LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 208 Warship
Big Dipper Domain.
The Third Celestial Warship Research Institute.
At this moment, the director of the research institute, Fang Jinxue, along with Array Masters and Artifact Refiners summoned from several other institutes, had gathered here. After signing a series of confidentiality agreements, they arrived at a skyport shrouded in formations.
Recalling the agreement they had signed not long ago, everyone's faces still reflected a sense of incredulity.
"Is it really a second-generation Celestial Warship!?"
"Capture a second-generation Celestial Warship!? This is simply a fantasy! How on earth did the sect manage to do this?"
"The first-generation Celestial Warships focus on combat enhancement, the second-generation strengthened defense, and the third-generation shifts focus to Divine Sense amplification, information blockade, and support, capable of forming an information void similar to that of a Dharma Phase Cultivator... In other words, in terms of defense alone, the second-generation Celestial Warship is hardly any inferior to the third generation. To capture one, one would need at least four elite Battle Courtyards to act together, and that's only if the other side doesn't call for support or flee, stubbornly duking it out with you, then there might be a slight hope..."
"This can't be a joke, can it? I still have several tough problems waiting for me to tackle."
These Array Masters and Master Artifact Refiners clustered together, buzzing with discussion.
Even though they had all signed the agreement, they couldn't believe it was true.
Seeing this, Fang Jinxue couldn't help but say, "Alright, since the higher-ups have asked us to wait here, they wouldn't do so without a reason. We just need to be patient."
His words did calm everyone down a bit, but various discussions were still abound, making the scene quite lively.
Just then, an especially perceptive Primordial Spirit Realm cultivator and Array Master seemed to sense something and abruptly looked up towards the end of the sky.
With his gaze lifting, other Primordial Spirit Cultivators who specialized in the Divine Path also sensed something.
"There's something odd about the airflow."
"Something is approaching, huh, how come I haven't sensed it?"
"The surrounding stellar power field has undergone an extremely subtle distortion, a massive target is coming..."
Everyone followed their senses and looked towards the horizon.
Soon after, radiant light swirled around.
A massive object, nearly a kilometer in diameter, gradually revealed itself as its camouflage and stealth dissipated, coming into everyone's view.
It was none other than the Spring Rain Warship, which Alkaid had quickly captured from the East Sea Archipelago.
Upon seeing the warship, even the previously skeptical Artifact Refiners and Array Masters widened their eyes in surprise.
As the Sword Cultivators and Body Cultivators responsible for protecting the research institute soared into the sky, guiding this Celestial Warship into the already activated formation area, those present could no longer contain their excitement and rushed forward.
"This Great Sun Sword Sect's Spring Rain Warship captured by us!?"
"The Great Sun Sword Sect's Spring Rain!? This is truly incredible, have we reclaimed the East Sea Archipelago?"
"Did I take a nap on the way here... Have I slept for a hundred years?"
One by one, the Array Masters and Master Artifact Refiners, like children discovering new toys, climbed aboard the Spring Rain Warship, touching this and looking at that, their eyes brimming with irrepressible joy.
Meanwhile, Fang Jinxue was the first to approach Alkaid as he emerged from the warship's bridge tower, offering an excited salute and greeting, "Hall Master Alkaid."
Rubbing his hands together, he asked, "Is this Celestial Warship really for us to research?"
"Yes."
Alkaid nodded, "To be exact, it's for us to research, and I will also join the research on the Spring Rain Celestial Warship. We will use this warship as a model to learn from, and then develop our own Celestial Warship for the Nine Cauldrons Sect."
"Hall Master Alkaid is also knowledgeable about Celestial Warships?"
Fang Jinxue was somewhat astonished.
Having heard of Alkaid's great reputation more than once as the Chief of the Third Celestial Warship Research Institute.
A sixth level three-star Array Master!
A ninth level four-star Artifact Refiner!
Any of these titles were renowned across the world.
In the Six Great Immortal Sects, he would be considered as a pillar.
Were he to be placed in mid-sized sects, his mere presence could stimulate progress and foster robust development.
Such a figure, even he, himself a sixth level three-star Array Master...
And an expert in several fields such as Primordial Spirit Amplification Formations, Primordial Spirit Interference Formations, and Primordial Spirit Stabilization Principles, could not compare.
But...
Wasn't he said to be an expert in Spirit Gathering Arrays?
So why now...
Before Alkaid could respond, Tang Fenghua, who had followed, interjected with a smile, "Hall Master Alkaid's mastery over the path of formations far surpasses what most can imagine. For a genius like him, to understand one path is to comprehend all paths. Do you know why we were able to capture this Spring Rain Warship unscathed? Why didn't the Great Sun Sword Sect's people flee or destroy the warship at the last moment? It's because they didn't have the opportunity!"
As he spoke, this fourth-rank Great Sword Cultivator's gaze towards Alkaid was filled with undisguised admiration, "Under Hall Master Alkaid's guidance, our thirty-six Technique Cultivators of the Sea Fortification Courtyard used just a single Yin Yang Disintegration Technique to destroy all twelve layers of the warship's defensive formation. It was nothing short of miraculous!"
"Thirty-six Technique Cultivators!? A single Yin Yang Disintegration Technique!?"
Hearing Tang Fenghua's words, Fang Jinxue almost instinctively exclaimed, "That's impossible! The defense of a Celestial Warship is so strong that even one hundred and eight Technique Cultivators spending more than an hour to cast the Yin Yang Disintegration Technique might not be 100% sure of completely breaking through its twelve-layer defense formation. Thirty-six Technique Cultivators, this..."
"I also find it hard to believe, but it is the truth,"
Tang Fenghua said, "All the way here, I have been wondering how Alkaid, the Hall Master, could have created this miracle. But putting together the Hall Master's repeated instructions for us to attack certain key points on the Patrol Heaven Warship during the battle, I have a hunch... Hall Master Alkaid was analyzing! By having us strike these formations, he deciphered the principles behind their operation. And then... he succeeded!"
He looked at Alkaid with a gaze akin to confronting a legend, "In less than twenty minutes, he analyzed the Spring Rain-class Celestial Warship's Twelve-Layer Defense Formation. In the end, with the aid of a Yin Yang Disintegration Technique cast together by thirty-six Technique Cultivators, he completely dismantled all of Spring Rain's defenses in one fell swoop, giving them no chance to catch their breath and achieving a fatal kill on them!"
"Less than twenty minutes!? To analyze a Twelve-Layer Defense Formation!?"
An Array Master at Master Level who had been transferred from several other research institutes joined the conversation, feeling as though they were listening to something out of a fantasy.
"How is that possible? How could there be such a person in this world!? Even a Grandmaster of formations would find it difficult to analyze twelve Sixth Level formations in such a short time, wouldn't they?"
"When building the defensive formations of any Patrol Heaven Warship, diversity and complexity are always incorporated to counter various methods of breaking the formations! I have seen the defensive formations of the Spring Rain, which involve five major categories..."
"Could it be that the information about the formations of the Spring Rain had been leaked beforehand?"
The Array Masters felt as if their understanding of the way of formations was being overturned.
Alkaid gave Tang Fenghua a glance.
He knew that Tang Fenghua was sharing these words partly because he genuinely felt shaken and wanted to share the experience and partly to establish his own prestige.
To ensure that others would cooperate fully with the study of this Patrol Heaven Warship.
Right then, he spoke, "As to what actually happened, we will understand once we start examining this Patrol Heaven Warship. For now, have someone take over this warship, and at the same time..."
He glanced at Wang Feng, "Tell the warriors from the Sea Fortification Courtyard to go back and rest first. In three days, the Sect Master himself will personally place honor medals on everyone who participated in this battle."
"Yes!"
Wang Feng nodded his head.
The situation in the Eastern Sea was not yet stable; indeed, they had to hurry and recover the True Yuan expended in the battle with Spring Rain in order to be ready to re-engage in combat.
...
Two such massive battles erupted in the East Sea Archipelago, so naturally, the news could not be concealed.
It first spread from the border domains of the Limitless Star Palace in the Void Divine Realm.
It then quickly spread to the surrounding countries on the Heavenly Star Continent.
Last of all, it reached the Nine Cauldrons Sect's domain in the Void Divine Realm.
With the details of the two battles exposed, members of the Nine Cauldrons Sect couldn't help feeling a sense of surrealism as they read through reports about the battles.
The Vice Hall Master of the Campaign Hall, Lou Yuyu, leading a host to inflict heavy damage and defeat the Xuanming Sect forces in the Eastern Sea, killing over three hundred Great Cultivators and countless High-Rank Cultivators, was one thing.
They had more or less come to accept that news already.
But then...
Sect Master Li Qingshan, leading the Sword Execution Courtyard, and Alkaid, the Vice Hall Master of both the Artifact Refining Hall and the Mystic Formation Hall, leading the Sea Fortification Courtyard to confront the Great Sun Sword Sect's Divine Fire Court and Spring Rain Warship.
The result...
They essentially wiped out the Divine Fire Court, and the Spring Rain was "sunk" in a glorious victory.
This kind of record...
Was simply unimaginable even in dreams.
So much so that when this news came out, for a long time, people in the Nine Cauldrons Sect took it as a joke.
It wasn't until three days later, when Sect Master Li Qingshan conducted a brief yet very formal medal ceremony for the Sword Execution Courtyard and the Sea Fortification Courtyard that everyone began to vaguely realize that this might actually be true.
Following that, someone went to the Xuanming Sect's domain in the Void Divine Realm and brought back the message and video that Lou Yuyu had broadcast, moving it to their domain.
Only then did people astonishingly discover that the Nine Cauldrons Sect had not only devastated all the Xuanming Sect's forces in the Eastern Sea but had even directly attacked the Xuanming Sect and forced them to bow their heads in peace negotiations.
Once this news spread, the Nine Cauldrons Sect's Void Divine Realm exploded with shock.
The sensation was even greater than that caused by the battle with the Xuanming Sect in the Eastern Sea.
...
As for the spread of these messages, the Nine Cauldrons Sect did not hinder it.
Because now, the situation was under control.
Especially since, following the broadcast of the news that Sect Master Li Qingshan had a "Dharma Phase Spiritual Treasure" that was suspected to be from the "Primordial Realm," the Great Sun Sword Sect, who had been eager to avenge the Divine Fire Court and the Spring Rain, suddenly quieted down.
Without fully understanding the legendary Spiritual Treasure that seemed to possess various miraculous powers as rumored, they dared not act rashly for fear of incurring further substantial losses.
In such circumstances, the situation in the East Sea Archipelago, astonishingly, became calm after the two great battles.
And at this time...
The day after Alkaid arrived at the Third Celestial Research Institute with the Spring Rain, Li Qingshan also led the Sword Execution Courtyard back to the Sect's homeland.
And he went straight to the Big Dipper Domain, where he found Alkaid and solemnly conveyed a message.
"The Grandmaster wants to see you."