Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

The courtyard.

Jiang Ding drew line after line on the paper, and in the blink of an eye, a dense and complete array diagram appeared on the page, radiating light as he infused it with his Inner Energy.

"It's done."

He exhaled lightly.

After more than ten days of practice, the last array diagram, the first-order Flight Formation, was finally complete.

The Four Formations of the Talisman Sword: the First-order Great Sun Spirit Gathering Array, the Special Sharp Gold Array, the Floating Formation, the Flight Formation.

The four array diagrams were folded in a specific way, with a drop of Essence Blood added for Blood Refinement; then the first layer of the "Great Sun Sword Cultivation Method," the Talisman Sword, would be accomplished.

For over three months, he had practiced non-stop on the array diagrams, and today, he finally reaped the results; his Sword of Dao Foundation was about to take its first step.

And that wasn't the only reward, for through researching the four array diagrams, his understanding of Formation Path had been greatly exercised, and his mathematics grades would inevitably see an improvement.

At the very least, math class had not seemed so difficult to Jiang Ding recently, and he was even able to find much joy in mathematics.

"A drop of Essence Blood..."

Jiang Ding went over the refining method in his mind several times, still hesitant in his heart.

After studying the Hundred Step Flying Sword for so long, he couldn't be more aware of how important Essence Blood was to a young martial artist.

Even though the "Great Sun Sword Cultivation Method" was one of the highest achievements of the Great Sun Sword Pavilion's Immortal Path technology, profound and extraordinary, requiring only one drop of Essence Blood instead of continuous Blood Refinement like other Hundred Step Flying Swords.

Even just one drop could severely damage the vital essence or even, on the rarest of occasions, harm the foundation, leading to a cultivation base that could not advance an inch further.

"Why hesitate?"

Jiang Ding held the sword hilt, his heart resolute.

"Currently, my academic performance is decent and should be sufficiently stable to be admitted to the Qianling University's Taoism Department, which tends to favor students from our province. There's a fifty percent chance I could reach foundation building."

"The other fifty percent is that I might never advance beyond the late-stage Qi Practicing and might become a teacher like 'Teacher Jiang' who teaches ideology and morals in a school, or a 'Military Instructor Jiang' who specializes in cold weapons."

"Golden Pill, the chance is extremely slim."

"There are limits to a person's talent, foundation, and wisdom. Teacher Zhang Dingjun, Teacher Guo, they are no different—not for lack of effort, but because of their own limitations."

"That future is not bad. I enjoy the benefits of the paths paved by those before me, and it wouldn't be so bad to become 'Teacher Jiang' and pave the way for future generations."

"However, there can be more!"

Fiery flames burned in Jiang Ding's eyes: "I can stand higher, do more! I could even potentially propel the Xianmen Sect's exploration of the Immortal Path further!"

"I must also benefit my family, allow my mother, allow Jiang Yuan to become Foundation-building Cultivators—even if they waste away doing nothing."

"For such a future, the current situation is not enough!"

"Not enough!"

In a swell of emotion, Jiang Ding made his decision.

"As long as I can cultivate the Sword of Dao Foundation, I'll possess the foundation of a Tao Son level under the Great Sun Sword Pavilion, my future talent no less than that of the geniuses. The great Dao awaits."

"The risk is worth it."

From the drone's perspective,

two carriages approached the general store, and Jiang Ding gradually reined in his emotions, once again cultivating and refining the small branches of the Twelve Regular Meridians with his Inner Qi.

Once he finished refining the thousand tiny branches of the Twelve Regular Meridians, he could use the vast Inner Energy stored in the total of twelve thousand minor and major branches of meridians to forcibly break through the checkpoints of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and enter the second half of the 'Large Circle of Vital Energy' cultivation.

This step, without additional external forces, would take around three months.

Knock, knock, knock!

Dragon Three didn't wait for Huang Deyou to announce him; he was familiar enough with the place to knock lightly on the door himself.

"Come in."

"I have seen the young master."

Dragon Three said respectfully, "The Blue Luminous Butterflies for today have been delivered—there are 4,278 pairs, which is a few hundred pairs less than initially estimated. The Blue Luminous Butterflies are becoming increasingly scarce, and it's getting harder to capture them. To fulfill the number you requested, it might take a bit longer."

Jiang Ding frowned: "How much longer?"

"Perhaps twenty more days," Dragon Three said apologetically. "Now, we can only capture them deep inside Donglingshan Mountain. They have nearly vanished from the outskirts, and it's not uncommon for herbalists to get injured."

Jiang Ding fell silent.

This was surely a roundabout way of speaking; someone must have died, whether they fell off a cliff or were killed by a ferocious beast.

He couldn't bring himself to urge them on any further.

"Triple the compensation for the bereaved, and the same for the injured; take it from my account with the Sihai Business Association."

"Yes, I understand," the servant replied.

Shopkeeper Long had long understood his temperament and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Young Master, recently the people from the Marquis's residence have been arresting loose Inner Qi Martial Artists who don't belong to any major forces within the city... You... should be careful."

He didn't know if this was needless worry, but he figured that the Marquis's residence would not easily offend a young master who seemed to have a significant background.

"Arresting them... On what grounds?"

Jiang Ding shivered at the thought of the blood pool in the underground cavern of Fierce Tiger Village.

"Their reasons are quite substantial,"

Dragon Three recalled: "To improve the public order in Dongling City, clear old cases, and give Dongling back its clear skies... They've even received much praise from the citizens."

"To tell the truth, many Inner Qi Realm Martial Artists have far greater power than ordinary people and tend to be somewhat overbearing in their actions, leaving the citizens too scared to even speak out."

"Is that so..."

Jiang Ding felt a strong urge to leave the city.

Yet, this was relatively the safest place. The farther one went from the city, the greater the chances of encountering diabolical cultivators, especially in remote mountain forests.

"I understand, thank you Shopkeeper Long."

He said calmly, acknowledging the favor.

Dragon Three took his leave and departed.

...

Jiang Ding pulled up the surveillance footage from the drone during that time and quickly skimmed through it.

A group of armored guards with even their faces covered by iron helmets split into several teams of ten, under the guidance of the Inner Qi Martial Artists from the Yiqi Gang, Zheng Mansion, or Longhu Martial Arts Hall, they spread out across the city to the residences of various martial artists and surrounded them.

These were the Marquis's personal armored guards!

And then,

They broke through doors, covered them with iron nets, and bound them with chains. Their coordinated attacks were smooth and practiced, clearly designed to combat Jianghu martial artists.

"Who are you?!"

Most of the Inner Qi Realm Martial Artists were captured before they could even react. They could only shout loudly before being gagged with rags and escorted back to the dungeons of the Marquis's residence.

Occasionally, there were highly skilled martial artists who could not be subdued immediately. They would send out a signal to wait for reinforcements.

Within half an hour, multiple teams would rapidly converge and surround them, leaving no avenue for escape.

The ones with exceptional lightness skills were targeted by devotees of the Yiqi Gang and others. With many attacking at once, hardly anyone could escape. Sometimes, if a person resisted too fiercely and only a corpse was left, they would be sharply reprimanded by their leaders and brought back to the Marquis's residence just the same.

In just one night,

The numerous loose Inner Qi Realm Martial Artists, drawn by the prosperity of Dongling City and the leniency of its government, all but vanished.

At least over fifty Inner Qi Realm Martial Artists were captured, and more than twenty were killed, leaving behind only corpses.

As Dragon Three mentioned, similar events were happening in other regions, achieving a sweeping capture.

"If one day I reach the peak of this realm..."

He sighed,

And closed the drone surveillance footage.

To say he was angry was an overstatement.

Most of these Inner Qi Realm Martial Artists seldom engaged in any productive labor, relying on brute force to gain the gold, silver, and medicinal materials they needed, along with their esteemed status.

In this process, many lives were lost due to conflicting sides at their hands, and whether it was right or wrong was not a matter of concern to them.

Now, due to their lesser strength, they fell to stronger forces and had to accept their fate.

What he truly sympathized with were the common people, who created the wealth of the world, who did nothing wrong, yet bore all the consequences.

However, with such little power, all he could do was sigh.