The psychic-thought confrontation had lasted far too little before the defenses of Infinite Star Palace's cultivators had collapsed, to the point that Jormun, the captain of the Sky Patrol Warship, stood momentarily stunned, his mind blank. He had no idea what had just happened.

Had the previous rounds of probing attacks not already proven it? The Nine Cauldrons Sect’s primordial-psyche cultivators had been completely incapable of threatening their side’s primordial-psyche experts in the slightest. So how had everything reversed in an instant?

Yet as light erupted from the direction of Longxiang City, the blinding radiance and his own seasoned combat instincts snapped him back to awareness.

What met his eyes was a thousand-meter greatsword formed from the Nine Heavens Lightning Tribulation Sword Formation. It tore through the space between them at dozens of times the speed of sound, clearly set to crash into their Sky Patrol fleet within one or two breaths. And judging from the appearance of that condensed greatsword, whether in the intensity of the lightning it released or the stability of its overall structure, it surpassed the earlier attacks by more than an entire tier.

Jolted fully awake, Jormun’s commands instantly spread to every corner of the warship. "Flying swords incoming!"

A powerful surge of psychic thought shook everyone’s minds, dragging them out of the dazed shock caused by the sudden collapse of the psychic-thought confrontation. "Counterattack! Counterattack! Return fire at once!"

Under the urgent orders, the Infinite Star Palace's sword cultivators reacted immediately. Brilliant sword lights shot skyward, instinctively creating sword formations that were further amplified by the warship's arrays, intercepting the thousand-meter greatsword tearing through the void.

However, unlike before, when they had enjoyed precise guidance from their own primordial-psyche experts, this time they received no such support. Instead, they were heavily disrupted by a raging psychic-thought storm emanating from Longxiang City. Under those waves of mental interference, many sword formations clearly lagged when compared to the others, even if just by a fraction of a beat.

The sword cultivators who hastily unleashed their flying swords were thrown into chaos, unable to coordinate effectively. Worse still, the distance between the two sides was far too short.

For clusters of life-bound flying swords traveling at dozens of times the speed of sound, traveling less than 150 kilometers was practically instantaneous. Those flying swords that rushed out without forming arrays were blasted aside by the lightning wrapped around the incoming sword cluster before they could even approach.

A few sword cultivators did manage to assemble arrays, but under the Nine Cauldrons Sect’s psychic interference, the arrays twisted and warped, unable to exert even a fraction of their power. When they crashed into the Nine Heavens Lightning Tribulation Sword Formation, they shattered on first contact.

"How..." Under Jormun’s shocked gaze, the thousand-meter greatsword, laced with countless arcs of lightning, smashed through the flying swords launched from the Sky Patrol Warship, drawing closer and closer!

"Stabilize the true origin! Maintain spell control! Prepare for impact!" Psychic-thought fluctuations mixed with shock and fury flooded the entire vessel.

Jormun himself immediately pushed the strongest defensive array aboard the warship to its absolute limit. In that instant, everyone on the Sky Patrol Warship could only watch as the Nine Heavens Lightning Tribulation Sword Formation, formed from countless life-bound flying swords, crashed down with thunderous, mountain-splitting force.

Dazzling brilliance mixed with world-illuminating lightning filled every sense as the attack hit the warship's shields, causing everything to rumble.

"Hold it! Hold it! Hold it!" Jormun roared, staring unblinkingly at the defensive light shield formed by the arrays.

Visible shockwaves rolled endlessly over the warship’s shield. The sound of each impact from a life-bound flying sword was like a death knell, resounding through Jormun’s mind and the mental worlds of every Infinite Star Palace cultivator aboard.

They stared wide-eyed at the arrays overhead, unable to comprehend how a battle that should have been effortlessly won had turned so catastrophically.

There was a buzzing sound, and the warship tilted.

The impacts and the destructive force overwhelmed the Sky Patrol Warship’s stabilization and propulsion systems. The vessel, weighing millions of tons, listed sharply, as if about to plunge toward the ground.

At that moment, Jormun’s pupils dilated as he saw the outermost defensive array exceed its limits and shatter with a loud crack. The engraved array patterns corresponding to it exploded, spraying countless streaks of light. And that was only the beginning.

As the remaining life-bound flying swords continued hammering into the warship, four more defensive arrays failed in rapid succession. Before they were given even a moment to recover, a column of Annihilation Purple Light, like a beam spanning heaven and earth, slammed into the remaining arrays.

Compared to life-bound flying swords, the Annihilation Purple Light had poor penetration, but the energy level contained within the spell was terrifyingly high. Though it failed to break any single array, its vast energy, far surpassing that of the flying swords, was released without restraint against the defensive arrays, placing an astonishing load on each.

The Nine Heavens Lightning Tribulation Sword Formation had punched through five defensive arrays in one breath, while the Annihilation Purple Light was slowly grinding down the power of every remaining array across the entire warship.

Only after some time did Jormun finally regain control of the rapidly descending, nearly out-of-control Sky Patrol Warship. As he looked at the shattered array foundations, uncontrollable fury surged in his eyes.

The Nine Cauldrons Sect! A single domain’s forces have actually pushed us to this extent! Although the Nine Heavens Domain faces the East Sea directly and has maintained strong defenses, which were further reinforced because of the recent unrest in the East Sea, it has always been the Infinite Star Palace striking others. When has anyone ever dared strike the Infinite Star Palace? The Nine Cauldrons Sect is outrageous!

"Counterattack! Counterattack!" Jormun’s orders echoed instantly through every cultivator aboard. "That was merely a surprise attack. The Infinite Star Palace’s Sky Patrol Warship is invincible. Return fire at full power and destroy that city!"

As the command was issued, the Infinite Star Palace cultivators sprang into action. Compared to the Nine Cauldrons Sect, they held not only a cultivation advantage, but an equipment advantage as well.

Even though they were fewer in number, the combat power they could unleash was still enough to erase any small sect, or even a mid-sized sect, from the Great Cangwu World.

The Infinite Star Palace Sky Patrol Warship responded swiftly, yet Yaoguang’s assault was no slower. He did not wait for the sword cultivators’ life-bound flying swords to return before quickly taking control of a second Nine Heavens Lightning Tribulation Sword Formation, guiding the psyche cultivators and spell cultivators to launch a second wave of attacks.

As a violent psychic-thought storm erupted and a greatsword wrapped in dazzling lightning swept across the sky, a second collision once again detonated in the void 150 kilometers away.

This time, even though the Infinite Star Palace’s Sky Patrol Warship had been fully prepared and had unleashed its entire combat power, it still failed to withstand the incoming psychic-thought confrontation. At best, it avoided sustaining as much damage as it had suffered during the first exchange.

When the greatsword formed by the Nine Heavens Lightning Tribulation Sword Formation came crashing down, arrays aboard the Sky Patrol Warship shattered one after another, life-bound flying swords were ground to pieces, and the residual radiance of the greatsword slammed heavily into the warship’s hull, collapsing two more layers of arrays.

Not long after the second wave landed, the third wave followed immediately. And once again, thanks to the advantage of having an opening, it stripped away another layer of the Sky Patrol Warship’s defensive arrays.

If this continued, the Infinite Star Palace's cultivators might be able to exhaust this group of sword and spell cultivators to death, but they themselves would not fare much better. After all, they were fighting on the Nine Cauldrons Sect’s own territory, and forces from the surrounding domains of the Nine Cauldrons Sect were rushing in at full speed.

If they were to clash head-on with the Nine Cauldrons Sect beneath Longxiang City and suffer severe losses, then once reinforcements from other domains closed in...

"Damn it!" At this moment, Jormun finally felt a chill seep into his heart. "We’ve been tricked!"

The Nine Cauldrons Sect’s earlier display of weakness had been deliberate, meant to lull them into carelessness and draw them deep into Nine Cauldrons Sect territory, where they could be surrounded and attacked. Otherwise, there was no way to explain such a massive disparity in strength between the earlier and later engagements!

Thinking of the consequences he would face if he were defeated here, Jormun clenched his teeth.

"We can’t keep fighting. Otherwise... all of us will die here! Even if we do fight again, we need at least three to five more Sky Patrol Warships to form a proper fleet..." His psychic thoughts shifted rapidly, turning into orders that spread throughout the warship. "Retreat! Retreat!"

The command left some of the great cultivators aboard feeling unwilling. How can the invincible Infinite Star Palace retreat?! And driven back by the mere Nine Cauldrons Sect using the power of a single domain?!

Yet others quietly breathed a sigh of relief. They understood as well that relying on a single Sky Patrol Warship to wipe out a powerful sect like the Nine Cauldrons Sect was unrealistic. They could only wait until more Sky Patrol Warships were assembled, then wash away this humiliation.

Amid the unrest, Captain Jormun’s order was ultimately carried out. The massive hull of the Sky Patrol Warship slowly turned, retreating in a somewhat panicked manner toward the East Sea.

Seeing this, the cultivators within Longxiang City froze for a brief moment. Then, uncontrollable cheers erupted within everyone’s psychic consciousness and psychic thoughts.

"They’re retreating! They’re retreating!"

"We won! We drove back the Infinite Star Palace’s Sky Patrol Warship! We won!"

"Hahaha, all enemies are paper tigers. Victory will ultimately be ours!"[1]

Everyone, whether Zhao He, Qin Yi, or Fang Jie, Xu Kong, Luo Yunhai, and the others, could not help but reveal expressions of delight. The suffocating cloud of despair hanging over everyone’s heads dissipated completely, replaced by overwhelming exhilaration from having survived the catastrophe.

***

As Jormun fled in disarray, he seemed to sense the joy surging from the direction of Longxiang City, and his expression darkened to an extreme degree. "Humiliation! Humiliation! This is an unbearable disgrace!"

Savage light flickered in his eyes. The insignificant Nine Cauldrons Sect had managed to force back a Sky Patrol Warship from the Infinite Star Palace... He could almost foresee what awaited him once he returned to the sect.

"A bunch of clownish remnants of the Artifact Sect! Why didn’t you die along with the Artifact Sect’s destruction?! These leftovers deserve death! All of them deserve death!" His gaze shifted, landing on another region of the Nine Heavens Domain map.

"They relied on Longxiang City’s level 6 arrays to barely contend with our Sky Patrol Warship, but... our warship can move. Their city can’t, can it?" Jormun fixed his eyes on one location. "And their great cultivators are all gathered at Longxiang City. That means the defenses of their other cities are completely hollow, including their so-called capital, Nine Heavens City. Tell me... if we change course now and make a full-speed raid on Nine Heavens City, what will happen?"

The aide was momentarily stunned. A raid on Nine Heavens City? Their original target had been Longxiang City. Attacking Nine Heavens City seemed to serve little purpose beyond venting rage.

But after sneaking a glance at the captain’s ferocious expression, he wisely chose not to object. "Nine Heavens City absolutely won’t be able to withstand an attack from our Sky Patrol Warship."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Jormun sneered and opened his mouth to issue the order.

But suddenly, a shrill alarm blared across the entire warship. Beep! Beep! Beep!

On the main screen, a bright red warning indicator flashed wildly. "Incoming attack! Incoming attack! Source: above the nine heavens. Energy level: 8."

Jormun, who had looked savage just moments before, froze. "Above the nine heavens?! Level 8 energy?!"

In the next instant, an unprecedented chill enveloped his entire body. He jerked his head up, extending his psychic perception toward the heavens, only to see the upper atmosphere ablaze, as if a blazing sun were falling from the sky, dyeing the clouds a fiery red!

In that split second, Jormun let out a hoarse roar, "Golden Core Realm attack incoming!"

A vast surge of psychic thought swept through the entire warship. "Abandon ship!"

In less than a single breath, the firelight that stained the sky red pierced through the atmosphere, like a planet-destroying cannon fired from outer space, striking the fast-moving Sky Patrol Warship with pinpoint accuracy!

Without a sound, a colossal fireball, vast as a sun, bloomed into existence, its light illuminating the heavens as it completely engulfed the Sky Patrol Warship.

1. The term "paper tiger" refers to something or someone that claims or appears to be powerful or threatening but is actually ineffectual and unable to withstand challenge. ☜