation Establishment Cultivators were locked in magical combat. Spells of all kinds periodically struck the battlefield below, and in the blink of an eye, several Foundation Establishment Cultivators had already fallen.

DUM DUM DUM

The war drums from the rear suddenly grew more intense. From the Chu Army’s rear guard, dozens of figures soared into the sky to reinforce their side’s Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

At once, the morale of the Chu Army surged. On the True Yang Mountain side, however, not only did no reinforcements arrive, but some Foundation Establishment Cultivators, seeing the tide turn against them, began to flee. This drew laughter from the Chu Army, but aside from a few exceptionally greedy fools, most did not give chase.

Half an hour later, the Demon Race soldiers scaling the cliffs finally reached the fortifications on the mountaintops. Water Spirit Cultivators cast restorative magic on them. Then, they charged deeper into the mountain range across temporary bridges built between the peaks by the Earth Vein Cultivators. Throughout this process, the Demon Race soldiers seemed exceptionally excited.

After crossing two mountaintops, the army encountered the garrison of a sect called the Fire Thunder Sect and was met with resistance from several thousand armored soldiers who had long been lying in wait.

Half an Hour later, the Qi Cultivators also joined the battle, followed by the Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

When these Foundation Establishment Cultivators saw this medium-sized sect, their eyes lit up. The fighting grew fiercer, and it wasn’t long before there were heavy casualties, which ultimately forced the Entering Cultivators to intervene. Fortunately, the Chu Army was also prepared for this.

The battle between the Entering Cultivators was over in a flash. The Chu Army was well-prepared. When they displayed their strength, the Fire Thunder Sect’s Entering Cultivators wisely gave up resistance and fled deeper into the mountains.

「By Noon.」

The army stormed into the heart of the Fire Thunder Sect. They plundered the entire sect, leaving nothing behind—they even dug up and carried away the floor tiles forged from Earth Vein Iron Ore.

「Four hours later.」

The outer peaks south of True Yang Mountain’s main summit had been completely occupied by the Chu Country’s army. The war had gone smoothly, but it was also exceptionally brutal. The blood of the soldiers and Qi Cultivators who died on both sides stained the mountains an even deeper red.

When the first soldiers of the Vanguard Army were rotated out, it took a Water Spirit Cultivator a quarter of an hour of washing them with magic before the water ran clear.

「Before they knew it, night had fallen.」

The moon was especially bright tonight, perfect for continuing the battle after dark, so the fighting did not stop.

The battle went smoothly all through the night. The army successfully advanced several miles into the heart of True Yang Mountain, wiping out six small sects along the way.

「Morning.」

Just as the sky began to lighten, hundreds of flying cranes landed beside the Central Army Camp north of Sanshui City over the course of half an hour. They carried news from the Lishan and Pingshan battlefronts.

"True Yang Mountain is contracting its defensive lines."

Hu Qianqian, who was responsible for reading the intelligence, said this to Zuo Xuan after compiling all the reports.

Grand Commandant Liu Yu looked at the topographical map of True Yang Mountain’s complex interior and said, "That’s the right choice. I suspect they want to concentrate their forces for a decisive battle in a region where they have the advantage."

"Sanyang City!"

He pointed to a location on the southern slope of True Yang Mountain’s main peak—a pass city that led to the Inner Sect on the summit. This city had an abundant water source in its center, and the water was warm year-round, so it had many hot spring facilities.

"Are we going to fight the decisive battle with them here?"

Zhao Yu’Er, who was standing behind Liu Shuang, asked.

Liu Yu first bowed to Zhao Yu’Er before speaking. "This humble subordinate has an idea, but it might be a bit... improper."

"Just say it."

Zuo Xuan gestured to Liu Yu, giving him the confidence to speak his mind.

Liu Yu cupped his hands and said, "Why don’t we just use the Entering and Second Realm Cultivators to charge straight up? We could probably end this battle in half a day."

"That’s a good idea, but I’m afraid that when the time comes..."

At the lowest-ranking seat in the Central Army Camp Tent, a Tiger Demon’s eyes lit up in full approval of the idea. Full of excitement, he stuck out his tongue and licked his lips. He was about to say more, but when he saw Hu Qianqian flick her furry ears and look over, he swallowed the rest of his words.

"Let’s report this to Changqing Zhenren first."

An elderly Cultivator looked at Zuo Xuan. "Perhaps the True Man has other plans."

Zuo Xuan nodded. "Very well."

「A quarter of an hour later.」

Wang Ping listened to Zuo Xuan’s report while playing Go with Huaimo Taoist.

His gaze swept over Ganxing, Wu Quan, Zhi Gong, and Hu Yin. "What are your thoughts?"

"Our disciples are not Taiyin Evil Cultivators. If you’re going to have them attack tens of thousands of ordinary soldiers, you might as well have us cast a single spell. It would be simpler."

Wu Quan said in a solemn tone.

’Most of them cultivate the Righteous Dao. Sometimes, they can be a bit hypocritical. If you ask them to secretly plot the deaths of tens of thousands, they wouldn’t even blink. But if you ask them to slaughter tens of thousands of mortals in front of everyone, they’d almost certainly refuse unless it was absolutely necessary.’

"You are dismissed."

Wang Ping waved a hand at Zuo Xuan.

Zuo Xuan nodded, said, "Yes, sir," and quickly withdrew.

CLACK.

Wang Ping placed a white stone on the board, inviting Huaimo Taoist to continue. He smiled and said, "Aren’t those lunatics from ’Day One’ still around? Who wants to send someone to meet with them?"

Hu Yin’s eyes lit up. "Now that’s an idea. They must be thinking about this very problem right now. Let me handle it."

Liu Huai’en, however, cupped his hands and said, "Let me handle it instead." As he spoke, he took out a Communication Jade Slip. "I guarantee an answer within four hours."

Wang Ping smiled. "Then I’ll leave it to you!"

Just as he finished speaking, Huaimo Taoist decisively placed a black stone, his focus entirely on the game.

Wang Ping looked at the large dragon Huaimo Taoist had formed, suppressed the urge to flip the board, and asked those around him, "Why do you think True Yang Mountain continues to hold out?"

Tongming Wanderer looked up toward True Yang Mountain and was the first to answer. "In the Cultivation Realm, when you can’t understand someone’s sudden and incomprehensible actions, their goal can only be one thing..."

"To achieve a breakthrough?"

Yu Lian blurted out the rest of Tongming Wanderer’s sentence, leaving him speechless. She then asked, "What are the conditions for advancing to the Fourth Realm with the Three Yang True Inheritance?"

Only the chance to advance to the Fourth Realm would be tempting enough to draw so many Third Realm Fire Spirit Cultivators here.

This time, it was the Mountain Guard who answered. "The specific method is known only to a few high-ranking members of the True Yang Sect. But I do know that from the moment they advance to the Third Realm, they begin nourishing a Sunflower with their True Flame. This Sunflower is the key to their advancement. Also, their Fourth Realm is called the ’Heart Flame Realm.’"

Wang Ping nodded thoughtfully, placed a stone, and said, "So it’s not for a breakthrough, then?"

Hu Yin said, "The most valuable thing deep within True Yang Mountain is the Fire Spirit. I just don’t understand why Great Monarch Lieyang would allow it to leave the True Yang Sect."

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