Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

The blue-gold large tree's roots plunged deep into the earth.

The tree's shade spread out over a hundred meters, with the resplendent light of the Azure Great Sun shining brightly, absorbing the Heavenly Earth Spiritual Qi and Great Sun Essence from the surrounding ten miles, specks of it falling beneath the tree.

Jiang Ding held a jade bottle in his hand, his Divine Sense and mana flowing into it. The blue-gold large tree trembled, and with Sword Intent, he cut off a wisp of the grey fusion magnetic crystal core, transferring it out.

Woosh~

A mass of metallic leaves and branches converged, slashing and stabbing like swords, chopping the half wisp of Grey Fog into pieces, scattering into tiny fragments.

Then, they introduced the Shadow of the Great Sun between the shades of the tree, melting it with high temperature into a state ready for absorption.

The blue-gold large tree radiated light, its aura fluctuating, merging it into itself with a great amount of mana.

Hours later, it stabilized.

The radiant light of the large tree dimmed considerably, the grey within the venation of the leaves deepening to a point visible to the naked eye.

Occasionally, wisps of grey Primordial Magnetism Spirit Light would ripple in the wind.

"Another year has passed..."

Jiang Ding murmured to himself.

The Heavenly Earth Spiritual Qi and Great Sun Essence within ten kilometers morphed into speckles that fell onto him, rapidly restoring the nearly depleted mana in his Elixir Field.

A day and a night passed, and he was restored.

Inner Vision Elixir Field.

One-third of the scale had been completely filled with stored mana, but it seemed to face a sturdy membrane that no matter how the mana surged within the Elixir Field, it couldn't break through this barrier.

"Mid-stage Foundation Building, a bottleneck."

Jiang Ding shook his head.

Crack!

With a thought, the Electromagnetic Mana in his Elixir Field, sharp and breaking habits, condensed into a series of fine Sword Qi, surging upwards.

In an instant, the sturdy membrane displayed a dense array of cracks, shattering and breaking apart.

The remnants were devoured and obliterated by the dense Sword Qi within the Elixir Field until nothing was left.

Jiang Ding's aura surged dramatically!

With the affectation of mana, his Divine Soul trembled, experiencing a breakthrough like other Mid-stage Foundation Building Cultivators – the Sea of Consciousness expanded, strengthening the Divine Soul.

The range of his Divine Sense increased from four thousand kilometers to six thousand!

Although the increase was similar to other Foundation-building cultivators, with his Divine Soul being four times stronger than those of his peers at the same stage, the distance and strength of growth were terrifying.

"I'm stronger than before – I shouldn't face a life-and-death situation under the strike of a Golden Pellet cultivator again."

Jiang Ding thoroughly felt his own condition.

The blue-gold large tree grew taller, its shade wider.

Something within expectations.

"The reason my Cultivation Base was able to break through so quickly was due to previous accumulations; it won't be so easy in the future."

Jiang Ding closed his eyes, continuing to absorb the Heavenly Earth Spiritual Qi for cultivation.

After several days,

he stood up, flying towards the classroom. The frequency of the Grey-blue Escaping Light flickering was less than before, mana flowing into the meridians, briefly altering his flesh and blood form, reducing electromagnetic wave interference.

"Minor Magnet Light Escape Art" had improved since last year.

However, it still hadn't progressed from elementary to adept stage, still not as fast as the perfected First-order "Magnetic Levitation Flight Technique."

"With another year of persistent cultivation, it should reach adept stage, with speed surpassing that of using 'Magnetic Levitation Flight Technique.'

Jiang Ding silently calculated.

Splotches of light appeared on him, the seven colors swirling, his figure gradually vanishing, even his aura becoming extremely faint—ordinary Foundation-building cultivators couldn't see clearly at all.

"Electromagnetic Light Wave Stealth Technique!"

Possibly because the Sword Dao emphasizes control and restraint of mana, his talent in Concealment Spells seemed to be better. He has now reached the elementary stage and was not far from "Minor Magnet Light Escape Art."

Along with the shielding of Supreme Magic Tool level Scout Camouflage, once reaching adept stage, his Concealment ability would be greatly strengthened.

After flying in the sky for a while, he revealed his figure, landing beside An Siyan and Jin Lingfeng.

"An Siyan, a great cultivator, congratulations on your foundation building."

Jiang Ding congratulated.

Over the past year, basically all the classmates in the class, including Ou Daocheng who switched to Jing-level Cultivation Method, had achieved foundation building.

Only one unfortunate soul failed in foundation building, suffering severe injuries, and would need at least five to six years of healing before he could attempt to break through to foundation building again.

"Joy for all, joy for all!"

With a smile, An Siyan chuckled lightly.

Jing-level Cultivation Method foundation building.

This was a rather luminous prospect; she might have some chance to reach the Nascent Soul Realm that her great-grandfather once attained in three to four hundred years, extending her lifespan by twelve hundred years.

"Congratulations."

Jin Lingfeng expressed his felicitations.

The three companions flew swiftly, soon arriving inside the classroom where they unfolded their textbooks on a patch of grass.

"Thought and Morality (II)"

Thump!

Some ten minutes later,

a dignified-looking middle-aged woman appeared on the podium—cultivation base of Golden Pellet Realm, with her left arm slightly out of coordination, much dimmer in radiating light.

"Good day, Teacher Ouyang!"

The students rose to greet her.

"Good day, class, please be seated."

Ouyang Hui nodded and opened her textbook.

"Today, we will talk about the rule of law and mandate of heaven with which the Xianmen Sect governs the Small World."

"What constitutes an organization's rule of law and mandate of heaven?"

She posed a question.

"It's the reason for ruling."

After a brief wait, Ou Daocheng raised his hand to answer, having seemingly studied this topic with great dedication, he explained, "In feudal societies, the emperor claimed to be the Son of Heaven, governing on behalf of Heaven."

"There are also claims of the Three Sovereigns - Jade Emperor, Human Emperor, and Yama, the Emperor of Hell - stating that the emperor is supreme whether in heaven, in the world, or after death, born to rule, with the common people needing to submit."

"This isn't simply feudal superstition. Many uneducated commoners and even a significant number of the middle and upper classes in society believe this notion, effectively lowering the cost of governance."

"Correct."

"Ou has described it well. The mandate of heaven and rule of law are justifications for authority, and they have a substantial impact."

Ouyang Hui commended.

"Even within the Nine Great Immortal Sects, which venerate the supremacy of the strong and allow for the arbitrary taking of life from those lower in cultivation, there exists a Grand Justice of the Sect, the independent and carefree way of the Immortal Path, passed down through the mandate and rule of law from the Ancestor Masters, which reduces external resistance and unites and solidifies the internal community."

"As you can see, the mandate of heaven and rule of law are not illusory concepts; they have tangible power."

"Now, there's no need to discuss the inner workings of the Xianmen Sect."

"What, then, are the mandate of heaven and rule of law for our governance over the Small World?"

Ouyang Hui inquired.

"We rarely accept Natives as citizens of the Fairy Gate, amassing a multitude of elixirs, spirit mines, and spirit beasts from the Small World to nurture the citizens of the Fairy Gate, naturally setting ourselves against many individuals."

"Are we evil?"

"Where are the rule of law and mandate of heaven that justify such actions?"

She asked a flurry of questions.

The crowd fell into contemplation, and for a long time, no one answered.

"Perhaps there is no rule of law?"

"It's nothing but the survival of the fittest."

"This is a law of nature. The Xianmen Sect must endure, and they can do no other," Ou Daocheng said.

"No, the Xianmen Sect has one."

"The Xianmen Sect stands indisputably within the realm of righteousness and the mandate of heaven."

Ouyang Hui shook her head.

"Then..."

The class found it difficult. They knew the teacher was not one to give unwarranted praise; there must be a rationale behind her assertions.

In the end,

all gazes turned towards a youth in blue clothes, the one who had nearly aced the course in Moral Philosophy.

"Mortals,"

Jiang Ding said softly.