Under Li Qingshan’s command, the Sword-Wielding Institute moved out of the Nine Heavens Domain, instantly drawing the attention of every major power across the Heavenly Star Continent.

The Sword-Wielding Institute had always been the strongest institute within the Nine Cauldrons Sect. Even its weakest members were third-tier great cultivators at the late stage of the Foundation Building Realm. Within its ranks were also many fourth-tier combatants who had already formed a Dao Foundation.

These people could match third-tier cultivators wielding third- or fourth-generation treasured artifact flying swords even with their bare hands alone. If they were similarly equipped with third- or fourth-generation treasured artifact flying swords, then against third-tier cultivators, they needed only the slightest tactical coordination to be able to fight one against ten. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Under such circumstances, although the Sword-Wielding Institute numbered only a little over one hundred and twenty on paper, the combat power it represented was equivalent to three to four hundred elite great sword cultivators. Not to mention that the one leading this force into battle was none other than the Nine Cauldrons Sect’s sect master, Li Qingshan.

It was no exaggeration to say that this battle was the most severe test the Nine Cauldrons Sect had faced in its ninety years of existence. If the Nine Cauldrons Sect prevailed, it would prove beyond doubt that it truly possessed the strength of a large sect, and the recovery of the East Sea's islands would proceed smoothly.

The Great Yue Dynasty, the Star Sea Sect, the Ancient Immortal Sect, and the Xuanming Sect, which had previously believed that as long as the Great Sun Sword Sect stood in front, occupying the East Sea's islands would not invite retaliation, would immediately be forced to adjust their strategies. The more timid ones might even pack up and withdraw from the East Sea immediately.

But if the Nine Cauldrons Sect's cultivators were to be defeated... For a long time to come, the East Sea's islands would have nothing more to do with it. All factions would freely plunder the East Sea’s various resources, funneling its yields back into their own growth.

***

Above the East Sea, the Spring Rain Sky Patrol Warship cruised steadily at Mach 3. It was a standard combat unit equipped with thirty-six Foundation Building sword cultivators, twenty-four spell cultivators, and twelve primordial psyche cultivators. Yet this force of only seventy-two great cultivators could face any elite battle institute head-on and fight three, or even four, similar institutes at once.

In other words, it took three to four hundred elite great cultivators to contend with a single Sky Patrol Warship. This was the amplification granted by the numerous arrays embedded within the warship.

Also, the Sky Patrol Warship’s true value lay not in frontal combat, but in the logistical support it provided. From this alone, one could see just how formidable the comprehensive capabilities of such a divine artifact were, as it could render entire sects helpless.

The warship’s captain, Zuo Chuan, was speaking with Chi Songzi, deputy hall master of the Great Sun Sword Sect’s Warfare Hall.

"This time, your primary target is not Li Qingshan, the Nine Cauldrons Sect’s sect master who personally commands the Sword-Wielding Institute. Li Qingshan’s position is extremely sensitive. If you capture him, that shameless old monster of the Nine Cauldrons Sect might intervene personally! The risk is far too great! Our objective is to occupy the East Sea and gradually erode and weaken the Nine Cauldrons Sect, not to trigger a full-scale war! Therefore, your target this time is the chief of the Sea Guardian Institute, the one responsible for logistics!" Chi Songzi issued his orders.

"Understood!" Zuo Chuan nodded slightly.

"No! You don't understand!" Chi Songzi said in a deep voice. "Sending you after the Sea Guardian Institute’s chief is not because his importance is inferior to Li Qingshan’s. According to the grand elder and the Heavenly Palace Hall, capturing or eliminating him is even more valuable than taking Li Qingshan!"

After a brief pause, he continued, "Just now, Dai Wei, hall master of the Infinite Star Palace’s Public Relations Hall, contacted me. If we can capture the Sea Guardian Institute’s chief alive and hand him over to them, they are willing to share fourth-generation flying sword refinement technology with us. I am not talking about low- or middle-grade fourth-generation treasured artifact flying swords, but fourth-generation high-grade flying swords. You know what that represents."

"Fourth-generation high-grade treasured artifact flying swords?!" Zuo Chuan gasped.

In the current world, only the Infinite Star Palace, the Thousand-Beast Sect, and the Immortal Alliance possessed the capability to produce fourth-generation high-grade treasured artifact flying swords. Neither the Lunar Sect nor the Dharma Heaven Pavilion had such capabilities.

If the Infinite Star Palace really shared its fourth-generation flying sword technology with them, then with the Great Sun Sword Sect’s existing foundation, it would immediately rise to become a power second only to the Six Great Immortal Sects within the Great Cangwu World. It might even rival the Lunar Sect and the Dharma Heaven Pavilion, surpassing some Six Great Immortal Sects, as long as their Golden Core cultivators were excluded.

"That Sea Guardian Institute chief actually carries this much weight?" Zuo Chuan asked.

"Besides being the chief of the Sea Guardian Institute, he is also the chief of the Purple Firmament Institute. I don't need to explain the value of the Purple Firmament Institute to you, do I?" Chi Songzi replied.

"The Purple Firmament Institute!" Zuo Chuan nodded solemnly.

As a major sect that had long eyed the East Sea's islands, the Great Sun Sword Sect had always kept close watch on the Nine Cauldrons Sect. Naturally, this meant they were well aware of the changes within it.

The Purple Firmament Institute was one capable of refining fourth-generation spirit artifacts—No! Rumors already claimed it could refine third-generation, low-grade treasured-artifact-level flying swords! The value of the artifact-refinement institute was self-evident.

Furthermore, the fact that the Infinite Star Palace was willing to trade fourth-generation flying sword technology just to obtain the chief of the Purple Firmament Institute and Sea Guardian Institute made it clear that Yaoguang was even more important than they had initially estimated.

Zuo Chuan said, "Hall Master, since this Yaoguang is so capable—"

Before he could finish, Chi Songzi cut him off. "Put those thoughts away. If the Infinite Star Palace has already named its price as fourth-generation flying sword technology, do you really think we can refuse?"

He added, "To secure this battle institute, three Heavenly Palace cultivators have already been dispatched to assist you. According to their reconnaissance, the Sea Guardian Institute, led by Yaoguang, intends to tie you down to buy time for Li Qingshan’s Sword-Wielding Institute to crush the Divine Fire Institute. I will order the Divine Fire Institute to hold out as long as possible. As for you, before the Divine Fire Institute collapses, you must defeat the Sea Guardian Institute and capture the target. Do you understand?"

"The Sea Guardian Institute is not a frontline elite battle institute at all! Hall Master, rest assured. Leave it to me!" Zuo Chuan responded firmly.

"The target is already less than 15 thousand kilometers away. I will be waiting for good news!" With that, Chi Songzi ended the call.

Zuo Chuan gazed resolutely into the distance and immediately issued his command, "Relay my order! Advance at full speed! Activate all arrays and prepare to engage!"

***

Yaoguang led the Sea Guardian Institute as they advanced through the void on flying swords. The force consisted of seventy-two sword cultivators, thirty-six spell cultivators, and twelve primordial psyche cultivators.

Because they had to account for primordial psyche cultivators such as Yaoguang and Bai Lu, their flying speed was not especially fast, hovering at roughly Mach 3.

As they flew, Yaoguang swept his gaze across the group around him. The strongest pillar of combat power was undoubtedly Tang Fenghua, a fourth-tier great cultivator. The rest were mostly third-tier great cultivators like Wang Feng. There were also some second-tier great cultivators, but they were primarily spell cultivators and psyche cultivators. The sword cultivators tasked with breaking through enemy lines still retained sufficient combat strength.

Yaoguang maintained psychic-thought resonance with the twelve primordial psyche cultivators led by Bai Lu. Through the resonance of their combined psychic thoughts, even without any array amplification, he had already detected the position of the Spring Rain Sky Patrol Warship six thousand kilometers away.

Of course, this was only because he did not wish to expose himself too early to the perception of the Great Sun Sword Sect’s Heavenly Palace cultivators, and thus had not activated the power of his Dharma Form. Otherwise, no matter how far away the Spring Rain Sky Patrol Warship was, he would still have been able to sense it.

"The Spring Rain Sky Patrol Warship has arrays that extend its attack range, allowing its sword cultivators to strike from over five hundred kilometers away..." Yaoguang’s gaze swept across the Sea Guardian Institute’s sword cultivators. Every single one of them was equipped with Purple Firmament flying swords.

"The enemy is six thousand kilometers to our left. Sword cultivators, accelerate and engage! I want you to launch your attack when you are still fifteen hundred kilometers from the Spring Rain. Unleash the sword formation, strike at the enemy, and leave the rest to us."

"Yes, Chief." Led by Tang Fenghua, the sword cultivators answered in unison. The group tore through the void and charged straight toward the Spring Rain Sky Patrol Warship.

Yaoguang continued issuing orders, "Captain Fang Jie, I want your team to prepare the Yin-Yang Disintegration Technique to destroy the arrays on the Spring Rain Sky Patrol Warship."

"The Yin-Yang Disintegration Technique, specialized in dismantling defensive arrays?" Fang Jie, the spell cultivator assigned to the Sea Guardian Institute, was momentarily startled. "This spell requires nearly half an hour of preparation."

As he spoke, he glanced into the distance. "And the Spring Rain is still quite far away. If they realize we are preparing the Yin-Yang Disintegration Technique, they will definitely withdraw from its effective range or dispatch sword cultivators to launch a surprise attack on us while we prepare. At the very least, they could prepare counter-spells in advance to shatter our own."

"I know," Yaoguang said with calm confidence. "I will guide you to accelerate the preparation of the spell. In addition, they will not detect your preparation of the Yin-Yang Disintegration Technique, and they will not be able to dispatch sword cultivators to ambush us, nor prepare spells in advance to disrupt us."

He smiled faintly. "Our sword cultivators will not give them any opportunity to launch surprise attacks or prepare countermeasures."

Recalling the astonishing feats Yaoguang had displayed during the defense of Longxiang City, Fang Jie chose to trust him without hesitation. He immediately issued an order to the spell cultivators behind him. "Prepare the Yin-Yang Disintegration Technique!"

At once, powerful fluctuations surged around the group as they started preparing the spell. Yaoguang lifted his head slightly. His gaze seemed to pierce endless space, landing upon a Heavenly Palace suspended high above the nine heavens.

Within that Heavenly Palace, a primordial psyche cultivator was drawing upon the palace’s arrays to project a massive wave of psychic-thought interference. At the same time that Heavenly Palace released its interference into the surrounding region, another distant Heavenly Palace condensed a powerful stream of psychic thought and probed in this direction. This was the Great Sun Sword Sect’s Heavenly Palace cultivator.

What they did not realize, however, was that the true purpose behind the Nine Cauldrons Sect Heavenly Palace cultivator’s psychic-thought interference was just to confuse them. The one truly suppressing the entire region, masking the massive fluctuations of something like the Yin-Yang Disintegration Technique and preventing the outside world from perceiving even a trace of it, was Yaoguang himself.

As his psychic thought surged forth and synchronized perfectly with the Nine Cauldrons Sect’s Heavenly Palace cultivator, the entire group vanished completely from the perception of the Great Sun Sword Sect’s Heavenly Palace cultivators. This sudden change caused the Great Sun Sword Sect’s Heavenly Palace cultivators to relay the information back at once, and soon, it reached Zuo Chuan.

"Situation unclear?!" Zuo Chuan frowned deeply.

Under such circumstances, the Spring Rain should have proceeded with caution and avoided reckless advance. But if a bit of empty posturing from the enemy was enough to scare them off, then what was the point of the Great Sun Sword Sect mobilizing such forces to patrol the East Sea in the first place?

After a brief moment of contemplation, he let out a cold laugh. "Our Great Sun Sword Sect’s Sky Patrol Warships are invincible! Other than the Sword-Wielding Institute, what force does the Nine Cauldrons Sect possess that can contend with our Sky Patrol Warships?"

With absolute confidence in his side’s strength, he issued the order without hesitation, "Close in. Push the psychic-thought amplification arrays to maximum output. Let our primordial psyche cultivators tear through the enemy's cover-ups!"