MTLNOVEL Chapter 166: Talent
"Sect Master, the Patrol Heaven Warship from the Limitless Star Palace has sent a warning... they claim that we've stolen advanced technology from the Limitless Star Palace," reported the disciple in charge of communications, "and they stated... that they will leave as soon as they take the person who stole the technology..."
But he was interrupted by Zhao Siliang before he could finish, "We shall never speak of this matter again!"
His words were definite as he added, "This is a psychological tactic by the enemy. If we, the Nine Cauldrons Sect, cannot even protect our own people, how would our loyalists feel? Moreover, do you truly believe that they will retreat once we hand over the person? The Limitless Star Palace preys on the weak! The weaker you appear, the more they will take advantage of you!"
The disciple said no more.
He understood this reasoning.
But...
Apart from this solution, he genuinely did not know how else they could protect Dragon Majestic City.
Not to mention...
how to protect the entire Nine Heavens Domain.
The territories of the Nine Cauldrons Sect were too vast.
The most powerful members of the sect capable of contending with the Patrol Heaven Warship, the sword wielders, could not reach the Nine Heavens Domain battlefield in time.
By the time they would arrive, the enemy would have already achieved their goal and departed at their leisure.
"Zhao He."
Zhao Siliang spoke into a communication channel, "Can't even a single formation be broken?"
"Our flying sword array can't even get close to the vicinity of the Patrol Heaven Warship... As soon as it approaches, the sword array is suppressed and broken, and without the flying swords to breach, relying on more dispersed magic, we simply can't break through the Patrol Heaven Warship's defensive formation."
Zhao He sounded somewhat helpless.
Finally, he added, "To break through a single formation would take at least ten minutes, and to threaten the main body of the Patrol Heaven Fleet... at least five hours."
Five hours...
That would be enough time for the enemy to sweep up and take away everything, including the Purple Cloud Courtyard and everything inside Dragon Majestic City.
And that's if the enemy only intercepts and doesn't counterattack.
If they strike back and weaken our forces...
There's no chance of victory.
The power of one domain simply can't compete with a Patrol Heaven Warship.
The combined powers of five, maybe ten domains, might just have a chance to confront a single Patrol Heaven Warship of the Limitless Star Palace!
Zhao Siliang took a deep breath.
Feeling somewhat powerless, he turned to another disciple, "Connect me to the Sect Master."
...
Above the Nine Heavens.
Within the first Heavenly Palace.
The silhouette of Li Qingshan was projected in front of a man who appeared to be in his thirties but had greying temples.
This was...
A figure that any Great Cultivator in the Cangwu Great World would recognize instantly.
The Supreme Elder of the Nine Cauldrons Sect, one of the top powerhouses of the current era, the stabilizer with a Sunburst Golden Core—Li Hanqiu!
He shared the surname Li with Li Qingshan, though they were not blood-related.
At this moment, in this palace, which was only about a hundred meters square but had countless formation patterns etched everywhere—on the floor, walls, and ceiling—a voice echoed.
"A large wild elephant requires half a ton of food each day; a Demonic God Physique of a third-rank Star Master, a hundred meters tall and weighing a hundred thousand tons, consumes one Spirit Stone for regular activity daily, three for maintaining the most basic cultivation, and in a major battle, the energy consumption can be comparable to tens of Spirit Stones, twice that for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator."
This Golden Core True Person said calmly, "Our Golden Cores, inherently extremely unstable, merely maintaining a basic state consumes ten thousand Spirit Stones a day. If we act, the need to restart the Golden Core aside from the risk of losing control, do you know how many Spirit Stones that surge would consume?"
"I do,"
Li Qingshan answered solemnly. "Starting from a million."
"Then, is he worth it?"
"He is."
Li Qingshan bowed to the man, "I request uncle master to take action." Experience new tales on empire
And Li Hanqiu...
His gaze lingered on this Sect Master, who had been diligent and never slacked for eighty years.
Without asking about the process or the reason,
he simply uttered one word.
"Good."
...
Elsewhere.
In the core palace of Dragon Majestic City.
All the people, including Dragon Majestic City's city lord Luo Yunhai and Qin Yi amongst others protecting Alkaid, watched through the screen as the Patrol Heaven Warship remained undamaged despite numerous attacks from flying swords and magic.
Without exception, their faces bore deep unwillingness and a profound sense of powerlessness.
The destruction of the Quicksand Sect by the Limitless Star Palace seventeen years earlier had already stunned the Nine Cauldrons Sect.
The power displayed by the Limitless Star Palace in crushing the Quicksand Sect was overwhelming, and it had made everyone acknowledge the strength of this force.
Even the Northern Alliance, led by the formidable Myriad Beasts Sect, lost its ambition to contend with the Limitless Star Palace after that battle and began to fall apart.
And the Nine Cauldrons Sect...
Their strength was actually comparable to the Quicksand Sect of those days.
Although the Nine Cauldrons Sect had been ambitious, reforming greatly and focusing on the development of Divine Cultivation for over a decade...
What could really be achieved in just over a decade?
The arrival of this Patrol Heaven Warship from the Limitless Star Palace also proved their guess...
Really, it made no difference.
And this was just one Patrol Heaven Warship.
If the entire fleet of the Limitless Star Palace were to be assembled here, the fate of the Nine Cauldrons Sect might be just like that of the Quicksand Sect seventeen years ago, utterly destroyed like fallen leaves swept by the autumn wind.
...
The palace was deathly silent.
No one spoke.
It was as if they didn't even have the energy to open their mouths.
This was true for Qin Yi, and likewise for the heavily protected Array Master-cum-Master Artifact Refiner-cum-Primordial Spirit Cultivator, Purple Rose.
"So..."
Alkaid looked at the screen, the Patrol Heaven Warship that was getting increasingly closer, "So the attacks of so many people can't even slightly damage this warship?"
No one answered.
Some people even glanced at him irritably.
Their looks seemed to say, "Isn't that obvious?"
Purple Rose, seeing that no one had spoken for a long time and out of consideration for Alkaid's face, finally explained, "It's not that the cultivators from our side are not strong enough, but rather, the defensive power of the enemy's Patrol Heaven Warship is too strong. The Sword Cultivators responsible for the assault couldn't even get close to the Patrol Heaven Warship before their Flying Swords and the Sword Arrays formed by them were suppressed."
Her tone was somewhat somber, "You should be able to tell that the Divine Senses of our Primordial Spirit Realm Cultivators are directly blocked, and not only can they block the Divine Senses of our Primordial Spirit Realm Cultivators, but they also have enough power to guide their Sword Cultivators to attack the weak points of our Sword Arrays, thereby easily intercepting the Sword Arrays."
"So, if the Primordial Spirit Realm Cultivators from our side can break through the enemy's Divine Sense defense and guide our Sword Cultivators to attack the main body of the Patrol Heaven Warship, can we break through the defensive formation of the Patrol Heaven Warship?"
"Yes!"
Purple Rose emphatically said, "Although the Flying Swords used by our Sword Cultivators are inferior to the enemy's, attacking is always easier than defending. The Patrol Heaven Warship's target is too large, it can't dodge flexibly like other Sword Cultivators, and can only withstand the attacks head-on. If our Primordial Spirit Cultivators can truly guide the Sword Cultivators' attacks to break through the Patrol Heaven Warship's Sword Cultivators' interception and strike the Patrol Heaven Warship itself, even if the warship's defensive formations are strong, they won't withstand many rounds of attacks..."
As she spoke, she paused, "At least... before the City Defense Formation of Dragon Majestic City is destroyed, we can cause substantial damage to the warship itself."
"That will be enough."
Alkaid said, turning to Qin Yi, "Contact Sect Master Zhao, all Sword Cultivators, and Primordial Spirit Realm Cultivators to return to Dragon Majestic City!"
"They are already returning."
Qin Yi said, "At this point, we can only hope that the City Defense Formation of Dragon Majestic City, which is even more robust than Nine Heavens City, will hold on a bit longer against the attacks of this Patrol Heaven Warship..."
"Good!"
Alkaid nodded, "Connect me with Sect Master Zhao, I need to speak with him."
"Sect Master Zhao is probably too busy to take a call right now..."
Someone gently reminded.
"Perhaps, I have a way to drive back this Patrol Heaven Warship."
Alkaid said.
Upon hearing this, everyone, Qin Yi, Purple Rose, and City Lord Luo, all turned their eyes to him, full of astonishment.
Eventually, the younger Purple Rose couldn't help but be the first to speak., "Chief Alkaid, don't joke around. Although you are extremely skilled in Artifact Refining, you're not even a Great Cultivator. How could you possibly..."
"Contact Sect Master Zhao."
Alkaid said again.
Qin Yi looked at Alkaid, and although he, like Purple Rose, could not imagine how Alkaid was going to accomplish this feat that all the experts of the Nine Heavens Domain found daunting, considering his status and the current lack of any viable alternatives, he nodded.
A dying horse to be treated as if alive.
He then contacted Zhao Siliang.
Purple Rose, looking at Alkaid's bearing, also began to harbor some doubts, "Do you... really have a way?"
"Let's try."
Alkaid watched the Patrol Heaven Warship on the screen, which seemed to loom like dark clouds.
This feeling...
Was too uncomfortable.
Uncomfortable enough to make it difficult to breathe.
So...
"I am Zhao Siliang."
Soon, a beam of light projected from the device in Qin Yi's hand.
"I need command over all Primordial Spirit Cultivators and Foundation Establishment Sword Cultivators."
Before Qin Yi could speak, Alkaid had already stepped forward and spoken.
"You!?"
"Yes!"
Alkaid nodded slightly, "Let me command. Perhaps, I can drive back this Patrol Heaven Warship."
Zhao Siliang looked at Alkaid...
and then fell silent.
Seeing this, Alkaid also remained silent.
But behind him, a phantom had already appeared.
"What is this!?"
The sudden change not only shocked Zhao Siliang but also Qin Yi, Purple Rose, and Luo Yunhai, all of whom showed astonishment.
"Primordial Spirit!?"
"You've broken through to the Primordial Spirit Realm?"
"Indeed, you had the Divine Transformation Pill, and judging by the time, you should have broken through earlier, this promotion came a bit later than we anticipated."
Their eyes showed a hint of joy.
They were happy that Alkaid had broken through to the Primordial Spirit Realm, but they weren't too surprised.
This scene was what they all expected.
However, their pleasure lasted only a moment before their expressions turned somber again.
The better Alkaid performed, the more it would be a pity if he fell during this disaster.
After all, Limitless Star Palace was already at their gates...
"Wait!"
At that moment, Luo Yunhai, as if he had realized something, suddenly exclaimed, "Your Primordial Spirit..."
His exclamation made the somewhat despairing crowd also quickly sense something unusual.