Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

Having confirmed that Immortal Luling harbored no prejudice against Jiang Ding and did not treat him differently,

Jin Lingfeng and the others began their packed scheduled of Army Formation training courses.

In the absence of Jiang Ding and another unlucky individual who had failed in foundation building, they couldn't form three Air-Space Army Formations.

Immortal Luling arranged for two rune puppets of average skill to take their places.

For the exams, other people would be arranged to come, possibly students from other schools or active service military personnel.

Jiang Ding's practical training, on the other hand, was a different story.

"Charge!"

With a slash of his sword, Jiang Ding barely extinguished a third-order meteor magic attack and made a clumsy escape.

Immortal Luling had arranged for a rune puppet at the Middle Jindan Stage for him!

Moreover, by controlling the power and evasive speed of the magic used, the puppet beat him black and blue now and then, forcing him to desperately flee amidst continuous attacks from classic Xuanwu tiangong earth attribute magic and artifacts.

Sometimes, he was tasked with sneaking into the retreats of three Golden Pellet Realm rune puppets, dismantling layer upon layer of formations, and stealing something from within.

A moment's inattention would wake the three puppets, who would then surround and pummel him.

He ended up in a sorry state, and any sense of pride he had felt vanished without a trace.

The enemies from beyond this realm didn't bother with fights among equals.

Only when he was beaten limp, unable to move a muscle, would Immortal Luling show up to explain what he did wrong and how he could do better.

With an insight of a Nascent Soul, merely a hint from him could lead to significant enlightenment.

Amidst this inhuman torture and guidance, Jiang Ding made small daily improvements in Sword Dao, evasion techniques, and Concealment Spells; over time, these improvements were much faster than when he pondered them alone.

Sword Dao, evasion techniques, Concealment Spells.

These three aspects were not independent; all issues ultimately came down to those related to the foundational cultivation methods.

Having questions in mind, he would inquire with Immortal Dinghai during Chinese class.

Besides, he kept up with courses like mathematics and botany without disruption.

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, another year had passed in relentless study.

In the mining area,

the blue-gold large tree stood over fifty meters tall, with a girth that two or three adults could hardly encircle, its canopy spreading over a hundred meters, forged entirely of metal; Spiritual Energy and Great Sun Essence of the surrounding ten kilometers converged beneath the canopy, forming the shadow of the Azure Great Sun with sparkling, star-like specks occasionally falling.

"Slash!"

Jiang Ding sat cross-legged above the magma at the base of the tree, holding a jade bottle and using his Spirit Senses imbued with Sword Intent to slice off a whole wisp of the murky Fusion Magnetic Crystal Core.

He then crushed it and melted it into the shadow of the Azure Great Sun beneath the canopy, which was absorbed by a branch.

With the metallic branches waving, the murky Light of Yuanmagnet became even more pronounced, sending out ripples of transparency as the breeze blew.

"In one more year, the Taiqing Flying Sword should be able to absorb a thousand threads of the Fusion Magnetic Crystal Core, undergoing an initial transformation, with its electromagnetic affinity greatly increased."

Jiang Ding put away the jade bottle.

His speed did not increase.

Following the advice of Immortal Dinghai, after reaching the middle stage of foundation building, he spent the vast majority of his time on raising his cultivation base, only spending an hour each day drawing in a thread of the Fusion Magnetic Crystal Core into the Flying Sword. He would not increase this time in the future.

Cultivation Base was fundamental.

With the base enhanced, all tasks could be accomplished faster.

"Ding!"

A text message alert sounded on the cellphone.

With a sweep of his Divine Sense, Jiang Ding's face lit up with excitement.

"Lianyun Air Harbor Shipbuilding Group Co., Ltd.:"

"Your customized Air-Space Warplane has been successfully constructed and is ready for pickup at any time. You may also apply for a flight route and process an Air-Space Warplane pilot's license. Enable the auto-pilot feature, and your Air-Space Warplane will fly to your side."

The Air-Space Warplane was built on schedule!

"Life-saving and offensive capabilities greatly enhanced!"

Jiang Ding's spirits lifted.

The only regret was that only standard warplanes could be piloted for the final exams, preventing students from wealthy families from overshadowing others, affecting Xianmen Sect's educational screening process.

However, this was a minor issue.

"Air-Space Warplane pilot's license!"

"Flight Route!"

Jiang Ding pondered over these two issues.

There would be no problem with the Air-Space Warplane pilot certification. After two years of training, most of his classmates had reached the required level and had applied for the certification at the Xiandu Air Traffic Control Office.

However, the flight route was an issue.

Air-Space Warplanes harbored immense destructive powers; even the teacher-645 could instantly kill most Immortal Gate Foundation-building Cultivators not equipped with protective gear, let alone numerous Qi Practitioners and mortals.

Within the Immortal Gates, Air-Space Warplanes and Air-Space Battleships were not allowed to be deployed at will.

"Just apply with the air traffic control office."

Jiang Ding sent his Divine Sense into his cell phone, reaching the air traffic control office through the network access permit in the electronic components and logged in using his ID number and password.

He found the application portal for flight routes, entered his Air-Space Warplane's number, departure, and destination to apply for a flight route.

"Application successful."

The voice of the Array Spirit quickly transmitted.

"Your Air-Space Warplane's flight route is confirmed for seventy-two hours and thirty-nine minutes from now, with a duration of twenty-four hours. Please comply with airspace traffic regulations during the flight, do not speed or deviate from the flight route…"

"Confirmed."

Suppressing his excitement, Jiang Ding closed his eyes. The blue-gold large tree absorbed the Heavenly Earth Spiritual Qi and the Great Sun Essence from within a ten-kilometer radius, immersing him into a deep state of cultivation.

Several days later.

Qingfeng University Floating Island.

A silver-gray Air-Space Warplane appeared on the horizon, with its form concealed, it swiftly soared past, imperceptible even to Golden Pellet Realm Cultivators whose Divine Senses scanned the area repeatedly.

The formations at Qingfeng University conducted multiple checks and, upon confirming its legitimacy and compliance, acknowledged its credentials to enter the campus.

In the mining area,

Above the blue-gold large tree, within the shade that spanned over a hundred meters wide, many azure blue metallic branches were squashed flat, producing a squeaking noise as spiritual light flickered and took a while to stabilize.

"It's here!"

Jiang Ding opened his eyes and looked towards the spacious shade above him.

Nothing was acquired.

Not only invisible to the eye, but even his Divine Sense couldn't detect the slightest trace.

"Not bad."

He praised instead, his body afloat as he flew above the shade of the blue-gold large tree, dozens of meters high.

"Disengage stealth."

The moment the command was issued, faint spatial ripples emerged, and an Air-Space Warplane appeared above the tree shade.

Jiang Ding held his breath.

Overall, it had a silver-gray coating; it was 37.257 meters long, with a wingspan of 19.257 meters, a height of 7.857 meters, and a weight of 64.724 tons.

Semi-transparent ripples and mysterious, complex runes intermittently flashed across the body of the craft, its sleek lines exuding the unique aesthetic of a perfect industrial creation.

Amidst the canopy of the blue-gold large tree, spanning over a hundred meters, it resembled a giant silver-gray bird, surprisingly fitting.

"Open the cockpit."

Whir!

The central cockpit slowly opened.

Jiang Ding flew inside.

The interior space was slightly larger than that of the teacher-645, with a central black cube the size of a magic cube.

His Divine Sense and mana were infused into it.

"Ding ding!"

"First-time certification. Do you want to bind your Divine Sense frequency and mana imprint so that without permission, others cannot control this machine?" the Air-Space Warplane's Array Spirit's voice transmitted.

"Authenticate."

Jiang Ding spoke firmly.

"Please wait, authenticating binding…"

"Binding lock successful."

Jiang Ding's Divine Sense and mana immediately flowed unimpeded, rushing into every part of the Air-Space Warplane through the black cube, which acted as a hub for the formation, meticulously inspecting each Third-Order Formation, every part of the fuselage.

Especially,

The Electromagnetic Main Gun, which ran the entire length of the craft, 29.521 meters long, with a caliber of 324 millimeters, weighing 12.478 tons!