Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

"The next temporary commander of the Air-Space Warplane battalion..."

The voice of the Array Spirit came through.

The training of the warplanes continued, with everyone rotating between the roles of commander and soldier, constantly practicing.

Four days passed,

and everyone's commanding skills and combat skills had improved by a slight margin.

Generally speaking,

Foundation Building Soldiers usually need twenty years of training before they can be deployed to the battlefield, while Commanders of the Foundation Building Stage require thirty years.

Top university Foundation-building cultivators are of different talent, but even they need several years to sync up.

Ding dong, ding dong...

The end-of-class bell rang, bringing the seven-day course to a close.

Everyone piloted their Air-Space warplanes back, parking them in neat rows. Streams of Escape Light flew out from the cockpits, and the cultivators lined up before Immortal Luling.

"About the final exam at the end of your third year, three years from now..."

Immortal Luling didn't announce the end of class right away but paused, and with a wave of his robe, handed out several white sheets of paper: "Here are the final exam papers for the third year, you can take a look at them now."

Real combat examinations have always been this way, not fearing the leaking of questions, but rather, encouraging it.

Jiang Ding and the others tensed up as they received the exam papers that flew towards them.

[Qingfeng University Cultivation Department Undergraduates Class of 11139, Year 27, Air-Space Combat System Course Final Examination]

[Examination Location: Fourth Small World - Canghai Small World, Territorial Domain of Liyun Sect]

[Introduction to the Questions:]

[Twelve years ago, more than ten sects in the Canghai Small World rebelled, and the Xianmen Sect is in the process of handling it.]

[Your exam target is one of the rebellious sects, the Liyun Sect, whose sect master is the Early Stage Golden Elixir Cultivator, Immortal Li Hai.

He betrayed the treaty between the Liyun Sect and the Xianmen Sect, murdering three hundred and forty-seven Fairy Gate Citizens stationed at the Liyun Military Base of Li Yun Sect, including forty-two Qi Practitioners.

In his bid for breakthroughs, he even slaughtered tens of millions of mortals and cultivators within his sect, massively disrupting the Xianmen Sect's arrangements in Liyun territories.]

[As the rebellion in the Canghai Small World began, troop movements near the Xuanwu Heavenly Palace in adjacent domains were also abnormal.]

[In the interests of stability, the Xianmen Sect's forces stationed in nearby domains have entered a level-three state of alert, with native subsidiary forces standing firm and waiting for reinforcements from the main Xianmen base.]

[The cross-realm transmission array has been activated and will be ready in three years. It will transport support troops from the Xianmen Sect, logistic departments responsible for the transport of materials and raw materials, and arrive in the Canghai Small World.]

[Examination Requirements: Using standard Air-Space Warplanes, quell the chaos in the Liyun Sect's territory in the shortest possible time, restore the Xianmen Sect's arrangement, provide for the local native population to live and thrive again, and complete this final exam.]

"Liyun Sect has rebelled?"

Jiang Ding was stunned.

He vaguely remembered the scenes of cooperation with the Liyun Sect's cultivators during two simulation tests in high school.

Back then, the cooperation was quite pleasant, and he still remembered a Qi Practitioner named Qian Tongyi who was in the later stages of Qi refining.

When he saw the information about the destruction of the Liyun Military Base and the death of the three hundred and forty-seven Fairy Gate Citizens, his gaze turned cold.

The Taiqing Flying Sword vibrated unceasingly.

"Damn it! How dare they kill citizens of the Xianmen Sect!"

Someone cursed angrily.

"How dare this old bastard Li Hai?!"

"The Xianmen Sect has been too soft on these natives, letting them think they can be bullied!"

Some students muttered to themselves, their words filled with iciness.

For a time, the atmosphere was tumultuous, and the anger of many Foundation-building cultivators stirred the clouds in the sky into disarray.

"Alright."

A flash of satisfaction crossed Immortal Luling's eyes as he silenced their noisy chatter.

"A moment of silence for the three hundred and forty-seven fallen citizens will suffice."

"But don't be too saddened, in war, death is a very normal thing. Enemies will die, and so will we. Only the strongest wills and the highest levels of combat skill can achieve ultimate victory."

"Class dismissed."

"Yes!"

Everyone observed a moment of silence before dispersing in all directions.

"Jiang Ding, stay for a moment."

Immortal Luling called out to Jiang Ding, who was about to make a run for it, making his escape light come to an abrupt halt.

Jiang Ding's expression was awkward as he slowly moved closer to him.

He faintly felt a sense of familiarity with the scar on Immortal Luling's face, somewhat reminding him of the wounds that would occasionally appear when the Taiqing Flying Sword struck down enemies.

"Stop staring; it was in the battle at the borders of the Desolate Bronze Small World, inflicted by an old woman at the Nascent Soul Peak of the Taiyin Sword Sect," Immortal Luling said irritably.

"The Taiyin Sword Sect has joined the battle, siding with the Xuanwu Heavenly Palace?" Jiang Ding asked, his expression changing.

The Taiyin Immortal Sect, although it was the result of the incessant squabbles for benefit sharing among the Eight Immortal Sects following the demise of the Great Sun Sword Pavilion, without Refining Nothingness Cultivators and with meager heritage, was still an extremely fearsome opponent.

Their involvement would bring immense pressure to the Xianmen military strategy.

"No."

Immortal Luling scoffed, "She claimed it was as part of her personal training to hone her Sword Intent, which ended up being honed on me."

"One day, I will capture that Sword Cultivator, surround her, and bombard her into ashes."

"I wish you success."

Jiang Ding sincerely remarked, glancing at the clouds on the horizon.

"Xianmen has already occupied most of the Desolate Bronze Small World; just one more step, over the East Sea, then we can..."

Immortal Luling didn't notice his gesture and mumbled to himself before focusing his gaze on Jiang Ding.

"Your combat system and command of the troops aren't quite compatible; you're better suited for solitary reconnaissance and combat roles," he stated directly.

"Indeed."

Jiang Ding nodded. After months of training, he had come to realize this issue as well.

"From now on, you can worry less about commanding and spend more time honing your own combat system," Immortal Luling said gravely, "but you must ensure your command troop's performance is at least satisfactory. I won't make any exceptions for you."

"Also, my personal opinion,"

"As it stands, Xianmen's strongest asset is still the legionnaire combat system."

"Below the Golden Pill, relying on equipment, individuals can still have an advantage in duels. But above the Golden Pill, Xianmen Cultivators rarely engage in single combat anymore. As long as they are outside the Domain, no matter what they do, they are accompanied by a legion, hardly ever appearing alone."

"Consider this carefully."

"Understood."

Jiang Ding replied earnestly.

This was actually Immortal Luling subtly dissuading him.

He did not believe that there was much future for a Xianmen Cultivator in single combat; even with an advantage at the lower levels, they were likely to be rapidly caught up and surpassed by others.

Such is the core of Xianmen.

All equipment and research invested were focused on this legionnaire combat system; other aspects received less attention and thus had less leverage.

"Well, as long as you understand. As for the path of cultivation, others can hardly interfere. Teachers can only give advice based on their own experiences, but in the end, you'll have to walk your own path," Immortal Luling waved his hand dismissively.

"Goodbye, teacher."

Jiang Ding bowed slightly and took off into the distance.

Humming!

The Taiqing Flying Sword vibrated before settling down.

There was nothing to consider or hesitate about. Immortal Luling had his own opinions, but as he said, everyone has their own path that suits them. No matter how difficult it may be.