LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 212: Convinced
"Hall Master Alkaid..."
Fang Jinxue stepped forward to greet him, but Alkaid raised his hand to stop him.
He rose into the air using the Stellar Power Field, looking down upon the numerous Array Masters and Artifact Refiners, his voice easily carrying across the skyport and reaching thousands of meters around.
"You are all professionals in the field of Celestial Warships. A few days of research is not enough for you to fully comprehend the Spring Rain-class Celestial Warship, but I assume you have gained a basic understanding of this warship—enough to, at minimum, activate its major formations without issue."
Having said that, he didn't bother with further explanations, "Now, I need you to fully activate the defense, amplification, strengthening, and detection formations of this Celestial Warship. Before you study the Patrol Heaven Warship, you should at least handle the activation and deactivation of every formation as if it were at your fingertips... even if one person, or a few people, are in charge of a formation... after all, when the warship is deployed, it will not carry too many Array Masters and Artifact Refiners."
Though the Artifact Refiners and Array Masters were unclear about Alkaid's intentions, they exchanged glances before dispersing toward the formations they were most skilled in handling.
They might not be able to steer the warship, but merely activating the various formations was not problematic.
As the Array Masters and Artifact Refiners took their positions, the defensive, amplifying, strengthening, detection, and offensive formations began to light up.
Even though the activation process was somewhat slow, considering that over six thousand Array Masters working on the research institute around the warship took charge of each formation in groups of several to a dozen, the many formations and artifact components were activated one by one in less than ten minutes.
Fang Jinxue glanced at Alkaid.
The formations were about to be activated, and Alkaid...
The next second, Alkaid made his move.
He didn't physically stir in the slightest, merely stimulating his Divine Sense and slowly pushing it forward.
His Divine Sense had a hint of Divine Sense properties, which allowed it to interfere with external objects. Although the interference was not strong, as his Divine Sense swept over, the formation's light closest to him shimmered and started to dim.
Fang Jinxue saw it immediately.
It was Alkaid interfering with the operation of this formation, causing the few people who were starting it to fail.
This failure was just the beginning.
As Alkaid's Divine Sense continued to spread forward, each formation that it touched without exception flickered and went out.
This shaking and extinguishing initially centered around Alkaid, but then spread with unbelievable speed to encompass the entire Patrol Heaven Warship.
This scene caused Fang Jinxue's eyes to widen in disbelief.
To halt the activation of a formation with the "Divine Sense" that had only minimal disturbance effects on external objects...
The mastery of formations it displayed was simply inconceivable.
Especially since the formations he halted were not one or two, but several hundred, even thousands.
"How is that possible!?"
Fang Jinxue couldn't help but whisper.
Not just him, but all the Array Masters and Artifact Refiners activating the formations, upon realizing what Alkaid was doing, were in utter disbelief.
Several Sixth-Level Array Masters, with a profound understanding of formations, exerted all their effort to activate the formations they were in charge of, but in the end...
They still had their key nodes sabotaged by Alkaid, causing the activation to fail and the light of the formation to dim.
In just ten minutes, the lustrous light of the many formations aboard the Patrol Heaven Warship had been completely extinguished.
This speed was not much slower than the several thousand people who had partially activated these formations.
Suddenly...
The thousands of Array Masters and Artifact Refiners on the scene fell silent.
What just happened!?
Hall Master Alkaid...
Did he, by his own power, suppress their attempts to activate the many formations aboard the Spring Rain-class Celestial Warship?
If Alkaid had used sheer strength to defeat them, preventing them from accessing the formations, that would be one thing.
But the key point was...
It was his understanding of formations that interfered with their successful activation, consequently causing their attempts to fail.
What did this mean?
It meant Hall Master Alkaid, by his understanding of formations, had defeated everyone present.
One man had surpassed the understanding of the Celestial Warship owned by over six thousand Array Masters and Artifact Refiners.
This...
How was this possible?
After extinguishing all formations, Alkaid withdrew his Divine Sense and calmly said, "As Array Masters, it is crucial to ensure the smooth activation of every formation on the Patrol Heaven Warship, so..."
With a wave of his hand, Alkaid revealed a countdown of 900 seconds.
"You have 15 minutes to activate the formations."
Deeply shaken, the Array Masters and Artifact Refiners exchanged looks, their gazes returning to Alkaid.
This time, their look was devoid of any arrogance or doubt, replaced instead by deep conviction.
Particularly for the most exalted among them, the Sixth-Level Array Masters knew full well the difficulty of what had just occurred.
Over six thousand Array Masters and Artifact Refiners, proficient in a wide range of fields, each had their own unique expertise.
Yet in the presence of Alkaid, they lacked even the ability to activate the formations they were most proficient in.
This disparity...
Was beyond what words like 'a world of difference' could describe.
"Continue."
Alkaid's voice, now tinged with a trace of urgency, echoed in everyone's ears.
The crowd exchanged glances. Yet, some stood out and hurriedly returned to their most skilled formations, focusing intently to try to activate them.
Seeing this, others – driven by various reasons, or perhaps curious about Alkaid's limits – also threw themselves into the task of activating their respective formations.
For a time, the brilliance of the activation of the formation, accompanied by the huge consumption of Spirit Stones, shone once again.
Fifteen minutes had passed, enough time for some formations to have been activated.
However, even after successfully activating these formations, the Array Masters dared not slack off in the slightest, diligently inspecting their active formations for any deficiencies.
And yet...
Despite pouring so much effort into it, the result remained unchanged.
As Alkaid's Divine Sense swept across, swathes of formations began to extinguish once again.
This was especially true for some Sixth Level Array Masters; not only had they activated the formations but were also strenuously maintaining them, to the extent that even Alkaid's Divine Sense couldn't interfere.
But...
A warship like the Patrol Heaven Warship was always a whole, not an individual.
Even if this formation couldn't be disturbed, Alkaid could still create an "avalanche" effect by interfering with the surrounding formations, and ultimately, despite his formation withstanding Alkaid's Divine Sense, it faded along with the other extinguished formations.
With a little more effort from Alkaid...
Less than ten minutes passed.
All the formations that had been shining on the Spring Rain Vessel once again went out completely.
"Perhaps, I can give you another 20 minutes; if that's not enough, then 30 minutes will do,"
Alkaid said once more.
The Array Masters looked at each other.
In the end, the most experienced and high-ranking Array Masters stepped forward, smiled wryly and said, "There's no need, our gap in formation savvy with Hall Master Alkaid is so vast it cannot be described in words. We are convinced."
"To be proficient in so many formations... Is this... one born with the knowledge?"
"I never believed that anyone could master all formations, the category is too complex, too vast. Even the most talented individuals could not possibly have the energy to delve into every domain of formations, after all, I'm considered a genius in the eyes of the world. Yet, it wasn't until I witnessed Hall Master Alkaid that I truly realized what it means to have a narrow perspective!"
The other senior Array Masters nodded in deep agreement.
As for the regular Array Masters, their gazes towards Alkaid were akin to looking at a deity.
"Oh,"
Alkaid's gaze swept over them one by one: "It seems that everyone is now in agreement with me overseeing the research and construction of the Patrol Heaven Warship."
"With Lord Alkaid presiding over the creation of the Patrol Heaven Warship, what worries could the Nine Cauldrons Sect have about building our own Patrol Heaven Warship!"
Fang Jinxue quickly stepped forward to respond with fervor.
"Indeed, not only can we build our own Spring Rain-class Celestial Warship, but we can also leapfrog a generation in warship production and start directly with the Second Generation Celestial Warship refinement by studying the relevant technologies on the Spring Rain Vessel!"
The other Array Masters echoed in agreement.
Having witnessed Alkaid's power, they already had full confidence.
However...
"Why stop at Second Generation? If you're going to build, go directly for the Third Generation Patrol Heaven Warship,"
Alkaid declared outright.
This statement left many Array Masters and Artifact Refiners stunned.
This... Your adventure continues at My Virtual Library Empire
The Nine Cauldrons Sect currently lacked the capability to even produce the first-generation Patrol Heaven Warships.
Skipping the first generation and going straight for the second had been their audacious notion, an attempt to overtake on a curve.
But Hall Master Alkaid proposed to go directly for the third-generation warships, which represented the cutting-edge standards of Cangwu!
Before anyone else could speak, but some of the quicker responders, considering Alkaid's comprehensiveness in Artifact Refining and formation techniques, as well as the miracles created by his Purple Cloud Courtyard...
Especially Fang Jinxue.
The first to formally bow and declare, "The Third Celestial Research Institute is willing to give its utmost effort to assist Lord Alkaid in reaching this goal!"
The others also expressed their submission willingly: "At Lord Alkaid's command."
"If we can indeed build the Third Generation Patrol Heaven Warship... Even if I were to die today, I would do so with a smile in the netherworld."
"Hahaha, then let's follow Lord Alkaid and give it our all! Although I am advanced in years, my blood is yet to run cold. I'm willing to contribute my last bit of light and warmth to the forging of the Patrol Heaven Warship!"
Vows of commitment and agreements rose from every corner.
Alkaid glanced at the crowd and nodded slightly.
The people's hearts were with him.
Without wasting time, he started delegating tasks for the initial stages.
The key to refining the Patrol Heaven Warship lay in having someone capable of overseeing the whole, ensuring compatibility between the multitudes of formations and Artifact Refining components.
Once this task was resolved, it would relate to the arrangement of formation and Artifact Refining components.
The main formations for the Third Generation Patrol Heaven Warship were of the Sixth Level and Triple Star grade, and the elite Array Masters present were not lacking in such prowess. Now, it was a matter of seeing if Alkaid could tap into their full potential.
...
With the entire Third Celestial Research Institute bustling with activity, construction of the Nine Cauldrons Sect's first Third Generation Patrol Heaven Warship finally got on track.
And Alkaid...
While overseeing the Third Celestial Research Institute, he also hadn't completely let go of the tasks at Purple Cloud Courtyard and the refinement of the Spirit Gathering Array.
Due to the task from the Third Celestial Research Institute, the progress was inevitably slower.
Nevertheless, after the first year of the warship's refining process, the Purple Cloud Courtyard finally finished delivering the first batch of six hundred Purple Cloud 15 Improved Model Flying Swords.
The transaction involving the Spiritual Treasure, Primordial Clock, was officially complete.